Rep. John C. D'Amico (D-15) sponsored eight bills in the second quarter of 2019, equal to the average Illinois state representative, and was added as a co-sponsor on 35 bills, 12 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 D'Amico sponsored in the second quarter.
CONGRATS-MARGARET LAURINO
MEMORIAL-RUDOLPH T. DANEL
DUI PREVENTION AND EDUCATION
The following table shows the bills to which D'Amico was added as a co-sponsor in the second quarter.
Rep. Carol Ammons (D-103)
Rep. Monica Bristow (D-111)
Rep. La Shawn K. Ford (D-8)
NO REPRESENTATION WITHOUT POP
VOCATIONAL ACADEMIES-GRANTS
Rep. Camille Y. Lilly (D-78); Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-16)
Rep. Norine K. Hammond (R-93); Sen. Jil Tracy (R-47)
VEH CD-TEXTING BODILY HARM
Rep. Michael J. Zalewski (D-23); Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-18)
WILDLIFE-YOUTH DEER PERMITS
Rep. Michael J. Zalewski (D-23)
PROP TAX-SENIOR HOMESTEAD
Rep. Robert Martwick (D-19); Sen. Omar Aquino (D-2)
PEN CD-DEFERRED COMPENSATION
Rep. Fred Crespo (D-44); Sen. Laura Ellman (D-21)
Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-77); Sen. Martin A. Sandoval (D-11)
Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez (D-24)
MEMORIAL-CAROLE A. OLDANI
Sen. Iris Y. Martinez (D-20); Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-4)
LICENSE-REMOVE CITIZENSHIP REQ
Sen. Antonio Muñoz (D-1); Rep. John Connor (D-85)
VEH CD-POLICE MEMORIAL SPOUSES
Rep. Lance Yednock (D-76)
VEH CD-HEAVY DUTY TOW VEHICLE
Rep. Aaron M. Ortiz (D-1)
PEN CD-CHI TCH-RETURN TO WORK
Sen. John G. Mulroe (D-10); Rep. Robert Rita (D-28)
Rep. Marcus C. Evans, Jr. (D-33)
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-97)
Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-34); Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-27); Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-60)
BLIGHTED BUILDINGS & PROPERTY
Sen. Melinda Bush (D-31); Rep. Lawrence Walsh, Jr. (D-86)
PENCD-DNST FIRE-SECONDARY EMPT
CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Rep. Katie Stuart (D-112); Sen. Andy Manar (D-48)
SCH CD-MINIMUM TEACHER SALARY
Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-18); Rep. Frances Ann Hurley (D-35)
EMS SYSTEMS-OVERDOSE REPORTING
Sen. John F. Curran (R-41); Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-113)
ATTY GEN-WORKER PROTECT UNIT
Sen. John G. Mulroe (D-10); Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-3)
CONTRACT PROMPT PAY RETAINAGE
Sen. Laura M. Murphy (D-28); Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-27); Rep. Michael J. Madigan (D-22)
CRIM PRO-VIDEO-SENTENCING
Sen. Antonio Muñoz (D-1); Rep. John M. Cabello (R-68)
SPEC PLATES-POLICE/FIREFIGHTER
Sen. Ann Gillespie (D-27); Rep. Mark L. Walker (D-53)
COM COL-MANUFACTURING GRANTS
Sen. Martin A. Sandoval (D-11)
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE-SUNSET
HOTEL CASINO EMPLOYEE SAFETY