A little context, please
Friday, Jun 23, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WSIL TV…
During a debate on a resolution, which called for Congress not to cut funding to Planned Parenthood, State Rep. Peter Breen, R-Lombard, stood up and shared his frustration.
“We are 700 days without a budget. What the hell are we doing voting on these resolutions? Why are we not doing the budget?” Breen yelled, before sitting down so the resolution votes could continue.
* Um, Rep. Breen is special counsel to the anti-abortion Thomas More Society. He used to be the group’s executive director. He has a 100 percent pro-life voting record as a legislator. Rep. Breen and the Thomas More Society are providing this person’s criminal defense…
David Daleiden, the antiabortion activist who mounted a hidden-camera investigation targeting Planned Parenthood, turned himself in to authorities in Texas on Thursday morning, a week after he was indicted by a Harris County grand jury.
Rep. Breen also testified before the Indiana House of Representatives and urged that state’s legislators to pass the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act…
Allow me to give you one example of where the Illinois Act helped small business. A few years back, disgraced former governor Rod Blagojevich, our fourth governor in prison, issued a rule that every pharmacy in the state had to give out pills that may cause early abortions. This was considered by some people of faith as a direct participation in abortion, ordered by the governor.
* So, yeah, while Rep. Breen made a very good point about doing non-budget stuff yesterday (and, in my own opinion, he’s turned out to be a pretty good legislator), it was likely no accident that the gentleman spoke up during that particular resolution about Planned Parenthood.
- Deft Wing - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:04 am:
His point is not diminished in the least.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:10 am:
I’m guessing if/when Rauner vetoes HB 40…
That is still out there, is it not.
The non-social agenda, agenda?
The context is no different then when it’s “disclosed” Madigan’s legal practice that seems to find its way into all kinds of dots, dots that don’t need dots, but dots all the same.
Context frames more the the picture Rep. Breen is painting too.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:12 am:
In Indiana did they go 700+ days without a balanced budget?
Breen is 1,000% correct here. Period.
- A guy - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:13 am:
No surprise there. He’s an excellent legislator and a true gent of the house.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:13 am:
Thomas More. Beheaded by King Henry VIII
- cdog - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:22 am:
I was relieved to see that after attacking the messenger, the message he was presenting was respected.
- Montrose - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:23 am:
Breen could introduce the Republican revenue bill if he wants to move things along.
- Annonin' - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:27 am:
is is always fun to watch men be so indignant about women’s health care
Breen is pretty scary and reminds many of Cal Skinner who had a sick perversion about AIDs and prison inmates
- 47th Ward - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:31 am:
Breen has been waiting more than 700 days to vote NO on the budget.
- A guy - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:34 am:
Monty, there’s a bill on the table. Either negotiate or vote on that one. Its been asked for, it’s been provided. Vote.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:52 am:
===Either negotiate or vote on that one===
You guys want it amended to include a sunset date and to also tie it to a temporary property tax freeze. I think that means your side needs to present a new bill.
Seriously, Governor Rauner’s entire budget, that House Republicans support, is predicated in the revenue contained in a bill that your side won’t vote for or co-sponsor. And we wonder why this is taking so long.
- Galena Guy - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 10:59 am:
Hear hear 47th!
- A guy - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 11:01 am:
47, then the answer is “negotiate”. That may be happening. We’ll see.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 11:07 am:
Negotiate on what? The terms of our surrender?
Your budget requires an income tax rate of slightly less than 5%. That’s already been negotiated. The other taxes needed by Governor Rauner to balance his budget have already been negotiated, extending sales taxes to things like landscaping services for example. The revenue is needed to match the Governor’s proposed spending.
Except now, after negotiating in the Senate for months and coming near a deal, he wants to cut another billion in spending. Fine, but when his superstars can’t point to a single cut they’d make, what are we supposed to do? Negotiate against ourselves?
You guys keep using that word “negotiate.” I don’t think it means what you think it means.
- Montrose - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 11:17 am:
A key component to a successful negotiation is trust. A great trust building exercise would be for the republicans to introduce a revenue bill with the terms they want in the bill. That would go a long way to showing they are actually willing to put votes on a final product.
- Walter Concrete - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 11:52 am:
Designating Southern Illinois as a site to watch eclipses and calling for commemorative medallions to celebrate the Illinois Bicentennial are matters of the utmost importance.
I will grant Breen’s background, but that does not subtract from his larger point.
- RNUG - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 12:10 pm:
== Your budget requires an income tax rate of slightly less than 5%. ==
Actually, it needs in the ballpark of 5.25% once you back out the phony savings.
- 47th Ward - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 12:21 pm:
===Actually, it needs in the ballpark of 5.25% once you back out the phony savings.===
Agreed. The very fact that SB9 has it at 4.95% is because the Governor won’t support anything higher for political purposes. If it remains below 5%, he can say it is lower than when he was elected. It doesn’t matter to him that the result is less revenue, it’s about the symbolism.
And the Democrats have given him what he asked for and yet…still no budget.
- Anonymous - Friday, Jun 23, 17 @ 9:36 pm:
Your point?