Assuring home values and insuring motorists

Photo by Randy J. Squires Secy. of State Jim Edgar, right, lobbies Rep. Bob Olson (R-90, Lincoln) for mandatory auto insurance. Olson eventually voted for the measure when it was brought to the House floor for a vote.

The General Assembly went into the assurance and insurance business this spring. Legislators enacted laws to protect the value of houses in Chicago's racially changing neighborhoods and near the proposed superconducting super collider and to protect motorists from each other.

Mandatory automobile liability insurance was Secy. of State Jim Edgar's top legislative priority. He estimated that 2 million of the 7 million passenger cars and small trucks registered in Illinois are uninsured. Liability insurance is required in 39 other states, and polls showed overwhelming public support for the issue. Insurance companies opposed the bill, wanting to avoid bad insurance risks. They argued that mandatory insurance would drive up insurance premiums and taxes for all without removing uninsured motorists from the highways.

Previous attempts to pass mandatory insurance had failed. The number one pitfall this year was the Senate Insurance Committee. As Edgar said, "They [the insurance industry] are a very powerful lobby. That is their committee." He seemed right when the committee, on a six to five vote, killed a Senate mandatory insurance bill. But when a similar bill passed the House and arrived in the Senate, it was assigned to the transportation committee instead of the insurance committee. When Transportation Committee Chairman Earlean Collins (D-9, Chicago), said she would not call the measure for a vote, the bill was moved to the judiciary committee. That sparked charges of abuse of process, but the switch stood and the bill passed. Motorists will have to have liability insurance by January 1, 1990. Edgar pledged that his office would be prepared to enforce it.

The governor signed H.B. 3900 (P. A. 85-1201) August 25. The new law requires that car and small truck owners carry insurance and carry with them proof of insurance. It allows the secretary of state to make random checks and sets first time penalties at a $500 fine, two-month suspension of registration and a $50 fee for reinstatement. The fees are supposed to pay for administration.

Home equity assurance was a hotter topic. A March advisory referendum in 16 southwest Chicago precincts carried 10 to 1. Proponents argued the measure was needed to protect against panic peddling. The law allows homeowners in each Chicago precinct to petition for a referendum to establish a local commission. The commission could levy a tax to raise money to repay owners who opt to participate in the program the difference between market value and their selling price.

There were charges of racism. Rep. Paul L. Williams (D-24, Chicago) introduced a series of amendments to address what he called the bill's "racial overtones." He lost on seven votes and withdrew three others before he got to amendment 12. At issue in amendment 12 was a requirement that the property remain in the same ownership, and be occupied by a family member for five years in order for a claim to be filed. The language excluded spouses, because, Williams charged, a black might marry a white. "We couldn't make laws that say we're going to keep black people out. We're going to make laws that keep white people in," he said.

There were defenses. One of the bill's sponsors, a white Chicago representative, James A. DeLeo (D-16), read a section of the bill that prohibited racial discrimination. Other supporters noted that advisory referenda had carried in both black and white neighborhoods.

There were surprises. Williams was among the most surprised when amendment 12 passed 77-27-9. But he did not win. There was a move to reconsider the vote. And on the second vote, after some heavy work by Madigan's people, Williams lost 25 votes and fell eight short of the 60 he needed for passage.

There were threats. "All over this state we're gonna start caring. We're gonna start looking. We're gonna start seeing, because the reality of it all is this. Your best interests are not in a party, but in an issue and in a person who cares about you as a people." Williams charged. Another black Chicago representative, Lovana S. (Lou) Jones (D-23) simply observed, "Mr. Speaker. Today I do realize your power."

And there was politics. Rep. Ralph H. Barger (R-39, Wheaton) lectured the blacks. "You've been robbing yourselves for years by supporting the Democratic party, and it's about time you learned that there are better ways." Gov. James R. Thompson signed S.B. 1592 (P.A. 85-1044) into law on July 13.

Suburban home equity was far less controversial. Under H.B. 3512 (P.A. 85-1200), signed into law August 24, residents near the superconducting super collider can be reiumbursed 80 percent of the loss on sale of their property, if the loss is found to result from the construction of the giant atom smasher.□

Michael D. Klemens

August & September 1988 | Illinois Issues | 50