Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2007

AFSCME: Vetoes “wrong course for Illinois”

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* AFSCME press release. Statement by Council 31 Exec Director Henry Bayer…

“Past budget cuts have badly hurt the ability of state employees to provide the vital services Illinois residents depend on each day. With a severe staff shortage in nearly every department of state government, services have deteriorated even as employees are working harder to keep pace.

“These past cuts have diminished the quality of care for aged veterans and those with severe mental illnesses and developmental disabilities. They have made public safety less effective and our prisons less safe. They have caused long waits, huge backlogs and overwhelming caseloads throughout state government. And they have made huge, wasteful spending on overtime a fact of life for agencies that are stretched far too thin to function effectively.

“The budget approved two weeks ago took steps to reverse those past cuts, restoring some 1,200 positions to badly understaffed state agencies.

“The governor’s vetoes would turn back that progress. While he technically did not veto funding for the newly restored positions, he did reduce funding for existing positions throughout state government. As a result, if these vetoes are allowed to stand, some short-staffed agencies that expected to make progress this year would instead stay stuck in place. Others would actually suffer even more cuts.

“The budget also included a 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase for the very-low-wage workers who care for the developmentally disabled at not-for-profit community agencies that receive state funds. This would be their first pay increase in three years.

“But the governor acted to reduce the COLA for these very-low-wage workers to a meager 1.6 percent.

“This is the wrong course for Illinois. The governor’s vetoes should not stand. AFSCME urges senators and representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, to come together and override these cuts to the essential services all Illinois residents rely on.”

34 Comments

Complete vetoes

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

Up until now, we’ve just looked at reduction vetoes, but there were lots of line items as well. Here are some…

* For Charter Schools – Start-Up Grants…… 3,500,000

* For Healthy Kids/Healthy Minds/ Expanded Vision……… 3,000,000

* For Severely Overcrowded Schools as per Senate Bill 198… 5,000,000

* For Arts and Foreign Language Education… 5,500,000

* Community college Student Success Grants….. 3,000,000

* $863,336… reappropriated… for Arts Education

* $500,000… to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission for scholarships and living expenses grants to increase the number of forensic science students who are pursuing a program to become qualified to perform DNA testing at Illinois State Police forensic science facilities.

* State Board of Elections… For completion of Phase II of the Census 2010 Redistricting Program…. 350,000

* $1,659,400… to the Department of Agriculture for deposit into the State Cooperative Extension Service Trust Fund.

* $1,000,000… to the Illinois Arts Council for a grant to the Illinois Channel.

* For payment of attorneys’ fees and costs as ordered by the court in National Foreign Trade Council, Inc., et al. v. Alexi Giannoulias, et al… 400,000

* a grant associated with the United Business Association of Midway…. 125,000

* Another big OOF… They zeroed out Mike Madigan’s pet project… the Illinois Global Partnership Act:
From General Revenue Fund…………………….2,500,000
From Agricultural Premium Fund………………..1,006,200
From International Tourism Fund……………….2,500,000

* $170,000… to the Illinois Commerce Commission for railroad safety and inspection.

* Yikes - Historic Preservation Agency: For the Main Street Program…. 204,000

* $3,000,000… to the Department of Natural Resources for contributions of funds to park districts and other entities as provided by the “Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975″ and to public museums and aquariums located in park districts, as provided by “An Act concerning aquariums and museums in public parks” and the “Illinois Horse Racing Act of 1975″

* For Grants to the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center…… 500,000

* $8,000,000… to the Department of Human Services… For all costs associated with funding a “safety net” for mental health community based providers experiencing a financial hardship as a result of the transition to fee-for-service (2,500,000)… grant award of 0.5% of each provider’s contract for specific allowable fee-for-service conversion expenses, such as information technology and staff development (2,500,000)… For all costs associated with paying community mental health providers for Medicaid services above their total contract amount (3,000,000)

* $6,620,000… to the Department of Human Services, for all costs associated with a 3% cost of doing business adjustment for community based addiction treatment providers.

* For grants for School Based Health Center expansions… 3,000,000 (This was strongly supported in both chambers.)

* For expenses associated with development and coordination of birth related
data systems…. 500,000 (This, I’m told, is to track birth defects.)

* for the Rural Medical Education (RMED) program at the University of Illinois-Rockford………….700,000

* For Operational Expenses of Legacy Public Health Programs…. 335,700

* For expenses associated with newborn hearing programs…. 150,000

* For Expenses associated with Pandemic Flu Preparedness…. 1,183,000

* For a grant to the Have a Heart for Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation… 400,000

* ILLINOIS VETERANS’ HOME AT LASALLE… For the addition of 80 beds…. 2,225,600

* $6,250,000… for a grant to Operation Ceasefire (zeroed out)

* The sum of $2,000,000… for a Lincoln’s Challenge satellite campus which must be no closer than a 100 mile radius from the existing program.

* $250,000… for costs and expenses related to a capital punishment reform study committee [and]… $240,000… to the Downstate Innocence Project.

39 Comments

Health and Human Services cuts

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

The governor has made a big deal out of saying he is cutting pork and waste so that he can fund some new health care initiatives, but he also made some health and human services cuts that might not go over so well in some sectors.

Again, the amount appropriated by the General Assembly is listed first, followed by the governor’s reduced amount, which is in bold type…

* FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE UNDER THE ILLINOIS PUBLIC AID CODE, THE CHILDREN’S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM ACT, AND THE COVERING ALL KIDS HEALTH INSURANCE ACT… For Hospital In-Patient, Disproportionate Share and Ambulatory Care….. 2,705,811,200 2,665,811,200 (That’s a $40 mil cut for hospitals)

For all other Skilled, Intermediate, and Other Related Long Term Care Services….. 743,513,8 693,513,800 ($50 million cut for nursing homes)

* For Grants to Oak Forest Hospital of Cook County………. 12,000,000 2,000,000

* appropriated to the Department of Human Services For State Transitional Assistance…… 11,500,000 11,000,000

* The sum of $29,300,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Human Services, for all costs associated with a 2.5% cost of living adjustment for community based developmental disability providers. 18,300,000 ($11 mil cut from COLA for DD providers)

* Home Based Support Services Program, and for costs associated with services
for individuals with Developmental Disabilities to enable them to reside in their homes….. 28,839,500 27,839,500

* For Purchase of Services of the Home Services Program…. 440,873,700 430,873,700 ($10 mil cut for this program)

* For a grant to the Autism Program for an Autism Diagnosis Education Program For Young Children… 10,000,000 5,000,000

* For Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded and Alternative Community Programs including prior year costs…. 356,856,200 351,856,200 ($5 mil)

* For Expenses of AIDS/HIV Education, Drugs, Services, Counseling, Testing, Referral and Partner Notification (CTRPN), and Patient and Worker Notification ……… 18,001,200 17,501,200

* The sum of $400,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Public Health for a grant to HRDI for the purposes of AIDS Prevention. 200,000

17 Comments

Fresh veto thread

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

It’s time to open a new thread. I’m cutting and pasting as I go through the budget. I wasn’t able to do so earlier because I was working on my Sun-Times column and was having big trouble writing it.

The key to understanding the following is the first number listed is the amount appropriated by the General Assembly. The second number, which is in bold, is the reduced amount approved by the governor. Add your own in comments. I’ll be adding to this as I go along, so refresh your page every now and then…

* TEACHING AND LEARNING SERVICES FOR ALL CHILDREN - For Personal Services - 5,241,200 5,035,500

* Supplemental Payments to School Districts, For Fast Growth Schools as per 18-8.10 of the School Code……… 15,000,000 7,500,000

* For Parental Guardian Programs/ Transportation Reimbursement……… 29,454,700 11,954,700

* For the School Safety and Educational Improvement Block Grant…….. 84,941,000 74,841,000

* Section 62. The sum of $4,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois State Board of Education for costs associated with the Re-Enrollment Student Program of the Alternative Schools Network. 1,000,000

* Section 55. The sum of $1,500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Board of Higher Education for competitive grants for nursing schools to increase the number of graduating
nurses. 1,000,000

* Section 95. The sum of $500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Board of Higher Education for grants to the Illinois Education Foundation. 250,000

* from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Community College Board for distribution to qualifying public community colleges for the purposes specified: Base Operating Grants…………. 204,818,000 197,818,000

* For college savings bond grants to students who are eligible to receive such awards… 650,000 325,000

* ordinary and contingent expenses of the Legislative Information System: For Personal Services……….2,504,800 2,289,000

* ordinary and contingent expenses of the Legislative Research Unit: For Contractual Services…. 689,900 626,500 Legislative Staff Intern program, including stipends, tuition, and administration for 20 persons…… 581,400 564,500

* ordinary and contingent expenses of the Legislative Reference Bureau: For Personal Services…… 1,845,900 1,772,400

* ordinary and contingent expenses of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol: For Contractual Services……….. 1,101,600 1,010,900

* ordinary andcontingent expenses of the Office of the Auditor General: For Personal Services: For Regular Positions…5,000,000 4,500,000 For Contractual Services… 1,064,200 736,200 For Electronic Data Processing…. 120,000 90,000

* The sum of $5,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Office of the Attorney General for disbursement to the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation in accordance with the terms of Section 25 of the Illinois Equal Justice Act 3,500,000

* For Personal Services: Official Court Reporting…………………..38,017,200 36,217,900

* State Board of Elections for its ordinary and contingent expenses as follows: ElectionsFor Personal Services……1,542,400 1,422,300 Campaign Disclosure For Personal Services……….. 713,700 692,400 Information Technology For Personal Services………553,300 411,900

* for ordinary and contingent expenses of the Circuit Court: For Probation Reimbursements…. 62,454,600 60,052,500 Judicial Conference and Supreme Court Committees…… 1,158,700 729,500

* OOF… Illinois Arts Council For Grants and Financial Assistance for Arts Organizations…. 8,041,000 4,705,900 For Grants and Financial Assistance for Special Constituencies….2,868,200 1,813,500 For Grants and Financial Assistance for International Grant Awards……1,000,000 719,000 For Grants and Financial Assistance for Arts Education…… 1,711,400 1,116,900

The sum of $992,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Arts Council for the purpose of funding administrative and grant expenses associated with humanities programs and related activities. 713,200

The amount of $377,100, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Arts Council for grants to certain public radio and television stations for operating costs. 271,100

he amount of $4,860,600, or so much thereof as may be necessary is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Arts Council for grants to certain public radio and television stations and related administrative expenses, pursuant to the Public Radio and Television Grant Act. 3,494,800

* Department of CentralManagement Services: BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM For Personal Services…… 740,100 540,780 For Contractual Services……… 301,000 54,200

* Central Management Services: BUREAU OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT For Contractual Services……. 17,439,200 13,439,200

* For Grants, Contracts and Administrative Expenses of the Employer Training Investment Program……..17,492,600 12,492,600

* For grants, contracts, and administrative expenses associated with the Bureau of Homeland Security Market Development………3,581,500 1,581,500

* For a grant associated with the Brainerd Development Corp.. 460,000 200,000

* WOW… The sum of $3,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Historic Preservation Agency for a grant to the llinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission for expenses and activities related to promoting knowledge and understanding of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln and observances commemorating Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on February 12, 2009. 500,000

* The sum of $3,124,300, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Natural Resources for costs and 3
expenses related to or in support of an environment and economic development shared services center. 2,968,100

* Department of Natural Resources: OFFICE OF RESOURCE CONSERVATION For Contractual Services: Payable from General Revenue Fund… 600,500 400,500 OFFICE OF LAND MANAGEMENT AND EDUCATION For Personal Services: …………15,249,100 14,524,100

* For Multiple Use Facilities and Programs for conservation purposes provided by the Department of Natural Resources, including construction and development, all costs for supplies, material labor, land acquisition, services, studies and all other expenses required to comply with the intent of this appropriation…. 805,200 0

37 Comments

This just in… Governor files veto message *** Message now online *** HGOPs spared the ax ***

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 11:39 am - The governor has finally filed his veto message on the budget. The line item and reduction veto message is 79 pages long and not posted online yet. Stay tuned.

* 11:54 am - LIS has updated the bill status to reflect the vetoes, but the veto message is not yet available.

* 11:59 am - Press release from the guv’s office. Without seeing the message itself, it looks like he didn’t touch the Senate Democrats’ pork…

In the budget the Governor signed today, he cut a total of $463 million in spending:

$15.8 million reduced from constitutional office budgets for personnel and other grants;

$141.3 million reduced from legislative add-ons; and
$306 million reduced in other agency spending.

Many of the legislative add-ons that were eliminated had little to do with the core mission of state government, such as funding for:

o outdoor volleyball court improvements
o an international dance exhibition
o a foreign delegation for a sister city program
o a drill team
o an elevator for event catering at a private cultural center
o parking lot and gymnasium improvements for private schools
o beautification project for a national railroad company
o planning funds for an Arboretum

Last week Gov. Blagojevich announced his plan to use his executive rule-making authority to bolster state healthcare programs and give 500,000 more Illinoisans access to affordable health coverage and services, including;

o Every uninsured woman in Illinois will be eligible to get screened and treated for breast and cervical cancer, greatly improving cancer outcomes and saving lives.

o Poor adults who are not eligible for Medicaid will have the chance to see a doctor regularly and get the prescription medications they need.

o More working and middle-class uninsured parents will receive access to health coverage at affordable rates through the Family Care program.

o Children in the All Kids program who have pre-existing conditions will continue to have access to affordable health insurance up to age 21.

o Families struggling with the high cost of health insurance premiums will be able to apply for yearly subsidies worth 20% of their annual premiums, up to $1,000.

* 12:03 pm - The full press release is here.

*** 12:53 pm *** You can download the budget message here. There are no descriptions in the line and reduction vetoes, so they’ll all have to be matched up to the budget bill one by one. Fun.

* 1:16 pm - From the AP…

Without an override in both chambers, the governor’s cuts would become law. The changes he seeks to make in health-care programs will come under heavy scrutiny to determine if they need to clear legislative oversight panels, which could challenge or block some of his moves.

The parts of the budget the governor did not veto become law.

*** 1:16 pm *** It appears that most, if not all, of the House Republican “pork” was left intact. Bizarre, eh?

120 Comments

Question of the day

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

Complete this sentence…

“Rod Blagojevich is to Michael Madigan as ____ is to ____.”

129 Comments

Oy, Part 96,327, 96,328 and 96,329

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Apparently, the war of words between the House Democrats and the governor’s office hasn’t died down. From a story about the governor’s failure to file his line-item/reduction vetoes of the state’s operating budget within the time frame he promised…

“Under the motto ‘We don’t know and we don’t care,’ these people haven’t paid any attention in five years, so it’s going to take them a long time to figure it out now,” Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, said.

Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff denied the delay indicates trouble finding places to cut. She said it simply takes time to put together and review such a long veto.

* And the buck-passing never ends. This is from a story about how East St. Louis’ school district is losing out on $29 million in school construction funds because the governor waited until mid August to sign the supplemental approp bill…

The Blagojevich administration says that before it can hand out the money, schools must sign formal agreements spelling out the details of their projects. Those agreements had to be in place before the end of the fiscal year, June 30.

Blagojevich didn’t sign the measure into law until Aug. 13. His office says lawmakers sent him the legislation so late just two weeks before the deadline that there wasn’t time to finish the agreements even if he had signed it immediately.

“We share the frustration of these school districts. Lawmakers shouldn’t have gotten their hopes up if they weren’t going to deliver,” said Justin DeJong, a spokesman for the governor’s budget office.

“It’s just not possible to do in two weeks what takes two months under normal circumstances.”

Lawmakers? Huh?

Here’s a simple fact that is being ignored: The governor’s office strung out those school districts for months, never giving them a straight answer. And, now they want to blame someone else. They could’ve just told the districts in June that they couldn’t process the paperwork, but nobody was able to get a straight answer out of them about their grants until after the guv signed the supplemental.

* Sen. Garrett made a good point as well…

Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, called the latest twist on school construction grants “a bureaucratic nightmare.”

School officials “felt that we had crossed the finish line and we were ready to go until it became apparent that paperwork, (in quotation marks) needed to be found, filled out, whatever,” Garrett added. “I mean, it’s one thing to say you didn’t fill out the form, but when there’s no form to fill out, it’s an impossible task.”

* Meanwhile, we now have another phony issue to deal with…

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s leading ally in the House maintained that the budget proposal sent to the governor failed to renew spending for about $500 million in projects approved in previous years, stifling funding for some projects already under way.

“The budget that passed the House and the Senate essentially pulls the rug out from under these communities that have begun purchasing and building needed public-works projects on the full faith and credit of the state,” said Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville).

But a top aide to House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said the issue can be resolved within months. […]

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown played down the matter, saying money for older projects could be reappropriated in January, when Democratic votes are all that are needed to pass such legislation.

The Repubs opposed the reapprops in the budget. Hoffman knows that.

20 Comments

Daley wants tax hike, guv has no real plan

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Mayor Daley came out strongly in favor of the regional sales tax for public transit yesterday…

With fare increases and service cuts just days away for Chicago Transit Authority and Pace riders, Mayor Richard Daley on Wednesday renewed his call for Springfield to head off the pain by approving a sales-tax increase for the Chicago area.

“I think the General Assembly has to understand — what is the alternative?” Daley said of proposed legislation that would raise the sales tax in Cook County and the collar counties to bail out the region’s public-transit system. “There is no alternative in regards to mass transportation.”

Daley said there would be no political repercussions if a House bill called for the 0.25 percent increase, along with a raise in the city’s real estate transfer tax, to generate more money for the CTA, Pace and Metra and also provide funding for suburban road-improvement projects. […]

“The deal is there, and no one is going to blame anyone for increasing the sales tax,” he said. “We are not going to blame the governor. We are not going to blame the General Assembly. … This is good for the metropolitan area. It is good for the collar counties, the suburban area. It’s good for the city. It’s good for employers and employees.”

* And…

“If you really believe in the future of mass transit, vitally important for the economic future not only of Chicago, but the region,” Daley said. “That is the key — you can’t put more cars on the highway, it’s just going to eventually break down.”

* But Justin DeJong, of the governor’s budget office, told Chicago Public Radio that businesses ought to be taxed, instead…

“This comes back to the fact that there are many corporations in Illinois that pay little or no taxes to the state. Businesses clearly benefit from having a strong public transit system, and it’s only right that they help support this system.”

Listen below…

[audio:cityroom_20070823_sallee_Tran.mp3]

Notice, though, that no specific business tax was offered up. The truth is, they don’t have a plan.

* Meanwhile…

The CTA will have the most expensive fares of the nation’s largest transit agencies if regional transportation officials approve a fare increase at their meeting [today].

18 Comments

Hastert to resign in November? *** Updated x1 - Schock has new poll ***

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

[Updated and bumped up for higher visibility.]

This is from Bob Novak’s subscriber-only publication and appears to be true…

An Illinois Republican source tells us former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) plans to resign November 6 this year instead of finishing out his term. This would create a vacancy and trigger a special election in the 14th District.

Under Illinois statute, the governor, Rod Blagojevich (D), would get to pick the date of both of the special general election and the special primary election (with separate ballots for each party). The general election would have to be within 120 days of the vacancy (meaning by early March, if the November 6 resignation date holds). February 5 is the date for Illinois’s presidential and congressional primaries, and slating the special election — either the primaries or the general — on that date would save state money.

The effect of the placing either the special primary or the special general on the same day as the presidential primary is impossible to determine at this point. If one party is seeing a more competitive presidential primary by that date, it could benefit from boosted turnout. The presence of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on the primary ballot could help Democrats.

In any event, a special election would entail a much briefer campaign, which would favor the more well-funded candidates. That would be businessmen Jim Oberweis (R) and Bill Foster (D).

On net, Hastert’s early resignation, by stirring the pot, gives Democrats a slightly better chance in this Republican district.

*** UPDATE *** State Rep. Aaron Schock seems to be wasting no time in his congressional bid. Billy Dennis posted a press release from Schock at his blog yesterday…

For voters interested in the Republican nomination for Congress to succeed retiring Congressman Ray LaHood (IL-18), the Aaron Schock campaign is publicly sharing recent polling results showing Schock in a commanding position to win the Republican nomination and to go on to trounce his Democrat opponent in the general election as well.

Schock now leads his nearest possible competitor Darin LaHood by a two-to-one margin. Two other candidates, Peoria ex-city councilman John Morris and Heartland Partnership official Jim McConoughey trail far behind Schock and LaHood with only 3% each. […]

The poll showed Schock overwhelming Grawey by 33% of the vote. While Morris beat Grawey by only 8 points; McConoughey beat Grawey by only 7 points, and Darin LaHood beat Grawey by 18 points. With Schock beating the Democrat by almost twice as high a plurality than Darin LaHood and four times as much as the other two Republicans, it proves Schock is by far the strongest candidate Republicans can put forward in the Fall of 2008, which might be yet another difficult year for Republicans, especially in Illinois.

Shearer said he wouldn’t trade Aaron Schock’s position with any other potential candidate—Republican or Democrat.

You can download some of the poll results by clicking here.

37 Comments

Morning shorts

Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Medicaid directors object to SCHIP rules

* Chicago teachers vote to continue contract negotiations

* Is clout keeping Ryan out of prison? - Experts say it helps to have his lawyers

* Ex-governor defends governors

* Ryan To Remain Free On Bond Pending New Appeal

* Durbin drops in

* Pollution Fight Pits Illinois vs. BP, Indiana - Upgrade of Oil Refinery Would Discharge More Pollutants Into Lake Michigan

4 Comments