Illinois House overrides Gov. Rauner’s veto of 911 fees

The Illinois House has voted to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of legislation to continue funding 911 emergency call centers.

The House voted 90-22 Saturday to reverse the Republican governor and his objections to fee increases.

The telecommunications act allowing fees to be collected and distributed for 911 centers expired Friday.

The measure sponsored by Harrisburg Democratic Rep. Brandon Phelps increases the telephone surcharge for emergency services. It would go to $5 from $3.90 in Chicago and from 87 cents to $1.50 in the rest of the state.

Rauner called those hikes “unacceptable.” He vetoed it Saturday morning.

After Saturday’s vote, the governor issued a statement criticizing the General Assembly:

“While the majority in the General Assembly has been unable to move forward with a balanced budget, it has found the time to inflict further abuse on Illinois taxpayers. Today the majority failed taxpayers by using the threat of canceling 9-1-1 services as leverage to force a tax hike on Illinois residents. We tried to stop this cynical legislation by utilizing an amendatory veto that would have ensured that emergency services continued without an unnecessary tax hike. The veto also would have allowed 9-1-1 to continue in future years without special legislation to renew the services.”

The legislation now goes to the Senate for override action.