* The House narrowly approved a bill this afternoon to lift the state’s smoking ban at Illinois casinos…
The proposal, which passed 62-52 and now moves to the state Senate, represents a significant softening of the state’s 2008 anti-smoking law that banned tobacco use in virtually all indoor public areas.
“Ladies and gentleman, if we’re serious about our budget crisis in Illinois, let’s be real. This is not about the smoking issue. This is about the money,” said Rep. Dan Burke (D-Chicago), the bill’s House sponsor.
Burke said the smoking prohibition has cost the state $800 million in lost casino-tax revenues since the imposition of the ban and would put Illinois’ casinos on par with casinos in neighboring states that allow bettors to smoke.
Opponents argued that other states have added casinos, which partly accounts for Illinois’ sliding casino tax revenues, and that carving out an exemption for casinos will embolden other businesses, like bars and restaurants, to try legislatively sidestepping the smoking ban. […]
A report by the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability characterized the indoor smoking ban as “the biggest contributor” behind a 28 percent decline in casino revenues since January 2008.
* Gov. Pat Quinn, however, has said he opposes the idea. Listen…
Even if the bill makes it through the Senate, supporters have a long way to go to find the votes to override a Quinn veto. Then again, Quinn has changed his mind before.
Discuss.
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* I’ve seen more than a little misinformation about the leaked letter by Caterpillar’s CEO and chairman revealing that he’s being intensely wooed out of state. I told subscribers about it this morning, but figured I should probably post some of that here since things got kinda outta hand in comments while I was gone.
First, this stuff about how the recent tax hike will cost Caterpillar $40 million comes from an ABC7 story linked in my absence…
Caterpillar also says the tax hike will cost them $40 million.
Not true. They got that number from a Wall Street Journal story…
The Illinois tax increase will cost Caterpillar’s 23,000 employees in the state about $40 million this year, said Jim Dugan, the company’s chief spokesman. Higher taxes make it harder for Caterpillar to attract and retain engineers, accountants and other employees, Mr. Dugan said. He added that Caterpillar’s corporate taxes in the state also will increase but provided no estimate on the added cost.
So, this was about personal income taxes, not corporate. As you might remember, I linked to a story several years ago about how Caterpillar had managed to avoid paying state corporate income taxes…
The Citizens for Tax Justice study found Boeing did not pay income taxes to any state during two of the three years studied, 2001 to 2003. During the two years in which Boeing did not pay state corporate income taxes, the company turned a combined profit of $3.1 billion, McIntyre said.
Other profitable Illinois-based corporations such as Caterpillar, Tribune Co., Sears and Sara Lee successfully avoided paying any state’s corporate income taxes during at least one year of the period studied by Citizens for Tax Justice.
Although tax returns for companies, as well as individuals, are private, the institute was able to determine whether companies were able to avoid state taxes by analyzing documents publicly traded companies must file with the Securities Exchange Commission.
* The Engineering News-Record took a look at the letter in a far less freaked out way than most local outlets….
“You’ve always been honest with me, and that’s why I want you to know about these letters,” [Cat CEO Doug Oberhelman] says to Quinn. “I’m not sending them to you as a threat that Caterpillar is leaving Illinois…I’d like to invest more here…but as the leader of this business, I have to do what’s right for Caterpillar.”
Oberhelman goes on to say that “the direction that this state is headed in is not favorable for business, and I’d like to work with you to change that.”
Caterpillar executives are chiefly concerned about lawmakers’ ability to balance the state budget, reduce state spending, create new workers’ compensation reform and renew a research-and-development tax credit. But so far, Cat has no plans to move.
“Again, we have not said we are looking to relocate,” Jim Dugan, Caterpillar spokesman, told ENR in an e-mail exchange. “We are looking to help Illinois to become more competitive for all businesses.” [Emphasis added.]
There are serious problems here, for sure. Workers’ comp reform talks are proceeding, but things aren’t going well, as subscribers know. The R&D tax credit Cat has will undoubtedly be renewed, as will others, especially now that the letter has been sent.
* All that being said, Cat is definitely looking elsewhere to build new plants. Here are just a few stories…
* Dec 18, 2008: Cat announces new plant in Texas - Company spokesman says plan is not related to decision to lay off Mossville workers
* January 5, 2009: Caterpillar plant, 600 jobs bound for North Little Rock
* Jul 30, 2010: Cat announces new North Carolina plant - 850,000-square-foot facility will be used for axle assemblies
* October, 2010: Caterpillar Selects Victoria, TX, For New Hydraulic Excavator Facility
It’s more than obvious that we’re losing out to other states.
* But the hyperventilating from politicians about this letter is getting to be a bit much. For instance…
Illinois Congressman Aaron Schock denounced Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday after Quinn dimissed the possibility of Peoria’s Caterpillar Tractor leaving the state because of high taxes.
The Peoria congressman told Don Wade and Roma that Quinn is “out of touch” and his “idiotic policies” could cost the state a Fortune 15 company.
“For the governor of the state of Illinois to scoff and laugh, that is very, very dangerous and it shows a level of naivety, that is indicative of a governor that is out of touch,” Schock said.
Quinn didn’t “scoff and laugh.” Listen for yourself…
In fact, Quinn is being presented with an award by the Caterpillar CEO next month in Peoria. The two obviously have a decent relationship, as evidenced by the “You’ve always been honest with me” comment in Oberhelman’s letter.
Also…
“I like to work with all the executives but the notion of leaving Illinois is not a good idea. We’ve had great companies like Ford, Chrysler, Navistar, and Boeing all come here with more manufacturing. They understand we have a good workforce, and if you have a government who wants to work with you, you’ll go pretty far.”
Again, no scoffing and laughing there.
* The first thing that came to my mind during my break, once the shock of seeing the blaring headlines wore off a bit, was that Gov. Quinn really needs to tone down the rhetoric and get to work on our problems and forget about everybody else’s. He’s upset about what happened in Wisconsin. Fine. We get it. But he’s running around the country like Mother Jones singing “Solidarity Forever” at the drop of a red hat. That sort of defiant, pro-union attitude won’t go over well with corporate types.
This is a centrist state, something that Quinn may not fully comprehend. He didn’t squeak by Bill Brady because he was so liberal. Quinn beat Brady because Brady was far more Right than Quinn was Left. The governor would do well to move to the center.
And while I don’t agree with Congressman Schock about the tone of Quinn’s response to the Cat letter, the governor should’ve sounded far more concerned. At least for appearance’s sake, for crying out loud. Show that you’re on it, man. Get busy. Lead.
* Also, while he’s at it, Quinn should check into this…
Modern Drop Forge Co. of southwest suburban Blue Island said Monday it expects to ship one of its two Illinois plants to Indiana, taking 250 Chicago area jobs with it. The 97-year-old company makes automotive, truck and recreational equipment parts.
“Illinois is becoming very, very unfriendly to manufacturers,” company CEO Pat Thompson told CBS 2.
Thompson cites not only the corporate income tax hike approved last year, but other state tax laws, workmen’s comp rules and prevailing wages.
“We now have just about the highest state income tax in the United States, and the overall income taxes for corporations in Illinois are amongst the highest in the free world,” he said.
Illinois has lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the last decade. We can’t do a whole lot about China and Mexico, but we can and should attempt to compete far better with neighboring states. Workers’ comp absolutely must be reformed, for instance.
* And speaking of neighbors…
Less than four months after losing nearly all of an $810 million grant, Wisconsin is again seeking federal high-speed rail money - this time to upgrade the existing Milwaukee-to-Chicago passenger line.
Gov. Scott Walker’s administration announced Tuesday that the state will seek at least $150 million to add equipment and facilities for Amtrak’s Hiawatha line. […]
In a bizarre twist, some of the money that Walker is now seeking originally was allocated for the Milwaukee-to-Madison route he previously turned down. That money is available because a fellow Republican governor rejected it, as well. […]
The state’s share of the cost of the maintenance building will be $12 million.
Walker earlier rejected a much larger rail project which would’ve cost the state about $4.7 million a year.
* Related…
* Caterpillar letter may trigger workers’ comp overhaul
* Cat CEO letter a wake-up call for Quinn, state
* What is Caterpillar trying to tell Illinois?: One is that the company wasn’t threatening as much as trying to send a message: Big segments of the business community think Illinois has become a terrible place to start or run a business. Two: Though we can disagree on details and solutions, we ought to listen to the message, because it contains much truth.
* Illlinois delays college construction projects
* Neb. governor tries to entice Caterpillar to move
* Wisconsin reaches out to Caterpillar
* Sen. LaHood: Caterpillar Letter is an Opportunity
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House Bill 14: Setting the Record Straight
Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Myth: HB14 allows Illinois utilities to automatically raise rates every year.
Fact: That is not the case. Under HB14, utilities are required to submit to more frequent oversight (annual) and still are subject to stakeholder challenge and ICC prudence reviews over 8 ½ months.
Myth: HB14 eliminates much of the oversight currently provided by the ICC.
Fact: HB14 actually strengthens oversight because it makes the regulatory process a more frequent annual process that is transparent, allows discovery, holds utilities accountable for every dollar they invest and jobs they create. The ICC retains responsibility for reviewing utilities’ costs and setting rates.
Myth: HB14 provides utilities with higher-than-needed profits.
Fact: Under the Public Utilities Act, utilities are allowed to earn a reasonable rate of return. This is done through determining a return on the equity invested (ROE) for the utility. This rate has varied from rate case to rate case. This proposal only changes the way the ROE is set and is consistent with past ICC approved ROEs. Utilities still must establish that they managed work prudently at reasonable cost and stakeholder challenge and ICC prudence reviews remain.
Learn the facts. Visit SmartEnergyIL.com
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column is about Secretary of State Jesse White’s future…
Secretary of State Jesse White has been saying for at least the past two years that this fourth term would be his last. By the end of this term he’ll be the longest-serving secretary of state in the history of Illinois. It seemed like a good way to go out.
“This is my last run for public office,” White told the Chicago Defender just before the November election.
“I think I am going to spend time working with the Jesse White Foundation,” he said. The Chicago City Council recently voted to spend $10 million on a training facility for the Jesse White Tumblers, his signature group for inner-city youth. White’s foundation is supposed to kick in $5 million.
The new facility would be part of White’s significant legacy. Most people wouldn’t even drive near Chicago’s old Cabrini Green public housing complex. White went in there and recruited those kids, trained them to do superhuman feats and not only kept them out of trouble, but showed them how to make a life for themselves and their community.
Young boys who were looking at a miserable existence at the bottom of society’s ladder were given a chance to make it in the world. Only a tiny few have disappointed. The overwhelming majority have gone on to be productive, decent citizens. The impact White has had on those kids is truly one of the miracles of our time.
But I’d been hearing for a couple of months that White was thinking about running yet again when this term is up in 2014. I made some calls and was told by a few trusted insiders to just let it go for now. White and his top people simply were experiencing the rush of yet another big victory and eventually would calm down and White would retire.
So, I decided to bide my time and wait him out. But the rumors persisted and I eventually decided that holding off until March was long enough. It had been, after all, more than five months since his latest landslide victory. Surely that was enough time for White to put things into perspective.
I put in a call and asked to speak to the man himself. He called me back and confirmed the rumors I’d been hearing. White said he was “leaning toward” another run in 2014.
White told me he was “encouraged to rethink” his decision after being “inundated” with pleas to run again. White claimed people have telephoned, e-mailed, “stopped me in the street, stopped me in meetings” and asked him to reconsider his decision because, White said, the office is running well and they don’t want it to deteriorate again.
Some insiders say, however, that a few of White’s top staff members also have been quietly urging him on for their own personal reasons.
Whatever the case, if White does decide to run again, a whole lot of people in both parties are going to be pretty darned depressed. White has proved to be unbeatable in the office. He won all 102 counties in 2002, and his lowest vote share was the solid 55 percent he received the first time he ran in 1998. He has been the top statewide vote-getter in the last three election cycles.
But a line has formed around the block for 2014 as most folks in both parties expected that White would keep his word and leave office.
“I feel good,” White said, joking that, at 76, he was still a “youthful, young person.” He will be 84 at the end of a fifth term in 2019. But the man literally still can do handstands. He’s no spring chicken, but he’s in better shape than most of the people who want to replace him — and most of the rest of us, for that matter.
White said he hasn’t set a time frame for making a final decision.
“I’m leaning toward it right now primarily because of the wishes and desires of the people of the state of Illinois,” he said. “Plus, I enjoy public service. I love public service.”
Asked about all those potential candidates who’ve been queuing up to run for the office for the past several years, White quipped, “I expect when the time comes, there will be about 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans vying for the job.”
That may be an understatement.
* The Question: Do you think Secretary White should run for another term? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments…
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Statistics
Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This Wall Street Journal op-ed is making the rounds…
High earners, it turns out, have especially volatile incomes—their earnings fell by more than twice as much as the rest of the population’s during the recession. […]
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois—states that are the most heavily reliant on the taxes of the wealthy—are now among those with the biggest budget holes. A large population of rich residents was a blessing during the boom, showering states with billions in tax revenue. But it became a curse as their incomes collapsed with financial markets. […]
In New York before the recession, the top 1% of earners, who made more than $580,000 a year, paid 41% of the state’s income taxes in 2007, up from 25% in 1994, according to state tax data. The top 1% of taxpayers paid 40% or more of state income taxes in New Jersey and Connecticut. In Illinois, which has a flat income-tax rate of 5%, the top 15% paid more than half the state’s income taxes.
For everybody else, the WSJ piece uses top 1 percent. For Illinois, it’s the top 15 percent. Why? Because Illinois is among 25 states where the richest one percent account for 20-30 percent of personal income tax receipts. In other words, we’re about average. So, why include us? You’d have to ask the Wall Street Journal.
Also, all five of the states most heavily reliant on taxes from the wealthy (California, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Vermont) have graduated income taxes. Illinois has a flat tax.
The piece may explain why Illinois tax revenues shot up in the late 1990s. But it only partially explains the recent revenue crash.
* And I’m not quite sure about this one…
Tax money coming into state and local governments in Illinois fell sharply — by $2.2 billion dollars between 2009 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The decline in tax revenue from $32 billion to $29.8 billion is on par with a pattern that has emerged during the past several years. Areas that measure a state’s economic health — income, sales and property taxes — all have weakened. […]
While income dropped for Illinois, general fund spending increased from $27.9 billion to $29.7 billion between 2009 and 2010.
According to the budget office, General Fund revenues fell from $29.1 billion in FY09 to $27.9 billion in FY10. Actual General Fund spending, according to GOMB, was $29.8 billion in FY09 and $25.5 billion in FY10. I’m not sure why there’s such a huge discrepancy here, but maybe somebody can enlighten me.
* And one more thing…
If budget cuts aren’t made now, Radogno said Illinois will face a $22.7 billion deficit by 2016.
The Senate Republicans have repeated this stat for weeks now. What they’ve done is projected spending at the top of the statutory spending cap and used lowballed revenue forecasts. Since state law now requires the General Assembly to match up revenues with spending, it’s not exactly a trustworthy number.
However, the General Assembly really ought to lower those spending caps, which are too high. It wouldn’t mean much in the “real” world, but it would take this oft-repeated argument off the table.
* Related…
* Senate President Cullerton discusses state budget on Chicago Fox News
* IllinoisIsBroke.com launches statewide radio ad campaign
* That new Amazon tax. It was there all the time.
* Senator Radogno discusses Amazon Internet law: Remember, it was not a tax increase. It was simply a means to force places like Amazon to collect the same sales taxes brick and mortar stores must collect.
* At school for blind, travel budget cuts have impact beyond sports
* VIDEO: State Senator Kimberly Lightford On The GOP’s Proposed Budget Cuts
* Schilling amends tax philosophy: It was revealed last week that General Electric paid no taxes on $5.1 billion of profits made in the U.S. and actually claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion. “That’s not fair,” Schilling said.
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Illinois is now free of fleeing Democrats
Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After about a month in self-imposed exile, Indiana House Democrats have finally left Urbana and headed home to Indianapolis. Here’s what they got…
So-called “right to work” legislation, which bars companies and unions from negotiating a contract that requires non-union members to pay fees for representation, is off the table, at least for now. House committee passage of this bill on Feb. 21 triggered the walkout. The measure is headed to a study committee.
Also dormant are 22 other bills that were approved in committee but did not clear the legislative process because of the walkout. Those include one that bars a future governor from signing an executive order allowing collective bargaining for state employees; another that would allow private companies to take over failing public schools; and one that bars funding to Planned Parenthood. However, the Senate still could deal with some of those issues.
House Bill 1003, which would allow some public school students to use state dollars to pay private school tuition, will be changed. Republicans have agreed to limit the number of vouchers to 7,500 in the first year and 15,000 the second.
House Bill 1216, which affects project labor agreements and wages paid on public construction projects. Current law requires the agreements, which guarantee a certain number of union jobs in exchange for no-strike pledges, on all projects that cost more than $150,000. As introduced, that threshold shot up to $1 million, with all school and university projects exempt. Republicans agreed to a series of changes during the walkout, lowering the threshold last week to $350,000 and including schools and universities. The final proposed amendment — put on the table late Thursday and filed in the House on Monday — phases that in over two years.
* The spin wars have begun in earnest…
House Speaker Brian Bosma, an Indianapolis Republican, said it was “public pressure” that drew the minority party back.
Not so, Democrats said.
“We are coming back after softening the radical agenda,” said House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer, a Democrat from South Bend.
“We won a battle, but we recognize the war goes on.”
Republicans, though, said the changes to which they’ve agreed probably would have happened during the regular course of action anyway.
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Heads. Must. Roll.
Tuesday, Mar 29, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We talked about a nightmarish group home for developmentally disabled people last week. A refresher…
A multimillion-dollar operation under state contract was supposed to be taking care of people with special needs. Instead, its employees are accused of fatally beating two residents and several incidents of abuse. […]
Forty-two-year-old Paul McCann suffered a brutal beating in January. The man called a gentle giant, who functioned at the level of a 6-year-old, was punched, kicked, and struck with a frying pan inside his group home for reportedly taking a cookie. […]
State records obtained by CBS 2, which date back to 2003, reveal 33 cases of Graywood staff abusing residents. Those cases included sexual abuse, physical battery and alleged coercion of residents to attack each other.
Even worse, in 2008, a resident named Dustin Higgins was murdered by staff. That death prompted an internal memo from the Illinois Department of Human Services Inspector General. The memo warned that Graywood residents were at risk amid an increase of serious allegations of abuse and neglect.
* Well, it turns out that the state’s Department of Human Services has known about the problems at that group home for quite a while…
Conditions at the group homes run by the nonprofit Graywood Foundation were “totally unacceptable,” according to a 2009 memo an Illinois investigator wrote to his bosses and the AP obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The memo was written almost a year after murder charges were filed against two employees in the 2008 death of Dustin Higgins, another resident who lived in a Graywood group home. The homes were under intense state scrutiny, and the state eventually stopped them from admitting new residents.
But residents’ families weren’t told about the problems then – or even after state investigators substantiated 18 new allegations of staff abuse and neglect, according to an attorney representing McCann’s family and a state lawmaker working to improve the system.
You just wanna tear your hair out when you read stuff like that.
* Another problem…
While nursing home inspection reports are posted online in Illinois, there’s no similar information on group homes, an alternative to institutional care likely to be used more widely in Illinois after a preliminary settlement was reached this year a class action lawsuit over the civil rights of adults with disabilities.
Rep. Greg Harris is hoping to change that law.
* Meanwhile, here’s something else to make you beat your head against the wall…
Emails flew between the Menard Correctional Center workers’ compensation coordinator and a Central Management Services claims processor, using words like “pandemic” and “flood” to describe hundreds of repetitive trauma claims filed by guards at the Chester prison.
But despite the written concerns of two state workers whose job it was to deal with the rising number of workers’ compensation claims at the state’s largest prison, an investigation only began following newspaper stories a year later.
Those stories by the Belleville News-Democrat detailed $10 million for 500 workers’ comp claims filed by Menard prison employees.
More…
The emails also brought to light that some Menard employees on temporary total disability leave recuperating from surgery to correct a repetitive trauma injury were also getting elective surgery while off work for such things as hernia repair or lap-band surgeries to lose weight.
“Can we do anything about these people, while they are out on work comp, getting nonrelated surgeries?” Zellers asked in an email to Barry H. Wesley, an assistant attorney general who handles workers’ compensation cases.
“This would impede their recovery on the work comp claim and the taxpayers are paying for their time off for nonwork-related medical issues. … What can we do to stop this? Just ridiculous!” Zellers wrote to Wesley, whose job is to handle workers’ compensation claims that either are challenged and/or go to arbitration.
Ugh.
* And if that wasn’t enough…
State hearing officer Kathleen A. Hagan, who recently filed her fourth worker’s compensation claim three days before the deadline, is seeking a settlement for an undisclosed injury.
But the public will not learn — either before or after the claim is settled — how Hagan was injured. The only public reference about her accident on Feb. 13, 2008, is on a state website that simply reads, “knee and leg right.”
That’s because Central Management Services, the large state agency that handles much of Illinois’ state government paperwork, has taken the position that because it is self-insured, virtually all information it receives regarding a claim made under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act can be withheld because it is “proprietary.”
* More joy…
On a summer day in 2008, an Illinois Department of Corrections worker secretly watched as Calvin Landis, who had been receiving weekly total disability payments for five years for a back injury, moved furniture from his front porch, climbed a ladder and power washed his house.
Using a telephoto lens, the observer snapped photos as Landis, 45, a lieutenant on disability leave from a Du Quoin prison boot camp, performed about an hour of work at his home on Birch Road, a few miles from the camp. The photos showed Landis lifting an 8-foot step ladder by a rung with one arm, wielding the power wash spray head and scrubbing aluminum gutters by hand. […]
The photos were submitted to Landis’ supervisors at the Department of Corrections. Internal state agency e-mails obtained by the Belleville News-Democrat showed that corrections department administrators requested an investigation for possible violation of Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission rules.
But no investigation resulted, according to copies of the department e-mails. For the past two years, Landis’ checks kept arriving, according to comptroller’s office documents.
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Quinn would commute death penalty cases
Monday, Mar 28, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor
Following up an article from last week regarding LaSalle County State’s Attorney Brian Towne’s promise to pursue the death penalty…
State’s Attorney Brian Towne says he has no plans to decertify the case of Keith Mackowiak.
Quinn this month signed a law abolishing capital punishment in Illinois, but the law does not take effect until July 1. However, Quinn says if this defendant is convicted and sentenced to death, he will commute the sentence to life in prison. “I signed a law that abolishes the death penalty in Illinois, and that’s the end of it,” Quinn said.
At the same time…
Imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan is known around the world for clearing Illinois’ Death Row in 2003 and imposing a moratorium on the death penalty.
But the governor who pardoned more than 200 people admitted in a recently released court deposition that he “didn’t understand” the difference between two major types of pardons and that he was declaring a Chicago inmate innocent by the way he pardoned him.
That surprising admission came in a March 2010 deposition that Ryan, now 77, gave at the Terre Haute, Ind., prison where he’s serving a 6œ-year term on a federal corruption conviction.
Comments got really heated today. I’m willing to leave them open, but will be in no mood to moderate posts that are below what CapFax commenters usually provide if it continues.
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Posted by Barton Lorimor
The state’s problems are many. High tuition costs and overcrowded prisons were just a few mentioned over the weekend.
The fact that the Senate Republicans put together budget cut proposals has been well received despite concerns over what would be cut…
The plan is a bold one, but its political future is doubtful at best. Hopefully, it will serve as a starting point, however, for addressing the expense side of the state’s budget crisis.
More…
The poll was conducted by We Ask America, a subsidiary of a company owned by the conservative Illinois Manufacturers Association.
The company polled 1,184 Illinois voting households in an automated phone poll on March 20. Respondents were asked, “In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job Illinois governor Pat Quinn is doing?”
Of those polled, 31 percent approved, 61 percent disapproved and 9 percent had no opinion. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.85 percent. […]
Illinois Republicans plan on capitalizing on the governor’s low approval rating and frustration over the tax hike.
“I definitely think all of the legislators who voted for the tax increase are going to be held accountable,” Illinois Republican Party deputy executive director Jonathan Blessing said.
Not to brush aside the proposed Medicaid or education cuts, but this was an interesting proposal…
Among the cuts promoted by the GOP at a news conference was a reduction in the number of cellphones used by state employees.
“The state of Illinois has approximately 15,500 state-issued, taxpayer funded communications devices,” the report noted. “Reducing the number of devices by 50 percent would save $2.3 million.”
While $2.3 million in savings is nothing to scoff at, the Republicans might have this cellphone thing completely backward.
* Meanwhile, communities are starting to miss the capital construction projects held-up by litigation now before the Illinois Supreme Court…
The [“The Fix We’re In For: the State of Illinois’ Bridges”] report was released officially last week in Chicago and showed that statewide some 2,239 bridges out of 26,337 in Illinois, or about 8.5 percent, are considered structurally deficient.
Put another way, that means that one out of every 12 bridges a driver crosses in Illinois carries that “structurally deficient” tag.
At 8.5 percent, Illinois fares better than the country as a whole, which is at about 11.5 percent. Still, the report says Illinois ranks 35th nationally.
And…
Without the great highway access from I-57, even the most creative and generous of business incentive plans would not have achieved what exists today or built hopes so high for the future. I-57 gives Marion and the eastern half of our region a tremendous competitive advantage over the communities further to the west - Carbondale, Murphysboro and Pinckneyville.
Those communities aren’t on the same playing field as Marion and the best plan to close the gap appears to be indefinitely stalled. We’re referring to the planned expansion of Illinois 13/127 to a four-lane roadway that will bypass both Vergennes and Pinckneyville. Without the improved link to Interstate 64 north of Nashville, the western portion of Southern Illinois will not easily reach its full potential for economic development and population growth.
As you know, there has been an effort to come up with some Plan Bs in case the Court tosses the projects package out, but the QC Times editorial board doesn’t want it to include gaming…
Illinois lawmakers should stop this gaming explosion now to protect the casino businesses that have a 20-year track record in the state. Lawmakers everywhere should avoid propping up one failing wagering business by diverting revenue from a successful one. Waning interest in horse racing suggests a marketing job for that industry, not an invitation for the horse tracks to horn in on an entirely different kind of wagering.
* O’Hare, on the other hand, apparently has a whole new set of problems…
The almost-completed first phase of O’Hare International Airport’s expansion had close calls that could have resulted in fatal airplane crashes, according to a Tribune investigation of incidents filed with the Federal Aviation Administration. […]
The potential for disaster has prompted the FAA to begin revising its daily alerts to pilots about airfield conditions and other procedures. Work to build a runway in the southern part of O’Hare will kick into high gear now that the city and the major airlines have agreed on the project after a legal battle. City officials say the work at the airport had met FAA safety standards but acknowledge that more can be done to improve safety.
Related…
* Illinois Senate President John Cullerton Hopes Cubs Proposal Will be Approved
* Tribune: Performance Counts
* No school has ever lost aid due to Title IX violation
* State says consider flood insurance ahead of time
* Chicago Bears license plates up for sale
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Caterpillar: Letter never meant for public
Monday, Mar 28, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor
A leaked letter from Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman to Gov. Pat Quinn about the manufacturing giant being courted to leave Illinois certainly made its way around over the weekend. But a CAT spokesperson told ABC 7 that was the last thing they wanted to happen…
The correspondence says at least four states have approached the company about moving since Illinois raised its income tax in January.
But nothing is written in stone and a spokesperson for Caterpillar says the letter, which they say they did not intend to be made public, was only an attempt to open a dialogue and certainly not a threat.
But in the very next paragraph of the story…
Caterpillar officials say if Illinois doesn’t shape up its business climate, the heavy equipment maker may have to ship out.
You got me.
* Also over the weekend….
llinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the premier of Manitoba, Canada, have signed an agreement to work together on trade and commerce opportunities. Quinn and Premier Greg Selinger signed the memorandum of understanding Saturday in Chicago.
The agreement means the two governments will work together to increase collaboration in industries including manufacturing, renewable energy and information technologies. They’ll also work together on trade and tourism opportunities.
Somewhat related…
* Sweeny: FatWallet goes north; charter schools attacked
* High-speed rail benefits have hollow ring
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Posted by Barton Lorimor
Columnist Sue Ontiveros writes about a lobbying effort put together by the Latino Policy Forum meant to press legislators to vote against human services cuts…
It’s no wonder people in Latino communities are worried, and it’s why that group got on an early morning bus last week and took their concerns to legislators.
For a lot of them, it was their first time in Springfield and their first encounter with state legislators. Good for them.
Without quality child care, working parents have two awful options: leave their most precious possessions, their children, in substandard care or stop working. If they choose the latter, their families are impoverished, and at some point it’s a good bet that they’ll need to lean on their state government for some sort of assistance.
Choosing the latter could also mean an increase in deadbeat parents paying for child support, which has become quite the problem as this Sun-Times research project shows us…
Unemployment and underemployment is a key factor in the high level of back support owed, said [Executive director of the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice Malcom] Rich. Indeed, the Illinois Healthcare and Family Services Department’s Child Support Services Division said among its clients, 57 percent of non-custodial parents have no reported income, and 28 percent have reported income of less than $30,000 annually.
A study released in 2007 from the Urban Institute looking at back support owed in Illinois and eight other states found that 70 percent of the back support owed in 2003-04 was owed by parents who had no reported income or income of $10,000 a year or less. The report estimated that only 40 percent of the arrears owed at that time was likely to be collected over 10 years, and the backlog was projected to grow by 60 percent over that time.
“We have an expression in child support, you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip,” said Ron Haskins, co-director of the Center on Children and Families at Brookings Institution. “Many of these fathers do not have jobs.” […]
The number of Illinois parents requesting court reviews to lower the child support they pay has nearly tripled in recent years — from 4,219 in 2006 to 12,629 last year. Even so, many parents don’t contact child support services or seek legal action to have the amount reduced, he said. […]
The median amount owed in back support in Illinois, according to the Urban Institute study, was $4,467 in 2003-04. The average was $11,365. Mirroring a national trend, most of the arrearages were owed by a minority of parents who owe sizable sums. In Illinois, 10 percent of those owing back support were $30,000 or more in arrears, yet they owed nearly half of all the overdue support. […]
The state also has focused on increasing the percentage of support collected as it’s due, said Lowry. A decade ago, Illinois was on the verge of being sanctioned when it was collecting only 36 percent of current support.
There has been improvement, with the collection rate reaching 58.03 percent in 2009, but it slipped to 57.85 percent last year. Lowry said the state would like to exceed the national average of 61.9 percent.
That is of course if communities, mainly suburbs, are prepared to handle the shift in population that relies on government assistance in the first place…
There’s no denying the national trend: More minorities are moving out to the suburbs of big cities and more immigrants are settling there as well, bypassing the city altogether.
But the suburbs weren’t prepared for the infusion, and many are having a hard time dealing with an increased demand for social services. […]
As people reach out for help, they’re finding that nonprofit service organizations are stretched to the limit and can’t provide the assistance they once could. The agencies have to get by with less state money.
Related…
* Sun-Times: Why are so many Chicagoans leaving town? It’s not so bad
* Page: New benchmarks of social change
* Documents Reveal Pressure to Comply With Program to Deport Immigrants
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Posted by Barton Lorimor
The Sun-Times credited the State Journal-Register, but it was the Alton Telegraph that got it first…
The chairman of the Macoupin County Democratic Party resigned his post — as well as his seat on the local school board — just two days after an undisclosed St. Patrick’s Day incident that’s being investigated by city police.
How much the resignations and incident are connected, though, is a matter of speculation, because most people familiar with the investigation are mum on the details.
Carlinville Police Chief Dave Haley confirmed Monday that he turned over an incident report to the Illinois State Police involving Ken Snider, who also is a State Police officer. […]
“We are cooperating with the Illinois State Police in this investigation and do not want to jeopardize their investigation,” Haley said Tuesday.
Haley said he referred the report to Illinois State Police Zone 6 in Collinsville. Zone 6 interim commander Lt. James Morrisey said Monday that he was not aware of such an investigation, noting that it most likely was turned over to Internal Affairs.
State Police media spokesman Scott Compton confirmed the probe on Tuesday.
Now what the Telegraph didn’t have was this little tid-bit…
Snider had been employed by the state since 1984 and was elevated last December as supervisor of Quinn’s south security detail, a job that put him in charge of overseeing executive protection officers, scheduling, routes and movements, Vega said in a prepared statement late Friday.
That assignment lasted until Jan. 19, when he began to use benefit time until his resignation on March 18, he said.
Yikes.
More background information…
Carlinville police were called to the Anchor Inn at 1 a.m. March 18. Snider was the person who called police, said Chief David Haley of the Carlinville Police Department, who later turned the investigation over to state police.
The incident apparently involved students at Blackburn College, where state police have interviewed students, according to Jeff Aper, college provost.
No one was arrested, and neither Haley nor state police would provide details, although Haley said he has been getting calls from reporters throughout the state.
In the Springfield incident, Snider was allowed to go free after allegedly breaking the windshield of a woman’s car on Jan. 27, 2010.
Springfield police would not immediately release a report, but Deputy Police Chief Cliff Buscher provided details of the incident, which he said began when Snider appeared to be frolicking near the Hilton Hotel.
“He was running and sliding on his belly on the snow in the sidewalk,” Buscher said.
I’ll bet Rich might have more on this one.
(On a similar ISPD investigation note, the department will review the CPD’s handling of its 2004 David Koschman homicide investigation. Koschman reportedly died after he was struck by Richard Vanecko, one of Mayor Daley’s and W.H. Chief of Staff William Daley’s nephews.)
Similarly…
The president of the 47th Ward Democratic Organization was arrested and charged Saturday with misdemeanor battery for allegedly striking a man in a bar on election night in February.
William Helm, 47, of the 4700 block of North Lincoln, was arrested after a meeting at the ward’s Democratic headquarters Saturday morning.
The victim told police that Helm allegedly struck him on the left side of the face with a closed fist about midnight after the Feb. 22 election at the Celtic Crown Public House, 4301 N. Western. Two others also allegedly punched and kicked the victim, police said.
Reached late Saturday, Helm said he was “amazed and shocked’’ by his arrest more than a month after the alleged incident.
* Bill Cellini’s name has been absent from a lot of the Blagojevich trial coverage until now. Once a player always a players, as Bernie points out this week…
BILL CELLINI has not been convicted of anything and strenuously proclaims his innocence, but the fact that he remains indicted and is scheduled to go to trial this summer on federal corruption charges still might indicate — at least from a public perception standpoint — that he shouldn’t be seen as a force in the Sangamon County Republican world.
But there is a direct link between Cellini and money that’s been paid and offered as part of Springfield’s mayoral campaign.
That’s because when Sangamon County GOP Chairman TONY LIBRI helped engineer payments totaling more than $9,900 for campaign expenses of Sangamon County Auditor PAUL PALAZZOLO — who kept his word and dropped out of the mayor’s race when he didn’t get the party’s backing — the money came from the Sangamon County Republican Foundation.
That foundation, according to state records, is chaired by Sangamon County Board Chairman ANDY VAN METER. The treasurer is Cellini. The only other officer listed with the State Board of Elections is ROBIN ELLISON, administrative assistant, who works for the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association, where Cellini is still executive director.
JANIS CELLINI, sister of Bill, is executive director of the foundation.
* Meanwhile, the Daily Herald today says Congressman Peter Roskam is experiencing a growth in popularity…
Roskam, who grew up in Glen Ellyn, is poised to go places, perhaps even to one day become the U.S. House Speaker, following in Yorkville Republican Dennis Hastert’s footsteps. […]
“Roskam’s savvy. Right away, you knew he was on the fast track,” said Drew Cannon, a soft-spoken Oregon native who, for the past eight years, has watched Roskam and the other congressmen from his perch manning the third floor press gallery, which provides a bird’s-eye view of the lower chamber.
* Senate Democrats today will host their first public input hearings on this year’s redistricting - an issue Kurt Erickson devoted his weekly column to…
GOP leaders last week sent letters to Gov. Pat Quinn and Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon calling on them to urge state Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, to hold more meetings in order to allow citizens to have input into the map-making process.
In particular, Simon was singled out because she was a member of the governor’s Reform Commission, which recommended at least five hearings around the state on the proposed new map, rather than hearings before the new map is completed. Those recommendations weren’t adopted into law. […]
Forby’s district in southern Illinois, for example, needs to pick up 8,000 additional residents. That means the boundaries of the 59th Senate District would have to expand north or west into territory currently represented by Republicans.
“It’s going to be a lot different,” Forby said.
State Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, is in a district that could grow by as many as 14,000 residents, meaning he, too, will have to squeeze territory now held by Republicans.
* And in other political news…
* Alderman Ed Bus responds to Emanuel’s idea to cut City Council in half
* 16th Ward incumbent runs on record, which foe attacks
* 2 wards can vote down party lines
* Cost of tax increases listed on ballots is misleading, says assessor
* Wauconda Village Administrator Quick to step down
* Five vying for 3 seats on Hampshire Village Board
* Council candidates respond to Herald-News challenge
* Forum for Galesburg City Council candidates set for Thursday
* Rural elections largely uncontested
* Journal-Star: Morton District 709 referendum: Vote ‘Yes’
* Word on the Street: Surprise! Election probably won’t be
* News-Gazette: Jerry Schweighart for Champaign mayor
* Ballots, information for area counties
* Houston’s mayoral stint included budget cuts, other battles
* City clerk candidate denies 2001 domestic violence allegation
* Swansea trustee candidates will take your questions
* Choices abound in Belleville elections
* Elmore: Please be informed and cast your vote
* Three vying to be West Frankfort mayor
* Marion mayoral candidate talk school, city stress
* Police, fire pensions trouble Marion mayoral candidates
* Sun-Times: Kirk should back greenhouse gas regulation
* Kadner: Two insurance companies ‘have no duty’ to Crestwood
* Sun: School board members need to honor confidential matters
* Roskam says family first
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Question of the Day
Monday, Mar 28, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller
Posted by Barton Lorimor
One thing I miss about living in Springfield is the local scene. Maybe growing up outside of a small farming village in McLean County lowers the expectations, but the ‘field is one of my favorites to regularly visit. (Rich’s posts about the city’s great musicians and local joints makes me feel a bit better about my expectations.)
Perhaps some of the regular Hilton occupants out there are aware, but for the rest of us…
Come autumn, a restaurant will once again operate on the 30th floor of the Hilton Springfield.
The unnamed upscale steakhouse will occupy the spot formerly occupied by the bar JAZZ CENTRAL STATION, said Michael Fear, the hotel’s general manager. It will have 60 seats, including a private dining room for 12.
The last restaurant in the window-rimmed top floor, CAPISCSE?, closed in early 2008. That space now is occupied by the PINNACLE CLUB, which is available for private parties of up to 250. When the steakhouse opens, the adjacent Pinnacle Club will operate as a lounge, offering patrons pre- and post-dinner cocktails.
Question: What, if anything, is Springfield missing from its social scene?
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