Illinois General Assembly
Roskam served in the Illinois General Assembly as a Representative from 1993 to 1998, and Senator from 2000 to 2006. In the Senate, Roskam served as the Republican Whip, the Republican spokesman on the Executive Committee, and a member of the Rules Committee, Environment and Energy Committee, Insurance and Pensions Committee, and Judiciary Committee. In the Senate, Roskam sponsored legislation giving the Supreme Court of Illinois authority to reverse a death penalty sentence, has sponsored legislation increasing the penalties for repeat D.U.I. offenders, and was the lead sponsor of a law to maintain courts' power to hold deadbeat parents in contempt to ensure child support. Roskam has authored or co-authored fourteen bills to cut taxes.
Roskam asked the Illinois Comptroller's office for a list of state employees in 1998, when Al Salvi was running for Illinois Secretary of State . At the time, Roskam told the Chicago Tribune that the request was for personal use. However, according to a report in the Arlington Heights Daily Herald, Roskam gave the list to Salvi, who used the list to send numbered campaign fundraising tickets to state employees. The numbering allowed the campaign to keep track of who contributed and who didn't.
In January 2005, Roskam fought amending the Illinois Human Rights Act to include sexual orientation on the grounds that it would require churches and religious organizations to hire homosexuals. However, the act contains an explicit exemption for churches and religious organizations. The Illinois Senate passed the amendment 30-27-1 and on January 1, 2006, Illinois became the 16th state to have such a law.
In November 2004, Roskam voted against State Comptroller Dan Hynes's $1 billion proposal to raise taxes on cosmetic surgery to fund stem cell research. The proposal was defeated 29-28-1 in the Illinois Senate.
Read more about this topic: Peter Roskam
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