By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Plenty remains for lawmakers in Springfield, with Friday being the last day of the spring session. Starting Saturday, a bill taking effect immediately needs a three-fifths vote, rather than a simple majority.
Budget work has been going on behind the scenes, so much so that a House committee Thursday night passed an empty bill (known as a “shell bill”) onto which the budget would be pasted as an amendment. The state’s fiscal year begins July 1.
“The leadership team on both the Democrat and Republican side have been working for weeks, in conjunction with the governor’s office,” said State Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside), who chairs that committee. “They have a concept agreement, but there’s a lot of moving parts to it.”
Meanwhile, the recreational marijuana bill came out of a House committee Thursday night. Concerns of police agencies came through the Sangamon County sheriff, Jack Campbell.
“All reportable crimes are up in Colorado,” Campbell said, pointing to perhaps the most-publicized legal-weed state. “Homelessness has exploded. Traffic fatalities are up. This is exactly what will happen in Illinois — you mark my words.
“Is that the Illinois that you want to be proud of?” Apparently, said the sponsor, State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago). “We have an opportunity to set the appropriate tone for the country and be the envy of the nation.”
If the marijuana bill passes the House, it will go to the governor.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].
