President Barack Obama is now 55 years old. His birthday came and went last week, and most Illinois residents probably didn't take notice.
They may have, had legislation sponsored by Illinois State Representative Andre Thapedi passed. He wanted Obama's birthday to be recognized as a holiday in the President's adopted home state.
"President Obama is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the first black President of the United States of America. And in my view and a lot of my colleagues' view, those distinctions in and of themselves are more than enough reasons to honor him in Illinois," he said.
Thapedi says he didn't move forward with his proposal because of Illinois' fiscal impasse.
An estimate from the Republican governor's budget office says a state holiday would be costly for Illinois -- in personnel costs for state government, and in a loss of productivity.
Thapedi -- a Chicago Democrat -- is wary about those projections, and says he'll push the idea again once Illinois again has a solid budget plan in place.
