* I’ll be on Public Television at noon today before the start of Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address. Check your local listings. The broadcast will also be carried live on Public Radio, so you can listen in if you don’t have access to a TV or don’t want to actually see me (and I don’t blame you).
* We’ll have a separate thread with this morning’s news stories about the upcoming budget address, but this will be our live coverage post throughout the day, with react and all sorts of other goodies, so stay with us right here. As always, Blackberry users click here, everybody else can just kick back and watch the show unfold before your very eyes…
* The House Agriculture Committee approved HB 4085 yesterday. The bill requires physicians to offer women who are about to have an abortion “an opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound of her unborn child.” From the News-Gazette…
Tuesday’s hearing included an emotional exchange between Jakobsson and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Joseph Lyons, D-Chicago.
“(Y)ou are hoping that after a woman sees this, you are hoping that she is discouraged from having an abortion?” Jakobsson asked.
“I think it gives the human face to the procedure, when they see the heartbeat and see that it’s not just a procedure like getting your tonsils taken out or having an appendectomy,” Lyons said. “It’s the idea of trying to put a face, a touch, on the whole process. And if it saves one life, Naomi, is that a bad thing? If it saves one life, would that be a bad idea?”
Jakobsson responded, “I think what you are getting at is trying to discourage the woman from trying to protect her life.”
Lyons called the legislation “a pro-choice bill. A woman has the choice to say no. Most women will. This doesn’t force this on any woman. It just says, would you like to see the ultrasound?”
* The Question: Should the General Assembly intercede between a patient and her doctor in this instance? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks.
* Republican congressional candidate Rodger Cook released his tax returns yesterday and challenged others in the race to follow suit. Jason Plummer, who adamantly refused to release his tax returns when he ran for lt. governor two years ago, is taking the refusenik line this time as well…
Plummer issued a statement in which he stated that voters “want to know where you get your money, where your money is invested, and what kind of financial relationships you have. They should want to know these things, it is tremendously important information.”
But this information is obtained ” through a legally required Federal Personal Financial Disclosure, not a tax return,” Plummer wrote. ” A tax return does not have all the details a PFD has, which is why I released my PFD before any other candidate.”
In 2010, when he ran for lieutenant governor as the Republican nominee, Plummer resisted call to turn his tax returns. In a disclosure report filed late last year, Plummer listed personal assets of between nearly $3 million and $41 million.
Plummer’s full press release is here. A press release supporting Cook is here…
“In Illinois, politicians work the system for power and gain. If you’re going to run for office, you need to prove to the people of Illinois that you’re clean. Show us that you haven’t profited from the Illinois political class,” stated Rodger Cook.
“The people of Illinois deserve the truth. If you don’t have gold-standard ethics, you’re part of business-as-usual. Rodger Cook is the latest and most prominent candidate in this election cycle to lead on this transformational ethics policy,” said Adam Andrzejewski, former 2010 gubernatorial candidate
* In other news, We Ask America has Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. with a big lead over Democratic rival Debbie Halvorson. Click the pic for a larger image…
Clearly, the voters of Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District aren’t buying into conventional wisdom. We’ve included the Ethnic Origin breakdowns to show there is a definite Minority/White split of opinion. Of course there’s still time for Halvorson to reduce the gap, and if the 50+ percent of voters who are African American stay home on Primary Day (March 20), we may be in for a surprise.
But for now, Congressman Jackson appears ready to prove the naysayers wrong.
Discuss.
* Related…
* Cunningham is back on ballot in 11th district race: Jack Cunningham’s name will appear on the ballot in the race for the Republican nomination in the 11th Congressional District. Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Susan Fox Gillis on Tuesday ordered that Cunningham’s name appear on the March 20 election ballot, reversing the Illinois State Board of Elections, which had upheld objections to the nominating petitions of Cunningham and Diane Harris.
* Perhaps Rep. Franks will learn a valuable lesson from this bit of success. Phil Kadner fills us in…
A bill that would freeze property tax levies during years when property values decline overwhelmingly passed the Illinois House of Representatives on Tuesday.
I first wrote about the proposal, from state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo), to freeze property taxes last year.
Although that effort failed, Franks vowed the fight wasn’t over.
“It passed this year because I didn’t seek any publicity before the vote,” Franks said.
“Last year, I thought I could rally public support by talking about the bill. It turned out that gave the opposition, the government taxing bodies, time to lobby legislators to vote against it.
“This time I just put an amendment onto an existing bill, the groups that lobbied against it didn’t have time to rally opposition, and it received 74 votes (the final tally was 74 “yes” and 39 “no.”)
Under the measure, if the “total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in a tax district for the current levy year is less than the total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in the taxing district for the previous year, then the extension limitation is a) 0 percent or b) the “rate of increase approved by voters in a referendum.
Franks emphasized that taxing districts wouldn’t lose money.
“They would get the same amount of money they received the previous year, but could not increase their tax levy unless voters approved a tax rate increase in a referendum.”
* The Illinois Federation of Teachers laid out its opposition yesterday…
· Each year’s levy is based upon the previous year’s levy; therefore reductions are permanent, continuous, and compounding.
· The proposal eliminates a local school board’s authority to levy based on the needs of the community and student population. School board members are elected to serve as fiscal stewards of our school districts and consider the impact of fiscal decisions on their community prior to adoption a levy.
· A decrease in EAV can be caused or contributed to by many factors unrelated to declining home property values/assessments, including the county multiplier, a change in assessment factors, or large number of property tax appeals.
· One property owner’s lowered assessed valuation could cause the 0% extension limitation.
· The proposal would override rates previously approved by voters.
· Districts in tax-capped counties are already limited in their ability to access additional local revenue due to PTELL provisions.
· Freezing local resources will increase the amount of general state aid for which districts are entitled. This year the State Board of Education has indicated general state aid will be prorated, a result of inadequate state resources.
· School districts have already experienced reduced revenue through cuts in: Transportation, Elimination of the ADA Block Grant, GSA Hold Harmless,
* This pretty much sums up the situation on multiple levels…
Jack Lavin, Quinn’s chief of staff said, “Every year, we say, ‘This is the toughest budget,’ and I’m saying again this year, ‘This is the toughest budget we’ve ever faced.’”
Needless to say, if Gov. Pat Quinn had taken more decisive action earlier in his administration, these cuts wouldn’t be necessary. But, I suppose, that’s all water under the bridge now.
Hours before Gov. Quinn presents his budget proposal, Republicans are already working to defeat it.
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, says despite Quinn’s plans to close 14 state facilities, include prisons in Dwight and Tamms, the $33.8 billion budget actually increases spending.
“That’s a billion dollars more in spending and that’s just simply unacceptable,” Brady said.
Brady says he won’t support any new spending, especially when Illinois is already $8 billion behind in paying its bills.
Total spending is rising by a billion dollars mainly because state pension payments are set to rise by a billion dollars next fiscal year. Tribune…
The quick math: The state expects to take in about $700 million more during the financial year that starts July 1. State worker pension costs alone will rise by more than $1 billion.
And even the pension reform proposal submitted by House Republican Leader Tom Cross would raise pension spending by a biliion dollars next year.
“Budget cuts have gone too far already, harming priorities like public safety and care for the most vulnerable. Further devastating cuts to public services and thousands of lost jobs are the worst possible approach to what ails our state. Illinois has the nation’s 13th-largest state economy but ranks 42nd in state spending, the 5th-largest population but the smallest state workforce per capita. The problem is an unfair tax system riddled with giveaways—to rich people, who pay a lower effective tax rate while the middle class gets squeezed, and to corporations, two-thirds of which pay no corporate income tax at all.”
The union knows full well that the state Constitution won’t be changed this year to implement a graduated income tax.
* The Tamms Super-Max prison is by far Alexander County’s largest employer, so I get the local anger…
The… Tamms closure was drawing heavy criticism from Southern Illinois legislators throughout the day Tuesday. The criticism was directed at Quinn, a Chicagoan. “I’m mad as hell. I don’t know where this guy is coming from,” state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, wrote in a Twitter feed.
The BND published an investigative series in August 2009 reporting that many inmates at Tamms were mentally ill and became worse because of long-term solitary confinement in the prison located in the southern tip of Illinois. It holds inmates the state describes as the “worst of the worst.”
Laurie Jo Reynolds, head of the Tamms Year Ten Committee, said closure is long overdue.
“From the day it opened, Tamms has been a financial boondoggle and a human rights catastrophe. The staff to prisoner ratio is the highest in the system and the mental health worker to prisoner ratio is vastly higher,” Reynolds said.
Two Republican lawmakers, whose districts include Dwight and who have pushed for cuts in state spending, immediately condemned the closing.
“This is the typical pattern we have come to expect from this governor,” said state Rep. Jason Barickman, R-Champaign. “He doesn’t back up his ideas with facts or long-term plans, instead offering an unrealistic plan of closing prisons at a time when those facilities are already overcrowded.”
Sen. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga, promised a fight over the proposal.
“They have tried to close Pontiac (prison) twice and now they want Dwight. Shame on them. Do they not think they are absolutely crippling the economy of Livingston County?” Cultra said. “Governor Quinn needs to rest assured of one thing, we are in this fight for the long haul and that’s exactly what this is — a fight over families’ lives, local economies and our state’s public safety.”
Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, lambasted the governor for balancing the budget “off the backs of the sickest and the weakest and the least of thee.”
Following a legislative hearing about expected state income, Flowers also chastised Quinn for considering a cutback in hours at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield — the most popular presidential library in the nation, which draws more than 350,000 tourists and schoolchildren a year. Some tourist sites would close up to two days a week during off-peak times, the administration said.
“I’m not happy at all,” Flowers said. “In light of Presidents Day just being a couple of days past, Lincoln would probably be sitting at his desk with the candlelight burning, crying and knowing that the children of this state would be deprived of the opportunity to learn about our history.”
One issue Quinn is not overtly pushing in his latest budget is his plan to sell bonds to ease the huge backlog of unpaid bills. That plan, which was a major component of his fiscal 2012 budget proposal, failed to win over legislators.
Borrowing is off the table, but the past due bills issue is not. Quinn has essentially punted this issue to the General Assembly.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget speech won’t include specific plans for fixing two of Illinois’ biggest financial problems.
Aides say Quinn will outline the depth of the state’s pension and Medicaid problems Wednesday and discuss general solutions. But they acknowledge he won’t spell out exactly what the governor thinks should be done.
Quinn advisor Jerome Stermer told reporters Tuesday evening that Quinn will work with lawmakers and outside groups to negotiate solutions.
There are good reasons to defer proposing bold solutions for these problems tomorrow since nobody is on the same page as of yet. But the lack of specifics opens the governor up to all sorts of criticism…
Illinois GOP Party Chairman and Congressman Aaron Schock accused Quinn of showing no leadership on pensions and warned him not to build the budget on projections of Medicaid savings that may never materialize.
Hey, Congressman Schock. Have you solved all the federal budget problems yet? Until you do, perhaps you could get back to your own job. Thanks.
Shutting down six adult transition centers, including two in Chicago and one in Aurora, would result in $17.7 million in savings. Prisoners at these halfway houses would be put on electronic home detention when they weren’t employed in their communities during the day.
“We will not jeopardize public safety. That’s our No. 1 concern,” said Jack Lavin, Quinn’s chief of staff. “We’ll work closely with … the Department of Corrections to make sure public-safety concerns are addressed on these closures.”
Last year I was at a White Sox game and two women behind me had unusual devices strapped to their ankles. I politely asked if they were electronic monitoring devices and they cheerily admitted they were supposed to be on home confinement. But, they said, nobody ever seems to monitor their movements. So, they decided to enjoy a ballgame.
* Rest of IL budget to be squeezed by pensions, Medicaid: Medicaid and pensions “are putting the pressure on roads, on state parks, on school transportation,” state Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said. “When you have Medicaid (going) from $5 billion to $10 billion in five years, that is putting all of the pressure on other things.”
* Medicaid spending could drive up other IL health costs: One out of every three hospitals in the state is operating in the red, said Chun. Decreasing how much the state pays doctors for treating Medicaid patients or cutting services covered by Medicaid will force hospitals to make up the difference elsewhere. “Health-care costs will go up for non-Medicaid patients and for employers who pay for insurance and premiums,” Chun said. Any Medicaid cut “has a domino effect across the health-care system,” he said.
* Quinn wants spending cuts but largely punts on key Medicaid, pension spending: Still, department Director Julie Hamos is outlining a “menu” of $3 billion in potential cuts, though some insiders say they believe the state will do well to hold spending even next year, rather than letting it increase by the usual $600 million or so.
* 14 facilities proposed for closure in Quinn austerity budget: Vaught said the closures are fallout from the state’s crushing pension costs. State revenues are expected to increase by $720 million in the next budget, but pension costs alone are supposed to increase by $1 billion. “In the rest of the budget, we suffer the squeeze,” Vaught said. “There is no new money for anything else. Everybody in the state is going to be affected by this downsizing of state government.”
* Illinois Mental-Health Cuts Seen Reducing Doctor Access for All Patients: Illinois’ mental-health spending declined 12 percent to $520 million in fiscal 2012 from $591 million in 2009, according to NAMI Illinois, a patient advocacy group that’s part of the Arlington, Virginia-based National Alliance on Mental Illness… Illinois’ trims were among the deepest cutbacks in the U.S. and reflected worsening care for low-income, jobless and uninsured psychiatric patients across the U.S., said Dr. Michael Wahl, president of the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians.
* ‘This is an absolute nightmare’: Quinn to close Murray Center in Centralia; 550 jobs at stake: During a budget briefing Tuesday evening with reporters, Quinn’s chief of staff, Jack Lavin, said Murray Center is in need of a “significant amount of maintenance.”… But Rep. John Cavaletto, R-Salem, said the center actually doesn’t cost anything to operate. “It’s the only facility in the state of Illinois that doesn’t lose money. It actually makes money because of the federal funds that come into it,” Cavaletto said.
* Intelligence Report: What will Gov. Quinn cut?: “Number one, I didn’t create all this, I inherited it, and our job is to eliminate it and to reform everything and repair it - that’s my job. You know, I assumed office after one governor in jail and the other one going to jail, but we’re going to have to reform the system. I’m going to outline how to do it,” said Quinn. “We have a pension working group that is working on it and we’ll have to get it done this year. It’s a tall mountain but I’m prepared to lead the journey up that mountain and we’re going to accomplish our goal.”
* Aside from facility closings, Quinn’s budget proposal is expected to be short on details: However, Quinn also plans to call for some new spending. The governor wants a $20 million increase for early childhood education and a $50 million increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants for college students. Both areas have been cut in recent budget years. The governor also plans to revisit tax cut proposals pitched in his State of the State address as ways to spur economic growth in the state. Quinn also plans to propose new capital spending on schools, water systems and deferred maintenance at state facilities. His budget staff said that he does not have a specific estimate for how much new capital borrowing would be needed for such projects. They said new revenues would be needed to fund the projects but did not point to any one source. “We need to make sure that it’s not just about cutting. It’s about building and growing,” Lavin said of Quinn’s proposal.
The pro-choice group Personal PAC has filed suit to kill off Illinois’ campaign contribution limits to certain political action committees. If the group succeeds, some candidates may start justifiably quivering.
Currently in Illinois, contributions to state political action committees are capped at $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for corporations, groups and unions.
Personal PAC’s lawsuit wants those caps wiped out, arguing that the controversial “Citizens United” U.S. Supreme Court case and the “Wisconsin Right to Life” U.S. Appeals Court case mean the caps are unconstitutional. The two rulings declared that spending and contribution limits on federal and state PACs that are engaged in independent expenditures are unconstitutional.
Personal PAC claims it has missed out on $100,000 in contributions since the state caps were put into place last year. Nobody will be holding a tag sale for the group any time soon, however. At the end of December, Personal PAC had more than $1.4 million in the bank. It raised close to $700,000 last year alone, after the contribution caps first kicked in.
Four years ago at this time, the group had $770,000 in the bank after raising $997,000 the previous 12 months. The state’s year-old campaign contribution caps haven’t appeared to hurt the group much, if at all, but it wants more freedom to raise even more cash.
Personal PAC long has been one of Illinois’ top-performing political action committees. It raises and spends tons of money every election cycle and has one of the better track records in Illinois politics.
But because of the new caps, it wants to set up a separate entity to make uncoordinated, independent expenditures on behalf of candidates. That means the group won’t give money directly to candidates but will spend the cash to help them without coordinating with the candidates’ campaigns.
In the past, Personal PAC usually designed its direct mail and radio and TV commercials and reported them as what are called “in kind” contributions to the campaigns it was supporting. The group could coordinate directly with the candidates it supported, but Personal PAC usually tightly controlled its message, regardless of what the candidates wanted it to do.
That independence created some friction over the years. The group is heavily funded by liberal Democrats, but Personal PAC has backed several pro-choice Republicans against Democrats. A few years ago, some Democrats attempted to start a contribution boycott, but the group was just too strong to stop.
Back when the law limiting contributions to groups such as Personal PAC was passed, I wrote that the proposal was a direct shot at the group itself.
Personal PAC can’t set up one of those newfangled, independent-expenditure committees because Illinois law also forbids groups from establishing more than one campaign account at a time. This provision also is aimed at Personal PAC and groups like it. Since the Wisconsin case, which was decided by a Chicago-based federal appeals court, allowed PACs with independent-expenditure committees to raise money without limit, Personal PAC wants the court to stop Illinois from interfering.
It looks like Personal PAC has a pretty good case here.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that limiting independent expenditures won’t rein in corruption, and the original legal rationale for campaign contribution caps was to stop corruption. So, now it’s Katie bar the door.
If this contribution cap is lifted, Personal PAC and other groups will be free to raise as much money as they can from large contributions. But candidates still will be operating under strict campaign finance limits. Personal PAC and other groups, like labor unions, corporations, etc., will be able to raise and spend money freely to go after candidates who can do neither.
In other words, Illinois’ campaign finance reforms, combined with the U.S. Supreme Court’s logic, have the real potential to transfer power from the political class to the monied class.
If Personal PAC wins, the legislative effort to stifle and limit the group’s voice will have backfired badly on the control-minded politicians.
* The Question: Do you agree with the US Supreme Court that limiting independent expenditures will not rein in corruption? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments please. Thanks.
* AP reporter Chris Wills just Tweeted that Gov. Pat Quinn will propose closing 14 state facilities in his budget address tomorrow. You’ll probably see more stories like this on our live feed today as we gear up for the budget address. Also, check back in the evening because reporters will be given a briefing, and some may update from the room.
The Senate’s not in session today, but the House is and you can watch or listen here. Blackberry users click here, everybody else kick back and watch the show…
* Sun-Times reporter Abdon Pallasch went to House Speaker Michael Madigan’s district and reports that Madigan’s signs are everywhere…
Driving through the 22nd district confirms the outward show of Madigan support. Nearly every lawn on some blocks has the rectangular white signs, positioned perfectly perpendicular to the homes, looking almost in military formation like the tight political organization Madigan runs.
On the 3800 block of West 68th Street, nearly every house has a Madigan sign except two. Those are the homes of Olivia Trejo and Mike Rodriguez, the other two candidates in the Democratic primary with Madigan and Piszczor.
One of the two homes between Trejo’s and Rodriguez’ has a Madigan sign. There are no signs on Trejo’s or Rodriguez’s lawns or windows. No one answered the door at either home, though the television went off at the Rodriguez home after the Sun-Times rang the bell.
Attendees of the DeVry University Job Boot Camp hosted by state Rep. Michael Madigan, D-Chicago (pictured below addressing the crowd at the 13th Ward Office), Alderman Marty Quinn (13th Ward) and state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) learned new ways to improve skills for gaining employment. Topics of the workshop included resume preparation, job interview skill development, job search strategies, social media assistance and professional networking.
“We want to provide people with the tools they need to be prepared for finding good paying jobs,” said Rep. Michael Madigan.
Photo from the event…
Caption?
* So, why is Madigan putting himself through the full program? The man never takes chances and he has a feisty opponent who continues to generate media coverage…
If there are really five candidates in this race for state representative on the Southwest Side, why does only one of them have his own campaign sign on his front lawn?
Candidate Michele Piszczor, 25, says it’s because the only real candidates in the race are herself and Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.
And when Madigan heard she’d be running against him, he drew her neighborhood out of the district, so there’s no point in posting a sign on her lawn — her neighbors can’t vote for her, she said.
“They’re not real candidates,” Piszczor said of the others. “I’m the only legitimate candidate standing up to Mike Madigan,” whom she calls “the most powerful … man in this state.”
* Piszczor sent me this press release over the weekend…
Michele Piszczor, a Hispanic/Polish woman running against Michael Madigan in House District 22 democrat primary race was ambushed at a press conference led by Joshua Hoyt, Chief Strategic Executive of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), on Friday February 10th, 2012 in Chicago. “Mr. Hoyt made several derogatory comments and character assassinations to the media about Jack Roeser, who has not even contributed to my campaign. Hoyt’s group also tried to convince me to donate the few campaign contributions I have received to charity. Hoyt’s group stated that my contributors are ‘dark people’ and ‘spreading hate’ within our community” said Piszczor.
“The ICIRR is attacking people who have a history of providing good jobs to our community”, said Piszczor. ICIRR’s mission is to promote the rights of immigrants and refugees. They provide many free services, which are very temporary. “Some of the people interested in my campaign are people who have great respect for and provide considerable jobs for Hispanics. That is very lasting and empowering for my community” said Piszczor.
Since the video of the press conference has gone viral on the internet Piszczor is getting emails from all over the state. “There are people from all over Illinois - including Republican groups - who are contacting my campaign all of a sudden and want to contribute. Hundreds of Democrats have told me that they can not openly support me and of course that I will not get help from the Democrat Party, since Madigan is the chairman. I believe the anti-Madigan sentiment is rising. Joshua Hoyt’s unscrupulous press conference and obvious pro-Madigan strategy has gotten my campaign rolling full steam ahead,” according to Pizczor.
“For those groups of people, such as Hoyt’s, who think I should donate the contributions I have received in my campaign to charity – I will. However, in order for there to be a level playing field you must get Madigan to donate the 4 million dollars in his campaign chest to charity as well. Madigan goes first. (Hoyt should look at the many contributions Madigan gets from Republicans as well).
Madigan has name recognition, huge amounts of cash, is chairman of the Democrat party and almost NO ONE KNOWS HIM IN THE 22ND DISTRICT. I’m a young Hispanic/Polish female with little money, no name recognition and a huge desire to represent the people of the 22nd district with honor and integrity. There are other so-called candidates in the race. Why didn’t Hoyt get the other candidates to the press conference/ambush? It is because they are fake candidates meant to confuse the voters. It is really pathetic and just another reason why Madigan will go to his deathbed one day with an enormous amount of guilt. With Madigan’s wide-ranging corrupt power and money, why is he (or Hoyt) worried about a little Hispanic/Polish girl anyway?” stated Piszczor.
They may not know him, but they all have his signs in their yards. Just sayin…
* Anyway, Piszczor told me via e-mail this weekend that Jack Roeser will henceforth be backing her campaign. Piszczor reported $5,000 in total contributions yesterday from a Barrington company and a Wheeling CEO.
* Last fall, state Senate candidate Tom Pliura (R-Ellsworth) went a bit off track during a tea party forum…
Pliura said he was “disappointed” to see the passage of a civil-unions law in Illinois earlier this year, saying it “wasn’t necessary” and “wasn’t appropriate.”
The LeRoy physician and attorney said he was “strongly opposed to gay marriage.”
“I don’t think society ought to be condoning that anymore than, quite frankly, if a guy wants to get married with a donkey,” he said. “If you want to have relations with your donkey, that’s fine. Just don’t ask me to say, ‘OK, now that we have a civil union here, my donkey can get health care benefits.’”
And now somebody has posted a mocking video of Pliura’s moment…
Oy.
I called Dr. Pliura today and asked if he would do anything different if he had to do it over again. Pliura said he was talking in the forum about how his late brother was gay and how he was personally opposed to civil unions, but did admit “I probably should have just stopped right there.”
No kidding.
“I’m learning very quickly,” Pliura added. “I’m a newbie to this.”
* This TV ad isn’t so humorous. As subscribers already know, Rep. Randy Ramey was whacked for his DUI…
* Congressman Don Manzullo goes after Congressman Adam Kinzinger on government spending…
…Adding… Congressman Kinzinger also has a TV ad up…
A deeper look into where the responses to this poll came from reveals that Manzullo continues to lead comfortably in the areas he represented prior to the re-map, while young Adam Kinzinger is cleaning up in both his former area and the areas that are new to both candidates. As we always like to point out: a single poll in a given district should never be taken as a prediction of the inevitable. But the internal numbers–especially WHERE the responses came from–point to Kinzinger as the clear leader for now.
* This is a classic media overstatement about a legislative proposal…
Taxing junk food and cigarettes could save Illinois much-needed money, according to the Illinois Hospital Association.
On the line are 19,000 jobs that could be eliminated as Illinois Governor Pat Quinn tries to cut back on Medicaid costs.
“They’ve shown a link between these sugary beverages and obesity and thus diabetes,” said Jeni Tackett, a registered dietician with Trinity-Bettendorf.
Tackett says taxing sodas and energy drinks would force people to think differently about what they’re putting into their bodies.
The hospital association will “vigorously” fight any cuts to Medicaid payments to hospitals, she said. Such payment cuts could result in the closure of struggling hospitals, leaving Illinois with more “health care deserts,” such as in East St. Louis, which already lost its only hospital.
“This is not a haircut; $2 billion is a scalp,” [Illinois Hospital Association chief Maryjane Wurth] said.
Hospitals would pay a tax on outpatient gross revenues, which would generate a $240 million federal match per year. That would result in $480 million a year to Medicaid providers, including hospitals, nursing homes and providers of services for people with developmental disabilities. […]
Q. You also propose increasing revenues for Medicaid by raising cigarette taxes from the current 98 cents a pack, adding a tax on junk food and increasing the sales tax on soft drinks.
The cigarette tax hike would bring in $377 million. All all that up and you’re talking real money. But still not enough to forestall all those cuts. And “tax” is now a four-letter word in Illinois since the income tax was raised. It’s a tough road.
Women’s health advocates fear that waiting lists for a state-funded screening program will grow if Illinois officials cut even more from the program in the next fiscal year.
Waiting lists that have developed in recent months for uninsured women seeking medical tests and examinations through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program may not be eliminated despite $1.4 million in supplemental grants sent out this week, program director Jean Becker said Friday.
Advocates are concerned that Gov. Pat Quinn, in his fiscal 2013 budget address Wednesday, may propose even deeper cuts for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.
“I’m very worried about it,” said Anne Marie Murphy, executive director of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. “The funding for this year’s program was woefully inadequate.”
* Unions may have to choose between salaries, pensions: As Gov. Pat Quinn prepares his budget address for Wednesday, the president of the Illinois Senate says state workers might have to compromise between salary increases and pension benefits… “AFSCME’s at the table. They know that. How can they ask for a pay raise for their salaries when they know all of the extra money the state will be bringing in this year as a result of normal growth will go to pensions?” he said.
* Quinn to call for spending cuts, action on bills: But it’s not clear whether Quinn will present detailed proposals for solving those problems when he speaks Wednesday. Quinn aides said he will “lay out all the options” and “put the options out there.” Anderson did say Quinn is not counting on cutting pension costs in the upcoming budget and that the state will make its full contribution to the retirement systems for government employees.
* Quinn Proposes $50 Million For Illinois Scholarship Program: Governor Quinn says he will close facilities and make cuts to other departments to cover the costs of the educational investments. St. Sen. Mike Jacobs says he wants to know where the cuts will fall, before he gives the governor his support. “If he’s going to make some additional dollars spent toward education, I want to know exactly what he’s going to cut,” said Jacobs.
* Quinn’s budget speech could set stage for ‘ugly year’: “I can’t imagine he’s going to go down the road of closing correctional facilities because we are overcrowded,” said Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield. “I felt that was an empty threat last fall.”
* Governor Pat Quinn to Announce Budget Plan: Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) said, “If the talk is only about making the deep cuts and we never get around to really addressing the core problems, then I think we’re just going to continue to just exist as opposed to flourish like we really should be doing.”
* Illinois Chamber President Doug Whitley gave Gov. Pat Quinn a C to a C+ grade for job creation policies so far. The governor took umbrage…
Quinn responded that he believed the United Auto Workers would give him an A thanks to his role in convincing Chrysler to bring 1,800 jobs to its Belvidere plant.
Point taken, but considering that Illinois is almost always portrayed as the worst state in the entire freaking universe, an average to slightly above average grade from the state Chamber leader is comparatively positive.
To that end, Whitley said that ahead of Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address Wednesday, the Chamber of Commerce is highlighting five areas where the state needs to focus on making serious improvements. They include restoring fiscal integrity, reducing the cost of doing business, improving education and work force skills, investing in infrastructure and improving confidence in the state’s judiciary.
Thus far on making the necessary improvements, the Chamber’s leader gave Quinn a grade of ‘C,’ mainly because he said the jury is still out on the changes the governor has implemented. Yet he acknowledged Quinn has improved our situation in the last three years.
Whitley took a favorable view of reports that Quinn plans to call for a 9 percent cut in state spending over the coming year.
“I would think that would be significant,” he said. “If that’s what comes through, that would set the right tone.”
Whitley did praise the governor for identifying economic development as a priority, and especially for putting renewed focus on generating more trade between Illinois and the rest of the world. But he says Quinn “gets a really low grade on fiscal policy.”
“The situation is not terribly different in Illinois than the situation in (debt-crippled) Greece,” Whitley said. “We are going to have to do things that aren’t terribly popular — but it’s the only way to turn this state around.”
Granted, cutting the Illinois budget by a similar amount would have a lesser impact on the economy than slashing a federal budget. But it’s still gonna hurt, and it’s a bit unseemly to be so glib about the coming cuts (which we’ll discuss in another post).
