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 Senate committee passes largest tax increase in Illinois history
A Senate committee recently passed the largest income tax
increase in the history of Illinois.
Senate Bill 2288, approved Feb. 27 by the Education Committee on
a partisan vote, would increase the state income tax rate by 67
percent. Individual rates would go from 3 percent to 5 percent and
the corporate rate from 4.8 percent to 8 percent. No Republican
senators voted for the tax hike.
Estimated to cost taxpayers nearly $8 billion, the income tax
increase comes at a difficult time, given the sluggish Illinois
economy and the worsening jobs climate. Senate Republicans opposed
the income tax hike in committee, expressing concern that increasing
taxes will only make Illinois a more difficult place to start or
expand a business and create jobs.
Panel once again says no to Blagojevich on health care expansion
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a bipartisan,
12-member panel made up of senators and representatives, met Feb. 26
and again struck down an attempt by the Blagojevich administration
to unilaterally expand taxpayer-funded health care.
For the second time is as many weeks, a large majority of
committee members opposed the governor's actions to expand the
program without the approval of the entire Illinois General
Assembly.
Although committee members support the idea of improving access
to health care, they argued that the governor's FamilyCare program
should not be expanded in a year when state revenue projections are
forecast to decline. Illinois already has a nearly $2 billion
backlog in overdue bills, the majority of which is for Medicaid, the
state's public health care system.
Kudos
Kudos to the editorial board of the Decatur Herald & Review, who
wrote in a Feb. 27 editorial about the needs for ethics reforms.
This is an issue my Senate Republican colleagues and I have been
talking about for several years now.
We have pushed legislation that would address the unacceptable
"pay-to-play" atmosphere that has permeated state government for far
too long. House Bills
1 and
3 were approved by a unanimous vote of the House of
Representatives early in 2007 but have since then been held hostage
by Senate President Emil Jones of Chicago, the governor's closest
legislative ally.
What does a governor who initially pledged to clean up "business
as usual" have to fear? Why are these legislative reforms --
sponsored by Senate and House lawmakers of both political parties --
not being allowed a public hearing?
The citizens of Illinois deserve answers to these questions.
Lawmakers remember victims of NIU shooting
Senate members took time March 6 to remember the five students
who were killed in the Feb. 14 shootings at Northern Illinois
University.
The Senate chambers were somber as lawmakers spoke of the
terrible loss of the bright and talented students who died as a
result of the shootings. Many of the lawmakers also spoke of the NIU
community's desire to work toward a positive future.
Kudos
Future Farmers of America students from Hartsburg-Emden
Junior-Senior High School were in Springfield March 6 as part of the
38th annual Illinois Agricultural Legislative Day activities in
Springfield.
I was proud to support a 2006 law that made the FFA program part
of agricultural education programs in Illinois schools.
House Bill 4986 requires a school district that offers an
agricultural education program in high school to provide courses
approved by the State Board of Education and to offer a state and
nationally affiliated FFA chapter as part of course work, not as an
extracurricular activity.
Committees continue to consider legislation
With a March 13 deadline for legislative committees to review
proposals, lawmakers were busy testifying before committees and
reviewing their colleagues' proposals.
The Senate Executive Committee approved
Senate Bill 2399, which seeks to protect employee rights by
prohibiting employers from misusing genetic information or genetic
testing. The bill would make it illegal for an employer, employment
agency, labor organization or licensing agency to request, require
or purchase the genetic information of a person, or administer a
genetic test to a person, as a condition of employment,
pre-employment application, labor organization membership or
licensure.
The Senate Human Services Committee unanimously approved
Senate Bill 2552, which would require license-exempt child care
providers to authorize in writing any investigation into whether
they have been charged with a crime and, if so, what those charges
were. Currently, license-exempt providers are asked on the
application if they have ever been convicted of anything other than
a minor traffic violation; however, the information is not
cross-checked by the Illinois Department of Human Services. If an
applicant lies and answers "no," the department will never know
because they do not perform background checks.
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 The Senate Education Committee advanced a legislative measure to
address a dispute over the sales of photos taken of high school
athletic events. Under a policy recently adopted by the Illinois
High School Association, photographers must agree not to resell
courtside photos taken at sporting events.
Senate Bill 1997 would prohibit the Illinois High School
Association and public elementary and secondary schools from
regulating how news or pictures of athletic or academic competitions
are disseminated by the news media.
The Education Committee also approved
Senate Bill 2858, which would requires the State Board of
Education to adopt rules for the elimination of vegetable oils
containing trans fats in foods served in public school cafeterias
beginning July 1, 2009, and for the elimination of all foods
containing trans fats from public schools beginning July 1, 2010.
___
March 28 column
Is governor committed to hate crimes panel?
Legislators are questioning Gov. Rod Blagojevich's commitment to
a state commission on hate crimes.
The governor has yet to make any appointments to the hate crimes
panel set up last year to promote tolerance in Illinois. The
governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes was created
seven months ago, following a controversy involving a previous hate
crimes panel. The previous panel was disbanded after several members
resigned in protest over the appointment of a supporter of Nation of
Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan. Following the resignations, lawmakers
voted to disband the old hate crimes commission and create a new
one.
In response to the controversy, I worked with Sen. Ira
Silverstein of Chicago to pass a law in 2007 that requires
legislative approval of the governor's appointments to the state's
Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes.
The governor's staff hasn't revealed why new appointees have not
been named to the panel. State records show that the governor has
had only one official meeting on the matter. And despite the fact
the previous version of the panel hasn't met in months, its
executive director continues to receive a $96,000 annual paycheck.
Debate continues on smoking ban
Debate continues in Springfield on the statewide smoking ban.
Many casino operators and bar owners in Illinois are reporting a
sharp drop in business since the ban took effect Jan. 1.
According to the manager of the Casino Queen riverboat in East
St. Louis, revenues have dropped by more than $27 million since the
beginning of the year. Some bar owners say their business has
declined by 25 percent or more, though others say they haven't seen
a significant decline.
An Illinois Department of Public Health spokesman says it plans
to investigate the economic impact of the smoking ban.
There have already been several attempts by casinos and private
clubs to pass legislation allowing exceptions to the ban, which
prohibits smoking in all public buildings and workplaces.
Sporting groups oppose governor's plan to shut hunting areas
A plan by Blagojevich to shut down more than a dozen pheasant
hunting areas is meeting with opposition from sporting groups and
lawmakers.
There is growing resistance to a recent decision by the governor
to virtually stop pheasant hunting at 14 state natural areas and
close down three state-run pheasant hatcheries. Hunting groups are
warning that the move would be a crippling blow to pheasant hunting,
which is heavily dependent on state support. Because of a recent
decline in wild pheasants, the vast majority of pheasants harvested
are raised in captivity by the state.
While the governor claims that curbing pheasant hunting and
closing the hatcheries will save the state $1 million, opponents
warn that the state will lose out in the long term through a drop in
economic activity related to pheasant hunting -- on such things as
gear, food and hotel costs. The state could also see a significant
drop in revenues from licensing fees related to pheasant hunting.
To protest the move, state lawmakers have filed a resolution in
opposition to the governor's action.
Kudos
Kudos to the Arlington Heights Daily Herald for its March 24
editorial about reforms needed at the state's Health Facilities
Planning Board.
Recent media reports from the trial of gubernatorial fundraiser
Antoin Rezko about his influence on the Health Facilities Planning
Board clearly show the need for changing the way the board does
business.
Illinoisans should be disgusted with a process that has enabled
such corruption and has hindered access to health care, particularly
in suburban areas that have experienced high population growth.
I am currently serving on a bipartisan task force with other
legislators and representatives appointed by the governor and the
attorney general. We are meeting regularly to review the current
process and to make recommendations this year for change.
The citizens of Illinois deserve a clean, honest and open
government, not a broken system that threatens both the integrity of
our state and the very well-being of our families.
[Text from file received from
Sen.
Bill Brady] |
