The future of the “non-budget” talks
Thursday, May 26, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) talked to Bernie…
Raoul said he led the effort to reform workers’ compensation law in 2011, and is again working on that issue, which has “been made a critical piece in this overall discussion.”
“I’ve chosen to try to work with the current governor,” Raoul said. “We are not aligned in our philosophy, but I think it’s irresponsible for me to do anything but to focus on trying to solve this crisis because the people of Illinois are hurting.”
There’s a real split between the Senate Democrats and the House Democratic leadership over these economic issues. It’s happened before, of course. But the stakes are far higher these days.
* And for all you lockstep people out there who’d like to burn Raoul at the stake simply because he’s trying to find a way to (Gasp!) compromise, he also said this…
Raoul also said that while all should work to make Illinois more business-friendly, “I don’t think we should hold the budget process hostage” toward that end.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:15 am:
===Raoul also said that while all should work to make Illinois more business-friendly, “I don’t think we should hold the budget process hostage” toward that end.===
Ball Game.
Let’s move everything forward, but not under the premise of the hostage-taking “leverage”.
- SAP - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:18 am:
Good for Senator Raoul. We need more grown-ups around here.
- justacitizen - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:22 am:
If I were Rauner I would amend and sign the Dems budget with an optional $1,000 Fire Madigan fee. That should generate about $7 billion.
- LizPhairTax - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:24 am:
Justacitizen
Hope there’s no sick burn tax coming too man because you just slayed it brah!
- 360 Degree TurnAround - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:25 am:
Let’s see the Governor’s package of benefit cuts for workers and medical fee cuts for doctors and hospitals put into a bill…and see how many votes it gets.
- A Jack - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:27 am:
I like Raoul. I hope he runs for Governor in 2018. He would make a far better Governor than the current one. Raoul actually tries to work with both sides.
- PublicServant - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:27 am:
Good for Senator Raoul. WC was always negotiable. I’m not sure anyone would object to his attempting to reach a compromise on it. The poison pill union-busting stuff is a different story.
- wordslinger - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:29 am:
–Raoul also said that while all should work to make Illinois more business-friendly, “I don’t think we should hold the budget process hostage” toward that end.–
C’mon, man. Didn’t you get The Word from the Right Rev. Radogno? These pre-conditions are about “saving the soul of our state.”
The Beast shall be squeezed until social service providers numbering 666 are no more. So it is written in The Book of Bruce, his will be done.
If there were rational and quantifiable economic and fiscal reasons to delay a budget for the non-budget items, we would have heard them by now. They don’t exist.
But the faithful cultists will continue the chanting of meaningless catch phrases.
- Ray del Camino - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:37 am:
“Hostage” is still the right analogy. Carbondale’s economy has a gun to its head and duct tape over its mouth, and the lege refuses to pay ransom. Can only imagine how much worse it might be in Macomb or Charleston. Decouple the reforms from the budget if the Dems will show a little progress on Worker’s Comp.
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:40 am:
Ray, the administrators at those universities should have been attracting and retaining students. Apparently they were at the polo club, not paying any attention to the thousands of students leaving.
- Truthteller - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:42 am:
What would create a more “business-friendly” environment, the current state of chaos created by the Governor’s ransom demands, or enhanced revenues which would both balance the budget and provide a tax stream that would meet the needs of our schools, social service agencies, etc, and provide stability going forward?
- Chicago 20 - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:44 am:
Raoul’s workers compensation reforms saved the insurance companies millions, but the workers compensation premiums did not have a corresponding drop.
But hey, insurance companies are businesses too and I can only wonder how many jobs the insurance companies created from those savings.
- Ray del Camino - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:45 am:
Anonymous–whoever you are–I have been at the table watching administrators work well into the night on attracting and retaining students in an atmosphere that is constantly growing more difficult. Save your snark for when you know what you are talking about. And there are no polo clubs in Southern Illinois.
- The Equalizer - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:48 am:
Memo from governor’s office torching Raoul in 3,2,1…
Every time someone talks about compromise, a small carrot attached to a big stick arrives promptly it seems.
- Lucky Pierre - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:49 am:
Bingo! I am sure after a year and half of waiting for the Democrats to acknowledge or introduce needed business friendly reforms once that budget is agreed to all those reform proposals will be forthcoming.
- Mike Cirrincione - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:54 am:
Illinois IS business friendly when its citizens are educated, and things like contracts are honored.
Illinois IS business friendly when the Governor starts to understand that the wheels of government move slowly and incrementally. That being Governor is different than managing the nursing home cafeteria.
- Nick Name - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 11:55 am:
“Ray, the administrators at those universities should have been attracting and retaining students. Apparently they were at the polo club, not paying any attention to the thousands of students leaving.”
Um, can’t get over how out of touch this comment is. Seriously, is this Rip Van Winkle?
- A guy - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:00 pm:
Steans, now Raoul, there will be more. They get it and they’re doing what they can to advance things. Maybe the leadership is somewhere else than where the focus has been.
- Ahoy! - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:02 pm:
We don’t just have a budget problem, we have a huge financial problem that goes well beyond a year to year budget. Budgets are about determining how the money you have gets spent.
We have structural deficits that do not allow our current revenues to meet our spending problem. Some people don’t simply want to raise taxes to take care of the problems which is essentially kicking the can down the road because without reforms we’ll be in the same position in a couple years because we failed to address some of the problems.
We are in a vicious financial cycle that is far bigger than a yearly budget. I think Raul is smart enough to understand this where Madigan just doesn’t give a crap because in his mind the best way to keep his super majority is fight instead of govern.
- Precinct Captain - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:04 pm:
Senator Raoul, the governor will never understand what you’re saying.
- Whatever - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:08 pm:
justacitizen @ 11:22 am ==If I were Rauner I would amend and sign the Dems budget with an optional $1,000 Fire Madigan fee. That should generate about $7 billion.==
And he could try that, if he wanted to ignore Article IV, Section 8(d) of the Constitution, which states: “Appropriation bills shall be limited to the subject of appropriations.” You can’t put revenue raisers into an appropriations bill.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:09 pm:
===Steans, now Raoul, there will be more. They get it and they’re doing what they can to advance things. Maybe the leadership is somewhere else than where the focus has been.===
- A Guy -
Raoul is calling out the hostage taker.
That’s Rauner. Glad you agree Rauner’s hostage taking is t helping.
- 47th Ward - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:14 pm:
===Steans, now Raoul, there will be more===
Lol. I hope the Governor counts votes better than you. Did you even read what they said? It was hardly an endorsement of the Governor’s position. More willful ignorance from the true believers.
- A guy - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:15 pm:
OW, It will be hard to follow him if you don’t completely understand him. We’ll keep you on the “See no evil”, “Hear no evil” list.
- A guy - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:23 pm:
Spot on:
http://www.pjstar.com/opinion/20160525/editorial-only-one-way-to-get-to-madigan?page=1
- Saluki - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:32 pm:
Raoul is a statesman.
- Annonin' - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:35 pm:
Anon 11:40
Check some background Most colleges and universities have been cutting back during the Blagoof and PQ eras because the state has been pullin’ back. BigBrain started his destruction without checking the facts. As a result the schools are suffering a drop in applications and faculty bailing out.
So the path to prosperity which usually runs through an educated workforce now has a huge pothole. Good job BigBrain and his 1%ers.
- SKI - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:40 pm:
Hypothetically, let’s say Rauner caves and agrees to pass a budget without any of his reforms or ‘poison pills’ attached. Does anyone really believe that Madigan would work with Rauner to pass some stand alone business friendly reform bills after the fact? Doubtful.
Illinois is stuck between two hard heads because our other elected (rank and file) officials don’t have the testicular fortitude to workout a compromise on their own.
- illinoised - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 12:52 pm:
Raoul is a ray of sunshine.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 1:12 pm:
===OW, It will be hard to follow him if you don’t completely understand him. We’ll keep you on the “See no evil”, “Hear no evil” list.===
It’s still fu you think Rauner isn’t holding hostages.
I see Raoul working, but not being leveraged.
Capiche?
- Skeptic - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 2:27 pm:
“Does anyone really believe that Madigan would work with Rauner to pass some stand alone business friendly reform bills after the fact?” I don’t know, how about we try and find out?
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 2:34 pm:
SKI—–NO WAY, and Bruce knows it.
- Just Me - Thursday, May 26, 16 @ 4:33 pm:
Let’s cut to the chase. Put the Governor’s WC “reform” bill up for a vote again and see how many votes it gets. Maybe it will get more than the zero yes votes that it got the last time it was voted on in 2015 as HFA#1 to HB1287.