SPRINGFIELD, IL – An attempt to blast “lame ducks” out of the sky was “shot down” by a legislative panel that killed State Sen. Chapin Rose’s bill to eliminate lame duck sessions of the General Assembly.
“Today it was apparent that the legislative majority wanted to continue to abuse lame duck legislative sessions to the detriment of Illinois citizens. In 2011, Illinoisans were rocked by a massive 67 percent tax increase thanks to a lame duck General Assembly,” said Rose (R-Mahomet). “Every lame duck session sees some kind of tomfoolery, sometimes its harmless, sometimes their actions do irreversible harm to our economy. The point is that this practice needs to stop.”
SJRCA 10 would move up the legislative “swearing-in” date to the first week in December after the biennial General Election and prohibit the General Assembly from meeting until the new members are sworn-in.
The adjustment would prevent legislative action by outgoing lame-duck legislators during the nearly two-month period that now exists between an election and the beginning of a new General Assembly.
SJRCA 10 was defeated on April 3 by the Democrats on a partisan roll call.