Springfield, Ill. – Lawmakers began the 2010 legislative session this week with the governor’s annual State of the State address, and wrapped up the week by approving measures that State Senator Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) said will impose more regulations on Illinois cemeteries.

Lawmakers were overwhelmingly disappointed by Gov. Pat Quinn's State of the State message, which many said lacked focus and failed to devote serious time to the state’s financial crisis which impacts every aspect of state government.

McCarter said he wasn’t surprised by the lack of focus considering Quinn, former Governor Blagojevich before him, and their legislative allies are primarily responsible for the deep financial hole.  The 51st District Senator said since Quinn took over after Blagojevich’s impeachment nearly one year ago, the financial crisis has only worsened.

While Quinn did outline intentions to create jobs and rebuild Illinois’ economy, he provided few specifics on how he plans to accomplish that goal aside from once again plugging a tax increase.

“A tax increase is the wrong approach,” said McCarter following the speech.  “The only fair and honest way to increase revenues to the state is through job creation.  We must make Illinois attractive to the risk takers who will invest in the people of Illinois, to create new jobs, start businesses and create new products.  If we don’t change our business environment, the investments and the jobs will go to neighboring states.”

McCarter added that Illinois’ problems are too severe to be fixed by a stopgap tax increase.  The Senator also said there needs to be fundamental changes made in the management state government.  For years, structural changes like pension and Medicaid reforms have been advanced as viable ways to cut costs and reduce state overhead.  However, the state’s Democrat majority has largely rejected these cost-saving options.

Additionally, despite Quinn's support of a major bipartisan infrastructure improvement program that was designed to create jobs, his administration has been slow to implement the program.  McCarter said the state needs to move ahead with the capital construction program in order to create jobs and put people to work.

The governor also addressed ethics reform, advocating for an ethics referendum that would allow the people of Illinois to participate in advancing ethical rules and regulations for their state and local elected officials.

Although the Senate Republican Caucus has long been an advocate for campaign finance and ethics reform, McCarter said Quinn’s ethics track record is seriously flawed.  Last year, Quinn abandoned the recommendations of his own ethics commission, and bowed to pressure from his fellow Democrats, who consequently watered down recall and campaign finance reform measures.

Also this week, the General Assembly approved legislation that will dismantle the way cemeteries are regulated in Illinois. House Bill 1188 was introduced in response to the scandal at Burr Oak Cemetery. Cemetery workers allegedly dug up bodies and then resold burial plots. They are awaiting trial on felony charges.

“The increased fees and regulations on the industry is the wrong signal to send to the overall business community in Illinois,” said McCarter.  “Illinois’ unemployment rate is in double digits, I have hundreds of people throughout my district who are out of work.  We need to be taking steps that improve the climate for job creation not deter investors and risk takers by passing new taxes, fees and regulations.”

If signed into law, House Bill 1188 would require cemetery owners, managers and customer service employees at private cemeteries to be licensed through the state. The legislation also permits audits on cemeteries and imposes new requirements that extend from meeting certain grounds maintenance standards, to controlling traffic outside the cemetery during funeral processions.

Though religious and government cemeteries have been partially exempted from the legislation, an approximate 12 percent of the Illinois cemetery industry would be fully regulated under the new law.  As a result, it’s likely that private cemeteries will be subjected to millions of dollars in new fees and onerous regulations that could do irreparable damage to the state’s private cemetery industry.

Additional measures approved by the General Assembly this week:

Early Release Program (SB 1013):  Requires an inmate serve at least 60 days on their sentence before being given meritorious credit that allows an early release from prison.

As far back as September of last year, Senator McCarter publically warned against an Early Release Program Governor Quinn wanted to implement.  McCarter characterized the plan to release 1,000 convicted felons and cut front line prison staff as “short-sighted” and “dangerous.”

At news conferences in front of corrections facilities in Decatur and Vandalia, McCarter predicted the plan would jeopardize the safety of law abiding citizens.

An Associated Press study of early release efforts, published in December, showed that dozens of inmates released early had records of violent crimes, including murder conspiracy, weapons violations and sex crime convictions, while more than a dozen, ‘had been accused of new, violent crimes, including attempted murder and armed robbery.’