State Lawmakers Begin Veto Session Today

By aaroncynic in News on Nov 16, 2010 2:30PM

State lawmakers will begin their six day veto session before the Thanksgiving recess today. The Illinois Legislature will have its hands full for the next few days, with votes scheduled for some hot ticket items. Here is a short list of a few of the likely items on the docket:

Chuck covered this earlier. Governor Quinn remains hopeful, even if it is unlikely, that the legislature will approve his changes to the election code. Quinn's changes would allow voters not to affiliate themselves with a political party in order to vote in the primary elections. House speaker Michael Madigan however, believes that Quinn overstepped his boundaries in rewriting the bill and may try to block lawmakers from approving the amendatory veto.

Death penalty opponents are geared up to push for an outright ban after the moratorium in Illinois turned 10 this year. Jeremy Schroeder, Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty said the state could save $20 million a year with a ban, which would eliminate the need to fund the Capital Litigation Trust Fund. “It's like having a taxi in your garage with the meter running,” said Schroeder.

State lawmakers are also expected to tackle the issue of civil unions. Representative Greg Harris, who sponsored the bill, told the State Journal-Register he was still determining if he had the votes for the bill to pass. As we pointed out last month however, both Governor Quinn and a majority of Illinoisians were in favor of the bill. WBEZ reports that more moderate Republicans could support the measure as well.

Lawmakers could also take on casino gambling, pension reform, medical marijuana and an income tax hike, among other things.