As the Democratic members of the Senate rules committee, we noted withutter disbelief the quotes attributed to Senate President “Pate” Philip in regard to the subject of crime legislation on Sept. 8.
Your readers need to know that Sen. Philip and the Senate Republican leadership stymied the progress of crime legislation in Springfield this year. The Republican majority on the Senate Rules Committee refused to allow consideration of the Safe Neighborhoods Bill, the Police Protection Enhancement Fund (which would allow communities to hire 6,100 new policemen), any kind of assault weapons ban, Truth-in-Sentencing and boot camps for juvenile offenders. Mayor Daley’s Safe Neighborhoods Bill passed the House with an overwhelming majority. All six of those bills now languish in the Senate Rules Committee.
Sen. Philip’s claim that he passed legislation not acted upon by the House is disingenuous. The “best proposals” agreed to by the mayor and the governor in fact were acted on by the House and are incorporated in the six bills lying in Sen. Philip’s parliamentary graveyard, the Senate Rules Committee. The truth is Sen. Philip killed his own, his party’s and his governor’s bills in an effort to thwart any Democrat or bipartisan crime initiative.
Sen. Philip’s finger-pointing is laughable at best and blatantly deceptive at worst. The record shows that Sen. Philip remains the reigning king of gridlock.