August 25,
2009
To the
Honorable Members of the
Illinois
House of Representatives
96th
General Assembly
Today I return
House Bill 363 with my specific recommendations for change. I thank the
sponsors for their hard work and the members of the General Assembly for
passing this bill. However, in order for me to give unqualified support
to this measure, I respectfully request the adoption of the recommendations set
forth below.
House Bill 363
creates the Chicago
Education Facilities Task Force to study school facility related decisions and
recommend criteria for an equitable and transparent master facility plan for
Chicago Public Schools. While I agree with the goal of this
legislation, the timeline is too soon to allow for successful implementation to
take place. Moreover, I believe that the membership of the Task Force should
be diversified to ensure the most fruitful discussion possible.
Therefore, pursuant to Article
IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill
363, entitled AN ACT concerning education., with the following specific
recommendations for change:
on page 3,
line 7, by replacing 15 with 30; and
on page 3, by deleting lines 11
through 14 and replacing them with (1) Two members of the House of
Representatives, one appointed by the Speaker of the House and one appointed by
the Minority Leader of the House.; and
on page 3, by deleting lines 15
through 18 and replacing them with (2) Two members of the Senate, one
appointed by the President of the Senate and one appointed by the Minority
Leader of the Senate.; and
on page 3, by deleting lines 19
through 21 and replacing them with (3) Two representatives from the State
Board of Education, including the Superintendent or his or her designee.;
and
on page 3, by deleting lines 22
through 24 and replacing them with (4) Four members of the education
community, two appointed by the Governor and two appointed by the Mayor of
Chicago.; and
on page 4, by deleting line 1 and
replacing it with issues, one appointed by the Governor and one appointed
by the Mayor of Chicago.; and
on page 4, by deleting lines 2
through 4 and replacing them with (6) Two representatives of school
community organizations with past involvement in school facility issues, one
appointed by the Speaker of the House and one appointed by the President of the
Senate.; and
on page 4, by deleting lines 12
through 22 and replacing them with (d) The Governor shall appoint one of
the appointed members as chairperson of the Chicago Educational Facilities Task
Force. Members appointed by the Governor, the Mayor and the legislative
leaders shall be appointed for the duration of the Chicago Educational
Facilities Task Force; in the event of a vacancy, the appointment to fill the vacancy
shall be made by the appointing authority who made the original appointment.;
and
on page 5, line
3, by replacing 15 with 30; and
on page 5,
line 23, by replacing October 30, 2009 with March 30, 2010.
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With these changes, House Bill 363 will have my
approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
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Sincerely,
PAT QUINN
Governor