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Dist Party 21 D Patrick, Langdon, Chicago 15 R Peters, Peter P., Chicago 32 D Pierce, Daniel M., Chicago 36 R Polk, Ben, Moline 1 R Porter, John E., Evanston 26 D Pouncey, Taylor, Chicago 13 R Randolph, Paul J., Chicago 9 D Rayson, Leiand H., Tinlev Park 40 D Redmond, William A., Bensenville 32 R Reed, Betty Lou, Deerneld 58 D Richmond, Bruce, Murphysboro 35 R Rigney, Harlan, Freeport 49 R Rose. Thomas C., Jacksonville 43 R Ryan, George, Kankakee 42 D Sangmeister, George E., Joliet 52 D Satterthwaite, Helen F., Urbana 48 D Schisler, Gale, London Mills 4 R Schlickman, Eugene F., Arlington Heights 41 D Schneider, J. Glenn, Wheaton 39 R Schoeberlein, Allan L., Aurora 46 D Schraeder, Fred J., Peoria 37 R Schuneman, Calvin W., Prophetstown 7 R Sevcik, Joseph G., Berwyn 49 D Sharp, John F., Wood River 7 D Shea. Gerald W., Riverside 34 R Simms, W. Timothy, Rock ford 33 R Skinner, Calvin L., Jr., Crystal Lake 20 R Stearney, Ronald A., Chicago 56 R Steele, Everett G., Glen Carbon 57 R Stiehl, Celeste M., Belleville 52 D Stone, Paul, Sullivan 34 D StubbleHeld, Guy, Rockford 26 D Taylor, James C., Chicago 12 D Telcser, Arthur A., Chicago 25 D Terzich, Robert M., Chicago 51 D Tipsword.Rolland F., Taylorvilie 3 R Totten, Donald L., Schaumburg 46 R Tuerk, FredJ., Peoria 42 D Van Duyne, LeRoy, Joliet 45 D Von Boeckman, James, Pekin 33 R Waddell, R. Bruce, Dundee 23 R Wall, John F., Chicago 6 R Walsh, William D., LaGrange Park 43 R Washburn, James R., Morris 26 D Washington, Harold, Chicago 13 D White, Jesse C., Jr., Chicago 6 D Wilier, Anne, Hillside 59 R Winchester, Robert C., Rosiclare 5 D Williams, Jack B., Franklin Park 57 D Younge, Wyvetter H., East St. Louis 8 D Yourell, Harry, Oak Lawn House adopted resolutions (1/22/75) to seal DiPrima, Pouncey and Lechowicz, who were elected as Independents, with the Democrats |
By NICK PENNING A guided tour through the Capitol: Where to go and what to look for EVERY year thousands of Illinois citizens visit their state Capitol; in 1974, over 186,000 visitors toured the building. Many of these travelers arrive during the height of a legislative session, when the House and Senate are caught up in a flurry of meetings, caucuses and serious lawmaking. But for most of the visitors, the whole process remains a mystery, and after a few minutes in the gallery they leave for home—frustrated and angry at what appears to be an incomprehensible system of government. If you're planning a visit to the legislature, a little information and some advance preparations can make your trip a success.
The first thing to remember is that the Capitol, the House and Senate chambers, and the representatives and senators themselves, are all yours. Your taxes pay for the buildings, their up-keep, and for the salaries of the men and women who represent you. You needn't feel apologetic about visiting.
April, May and June When you arrive in Springfield you'll find the Capitol standing out over the skyline, just west of downtown. If there is a session in progress, you can tell as soon as you walk in the front doors. There's an air of excitement and bustle, huddled conversations are taking place all about the building, people are moving quickly. The galleries for both houses, where public viewing is allowed, are on the fourth floor. Most of the information you need is on the third floor, where the chambers themselves are located.
Legislative calendars
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fourth for House), and at each you can get a complete copy of all bills which originate in that particular house, plus a copy of the journal of previous sessions in that chamber.
For Senate bills and Senate journals, you should continue from the information booth toward the grand staircase but take a sharp right turn before the stairs and go through a doorway toward the Senate chamber. You'll pass a young lady at a desk. Continue straight toward the Senate by passing through a swinging door into the chamber itself. Loitering isn't allowed in this walkway, so march for the next set of swinging doors straight ahead. Now you're out of the chamber again. Keep going straight, past the corner Senate post office and straight into the office of the secretary of the Senate. The bill room is right there. Just ask the helpful clerk for what you need.
Finding the House bill room is not nearly so complicated. Just go back to the third floor, information booth and head diagonally across the rotunda toward the large House chamber doors that the members go in. Immediately to the left of those doors is a staircase leading to the fourth floor, where the galleries to both chambers are. At the top of the stairs, walk straight in front of you and you'll run right into the much larger House bill room. It's automated and the clerks are speedy about processing your order for the materials. By the way, all the documents at the booth and the bill rooms are free of charge.
Watching the legislature
At this point, you should be ready to
sit down to watch the legislature. The
doors to the galleries are located directly above the members' entrances and
are on the fourth floor.
Take a seat where you can get the best overall view. If a lot of students are
Follow this diagram of the third floor when you visit the Capitol in Springfield
April 1975/Illinois Issues 113
filling all the chairs, wait a few minutes. They're probably on a tour and will be gone shortly.
The House is the more puzzling of the two chambers, mainly because there are more members: three representatives from each of the state's 59 legislative districts. One hundred seventy-seven people milling about can make a lot of noise, and the speaker of the House presides over the proceedings at the highest podium. In both chambers the Republicans sit on your right and the Democrats on your left, with the parties separated by the center aisle.
Clerks surround the speaker's podium at a semicircular desk facing the members. At long desks on either side of the speaker's rostrum, sitting against the wall, are the press. And seated on cushions in front of the media people are the House pages, young men and women who run errands for and distribute material to the representatives.
Party leadership
Each party has its spokesman on the floor, called the majority and minority leaders. Since the Democrats now have the most members, they are led by the speaker and his floor assistant, the majority leader. The Republican spokesman is now called the minority leader. The set-up is similar in the Senate, but much more orderly, since only one senator sits from each of the 59 legislative districts. And the chief officer in this chamber is called the president, instead of the speaker. The electronic voting boards are located both to the left and right of the presiding officer in each chamber. The display lights show how each legislator votes as a vote is being taken. Since the Senate and House don't necessarily meet at the same times or adjourn at the same time, if one house isn't in session, the other one might be.
When adjournment time comes in the chambers, you can check if committees will be meeting to consider bills on first reading. A list of the committees, the time and place of their meetings, and the bills to be heard that day can all be found at the end of the House and Senate calendars. Committee rooms are scattered throughout the Capitol building and the large State Office Building across the street to the west of the Capitol. Most frequently used are: room 212 on the second floor, south, in the Capitol; room 400 on the fourth floor, east, in the Capitol; and rooms C-1 in the State Office Building, first floor, south; and A-l and D-l in the State Office Building, first floor, north.
If you're vitally interested in one certain bill that's to be heard by a committee, you can register your name with the secretary of that committee when you go to the hearing. You can then testify before the panel and give your objections or support for the bill. The committee process is the only point along the legislative ladder where direct citizen input is allowed in the way of testimony. If you want to stop by your representatives' and senator's offices to say hello and let them know you're there or tell them what you think of the way things are organized or if you have a comment about a bill or two, the information booth volunteers can direct you to their offices. The Capitol also has a cafeteria in the basement (take the elevator or the grand staircase) with hours from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. unless the General Assembly is meeting; then,
it stays open until the session is over.
For a complete list of the leadership in the House and Senate and of the membership of the General Assembly. see pages 111 and 110
114/Illinois Issues/April 1975