Article Week of April 2, 2007
There were several key proposals that were voted on last week in the Illinois House of Representatives. In addition, an important proposal that is being offered as an alternative to the Governor’s Gross Receipt’s Tax passed out of a House committee.
First, HB1100 was passed with the bare minimum of 60 votes. This bill allows for “driver’s certificates” to be issued to individuals who are eligible for a federal tax identification number or a social security number (undocumented immigrants). I voted against this bill and truly cannot understand the logic under any circumstance that would promote providing ANY legal document authorized by the State of Illinois to be given to anyone that is here ILLEGALLY. I was there on the House floor and listened to the debate as proponents attempted to rationalize this measure. The most common statement made supporting this bill was that these individuals could then purchase insurance and therefore it would cut down on the number of “hit and run” accidents and other monetary losses suffered when accidents occur involving unlicensed drivers.
Maybe I look at this too simplistically. My immediate reaction is that if someone is involved in an accident and they fill out a police report, which requires proof of insurance and this new Driver’s certificate”, won’t the officer know that the person is not here legally? Is a law enforcement officer then supposed to ignore the fact that the person is not in the United States legally? Why are we not enforcing the immigration laws that we have instead of promoting any plan that has a goal of aiding illegal activity? You might disagree with me and if you do, I would love to hear a solid argument about why any government would ever establish a law that is designed to assist those involved in an illegal activity.
I understand there are those who feel that we need to change our immigration laws and policies to make it easier for some who are here illegally to gain U.S. Citizenship. There are those who feel that the entire immigration process should be revamped. Maybe we should look at those proposals and have those debates. However, until the law is changed, we must not pass laws that undermine already existing laws. Again, if you feel differently, I would like to hear from you.
HB426, which changes the date of the Primary Election in Illinois February 5th next year (the change is from the first Tuesday in March to the first Tuesday in February) passed the House by an overwhelming vote of 110-4. The publicly stated reason by House Speaker and bill sponsor Michael Madigan for the change was to help fellow Democrat Barack Obama by giving him an earlier boost from Illinois during the Presidential primary season. Although I do not believe that we should change the date simply because any one person is running for any office, I do think the earlier date is a good idea. Often, by the time the Illinois Primary takes place, the significance of the Primary has weakened because of earlier Primaries in other states. By the way, the first Tuesday in February is becoming a popular date as other states look to change their Primary as well. If all states considering the move ultimately change to the earlier date, there could be around twenty Primaries on that date.
An important hearing was held regarding a proposal to fund education and provide some property tax relief. HB750 passed out of Elementary and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee last week. The measure, in current form, would increase state income tax from three to five percent, increase the corporate income tax from 4.8% to 8% and raise additional revenue by expanding the sales tax base significantly. It would also provide some much needed relief from escalating property taxes. Some refer to this as a “swap”. It is more than that though. I did vote for the measure in order to get it out of committee so that there could be an alternative consideration to the Governor’s Gross Receipts Tax. HB750 provides for an increase in the foundation level for funding education and would help to narrow the gap between poor property tax schools and wealthier school districts. The bill would also increase funding for special education and the sponsors have promised funding for school construction. At this time, the bill is more of a concept and an alternative to GRT.
The GRT continues to draw harsh criticism from almost all corners, including more members of the Governor’s own party. He is planning a state-wide bus tour over the next couple of weeks in order to garner support for the idea. I wonder how much that will cost taxpayers. A letter he sent out to small business owners to promote the GRT cost taxpayers around $110,000. Meanwhile, opponents continue to pound away and it is hard to find anyone in the Senate or House that supports the bill.
The Democrat led Senate has not acted yet upon the electric rate freeze bill that the House passed several weeks ago. What could be more important than dealing with this rate increase crisis? Oh….I forgot they passed the statewide ban on smoking. C’mon!! Last word was that a bill would be called in the Senate after the two week break. Isn’t it strange that the Democrat leaders of the state can quickly push a bill through that moves the Primary election date specifically for someone in their party but they cannot get legislation completed that deals with this crisis!
Finally, a bill that would have made it illegal for a person to smoke in a car with a child 8 years of age or under was soundly defeated last week. Including mine, there were 91 votes against the proposal. The sponsor cares about kids, but that one went too far. The proposal that would impose a statewide smoking ban in all public indoor facilities passed the Senate by a 34-23 vote and will await House Members when we return the week of April 16th.
Since we are not in session for a couple of weeks, I hope to catch up on
the gun bills floating out there in next week’s column. Check out www.ilga.gov and let me know what you think about these or any issues of importance to you.
E-mail me at (reddyunit1@aol.com); write to me at Box 125, Hutsonville, IL 62433
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