Special Report
Illinois House Ag Chair keeps eye on HSUS
Illinois State Capitol, Springfield Illinois
The head of the Illinois House Agriculture Committee says he has his radar up for any bills that might threaten agriculture production in the state.
Rep. Patrick Verschoore (D), Rock Island, Illinois, Chair of the IL House Agriculture & Conservation Committee
Representative Patrick Verschoore, a Democrat in the 72nd district, tells Brownfield Ag News there are rumblings that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) may be trying to get a bill introduced aimed at eliminating farrowing crates. He says he’s been watching legislation in other states and even in Illinois last year that have the underscoring intent of crippling agriculture production, “You’ve got to be very vigilant and try to make sure that you cipher what’s in that bill before you try to make an educated decision on them.”
Verschoore tells Brownfield that none of those bills gained traction in Illinois last year but no matter what, he says, Illinois agriculture must be protected, “What I want to do, of course – I come from a family farming background – I want to protect your family farmers. I mean, corporate farming is one thing but when you deter from what the family farmers have done for hundreds of years then I have a problem with it.”
The Illinois legislative session got underway January 29, 2014.
Interview with Representative Patrick Verschoore (4:00 mp3)
HSUS has been violating the lobbying limit laws for nonprofit 501(c)(3) charities – more every year. If the rules were enforced, and the IRS not ethically compromised, HSUS could have already lost it’s tax exempt status or at the very least, been fined and warned to behave as a charity.
Despite Lois Lerner’s blocking of the formal inquiry into HSUS’s political activities and expenses, the issue is more important than ever. It should be part of the counterattack.