Oct 3, 2008 10:10 pm US/Central
A Look At How Illinois Lawmakers Voted On Bailout
(CBS)
The $700 billion bailout is now law. President Bush wasted no time signing the measure after the House approved it Friday.
The historic bailout is designed to ease the credit crunch, and allow the Treasury Department to buy bad mortgage-related securities.
And added to the bill since it first was rejected by the House last week is an extra $110 billion in tax breaks, incentives and other measures.
A lot of House lawmakers changed their vote this time around, among them Republicans and Democrats from the Chicago area.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports the vote could become a big issue in next month's election in at least one local district.
Geneva's Rep. Bill Foster was among 11 Chicago-area representatives who voted for the financial rescue, reluctantly, he said. His Republican challenger in the 14th District called it a terrible idea that he would have opposed. The bill passed, but the battle over it may continue.
In the end, the measure passed by a wide, 92-vote margin. Three local House members who voted "no" a few days ago, switched to "yes:" DuPage County's Judy Biggert, and the South Side's Bobby Rush and Jesse Jackson, Jr.
Biggert said the bill's promise of help for families facing foreclosure helped to change her mind.
"I got a commitment from Sec. Paulson that this was going to be a top priority," she told CBS 2's Dana Kozlov Friday night.
The South Suburbs' chronic absentee Jerry Weller missed the first vote, but Friday was present and voted "yes."
Only two local Congressmen ended up voting no Friday: Republican Peter Roskam of Wood Dale and Democrat Dan Lipinski, who demanded more oversight.
"The worst part to me is that the $700 billion comes with an almost blank check," Lipinski said.
In the Far West Suburban 14th District seat once held by former House Speaker Denny Hastert, the Democratic freshman incumbent explained his "yes" vote.
"While I had strong reservations, the taxpayers in my district could not afford one more day of uncertainty," wrote Rep. Bill Foster.
His opponent in next month's election denounced the proposal.
"To take taxpayer dollars to buy what we already know to be bad assets is fundamentally flawed," wrote Republican nominee Jim Oberweis.
Conservative activists are saying they're expecting this plan not to work and that within two years this will be the heart of a political campaign to take the House back, blaming the Democrats for what they see is an inevitable economic collapse.
Here's how House members from Illinois voted on the financial bailout bill Friday: Voting YES: 1. Melissa Bean, D.
2. Judy Biggert, R.
3. Danny Davis, D.
4. Rahm Emanuel, D.
5. Bill Foster, D.
6. Luis Gutierrez, D.
7. Phil Hare, D.
8. Jesse Jackson Jr., D.
9. Mark Kirk, R.
10. Ray LaHood, R.
11. Bobby Rush, D.
12. Jan Schakowsky, D.
13. Jerry Weller, R.
Voting NO: 1. Jerry Costello, D.
2. Dan Lipinski, D.
3. Don Manzullo, R.
4. Peter Roskam, R.
5. John Shimkus, R.
6. Tim Johnson, R.
CBS 2's Political Editor Mike Flannery and Dana Kozlov, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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