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It’s just a bill

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* Newspaper publishes blockbuster investigative story, legislators hold a hearing, newspaper publishes another story…

State lawmakers pressed Wednesday for stronger regulation of pharmacists’ hours and workload as a way to protect consumers from harmful errors, but pharmacy lobbyists largely did not budge.

In the first public showdown since a Tribune investigation in December found 52 percent of 255 tested pharmacies failed to warn patients about dangerous drug interactions, top pharmacy representatives said safety improvements already in the works will give Illinois some of the nation’s toughest restrictions.

At the center of a sometimes contentious hearing was legislation sponsored by Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, that calls for limiting the number of hours pharmacists work each day, restricting how many prescriptions they fill per hour and adding meal break requirements for pharmacists she said are so overloaded that consumers are in jeopardy.

Pharmacists must juggle calls, track down doctors on questionable prescriptions, deal with multiple insurance issues, supervise technicians and even empty the trash on days when they may work a dozen hours and dispense 300 orders, Flowers said. […]

What became clear to Flowers and pharmacy lobbyists is that more hearings and negotiations are likely to take place before she puts her legislation up for a vote.

And then they’ll get another story.

* Legislator introduces a bill to bring back legislative scholarship, attracts precisely zero co-sponsors, editorial board blasts the entire General Assembly…

They say it’s hard to separate a boy from his dog. It’s even harder to separate a politician from his perks.

Is the Illinois General Assembly really a legislative body? Or just a parody of one?

Sometimes it’s hard to tell, and HB 279 represents Exhibit A for that proposition.

* Columnist who pushed to change Illinois’ state song to a Cheap Trick tune upset by silly bills…

State lawmakers need something to do.

Maybe hand them orange vests and garbage bags, and let them collect litter along the roadside. Give them some sort of busy work. Otherwise, they’ll keep proposing silly bills.

Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, wants to boost the speed limit from 70 to 75 mph on most interstates outside of Chicago. For you lead-foots, maybe that sounds good. But there’s a downside: faster speed limits would help residents flee Illinois faster. As it is, pretty soon, we’ll be able to drive as fast as we want, as there’ll be almost no one or no cars left.

* Related…

* Obama could be a highway star — but should it be I-55 or I-294?

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 12:01 pm

Comments

All that snark and no comments? I’m depressed.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 12:48 pm
Fine Rich, I’ll bite.

Is the Cheap Trick song you reference “Surrender”? Because given Luciano’s reference to people fleeing the state faster, I’m thinking that’s the direction he would be going in.

Comment by Juice Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 12:51 pm
“All that snark and no comments? I’m depressed.”

I’m standing over by the bar, waiting for Vanilla Man to knock-out an Obama-themed Deep Purple parody.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 1:12 pm
Dude, my head is shaking to hard toooo type.

Comment by A guy Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 1:15 pm
Rich -

It’s like the post debate spin room over on the strike thread. You will be over 200 comments soon.

Comment by Juvenal Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 2:28 pm
I’ll bite. Let’s do I-55 for Obama He actually drove it.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 2:33 pm
“Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Prize.” Poor Tom Lehrer had no idea just how much worse it would get.

Comment by Whatever Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 3:52 pm
I am entirely supportive of State Legislators being able to award college scholarships. If they have sufficient personal means to endow a scholarship or contribute to a grant fund, I’m sure that the development office at any college or university in the State would welcome them with open arms.

Comment by CEA Thursday, Feb 23, 17 @ 4:56 pm