* From a press release…
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan announced Thursday that he will schedule a vote on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal that would hurt the ability of workers to have an outside party advocate on their behalf. Madigan is urging the governor to file formal legislative language for his measure.
“Taxpayers and their elected representatives need to see the details of Governor Rauner’s plan so they can decide how it will impact Illinois’ middle-class families,” Madigan said. “The financial security of middle-class families and others struggling to make ends meet will be affected by his proposal. We owe it to them to make sure the governor’s idea gets a full hearing.”
Madigan will schedule a House floor vote on the governor’s proposal for Thursday, May 14. Rauner first spoke about his proposal as governor in Decatur on Jan. 27 – 100 days ago. With 24 scheduled days left in the Legislature’s spring session, Madigan encouraged the governor to introduce legislative language for the plan he has campaigned for at stops across the state.
“The governor’s proposal will have a significant impact on middle-class families across Illinois,” Madigan said. “By putting the governor’s proposal to a vote, legislators will have the opportunity to ensure the voices of the middle-class families in their districts are heard.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan…
“The governor has spent a lot of time and effort attempting to sell right to work in Illinois. The facts are clear and undisputed. Right to work undercuts wages and benefits for all workers. If Gov. Rauner truly believes economic development is achieved by pushing even more people out of the middle class, then it’s time to have a vote on it.
“We urge state representatives to oppose this anti-middle class measure. Then Rauner can, hopefully, move on to acting like a leader and seeking real solutions to our most pressing problems.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** IFT…
Following news that Speaker Madigan has scheduled a vote on Governor Rauner’s so-called “right-to-work” proposal, the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) released the following statement:
“We urge the legislature to follow the lead of the 95% of citizens, represented through their city councils and county boards, who have already rejected Governor Rauner’s misguided proposal,” said Dan Montgomery, President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “The Governor’s push for these so-called reforms don’t make a dime of difference to the state’s fiscal challenges, and holding the budget hostage unless the legislature agrees to injure ordinary families is revolting.
The Governor’s roadshow has been an irresponsible distraction from our state’s real challenges. We hope putting this up for a vote will demonstrate, once and for all, that the overwhelming majority of Illinoisans want Governor Rauner to stop campaigning, and start governing.
In the meantime, we are going to continue doing what we have always done – standing up for working families who don’t have billions of dollars to make their voice heard, or corporate tax loopholes that excuse them from paying their fair share.”
Numerous studies have shown that so-called “right-to-work” laws drive down wages and increase inequality for all workers, not just those represented by a union.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Lance Trover at the governor’s office…
The administration continues to negotiate in good faith over the governor’s turnaround agenda and will remain at the table as long as it takes.
If House Democrats want to walk away from the negotiating table and vote on a proposal before there is bipartisan agreement that the material is ready to be introduced in committee, then they should start with a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on legislators.
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It’s just a bill…
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* But, man, I hope this passes…
Legislation that would make the possession of small amounts of marijuana punishable by a fine has been approved by an Illinois Senate committee.
Officials say Senate criminal law committee members passed the measure in a 9-3 vote on Wednesday. The legislation’s sponsor, State Representative Kelly Cassidy, says it would help prevent discrimination of enforcement based on race. The bill passed the Illinois House last week.
It could, however, simply be a stalking horse to convince the governor to sign the medical marijuana pilot project extension into law.
* Probably not a bad idea at all…
A suburban lawmaker’s proposal in Springfield could put a halt to the creation of new units of local government in Illinois.
State Sen. Michael Connelly, a Lisle Republican, says the proposal would put a four-year moratorium on the state’s ability to create new layers of local government.
Originally proposed by state Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat, the bill would apply statewide “except a unit created as a result of combining, consolidating or annexing previously existing units of government,” Connelly said.
* AP…
A state lawmaker wants to undo a portion of Illinois’ concealed-carry law that prevents cities from banning assault weapons.
Sen. Julie Morrison said her legislation is in response to a federal appeals court ruling last month that upheld Highland Park’s ban. The Deerfield Democrat said her measure would allow other cities to prohibit assault weapons.
“This is about local control,” she said.
Illinois’ 2013 concealed-carry law included a provision that gave local governments a 10-day window to enact their own assault weapons bans.
* If it’s passed and signed into law, this could wind up making some folks happy…
Legislation to provide $63 million in back wages owed to state workers is heading to the Illinois Senate.
The Senate executive committee approved the measure on a voice vote Wednesday. The House passed it last month.
The money is for raises approved for unionized workers in 2011. Former Gov. Pat Quinn later reneged on the raises, saying the Legislature hadn’t appropriated enough money.
* I’m not sure what I think of this. I don’t like government interference in the arts, but when you take the money, I suppose you sometimes have to pay the piper, or however that saying goes…
If movie director Spike Lee insists on maligning Chicago by calling his upcoming movie on black-on-black violence “Chiraq,” he should forfeit the right to a $3 million tax break he wants, a South Side alderman said Wednesday.
Ald. Will Burns (4th) took the municipal angst over Lee’s working title to a whole new level in a way that could run afoul of the First Amendment.
He introduced a resolution at the last City Council meeting before new aldermen are sworn in calling on the Illinois Film Office to reject Lee’s application for a $3 million film production tax credit if he chooses to name the film “Chiraq.”
“There’s nothing anti-First Amendment about it at all. If he wants to name the movie `Chiraq’ and film it in the city of Chicago, he should be able to get the permits for that and he should be able to do it. But we shouldn’t give him money as taxpayers to brand a part of the city as Iraq. That doesn’t make sense,” Burns said.
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Question of the day
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chuck Sweeny…
In deciding to please the barnstormin’ reformin’ Republican governor, did aldermen raise the ire of the powerful Democratic speaker of the House, Mike Madigan? Democrats control both the House and Senate by substantial majorities.
“When you have the speaker upset, that’s never a good thing,” said state Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park.
But is the speaker really angry at Rockford because of the actions of eight aldermen? Here is what Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax had to say about the situation, leading off with, “No casino for you.”
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel has renewed his push for a city-owned casino and Rockford has long been in the mix for its own riverboat if a deal should ever happen. But the Rockford City Council recently passed Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda resolution, calling on the Legislature to give it the power to create local right-to-work zones, among other things. That vote apparently did not go down well with the House speaker, who has long had a soft spot in his heart for Rockford, the home of Madigan’s late political mentor Zeke Giorgi.”
Capitol Fax added, “Some of the towns which passed the resolution were clearly hoping to curry favor with a governor who wants to slash their state revenue sharing in half. But Governor Rauner isn’t the only person who can play hardball at the Statehouse.”
Well, that’s the understatement of the decade. I put my question to Steve Brown, Madigan’s longtime spokesman: Would Madigan really punish the third-largest city in Illinois by denying it a casino license because of eight aldermen?
“I wouldn’t try to take it to that extreme,” Brown said. “In past years, the speaker has generally recused himself form speaking on gaming expansion. Mike Madigan’s general attitude and his record is one of being helpful to Rockford whenever it is possible, and I see no reason why that would change.
“I don’t know that the speaker has an opinion on the actions of the city of Rockford. I know that (Rockford-area) legislators were very disappointed the City Council took that action. So he’s heard that. Most cities around the state have either rejected the (Turnaround Agenda) or voted on modified versions. There hasn’t been widespread support because of the overall negative outlook for cities.”
* That’s not quite what I wrote…
NO CASINO FOR YOU? In yet another sign that the governor’s anti-union agenda is under siege at the Statehouse, could the City of Rockford possibly be in danger of losing its place at the table if gaming expansion negotiations proceed?
It was a warning, issued privately through back channels, I’m told, not a direct threat. There’s a difference, and I didn’t (and still don’t) know for sure if Rockford will lose out, which is why both the headline and the first graf were written as questions, not declarative statements.
But the fact that Madigan (and Senate President John Cullerton) can also play some hardball is a point that is being lost on some municipalities. So…
* The Question: Should legislative Demcrats take into account local governments’ “right to work” resolution votes when setting Statehouse policy and making budgets, or should they be forgiven? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
survey solutions
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Advertisers behaving badly
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a recent House hearing on the Exelon bailout bill…
Also testifying was Chris Armstrong, CEO of Keystone Steel and Wire, which operates a scrap mill on 1,500 acres along the Illinois River near Peoria, Ill.
Armstrong said the Exelon-backed bill would raise electricity costs for the mill and an associated plant in Chicago by $2.2 million a year and put the company at a disadvantage to competitors in neighboring states and overseas.
Yikes.
* More…
But the strongest criticism came from the attorney general’s office.
Exelon was happy to embrace risk when wholesale power prices were on the rise and profits from its generation business were flowing, [Cara Hendrickson of the attorney general’s office] said. Only now, in a market where nuclear power is under pressure from relatively inexpensive natural gas and wind, is the company asking for help in the form of a $300-million-a-year subsidy.
“What this bill does is disrupt that market. It puts a thumb on the scales,” she said. “Basically, it’s ‘Heads up, Exelon wins. Tails up, Exelon wins.’ That’s not a free market. It’s a bailout.”
* From an op-ed by Bob Gallo of AARP Illinois…
Twenty years ago, Exelon fought for a deregulated energy industry that could offer market-based solutions. It won that battle – but now it doesn’t like what the market has done so it is asking the legislature for a bailout, to be paid for by Illinois consumers. Meanwhile, it refuses to show any financial proof that its nuclear plants are struggling.
It’s hard to fathom that Exelon has a cash flow problem given its $693 million earnings statement for the first quarter of 2015 (as opposed to $90 million for the first quarter of 2014). Exelon’s legislation is nothing more than a government subsidy for a private company — paid for by Illinois consumers who can ill-afford to foot the bill.
As if the Exelon legislation wasn’t enough, ComEd is also back at the trough demanding more money from Illinois ratepayers. ComEd already enjoys the benefits of a unique formula rate law passed in 2011 that mitigates its business risk and guarantees an annual corporate profit of nearly 10 percent. ComEd claims that the cost of the new legislation would be offset by “voltage optimization” provisions. However, that is already a part of the utility’s ongoing legal obligation to provide “safe and adequate service” and cannot be used to justify the unnecessary costs that the ComEd legislation imposes.
And as long as we’re talking about unnecessary costs, let’s take a look at the special projects included in ComEd’s legislation. ComEd wants consumers to foot the bill for a $100 million vehicle charging station pilot program. Really? Is that a necessary project in order for ComEd to do its basic duty of providing safe, adequate and reliable electric service? This is just one example of a “special project” that ComEd wants to pull from the pocketbooks of Illinois consumers.
The bottom line is that these two pieces of legislation are bad for consumers. Illinois lawmakers would be wise to take a hard look at the facts before agreeing to subject their constituents to yet another corporate bailout.
* And the Sun-Times ran an editorial calling for a balanced approach, based on the clean energy bill already in the hopper...
Illinois already has committed itself to using solar, wind and other renewables — as opposed to, say, coal or nuclear energy — for at least 25 percent of its energy by 2025. The new legislation, which has companion versions in the Illinois House and Senate, would raise that to 35 percent by 2030. It’s a reasonable goal. As the New York Times reported Wednesday, Germany in 15 years has already converted 30 percent of its energy sources to solar and wind.
Although renewable energy costs more today than other power sources, the Citizens Utility Board estimates consumers would come out ahead by $1.6 billion by 2030. That would be a $98 annual savings for the average residential ratepayer. CUB says $1.6 billion is its mid-range estimate and that savings could go as high as $2.2 billion. A separate analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists also predicts substantial savings.
We’re not so sure regular homeowners will rush out to buy smart appliances, like programmable dishwashers and dryers, that can save money by shifting energy use to non-peak periods, such as the middle of the night. But because of the complicated way energy pricing works — with peak use driving the rates — CUB says even people who don’t do anything on their own will save money. […]
Another arguable benefit to this legislation is that it would bring jobs to the state, according to a survey released this week by the Clean Energy Trust. The survey found Illinois already has more than 100,000 jobs in the clean energy sector, and has experienced growth of 7.8 percent in the last 15 months. That survey, though, fails to consider that other jobs would be lost as less fossil fuel and nuclear energy is used.
I’d be careful with those job numbers and with the projected savings, but even if they’re ballpark, that’s still pretty decent.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Members of a broad coalition – including organized labor, business, and nonprofit organizations from around Illinois – led a group of nearly 600 concerned citizens to the Capitol to make their voices heard on legislation to help preserve low carbon energy facilities around the state that are vital to their communities.
The coalition organized a packed rally in the Capitol Rotunda before hundreds of activists broke off to meet with their legislators to discuss the Low Carbon Portfolio Standard (LCPS) bill currently before the General Assembly.
Community, labor and business leaders who spoke out in support of the LCPS included: Reverend Dr. Leon Finney, Jr., Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church in Chicago; Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan; Doug O’Brien, Illinois Clean Energy Coalition; Roderick Hawkins, Chicago Urban League; Omar Duque, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Deanna Mershon, Byron Chamber of Commerce; and the bill’s bipartisan sponsors, Sen. Donne Trotter, Sen. Sue Rezin, and Rep. Larry Walsh.
The group delivered a petition signed by over 10,000 Illinois residents to legislative leaders urging passage of the LCPS before the end of the legislative session.
The supporters are advocating for legislation to preserve existing low carbon energy facilities, including three of the state’s six nuclear energy plants that are economically challenged and in jeopardy of being prematurely shuttered due to outdated energy policies. A recent State of Illinois report found that these closures would result in nearly 8,000 lost jobs, $1.8 billion in lost economic activity per year, and up to $500 million in higher energy costs annually.
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It’s about getting from Point A to Point B
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Illinois Policy Institute’s partisan, histrionic take on yesterday’s House floor action…
A sham, a scam, a fraud, a joke–That’s how House republicans characterized budget bill amendments passed Thursday that restores social service programs being reduced or eliminated in the proposed 2016 fiscal year. House Speaker Michael Madigan originally offered up an amendment to House Bill 4141 that reflected the Governor’s proposed cuts to various social services programs. Republicans were blindsided and ended up largely voting present on the measure. […]
Some representatives in the minority said it’s like deja vu all over again where they’re being left out of the process but democrats said the process is where it needs to be–on the House floor racking up votes. Republican Representative Ed Sullivan said despite promises earlier this year to be open and transparent on budget issues, democrats are continuing the shutout republicans. […]
Sullivan said that the actions have broken the good will and spirit of cooperation between the two parties.
OK, the first round of House votes yesterday were on a bill with language taken directly from the governor’s own proposed budget on legislation sponsored by the House Republican Leader.
I don’t see the harm. Read on.
* The Republicans did have a better case about the other round of votes taken later in the day. Back to the Policy Institute…
Fifteen amendments were then added to the bill for votes, something republicans said circumvented the standard committee-to-floor process. Republican Representative Ron Sandack said this process isn’t open.
“Our time would be better spent in committee fully vetting appropriation bills, frankly, after a revenue number had been set. This isn’t, by the way, zero based budgeting. This isn’t top down budgeting. This isn’t bottom up budgeting. This is sham.” […]
Republicans don’t just have a problem with being left out, they also have a problem with how to pay for the restored cuts. As the amendments were being passed by majority democrats, Republican Sullivan asked Democrat Harris how the measures would be funded.
“We’ll have to cut in other areas, but we need to do it in a responsible way to cause the least harm to families, particularly those in vulnerable situations. And I think we’re gonna have to find new revenue,” Harris said.
“You’re gonna have to find new revenue,” Sullivan fired back. “You couldn’t do it in the fall so you passed a sham budget hoping that your governor would be reelected.”
Sullivan said he anticipates having to bail democrats out at the end of the budget year if they keep passing what republicans characterized as sham budget amendments. Republican Patti Bellock worried the budget amendments, without revenue to cover the bills, would increase the state’s backlog.
“When it comes to the end I don’t know where we’re going to have the funding for this. And again I brought up before about the unpaid bills. They’re not just out there. Those unpaid bills go to the providers, doctors, nursing homes, small business people.”
Even so, the House Dems wanted to send a message that those programs needed to be protected. And with the governor refusing to negotiate on tax hikes or pretty much anything else until he gets his “Turnaround Agenda” passed, the Dems wanted to respond. Again, it’s not a huge deal.
* Tribune…
House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said Madigan was trying to get GOP lawmakers on the record to use the roll call votes in future campaign attack ads. “I do believe that what’s going on right now is form over substance. And it’s unfortunate. This is about mail pieces – trying to string people out,” Durkin said.
Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, countered that the cuts, which Rauner proposed months ago, are well-known and have been discussed at length. Indeed, Democrats spent the early months of spring session holding hearings across the state to publicize the governor’s plans.
“The question always with us is, what bills can get 60 votes in the House, 30 in the Senate,” Harris said. “I understand we have to make cuts somewhere, but we cannot balance the budget by cuts alone. We’re going to have to make some common-sense cuts, and we’re also going to have to agree to find some revenue sources.”
* Erickson…
Rauner spokesman Lance Trover called Wednesday’s maneuvering “political theater.”
“This is not the time for political stunts. Gov. Rauner stands ready to work with Democrats to pass real structural changes to our government and enact a balanced budget,” Trover said in an email.
OK, then get on with it.
* Now, let’s flash back for a moment to April 22, 2013…
(F)aced with bitter divisions over guns and state pensions, House Speaker Michael Madigan resorted to a rarely-used tactic that does the opposite. He has called weekly sessions to laboriously address each and every proposal on dealing with the two controversial issues, debating and voting on each amendment piece by piece.
The idea was to engage in deeper discussions early on, rebut concerns about a closed-door process and gauge where lawmakers were on even the smallest of aspects. Madigan and others point to success, including some movement on the pension issue.
But critics say the process was directionless, ate up time, and now appears to have evaporated as a strategy without moving Illinois that much closer to solutions. While Democrats say it was aimed at making lawmakers more accountable about where they stand on issues, Republicans fear it was aimed more at forcing them to make uncomfortable votes on sensitive issues, which could haunt them at election time. […]
“We had a good airing of both sides of the issue,” said Steve Brown, Madigan’s spokesman. “All too often people, especially the minority party, will complain, ‘We don’t know this [debate or vote] is going to happen.’ You’ve got two pretty complex, somewhat emotionally charged, issues that seemed to lend itself to this sort of approach.”
But many Republicans, including House Minority Leader Tom Cross, disagree. They point to the lack of progress on the Legislature’s need to comply with a federal judge’s order to legalize the public possession of firearms by early June. Despite the deliberations, two opposing proposals to end the nation’s last ban on “concealed carry” were voted down last week.
In the end, despite all the early GOP screaming, they passed a pension bill and a concealed carry bill. And, as far as I can recall, none of those votes were used against the Republicans in the 2014 election.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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The civil justice system plays an invaluable role in keeping corporations in check when they prove unwilling to protect the health of women. For more information, click here.
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Let’s hope this works
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Wordslinger has been calling for this approach for years…
The new manager for the Illinois State Fair [Patrick Buchen] on Wednesday announced his plans to strengthen the event’s finances and agricultural roots. […]
As the new manager settled into his role managing both the Illinois State Fair and Du Quoin State Fair this week, he announced his intention to tap into the state’s vibrant agriculture industry to boost the fairs’ self-sufficiency. Both fairs have lost money in recent years, and Buchen believes calling on industry giants could help stabilize the struggling tradition. […]
Buchen, who most recently served as president and CEO of Adjuvant Expos Inc. in Texas, said he intends to use his experience from the expos in fostering sponsorships to bolster the fair’s revenue. He said he’d like to see a greater presence from companies like Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, John Deere and Pioneer on the fairgrounds. That methodology, he said, also fits with the 2015 fair theme, “Growing Illinois,” which was announced during the news conference.
“It’s going to be a big ship to turn around, but ultimately it’s going to be one of our goals to be more self-sufficient, and that’s going to take a lot of hard work and some time to do that,” Buchen said.
It is most definitely time for these ag companies to step up here. I’d expand that to CME as well, which made out like a bandit with bigtime state tax breaks not long ago.
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Today’s number: 6.8 percent
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Phil Kadner...
Chicago has the lowest composite property tax rate (that’s combining all the tax rates within the city) in Cook County. The county clerk’s office, which annually publishes a chart of tax rates, reports that Chicago’s composite property tax rate in 2013 was 6.8 percent.
Ford Heights, one of the poorest suburbs in the nation, had a composite rate for that year of 39.9 percent, Park Forest was at 32 percent and Chicago Heights at 29.9 percent.
Those three suburbs had the highest property tax rates in Cook County, but you can look anywhere outside of Chicago and find higher property tax rates in the county.
The reason is quite simple. For decades, suburban schools have been financed on the backs of homeowners. But Chicago gets piles of money in education grants from state government and has such a large commercial and manufacturing base that it has been able to fund its schools without the eye-popping tax rates the rest of the state has been struggling with. […]
Editorial writers act like a 2 percent tax rate hike for public education in Chicago would result in a massive wave of newly homeless people hitting the streets.
Hey, the property tax system in Illinois is unfair. I’ve been screaming about that for 20 years. But Chicago politicians never seemed to care because the system worked for the city, and the rest of us ended up paying more in property tax than we did on our mortgages.
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Medicaid - Know The Facts
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Oppose $810 million in proposed FY 2016 hospital Medicaid cuts because:
• Hospitals did take a $27 million hit to address the FY2015 budget gap by paying an additional $27 million in assessments to the State – effectively the same as a cut.
• Hospitals are targeted for MORE THAN HALF – $810 million – of the Governor’s proposed overall Medicaid cut of $1.5 billion – even though they are only about ONE THIRD of the Medicaid budget.
• Drastic hospital cuts will mean:
o The loss of critical health care services like pediatrics, obstetrics, and mental health for everyone, not just Medicaid patients.
o Working families and businesses will have to pay more for health care.
o The loss of more than 12,800 jobs and $1.8 billion in economic activity statewide.
• $1 billion in Illinois hospital Medicaid cuts have been imposed since 2011.
• $1.9 billion in Illinois hospital Medicare cuts have been imposed since 2010.
• As a result, 40% of hospitals across Illinois are operating in the red.
Cutting Medicaid in the FY2016 budget is shortsighted and will result in real harm to people and communities.
For more information, go to www.TransformingIllinoisHealthCare.org.
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Rauner, Durkin urge calm
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Bruce Rauner on his “Turnaround Agenda” and the possibility of an overtime session…
One item that’s not on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s so-called “turnaround agenda” is a special session of the legislature if the agenda is not passed by the end of this month. At least not yet, as Rauner says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that state lawmakers can pass bills on workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and local “right-to-work” zones, along with the state budget, all by the scheduled adjournment date of May 31. […]
“If we need more time for some reason, I’ll work closely with Speaker Madigan, President Cullerton, and Leader Durkin and Radogno, to work out how that process should unfold, but again, I’m cautiously optimistic we can get things done by May 31st,” the governor said.
Rauner says he doesn’t have any particular philosophy on special sessions, but prefers to get things done on time, pointing to how he didn’t ask for extra time to deliver his State of the State and budget addresses.
* House GOP Leader Jim Durkin on the same topic…
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) invoked the name of former Gov. Jim Edgar, who said the most important thing a governor can do is “get his arms around the budget.” Afterward, a reporter pointed out how Rauner is prioritizing his right-to-work–leaning “Turnaround Agenda” over everything else.
“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Durkin retorted. “The (legislative) working groups are working through every one of these issues. The fact is: we can do all that in a short amount of time.”
Short in that the session is scheduled to end May 31; Durkin says lawmakers can hit that mark if they are so inclined.
…Adding… I should’ve also posted this one from Leader Durkin. Emphasis added…
“Spending within our means will be the only way we get out of this mess. It;s going to take some time, we didn’t get here over night, but hang in there folks. We’ve got to stick with our Governor but the fact of the matter is our budget right now is under scrutiny and that is a major focus. That is what’s driving everything in that building right now,” said Minority Leader Jim Durkin.
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Your daily “right to work” roundup
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the governor’s office…
Hi, Rich –
Coal Valley and Chebanse have passed the resolution.
Thanks!
ck
Coal Valley population: 3,743
Chebanse population: 1,036
* Text message from a union official…
100 in attendance in Coal Valley last night. All speakers opposed to the Rauner resolution which nonetheless passed with one dissenting vote.
* Meanwhile, Kane County removed all reference to the anti-union stuff in its resolution…
A revised draft of a Kane County resolution to support reform in Springfield passed the Executive Committee unanimously Wednesday (May 6, 2015), setting the stage for a full Kane County Board vote on May 12.
Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen set the tone and direction for Wednesday’s discussion by crediting County Board members Deborah Allan and Ron Ford, both Democrats, with language revisions and editing that helped gain the unanimous recommendation.
“We have very diverse opinions,” Lauzen said. “Our purpose today is to find common ground where we can generate a consensus. Not everyone can agree on all the pieces, but what we’ve tried to do is see where the common ground is.” […]
The County Board is comprised of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, and committee members from each political party said they made compromises to come to an agreement. District 18 Board member Drew Frasz, a Republican, said he would have preferred the resolution include language supporting lawsuit reform, an “empowerment zone” and several other ideas that are part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Illinois Turnaround initiative.
“It’s been said that successful negotiation is when both parties are not totally happy,” Frasz said. “But I will vote in favor of this resolution, because this compromise does say Kane County is in support of reform.”
Lauzen wasn’t much of a compromiser when he was in the Illinois Senate, but he appears to have grown considerably at the county level. The full resolution is here. Scroll to the bottom.
* The lame duck Chicago City Council passed its anti-Rauner resolution yesterday…
Speaking to reporters after Rauner left, Emanuel said he would carry his and the city’s opposition to the governor’s local right-to-work-zone legislation all the way to the Capitol. Workers in the zones would be able to choose not to join unions or pay related dues in workplaces that have been organized, limiting union money and influence.
“I don’t believe in right to work, have not my whole life. I think you’re pulling the rug out from underneath the middle class and people trying to get in the middle class,” said Emanuel, who added, “If the governor can figure out a way to work with people down in Springfield to do that, I’m going to fight that effort.” […]
Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, said he understood the need to work together with Rauner, but not on the right-to-work-zone issue.
“It’s not going to work. He’s not going to get any traction on cutting out unions,” said Sawyer, who added, “To even think about cutting out unions or giving an option of there being a union or not, that’s not going to fly in the city of Chicago. I don’t think it will fly downstate, either.”
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* Greg Hinz…
In a scathing report being released this morning, the Civic Federation, a Chicago watchdog group largely funded with corporate cash, says the new governor’s $31.5 billion operating budget does not add up and asserts it could leave the state in worse shape than it was under former Gov. Pat Quinn.
Rauner deserves praise for issuing a plan on time that would close a $6.2 billion hole in the budget for the year starting July 1, said federation President Laurence Msall. Much of the gap is caused by allowing a portion of Quinn’s temporary income tax increase to lapse. Rauner proposes to balance the budget entirely with cuts.
“However while the governor’s recommendations may close the budget gap on paper, the Civic Federation cannot support spending reductions that are either unrealistic or inconsistent with reasonable long-term financial goals,” the report says.
In a brief response, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly suggests that Rauner may be willing to go along with some form of tax hike, as the federation clearly wants–but only if Rauner’s “turnaround agenda” makes progress. That agenda includes items such as local right-to-work laws, reduced unemployment insurance and workers compensation payments, and term limits for legislators. “New revenue cannot be discussed until we address the underlying structural issues that have landed us here in the first place,” Kelly said.
Even if Rauner does eventually back revenue increases, the federation report says those hikes will have to be big.
*** UPDATE *** Some of you have been over-analyzing Greg’s paraphrasing of Catherine’s statement in comments. I asked her for her full remarks. Here they are…
Illinois’ fiscal crisis has been years in the making because career politicians were more interested in sweetheart deals with Springfield insiders than helping the taxpayers they were supposed to be working for. The structural reform addressed in the governor’s Turnaround Agenda will help free up resources to tackle our $6 billion deficit. New revenue cannot be discussed until we address the underlying structural issues that have landed us here in the first place.
I don’t see much change in position there, if any.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* From the Civic Federation’s press release…
In a new report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability opposes Governor Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. The Institute’s full 78-page report is available at www.civicfed.org.
The Governor’s recommended budget relies on $2.2 billion in savings related to a new proposal to reform Illinois’ critically underfunded retirement systems. These savings are assumed to be realized in the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2015, even though the pension proposal has not been introduced as legislation in the Illinois General Assembly and is likely to face legal challenges. Several other spending reductions in the Governor’s recommendation are seen by the Civic Federation as unlikely to be achieved or potentially harmful to the State’s finances in the long run.
“By issuing his budget on-time and without the use of borrowing, Governor Rauner has appropriately identified the size and pressing nature of the $6.2 billion shortfall in next year’s budget,” said Civic Federation President Laurence Msall. “However, while the Governor’s recommendations may close the budget gap on paper, the Civic Federation cannot support spending reductions that are either unrealistic or inconsistent with reasonable long-term financial goals for the State.”
In addition to pension savings, the proposed FY2016 budget assumes a reduction of $655 million, or more than one third, in the cost of State group health insurance through collective bargaining. Both the magnitude of the projected savings and the short timeframe for reaching agreement with the State’s largest union suggest that the budgeted numbers are unlikely to be realized. Other budgeted savings, particularly in the Medicaid program, depend on changes in State law or require federal approval.
The Governor’s recommended budget cuts local governments’ share of State income taxes by half. This reduction is inadvisable at a time when many municipalities are under severe strain. The State’s fiscal position will suffer if the finances of the City of Chicago – the State’s economic engine – are allowed to deteriorate further. The Civic Federation also opposes proposed cuts to spending on community care for the elderly, disabled and those with mental illness, which is recommended by advocates and saves money in the long-run by avoiding the costs of institutionalization.
“Members of the Illinois General Assembly need to come forward now with their own plans for how to address a revenue shortfall in FY2016 that will be larger and more painful than what we experienced this year,” said Msall. The upcoming fiscal year is the first full budget year since the partial phaseout of temporary income tax rate increases enacted in 2011. As described in the recent State budget roadmap for FY2016, the Federation recommends a combination of spending restraints and new revenues to solve Illinois’ fiscal problems. By limiting spending growth and broadening the revenue base, the State can eliminate the $6.0 billion backlog of unpaid bills over several years while providing more sustainable revenue sources for funding essential government services and ongoing costs over the long-term.
The full report is here.
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Giving back to its members – A Credit Union Difference
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As financial cooperatives, credit unions function as economic democracies. Because of their cooperative structure, earnings are returned to members in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits, and lower fees. When credit unions – both large and small — exceed expectations, their members share even more in those benefits.
Hershey Robinson, $2.8 million, 500-member employee-based credit union, is one of many that provide extra value. Most recently, the credit union delivered more than $12,000 in gift cards to members as an International Credit Union Week “Thank You”. This was a first-of-its-kind giveaway for this credit union and very well-received by its members – as well as its volunteer board of directors which unanimously approved the initiative.
In Illinois, by most recent estimates credit unions annually provide nearly $205 million in direct financial benefits to almost three million members. Credit unions like Hershey Robinson ECU exemplify how these crucial institutions play a vital role in delivering that value.
Credit unions remain true to one principle - people before profits - and represent a highly valued resource by consumers.
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