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They make a great stocking stuffer

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Who would buy these?

They won’t have a blooper reel and you can’t get them at Blockbuster, but Illinois House proceedings are now available on DVD.

In recent years the chamber’s sessions have been broadcast live on the Internet. As of Wednesday, the sessions are being recorded and copied to DVD for anyone who wants them.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, decided to archive the sessions and sell copies to make following state government easier, said spokesman Steve Brown. Some people could find the recordings interesting, he added.

“We’ve got a sense that what we do here has a bit of history surrounding it,'’ Brown said.

Each disc from the House clerk’s office will cost $5.

Bill Black probably has the answer to my question.

Still, Rep. Bill Black is concerned that the recordings may be put to political uses. The Danville Republican said footage could be edited, or even altered electronically, to make a lawmaker look bad and then used in a negative campaign commercial.

“We always worry about being taken out of context,'’ Black said. “But if you do that to a digital video disc and use it as a campaign commercial it could be devastating.'’

Brown said the House will do its best to prevent improper use of the video recordings by branding a logo onto the picture. But he said technology is such that if someone wanted to make an attack ad based on what goes on in the Legislature they “could probably create a virtual House debate with computers and graphics.'’

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 5:19 pm

Comments

I’d love to get one from a few of the last days of Spring Session. It could be sent to homes in the districts certian lawmakers who throw fits, scream at top of their lungs and behave like children. You could send it to voters and say, “this is what the clown you sent to Springfield acts like on the floor.” I wonder how many direct mail pieces it would take undue one Bill Blacks fits in the minds of the voters.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Jan 26, 05 @ 8:10 pm