Dear Neighbor,
 
Last week in Springfield we began our post-impeachment session with a Senate Democratic caucus retreat.  Our two topics for discussion were ethics and the state budget, which I think speaks volumes about our priorities.
 
Ethics
 
The first piece of legislation to pass both the Senate and House was a resolution to create a Joint Committee on Government Reform.  Click here for a link.  Senate President John Cullerton and Speaker Michael Madigan will co-chair this bicameral, bipartisan group that aims to propose legislation to strengthen the State’s ethics laws and increase transparency.  Ideas this group will examine include:

• Reforming the State pension systems and Procurement Code;
• Strengthening revolving door prohibitions;
• Expanding government whistleblower protections; and
• Establishing limits on political contributions.

 
This group will work closely with Governor Quinn’s Illinois Reform Commission, headed by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins.  I continue to work with like-minded colleagues, good government advocacy organizations, and community organizing groups to strategize how to ensure we take full opportunity of this moment in time to pass comprehensive, meaningful ethics reforms.  I will keep you posted on how the various ethics reform efforts are progressing.
 
State Budget
 
State Comptroller Dan Hynes is predicting a close to $9 billion budget deficit in the next fiscal year (click here to read the report ).  The federal stimulus package will reduce a significant portion of this deficit (was projected to provide $3 billion that would help offset this operating budget deficit, but this number will be revised once a final stimulus bill is negotiated between the U.S. House and Senate).   We will clearly need to make difficult decisions to bring the budget into balance.  Significant budget cuts as well as additional revenue sources will have to be on the table.

Committees
 
This session I am assigned to the following committees and commissions:
 

• Education, Vice-chair
• Environment, Vice-chair
• Appropriations II
• Human Services
• Public Health
• Legislative Research Unit

Legislation 

I am the chief sponsor of a number of bills, including:

• Campaign Contributions limit – I am introducing a bill to limit campaign contributions in Illinois to the current federal limits and ban contributions from corporations and unions.
• SB 31 – Keeping guns out of households with violent youth – The DCFS Inspector General identified the need to ban FOID cards (enabling gun purchases) in families that have teens with demonstrated violence (arrests or violent incidents reported by schools) where the parents/guardians do not prevent access to guns. Link.
• SB 38 – Humane euthanasia – I am the lead sponsor of a bill to ban the use of gas chambers to kill animals. Link
• SB97 – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease – I am introducing a bill put together by the Respiratory Health Association that will mandate a focus within the Illinois Department of Public Health on COPD and provide more health resources for people suffering from COPD. Link
• SB99 – Composting – I introduced this bill that will create a regulatory system for commercial food waste composting. Link
• SB209 – Mental Health – I have filed a bill that will clarify the standards for voluntary admission to a mental health facility. Link
• SB 245 – Domestic Partner Benefits for teachers- I am working to allow teachers to designate a domestic partner to qualify as a surviving spouse for purposes of survivor and death benefits.  I am also working to provide domestic partner benefits to General Assembly staff members.Link.
• Emergency Transportation to Best Hospital for Treatment – Working with the American Heart Association and Illinois Hospital Association I will introduce a bill to allow certain stroke patients to be brought directly to the nearest hospital that has needed treatment options rather than the nearest hospital. 
• SB30 – Pedestrian Safety – I am the chief co-sponsor of a bill brought to me by the Active Transportation Alliance that will require vehicles to stop at crosswalks when pedestrians are present rather than simply yield. Link.
• SB1283 – Natural Lawn Care – I am working with the Safer Pest Control Project to increase natural lawn care usage at schools.
• SB1269 – Lead Sinkers – I will be introducing a bill to restrict certain types of lead weights used in fishing.

These bills are only a few of the pieces of legislation that I will be sponsoring this year.  To view the legislation of which I am a chief co-sponsor or co-sponsor, click here.