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Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Designed by our good friends at Wonkish.com…

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Question of the day

Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Kristen McQueary argues that Speaker Madigan must retire from public life if his daughter runs for governor…

In this climate of incessant conflict-of-interest gauging, voters will, and should, consider the Madigans a package deal before supporting the younger Madigan, should she run for governor. That is precisely why the elder Madigan must retire before she takes the leap.

But she also kinda makes the case for why a Lisa Madigan governorship might clip the elder Madigan’s wings…

Speaker Madigan, if he stuck around and Lisa Madigan won, would straddle the impossible position of representing the interests of his caucus and avoiding an embarrassing outmaneuver of his daughter.

And outmaneuvering governors is what he does best.

* The Question: Should Speaker Madigan resign from public life if his daughter runs for governor? Explain fully.

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Two little words: More money

Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Hey, governor. The next time a powerful Washingtonian asks you what the feds can do for Illinois, suggest they send more money…

“I asked (Quinn) if there was anything more I could do here in Washington, and the governor couldn’t think of anything at this point,” Durbin said.

Sheesh. Say it with me, governor: “More money, please.”

* My weekly syndicated newspaper column takes a look at the Taxpayer Action Board recommendations and gives a hint at what’s to come (note the 25 percent budget reserves section)…

Almost every reporter who covered the unveiling of new budget-cutting recommendations by the governor’s Taxpayer Action Board last week claimed the “TAB” had found a half billion dollars in reductions for the coming fiscal year. It was reported that way because that’s what the board’s chairman, Illinois Taxpayers Federation President Tom Johnson, said.

Johnson’s comment demonstrates how amorphous, politically difficult and fiscally suspect many of these proposals really are. If you do the math, the board’s report actually claims budgetary savings this coming year could be as high as $1 billion if all its recommendations are implemented.

There was, apparently, a major internal push-back from some of the more experienced budget experts on the citizens board. Former George Ryan budget director Steve Schnorf - who also served under Jim Edgar and is one of the smartest budget gurus I’ve ever met - and the very highly regarded former Democratic state Rep. Woods Bowman were two of four signatories to a harshly critical “Minority Report” letter drafted by Schnorf.

“You can, and I believe you will, get some savings from the suggestions in this report,” Schnorf wrote to Gov. Pat Quinn in his dissent. “It probably won’t equal billions and it certainly won’t all happen over 12-18 months. Good luck.”

Indeed. Look closer and you’ll see that half of the touted billion dollar savings in next fiscal year comes from two items which are already being done, and then some. The board suggested a 2-3 percent across the board cut of almost all state spending. But the governor ordered agencies last week to begin preparations for a whopping 25 percent across the board cut. The board’s proposal looks tiny and almost harmless in comparison.

The board also wants a freeze in the state’s operating budget. But the General Assembly approved a budget last month which funds state programs at an average of 50 percent of the current fiscal year’s appropriations. That’s much more than a freeze.

The rest of the savings come from things like Medicaid managed care, which supposedly would save $95 million in the first year - a far cry from the $3 billion in savings that the Senate Republicans have been claiming and the Chicago Tribune has been touting.

Other savings, like reducing the prison population by freeing inmates charged with nonviolent drug and property crimes ($30-65 million) carry huge political risk for the governor.

“My best personal estimate is that you will be able to save very little, if any, money [next fiscal year],” Schnorf wrote, claiming he’d be “thrilled” to find $200 million in “actual, achievable” savings in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1st. Other than across the board cuts and freezes, he’s likely correct.

However, this report is a good thing in that it shows without doubt that there is just no way for Illinois to fully cut itself out of this awful budget mess.

After the federal stimulus cash is factored in, Illinois still faces a $7 billion budget hole in the coming fiscal year. Yet after two months of work and a horde of consultants, the governor’s commission only came up with $1 billion in “cuts.”

The obvious problem is that if all the board’s recommendations were followed and they all worked as advertised, the state would still be left with a massive $6 billion hole to fill.

And then there’s the very real problem of what happens after the billions in federal stimulus dollars are spent. The state put that cash right into its spending base. When the stimulus money is gone, the state will have yet another horrific hole to fill.

And what about the out years? The report’s claimed savings in future years rely heavily on reopening the state’s collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME and other unions. However, the four-year union contract is just a year old.

“Based on my personal experiences,” Schnorf wrote, “your largest union will not agree” to reopen negotiations on that contract.”

He ought to know.

“Take everything we say to you with some grain of salt,” Schnorf wrote, adding. “Our suggestions aren’t the ordained word, handed down from on high.” Let’s hope everyone keeps that sound advice in mind as the process moves forward. There are more cuts to be made that the board missed, but even those won’t completely solve the problem.

* Related…

* Mike Lawrence: So much promise, so little achieved: During the 1960s and early ’70s, W. Russell Arrington was the Mike Madigan of his era in influencing legislative outcomes. When a young aide tried to console the Senate Republican leader by suggesting the legislature’s failure to resolve a major issue might advantage him politically, he replied, “That’s not the point, Jim. We’re here to solve problems, and we didn’t solve the problem.”

* Abused fight back against budget cuts: Thirty-four percent of the shelter’s funding comes from the state, but in the partial budget passed by the state legislature those dollars are cut in half. Executive Director Linda Healy has told the seven women and 20 children staying at the house right now that they will have to move out by June 30. She is not accepting new residents unless they can promise to be out by July 1.

* Illinois Budget Negotiations Trudge On, No Deal In Sight: PHELON: We’re not as optimistic that we’re going to come out of Tuesday’s meeting with a solution that means we’ll have it in place before July 1.

* Social service advocates predict disaster if budget cut

* Local fallout from state funding mess soon to hit

* Illinois can’t have everything: Illinois income tax bills will have to go up. We’re with Quinn on this one. Lock that treasure chest up tight. Don’t open it until the legislature makes the painful decisions necessary to put the state on a sustainable path.

* Some suburban schools’ funding could lose political protection

* PJStar: Illinois’ lawmakers have let us down again

* Quinn brings budget battle to church

* Quinn Takes Budget Plan To The Pulpit

* Quinn visits Chicago church, talks tax increase

* Quinn says Illinoisans must ’sacrifice’

* Budget stalled, bills flow freely

* Inside the Illinois treasure chest: Q-C projects in the capital bills

* State’s public works bill includes lawmakers’ pet projects

* Capital plan includes community priorities, lawmakers say

* Local projects funded with video poker, alcohol taxes, vehicle fees

* Southland mayors, trustees, voters: Ban video poker

* IL Senator Pushes for Online Lottery Tickets

* Cloud over lottery plan

* Parking-meter mess might pit City Council vs. Daley

* 20 cents short on parking fine, he gets the boot

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A look ahead at 2010

Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* If this is true, then Treasurer Giannoulias may have gotten a very bad political issue off the table…

There is bright news for the thousands of parents who invested college savings money in Illinois’ Bright Start Savings Plan. In January, this column revealed that one of the fund managers within the Bright Start plan had made unauthorized trades that cost investors in its most conservative fund $85 million.

Now, after months of negotiations with Oppenheimer, the fund management company, the state has a tentative agreement to recover $77 million for fund investors — which would be a remarkably high recovery for a negotiated settlement. The amount that will be returned to each affected account will depend on a complicated formula that is still being negotiated.

But…

The treasurer’s office said it was “concerned” that the filing of individual claims could scuttle the deal, which would apply to all investors. Anyone filing an individual claim would not be part of the settlement, but an avalanche of individual claims could rupture the fragile agreement

Which leads us to this…

Well-known consumer advocate and plaintiff’s attorney Andrew Stoltman filed the claim on behalf of Tom and Leigh Ann Reusche, whose 19-year-old daughter, Nadya, will be a sophomore this fall at DePauw University in Indiana. […]

Stoltmann created a Web site, recover529losses.com, to reach investors. He says the Reusche filing was the first of more than a dozen he has lined up, in an attempt to get investors’ money back, plus damages and legal fees. […]

Told of the pending settlement over the weekend, Stoltman replied, “Let’s see the final result. Nine out of 10 times, the ultimate recoveries by a state are much smaller than what I can settle for with my individual clients. … If the state recovers all the money, I’d recommend she take the settlement. But if they can’t get back all the money that was lost, then I’m going after them.”

* Meanwhile, in other US Senate candidate news…

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk’s office said Friday the congressman and his wife of eight years, Kimberly Ann Vertolli, are divorcing.

The divorce becomes final Monday.

“They remain friends, and the legal filings related to the divorce will not be sealed,” according to a brief statement from the Highland Park Republican’s office.

The filing was made under seal in Virginia, which kicked up some questions and apparently necessitated a press release on Friday. Glad to see it will be made public so we don’t have to go through yet another wrenching divorce drama. Also glad to see that it probably won’t be contentious. Nobody needs that.

* Moving over to gubernatorial politics, probable GOP candidate Dan Proft talks about Medicaid to Jeff Berkowitz…

Proft: Blagojevich is gone. That illegal expansion of [Medicaid by Blago] is not [gone]. Doubling the eligibility of Medicaid has resulted in a 33% increase in Medicaid spending by the state just in the last three years. […]

Dan Proft: In this fiscal year, according to Quinn’s budget…it looks like they are projecting about 18 billion dollars in Medicaid spending, so it would save you about five billion dollars, that’s the increase over the last three fiscal years alone.

Jeff Berkowitz: It would save about 5 billion dollars in the 2010 budget…?

Dan Proft: It would save at least that amount.

According to the Taxpayer Action Board report, total Medicaid spending was $10.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2007 and has risen to $11.2 billion this fiscal year. Also, the system grew fastest during George Ryan’s term…

For example, in July 2000 the income eligibility threshold for the aged and disabled population was increased. This change alone has resulted in approximately 136,000 new enrollees in this category. In October 2002, the income standards for parents of low-income children, already eligible for coverage, were also increased, adding another 170,000 enrollees to the program… Finally, beginning with the enactment of legislation covering all uninsured children of any income level in November 2005, Illinois began an aggressive public relations campaign to promote enrollment of children in the All Kids health insurance program. This campaign has resulted in 68,600 additional children being added to the Medicaid program.

* Potential Democratic statewide candidate Rep. Mike Boland is furious at the U of I…

Fallout from questionable admissions practices at the University of Illinois continued Sunday as a state representative called for the resignation of the school system’s president and the trustees who meddled with student applications.

State Rep. Mike Boland (D-East Moline), chairman of the state House Higher Education Committee, said President B. Joseph White and other university leaders betrayed the public’s confidence by giving preferential treatment to politically connected applicants.

“They were trusted to protect our university,” Boland said. “In my eyes, they failed in that regard and they should resign.”

Mike Boland’s upset at preferential treatment for politically connected applicants? Really?

* Possible Cook County Board President candidate Dorothy Brown stops taking cash from her employees…

Let’s begin by congratulating Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown for her decision to stop accepting cash gifts from employees. Though she long defended the practice as perfectly legal (sad but true) and completely voluntary (unlikely), Brown now acknowledges that at the very least, it looks bad.

She still won’t tell us how much those gifts were worth, though. That looks worse.

Appearances are everything as Brown mulls a run for Cook County Board president and tries to convince voters that the operations of her office have improved. The last thing she needs is a replay of last September’s embarrassing coverage of her 55th birthday celebration at the Hotel Allegro. Employees groused privately that their “invitations” included a request for a minimum $125 campaign contribution. The bash was organized by a group called “The X Company,” whose members are mostly senior staffers in the clerk’s office. In addition to being dinged for a campaign contribution, employees were offered the opportunity to add their personal birthday wishes to a souvenir book — for a price. Proceeds from the book were given to Brown as a gift.

* And former reform commission chairman Patrick Collins pens an op-ed in the Tribune entitled: Bring on the elections…

Every political candidate should be asked three questions. What have you done in the last five years to restore the public trust? When have you taken a stand against your political or party self-interest? What will you do to repair the integrity crisis?

If voters insist on making subsequent elections a referendum on corruption, we could get meaningful reform in Illinois.

Candidate or not? What say ye?

…Adding… Oops. Missed this one…

[Carbondale] Mayor Brad Cole is considering a run for statewide office as part of the Republican ticket in 2010 and is beginning a fundraising effort.

Cole announced his decision in a letter mailed Friday to possible supporters, although he did not name in the letter or say in an interview which office he will seek. […]

After college, he was hired to run then-Gov. George Ryan’s Marion office, the first Southern Illinois of an Illinois governor, he said. He was later deputy chief of staff.

* Related and semi-related…

* Entitlements for some, providing they have the right clout: Sure there are a some downstate and Chicago lawmakers” names tucked into the records, but the list is overwhelmingly suburban. Thumb through the records and you”ll find names like state Sen. Chris Lauzen, a Republican from Aurora who has degrees from Duke and Harvard. He has fought against minority “entitlements.” In a column posted on his website he had this to say, “American Hispanics, native and immigrant (both legal and illegal), are at a crossroad. They are deciding individually and as a group whether America for them is a land of earned opportunity or a land of demanded entitlement.” He contends life should be based on merit. But he did make a call on behalf of a constituent”s kid. He contends he was trying to help the applicant deal with the bureaucracy and his inquiry was misinterpreted.

* PJStar: Top U of I officials failed this test

* How UI’s admissions have changed: Requests, pressures may have increased

* Rezko U., policing itself

* Digging through documents on UI special admissions

* Top-notch professors, coaches don’t come cheap

* Louis Gornick: the $83,000-a-year public university chef

* Legislators’ pension plan finally in line

* Legislators prepare for 2010 redistricting

* Illinois: real politics or reality TV?

* Ald. Carothers Due In Court On Bribery Charges

* Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman is not afraid to bite mayoral hand that feeds him

* Runoff still possible for Daley Council ally Solis

* Daley nephew’s deals

* Another way to make money on pension funds

* Daley kin Vanecko tied to bankrupt project

35 Comments

Morning shorts

Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray

* Creditors may get control of Tribune Co.: report

Tribune Co. and its creditors are in early negotiations for a reorganization plan in Bankruptcy Court that would likely transfer control of the media conglomerate from billionaire Sam Zell to a group of large banks and investors, the Chicago Tribune said, citing sources.

The plan centers on a debt-for-equity swap that would likely give the lenders, who hold $8.6 billion in senior debt, a large majority ownership stake in the reorganized company, the paper said.

Under the plan, a $90-million warrant, which Zell negotiated as part of his $8.2-billion deal to take the company private in 2007, would be wiped out, a source with knowledge of the situation and plan told the paper.

* WSCR has its eye on FM dial

* Neither NRA, Chicago giving up on gun fight

* Guns and justice

* Falling CAPS Turnout Disturbs Residents

* Fines seem to work where logic fails

* Cameras already teach us not to run red lights

* Nearby wind farm may double in size

Fenz said the company pays between $12,000 and $16,000 a year in taxes for each turbine. Because the tax-supported ambulance association serves the development area, the association expects to get $190,000 a year from the existing turbines.

Schools also benefit. Ridgeview Superintendent Larry Dodds said his district expects to get about $1.7 million in tax money from the existing turbines. If 300 are added, the district might see another $3 million a year, he said.

Of the existing turbines, 161 are within school district boundaries. Dodds believes the planned expansion would bring 250 more within the boundaries.

* Midwest Could Pay Big in New Energy Economy

Schemes to put a price on climate-change pollution would be expensive for the Midwest, according to the report commissioned by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. That’s because the region is a big polluter. The report finds that the heartland produces 1/20 of all the carbon emissions worldwide, mostly because the Midwest burns so much coal. Council president Marshal Bouton says that makes it all the more important for Midwestern states to speak up as the policies are being formed.

* Gas goes up as demand goes down

* Potential Rate Hike for Ameren Customers

On Friday… Ameren Illinois Utilities filed a request with the Illinois Commerce Commission seeking a 266 million dollar rate hike for delivering electricity and natural gas. Ameren officials are calling the action an effort to ensure the utilities will continue to have the resources needed to provide “a reliable, safe energy delivery system.”

In response to the proposed rate hike— – the president of the Citizen’s Utility board released this statement. “Ameren’s 226 million dollar rate–hike proposal is a slap in the face to consumers who already are struggling to pay monthly bills during the economic downturn.”

The ink is barely dry on Ameren’s 160 million dollar rate hike, approved just last year, and the company is back at the table, asking state regulators for a new 226 million dollar increase.

* Ameren asking for rate increases

* LPGA, State Farm close to signing deal

The chairman of the board of directors for the LPGA State Farm Classic said Sunday an agreement in principle has been reached to keep the women’s professional golf tournament in Springfield beyond this year.

* Can the Arch grounds include Illinois?

The National Park Service is backing a plan that calls for growing the park into Illinois, potentially making good on a decades-old dream of extending the Arch grounds into East St. Louis.

“Going back to Saarinen, the idea was there would be something on that side,” park superintendent Tom Bradley said. “Although the public really likes the idea of having something over there, it hasn’t really been tested with the Illinois community.”

* East St. Louis park offers new view, new vision

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Schakowsky to announce she won’t run

Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

* US Rep. Jan Schakowsky is holding a “media availability” this morning at 10:45 at Devonshire Elementary School in Skokie…

Schakowsky will be available to answer questions on all topics of interest to the press.

Schakowsky has said she will make her announcement today about whether she’ll run for the US Senate…

The Evanston Democrat isn’t returning phone calls, and those close to her aren’t saying. But, for what it’s worth, the announcement is scheduled to occur in Skokie, in the center of Ms. Schakowsky’s district, rather than in, say, the Loop, a good place to reach a statewide audience.

Berkowitz says she’s not running…

Reliable sources have told this journalist that Cong. Jan Schakowsky (D- Evanston, 9th CD) will announce tomorrow morning her decision not to run in the 2010 Democratic Primary for the Senate seat previously held by Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald, Democratic President Barack Obama and currently held by Democratic Senator Roland Burris.

And she confirmed that to Lynn Sweet…

After exploring a Senate run, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told me Sunday she instead will seek another term in the House. […]

In a statement to be released today, Schakowsky, an Evanston resident first elected to Congress in 1998, said the time requirements to raise the millions of dollars need to run in the Senate contest would have turned her into “a telemarketer five to six hours each day.”

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Monday, Jun 8, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

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