Stay requested on pension law
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The State University Annuitants Association has filed a motion requesting that the relevant portions of the pension reform law be stayed. WUIS has more…
These workers can escape some of the pension reductions if they quit before July. But once someone retires, there’s no going back.
The filing argues that “misinformation and confusion” surrounding the pension law is widespread.
And with State University Retirement System overwhelmed with members seeking counseling, people are having to make these decisions without “the benefit of full information.” It says many workers may be compelled to retire on the mere chance the law would be upheld.
Though the motion is specific to members of the State University Retirement System, a stay would likely be effective for all affected public employees.
I’ve requested a copy of the motion. Check this post for updates in a bit.
…Adding… Click here to read the motion.
…Adding more… With a hat tip to a reader, this was in the DeKalb Daily Chronicle…
As many news organizations have reported in the past week or so, the new, controversial pension “reform” law includes a mistake that affects some public university employees and is causing what some are calling “a mass exodus.”
That’s not an exaggeration. Just at NIU, it’s been reported that as many as 800 employees, or 20 percent, are suddenly heading for the exits. Without even concentrating, I personally can think of about 10 people leaving. Sure, some faculty members might come back to teach on an ad hoc basis, but many won’t and very few staff will return.
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Question of the day
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sean Sullivan writing in the Washington Post’s “The Fix”…
The road to reelection for Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) was always going to be difficult. But it looks even harder at the end of a troubling week for the Democrat when a federal probe of an anti-violence initiative he started has received widespread attention in the state.
At minimum, the episode is an unwelcome distraction; at most, it could become a big blow to the good-government image Quinn has carefully crafted, close watchers say. […]
A large part of Quinn’s path to victory will depend upon how negative a light Democrats can cast Rauner in during the run-up to November. But the more the focus is on Quinn, the more difficult his path becomes.
Keep in mind that Rod Blagojevich was reelected a few days after his top fundraiser Tony Rezko was indicted and that Quinn was elected in 2010 with an approval rating in the 30s. Also keep in mind that Bruce Rauner has a whole lot more money to spend than any GOP nominee in many a year.
* The Question: On a scale of one to five, with one being the least and five being the most, rate the impact of this anti-violence initiative scandal on Quinn’s reelection chances. Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
customer survey
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Beyond the rhetoric
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From an op-ed by Kent Redfield on the proposed constitutional amendment to reform redistricting…
This redistricting amendment is straightforward: Create an independent commission of Illinois citizens who would draw state maps in a transparent way, using nonpartisan, criteria. Those criteria would include keeping together communities of common interests — economic, social, racial, linguistic or cultural.
They also include respecting existing city and geographic boundaries and complying with state and federal voting rights laws. And the criteria prohibit the commission from favoring one political party over another or using district boundaries to reward or punish any incumbent legislator.
The number of signatures collected showing support for putting the proposal on the ballot make it unlikely a challenge to their validity will be successful. My reading of the proposal is in agreement with many experts who believe the Illinois Supreme Court will turn back any legal challenge to the proposal.
Yet political leaders in control of the legislature are laying the groundwork to challenge this measure.
Why use precious resources against long odds? The risk does offer a reward. If efforts to block the proposal from being on the November ballot are successful, it will relieve those in power from having to defend the failed status quo.
During the debate over the constitutional convention several years ago, I argued forcefully and repeatedly for a convention based mostly on this one issue of redistricting reform. Politicians shouldn’t be allowed to choose their own voters.
* But there’s a real constitutional issue here. This is what the Illinois Constitution says about citizen amendment initiatives…
Amendments shall be limited to structural and procedural subjects contained in Article IV
Article IV is the General Assembly’s article.
* But this is from the proposed amendment’s language on the composition of the Redistricting Commission…
For ten years after service as a Commissioner or Special Commissioner, a person is ineligible to serve as a Senator, Representative, officer of the Executive Branch, Judge, or Associate Judge of the State or an officer or employee of the State whose appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
By prohibiting people from running for judge or statewide office for ten years, the proposal goes well beyond anything in Article IV.
And that’s a real problem, no matter what the merits of the issue of redistricting reform itself may be. I can understand the reform reasoning for putting that campaign ban in there, but I don’t yet see the constitutional support for it.
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Wheeler on the rebates
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Charlie Wheeler has the best criticism I’ve yet seen on the proposal by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Gov. Pat Quinn to mail out $500 “property tax rebate” checks before the November election…
Quinn touted the idea as “the most significant property tax relief in state history,” at best a dubious claim for a couple of reasons. Chief among them is the fact that the annual $500 check would not be linked at all to actual property tax payments, nor would the giveaway benefit everyone. Indeed, homeowners whose tax bills exceed $10,000 actually would lose money under the governor’s plan, because they’d no longer have the current income tax credit equal to 5 percent of property taxes paid. Renters would get nothing, even though they also pay property taxes as part of their monthly payments.
The governor likened his plan to former Gov. Jim Edgar’s 1997 effort to raise income tax rates to provide more money for local schools and to cut local property taxes, also a stretch if not downright mendacious. The key difference: A major feature of the Edgar tax swap proposal called for a dollar-for-dollar reduction in local school levies for some $900 million in additional state aid, which analysts at the time estimated would amount to almost a 30 percent cut in school operating taxes. Quinn’s plan ignores local property tax levies altogether.
In addition to property tax relief, the Edgar proposal also would have increased state aid to poorer school districts by some $600 million; the only way the governor’s $500 checks would help struggling schools would be if the folks who got them splurged at PTA fundraisers.
Still, maintaining income tax rates at current levels, as Quinn wants, is critical to the financial well-being of the state’s schools, which would lose more than $600 million in general funds otherwise, according to budget documents. With the rates in place, the budget recommends a $291 million general funds increase.
Using the $700 million in net new cost for those rebate checks could boost that school spending increase to a billion dollars.
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Beware the radicals
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From an anti-fracking op-ed by William Rau…
Last year, I emailed Illinois legislators showing how the definition of high-volume horizontal fracturing in the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Act created a loophole exempting oil producers from the law. Legislators dismissed the warning and passed the Frack Act last May. Now, Denver-based Strata-X is preparing to frack a horizontal well next month with a permit filed under the old Illinois Oil & Gas Act.
The consequences? First, permit fees drop from $13,500 per well to $15 per well when Strata-X drills its 100-plus planned wells. Second, production taxes, which are 11 percent in North Dakota, drop from about 3 percent to one-tenth of 1 percent in Illinois with all revenue going to an oil promotion board. Counties can forget about receiving state funds for highway repairs.
Third, blanket bond moneys for plugging defunct wells and cleaning up well sites drop from $500,000 — already inadequate for preventing bond forfeiture — to $25,000. For 100 wells, that’s $250 per well, about 1/100th of actual plugging and cleanup costs.
Guess who will be stuck with the cleanup costs?
Finally, public notice requirements, baseline water testing, insurance provisions, modest environmental protections and setbacks, earthquake mitigation, bans on open pit storage of frack waste water, etc., are all gone.
* There’s also another claimed loophole. SJ-R…
Environmental groups dismissed draft rules released in November as riddled with loopholes favoring the oil and gas industry.
Opponents of the practice of using high-pressure water and chemicals to free oil and gas from rock formations also are pushing for a fracking moratorium in the spring legislative session.
“The big issue with us is the fact that we are pretty convinced the industry is already dry fracking,” said Annette McMichael, spokeswoman for Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment.
McMichael said dry fracking relies on nitrogen and propane to circumvent limits on the volume of water and chemicals permitted.
* I asked Mark Denzler of the IMA to respond…
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Mr. Rau’s continued forays against energy development in Illinois. Mr. Rau and IPA are publicly on record as opposing any form of hydraulic fracturing in Illinois so his latest op ed is simply more of the same on this topic.
For the record, there are no loopholes in the Illinois law. The General Assembly, working in concert with industry, environmental community and the Attorney General’s office, crafted a strong law regulating the new generation technology known as high volume hydraulic fracturing. It’s interesting to note that a few days ago, the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana reached a milestone of producing its 1 billionth barrel of oil while we continue to wait for the Department of Natural Resources to promulgate final rules.
The definition of a high volume hydraulic fracturing operation is 300,000 gallons of fluid (not simply water) or 80,000 gallons per stage. The total gallonage standard was a last second request by the environmental community during negotiations and inclusion of a conversion factor is being discussed as part of the rulemaking process. Generally speaking, HVHF operations use millions of gallons of water so in reality Illinois set a very low threshold in order to ensure that the new regulations captured a wide range of operations. these operations must comply with the new law. Illinois policymakers clearly wanted to delineate the difference between conventional wells and new HVHF wells and they took the time to do their homework to craft a law that recognizes the differences.
Secondly, Illinois set a very stringent standard by defining a horizontal well as one that deviates more than 100 feet from surface to bottom hole location. Nearly every well has deviation and Illinois’ definition is very strong.
The legislature was diligent in making sure the law was tailored to address precisely the types of unconventional operations that have been the subject of media and policy discussion in other states.
So, actually, there is sort of a loophole for “dry fracking” in the legislation, but the conversion factor between nitrogen or propane and water is currently under discussion.
Also, I’m told it’s very likely that Strata-X’s project can’t circumvent the current law. We’ll see, but the standards are pretty darned tough.
In other words, the sky most likely isn’t falling.
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Credit Unions – Paying it Forward in their Communities
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Credit unions have a well-recognized reputation for providing exemplary service in meeting their members’ daily financial needs. A “People Helping People” philosophy also motivates credit unions to support countless community charitable activities on a continual basis. Financial Plus Credit Union is no exception, having raised and donated tens of thousands of dollars for many worthwhile causes throughout north central Illinois. This includes serving as the main sponsor and co-host of the local Easter Seals telethon, conducting food drives for local food pantries, collecting supplies during times of disaster such as last year’s flooding, and much more. Members are also seeing new donation canisters in the credit union’s lobbies this year that facilitate collections for a different local organization each quarter. Staff members has also come to the aid of the community via donating individual funds to help families facing significant medical crises, and purchasing holiday gifts on a private basis for foster children. Credit unions are able to wholly serve their communities because of their not-for-profit cooperative structure and leadership of a volunteer board elected by and from the local membership. Financial Plus has been family managed since its inception in 1951 and for the past 38 years under the leadership of Jack Teausant. Credit unions– locally owned, voluntarily led, and Paying it Forward in your community.
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Today’s numbers
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jeff Ignatius looks at another reason why the progressive “Fair Tax” proponents might be better off waiting until next year, if, of course, the 5 percent income tax is made permanent…
• Compared to the pre-2011 flat-income-tax rate of 3 percent, the Fair Tax represents a tax break for only those whose net income is below roughly $13,150. (Over-simplistically, net income is total income minus the standard deduction of $2,100 per person in a household. So for a married couple with two dependent children, $13,150 in net income would be the same as $21,550 in total income.)
• Compared to the 3.75-percent income-tax rate that is scheduled to take effect on January 1, the Fair Tax plan represents a tax cut to taxpayers with net incomes up to roughly $21,740.
• Compared to the 5-percent income-tax rate that took effect in 2011 and is scheduled to expire at the end of this year, the Fair Tax plan represents a tax cut for those with net incomes up to roughly $202,630. This is the comparison that Fair Tax advocates are making with the promise of tax cuts for 94 percent of Illinoisans. (You can see how your income-tax picture looks in this scenario at FairTaxCut.com. Be sure to enter your total income before the $2,100-per-person standard deduction.)
Yet even if one compares the Fair Tax plan to the 5-percent rate, the tax cut is modest. At $180,000 of net income, a taxpayer’s bill under the Fair Tax plan would be $430 less than it is now – a tax cut of less than 5 percent.
As a percentage of taxes owed, the Fair Tax plan would benefit lower-income taxpayers most, but even then it would amount to only a few hundred dollars. (The tax cut doesn’t reach $300 until $50,000 of net income.) Still, for taxpayers with net incomes below roughly $62,000, it is a tax cut of more than 10 percent from what they’re currently paying.
The lower-income tax cuts are offset by tax hikes for higher incomes. A taxpayer with $1 million in net income will see a tax hike of $15,150 (more than 30 percent) compared to the current 5-percent-flat-tax rate, and $27,650 (almost 74 percent) compared to the scheduled 3.75-percent rate. At $300,000 of net income, the tax hike is $1,850 (more than 12 percent) compared to the 5-percent flat rate, and $5,600 (almost 50 percent) compared to 3.75 percent.
Thoughts?
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Grant probe is “not over”
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
The former police chief of County Club Hills was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for diverting $917,000 from a state job-training grant to help remodel her home, travel to Las Vegas and distribute cash to her family and friends.
Regina Evans, 51, tearfully begged U.S. District Judge Sue Myerscough to not “take my life away,” before the sentence was handed down. Federal prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of more than 10 years.
After the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Bass said the investigation that led to Evans conviction and has also taken down former state Rep. Connie Howard, Jeri Wright, the daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and a top state public health official, is ongoing.
“It’s not over,” Bass said.
* More on that last line from the Sun-Times…
Without naming names, [Evans’ lawyer, Lawrence Beaumont] lashed out at the prosecution during the hearing, accusing the government of having a “misguided vendetta” against her. He said she “made telephone calls” and wore a wire on behalf of the government in pursuit of other targets, but she didn’t deliver any prized political pelts sought by prosecutors.
“In my humble opinion, part of the prosecution in this case had some kind of vendetta against her because she refused to cooperate or didn’t cooperate the way they felt she should against some political people in Chicago. They seem to want to take that out on her, which in my opinion is inappropriate,” Beaumont said.
During testimony in her two-day sentencing hearing, U.S. Postal Inspector Basil Demczak indicated the government criminal investigation into grant fraud at the Department of Commerce and Opportunity remains ongoing.
Asked later to clarify those remarks, Bass said, “I can only speak for what’s in the record. Again, what’s in the record is what Inspector Demczak testified to, and that is this case arose from an investigation of DCEO’s employment opportunity grant program that was targeted at helping underrepresented persons, underprivileged minority persons in the Chicago-area community.
“The investigation involved not just looking at Ms. Evans as one grantee but the entire program and whether or not other persons, other grantees, or other public officials had engaged in any wrongdoing. Inspector Demczak testified that investigation is ongoing,” Bass said, declining to name any targets.
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A much better response
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* One of the problems with some Republican opposition to House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bill to appropriate $100 million to help fund the construction of an Obama presidential library was that the GOPs set a rhetorical trap for themselves. For instance…
“We’re not opposed to the library, but we have lots of other needs,” [Republican Rep. Ed Sullivan] said, citing, for example, Emanuel’s push to outfit more city schools with air-conditioning.
“Do you want to pay for air conditioning in schools or a library? Do you want to pay for cops on the streets to stop the killing or do you want to pay for a library?” Sullivan said.
Statements like that made it appear that they could support big, new spending for Chicago.
* Sen. Bill Brady’s idea to allow Illinois taxpayers to contribute via income tax checkoff is much better…
“We absolutely want future presidential libraries to be built in Illinois. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library has proven to be a major tourist destination, bringing people from around the country and world to visit Springfield,” Brady said. “However, simply put, Illinois doesn’t have $100 million to spend on a presidential library. State funds are already spread too thin to pay off our debt, make upgrades to our roads and provide essential services.”
If approved, the tax check-off would appear on tax returns in 2015 with any proceeds going toward the construction of the library. If less than $100,000 is collected, the check-off would be eliminated.
* Even Madigan’s mouthpiece couldn’t say a whole lot in response…
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said contributions to tax check-offs have been “spotty.” But he said the speaker welcomed the additional fundraising option.
“We thank Senator Brady for his endorsement,” Brown said.
Discuss.
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An Illinois tradition
Friday, May 2, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Twitters…
* Bill Cameron at WLS has more…
The feds in Springfield are now on the case investigating Governor Pat Quinn’s very controversial anti-violence program that the GOP calls a slush fund to buy black votes before the 2010 election.
This is the fourth Illinois governor in a row to be investigated by the feds. Before Quinn, governors Rod Blagojevich and George Ryan did time, or still is doing time, for selling their offices. Even Jim Edgar was probed in the MSI scandal, but survived the search.
Jim Thompson was not investigated, but he was the feds, having been the U.S. attorney who sent another governor to prison, Otto Keener, in a race track stock scandal. Governor Dan Walker did time, not for corruption, but for bank fraud after he was out of office.
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Quinn wants to ban “puppy mill” sales
Thursday, May 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Has anybody told Pat Quinn that Bill Brady lost the primary? From a press release..
Governor Pat Quinn today announced his support for legislation to end “puppy mill” sales at pet stores in Illinois. The legislation, sponsored by State Senator Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) and State Representative Dan Burke (D-Chicago), would prohibit Illinois pet shops from selling dogs and cats they have acquired from commercial “breeders” – often large facilities that mass-produce animals for sale. Today’s announcement is part of Governor Quinn’s agenda to improve animal welfare in Illinois and protect pets and their owners.
“This proposal will help end inhumane puppy mills, protect pet owners and help shelter animals find loving homes,” Governor Quinn said. “Cook County will soon offer this humane protection and together we can build on that momentum for families across Illinois.”
Senate Amendment 1 to House Bill 4056 would require pet shops to sell only those dogs and cats they have acquired from an animal shelter or animal control facility. Pet shops could no longer sell dogs or cats they have acquired from a breeder, but the bill allows responsible breeders to sell directly to individuals. The legislation is supported by the Humane Society of the United States.
“This measure ensures safer and more humane treatment of pets and will also guarantee that people will be able to purchase healthy dogs and cats,” Senator Kotowski said.
“Pets are a part of many families, and this legislation will help when choosing one of these new family members,” Representative Burke said. “It will also reduce the number of shelter animals and bring more healthy pets into Illinois homes.”
Many pet stores do not disclose the true origins of the animals they obtain from commercial breeding operations. The animals are often produced in unhealthy or inhumane environments that could result in heartache or large veterinary bills for unsuspecting buyers. Responsible breeders usually want to meet their buyers in person to ensure their puppies or kittens find a good home and that pet owners’ questions about the animals can be fully answered.
“This legislation would help end the euthanasia of thousands of adoptable dogs and cats every year in the state, and will drive the market toward responsible breeders and adoptions of homeless animals from shelters and rescues instead of puppies produced in puppy mills,” Kristen Strawbridge, Illinois State Director of the Humane Society of the United States said.
“This legislation is about both animal welfare and consumer protection,” Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey said. “I commend Governor Quinn for his leadership on this issue that will make healthier pets and happier owners throughout Illinois.”
“The filthy and abusive conditions found in puppy mills are beyond inhumane,” said Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza, who helped enact the city ordinance that inspired this proposed state legislation. “This legislation is about protecting not only the pets we love, but also the consumers who want to provide a loving home to an animal that needs one. I’m very proud that the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago are national leaders when it comes to humane animal laws.”
Governor Quinn is the proud owner of a rescue dog named Rosie, a Yorkshire Terrier mix who he recently adopted from PAWS. The Governor has long been a pet lover and advocate for the humane treatment of animals. Last year he signed the “Puppy Lemon Law” to give buyers protection for pet purchases and to help reduce the possibility of emotional trauma that comes from losing a pet. He also signed new laws to help ensure that all dogs in Illinois are treated humanely when tethered outside and to provide humane options for stray farm animals such as adoption or placement in a sanctuary.
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* This story is firing up some of the bluest blogs…
As state courts across the nation prepare to referee numerous public pension reform disputes, a gaggle of interested parties — from major corporations to the Koch brothers — will next week sponsor an expenses-paid conference on public pension reform for judges who may decide the cases’ fates.
Conference funders, which include ExxonMobil, Google and Wal-Mart, could benefit from efforts to slash benefits for public employees. Alternative approaches to shore up state budgets would likely require higher corporate taxes, fewer corporate subsidies and reduced government services, all of which would be bad for business. […]
[David Sirota, a liberal writer and commentator], for one, said the conference hosted by George Mason’s Law & Economics Center is “an effort to lobby judges.”
“It’s crossing a line that’s not supposed to be crossed,” he said. “What’s next? Is a company going to be able to hire a lobbyist to go lobby a judge in chambers?”
Illinois is featured prominently in the story, so I checked with Joe Tybor over at the Illinois Supreme Court to ask if any justices were planning to attend the conference. He asked them all and told me that none were going.
* Meanwhile, from Illinois Review…
Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey said Wednesday that Illinois towns and cities would be in a better position to face their public safety pension obligations if they had the ability to file for bankruptcy.
The statement came during a downstate and suburban mayors’ news conference held in Illinois’ state capitol. […]
“Soaring pension costs aren’t just a Chicago issue or a state issue. The fire and police pension systems are suffocating the budgets of every town, village and city in Illinois,” said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis. “In Peoria, for every dollar the city pays a firefighter, we pay over 50 additional cents to fund their pension. For police officers, it’s 41 additional cents.
Thoughts?
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Feds taking a look
Thursday, May 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Auditor General Bill Holland forwarded his documents from his audit of Gov. Pat Quinn’s horribly botched anti violence program to the US Attorney in Springfield. That office then made a call to the comptroller in late March asking for some records…
“We have been contacted by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative,” spokesman Brad Hahn said following an inquiry from the Chicago Sun-Times political portal E&O. “There was a request for information, I can’t go into the nature of what they were looking for.”
The request was made on March 27th by phone, Hahn said.
“I can’t disclose the nature of the request from law enforcement, it’s a legal issue,” he said. “In keeping with the attorney general’s interpretation of FOIA, I can confirm we’ve been contacted by the U.S. Department of Justice.” […]
Sources with knowledge of the exchange said investigators asked for vendor information, copies of contracts and copies of signed checks tied to the Neighborhood Recovery Initiative.
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Question of the day
Thursday, May 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Reboot…
The Chicago pension bill backed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and passed by Springfield is sitting on Gov. Pat Quinn’s desk, and the governor is in no hurry to sign it. […]
Quinn doesn’t want to sign off on legislation that could possibly lead to an increase in property taxes for Chicagoans, especially after he trumpeted property tax relief in his 2014 budget address. Instead, Quinn proposed giving out extra tax revenue in the state to municipalities in need of pension fixes, including Chicago.
Emanuel has no problem with the governor sharing a greater amount of the state income tax revenue with municipalities, but that won’t replace the need to raise property taxes in Chicago, he said.
* The Question: What do you think Gov. Quinn will do with the Chicago pension reform bill? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
surveys
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The fear of change
Thursday, May 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The University of Illinois at Chicago interviewed several dozen guardians of Jacksonville Developmental Center, which was closed by the Quinn administration. The center cared for severely disabled residents. The closure was hugely controversial.
Initially, the vast majority of guardians, 83 percent, were dissatisfied with the facility’s closure. But since then, 89.2 percent said they are now somewhat to very satisfied with their ward’s current living situation.
Also, 33 percent said their wards were “significantly” better off after the closure, while another 27 percent said they were “somewhat” better. 27 percent said there was no change and 13 percent said the situation was somewhat worse. Nobody, however, said their ward’s situation was significantly worse.
* But, not all went well…
The majority of survey respondents felt that the closure process moved too quickly.
• 52% said it was too fast;
• 43% said it moved at a good pace; and
• 5% said it moved too slowly.
* Anyway, the Tribune referenced this March report in an editorial today about Quinn’s plans to close a similar facility….
Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor, recently announced that he opposes Quinn’s plans to close the Murray Developmental Center in Centralia. “Right now, Murray Center is the best option for these families,” Rauner said at a Saturday appearance there.
Rauner wants to keep the center operating until the relatives and guardians of all of its 222 residents are willing to accept an alternative placement for their loved ones, a campaign spokesman said.
This mystifies us. Doesn’t Rauner profess to be the candidate who will make the tough decisions to put Illinois on sound financial footing? In this case, he’s taking political advantage of a tough decision made by Quinn … to put Illinois on sound financial footing. […]
Here’s the argument we would have expected Rauner to make:
Illinois’ remaining seven developmental centers serve about 1,800 residents at an annual cost of $240,000 per person. The cost of community-based group homes averages less than one-third of that amount, though the cost varies depending on the level of care provided. According to evidence presented by the state in the federal lawsuit seeking to block the closing of Murray, Illinois stands to save $100,000 a year for each Murray resident who makes the transition to community care.
Discuss.
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* Bruce Rauner spent months bashing state employees and their unions, but now wants them to help take down Gov. Pat Quinn. From a press release…
CALL (855) PAT-TIPS
Bruce Rauner’s campaign today launched a statewide whistleblower tip line for citizens who wish to anonymously report incidents of corruption, including patronage hiring and misuse of state funds. The “Pat Quinn Corruption Hotline” comes amid reports that Pat Quinn and his administration are under investigation by the state’s inspector general for illegal hiring practices and separately under investigation by the Cook County State’s Attorney for misuse of state anti-violence funding.
On Wednesday, Gov. Quinn’s lawyer confirmed to a federal judge that the state inspector general is investigating allegations of illegal patronage hiring at the Illinois Department of Transportation. Also Wednesday, the Chicago Sun-Times broke the news that the Cook County State’s Attorney had issued subpoenas probing alleged misuse of funds in a Quinn anti-violence program. Yesterday, Illinois Senator Mark Kirk and several members of the congressional delegation requested a federal investigation into whether Quinn misused federal stimulus funds to subsidize or justify patronage hiring.
“Pat Quinn has expanded Rod Blagojevich’s culture of corruption in Illinois and these investigations are just the tip of the iceberg,” Rauner campaign spokesperson Mike Schrimpf said. “We know there are good, honest, hard-working people around Illinois who have information about Pat Quinn’s corruption and patronage schemes. If you see something, say something – call the toll-free Quinn Corruption Hotline at 855-PAT-TIPS and report Pat Quinn’s wrongdoing. The people of Illinois deserve to know the truth.”
The Quinn Corruption Hotline accepts anonymous tips. Caller identities will be protected to prevent political retaliation. Tips can also be emailed to stopcorruption@brucerauner.com.
Later today, from 11:30am to 12:30pm, Rauner campaign volunteers will be outside the James R. Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph Street, Chicago) to distribute information about the hotline to state employees during their lunch breaks. Media are invited to film b-roll.
Discuss.
*** UPDATED x1 *** Gov. Quinn established a similar thing in 2009…
Governor Pat Quinn backs government watchdogs
Launches Whistleblower.Illinois.gov to crack down on corruption
CHICAGO – April 15, 2009. Governor Pat Quinn is urging government employees and taxpayers to demand integrity and honesty in state government by blowing the whistle on corruption. To advance this effort, Governor Quinn is launching Whistleblower.Illinois.gov, an interactive website that allows watchdogs to easily report suspected government corruption.
“Today is the deadline for filing U.S. tax returns that support and pay for our government. So it’s especially fitting that we demand our elected officials always operate in the taxpayers’ interest,” said Governor Quinn. “When an official betrays the public’s trust, it’s often a whistleblower that helps bring that injustice out in the open.”
Governor Quinn added that those who blow the whistle on waste and fraud in government are protected from official retribution by the Illinois Whistleblower Reward and Protection Act. In 1991, then-State Treasurer Quinn spearheaded passage of the Illinois whistleblower law.
In 2008, the Illinois Whistleblower Act was expanded to include all levels of government in the state. Since the act was strengthened, the state can collect up to three times the amount lost to fraud, along with fines up to $10,000. A whistleblower can get up to 30% of the amount recovered as a reward for upon completion of a successful whistleblower suit.
The new website, Whistleblower.Illinois.gov, provides concerned citizens details on the Illinois Whistleblower Act and advice on how to report corruption.
* Also OneMan is at the Thompson Center…
Not many people there.
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Farnham gets $4500 bond, home confinement
Thursday, May 1, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Really?…
A former Illinois state representative charged with possession of child pornography was released Wednesday on $4,500 bond but ordered confined to his home pending a trial.
Former Illinois State Rep. Keith Farnham, 66, was charged Monday after two child pornography videos were found on a computer seized from his Elgin office in March, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
A federal judge on Wednesday banned him from using computers or having unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.
* Even a cursory reading of the federal complaint would make one question this judge’s decision. More…
Farnham was charged Monday with possessing two videos depicting child pornography on a computer that was seized from his state office in Elgin a week before his abrupt resignation in March.
The federal criminal complaint also alleged he used personal and state-owned computers to trade hundreds of images and videos depicting child pornography and engage in graphic online chats in which he allegedly bragged about sexually molesting a 6-year-old girl. Authorities also linked a Yahoo email account used by Farnham to an online trading forum in which he chatted with other users about his sexual preferences, according to the charges.
Ugh.
* Sorry, but I don’t care about his physical health…
On Wednesday, Farnham looked gaunt and carried a portable oxygen tank. He answered “yes” to the judge when asked if he understood his rights.
Shortly after the brief hearing, Farnham’s attorney, Terry Ekl, told reporters he had not reviewed the case and could not discuss the evidence.
Ekl said his client has serious medical conditions, including a past bout with bladder cancer. Farnham is also in need of a lung transplant, Ekl said.
“Between his physical health and these charges, he’s having a very difficult time,” Ekl said.
Whatever.
My own personal opinion about what Farnham ought to do now would get me banned from my own blog.
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* The GOP opposition to House Speaker Michael Madigan’s bill appropriating $100 million for an Obama presidential library is principled and on target…
“We’re not opposed to the library, but we have lots of other needs,” [Republican Rep. Ed Sullivan] said, citing, for example, Emanuel’s push to outfit more city schools with air-conditioning.
“Do you want to pay for air conditioning in schools or a library? Do you want to pay for cops on the streets to stop the killing or do you want to pay for a library?” Sullivan said.
* Rep. Ron Sandack…
“I would love to see an Obama Presidential Library in Chicago, but believe it is incredibly irresponsible for the majority party to suggest allocating $100 million in taxpayer money to help fund it. Illinois has colossal financial problems, and at a time when critical budget areas like Education, Human Services, Infrastructure and Public Safety are underfunded, it’s just bad policy to be throwing money we don’t have toward a project we’re not required to fund.
“Representatives from the federal National Archives and Records Administration stated that all existing presidential libraries from our 31st President Herbert Hoover through our 43rd President George W. Bush, were constructed solely with privately-raised funds. The precedent is clear, and Illinois is not in a position to break tradition by offering to foot the bill.
“This isn’t Monopoly Money that would be funding this project. It’s real, hard-earned taxpayer money from the citizens of Illinois. Sometimes I wonder if the majority party forgets that they are dealing with actual dollars.
“Majority party leaders in Springfield are talking out of both sides of their mouths. They claim they must permanently extend the temporary tax increase of 2011 because the State is in dire financial trouble, and in the next breath they are advocating spending $100 million in taxpayer funds on the Obama library project. The state has $7.2 billion in unpaid bills and a $100 billion unfunded pension liability. While I support the construction of the Obama Presidential Library in Illinois, I cannot support spending taxpayer money on it. I’ll be voting no.”
* Jack Dorgan…
“We certainly think that the Obama Library in Springfield or Chicago would be a perfect location,” said Jack Dorgan, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. “But the use of public funds at this time is unacceptable. It needs to be spent on deteriorating classrooms and fixing potholes in our streets.”
* But Madigan is pretty much all about the politics…
“The people that are concerned about the optics are the people that are not supporting it. And you heard the roll call: They’re all Republicans,” Madigan told reporters.
* He did, however, address the propriety of spending tax dollars…
“We did it for Abraham Lincoln here in Springfield,” Madigan said, citing the presidential library and museum in Lincoln’s hometown for which $125 million in state funding was appropriated. “We should do it for Barack Obama in Chicago.”
To further tamp down the GOP concerns about state funding for the Obama library, Madigan’s spokesman, Steve Brown, added that presidential libraries across the country have been built on land that either was given or leased to those respective institutions by universities.
* More…
“You don’t have Lincoln’s friends and family any longer who could raise money,” said Representative Ed Sullivan, a Republican from suburban Chicago. “It’s apples and oranges.”
Sullivan said Obama, 52, is a “prolific fundraiser,” who with Democratic allies raised more than $1 billion for his 2012 re-election campaign. Sullivan pledged to personally contribute to the project, if public funds aren’t used.
State Senator Matt Murphy, another Republican from suburban Chicago, said Madigan’s push for the public money has more to do with “racial and partisan” politics than economic development.
“He is showing a fear that his base isn’t going to come out in this election,” Murphy said. “They are trying to gin up the usual wedge issues.”
Brown said politics are also playing a role on the Republican side.
“The Tea Party gene has kicked in,” he said in a reference to the national limited-government movement. “Anything that has the Obama name, the Tea Party wants to object to.”
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* Sun-Times…
Powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has fired a pre-emptive strike at efforts to impose term limits and to take away his Democratic Party’s power to draw the boundaries of the state’s legislative map.
Madigan’s longtime lawyer Michael Kasper filed a lawsuit this week in Cook County Circuit Court that would prevent state, county and Chicago election authorities from conducting referendums of the two proposals in November. Setting term limits and changing the state’s redistricting process would require constitutional amendments. […]
The suit takes aim at what Kasper called two petition drives that “have been (or shortly will be filed)” with state officials to generate referendums on term limits and the redistricting proposal.
“This is a taxpayer action to restrain the expenditure of public funding to consider the propriety of two proposed amendments” to the state Constitution, Kasper wrote.
He also argues in the suit that the Illinois Supreme Court already ruled 20 years ago that term limits are an “improper subject for amendments.”
* AP…
Supporters of term limits were quick to call the lawsuit a “cynical ploy” by Madigan.
The 25-page complaint, filed on behalf of a group of community leaders representing a diverse group of ethnic, racial and business interests, argues that the proposed ballot measures are invalid because they do not meet a constitutional requirement for changes to the Legislature. The complaint also says “millions of taxpayer dollars” should not be used by the Board of Elections to reach that conclusion.
A spokesman for Madigan declined to comment on any involvement in the lawsuit.
“I know Speaker Madigan believes everyone should play by the rules,” spokesman Steve Brown told The Associated Press.
* Tribune…
At the heart of the taxpayer lawsuit are previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings involving petition-driven efforts to change the state constitution. The only part of the constitution that can be amended through the petition process must affect the legislature — and the state’s highest court has created only a narrow window, ruling that any proposed change must affect the legislature both structurally and procedurally.
The lawsuit contends the term-limit amendment proposal attempts to string together several unrelated issues to try to meet the court’s structural and procedural court test.
In addition to limiting legislative service to eight years, the proposed term limit amendment would require a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate to override a governor’s veto rather than the current three-fifths vote. It also would increase the size of the House from 118 to 123 members while reducing the Senate from 59 to 41 members. It also would eliminate the two-year terms that senators serve once every decade.
The lawsuit contends the state Supreme Court previously held that term limits, on its own, did not meet the structural and procedural test. It also alleged the increase in votes needed to override a veto was an “impermissible” transfer of power from the legislature to the governor.
As for the soon-to-be-filed remap proposal, the lawsuit notes the plan would prevent anyone serving on a newly constituted 11-member redistricting commission from becoming a lawmaker, statewide elected official or judge for 10 years. The suit contended that the new prohibitions affected qualifications for office and exceeded the scope of petition-driven amendment proposals.
* The lawsuit can be read in full by clicking here. I went into detail about the heart of the lawsuit for subscribers this morning, so I won’t be doing that here. But, to be brief, the main argument is that several items in both proposals go well beyond the Constitution’s requirement…
Amendments shall be limited to structural and procedural subjects contained in Article IV.
Anything in these proposals beyond those two changes, the suit claims, means they are unconstitutional.
* React from the Yes for Independent Maps group…
Well, it took almost no time for Mike Madigan and his lawyer to file their first frivolous lawsuit against Independent Maps. In fact, they filed it before we even got to Springfield with our petitions!
That tells you how desperate they are to keep us off the ballot, and how worried they are at the prospect of a system that puts the voters back in charge. Madigan’s blatantly political attempt to question the constitutionality of Independent Maps is just a feeble distraction from the back-room deals that dominate Illinois’ redistricting process, no matter which party is in power.
Our diverse supporters include former U.S. Attorneys, top-tier legal scholars, and many of the state’s most well-respected lawyers of all political stripes. This team spent two years making sure our amendment could withstand scrutiny, and we are confident in this proposal. It is exactly the kind of referendum that the drafters of the Illinois Constitution believed should bypass the legislature and go directly to the voters. After all, the leaders of the Illinois General Assembly have no reason to fix the system that has kept them, and their hand-picked successors, in power for decades.
We all knew the status quo would have an outsized reaction to us submitting petitions, but no one thought their fear would lead them to these depths quite so quickly. But thanks to you, tomorrow we’re going to give them over 500,000 reasons that the people of Illinois want our government back.
* Rauner campaign react…
Pat Quinn and Mike Madigan are the poster boys for term limits, and they both oppose this good-government reform so this lawsuit is no surprise.
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