Ron Stephens

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Ron Stephens
Ron Stephens
Member of the Illinois State Senate
from the 102nd district
In office
1985-1991, 1993 -
Born December 19, 1948 (1948-12-19) (age 59)
East St. Louis, Illinois
Political party Republican
Spouse Lisa
Profession pharmacist

Ron Stephens is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 102nd district since 1993. He is currently the Assistant Republican Leader in the state House. The district includes portions of Bond County, Madison County, Effingham County, Fayette County and St. Clair County.

He and his wife Lisa have nine children between them and live in Greenville. Stephens is a licensed pharmacist.

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[edit] Political positions

Stephens was critical of the Democratic majority leadership in the state and the General Assembly during the 2007 budget crisis: "You had everything that the political world could give you, and you have squandered it. You have squandered it at taxpayers' expense. Democrats, with all the power the people could give them, have failed the people of Illinois."[1] After Governor Rod Blagojevich paid for a $600 makeup tab with public funds, Stephens asked the House Speaker Michael Madigan before recess on a Friday when the "Gubernatorial Cosmetology Committee" would be meeting.[2]

Stephens has opposed the electric rate relief package proposed by the General Assembly as not giving customers enough money back from Ameren.[3] Stephens said, "This supposed 'rate relief' package will only give back seven or eight dollars a month to Ameren customers who have seen their electric bills go up by hundreds of dollars a month. Who are they kidding? This legislation is disgraceful."[3] Ameren maintains that they must raise prices due to a nine-year price freeze, and that if they do not raise prices on customers, their credit will suffer so much they will not be able to purchase electricity on the market and will go into junk bond status.

[edit] Daily Show appearance

In early February 2006, Stephens challenged Blagojevich in an appearance on The Daily Show to discuss the Governor's executive order that pharmacists must dispense any drugs for which a customer had a valid prescription, including birth control pills and Plan B. Blagojevich was interviewed by Jason Jones who repeatedly pretended to be unable to pronounce Blagojevich and simply called him "Governor Smith". This prompted Blagojevich to turn to the camera and ask "Is he teasing me or is that legit?" Two weeks after the interview, Blagojevich admitted that he was unaware of the nature of the show.[4] Stephens said he knew beforehand that the show was a comedy show: "I thought the governor was hip enough that he would have known that, too."[4]

Stephens later said, "With all due respect to the governor, he knew it was a comedy show. It's general knowledge for people under 90 years of age. It was when he came off looking so silly that he said he thought it was a regular news program. Even assuming he didn't know about it beforehand, we had to sign a release before the interview."[5] [4] and co-owns two pharmacies.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Wills, Christopher. "Illinois Democrats turn on each other", Associated Press, 2007-07. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  2. ^ Long, Ray; Meitrodt, Jeffrey. "$600 makeup bill could make Gov. Blagojevich blush", Chicago Tribune, 2007-07-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  3. ^ a b "Stephens Unhappy With Electric Rate Legislation", Greenville Advocate, August 2, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-14. 
  4. ^ a b c "Ill. governor confused by 'Daily Show' bit", 'Associated Press', USA Today, 2006-02-23. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  5. ^ Froemling, Todd. "Blagojevich drops ball on 'The Daily Show'", Daily Vidette, 2006-03-02. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 
  6. ^ "'Is he teasing me?' gov asks on 'Daily Show'", 'Find Articles', Chicago Sun-Times, 2006-02-11. Retrieved on 2007-07-17. 

[edit] External links