Hanging out with rockstars in Springfield
It’s been a while since I last updated, but there’s a good reason for that. Rather, several good reasons.
1.) I’m spending most of my free time job hunting, i.e.: writing cover letters and perfecting the perfect clip portfolio.
2.) I’m busy at my internship with the Rockford Register Star working on two rather large projects. Plus, there’s still all sorts of fun stuff going on at the statehouse. The press corps, along with the rest of the Land of Lincoln, is waiting on a state budget to be finalized, but there’s plenty of entertaining distractions to be had.
For instance, a visit from Rick Nielsen of the Rockford-native band Cheap Trick:
And wow, check out those shoes he’s sporting:
So, why was Nielsen gracing the Illinois Senate chamber with his presence today? Well, several senators sponsored a resolution to proclaim every April 1st “Cheap Trick Day” in Illinois.
Nielsen even addressed the Senate (mp3 audio here) and during the process threw guitar picks onto the chamber floor. It was a bit wild to say the least.
As I mentioned earlier, budget negotiations are still going on this month in what is known as “overtime session.” Essentially, session normally ends May 31st, but since both chambers didn’t approve a budget for the next fiscal year (which starts this July 1st) things get more complicated.
Now to pass a budget, 3/5ths of each chamber needs to approve a budget instead of a simple majority. This means there will likely need to be some sort of bi-partisan agreement at the end of all this. (As a technical matter, there’s a way the Democrats can pass a budget without the Republicans still, but I’d rather not get into that right now.)
With this in mind, Rich Miller of The Capitol Fax Blog has started selling “overtime”-themed merchandise and is donating all profits to the Sojourn Shelter. Pick up some swag if you feel so inclined.
I picked up a few buttons:
To add to my bureau’s awesome button wall:
And also, there’s a cool polo and plenty of other T-shirts to suit your Illinois political geekiness:
So, that’s a brief update on what’s up with my life these days. You know me, hanging out with rockstars and collecting buttons.
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