South Central Reporter

State Sen. Steve McClure (R-Jacksonville) recently voted against the appointment of his former legislative colleague, Daniel Beiser, to the state racing board.

"I’ve got nothing against this former  representative to be on the racing  board, except that while we were in  the executive appointments  committee, I asked him if he had any  reasonable knowledge of horse  breeding and he said he did not," McClure said on the Senate floor Feb. 22. "I  followed up and gave him a chance to  clean up his answer, and to his credit, he was honest and said he did  not."

"So, I don’t want to vote against this appointment, but based  upon what the statute says, he has given me no choice based upon his  answers in committee," McClure said. "For that, I urge a no vote. It’s nothing personal  against the appointment. I think he’s very qualified in every other  capacity, except for the fact that one of the two requirements he  doesn’t meet."  

The Senate rejected Beiser's appointment by a vote of 29-16 on Feb. 22.

On the next day though, McClure filed a motion to reconsider, and this time Beiser's nomination passed 54-0.

Beiser, a Democrat, served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2004 until 2017.  Beiser resigned in 2017.  Beiser has a bachelor of science in mass communication and parks and  recreation management degree from Southern Illinois  University-Edwardsville, which he earned in 1978. He also has a master's of science degree in special  education from Southern Illinois  University-Edwardsville, which he  earned in 1986.