Today’s quotable
Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Stateline…
“If the state had shut down, you better believe we would have had a budget by now — and everybody knows it,” said Illinois Sen. Toi Hutchinson, the Democratic chairwoman of the Revenue Committee. “We can’t even shut the state down right.”
Thoughts?
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* Press release…
The Liberty Justice Center has filed a federal lawsuit to strike down Illinois’ Election Day voter registration law. The lawsuit shows that this law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by making it more difficult for people to register to vote in some areas of the state than in others.
In 2014, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law creating a system for Election Day voter registration in Illinois. The law is unlike any other voter registration law in the U.S. because the availability of Election Day voter registration at polling places varies by county. The law requires counties with populations of 100,000 or more to offer Election Day voter registration at all polling places. However, the law does not require counties with lower populations to offer Election Day voter registration at all polling places – making it more difficult for people to register to vote in some areas of the state than in others.
Every state senator and representative who voted for this scheme was a Democrat, and every state senator and representative who voted against it was a Republican. Not coincidentally, high-population counties in Illinois tend to favor Democratic candidates; low-population counties in Illinois tend to favor Republican candidates. Former Gov. Pat Quinn signed the law during his final days in office.
“Illinois’ voter registration law is unconstitutional. The state cannot give some citizens better opportunities to vote than it gives to others,” said Jacob Huebert, senior attorney at the Liberty Justice Center. “If Illinois is going to have Election Day voter registration at polling places, it should be available statewide. And it should be fair.”
The plaintiffs in this case are Patrick Harlan, a candidate for Congress in Western Illinois, and the Crawford County Republican Central Committee.
The lawsuit asks the federal court to order the Illinois State Board of Elections to direct election authorities in all 102 Illinois counties not to provide Election Day registration at precinct polling places in the November election. That’s the only way a federal court can fix the unfairness of this law. Or, the General Assembly could fix the unfairness of the law by changing it, so that Election Day registration is available at polling places everywhere – not just in places where one political party wants to boost its turnout.
The center was created by the Illinois Policy Institute.
The filing is here. Video of its press conference is here. The group wants a preliminary injunction issued before this November’s election.
When asked why the group waited so long to file the lawsuit, the center’s spokesperson said “We didn’t notice it a year ago.”
*** UPDATE *** Dave McKinney…
State Senator Don Harmon, a Democrat from suburban Chicago and the law’s chief Senate sponsor, said Illinois law commonly differentiates between counties’ populations and said election officials in less-populous counties voiced concern about not having resources for polling place registration.
Under the law in question, voters in smaller counties can still register on Election Day in county clerks’ offices.
Harmon suggested the lawsuit’s real aim is to dampen Democratic voter turnout this fall, particularly in party strongholds like Cook County. In 2015, there were 4 million residents in the county above the voter-eligible age of 18, according to the U.S. Census. […]
“I suspect the plaintiffs are much more interested in having same-day registration thrown out in Cook County than they are in extending it to every small county in Illinois,” Harmon said.
If I was going to put on my tinfoil hat, I’d say it also has something to do with contested legislative races. The Institute is a major Rauner ally and he’s dumping millions of dollars into those races.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hmm…
* From the linked story…
In an increasingly contentious presidential campaign, just a quarter of voters who support Donald Trump in the general election say they have a lot or some close friends who are supporters of Hillary Clinton. Even fewer Clinton backers (18%) say they have at least some friends who support Trump.
Nearly half of Clinton supporters (47%), and 31% of Trump supporters, say they have no close friends who support the opposing candidate.
* The Question: Do you maintain any active close friendships with people on the other side of this election? Take the poll and then explain why or why not in comments, please.
bike trails
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Because… Madigan
Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A News-Gazette editorial discusses the potential 2018 Democratic candidates for governor and concludes…
Serious candidates should ask themselves: “How badly do I want to be governor if Mike Madigan is really calling the shots?”
It’s a good question. Pat Quinn was widely viewed as hapless, and that was at least partly the result of him never figuring out how to constructively engage with the House Speaker - and a lot of that falls on Madigan himself.
After Madigan lost the majority in 1994, he pledged to change his ways if he regained power. And he mostly did. He worked with Jim Edgar for the next two years and George Ryan for four years. And he cooperated with Rod Blagojevich for a year after Blagojevich’s first election. But then, it all went downhill.
Frankly, I have no idea why Dick Durbin or anybody else would want to endure the brutality of a campaign against a deep-pocketed Bruce Rauner for a year only to wind up getting the tar knocked out of them by MJM for the next four years.
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* Sun-Times…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday put in place the final piece of the pension puzzle he was elected to solve but in a way that will impose another heavy burden on Chicago homeowners reeling from rising property taxes compounded by reassessments.
To generate the $239 million over five years needed to save Chicago’s largest city employee pension fund, Emanuel wants to slap a new and quickly escalating “utility tax” on water and sewer bills over the next four years.
The plan is to start with a 7 percent tax, double it in year two, impose a 21 percent tax in year three and end at 28 percent in years four and five.
After that, the tax would rise annually to meet the “actuarially required contribution” to achieve a 90 percent funding ratio by 2057 for a Municipal Employees pension with $18.6 billion in unfunded liabilities that is due to run out of money in 2025. […]
It is expected to cost the average homeowner $4.43 more month or $53.16 a year in 2017. In the fourth year, the added tax burden will be $225.96 a year.
* ABC 7…
Last year, aldermen passed a record property tax increase to resolve shortfalls in the police and firefighter pensions and raised the cell phone tax to shore up the laborers’ retirement fund. They also tacked on a garbage pickup fee to the aforementioned water bills that were increased sharply in 2012 to rebuild mains and sewers.
“We’ve doubled the water rates historically and now we’ve added the garbage fees, so there’s a lot of frustration in our neighborhood,” said Ald. Tom Tunney (44th Ward). […]
Another reason Emanuel ruled out another city property tax increase is that the Chicago Public Schools system has been authorized to raise its levy by $250 million and is expected to do so later this month.
* And the mostly ignored reforms Emanuel is pushing…
The mayor plans to ask the General Assembly and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to sign off on altering the municipal fund pension system to save about $2 billion over the next 40 years. The legislative changes to the pension fund would require newly hired employees, starting next year, to increase their retirement account contributions to 11.5 percent of their salary from 8.5 percent.
Employees who were hired from 2011 to 2016 and already receive lower retirement benefits would have the option of increasing their contributions to 11.5 percent. In exchange, they would be eligible to retire at age 65 instead of 67.
But employees hired before 2011 would see no changes, after the Illinois Supreme Court struck down Emanuel’s earlier attempt to reduce their benefits, citing a constitutional clause that states their benefits shall not be diminished or impaired. “You can’t touch existing employees, that’s walled off,” Emanuel told investors.
Emanuel and affected unions have an “agreement in principle” on identical changes to the much smaller city laborers fund, with additional city contributions coming from a $1.90-per-month-increase on landline and cellphones billed to city addresses that was approved by the City Council two years ago.
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“Busy Week in Court for Independent Maps”
Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The Illinois Supreme Court has accepted an amicus brief filed by the following organizations urging the state’s highest court to let voters have a say on transparent, impartial and fair redistricting in November:
• League of Women Voters of Illinois
• Small Business Advocacy Council
• CHANGE Illinois
• Illinois Campaign for Political Reform
• Rockford Chamber of Commerce
• McCormick Foundation
• Champaign County Chamber of Commerce
• Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI)
• Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
• Latino Policy Forum
• Illinois Public Interest Research Group
• West Rogers Park Community Organization
• Metropolitan Planning Council
• Better Government Association
• Chicago Southside Branch NAACP
• Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct Organization
• Union League Club of Chicago
• Illinois Farm Bureau
• Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce
• Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
• Common Cause
• Illinois Chamber of Commerce
• Citizen Advocacy Center
• The Civic Federation
• The Commercial Club of Chicago
• Chicago Embassy Church
• Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
To read more, click here.
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* Tribune editorial…
On Monday, Illinois citizens were jolted by a piercing pain in the wallet as federal officials unveiled proposed Obamacare insurance premium rates for 2017. Insurers plan to dial up rates as much as a heart-stopping 45 percent for those who buy plans on the Obamacare marketplace when open enrollment starts Nov. 1.
That means thousands of people will scramble for affordable insurance … and won’t find it.
* From the US Department of Health & Human Services…
Statement by Press Secretary Jonathan Gold on Illinois health insurance rate changes:
“Consumers in Illinois will continue to have affordable coverage options in 2017. Last year, the average monthly premium for people with HealthCare.gov coverage getting tax credits increased just $4 from $102 to $106 per month, despite headlines suggesting double digit increases. People in Illinois understand how the Marketplace works, and they know that they can shop around and find coverage that fits their needs and budget. In fact, last year more than 53 percent of them did exactly that by switching plans to save money. In addition, the vast majority of consumers in Illinois qualify for tax credits that reduce the cost of coverage below the sticker price. Today’s announcement is just the beginning of the rates process, and consumers will have the final word when they vote with their feet during Open Enrollment.”
Background
Proposed rates aren’t what consumers pay. While today’s filings show an average rate increase in Illinois, a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services demonstrates that proposed premium changes from preliminary rate filings do not capture what Marketplace consumers actually pay. Last year, the average monthly premium for people with HealthCare.gov coverage getting tax credits increased just $4 from $102 to $106 per month, despite headlines suggesting double digit increases.
Most people receive tax credits and can buy a plan for less than $75 per month.
75% of Marketplace consumers in Illinois receive tax credits, which are designed to protect consumers from premium increases and help make coverage affordable.
Tax credits increase if the cost of the second lowest-cost silver, or benchmark, plan goes up. So if all premiums in a market go up by similar amounts, 75% of Marketplace consumers in that market will not necessarily pay more because their tax credits will go up to compensate. Average rate increases reported with the preliminary rate filings do not account for tax credits.
For 2016 coverage, 53% of customers in Illinois had the option of selecting a plan with a premium of $75 or less per month after tax credits.
Shopping: The ACA Marketplace helps consumers shop around for the best deal.
Prior to the ACA, it was nearly impossible for consumers to compare plans and shop around easily – and many Americans went uninsured because they couldn’t afford insurance or had pre-existing conditions. Those who did have insurance in the individual market were often trapped in the plan they had, since people with even small health problems could be denied coverage or charged an exorbitant price if they tried to switch plans or issuers.
Today, Marketplace consumers in Illinois can purchase any available plan regardless of health conditions, and tools such as the doctor lookup and out-of-pocket cost calculator help them find the plan that meets their needs. Last year, 53% of returning Marketplace consumers in Illinois switched plans. They saved an average of $636 annually.
Based on an examination of preliminary 2017 rate filings for nine states that released rates earlier this year, Avalere found that the average rate increase for lowest and second-lowest cost silver plans was 7-8%, about half the overall average rate increase in these states. That difference highlights how consumers can benefit from shopping around.
A major new issuer, Cigna, has indicated it will begin offering plans in the Chicago area for 2017, which will further bolster choice and competition in the Illinois Marketplace.
Prior to the Affordable Care Act, plans were typically inferior and excluded services like maternity care, or even routine services like prescription drugs. Plans also often charged a higher premium, or denied coverage altogether, to consumers due to a pre-existing condition. Now, all consumers have the option to purchase quality, affordable coverage.
This is a big deal for as many as 5,636,000 people in Illinois with a pre-existing condition.
Preliminary rates aren’t final rates. Preliminary rates often change significantly before being finalized. In particular, they are subject to rate review, which led to $1.5 billion in savings for consumers in 2015. Last year, final rates in some states were below proposed rates.
Health insurance is clearly something people in Illinois like, want, and need: 388,179 people signed up for 2016 coverage through the Marketplace.
Since major provisions of the Affordable Care Act went into effect, Illinois’ uninsured rate fell from 14.2 percent in 2013 to 7.9 percent in 2015 for non-elderly residents, according to new data released recently.
Both Marketplace and non-Marketplace consumers continue to benefit from the low health care cost growth of recent years.
Marketplace rates remain well below expectations when the law was passed. Marketplace rates for 2014 came in about 15% below Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projections in 2010. Better-than-expected Marketplace premiums are due in large part to lower-than-expected economy-wide health care cost growth and other efficiencies.
For the half of Americans who obtain health insurance through an employer, premiums for family coverage grew by an average of 5% per year from 2010 to 2015 – compared with about 8% per year from 2000 to 2010. Premiums grew at an even slower 4.2% rate in 2015. If premium growth since 2010 had matched the average growth rate over the prior ten years, the average family premium would have been almost $2,600 higher in 2015.
All emphasis was in the original.
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* From the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability…
Over the past fiscal year, the lack of an enacted budget has resulted in the State Employee Group Insurance Program (SEGIP) building up a large backlog of unpaid claims. As of the end of June, approximately $3.34 billion in claims were being held by the state from various insurers, organizations, and companies.
Of this total, the largest portion was approximately $1.6 billion of HMO/Medicare Advantage claims. The second largest portion, Open Access Plans, totaled $741.2 million. The third largest portion of the overall claims hold came from CIGNA, which had $556 million in claims currently held by the state.
Concurrently, the estimated time for claims to be held was 314-557 days for Managed Care, 477-547 days for Open Access Plans, and 497-574 days for CIGNA. […]
Despite a stop-gap budget being passed, however, claims will continue to build up and estimated claims hold times will increase due to no appropriation for Group Insurance.
Ugh.
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* Lax environmental oversight…
Analyzing thousands of pages from state agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Natural Resources and the attorney general’s office, the Tribune found that pollution incidents from hog confinements killed at least 492,000 fish from 2005 through 2014 — nearly half of the 1 million fish killed in water pollution incidents statewide during that period. Pig waste impaired 67 miles of the state’s rivers, creeks and waterways over that time.
Using either measure, no other industry came close to causing the same amount of damage. […]
Confinements with multimillion-dollar annual revenues often paid just a few thousand dollars in fines after causing massive fish kills. Many went to court to challenge authorities; since 2005, the state attorney general has filed or resolved at least 26 pollution lawsuits against swine confinements. Some operators polluted repeatedly. And the multistate pork producers who supply the pigs and profit from the confinements were rarely held accountable, the Tribune found. […]
In 2010, Illinois’ failure to monitor or regulate livestock confinements prompted the U.S. EPA to threaten funding cuts and decertification of the state EPA. Since then, Illinois has bolstered its inspections staff as well as documented and visited 236 of the largest swine facilities. That is fewer than half of the estimated 527 in the state and includes none of the additional 427 hog confinements with up to 2,500 animals.
* Lax animal welfare oversight…
Weeks after taking a job as a breeding technician at Eagle Point Farms, an anguished Sharee Santorineos sat down and wrote a three-page whistleblower complaint.
“I seen pigs that are pregnant beat with steel bars,” said her letter to the Illinois Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare. “I seen them kicked all over their body.” […]
Instead, like other worker allegations about animal abuse in Illinois’ 900-plus hog confinement facilities, Santorineos’ account went nowhere.
After Eagle Point executives gave a state bureau inspector a guided tour of the 6,000-pig operation, he wrote a single-page report.
“I did not observe anyone mistreating the animals,” it said. “No violations found. Docket is closed.”
The state has regularly discounted or dismissed such worker complaints, a Tribune investigation has found. In the Illinois hog confinements that send 12 million pigs to market annually, the bureau did not find a single animal welfare infraction or violation during the past five years, the Tribune found in reviewing thousands of pages of bureau records.
* Unchecked foreign corporate encroachment…
Still, the system was working for them until the mid-1990s brought punishing downswings in the market for live hogs — including a devastating 1998 price collapse. Big producers like Smithfield Foods and Cargill swooped in, Steele recalled, and enticed farmers to become “contract growers” instead of raising their own pigs.
It was a way for many to insulate themselves from market risk and remain on their land rather than shutting down altogether.
“For our generation, we all wanted to come back to the farm, and this has enabled us to do so,” said Genny Six, a contract grower whose Morgan County operation in central Illinois has steadily expanded to 7,200 pigs.
Then came the most recent seismic shift: China’s largest meat processor purchased Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion while a Brazilian firm paid $1.45 billion last year to acquire Cargill’s U.S.-based pork business.
“It used to be, the farmer raised the corn that fed his pigs here in Illinois, they got harvested by a packing plant here in Illinois and they probably got consumed here in Illinois,” said western Illinois hog farmer Greg Giertz. “Now the hogs might be owned by someone in Iowa, raised in Illinois, slaughtered in Indiana and shipped to China.”
* And an exploding marketplace…
Across Illinois, the nation’s fourth-largest seller of pigs, large hog confinements have exploded in number and size. Raising pigs for slaughter in an efficient, factorylike setting, the operations help hold down the price of the most widely consumed meat in the world. […]
Other states and local agencies have moved aggressively to address the problems caused by large hog confinements. Illinois has not, the Tribune found, even as consumers demand more humane treatment of livestock and stronger environmental protections. […]
With the pace of new construction permits accelerating, state authorities say they are doing the best they can to protect neighboring communities and the environment. But they acknowledge that Illinois’ Livestock Management Facilities Act gives them few tools to hold confinement owners accountable.
Twenty years after the state law was put in place, critics liken its provisions to a frontier-era timber blockade in the path of a bullet train.
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What bipartisan cooperation can accomplish
Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Rebecca Shi, the director of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition…
Hello Rich,
Hope your summer is going great! Governor Rauner signed into law a bill providing health insurance for 41,000 undocumented children. We are celebrating this Friday with Archbishop Blase Cupich, Minority leader Jim Durkin, Latino caucus co-chairs Iris Martinez and Lisa Hernandez, and 350 business, faith, and Latino Asian leaders. Wondering if you would you be interested in this story?
I wholeheartedly believe that this is one bright spot in this year’s Springfield fight: Bi-partisan support for renewal of health care for 41,000 undocumented children in Illinois, passed legislation in the House and Senate with the support of all four legislative leaders, and Gov. Rauner signed the bill. In this era of Trump and his wall, the national anti-immigrant groups weighed in against this legislation and they were crushed.
We had active support from the grass-roots, the faith community (especially Catholics), the business community (including Susan Crown and Bill Kunkler, who put an op ed in the Tribune, Exelon’s John Rowe and Crate and Barrel’s Carole Segal), and the united healthcare community. A beautiful piece of organizing.
I hope perhaps you can tell this story. It is both ironic and beautiful that the MOST vulnerable and least politically relevant people - undocumented children - was where Rauner and Madigan agreed to sheath their swords and each actively worked to move towards a successful resolution.
* Mark Brown has a column about the law today…
Even as Donald Trump was wrapping up the Republican presidential nomination in part with his get-tough rhetoric on immigration, Illinois political leaders moved in a decidedly different direction in the waning days of the spring legislative session.
With bipartisan support that included backing from Gov. Bruce Rauner, lawmakers renewed a state health insurance program for low-income children that includes coverage for undocumented youth.
* A few important points from Brown’s column…
Such celebrations are often held as part of bill-signing ceremonies, but in this case, Rauner quickly signed the legislation to beat a July 1 deadline and is not expected to attend Friday’s festivities. […]
Sen. Chris Nybo of Elmhurst, one of many Republicans who supported the bill, argued that it is in keeping with his pro-life philosophy.
“Being supportive of children and families should transcend immigration status,” Nybo said. […]
House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton kept the bill separate from other Medicaid-funding legislation to keep it from getting caught up in the partisan budget wars.
* Like with his signature on the Right of Conscience Act revisions opposed by the far right and all the new criminal justice reform measures he’s backed, the governor has tried to tamp down coverage of his signatures by signing potentially controversial bills without comment. It’s mostly worked. The uproar over the Right of Conscience Act bill has received almost no mainstream media coverage. And I doubt many people beyond those who read this blog are aware of all the new criminal justice reforms.
Also, Sen. Nybo put to voice something I’ve heard others say. Almost every pro-life legislator (except a few like Nybo) voted against that All Kids bill, despite the fact that it will almost certainly save the lives of newborn infants. And since it came with a 90 percent federal match, it’ll save Illinoisans some cash because those costs won’t be shifted to providers, who then shift those costs to people who have insurance.
And good on all four legislative leaders and the governor for doing their very best to keep this out of the impasse war. Without that cooperation, the bill would’ve never become law.
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Unpaid bereavement leave now law
Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we’ve discussed a few times already, Gov. Rauner signed a whole lot of bills last Friday before clearing this week’s schedule. Bernie writes about another one…
Gov. BRUCE RAUNER last week signed Senate Bill 2613, which provides that employees are entitled to up to 10 workdays of unpaid bereavement leave following the death of a child.
Among advocates for the bill was JIM DIXON of Springfield. He and his wife, LINDA, lost a son, TODD, in a one-car accident 25 years ago, and they lead a group call Bereaved Parents of Springfield. Jim Dixon is also president of the Springfield and Central Illinois Trades and Labor Council.
The bill applies to private-sector businesses that employ 50 or more employees for at least 20 work weeks in a year.
“The pain a parent who loses a child must experience is unimaginable,” said state Sen. JENNIFER BERTINO-TARRANT, D-Shorewood, chief sponsor of the legislation. She said she was saddened to learn that while the Family and Medical Leave Act allows time off to care for a sick child, there was not a similar provision for time upon the death of a child.
“Since introducing this bill, I have heard many stories of parents feeling they were not mentally prepared to go back to work so quickly or needed more time to grieve,” Bertino-Tarrant said. “I am grateful parents now have this guarantee.”
Discuss.
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Emanuel takes “cheap” shot at Rauner
Thursday, Aug 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Hal Dardick…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel was talking to the Chicago Investors Conference on Wednesday when one investor asked him to comment on the fact that the mayor’s idea of pursuing “reform with revenue sounds similar to the governor’s turnaround agenda.”
“Yeah, well we got it done,” Emanuel said in reference to Rauner’s failure to get much of his agenda through Springfield, and the mayor’s relative success in getting his pension funding plans approved.
“That was cheap,” he said as the crowd laughed. “That was not fair. Just couldn’t help myself.”
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* CNN…
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Wednesday that he doesn’t see how he can endorse his party’s nominee, Donald Trump, in the wake of the week’s events.
“I’m an American before I’m a Republican,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on “The Situation Room.” “I’m saying for me personally, how can I support that? Because he’s crossed so many red lines that a commander in chief or a candidate for commander in chief should never cross.”
Kinzinger, who has openly hesitated to embrace Trump as his party’s standard-bearer, said he went to Cleveland hoping to “at least mildly endorse the Republican front-runner.”
But in the aftermath of Trump’s comments about Russian President Vladimir Putin and the parents of fallen Muslim American soldier Capt. Humayun Khan, the third-term Illinois congressman said that he doesn’t “see how I get there anymore.”
“I’m a Republican because I believe that Republicanism is the best way to defend the United States of America,” Kinzinger said, adding that Trump “throws all of these Republican principles on their head.”
* More…
Kinzinger slammed Trump for not saying he honored the Khan family and instead took it as “an affront to him.” Also contributing to his ruling out a vote for Trump, Kinzinger said, was Trump’s blaming former President George W. Bush for the 9/11 attacks. […]
Kinzinger, a major in the Air National Guard, said Trump “for me is beginning to cross a lot of red lines into the unbelievable in politics. I am not going to support Hillary, but in America, we have the right to write somebody in or skip the vote, and vote for Mark Kirk in Illinois for instance, and that is what it is looking like for me today.”
“I just don’t see how I get to Donald Trump anymore.”
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Duckworth case removed from trial docket
Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the attorney general’s office…
Hi –
Here’s the update on the Duckworth matter.
We filed a motion to enforce the settlement Monday (attached).
This afternoon the judge entered an order into the docket (attached).
It states:
8/1/16 Def. Motion to Enforce Settlement Agreement Filed
8/3/16 B [the Judge’s initial] The Ct. has spoken with AAG & Plaintiff Atty [Plaintiff is abbreviated].
Plaintiff Atty indicates that settlement documents are being finalized.
This matter is stricken from the 8/15 & 16/16 bench trial docket.
If documents are not received w/in 21 days, Clerk to pull for the Ct’s review.
Thanks.
Eileen F. Boyce
Senior Press Secretary
Office of the Attorney General Lisa Madigan
So… over? Looks that way for now.
The document is here.
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More on Madigan, Rauner and Trump
Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* More on Speaker Madigan’s interview with Public Radio. This time, on Gov. Rauner and Donald Trump…
“If you study the statements and the actions of both men, you’ll see a great similarity in their methods and how they castigate people and how they’re always criticizing people without ever talking about their own programs,” Madigan said. “And so I think I’m fully justified in linking Trump and Rauner together in extremism” […]
“Trump has his methods, he has his ways of doing things and I think at the end of the day, the majority of Americans are going to say, ‘that really doesn’t have a place in America,’” Madigan said. “America is a country that recognizes decency and tolerance and respect for others.”
Discuss.
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* From SEIU Local 73’s web page…
A crisis of governance and collapse of leadership at SEIU Local 73 resulted in an emergency trusteeship by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) today to protect the interests of its members, ensure the performance of the Local’s collective bargaining responsibilities, and restore democratic procedures at the Local.
Immediate action was required because incessant infighting between Local 73’s top elected officers, President Christine Boardman and Secretary-Treasurer Matthew Brandon, reached a boiling point and seriously disrupted the operations and functioning of the Local, putting members’ interests at risk.
Under the provisions of the SEIU Constitution, Eliseo Medina, former Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU, has been appointed as Trustee and Dian Palmer, president of SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin, and Lenore Friedlander, an officer from SEIU Local32BJ as Deputy Trustees, and they have assumed responsibility for the operation of the Local. Consistent with the imposition of a trusteeship, the current Local 73 officers have been removed from office.
“Immediate action was needed to protect SEIU Local 73 members,” said Eliseo Medina, who was appointed Trustee of the Local. “We will work to protect the best interests of SEIU Local 73 members by restoring the normal operations and functions of the Local.”
Serious charges and accusations between the Local’s two top officers caused an egregious breakdown in governance. President Boardman and Secretary-Treasurer Brandon each challenge the basic legitimacy of the other’s authority to hold office or lead the Local, resulting in a debilitating dysfunction of the Local’s governance process as well as causing instability and confusion within the Local and its membership.
Circumstances deteriorated so badly that the Local was unable to conduct the July 15, 2016 Executive Board meeting to carry out union business or hold a basic membership meeting scheduled for the next day. The Local is mired in internal charges, contested suspension of its secretary-treasurer and allegations that the local president can no longer serve due to a previous announcement of retirement.
Boardman has been a Rahm Emanuel ally.
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* Back on July 23rd, US Rep. Tammy Duckworth appeared at a campaign event in Will County and tried to give her side of a workplace retaliation lawsuit which had been settled not long before. Two former employees at the Anna Veterans’ Home in deep southern Illinois had claimed Duckworth got rid of them after they blew the whistle on poor management.
The case was settled “for attorneys fees and they got not a dime, which sort of tells you that they have no case,” Duckworth said of the plaintiffs, even though the plaintiffs later claimed they were promised $9,000 each. “So, um you know, this is what they do, they don’t tell the truth and they put it out there. And when they, and you, if your job is to serve veterans, and you’re not doing your job, yeah, I’m going to come after you. And you can go sue me all you want. But I am going to hold you accountable.” Click here to watch the video, which was posted soon after by the Kirk campaign’s tracker.
As you already know, the plaintiffs have decided to withdraw from the settlement agreement. The attorney general’s office, which handled the case, claims the plaintiffs are locked in. It’ll likely be up to a judge to figure things out.
* And at least one of the two plaintiffs, Christine Butler, now appears to be cooperating with US Sen. Mark Kirk’s campaign. The Kirk campaign admits it showed the video of Duckworth’s remarks to Butler, and a top campaign aide facilitated a chat yesterday between myself and Butler about a potentially explosive allegation regarding alleged lax management at the Anna Veterans’ Home.
Butler sent Duckworth, who was then the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, an e-mail on April 28, 2007 about a troubling incident at the veterans’ facility, where she worked until Duckworth personally fired her.
The families of veterans in the home are allowed to hire people to provide additional care for residents. The day before Butler sent the e-mail, five people were brought in to care for an unidentified veteran. “The appearance of these individuals was simply awful, along with there (sic) personal hygiene,” Butler told Duckworth. Click here to see that e-mail.
According to her e-mail, one of the five allegedly called a contractor a “queer,” and Butler claimed she’d heard second-hand from her union president that an upset resident had asked that he not be allowed back in.
* This is how it’s described in Butler’s lawsuit filed in 2009…
On April 18, 2007, Plaintiff Butler sent an e-mail communication to Defendant Duckworth regarding an incident in which five non-employees of the IDVA had come to the Anna Veterans Home the previous day and requested permission of Defendant Simms to provide care to one of the veteran residents of the Home. Defendant Simms had granted them permission to do so, despite the fact that there were obvious concerns about the appearance, hygiene, and conduct of the individuals – and Defendant Simms had not yet conducted a background check on them. By the next day, the five ostensible care-providers had become abusive, both to the veteran and a contractor working at the facility, as well as loud and disruptive, and were required to leave the facility
* However, Butler claimed in her conversation with me yesterday that the facility’s acting manager had hired the five people out of a local Public Aid office. She claims they were sitting in the lobby, and were asked if they needed work.
Butler claims the person who caused most of the trouble that she wrote Duckworth about in her e-mail was Jessie Bell. A background check would’ve likely found some criminal conduct in his past. But no background check was performed, Butler told me, because her supervisor said she needed to hire people “ASAP.”
* The Kirk campaign sent over Bell’s rap sheet…
• 1998: Guilty Of Felony For Possession Of Stolen Vehicle;
• 2000: Guilty Of Felony For Knowingly Damaging Property, Guilty Of Misdemeanor For Aggravated Battery, Battery Causing Bodily Harm (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16);
• 2004: Guilty Of Misdemeanor Battery Causing Bodily Harm (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16);
• 2006: Guilty Felony Aggressively Fleeing Police (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16);
• 2008: Guilty Misdemeanor Domestic Battery (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16);
• 2009: Guilty Felony Of Aggravated Battery In A Public Place (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16);
• 2012: Guilty Felony Retail Theft (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16);
• 2014: Guilty Felony Domestic Battery With 3 Prior Convictions (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16);
* And then there was this…
• 2014: Guilty Felony 2nd Degree Murder (Judici.com, Accessed 8/1/16).
In 2015, Jessie Bell Was Convicted Of 2nd Degree Murder And Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison. (Christy Hendricks, “Anna man sentenced to 20 years for 2nd-degree murder,” KFVS, 8/3/15)
Jessie Bell Is Currently Serving His Time At The Pinckneyville Correctional Center In Pinckneyville, Illinois. (Illinois Department of Corrections, Access 8/1/16)
Oof.
“Not one time was any corrective action plan put in place to ensure that this kind of activity never took place again,” Butler claimed yesterday. She filed a complaint with the Inspector General’s office on April 30th. Duckworth fired her in person days later.
* Even so, it should be noted that Butler’s original IG complaint apparently didn’t contain the allegations about the lack of background checks on Bell or anyone else. And this is Duckworth’s side of the story from her 2015 affidavit…
Duckworth obviously believed that Butler was a rumor-mongering troublemaker. “Based on my own investigation,” she wrote in her affidavit, “I regarded many of her allegations as interpersonal issues or unsubstantiated hearsay.”
* Even so, that alleged problem of unchecked outsiders being brought in to assist veterans most definitely should’ve been addressed, and Duckworth should have “gone after” the people responsible. They got lucky that nothing really bad happened.
*** UPDATE *** Here’s a summation of a conversation I just had with some high-level folks at the Attorney General’s office…
It’s worth noting that these folks were allowed into the veterans’ home on the 17th of April. The home’s acting manager told the five to get out of the veterans’ home the very next day, on the 18th of April. By the time Butler met with Duckworth a few days later, the incident had been dealt with. This case is primarily about issues and conflicts between the facility director and the plaintiff Butler.
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The tinfoil hatters should stand down… for now
Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a June 20th Tribune story…
There might not be a budget, but Illinois could become the first state with a law on the books that gives Muslims a formal voice in government.
The creation of an Illinois Muslim-American Advisory Council is one of more than 400 bills awaiting Gov. Bruce Rauner’s signature. It landed on the Republican governor’s desk shortly before presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump renewed his call to ban Muslims entering the U.S., after a shooter of the Islamic faith killed 49 people at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.
Muslim leaders say Rauner’s signing of the bill would send a welcome message to the community that Illinois does not condone Trump’s approach. The governor’s office said he is reviewing the bill. […]
Along with a number of other minority advisory councils, the Muslim council that existed under Quinn dissolved when Rauner took office last year, Irfan said. This year’s hostile political climate prompted Muslim community leaders to propose a resolution that would restore it, and lawmakers took it one step further by proposing a statute that would establish the council more formally.
* The legislation has created a freakout on social media by people who are prone to freaking out. A sampling of a Twitter search for “Rauner”and “Muslim”…
* One of Illinois Review’s stories…
Not only is the proposed council the first in the nation, it’s the first such council representing a religious sector in Illinois. No similar council is in place that represents Catholics, Protestants, Jews or Hindus. Muslims are the third largest religious group in Illinois, following Roman Catholics and evangelical Christians.
Governor Pat Quinn was the first to appoint a Muslim-American Advisory Council. This legislation would make the council official, and continue its service whoever is in the Governor’s Mansion. […]
The definition of “Muslim” in the legislation did not disqualify a representative from Minister Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam from being appointed to the panel. “Muslim” is defined as “an individual who practices the religion of Islam.”
SB 574 was considered on the House floor with no substantial discussion, but a bi-partisan group of lawmakers opposed the bill, including Democrats Dan Beiser, John Bradley, Katherine Cloonan, Jerry Costello, Brandon Phelps, Susan Scherer and Andrew Skoog.
* But…
Folks, after several conversations with Governor Rauner’s office, I can report that the Muslim Advisory Council legislation (SB574) that was sitting on the governor’s desk, is dead for now.
What all Illinois voters should know is that this bill, SB574, passed the House and the Senate overwhelmingly, and it was Democrat Senator Terry Link who effectively killed the bill. In a conversation with a rep in Link’s office, he reported there were many technical problems with the bill, one of which was that it violated house rules!
* Actually, the bill’s House passage violated the state Constitution and, contrary to the Tribune report, it never made it to the governor’s desk.
Check out the bill history. The House, for whatever reason, skipped the mandated 1st Reading. So, Sen. Terry Link filed a motion to reconsider on June 30th, effectively stalling the bill in its tracks.
But, really, is it that nefarious? It’s just a little advisory council, after all. And the bill passed both chambers with overwhelmingly bipartisan roll calls.
People really need to calm the heck down out there.
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* A press release from yesterday…
Today, MALDEF announced the favorable outcome from a lawsuit it filed against Illinois Governor, Bruce Rauner, in April, seeking enforcement of the Illinois Gubernatorial Boards and Commissions Act (”The Act”). The Act requires Governor Rauner to publish information about the ethnicity, gender and disability status of applicants and appointees to state boards and commissions. As of April, the governor had failed to publish his first report, even though he was required to do so six months earlier. Three months after the suit was filed, the governor has complied with the Act’s requirements.
* From the newly released data…
* An important caveat from the Rauner administration…
Because we were left with incomplete records and information related to appointments by the prior administration, we are unable to provide data related to the appointments made by Governor Quinn from July 1, 2014 to January 11, 2015.
* Now, on to the applicants for appointments…
From January 12, 2015 to June 30, 2015, our administration received 692 applications from individuals wishing to be considered for appointment to a State board, commission, or task force.
In compliance with the Act, such application is available online and includes “a data field where an applicant shall disclose his or her ethnicity, gender, or disability status for reporting purposes.” We have compiled the demographic information from all applicants that have disclosed demographic information on their application. The demographic breakdown of those applicants is as follows
* The chart…
So, there was a slightly higher percentage of white, male applicants who were eventually appointed vs. those who applied.
38 Comments
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Yard signs don’t vote, but they’re here to stay
Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Washington Post…
No one loves lawn signs more than political candidates. Political candidates love lawn signs because 1. They love seeing their name around, 2. They assume that the number of lawn signs they see somehow correlates to the level of support they enjoy and 3. They know that campaigns have lawn signs, and candidates are biased toward mimicking what winning candidates have done. Between 1984 and 2012, according to one study, use of lawn signs in campaigns quadrupled.
The problem with lawn signs, as any campaign manager would probably tell you, is that they are expensive, annoying, logistically tricky to distribute and — most importantly — don’t seem to do much of anything. Candidates like to feel as if they’re winning. Campaign managers like to know that they’re winning or at least making progress. So campaign managers like things that have either measurable effects on voters (like identifying targeted supporters) or demonstrated past effects (like advertising). Lawn signs don’t fit into either category. To a campaign manager, lawn signs are similar to randomly handing out fliers at a grocery store: a waste of time, money and energy.
Meh. Campaigns often find out who their strongest supporters are when voters agree to put up a yard sign after being contacted either door-to-door or by phone. Campaigns can then circle back and ask the supporters to get even more involved, either by volunteering or by contributing or both. The sign placements also provide physical evidence that precinct workers and phone-bankers are doing their jobs.
* The WaPo story is actually about a new study on yard signs…
Cutting to the chase: “[I]t appears that signs typically have a modest effect on advertising candidates’ vote shares — an effect that is probably greater than zero but unlikely to be large enough to alter the outcome of a contest that would otherwise be decided by more than a few percentage points.” The effect of such signs, the study suggests, is about the same as direct mail.
Of the researchers’ four experiments, only one involved what you might generally think of as yard signs. In three of the experiments, signs were placed in public places within randomly assigned precincts. In the fourth, signs were placed in supporters’ yards — the thing that campaigns often spend a lot of time coordinating. In that case, interestingly, the effects were essentially zero. Aggregated, the four experiments suggested that there was a 1.7 percentage-point boost to the candidate from the signs — with a standard error of 0.7 percentage points. (In precincts adjacent to the targeted ones, there was a slightly smaller benefit.)
If the impact is “about the same as direct mail,” then don’t expect campaigns to stop putting up yard signs any time soon. Campaigns send out tons and tons of direct mail. Not to mention that they all use robocalls, even though it’s getting more difficult to reach voters that way in the height of campaign season because so few people will answer their phones due to the stupefyingly overwhelming crush of the automated calls.
* One other item of note…
The silver lining is that the study suggests that the much-easier distribution of lawn signs in random public places is more effective than finding supporters and plunking signs in their yards.
Except, that’s illegal.
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* A memo from the governor’s union negotiator…
TO: Trey Childress, Deputy Governor and Chief of Operations
Jason Barclay, Governor’s General Counsel
Richard Goldberg, Governor’s Chief of Staff
FROM: John Terranova, Deputy Director
DATE: August 2, 2016
SUBJECT: AFSCME Threatening Workers with Fines for Crossing Picket Lines
As we near AFSCME’s September 1 strike date, I wanted to update you about a troublesome development.
My office has recently learned that AFSCME representatives are advising employees about the consequences of crossing the picket line in the event of a strike. Specifically, we heard that the Union is threatening to fine employees as much as $5,000 if they cross the picked the line. Threatened fines in the same amount of $5,000 were reported at the State Retirement Systems Building in Springfield on July 15, 2016, and at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on July 18, 2016.
As much as I personally find such threats distasteful, I have no reason to doubt the accuracy of what AFSCME plans to do to members who cross the picket line.
To confirm whether AFSCME is able to fine its members and how much, we would need to review the Union’s bylaws. Unfortunately, AFSCME’s bylaws do not appear to be publicly available. We would need the Union to embrace transparency and make its bylaws available to the public.
We will update you as we learn more about this issue and how it is affecting state employees.
* Finke has AFSCME Council 31’s response to the alleged threat of fines…
A spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees on Tuesday called the memo “another groundless attack from the Rauner administration.” […]
AFSCME locals around the state have been holding meetings with members to inform them of their rights and other ramifications in the event of a strike. However, AFSCME said it doesn’t want a strike and repeated that assertion Tuesday.
“Another day, another groundless attack from the Rauner administration,” AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall said. “There is no ‘September 1 strike date’ anywhere but in the governor’s mind, and this memo’s other claims are just as unreliable.”
“While we won’t get dragged into responding to every phony twist and turn of the Rauner misinformation campaign, the simple fact is that AFSCME Council 31 has never fined anyone for conduct during a strike,” Lindall said. “This is a nonissue invented by the administration to distract state workers from what’s really going on. Governor Rauner boasted that he’d force a strike, he walked away from negotiations, and he’s seeking the power to unilaterally impose his extreme demands.”
OK, so Council 31 has never fined a member for crossing a picket line. But can the union fine strike-breakers?
*A commenter on the SJ-R story points to two sections of AFSCME’s constitution…
Section 1. Except as hereafter provided in this Article, any member of the Federation may file charges against any individual for actions taken while a member of the Federation or while a staff employee of the Federation or a subordinate body.
Section 2. The following and no other shall constitute the basis for the filing of charges: […]
D. Acting in collusion with management to the detriment of the welfare of the union or its membership.
And…
Section 15. A trial body may, if it finds the accused person guilty, assess any one or more of the following penalties:
A. A formal reprimand, accompanied by a formal warning against any repetition of the act or acts of which the accused is found guilty.
B. A fine in an amount not to exceed one year’s dues, to be paid to the union at the level at which the charges originate.
C. Full or partial restitution, where the consequences of the offense can be measured in material terms.
So, apparently Council 31 can fine workers.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Anders Lindall at Council 31…
This is a ludicrous discussion. No AFSCME member has ever been fined for such conduct in Illinois, we’ve never even considered the concept, and in checking with our national union, they are aware of no case in which it has ever happened anywhere in the country. This “matter” is entirely a creation of the Rauner Administration’s anti-union misinformation campaign to confuse, distract and divide state employees and the public.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Rauner spokesman Lance Trover…
It is outrageous that AFSCME refuses to categorically rule out fining workers who may not want to strike.
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Dueling press releases
Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From this morning…
BREAKING: Major Victory for People With Disabilities as Rauner Administration Rescinds OT Rules in Face of Lawsuit; Fight Now Moves to Administrative Committee as DHS Backtracks on Disastrous, Illegal Policy
MEDIA AVAILABILITY TODAY 2 P.M. @ CHICAGO ACCESS LIVING TO DISCUSS DEVELOPMENTS
CHICAGO-Advocates for people with disabilities will be available at 2 p.m. TODAY at the Access Living offices in Chicago to discuss the breaking news that, in the face of a class-action lawsuit, the Bruce Rauner administration had rescinded its disastrous new rules limiting overtime hours in the Home Services Program that could have led to the termination of thousands of caregivers.
The rescission, an acknowledgment that the Rauner administration violated the law, represents a major victory in the effort to stop Rauner’s destruction of the social safety net in Illinois-but still leaves many major questions unanswered.
In a press release issued just hours before the lawsuit was scheduled to be filed Wednesday (draft of the unfiled suit attached), and after months of pressure from workers demanding an end to these terrible rules, including the ADAPT advocacy group, the Rauner administration’s Department of Human Services (DHS) announced it would rescind its cruel cap on overtime hours for some 8,000 workers, a policy that has thrown the entire system of care in Illinois into disarray.
In May, Rauner’s DHS illegally implemented the policy to begin firing caregivers who worked over 40 hours WITHOUT the public comment period required by law and on July 21, a Kane County judge issued a temporary restraining order against the state’s policy. The lawsuit the administration faced today, from Chicago ADAPT and three plaintiffs who are people with disabilities from Peoria, Carbondale and Chicago, respectively, would have sought to permanently enjoin the policy statewide.
From almost the moment the Rauner policy was implemented, people with disabilities and caregivers have suffered terrible hardships.
Advocates for people with disabilities will be available at 2 p.m. TODAY before a meeting of the Task Force on Attendant Services (TFAS) at the Chicago offices of Access Living (115 W. Chicago Ave.) to discuss the harm caused by the Rauner policy, the significance of the victory, the major questions that remain and the fight to come.
The unfiled suit is here.
* From last night…
Illinois Department of Human Services Moves to Implement Rule on Overtime Policy
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) will publish a proposed rule to govern overtime in the Home Services Program. The Home Services Program pays providers to care for our customers with disabilities where our customers reside.
The overtime policy is designed to achieve two goals, to improve services to our most vulnerable while reducing costs to taxpayers, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the program. Evidence shows that the policy has driven great progress toward both goals.
For example:
• The number of individuals providing services to our most vulnerable have increased from about 32,000 to more than 35,000.
• The amount of money paid in overtime has decreased each month. From January until May of 2016 the amount of overtime payments has been cut nearly in half.
• It has increased much-needed community capacity for the Home Services Program, which enables those in need to continue to receive necessary services at home instead of being institutionalized.
The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) has decided to go through the rule-making process under the Administrative Procedure Act following a recent court decision directing the successful overtime policy be implemented by rule rather than policy.
On July 21, 2016, Kane County Circuit Court entered a temporary restraining order barring the enforcement of the overtime policy until it has gone through the rule-making process. While DHS respectfully disagrees with the Court, DHS will abide by the order and looks forward to the rule-making process where we will have the opportunity to show the positive benefits of the policy and work with all parties involved. The rule-making process allows the Department to hear from all parties before issuing the final rule.
IDHS believes the final rule will closely track the policy as it was originally announced. IDHS would like to thank those customers and providers who have worked hard to follow the overtime policy. IDHS strongly encourages all providers and customers to take the necessary steps now to hire enough providers to avoid unnecessary overtime so they will be prepared when the final rule goes into effect. IDHS employees are happy to help our customers find and hire additional providers.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** I really wish this worked
Wednesday, Aug 3, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
People heading to the Illinois State Fair when it opens next week may want to download a new mobile phone app.
State fair manager Kevin Gordon announced the application Tuesday in a news release. The free app gives fairgoers access to deals and discounts on the fairgrounds and the ability to buy tickets to concerts and other events.
It will take users on a self-guided tour of agriculture destinations on the fairgrounds.
The app includes tools such as a food finder, a daily schedule of events and a list of all the winners from competitions held at the fair.
Trouble is, I couldn’t get the app to work on my Android phone yesterday. The app asked for permission to access “photos, media and files” on my phone, and when I denied the permission, the app wouldn’t load.
* This morning, I tried clicking on the app again and was told I needed to “accept the next two alerts.” I touched “OK” and received this message…
Unfortunately we are not able to get the latest information for your fair app. Please enable local storage under settings to use your 2016 Fair App.
* So, I uninstalled it and tried again and received the same message. Sorry, but I don’t grant that sort of permission unless I’m assured the app company isn’t gonna be poking around my phone.
Am I just being paranoid? Any experts out there?
*** UPDATE *** From an e-mail…
Hi Rich!
I understand you have some concerns about the new Illinois State Fair Mobile App.
The Department does not have the ability to collect a user’s personally identifiable information via the mobile app, nor does the developer Grandstand Apps.
Upon download, android users will be asked for permission to access certain files such as photos.
The app needs these files to properly function. For example, the photo booth needs to be able to access the pictures taken by your phone to be able to utilize the eight special photo filters. Similarly, permissions are needed to be able to post said pictures to the user’s social media account.
The intent of this app is to help the fairgoer personalize his/her experience at the Illinois State Fair.
The alert prompted by Android only impacts those with an Android phone 6.0 or newer. This does not impact Apple users, as the features are already built into security permissions when the app is downloaded.
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I would be happy to answer them!!!
Rebecca Clark
Communications Manager
Illinois Department of Agriculture
Thoughts?
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* Tribune…
A panel of lawmakers and policy advisers appointed by Gov. Bruce Rauner to pave a path forward on how to overhaul the state’s school funding formula is scheduled to meet for the first time in Chicago on Wednesday afternoon.
The 25 member commission was formed after Democrats spent much of the spring legislative session pushing changes, which Rauner had initially resisted, saying the issue was a red herring meant to get in the way of a larger budget deal.
But panels and commissions are commonplace in Illinois, and only time will tell if real changes will come from the group’s work, given the politically fraught nature of changing how tax dollars are doled out to school districts.
Critics contend the formula shortchanges districts that serve poor children and doesn’t do enough to compensate districts that can’t rely on high real estate values to cover their spending needs with property taxes. But ideas to fix the problem usually hinge on raising taxes or cutting funding for wealthier districts in order to boost spending on poorer ones, both of which are difficult to sell politically.
Thing they’ll get anything accomplished?
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