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Schock's legislative success a matter of perspective

Posted December 05, 2007 10:00 pm

Bernard Schoenburg

In his introductory television ad in his bid for a U.S. House seat, a narrator says that state Rep. AARON SCHOCK, R-Peoria, was "elected and re-elected state representative, passing 18 bills."

So I asked Schock's campaign for a list of those measures. It shows that, in his first two years in office, starting in January 2005, the House members approved 13 bills he was carrying. Another nine passed the House during the current two-year General Assembly session.

Of those 22 proposals, however, only 13 passed both houses and made it to the governor's desk. One (which would have directed certain Illinois Department of Transportation savings to a specific account) was vetoed by the governor, leaving 12 that became law.

Five of the bills that ultimately were sent to the governor were originally introduced by Schock. The other eight were Senate bills that were sponsored by Schock when they arrived in the House.

I asked Schock why he used the number 18 when he actually passed more than that out of the House.

"We just underestimated," he said.

STEVEN SHEARER, campaign manager for Schock, also noted that two of the measures that failed to get Senate approval were the same idea introduced in different years under different bill numbers. Those two - both involved a Schock proposal to have the state list certain prescription drug prices on the Internet - were counted only once for purposes of the ad.

I told Schock that saying he had "passed" 18 bills seemed to imply that all those measures made it through the General Assembly. Schock disagreed.

"When I say I passed a bill, that means carrying it through the House," he said.

"What I can control as a state rep in the House chamber is to get my colleagues" to approve the legislation. "Those are the terms we've used in the last four years" to describe how many bills he's passed.

Schock is running in the Feb. 5 GOP primary for the U.S. House seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. RAY LaHOOD, R-Peoria. Others in the GOP primary are Peorians JIM McCONOUGHEY and JOHN MORRIS.

Of the 13 Schock bills that passed both houses, the votes on all but one were unanimous or nearly unanimous, indicating they were not the kind of emotion-filled issues that make for long debates. One bill that did get a split vote - 49-7 in the Senate and 73-42 in the House -- was SB263, sponsored by Sens. DAVID KOEHLER, D-Peoria, and DALE RISINGER, R-Peoria, to expand the tax base for Peoria's regional airport to all of Peoria County. The legislation included a slightly lower tax rate for those already in the district. It was amended before final action to also affect an airport in Crawford County.

Among the bills Schock passed in his first term was HB2515, which directed the Illinois Board of Higher Education to post on the Web which courses at public and private colleges and universities count for credit for students transferring between the schools. Schock said the bill grew out of his own frustration as a student.

The legislature did not approve an appropriation for the bill, but the IBHE is funding it through a Higher Education Cooperation Act grant, said spokeswoman KELLEY TALBOT.

In 2005, Schock sponsored HB3678, which is designed to help Illinois schools meet federal No Child Left Behind progress standards by changing how students with disabilities are tested. The state is trying to get federal approval for that change, which would have special-needs students tested at their individually designed work levels, instead of their grade levels.

Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH issued a news release upon signing the bill, saying it "makes sure that schools receive credit for their successes in helping students with disabilities, while still requiring schools to focus on areas that need improvement."

Schock said he knew of that problem from his time on the Peoria School Board.

Another 2005 bill, HB2421, created a pilot program to give certain public aid recipients help toward post-high school education, including help in finding tuition money.

It was to take effect in 2006, but TOM GREEN of the Department of Human Services said the law was not implemented because the General Assembly did not provide funding. He said the department does have a similar program that helps low-income families and some public aid clients to get scholarships for books and college tuition.

Schock said he tried to get money for the program in the budget, but "unfortunately, it was not (a) priority of the governor and majority party."

The original sponsors of all the Senate bills passed in the House by Schock are Democrats. Schock said Democratic domination of the General Assembly makes that a necessity.

"When you're a Republican in the minority, you don't get anything done if you don't work with Democrats in the House and the Senate," Schock said. "If I have every Republican vote for my bill in the House and the Senate, it's dead" if no Democrats are on board.

subhead

The number of WMAY-AM talk-show hosts seeking election as Republican National Convention delegates has risen to two.

GREG BISHOP, a weekend host who is also a student, has filed in the 19th Congressional District as a delegate candidate for RON PAUL. DAVE KELM, a weekday morning co-host with KIRK FARAH, filed earlier as a candidate for alternate delegate supporting JOHN McCAIN.

Bishop, 24, said he works about 30 hours a week at the station. He has his own show from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturdays. Bishop said he considers Paul "the most honest candidate on the stage" and "basically the only candidate on the conservative side that wants to get out of the war."

Bishop thinks Paul has a good chance to "sweep several states and get the nomination."

We shall see.

subhead

Apparently word of The State Journal-Register's online "click your pick" feature at www.sj-r.com made it onto a Chicago radio station Wednesday. That could explain why the usual voting range - 2,000 to 5,000 or so on most questions -- was far exceeded. The unscientific poll asked if the voter supports "gambling expansion to pay for a statewide construction program and a bailout of Chicago-area mass transit." As of late afternoon, more than 13,000 votes had been cast on the question. Nearly 80 percent supported gambling expansion.

SUBHEAD

The state AFL-CIO has endorsed Springfield lawyer JOE McMENAMIN in his primary race with state worker DANIEL DAVIS and Mount Vernon resident SHIRLEY RONEY for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House seat from the 19th Congressional District. McMenamin called it a "big boost."

The winner of the Feb. 5 primary will take on incumbent U.S. Rep. JOHN SHIMKUS, R-Collinsville, and Green Party candidate VIC ROBERTS of Taylorville in the November election.

The AFL-CIO also endorsed Appellate Justice JAMES WEXSTTEN of Mount Vernon, who was appointed to the post, over JUDY CATES of Swansea, immediate past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, for 5th District Appellate Court. No Republicans have filed for the seat.

Republicans will not be able to name someone to run for the appellate judgeship because, unlike some elective offices where party appointments are allowed to fill ballot vacancies, the state Constitution says judges must be nominated at a primary election or by petition.

Still, third-party or independent candidates could still get in the race. The filing period for those candidates is June 16-23.

The 5th includes most of southern Illinois, but extends north to Christian, Montgomery and Shelby counties.

AGELESS

I'm not exactly sure how the "64" got in my notes, and then got transferred to a recent column, as the number I said was the age of ROSCOE CUNNINGHAM, a former state representative from Lawrenceville, now running to be an uncommitted delegate to the Republican National Convention. There may have been a misunderstanding. He does have a good sense of humor.

Given the tough race he's got against all those committed candidates, let's just say that old state Blue Books, which have little bios from the years in the 1970s when Cunningham was in the Illinois House, say he graduated from law school in 1948. So I'll leave it at that.

OOPS

I've known Mike Flannery of CBS2-TV in Chicago for a long time. The fact that I once worked with another fine reporter named JIM FLANNERY in Bloomington is my feeble excuse, however, for goofing up Mike's name in a recent column. Sorry 'bout that.

Bernard Schoenburg is political columnist for The State Journal-Register. He can be reached at (217) 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.

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