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* Eric Zorn correctly notes…
It’s appalling that this isn’t already illegal
Eric was referring to this AP story…
The Illinois Senate is sending Gov. Pat Quinn legislation that would prohibit lawmakers from giving school scholarships to relatives.
The bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale makes relatives — including those related by marriage — ineligible for legislative scholarships to pay for college from Senate or House members. […]
A proposal to change the process last year drew a veto from Quinn because he prefers to do away with it entirely.
The bill is here. The measure passed the Senate unanimously. Three House members voted “No,” LaShawn Ford, Connie Howard and Rita Mayfield. All three are Democrats. Probably not a great move before a remap primary next year, particularly for Howard, whose district will look very different than her current map.
* While we’re on this topic, here’s another one that probably should’ve been law a while ago…
Illinois residents under a restraining order or convicted of domestic battery will no longer be allowed to own firearms in legislation heading to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk. […]
Currently, people convicted of domestic violence charges within five years of applying for a state gun permit are prohibited from owning firearms. The new bill would extend that “look back” period indefinitely.
Sen. Shane Cultra (of the “take tax exemptions from parents of fat kids” fame) was the only Senator to vote “No”. Rep. David Harris was his chamber’s only “No” vote. It’s highly doubtful that Sen. Cultra will have any real Democratic opposition, but the suburban Harris could, so that vote might not have been a great idea.
* Some, however, might not be so thrilled with this legislation…
A bill that would lease a portion of Pyramid State Park near Pinckneyville for mining operations is headed to Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk.
State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, said House Bill 390 will create 45 jobs during the new operation and have a direct economic impact of $120 million locally. […]
“This is a victory for all the mine workers in Southern Illinois, not just one district,” Forby said. “With this legislation, we’re putting people back to work and boosting our local economy. This is part of what it’s going to take to move our region forward.”
In total, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) would lease about 160 acres to Knight Hawk Coal for surface mining operations. The overall acreage of the Park is 19,701, which makes it the largest State Recreation Area in Illinois.
* A couple of other bills that you might or might not think should already have been the law…
* Bill would toughen rules for nursing homes
* Dillard bill would require concussion clearance
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 10:58 am
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The concusion thing is a good idea. I know a long time ago (1990) if a football player was knocked out cold he could only return to the game with a doctors note.
I took a football officiating class in college (Thanks Illinois taxpayer) and that was one of the exam questions.
Comment by OneMan Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:05 am
The concussion bill is much needed and overdue. Little Leagues have pitch limits for players to protect their physical health, but there are no safeguards in a sport that a growing body of evidence shows has disastrous consequences for players’ brains.
Comment by Served Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:29 am
A great lead in for a question of the day.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:36 am
–State Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, said House Bill 390 will create 45 jobs during the new operation and have a direct economic impact of $120 million locally. –
I’m all for jobs, and if the locals near the park are for it, salud.
But any chance the senator can break down how 45 jobs translates into $120 million in direct economic impact?
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:36 am
The sound of “Pyramid State Park” may cause visions of hiking paths, rolling forests and tons of old growth nature, but in reality it is old strip mine ground reclaimed into hunting and fishing land. This project is basically a continuation of what caused the state park to exist in the first place; any idea that it would damage the sanctity of the ground is to ignore its genesis. Do it.
Comment by Peter Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:41 am
There is an interesting study (ongoing but preliminary results are available) that shows that modern football players sustain hundreds of thousands of micro-concussions over the course of their careers. This study includes both physics studies of impacts, and biological studies of a large number of brains of former players (including Dave Duerson’s). They also studied the physics and biology of rugby players, whose forces of impacts are almost the same as NFL players.
Their preliminary results indicate that the whole mess can be boiled down to the effects of padding. The padding on an NFL player masks the actual hit on an opponent felt by the hitting player. The major effect is whiplash on both player. Results indicate that this masking of the player from immediate effects causes and “Iron Man” feeling to the players who take extraordinary risks because they feel invincible.
The recommendations do not point to better padding. In the helmet area, additional padding would not be helpful since it really doesn’t address the issue of whiplash, which is the major cause of damage since the brain is actually hitting the inside of the skull, which happens no matter where the hit occurs on the body.
Their finding indicates that the “Iron Man’ effect pretty much means that any rules change would have no effect on player behavior. They think that rugby players self-police because of their lack of padding (the whiplash damage is almost nil in rugby). Thinking outside the box, they think a return to lesser protection would reduce head injuries to a negligible amount while protecting the sport (the only real way to stop injuries is banning football).
Leather helmets, anyone?
Comment by Cincinnatus Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:43 am
===Leather helmets, anyone? ===
That’s actually worse. The softness means that your helmet gets stuck and your neck can twist so far that it breaks.
I’ve heard one suggestion, though: No more face-masks.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:47 am
I guess my only issue with the domestic violence case is the case where someone is under a restraining order hasn’t usually been convicted. While it’s understood that a conviction can reduce the rights available to a person, I’m not sure being under a restraining order carries the same penalty.
Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:48 am
“Leather helmets, anyone?”
I get the science behind it, but it ignores the thugs in modern sports. Today’s athlete would probably try to actively kill his competitor, and then brag about it on SportsCenter.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 11:48 am
cermak_rd,
It’s likely most people under a restraining order will never be convicted of anything. They are under such an order b/c the judge believed that they shouldn’t be near somebody else. Depriving them of the right to a gun I think is a fair restriction since some of those people are pretty nasty S.O.B’s.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 1:09 pm
Read further in the Southern article about the coal mine bill. The next 3 paragraphs contradict the previous paragraph stating that the DNR land would be surface mined. Junior staffer writing. Editor on the 3rd martini.
“The coal company will use the property it leases from DNR to mine under an adjacent 280-acre property it owns the rights to.
A Knight Hawk Coal spokesman said none of the surface park land would be mined. Instead, he said, it is currently used as crop land, and it will be use by Knight Hawk for access.
When the operation is finished the land used and the 280 acres of Knight Hawk property will be reclaimed and donated to the state.”
Might as well lease out the entire World Sport Shooting Complex to private interests while they are at it. This is not a “state” function.
Comment by vole Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 1:24 pm
===Depriving them of the right to a gun I think is a fair restriction since some of those people are pretty nasty S.O.B’s.===
The problem is that only “some of them” are nasty SOBs. “Some of them” probably got screwed by a vindicitive spouse and a bad lawyer. Forever is a long time. Better to have an appeal and review process than set something like this in stone.
Comment by Slick Willy Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 1:36 pm
===I’ve heard one suggestion, though: No more face-masks.===
The great Joe Paterno made that suggestion. I agree. Pretty sure that you would think twice about leading with your head when you run the risk of busting your nose and spitting out your teeth like chiclets.
Comment by Slick Willy Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 1:38 pm
In regards to concussions, sports gear technology has not kept pace with development of the bigger, stronger, faster athlete.
Over the last two years, I’ve been taking my blue chipper offensive lineman on recruiting visits around the Midwest. The size and speed of these Division 1 athletes just blows your mind.
In football, I think there’s been too much hype about concussions at the youth levels; they don’t hit that hard or often. But once these guys have gone through puberty, and start getting their man-strength, something’s gotta give.
The facemask change is intriguing, but I think there’s greater promise in the development of custom mouth guards, which you’re seeing now in the NFL and NBA. When there’s a blow to the head or whiplash action, the customized mouthguards can much better absorb and dissipate that energy.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 2:24 pm
More good government initiatives from our do nothing duly elected representatives…
Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 2:27 pm
have to agree with Slick Willy on the restraining order. It is one thing to be convicted of a crime and have rights taken away as part of that conviction, but to have gun ownership removed forever because of a restraining order seems excessive.
You have to realize, many people use guns for sport/recreation for gathering food, not just self defense or to bring harm to others
Comment by Anon Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 3:50 pm
Just how much will DNR make off the Coal access lease and how many years will it be good for?
Comment by JustMe_JMO Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 4:35 pm
Add this one to your list of “Why isn’t this illegal already?”:
Bill bars convicted sex offenders from practicing medicine
Convicted sex offenders will no longer be allowed to practice medicine in the state of Illinois if Gov. Pat Quinn signs a bill passed unanimously by the Senate on Wednesday.
House Bill 1271 forbids anybody convicted of a sex crime or a crime that requires registration as a sex offender from working in health care.
Senate sponsor Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale, said the legislation was prompted by a Chicago Tribune investigation that discovered 16 Illinois doctors who had been convicted of sex offenses but did not permanently lose their medical licenses. Two continued to practice medicine.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, May 18, 11 @ 4:36 pm