We are grateful for the service of our retiring members and wish them well in their future endeavors. Rep. Patti Bellock honored each of them on the House Floor. Here is a brief recap of her speech:

Mike Bost
Mike Bost has served in the Illinois House since 1995.

We are very proud that Mike is leaving us to join the U.S. House of Representatives as the new Congressman for Illinois' 12th District.

Mike was born and raised in Murphysboro, Illinois.  He and his wife, Tracy have been married for 34 years. They have three children and nine grandchildren.

Safety for persons towed by watercraft 
PA 98-0697 (SB2731)
Amends the Boat Registration & Safety Act to require operators of a watercraft towing a person to display an orange flag on their watercraft from the time the person prepares for towing until the person reenters the boat.

Boating safety certificates 
PA 98-0698 (SB3433) 
Provides that no one born on or after January 1, 1998 shall operate a motorboat with more than 10 horse power without securing a valid Boating Safety Certificate by the Department of Natural Resources or another approved agency.

Access to birth certificates of adopted persons PA 98-0704 (HB5949)   
Allows adult grandchildren to access birth certificates and other information regarding their deceased grandparents if the grandparent was adopted. Also allows a birth parent of an adopted child to receive a non-certified copy of an original birth certificate if certain conditions are met.

Police bulletproof vest requirement  
PA 98-0743 (HB 5688) 
Requires law enforcement agencies to provide a bulletproof vest for every new law enforcement officer, and to replace each vest before the warranty expires. Requires that each government agency covered under this law will be required to apply to the United States Department of Justice under the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant of 1998 to help pay for the purchase. Federal reimbursement is available for up to half the cost of the bulletproof vests and the state will be responsible for the remaining half that will otherwise be covered by the law enforcement agency.

Eases requirements for disabled veteran parking placards  
PA 98-0879 (SB 3255)
This law removes a requirement that a disabled parking placard or decal which has been issued to a veteran must be renewed every four years. The new law states that once a disabled parking placard or decal has been issued to a veteran who has been permanently disabled, that veteran does not have to keep coming back to the Secretary of State’s office for a renewal every four years.


Building storm shelters in new schools  
PA 98-0883 (HB 2513) 
This law requires all new school construction in Illinois to include a storm shelter which meets the minimum requirements of the International Code Council and National Storm Shelter Association. The legislation was inspired by the devastation left by deadly tornadoes which ripped through Illinois in 2012 and 2013.


Purple heart license plate fee waiver  
PA 98-0902 (HB 4491) 
To honor those who have served in the military and earned the Purple Heart, Illinois will now waive the payment of any registration or registration renewal fee for an individual issued a Purple Heart license plate.  The law will also allow individuals who have been issued the Purple Heart license plate and qualify under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief Act to obtain a plate for an additional vehicle for a $24 registration fee.

General Assembly – Veto Session
General Assembly prepares for second week of veto session.  The second week of veto session is scheduled to take place immediately after Thanksgiving.  The three days of active session will take place on Tuesday, December 2 through Thursday, December 4.  Issues to be discussed could include regulation of the ridesharing industry, the State school aid formula, and extension for one year of the Illinois Medical Practice Act.

General Assembly – veto session

Illinois legislature convenes for first week of “veto session.”  By constitutional law, the lawmakers must gather in November to consider vetoes by the Governor while addressing any pressing issues of public concern.  In all, eleven House committees held meetings to look at these bills and issues. 

This week they were joined by Sheri Jesiel of Winthrop Harbor, a new member who enjoyed her first session day in Springfield as the appointee to serve out the term of retiring Representative JoAnn Osmond.  The second week of veto session is scheduled to take place immediately after Thanksgiving.

General Assembly – Jim Durkin

Jim Durkin elected to full term as House Republican Leader.  On Wednesday, November 19, the House Republican Caucus of the 99^th General Assembly – the incoming group of 47 men and women who will take the oaths of office on January 14 – met in Springfield.  Their unanimous choice for House Republican Leader was the 82^nd District’s Jim Durkin, of Burr Ridge.

Durkin, in 2015, will enter into his second full year as leader of his Caucus.  The Illinois Constitution asks the House members of both political parties to choose a leader, and gives responsibilities to both.  He’ll be tasked with leading a fresh faced House Republican Caucus, more than a quarter of whom (12 of 47) were newly elected in November 2014.  The 99^th General Assembly will serve from January 14, 2015, until January 2017.     

State Representative Sheri Jesiel attended her first session in the Illinois House of Representatives this week. Jesiel was welcomed to the chamber by her new colleagues and immediately took up her duties of the veto session concerning legislation vetoed by Governor Quinn this summer.

“I would like to thank my colleagues for their warm welcome to the chamber,” said Jesiel. “JoAnn Osmond was a wonderful Representative for the 61st District with big shoes to fill. I hope to carry-on in her foot-steps, and that of her husband Tim before her, in bringing sensible, fiscally responsible leadership to Springfield for the sake of the residents of the 61st District.”  Read more.

State Representative Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) today has been re-elected unanimously by acclamation to the position of House Republican Leader by his peers. The House Republican Caucus for the incoming 99th Illinois General Assembly convened for the first time Wednesday for the vote, including 12 new members and 35 returning members. Inauguration of the 99th General Assembly is scheduled for January 14, 2015 at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Lawmakers return to Springfield this week for the 2014 Veto Session. Earlier this year, Governor Quinn issued either a partial or full veto of ten bills. He also issued a line item veto to HB3793, one of the FY15 appropriations bills.

Read more about the vetoes.