Stormy Daniels

 

By Greg Bishop

Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD, IL. (IRN) — A national adult film actress known for alleging an affair with the president of the United States will be in the state’s capital city Friday, when she’s expected to protest a surcharge on strip club entries.

Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, will be at adult entertainment venue Deja Vu in Springfield to sign books Friday afternoon, and she is expected to perform that evening.

Before that Daniels’ is expected to take part in an event at the state capitol protesting the Live Adult Entertainment Facility Surcharge Act.

The originator of the tax in 2014, state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, said the revenue is meant to help centers for battered women. Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said it doesn’t suppose that everyone going to a strip club abuses women, just as everyone who goes to a casino doesn’t have a gambling problem.

“But we do use the revenue from that to work on gambling cessation things and we use money from cigarettes sales to deal with Medicaid costs that have connected costs like that,” Hutchinson said. “At the end of the day, I am happy to have a conversation with anybody about whether or not that’s an appropriate tax, especially if you’re willing to join the conversation about how to fund these centers.”

Hutchinson said adult entertainment clubs were part of the conversation when the measure passed several years ago to tack on $3 for each entry to an adult entertainment facility in Illinois.

But Hutchinson said the fund isn’t seeing the receipts she expected.

“It would be very interesting to see whether or not the fees are being collected as we intended to in the original discussion of the bill,” Hutchinson said. “But I would never take away an opportunity for someone to say ‘we can do this in a different way’. Protest for protest sake is different than protest for making something better and I stand with these centers and the need for the revenue in these centers.”

Duane Patterson, general manager of Deja Vu in Springfield, said he fears the money that is being collected isn’t being appropriated correctly, worrying most is going into administration costs.

“It’s a good cause but it was not done the right way,” Patterson said.

He added that he’s willing to talk with Hutchinson to make the measure better for everyone involved.

The surcharge brought in $448,483 in fiscal year 2018, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue. That’s down from FY 2017’s revenue of $468,208, and from FY 2016 where it brought in $532,271. The year it was implemented, the revenue was only $405,997. The estimate was that the measure could generate $1 million a year.

Daniels made national fame alleging she had an affair with President Donald Trump before he became president.

She will take part in the protest beginning at 1 p.m. Friday outside the capitol and then will move inside the rotunda to continue the protest and hold a press conference.