Household Products Exemption Bill Passed Illinois House

State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) passed legislation out of the Illinois House today that provides exemptions for household products so consumers looking to purchase common cleaning products will not have to show identification and merchants will not face large fines.

House Bill 4523 is aimed at amending Public Act 97-0565 (House Bill 2193).  This Act was signed into law with the intent of preventing acid attacks, but merchants found that new regulations overreach the Act’s intended goal.  The new law makes possession of caustic chemicals a Class 4 felony, while also requiring consumers to provide identification and sign a registration log when purchasing caustic materials.

While the law is aimed at sulfuric acid, lye, and similar industrial strength chemicals, merchants are finding that the vague language in the bill might require them to ask for identification for items such as drain and toilet cleaners and pool chemicals.  Faced with up to a $1,500 fine, merchants are playing it safe and requiring consumers to sign the chemical registration log. 

“A lot of good causes turn into laws with unintended consequences,” said Gaffney.  “After hearing from local merchants and consumers about the burden this law places on them, I went to work on legislation to exempt Drano and common cleaning products from the registration requirement. I believe House Bill 4523 will reduce the burden on both consumers and merchants and I’m hopeful that the Senate will pass it as the House did today.”

House Bill 4523 passed the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously and now moves to the Illinois Senate for consideration.

Political Scene

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee (CPAC) endorses Kent Gaffney,   Republican for State Representative--52nd House District.

The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce is one of the largest Chambers in the nation spanning across the six-county Northeastern Illinois region (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry & Will).

Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) thanked the Chicagoland Chamber for their support of his pro-jobs, pro-growth agenda for Illinois.

“I am honored to have the endorsements of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce,” Gaffney said. “They support my efforts to improve our economy and get Illinois working again. I am thankful for their support and look forward to working with our business community to help create jobs and spur economic development in the 52nd District.”

The Chicagoland Chamber’s Political Action Committee works to elect candidates who support the Chamber’s mission and legislative program, initiatives and philosophy to promote a favorable business climate in the region. Through their members’ ongoing contributions, the PAC supports business-friendly candidates with a demonstrated record of promoting public policy that fosters economic development and job creation.

Kent Gaffney is the endorsed Republican candidate for State Representative in the 52nd District. Gaffney is endorsed by 50 local Republican leaders, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce PAC, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce PAC and the National Rifle Association (NRA-PVF).

Plans To Reverse Governor Quinn's Proposed Pay Increases

With Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed 2012 budget calling for more than $250,000 in pay increases for state leaders, State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Wauconda) says he is working on legislation to reverse the maneuver.

Word of the pay raises comes on the heels of Quinn announcing deep cuts to state programs, facilities and jobs that total hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I vehemently oppose any proposal that would allow our State Legislature and other constitutional offices to receive a pay increase this year,” said Gaffney.  “While we are a long way from May and a final budget, pay raises for lawmakers must be taken off of the table immediately.  To address this I am currently drafting legislation to ensure that Quinn’s proposed pay raises will not be implemented.”  

According to Gaffney, state leaders, including Illinois' constitutional officers, department directors, cabinet positions and members of executive commissions and boards are all scheduled to receive a pay raise under Quinn’s budget proposal. 

Gaffney is also one of three Republican candidates for the 52^nd Representative District in the upcoming March 20 Primary. The other two candidates include David McSweeney and Danielle Rowe. 

Pay Increases For State Leaders Not Appreciated

With Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed 2012 budget calling for more than $250,000 in pay increases for state leaders, State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Wauconda) says he is working on legislation to reverse the maneuver. 

Word of the pay raises comes on the heels of Quinn announcing deep cuts to state programs, facilities and jobs that total hundreds of millions of dollars.

“I vehemently oppose any proposal that would allow our State Legislature and other constitutional offices to receive a pay increase this year,” said Gaffney.  “While we are a long way from May and a final budget, pay raises for lawmakers must be taken off of the table immediately. To address this I am currently drafting legislation to ensure that Quinn’s proposed pay raises will not be implemented.”  

According to Gaffney, state leaders, including Illinois' constitutional officers, department directors, cabinet positions and members of executive commissions and boards are all scheduled to receive a pay raise under Quinn’s budget proposal. 

Proposed Legislation To Repeal Tax Increase

On January 13th, 2011, State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) introduced House Bill 5828 that will repeal the tax increase.

“While other states have been cutting taxes and creating jobs, Democrats in Illinois decided to pass a massive tax increase on families and businesses,” said Gaffney.  “While our financial problems started long before this, the number one culprit keeping us from recovery is the irresponsible tax increase.  It must be repealed immediately.”

Democrat Governor Pat Quinn signed multiple tax increases with the lowest possible number of votes required for the bill to become law.  As a result, the state income tax rate increased by 66% and the corporate income tax rate rose from 7.3% to 9.5%.  Illinois now has the third highest corporate income tax in the nation and companies are already emigrating from the State. 

HB 5828 aims to:

• Roll back the personal income tax rate to 3% from 5%
• Roll back the corporate income tax rate to 4.8% from 7%
• Removes the provision that limits the net loss carryover deduction to $100,000 for any taxable year ending on or after December 31, 2012 and prior to December 31, 2014
• Repeals Illinois’ estate tax

“With Illinois hemorrhaging jobs, there is some momentum to repeal the corporate tax increase,” said Gaffney.  “We must not stop there. While families are hurting and their incomes are dwindling, government cannot take more money from everyday citizens if we want to get our economy back on the right track.”

Representative Gaffney Debunks Governor Quinn's Reform Plans

Following Governor Pat Quinn’s State of the State address to a joint session of the Illinois General Assembly, State Representative Kent Gaffney (R-Lake Barrington) indicated that Quinn’s plans for reform do not go far enough and are a continuation of the Democrats’ failed fiscal policies.

“Governor Quinn is suggesting that we ignore the pension crisis and instead push pension costs onto local governing bodies,” Gaffney said. “Shifting pension costs from the State to local schools and colleges will force school districts to pass massive property tax increases. We will never fix the State’s pension problems by passing the buck. We need real pension reform now.”

Quinn addressed the need to rein in Medicaid costs but Gaffney notes that while other states have been aggressively pursuing federal waivers to implement Medicaid reforms, Illinois has not. These waivers would allow only legal Illinois residents to receive Medicaid benefits. There has been wide spread fraud reported in the Medicaid system that costs Illinois taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

“Public aid offices aren’t even allowed to ask if a Medicaid applicant is a resident of Illinois,” said Gaffney. “This program is paid for by Illinois taxpayers. Why in the world would Quinn not take appropriate steps to ensure only Illinoisans receive benefits?”

Quinn also trumpeted his own job creation credentials, claiming he is a job friendly governor.  Gaffney scoffed at this notion, stating Illinois’ unemployment rate has risen to the seventh highest in the nation. Quinn worked with Democrat legislators to impose a job-killing tax increase that is crippling our economy and hurting our working families. Gaffney believes that if Quinn wants to truly be job friendly, he must start by repealing his tax increase.

“Governor Quinn seems to be pushing platitudes more that solutions. We need to start working on real solutions to our economic and budget problems,” said Gaffney. “We must repeal the tax increase, implement pension reform and stop spending money we do not have.”

Expensive Commuting

How many citizens travel to and from work in an airplane at the expense of others?

The figures are unknown at this point, but based on reports we have received there are apparently quite a few traveling from Chicago to Springfield at taxpayers expense.

According to reports, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) will spend over $7 million to operate the state’s $22 million fleet of aircraft in the current fiscal year. In FY 2011, IDOT spent approximately $6 million on the fleet, while spending $5.4 million in FY 2010. Illinois maintains a fleet of 16 aircraft, including six executive aircraft. The State pays for daily air shuttles between Chicago and Springfield; back and forth in the morning and the evening.

State Representative Kent Gaffney, R-52, says that the State has a backlog of $8 billion in unpaid bills. The main purpose of the state fleet is to fly the Governor and top state officials round trip from Chicago to Springfield. Most of the state officials use their own vehicles to commute to and from the State capitol.

It costs $3,000 an hour to fly the state’s executive aircraft to and from Chicago. Rep. Gaffney believes the fleet of executive aircraft should be grounded until the backlog of unpaid bills is paid.

Rep. Gaffney notes, “Most states do not have such a large air fleet at their disposal.” Last year, New Mexico sold their state jet for $2.5 million; our fleet is worth $22 million. There are plenty of schools and hospitals that could use that money more than government officials looking for a free ride,” says Gaffney.

Rep. Gaffney is co-sponsoring legislation (HB 4019) to ground the state fleet until the State has paid off its backlog of bills. The legislation does not include aircraft used for emergency purposes.