Family Violence Option (H.B. 4160) passes Illinois House--Next Steps

With a vote of 115 to 0, the Family Violence Option (FVO), H.B. 4160, passed the full Illinois House of Representatives on February 23. Our thanks go to the bill's sponsors, Reps. Patricia Lindner (R-Sugar Grove), Ron Stephens (R-Troy), Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), Maggie Crotty (D-Oak Forest), George Scully (D-Flossmoor), Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), Gwenn Klingler (R-Springfield), Patricia Bellock (R-Hinsdale), Lauren Beth Gash (D-Highland Park), and Jeff Schoenberg (D-Evanston). H.B. 4160 is now pending in the Senate.

The FVO is a state option in the federal welfare reform law. The FVO allows states increased flexibility in applying program requirements of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to families affected by domestic violence. Forty-one states have already adopted the FVO. Negotiations with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) resulted in the version of the bill that passed the House. IDHS supports the bill.

H.B. 4160 must now make its way through the Senate. It is now in the Senate Rules Committee waiting to be assigned to a substantive committee for consideration. It is in the substantive committees that a bill has its first chance to be heard on the merits. If it passes out of the Rules Committee, H.B. 4160 will probably be assigned to the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) is the chair of that committee. The last day that House bills will be considered by Senate committees is March 31. If the bill is passed out of the Senate committee, it will go to the Senate floor for a full vote. If H.B. 4160 passes the Senate without any further amendments, the bill goes to Gov. George Ryan to sign into law.

The FVO languished in the last two years in the Senate Rules Committee. If H.B. 4160 does not pass out of this committee, it may be dead for this year. Action is necessary to ensure that H.B. 4160 gets out of the Rules Committee.

Whether the FVO has a chance to become law is up to Republican senators to determine since they are the majority. Please contact the key Republican Senators listed below. Calls from resident individuals and organizations in these Senators' own districts are especially important. Tell the Senators that you want the FVO to become law in Illinois. Ask the Senators to allow H.B. 4160 to pass out of the Rules Committee so that it can receive a hearing on the merits in the Public Health and Welfare Committee. The key Senators to contact are:

Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford), chair of the Public Health and Welfare Committee
Home office: 815.987.7555 (phone); 815.987.7563 (fax)
Springfield office: 217.782.3875
E-mail: senatedave@aol.com

Sen. Stanley Weaver (R-Urbana), chair of the Rules Committee
Home office: 217.367.0009 (phone)
Springfield office: 217.782.6904 (phone); 217.782.7818 (fax)

Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale), cochair of the Rules Committee
Home office: 630.969.0990 (phone); 630.969.1007 (fax)
Springfield office: 217.782.5413

Sen. Dudycz (R-Chicago), member of the Rules Committee
Home office: 773.774.7717 (phone); 773.774.7877
Springfield office: 217.782.3650
E-mail: sendudycz@aol.com

You may also want to contact the Democrats in the Rules Committee to voice your support for the FVO. They are:

Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago), member of the Rules Committee
Home office: 773.883.0770 (phone); 773.296.0993 (fax)
Springfield office: 217.782.7260
E-mail: statesencullerton@msn.com

Sen. Vince DeMuzio (D-Carlinville), minority spokesperson of the Rules Committee
Home office: 217.854.4441 (phone); 217.854.5311 (fax)
Springfield office: 217.782.8206

In March the Senate will be in session on the following days: March 1, 7-10, 22-24, 28-31. On the days the Senate is not in session, contact senators at their home offices. Due to the March 21 Illinois primary, the Senate (and the House) is not in session on March 13-21.

Special thanks to all of you who circulated and signed FVO petitions. We received more than 700 signatures from all over the state. We are using these petitions in our advocacy efforts. Your support really makes a difference. Thanks again.

Contact Wendy Pollack, National Center on Poverty Law, 312.263.3830 ext. 238 or  if you have any questions