State representatives refuse to debate or vote on a bill that would require the state to sell five of its six executive aircraft.

The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville), was sent to the House Rules Committee shortly after it was introduced in January.

Since then, a hearing hasn't been scheduled.

In March, Black filed a motion to get the bill out of committee.

The committee's chair, Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), objected to the motion, and it was shot down.

Black appealed that ruling, but the House voted to reject his appeal Friday.

WCIA-3 contacted Currie's office for comment.  Her staff said she was on a flight from Springfield to Chicago.  When asked if she was flying in a state plane, the staffer refused to answer.  Currie hadn't returned the message late Friday.

Earlier in April, a WCIA-3 investigation found the state owns four planes dedicated to flying lawmakers and other state officials around Illinois.

Other documents revealed lawmakers are also allowed to ride in two of the state's helicopters.

The Illinois Department of Transportation estimated the cost of maintaining the aircraft was more than $1 million in 2009.

Black disputes that number, and claims IDOT is hiding some of the cost of maintaining the aircraft.

The state runs six daily flights between Chicago and Springfield, reserved mostly for high ranking lawmakers and officials.

But logs for the last 6 months show many low-level staffers used the planes, including a researcher for the Liquor Control Commission.

The executive fleet is worth nearly $30 million, according to Black.

His bill would sell all but one plane.

To read the logs of who used the executive aircraft between October and March, click the link below.