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August 2009
Rutherford: Bad ethics legislation ‘should never
have made it this far’
(Image courtesy of ICPR)
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
August 27, 2009/rd
PONTIAC, IL – The Governor’s veto of the so-called
campaign finance reform legislation is drawing
support from State Senator Dan Rutherford
(R-Pontiac).
“The reform package that was passed was nothing more
than an incumbency protection plan. This legislation
would have made it nearly impossible for challengers
to engage serious campaigns against entrenched
politicians. Governor Quinn, last spring, testified
in support of the legislation saying that it was
supposed to be a ‘landmark’ bill,” Rutherford said.
“Finally, the Governor has come around to realize
that the legislation was far from perfect.”
House Bill 7 has been largely opposed by reform
groups and Republicans in the General Assembly. The
bill did impose some limits on campaign
contributions, but it also allowed transfers of up
to $90,000 from other campaign funds. The high
limits on contribution transfers and vague language
in the bill would severely hamper the reforms.
Rutherford has been an outspoken advocate for a more
comprehensive contribution limit.
This bill would have also allowed legislators to
create special Constituent Services Committees,
which would enable sitting lawmakers to have “slush
funds.” Such committees could blur the lines between
official state business and campaign activities.
“It is an appropriate action on the Governor’s part
to veto this legislation. It should have never made
it this far,” Rutherford concluded. “The version of
House Bill 7 that the ruling majority voted to
support was fatally flawed. In reality, it opened
and created more loopholes than we currently have.”
House Bill 7 passed the Illinois Senate without a
single Republican vote. Rutherford noted that it is
likely that when lawmakers convene during October’s
veto session, they will start again on campaign
finance reform legislation.
Senator Rutherford on House Bill 7 and the
Governor's Veto - Audio File
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Rutherford pleased to see martial arts legislation
signed
PONTIAC, IL
– State Senator Dan Rutherford (R-Pontiac) was
pleased by the Governor’s signing of legislation
which will protect amateur martial artists.
House Bill 786 clarifies the distinction between
professional and amateur events. The legislation
eliminates involvement by the state in events that
does not include full contact.
“Amateur martial artists will
have greater flexibility to perform their craft
without fear of government intervention,” Rutherford
said. “This legislation was necessary because
amateur contestants were being subjected to the same
set of rules that are mandatory for professional
mixed martial arts, boxing and ‘toughman’ full
contact competitions.”
Amateur martial arts like Jujitsu, Karate,
Taekwondo, Judo, and Aikido are just a few examples
of the disciplines that will be protected from
unnecessary and over burdensome rules.
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"Service Taxes"
State Senator Dan
Rutherford was recently featured on
Comcast's "Newsmakers" program; the Senator
discussed the proposed Service Taxes that have
passed the Illinois Senate.
Senator
Rutherford voted "no," on the
legislation, however the Illinois House of
Representatives has yet to consider the legislation.
The legislation would create a tax on
hundreds of everyday services.
The video is
available on the Senator's YouTube channel,
www.youtube.com/SenDanRutherford. |
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Dr.
Tim Koritz - University of Illinois Trustee
Appointee
(Dr.
Tim Koritz, Julie Koritz, Senator Rutherford)
A good friend for years,
of State Senator Dan Rutherford, Dr. Tim Koritz, was
just appointed to the University of Illinois Board
of Trustees. A U of I graduate, Dr. Koritz received
his Ph.D. in immunology from Cambridge, graduated
from Harvard Medical School. He then served as a
Flight Surgeon for the US
Air Force. Dr.
Koritz is currently a staff anesthesiologist at
Rockford Memorial Hospital.
Senator Rutherford said,
"I
am so happy for him and the University."
To read more about Dr. Koritz,
click here.
Rutherford participates in redistricting hearing
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE August
18, 2009/rd
SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Senate
Committee on Redistricting met in Springfield on
August 18 and State Senator Dan Rutherford
(R-Pontiac) participated as a member of the
committee. The committee discussed redistricting
legal principles and reviewed how other states
conduct their redistricting process.
“This
summer the Illinois Senate has begun the process for
redrawing Congressional and legislative maps. Every
ten years the General Assembly draws new legislative
maps that coincide with each new Census. After the
2010 Census, the General Assembly will finalize the
maps and these new maps will take effect for the
2012 election,” Rutherford said.
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"Technological Advances"
State Senator Dan
Rutherford was recently featured on Comcast's
"Newsmakers" program; the Senator discussed the latest
social networking trends that are enabling
elected officials to keep constituents better
informed.
Senator
Rutherford has been a technological leader when it
comes to constituent outreach, as he actively
maintains an Internet presence on
Facebook,
Twitter and
YouTube.
The video is
available on the Senator's YouTube channel,
www.youtube.com/SenDanRutherford. |
Rutherford
legislation to allow taking of shad and drum
(photo courtesy of
www.prairiestateoutdoors.com)
PONTIAC, IL – Bowfishermen across Illinois will
now be able to legally fish shad and drum species
because of legislation sponsored by State Senator Dan
Rutherford (R-Pontiac).
Senate Bill 2129 was
signed recently and it adds the two species to the
listing of fish that can be taken by means of a
pitchfork, underwater spear gun, bow and arrow device,
spear, or gig. There were already five species that are
on the list: carp, gar, suckers, buffalo and bowfin.
“This measure was
brought to my attention by a constituent, who is a
member of the Bowfishing Association of Illinois (BAI).
I would like to commend the members of BAI and the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources for their hard
work on this legislation,” Rutherford said.
For more information about the sport of bowfishing and
tasty fish recipes visit
www.illinoisbowfishing.net
New Report Blasts Illinois Prison Spending - WTVO -
August 7, 2009
(Springfield) -- State auditors are
once again blasting Illinois' prison system.
In a scathing report, Illinois
Auditor General Bill Holland takes the Department of
Corrections to task for everything from poor record
keeping to wasting millions of dollars.
The report says Illinois prisons
still owe millions of dollars to other parts of state
government, ran up millions in un-approved spending,
and never hired prison guards Illinois lawmakers paid
for over in 2007 and 2008.
The audit focused on years of
the Blagojevich administration, and lawmakers say
that's part of the problem.
In addition to poor record
keeping, DOC is being criticized for not spending
12-million dollars on new frontline staff, but instead
paying guards already on the job.
DOC also used money to pay
millions in overtime.
The audit notes that 126 prison
workers made over 100-thousand dollars a year because
of overtime needs that were blamed on "understaffing."
The last money mistake noted in the report is that DOC
was on the hook for the salary of one worker in the
Governor's budget office.
Republican State Senator Dan
Rutherford says the audit just reinforces the need to
be responsible with the tax payers money.
Rutherford
applauds Governor’s signing of texting-while-driving ban
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
August 6, 2009/rd
PONTIAC,
IL – Illinois
motorists will need to think twice about picking up
their mobile phone to text, check their E-mail or surf
the Internet because starting January 1, 2010, those
acts could get you ticketed, according to State Senator
Dan Rutherford (R-Pontiac).
“I, like thousands of
other Illinois drivers, have had the unfortunate
experience of coming across someone who was paying more
attention to their phone than to their driving,”
Rutherford said. “Time and again, this practice is
causing accidents across Illinois and sadly some of
these accidents are deadly. Experts have been warning
policy makers that distracted driving is just as bad as
drunken driving. I want to applaud the Governor for
signing this common-sense legislation to help put an end
to distracted driving.”
House Bill 71 does create
exceptions for people who are pulled off the side of the
road to use their device or are using it during an
emergency situation.
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Summer "Staycations"
State Senator Dan
Rutherford was recently featured on Comcast's
"Newsmakers" program, the Senator discussed low-cost
Summer "Staycations," that enable Illinois families
to take in local tourist sites.
As families continue
to cut back on costs, Senator Rutherford recommended
local state parks, historic sites and the Illinois
State Fair as an alternative to out-of-state,
higher-cost vacations.
The video is
available on the Senator's YouTube channel,
www.youtube.com/SenDanRutherford.
Is now the right
time to be raising income taxes?
Federal government sees biggest tax revenue drop since
1932 - August 4, 2009
By Stephen Ohlemacher | Associated
Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The recession
is starving the government of tax revenue, just as the
president and Congress are piling a major expansion of
health care and other programs on the nation's plate
and struggling to find money to pay the tab.
The numbers could hardly be more
stark: Tax receipts are on pace to drop 18 percent
this year, the biggest single-year decline since the
Great Depression, while the federal deficit balloons
to a record $1.8 trillion.
Other figures in an Associated
Press analysis underscore the recession's impact:
Individual income tax receipts are down 22 percent
from a year ago. Corporate income taxes are down 57
percent. Social Security tax receipts could drop for
only the second time since 1940, and Medicare taxes
are on pace to drop for only the third time ever.
The last time the government's
revenues were this bleak, the year was 1932 in the
midst of the Depression.
"Our tax system is already
inadequate to support the promises our government has
made," said Eugene Steuerle, a former Treasury
Department official in the Reagan administration who
is now vice president of the Peter G. Peterson
Foundation.
