* You can listen to the address live here or here. I’ll also be on Public Television just before and after the address if you’re interested in that. Please help live-blog in coverage. I’ll post live and recorded videos and commentary as the day goes along, so check back often.
We’re going to try a new software today called “Scribble Live.” Reuters used it during the Egyptian protests and I thought it was wonderful…
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in Chicago last year, lawmakers in Springfield started off the year by pushing to give people the right to carry concealed firearms in public.
Similar legislation has been defeated in the past, but lawmakers have not given up. Some lawmakers in both chambers have introduced a slew of proposals to expand gun ownership rights.
House Bill 112, House Bill 148 and Senate Bill 82 are similar pieces of legislation, all of which would allow the county sheriff to issue permits to authorize the possession of concealed firearms. Applicants for the permit must be at least 21 and meet certain requirements, such as completing classes and training for live-firing exercises.
Co-sponsor of SB 82, state Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Highland, said the majority of the people in his district support the right to carry firearms. He said the Supreme Court’s ruling made that clear.
* The Question: I know we’ve done this before, but attitudes may be changing, so let’s try it again: Do you support a right to carry a concealed gun?
Yesterday’s gun question fell flat. Maybe today’s will do better.
* We had a discussion about Sen. Ed Maloney’s home schooling bill, which would require that all home schooled students be registered with the state board of education. A subject matter only hearing was held yesterday. Sen. Maloney withdrew his bill to make changes based on the testimony. Hundreds of home schoolers showed up…
As a crowd of hundreds sang “God Bless America'’ and “Amazing Grace'’ outside the hearing room, the committee heard “subject matter'’ testimony, meaning there would be no vote on legislation.
Maloney, in testimony, expressed surprise at the outrage over the bill. “The majority of parents do an exemplary job'’ at homeschooling, he said. He said the concern is those who use their right to homeschool as merely an excuse to let their kids stay out of school.
In the crowd was Larry Wright of Harvard, Ill., who said his reasons for homeschooling his kids were both religious and philosophocal. “I want to raise them the way I think they should go,” he said. “I’m responsible for my kids, not the state.”
He said he understands the bill would require just registration, not restrictions, but that it’s still “intrusive and unnecessary.'’ “They’re trying to fix something that’s not broken,” he said.
While the bill was not up for a vote at the Senate Education Committee, members heard testimony from professional educators and home-school parents. One, James McDonald of Mapleton, pointed out Illinois is the home of perhaps the most accomplished home-schooler of all - Abraham Lincoln. McDonald said the government was not breathing down young Abe’s neck, asking, “Did you register?”
Bill Reynolds, a truant officer in Monroe and Randolph Counties, says too often parents hide behind the words “home school” when really their families are engaged in “no school.”
Janet Hasselbring, of Braidwood, home schools her three children, and arrived early Tuesday morning to voice her opposition.
“The government does not need to put more controls in place,” said Hasselbring, who was among a throng of protesters waiting to enter the Capital. “This bill will add expenditures — to register this many home-schoolers in the state — in an already failing budget.
Michael McCreery, executive director of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, said that most parents who came out on Tuesday were the “cream of the crop,” and that he’s more worried about the ones who didn’t show up.
“We can point to programs. We can point to home schooling. We can point to those areas that are available to them. We can assist. We cannot assist without knowledge of their existence,” McCreery said.
“The great majority of parents do an exemplary job of educating their children,” Maloney said. “Some even offered standardized test results as proof that their children do better but ironically would not want test results to be mandatory.”
Maloney said he was not concerned about parents who were doing well but he wanted to find a way to identify parents who were not committed to educating their children at home.
Even though parents are not required to register their home-schooled children, they may choose to do so with their local school boards.
Illinois parents also are required, under current law, to teach the same core requirements, such as language arts, math and science, that students of corresponding age in public schools are taught.
* Two workers’ compensation arbitrators who have been the focus of Belleville News-Democrat exposes in recent weeks have been put on paid leave of absences…
“Effective immediately, Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission arbitrators John Dibble and Jennifer Teague are on administrative leave,” said Alka Nayyar, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Central Management Services.
Teague and Dibble have been the subjects of recent stories in the Belleville News-Democrat, including those in which Dibble received a workers’ comp settlement for carpal tunnel syndrome and Teague had one pending for cubital tunnel syndrome.
These two were allegedly the most egregious actors. But there’s plenty of suspicion that this is a structural problem over at the commission.
Also, the commission’s chairman has gone mum…
Mitch Weisz, chairman of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, said Tuesday he no longer could answer questions about the matter and referred all questions to Central Management Services, which helps process paperwork in workers’ compensation settlements.
* Chicago’s population grew by 4 percent in the 2000 Census. This time, there was a huge drop…
Chicago’s population plunged by 200,418 people — a 6.9 percent decline from 2000, according to the official census count released Tuesday.
The drop was significantly more than indicated by previously released census estimates, and over the next decade it could cost the city hundreds of millions in federal funds, which are partly distributed on the basis of population counts. […]
Chicago’s black population fell the most, nearly 17 percent. Today, blacks make up only 33 percent of the city’s population, down from 36 percent 10 years ago. […]
Hispanic population grew 3.3 percent in the city. But since this is less than the birthrate it is likely that Hispanics also are leaving the city for the suburbs.
Non-Hispanic whites are now 32 percent of the population, while Hispanics of all races make up 29 percent
200,000 people is almost four wards. Suburban Cook’s population grew by about 18,000.
People continued to spread out far from the region’s urban hub, as thousands flocked to Will, Kane and McHenry counties, all of which experienced a second decade of vigorous double-digit growth, the numbers showed.
“I think these data from here and elsewhere in the country reflect that the United States has become a suburban nation,” said Scott W. Allard, a University of Chicago associate professor of social service administration. “It is a continuing migration from the city out to the suburbs while there are also immigration waves directly to the suburbs as well.” […]
For the second decade, Aurora and Joliet experienced dramatic growth. Aurora (197,899) passed Rockford (152,871) to become the state’s second-biggest town, while Joliet moved up three places to No. 4, with 147,433 residents, nearly 40 percent more than in 2000.
In those cities and others, Latinos found homes far from the city’s traditional ethnic enclaves.
Much of the state’s population growth was in downstate counties such as Champaign and Mclean with heavily white-collar economies, and in counties that surround Chicago, such as Kendall County where the population more than doubled. […]
The strongest growth was in counties around Cook County, such as Lake (whose population grew by 9.2 percent), Will (up 34.9 percent) and Kane (up 27.5 percent), according to the census. Other strong growth counties included DeKalb, where population grew 18 percent, Champaign, where population increased by 11.9 percent, and McLean, where the population grew 12.7 percent.
“There’s 102 counties in Illinois — 101 of them registered growth in the Latino population,” said Matthew Hall, a demographer at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
State Rep. Keith Farnham’s predominately Kane County district, which encompasses Elgin, Carpentersville and East Dundee and portions of South Elgin and Barrington Hills, has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the last decade, due to a large influx of Hispanics.
There are now nearly 160,000 Hispanics living in the county, 65 percent more than 10 years ago.
“Someone told me my district may be smaller, but then again … I’ll work whatever it is,” Farnham said.
Rep. Kay Hatcher, a Yorkville Republican, also has a district that has grown significantly, due not least to Aurora’s population growth by a whopping 38 percent to 197,899.
Gov. Quinn will propose a $52.7 billion budget for next year that does not increase any additional taxes or fees, relies on massive borrowing and imposes spending cuts of about $1 billion, according to legislative sources briefed on the plan Tuesday. […]
Quinn’s budget plan does not include a $1.01-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax sought in January, nor does the governor intend to ask for any other additional fee or tax increases, sources said. Among the cuts Quinn is expected to lay out is the elimination of Illinois Cares Rx, a Medicare prescription-drug supplement impeached ex-Gov. Blagojevich launched in 2006 to much fanfare, legislative sources said. The move will save more than $100 million.
Quinn also intends to ask for about half a billion dollars in cuts from health-care providers who service the state’s Medicaid population and an additional $95 million in cuts in reimbursements the state provides public school districts for transportation costs, legislative sources said.
While health care costs are still expected to rise, the Democratic governor also hopes to reduce Medicaid reimbursement rates to save $552 million, sources said.
The state is expected to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for education as stimulus money expires but will boost general fund spending to make up for at least part of the difference, sources said. The governor is also targeting for elimination some transportation money for schools and encouraging school consolidations in some of the state’s smaller districts to save administration costs, the sources said. […]
Quinn also is expected to call for the elimination of a $24.2 million circuit breaker program that helps the poor pay property taxes and prescription drug costs, but it was unclear whether these programs will be replaced, sources said.
Money will be set aside to train prison guards as a way to save money in overtime costs, and the administration will seek to rebid medical services at prisons to get a better deal, sources said.
Quinn also may seek to borrow money from various special funds to help right the overall budget and pay back the funds with interest over about 18 months, sources said.
The governor will renew his call for borrowing to pay old bills, but Republicans on Tuesday already declared the idea “dead on arrival.”
“This is our opportunity to impose some fiscal discipline in Springfield, and we’re going to take it,” said Palatine state Sen. Matt Murphy, the Senate Republican point man on budget issues.
Quinn needs some Republicans on board because the borrowing requires a three-fifths majority.
But Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of Lemont said cuts and efficiencies should be considered in public safety, child care and even education. She said spending for schools possibly should be held “flat for a while” after getting hundreds of millions of dollars in increases year after year.
* WBBM Radio has react from Republicans on the borrowing plan…
Republican lawmakers say they have yet to see the budget, but they already don’t like it.
“The governor’s $8.75 billion spending proposal is dead on arrival in the Senate,” state Sen. Matt Murphy (R- Palatine) said earlier this week. “We will not continue to help feed the governor’s insatiable appetite for more spending.”
Senate Republicans say not enough spending cuts have been outlined by the governor following last month’s income tax increase, which took effect retroactively at the beginning of this year.
In a statement, Quinn also said Republicans have been no help in determining where to reduce spending.
“The governor’s office has sought Republicans’ input on alternatives, and they have proposed none,” it said. “The governor has made actual spending reductions while they have called broadly for ‘belt-tightening.’ The governor’s office has proposed specific cuts only to hear Republicans say ‘not in my district.’”
The last was an apparent reference to Springfield’s Republican legislators, who complained when the Department of Agriculture cut funding for the National High School Finals Rodeo to save money.
Asked to name specific cuts they support, the 20 Republican senators at Tuesday’s news conference offered almost no specifics or details. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said it’s possible education funding could be kept flat for a while or that changes could be made to child-care programs.
* I’m going to try out some new live-blogging software today. I’m not sure yet how much I’ll do during the governor’s budget address, but a post will be up so you can comment as it’s happening. You can watch the address by clicking here or here.
…Adding… Related…
* Quinn budget relies on borrowing, would increase spending overall
* Zorn: Borrowing –It’s not a bad answer to Illinois’ problems
* Posturing, policy problems ahead of Quinn’s budget speech
