* Capital projects aren’t free, and the state obviously can’t pay for them out of existing revenues so we’ll see how all this works out. Erickson with the scoop…
With gasoline selling for less than $2 per gallon throughout much of the state, Gov. Bruce Rauner and his allies in the business community have launched behind-the-scenes talks with state legislative leaders to raise Illinois’ gasoline tax.
Although the governor’s office is not providing details on the negotiations, documents obtained by the Times’ Springfield Bureau outline the workings of a plan designed to finance an estimated $1.8 billion in road building and maintenance projects.
In addition to boosting the gasoline tax by 13 cents a gallon, the outline shows other revenue options on the table include a 2 percent sales tax on food and drugs, increasing the cost of registering and titling cars by $20 annually and boosting the cost of driver’s licenses by $5 a year.
But neither side is ready to discuss the tentative framework publicly. Under one scenario, the increases would be tempered with a decrease in the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax on motor fuel sales to 1.25 percent.
I woudn’t bet too much money on that huge gasoline sales tax reduction. Erickson reports it would cost the state’s General Revenue Fund $700 million. Unless that’s replaced by a different tax hike, it’s not affordable.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Gov. Rauner’s spokesman Mike Schrimpf…
“The administration has not launched behind-the-scenes talks with legislators to raise the gas tax, or any other taxes or fees to fund a capital program. What’s being circulated by some advocacy groups is not the governor’s plan and does not have his blessing.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Frpm the Transportation for Illinois Coalition…
“The Transportation for Illinois Coalition is committed to long-term, significant and sustainable investment in Illinois’ critical transportation infrastructure. TFIC is having many discussions around a menu of revenue options that could be used to fund such investment, but there are no negotiations going on at this point.
The Coalition looks forward to presenting a package of funding options and having serious negotiations with the governor and lawmakers to provide a meaningful fix this spring for the network of roads, bridges and transit systems that is so critical to our state’s economic success.”
* On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best, how would you rate Gov. Bruce Rauner’s performance so far? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Public health officials say they are investigating a cluster of measles cases in suburban Chicago.
The Illinois and Cook County public health departments said Thursday morning that the cluster includes five children under age 1 at KinderCare Learning Center in Palatine. Lab test confirm measles in two of the children. Test results are pending for the other three children but they have been diagnosed based on clinical and epidemiological criteria.
Officials say at this time they don’t know the source of the infection.
Thursday, Feb 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Cooperatives can be formed to support producers such as farmers, purchasers such as independent business owners, and consumers such as electric coops and credit unions. Their primary purpose is to meet members’ needs through affordable goods and services of high quality. Cooperatives such as credit unions may look like other businesses in their operations and, like other businesses, can range in size. However, the cooperative structure is distinctively different regardless of size. As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions serve individuals with a common goal or interest. They are owned and democratically controlled by the people who use their services. Their board of directors consists of unpaid volunteers, elected by and from the membership. Members are owners who pool funds to help other members. After expenses and reserve requirements are met, net revenue is returned to members via lower loan and higher savings rates, lower costs and fees for services. It is the structure of credit unions, not their size or range of services that is the reason for their tax exempt status - and the reason why almost three million Illinois residents are now among 100 million Americans who count on their local credit union every day to reach their financial goals.
Thursday, Feb 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.[
Workers injured on the job deserve the right to reasonable compensation
In 2011, at the strong request of business interests the Workers’ Compensation “Reform” package was signed into law, aimed at lowering costs for employers in Illinois. These changes have had a negative effect on injured workers in Illinois and their ability to receive fair and reasonable compensation when they are injured on the job.
According to a study done by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Illinois had a 17 percent reduction in workers’ compensation rates in the past two years – the steepest drop in the nation. However, Illinois employers should have realized a total premium reduction of $1 billion since 2011. Unfortunately, insurance companies have refused to reduce their premiums in accordance with their own industry’s recommendations.
Demands for additional so-called “reforms” will likely take away more rights from injured workers and further increase the insurance industry’s profits. Any future changes in laws should instead look to promote insurance premium transparency, oversight and competition – not further sacrifices by the injured worker.
For more information about workers’ compensation in Illinois, click here.
“Raisin’ the minimum wage in conjunction with improving the overall jobs climate, will make Illinois more competitive and create a boomin’ economy while increasin’ incomes for hardworkin’ Illinoisans. As we look to make Illinois more competitive, property tax relief is one of our most pressin’ challenges.” … Gov. Bruce Rauner in today’s State of the State address.
In his bid for folksiness, Gov. Rauner dropped so many g’s you’d think he was auditioning for the part of Sheriff Taylor in a Broadway revival of “The Andy Griffith Show.”
It was distracting enough that I went through and counted. Out of 107 words in the speech ending with the “-ing” syllable, Rauner dropped the terminal g 55 times […]
Several times he mixed and matched in a single sentence: “I am personally committed to working closely together with each and every one of you — meeting together, solvin’ problems together, listening and learnin’ from each other.”
So, he dropped his g’s roughly half the time.
It’s such an obviously contrived affectation, and the fact that he can’t consistently pull it off makes it even more irritating.
Lots of Democratic legislators had never heard Rauner give a speech before yesterday, and many were mocking him after the SOTS for his silly mannerism. He may have been in Downstate yesterday, but most people in his audience were from the suburbs and the city.
Not to mention that using bad grammar to sound more folksy to the hicks offends some of us hicks whose parents were conscientious about such matters.
In attempting to build a communications bridge, he may actually be constructing a barrier.
Normally, he sounds like a Midwestern suburbanite, or a TV anchorman. Even in this address, he sounded his natural self on every other word. He was clearly doing this deliberately.
Why? For the same reason he wears a Carhartt jacket and a cheap watch — to make voters forget he’s a fabulously rich magnate whose father was a corporate executive and who grew up in a well-to-do North Shore suburb.
But it doesn’t work. It just makes him sound as though he’s afraid to be himself and has to contort himself into a caricature of an ordinary guy.
When it comes to taxes, spending and other government obligations, Rauner will have to expect voters to respond like grownups to hard choices. He will have to expect us to believe what he’s saying. That’s more likely to happen if we don’t hear him speak in such a fake manner. So it wouldn’t hurt for him to stop the posin’.
Top Rauner aide Rich Goldberg told an Illinois Senate committee Democrats knowingly shorted the program and then-Gov. Pat Quinn did nothing to manage the smaller budget in his final six months in office. That leaves Rauner with his first immediate budget pressure.
“And so we find ourselves in this crisis today,” Goldberg said. “Hardworking families should not have to suffer because of the prior administration’s mistakes.”
Goldberg said the crisis has to be solved without raising taxes or borrowing money from elsewhere in state government.
Madigan said he will keep an “open mind” when it comes to Rauner’s tax ideas and suggested the governor do the same. Madigan noted many Democrats would support increasing the income tax rate — an idea the speaker said he raised with the governor but Rauner rejected. A Rauner spokesman later said the governor “believes we need to work within the framework of a 3.75 (percent income-tax rate) budget.”
Failing any more money, Madigan said he will work with Rauner to plug the budget hole using a combination of techniques that could include giving the governor more authority to cut spending, or dipping into roughly $600 million in specially designated funds.
“We have budget deficits, there’s no dispute about that. They can’t be eliminated simply by cutting,” Madigan said. “I think there has to be a balance in reduction in spending and (new) revenue.”
And while he urged lawmakers to make “choices about what’s best for the next generation, not the next election,” Rauner also unveiled a series of proposed constitutional amendments, including several he wants voters to consider in 2018 — his re-election year — rather than the next statewide election in 2016.
Few if any of those proposals will pass. Asking for the 2018 date is probably more of a subtle dig at Quinn, Madigan and Cullerton for attempting to gin up turnout with several statewide referenda last year.
“I’ve known Mr. Rauner before he decided to be a candidate for governor. He has a lot of strong views on a lot of public issues. He enunciated a lot of those views in the speech today, which he should do,” Madigan said in a press conference following the speech. “Now those views, those issues, those bills will be before the Legislature and they’ll be disposed of by the Legislature, some favorably, some not favorably. That’s the American democratic process.” […]
Madigan’s press conference was illuminating if only to appreciate how deftly he mixed a pledge to work with Rauner and a warning to the governor about his true feelings on some of the ideas in the speech. Here, for example, is Madigan’s answer when asked about Rauner’s desire to let local communities decide if workers in union workplaces can opt out of union membership.
“Right-to-work and right-to-work zones are a favorite topic of, let’s be kind and call them right-wing thinkers. There are others that disagree with it. It all gets into economics, it gets into putting people to work. I’m for putting people to work,” Madigan said. “That’s the best thing we can do for the state. So am I going to reject it out of hand? No. Do I want to know more about the details? Yes. And we’ll take it with everything else that’s before the Legislature.”
On the whole, Rauner gave one of his most detailed speeches yet. But Democrats still found themselves scratching their heads when it was over — wondering how the governor would find new money for the investments in education. He also wants to hire more correctional officers for the state’s prisons.
“The administration is interested in balanced budgets, they’re interested in restraining the growth of state spending,” Madigan said after the speech. “But today they’re asking for an increase in appropriations for child care and for the Department of Corrections. Not being critical, but this just explains how difficult it is to manage state government when there’s a shortage of resources.”
Madigan said the immediate concern should be dealing with the estimated $1.5 billion deficit the state faces in its current budget. Already the state has said money has run out for the program that provides subsidized day care for the poor.
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, called Rauner’s first State of the State speech a missed opportunity.
“Unfortunately, too much of the governor’s opportunity was squandered with campaign rhetoric that denigrates the reputation of the state,” Cullerton said in a written statement. “With each speech that Governor Rauner delivers, I am reminded that the new governor has a lot to learn if he is to build on our successes in Medicaid reform, workers compensation, pension reform, cutting the bill backlog and meeting our obligations.”
Rauner got applause for calling for a minimum wage hike, but drew gasps and laughter from some Democratic lawmakers when he outlined it would be phased in through 2022. Hours earlier, Senate Democrats advanced a bill to raise the rate to $11 an hour by 2019. The full Senate could vote on the measure Thursday, though support remains questionable in the House.
Some Democratic lawmakers? Try “most, if not all.”
Rauner’s seven-year minimum wage plan did not get rave reviews from all business groups either, including the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Rob Karr, the group’s president, said the costs of a minimum wage increase would “fall disproportionately on the retail industry.”
After fumbling the minimum wage issue early in his campaign, Rauner eventually focused on tying a minimum wage increase to business-backed reforms. Still, there is recognition the governor’s agenda is politically daunting, with the state government’s finances reeling.
Ed Wehmer, chief executive of Rosemont-based bank operator Wintrust Financial, said Rauner’s phased-in minimum wage increase and workers’ compensation and medical malpractice reforms are “all good initiatives but maybe not all the most important ones.”
“Illinois has so many issues that Bruce Rauner’s State of the State speech would have to be turned into a mini-series if you wanted to cover them all,” Wehmer said.
(R)ating agencies say the most critical issue for Illinois is to match the state’s tax revenues to spending without hiding deep, festering financial wounds under temporary bandages.
The past is littered with proposals to “right the ship, but they didn’t get there,” said Karen Krop, an analyst for Fitch. “We’re looking for an effective balanced budget and a pension solution.”
At least one major bond rating agency disagrees with Rauner’s idea.
In a report for the General Assembly’s fiscal forecasting office, Moody’s Analytics said it is not clear whether right-to-work laws affect economic growth.
“The lack of clarity is mainly due to the fact that union strength is just one factor businesses look at when deciding whether to set up shop or relocate,” the report notes.
The report also notes that right-to-work laws could actually hurt Illinois’ long-term economic growth.
It’s true that, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. It’s also true that Rauner the successful private-equity mogul is used to firing off orders and is on a governmental leaning curve. Maybe we’ll learn that he’s one tough guy who will get what he wants. Or maybe he’ll learn that he has something to learn.
State Sen. SAM McCANN, R-Plainview, has paid a price for his almost-run for governor as an independent last year. Of all 20 Republican members of the Senate, he’s the only one without a leadership position.
Democrats hold 39 seats in the chamber, but despite the GOP’s minority status, the party gets to have a spokesperson on each committee. Just like the Democrats who are committee chairs, those spokespeople receive a stipend of $10,327 over the base legislative pay of $67,836 annually.
Senate Republican Leader CHRISTINE RADOGNO of Lemont assigned 18 of her colleagues to be minority spokespeople on one or more committees. But McCann, who was spokesman last session on what was the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, got no such assignment this year.
As noted in Capitol Fax on Wednesday, even freshmen Sen. NEIL ANDERSON, R-Rock Island, is a minority spokesman. Anderson — who became the only Republican to unseat a Senate Democrat in November when he defeated former Sen. MIKE JACOBS, D-East Moline — has that role on the new Agriculture Committee.
I don’t think it was completely about his almost-run for governor. That’s a significant part of it, for sure, but this is also what did him in…
McCann also confirmed Wednesday that he had been for state Sen. DALE RIGHTER, R-Mattoon, instead of Radogno, for leader this session.
“I thought he’d do a better job,” McCann told me.
It’s actually not that he voted for Righter, it’s that he pledged to vote for Radogno then voted for Righter. And it was apparently the second time he did that to her.
* Remember Benjamin Cole? He’s the guy who tried to talk a Washington Post “Style Page” reporter out of doing a story on Congressman Aaron Schock’s fancy new congressional office remodeling.
In a series of Facebook posts obtained by ThinkProgress, the senior adviser for policy and communications to Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) posted racial comments and endorsed gentrification of his neighborhood.
Benjamin Cole, a former Baptist pastor and energy industry spokesman, posted a series of videos and comments on October 13, 2013 mocking two African Americans outside his DC apartment. In the first, he compared them to animals escaping from the National Zoo engaged in “mating rituals.” That message included a video of a woman, shouting and seemingly engaged in an argument with someone not visible as she walked. In each of his posts, he used the hashtag “#gentrifytoday.”
The National Zoo was closed that week due to a federal government shutdown.
The posts appeared to have been removed Wednesday.
Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, says he’s never been an “old crusty white guy” - and those are his exact words. The 33-year-old congressman from Peoria claims he’s never seen Downton Abbey on TV and that he didn’t realize his Capitol Hill offices actually looked like something fit for a royal highness. […]
An ABC crew had waited for Schock on Capitol Hill because he wouldn’t respond to messages, questions or calls about the fancy red re-do of his congressional quarters by an interior designer from downstate Illinois.
ABC: “So someone in your office said that it was inspired after Downton Abbey, is that right?”
Schock: “Uh, I learned that when I read it in the newspaper myself, so…”
ABC: “What about this decorator though? She’s from your district. Are you going to pay for this? Is this in-kind purchase free service?”
Schock: “No. She is the person who decorated my office four years ago in the Canon building. And I wrote her a personal check for her services.”
ABC: “For how much?”
Schock: “Want to say that it was maybe $6,000. But it was four years ago, but around that. And so, you know, the same thing will happen now. She’s working on the office, so once it’s done, I’m sure I will get an invoice as I did before and we’ll pay.”
Brahler offered her services for free, according to Schock’s office, although he had to pay for the objects.
So, perhaps a clarification is in order. But the top story about the PR guy shows what happens when the media starts focusing on somebody. It ain’t ever pretty.
A top aide to U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock has resigned today, following reports that he made racially charged comments on his personal Facebook page.
Benjamin Cole has served as the fourth-term Peoria lawmaker’s spokesman — and as a “senior adviser” — since March of 2014.
A series of posts on his personal Facebook page were unearthed Thursday first by a writer for the liberal website Think Progress and then by Buzzfeed that sparked the controversy.
“I am extremely disappointed by the inexcusable and offensive online comments made by a member of my staff,” Schock said in a statement to the Journal Star. “I would expect better from any member of my team. Upon learning about them I met with Mr. Cole and he offered his resignation which I have accepted.”
Restructure the motor fuel tax to appropriately invest in infrastructure.
Hmm.
* He also didn’t touch on this topic…
Reform teacher tenure
* Nor did he bring up these…
Extend to municipalities bankruptcy protections to help turn around struggling communities.
Empower local voters to control collective bargaining issues in their local governments and take more direct responsibility for their employees’ benefits.
* He never uttered the word “pension” yesterday, but the topic was covered in his handout…
Protect historically accrued state pension benefits for retirees and current workers, while moving all current workers into the Tier 2 pension plan and/or a 401(k) for their future work. Police and firefighters should receive separate special consideration.
Pursue permanent pension relief through a constitutional amendment.
* The document also fleshes out some issues just a tiny bit more than Rauner did yesterday. For instance…
Freeze property taxes for two years by amending Illinois’ Property Tax Extension Limitation Law. The total property tax extension could not increase above the 2015 levy year, except for new construction or property in a TIF district. Voters would still be allowed to override the freeze via referendum.
That’s the first time he’s pointed to a specific path to freezing property taxes. Commenters who are knowledgeable about this topic are invited to chime in.
* Some more stuff…
Implement true workers’ compensation reform legislation that updates how injuries are apportioned to ensure employers pay for injuries that occur on the job; clarifies the definition of “traveling employees” to ensure a reasonable standard that excludes risks that would impact the general public; and implements American Medical Association guidelines when determining impairment.
Make Illinois unemployment insurance fair for beneficiaries and employers, including legislation that cracks down on benefit fraud for those who voluntarily leave employment but receive benefits and provides a more fair definition of misconduct in the workplace.
Lift the arbitrary cap on public charter schools, reduce funding disparities for public charters and provide more high-quality educational options to students through tax credit scholarships.
Eliminate unnecessary testing and institute a rigorous K-12 student growth measure, using ACT and other national metrics.
Reform the criminal code to ensure sentences are commensurate with the severity of the crime, and reduce penalties for non-violent offenses.
Launch a bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Commission with a goal to improve public safety and reduce prison population by 25 percent in 10 years.
* It’s a little hard to hear because it was recorded at the back of the Blue Room, but this is Speaker Madigan’s full press conference yesterday following the governor’s State of the State address…
* Jim Reed of the Illinois Education Association sitting next to Kristina Rasmussen of the Illinois Policy Institute at today’s State of the State Address…
And, yes, I know the governor has an annoying affectation of dropping some of his g’s (not all, just some, which is why it’s annoying), but let’s please stick to substance. Thanks.
State Sen. Andy Manar on Tuesday called for a $500 million increase in education funding as part of his plan to revamp Illinois’ school funding formula.
The Bunker Hill Democrat filed Senate Bill 1 in mid-January, which he plans to use to overhaul how the state funds its schools. He said at a Statehouse news conference he was echoing the State Board of Education’s recent request for $729 million more than in the current budget. […]
“I don’t think there’s too many people in the building – Democrat or Republican – that think the way we do things today is worth preserving,” he said. “So that brings about the question of how we’re going to change it and how we’re going to get there.” […]
Gov. Bruce Rauner is expected to propose massive cuts during his Feb. 18 budget address to battle a potential $9 billion deficit. Manar said he wouldn’t take any options off of the table on how to find the money – including cuts to other programs such as Medicaid – but where the money comes from would ultimately be part of the budget discussions.
A measles outbreak spreading across the country is fueling the debate over vaccinations and causing alarm among parents, pediatricians and public health officials in the Chicago area. Doctors are fielding calls from anxious parents — some who are wondering if their vaccinated children are safe, others who are re-examining their decision not to immunize.
“We’ve been getting phone call after phone call,” said Dr. Anita Chandra-Puri, a pediatrician, who estimates that inquiries into her Lincoln Park office regarding vaccines have gone from zero a month ago to about 10 per day. “Parents are asking everything — from whether or not their kids have been immunized to questioning whether it’s safe for them to travel.”
Dr. Robert Minkus has seen a spike too. The Skokie pediatrician said he has received “dozens and dozens” of calls during the last two weeks from parents who had declined or deferred immunizations and have now had a change of heart. “It was different when measles was something abstract,” he said. “But they’re saying, ‘I want it now.’”
Last week, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that a suburban Cook County resident had a confirmed case of measles — the first this year. Before that, the state recorded only a handful of cases over the years, with no cases at all in some years over the past two decades. There were 32 cases reported statewide in 2008; 59 in 1994; and 1,356 in 1990 — when there was a surge nationwide.
a) The provisions of this Part shall not apply if:
1) The parent or legal guardian of the child objects to the requirements of this Part on the grounds that the administration of immunizing agents conflicts with his or her religious tenets or practices, or
2) A physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches, an advanced practice nurse or a physician assistant states in writing that the physical condition of the child is such that the administration of one or more of the required immunizing agents is medically contraindicated.
b) If a religious objection is made, a written and signed statement from the parent or legal guardian detailing the objection shall be presented to the child care facility or local school authority. The religious objection statement shall be considered valid if:
1) The parent or legal guardian of a child entering a child care facility objects to the immunization or immunizations on the grounds that they conflict with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or religious organization of which the parent is an adherent or member; or
2) The objection by the parent or legal guardian of a child entering school (including programs below the kindergarten level) sets forth the specific religious belief that conflicts with the immunizations. The religious objection may be personal and need not be directed by the tenets of an established religious organization.
c) It is not the intent of this Part that any child whose parents comply with the intent of the Act should be excluded from a child care facility or school. A child or student shall be considered to be in compliance with the law if there is evidence of the intent to comply. Evidence may be a signed statement from a health care provider that he or she has begun, or will begin, the necessary immunization procedures, or the parent’s or legal guardian’s written consent for the child’s participation in a school or other community immunization program.
* As the Daily Herald reported in 2013, that religious exemption is pretty darned broad…
Illinois has two types of exemptions allowing unvaccinated kids to stay in school: One calls for a doctor’s note if, for example, a child is allergic to a certain vaccine. Or, a parent can file a religious objection to the immunizations.
That second method has opened a gateway to forego the shots that more and more parents, such as Elgin’s Ashley Focht, are choosing to walk through. She has skipped immunizing her son Gavin, despite not having any actual religious beliefs against vaccines. […]
Juanita Gryfinski is one of the many school nurses who can provide a link to that help. She was recently a nominee for the Illinois Association of School Nurses Nurse Administrator of the Year Award for her work in St. Charles Unit District 303 schools. She reads every religious exemption letter in her district.
“The letter just has to state a religious belief that conflicts with our immunization policy,” Gryfinski said. “But they don’t have to attach it with a specific religious tenet or church. Some people are very specific and talk about fetal material used in a vaccine. Some just briefly mention ‘a creator.’ But as soon as it says religious belief it gets very unlikely that I would reject a request because I can’t read somebody’s heart. What I’m looking for is any indication that they are trying to avoid something else.”
* The All Natural Mom blog had a post about Illinois’ exemptions a couple of years ago…
In Illinois, you have to use the word “spiritual” or “personal religious beliefs” at least three times in your letter. […]
When submitting your religious exemption letter, here are a few tips. Get the school physical form that the school gives you (if they need a physical that year). Have the doctor fill out everything else. If you refuse vaccines, they just write over the vaccine section “Refused.” Don’t be scared by the nurses in your doctor’s office either. They are usually totally unaware of the laws because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked by the nurses, “How will your kids go to school?” I was told my kids would not be allowed to attend school without their vaccines. Wrong. That’s what the pharmaceutical companies want you to think. […]
In the last 10 years, I’ve never once been asked to keep my kids at home. Why? Because there has never been an outbreak of one of these diseases. If there were, I’m sure we would have gotten a letter home to the class about it. We get letters every time someone has strep. I also believe if there were an outbreak, some nurses may not remember which kids were the ones who were not vaccinated. I’m thinking they are just required to tell us that.
If questioned by a school administrator who does not know the law, they may question your religious belief. This is illegal and tell them so. They cannot question your personal religious belief.
As parents, based on our personal religious beliefs, we object to the following vaccinations, including but not limited to, Dtap/DPT, HepB, Hib, Tetanus (TB), MMR, Polio, and Varicella (Chicken Pox), for our child, ___________.
Our child’s body is the temple of God. Our family’s personal religious beliefs prohibit the injection of foreign substances into our bodies. To inject into our child any substance which would alter the state into which he was born would be to criticize our Lord and question His divine omnipotence. Our faith will not allow us to question our Lord and God, nor to challenge His divine power.
I Corithians 6: 19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? …Therefore honor God with your body.”
II Corinthians 7:1, “…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Our objection is based on our lifelong, deeply-held spiritual beliefs based on scripture.
The vaccination of our child violates laws put forth within us by a higher force at the time of conception.
Our personal religious beliefs include our obedience to God’s law, the Holy Bible, and we believe that we are responsible before God for the life and safety of our child, created by God.
* Speaker Madigan has announced that he’ll appear on Public Television’s Illinois Lawmakers program after today’s State of the State address. He’s also planning a 1:30 press conference to react to the governor’s address. You can watch the address and the interview on BlueRoomStream.com’s live feed here and here. Democratic legislative react will be here. GOP react will be here. I’ll be on Illinois Lawmakers’ pre-game and post-game shows.
More than 30 Chicago area social service agencies discovered an unwelcome surprise in their email inboxes late last Thursday afternoon.
A letter from the Illinois Department of Human Services tersely informed them to “cease any and all operations” funded by state grants they were awarded in the closing weeks of Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration.
The contract awards, which were announced Dec. 17 and took effect Jan. 1, were intended to provide job training, after school and other “youth development” programs.
Some $8 million total was involved, a drop in the bucket compared with the $1.5 billion budget deficit that Gov. Bruce Rauner says he inherited from Quinn upon his Jan. 12 inauguration.
“He has cut $4.5 million in youth employment,” said Father Michael Pfleger of the St. Sabina Parish. “He has cut $3.5 million in after school care. Make it clear, this money he can say the state didn’t have, this money was allocated. Jobs began, contracts were signed as of January 1.”
One of those contracts was with the Humboldt Park-based Youth Connections, which was expecting $900,000 to fund 250 jobs.
“I was sad. I was crushed,” said Founder of Fellowship Connections Lynette Santiago. “In this economy and in this community we serve, to have to tell people that they are no longer employed… I don’t know.”
Pfleger said the cuts are “inappropriate” at the time and come at a time when the governor is raising the salaries of his own staff.
“In order to keep the income tax low, he’s going to have to make spending cuts in the state budget,” said Diana Rickert of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free market think thank that is a Rauner beneficiary.
Rickert expects the governor to cut selected social programs as well as state worker jobs and salaries.
“Everything is fair game for cuts this year,” Rickert says. “The reason why is government has been over spending for many, many years.”
Communities United, formerly known as the Albany Park Neighborhood Council, had planned to use its $276,000 grant mainly to operate its popular Bikes N’ Roses program, which I have written about previously.
The group employs neighborhood youth after school and during the summer to work in its bike repair shop, where they are trained not only to completely overhaul a bicycle but also to work with the public, to come to work on time and to meet deadlines.
Oscar Rivera Jr., the program director, had already hired 50 kids and was planning to open a second shop in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. Some had quit other jobs to take this one, he said.
A watchdog group Tuesday asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to examine whether Rep. Aaron Schock of Illinois acted improperly by accepting free services from an interior designer who redid his offices with a “Downton Abbey” motif.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington asked for the probe in a letter from Anne Weismann, its interim executive director and chief counsel.
The request was prompted by a story in Tuesday’s Washington Post about the fresh decor in the Republican lawmaker’s Rayburn Building office. […]
The paper quoted Schock’s office as saying Brahler offered her services for free, His congressional district includes Jacksonville, Ill., where Euro Trash is located.
In December 2009 he paid $7,400 to an Illinois design/build firm called KBL Design Center, and then another $21,000 to a hardwood floor company, a building contractor and company called Old World Granite and Marble that apparently makes high-end countertops. He then spent $6,600 on an Illinois painting contractor.
Two months later, Schock spent $79,061 on furniture purchases, including $5,123 from a company called Mulnix Industries that specializes in hardwood podiums.
Around the same time, Schock spent more than $4,000 with a fine-leather furniture company called Garrett Leather.
All of the expenditures came out of Schock’s taxpayer-funded office account, which lawmakers can use to buy office furniture and pay for renovations.
* Gov. Rauner’s team leaked some State of the State stuff to the Tribune…
The rookie Republican chief executive will suggest to lawmakers an overhaul of the parole system and higher spending on programs that help inmates find jobs and readjust to the community after they’ve served their time, according to an aide for Rauner with knowledge of the speech. Specifically, Rauner will talk about a program known as Adult Redeploy, which provides grants to counties to develop ways to keep nonviolent offenders out of state prisons.
Those efforts, coupled with the hiring of an unspecified number of correctional officers, are aimed at addressing what Rauner will call the “unsafe environment” for prisoners and guards alike because of the state’s high prison population. […]
The governor’s offensive on organized labor is likely to continue in Wednesday’s speech. He is expected to call on unions with state contracts to include more minorities in their apprenticeship programs, and require work crews on taxpayer-funded construction projects to “reflect the diversity in the surrounding area,” according to a Rauner aide. The move has the political benefit of tweaking unions while also appealing to minority voters.
Rauner also is expected to propose creating a program that would help minority-owned businesses get off the ground.
Watch for signs of influence from first lady Diana Rauner, who leads the Ounce of Prevention Fund, an early childhood education not-for-profit group.
She told The Associated Press last month that one of her primary roles as first lady will be to advocate for vulnerable children and families, and to help her husband understand the struggles social service agencies and families are facing.
Will the governor, who’s pledged to make Illinois both “competitive and compassionate,” touch on any of those topics?
…Adding…. Oops. They did give the AP one nugget that I somehow missed…
A Rauner administration official said Tuesday that the governor will reiterate his call to increase early childhood and K-12 education funding, despite Rauner’s warning for weeks that painful budget cuts may be coming in other areas.
Subscribers have known about that for at least a week.
