Mike Tryon Gives Legislative Update, Expects Concealed Carry Veto Override

A message from State Rep. Mike Tryon:

Mike Tryon

Mike Tryon

I want to wish you a very happy and safe Independence Day.

As you gather with family and friends to celebrate, please take a moment to reflect on just how lucky we are to live in the greatest country on earth.

Many men and women made the ultimate sacrifice which allow us to enjoy our freedoms, and the Fourth of July is a perfect time to pay tribute to these brave people.

I know many communities are holding festivals and fireworks displays during the long Holiday weekend.

I’m sure it will be a very enjoyable weekend.

Concealed Carry Update

As you know, this was an interesting week in the Illinois legislature, as Governor Quinn issued an amendatory veto to House Bill 183, the concealed carry bill.

The Governor’s rewrite of the bill was shocking, as his proposal makes it all but impossible for people to carry a firearm outside of the home.

HB183 was a very carefully negotiated bill that included input from Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate. Governor Quinn did not participate in the concealed carry discussions and he did not sent a representative to speak on his behalf.

I find it very interesting that he chose to wait until a few days before the court-mandated deadline for concealed carry in Illinois to make his priorities known.

His new language is overly-restrictive and creates a patchwork of rules and restrictions that would cause nothing but problems for law-abiding citizens who wish to enjoy the rights afforded to them under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Under the Quinn rewrite, concealed carry would be presumed “banned” in all public places, unless business owners, restaurant owners, etc. posted a sign stating that guns were allowed.

That provision alone contradicts the Federal Appeals Court ruling that a ban on concealed carry is unconstitutional.

His plan also would limit concealed carry permit owners from carrying more than one gun at a time, and would [limit] the ammunition for the gun to one clip with no more than ten rounds.

Whereas the original legislation included a gun ban in any restaurant or bar which received more than half of its income from the sale of alcohol, the Quinn plan would ban firearms in any restaurant that serves alcohol.

His plan also allows Illinois businesses to ban firearms on their property completely, including in their parking lots.

The court-mandated deadline for concealed carry is next week on Tuesday, July 9.

Legislators will be in Springfield that day to take action on the Governor’s amendatory veto, and I will be joining many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in voting for a full override of every one of Governor Quinn’s recommended changes to HB183.

The courts have been very clear in their mandate regarding concealed carry, and I fully expect a successful override when the legislature meets on Tuesday.

Pension Update

In June, a Conference Committee on Senate Bill 01 was formed, and this bipartisan group of legislators from the House and Senate was charged with finding a compromise pension reform bill that could garner enough votes to pass in both chambers of the General Assembly while also meeting Constitutional muster.

So far that group has held two meetings, and a third meeting is scheduled for Tuesday morning, July 9, before we go into session to deal with the concealed carry bill.

The first two meetings did not meet my expectations, as the majority of the time was spent rehashing old testimony. It is my hope that on Tuesday some talk of compromise enters the discussions.

At the center of the impasse is the concept of changing cost of living adjustments (COLAs) that have been earned contractually by employees within the pension systems and by retirees.

Legislators are split on whether or not the State can go back and take away something that has already been earned, or if pension system changes must be limited to benefits earned in the future.

I personally believe that you can not go back and take away something that has contractually already been earned.

I also believe you can adjust benefits moving forward.

Attempts to reduce COLAs in Arizona and Colorado have been challenged in court and found to be unconstitutional.

It should give us all pause for concern that we would be considering something that was found to be unconstitutional in two other states within the last 12 months.

The Governor is hoping the General Assembly will take action on pensions while we are in Springfield next week, but I honestly am not sure there will be a bill ready for our consideration by that time.

I do feel we are moving in the right direction, however.

For the first time we have a Senate President and a House Speaker who agree that a compromise bill is necessary.

We also have a Conference Committee which is very dedicated to its mission.

I remain hopeful that the committee will ultimately craft a bill that will shore up our State’s pension systems over time while being fair to the employees who work within those systems.

Enjoy your Holiday weekend, and as always, if I or a member of my staff may be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact my legislative office at (815) 459-6453, or at mike@miketryon.com.


Comments

Mike Tryon Gives Legislative Update, Expects Concealed Carry Veto Override — 1 Comment

  1. Pensions.

    “At the center of the impasse is the concept of changing cost of living adjustments (COLAs) that have been earned contractually by employees within the pension systems and by retirees.
    Legislators are split on whether or not the State can go back and take away something that has already been earned, or if pension system changes must be limited to benefits earned in the future.
    I personally believe that you can not go back and take away something that has contractually already been earned.”

    CONTRACTUALLY earned.

    In 38 of 40 years from 1971 – 2011 the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation (House Bills and Senate Bills) which Governors approved thus resulting in new state laws (Public Acts) to increase pension benefits.

    So Public Acts are being called CONTRACTS instead of Public Acts.

    So each time a Governor signs a pension hiking piece of legislation they are signing a CONTRACT obligating taxpayers to pay more tax dollars to pensions.

    New CONTRACTS occurred over 38 times since 1971 because in some years multiple pension hiking Public Acts were created.

    Thus legislators by signing pension hiking Public Acts CONTRACTUALLY obligate taxpayers who don’t receive a pension resulting from state legislation to fund retirement benefits far more lucrative than they themselves receive.

    Michael Tryon has been in the Illinois House of Representatives since 2005.

    How many House Bills and Senate Bills did Tryon vote for which resulted in pension hiking Public Acts now being called CONTRACTS.

    For 38 of the last 40 years legislators and Governors have been busy creating new CONTRACTS obligating taxpayers to ever increasing taxes to fund ever increasing pensions.

    CONTRACTS that business and residents have to fulfill.

    Where’s the list of 38 CONTRACTS.

    How often do you remember legislators and Governors telling you that they signed yet another pension hiking CONTRACT for you to fulfill.

    Taxpayers should have received notification in 38 of the last 40 years that another CONTRACT was signed which would result in higher taxes.
    How do business and residents budget for CONTRACT payments they didn’t even know were created?

    Taxpayers are supposed to scour through Public Acts each year to see if another pension hiking CONTRACT was created which would result in increased taxes?

    Yes.

    Taxpayers are supposed to know how to interpret the legalese in pension hiking Public Acts to determine if yet another pension hiking CONTRACT was created which would result in increased taxes?

    Yes.

    Thanks for 38 years of CONTRACTS Springfield.

    38 years of representing Special Interests and not the common citizen.

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