* Done. Finished. Kaput. Too many crazy working days in a row can drive you insane, ergo our weekly Friday song…
I’ve always been different with one foot over the line
Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind
It ain’t been so easy but I guess I shouldn’t complain
I’ve always been crazy but it’s kept me from going insane
The Trib recently published some blistering editorials decrying “overspending” by the state as the sole reason for Illinois’ budget mess, so this NYT article might help enlighten their minds…
The carnage in state budgets is getting worse, [an NCSL] report said Thursday, with places like Arizona being hurt by falling revenue on multiple fronts, like personal income and sales taxes. Other states are having mixed experiences, with some tax categories stable, or even rising, even as others fall off the map. […]
“What this report really underscores is that the states are facing revenue-based problems,” said Todd Haggerty, a research analyst at the conference, a nonpartisan group based in Denver. “If there’s been an increased demand for state services — as there has in many states — it’s putting them into a really tough situation.”
A report issued by the group in April said that spending increases related to the recession, from more people seeking state services, were compounding the impact of a decline in tax revenue. Sixteen states were facing higher-than-anticipated costs for health care, seven were spending more on public safety and four were seeing cost overruns on programs for the poor like food stamps.
Worse is yet to come. The total collective budget gap that the states will have to resolve in the fiscal year that starts, in most states, next month, is $121 billion, compared with 102.4 billion for the year approaching its end, the report said. Measures on the table to fill those holes, or already in place, range from the macro (a cut of 25 percent in grants to local governments in Minnesota) to the micro (elimination of staffing at metal detectors in local courthouses in Maine).
This article might help as well: “Total revenue into [Illinois] state government is still running far behind last year’s totals.”
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich confirmed today that he did indeed refer to former state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka as “a crazy old aunt,” when he ran against Topinka in the 2006 governor’s race.
Blagojevich, in an appearance on on WLS-AM (890) today, was referring to comments his wife, Patti, made Thursday on the reality TV show, “I’m a celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!” […]
“Yes, it’s Judy Baar Topinka,” Rod Blagojevich said this morning. “When you’re in a campaign and you have to be with your opponent from time to time, sometimes they’ll do things to you that you think are unfair. They’ll twist things. I’m sure they think the same thing about you. For me, I try to get myself in a mindset where I could love my opponent and not let it [get] personal. To discipline myself, I tried to imagine, like a method actor might, that Judy Baar Topinka was one of my old aunts. That deep down she was a good person and when she would say the things that she would say or do the things she would do, it was more amusing than anything else. And I think that really probably is who she is. You know, crazy aunt in a good way.”
“The fact that they bring it up in this way just proves that [they] really have no respect for anything,” Topinka said. “They are shameless. They certainly have no respect for the system. They have no respect for the people of Illinois. It’s all about them. You can’t tell me that — as she sits there looking sane, with a bunch of has-beens and wannabes and goofs — she looks better by comparison. This is the same gal with the potty-mouth who was yelling on one of these transcripts of a phone message, you know, ‘Go knock these guys off the [Chicago] Tribune, get rid of these editorial writers if they can’t make a deal on the Cubs, and expletive deleted.’ I mean, Who is this woman? Now she’s suddenly playing Martha Washington. I mean, c’mon. She knew what was going on. She’s lucky [U.S. Attorney] Patrick Fitzgerald isn’t on her case, too.”
* The problems with and questions about this specific project are legion…
The Illinois Senate on Sunday sent Gov. Pat Quinn a bill that will provide an unusual state tax benefit to the developers of a planned commercial hub at Glen Carbon.
The proposed $1.5 billion development, called University Town Center, would be funded with “sales tax revenue’’ (STAR) bonds, which would be paid off by using the sales taxes collected within the development.
Holland wants to build the complex near the intersection of Interstate 270 and Illinois 157, and has plans for new restaurants, retail stores, performing arts and entertainment. Holbrook said the development would bring 10,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs to the region. But Haine and Hoffman said they worry it will take jobs and businesses away from other metro-east communities.
Supporters say the project will create 10,000 construction jobs and 3,200 permanent jobs. They argue that the taxes paid by those workers – along with construction costs and other activities – will more than make up the estimated $15 million that the state will lose from sending back the sales tax revenues to pay off the bonds.
A project of this size is likely to divert business from other Madison and St. Clair businesses. Motels in the area are currently running at 54% capacity (down 24% from last year) and we have an approved hotel on hold. O’Fallon alone has more than 175 acres of Interstate-ready retail building lots that do not require government support. O’Fallon and Fairview Heights have three major furniture stores and a national electronics store sitting empty and available immediately for rent.
“The amendments did not change the floodplain requirement. An eligible site must be at least 600 acres and have 30 percent in the 100-year floodplain. The Glen Carbon site is 900-plus acres, 100 percent is in the 100-year floodplain. It consists entirely of jurisdictional and prior-converted wetlands, which play an important role in storing floodwaters and trapping sediment that comes from water flowing from the bluff.”[…]
“… That water will go elsewhere, not remain on site,” Andria said.
At last check, the developer had signed no contracts to actually bring any retail, hotel, etc. establishments to the site. He doesn’t even own all the land. The STAR bonds would help pay for that.
* How the bonds work: The developer will get all the state sales tax money generated by businesses in the STAR bond district. That can be used to sell bonds, which the developer can use to build both horizontal and vertical infrastructure - roads, sewers or even stores for the companies he’s luring.
* The immediate problem is obvious. A study by the Dept. of Revenue claims the state will lose $15 million a year in sales tax revenues. There’s only so much money that will be spent on retail in a given area. So some retail spending will shift to the STAR bond district, creating losers elsewhere in the region. Businesses won’t be able to relocate to the district, but as experience with TIF districts have shown, they may be able to get around that.
* And that brings me to the real problem with this legislation. The bill is specifically written for the Glen Carbon site, but laws can be changed as easily as 1-2-3 in Springfield. Rosemont is already looking at a STAR bond district. A suburban Will County town has already contacted its lobbyist about getting in on the action. Chicago would be foolish not to make a move in that direction.
TIF districts are a much abused economic development tool, but that’s local property tax money we’re talking about here, so it’s no skin off the state’s back. But this STAR bond thing is state money. How long do you think it’ll be before Mayor Daley and others decide to let their TIF districts expire and convert them to STAR bond districts? Half of Chicago, remember, is already in a TIF district.
* Imagine the budgetary consequences for Illinois in just a few short years if this thing spreads. And it will spread. That’s guaranteed. Stuff like this always spreads. Just look at Nevada. It used STAR bond districts to lure a Cabela’s (a name that is also being mentioned for the Illinois site) to Reno and a Legends casino in nearby Sparks. Legends, by the way, is also part of a Kansas City STAR bond development.
And as Reno developers work to protect their own projects, Las Vegas businesses also are working their own deals. Harrah’s Entertainment wants a special exemption for the stadium it wants to build with STAR bonds and the city of Las Vegas wants to be able to use STAR bonds in its redevelopment areas.
Once this thing starts, it’ll never stop. Guaranteed. It won’t be long before a very large chunk of this state is in a STAR bond district, meaning that state sales tax money will be spent on local projects, meaning that the state’s budget situation will only get worse while the locals try to cannibalize each other. Mark my words.
* Top billing today goes to Delmarie Cobb, US Sen. Roland Burris’ crack media consultant, who talked to Politico about all the people lining up to run against Burris…
“They keep trotting out these marquee names to scare Roland,” said Delmarie Cobb, the senator’s media and political adviser, adding that some Democrats are out to “lynch” Burris and turn him into a “whipping boy.”
Apparently navigating Illinois politics isn’t all that different from life in the jungle. On last night’s “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!” Patti Blagojevich had some words of advice for John Salley, who was struggling with a crotchety Janice Dickinson.
“My husband had this campaign where he was running against this woman who was a little bit like her,” Patti told him quietly. “And he thought of her as, as like a crazy old aunt. That he had to kind of like suffer and kind of like, and kind of just like, roll your eyes at. Like she’s the kooky old aunt. You had to be respectful to her because she’s your old aunt.”
Presumably she was speaking of Judy Baar Topinka, who challenged Rod Blagojevich in the 2006 governor’s race. Topinka is more often described as “colorful.”
There is a building called Westhaven Park Tower just a few blocks from the United Center on Chicago’s near West Side. The building is part of the Chicago Housing Authority’s billion-dollar mixed-income experiment. It was created to invent new neighborhoods with racial and class diversity. But an us-vs-them mentality is bubbling at Westhaven among condo owners and public housing residents.
On May 27, American Chartered Bank sued Plitt, saying the firm overstated the value of collateral used to back its loan from the bank. American Chartered says Plitt is worth only half the $12.6 million it owes.
McDermott Will & Emery issued its second layoff memo this year on Thursday. The grim news: the loss of 25 lawyers and 47 administrative staff.
The elimination of 72 people is on top off a reduction of 149 jobs in February, which included 60 attorneys. The combined hit represents about 8 percent of the 1,100 attorneys the firm had in February.
Firms are now reevaluating their recruiting practices. The first signs of change: Big firms, including McDermott, have dramatically cut the number of second-year law students they hire for their summer-internship programs. And many have deferred the start dates of students who have just graduated from law school until next year.
Not filling about 45 job vacancies and eliminating the sheriff’s crime prevention unit are among steps Sangamon County officials have proposed to plug a projected $2.7 million hole in this year’s budget.
County Board member Andy Goleman, chairman of the board’s finance committee, said Thursday the crunch comes from a surprisingly deep decline in revenue, which he attributed to the recession.
Chicago’s city hall is warning union workers that layoff notices could be in the mail soon. The city’s Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold says monthly revenues continue to come in below projections. And he says personnel costs are more than 80-percent of the city’s budget.
That’s right. The cost for the actual electricity we use just decreased by an average of about 9 percent, saving custom ers about $96 a year.
The rate cut is the culmination of a lot of hard work from fed-up Illinois consumers, consumer groups like the Citizens Utility Board, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Gov. Pat Quinn. In 2007, they led the fight to slay ComEd’s “reverse-auction” power-pricing system, which increased bills by an average of 26 percent.
In the end, Illinois consumers got $1 billion in refunds, and the state created the Illinois Power Agency, the cornerstone of an electricity-pricing system that’s unique in the nation.
Prosecutors in Cook County say they will continue seeking the death penalty. That’s in response to a request from the public defender’s office to take the option of capital punishment off the table. The public defender says his office has run out of money used specifically to defend clients facing the death penalty. Sally Daly is with the state’s attorney’s office. She says a lack of money is no reason to change the judicial process.
* NRA seeks to strike down Chicago-area gun-control laws
The NRA wants the court to rule that last year’s gun-rights decision invalidating a handgun ban in the District of Columbia applies as well to local and state laws.
Kildeer, population 4,200, just OK’d hiring newly elected Mayor Nandia Black’s brother-in-law as the new village administrator at $100,000 a year. Never mind that he has almost none of the qualifications the village listed as musts during a candidate search that cost taxpayers $20,000. That search yielded 13 candidates who do hold the listed requirements for the post, village administrator experience and a public administration degree.
“There is a level at which gifts are not appropriate,” Canary said. “I think it’s very troublesome if people feel pressured to give.”
A former employee who has complained in the past about politics in the clerk’s office said employees feared their careers were in jeopardy if they didn’t donate toward yearly birthday gifts for Brown.
“If you didn’t contribute, you were treated differently than other people who did,” said Barbara Nicosia, a former union leader who retired in 2002 after more than 30 years in the office and repeatedly sparred with Brown. “Eventually, you paid for it.”
Brown disputes the notion that employees are under pressure to give.
* An Illinois congressman is again putting pressure on oil giant BP because of the company’s pollution discharges in Indiana.
KIRK: First they try to violate the water quality of Lake Michigan, notw we find they are violating the clean air act.
Kirk has joined 18 other members of Congress in asking EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to closely examine BP’s emissions.
This week, the EPA cited BP’s Whiting Refinery for violating the Clean Air Act from 2003 to 2008.
The meters — in the 5100 block of North Clark Street — were spray-painted with silver paint, and some kind of putty was shoved into the coin slots, Officer Robert Perez of the Chicago Police Department’s news affairs office said.
Police were called before 11 this morning about what turned out to be 15 to 20 vandalized parking meters on both sides of Clark Street.
Shortly after, they found about 40 more damaged parking meters in the same neighborhood, on North Sheridan Road, West Argyle Street, North Kenmore Avenue and North Winthrop Avenue.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, Chicago officials revealed that parking meter violations have grown by 13 percent to more than 161,000 so far this year, representing more than $8 million in potential fines.
* This is part of what I told subscribers Wednesday and have been hinting about here at the blog. The General Assembly passed a budget that not only funded programs at an average of about 50 percent of their current levels, but which also had a $1.5 billion deficit…
An independent analyst says lawmakers were far too rosy in their assessment of the state budget when they voted this week and have left the state $1.5 billion short. […]
The shortfall stems from lawmakers deciding to keep their scheduled contributions towards the state’s pension systems, but not providing the actual revenue needed for the contributions, according to Bukola Bello, pension policy analyst for the bipartisan Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.
Ralph Martire, executive director of the CTBA, said the brunt of cuts would be directed toward community care groups that receive grants from the state. […]
The budget approved by lawmakers Sunday already had $5 billion in unspecified budget cuts. If there is a $1.5 billion deficit hidden on top of that, the situation could move from dire to devastating, said Charles N. Wheeler III, a professor of public affairs reporting and an expert in the budgeting process.
So, again, on top of the 50 percent reduction to programs, there’s a $1.5 billion deficit that has to be dealt with because the state pension fund payment wasn’t fully funded. The governor’s panel on budget cuts suggested a 2-3 percent budgetary reserve. That won’t come close to what will be needed to solve this thing.
To put this in some perspective, the state’s payroll cost is about $3 billion. Cutting $1.5 billion more would necessitate some gigantic layoffs.
Wonderful, eh? Sheesh. Wait until you see how they deal with that one. They’ve already started and it ain’t pretty at all. Subscribe to find out.
In the meantime, Speaker Michael Madigan said lawmakers have to work with the budget they’ve got, one he predicted would require “very significant'’ state employee layoffs.
“That’s the question before this group: How do we work through a slimmed-down state government?'’ Madigan said.
Slimmed-down? That’s an understatement. Try starved to death. More from MJM…
On Thursday, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said he was prepared to vote for a tax increase, but “that failed. Now we’re looking at working with a slimmed-down budget.”
Brace yourselves.
* There are two people still talking about a tax hike…
Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) said a tax increase was “inevitable,” and Quinn said even major cuts won’t go far enough to fill the state’s gaping budget hole.
“After doing all the things that you just heard — reforms, reforms, cutting costs, no frills — we’re still going to have to balance the budget, and that means more revenue,” Quinn told reporters.
We believe there are responsible reforms — outsourcing state jobs, restructuring pension plans and converting Medicaid services to managed care — that ought to come before making the kind of cuts the governor is threatening. State payrolls can be reduced through hiring freezes, forced furloughs and streamlining of operations, all standard in the private sector lately. Quinn’s own Taxpayer Action Board recommended similar ideas on Thursday.
If the edit board had bothered to think after reading that editorial, they’d know that the TAB recommendations barely make a dent in the problem.
* Budget causes uncertainty: “It’s about consumers and the people we serve being held hostage — the least capable of being able to fend for themselves. It’s morally wrong,” said Vanya Peterson, associate director of Stone-Hayes Center for Independent Living.
* Local social agencies fear looming state budget cuts: But soon, the state will start sending notices to local agencies that provide a wide array of services, warning they could lose much of their state funding.
* Sen. Bill Brady: The systemic solution to our economic crisis should include revenue increases through natural growth and spending reduction.
* Downtown Rally Calls For A “Fair Budget”: “They haven’t heard the last of us,” Albany Park activist Diane Limas told us. “This is just the beginning. They think they’re going to cut these funds? Who do they think votes for them? They need to get back to the table.”
