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Next session dates: House & Senate: In continuous session
Governor Calls Special Session of the Legislature
Only days after the Governor and legislative leaders agreed to pass a stopgap 1-month state budget and adjourn for a weeklong Independence Day break, Governor Rod Blagojevich reversed course and used a constitutional maneuver to bring the General Assembly back to the Capitol to debate leasing the state lottery and issuing pension bonds. Under Article IV, section 5a, the Governor is allowed to convene a special session of the legislature for a specific purpose.
By calling a special session, legislators will once again receive their daily stipend and travel reimbursement which was halted once the legislature entered overtime session on June 1. According to legislative staff, the Governor's actions will cost taxpayers more than $40,000 every day in expenses and travel reimbursement.
In announcing the special session, the Governor indicated a desire to involve all members of the General Assembly in the budget debate and also allow the media to witness the negotiations. In response to the Governor's letter, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) scheduled a Committee of the Whole and invited the Governor to attend and testify on his plan to lease the state lottery and fund the pension system. This mechanism allowed every House member to engage in a public forum.
Anticipating an unfriendly legislature, the Governor chose not to appear personally to advocate on behalf of his plans and instead sent his staff. During testimony, Illinois' Chief Financial Officer John Filan testified that the Governor continues to believe that the gross receipts tax and closing corporate "loopholes" are possible ways to provide new revenue for state spending programs.
Meanwhile, the Senate Revenue Committee held a brief hearing to discuss the sale of the state lottery and members asked many questions. In particular, Senators wanted to know how more than $600 million in education funding would be replaced if the state lottery was sold and its profits lost.
Greg Baise, IMA president & CEO, testified in the House as part of a business panel that true reforms of the state's pension system are needed before additional dollars are invested. He noted that the state needs to operate like the business community by paying its bills and living within its means.
Governor Calls 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Special Sessions
Continuing on his pledge to call legislators back into session seven days a week, the Governor called three additional special sessions aimed at keeping legislators in Springfield through the weekend. The gubernatorial proclamations calling the special sessions require the legislature to consider solutions to fund the state's pension system, state employees' retirement system and teachers' retirement system. Despite calling special sessions, the Governor has yet to introduce legislation designed to address any of these issues.
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