I sat in on the House Special Investigative Committee last December and
listened to Roland Burris mention talking with only one Blagojevich
lieutenant about the vacant Senate seat.
Interestingly, before answering the question, he asked to confer with his
attorneys. Now we discover he paid his
attorneys $400,000 to get him through the nomination process. What?
"Reform"
Committee
A new joint legislative committee charged with reforming state government
displayed the true need for reform when Democrat leaders demanded a Democrat
Chairman and a Democrat majority membership.
So why are other such joint committees and commissions co-chaired by a
member from each party and the committee make-up is split evenly? That’s not Spring I smell in the
air!
Gov. Quinn at GOP
Caucus
Governor Pat Quinn came to our House Republican Caucus meeting and openly
talked for 20 minutes. Sure, we’ll have
our policy differences, but it’s nice to have a Governor you can talk to and
work with. And yes, he does know me –
and told me to say hello to my brother, Roger.
My Committee
Assignments
I have again been named the Republican Spokesman on two House
Committees: International Trade and
Commerce, and Adoption Reform. I am also
serving my first session on the Transportation Committee, while beginning my
11th year on the Healthcare Committee.
Arlene Ruestman Out-Ranks
Obama
My former secretary, Arlene Ruestman, would have been pleased to know
that she out-ranked President Obama during his visit to Peoria last week. I politely turned down Caterpillar’s
invitation to be with the President so that I could be on time to attend
Arlene’s wake. She was a great secretary
and a fun person to be around. She will
be greatly missed.
Truck Fees to
Increase?
Truck fees will double if legislation pushed by Chicago Rep. LaShawn Ford
becomes law. What a terrible bill at a
difficult economic time. I hope to serve
on the Transportation Sub-Committee that runs over and flattens the
idea.
School Hold Harmless
$
Some of the schools in my district will stand to lose millions of dollars
if the State Board of Education succeeds in doing away with “hold harmless”
funding by next year. I am co-sponsoring
a bill with Rep. Roger Eddy to allow the phase-out over a five year period
instead. This would let our districts
plan for the funding change.
Pontiac
Prison
I had further opportunity last week to meet with the Governor’s
legislative director, Shaun Vinck, about keeping Pontiac Prison open. My prison closing moratorium legislation is
on hold for two weeks until we hear back from the Governor. In the meantime, I invited Governor Quinn to
visit Pontiac to
take a look for himself.
Taxes/Campaign $
Limits/Guns
Instead of a formal survey or poll, I welcome your personal comments on 3
hot topics: tax increases, campaign
contribution and spending limits, and gun legislation.
Trinity Mennonite Food
Pantry
I had the opportunity last week to visit the Food Pantry run by the
Trinity
Mennonite Church in Morton. What a great service Pastor Mike Hutchings
and his congregation are providing to families in the area. My thanks to Ron Eigsti for the
invitation.
Hensey School/Visit Number
215
Monday morning I had breakfast (cheerios, fruit and toast) with Kim
Burd’s Early Childhood class at John
Hensey School in Washington.
These 3 and 4 year olds confirmed the importance of my support of early
educational intervention. I read books
and raced cars with them - and yes, I loosened my tie and relaxed a bit,
too. Thanks, Kim and Supt. Susan
Dudley!
Mr.
Mom
This week, in addition to my legislative duties, I assumed the role of
Mr. Mom while my wife, Deb, suffered from the flu. I didn’t always get the girls to their many
activities on time, I forgot to send snacks for the school day, and some meals I
served at home were interesting to say
it kindly. But most importantly – the
girls and I now appreciate Mom more than ever.
For all our sakes, we hope she fully recovers soon.
Your Comments . . . .
Your thoughts and comments on topics of the day are always welcome and
greatly appreciated. It’s an honor and a
privilege to represent the good people of my district in Springfield.