100th General Assembly Convenes
Illinois House members take oath of office, elect leadership. The 100th General Assembly will be the legislative body that celebrates the bicentennial of Illinois as a state. Each General Assembly is elected for a two-year period, and the 100th General Assembly will serve Illinois in our state’s 199th year (2017) and in our 200th year (2018). House members have already filed more than 450 bills for the new General Assembly to consider.

Governor Bruce Rauner today convened the first meeting of the Illinois Bicentennial Commission and unveiled the official Bicentennial logo at the Old State Capitol. The co-chairs of the Bicentennial Commission were also announced.

“From Kaskaskia to Vandalia and now Springfield, this has been a long time coming, and I am honored that you can be a part of this effort to honor our past while paving the way for our future,” Governor Rauner said. “From our rich history to our rich soil Illinois has changed over the last two centuries but our focus is still much the same. We’re still deeply rooted and invested in our children’s education, moving Illinois forward through innovation and technology and working together to make our great state the best place to live in the country.”

Ten new members attended their first session today in the Illinois House of Representatives. Here's news about a few of them:

Q&A: Newly inaugurated Rep. Ryan Spain discusses priorities
Ryan Spain was sworn in Wednesday afternoon to the state House, replacing longtime Rep. David Leitch, who retired.
http://www.pjstar.com/news/20170111/qampa-newly-inaugurated-rep-ryan-spain-discusses-priorities

Swanson prepares for swearing-in ceremony
When Lt. Col. Dan Swanson enters the Illinois General Assembly for the first time Wednesday, he won't lack for work to do.

Parkhurst Sworn in to Historic 100th General Assembly

State Representative Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee) today was sworn in to the Illinois House of Representatives officially marking the beginning of the historic 100th General Assembly.

Severin Begins First Term as 117th District State Representative

Newly-minted State Representative Dave Severin (R-Benton) says he is excited and humbled at the opportunity to serve the citizens of southern Illinois in the Illinois House of Representatives. An inauguration ceremony took place Wednesday morning on the campus of the University of Illinois Springfield, where Severin and 117 other state representatives took the oath of office.

On January 1, 2017, 191 new laws were enacted in Illinois. Many of these new laws were covered extensively in the press. What you may not have heard about were some very good bills that did not become law because there were not permitted to be considered by the legislature.

More than 6,000 bills were introduced in the last legislative session and for a myriad of reasons many did not make it out of committee or failed on the House floor. But there were several pieces of legislation that were denied a public hearing by the House Rules Committee controlled by Illinois House Speaker Madigan and we think you should know about them:

Red light ticket right to due process
House Bill 4041
This legislation allows for due process of a red light camera ticket by allowing a vehicle owner to contest the ticket and also includes a provision that requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the violation occurred.

Budget – December 2016 Revenues Again Fall Short
COGFA report continues dismal State revenue picture. The report by the Illinois General Assembly’s nonpartisan budget office covers State revenues for December 2016. Although 2016’s final month contained most of the yearend shopping season, State revenues once again fell significantly short of the State’s cash outflows and spending commitments. Net Illinois general funds revenues submitted to the State in December 2016 totaled $2,581 million, down $257 million from the $2,838 million received from the same sources in December 2015 twelve months earlier. These revenues continued to fall far short of the numbers required to maintain the long-term operations of the State.

As Don Moffitt considered whether to run for another term in the Illinois House of Representatives last fall, he took a ride in a combine with his son and two grandchildren under a clear night sky that made him realize something.

"I really need more times like this."

Spending such time with his family is partly why the representative for the 74th District decided not to seek another term after spending nearly 24 years, or 12 two-year terms, in the Legislature. Moffitt also decided to leave Jan. 10, 2017, because he had seen the grade separations in Galesburg - two overpasses and one underpass - come to completion (or nearly so) as he intended.

One walk through Moffitt's district office in Galesburg reveals why the rural Gilson resident found it to be such a difficult decision - even more difficult than when he decided to run for the Legislature for the first time in 1992, he said. More than 20 shovels from various groundbreaking ceremonies hang from his office walls, along with photos of Moffitt meeting with politicians Rudy Giuliani, Dick Cheney and a young Sen. Barack Obama, just to name a few.

While it's still "a thrill" to meet such politicians, the feeling does not compare to that of meeting firefighters and emergency responders who serve their communities every day, said Moffitt. Read more.

The human trafficking of children for sex in Illinois happens in every small town and big city throughout the state. In 2016, DCFS investigated 143 calls to the hotline for allegations of Human Trafficking. Many of the reports involved children being victimized within blocks of where they live.

Trafficking is not just an issue that happens to people in other countries. The United States is a source and transit country, and is also considered one of the top destination points for victims of child trafficking and exploitation. Cases of human trafficking have been reported in all 50 U.S. States; anyone can be trafficked regardless of race, class, education, gender, age, or citizenship when forcefully coerced or enticed by false promises (source: unicefusa.org). It’s important to remember that anyone under the age of 18 involved in this crime is a victim.