Posted by Heather D on 11/07/11

Automated speed cameras are one step closer to becoming reality, and your action is needed to stop this boondoggle in the House.

The Speed Camera bill blew through the Senate on a 32 - 24 vote in the first week of Illinois' Fall Veto Session.

With the willing assistance of Speaker Madigan and Senate President Cullerton, Mayor Emanuel's dream of becoming the Speed Camera Capital of America is about to be realized.

According to The Expired Meter, "If Chicago is allowed to utilize the speed enforcement functionality of their red light cameras, it will immediately have the largest automated speed camera enforcement program in the entire nation."

The battle heats up in the State House this week with HB 3851.

In the first week of the session, HB 3851 sped through it's first 2 readings in the House, and it is now awaiting a final vote.

As evidence that Illinois camera enforcement is all about revenues rather than safety, our friends at War on Driving point out, "Chicago is notorious for its dangerously short yellow light times at camera intersections, as low as 2.5 seconds, which some would call criminal negligence."

The cameras are supplied and maintained by Redflex -- a private company that stands to increase their profits by untold millions if this bill passes.

And there is no independent oversight to ensure the accuracy of these cameras and sensors.

Tell your State Representative NO on Automated Speed Enforcement Systems!

With just 3 days remaining in this session, it is essential that you call your representative right away. This bill could be called for a vote at any time.

Click here to find the phone number for your state representative.

In addition, please take a moment to call Speaker Madigan at 217-782-5350. Demand that he abandon his efforts to bilk Illinois citizens of more of their hard-earned money.

Posted by Heather D on 11/07/11

Oct. 26, 2011

32 Yeas   24 Nays

N    Althoff

N    Bivins

NV Bomke

Y    Brady

Y    Clayborne

N    Collins, A

Y    Collins, J

Y    Crotty

N    Cultra

Y    Delgado

Y    Dillard

N    Duffy

NV Forby

N    Frerichs

Y    Garrett

Y    Haine

Y    Harmon

N    Holmes

Y    Hunter

Y    Hutchinson

Y    Jacobs

N    Johnson, C

N    Johnson, T

Y    Jones, E

N    Jones, J

Y    Koehler

Y    Kotowski

N    LaHood

Y    Landek

N    Lauzen

Y    Lightford

Y    Link

N    Luechtefeld

Y    Maloney

Y    Martinez

N    McCann

N    McCarter

NV Meeks

N    Millner

Y    Mulroe

Y    Munoz

N    Murphy

Y    Noland

N    Pankau

Y    Radogno

Y    Raoul

N    Rezin

N    Righter

N    Sandack

Y    Sandoval

N    Schmidt

Y    Schoenberg

Y    Silverstein

Y    Steans

N    Sullivan

N    Syverson

Y    Trotter

Y    Wilhelmi

Y    President Cullerton

Posted by Heather D on 10/21/11
Last updated 10/24/11

They're back, and they want to squeeze every penny out of you they can.

The Illinois Fall Veto Session is set for October 25, 26, and 27 and November 8, 9, and 10.

While the intent of the Fall Veto Session is to override vetoes of bills that occurred over the summer, the legislature sometimes attempts to pass new legislation when most of their constituents aren't looking.

This year we have much to be concerned about.

Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) Systems are coming to an intersection near you - unless you take action to stop it.

The scheme is the brainchild of Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago. Emanuel is desperate to fund his outrageous budget, and he has enlisted Speaker Madigan to carry out his egregious plan.

Speaker Madigan has introduced HB 3851, which will permit ASE's in designated "safety zones."

Automated Speed Enforcement Systems, much like Red Light Cameras, are an effective means for local governments to raise money to fund their out-of-control spending.

Many citizens wrongly believe these cameras promote safety and target "law-breakers"--making the cameras a "public good."

But according to our friends at CameraFraud, "There is no independent oversight to ensure the accuracy of the cameras and sensors."

And while few people would argue that one mile-an-hour over the speed limit represents a safety-hazard, there is nothing in this bill to stop city councils from establishing a threshold that low to trigger a fine.

That's right, one mile-an-hour over the speed limit could cost you a $100.00 fine.

Many local governments have spent outside of their means for years, never considering that our economy would suffer the way it has. Now that revenues are down, they are desperately searching for ways to fund their bloated budgets.

Click here to find contact information for your State Representative and State Senator. Demand that they vote against HB 3851.

Illinois legislators can't seem to get enough of your money.

Last year we saw an extended Lame Duck Session that ended with a 66% tax increase on struggling citizens. This year, the stage seems to be set for more of the same abuse--unless we take action to stop them.

Tell the legislature NO on Automated Speed Enforcement Systems!

Posted by Heather D on 05/25/11

Both houses of Congress are using sleight-of-hand chicanery to pass the badly named Patriot Act.

Your immediate action is needed.

The U.S. Senate sent a totally unrelated small business bill (S.990) to the House on Monday. The House amended the bill under suspension on Tuesday, and it now heads back to the Senate for final passage.

On May 24, Senator Rand Paul spent hours on the Senate floor urging Senator Harry Reid to honor his commitment and allow debate and amendments on the Patriot Act extension.

Proving his contempt for our Constitution, Senator Reid's answer is to swap the language in the small business bill for the Patriot Act and pass it using parliamentary tricks.

According to Senator Paul:

Instead of honoring statements he made in February regarding allowing amendments and debate on the bill, Sen. Reid went through procedural hoops to go back on his word. By hurriedly attaching the extensions to the privileged small business bill as an amendment, Sen. Reid denied the Senate the opportunity to debate the constitutionality of its provisions. Today's events further underscore the U.S. government's lack of transparency and accountability to the American people.

The vote will happen on May 26.

Please call and email your Senators and demand that they vote against the Patriot Act extensions. You can find their contact information by clicking here.

Once you have contacted your Senators, please call Harry Reid at 202-224-3542. Demand that Senator Reid stop using dirty tricks to pass unconstitutional bills. Remind him that parliamentary rules were not made to be broken, and the Constitution is not just a piece of paper.

Lawmakers need to hear loud and clear that the freedom movement is very much alive and well, and we will not sit idly by while they legislate away our most basic rights using chicanery and deceit as their guide.

Posted by Heather D on 05/20/11
Last updated 05/20/11

Politicians shredding your rights is not patriotic.

The U.S. Congress is poised to vote on the badly misnamed “Patriot Act”, and your immediate action is needed to stop this Fourth Amendment-shredding legislation from being renewed.

House Speaker Boehner, Senator Reid, and President Obama have cut a deal to foist a 4-year extension of 3 expiring provisions on innocent Americans, and with just 1 week to go before their expiration, the statists are desperate to push this legislation through.

For 10 years now, the Patriot Act has been eroding our freedoms and turning our nation into a despotic authoritarian state.

In February, you and I mounted a defense that caused quite a stir on the Hill. Our lawmakers had grown accustomed to meeting limited resistance on this act and had every expectation that the extensions would sail through easily.

While the expiring provisions were extended for 3 months, your quick action put our lawmakers on notice that Americans are no longer willing to trade liberty for a false sense of security.

Your help is extremely essential to regaining lost freedoms and defeating this continued tyrannical suspension of your most basic Constitutionally protected rights.

The Patriot Act dismantled your right to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

It removed protections from unlawful searches and seizures. Government agents can now pry into your phone, internet, library, and banking records with no court oversight and no evidence of a crime.

They can tap your phones, monitor every keystroke you make on the internet, scrutinize every penny you spend, and if they are so inclined – hold you without charges and deny your right to legal counsel.

The entire Patriot Act needs to be repealed, but right now, the three sun-setting provisions should be allowed to expire outright.

Extreme pressure is being placed on our lawmakers to renew these provisions – and unless they sustain serious counter-pressure from us – they will choose the path of least resistance!

Don’t let anyone tell you that your phone calls and emails to Congress don’t matter. Enough pressure from us can and will prove that if they cave to the statist’s demands, they will lose their jobs in the next election cycle.

But they need to hear from each and every one of us for liberty to win!

They need to hear loud and clear that the freedom movement is very much alive and well – and we will not sit idly by while they legislate away our most basic rights.

Call and email your Representative and Senators today and tell them to vote NO on EVERY vote pertaining to renewing any part of the Patriot Act.

The Patriot Act was forced on innocent Americans after 9/11 on the claim that it would keep us safe. But 9/11 occurred because the government failed to use existing intelligence – not because they didn’t have the necessary intelligence-gathering tools.

The abominable acts that occurred on 9/11 were unjustifiable, but we cannot allow the White House and Congress to destroy the rights and liberties that made this nation great!

Contact your Representative and Senators today and demand they vote against renewing the Patriot Act on every vote.

We must ensure that the pressure lawmakers are receiving from those who would shred our rights pales in comparison to those of us fighting for freedom.