The long wait is finally over for the “CMS 2”
A Sangamon County judge has ordered the reinstatement with back pay and benefits of fired state workers Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey.
Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley ruled the state Civil Service Commission lost jurisdiction in the case when it failed to rule on the case within 60 days after it had received transcripts of proceedings.
*** UPDATE *** From the AP…
Circuit Judge Patrick Kelley ruled Wednesday that the Illinois Civil Service Commission mishandled the case, so Dawn DeFraties and Michael Casey can return to work. Kelley calls the facts in the case “bizarre.”
DeFraties and Casey were accused of manipulating job applications to help people with political connections. Governor Rod Blagojevich cited their case as a key example of his ability to fight corruption.
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Caption contest!
Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
I didn’t think I was a “paid site,” but whatever…
Ted Schurter wrote:
Hi Rich.
Noticed our photo for the caption contest. Looks nice. However, our Creative Commons license doesn’t apply to paid sites. We’d be happy to send you a bill if you want to pay the licensing fee. Otherwise, please take down the photo.
Let me know if have any questions.
Best,
Ted
Adding… I’m not sure what he’s talking about.
By the way… I did send Schurter a question, as he suggested, but haven’t heard back yet. I’ll let you know when or if I do.
Hey, I just realized, even if the SJ-R is totally wrong, we can still continue our caption contest. They might be spoil sports, but we can’t let them interrupt our fun.
Just go here and then come back and comment.
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This just in…
Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 11:20 am - Remember, just because they have an agreement to move an operating budget doesn’t mean this session is over. There’s still a capital plan/casino and the governor’s health insurance plan to deal with, and the governor has said he won’t sign a budget until he gets those two things…. [UPDATED at 11:54 am - Jones may be was wrong.]
Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago) just told reporters - before he walked into the chamber this morning - he hopes to get a budget from the Illinois House today.
He says it should be a budget that the two chambers have agreed on.
* 11:24 am - Rep. Bill Black, a House institution, has sent a letter to his House Republican colleagues announcing that he’s not running for re-election. I’ll have the letter uploaded in a minute or so.
Here’s the letter.
From the letter…
“I have enjoyed being in the Illinois House for the past 22 years and I intend to fulfill the balance of my term. I am proud of my accomplishments, but it is time to slow down… At this age, I just want to spend more time with my wife, Sharon, my children and my grandchildren. My grandchildren are growing up before my eyes and I want to enjoy them.”
* 11:50 am - Yet another House Republican is announcing his retirement. This time, it’s Rep. Jim Meyer (R-Naperville). Meyer said this morning he will serve out his term. “I love this place,” Meyer said.
More in tomorrow’s Capitol Fax about both of these retirement developments.
*** 11:54 am *** A House Republican spokesman just said that it was his understanding that the chamber wouldn’t vote on an operating budget until tomorrow. But, he said, the people who gave the HGOPs that schedule are the same ones who said there’d be a vote last Friday, so take it for what it’s worth.
*** 12:18 pm *** It looks like that House GOP spokesman was right and Sen. Jones was mistaken, for whatever reason. The House has adjourned until tomorrow morning.
* 12:26 pm - Subscribers know that I had a brief story this morning about the governor’s announcement of $175 million in no-interest loans to school districts to help them through any budget shutdown. There are lots of problems with this plan, which will be financed by the Illinois Finance Authority. The Bond Buyer has more…
The program raises several significant questions for the IFA. First, Blagojevich announced that districts could borrow at no cost, yet legislative approval would be needed to cover interest on any financing or loan or the IFA could get stuck covering the cost.
Second, the IFA would need to tread cautiously and have some certainty that the proceeds would be used, given the scrutiny pooled bond programs face from the Internal Revenue Service. “There are many details to work out and we are hopeful that this program will not be needed,” IFA spokeswoman Diane Hamburger said.
They may be “hopeful” that it won’t be needed because it is so screwed up.
* 12:33 pm - As subscribers already know, there’s a renewed push to increase cigarette taxes in the Senate. The proposals are being taken up in the Senate Revenue Committee today. Revenue is also hearing the “7 percent solution” measure today.
Adding, the House Approp committees will be holding “testimony only” hearings later this afternoon. House Dems are being briefed on the operating budget as I write this.
* 12:55 pm - Russ Stewart’s latest newspaper column, “Blame the Republicans,” has been posted at Illinoize.
* 2:44 pm - From WBBM Radio…
As Illinois lawmakers take another look at authorizing a Chicago-owned casino, anti-gambling forces are mobilizing to fight the plan they’re demanding a public referendum before any legislative action is taken. […]
The task force to oppose gambling says as appealing as it might sound to generate revenue from a casino, it ignores the hidden costs of what opponents call exploitainment. […]
The Rev. Blackwell says in a city that can’t even hire trucks without corruption, how can you imagine running a casino without it.
* 3:55 pm - The Senate is back in session. Go here to listen or watch. Posting may be light for the rest of the day as I have lots of work to do. Commenters are encouraged to jump in and post updates as they develop.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Now that you’ve spent almost your entire summer in Springfield, and therefore have probably had an opportunity to experience it more than most years, what would you do to improve the town?
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Movement, or just motion?
Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* There’s a basic agreement on a state budget, but lots of issues are still up in the air…
…the four legislative leaders met again without Blagojevich and said they moved closer to a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan for a full fiscal year, including money to pay for state employees and money for schools.
Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) said a budget deal is “getting very, very close,” but he warned it is “very fragile.”
Still in question is whether a final deal would include a land-based casino in Chicago and possibly an additional casino elsewhere, as a way to boost education spending and fund a capital program to build and repair roads, bridges and schools.
Schools would get an increase of $600 million in operating money without expanded gambling, but the amount could rise to $900 million if lawmakers approve a Chicago casino and allow riverboats to expand the number of gambling positions. But those figures were in flux Tuesday as lawmakers tried to figure out whether a bill to expand gambling could pass or whether there is another way to boost money for schools without it.
* There was also a long meeting last night in the governor’s office…
Working into the night, Gov. Rod Blagojevich huddled in his Capitol office with Senate President Emil Jones (D-Chicago), Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) and House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) for more than four hours. House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) was not at the meeting with the governor, who has feuded with the speaker throughout the session.
The topic at hand centered on working toward a consensus on a capital budget, which would provide money for school construction, roads, bridges, universities and other projects. […]
Most lawmakers think they are close to sealing a deal on the operating budget, and voting on it could begin Wednesday. Politically, though, issues can get tied together at the end of sessions. And in this extraordinary session, a proposal for a Chicago casino is in the middle. […]
Is a casino agreed to among all the participants in the meeting—the governor, Watson, Jones and Cross? “I think that’s certainly the case. Yes, a Chicago casino.” [Blagojevich said.]
With the three leaders in the room tonight and yourself? “That’s right.”
Do you see a chance that another casino could be brought into the package? “I don’t foresee that. That was never discussed in there.”
* Ryan Hermes adds…
Today appears to be a BIG day at the statehouse.
But ask anyone who’s been here before and they’ll tell you it could just as easily be a bust.
Things can change really quick around here.
Yep.
* More budget and end of session stories, compiled by Paul…
* State expected to finally vote on budget
* Lawmakers closing some gaps in stalled budget
* Budget crisis may begin hitting pocketbooks
* Phil Luciano: Overtime session alternative is charity
* Democrats won’t hold up budget over electric rates
* Eric Zorn: Governor gets off his high horse, but is it too late?
* Local schools feel burden of state’s missing budget
* For now schools OK without state budget
* Illinois schools are left hanging by budget crisis
* Blagojevich wants to change who’s in charge on info. requests
* Editorial: Abandon amendment to keep governor in town
* Expand rail service, lawmakers, officials say
* Editorial: Law on dams may spare needless grief
* CTA vote could mean $3.25 per L ride
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Constitution, schmonstitution
Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor and AFSCME claim that state and federal law require the comptroller to issue pay checks to state workers even if no budget exists. They didn’t actually cite any specific statutes, however, and the state’s Constitution is pretty specific…
The General Assembly by law shall make appropriations for all expenditures of public funds by the State.
* The Daily Herald got a bit sarcastic about the situation…
Budget? We ain’t got no budget. We don’t need no budget.
That, with all apologies to the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, sums up Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s view on whether state spending should continue even though Illinois has no budget.
On Tuesday, Blagojevich suggested state Comptroller Dan Hynes keep writing checks regardless of the budget situation, saying the state continues to collect money and it should all work out in the end.
“Refusing to pay state employees for their hard work is tantamount to shutting state government down,” Blagojevich said in a letter to Hynes.
But Hynes, the Chicago Democrat elected to keep watch on the state’s checkbook, begs to differ.
He said the governor is playing politics with people’s paychecks and lives and needs to stop. And he strongly questioned the soundness of the governor’s belief that a budget isn’t needed to make payroll.
“Keep in mind, he’s the one who admitted himself he got a C in constitutional law and brags about it,” Hynes told downstate WICS-TV. “So, I’m not sure his opinion is the one that’s going to rule the day.”
* The State Journal-Register, which often advocates for state employees, also parted ways on the issue…
A new wrinkle in the state budget developed Tuesday. It turns out we don’t need one. […]
The state constitution requires a budget. There is a lot of wisdom in following that constitution rather than making up rules on the fly because the General Assembly and governor could not get their acts together enough to abide by state law.
The better solution here is not to skirt state law but for state officials to do their jobs. […]
If [Hynes] doesn’t cut checks, even if he doesn’t believe he has the legal authority to do so, then he becomes the fall guy. At least it appears that’s what Blagojevich would like.
Exactly right. For the governor, at least, this is about shifting blame for the lack of a budget.
* Lisa Madigan was asked her opinion yesterday…
[Attorney General Madigan] declined to issue an opinion but forwarded to Hynes a state appeals court ruling on a 1991 AFSCME lawsuit that sought to force Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch to issue paychecks during a budget impasse.
The court held Netsch had no authority to do that, and a Hynes aide said that would be the basis for the comptroller not to distribute paychecks during the stalemate.
* So, why did AG Madigan refuse to issue an opinion?
a spokeswoman said the attorney general would not issue an opinion because of AFSCME’s threat of a lawsuit.
* But the hooplah is a bit overblown on both sides…
The first group of state employees to miss checks would be those paid on the 15th and last days of each month. Hynes said last week he needed to begin processing those payments today. Schools receive their state money on the 10th and 20th of the month.
Another group of state employees would normally receive their paychecks Aug. 22, Lindall said. They include employees of the Illinois State Police and the Department of Central Management Services, he said.
In other words, today is the day that Hynes would normally begin processing pay checks. He could probably set up a contingency plan to process them now and issue them as soon as a budget deal was reached. Compromise would be nice.
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Add another waffle to the stack
Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
The governor is all over the map on everything from whether he’d support more casinos to whether a state government shutdown is inevitable. He flip-flops so much that you need a scorecard to keep track.
Fortunately, John Patterson keeps his scorecard by his side at all times. Remember earlier this week when the governor said he has always supported the idea of citizen recall of elected officials?
“I think the concept and the idea of having people have the ability to recall their elected officials and put term limits on terms is a good idea and one I’ve supported since I’ve been in elected office,” Blagojevich, a former state legislator and congressman, said at an unrelated Chicago appearance.
Well, not really. From comments the governor made in 2003…
“You’ve got to love Pat Quinn. He believes in the power of referendum and the power of petition and a lot of the stuff that arguably has gotten California in the mess it’s in. Most of the time he and I agree. Some of the time we don’t,” Blagojevich told Capitol reporters in 2003. […]
“To his credit he (Quinn) believes in the things he believes in. I think the lesson from California is that it’s awfully hard to govern a big state like that with a big economy like that when you’re discretion is curtailed by different referendum the California constitution grants and allows.”
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Morning Shorts
Wednesday, Aug 8, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* NEW Illinois statehouse press corp big winners at journalism awards ceremony
* Not all saying cheers to wine bill
Some supporters said Illinois could ultimately see more wine business if out-of-state wine retailers decide to set up shop in Illinois to avoid the proposed law’s restrictions.
But some lawmakers said successful Illinois wineries would suffer as well and the new regulations would punish them for growing. As proposed, the largest Illinois wine producers would lose the ability to sell directly to restaurants and retailers and instead would have to enter into agreements with distributors.
* Illinois lawmakers OK bill covering wine purchases
* Missouri, Illinois working on a bridge plan
* U of I hopes to land world’s fastest computer
* Vrdolyak pleads not guilty to new federal charges
* Illinois beaches rank high in grime
Illinois ranks third among the five states with the highest frequency of contaminated beaches last year, according to an annual report released Tuesday from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Water samples at the state’s most popular beaches fell short of national standards 15 percent of the time, the report found. It also cited Jackson Park Beach at 63rd Street in Chicago as the fourth most polluted beach in the nation, with samples found to be contaminated more than half of the time.
* Minority firm win more city business
* Daley joins Sharpton rally
* Worker claims Shakman violations
*Alderman like revamped Olympic Village
* EPA cites 6 coal plants in IL
* Union election growing volatile
* New lawsuit hits union official - It’s at least the 5th to target candidates in Local 150 election
* Keyes backers to attend Ames straw poll
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This just in…
Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* 3:40 pm - The four legislative leaders met twice today, the second time for about an hour. No huge progress reported, but, as before, there is a budget framework, if not an actual budget deal. Lots of conflicting rumors, but the Senate President has told members to expect to vote on a budget soon. What that will entail is not entirely clear.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Madigan has asked staff to make sure that members have made hotel reservations for the weekend. The State Fair tends to fill up every nook and cranny available.
It’s so much fun here, campers, I can’t even begin to explain.
Not.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
Rate Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s prospects for the 2010 election. Do you think she runs for governor or reelection? Could she defeat Gov. Blagojevich in a primary? Explain.
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The bright, shiny ball
Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* That bright, shiny ball of gaming expansion has once again driven the state’s leaders to distraction…
negotiations among members of the House and Senate zeroed in again on gambling as a way to funnel more money to state programs.
Republican leaders in the House and Senate signaled that they may be ready to support a plan to add a casino to Chicago, with revenues from the land-based facility going toward schools and a statewide construction program.
“We can support a boat in Chicago,” said Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson, R-Greenville, echoing comments by House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.
Both GOP leaders cautioned that not all their members see gambling expansion as a cure-all for the state, which has been operating without a budget since July 31 because of wide disagreement among lawmakers and Blagojevich.
* More…
Nearly $1 billion for state spending could come from a city casino and more gambling opportunities at existing casinos, lawmakers say.
As envisioned, that would finance upward of $8 billion in construction statewide while helping increase education spending by $900 million and potentially bailing out the region’s transit agencies to prevent service cuts and fare hikes.
* More…
The revised plan would generate enough money to finance $8 billion to $10 billion in construction. Cross said House Republicans want some of that money for the financially troubled Chicago-area mass transit system. He said that is preferable to the alternative plan that calls for imposing a regional sales tax.
Jones also wants some of the gambling money used to increase education spending. Gaming expansion would allow for a $900 million increase for education. Without the gaming bill, the state could only afford about $600 million more.
Jones’ office said that with a $900 million increase, per-pupil spending could rise from $5,334 to $5,888. That’s still short of the recommended level of $6,405.
* But there’s a catch…
Gov. Blagojevich, Senate Democrats, and Republicans in both chambers have shown support for tying a capital program to a city casino, isolating House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) as the lone potential obstacle to the first major state building program in eight years.
A top Madigan aide expressed skepticism the House could pass such a deal, noting the chamber voted in October 2005 to shut down the state’s riverboat casinos, and that big gambling legislation typically collapses of its own weight.
While some of the 67 House Democrats might back a city casino for a state bricks-and-mortar program, “clearly not very many would, not a majority,” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said.
Madigan’s reticence to publicly back such a plan has heightened speculation the speaker doesn’t want to hand Blagojevich a political win of any sort, nor give the administration unbridled freedom to spend billions of dollars on construction when lawmakers from both parties mistrust him.
* The governor and the Republicans think they’ve caught Madigan in a trick box. We’ll see what his next move might be. We don’t know yet how many votes that Cross actually has for a casino proposal, for instance. There’s also some curiosity about the governor’s health insurance plan…
Blagojevich remains a wild card. The governor dropped his opposition to gambling expansion in May, but only to try to save his massive health coverage proposal. It’s unclear what the governor would do if his plan were left out, and at this point it appears to be.
* And there’s some speculation that Madigan may run his own budget this week without the gaming provision or a capital plan…
House Speaker Michael Madigan told Democratic representatives late Monday to expect a budget vote as early as Wednesday. Sources tell CBS 2 that Madigan’s budget proposal does not include the cash that the Chicago Transit Authority said it needs to avert nearly 1,100 layoffs and huge service cuts.
It reportedly does have about $570 million in new money for public schools, far short of what the governor wants, and ignores completely his demand for a big new health insurance program.
The money reportedly earmarked for schools, Madigan’s allies note, is more new money than in any recent year.
* More budget and end of session stories, compiled by Paul…
* Governor takes abuse while jogging
* IL budget impasse could delay payments to schools
* Blagojevich backs recalls for Governors
* Sparks fly on utility deal
* Chicago Public Radio: The governor gets a grilling
* Legislators talk of county tax cap, state session may be winding down
* Courts wont close during budget woes
* Lawmakers complain about ’sitting around’ during special sessions
* LeRoy: No budget, but work not optional
* Eric Zorn: Questions answered on ’special sessions’
* Editorial: Theme for the fair is ‘ironic’
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The Pakistani problem
Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Today’s Sun-Times editorial pretty much sums it up…
Gov. Blagojevich’s ill-fated effort to import more flu vaccine during the winter of 2004-05 has turned into a textbook example of how not to govern by bravado and bluster. Virtually nothing about the proposal turned out right — unless you count the initial burst of good publicity for the governor at the time. And now we learn that even the one legitimate bright spot has a sour ending.
The idea sprang from a flu-shot shortage in the fall of 2004. The governor’s office looked abroad to find more vaccine, eventually agreeing to buy some from a British wholesaler for $2.6 million. As a state audit later determined, Illinois pushed ahead before it had the federal approval that would have made the purchase legal. Blagojevich’s office never documented why it ordered a quarter of a million doses.
The administration placed the order in October 2004 but didn’t sign a contract until three months later, after it was billed by the wholesaler. And at that point, state officials apparently knew the shots no longer were needed, because there was enough domestic supply to cover the elderly and others in the high-risk population. […]
Meanwhile, the vaccines sat in storage until the next year. Unable to sell the disputed doses on the open market, Illinois and Eccose donated them to Pakistan, which was struggling with the aftermath of a major earthquake. It was a nice gesture, a way to eke out some good in an otherwise botched operation.
Except, it turns out, not a single dose made it to an earthquake victim. As the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday, Pakistani health authorities didn’t know the doses had expired when they accepted the donation. While Ecosse said the doses still were potent, officials were put off and decided to destroy them instead of using them, the paper said.
So on top of all the other problems with the flu-shot effort, Franks said, now we’ve insulted a key ally and damaged our reputation abroad.
* Pakistan probably overreacted, and the government’s claim that it didn’t know the vaccine was expired might not hold up. Here’s a story from a Pakistani newspaper from early January of 2006, just five days after the governor announced the vaccine was delivered…
Flu vaccine declared un-useable (because its expiry date elapsed in August 2005) by US authorities has been sent for use in the earthquake-affected areas of Kashmir at the request of the Pakistani government.
Earlier, when the expired vaccine was offered to South Africa, its government refused to permit its import because it considered the vaccine unsafe for humans.
A quarter-million doses of the flu vaccine that expired in August last year were bought overseas by the state of Illinois, but couldn’t be imported because of the adverse finding by a federal agency. The vaccine has since been donated for earthquake victims in Pakistan, according to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
Still, once again we have a lot of flashy headlines and no real results, with the taxpayers getting stuck with the bill. That’s par for the course in Rod Blagojevich’s Illinois.
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Chapa LaVia won’t run for Congress
Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This wasn’t unexpected. It would have been a tough race, even if she made it through the primary against at least one well-funded opponent and somebody who ran last time.
From the Tribune…
State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, an Aurora Democrat, announced Monday that she will seek another term in the state legislature — a decision that rules her out as a potential challenger for U.S. Rep. Dennis Hastert’s 14th District congressional seat.
Although Hastert (R-Ill.) got about 60 percent of the vote in defending his seat last year in an election that gave Democrats control of Congress and ended his run as House speaker, Democrats believe they have a solid chance to win there in 2008. That’s due in part to changing demographics in the district — which begins on the western tip of DuPage County and stretches almost to Iowa.
Hastert is expected to announce whether he will run again in the next two to three weeks, spokeswoman Lulu Blacksmith said Monday.
* Beacon News…
“It was a long decision, I can tell you that,” said Ron Cook, a Chapa LaVia campaign staffer. “She is flattered and honored by the people willing to step forward and support her for this position.”
In the end, Cook said, Chapa LaVia felt she could do more good by remaining in Aurora as a state representative. He said it was not a matter of being qualified for the position, and her committee found support for her run at the office.
“She’s very dedicated to (the 83rd) District,” Cook said. “Her value is where she’s at, with her role now in the state, and she can’t improve on that by going to Congress.”
* Daily Herald…
Former Fermilab physicist Bill Foster, St. Charles attorney Jotham Stein and Hastert’s 2006 opponent, John Laesch, are the remaining Democrats seeking the position.
On the GOP side, state Sen. Chris Lauzen of Aurora, Sugar Grove businessman Jim Oberweis and Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns have expressed interest.
* Meanwhile, columnist Terry Bibo claims to be puzzled about Congressman Ray LaHood’s retirement…
‘Now’s a good time for me.”
That was Ray LaHood’s summary of his reasons for pulling the plug on Washington, D.C., when he spoke to the Journal Star editorial board shortly after announcing his decision. […]
“I can’t think of a thing in the world that I really want to do,” he said. “I can’t think of a bill I want to introduce.”
Really? Nothing about health care or insurance? Nothing about Iraq? Nothing about the problems in subprime mortgages or rising gas prices or how we’re going to pay for all this stuff eventually?
Since he’ll be in office for another year and a half, that’s puzzling, if not alarming. But a lot of things Ray has said and done in the last few years have been puzzling. The running-for-governor thing. The president-of-Bradley-University thing. It does seem like his resume has been out there, doesn’t it?
This is a 2008 Illinois Congressional campaign open thread.
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Morning Shorts
Tuesday, Aug 7, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Overtime session allows wind farm legislation; more here
* State senate advances bill on wine sales
* Rezko’s $50 million Iraq deal
* EPA: Area power plants breaking pollution rules
* Daley bolsters Olympic dream
Ed Hogan, an attorney representing the coalition of trade unions, confirmed that “there will be something announced” Tuesday. The deal is contingent on completing “local negotiations…with certain trades,” he said.
The 10-year contract would expire on June 30, 2017—one year after Daley hopes to play host to the Summer Olympic Games. The deal would guarantee labor peace to an International Olympic Committee scheduled to choose a host city in 2009.
* City near deal with 34 unions
* Chicago schools budget 3% hike for teachers; more here
* CTA vote on contingency plan implementation
* O’Hare worst–again; more here
* States adopt marriage ed courses
Texas is the latest state to push marriage education, appropriating $7.5 million this year for programs aimed at reducing divorce rates and, in turn, promoting family stability and economic wellbeing. Couples who attend the Lone Star State’s optional marriage courses will be able to save the $60 they would otherwise pay for a marriage license starting September 1, 2008.
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