Description: The little-known legislative rules that govern the legislative process in the Illinois House of Representatives give the House speaker extraordinary power to orchestrate the legislative or political outcomes he or she wants. Those rules allow the speaker to influence the makeup of legislative committees; how lawmakers vote; and when, if ever, the bills get voted...
Those rules allow the speaker to influence the makeup of legislative committees; how lawmakers vote; and when, if ever, the bills get voted on. But the most obstructive rule of all keeps bills – even those with popular support, such as term limits – from ever seeing the light of day. The speaker, and not the General Assembly, has the power to decide what has the chance to become law.
Virtually no state grants the types of powers to its legislative heads that Illinois grants to its speaker.
Those rules have contributed to the failed policies that exist in Illinois today and to the fiscal debacle Illinoisans must contend with as they try to make ends meet.