Ever wonder how and when to show your support for or opposition against a bill pending in Illinois? There are two primary opportunities during the legislative process?
Have you heard of Witness Slips? They are effective tools for individuals and organizations to engage advocates in the legislative advocacy process in Illinois. Witness Slips were designed as an insider tool–you had to actually be there or know someone who was there to submit one. Today, anyone can go to the Illinois General Assembly website and fill out Witness Slips for or against any bill scheduled for a committee hearing.
Once a committee hearing for a bill is scheduled, follow the steps below to enter a Witness Slip for or against that bill.
- Enter your name and address.
- For firm or business, write “self” if you are not representing a firm or business.
- For persons represented, write “self”.
- Check PROPONENT or OPPONENT of the original bill as appropriate.
- Under Testimony, click “Record of Appearance Only”.
- Click “I agree to the ILGA Terms of Agreement”.
- Click “Create(Slip)”.
Witness Slips may be entered up to the conclusion of the committee hearing for House bills and up to the end of the day of the committee’s scheduled date for Senate bills.
If you click “Log On” in the upper right corner of the Witness Slip page, you can create an account. This is not required, but doing so will save time later by auto populating your information in future Witness Slips and allowing you to view and edit any Witness Slips you enter at a later date.
For more information on completing and entering Witness Slips, check out the ACLU guide linked below:
If a bill makes it out of committee, it moves to the full House/Senate floor for a vote. Before the vote, you may contact your State Representative and Senator using traditional methods (e.g., phone calls, email, petitions, etc.) to express your opinion. That is the time to encourage them to vote for, co-sponsor, or vote against a bill.
Thanks to Liz Kunkle, Go Green Winnetka, for writing this.
