Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-77) sponsored 12 bills in the second quarter of 2019, four more than the average Illinois state representative, and was added as a co-sponsor on 62 bills, 15 more than the average, according to a West Cook News analysis of data made available by the Illinois General Assembly.
During the second quarter, 117 representatives sponsored legislation, with Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-113) sponsoring the most with 36 bills. There were 120 representatives that co-sponsored legislation, with Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez (D-24) co-sponsoring 129 bills, more than any other representative.
When a bill is introduced to the House, the clerk reads the bill title before the House and it is automatically referred to the Rules Committee. If the Rules Committee thinks that the bill merits further consideration, it is assigned to another committee. If the committee reports favorably on the bill to the House, or if the committee has been discharged with respect to the bill, the bill will be ready for its second reading before the House.
According to House rules, a bill can be passed only after the House clerk has read the bill before the House on three separate days. However, many bills are introduced as shell bills in order to circumvent the rule requiring three readings before they can be passed. These shell bills, which are far more common in Illinois than in other states, are created with the purpose of beginning the often lengthy process of passing a new piece of legislation. But since they would only make trivial or meaningless changes in the law in the form that they initially appear, they are either left to die or are later changed to something more substantive that can be rushed to passage without bothering with procedure. This has the unfortunate effect of leading to laws that may not have been debated or discussed sufficiently.
Representatives that sponsor an inordinately large number of bills are often sponsoring many shell bills.
The following table shows the bills that Willis sponsored in the second quarter.
COUNTY-HOTEL REVENUE IN MUNI
PHARMACY PRACTICE-VARIOUS
INS CODE-DENTAL ANESTHETICS
SEXUAL HARASSMENT NO CONTACT
IL HEALTH FACILITIES PLANNING
WORKPLACE TRANSPARENCY ACT
PUBLIC DEFENDER BAIL PROGRAM
PARENTAL RIGHT TERMINATION
GENERAL ASSISTANCE-IN-KIND AID
The following table shows the bills to which Willis was added as a co-sponsor in the second quarter.
Rep. Monica Bristow (D-111)
Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-39)
VOCATIONAL ACADEMIES-GRANTS
Rep. Diane Pappas (D-45); Sen. Donald P. DeWitte (R-33)
KENNEL OPERATION-FIRE ALARMS
Rep. Natalie A. Manley (D-98); Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant (D-49)
COUNTY CD-TRANSITIONAL AUDITS
Rep. Camille Y. Lilly (D-78); Sen. Don Harmon (D-39)
KIDDIELAND AMUSEMENT PARK ROAD
Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-56)
NEW SEXUAL HARASSMENT RULES
TRAUMA-INFORMED AWARENESS DAY
Rep. Chris Miller (R-110)
Sen. John F. Curran (R-41); Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-48)
LIBRARY TRUSTEES-ELIGIBILITY
Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D-20); Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-4)
LICENSE-REMOVE CITIZENSHIP REQ
Sen. Thomas Cullerton (D-23); Rep. Diane Pappas (D-45)
HOTEL OCCUPATION & USE REVENUE
LOC GOVT OFFICER COMPENSATION
Sen. Melinda Bush (D-31); Rep. Mary Edly-Allen (D-51)
CIV PRO-DISSEMINATE PRIV IMAGE
Sen. John F. Curran (R-41); Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-41)
COUNTIES-ADULT ENTERTAINMENT
Sen. John F. Curran (R-41); Rep. Jim Durkin (R-82)
COUNTY CD-RETAILERS' REVENUE
Sen. Linda Holmes (D-42); Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-70)
INSURANCE-DIAGNOSTIC MAMMOGRAM
Sen. Suzy Glowiak (D-24); Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-48)
MHDD CD-CLEAR&PRESENT DANGER
Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D-20); Rep. Aaron M. Ortiz (D-1)
UNIV OF IL-STUDENT TRUSTEE
Sen. Suzy Glowiak (D-24); Rep. Natalie A. Manley (D-98)
ALZHEIMER'S-ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Rep. Mary Edly-Allen (D-51)
Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford (D-4); Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch (D-7)
SCH CD-ROE-GRANT PROGRAMS
Sen. John F. Curran (R-41); Rep. Jim Durkin (R-82)
EPA-PERMITS-ETHYLENE OXIDE
Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-33)
Sen. Brian W. Stewart (R-45); Rep. Daniel Swanson (R-74)
MILITARY JUSTICE-UNIFORM CODE
Sen. Melinda Bush (D-31); Rep. Lawrence Walsh, Jr. (D-86)
PENCD-DNST FIRE-SECONDARY EMPT
Rep. Michael J. Zalewski (D-23)
Sen. John G. Mulroe (D-10)
TOBACCO PRODUCTS COMPLIANCE
LINCOLN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Rep. Anna Moeller (D-43); Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D-20)
HOME BIRTH CRISIS COMMITTEE
Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch (D-7); Sen. Pat McGuire (D-43)
MENTAL HEALTH ACTION ON CAMPUS
Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-12); Sen. Heather A. Steans (D-7)
PUB AID-JOB SEARCH EXEMPTION
Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit (D-84); Sen. Cristina Castro (D-22)
SCH CD-SCH BOOKING STATION
Rep. Joyce Mason (D-61); Sen. Melinda Bush (D-31)
CANCEL CONTRACT SENIORS 15 DAY
Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-4); Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson (D-40)
INCARCERATED PARENTS-CHILDREN
HGHER ED-DIVERSE FACULTY GRANT
Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-8)
PROMPT PAYMENT-CONTRACTORS
ANCRA-CRIM INVESTIGATIONS
Sen. Laura M. Murphy (D-28); Rep. Karina Villa (D-49)
SCHOOL CODE-ASTHMA MEDICATION
Sen. Cristina Castro (D-22); Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin (D-38)
ILLINOIS BANK ON INITIATIVE
Sen. Chapin Rose (R-51); Rep. Dan Brady (R-105)
SCH CD-TEMP DOOR LOCK DEVICE
Sen. Toi W. Hutchinson (D-40); Rep. William Davis (D-30)
PROP TX-INCOME PRODUCING PROP
Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16); Rep. Anna Moeller (D-43)
NURSING HOME CARE ACT-VARIOUS
Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16); Rep. Anna Moeller (D-43)
NURSING HOME CARE ACT-VARIOUS
Sen. John F. Curran (R-41); Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-113)
ATTY GEN-WORKER PROTECT UNIT
Sen. Robert Peters (D-13); Rep. Nicholas K. Smith (D-34)
Sen. John G. Mulroe (D-10); Rep. William Davis (D-30); Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-77)
IL HEALTH FACILITIES PLANNING
Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II (D-25)
PARTITION OF HEIRS PROPERTY
Sen. Laura M. Murphy (D-28); Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-27); Rep. Michael J. Madigan (D-22)
CRIM PRO-VIDEO-SENTENCING
Rep. Jonathan Carroll (D-57)
STATE TREASURER-REAL PROPERTY
Sen. Sue Rezin (R-38); Rep. Joyce Mason (D-61)
Sen. Terry Link (D-30); Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-113)
VEH CD-FREIGHT TRAIN CREW SIZE
Rep. Mary Edly-Allen (D-51)
Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford (D-4)
SCH CD-PARENT-VICTIM-SERVICES
Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford (D-4)
ALTERNATIVE ELEC/GAS SUPPLIERS
HOTEL CASINO EMPLOYEE SAFETY
Sen. Linda Holmes (D-42); Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit (D-84)
Sen. Scott M. Bennett (D-52); Rep. Carol Ammons (D-103)
COAL ASH POLLUTION PREVENTION
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