By ERIC SCHELKOPF – Kane County Chronicle
The Illinois House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would ban the use of handheld cellphones while driving.
By a vote of 62-53, the House OK’d the ban. House Bill 3972 now heads to the Illinois Senate. The legislation would allow the use of hands-free phones.
Several area legislators voted against the bill, including state Rep. Tim Schmitz, R-Batavia.
By Benjamin Yount | Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD — Once again, downstate Illinois lawmakers in both parties have sent to the House legislation that would allow people to carry a pistol.
And, once again, the effort probably will end with another misfire.
The House Agriculture and Conservation Committee on Tuesday voted, 11-1, to move forward HB5745 for a vote later this spring. The legislation would allow sheriffs in the state’s 102 counties to issue concealed-carry permits. People — those without a criminal record — would pay $65 to apply for the permit and complete firearms training…
By Anthony Brino | Illinois Statehouse News
SPRINGFIELD — Illinoisans, especially those downstate, may need to bite the bullet, so to speak, as lawmakers take aim on an ammunition tax.
“The bottom line is we’re talking about a penny on a bullet,” said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, who co-sponsored the bill that would levy a 2-percent surcharge on all ammunition sales. A pack of 20 hunting rifle bullets, for example, which costs $14, would generate 28 cents in tax revenue.
House Bill 5167 is expected to yield up to $1.2 million a year. The Illinois Department of Public Health would give the revenue to trauma care centers in high crime areas, including Chicago.
However, gun rights advocates and others attacked the bill as an affront to the constitutional rights of legal gun owners and argued whether they should be forced to pay for crimes not committed in their backyard.
SPRINGFIELD – Deputy Republican Leader and State Rep. Tim Schmitz (R-Batavia) released the following statement today in response to Governor Pat Quinn’s annual budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly in Springfield on Wednesday:
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Moving forward, our top priority must be jobs and the economy. What we need is a laser-like focus on making Illinois more competitive with neighboring states in attracting new employers by creating an environment where entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses have the certainty of a stable and competitive tax policy that enables them to grow and hire new workers. We did not hear an emphasis on that from the Governor today. For now the fourth year in a row, he just doesn’t seem to get it. We must keep the drumbeat going on maintaining our focus on jobs and the economy until the Governor joins us in that effort.”
Click to hear additional comments from Rep. Schmitz on budget address…
By Mike Riopell
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles isn’t expected to be among the facilities Gov. Pat Quinn will target for closure, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
Quinn said publicly last week that he’d propose closing “quite a few” state facilities, including perhaps more than one youth prison. But the source said St. Charles isn’t on the list.
Quinn has pushed to close several facilities throughout Illinois during his time in office, but his major efforts have come up short. Another push could come Wednesday, when Quinn gives his annual budget proposal to lawmakers…