*** UPDATE ***. A motion to reconsider was passed, Trotter withdrew his poison pill amendments and a “clean” bill has passed.
- End of update -
* Illinois Review…
It could soon cost $200 for kids to set up a lemonade stand, have a bake sale or sell cupcakes in Illinois.
“This is absolutely insane!” State Senator Jim Oberweis (R-Aurora) said at a Capitol press conference Friday. “Somebody in Madison County went crazy and decided to enforce a law against an 11 year old kid who was baking cupcakes. That was a mistake, but it happened.”
In the House, the little girl Oberweis referred to - Chloe Stirling of Troy’s State Representative Charlie Meier tried to do the right thing by introducing a law that would help those in her situation and exempt up to $1000 in sales.
“Then what happened? It came to the Senate… We ‘Illinois-ized’ the bill - doing things the way we do in Illinois, which is everything we can to discourage entrepeneurism to discourage business interests,” Oberweis told reporters. […]
[Sen. Donne Trotter] amended the bill to require anyone selling food products to take an 8 hour food service sanitation course costing $145, obtain a county health department permit costing $25, label the food products to indicate ingredients and the fact that they are homemade, plus another $35 fee.
* As expected, the amendment sank the bill today…
(B)y a 17-32 vote, with six members voting present, state senators killed the legislation, sponsored by Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, arguing it went too far and was unduly burdensome for children like Stirling wanting to make a few bucks off selling cupcakes or cookies on their driveways. […]
“This may sound like a silly thing known as the ‘cupcake girl’ bill, but this goes to the heart of what goes on in Springfield,” Oberweis said. “It’s an example of how we are Illinoizing, killing, entrepreneurship among kids.”
Trotter, however, defended the principle behind his legislation.
“It sounds good to talk about all these things — that we’re stifling entrepreneurship,” he said. “No, we’re actually encouraging it the right way. There are laws that have to be adhered to when you sell to the public. There are things we must be cognizant of, and that is the allergies or the other things that will impact other individuals’ health. That’s the job of public health.”
Thoughts?
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For the newbies
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Because I also write my daily newsletter, I’m often quite busy in the afternoons running down stories, etc. This is especially true in the last week of session.
So, if you’re looking for breaking Statehouse news, the very best place to find it is on our live session coverage post. Click here to go there now.
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Question of the day
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WUIS…
Universities in Illinois may soon get the chance to research industrial hemp. HB5085 is weaving its way through the legislature.
The Illinois Farm Bureau has been pushing the idea. But hemp was banned in the 1970’s and labeled a controlled substance, as it is related to marijuana.
Supporters say hemp can be re-purposed for materials like clothing, rope and much more. David Leitch–a House Republican from Peoria–says there’s been enough communication about what hemp actually is to make lawmakers comfortable with the bill.
“Time has come and the question is whether Illinois is going to be timely to this or be last like usual,” Leitch said.
* From the bill’s synopsis…
Provides that an institution of higher education or the Department of Agriculture may grow or cultivate industrial hemp if (1) the industrial hemp is grown or cultivated for purposes of research conducted under an agricultural pilot program or other agricultural or academic research, (2) the pilot program studies the growth, cultivation, or marketing of industrial hemp, and (3) any site used for the growing or cultivating of industrial hemp is certified by, and registered with, the Department of Agriculture.
The bill is now on concurrence in the House. The bill passed the Senate unanimously, 51-0. Almost all of those not voting were Democrats.
I’m continually amazed at these cannabis-related roll calls. Check out this link for some Illinois hemp history. It’s quite long.
* The Question: Should the General Assembly just forget about these studies and legalize hemp? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
polls
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A Real Solution for the Future
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois faces a retirement crisis. Over 2.5 million private sector workers in Illinois have no access to a retirement plan through their employer.
The question is not how to deal with the retirement crisis, but how and when…
The Secure Choice Savings Program (SB2758) is the how, and immediately is the when.
Senate Bill 2758 is a commonsense bill designed to give millions of private sector workers the choice to save for retirement through automatic payroll deductions into a Roth IRA, and the provides the opportunity for financial independence.
Without Secure Choice, Illinoisans will continue to rely on social security alone and continue to retire into poverty, placing an increasing burden on the State and taxpayers. Amongst African Americans, Latinos and low-wage workers, the need for Secure Choice is even greater.
Secure Choice is a bipartisan effort that strengthens the Illinois economy for everyone.
“I support Senate Bill 2758 because it is an innovative private sector focused option that will encourage long-term savings by individuals. People will have additional retirement security and the overall economy will benefit from the pool of capital created by additional savings,”
- Representative David McSweeney (R), chief co-sponsor of the bill.
“It is a startling fact that the typical household of color has nothing saved in a retirement account, but Secure Choice opens up access to a secure and affordable employment-based retirement savings opportunity from which minority communities have been historically excluded,”
- Martin Cabrera, Jr., CEO of Cabrera Capital Markets, one of the largest Hispanic-owned financial services firms in the United States.
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A Trojan Horse ad
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Policy Action, the new, more overt political arm of the Illinois Policy Institute has been running a Chicago-targeted online ad that can only be described as chock full of chutzpah.
As you most certainly are aware by now, the Illinois Policy Institute wants to end the public pension system as we know it and replace it with a 401(k) type of plan.
But this week-old ad allies the group with Chicago city workers by urging them to ask Gov. Pat Quinn to veto the pension reform bill which “takes more of your money, cuts your benefits, but fails to improve your retirement security.”
I kid you not…
The video has over 7,600 views so far.
* Script…
Are you a Chicago city worker?
If Governor Quinn signs the Chicago pension bill, he’ll cut your pension benefits and take even more from your paycheck.
What? So we can continue to bail out the crooked politicians who have nearly bankrupted Chicago?
Demand Quinn veto the bill that takes more of your money, cuts your benefits, but fails to improve your retirement security.
This bill only benefits the same politicians that got us into this mess.
Click the link, and tell Quinn to veto the Chicago pension bill.
* Clicking the link takes you to ChicagoTaxHike.com, where workers are encouraged to send this message to Gov. Quinn…
Dear Gov. Quinn,
For decades, politicians have underfunded city-worker pensions and broken their retirement promises. Now my retirement future is at risk.
It’s not fair for you to ask me to pay more in property taxes, contribute more to the pension system and cut my cost-of-living adjustments. And you’ll have done nothing to ensure that politicians stop using my pension as a slush fund.
All of this will fall on the backs of my family and me, as well as the thousands of other individuals who have dedicated their lives to working for the city.
I’m asking you to veto the Madigan/Rahm pension bill and take your “solution” back to the drawing board.
Man, that takes some serious gall.
Last month, the group posted a video of a public school teacher arguing against the proposed progressive income tax. It received less than 200 views.
* And while the Illinois Policy Institute is sucking up to unionized Chicago public employees and Downstate teachers, its Journalist in Residence Scott Reeder just penned a column demanding a right to work law in Illinois...
Thirty-one years ago, I gave a speech to my high school rhetoric class on how Illinois ought to become a right-to-work state.
Back when I was in high school, my hometown of Galesburg was an industrial center that churned out lawnmowers, refrigerators, steel buildings and outboard motors.
Industrial unions were powerful in Galesburg just as they were in nearby Peoria, Moline and all across Illinois. So my speech calling for ending compulsory unionism was not particularly well received.
After all, many of my classmates were the sons and daughters of union workers. To them, I was preaching apostasy. A right-to-work law simply means that employees cannot be forced to join or otherwise pay union dues in order to keep their jobs.
Today, when I visit my hometown, I feel sadness. Those union factory jobs have evaporated. Many of my classmates have moved to other states to raise their families.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** More budget deets leak
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers about this earlier today…
Although the so-called “middle of the road” budget plan may be more palatable to election-minded lawmakers, the new approach nearly guarantees Gov. Pat Quinn will have to navigate some serious financial potholes as he runs the state and plots his re-election chances against Republican Bruce Rauner.
The proposal, for example, won’t account for rising wages, higher health insurance bills and other unavoidable cost increases in the fiscal year beginning July 1, meaning even a flat budget in some state agencies could still seem like a significant cut — especially once the temporary tax hike expires at the end of the year.
“It’s still going to feel very draconian,” said Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago. “The agencies will have their challenges.”
Without an increase to payroll and health insurance lines, the state may very well be forced to lay off workers.
Earlier this year, the Senate Democrats estimated that total “increased costs from legally binding personnel contracts” for next fiscal year would be $373 million.
*** UPDATE *** So much for that idea…
A bid to fight obesity through taxing sweetened drinks lost its fizz Tuesday as a House committee rejected a plan that could have injected $600 million into the state treasury.
The measure, which failed by a 2-7 vote, would have charged a penny more per ounce on sweetened beverages, making a 2-liter bottle of soda cost about 67 cents more than its artificially sweetened, zero-calorie counterpart.
“I think the public policy initiative is good; I just think you’re really hitting the consumer with a substantial tax that, to me, is not consistent,” said Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, who voted against the legislation.
But state Rep. Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, the sponsor of the sugar tax, said the difference in cost was necessary because it incentivized choosing the healthier drink.
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* Tribune…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is taking another crack at heavily regulating firearms in Chicago after a federal court ruled an outright ban on gun sales was illegal: Requiring gun dealers to videotape sales.
Under a plan Emanuel is preparing to introduce, gun dealers would videotape the sales “to discourage traffickers and buyers who use false identification,” according to a report from the city detailing the specifics of the ordinance.
In addition, the proposal would require a 72-hour waiting period for purchasing handguns and 24 hours for rifles and shotguns. A dealer would be able to sell only one handgun per month per buyer, and the store records would be subject to quarterly audits to discourage trafficking.
If a business license is revoked for failing to follow the law, “former key employees and managers cannot reopen immediately in the same location.”
* The Sun-Times writes about the reasoning behind the videotaping…
[Janey Rountree, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff for public safety] said similar safety measures were imposed on gun stores in New York City in a settlement of a 2006 lawsuit the city brought against 20 firearms dealers.
Those stores agreed to videotape the “point of sale” when a customer bought a gun, Rountree said. Their employees also received training from a retired federal agent on identifying potential “straw purchasers,” people who can legally buy guns but then supply criminals with them.
As a result, those dealers saw an 85 percent drop in the number of “crime guns” they sold, Rountree said.
The one gun a month rule, though, has been successfully challenged elsewhere.
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Ride-sharing: Close the Insurance Gap
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Based on testimony from the Illinois Department of Insurance and other experts, the (Illinois Senate Transportation) Committee found that “customers, drivers and pedestrians are potentially put in harm’s way due to the lack of insurance coverage.”
– Statement from Illinois Department of Transportation
When the Illinois Department of Transportation and all the statewide experts are warning us that our citizens are being put in harm’s way, we should listen.
The truth is that ride-sharing companies’ current insurance plans are just not enough.
Ridesharing companies claim to have a fabulous one million dollar policy but there are no facts to support this claim. The policy does not provide the public with any primary coverage, only excess, which in most cases will not cover accidents. And personal insurance policies of the drivers don’t apply while drivers are providing rides for money.
This insurance gap has real life and death consequences. Recently, an Uber driver hit and killed a 6-year-old girl in San Francisco, only to have Uber deny responsibility and keep the little girl’s family from any insurance compensation because there was “ no passenger in the car.”
Tell the Governor to sign HB 4075 and close the insurance gap, so a tragic case like San Francisco never happens here in Illinois.
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Taxes, taxes and revenue
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers about this 11th Hour move last week…
A proposed hike in Chicago’s tax on cellphones has surfaced in Springfield — one of a series of last-minute developments as lawmakers rush to pass a budget and take up other business before their scheduled adjournment May 31.
The phone tax, which would apply only to cellphones and not land lines, is being pushed in the Illinois General Assembly by lobbyists for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and reportedly would take the levy from $2.50 a month now to $3.90.
A spokeswoman for the city budget office would say almost nothing about the move, saying only that the current surcharge for operation of the city’s 911 emergency center expires July 1 and “we are working with the General Assembly on an extension bill.” […]
Steve Brown, House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman, confirmed the matter is pending, but “I don’t know that the (tax) numbers have been finalized.”
As of the other day, the mobile phone folks appeared grudgingly willing to settle for a $1 hike. We’ll see where it ends.
The city originally asked for no cap at all.
* In other news…
Cook County leaders said Tuesday they’ll offer a plan to the Legislature this week to shore up a pension system expected to go into the red “in a big way” in the decades to come.
But Ivan Samstein, the county’s chief financial officer, could offer few specifics to explain how the county would fund the proposed $146.9 million increase in its contributions during the 2016 fiscal year — other than by trying to “make county government more efficient.”
“You do those things first and then you talk about taxes afterward,” Samstein said.
Tax and fee increases are a last resort in fixing the county’s pension system, he said — but not off the table.
* Meanwhile…
For the first time since slot machines began to appear in bars and taverns across the state in summer 2012, video gaming recorded its first month-to-month drop in tax revenue last month. Illinois’ cut of the industry’s profits fell about 2 percent in April from March, records show.
That decrease in revenue amounted to about $300,000 less in taxes paid. And that’s despite the continued rise in the number of video gaming licenses in Illinois, which grew 4.5 percent from 15,667 in March to 16,380 in April.
But individual machines still took in about $106.45 in net income on a per-day basis — above the monthly average of $96.16. And the tax revenue collected last month outpaced February’s numbers by about 19 percent.
The bottom line: Video gaming experienced only its second-best month in April.
It should also come as no surprise that the boat people want lots more restrictions on video gaming establishments to protect their former monopolies.
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* Wow…
* Deets…
When Sox catcher Tyler Flowers lost his grip on his bat on a second-inning swing, it sailed into the seats at U.S. Cellular Field. A fan seated in the first row, identified by MLB’s Cut 4 website as Eileen Depesa, speared the flying bat one-handed after it bounced off the top of the dugout and prevented it from injuring anyone.
Depesa had to return the bat, but as she told Cut 4, “I was more concerned with protecting the baby seated behind me.”
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* From a few days ago…
House Speaker Michael Madigan moved Friday to shift control of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum away from a state agency in a move that was not initiated by Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration, which now controls the complex.
The Southwest Side Democrat introduced legislation removing control over the Lincoln facilities from the state Historic Preservation Agency and establishing an independent entity to oversee it.
“I just think he believes an entity as important as the Lincoln library deserves to be a stand-alone entity,” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown told Early & Often, the Chicago Sun-Times online political portal.
* The bill passed out of the Executive Committee with only one dissenting vote. The advisory board’s chairman, Steven Beckett, who is also a U of I law professor, said he drafted the bill…
“The board had great hopes that we would have a significant role to play regarding operation of the museum and library,” Beckett testified before the committee. “We actually have very little to say.”
Beckett said there are a number of problems at the facility that aren’t being addressed, including 17 vacant positions at the library and four at the museum. He said there is no consistent policy to replace those people.
“We need to focus and solve these problems, and they’re not being solved,” Beckett said.
He also said the board tried to implement programs, but the separate Illinois Historic Preservation Agency board also had to sign off on them.
“The IHPA board has a different mission,” Beckett said.
Those job openings are inexcusable in this economy. However, the Quinn administration takes its sweet time approving applicants. The general rule of thumb is even if the Quinnsters want you hired, expect to wait up to a year.
* And since MJM is the sponsor, speculation ran rampant…
Madigan’s proposal could benefit some of his friends. The Springfield presidential museum is run by Eileen Mackevich, a Madigan friend. Madigan confirmed she is a longtime acquaintance of Stanley Balzekas, whose family runs the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture. Madigan acknowledged his Southwest Side office is at the same 13th Ward address as the museum, and that Balzekas is the landlord.
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,” said Madigan, who noted Balzekas is an “eminent Lithuanian American.”
The speaker said “no” when asked if his friendships with Balzekas and Mackevich played any role in the decision to try to separate the Lincoln library and museum from the Quinn administration, pointing instead to what he said were operational problems with the current set-up. […]
Madigan, who doubles as the Illinois Democratic Party chairman, maintained he “wouldn’t expect” a separate Lincoln agency to be turned into a political landing zone for his own partisan pals. Asked if he had anyone in mind for the top spot at the Lincoln agency, Madigan referenced Mackevich, saying, “There’s an executive director there today.”
* More…
Balzekas and Mackevich are not married, though they frequently attend functions together.
* But there do appear to be legit differences between the advisory board and the IHPA…
Mackevich and Historic Preservation Agency Director Amy Martin have had disagreements, including over where to house and how to display a potential gift from former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III of his political papers and those of three previous generations of his family, including his father, Adlai Stevenson II, who was a former governor and a Democratic presidential nominee, and Adlai Stevenson, who served under President Grover Cleveland as vice president.
Martin and Mackevich also have disagreed on the importance of a potential exhibit of Civil War-era music at the Lincoln museum, which was Mackovich’s idea. She described it as not a “high priority” for Martin, who could not be reached Monday.
But Mackevich insisted a personality clash with her boss, Martin, is not what is driving Madigan’s legislation.
“I don’t think this is a personality clash. If that’s what people are trying to say, that’s not so. I’m long in the tooth. I’m a person who’s been founder and president of the Chicago Humanities Council. I ran the National Bicentennial Commission. I’m willing to share of my knowledge and learning. I think what we’re talking about is different visions, not a personality clash,” she said. “There’s a big difference.”
Mackevich went on to tout her accomplishments, including being a founder and president of the Chicago Humanities Council and her running the National Bicentennial Commission.
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* Way back in late March, I did a couple of analyses of the budget outlook for subscribers and concluded that a bunch of cash appeared to have been squirreled away. It was impossible to say for sure just how much was available, but it looked to me like it was maybe around a billion dollars or more.
I wasn’t attempting to make the case that the state’s fiscal problems aren’t real, just that the GA could probably limp through this next fiscal year and then essentially kick the can down the road until after the November election. The problems are real for FY2015, but they get much, much more difficult in FY2016, when the full impact of the tax hike expiration will become apparent.
Anyway, kicking the can appears to be what the Democratic leaders have now agreed to do…
House Speaker Michael Madigan on Monday declared an extension of the 2011 temporary income tax increase dead for the spring and said House Democrats are preparing a “middle-of-the-road budget” that eases up on spending cuts that were part of a failed budget blueprint last week.
Madigan informed his 71-member House Democratic caucus that he was taking the income-tax extension favored by Gov. Pat Quinn off the table and shifting budgetary strategy as state lawmakers enter their final week before a scheduled Saturday adjournment.
“We’re proceeding under the expectation that the income-tax increase will not be extended,” Madigan told reporters after a Monday committee hearing at the Statehouse. […]
Madigan said the new spending plan that he expects to emerge soon will be a hybrid of the so-called failed “doomsday” budget that mustered only five House votes last Friday and an earlier, more-generous package of 73 spending bills that passed the week before on the assumption the income-tax extension would pass.
* More…
Budget makers will look to borrowing built-up money in special funds and spending adjustments to develop a “middle-of-the-road” fiscal outline – between the doomsday scenario and one that increased spending by $3 billion with the continued escalated income tax.
* More…
Madigan said the new budget will be based on a revenue estimate adopted in the House earlier this year that set $34.5 billion as the target. That projection will be increased by $189 million because of revised estimates for next year since the original estimate was set.
Quinn had said “savage” cuts would have to be made to education if the tax hike was allowed to expire. Madigan, though, said the plan is to give elementary and secondary education the same amount they received this year.
“It will be held flat,” Madigan said. “We’re always interested in providing more help for education, but at the same time we’re required to live within the revenue estimates that are available.”
He added that “pension payments will be made.” […]
Asked if the budget under development might results in layoffs and closures, Madigan said, “Those are matters for the agencies and the institutions to decide.”
* Raw MJM video…
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Quinn open to negotiating permanent tax rate
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Champaign News-Gazette…
Gov. Pat Quinn indicated Saturday that he’s open to negotiating Illinois’ income-tax rate and might accept something less than the 5 percent individual tax rate he’s been campaigning for all spring. […]
“We’re working on a budget that’s balanced, that pays the bills, that pays for the things we want to do as a state, that helps our families. We can negotiate that. That’s part of political life,” he said. “But we’ve got to make sure that we have adequate revenue to pay for the programs that are vital to everyday people and their schools, and making sure that we take good care of people’s safety.”
Asked whether extending the current 5 percent income-tax rate is dead, Quinn said, “No, I think we have to work hard on getting the job done in a balanced way. Revenue has to equal expenditures.”
If that change gets them to 60 House votes, then maybe they should try. I’m just not sure it gets them to 60.
Your thoughts?
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Question of the day
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* It’s becoming clear that traffic is way down today. I’m basically blogging for legislators and the smattering of folks who happen to be at the Statehouse, or who don’t have plans today. I’m not complaining. Just saying.
From Rep. Jeanne Ives…
I find Memorial Day a very moving and important holiday. I filed HR1130 with bi-partisan support to ask that we not have session on Memorial Day out of respect for our nation’s forces who have died in war. This resolution in still in rules committee.
The majority of those who serve with me in the General Assembly are genuine in their esteem for the heroes we honor today and the profound contributions that have made to secure our freedoms. Many of them have joined me on this resolution.
If not this year, for years going forward, I believe we should honor the holiday as originally intended by participating in our community ceremonies that honor our fallen soldiers.
* The Question: Should the General Assembly do all it can to avoid meeting on Memorial Day? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey services
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* Paul Merrion runs the numbers…
Mr. Rauner opposes making the tax hike permanent, yet at the same time, “Bruce will make education a top priority and increase funding for it,” a Rauner campaign spokesman says.
Education accounts for about half of the state’s discretionary spending, which runs about $16.4 billion. If the 5 percent personal income tax rate rolls back to 3.75 percent on Jan. 1 as scheduled, the state would receive roughly $1.75 billion less in revenue for the second half of its fiscal year.
Spreading the cuts evenly, the governor’s office estimates that education would lose $875 million, including $224 million for Chicago schools (see the PDF).
If Mr. Rauner wants to increase education funding in spite of lower revenue, the other half of the discretionary budget would have to be reduced by more than $1.75 billion, a cut of upward of 21 percent. He has not revealed his proposed budget.
* Meanwhile, the SJ-R editorial board wants some answers from Rauner…
It’s not necessarily advantageous to his campaign for Rauner to reveal what his budget plans are at this point. In a more typical Illinois gubernatorial election, observers may not expect to hear such details from candidates until later in the summer. But this is no typical election, and taxpayers deserve to know more than what’s simply thought to be politically advantageous. Illinois has major, potentially devastating financial difficulties.
Rauner may have a revolutionary plan that would save Illinois and relieve taxpayers of an additional burden on their pocketbooks. He won’t show his hand, though, and that’s maddening for people trying to determine the right path for the state.
* In a related story, the Daily Herald editorial board is upset…
The legislature says community colleges should provide this education, but it doesn’t compensate them for the expense of doing it.
Well, we should say, the state doesn’t necessarily compensate the community colleges for this expense. Because in some cases, the state disperses grant money to subsidize at least some of that education.
But our state legislature being our state legislature, it doesn’t do this fairly or openly or without, at the very least, the appearance of political cronyism or favoritism.
As the Illinois News Network reported earlier this month, a House appropriations bill would award $1.25 million in veterans grants to the state’s community colleges, but only 18 of the 43 community colleges in Illinois would receive them.
None of the community colleges in area suburbs would see a dime.
Not College of DuPage, not College of Lake County, not Elgin Community College, not Harper College, not McHenry Community College, not Oakton Community College, not Waubonsee Community College. None of them. Not a single cent.
Community colleges collect property taxes, so the simple answer is that those suburban schools have relatively thriving property tax bases when compared to other schools. Ergo, the different treatment.
* Other stuff…
* House Democrats on the spot with tax, budget votes
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* AP…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration has affirmed its support for the state Department of Natural Resources’ efforts to craft rules governing hydraulic fracturing, saying the process ensures that the public, advocates and experts all have the chance to weigh in.
Saturday’s statement from the governor’s office came a day after Democratic state Rep. John Bradley proposed legislation to jump-start fracking through a measure that would skip that rule-making process. […]
Grant Klinzman, a Quinn spokesman, said the administration takes hydraulic fracturing very seriously and is “making sure it is done right,” adding that the DNR has done “an unprecedented amount of work to ensure the public, advocates and experts all have a voice in the process.”
* More…
“There’s no delay,” said Jennifer Walling, executive director at the Illinois Environment Council. “This whole idea of a delay has been manufactured.”
* I beg to differ…
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Marc Miller told the Tribune in a recent interview that the agency received 35,000 comments on its first draft of the rules, all of which it must respond to under the law. […]
IDNR held five lengthy public hearings on the proposed rules, which have about 100 different sections and are hundreds of pages long. Miller said they are done addressing about 25 percent of the areas at issue.
25 percent? The comment period ended the first week of January and they’re only 25 percent of the way through? At that rate, there’s no way they’ll meet their November deadline. It’ll be next spring if IDNR continues at this glacial pace.
Not to mention that many, if not most, of those comments were almost identical to each other, ginned up by interest groups on both sides.
* From an action alert sent out by a group that wants a total fracking moratorium…
On this Memorial Day holiday, the oil industry is attempting to hijack the democratic rule-making process that governs fracking regulations in Illinois. They’re trying to pass amendments to the fracking legislation that would direct the Department of Natural Resources to ignore more than 35,000 comments submitted by the people of Illinois demanding strong regulation and allow industry to begin fracking immediately!
Elected legislators are attempting to hijack a “democratic” rule-making process run by unelected people? Um, OK.
* With all that being said, there are some very legitimate environmental concerns about Bradley’s proposal…
Filed just one week before the Legislature adjourns its spring session, the legislation would skip a rule-making process by the IDNR. Environmental groups interpret the bill as stripping that power away from the state agency and leaving it in the hands of the Legislature itself.
The bill also would establish a moratorium on fracking in northern Illinois counties, though there is limited drilling potential there compared with the central and southern parts of the state. […]
Environmental activists said the legislation would hurt the state’s ability to impose critical controls on a practice with the potential to pollute water and cause other ecological damage. […]
“It does certainly appear to remove the authority of the Department of Natural Resources to adopt any rules, and move that authority to the Legislature to define how fracking is going to be carried out in Illinois,” said Jennifer Cassel, a staff attorney with the Environmental Law and Policy Center.
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Sen. Forby’s mother passes away
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Rep. Brandon Phelps’ office…
Mrs. Betty Forby, mother of IL Senator Gary Forby, passed away on Saturday, May 24.
Visitation will be from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday, May 26, 2014, at the Hobbs-Johnson Funeral Home & Crematory in Benton. Address: 301 S Main St, Benton, IL 62812. Phone: (618) 438-8711
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home with Pastor Joe Zbinden officiating.
Burial will be in the Cobden Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice of Southern Illinois and will be accepted at the funeral home.
http://thesouthern.com/news/local/obituaries/betty-forby/article_0ee5f176-7bc2-535c-872e-e27ee3818674.html
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Behind the outrage
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* You may recall this astonishing statement made earlier this month…
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.
“If the state doesn’t give authorization to go to bankruptcy court, you simply cannot do it,” Morrissey said. “Without that … cities are simply left with no recourse when dealing with collective bargaining … in police and fire pensions. So what we end up being is boxed in. … Frankly I wish we could appeal directly to a bankruptcy court, I think it would give us more leverage to get deals done.”
* The firefighters gathered some numbers to show some of the hypocrisy behind the mayors’ outrage about their rising first responder pension costs…
According to the documents, Decatur has seen a 141 percent increase in the amount they’ve contributed to the firefighter pension system since 2003. By contrast, the city’s [Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund] contribution has risen 170 percent.
In Carbondale, city contributions to the firefighters rose 194 percent in the past 10 years. Contributions to IMRF rose 183 percent.
Bloomington’s contributions to firefighters have risen 146 percent since 2003. Contributions to IMRF rose about 82 percent.
Pat Devaney, president of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois, said one reason for the silence from mayors on IMRF is that the mayors are covered by IMRF.
Sen. Terry Link, who is trying to put together a first responder pension reform plan, was on Rick Pearson’s WGN Radio show over the weekend and talked about his efforts. Click here to listen.
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Grandstand roof is rotting
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The grandstand at the Illinois State Fair has some serious roof problems…
A section of that roof is falling apart, dropping wood debris on the seats below.
Illinois Department of Agriculture spokesman Jeff Squibb says the problems started when water began seeping under a rubber membrane on the roof and caused the wood to rot.
Squibb says the state’s troubled finances prevented a roof replacement from happening.
A Springfield company has been hired to make the repairs in time for the Illinois State Fair to begin in August.
* More…
Illinois Department of Agriculture spokesman Jeff Squibb said temporary repairs have been made to ensure fan safety this weekend. And, once the cycle races end, workers will begin permanently fixing the roof as part of a $60,000 emergency contract.
The problems started when water began seeping under a rubber membrane on the grandstand roof. “It caused the wood to rot,” Squibb said Friday.
As workers began cleaning the seating area in anticipation of Sunday’s race, they noticed pieces of the roof in the stands.
In order for the races to go on, workers installed a safety barrier on the underside of the roof for protection.
Squibb said the problems might not have occurred if there was more money set aside for maintenance at the fairgrounds.
A plan to put video gaming terminals on the fairgrounds was flatly rejected by Gov. Pat Quinn, even though just about every dinky little bar in town now has the machines. Quinn said at the time that the fair is for families, but that’s obviously not the observation of anyone who’s ever been to a beer tent late at night.
That gaming money would’ve been spent on fairground infrastructure, by the way.
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Connecting too many dots
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This lede, while factually accurate, is quite a stretch…
Gov. Quinn’s administration chose a well-known West Side social-service provider to distribute millions of dollars in anti-violence money across crime-ravaged Chicago neighborhoods in 2010, even though state audits just months before said the group couldn’t substantiate more than $200,000 in bills involving a summer-jobs program.
* And that morphed into this Associated Press lede…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration chose a Chicago social-service provider to distribute millions of dollars in anti-violence money, just months after state audits raised serious questions about the way the group was handling money, according to a published report.
* The hugely hyped first line of a Bruce Rauner weekend press release built on those two media ledes to make this factually inaccurate statement…
In an explosive Sunday front page news story, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn provided millions in state anti-violence funding to a group the Governor, Attorney General and Auditor General knew to be under federal investigation:
* But here’s the timeline I put together based on the Sun-Times story…
* June 22, 2010: IDOT internal auditors “raise red flag” about some Chicago Area Project grants, because time sheets from it and other groups were “typically vague, incomplete and noted activities unrelated to transportation and not in support of IDOT projects.”
* October 10, 2010: Results of a secret investigation by State Executive Inspector General Ricardo Meza were forwarded to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who declined to get involved after being told of a federal investigation (which, after almost four years, has not produced any convictions or even charges).
* August-October, 2010: Chicago Area Project was put in charge of several West Side anti-violence initiatives.
* November, 2011: State Executive Inspector General Ricardo Meza forwarded his findings to the governor’s office.
* Nov. 22, 2011: Quinn’s general counsel responds to Meza by writing that he is “currently in the process of seeking to recoup the overpayments that were made to the five fiscal agents,” including the Chicago Area Project.
* May, 2012: Chicago Area Project, which “vigorously dispute the findings of the OEIG audit as regards performance and alleged overpayments,” appeals IDOT’s demand for the return of grant money to a state arbitrator. The arbitration case has yet to be resolved.
* 2014: Quinn’s office claims the governor, himself, was finally briefed on the situation.
* So, regardless of whether or not Quinn wasn’t briefed until this year, his office was not notified by the Inspector General until over a year after CAP was awarded those anti-violence funds. The Inspector General is required by law to keep his investigations secret until he concludes the probes.
And, you’ll recall, Chicago’s US Attorney was investigating all sorts of allegations on the West Side back in 2010. They eventually ended up making several arrests, but nothing ever emerged about CAP.
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Guzzardi facing reality
Monday, May 26, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
There’s an old Statehouse saying that House Speaker Michael Madigan cares mostly about two votes each Democratic legislator makes: One to reelect him Speaker, the other for his chamber’s operating rules.
Some, like Rep. Elaine Nekritz, have gotten away with voting against Madigan’s rules. Nekritz explained to Madigan why she voted against them and he was impressed with her thoughtfulness. She’s since moved up the ladder to become one of the House’s most hard-working members who carries some major legislation.
But nobody ever gets away with voting against Madigan for Speaker.
There’s no question that Democrat Will Guzzardi ran a highly effective outsider campaign against state Rep. Toni Berrios (D-Chicago) earlier this year. Guzzardi soundly defeated Rep. Berrios, the daughter of Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Berrios, and along the way told the Chicago Tribune “The monolithic structures of power in Springfield aren’t doing any good for anyone.”
It’s not difficult to discern who he was talking about. The longest serving House Speaker in Illinois history is the very embodiment of a “monolithic structure of power.”
So, there have been some expectations that Guzzardi might not cast his vote for Michael Madigan’s reelection as Speaker next January, he said last week that he hasn’t yet made up his mind.
“That’s something I intend to figure out when the vote comes up,” Guzzardi said.
While voting against the Speaker would likely score points back home in his independent-minded district, Guzzardi said it’s still a “tough decision” because there’s “a lot hinging on it.”
Guzzardi said he talked with Madigan’s chief of staff Tim Mapes after the primary. Mapes congratulated him and said that the Speaker hoped to sit down with him after the general election.
“We’ve got to figure out what sort of relationship we’re going to have,” Guzzardi said, adding, “I’m sure it’ll be a good one. I want to get stuff done.”
Those last two lines are probably the most important, and telling.
It’s a pretty decent bet that Guzzardi can only have a good relationship with Madigan and get things done for his district if he votes for Madigan.
I reached out to Guzzardi because Madigan’s Democratic Majority PAC is hosting a meet and greet event with the Speaker’s top targeted candidates this month.
Rep. Jaime Andrade (D-Chicago) is the only incumbent on the list, but he was appointed to the seat. He’s attending despite the fact that he has a hugely Democratic district.
The list also includes Carol Ammons, a Democrat who defeated Madigan’s choice Sam Rosenberg in the Champaign County-area district currently represented by Democratic Rep. Naomi Jakobsson. Ammons used Madigan’s backing to bludgeon Rosenberg. Apparently, fences have been mended.
But there are a couple of big holes in the list of meet and greet attendees. Most notable is Guzzardi, who said he wasn’t invited to the event.
Another absence worth noting is Mo Khan, who defeated the establishment’s pick in the 20th House District. Democrat Jerry Acciari was seen by some as a Democratic “lay down” candidate against Chicago’s only Republican state legislator, Rep. Michael McAuliffe. Acciari was backed by the city’s 41st Ward, which sent out fliers using Khan’s original first name of “Mohamed,” even though his legal and ballot name is “Mo.”
Khan ended up winning, but Madigan hasn’t yet expressed his support. There’s a decades-old truce (albeit often violated) on the Northwest Side and surrounding suburbs between the two parties. It appears to be holding for now. Khan said the first he heard of the meet and greet was when a supporter forwarded him the invitation yesterday. The House Democrats promised to respond to questions about the event, but never got back to me.
By the way, Rep. McAuliffe was one of the few Republicans who voted for Madigan’s resolution last week to put a minimum wage increase referendum on the November ballot.
So, is Madigan dissing Guzzardi and Khan? Madigan’s spokesman said they weren’t invited because candidates who face no real opposition in November were left off the list.
So, why, then, was Rep. Andrade invited? Andrade has a solidly Democratic district, after all. Well, Andrade is an appointed legislator, I was told, and that’s why he was invited while others weren’t.
That’s a bit of a stretch, but at least it shows that the Madigan folks aren’t publicly going out of their way to be hostile to Guzzardi. But fully embracing him could be a problem during the spring session, considering some of the residual bitterness about that primary battle among some legislators.
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