‘Obama holiday’ bill fails, saving Illinois taxpayers nearly $20M
Proposed legislation to commemorate former President Barack Obama’s birthday as a state holiday in Illinois would have cost taxpayers nearly $20 million in state personnel expenses and lost productivity.
A proposal to designate Aug. 4 – former President Barack Obama’s birthday – a state holiday failed to gain enough support to pass the Illinois House of Representatives March 21, saving the state millions in personnel costs and lost productivity.
The bill would have amended the State Commemorative Dates Act to recognize Aug. 4 as a legal holiday to commemorate Obama. State workers would have had the day off; if the holiday were to fall on a Sunday, the state would observe Obama’s birthday the following Monday. This would have cost $3.2 million in personnel expenses for state-worker holiday pay and nearly $16 million in lost productivity due to the day off.
The bill fell six votes short of passing, 54-51-1.
State Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, who sponsored the legislation, used a parliamentary move to postpone the consideration for another attempt should she garner enough support for it. Twenty other Democrats co-sponsored the legislation.
Instead of inventing new holidays, lawmakers – both Democratic and Republican – should be getting to work on economic reforms that would save the state money, not cost money through added personnel costs and lost productivity.
Illinois’ backlog of bills has hit a record high, at more than $13 billion, and the state isn’t even covering the interest on its mounting pension debt. Meanwhile, lawmakers – who haven’t passed a balanced budget in 16 years – have come up with few solutions to the state’s fiscal woes other than multibillion-dollar tax hikes.
Though seemingly harmless, the Obama birthday holiday would have cost taxpayers more at a time when the state clearly can’t afford to dig itself into a deeper hole.
The following lawmakers voted in favor of the bill:
Carol Ammons, D-Champaign
Jaime Andrade Jr., D-Chicago
Daniel Burke, D-Chicago
Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago
Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora
Deb Conroy, D-Villa Park
Melissa Conyears-Ervin, D-Chicago
Fred Crespo, D-Streamwood
Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago
John D’Amico, D-Chicago
Will Davis, D-East Hazel Crest
Anthony DeLuca, D-Chicago Heights
Scott Drury, D-Highwood
Marcus Evans Jr., D-Chicago
Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago
Laura Fine, D-Glenview
Mary Flowers, D-Chicago
LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago
Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston
Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria
LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis
Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago
Michael Halpin, D-Rock Island
Sonya Harper, D-Chicago
Gregory Harris, D-Chicago
Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero
Stephanie Kifowit, D-Aurora
Lou Lang, D-Skokie
Camille Lilly, D-Chicago
Theresa Mah, D-Chicago
Rob Martwick, D-Chicago
Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan
Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago
Anna Moeller, D-Elgin
Martin Moylan, D-Des Plaines
Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg
Elaine Nekritz, D-Buffalo Grove
Al Riley, D-Hazel Crest
Bob Rita, D-Blue Island
Sue Scherer, D-Decatur
Elgie Sims Jr., D-Chicago
Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago
Cynthia Soto, D-Chicago
Juliana Stratton, D-Chicago
Silvana Tabares, D-Chicago
André Thapedi, D-Chicago
Arthur Turner, D-Chicago
Litesa Wallace, D-Rockford
Larry Walsh Jr., D-Elwood
Chris Welch, D-Westchester
Ann Williams, D-Chicago
Kathleen Willis, D-Northlake
Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake
Michael Zalewski, D-Riverside