Senate Week in Review: Gov. Quinn moves to abolish legislative scholarship program

Please note:  The Week in Review is compiled by the Illinois Senate Republican Caucus each week as a public service to provide constituents with information about legislative action and activities during the week. It comes to Patch through Sen. Ron Sandack (R-21st, Downers Grove), who approves the content and sometimes adds comment.

Springfield - Following news reports highlighting alleged abuses of the state’s legislative scholarship program, Gov. Pat Quinn acted to end the controversial program, a move long advocated by most Republican Senators. Also, earlier in the week, the governor signed a bill into law that will prevent workers’ compensation benefits from being awarded to employees who were injured while committing certain crimes.

News headlines publicizing a criminal investigation into potential abuse of Illinois’ General Assembly tuition waiver program preceded Quinn’s announcement that he is moving to abolish the scandal-plagued tuition waivers.

After deciding to forego offering legislative scholarships earlier this year, Sen. Sandack said he is pleased that Gov. Quinn has taken steps to abolish the program. 

“These were never true scholarships, rather mandated tuition waivers that were forced upon the state universities by the Illinois General Assembly. Sometimes they were awarded to needy students and sometimes they were awarded to children of privileged insiders,” Sen. Sandack said.  “The combination of Illinois’ fiscal crisis and the corruption associated with the legislative scholarships prove that these need to go away: now. Illinois is broke – in more than one way.”

Sen. Sandack’s comments come after Governor Quinn used his amendatory veto power on Aug. 10 to modify House Bill 1353.  His amendatory veto eliminates the legislative scholarship programs. 

The General Assembly will return in the fall during the veto session to vote on the Governor’s recommendation to abolish the program. 

“On this item, the Governor is exactly right,” Sen. Sandack said.  “It is time to end this program.  Hopefully his action will force the legislature to see that these scholarships need to cease.  I will be fully supporting the Governor’s amendatory veto when we return for the fall veto session.”

Sen. Sandack has said previously that the intent of the legislative scholarships is valid, but that offering them was not financially prudent for the state or the universities.  Sandack attributed his decision to not offer the scholarships to the state budget deficit, noting that Illinois must make spending cuts and reforms in order to address the state’s financial hole. 

A new law signed by Gov. Quinn on Monday, Aug. 8, will prohibit an employee from receiving workers’ compensation coverage if the employee has been convicted of committing a forcible felony, aggravated DUI, or reckless homicide that led to the employee’s injury.

Senate Bill 1147 was introduced following the tragic deaths of Kelli and Jessica Uhl, two Collinsville sisters who died following an accident caused by an off-duty State Trooper.  In 2007, Illinois State Trooper Matt Mitchell was talking on a cell phone and driving in excess of 120 mph when his squad car crossed the median and fatally struck the sisters’ vehicle.

Mitchell survived the crash and sustained serious injury to his legs. Despite his role in the crash—for which he pleaded guilty to reckless homicide, following the accident Mitchell filed a claim for workers’ compensation insurance.

The legislation passed overwhelmingly in the General Assembly. Most lawmakers agreed that the state’s workers’ compensation system was intended to protect workers who are injured during the routine course of their employment—not those whose personal injury is the result of reckless and illegal actions. 

Additionally, the Patients’ Right to Know Act was signed into law on Aug. 9. The new law will reinstitute a provision of the state’s 2005 medial malpractice reform law, which was struck down by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2010.

While the broader reforms were found unconstitutional, this year lawmakers pursued a popular component of the medical malpractice law that allowed the public to look up information online about their physicians. Now that House Bill 105/PA 97-0280 has been signed into law, patients will be able to once again locate information about their physicians on a state-moderated searchable database. The web profiles will highlight if a physical has been fired, convicted of a crime, or has been the subject of a medial malpractice suit.

Legislation signed into law this week:
Aldermen (HB 2069/PA 97-0301):  Allows any municipality that has a population change that would require an increase or reduction in the number of aldermen, to adopt an ordinance or resolution within one year of receiving the census data that allows them to maintain the current number of aldermen.

Beardstown Regional Levees (SB 1688/PA 97-0309):  Creates the Beardstown Regional Flood Prevention District, which will have the power to levy a property tax, issue revenue bonds, and pursue other functions for building and maintaining levees in the district. 

Bilingual Education Reporting (HB 3109/PA 97-0305): Requires the Advisory Council on Bilingual education to submit a one-time report to the State Superintendant, Governor, and the General Assembly about the regulations controlling bilingual education in Illinois.

Bus Shoulder Travel (HB 1884/PA 97-0292):  Creates a five-year "bus on shoulder pilot program" to allow authorized transit buses (those operated by the RTA and CTA) to travel on the shoulders of segments of Interstate 55 and the toll highways, at times and locations set by IDOT and the RTA.

Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund (HB 3377/PA 97-0274):  Transfers control of the Charitable Trust Stabilization Fund to be under the management of the Treasurer’s Office, instead of the Charitable Trust Stabilization Committee, which has struggled to become fully functionable and begin distributing financial assistance to targeted charitable entities.

College Planning Act (HB 1710/PA 97-0289):  Creates a college planning program intended to help low income high school students and potential first generation college students better plan for postsecondary education.

Comptroller (HB 1527/PA 97-0269):  Allows the Comptroller to enter into reciprocal offset agreements with the federal government, an agreement that would require the Comptroller to reduce State payments to those owing federal nontax debts and remit the amount to the Treasury.

Cyber-stalking (HB 2935/PA 97-0303):  Updates current harassment and cyberstalking laws to reflect the use of new technologies, such a smart phones. States that cyberstalking and harassment can be committed through devices such as a telephone, cell phone, computer, or pager. Prohibits harassing or threatening electronic communication through these devices.  

Diabetes Education Programs (HB 2249/PA 97-0281):  Includes in diabetes coverage, education programs that allow a patient to maintain A1c levels, so that people can make the appropriate lifestyle and medical choices needed to help control their diabetes. A1c provides an average of blood sugar control over a six to 12 week period, and is used in conjunction with home blood sugar monitoring.

Doctor History (HB 105/PA 97-0280):  Requires IDFPR to provide public profiles for each doctor who is licensed to practice in Illinois. This is a reenactment of provisions of the Patients Right to Know Act that were stricken as a result of the Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling that the medical malpractice caps were unconstitutional.

Dumping Tires (HB 2001/PA 97-0286):  Clarifies that dumping more than 50 tires is a Class 4 felony and increases the penalty for doing so to $25,000. Currently the first violation for tire dumping is a Class A misdemeanor (regardless of how many tires) and the penalty is $5,000.

Educational Environment No-Contact (HB 192/PA 97-0294):  Amends laws relating to “No Contact” orders and domestic violence restrictions to address situations where a petitioner and a respondent attend the same elementary, middle or high school. Establishes that when considering these types of cases the court must consider the severity of the crime, the ability to transfer the respondent to another school or program and the logistics associated with this potential transfer. Allows the court to order the respondent to change schools, change his or her program, or have his or her movements restricted.

Elder Abuse Definitions (HB 2020/PA 97-0300):  Redefines "domestic living situation" to mean a residence where the adult was at the time of the report of abuse, whether living alone, with a family, caregiver, or others, or a board and care home or other community-based unlicensed facility. The law attempts to address vagueness in state law that could render someone ineligible to have their abuse case investigated by the Dept. of Aging if they had moved to a nursing home or other non-domestic living situation since the time the abuse took place.

Elevator Safety Regulations (SB 2037/PA 97-0310):  Establishes that an elevator certificate for operation is renewable every 3 years for a conveyance at certain religious facilities that only have three floors as long as the facility has an annual maintenance examination.

Engineering Diversity (HB 1256/PA 97-0288):  Creates the Diversity in Engineering scholarship program to promote representation of minority groups in the field of civil engineering. 

Gold Star Families (HB 2875/PA 97-0302):  States that the natural mother, father or spouse of an Illinois veteran who was killed in the line of duty, who has been an Illinois resident for a continuous one year period immediately before applying to be admitted to any of the Illinois veterans homes, is entitled to admission to the veterans home if there are vacant beds.

Heart Disease Prevention (HB 3039/PA 97-0282):  Requires insurance providers who provide group or individual policies for accident and health insurance, or managed care plans, to communicate to their enrollees the importance of early detection and proactive management of heart disease.

Human Trafficking (SB 1037/PA 97-0267):  Allows a victim of human trafficking to file a motion requesting that a court drop convictions for misdemeanor and certain prostitution offenses, if specific criteria are met.

IMRF (HB 3253/PA 97-0272):  Ends the optional plan for county elected officials under Illinois’ municipal retirement fund and prohibits Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Employees (SLEP) from transferring up to 10 years of prior service credit from another system into SLEP after the effective date of the bill. (HB 3332/PA 97-0273):  Allows active IMRF members to transfer up to ten years of service earned in a Downstate Police Pension Fund to IMRF. 

Infant Drop-Off (HB 106/PA 97-0293):  Provides that campus police stations and any district headquarters of the Illinois State Police are designated places to leave a newborn infant.

Medicaid Child Dental Service (SB 1948/PA 97-0283):  Requires HFS to work and develop the concept of a dental home for Medicaid children. The outreach must include an effort to ensure an ongoing patient/dentist relationship and reflect an effort to provide comprehensive, coordinated oral health care so the children have access to preventative and restorative oral health care. 

Military Plate Fee Waiver (HB 3172/PA 97-0306):  Removes language that requires payment of certain fees beyond the application fee for certain Military and Military Veteran license plates.

MWRD Penalty (HB 1563/PA 97-0298):  Increases the minimum penalty from $100 to $1,000 that an MWRD Board of Commissioners can impose on parties found to be discharging sewage or other waste into MWRD’s system. This brings MWRD into compliance with federal regulations.

Open Spaces Valuation Deadline (HB 234/PA 97-0296):  Changes the deadline for applications for open spaces valuations from January 31 to June 30.

Protected Corridors (SB 1856/PA 97-0279):  Requires IDOT to conduct a public hearing to discuss the viability and feasibility of a protected corridor within 10 years of the protected corridor having been established. If a corridor had been established more than 10 years before the effective date of the new law, then the IDOT public hearing must be conducted within 6 months of the law’s effective date.

Quad Cities REDA (SB 1755/PA 97-0278):  Expands territory to and adds members from JoDaviess, Carroll, Whiteside, and Stephenson, Lee counties to the Quad Cities Regional Economic Development Authority.

Rebate Disclosures (HB 3406/PA 97-0308):  Requires any business or person who offers a retail rebate to consumers to further clarify what rebate the consumer can expect to receive by disclosing the type of rebate being offered, whether additional fees may apply, and the form of remittance that will be provided to the consumer.

Recycling (SB 2106/PA 97-0287):  Addresses the responsibilities of retailers and manufacturers relating to recycling, and outlines penalties for failure to abide by recycling provisions and laws.

Renewable Energy Production Districts (HB 1487/PA 97-0265):  Allows areas within the boundaries of a single county to be designated a renewable energy production district, and outlines procedures for the establishment and governance of that district.

Roadside Memorial Act (HB 2937/PA 97-0304): Extends the Roadside Memorial Act until December 31, 2012, to allow for the erection of roadside memorials for people killed in certain types of car accidents.

Roseland Community Medical District (HB 1888/PA 07-0259):  Creates the Roseland Community Medical District within Cook County to attract and retain academic centers of excellence, viable health care facilities, medical research facilities, emerging high technology enterprises, and other facilities.

Short-term Investments (SB 1263/PA 97-0277):  Codifies current law with current practice by allowing the State Treasurer to invest state money that is not needed for current expenditures that are due, or about to be due, in limited liability companies (LLC) and corporations, instead of just corporations.

Small Business Contracts (HB 3186/PA 97-0307): Creates the Small Business Contracts Act to help small businesses receive state contracts by establishing a goal that no less than 10% of all state contracts will be awarded to small businesses.

Stalking (SB 2267/PA 97-0311):  Establishes that a defendant committed the offense of stalking, aggravated stalking, cyberstalking or violated an Order of Protection, if he or she directed a third party to commit the offense. The offense was committed regardless of whether the third party knew they were violating the law.

Township Officer Conviction (HB 195/PA 97-0295):  Provides that a conviction of a township officer for an infamous crime will force the person from office by creating a vacancy, so that the position may be filled by the standard appointment procedure.

Truck Route Reporting (HB 1377/PA 97-0291):  Requires local governments to report all truck routes not classified as Class II or III truck routes to IDOT. If none exist, the local governments must affirm this. IDOT is then required to place this information on its Web site.

Tuition Waiver Pilot Program (SB 1798/PA 97-0287):  Creates the Tuition Waiver Limitation Pilot Program in the Eastern Illinois University Law.  Under this new 4-year pilot program, the Board of Higher Education will increase EIU’s institutional waiver limitation by 2 percentage points per year the first 3 years and 1 percentage point for the fourth year, instead of a 3 percentage points for 4 years beginning with the 2012-13 academic year.  Thus, the pilot program would raise, in its entirety, the tuition waiver limitation to 10% (instead of 15%).  The program is repealed on July 1, 2019.  

Universal Fare Pass (HB 2874/PA 97-0271): Requires the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to develop and make available to riders 65 and older a universal fare pass that can be used on all public transportation funded by the RTA.

Veterans Affairs Clean-up (HB 1445/PA 97-0297):  Creates “The Department of Women’s Veterans Affairs” within the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Removes the Commission to encourage more programs to address Persian Gulf War Veterans; removes language pertaining to the John Joseph Kelly Veteran’s Home and erroneous language pertaining to provisions of contract of work service at the Anna Veterans Home; requires the Veterans’ Memorial Commission to make recommendations to ensure maintenance and preservation of veterans’ memorials.

Victim Impact Statements (HB 1928/PA 97-0299):  Expands the list of people who can present victim impact statements under the Open Parole Hearings Act to include any friend of the victim or any concerned citizen. Establishes that victim impact statements are to be considered public documents under FOIA.

Voting (SB 98/PA 97-0275):  Offers residents at Federal veterans’ facilities voting assistance either through absentee or on-site voting. The bill ensures that the incapacitated voter provisions that apply to long term care facilities and the state veterans homes will also apply to residents of the state’s five Federal veterans’ facilities.

Wind Energy Council (HB 1558/PA 97-0266): Creates the Offshore Wind Energy Facilities Advisory Council as a separate entity within DNR to assist in the evaluation and consideration of offshore wind energy projects in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan.

Workers' Compensation (HB 1427/PA 97-0268):  Changes the population requirements that apply to police and firefighters for exemptions from the Workers’ Compensation Act from 200,000 to 500,000, to ensure Aurora is not excluded from the current workers’ compensation Act. (SB 1147/PA 97-0276):  Prohibits an employee from workers’ compensation coverage if the employee has been convicted of committing a forcible felony, aggravated DUI, or reckless homicide that has resulted in the employee’s injury.