Years served: 1993-2005 (House); 2005-Present (Senate)
Committee assignments: Committee of the Whole; Labor (Minority Spokesperson); Appropriations II; Energy; Environment; Executive; Public Health; Subcommittee on Amendments (Sub-Minority Spokesperson); Executive Subcommittee on Amendment; Subcommittee on Const. Amendments; Deficit Reduction; Subcommittee on Amendments; Executive Subcommittee on Revenue.
TAXES AND SPENDING
Pankau voted for a huge electric rate increase.
Pankau helped pass SB1652 – a huge electric rate increase sought by ComEd and Ameren. (2011)
Pankau voted to raise sales taxes and fees.
Pankau voted for HB255 significantly raising the sales tax on a number of grocery related items including beverages, candy, and health and beauty aids. Taxes on beer, wine and other alcohol were also hiked. HB255 also triples the driver’s license fee. Further, this bill legalizes video gambling for bars and taverns. You can call that a “voluntary” tax if you want - but it still represents a big tax hike. Those bars and taverns don’t just hand over a big cut of their gambling machine proceeds to the state out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s a tax that gets the state its share of the machines’ take. (2009)
Pankau voted for the Democrats’ pork-bloated FY2008 $59 BILLION budget.
Pankau’s vote for HB3866 demonstrates inability as a legislator to seriously address Illinois’ chronic fiscal crisis that’s attributable to out-of-control spending, an antiquated pension system, and government corruption. (2007)
Pankau voted to increase the cigarette tax in Illinois.
HB0556 increases the cigarette tax in Illinois by $0.90 per pack. HB556 also allows the counties of Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage and Will to implement an additional $1.00 tax per pack. (2007)
Pankau voted to allow the Mayor of Chicago to DOUBLE the telephone tax.
SB0837 would give Mayor Richard Daley the ability to raise the telephone tax from $1.25 to $2.50 per month for all customers. (2007)
Pankau voted to increase the real estate transfer tax by $30 million.
SB0075 increased the cost of selling a house in Illinois by adding a $10 tax to closing fees. (2005)
Pankau voted against reducing the taxpayers’ burden to the state pension fund by $1.1 BILLION.
According to National Taxpayers United of Illinois, SB0027 limited end-of-career salary hikes for government school teachers and other government employees to 6% instead of the usual 20%. Such a reform would reduce state taxpayers’ contribution to state retirement funds by over $1.1 billion yearly. (2005)
Pankau voted for Governor Blagojevich’s FY2005 Partial Operational Budget totaling $45.5 billion.
SB3340 included substantial increases for healthcare and education but did not address out-of-control spending. According to National Taxpayers United of Illinois, after months of debate in the legislature, the FY2005 Capital Budget was passed totaling $9.1 billion. FY2005’s $54.6 billion state budget represented a 4% or $2 billion increase over the FY2004 budget. (2004)
Pankau voted for a state income-tax increase that hits Illinois businesses for $29 million.
According to National Taxpayers United of Illinois, SB2207 redefines that phrase “business income” in a way that benefits the big-spenders in Springfield. (2004)
Pankau voted for a computer software sales-tax hike.
SB2205 raised state sales taxes on computer software by $64 million. (2004)
Pankau voted for a property tax hike to increase patronage employees’ pay.
SB1881 will cost taxpayers $31 million per year. Governor Blagojevich vetoed SB1881. Both Houses overrode the veto. (2003)
Pankau voted to raise the state corporate income tax for industries that use heavy machinery.
SB0842 raised state corporate income taxes $59 million for industries that use heavy machinery. The tax will hit consumers of oil, coal, and graphic arts companies. (2003)
Pankau voted for Governor Blagojevich’s $10 BILLION bond deal.
Pankau voted to nearly double the state’s indebtedness with the largest bond issuance in Illinois history, by far. Pankau’s vote for HB2660 also helped net controversial Republican National Committeeman Bob Kjellander $809,000 in “finder’s” fees. Kjellander is a key figure in an ongoing probe of corruption in Illinois. (2003)
EDUCATION
Pankau voted to exempt teachers, principals and school superintendents from FOIA disclosure.
At the urging of the teachers’ unions and just months after approving what was billed as a sweeping reform of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, Pankau voted for SB315. The bill exempts from FOIA disclosure of performance evaluations for teachers, principals and school superintendents. Also supporting SB315 was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 which seeks the same exemption for all public employees who receive performance evaluations. (2010)
Pankau voted to increase education spending by nearly $600 million.
Pankau’s vote for HB3866 proves she is incapable and unwilling to address the public education-spending crisis in Illinois. Instead of leading with bold reforms, Pankau follows the Democrats’ dishonest argument that blames school failures on “not enough money.” (2007)
Pankau voted for a $45 million taxpayer-funded experiment - Universal Preschool.
According to National Taxpayers United of Illinois, SB1497 will once again prove that “universal preschool” schemes yield benefits that simply do not justify the costs involved. (2006)
GAMBLING
Pankau voted for the most massive expansion of gambling in Illinois history.
Pankau voted for SB744 which allows for five new casinos (including one Chicago-owned casino), slot machines at the state’s horse racing tracks, slot machines at Chicago’s two airports, more gaming positions at existing casinos, and slot machines and year-round racing at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. (2011)
Pankau voted to allow video poker at truck stops and VFW halls and to make it more difficult to regulate gaming operators.
Pankau voted for HB4927 - a controversial video poker bill that state gambling regulators fear will allow operators of illegal machines to stay in business throughout the state. The bill requires a felony conviction on gambling charges before regulators could deny a license to operate video gambling machines in Illinois. HB4927 further expands gambling by adding truck stops and VFW halls to the list of venues that will be allowed to have on-site video gambling machines that make payouts to patrons. (2010)
Pankau voted to allow video poker at OTB locations.
Pankau voted for SB744 allowing restaurants and bars attached to off-track betting locations to have video gambling machines. (2010)
Pankau voted for a massive expansion of gambling.
Pankau voted for HB255 - a massive expansion of gambling in Illinois. HB255 legalizes video gambling for bars and taverns, and permits Internet Lottery on computers and cell phones. Video gambling machines are often called the “crack cocaine” of gambling because of the speed of play and the rapid onset of addiction. (2009)
Pankau voted to subsidize horseracing through riverboat casinos.
HB1918 requires riverboat casinos that have gross receipts of more than $200 million in 2004 to pay 3% of their adjusted gross income to the Horse Racing Trust Fund. (2006)
Pankau voted to legalize video gambling in bars across Illinois.
HB1124 would have legalized gambling on video game “contests” of two or more in bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and other venues. (2007)
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Pankau voted to force state and local governments to recognize “consular identification cards” issued by foreign governments.
SB1623 forces state and local governments to recognize the consular identification cards issued by foreign governments and commonly used by illegal Mexican immigrants. (2005)
Pankau voted for in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
HB0060 allows undocumented immigrants to attend state universities at in-state tuition rates. (2003)
REFORM (or the lack thereof)
Pankau voted against reducing the size and cost of government.
Pankau voted against SB173 - a bill that would have reduced the size and cost of government through consolidation or elimination of unnecessary units of local government. Illinois now has almost 7,000 taxing districts – far exceeding the number of any other state. Republican lawmakers had an incredible opportunity to strike a blow for limited government, but instead they chose big government over reform. (2011)
Pankau voted to exempt teachers, principals and school superintendents from FOIA disclosure.
At the urging of the teachers’ unions and just months after approving what was billed as a sweeping reform of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, Pankau voted for SB315. The bill exempts from FOIA disclosure of performance evaluations for teachers, principals and school superintendents. Also supporting SB315 was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 which seeks the same exemption for all public employees who receive performance evaluations. (2010)
Pankau voted to water down ethics reform law.
Pankau voted to exempt transportation projects from the new ethics law (SB761). Despite the awesome demands of riding around on a High Horse every day since Rod Blagojevich’s arrest lecturing about the need to reform Illinois’ culture of corruption - state lawmakers still somehow found time to gut their own brand new “landmark” ethics reform law. This of course would be the same ethics reform law these same lawmakers hailed as “a big step forward.” (2009)
Pankau did not vote against making it more difficult for write-in candidate to get on the ballot.
Pankau was in attendance when the vote was taken but voted “present” refusing to take a principled stand. SB662 changed the deadline for filing to be a write-in candidate to 61 days before an election. The purpose for this change is purely for incumbent protection. (2007)
Pankau did nothing to help cleanse the Illinois Republican Party of the tainted National Committeeman Bob Kjellander.
Bob Kjellander could have been removed and replaced with an honest leader a lot earlier, if only Republican “leaders” like Pankau were serious about reform. Pankau never joined the rank-and-file and more serious officials who overwhelmingly called for Kjellander’s immediate ouster. It’s only because Pankau and a tiny handful of other old guard faces refuse to unify on reform that even this simplest of clean-ups remain difficult to accomplish.
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