Rep. Gregory Harris (D-13) sponsored 24 bills in the second quarter of 2019, 16 more than the average Illinois state representative, and was added as a co-sponsor on 28 bills, 19 less than the average, according to a Chicago City Wire 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 Harris sponsored in the second quarter.
SCH CD-SPEECH COMMUNICATION
FINANCE-APPROP FOR EDUCATION
$CENTRAL IL ECON DEV AUTH-TECH
MEDICAL PRACTICE ACT-SUNSET
COOK CTY WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
FY19-PRIOR INCURRED COSTS
FOIA/ELECTIONS-CYBERSECURITY
SANITARY DIST-PROPERTY LEASES
STATE TREASURER-REAL PROPERTY
OPEN MEETINGS ACT-EXCEPTIONS
CONS FRAUD-REBATE CARD-FEES
ESTATE/GEN-SKIPPING TRANSFER
The following table shows the bills to which Harris was added as a co-sponsor in the second quarter.
Rep. Carol Ammons (D-103)
Sen. John G. Mulroe (D-10)
BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS-DRUG PRICE
Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (D-8)
NO REPRESENTATION WITHOUT POP
Rep. Camille Y. Lilly (D-78); Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16)
Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-39)
RENT CONTROL PREEMPTION ACT
Rep. Theresa Mah (D-2); Sen. Laura Fine (D-9)
DHS-MEDICAID-PRESCRIBER ED
Rep. Diane Pappas (D-45); Sen. Donald P. DeWitte (R-33)
KENNEL OPERATION-FIRE ALARMS
Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-4); Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-8)
EQUITABLE RESTROOM-BABY CHANGE
Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-4)
Rep. Camille Y. Lilly (D-78); Sen. Don Harmon (D-39)
KIDDIELAND AMUSEMENT PARK ROAD
Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-12)
Sen. Cristina Castro (D-22); Rep. Theresa Mah (D-2)
IMMIGRANT TENANT PROTECTION
Sen. Suzy Glowiak (D-24); Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, Jr. (D-40)
PERSONAL INFORMATION REPORT GA
Rep. Mary Edly-Allen (D-51)
Sen. Laura M. Murphy (D-28)
UCCJA-DISCLOSURE OF ADDRESS
Sen. Don Harmon (D-39); Rep. Robert Martwick (D-19)
CONAMEND-INCOME TAX RATES
Sen. Heather A. Steans (D-7); Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-81)
Sen. Antonio Muñoz (D-1); Rep. Celina Villanueva (D-21)
ELEC CD-PRESIDENT-TAX RETURNS
Rep. Kambium Buckner (D-26)
CONSUMER FRAUD-CRIMINAL RECORD
Sen. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. (D-17); Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-27)
CRIM PRO-INCARCERATION CREDIT
Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II (D-25)
PARTITION OF HEIRS PROPERTY
Sen. Scott M. Bennett (D-52); Rep. Carol Ammons (D-103)
Sen. Scott M. Bennett (D-52); Rep. Katie Stuart (D-112)
PROCURE-RENEW ENERGY RESOURCES
Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D-20); Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-60)
Rep. Mary Edly-Allen (D-51)
Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford (D-4)
ALTERNATIVE ELEC/GAS SUPPLIERS
LAKE COUNTY-ETHYLENE OXIDE-EPA