Eye On Illinois: General Assembly website helps assess spending of political capital

“It’s nice to know that the state of Illinois is in such GREAT shape that Maurice West only has to worry about school mascots!”

That line opened an email from a regular reader responding to Thursday’s column about House Bill 5617, a plan from state Rep. West, D-Rockford, to functionally prohibit schools from using Native American imagery. The tone was clear, but here’s the rest:

“Really?? Maybe he should try to take on some of the bigger challenges facing the state – the ongoing influx of non-citizen migrants that continue to flood Chicago (the state) that will eventually become a financial BURDEN to the TAXPAYERS of Illinois! Or how about the grossly underfunded pension plans for state employees/teachers? How about the lawless society we have become more and more witness to? Shootings everywhere, ANY time of the day. Crime in Chicago is not even “breaking news” anymore – it’s the norm. The recent stabbings in Rockford?

“Mr. West is like a deckhand on the Titanic who is more worried about the deck chairs getting knocked out of place after hitting the iceberg than focusing on the real problem in that the boat’s sinking!”

Younger me would’ve taken that bait. Older me still took a bite, but while chewing over the weekend, the email became an invitation. Rather than haggle over the merits of HB 5617 or its role in the larger context of state governance, it’s a chance to educate.

My emailer, like all readers, understands West and his General Assembly colleagues can multitask. We all know politicians can talk, while what matters is their action. So what else is on West’s plate? The answers are a few keystrokes away.

Visit ilga.gov. Look under House and click Members. Scroll down to the name Maurice A. West, II. On the next column over, click Bills. This opens up a page showing 268 House and Senate bills and resolutions in the current session (the 103rd, which started in January 2023) including West as a sponsor. Each has a short description and notes the last action and date.

If that list is too long, at the top is another link that filters the table to show only the 94 items on which West is primary sponsor. Eight are already laws (look for Public Act), nine are ceremonial resolutions. Sixty are in the Rules Committee.

Short descriptions can deceive (amendments can replace a bill’s original language with entirely new legislation) and some are complete nonstarters. But these resources illustrate how West – and 176 other sitting lawmakers plus eight recent retirees – expends political capital. Several past sessions are archived for additional context.

Feel however you like about HB 5617, but consider a deeper dive on the people’s business.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.