Because now, with Gov. Pat Quinn
having used his amendatory veto powers to alter the concealed carry bill, the
state Legislature’s membership is going to consider that issue to be a higher
priority.
THEY MOST LIKELY will consider it
their duty to push aside the pension funding issue – in part because Quinn has
now given them a new issue with which to spite him.
Which is what is the real problem
with our government today – way too many actions are dictated by someone’s
spite for somebody else!
For the record, the Legislature
was given a deadline of Tuesday by Quinn with which to resolve the pension
funding problem. A conference committee of Illinois House and state Senate
members theoretically is working to resolve differences and pass a single bill
that Quinn can sign into law.
But Tuesday is also the date that
the Court of Appeals for Chicago has given to Illinois to have a law on its
books that permits people to carry pistols on their person for self-defense.
THE LEGISLATURE ONLY reluctantly
passed such a law (at the insistence of the appellate court) at the end of
their spring session (literally on its final day).
So for Quinn to act on this bill
now (even though state law gave him until mid-August) means he put some
priority on it. He did NOT drag his feet on the issue.
But while normal legislative
procedure would have the General Assembly address the issue during their fall
session (which is known as the veto session because it is for dealing with the
bills that the governor vetoes, or alters), I really suspect we’re going to see
the Legislature feel the need to call themselves into action much sooner.
Like perhaps turning the Tuesday
get-together at the Statehouse in Springfield from a pension funding reform day
to a dump-on-the-governor’s concealed carry alterations day!
THERE WILL BE arguments that the
July 9 deadline set by the Court of Appeals is still in place, and that it
would be irresponsible for the new concealed carry law to have to remain in
legal limbo until November.
To do the legislative maneuvering
that would be required to turn the special legislative day from pension funding
to concealed carry is going to take a lot of time and focus. Which is why I’m
convinced they can’t do both in the same day.
Particularly since as of now, the
two sides aren’t any closer to agreement on pension funding than they were
previously. Just this week, I overheard a state legislator making mocking
comments about Quinn for expecting anyone to resolve the issue so soon.
Having an urgent need to deal
with concealed carry will be the excuse needed to avoid dealing with the
pension issue.
IT REALLY IS ridiculous for all
this partisan rhetoric to thwart these issues. Particularly with concealed
carry, which Quinn used his authority on Tuesday to try to make more strict
against firearms than it was previously.
The biggest change was that the
bill passed by the Legislature imposed standards by which restaurants serving
alcohol would have to study how much of their business came from the sales of
drinks – to determine if firearms could be banned from the premises.
Under Quinn’s vision, any alcohol
sale is now sufficient for a firearms ban.
There also was a measure that
said municipalities with home rule powers would only have 10 days from the date
the law took effect to try to pass their own local bans. While Quinn would take
away the ability of the state to restrict municipalities on this issue.
THERE ARE MORE provisions that
Quinn altered, although the general tone of them is emphasized by the governor’s
statement that, “there are too many provisions in this bill that are inspired
by the National Rifle Association, not the common good.”
Which may be the problem. The “common
good” is probably the last thing anyone in our state government cares about
these days!
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