Interest is very high among Illinois residents who are considering obtaining civil unions after the new state law goes into effect on June 1. From Carbondale to Chicago, from Rockford to Rock Island, more than 1,000 people throughout Illinois have attended recent forums to learn how to take advantage of the new right for same-sex and different-sex couples.
“We have been fighting for this on the political front for years. Now that civil unions are almost a reality, this level of enthusiasm demonstrates this was not a symbolic battle but something that deeply impacted couples who are sharing their lives together yet lack legal protections that civil unions will provide,” said Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois.
* The Question: Do you know of anyone who is planning to have a civil union ceremony?
* There was much drama and wringing of hands over Rod Blagojevich’s reported decision to call some high profile witnesses to the stand in his own defense. The AP, for instance, ran a story entitled “Blago witnesses may be too risky“…
In deciding whether to call Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel or other big names to testify, attorneys for ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich have treaded carefully because they know that such high-profile witnesses can backfire. […]
Among the names tossed around as possible defense witnesses is also U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Both he and Emanuel have been under subpoena in the case since before Blagojevich’s first trial last year.
“All these witnesses can end up hurting you far more than they can help,” said Phil Turner, a former federal prosecutor in Chicago. “They’re land mines. You’ve got to be really, really careful.”
After weeks of crowds far smaller than during Blagojevich’s first trial last year, there was a crush of people trying to get into the downtown Chicago courthouse Wednesday morning.
Long lines with dozens of people waiting to get in snaked through the lobby. Many people asked reporters if anyone had seen Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who’s expected to be called to testify.
* But spectators may have been disappointed. Congressman Jackson was on the stand for about 20 minutes today…
Under oath, Jackson says “No I did not” direct or order anyone to offer Rod Blagojevich fund-raising in exchange for appointing him senator.
“I never directed anyone to raise money for another politician in my life, other than myself, in 16 years,” Jackson testified.
Jackson sported an angry, vengeful look when he repeatedly snapped his fingers, mocking Rod Blagojevich’s Elvis routine.
Blagojevich flushed, shaking his head, looking amazed. He smiled slightly, shaking his head. He looks uncomfortable, shifting in his chair, mouth agape.
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says his wife didn’t get a promised appointment to head the Illinois lottery after Jackson refused to give former Gov. Rod Blagojevich a $25,000 campaign donation.
Prosecutors have used Jackson’s testimony at Blagojevich’s retrial on corruption charges to demonstrate that the former governor was not above exchanging jobs for campaign cash.
Jackson said under cross-examination Wednesday that he met with Blagojevich in 2003 after someone else was appointed to the lottery job. Jackson says Blagojevich snapped his fingers and said, “You should have given me that $25,000.”
Jackson says Blagojevich made the comment while mimicking his idol Elvis’ voice. And Jackson himself put on a low, Elvis-like voice as he explained the conversation with Blagojevich.
* Mayor Emanuel’s testimony wasn’t all that enlightening, either, and even more brief…
After testifying that no one ever asked him for anything in exchange for his request to get Valerie Jarrett appointed senator, Emanuel was dismissed as a witness. Prosecutors asked no questions.
“The government has established through its case-in-chief that the purported conversations to which its witnesses testified amount to nothing more than ‘hot air,’” defense lawyers state in the motion.
The filing adds that the “parade of government witnesses” didn’t prove any crime and that “ideas bounced around” in wiretaps were just that — ideas..
“…The very most that could be found is that the government may have put in evidence of an attempt to attempt,” the filing stated. “That is not a crime.”
And Springfield will borrow. And the warning bells are ringing off the wall.
“This is historic, it is epic,” said Laurence Msall, president of the non-partisan Civic Federation research group. “It is impossible to overstate the level of peril.”
“I don’t doubt that when the Republicans have the majority, we’ll be screaming that they’re not being transparent enough and not involving people enough,” she said. “That’s the way it always works.”
The proposed redistricting map is especially brutal to Sen. Kyle McCarter, who has been a thorn in the side of the Democrats since he was appointed to replace Sen. Frank Watson and won election on his own in November.
The Democrats knocked McCarter completely out of the 51st District in the proposed map. The new map means he will no longer live in the district.
That leaves the 51st District open for a new senator and, as indicated a few paragraphs ago Rep. Chapin Rose has already an-nounced he’s going to make a run for it
McCarter was drawn into the same district as Sen. Dave Luechtefeld. His options appear limited.
* Sen. Mike Jacobs (D-East Moline) dismisses concerns about rate hikes to fund ComEd’s plan to modernize its grid and tells the attorney general, who opposes the plan, to mind her own business…
“If consumers want something to work they’ve gotta pay for it… There’s nothing for free. My cable billl went up $10 a month last month. Nobody asked me if they could raise it. But, here, the attorney general, who doesn’t even have a vote in this body, is determing how I could vote or what I should do. No! If you want to have a vote in this General Assembly run for the office.”
* Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-Northbrook), correctly explains why new power plants are needed in Illinois…
“In the next several years, some of the coal-fired power plants will be coming off line because of some new federal regulations,” Nekritz said. “In Illinois, we are going to need some new baseload power. One of the ways we can do that is through clean coal.”
* Health and Family Services director Julie Hamos on government employee and retiree worries about what will happen after the state switches health insurance providers…
“This is what’s happening every day in the private marketplace,” Hamos said.
*** UPDATE *** The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability adopted a resolution this afternoon knocking down the Quinn administration’s attempt to switch insurance carriers. But Health and Family Services points to a recent attorney general decision to claim that the vote meant nothing…
“HFS will continue the process of contracting with the winning bidders… Solano said.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
…New name, but the same game.
ComEd has developed a new tactic to urge passage of their automatic rate hikes legislation – just give it a different name. ComEd claims that Senate Bill 1652 is better and addresses many of the concerns raised about House Bill 14. But the new bill is still bad news for Illinois consumers and businesses.
Senate Bill 1652 ensures higher utility company profits – at the expense of consumers - by guaranteeing a return on equity of over 10%. The formula rate proposed in the bill still mean that customers will face nearly automatic rate increases for six years. ComEd claims the new bill includes higher performance standards related to reliability, customer service and job creation. ComEd setting their own performance standards is much like the wolf guarding the hen house.
The bottom line is that ComEd is still attempting to use Illinois law to subsidize their corporate profit margins. AARP is opposed to Senate Bill 1652 and urges lawmakers to reject the bill.
Don’t be fooled by the new name, Senate Bill 1652 is still a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
* Counting today, there are seven more days in the scheduled spring session. That milestone always makes me think of Ronnie Wood’s cover of a fine Dylan tune…
All I gotta do is survive
Besides the obvious (budget, remap, workers’ comp, etc.), what would you like to see accomplished before next Tuesday’s scheduled adjournment?
* Rep. Lou Lang is quite good at putting together solid, complicated, controversial bills. He’s not quite as good at actually passing them…
Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, formally began his yearly push for a major gambling expansion but acknowledged he’s not sure he has the votes to pass it.
The latest version, which could be heard this week, would put casinos in Chicago, Danville, Rockford, northern Lake County and a yet-to-be-determined location in the south suburbs. Existing casinos would be allowed to expand gambling positions and horse racing tracks would be allowed to operate slot machines. Slots also would be installed at O’Hare International and Midway airports, and a new “racino” would be built at the state fairgrounds in Springfield.
“I can’t tell you today whether I have 60 votes to pass this bill,” said Lang. “But I can tell you it’s the right thing to do.”
Mayor Mike Houston said he supports having horse racing and slot machines in Springfield.
“Anything that would promote the use of the fairgrounds and generate revenue and excitement is certainly something that would be good for the city of Springfield,” Houston said. […]
“The money would go to the fairgrounds, help 4H, FFA, go to funding infrastructure for the fairgrounds,” Poe said last week. Fairgrounds maintenance funding has been cut in budget proposals passed by both the House and Senate this year. […]
“It would help save the horse industry in Illinois (if gambling expansion passes),” Poe said. “Right now, they’re all moving out, for the fact that the purses (money paid to owners and winners) have all gone away.”
It’s not a new proposal, but year-round gaming would most certainly change the character of the fairgrounds.
Opponents have argued that both the casino and horse racing industries in Illinois have seen clear declines in recent years, so adding more gambling competition could only hurt existing casinos.
And while some lawmakers could be convinced to support parts of a gambling package — slots at Arlington Park for example — a proposal that includes so many new wagering options often draws opposition.
Rep. Tom Morrison, a Palatine Republican whose district includes Arlington Park, said he isn’t sure he’d support slots at racetracks but said he’s sure he wouldn’t support a proposal as big as Lang’s.
“I do not support a massive increase of gambling in Illinois,” he said.
Former state Rep. Bob Molaro, who represents the horse-racing industry, said Lang’s bill has a 50-50 chance of passing, because “the time is now,” and Illinois needs that extra influx of revenue.
“You’re talking about an extra $400 (million) to $500 million just from (a) Chicago (casino) going to the state treasury, education or debt relief — and that’s something that we can’t pass up,” Molaro said.
With the current legislative session six days from its scheduled conclusion and the various sides in this issue — business, trial lawyers, organized labor and the medical community — deadlocked, it’s looking more and more like lawmakers could vote to abolish the entire workers’ compensation system rather than crafting reforms.
Abolishing the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and forcing all workplace injury claims into the already crowded Illinois court system sounds like a terrible idea to us. But not any more terrible than a system that freely pays out millions of taxpayer dollars to prison guards who claim injury from operating prison locks. If the parties most affected by the workers’ comp system aren’t willing to compromise, as appears to be the case, the so-called “nuclear option” might be the only alternative.
As shown by the Department of Corrections case, the state itself may have been the system’s greatest victim.
In April, Gov. Pat Quinn presented a package of reforms to restrict or eliminate monetary awards in some circumstances, reduce the medical fee schedule for injuries by 30 percent (it still would be the highest in the country) and create strict new rules for hiring and reviewing workers’ comp arbitrators. With a Republican-sponsored bill in the Senate containing similar provisions, a compromise appeared within reach. It still should be.
If not, though, we side with Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, who is leading negotiations in the Senate: “If we can’t do it by agreement by all parties, then we’ll do it by the repeal of the act. Maybe people at that point will be inspired to discuss a workers’ compensation act.”
When we heard that House Speaker Michael Madigan is threatening to blow up the Illinois workers’ compensation system we thought, hmmmm, he’s probably not serious but that’s a nifty little attention-grabber.
The more we hear about the stonewalling of work comp reform efforts in Springfield, the more Madigan’s idea is grabbing our attention. We hope he is serious. […]
Meanwhile, the special interests who feed well off of the work comp system are busy trying to run out the clock on the spring legislative session so they can avoid a serious reform effort. Hence Michael Madigan’s threat that, absent reform, he’d move to eliminate the system and throw the comp cases into the courts.
Illinois tried fixing work comp in 2005. The Legislature passed a sham of a bill that failed to relieve the state of its uncompetitive costs: Goodbye, jobs. Hello, fraud. Illinois has some of the highest work comp costs in the nation, far, far above national averages. That’s a huge disincentive for employers who might think about locating in Illinois.
If no agreement is reached, alternative bills would dismantle the century-old workers comp system and send injured workers back to circuit courts. Legislators report some support among their ranks for this approach, but it has real downsides. Workers would have a harder time proving their injuries were work-related and would have to wait years for redress. Employers would face virtually unlimited jury verdicts.
Ending the workers compensation system would uproot a century of reforms. Fixing workers comp once and for all is one deal that needs to get done.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The enhanced legislation…
• Removes the provision that some characterized as an “automatic rate increase.” SB 1652 now calls for the ICC to set rates after an eight-month proceeding where utilities must persuade the ICC and intervening parties that investments are prudent and reasonable.
• Includes stronger performance standards for utilities with penalties if targets are not reached. The more stringent standards include reliability, customer service and job creation goals that hold utilities accountable.
• Lowers utility profit levels to lower than ICC’s latest case and adds ceiling above which profits must be given back to customers.
• Mandates that if the average residential rate increase exceeds 2.5% annually by 2014, the program terminates.
• Sunsets the entire law in 2017 requiring the utilities to reapply to the General Assembly to continue the program.
• Reduces rate spikes by requiring a utility to spread large expenses over five years.
The new bill addresses stakeholder concerns. Other states are on the move, and we need to get moving building the energy infrastructure the 21st century is demanding. The time to act is now.
* Most of you probably don’t know that my maternal grandparents were born and raised in southern Illinois. Grandma was from a farm near Carmi, and Granddad was from a farm near Enfield. Granddad moved his family to Pontiac, but when they were flooded out he started all over on a farm in Milks Grove Township in Iroquois County. Both of my grandparents kept in touch with friends and family back home, so I learned quite a bit about southern Illinois through them.
Anyway, my family’s heritage combined with the fact that my mom was literally swept away by a violent flood in Pontiac when she was a kid (she and her sister were sitting in an old bathtub, but were thankfully rescued) brought back a lot of old memories during the recent flood down ‘yonder. Here’s a short video of what happened to Carmi…
* When I heard about a planned June 4th benefit for flood victims, I immediately volunteered to help. The ad on this page is donated and I’ve contributed to the silent auction. But I’ll also be contributing cash to the cause.
* And that brings me to you. Most of us watched in horror as events overtook Cario and surrounding areas last month. Here’s your opportunity to do something about it.
The “Southern Illinois Together” fundraiser is Saturday, June 4th at the Black Diamond Warehouse in Marion (2400 Black Diamond Drive). Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. They’ll have free food and wine samples, and both a silent and a live auction.
You don’t have to attend to contribute, however. The Poshard Foundation has agreed to accept checks on the benefit’s behalf. If you’re able, please send the most generous donation you can muster to…
Poshard Foundation
700 Logan College Dr.
Carterville, IL 62918
Check memo: Flood Victims
All money raised will go to local organizations which continue to help flood victims. I’m told the Shawnee Development Council, among others, will assist with the determination about who gets what.
* In his Sunday column, Bernie Schoenburg ran a list of about a dozen high-level staffers for Gov. Pat Quinn who live in Chicago or the suburbs including…
* JACK LAVIN, 49, Chicago, chief of staff…
* CRISTAL THOMAS, 35, Chicago, deputy governor…
* DAVID VAUGHT, 63, of Naperville…
He also had a list of seven top staffers who live in the Springfield area.
* The Question: Does it bother you that several members of Gov. Quinn’s stop staff live in Chicago and the suburbs? Take the poll and then fully explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks.
*** UPDATE - 1:48 pm *** I thought you might want to see how the voting is going so far. Green is “Yes” and Red is “No,” with 342 votes cast as I write this…
As you can see, this story bothers everybody who’s voted in the Springfield area.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Modernizing Illinois’ electric grid will require thousands of workers. That’s why HB 14 directs ComEd to invest $10 million in skills training centers.
The centers will be a key part of a three-year program for overhead linemen, underground workers and substation mechanics that will include classroom work, pole-climbing and setting, wire stringing, cable splicing and high voltage transformer installation training. By the end of 2010, ComEd expects to build a LEED-certified facility in Chicago and a smaller facility in Rockford to train new and current employees.
In addition to preparing ComEd’s work force for the future, the training program will create jobs at time when they are needed most. With a new Mobile Qualification Center that travels to different locations, ComEd would offer opportunities for members of the community to apply and train for well-paying jobs. An open enrollment would be held and candidates would undertake a seven-day period of preparation and qualification testing.
Building a 21st century grid for Illinois is important work. The training program outlined in HB 14 is part of ComEd’s commitment to get the job done right.
* In addition to the really big stuff, several “smaller” bills are moving through the legislative process, including this one…
House Bill 180 would require anyone picketing a funeral to be at least 300 feet away from the funeral site, instead of 200 feet.
“We need to protect those folks who are spending their last few minutes with a loved one,” said the House sponsor, Rep. Kay Hatcher, R-Yorkville.
Hatcher’s measure was suggested to her by a sociology class at Northern Illinois University.
“Illinois has the lowest yards and time restrictions for protesting,” said Gayle Deja-Schultz, 41, of Sugar Grove, who talked to Hatcher on behalf of the class.
The Illinois House on Monday approved a measure that would allow vendors to prepare foods in their home kitchens on a 97-18 vote and heads to Gov. Pat Quinn for his consideration. It previously cleared the Senate earlier this month on a 42-6 vote.
Supporters say the proposal will reduce food prices at farmers markets, encourage entrepreneurship and increase the markets’ popularity.
“We want to keep farmers markets available for the smaller growers and farmers and for those folks involved in a more unique style of agriculture,” said Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), the bill’s sponsor. “This is an emerging area within the state, and we should do everything we can to encourage it.” […]
Opponents, including the Illinois Municipal League, meanwhile worry the plan, if signed into law, could lead to an outbreak of food-borne illnesses. They also say it strips municipalities of their authority.
Illinois lawmakers have approved two bills designed to keep closer tabs on potentially dangerous criminals in the state.
One bill, which has passed the Illinois House, would require people convicted of first-degree murder to register with the state. […]
The State Senate also approved the bill, but, because of a clerical error, senators will have to vote on it again before sending it to Governor Pat Quinn for approval.
Another bill, which has been approved by both houses, would expand the state’s DNA database by requiring police to take DNA samples from people arrested for some violent crimes and sex crimes, even if those people have not been convicted.
After the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board denied Illinois’ Cook County from transforming its Oak Forest (Ill.) Hospital into an outpatient clinic, officials are now trying to make the hospital exempt from the board’s further review, according to a Chicago Tribune report.
Illinois’ Cook County officials are trying to exempt Oak Forest Hospital from review by the state Health Facilities and Services Review Board, according to the report. […]
County officials had hoped to close Oak Forest on June 1, and began reducing operations and giving notice to staff. After the board’s denial, which stunned county officials, the hospital suspended surgeries due to the retirement of its single anesthesiologist.
The proposed legislation is sponsored by House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago. Cook is the only county in the state where it would apply.
* But they all need to keep their eyes on the most important ball: Jobs…
After 60 years building dry fertilizer handling equipment in Quincy - Doyle Manufacturing is moving across the river [to Missouri].
Doyle is building a 210 thousand square foot facility just north of Palmyra on Highway 61 making a total capitol investment of 9 million dollars.
In announcing the move at ground breaking ceremonies Friday afternoon - Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said the effort to bring Doyle to the Show Me State has been going on for a while. […]
[Missouri] also authorized a $1.5 million incentive package and contributed to infrastructure improvements at the site.
* Obviously, this rate hike info is not a positive news story for ComEd as it attempts to pass a bill which critics contend would also raise consumer rates…
The Illinois Commerce Commission is set to rule Tuesday on a request by Commonwealth Edison Co. to hike electricity rates by as much as 6%.
An administrative law judge for the ICC is recommending granting ComEd a $166-million increase in the rates it charges to deliver electricity to Northern Illinois homes and businesses, or roughly 3%. That’s about half ComEd’s revised request of $326 million but substantially above the $103 million recommended by the ICC staff.
The commission must rule on ComEd’s request by May 24.
ComEd initially asked for a $396-million rate hike when it filed its proposal with the ICC last June. That would have increased the average household electric bill 7%, the utility said then.
The Illinois Commerce Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved a rate hike for Commonwealth Edison Co. with some last-minute amendments that will somewhat reduce the $166 million increase proposed by an administrative law judge last month.
The administrative judge allowed ComEd a roughly 3% increase in the rates the utility charges to deliver electricity to Northern Illinois homes and businesses. That was about half ComEd’s revised request of $326 million but substantially above the $103 million recommended by the ICC staff.
The plan is gaining traction after months of contentious negotiations and a big-dollar advertising campaign, and it’s expected to be fought over this week in the Capitol.
Mostly gone would be meter readers, eventually replaced by electronic devices that upload information directly to ComEd and let customers see how much power they’re using. People then would have a choice: Stay on a flat rate and look for ways to use less power, or switch to real-time pricing and decide to run the dishwasher when the cost of electricity is lowest to save money.
Such progress, however, carries a price tag, and consumers would see a series of increases on their bills to help pay for it. ComEd says a customer who’s now paying $82 a month for electricity would have to cough up $3 per month more for 10 years to pay for the smart-grid conversion. […]
House Speaker Michael Madigan, the attorney general’s father, has expressed concerns about the Illinois Commerce Commission’s treatment of ComEd, given that he believes the company can “make a decent case for what they have proposed,” a spokesman said Monday.
That last sentence, of course, is the most important. The Speaker and the AG are on the opposite side of an issue. That’s not completely unheard of, but it’s rare enough to point out.
* In other “big stuff” news, the SJ-R reports that workers’ comp negotiations have hit yet another snag…
Workers’ compensation reform negotiations were on the rocks again Monday in the Illinois General Assembly, and a key senator said lawmakers will move Wednesday to abolish the system if the talks are not resurrected.
“I think it’s true to say that the effort has derailed again,” Illinois Chamber of Commerce President Doug Whitley said. “I don’t think it’s over.”
Whitley said he sees three possibilities with only eight days left in the spring legislative session: the legislature does nothing; the parties involved resume talks; or House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, calls for a vote a bill that would do away with Illinois’ current system of compensating people for on-the-job injuries.
But Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, the Senate’s lead negotiator on workers’ compensation reform, said there are only two options: A bill agreed to by all the various interest groups, or abolition of the system.
A state agency has hired a prestigious Chicago law firm at taxpayers’ expense to assist in its appeal of an attorney general’s order to release information related to millions of dollars in settlements paid to Menard prison guards for injuries they say were caused by operating heavy cell locking mechanisms.
The state Central Management Services, which processes Illinois’ Workers’ Compensation claims, filed suit Monday in Cook County Circuit Court seeking to deny a request for the records from the Belleville News-Democrat, contending the agency is an insurance pool and therefore allowed to withhold the information as proprietary.
Also on Monday, state Rep. Dwight Kay, R-Glen Carbon, introduced House Resolution 405 in an effort to get the legislature to order CMS to turn over the records.
“CMS is not authorized to play by its own rules and make their own laws as they so choose,” Kay said. “This is all monkey business. This is simply foot-dragging and they are trying to say it is OK.”
The much-anticipated legislation that could cut pension benefits for public employees, including participants in the TRS and SURS systems, has been delayed once again.
Senate Bill 512 is the vehicle bill that is expected to contain proposals to reduce pension benefits for public employees covered by the five state-funded retirement systems.
Before the bill can be voted on in the Illinois House, it must be amended, with the pension language inserted, and then must be approved by the House Personnel and Pensions Committee.
Under the House rules, the committee vote can’t occur until 24 hours have passed since a bill was amended. Since SB 512 was not amended today, the bill cannot come before the Committee until at least Wednesday, and then, only if it is amended on Tuesday.
The unveiling of the pension bill has been considered imminent for more than a week. The repeated delays in the amending of the bill speak volumes about the lack of enthusiasm many House members have for cutting pension benefits for current public employees.
The Illinois House [yesterday] sent to the governor’s desk a bill designed to protect small craft brewers’ ability to enter the market.
The measure, approved 112-0, would allow certain small Illinois brewers to distribute half of their own beer.
In most states, the alcohol business is composed of three “tiers”: a manufacturer, a retailer, and a distributor. The system, put in place at the end of Prohibition, was designed to ensure a properly regulated market.
Small craft brewers have argued that it’s difficult to attract distributors with an unknown product and, therefore, it’s necessary to peddle them to bars and liquor stores directly and gradually establish a following. Anheuser-Busch, however, has argued that it’s discriminatory to allow in-state brewers to self-distribute when out-of-state brewers are not granted the same privilege
*** UPDATE 1 *** Oops. Forgot to post this one. Yesterday during a committee testimony, it was revealed that Health Alliance and Humana were instructed to remove contact information from their websites. The pages urged customers to contact Gov. Quinn and state legislators about the governor’s decision to change insurers for government employees and retirees. Republican Sen. Dale Righter had this to say…
“I am stunned and deeply disappointed that the Governor’s office would urge anyone to pull information off of a Web site containing the contact information for public officials on an issue as critical as this,” said Righter. “For an administration that touts transparency and openness, the message they sent through these actions is unbelievable.”
Earlier this year, Governor Quinn and Julie Hamos, Director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, HFS, announced that state employees and retirees would no longer have access to Health Alliance or Humana as health insurance providers. Neither the Governor nor the Director, nor any of their representatives chose to appear for the May 23 hearing.
“The fact that it was during the hearing that we first learned of this maneuver to keep information from the public makes it easier to understand why no representatives from Governor Quinn’s office nor the Department of Healthcare and Family Services thought it necessary to attend Monday’s hearing,” explained Righter.
Sen. Righter and Sen. Bill Brady then led an impromptu “march” to the governor’s office to protest the order.
DHFS spokeswoman Stacey Solano said the department did ask for some information to be removed. People who click on the benefits choice website can link to various insurance vendors and their state of Illinois plans. By contract, she said, the state must approve information that appears there.
“That site was built for the state and is what we have control over,” Solano said.
When people attempted to get to the Illinois information, she said, material was instead posted about the insurance dispute.
“Members had to filter through all of that before gaining access to their plan,” Solano said. “According to contracts with our vendors, the state must approve all communications to our members. The state did request vendors to remove references to the award and or protest linked to the state website, as it wasn’t approved and prevented members from being able to directly access their health plans.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** The governor’s office just called to say that Blue Cross was also asked to take down its pop-up window that introduced itself to its new customers.
* Sears CFO Collins quits: Michael Collins, Sears Holdings Corp.’s chief financial officer, has left the company “to pursue another opportunity,” according to a regulatory filing filed today… Mr. Collins’ resignation came one day after Sears reported a wider quarterly loss than expected.
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford threatened Monday to short circuit attempts by Illinois lawmakers to borrow money to pay down a massive backlog of bills.
Rutherford, a Republican in his first term, said he doesn’t have the constitutional power to stop a long-term borrowing plan favored by Gov. Pat Quinn and some Democrats in the House and Senate, but he said he’d call bond houses and financial rating firms to outline how deep the state is in debt in an attempt to derail them from lending the state money.
“If I need to send letters to the rating companies to tell them the treasurer of Illinois is opposed to more borrowing, I’m going to do that,” Rutherford said. “We need to cut our spending and break our unsustainable borrowing cycle before we realize a further financial disaster.”
* His statements were actually even harsher than that. Watch the video…
* Quotes…
“My position is you can’t borrow any more money… And if it means I have to get ahold of the bond houses and let them know that I agree with you, that we are a major risk, and I’m the finance officer of this state, I intend to do those kind things if that’s what it’s going to take to keep Illinois from going into further debt.”
* Rutherford’s press conference came after I told subscribers yesterday that the Senate was preparing to vote on four different bills to borrow more than $6 billion over seven years. Democratic Sen. John Sullivan is the sponsor of those bills…
(L)awmakers are maneuvering to pass a measure through the General Assembly that would bypass any authority Rutherford has.
“I don’t have a vote on (the Senate plan),” said Rutherford. “If it’s long term, I can’t stop it.”
State Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, said Republican and Democratic lawmakers must approve any borrowing, and Rutherford’s approach to handling Illinois’ massive pile of unpaid bills bothers him.
“Right now we’re using school districts, universities, private companies and health-care providers — we’re using them as our credit card,” said Sullivan. “They’re carrying that debt for us.”
Sullivan said he agrees with the treasurer that Illinois does not need to take on any new debt, but paying off old bills is taking care of old debt.
“To say that this backlog of these unpaid bills the state has should not be included in [Rutherford’s] statement, that seems to not make any sense whatsover… To make the statement that he is going to call the bonding companies and discourage them from doing business with the state of Illinois to drive up the cost of borrowing just seems very counterproductive… He’s making the point that it costs more to [borrow] and on the same hand he’s taking steps… he’s going to drive up that interest cost even more. Instead of working with us, it’s like he’s working against us.”
