Thread: Illinois reps change bailout vote

Illinois representatives change bailout vote
Illinois House members Jackson Jr., Rush, Biggert change vote on bailout from 'no' to 'yes', but six remained unconvinced
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October 4, 2008

BY CHERYL V. JACKSON Staff Reporter/cjackson@suntimes.com
Three members of Illinois' congressional delegation who opposed the rescue plan Monday voted for it Friday: Democratic Representatives Jesse L. Jackson Jr. and Bobby Rush, and Republican Judy Biggert.

The 263-171 House vote closed a week that began with the bill suffering a 228-205 defeat. Switching their vote to support the bill were 33 Democrats and 25 Republicans.

Jackson said he gave his support after getting assurances from Sen. Barack Obama that, if elected president, Obama would ensure that Washington "would aggressively regulate predatory lending and force mortgage modifications to prevent foreclosures."

"The Senate improved this bill," Jackson said, citing the increased federal insurance on bank deposits, from $100,000 to $250,000; the imposition of oversight and elimination of "golden parachutes" for lenders; and the move to allow the government to purchase and sell foreclosed homes.

Rush said the new mental health parity and alternative minimum tax provisions added by the Senate made the bill easier to swallow.

He'd voted against the bailout the first go-round, saying it failed to provide adequate protections for middle-class Americans or curb CEO compensation excesses, "something my constituents simply could not abide." It also would not have helped families avoid foreclosure, he said.

Biggert said she reluctantly supported the bill but would revisit the issue "as Congress monitors the program."

"Unfortunately, volatility in the market is threatening the financial security of my constituents and millions of American families, small businesses and retirees," said Biggert, who is among five Illinois members of the bill-writing House Financial Services Committee. The other two Republicans on the committee, Don Manzullo and Peter Roskam, voted against the bill. The two Democrats on it voted yes: Melissa Bean and Luis Gutierrez.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/120236 ... 05.article

Melissa Bean voted in favor of the bill. I'll be supporting Steve Greenberg, her opponent in the next election.

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

Melissa Bean voted in favor of the bill. I'll be supporting Steve Greenberg, her opponent in the next election.

Me too. Although she had already lost my vote when she voted for FISA.