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Preface to LAWMAKING Preface to LAWMAKING 24th Biennial New Members’ Conference 2013 Illinois General Assembly Legislative Research Unit JOINT COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES Senate Republican Leader & Chairman Sen. Christine Radogno President of the Senate Sen. John J. Cullerton Speaker of the House Rep. Michael J. Madigan House Republican Leader Rep. Tom Cross LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH UNIT Co-Chairperson Sen. Pamela J. Althoff Co-Chairperson Vacant Executive Director Alan R. Kroner Associate Director Jonathan P. Wolff Senators Representatives Thomas Cullerton Adam Brown Sam McCann La Shawn K. Ford Julie A. Morrison Chad Hays Jim Oberweis Barbara Wheeler Martin A. Sandoval Vacant The Legislative Research Unit is the central general research agency for the General Assembly. A board of 12 legislators, ap- pointed by the Joint Committee on Legislative Support Services, supervises its operations. A staff of researchers handles inquiries from legislators, legisla- tive committees, and partisan staff. The staff’s areas of expertise include law generally, science and technology, taxation, educa- tion, local government, economics and fiscal affairs, and the political and social history of Illinois. Legislative Research Unit 222 S. College, Suite 301 Springfield, Illinois 62704-1894 Phone: 217/782-6851 Website: www.ilga.gov/commission/lru/lru_home.html Cover note: photos by Kevin Jones Preface to LAWMAKING Seventeenth Edition July 2013* Publication 373 Copyright © 2013 Illinois Legislative Research Unit Springfield, Illinois * Text as presented at the 24th biennial New Members’ Conference, November 2012. Foreword The Legislative Research Unit is pleased to present the Seventeenth Edition of Preface to Lawmaking, which presents and explains the legislative process, and is compiled for new legislators as a companion text for the biennial New Members’ Conference.1 Although the First Edition of Preface appeared as a Preliminary Print in November of 1982 (with the actual First Edition following in August of 1983), the publication’s roots began in November of 1960 with the Illinois Legislative Council’s2 publication Lawmaking in the Illinois General Assembly, which was prepared pursuant to Proposal 377 sponsored by Representative Warren L. Wood. Lawmaking in the Illinois General Assembly was an “experimental manual” that sought to provide a systematic survey of Illinois lawmaking procedures, delving into constitutional and statutory directives and examining the formal and informal rules of procedure that had been adopted by the two houses of the Illinois General Assembly. The original manuscript was prepared by Richard C. Spencer, professor of political science at Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This work was adapted by Jack F. Isakoff, then research director of the Illinois Legislative Council, and Samuel K. Gove, then an associate professor at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.3 Revised editions appeared in 1963, 1968, and 1970. From then until the Preliminary Print of the First Edition of Preface to Lawmaking was published in 1982, various components of Lawmaking were issued separately and continued to be used as training materials at New Members’ Conferences. However, no complete, comprehensive volume was published. The Preliminary, First, and subsequent early editions of Preface to Lawmaking were primarily written and updated by Charles R. Scolare, a Legislative Council research associate with many years’ experience as an observer of the General Assembly, with significant assistance provided by David R. Miller, then a staff attorney at the Council.4 Mr. Miller, currently deputy director for research at the Legislative Research Unit, had assumed primary updating and editing responsibilities by the Fourth Edition, published in October of 1988, and continues to oversee the updating and editing of the publication today with assistance from various Legislative Research Unit staff. Preface to Lawmaking continues to be used as the primary training text at New Members’ Conferences. This Seventeenth Edition of the publication was used at the 24th Biennial Conference, held November 25 to 28, 2012 in Springfield, Illinois. I hope you find it useful and informative. Alan R. Kroner Executive Director Notes 1. The New Members’ Conference is a training conference for newly elected members of the Illinois General Assembly. It is held after each General Election and is sponsored by the Legislative Research Unit, in conjunction with the Institute for Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It has been held after each General Election since 1966. 2. The Illinois Legislative Council was the predecessor of the Legislative Research Unit. It was created in 1937 and continued to exist until the Legislative Research Unit was created by the Legislative Commission Reorganization Act of 1984 and assumed many of the Legislative Council’s primary duties. 3. Illinois Legislative Council, Biennial Report of the Legislative Council for the Fiscal Years 1960-61 and 1961-62 (September 1962), p. 11. 4. Illinois Legislative Council, Preface to Lawmaking: Legislators’ Introduction to the General Assembly (Publication 172, Preliminary Print), November 1982, p. vii. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 - PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR LEGISLATORS Legislative Emoluments ......................................................................1 Salary .....................................................................................................1 Travel Allowances .................................................................................2 Living Expenses.....................................................................................2 Housing and Parking in Springfield.......................................................2 License Plates.........................................................................................3 Group Insurance.....................................................................................3 Where to find information...................................................................3 Enrollment periods..............................................................................3 Health Insurance ....................................................................................3 Quality Care Health Plan ...................................................................4 Health Maintenance Organizations....................................................4 Open Access Plans..............................................................................4 Pharmacy benefit ................................................................................4 Dental care..........................................................................................4 Vision care ..........................................................................................5 Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Program..........................................5 myFBMC Visa Card............................................................................5 Deferred Compensation .........................................................................5 Life Insurance ........................................................................................6 Commuter Savings Program (CSP) .......................................................6 Other Insurance Programs......................................................................7 For More Information ............................................................................7 General Assembly Retirement System...............................................7 Members Who Joined GARS Before 2011 (Tier I)...............................7 Eligibility ages ....................................................................................8 Automatic pension increases...............................................................8 Survivors’annuities .............................................................................8 Members Joining GARS After 2010 (Tier II)........................................8 Eligibility ages ....................................................................................8 Automatic pension increases...............................................................8 Survivors’annuities .............................................................................9 All Members ..........................................................................................9 Optional reversionary annuity............................................................9 Financing ............................................................................................9 Refunds................................................................................................9 Obligation to pay pensions .................................................................9 For More Information ............................................................................9 Springfield and District Offices ..........................................................9 Springfield Office ..................................................................................9 District Office ......................................................................................10 Allowance..........................................................................................10 Buying and renting............................................................................10 Staffing ..............................................................................................10
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