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Hope springs eternal

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* The initial round of legislative committee hearings is like Opening Day at Wrigley Field. Everyone has high hopes, but they are usually disappointed by the end of the season.

Those early committee hearings mean little because there are so many hurdles left to clear. A bill that passes a committee has to then make it to a floor vote, survive that vote, make it out of the Rules Committee in the other chamber, survive a comittee vote (and perhaps other amendments) there, then find its way to the floor and win that vote, then be signed into law by the governor.

So, a lot of “sexy” bills that receive a bunch of press now will be long forgotten by the time the end of session (whenever that is) rolls around.

* But, hey, they make great press fodder, so we get stories like this

A state Senate committee took a step toward legalizing the use of medical marijuana Wednesday, voting to let people with debilitating illnesses like AIDS or cancer use marijuana to ease their symptoms.

* And this

llinoisans would get a chance at a “do-over” when it comes to the people in office, under a constitutional amendment which has passed a House committee. Representative Jack Franks says Governor Blagojevich has performed poorly enough to inspire him to draw it up.

* And this

…Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, is pushing a plan to get rid of all State Board of Education members and allow the governor to name nine new replacements. The replacement members would be chosen from a pool of 27 candidates that a panel of education experts would nominate.

Barring a miracle, not a single one of these bills will ever become the law of the land. But, it’s March. Hope springs eternal. And space must be filled.

Discuss.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 9:50 am

Comments

  1. I’m not for recalls. They add another layer of politics to a system that has precious little governance. If it’s not impeachable, hold your nose and wait until the next election.

    Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 10:27 am

  2. Wordslinger…please explain to everyone why the recall of Gray Davis was an incredible monumental disaster for the state of California.

    Comment by Crimefighter Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:29 am

  3. And Corbis Corp., the giant and wealthy California company, has just rammed a bill though the House judiciary/civil committee which would reverse its recent Illinois court loss to the Estate of the ‘Godfather of Soul’ James Brown, for violating Brown’s rights-of-publicity.(HB 5518) Every bar association is against this corporate bail-out, but it got voted out. Go figure.

    Comment by Legal Eagle Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:49 am

  4. Looking back at my post, I don’t see mention of Gray Davis or the State of California. And I’m quite certain I’d never string together the words “incredible monumental disaster.”

    Seems to me it stands on its own as an opinion.

    Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 11:50 am

  5. Wordslinger, you just like every other person who’s written an anti-recall editorial has dodged the question of why recall is a horrible thing when over in California we see how successful it was in getting rid of an incompetent buffoon in Gray Davis and getting better leadership. Now, if you’re gonna say “oh recall is horrible! We can’t have it! We should just wait four years and vote him out!” then you are REQUIRED to explain why the most significant example of recalling a governor from office was such a horrible thing. Otherwise your whining about recall will be dismissed, ignored and you thought of as a joke.

    Comment by Crimefighter Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:54 pm

  6. Crimefighter, tone it down. I’m tired of it. You’re already on the moderated list, but I can easily put you into the banned list. Easy, fella.

    Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 12:57 pm

  7. Anyone else notice that the committees are adding Madigan’s “no executive rulemaking” clause to just about every bill they get their hands on that could concievably require rules?

    Comment by Bookworm Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 4:02 pm

  8. I think they have, since it’s on so many bills

    Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 6, 08 @ 4:05 pm

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