Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2007

Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

First, the setup…

A week ago it won a narrow endorsement from a key Senate committee despite â€œnoâ€ votes from both Jones and Watson â€” a political rarity. A nearly identical plan has enjoyed similar initial success in the Illinois House where influential House Speaker Michael Madigan supports the plan and Gov. Rod Blagojevich appears to lean that way as well.

The suburban sponsor of one of the plans said he believes momentum is building and the start of the Cook County ban could prove crucial.

â€œIt helps most definitely,â€ said state Sen. Terry Link, a Waukegan Democrat. â€œYou know why I think the chances are better? Because of what Chicago and Cook County did, none of their senators and representatives has any reason to vote against it because itâ€™s not going to do anything to them.â€ […]

Similarly, a statewide ban would end a â€œscatter shotâ€ approach across the suburbs where one community banning smoking sees cigarette-toting bar patrons flock to the next community over.

Sixteen states no longer allow smoking in public places. At least 42 Illinois municipalities, including nearly 20 suburban locations, have similar bans in place or about to take effect. There are more than 1,000 municipalities in the state. […]

Preliminary head counts by supporters show thereâ€™s not yet enough backing to get a statewide ban approved in the 59-member Illinois Senate. And itâ€™s unlikely that it would be called for a vote unless success is all-but guaranteed.

We’ve already debated a smoking ban several times. Let’s not do it again. Today’s question is a bit different: Would it be better to just ban smoking statewide instead of allowing some towns to gain any economic advantage on others that have already banned consuming the brown weed in public?

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Republican districts see big jump in immigrant citizens

Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

I wrote about this study in yesterday’s Capitol Fax. I was a bit surprised by the results and I’m wondering what you think.

A study shows the number of naturalized citizens in Illinois since 2000 has increased, with the most growth occurring in state legislative districts now held by Republicans.

The numbers, compiled by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, underscore the changing face of the suburbs as new immigrants increasingly arrive and settle outside of Chicago. The findings imply future voting blocs that could wrestle political power from some longtime Republican strongholds. […]

According to the report, the average percentage increase in naturalized citizens is 62 percent higher in Illinois’ Republican House districts than in Democratic House districts — 22.4 percent vs. 13.8 percent — and 42 percent higher in Republican Senate districts than in Democratic Senate districts — 21.2 percent vs. 14.8 percent.

Of 10 House districts that saw the highest growth rate in naturalized citizens, nine are held by Republicans. The 10 Senate districts that saw the highest growth rate in naturalized citizens have seven seats held by Republicans.

You can download the complete report by clicking here.

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Taxes and budget stuff

Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

The Post-Dispatch does some fact-checking on the governor’s new TV ad promoting his gross receipts tax…

The ad is also reminiscent of Blagojevich’s earlier campaign commercials in that it engages in what some would argue is a selective presentation of facts.

The ad implies that the scant income taxes often paid by major corporations are all they pay. In fact, those companies’ biggest tax expenses often are property, sales and other taxes.

It also implies the proposed new business tax plan would decrease residential property taxes, but there is no provision in the plan to do that. The ad also implies that the new tax would address the state’s pension crisis; however, that is part of a different Blagojevich plan, involving leasing the state lottery and restructuring debt.

I’m not sure if this was posted yesterday, but Treasurer Giannoulias expressed some serious reservations about the governor’s gross receipts tax this week…

â€œOur pension system needs help, obviously,â€ Giannoulias said Monday at a Statehouse news conference. â€œHealth care for everybody would be great. I just, I want to make sure the GRT didnâ€™t place too much of a burden on the consumers at some point. … I want to look at it a little more.â€

Giannoulias also wondered about the effect the tax would have on businesses.

â€œWe definitely donâ€™t want businesses leaving the state of Illinois,â€ he said.

And the governor told the Associated Press that voters shouldn’t be surprised that he is now proposing a huge tax increase and flatly stated that the gross receipts tax was the only way that schools would get more money…

â€œThis gross receipts â€” this tax fairness proposal is very much along the lines of what I did for four years. Itâ€™s just a bigger, bolder version of it,â€ Blagojevich said.

In a 45-minute interview, Blagojevich said heâ€™s not sure how much his plan would shrink the gap between the stateâ€™s richest and poorest schools, but he warned education advocates that his plan is the only way schools will get more money. […]

The governor said education advocates should back his plan as the only way schools will get more money.

â€œIâ€™ll never raise the income tax or sales tax. So if weâ€™re going to put money in our schools, this is it. This is the only game in town,â€ he said.

Finally, the Tribune reports that Gov. Blagojevich isn’t finding a lot of Statehouse support for his proposed gaming tax increase.

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Numbers

Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

I didn’t see this Bernie Schoenburg column the other day about a recent poll taken by the Illinois Republican Party.

Among the findings of the 600 registered voter poll taken Feb. 20-21 was that the public ain’t exactly enamored with the idea of selling the Lottery. The idea was opposed by 67.3 percent, while just 13.7 percent approved and 19 percent had no opinion.

The other results are fairly predictable…

* Nearly 51 percent of respondents thought Illinois is “headed off on the wrong track,” compared with 36 percent saying the state us going in the “right direction.” The rest didn’t know or didn’t answer.

* Blagojevich was viewed by almost 37 percent in a “favorable” light, including 12.5 percent “very favorable” and 24.3 percent “somewhat favorable;” However, 46 percent were on the “unfavorable” side, including almost 28 percent saying they have a “very unfavorable” view of the governor. Almost 15 percent had no opinion, and yes, 2.5 percent had not heard of him.

* On job approval, 63.2 rated Blagojevich’s performance as “only fair” or “poor,” including 26.8 percent “poor.” There were 31.7 percent on the plus side, with 5.3 percent rating him as excellent, and 26.3 percent calling the performance “good.”

* 26 percent said state government “works well,” while 65.5 percent said it “needs reform.”

* Just under 20 percent said Blagojevich has “restored honesty and integrity to state government,” while 66.5 percent said it has been “politics as usual” under him. Nearly 14 percent didn’t know or didn’t answer.

* In a question that could be worded in different ways, 77.2 percent said they disapproved of the governor “taking money from the state employee pension fund to help balance the state budget.” In recent budget years, some money that would have gone to the fund was used for other purposes, but it wasn’t taken from the base. So this wording may paint too dismal a picture. […]

* Respondents were asked about a gross receipts tax on business “to pay for state subsidized health insurance for anyone in the state who currently does not have health insurance,” which is somewhat different from the plan the governor announced, which would also help some people pay for insurance they have.

The question also says the tax would end up “raising prices for consumers on all goods and services,” which doesn’t take into account exemptions announced by the governor last week. Given the flaws in the question, disapproval of the idea came in at 50.7 percent, while 33.2 percent approved.

* Just for fun, perhaps, the Republicans threw in a question asking if the state Constitution should be amended to allow voters “the right to recall state elected officials and vote them out of office before their term expires.” In all, 73.3 percent approved, while 13.3 percent disapproved and 13.3 percent didn’t answer.

You can download the poll by clicking here.

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Morning Shorts

Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson

* Governor returns to center stage to campaign for healthcare plan

* Budget leaves out harbor funding

* Plan to raise casino revenue might be gamble for governor:

“His answer to everything seems to be a tax increase,” she said. “The riverboat industry is a huge industry in the state of Illinois and provides a lot of income and a lot of jobs.”

* Analyst sees budget as â€˜lifeboatâ€™ for state GOP

* Slick ads promote business tax plan

* Budget advocates, opponents square off

* Businesses forsee hit if state passes payroll tax

* Cindy Richards: Guvâ€™s budget lands in fair territory

The business community needs to stop stonewalling any idea that comes out of the governor’s mansion or propose a realistic plan that ensures all businesses pay their share of state bills.

* Governorâ€™s plan sparks PR battle

* Former newsman goes to bat for governor on healthcare

* ComEd President: Rate freeze would bankrupt ComEd and cripple the state

* AG Madigan thinks Ameren downgrade may have been orchestrated

“The attorney general is concerned that the relationship between the utilities and the credit rating agencies is not nearly as independent as the utilities claim,” Ben Weinberg, chief of the public interest division for Madigan’s office, said Tuesday.

* Editorial: Ameren ups the ante in rate game

* Editorial: Voting on ICC members wonâ€™t help consumers

* Lawmakers not discouraged by Amerenâ€™s â€˜junkâ€™ status

* AG Madigan and Patrick Fitzgerald announce $344 million judgment against Medicaid HMO [press release]

* The mother of all judgments; company emails

The case, brought by a civil whistleblower and then joined by federal authorities and the state attorney general’s office, charged that Amerigroup cherry-picked “healthies” and purposely avoided women in their third trimester of pregnancy because they cost more to insure

* U.S. stops payments to Tinley Center

* Senate committee passes .50 caliber rifle ban

* Bill would define lawsuit settlements as public information: “The public has a right to know about where their tax dollars are being spent and why a case had to be settled and who’s wrong.”

* Legislation regulating nurse/staff ratio has only tepid support

* Daley always knew city had to pony up for Olympics

In a stuttering response to a reporter’s question, Daley said he knew “at the beginning” of the bidding process that city money would have to be put on the table. Daley said he kept it quiet — not because he wanted to get past the mayoral election — but because “we’re not putting any direct money into it.”

* City Council takes up Olympic funding

* Daley on blame for postal woes: Feds are â€˜Dysfunctionalâ€™

* The promise of reform at Cook Co. juvenile detention center

* U of I board buries the Chief

* â€˜Uncle Amrishâ€™ helped raise $500,000 for governor

* Immigrant rights groups say suburbs need to start listening

* Carol Marin: FBI inquiries give county officials reason to sweat

* Michael Sneed: Tillman, Daley, Inspector General Hoffman

* Editorial: Merc, CBOT merger good for Chicago

* Excerpts from recent editorials: HPV, budget , electric rates

* City Inspector named in bribe case, said to have pocketed $16,000

* Cooking county smoking ban starts Thursday

* West Chicago to get tough on landlords with code violations

* Smoking laws in some Southland towns

* Ousted candidates back on ballot in Summit Hill

* New Lennox mayor position not likely to be made full-time: I have a lot of time with a flexible schedule to be here when the village needs me, but I don’t think it needs an $80,000-a-year mayor’s salary.”

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