Wilhour, Niemerg Vote Against House Rules; Say It's the Same Old Rules

Local State Representatives Blaine Wilhour and Adam Niemerg Wednesday voted against operational rules for the Illinois House.

Wilhour said the measures "prevent transparency and keeps all the power in the hands of one individual with a process that does not respect minority viewpoints." He said, "We should be able to elect the committee chairs with a majority vote. Real reform from the Madigan rules would include eliminating the sneaky practice of substituting members on a committee so they don't have to cast a controversial vote that their constituents would like back in their home district." He also said there needs to be a public schedule for bills to be considered with a minimum of 72 hours to review budget bills, and that the practice of "gut and replace" of the language in bills to circumvent the three readings process should end. 

(BLAINE WILHOUR)

Both Wilhour and Niemerg are disappointed in the lack of teeth in measures regarding term limits for leadership. Niemerg said, "These rules are put in a resolution that only apply to the two years of the 102nd General Assembly, (and) have 10-year term limits for the Speaker and Minority Leader positions, but these limits aren't enforceable because the rules are only adopted for two years at a time. We need a House bill to enact true term limits into law that would take passage by the House and Senate and signed by the Governor."

Niemerg said House Republicans had four top priorities that were proposed as a part of the rules that deal with: Rights of Members to have their bills called in committee, notice to the members and public on what will be up for action in committee and on the House floor, creating a waiting period for floor amendments, concurrence and budget bills, and increasing the ability of members to debate legislation on the House floor.

(ADAM NIEMERG)

“To me and the average taxpayer, it looks like more of the same. There is nothing in House Resolution 72 that functionally makes this speaker position any different than it was under Speaker Mike Madigan. There is too much power flowing through one person: no transparency, no accountability and nothing to ensure that the minority party can properly represent their constituents. We pay taxes and suffer under these poor policies so we should have a voice. These rules ensure that our ability to properly represent will be severely limited. This is a missed opportunity and not a good start for the new speaker,” concluded Rep. Wilhour.

The rules are available online at ilga.gov, where you can also follow the proceedings of the Illinois General Assembly.