Cullerton: No
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is why today was more press pop than governance…
“What we tried to do is incorporate the ideas of all the various leaders to create an opportunity for significant cost-savings in the pension systems throughout the state of Illinois,” Rauner said. […]
“President Cullerton recognizes that the governor is accepting of many of the principles he’s outlined but the specifics that the governor is advancing is faraway from policies that Cullerton could support,” said Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon. “To simply co-opt language that the Senate President has used and call that negotiation, really does change the definition of negotiation and compromise. You can’t simply co-opt language and pay lip service to someone’s leadership and call that a negotiation.”
Frank Shuftan, spokesman for Preckwinkle, said she has received a copy of the proposal and is analyzing it. But she, too, didn’t have “any direct input into formulation of this particular proposal,” Shuftan said.
Preckwinkle is standing by her bill, which is “designed to resolve the county’s actuarial shortfall and put the pension fund on a road to long-term sustainable solvency,” Shuftan said.
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Needless insinuations
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The AP has a story up entitled “Connected marijuana lobbyist to push for program’s future”…
A new group has formed to push for policies in Springfield favorable to the medical marijuana industry with a well-connected former Illinois Department of Agriculture employee as its top lobbyist.
Bresha Brewer stopped being a state worker just ahead of new ethics rules imposed by Gov. Bruce Rauner that would have prevented her from immediately going into lobbying and becoming part of a “revolving door” of former state employees who leave to become lobbyists. Brewer is now executive director of the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois, which launched this week. […]
The alliance represents 39 companies — the bulk of the businesses that hold state permits to grow and sell marijuana in a pilot program that expires after 2017. Extending the program’s end date, or preferably achieving its permanence, will be one of Brewer’s most urgent objectives.
As executive director, she brings fresh insider knowledge, nearly 15 years of state government experience and a long list of connections. Brewer has worked for several state agencies as a legislative liaison, most recently for the agriculture department, which regulates marijuana growers.
Who knew that Bresha was so “connected”?
Plus, conveniently not mentioned anywhere in the AP story is that the Inspector General’s office had to sign off on her new job. It’s not like she just walked out the door and walked over to the pot industry. Also not mentioned is the governor’s edict that all lobbyists must first ask Rauner’s policy office for permission to talk to anybody at a state agency.
I’ve known Bresha for years. She knows just about everybody, but “connected” is not a word I would use to describe her.
And ain’t it a good thing that the marijuana folks chose somebody who knows what the heck they’re doing in Springfield?
This could’ve been a much better story without all the slimy insinuations. And the reporter even missed the fact that the group’s spokesperson is the wife of a Republican state legislator. Oh, such opportunities lost!
…Adding… I forgot that Bresha was a Golden Horseshoe Award winner back in 2012…
It seems like Bresha has been a liaison for just about every agency. She’s easy to work with, has great connections and a good sense of humor.
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“Core beliefs”
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* House Speaker Michael Madigan has often said that many parts of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” go against the “core beliefs” of Democratic and many Republican legislators.
Rauner finally addressed this today. It’s something I’ve written about before, but it needed to be said…
“I don’t like taxes, period, I don’t like to ever raise taxes. I’m willing to do it as part of reform,” Rauner said. “I’m willing to do something that goes against my core beliefs, I can ask the folks on the other side of the aisle to vote for some things they’d rather not.”
That makes sense. But it doesn’t likely get us closer to a deal, mainly because of this line…
“Speaker Madigan needs to make a decision,” Rauner said. “(Are you) going to support reforms or support a tax hike? It’s one or the other.”
Yep. It has become one or the other. Madigan chose a tax hike. And therein lies the fundamental problem.
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Dueling infographics
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Illinois Senate GOP Facebook page…
Many people have questions about what they can expect as the state begins the new fiscal year without a budget. We’ve put together this infographic explaining which state operations will continue with or without a state budget in place.
Their infographic…
* From Emily Miller at Voices for Illinois Children…
The IL Senate GOP created a fairly misleading infographic about the budget crisis and posted it to Facebook yesterday.
It downplays the very clear impact this crisis is already having, and is about to have, on middle class Illinois families.
Here’s our response.
Their infographic…
Thoughts?
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*** UPDATED x3 *** Winning the cycle
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday announced his administration was making public a massive pension reform bill that encompasses issues involving the City of Chicago and Cook County as well as Downstate.
The reform proposal, he said, could save the City of Chicago billions of dollars every year.
Rauner said the more than 500-page pension reform bill includes changes to Chicago’s fire and police pension plans as well as to the Chicago Teachers pension. He said it also included suggestions from Senate President John Cullerton about cost of living increases as well as suggestions from Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle.
Rauner said he’s worked with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Cullerton and Preckwinkle to come up with the legislative language. He said Preckwinkle told him that she wouldn’t need to raise taxes in Cook County if Springfield steps up on pension reform. […]
“The Senate President has spent time with the Governor discussing a constitutional model for comprehensive pension reform,” said Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon. “The governor’s recognition of the Cullerton model is encouraging, but we will have to review the details of the Governor’s new proposal.”
OK, wait. He plopped down a 500-page bill in front of reporters before discussing the details with the Senate President or his top staff?
That’s not how you win passage of legislation, it’s how you win the daily news cycle.
There are similarities between governing and campaigning, but there are also big differences.
The next general election is over a year away. Less worrying about the next campaign, please, and lots more governing instead.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Riopell has a few deets…
Rauner’s proposal incorporates the benefit-cutting plan offered by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, which she says could help save the county enough money to avoid a sales tax hike.
Rauner’s newest plan would also nod toward suburban mayors, who have called for pension changes for years to help reduce retirement costs for police officers and firefighters. Under Rauner’s plan, they would have to choose between two options: Smaller yearly pension increases in retirement or basing their eventual pension payout on today’s salary rather than on future raises.
Teachers would be offered the same deal under Rauner’s plan. In the past, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton has argued it would be constitutional to change employees’ pension benefits if they were offered something in return.
Union leaders aren’t likely to agree with the latest proposal.
The courts might not agree with it either.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Click here to read a summary.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Reuters…
The bill would also give Illinois’ local governments a route to Chapter 9 municipal bankruptcy following an evaluation by a third party or the declaration of a fiscal emergency.
Crain’s…
Says mayoral spokeswoman Kelley Quinn in a statement: “While we are encouraged that the governor has incorporated elements of both the city and Chicago Public Schools agenda, some of these items have already been adopted by the General Assembly, including pensions for both police and fire.”
Translation: Kindly don’t hold our police/fire pension bill hostage to this other stuff governor. Kindly sign the bill now on your desk.
Sun-Times…
Chicago taxpayers would still be on the hook for $619 million in payments to the two funds next year — more than double the current payment. But that’s still $219 million less than the city would have been forced to pay and an $843 million break over the next five years.
Rauner’s offer also includes the elusive, city-owned Chicago casino with all of the revenues devoted exclusively to shoring up police and fire pensions. That could minimize the need for a massive, post-election property tax increase in Chicago.
One week after Emanuel used a toxic mix of borrowing and budget cuts to make a $634 million payment to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund, Rauner is offering a partial solution to the $9.5 billion teacher pension crisis.
He’s offering to pick up the “normal cost” of teacher pensions and help CPS with the hefty price tag for “defraying health insurance contributions,” but only for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.
The deal is contingent on Chicago teachers accepting the equivalent of a 7 percent pay cut by absorbing the “pension pick-up” that CPS agreed to make years ago in lieu of a pay raise. Teachers currently contribute just 2 percent to their own pensions.
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* After promising yet again that state employees would be paid during the shutdown, the governor was asked today why he didn’t just use his line item veto powers on the appropriations bills and spare employee salaries in the first place. Here’s his reply…
That budget was $4 billion in the hole. And, and, to, to go through … we need major changes in that budget, um, and to go through line item veto doesn’t make sense.
He then said it would be “very easy right now” to pass a continuing appropriation for state employee pay.
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* Press release…
In the first full quarter since announcing her campaign for U.S. Senate, Democrat Tammy Duckworth raised over $1.2 million. This amount exceeds Senator Mark Kirk’s first full quarter of 2016; in April, Kirk announced he had raised just over $1 million in the first quarter. Duckworth announced her campaign for Senate at the end of March, and thus far has raised more than $1.7 million this cycle. The campaign has $2.2 million on hand.
“Tammy’s vision for a stronger Illinois that looks after its citizens and honors the service and sacrifice of everyday heroes — be they Veterans, working moms, or middle-class families looking to get ahead — is clearly resonating,” Tammy for Illinois campaign manager Kaitlin Fahey said. “It’s especially gratifying to see how many grassroots contributions and repeating small-dollar contributions we’ve received. This is a campaign that will be powered by the everyday Illinoisans Tammy aims to serve.”
Some key highlights from the report, which will be filed with the Senate Office of Public Records and Federal Elections Commission within a week:
The campaign received over 12,700 individual contributions
Of those contributions, 94.7 percent were $100 or less, and the median individual contribution was $25
More than 90 percent of the campaign’s $2.2 million cash-on-hand balance can be spent at any time, at the campaign’s discretion. In other words, the campaign has more than $2 million at its disposal to spend toward a primary or general election.
The Illinois Senate race is consistently ranked as the top race in the country, and Senator Kirk is routinely listed as the most vulnerable Senate incumbent. Nevertheless, Kirk’s $1 million raised during the first quarter ranked last among the five most vulnerable Republican incumbents: Sens. Portman (OH), $2.3 million; Toomey (PA), $2 million; Johnson (WI), $1.3 million; and Ayotte (NH), $1.2 million.
*** UPDATE *** From the Kirk campaign…
Kirk raised $1.35 million this quarter with $3.2 million cash-on-hand. This is Senator Kirk’s single largest fundraising quarter since being elected to the Senate.
Duckworth is finishing last right now among Senate Democrat candidates
Russ Feingold (WI) raised $2 million.
Fellow Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD) raised $1.5 million
Fellow Rep. Patrick Murphy (FL) raised $1.4 million
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Not yet
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the twittersphere…
Greece’s government debt as a percentage of GDP: 175.1 percent
Puerto Rico’s government debt as a percentage of GDP: 150 percent
* OK, now take the absolute worst case bookkeeping scenario on Illinois’ debts…
(T)he unfunded pension liability, which totaled $275 billion on a guaranteed basis, plus a further $33 billion in bonded indebtedness and $34 billion in unfunded other postemployment benefits (OPEB)
That “guaranteed basis” will have to be paid in full only if there are very low capital gains on pension fund investments. Some ultra-conservatives have been leading the way on this particular pension debt measure and there is a very hot debate over whether their forecasts are accurate.
But, even though I disagree with that estimate, add it all up anyway and you wind up with a worst case scenario of $342 billion in total debt.
Illinois’ GDP for last year was $745.9 billion.
So, worst case scenario, Illinois’ debt is 46 percent of GDP.
That’s really bad. But not Grecian bad.
But it’s exactly why we need some economic growth, folks. Disagree with how he wants to get us there if you will, but the governor’s absolutely right that we have to try to grow out of this problem.
And we sure as heck won’t get there with extremist austerity measures. We’ve all seen what that did to Greece.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Things heat up in Port Byron
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From last month…
Illinois law requires each municipality to pass annual prevailing wage ordinances setting out the union pay rate for the area, as established by the department of labor, which will be the base rate for work contracted out for many projects.
At Monday’s village council meeting trustees in Port Byron(Quad Cities) said no and voted down their prevailing wage ordinance.
More…
“If we don’t pass it, what then?” trustee Brian Bitler asked.
Mayor Kevin Klute said he wasn’t sure. […]
An audience member said the village may soon see protesters, which Mr. Bitler said would amount to “union bullying.”
“I can’t just let that pass,” Mr. Wells said in response. “People do have the right to make a living wage.”
* A union protest of sorts did happen. From Illinois Review…
Some union thugs over the long Independence Day weekend decided to pass out flyers in downtown Port Byron,IL that threatened and sought to intimidate local businesses all because the Port Byron city council voted against a prevailing wage resolution last month. […]
Quad Cities area union members said in the flyer that they wanted, “Alltradespeople, our friends and business partners to not patronize Port Byron businesses.” Because the council voted against a prevailing wage resolution. Prevailing wage forces governmental units to pay the prevailing, i.e union wage, for construction, road and other projects thus needlessly driving up the cost of projects.
The union flyer also says that it is “disgraceful” that Port Byron’s elected officials, “Do not recognize the economic value that construction trades and their families bring to your community.”
More…
“I find it despicable for them to go into town and threaten to take money out of the pockets of our local businesses so they can further an agenda,” Klute told News 8.
“Maybe you have a conversation with us first before we start handing pamphlets in downtown Port Byron threatening to take the livelihood from our businesses,” Klute added.
OK, but maybe the other side of the coin is you should talk to your union residents before you refuse to approve your local prevailing wage rate.
Votes have consequences.
The flier is here.
*** UPDATE *** The pressure apparently worked. With a grateful hat tip to a commenter…
Village board members Monday passed the state-mandated prevailing wage agreement, but added a statement of protest seeking local control of labor costs.
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Somebody needs to pick up the darned phone
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My jaw dropped when I read this quote from Sheriff Tom Dart the other day in Crain’s…
Since late May, Dart says his office has been sending as many as 150 uniformed personnel a day into high-crime city neighborhoods, concentrating on the 11th and 15th districts on the West Side and the 7th District on the South Side. A fair amount of the routine stuff is involved, but the bigger idea is to create “a heightened police presence,” Dart says.
The office made a similar effort the past two years, Dart says, for instance seizing 112 guns, making 522 arrests and doing 862 home-monitoring checks last year. Last summer’s effort ran six weeks and involved no more than 100 officers at a time. But, the sheriff told me, “This sort of concerted operation is different. It’s the kind of thing we do in Harvey,” a south suburb known for high crime and little ability to do anything about it. Street patrols “absolutely” are part of what his folks are doing, Dart says.
Did the sheriff first vet his idea with Mayor Rahm Emanuel or CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy?
“We probably haven’t spoken for four years,” Dart answered, referring to Emanuel, who he seriously considered running against for mayor in 2011. And he and McCarthy don’t talk much either. So, “We run the numbers and then call the (CPD district) commander in the area, and my commander meets with him. . . . The whole intention is suppressing crime.”
* The Sun-Times editorial board was equally floored…
Cook County’s top law enforcement official and Chicago’s powerful mayor, though they both likely wake up every morning and ask themselves what can be done to curb gun violence, haven’t talked about it in years. […]
Chicago needs the help. Just Tuesday afternoon, a man was shot and critically wounded in South Shore, near where after another person was shot and killed Tuesday morning and near where one teen was shot and killed and another teen was seriously wounded Monday. Over the Fourth of July weekend, shootings left 10 dead and 53 injured.
But if our elected leaders are serious about ending the bloodshed, it might help if they worked together, closely and for real.
Gun runners don’t stop at municipal and county boundaries. Neither should county sheriffs and mayors.
This is just a ridiculously stupid situation. The city should be doing everything it can to work with Dart. Stop with the turf wars and the political grudges, already.
Sheesh.
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I’m just not buying the conspiracy theories
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Brown…
“This entire situation has been caused by the failure of the Governor and the Legislature to enact a budget,” [Attorney General Lisa Madigan] said in a written statement that emphasized she “absolutely” wants state employees to be paid.
She’s absolutely correct about that, although it’s hard to believably play the role of the neutral third party when your father is the leader of the party Rauner says is responsible for Springfield’s dysfunction.
It is somewhat curious Madigan took a different position in 2007 when a full house of Democratic officials was responsible for that year’s budget standoff, with the attorney general agreeing to allow then-comptroller Dan Hynes to keep paying state employees.
Madigan’s lawyers argued the difference is that all parties were very close to a budget agreement that year, while there’s no deal in sight this time. Hmmm, usually close doesn’t count.
* WUIS…
Republican Rep. Raymond Poe, whose district covers Springfield, the seat of state government, says he’s wary of the Cook County judge’s decision. Poe goes back to 2007, when Illinois had a Democratic governor and Illinois was without a budget. A court then allowed all state employees to be paid.
“Seems like we got a different governor, so seems like we don’t want to do that for him,” Poe says. “I hate to say it, but almost sounds like politics, doesn’t it?”
* She did, indeed, take a different position in 2007. But the judge told her that his order did not set a precedent and warned her never to come back again.
So, in 2009 when unions filed a lawsuit to force payment of their wages during yet another protracted budget battle, AG Madigan opposed them with pretty much the very same arguments she’s using now.
And then in 2012, when AFSCME sued because the General Assembly didn’t appropriate enough money to fund payroll, AG Madigan again used the same arguments that she’s using now.
There will always be grand conspiracy notions when it comes to the Madigan family business. But, in this case, the simplest explanation seems to be the most fitting. After having been rebuked by that county judge in 2007, she’s been pretty consistent.
…Adding… Here’s an edited version of something I posted in comments that may help explain this more fully…
In 2007, Speaker Madigan was in an overtime battle to the death with Rod Blagojevich. AG Madigan sided with the governor on a one-time, one-off deal because the state didn’t have its act together on the Fair Labor Standards Act requirements. It would’ve taken months to get that paperwork done, and with a budget agreement in sight, a one-off dealio seemed appropriate.
In 2009, CMS and the comptroller still didn’t have their acts together on FLSA and she said that’s your problem now and opposed paying state workers.
In 2015, CMS and the comptroller still don’t have their act together on FLSA and are making the very same arguments about how it’ll just take too long.
Remove your tinfoil hats.
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What’s covered by the court case?
Wednesday, Jul 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you click here and scroll down to the last page, you’ll see a long list of consent decrees covered yesterday under Cook County Judge Dianne Larsen’s ruling that bars the state from paying employees, but allows it to pay other bills.
There’s a whole lot of stuff on there, from the Child Care Assistance Program to a program for adults with developmental disabilities, to the Department on Aging’s Community Care Program.
Greg Hinz wanted to know just how big this was, and whether the one-month “essentials” budget was really needed…
[Speaker Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown] acknowledged that there is some overlap between the essentials budget and programs that already are protected under the consent decrees Judge Larsen mentioned. But how many?
According to Judith Gethner, executive director of Illinois Partners, a trade group for social-services providers, perhaps only a third or so of her members are covered and will get paid on time. Some clearly are not covered, she said, such as after-school programs. The state “still needs” either a full or a short-term budget, she said.
* Also, check this out…
Gethner also told me that another cut announced by Rauner—an increase in eligibility standards for some senior and disabled programs—will require federal approval. But paperwork seeking permission hasn’t even been filed yet.
That particular cut was announced during one of the governor’s two rounds of $400 million budget slashes - which Rauner never actually put into line item vetoes.
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* Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by AFSCME and several other unions in St. Clair County is worth a look. The unions claim their collective bargaining agreements require that employees be paid.
First, she argues that there are lots of precedents for moving this case to the Court of Claims, where she says it rightfully belongs…
Pursuant to § 2-619(a)(1) (735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(1) (2012)), plaintiffs’ complaint should be dismissed because their claim founded upon their contracts with the State is barred by sovereign immunity and therefore this Court lacks jurisdiction over that claim.
You can read her memorandum of law, which contains all the details and precedents, by clicking here.
* There is, Madigan says, another reason for kicking this case out the door: There’s another case being heard in Cook County…
Pursuant to § 2-619(a)(3) (735 ILCS 5/2-619(a)(3) (2012)), plaintiffs’ complaint should be dismissed because there is a prior-filed action pending in the Circuit Court of Cook County, case no. 15 CH 10243, which raises the issue of whether the Comptroller may authorize payment of state employees in the absence of a budget. The public labor unions intervened in that lawsuit before they filed the instant action.
* This one’s a bit more complicated…
Pursuant to § 2-615 (735 ILCS 5/2-615 (2012)), plaintiffs’ complaint should be dismissed for failure to state a claim because an impairment of contracts claim under the Illinois Constitution requires a legislative enactment, but here plaintiffs complain only of the legislature’s failure to pass a budget. Additionally, an impairment of contracts claim may not be used as a substitute for a breach of contract action, but a breach of contract is all plaintiffs assert.
* Let’s turn to the memorandum of law to explain that last point a bit more. Madigan cites fairly recent precedent, among others…
(T)he court has “rejected the notion that a breach of contract alone is enough to constitute a constitutional impairment of a contractual obligation.” Council 31, AFSCME v. Quinn, 680 F.3d 875, 885 (7th Cir. 2012).
In Quinn, the court rejected the argument that the legislature unconstitutionally impairs the obligations of a contract when it fails to appropriate funds sufficient to the State to meet its contractual obligations to its employees. Id. at 885-86. Because plaintiffs cannot turn their ordinary breach-of- contract claim into a constitutional claim, their complaint should be dismissed pursuant to § 2-615.
Boom.
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