Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2005

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Former Sen. Denny Jacobs is in the hospital. More details later…

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

What’s your favorite Springfield hotel, and why?

Mine would probably have to be the Statehouse Inn. It’s a bit on the pricey side (for Springfield), but the comfortable rooms, the free high speed Internet and the pleasant staff put it high on my list.

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Things that make you go “Hmmm”

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Medical malpractice payouts have fallen 10% at the state’s largest physician insurer, but executives don’t appear ready to cut doctors’ insurance premiums yet.

ISMIE Mutual Insurance Co. paid out $150.4 million to cover medical malpractice claims in 2004, down 10% from 2003. Premiums charged to doctors exceeded that payout by $270.1 million, the insurer’s March 1 annual filing with the Illinois Department of Insurance shows. The surplus set aside to cover unexpected losses also grew 5.3% to $212.5 million.

CEO Alexander Lerner’s 2004 compensation rose to $947,793, up 6.7% from 2003. […]

The hike in premiums and the dip in claims have bolstered ISMIE’s finances. The insurer in 2004 took in $411.4 million in premiums, recorded $40.7 million in investment income and set aside $266.3 million against future claims. ISMIE reported a total bottom-line profit of $11.7 million in 2004. That’s down 41% from 2003, when the insurer posted a profit of $19.8 million on premiums of $341.8 million.

Meanwhile, ISMIE’s chief executive, Mr. Lerner, got an $80,000 bonus in 2004, bringing his total compensation to $947,793, according to insurance department filings.

Mr. Lerner’s 2003 compensation was more than twice that of R. Kevin Clinton, president and CEO of Michigan-based American Physicians Capital Inc., a malpractice insurer of similar size.

There’s too much stuff in this story to post here. If you have any interest in this topic, you should read it all.

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Wrangling

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Daily Herald updates us today about a stalled plan to create a rental subsidy program.

Jacqui Mullen, one of the thousands of homeless single mothers in Illinois, is “tired of being a statistic.”

The 24-year-old works full time at a minimum-wage job taking care of elderly and disabled people. After paying for food, clothes, child care and diapers for her 21-month-old son, there isn’t money to pay rent. So she and Benji live in a dormitory-style shelter for women and their children.

“My major long-term goal is to have a home in a decent neighborhood and my kids to come up healthy and happy,” Mullen said.

She might get help reaching that goal if state lawmakers approve a plan to subsidize rent for an estimated 5,500 low-income families, but the measure has been sidelined by differences between Cook County officials who want a piece of the money involved.

This has been a weird fight from day one. The county’s own lobbyists, have, at times, lobbied both for it and against it at the same time.

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Public not allowed

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Rockford Register-Star columnist Chuck Sweeny is upset that he and other members of the public are being barred from a meeting of an official regional organization funded with taxpayer dollars.

As you read this column, our Rock River Valley leaders are having an important powwow downtown that could affect your future. The group they belong to receives $200,000 a year from Rockford taxpayers. Rockton, Machesney Park and Loves Park also kick in tax dollars.

But you didnâ€™t get to go to the meeting to see how your money is being spent. Neither did I â€” they wouldnâ€™t let me in.

Read the whole thing. It’s about more than public information. The column also provides some keen insights into a proposed Indian casino in Wisconsin, and how the debate has impacted Rockford.

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The Docter is out

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2005 - Posted by Rich Miller

Here is that Southtown editorial I wrote about this morning regarding the governor’s snub of Bert Docter and the Southland:

What does a governor do when one of his advisers gives him advice he doesn’t want to hear?

If the governor is Rod Blagojevich, he gets rid of the adviser. That’s what the governor did last week when he dumped a south suburban business leader from the state’s advisory board on school funding issues.

South Holland businessman Bert Docter in recent years has become one of the Southland’s leading advocates for school funding reform and property tax relief. […]

There’s a clear message to the new board: Don’t give the governor any advice that he doesn’t agree with, or you’ll be replaced, too.

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