* The governor’s office has been implying privately for days that they did try to talk to AFSCME about avoiding a confrontation over their members’ contractual pay hikes. I asked AFSCME for a statement and this is what I received…
To imply that they tried to engage us in any meaningful sense at any point in the budgetary process is simply not accurate. In fact, during the legislative session, we more than once reached out to the budget office but never heard back.
Then, well after the session ended—just a few days before the Governor amendatorily vetoed more than $300 million out of it—Dave Vaught, director of OMB, and Robb Craddock, CMS Labor Relations Chief, came to meet with AFSCME officials. They asked us to share any ideas we had concerning the budget, and we made some suggestions.
They bemoaned the inadequacy of the budget adopted by the General Assembly and suggested that the state employees forgo their scheduled pay raise to help address the situation. When AFSCME leaders said that our members had already deferred raises and should not have to forgo those now scheduled, they appeared to accept that.
They never indicated at any time that they believed the Governor lacked the legislative authorization to implement the pay raises or that he was considering rescinding them.
* The governor’s people are also pointing to this end of session report by House GOP Leader Tom Cross as evidence that everybody should’ve known weeks ago that this problem with the contracted pay raises was real…
As we wrapped up the regular spring legislative session this week, Illinois House Republicans drove the General Assembly to a balanced budget by only allowing the Governor to spend money that we estimate we will receive in revenues next year. That number is $33.2 billion—any dime we receive above that number will go to pay down our backlog of bills.
Our spending level is $2 billion less than what Governor Quinn wanted to spend and $1 billion less than what the Illinois Senate originally wanted to spend. […]
In a bipartisan way in the House, we eliminated hundreds of millions in raises for state workers, cut grants, reduced travel lines for state agencies and reformed the Medicaid system saving taxpayers millions of dollars. [Emphasis added.]
It’s truly amazing to me that reporters who covered this House Republican demand seem now to have completely forgotten about it.
* Even so, the unions claim Quinn had alternatives…
But the unions say other budget-saving measures could have been taken, including using hundreds of millions of dollars in unexpended appropriations, slowing the procedure for filling vacant positions, or imposing a freeze on filling vacant positions and transferring funds for personal services.
* Meanwhile, DHFS needlessly alarmed thousands of senior citizens…
The state is notifying all 211,000 participants in the Illinois Cares Rx program that they either will be paying more for their drugs beginning Sept. 1 or are being terminated from the program.
However, about 5,700 recipients have mistakenly been sent letters telling them they no longer qualify for the drug assistance program because they no longer meet income eligibility limits.
The Department of Healthcare and Family Services is in the process of sending that group new letters stating that they do, in fact, still qualify for the program.
* Toll hikes on the way? Could be…
The bypass leading to O’Hare Airport’s west side needs to be built and tolls on Illinois tollways ought to be raised to pay for it, an advisory council said in its report Thursday.
“In order to have good roads, you have to pay for them,” Gov. Quinn said as he accepted the report from the council he commissioned in October. “We have to invest in something important that creates jobs. Transportation is our competitive advantage.”
The council concluded the road granting western access to O’Hare could create 65,000 permanent jobs and relieve congestion in the western suburbs.
Reduction in congestion will save motorists $145 million a year, the council concluded. But money for the $3.6 billion project has to come from somewhere, said DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin.
* And, despite the state’s budget troubles, Peoria wants its own public university…
A state university in Peoria involves “many questions that need to be answered” but should be explored, said the director of the state agency in charge of reviewing and determining the fate of new university program requests.
George Reid, executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said Wednesday he had been unaware of Peoria’s interest in making a four-year state university a “high priority” for the city, adding that now is “not the best financial time to establish a new institution” with the state struggling to pay its bills.
He said he was caught by surprise by the attention last week surrounding the City Council’s wishes to have the exploration of a setting up a public university placed as a city priority.
“We know many of the existing colleges and universities already have a debt owed to them (from) the state in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” Reid said. “If there is a way to (establish a new university) that wouldn’t add to that burden, we’d certainly want to investigate that and give it a fair reading.”
* Related and a roundup…
* Feigenholtz lauds state budget bill but says there’s more to do: “I’ve chaired the Human Services Committee for a decade and this year was the first year that I actually got to do the budget,” Feigenholtz said. “We kind of turned the process upside down.”
* Study Reveals Black Nursing Home Residents More Likely to Develop Bed Sores
* Editorial: No middle ground in foster care lawsuit
* Editorial: Not entitled to these jobs
- Left Out - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 9:52 am:
“The bypass leading to O’Hare Airport’s west side needs to be built and tolls on Illinois tollways ought to be raised to pay for it, an advisory council said in its report Thursday.”
What needs to be done is the promised abolition of tolls on the existing tollway system should be made a reality. In the 1950’s then Gov. William G. “Bill” Stratton sold the tollway system to the public and the General Assembly with the promise of no more tolls once the bonds were paid off. Tolls were described as a “temporary fix” to finance the new roads. The last of the origional bonds were paid off in the early 1980’s. The ex-gov. Stratton stated in 1989:
“Out idea was, at the end of 40 years, when the bonds were paid off, then the tolls would come off.”
Tolls on the new section of road are one possible option for funding the new section of road. Increasing tolls on the entire system of tollways, as proposed in the last few days by Gov. Quinn and advisory panel, I rate as not acceptible.
- OneMan - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:06 am:
Three whole days before the deadline they decided to talk to AFSCME… That’s showing them some respect.
- Quinn T. Sential - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 10:21 am:
A public university in Peoria would be a tremendous asset to Higher Education in Illinois, and would be a great new economic engine for Peoria as well.
I would recommend the potential for a limited focus to start; one that would most benefit the major employers in the area (CAT, ADM, healthcare and insurance industry) so that the undergraduate program could serve as a bridge to entry level employment opportunities.
- sadie - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:33 am:
We paid off those tollroads a long time ago - there should be no more increases since there should no longer be any tolls - build some toll roads in another part of the state
- Phocion - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:41 am:
So a Governor 50 years ago allegedly made a promise he wouldn’t have to keep. If this isnt just a big urban legend, then it was just another stupid political blather. If there are no more tolls, where is the money for maintenance, repair, and reconstruction going to come from? Where is the $3.6 billion for the needed new road coming from? If you don’t want to pay tolls to drive on the best roads in Illinois, take another route.
- sadie - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 11:51 am:
just sayin - build a few toll roads in the rest of the state - how do they get repaired?
- Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:05 pm:
Kentucky took the tolls off of its Parkway system when the original bonds were paid off. Good news…out of state drivers don’t have to pay tolls anymore. Bad news - Kentucky is having financial issues with the upkeep of these “free” roads and the rest of its state system suffers.
In 2011, we should disabuse ourselves of the notion of the Illinois tollway system becoming “free” at some point, without a massive tax hike to make up for the shortfall. Think that’ll play in Peoria…or on a region already paying higher base taxes for RTA and other things. No one holds a gun to my head and forces me to drive on I-88 or 294.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:27 pm:
The question for the western O’Hare connection then becomes, “who builds it and who pays?” Could it pay for itself if the higher tolls were only applied to the facility itself (leaving the remaining tollway tolls in place)? Would all tollway users have to share in the sacrifice? Would the rest of the state accept a 10c gas tax increase to pay for it? What if some developer came along and offered to build it and collect tolls to repay its investment? Is doing nothing an acceptable alternative?
- Cincinnatus - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 12:40 pm:
A tollway should be self-supporting. One wonders if the current Illinois Tollway System revenues cover the operating expenses of the existing system, or if it needs supplement from other funds, or if it runs a surplus. If funds are insufficient, tolls should be raised to cover the expenses of maintenance and operation. If there are surplus funds, they should be dedicated to any proposed expansions.
It is totally appropriate to raise tolls slightly to fund a new spur. It is also appropriate to use anticipated revenues for a new spur to back bonds for its constructions. It is not appropriate to use General Funds or bonds paid for by taxpayers to expand the system.
- Kerfuffle - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 1:41 pm:
=== A public university in Peoria would be a tremendous asset to Higher Education in Illinois ===
There are already 3 public universities within 75 miles of Peoria. I would imagine the number of private institutions within that radius would raise that number significantly. A new university would cannibalize all of the existing ones. If there is a clamor from area employers for new programs they can be served by what we already have. It’s a bad idea for the state.
- Cut it - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 2:39 pm:
How about putting tolls on the expressways in Chicago. It’s about time that all the people in the Chicago land area pay for the roads they use not only the drivers in the suburbs.
- thechampaignlife - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 2:52 pm:
Anyone know where past AFSCME contracts can be found online? A quick search failed me but I’m fairly new to the union scene.
- wordslinger - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 3:18 pm:
Personally, I find it refreshingly eccentric that the Elgin O’Hare Expressway goes to neither O’Hare nor Elgin. Kind of like some of those Kenny Gray projects down in Little Egypt.
- Phocion - Friday, Jul 15, 11 @ 4:01 pm:
Cincy,
The Tollway is 100% funded by tolls. There has never been an infusion of general revenue funding from the sttate to the tollway. Current projections show that there will be an operating deficit to maintain the system without.a toll increase. The last increase was in the 80’s.