House Speaker Michael Madigan is eyeing the use of a new tax on computer software to aid the Chicago Public Library`s construction program by as much as $20 million, aides to the Chicago Democrat said Thursday.
Other lawmakers had hoped to use the software tax, which has been proposed for several years in the General Assembly but never passed, for assistance to civic centers, state parks and McCormick Place maintenance costs.
”There is a set of projects suggested by the library commissioner that the city would like to see some state assistance on,” said Steve Brown, a spokesman for Madigan. ”The software tax money is currently being viewed in terms of capital projects and a portion might be identified for that.”
The tax on prepackaged computer programs would yield an estimated $24 million a year, enough to finance a $200 million program, according to legislative analysts. Under the previous allocation formula under
consideration, $100 million would have gone to parks outside the Chicago metropolitan area, $72 million to civic centers and $28 million to McCormick Place.
Brown and library officials said the latest proposal would not eliminate those projects but instead take a portion for state assistance for library construction costs.
Though the amount of library assistance is still under study, Brown said, he estimated it would be no more than $20 million.
Library Commissioner John Duff, in a telephone interview Thursday, said a Madigan aide called him two weeks ago to inform him of the speaker`s proposal. ”He (Madigan) felt a library construction grant for the branches was higher priority, better use for the money,” Duff said. ”It looks
promising.”
Duff estimated the library has $60 million worth of projects that need funding. Although he does not expect to get anywhere near that amount, any amount would help, he said.
In other General Assembly action:
– Mandatory school attendance: A Senate-passed measure that would have raised the mandatory school age to 18 from 16 was defeated on a test vote in the House.
”Kids who drop out are unemployed and unemployable and a burden to our society,” said the bill`s House sponsor, Rep. Mike Curran (D., Springfield), who said he will call it for another vote next week. The measure fell 3 votes short of the 60 needed for passage.
– Elected ICC: The House amended onto a bill a provision calling for the election of Illinois Commerce Commission members, who are now appointed by the governor.
Rep. John Matijevich (D., North Chicago) who sponsored the amendment, acknowledged the measure`s slim chances for passage. The amendment was adopted on a 51-50 roll-call vote, 9 votes short of the necessary 60 votes.
– Drug dealers: Minors over 15 years old who are arrested for selling drugs in a public housing project would automatically be prosecuted as adults under a Senate-passed measure the House sent to the governor 84-18.
– Drug-sniffing dogs: School officials would be able to request police dogs to be used in reasonable searches of school grounds and lockers for illegal drugs under a measure approved by the House 99-3 and sent to the governor, who proposed the bill as part of his anti-drug package.
– Computer virus: People who insert ”viruses” into computers would be subject to Class 4 felony charges, punishable by up to three years in prison, under a measure the House sent to the governor 110-0.
