* I had more details about payment rates for several pension systems for subscribers this morning, but the SJ-R has a story up about what it will cost teachers to stay in the current “Tier One” pension system under the new reform bill. Employees will have an option to pay the new, higher percentage, move to last year’s “Tier Two” system (lower benefits, higher retirement age) or go to a 401(k)…
What’s unclear is how much more employees themselves would have to pay. Lawmakers are waiting to hear from actuaries with the state’s retirement systems and those in the city of Chicago and Cook County before the bill’s language is finalized, said McCarthy said.
“That’s how they’ve (legislators) got to make the decision on the vote,” McCarthy said. “It’s not going to be an easy vote for any member of the General Assembly.”
However, the price of staying in the current system will not be as steep as originally thought. For teachers, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has estimated their contribution to their own pensions would be 13.77 percent of their salary instead of the current 9.4 percent in order to keep their current benefits going forward, McCarthy said. Some teachers had believed they would have to contribute as much as 20 percent of their salaries.
“I think if we can keep it at 13, 14 percent, a good majority will stay in Tier 1,” he said. “Most of the people that talked to me in my office — they thought a more reasonable thing like that, they could understand that. I think they’re cognizant of what a wonderful benefit they have.”
That 13.77 rate pays the actual cost of the pension system when you factor in the state’s additional contribution. The unions will undoubtedly sue to block this if it becomes law.
Thoughts on this?
* Roundup…
* Madigan: Workers’ comp system ‘ought to be changed’: House Speaker Michael Madigan threatened to move forward with a plan that would gut the 99-year-old workman’s compensation system in Illinois if ongoing negotiations over reforming the system prove fruitless. The alternative plan, sponsored by Rep. John Bradley (D-Marion), would essentially blow up the current workman’s compensation system and require decisions on how much a worker should receive for injuries on the job to be made by the courts as opposed to a state board.
* States go all out with tax incentives, deals to hook firms - Critics say states, in push to attract businesses, often do more harm than good, with few jobs created and money wasted
* State shift in patient-care programs leaves Chicagoans without coverage: The Quinn administration next month is ending a statewide program touted for its savings for Medicaid patients with chronic diseases. It will be replaced with a larger, more expensive pilot program that covers the Chicago suburbs but excludes thousands of residents in the city and the rest of the state.
* Competing budgets at the Capitol: “I don’t expect that this budget will be the final spending plan. This is a budget that has been adopted by one chamber. This is a two-chamber legislature with the governor,” said Madigan. “(Senate President John) Cullerton and I met with the governor yesterday, and we reiterated our position that is now about 4 months old that we want to work with the governor, with the budget office, and we want them to tell us where there should be changes in these budget bills.”
“Today, more than any other time in our history, more than any other place in our country, the city of Chicago is ready for change,” Emanuel said after welcoming the dignitaries and the crowd.“
About 4:45 p.m. Friday, as a crowd gathered to watch Daley say goodbye to City Hall, Janusz Kopycinski, 30, allegedly yelled “F - - - the mayor,’’ police said.
Kopycinski ran, followed by police officers. As he was being arrested, a male officer was grazed by a moving CTA bus, police said.
So, we’re no longer allowed to shout a fairly common obscenity at politicians without the threat of arrest? Really?
Monday’s event was billed as an “open house,” but reporters were barred from the mayor’s office. And even though there was a photo op of the handshaking, the Chicago Sun-Times, which has broken scores of stories on corruption and contract cronyism during the Daley years, was specifically excluded.
I’m glad there’s no pettiness left in Rich Daley’s soul now that he’s leaving. Sheesh.
* My weekly, syndicated newspaper column looks at The Troubles…
With the economy the way it is, just about every state in the country is frantically scrambling to keep their local corporations from leaving or attracting new jobs by doling out huge government incentives.
Illinois, of course, is a special case, which means it’ll probably cost us lots more to keep and attract jobs than just about any other state.
Our years-long political civil war between former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and House Speaker Mike Madigan during the worst international economic crisis since the Great Depression saddled the state with migraines for years to come. No problems were solved or even addressed while everything was collapsing around them during their fight to the death. By the time Blagojevich was finally arrested, impeached and removed from office, the state found itself with a $9 billion hole in its budget.
Blagojevich’s criminal reputation and our horrific financial problems have made us a national laughingstock. The recent income tax hike passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn prompted other governors to openly deride us and publicly (and privately) goad our employers into leaving.
Our extremely high workers’ compensation costs (2nd in the nation) were treated to a nasty media spotlight with the uncovering of a workers’ compensation scandal at a state prison. Hundreds of state workers filed for and received big workers’ comp checks because, they claimed, turning heavy cell-door keys gave them carpal tunnel syndrome. Even worse, the state didn’t attempt to find out if most of those workers had filed valid complaints. The howls of derisive laughter could be heard far and wide.
We’re such a popular punching bag that Missouri actually appealed a lawsuit all the way up to the United States Supreme Court to insist that protecting some of its farmland in a federally designated Mississippi River flood zone was infinitely more important than the 80-year-old Army Corps of Engineers plan to save Illinois towns along the river from drowning. The delay caused by that lawsuit may have resulted in the severe flooding of at least one southern Illinois town.
So, when Motorola Mobility said it might move away, it got $100 million in state tax credits. Gov. Pat Quinn claimed afterward that the company had to pledge to invest $500 million in research and development, but that investment was apparently the company’s plan all along, no matter where it went.
Groupon, the fastest growing company in America last year, barely had to glance at other states and got $3.5 million in pledged tax credits from Gov. Quinn.
Caterpillar’s CEO sent a letter to the governor revealing that the company was being recruited to move to another state. That caused the entire establishment to suffer a collective nervous breakdown, and the media, of course, had a field day. Never mind that the CEO later said he had no intention of moving and wanted to work to make his state a better place to do business. The media’s theme was firmly established, so it was just too easy to just write stories and columns about Illinois’ impending doom.
The latest threat to move elsewhere is from Sears.
Twenty-one years ago the company was loaded up with millions in state and local tax incentives to stay in Illinois. But those incentives are expiring next year and the struggling, aging behemoth has its hand out yet again.
If Illinois doesn’t pay up, Sears could move its headquarters away, taking 6,000 direct jobs with it and costing us thousands more jobs via suppliers, contractors and businesses which rely on Sears employees for their livelihoods. The economic and tax implications would be huge. So, since it would cost far more to let Sears leave than to keep it around, expect a juicy deal to be put on the table.
Face it, we’ve made our own bed here and now we’re being held hostage and there’s almost nothing we can do about it except to try to cut the best deals possible.
It’s distasteful as all get-out, but we’re basically left with no good choices. And the more deals we cut, the more deals we’ll have to cut. Until we can overcome our serious, long-standing problems, we’re at their mercy — and corporate CEOs are not generally known to have an abundance of that human quality.
Every now and then, I find myself privately rooting for and against both sides of a bill at the same time. I’m doing it again.
Two sides in Springfield are fighting over a rather unseemly and rapidly growing pile of auction fees created by the foreclosure crisis.
That’s a heckuva way to make a buck. Auctioning off what used to be somebody’s home and collecting a sweet little fee.
But, I suppose, somebody has to do it. You can’t leave foreclosed homes empty forever. They can become a blight on neighborhoods. The companies holding the mortgages often don’t take care of them and they crumble or are vandalized, or the yards aren’t maintained, or drug dealers or other criminals squat in them, or all of the above.
State law has long allowed private companies to conduct foreclosure auctions. The auctioneers appear to make a fairly decent living off of the business, particularly now that people are being kicked out of their homes at a record pace.
Counties, like pretty much every government everywhere, watched in horror as their tax revenues plummeted during the Great Recession. One of the very few growth areas was foreclosure auction fees.
But the sheriffs collect those fees only if they host the auctions. So some counties are either not allowing the private foreclosure auctioneers to do business or they are pushing judges hard to steer the auction dollars to sheriffs.
The private companies say they can handle the auctions faster and cheaper. The sheriffs say quicker auctions means impoverished, stressed-out homeowners are booted from their homes a lot sooner. That’s a very good point, and it’s one reason I’m so conflicted about this bill. On the other hand are all those abandoned homes, which, by the way, the sheriffs also have to worry about.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office claims there were serious problems with private auctions, so it was forced to set up a system to address the complaints. However, under questioning at a Senate committee hearing, a sheriff’s staffer said she had heard only rumors and couldn’t substantiate — or even list — any actual homeowner complaints.
So, yeah. It’s probably all about the money.
Want more proof? The Senate’s sponsor offered an amendment to give the sheriffs $200 for each foreclosure auction handled by a private company. Two big counties Cook and Will, quickly switched from “opposed” to “neutral.” Getting something for doing nothing ain’t bad at all. But it costs very little to hold a sheriff’s auction. And the markup is so high that not everybody wanted to give up all that blessed cash.
Of course, some banks complained about the added cost of kicking $200 to the sheriffs, so the amendment hasn’t yet been officially adopted.
The bill requires judges to follow the wishes of the foreclosure plaintiffs, meaning the banks or other mortgage holders. Because the private auction companies say they are cheaper and faster, they think that gives them an edge. Opponents say cutting out the views of the defendants — the people who are being kicked out of their homes — is illegal and downright wrong.
Again, a good point. But I’d be more sympathetic if this fight between vultures didn’t make my skin crawl.
* When I saw the LA Times report about Pabst Brewing Co. moving its Woodridge, IL headquarters to Los Angeles, the first question that came to my mind was whether Attorney General Lisa Madigan might have run the company off. From the LA Times story…
The company, purchased last year for about $250 million by billionaire investor C. Dean Metropoulos, declined to comment about the reasons behind the move or how many local jobs it might create. Pabst spokesman Mark Semer said that Metropoulos’ two sons, Daren and Evan, both live in Los Angeles and run the company with their father, who lives in Greenwich, Conn. […]
The Metropoulos brothers introduced a new label last month called Blast by Colt 45 and signed rapper Snoop Dogg as a brand ambassador. Blast, a fruit-flavored malt beverage, has drawn the ire of attorneys general from more than a dozen states for its high alcohol content and youth-oriented advertising. Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan has called the drink “binge-in-a-can.” [Emphasis added.]
“Alcohol abuse among young people is a serious and alarming epidemic,” Attorney General Madigan said. “A product like this only serves to glamorize alcohol abuse and promote binge drinking, threatening the safety of those consuming it.”
The Attorneys General’s letter, joined by 17 other state, city and territory officials, details concerns over Blast, which amounts to a “binge-in-a-can.” The 12-percent alcohol concentration of Blast means a single 23.5 ounce container is equivalent to drinking an entire six-pack of typical American beer. Madigan said the promotion and marketing of Blast appeals to minors, with its brightly colored cans and fruit flavors and a marketing campaign featuring hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg.
Blast is only meant to be consumed by those above legal drinking age and does not contain caffeine. As with all Pabst products, our marketing efforts for Blast are focused on conveying the message of drinking responsibly. To that end, the alcohol content of Blast is clearly marked on its packaging, we are encouraging consumers to consider mixing Blast with other beverages or enjoy it over ice, and we are offering a special 7 ounce bottle for those who prefer a smaller quantity, among other important initiatives.
‘’According to Village sources, the owners of Pabst wanted to relocate their corporate headquarters to where they live in California. Pabst last reported to the Village that they have 26 employees at their Woodridge office and that they occupy 12,000 sq. ft. Pabst relocated to Woodridge from San Antonio in 2006, and the Village did not provide any incentives for them to relocate.”
“The Midwest has always been home for Pabst Brewing Company, so we are excited to be re-establishing roots in Chicago and Illinois, where we plan to be for years to come. I thank Gov. Blagojevich and his team for facilitating this move and for the critical support to bring us here,” said Kevin Kotecki, CEO of Pabst Brewing Company.
No word yet on whether we’ll get any of that money back.
* From a memo sent to employees last Wednesday by John Cochrac, Pabst’s new CEO…
After much contemplation and several thorough reviews of the current Pabst’ corporate structure and capabilities, I have decided that we will be moving the headquarters to Los Angeles this summer and closing the Woodridge office. As we build a strong leadership team, it is imperative that we are all together and in one location. This is not an easy decision and we have a wonderful group of employees in Woodridge but I believe it is what is best for Pabst.
The only difference was that California’s attorney general did not issue a press release blasting the strange brew, as Madigan did. I also couldn’t find a story online where AG Harris had been quoted about the product.
So, I suppose Madigan’s eagerness to publicize her involvement might’ve had some impact, but you’d think that if the company wanted to move to a state with a friendly attorney general, it would’ve gone somewhere besides California. Instead, this was almost undoubtedly about moving the company close to the owner’s Hollywood trust fund babies, one of whom just bought Hugh Hefner’s LA mansion for $18 million in cash…
The boys also helped the champagne brand, Perrier Jouet, another Metropoulos brand, become featured in Snoop Dog and Limp Bizkit concerts, their father said.
* And these are the two Hollywood kids responsible for yanking their new toy out of Illinois. Dean with Snoop…
Daren with Warren G…
* Even so, the Illinois Republican Party still thinks somebody here is to blame. From its Facebook page…
If Pat Quinn can’t keep Pabst in IL, maybe Illinois Republicans can! Join us at 4PM [Friday] at Villain’s Bar & Grill, 649 S. Clark St., Chicago. A generous donor will buy the first 25 Pabst Blue Ribbon beers for patrons of the bar after 4:00 PM. to show support for Pabst, despite our high taxes from Pat Quinn.
* The House passed the human services appropriations bill today, which cuts hundreds of millions of dollars from this year’s spending. The vote was 83-25-2.
The House has now finished passing its budget bills, and Speaker Madigan congratulated his chamber this afternoon for taking on the very difficult task of handling these budget cuts on their own, without the usual end-of-session, back-room negotiations between the leaders and the governor. As Madigan pointed out, this is the first time a budget has been crafted by the approp committees since 1991. Before that, one chamber would handle half the budget and the other chamber would take on the rest. Watch…
As I write this, the Senate is voting on its approp bills as well. No Republicans are voting for the bills, complaining that the legislation hasn’t been heard in committee. They make a valid point, but it’s not like they were going to vote “Yes” anyway.
* The Question: Do you think Speaker Madigan is training his members to act on their own because he might be planning to retire? Or, do you think Madigan is doing it this way for the first time ever because he knew he couldn’t negotiate a spending-cut budget with Gov. Quinn and President Cullerton and then convince his more liberal members to accept it? Or is it something else? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
*** UPDATE *** Sorry. I screwed up the code and had to dump the poll. You may also have to clear your browser cache because when I did the new poll, I kinda screwed it up as well. Sheesh. Friday the 13th. Vote again, please…
* All of this site’s current advertisers are stirring things up in Illinois. For instance, I received this same robocall the other day, which offers to connect you to your state legislator…
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, is among those targeted by the phone campaign. His office has been flooded with about 100 calls a day this week from people who were contacted by a group called “Illinois Is Broke.”
Brady said some people believe he’s the one initiating the calls.
“They think this is coming from my office. It’s not,” Brady said. “I have nothing to do with it. They are extremely misleading.” […]
Like Brady, state Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said his office phones have been clogged by callers on both sides of the pension question.
“They are running people scared,” Bost said. “This is pretty extreme stuff.”
In Illinois, where pensions have been underfunded for decades, Democratic House Speaker Michael J. Madigan says it’s time to consider cutting benefits. Senate President John Cullerton, also a Democrat, is backing a bill to make retirees pay a bigger share of premiums for health care and to force school districts to shoulder more of the teacher-retirement costs. Republican Governor Pat Quinn has said that he would prefer negotiating with unions to win concessions, but has not threatened to veto legislation to cut benefits. Lawmakers may act before the legislative session ends on May 31. “We paid our share for the pension, and the politicians did not put in their fair share,” says Kathy Reno, 55, a certified nurse’s aide at the state-run LaSalle Veterans Home, who makes about $38,000 a year. “Why should we be punished for something they didn’t do?”
To fight the proposed changes, a coalition of public and private labor groups called We Are One Illinois has launched a $1 million ad campaign. “All I have is the pension I paid for,” says one voice in a 30-second spot featuring a firefighter, teacher, and police officer. “But the politicians broke their promise, failed to make payments. And now they want to punish me for their mess?”
The battle over reshaping the way Central Illinois families and businesses are charged for electric and natural gas service is coming down to the wire with no clear winner in sight.
At issue is House Bill 14 in the state legislature that would allow Ameren Illinois and Commonwealth Edison to receive annual delivery cost rate hikes for electricity and natural gas that would be subject to review only after they go into effect. […]
But the bill’s stance may be undergoing some voltage fluctuations. An amended version is in the works that apparently would make the bill more palatable to the governor and other critics. This tweaked version wasn’t made public as of Thursday, but opponents already fear it will offer only cosmetic alterations in an attempt to make Quinn put down his veto pen. […]
Ameren counters by saying the critics are misrepresenting how the new delivery fee system would work. It said the proposal would be more efficient than the present system, which dates to the 1920s, and ensures a more reliable and timely revenue stream for utilities to recoup their costs and investment. But the company said that does not mean it gets an blank check to charge whatever it wants.
Though the state ranked second in most new wind added in 2010, Illinois wind farm development could come to a halt this summer.
According to the American Wind Energy Association, the state’s industry faces a substantial financial hurdle if Illinois’ in-state preference expires as scheduled June 1, 2011.
The in-state preference requires the Illinois Power Agency, which is responsible for meeting the state’s rising requirement to use electricity from renewable sources, to procure that electricity from facilities located in Illinois. Only if such in-state power is exhausted can the IPA buy from outside, first from states that adjoin Illinois, then from elsewhere.
“If the General Assembly does not extend the geographic preference, the industry could lose momentum,” said Brad Lystra, director of the AWEA. “If developers can’t finance projects, then we can’t put shovels in the ground.”
We have grown incredibly weary of the casinos’ whining about having to operate within the laws of this state. In fact, Illinois went to great trouble to change its laws 20 years ago to allow casinos to operate here at all. The state has done nothing in the years since but make it easier for the gambling industry here.
The Illinois Clean Indoor Air act protects all employees and patrons of businesses in Illinois. That includes those in casinos. This is a public health issue, not a money issue.
* And SEIU Healthcare’s ads against cuts to various state programs were recently scrutinized…
“(But) because it’s so removed from the outcomes, groups are usually reluctant to take that kind of effort, to put those resources in that kind of effort, when it’s much more direct for them to send their lobbyists over to talk to a public official,” Morrison said.
These messages sometimes lose focus.
“Advocacy groups are often times providing information in a way that is advantageous to their organization and loses the broader context,” said Philip Habel, a professor at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
SEIU Healthcare is advocating the state’s Community Care Program, Childcare Assistance Program and the Home Service Program be fully funded. And the advertisement campaign will play a part in getting that done, Seibert said.
“Every other state has some kind of regulatory scenario,” [SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb] noted. “Even in Wisconsin, where there is no concealed carry statute, the state attorney general has recognized that open carry is legal. Only Illinois makes it statutorily impossible for average private citizens to carry firearms for self-defense.
“Whether Illinois lawmakers like it or not,” he added, “the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is the law of the land. A complete prohibition simply does not pass constitutional muster. The state cannot stick it’s head in the sand and pretend this problem does not exist..”
* The lawsuit contends that the state’s “Unlawful Use of Weapons” statutes are unconstitutional because they “prohibit otherwise qualified private citizens from carrying handguns for the purpose of self-defense.” More…
Plaintiffs do not seek to establish how the State of Illinois should regulate the carry of handguns in public. For example, Plaintiffs do not seek to establish that the State should enact a licensing program, or any particular licensing program, nor do Plaintiffs contend that the State should in some other manner amend its laws.
Rather, Plaintiffs seek to establish that the recognition and incorporation of the Second Amendment – the right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation – renders the State’s present regulatory choice unconstitutional. Whatever the contours of a constitutional scheme might be, the Second Amendment renders a ban on carrying guns impermissible.
In reality, the maps are drawn and the month of May 2011 should be devoted to real transparency in the redistricting process
The coalition has been claiming for a month or more that the maps are done. They’re not. There’s lots of activity going on right now. Boundaries are still changing.
As subscribers know, a large group of Democrats just got their first look at the proposed new map boundaries yesterday. Subscribers also know approximately when the maps will be released. But I can tell you that the maps are not yet finished. Members are still tweaking them.
Aiming to ensure its voice isn’t drowned out by the Democratic-controlled state House, Senate and governor’s office, the party has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the way the political lines for congressional and General Assembly districts are drawn.
The lawsuit, filed by Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady of St. Charles and the Illinois Republican Party in Springfield Wednesday, asks the Supreme Court to declare the tiebreaking provision of the politically prickly redistricting process in violation of the state’s constitution, and stop the General Assembly from completing the redistricting process until the court makes a decision.
“Drawing a statewide map by a method involving random chance deprives the plaintiffs a republican form of government,” the lawsuit reads. […]
“The map that Democrats produce will surely favor them and it’s not the result of a transparent process,” said [Brien Sheahan, general counsel for the Illinois GOP].
The lawsuit says nothing about the current process’ transparency. It’s about the tie-breaker provision. Actually, it’s about convincing the Illinois Supreme Court to delay the remap process until after the end of May, which would mean that the map would require a three-fifths majority (read: Republican votes).
One of the governor’s other priorities is approval of a new, fair, legislative map. Lawmakers have presided over hearings in both chambers for the past few weeks to take testimony about what the new maps, which are redrawn every ten years, should look like.
“We want to make sure we don’t have lines drawn that look like they were drawn by somebody who’s majoring in Egyptian hieroglyphics,” said Quinn, addressing a gathering at Western Illinois University. “That’s happened, I guess, elsewhere. But we don’t want that to happen in Illinois.”
* Tribune editorial: Let’s see the map: Here’s the thing about that May deadline: It’s baloney. The constitution gives the General Assembly until June 30 to pass a map before a bipartisan commission takes over. Once the regular legislative session ends, though, it takes a supermajority to pass a bill. The Democrats don’t have that many votes. That’s what the May 31 deadline is about. Revealing and voting on the map at the last minute will show that keeping Republicans out of the drawing room is far more important to Democrats than letting the public in.
* Press release: Broad Coalition submits “fair and inclusive” legislative map to Illinois House
The House plan would challenge the unions representing state employees, said Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley. He said the budget won’t contain money for raises that were promised in the latest contract.
Mautino, a House leader on budget issues, said the unions can agree to give up their raises or agencies would run out of money and have to cut [positions].
AFSCME has a “no layoff” agreement with Gov. Pat Quinn. So, the state would have to eliminate positions instead of just laying people off.
AFSCME said its analysis of the proposed House budgets show significant cuts in personnel spending in a variety of areas. The departments of Corrections, Children and Family Services and Healthcare and Family Services all show reductions in personnel expenses of 6.5 percent to 7 percent. Cuts in the Department of Human Services range from 10.4 percent to 21 percent, depending on the division.
“Those cuts are much, much more than the scheduled pay increase for this year,” said AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall.
AFSCME agreed to defer some raises called for in its contract negotiated three years ago. Union employees are now scheduled to receive a 2 percent increase on July 1, another 1.25 percent on Jan. 1 and a final 2 percent Feb. 1. The annualized increase is 3.5 percent, AFSCME said.
“It’s disgusting for these politicians to blame hard-working state employees who have already given up pay increases and unpaid furlough days,” Lindall said. “The politicians are trying to divert focus from what is a deeply irresponsible budget, maybe the most reckless budget plan ever introduced in the state of Illinois.”
The Illinois House Human Services Appropriations Committee is proposing a $463 million payment reduction of Medicaid to hospitals for next year’s budget. But the Illinois Hospital Association is offering an alternative – why not delay reimbursement payments than making deeper cuts?
“The state could extend the payment cycle rather than do cuts across the board,” said Howard Peters, executive vice president of Illinois Hospital Association. “Hospitals would rather be paid timely payments, (and it’s) better to be paid late than taking inadequate payment, because the Medicaid program is already paying less than the cost to deliver Medicaid care.”
Hospitals are familiar with delayed Medicaid reimbursements. Illinois’ Medicaid backlog bill is $448.6 million with the oldest bill dating back to Jan. 3, said Brad Hahn, spokesman for the state’s comptroller’s office. Illinois’ total backlog of unpaid bills is hovering around $4.5 billion for the same period.
“It’s not a new notion that the state would pay slower,” Peters said. “So when we say, ‘We would agree to extend the payment cycle,’ that’s been what’s more normal than a prompt payment approach.”
State Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Westmont, said the House Human Services Appropriations Committee is taking everything, including suggestions, into consideration to meet service providers’ needs.
“Well we don’t like to (delay payments) but to extend the cycle out that is what the hospitals have asked us to do rather than taking more cuts,” said Bellock, a committee member. “By extending the (payment) cycle out, (the state would save) around $250 million.”
* The complaining from local governments about proposed state budget cuts targeting them is really heating up…
In a story earlier this week, Tinley Park Trustee Greg Hannon encapsulated that outrage.
“They haven’t done their job in 20 years-plus,” he said. “So now they’re going to balance their budget on the backs of municipalities and the citizens who are already taxed too high, and then pat themselves on the back for a job well done.”
The locals not only didn’t help lobby for the income tax increase, many mayors (like Mayor Daley) publicly bad-mouthed it. That didn’t go down too well at the Statehouse. So when the Senate Republicans floated the idea of cutting payments to local governments by $300 million (almost 30 percent) the Democrats began to take notice.
“We have already shared the pain,” said Kerry Cummings, village president of north suburban Glenview. “We have already made the tough decisions.” […]
Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner said lawmakers must rein in “the culture of spending” instead of raiding funds promised to cities and towns.
“This is a transfer of responsibility for state overspending to local communities and to local taxpayers,” Weisner said. “It’s time for Springfield to clean up it’s own mess.”
They’re right that they’ve already experienced pain. Everybody has in Illinois. They’re wrong that they’ve already shared the pain at the state level other than late payments.
And, if the state is overspending, as Mayor Weisner rightly contends, then that state spending problem would logically include local government cash. It’s not a great argument.
“We either have to dip into reserves, which affects the asset performance of our reserves. Or in some cases we have to go out and borrow this money. So we’re now paying interest on this money, real interest,” he said.
Here’s a bit of lobbying advice: Never tell the General Assembly that you have cash reserves.
* Look, I don’t like this at all. Passing problems down the line is not a good way to govern whatsoever. But schools are being cut and so is everybody else. I don’t see how you can cut schools and not touch municipalities. These cuts are totally unacceptable, but these are totally unacceptable times.
* To understand union politics, you first have to recognize that it’s about politics.
Every five years, somebody is elected president of the Chicago Teachers’ Union on promises to be far more aggressive than the incumbent. Then, once elected, they have to govern. When we talk about the CTU, you have to keep those elections in mind. And the education reform bill which was sent to the governor yesterday on an overwhelming bipartisan vote is no different. Included in the bill is a provision requiring a 75 percent super-majority to authorize a strike. The CTU president agreed to it in negotiations, even though the provision applies only to Chicago. And that’s enraged quite a few of her constituents…
CTU President Karen Lewis has already gotten heat from union members about the bill. Said former CTU President Debbie Lynch, “In our opinion, this went down without a fight. … If it was me, I would have never agreed to the 75 percent threshold. Period.’’
As you already know, President Lewis used some significant language problems with the bill to rail against the entire proposal and its backers on the other side of the equation. Other than the real issues with the bill’s language, most of her comments were meant entirely for her union voters.
[House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie] said she is open to passing follow-up legislation to address the CTU’s concerns about who has voting rights in a strike-authorization vote and about language in the bill that takes the pending layoff dispute out of the hands of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.
But so far, Currie said, unions, business groups and reform organizations have not coalesced around a compromise.
Ken Swanson, president of the Illinois Education Association, one of Illinois’ major teacher unions with 133,000 members, said the real take-away from Illinois’ reforms was the way that all sides — lawmakers, schools, unions and advocates — worked together.
“Look at what happens when everyone can come together at the table and talk,” said Swanson. “That’s something that colleagues in other states have not been given the opportunity to do.”
Swanson also downplayed the national potential of Illinois’ reforms.
“I think the Department of Education monitors the goings on in every state,” said Swanson.
The IEA prepared its membership for the bill by explaining it throughout the process. Also, Swanson is retiring soon, so he can be a convenient fall guy.
* Teacher seniority would no longer be the sole basis on which teachers are laid off when school boards cut jobs. Instead, teacher performance and qualifications would be factors in the decision.
* Decisions on hiring and assigning teachers would be based not on seniority, but rather on who would best serve the district.
* Extra steps would be required before teachers can strike — a mediator would have to release to the public the last offers made by each side.
* The Chicago Teachers Union would need a three-fourths vote from its membership before being able to strike. Downstate, a simple majority vote of the membership would be needed, as is the case now.
* School boards could more quickly fire teachers for bad conduct or performance.
* Teachers would have to receive two “proficient” or “excellent” evaluations during the last three years of a four-year probationary period to achieve tenure. New teachers could get tenure early if they receive three “excellent” reviews in their first three years. Currently, a teacher gets tenure after four years, or is not rehired.
Illinois schools would lose $166 million in state support under cuts approved Thursday as the Illinois House passed parts of an austere new state budget.
That’s about 2.3 percent less than schools get under the current state budget. Most of the cuts would come from funds that schools use for general needs. Early childhood education also would take a significant hit, falling 5 percent.
The cuts were approved 102-12. Legislation making cuts to a wide array of smaller state agencies also was approved, and more budget bills could be approved Friday.
The budget is far from settled, however. Senate Democrats have their own ideas on how much to spend and where. So does Gov. Pat Quinn, although his budget proposal has found little support in the Legislature.
“You can only spend what you have,” said Rep. Will Davis, D-Homewood, who chaired the House committee overseeing budgets for elementary and high schools.
A key reduction calls for general state aid for all schools to be cut by around 4 percent, according to lawmakers.
The education foundation level, the figure viewed as the minimum amount of per-pupil spending, would remain flat at about $6,119, Davis said. If more money comes in later, the state could boost school spending, he added. Transportation funds would rise above the current year’s level, which had been reduced by Quinn, but it does not go up as high as in prior years that were more flush.
Early childhood education funding would drop to $325 million come July 1, which is about a 5 percent reduction, according to Davis.
