Slow week, slow session expected
Tuesday, Mar 6, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From that new Watchdog.org thingy…
Don’t look for much action from the Illinois Capitol this month. In fact, don’t look for much of anything, lawmakers from both parties said, because the General Assembly is pretty much taking the month of March off.
Both the Illinois House and Senate are scheduled for just four days of sessions this month, and they could cancel some of them.
State Rep. Tom Bennett, R-Gibson City, said Illinois lawmakers haven’t done much all year.
“If you look at the calendar, in January we were here just a few days. In February it was about the same. In March we’re in four days, that’s it for the House,” Bennett said.
State Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood, said while lawmakers haven’t done much so far, he noted that the real action always comes in late April and May. […]
On key issues – such as property tax reform, pension reform and workers compensation reform – there’s no expectation that lawmakers will do much of anything about them.
“For this year, with the elections, with the primary election, with the general election, no one wants to give the other side a win,” Bennett said. “They just don’t.”
I don’t expect much to happen, either. But, hey, one never knows.
* Along those lines…
* Rep. Dan Burke’s “Commander Paul Bauer Act” bill is kinda stuck at the moment. The bill would ban the sale of body armor and high-capacity gun magazines to anyone but cops. It’s been amended to hand out some exemptions to retired cops, retired corrections officers, etc. The usual. The new amendment would also ban these…
Sale or possession of a backpack that has been manufactured or designed to include Kevlar or any other imilar material or metal, fiberglass, plastic, or nylon plates with the intended purpose of stopping not only missile fragmentation from mines, grenades, mortar shells, and artillery fire but also fire from rifles, machine guns, and small arms; or a removable backpack insert made of Kevlar or any other similar material or metal, fiberglass, plastic, or nylon plates with the intended purpose of stopping not only missile fragmentation from mines, grenades, mortar shells, and artillery fire but also fire from rifles, machine guns, and small arms that have been manufactured or designed to be included in a backpack.
* But…
Since the [Florida schooil] shooting, bulletproof backpacks have been selling out across the country. With names like BulletBlocker and Guard Dog - parents are snapping them up.
“I guess that’s just the harsh reality of the world we live in today,” said parent Nick Barnett.
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 11:09 am:
“On key issues – such as property tax reform, pension reform and workers compensation reform – there’s no expectation that lawmakers will do much of anything about them.”
I guess they are not change people either.
We have a legislature whose primary goal is to be reelected and is not interested in working “cooperatively and professionally” to solve the state’s problems.
Yet they all expect to be reelected by an apathetic citizenry, in gerrymandered districts, who lead the nation is distrust of state government.
- Northsider (the original) - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 11:11 am:
This is outrageous. As a parent I have no higher priority than getting gun restrictions passed. A pox on all of them for not getting off their rears and passing these bills.
To add, I’m a born and raised Democratic party member but this issue, particularly after Parkland, has radicalized me and I will NOT fund or vote for any Democratic candidate who isn’t pushing enactment with every fiber in their body. The senate should have done this last week. They should have stayed until they did. I am enraged and furious with my lazy party.
- Annonin' - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 11:29 am:
Bennett apparently dozin’ when legislature approved the new hospital assessment bill and sent to GovJunk — several billion $$$ involved, no big deal. Wake up!
- Texas Red - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 11:31 am:
hopefully they move on HB4341; pop warner football leagues are already registering kids. The little guys in the tiny-mite, mighty-mite, jr-pee-wee and pee-wee age groups are in limbo right now
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 11:33 am:
===This is outrageous. As a parent I have no higher priority than getting gun restrictions passed===
Most of the legislation is now in the Senate, which isn’t in session this week.
- Northsider (the original) - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 11:43 am:
===Most of the legislation is now in the Senate, which isn’t in session this week.===
Which is why I say they should have stayed last week until they got it done. The Cardinal, The Superintendent, the Moms were all there, giving it heft and momentum. The House acted. The Senate went home.
Judge them by their actions.
- Arthur Andersen - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 12:24 pm:
“Pension Reform.”
The most overworked two words in Illinois political history. We still haven’t implemented the last bit of “pension reform.” How about just funding the pension systems and not offering up any more phony baloney pension theft plans? That would be a nice “reform.”
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 12:43 pm:
The firearm bills passed by the House are security theater. Notice no discussion of beefing up school security. We choose real security at banks, jewelry stores, surrounding celebrities and politicians, train staions, and even wireless phone stores. My kid’s school?…. a glass door with a “no guns please” sign.
- cc - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 1:05 pm:
I did not know that work reform meant rarely going to work.
- blue dog dem - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 2:33 pm:
Northsider. Just curious to what you mean by gun restrictions.
- Annonin' - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 2:52 pm:
Lookee here. GovJunk drops another ball
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A state audit found that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget office failed to collect more than $2 million in federal rebates.
The review released Tuesday found that the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget never received $2.4 million in rebates owed for payments the state makes on bond debt.
Auditor General Frank Mautino found no evidence the office tried to collect the money. Five other receipts show Illinois left an additional $183,000 combined on the table.”
Too bad SquirrellyWehrli could not vice Mautino. Now they have to live with these daily blunder reports.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 3:01 pm:
- Annonin’ -
Meh.
The Dems messaging against Rauner has been absent for 3 plus years. Maybe Pritzker will pick this up, but…
That Wehrli, lol the phony conservative, voting to increase debt while holding hostage the paying of bills to social services… withholding state universities their funding… but, if I need useless tweeting… Mr. Wehrli can deliver that, lol
- Northsider (the original) - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 3:13 pm:
==Bluedog==
I am referring to what passed the House— the bump stock ban; a 72-hour waiting period after the purchase of an assault weapon; and the assault weapon age limit raised to 21.
- blue dog dem - Tuesday, Mar 6, 18 @ 3:18 pm:
Northsider.thanks. fyi. I am a lifetime member of the nra and I agree with these ideas.
- theCardinal - Wednesday, Mar 7, 18 @ 7:24 am:
Remember there are downstate Dems that dont want the gun bills in any forum but are ok with the bump stock elimination. As for the rest of the anti gun bills, any D that casts an aye vote for anti 2nd Amendment legislation will be in real trouble in the fall. Us pickup drivin flannel wearing folks remeber them kinda things.