* What’s next, the Girl Scouts? From a press release…
Governor Quinn Talks Pension and Medicaid Reform with Students
Hosts Town Hall About Illinois’ Future at Julian Middle School
OAK PARK – May 22, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today hosted a town hall meeting with students at Julian Middle School about the urgent need for pension and Medicaid reform. With just 9 days left before the end of spring legislative session, the governor continued his push to stabilize Illinois’ Medicaid and pension systems and educate the public about our fiscal challenges. During the visit, Governor Quinn took questions from 8th graders about their stake in what happens in Springfield this session and the impact that these two issues have on the future of Illinois.
“At its core, this battle to resolve our fiscal challenges is about the future of our children,” Governor Quinn said. “If we want to educate our kids and ensure they are ready for the workforce, our moment is now. We must assume responsibility to build a better future for our children. We must work together to get these vital reforms done.”
For crying out loud, governor, get back to Springfield and stop doing silly press pops near your house. You told reporters yesterday that you wanted to see “an epic 10 days” at the Capitol and wanted legislators to avoid all distractions, and now you’re spending time taking questions from 8th Graders?
Then again, some might say that Quinn is doing more good by getting outta town so he can’t screw things up.
* I received an e-mail from AFSCME yesterday saying they had over 400 people at the Statehouse lobbying “for a fair solution to the pension problem that can be supported by all parties.” The union plans to bring 1,000 people per day through Thursday.
* The Question: Should AFSCME “pull a Wisconsin” and try to flood the Capitol with thousands of protesters? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Things got a bit heated on the House floor yesterday when one member accused another of playing to the press box on the bill abolishing legislative scholarships…
State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago) accused the sponsor, State Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates) of simply trying for a “press pop” and of trying to impugn the integrity of lawmakers who, as Dunkin indicated he does, use an impartial committee to make the awards. Supporters of the bill, which passed by more than a two-to-one margin in the House, say the program has taken on too much scandal to survive.
In January, the Sun-Times and the BGA revealed that state Rep. Robert Rita (D-Blue Island) awarded a $37,000 tuition waiver to the daughter of Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), a political ally who endorsed Rita for the statehouse and whose wife was employed by Rita as a $400-a-month staffer until he recently fired her after the Sun-Times reported on a probe focusing on her past employment in the secretary of state’s office.
Crespo credited the reporting for prompting action after years of debate.
“Kudos to you, the Sun-Times and the BGA, for sticking to it almost like a pit bull,” Crespo said. “That was a key. It would pop up in the past, then go away, but you guys did a very good job of keeping it alive.”
I received an e-mail from the Better Government Association this morning highlighting that quote and claiming they’ll be invited to the bill signing ceremony.
* Yes, this was indeed a major press pop. But that scholarship program was rife with problems and it had to be killed. So, sometimes good media is actually good government. I’m not sure how the Tribune is gonna feel about Crespo after that gushing praise for the Sun-Times, however. It’s gotta sting a little.
* The State Journal-Register published an op-ed today by Stephen Kaufman, a retired university professor…
And business as usual is expensive for the people of Illinois. In his discussion of the [Illinois Reform Commission’s] findings, [commission chairman Patrick Collins] stated unambiguously that corruption and inefficiency in Illinois’ government cost the people of Illinois up to $10 billion annually.
Yes, that’s 10 billion dollars. In the absence of substantive government reform and in a tight economic climate, the people of Illinois are being asked to make extraordinary sacrifices: a major increase in state income tax, decreased state resources for education and health care, and serious erosion of pension benefits are among the many thus far imposed and more are under consideration. Instead of demanding and fighting for meaningful and cost-saving government reform, institutions, businesses and individuals are capitulating to the greed and corruption-driven practices of Illinois state government. [Emphasis added.]
Wow. $10 billion in Illinois state government corruption? That’s a heck of a lot of money - almost a third of General Revenue Fund spending.
* But I didn’t remember Collins actually saying that. So I Googled it. This is what I came up with…
The Illinois Reform Commission has gathered testimony from some experts who peg the “corruption tax” at more than 5 percent of every public contract.
That would easily equate to hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, a year, says commission chair Patrick Collins, a former federal prosecutor who helped put Ryan in prison.
Hoffman estimates there is about $10 billion alone worth of state contracts that are subject to political manipulation that ultimately could mean higher costs and worse service.
Oops.
* Kaufman’s bio…
Stephen Kaufman, emeritus professor at the University of Illinois, taught immunology and cell biology at the university for 32 years. His research focused on skeletal muscle development and diseases including muscular dystrophy. He is the author of more than 75 scientific papers.
Maybe somebody with more experience ought to be writing op-eds for major Illinois newspapers.
* Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Gery Chico has been working editorial boards across the state lately, decrying a possible cut to education funding. The work has paid off. Here’s the Southern Illinoisan…
It’s the wrong time to be looking at cuts in education. Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Gery Chico said $650 million in funding already has been cut from school districts since 2009. Chico said plans that would seek another $250 million to $750 million in cuts could be devastating in a state that already ranks near the bottom nationally in funding public education.
In just one example, looking at the potentially deepest cut of $750 million from education, funding for Murphysboro Community School District 186 would be cut from a projected $8.26 million to $6.75 million. Chico said such cuts would force local schools to cut programs, eliminate teaching jobs or raise taxes.
This is no idle threat. The Illinois House of Representatives has approved spending caps for the coming fiscal year that would cut education by nearly $260 million — even if the state successfully cuts $2.7 billion from Medicaid. The other, more-dire possibilities could see education cut by $500 million or $750 million in a state already ranked near the bottom for funding education.
“If that happens, I just think it’s devastating to school systems,” Chico said. “This is going to mean that if we continue to cut education in the state of Illinois, it’s going to reach laughable levels.”
But we believe every citizen in the state should be concerned at the damage that could be inflicted on public schools statewide under a 2013 budget plan backed by the Illinois House that strips from Quinn’s plan some $258 million from education spending. We admire the goal, which is to use $800 million in 2013 tax receipts to pay off some of the state’s bill backlog, which stands at $5 billion. We question whether jeopardizing public education and endangering celebrated reforms is a worthy trade-off.
“We have to have sanity in the way we look at affecting the finances of our school system,” Illinois State Board of Education Chairman Gery Chico told The State Journal-Register editorial board last week. “That ($258 million) is real money. That means you’re either letting go teachers, cutting back programs or you’re raising taxes. Those are all the options. So it’s dramatic, it’s drastic.”
For the Springfield School District, it would mean a loss of $5.7 million. School districts simply can’t absorb cuts that size without effects that are felt in classrooms.
And all that teacher accountability? It can’t happen without an assessment program in place, and that doesn’t happen without funding.
“We had a few million dollars put in there (for assessments) and some people in the House now are talking about striking that line item,” Chico said. “I don’t know why we’re getting applause for passing one thing and then the resources for getting it done are taken out.”
The state has a huge mountain of overdue, unpaid bills to schools. The school funding cuts are supposed to be used to pare down that and other debts.
…Adding… The comptroller’s office says that the current bill backlog to schools is $561 million.
* Despite Chairman Chico’s strong opposition, some are defending the cuts…
If the cuts go through, almost every district in the Stateline would feel the effects. Belvidere could lose 300-thousand dollars for the year, Winnebago over 600-thousand dollars, and Rockford would lose close to 8-millon dollars for fiscal year 2012.
“It’s not going to be pretty, but there’s really no other way,” said state senator Dave Syverson.
Syverson says out of control spending has left lawmakers will little options.
“We can’t do that anymore,” said Syverson. “You need to be honest with schools, with healthcare providers.”
And while lawmakers are still looking at other options to fill a near 3.5 billion dollar hole, Syverson says the education system in the state will likely take a hit.
“You have to cut into both when you have this big of a debt,” said Syverson.
* But the Senate Democrats’ budget plan contains no education cuts, which they believe is the right way to go. Even so, things got a bit testy in the approp committee yesterday…
But Senate Republicans said Democrats should be considering cuts instead of tapping into other funds. They said they could not support the proposal because it does not put the state on a path to security after the recent income tax increase begins to roll back in 2015. “I believed that we shared brief, shining moment of optimism in the beginning of our talks,” said Sen. Pamela Althoff, a McHenry Republican. “Unfortunately as we tried to progress, we really broke down. Our conversations, they stalled over one basic staunch principle, and that was a promise of the Republican caucus to always craft a spending plan that put the state of Illinois on a trajectory to eliminate the tax increase on schedule. And what we see before us now makes [our] support of this proposal impossible, as we cannot meet that principle.” […]
Democrats said Republicans are stalling and being obstructive. Steans said that any time an agreement seemed close in negotiations, Republicans “moved the goalpost.”
Another potential sticking point is facility closures. The proposal calls for the closure of the Dwight Correctional Center, the Murray Developmental Center in Centralia, the Jacksonville Developmental Center and the Tinley Park Mental Health Center. While no Republicans spoke out adamantly against the closures at today’s hearings, Republicans on the Commission for Government Forecasting and Accountability, which takes advisory votes on facility closures, have general opposed closing downstate facilities.
* The Medicaid restructuring bill popped up yesterday…
The measure, filed as a House amendment to Senate Bill 2840, includes $240 million in payment rate cuts to hospitals and nursing homes. But it spares doctors from rate cuts, along with 51 rural community hospitals and about 20 urban hospitals that care for poor patients.
The legislation eliminates most dental care for adults, but keeps emergency dental care. It limits adult eyeglasses to one pair every two years, pays the same amount for cesarean sections as for vaginal deliveries — unless the C-section is medically necessary — and limits podiatry care to people with diabetes.
The bill would eliminate Illinois Cares Rx, a program that helps nearly 200,000 seniors get prescription drugs, which concerns the AARP. […]
Medicaid payments to many hospitals would be cut by 3.5 percent, but the bill exempts rural community hospitals and safety-net hospitals from the cuts. Association of Safety-Net Hospitals spokeswoman Julie Sznewajs said Latino and black caucus members are “standing strong for their communities” by supporting the exception.
* Eliminate coverage for group therapy for nursing home residents, chiropractic care for adults and in-patient detoxification programs.
* Eliminate the Illinois Cares Rx program, which helps seniors pay for prescription drugs.
* Require a $2 copay for prescription drugs
* Cap hearing, speech, occupational and physical therapy at 20 sessions. Eliminate adult dental care except for in emergency situations.
* Limit patients to four prescriptions per month. Three of the prescriptions can be brand name drugs. Limit patients to one pair of eyeglasses every two years ,.
* Require prior approval for the repair or replacement of equipment, such as prostheses and wheelchairs
* The dollar a pack cigarette tax hike is crucial to the plan, but it will be run on a separate bill…
Feigenholtz and Steans said the plan relies on the approval of a cigarette tax. “If the cigarette tax doesn’t pass, we are going to have to go back to the drawing board and cut a lot of human services things that are very important to us, like taking care of the elderly [and] child care. It is going to blow a massive hole into the human services budget.” The proposed $1-a-pack increase is not in Senate Bill 2840. Steans, a Chicago Democrat, said she expects the tax legislation to surface in the next few days. Backers of the proposal also hope to rework the hospital assessment — which is an accounting practice that the state uses to leverage federal funds — to bring in $100 million more next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Steans said she hopes to have the whole plan approved by the end of the week, so lawmakers can move on to considering the budget. “The goal is to do it this week or try to finish it up by the end of this week. We have to turn over the budget by the [May] 31st deadline.”
* The overall Medicaid package has broad support, but there are some holdouts…
Some House Republicans are supporting a proposal from the Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank dedicated to “supporting free market principles,” which they say can cut the Medicaid liability by $2.7 billion without rate reductions or a tax increase. “The governor and the members of the House and the Senate agreed that it was imperative to find $2.7 billion in Medicaid savings. The plan that is being proposed and discussed by lawmakers unfortunately fails to live up to that promise. Instead, tax hikes and rate cuts are being substituted for reform,” Sen. Kyle McCarter, a Republican from Lebanon, said today at a news conference to promote the plan.
Some of the Policy Institute’s proposals are pretty good, but many of their more high-dollar ideas can’t be implemented right away to save enough money in the coming fiscal year. For example…
Implement data analytics and transparency tools. Utilize services to steer beneficiaries to low global-cost providers for all non-emergency, elective inpatient and outpatient services. The state should begin this program on a voluntary participation basis, providing clients with incentives to use the service, while seeking federal approval for mandatory participation in the program.
Potential Savings: $185.0 million
* Pat Quinn has been the king of distractions. The governor is infamous for bouncing around all over the place during negotiations. So this is more than a little ironic…
Rebuffing talk of new legislation that would expand gambling in Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn urged the legislature Monday to pass bills to restructure the state’s Medicaid and pension programs, two of the largest drains on Illinois’ budget.
“I’m not going to get distracted by that subject. Sometimes, down here, shiny objects can distract people,” Quinn said. “We don’t want any of that this week.”
Look, I understand why he wants to get Medicaid and pensions done first. And it’s laudable that he now wants everyone to stay focused on those goals. It’s just kinda funny to hear him talk about bright, shiny objects when he’s constantly chased squirrels all his life.
In a slow economic recovery, we should be doing more, not less, to spur job growth and economic development. That’s why the International Union of Operating Engineers urges lawmakers to oppose HB3881.
The claim that this is a “green” bill just masks what it really is – special legislation pushed at the last minute by one anti-union company that kills current and future jobs in Cook County.
The IUOE has hundreds of members working in Illinois communities to ensure that waste is disposed of and managed in the most environmentally responsible way we know how. We are proud to do the job because we know how vital a service it is to communities.
The bill will effectively export all of Cook County’s garbage to other counties and other states. But with the trash also goes the jobs and economic benefits. Everyone says jobs are a priority. Yet, HB3881 will shift jobs out of the Chicago area and out of state.
As an organization comprised of 23,000 hard working members, we are urging lawmakers to vote no on HB3881.
Jim Sweeney — International Union of Operating Engineers
