Humanewatch.org. It’s a website you must visit. Television ads depicting starving and abused animals are among the most heart-wrenching ads we see. We all want to dig a little deeper to help these starving creatures. After all, for a few dollars a month we can assure these animals’ safety – or can we? The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is responsible for these ads and their membership is in the millions.

Here’s a dose of reality for you – the Humane Society of the United States is not your local animal shelter. In fact, less than ½ of 1% of its $100 million budget gets into the hands of local pet shelters. You who read this are, like me, animal loving people. How does it feel to know that if you donate $ 200 to this alleged caring agency, $1.00 gets into the hands of local pet shelters? If it makes you feel anything other than mad I’d be shocked. These are the least animal loving people I have ever come up against. Sadly, they make fools out of you and me and their clever ads get deep into our pockets. It’s big business folks, and they know how to take care of their own at your expense.

This “animal rights group” (and I say that with great distain), socked away more than $2.5 million in donations from Americans into its own pension plan. The figure for 2008 is $2,532,167 to be exact. HSUS gave just $452, 371 to local pet shelters in 2008 out of a total budget of $99,664,400. Yes, the dog watchers need a watchdog. Again, go to humanewatch.org for a real eye-opener.

You’ve probably figured out that HSUS and I don’t like each other very much. If you are in any way involved in livestock production agriculture you need to be concerned. Organizations that have millions of dollars at their disposal, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) are doing all they can to make vegans out of all of us. Cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry and rabbits are at the forefront of their attacks. My House Bill 4812 would reinstate horse slaughter in Illinois. These organizations and their minions are doing all they can to stop the bill. Here is a dose of reality – since horse slaughter was outlawed here in 2006, nearly 100,000 horses each year are now stuffed into trailers and shipped to Mexico to face, in many cases, a horrific end of life compared to what horses experienced at Cavel International in DeKalb, which was dealing with the issue in a most humane way. Sadly, HSUS and ASPCA turn on the spin and ignore the tragic reality that they have caused.

My heartfelt thanks to the “Chicago Tribune” and its reporter Angie Leventis Lourgos for an excellent, objective article on horse slaughter in the paper’s March 5^th issue. Contrast that with “Chicago Sun-Times” columnist Michael Sneed who buys HSUS’s swill hook, line and sinker.

I strongly support and encourage your financial help to our local pet shelters like Friends Forever in Freeport. They get it.

We, as legislators, are often asked to participate in discussions with organizations that travel to Springfield to lobby. Such was the case on February 24^th, as I, along with my good friends Dan Brady (R-Bloomington), Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook), Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) and Dan Reitz (D-Steeleville), made up a panel to discuss our state budget situation with the United Counties Council of Illinois (county board members and chairmen from across Illinois, and yes, our counties in the 89^th district were well represented).

As is typical, we each made a brief presentation, then it was opened up for questions. Frustration was at the forefront of the discussion. No one was interested in asking us questions. Instead, they preferred to take us to the woodshed and have a “do better” talk with us. You get the drift – “It’s all your fault we’re not getting our money.” It really was rather caustic and I think showboating was taken to a whole new level to the applause of others in the group. I was very proud of our local county representatives, however, who kept it professional.

One clever lady, in her attempt to cheapen us, added up all of our years in the General Assembly and determined that our more than sixty years total of service merited immediate replacement. Here’s what she missed, Deputy Leader Frank Mautino, the House Democrats chief budget negotiator, spent nearly twenty years driving a beer truck. If you doubt his qualifications, talk with Stephenson County’s Public Health Director, Craig Beintema, who knows him well. Simply put, he understands and works the budget with brilliance.

Dan Reitz spent seventeen years underground as a coal miner. Does he get it? You bet he does. Like me, he never sees “D” or “R”, he just wants to find a way to fix it.

Dan Brady, many years a coroner and funeral director, has seen it all. He works in a profession where everyone’s life, rich or poor, ends with the same common denominator. He sees people daily who are dealing with the ultimate hurt, the loss of loved ones. His constituents and their needs are his passion.

Elaine Nekritz was first elected with me eight years ago. She is a lady I hold in the highest esteem for her competence and dedication. She chairs the railroad caucus and is a tireless worker for her constituents. Yes, I was honored to be a part of this panel.

My point here is simple, our nation is in a financial crisis, and certainly our state, counties and municipalities are as well. Clever cheap shots and finger pointing may provoke a few chuckles and scattered applause, but accomplish nothing. It took us a long time to get this far in arrears and we can’t crawl out overnight, but I assure you, I couldn’t be working with finer people in our attempt to fix it.

I’ve written before of when I was newly elected being told “I’m proud of you Jim, but don’t ever become one of them.”  Well, the friends mentioned in this column are just a few of the men and women I serve with. Each one proudly serves his or her district. If that makes me “one of them,” I deserve the title.

It’s 5:30 AM. I’ve just finished my workout and I hope to make it to the chapel by 7:30 AM. We meet every Wednesday and Thursday while we’re in session, bipartisan, both chambers, even those who oppose the Second Amendment. God does have room for all of us. I cherish that hour. It puts it all in proper perspective. My thanks to Pastors Bob, Tom, Sean, Gary, and Ralph. It’s a useful opportunity to agree to disagree. You’d be surprised at the large number that participate.

These days are the busiest of the year as more and more bills reach committee, and of course issues become more contentious. I am blessed with a wonderful staff, Sally and Barb in Freeport and Shelly in Springfield, who I am convinced are all angels in business attire. The phone calls and e-mails continue to increase. Sally arrived Monday morning to 556 e-mails. She reads them all, deletes the Viagra ads, answers those she can, prints out those directed to me that I need to answer personally, and sends to Barb those that assure me I have excrement for brains and where I am destined to rot for eternity (you know that place south of the green sod.) They then confer to determine whether I should even see certain ones of those. Simply put, they protect me.

For the e-mails printed out and directed to me I write a response and Sally gets it back to you. It’s a good system. Yes, I kill more trees than I should with the added paper but it insures proper attention.

Recently I wrote of our state’s financial crisis. I knew it would happen, lots of finger pointing. But it started where I least expected it, from a leader who was solid as a rock through the six-year-long Governor Blagojevich debacle.

I vividly recall July 3rd, 2004, as the Governor ordered us to return to Springfield again on July 4^th, and Speaker Madigan’s calming words to settle down the members of the House. It was his finest hour. Contrast that with February 9, 2010. The Speaker is in a youtube video shot on the House floor in front of the press box. Why speak to members directly on the record, when a youtube video will get lots of play?  In the video the Speaker points to the Republican side of the chamber and responds to a question on the budget saying that the state’s problems are because of “those do-nothing, drop outs” over there. That was followed by a fusillade of more derogatory comments. Wow. I can hardly wait to work with him to solve the state’s problems. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt though; he’s under a lot of pressure.

Speaking of the state’s problems, I need your help. On Wednesday, March 10^th, my bill requiring drug tests for welfare recipients (HB 4810) will come before the House Human Services Committee at 8:30 AM in room D-1 of the Stratton Building in Springfield. I need you to join me in Springfield to testify about why this change makes sense to working people who have to take a drug test to get and keep their jobs. If you support this proposal but don’t want to testify before the committee, I still need you to come to the committee hearing and submit a witness slip that says you are in favor of the bill. Call Sally at 815-232-0774 to get scheduled, and thank you.

Perhaps it happens as we grow older we become more critical of issues we don’t agree with. Case-in-point: yesterday, while getting my oil changed I was in the waiting room with the television on. I didn’t wish to watch it. I’m trying to do paperwork. I’m easily distracted (when I was a kid it was called “not paying attention”). One of the “Judge Judy”-type shows was on and I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Has time passed me by? Ruby Sue who is sleeping with Billy Bob is angry because when she came home yesterday Billy Bob was in the shower with Betty Jo. How does she know? She asked Billy Bob’s stepson who was playing on the living room floor and he said “He’s in the shower with his friend.” So Ruby Sue is mad and wants to be reimbursed for the big screen TV she bought. No, I couldn’t finish my paperwork. I was too dumbfounded. I hope no one was looking at me as I’m sure my mouth was hanging open.

I don’t know how the judge eventually ruled, nor do I care. What I do care about is what is happening to us? Young children just getting home from school are watching this garbage.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning, grabbed the remote and turned on the national news which informed me that Howard Stern, (possibly the most foul-mouthed person on the planet) is negotiating and probably will get millions of dollars per year to host a reality show which will play in prime time. What a wonderful, positive role model for our young people.

Yes, I’m square. I grew up watching actor Ronald Reagan host the General Electric Theater on Saturday nights (the only night we could watch TV), followed by Walter Cronkite hosting “You are There.” Cronkite’s words still resonate in my mind: “What sort of a day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our times. All things are as they were then except you are there.” For the next 26 minutes we would be mesmerized watching a historical re-creation about building a part of America. As a young soldier I watched the same Walter Cronkite tear-up on live television on that fateful November day in 1963, as he reported that President Kennedy was dead. At that time Walter Cronkite was considered the most trusted and respected person in America.

Television shows can leave an impact on us for years. 40 years from now people will reflect back and remember watching how Ruby Sue got her big screen TV back and that “Shock Jock” Howard Stern was a national hero. No, we can’t legislate morality, but don’t we have an obligation to revolt against this?

I write often about being the eternal optimist. I guess part of that comes from a wonderful mother who always told me that no matter how much it hurts, “It will be okay”. After seven years of serving as your State Representative and telling you often of the dark clouds of financial calamity hovering over our state, I can’t tell you, “It will be okay”.

On February 3^rd, the day after the primary election, members of my own party agreed that we can no longer say that we are nearly bankrupt. We are way beyond that and it must be addressed. Let me share with you a few very telling numbers: When I first took office (the same time Governor Blagojevich was elected to his first term), our state budget totaled $52 billion. Today it’s $59 billion. Back then the budget was between $3 and $5 billion out of balance. Today it’s $11 to $13 billion out of balance. Back then our long term capital obligation was $7 billion. Today it’s $22 billion. This is not sustainable – its craziness and we continue to muddle on our merry way.

Many organized groups are calling and e-mailing demanding that we support House Bill 174, which is Governor Quinn’s proposed 50% income tax increase. Folks, don’t you see that passage of that tax increase would generate about $3.5 billion per year? Remember, our budget is $11 to $13 billion in the red with the state owing providers $6 billion and many of those bills are as much as six months overdue. This is nuts! When there’s no question that even a big increase in the state income tax won’t fix the problem, why is it not clear to everyone that spending absolutely must be cut? Winston Churchill is quoted as saying “To hope that someday, someone will fix the problem is to go on feeding the crocodile hoping he eats you last. But eat you he will.”

I tell you folks, it’s harder to do away with a state program that has already been instituted (like the free rides for seniors), than it is to kill off one of the mascots when two school districts consolidate…and I’ve seen both firsthand.

Speaking of school issues, if they involve you (and they do if you have kids or pay taxes), you better grab something solid and hang on. Last Thursday as I walked into our caucus meeting, I was handed a document titled “Current Status of Education Funding”. One of the bullet points states: “It is important that school districts plan for a lean budget in FY ‘11 and conserve as much of reserve funds as possible to weather the state’s budget crisis.” I would have to characterize that “as a tremendous grasp of the obvious”.

School districts always struggle for adequate funding. I had the privilege of serving for eight years on the Winnebago School Board from the mid ‘80’s to the mid ‘90’s. Those were better economic times and we still struggled. School boards and administrators please heed this: we are facing a crisis of epic proportions. As you look to your state payments to keep the busses rolling, mandated categorical reimbursement and general state aid, know it may be lean at best. Here is another quote from the document mentioned above: “The outlook for the FY ’11 education budget is of great concern. Because the Governor used one time federal stimulus money to partially fund the ongoing General State Aid program, the State Board of Education’s proposed budget for FY ’11 will need a $1 billion infusion to maintain FY ’10 levels.” Please tell me where that will come from.

I learn so much from you, my constituents, when you call, visit or e-mail my office or speaking to your group. I also learn much from the thirty minutes of reading I do each day while I ride my stationary bike. I also learn from Beasley, my way-overweight Dalmatian and from Spanky, my wound-up Jack Russell Terrier with scraggly wire hair (I didn’t think there could be such an ugly Jack Russell terrier, but after we lost our Wishbone, this is what we got from the Jack Russell Rescue).

Here is a novel thought from the book I am currently reading: “100 People Who Are Screwing Up America” by Bernie Goldberg; it’s a quote from William F. Buckley (who is definitely not one of the 100) “I’d rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than the faculty of Harvard University.”  Similarly, I would rather turn over the reins of Illinois government to the last 177 people who have contacted me, than to be a part of failing to fix our financial crisis.

Why would I choose the last 177 who have contacted me? You are citizens concerned about issues, not about “protecting your seat” (not to be confused with covering your – - -. You would objectively and fairly assess our situation, and simply conclude that this cannot go on.

I recently visited the home of Nancy Stevens, a teacher from Winnebago. I spoke with Nancy along with several of her fellow teachers and Superintendent Dr. Dennis Harezlak about the state’s bleak financial picture after which they asked me “Jim, are the 177 members of the General Assembly ready to make the radical changes necessary?” I responded “We’d better be, or we deserve to be gone.”

Several days ago I spoke at a morning meeting of the Freeport Kiwanis where several of the members brought up an interesting idea. They agreed that we have a problem with multi-generational welfare in Illinois. They also noted that if you are unemployed, but want to work, you will lose all of your unemployment benefits if you accept even a job paying minimum wage. How about returning people to the workforce with the state, at least temporarily, paying the difference between the lower minimum wage and the higher unemployment benefits? Can we make that happen, they asked. It’s sure worth a try.

And what is it that I learn from my dogs? Beasley, my Dalmatian is old and fat, and also insanely loyal. It’s that type of loyalty I owe to you in listening to your concerns and advocating on your behalf. Recently, I spoke with a gentleman who admitted that he hadn’t contacted my office about an issue because he’s a Democrat. I couldn’t believe it. Partisanship is not something engaged in by me or any member of my staff.  We are here to serve you. It bears repeating: “Representative” means to represent you. That is our mandate and our commitment.

Then there is Spanky; wound like a 7-day clock. She makes the energizer bunny seem like a sleepy old hound. You have allowed me to serve you these past 7-plus years and I owe you Spanky’s level of enthusiasm and commitment.

Returning to Springfield on February 3^rd, will not be business as usual. We are facing a staggering debt load with no clear answers, angry constituents demanding a fix and a lack of will by many legislators to make the hard decisions. No, I’m not talking about voting for a tax increase, I’m talking about reducing entitlements. I grow increasingly frustrated with those who believe “the government owes me.” Yes, we need to talk about entitlements.

My absolute favorite of the entitlement program is the free rides on mass transit for all senior citizens. I’ve talked about this one before. It was one of Rod Blagojevich’s “last hurrahs”. Legislators passed a bill bailing out the Chicago-area mass transit systems-the CTA, Metra, Pace, etc., at great expense to you, the taxpayer. Then Governor Blagojevich decided that all senior citizens would ride for free (not a part of the original bill, but an add-on that quickly breezed through the General Assembly.). That add-on cost you $70 million per year. One of my colleagues actually said to me “Why are you so upset, Sacia? It’s only $70 million.” He was serious.

I guess when a budget is more than $6 billion out-of-whack what’s another $70 million?  That’s the very point. Many of my colleagues are simply out of touch. After all, it’s an entitlement.

Do you see the issue here, folks? Many feel the government simply owes them. Well, here’s the deal: WE CAN’T AFFORD IT!

There you go again, Sacia. This is a Chicago issue. Worry about your own district. Ok. A bus ride in Freeport on Pretzel City Transit costs $2.00, unless you are a senior. Then you ride for free.  You got it. Even in the high rent district where most folks can afford a $2.00 bus ride, they still ride free. Now if that doesn’t upset you, I don’t know what would.

Two years ago no one uttered the phrase “tax increase”. Recently, even conservative businessmen are suggesting that I should consider some sort of a tax increase. Well, when we get rid of free rides for seniors and a multitude of other ridiculous “perks” I’ll give it some thought.

Don’t get me wrong, I support the previous policies of half price rides for seniors. That makes some sense. After all, I order a senior coffee when I drive through Mickey D’s and give the clerk the 54 cent discounted price.  My barbers don’t even ask anymore…they see my bifocals and realize that there isn’t much hair to cut anyway and just automatically take $1.00 off of the regular price. What bothers me about free rides for all seniors (apart from the $70 million program cost) is that it’s not means-tested. If there is a low-income senior who needs to get across town to buy groceries and truly can’t afford even the half-price fair, then I’m all for helping. What about the 18 year old on the east side of Freeport working two jobs and taking night classes at Highland College? I would much rather subsidize his free ride than a senior who can easily afford the fare.

To sum it all up, we need to quit spending money we don’t have. Free rides for all seniors, including those who can afford to pay, are just one example of many. Simply put, even a massive tax increase won’t help unless we get ridiculous spending under control.