Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2011

This just in… Rowell named IDES director

Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 5:22 pm - From a press release…

Governor Pat Quinn today announced several top appointments to state agencies. Today’s actions are the latest in a series of appointments the Governor is making as he continues to fulfill his commitment to creating jobs, fostering economic development and increasing efficiency and accountability in all areas of state government.

Governor Quinn today named Jay Rowell as director of the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Rowell is a former deputy director in the Chicago City Clerk’s Office, where he modernized operations and dramatically enhanced transparency by making 27 years of searchable city information available online. He holds a juris doctorate from Loyola University Law School, and is a former writer for the school’s Consumer Law Review and Public Interest Law Reporter. Rowell replaces Maureen O’Donnell, who now serves as Director of Human Resources for Cook County. His appointment takes effect Monday.

Curiously, Quinn’s release didn’t mention that Jay runs the Senate Democrats’ political operation. Whatever the case, his nomination is obviously going to zoom through the Senate.

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Reader comments closed for the weekend

Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Session may be over (for now), but the road goes on forever and the party never ends…

They got a hotel by the water and a quart of Bombay gin

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This just in… Quinn signs state legislative redistricting bill

Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 4:23 pm - Gov. Pat Quinn just signed the state legislative redistricting bill. From a press release…

“Ensuring that everyone’s voice is heard in government is crucial to our democracy. For the first time, the people of Illinois have been able to participate in public hearings and have their voices heard in drawing their legislative districts. I would like to commend lawmakers for significantly increasing openness and transparency in the remap process,” said Governor Quinn. “I commend Sen. Kwame Raoul and Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie for their leadership in drafting a map that better represents the interest of our diverse communities.”

* The congressional redistricting bill is still awaiting his signature. More on that topic…

In a letter to Gov. Pat Quinn, several Illinois businessmen and former GOP members of Congress called on him to veto the new congressional redistricting map, arguing that it is both unconstitutional and unfair.

The letter senders represent a nonprofit group, the Committee for a Fair and Balanced Map, that has been raising money for months to mount a legal challenge to the remap.

The letter telegraphs the grounds for a potential lawsuit, arguing that the preliminary map drawn by the Democrat-controlled Illinois House and Senate does not meet Constitutional requirements that districts should be compact and center around communities of interest while protecting the interests of minorities.

“Instead, this proposal fractures longstanding communities with gerrymandered boundaries for apparent partisan purposes,” said the letter, signed by former Rockford GOP Rep. Lynn Martin, chair of the committee, and seven others.

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This just in… McCarter issues another, rather weird statement

Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 4:12 pm - Sen. Kyle McCarter has issued another statement about the ruckus on the Senate floor. It’s a bit weird. First, notice that his statement doesn’t use the word “punch”…

In debate on the Senate floor, Sen. McCarter pointed to other procedural problems which included $70,000 in political donations from Ameren to political funds controlled by some of the Senate leaders, and a lobbyist for Com-Ed who also happens to be the father of the committee chairman. That disclosure led Sen. Jacobs to walk across the aisle to personally confront Sen. McCarter. Jacobs’ speech was laced with profanity ending with him striking Sen. McCarter on the chest and knocking him backward.

* Then Sen. McCarter blames Senate leadership for not stepping in quickly…

“If the leadership of the Senate would have immediately admitted and documented that I was assaulted and then proactively stepped up to invoke a type of censure, filing a report with the Capitol Police would not have been my only option,” said McCarter.

He doesn’t say whether he asked for such documentation and censure, however.

* He also appears to contradict the Sergeant at Arms, who said yesterday that he asked McCarter if he wanted to file a complaint and McCarter refused…

“The Senate’s Sergeant At Arms kindly asked if I was ok or needed an escort to my office but did not provide a legal process for filing a complaint. His concern for my safety was obvious and I thank him.”

Those are awfully lawyerly words, if you ask me.

* And he even suggests an attempted cover-up…

“However, the parliamentarian came to my desk afterwards to suggest this could be dealt with somewhere else when “cooler heads prevail,” not admitting the assault happened or that Sen. Jacob did anything out of order. Sen. Jacob’s party was making an attempt for this to just go away quietly. As legislators we need to set an example for ethical and appropriate behavior. Trying to sweep the incident under the rug sends a very poor message to the public and especially to young people who are skeptical of government anyway.”

Oy.

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Chicago schools cut $75 million, but state cuts Chicago schools $77 million

Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Chicago is cutting school spending…

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Public Schools chief Jean-Claude Brizard on Thursday announced $75 million in cuts to the school district’s central office and hinted that the state and the Chicago Teachers Union should do the same.

“We need to make those cuts, but it makes a statement as powerful as the money about where you set the priorities,” Emanuel said. “Everybody has to have some skin in the game to make the changes necessary.” […]

“The fact that there is $75 million in achievable savings in administration and bureaucracy underscores the need for more transparency about CPS spending,” Lewis said. “The citizens of Chicago need to see every line of school spending—how much is spent, on what and to whom.”

Trouble is, the new state budget approved by the General Assembly cuts Chicago schools by $77 million. So, Chicago didn’t even tread water with yesterday’s announcement.

* And speaking of late payments…

A day after Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle blamed him for the county health and hospital system’s financial woes, Gov. Pat Quinn in Chicago Thursday steered clear of any commitment to fork over some $38 million in Medicaid reimbursements.

Preckwinkle said she was “disappointed” in the governor’s response to her requests for Medicaid reimbursements, money desperately needed against the county health and hospital system’s projected shortfall of $40 million in the first five months of the year.

“Here’s what we’re trying to do, on the 30th of this month is a deadline for us to get enhanced Medicaid match (money) from Washington. We can get more money from the federal government for our healthcare,” the governor told reporters.

“We have to focus on that, it’s worth about $100, $200 million. That’s what we have to focus on,” said Quinn.

Asked when the county might see the money, the governor walked away, saying: “Pretty soon. OK. Thank you.”

* The budget news is not good for almost everyone…

Education and human services, along with the workers who deliver them, take the biggest hit in the state budget just approved by Illinois lawmakers.

Groups that provide services for the state will feel the pinch, too. Legislators took no steps to catch up on more than $6 billion in overdue bills from small businesses, charities and local agencies.

Lawmakers insist they had no choice but to rein in spending. Anything else would have deepened a budget hole that state government has been trying to escape for years now. […]

The University of Illinois, for instance, loses all $40 million of the money set aside for contractual services. The Corrections Department and its overcrowded prisons lose $4.5 million for personnel.

The state’s key social services agencies, the Department of Human Services and the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, lose a combined $227 million for personnel and contracts, or almost one-third of their total.

* Well, not everybody…

Regional superintendents of education expressed relief that, for now, funding for their offices would not be cut out of the state’s budget.

The General Assembly sent Gov. Pat Quinn a budget package Tuesday night that keeps most of the offices’ funding with a $11.4 million appropriation. Quinn’s original budget proposal had suggested eliminating the money.

* Mayors were spared as well…

Although local government officials have been fearing the move for more than a year, Illinois legislators do not plan to reduce the amount of income tax revenue the state shares with municipalities like the cities of Champaign and Urbana.

The budget proposal they sent to Gov. Pat Quinn this week maintains that disbursement, which local officials say keeps them from looking for even deeper budget cuts than they have already made.

“It’s good news,” said Champaign Finance Director Richard Schnuer. “Our budget was based on receiving revenues under current legislation.”

* Related and a roundup…

* Charter school fights teacher organizing—and “public school” label

* Illinois slow to launch new aid program for delinquent homeowners - Federal government provided $445.7 million last year - ‘It takes time to put it on the street properly,’ state official says

* Editorial: Don’t alter new state bidding process

* ‘Tier 1′ status will allow state workers to keep Clinic doctors

* State keeps public notices requirement but cuts costs to cities and schools

* Changes to records law won’t change much locally

* Quinn makes hospital board appointments after Preckwinkle criticism

* Editorial: Welcome, newbies!

* Taylorville officials willing to wait a little longer on Tenaska

* Workers’ comp bill: businesses gain, doctors lose

* Workers Comp ‘Reform’ in Illinois Aims to Curb Alleged Abuses

* Editorial: Share costs of smart grid

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Question of the day

Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As we discussed yesterday, there’s some dispute over whether Sen. Mike Jacobs punched Sen. Kyle McCarter with his fist or whether it was more of a poke or an open-handed whack during a Senate floor scuffle. Whatever the case, the matter has been referred to the state’s attorney’s office…

‘’The Capital police report will be fowarded to the Sangamon County States Attorney’s office for determination on filing charges. It could be as early as tommorow. It could be next week'’, said Henry Haupt, spokesperson for the Secretary of States Office. ‘’The investigator is being thorough and complete.'’

Sen. Kyle McCarter says he is pursuing charges against Jacobs, who he says confronted him after he called out the East Moline Senator for sponsoring a bill allowing utility companies to raise their rates without approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission.

* The possible consequences…

Under state law, assaulting a state employee in a public place could be charged as a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by under one year in jail or up to two years probation.

Threatening a public official is a Class 3 felony, punishable by two to five years in prison or up to 21/2 years probation.

* The Question: Should Sen. McCarter pursue charges against Sen. Mike Jacobs? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks.

Online Surveys & Market Research

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Homers love their casinos

Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* It really is amazing how local newspapers have bought into the contradictory spin on gaming expansion. For instance, Phil Luciano’s column…

Take a good, long look at the [East Peoria] Par-A-Dice [casino]. Maybe even take a picture, while you can.

Could the dock and hotel become a post-gambling ghost town? It’s happened elsewhere. It could happen here.

The culprit? A lazy, shortsighted state government. […]

Now, all they see is dollar signs. And rather than work to base the state’s economy on creating solid jobs and businesses, they’d rather take the easy way out and grab for gambling.

Right now, the Par-A-Dice generates $7 million in local revenue a year. Kiss that sum goodbye. Maybe all of it.

Riverboat reps and local leaders fear the same thing I’ve carping about for years: Chicago will suck away business. It’s not as if the Par-A-Dice is supported solely by area bettors. Tourists and gamblers come in from elsewhere. But if they have a choice between making a trip to Peoria or the Windy City, where do you think they’ll go?

So, the state should be working to create good jobs, but it absolutely should not mess with East Peoria’s admittedly evil jobs in the process by adding some competition far away? OK. And a Chicago casino will kill the Peoria-area’s facility, even though it’ll be 160 miles from there? Right. Even Luciano’s own newspaper thinks that last point is a bit much, although it still wrings its hands…

As such, it’s no surprise that not one local legislator voted for this expansion, with the Par-a-Dice in our backyard producing some $7 million annually to East Peoria and Peoria city coffers. Local government officials fear that number will plummet with downstate competition in Danville and Springfield.

There seems to be less objection to a casino in Chicago, which already is a global tourism draw that could be in line to capture even more outside dollars, of which there is no surplus in Illinois. […]

Again, gambling is the easy yet desperate path here. It’s a substitute for genuine fiscal discipline that for too long has been lacking in Springfield, which is what led to this fiscal meltdown in the first place. If anyone thinks Illinois can sin its way to prosperity - through reliance on gambling and taxes on smoking, drinking, etc. - they’re delusional, looking to quick fixes rather than real ones.

Gambling is the “easy and desperate path” except when it’s in our town!

* And then there’s the St. Louis Post Dispatch…

As happy as the track operators are with SB 744, operators of Illinois’ nine existing casinos are as worried. Revenue was off 4.2 percent last year to $1.37 billion. The bill would add five new casinos, including the mega-casino in Chicago, plus allow slot machines at racetracks and at Chicago’s two airports. That would take Illinois from 12,000 gaming positions to 39,000, putting a saturated market under water.

In the St. Louis market, adding 800 new gaming positions at the two Metro East casinos and 900 at Fairmount would mean a nearly 15 percent expansion. The bistate market is still struggling to absorb the competition from the River City Casino in Lemay that opened last year.

We tend not to worry about the problems of an industry that preys on human weakness. But Missouri and Illinois both have become addicted to gambling taxes. And then there’s the question of the thousands of employees who make their livings in the gambling industry. Hundreds of casino workers could suffer if Mr. Quinn signs SB 744. Hundreds of workers in the thoroughbred industry could suffer if he doesn’t.

He should veto it. The whole thing, including the Chicago casino.

Yes, more competition in an Illinois industry that’s been protected for decades would be just terrible, wouldn’t it?

* On the flip side is Rockford, which doesn’t have a casino and really, really wants one…

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn must be tired of seeing signs that say “Wisconsin is open for business.” He can take a shot at our neighbors to the north by signing the bill that would bring a casino to Rockford. […]

What about the social costs? Studies have found that there are likely to be increases in divorce, separations, marital problems and bankruptcies to name a few. Those problems also occur when a person is unemployed or underemployed.

Other studies show the disadvantages of gambling are exaggerated. In 2000, the Public Sector Gaming Study Commission found “no link between gambling, particularly casino-style gambling, and crime.”

Gambling is not the holy grail of economic development, but if any community in Illinois should be able to expand its tourism and entertainment options, Rockford should.

Problems, schmoblems. We want us a casino, baby!

* Even the Chicago Sun-Times is getting into the act…

The governor, like us, is unhappy about lumping in so many other gambling sites with Chicago’s, calling the bill “excessive” and “top-heavy.”

He’s absolutely right about that.

But here’s what Quinn will see when he finally gets his microscope in focus: A bill that will draw in much-needed revenue for Chicago and the state. The state is already slashing social services, education funding and threatening deep cuts to state employee pensions. Adding new revenue is one of the only ways available to soften that blow slightly, to ward off even more draconian cuts in years to come.

We’ve long supported efforts to reduce state spending, but Illinois is quickly reaching a point where the government’s ability to provide core services is in jeopardy.

The bill really sucks, but we need the money, so sign the darned thing.

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Friday, Jun 3, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

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