Through an email from an employee of Woodstock District 200, and on the school e-mail server, I learned that a medical marijuana bill (SB 1381) failed in the Illinois House of Representatives earlier this month. Heralded as "great news!", it included these statements, "After being told repeatedly that the medical marijuana bill was safely being passed this month, pressure on our representatives resulted in the bill failing! Illinois will not be facing medical marijuana issues at this point. Please note that there is already another bill filed on the same issue and we will need to make sure we voice our opinion when necessary."
I haven't really thought the the medical marijuana question. I guess if it is medically regulated, legally dispensed, and helps certain patients to deal with medical issues, I'm not immediately opposed to it.
But what I did immediately wonder was whether a school district ought to be expressing an opinion or take sides on a legislative issue.
Should School District email be used to suggest lobbying of legislators?
Reps. Jack Franks and Mike Tryon voted "No" on the bill. A "No" vote was a vote against legalization of medical marijuana. The vote was 56 Yeas, 60 Nays, 1 Present (Rep. Andre M. Thapedi (D-Cook County)) and one "E" (Excused Absence; Rep. Mulligan).
Look how close that vote was. If Franks and Tryon had voted "Yea", the vote would have been 58-58-1-1. And if Rep. Rosemary Mulligan (R-Park Ridge) hadn't had a note from the teacher to miss "school" that day and had voted "Yea", the Bill would have passed 59-58-1.
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
1 comment:
You should probably know what you are talking about before you write about them.
First, Rep. Mulligan is very sick, which is why she wan't in Springfield the past week. Your snarky "note from the teacher" is offensive.
Second, you need 60 votes to pass a bill out of the House. Not a majority of those voting.
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