Maybe not
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration is considering a second contract extension of high-priced budget consultant Donna Arduin, even as the state is rounding out its second month of the fiscal year with no budget in place. […]
After roughly eight months and about $165,000, Arduin’s contract may be extended again, according to the Rauner administration.
…Adding… Finke…
The administration confirmed Thursday that Arduin’s contract is “under review” for a possible second extension.
Reuters is also reporting this.
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Stating the obvious
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fred Giertz doesn’t buy into claims by some that a “dysfunctional” General Assembly passed a pension reform bill a couple years back…
Is not the approval of a poorly targeted bill that likely was unconstitutional and that entailed a substantial political cost a prima facie case for dysfunctionality?
There is another explanation why intelligent and calculating legislators would engage in this futile effort. Politicians have notoriously short-time horizons. The failed pension-reform process bought the governor and General Assembly time. It allowed them to kick the can down the road with a degree of political cover. From the passage of the bill in December 2013 to the time it was ruled unconstitutional in May 2015, politicians could assert they were dealing with pension problems. This was useful in navigating the 2014 elections.
In addition, the failed pension bill provided politicians with a response to criticism from the Chicago Tribune and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago who advocated reforms similar to those in Senate Bill 1. Politicians can argue they tried to implement the proposed reforms and failed through no fault of their own.
Well, yeah. I figured everybody already knew that.
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* OK, well, this explains some things.
AP…
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is weighing a major role in Democratic primaries in key congressional races nationally, which could produce weakened nominees who would be more easily defeated by Republicans, according to an internal memo obtained on Thursday by the Associated Press.
The unorthodox strategy could heighten Democratic upheaval in states like Florida and Pennsylvania where the party is struggling to unite around a nominee as it fights to retake the Senate — and that appears to be precisely the Chamber’s goal. It comes as the business lobby has already begun spending aggressively on behalf of select Senate Republicans more than a year before the 2016 elections, where the GOP is fighting to hang onto its newly won majority. […]
The memo was written by the Chamber’s top two political officials, Rob Engstrom and Scott Reed, to members of the Chamber’s Public Affairs Committee, a group of about 35 business leaders and others who will meet in the fall to discuss political strategy and spending for the upcoming elections.
A senior strategist with knowledge of the deliberations confirmed that the intent of the memo was to encourage involvement in the Democratic primaries, including possible spending on television ads. A weakened Democratic nominee in a state like Florida or Illinois could make the general election more winnable for the Republican presidential candidate in 2016 and require Democratic expenditures that could cut into the party’s budget elsewhere.
* More…
In Illinois, for example, Sen. Mark Kirk (R) appears to be quite vulnerable to a challenge from Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D). Under the Chamber’s plan, the group would intervene in support of Duckworth’s Democratic rival, former Chicago Urban League leader Andrea Zopp, assuming that Kirk, who trails Duckworth in statewide polls, would face a far easier race against Zopp. […]
It’s basic, old fashioned electoral mischief. The Chamber wouldn’t support candidates like Zopp and Sittenfeld because the group agrees with them; it would support these candidates because the lobbying organization sees them as easy to beat.
There is, of course, the very real possibility that Democratic primary voters will see through the charade. It’s also possible that folks like Zopp and Sittenfeld wouldn’t be quite as weak as conservatives assume.
The Illinois GOP has been pushing Zopp’s candidacy for months. Now, we may know why. There could be bigtime Chamber money coming into that primary race via independent expenditures.
* Also…
On the House side, Republicans are unlikely to lose their large majority but the Chamber seems determined to keep it that way. The memo lists five races where Democrats may not have a clear shot for a nominee to take down a potentially vulnerable Republican incumbent: Bob Dold in Illinois, Bruce Poliquin in Maine, Cresent Hardy in Nevada, Mike Coffman in Colorado and Martha McSally in Arizona.
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Today’s quotable
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bloomberg…
“We’re all a bunch of idiots,” said Representative Jack Franks, a Democrat from the northern Illinois town of Woodstock.
“Just because Bruce Rauner says ‘Republicans need to do this,’ and Speaker Madigan says ‘Democrats need to do that,’ doesn’t mean we have to listen to them,” Franks said.
Yet Republicans line up behind Rauner, who insists on labor, tax and regulatory changes, and Democrats follow Madigan, who says the budget must be passed and revenue raised. There is no hint of a break in the impasse. Bondholders get paid, although many state vendors are getting stiffed to the tune of at least $3.5 billion.
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A $650 Million Day for Exelon
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The 2018-2019 PJM Capacity Auction Cleared far higher than analysts expected resulting in as much as $650 million total capacity revenue for Exelon. Here are the highlights:
- $400 Million in ADDITIONAL REVENUE for Exelon – Exelon received a HUGE windfall. According to the Chicago Tribune, Exelon will receive “roughly $400 million in additional revenue” over the previous year. Exelon VP Joe Dominquez characterized this massive cash bonanza as “a marginal improvement…”
- Byron Cleared the Auction – Will Run Through At Least May 2019 – Byron is now obligated to run until May 31, 2019. According to Crain’s, Byron, which Exelon characterized as troubled just weeks ago, now “…stands to reap profits of around $26 million even if future energy prices remain this low.”
- Had Quad Cities Cleared, It Could Have Made More Than $100 Million – Had Exelon bid at the level they did in the 2016-2017 auction, Quad Cities would have likely received upwards of $100 million in revenue for that year.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL:
- Additional Auction Revenues Coming – On August 31 and September 9th, PJM will announce the results of two additional auctions which are expected to generate hundreds of millions in additional revenue beginning June 2016.
As social service providers are being decimated and legislators are forced to make increasingly painful choices, it’s time for Exelon to stop asking policy makers for $1.6 billion from struggling ratepayers. Enough is enough.
Just Say “NO” to the Exelon Bailout
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
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* Bernie…
Sangamon County Board member TOM MADONIA JR., R-District 9, is considering a run for state representative in the 96th House District, where Rep. SUE SCHERER, D-Decatur, is now in office.
Madonia, 44, is son of late Springfield Ward 1 Ald. TOM MADONIA, who died in 2002, and nephew of WFMB-AM 1450 talk-show host SAM MADONIA. He was unopposed when he won his county board seat in 2014 but was also campaign manager for Ward 1 Ald. CHUCK REDPATH earlier this year. […]
Why take on Scherer?
“I don’t like to get into name-calling or anything, but a person like Sue Scherer who’s kind of beholden to (House Speaker) MICHAEL MADIGAN, I’m not a big fan of that,” Madonia said.
OK, he probably can’t win, but so far so good.
* And then…
He said he hadn’t talked to Gov. BRUCE RAUNER’s political team, but he is a union member and talk that Rauner wants to “ruin unions” is just “the union spreading their propaganda.”
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Illinois Mayors Know What’s Best For Their Communities
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Mayors know the importance of our nuclear power plants and are tired of hearing from special interest groups telling them what is best for their communities.
In response to the BEST Coalition’s baseless attacks on Illinois communities and middle class families, current and former mayors from the communities of Minooka, Mount Morris, Braceville, Farmer City, Morris, Byron, Cordova, Wilmington, Clinton, Braidwood, Fulton and Seneca have said:
• “The BEST Coalition has been in Springfield for months peddling misinformation and scare tactics in an attempt to stop a legislative proposal that would help save nearly 8,000 jobs and prevent the decimation of communities across Illinois. Why does the BEST Coalition want to do tremendous harm to our communities? Why does it support the loss of so many middle class Illinois jobs?”
• “The BEST Coalition supposedly stands for ‘better energy solutions for tomorrow,’ and has not offered a single solution to help move Illinois forward. Their sole goal is supporting the premature closure of nuclear energy plants in Illinois. We question the BEST Coalition’s motivations and want to know what they stand to gain by the loss of Illinois jobs, taxes and economic activity.”
• “This organization is funded by companies that stand to profit financially from the closure of Illinois’ nuclear energy plants. The state of Illinois faces serious challenges that require serious solutions and cannot afford to let the greed of special interest groups undermine real policy solutions for Illinois.”
Mayors and elected officials across Illinois support nuclear energy and legislation that could help save jobs and support our economy. Stand with them and urge the BEST Coalition to do the same.
BEST COALITION:
STOP THE BASELESS ATTACKS ON MIDDLE CLASS ILLINOIS FAMILIES.
Learn the facts about our current fleet of nuclear power plants in Illinois at www.NuclearPowersIllinois.com
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* Republican state Sen. Sam McCann…
Dear Friends,
Last week I had to take a somewhat controversial vote. Governor Bruce Rauner had vetoed a piece of legislation that would have changed how an impasse is handled in state employee pay negotiations. This bill would prevent state employees from going on strike or being locked out, and it would put the ultimate decision on a new contract in the hands of arbitrators.
This wasn’t a perfect bill, though very few truly are, and the situation we find ourselves in is historic. I also don’t particularly care for the vote was rescheduled. That part should have been handled differently by Senate leadership.
But how the vote was handled is a separate question from whether the motion deserved a “yay” or a “nay” vote. In recent days and weeks, I have had more calls, emails, Facebook messages, and face-to-face comments on this vote than nearly any other in my time in the Senate. Of all those thousands of points of contact, an overwhelming number asked me to vote in favor of the motion to override, as I did.
Regardless of the circumstances, I am sent here to vote for the residents of the 50th District, and they made it very clear how I should vote. The number one complaint that I glean from conversations with constituents is that they believe that elected officials don’t hear them. They believe that no one holding elected office really hears or cares about their concerns. Well, I heard my constituents loudly and clearly. These constituents spoke with both clarity and volume. And I did what I have always promised to do: to listen to my constituents and to speak and vote accordingly – and that is exactly what I did.
I am certainly not happy with the current budget process, nor the hyper-partisan stalemate in our Capitol. I think it’s an absolute tragedy that state employees are being used as political pawns in this process. These are taxpayers who earn a living by operating our state government. I have more state employees in my Senate District than any other. I was elected to serve my constituents, not Speaker Madigan, Senate President Cullerton or Governor Rauner. This district said loudly and clearly that they wanted me to vote in favor of the override, and so I did just that.
If you have any questions, or if you need assistance with anything, please don’t hesitate to contact my Capitol office at 217-782-xxxx.
Sincerely,
State Senator Sam McCann
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Arduin heads for the exit door
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Erickson with the scoop…
She came to Illinois touted as a “superstar,” ready to provide a roadmap to fix the state’s budget mess using her high-profile experience working for other Republican governors.
On Friday, however, Donna Arduin’s contract as Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget guru expires while the state budget remains unfinished and mired in a divisive political fight.
Despite the lack of a spending plan two months into the state’s fiscal year, Rauner’s office is praising the controversial adviser as she heads back home to her job as a GOP consultant-for-hire. […]
State Rep. Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat who chairs a House appropriations committee, said he met with Arduin once and found the two agreed on little.
“If you look at what she did in other states, she recommended Draconian cuts, balancing the budget by cutting higher education and social services. It’s not a surprise that she tried to do that here. It’s been pretty consistent,” Harris said.
Arduin also helped train budget office employees and helped draft budget reforms, which also have been heavily criticized by Democrats because they will reduce state aid to the elderly, poor and disabled.
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Today’s number: 1.1 percent
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Tribune…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s school board on Wednesday unanimously approved a budget that relies heavily on borrowed money and the hope of a nearly $500 million bailout from a stalemated Springfield, with the specter of disruptive cuts in January if that help fails to materialize.
The $5.7 billion spending plan contains another property tax hike — an estimated $19-a-year increase for the owner of a $250,000 home — as well as teacher and staff layoffs. The Chicago Board of Education also prepared to go to Wall Street to issue $1 billion in bonds and agreed to spend $475,000 so an accounting firm can monitor a cash flow problem so acute that Chicago Public Schools mulled skipping a massive teacher pension payment at the end of June. […]
Expenses in the operating budget are projected to be about $64 million lower compared to last year, CPS officials said. Earlier this year, the district said it was making $200 million in budget cuts that included the elimination of about 1,400 jobs.
To explain both our headline and the added emphasis, that $64 million reduction is just 1.123 percent of a $5.7 billion spending plan.
Not much of a cut, if you ask me, and certainly not enough to win any respect at the Statehouse.
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Dealing with Pat Quinn’s mess
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Tim McCarthy, the chief of the southwest suburban Orland Park Police Department, said he formed a 12-officer Crisis Intervention Team about a year ago and will add five officers to the team in October.
The closing of the Tinley Park Mental Health Center in 2012 by former Gov. Pat Quinn has led to a spike in emergency calls about people with mental illness, he said. In 2014, his department was involved in 160 involuntary committals of people for mental health treatment, up from only four in 2011.
“That tells me the mental health system is failing,” he said in an interview. “Sheriff Dart is calling on restoring more funding to the state budget to support mental health, and we would totally agree.”
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Today’s must-read
Thursday, Aug 27, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Peter Nickeas, overnight reporter for the Chicago Tribune, posted this on Facebook yesterday. There is a bit of profanity, but it’s definitely worth your time…
The difference between the shooting this morning in Virginia and every other act of gun violence is that the internet had to see the fear on a woman’s face as she realized she was about to die.
There is a regularity to violence in urban areas. Today everyone saw what violence looks like, except the victims are usually a little younger and have darker skin. It’s not often on tape so the reaction isn’t so visceral. This is what violence feels like to people who see it happen, we can now all say, because we’ve all seen it happen.
In Chicago alone, it happens more than 2,000 times each year. Go to a crime scene and ask kids if they have seen someone shot. And the answer will be, “well, the first time …” What the Internet is going through right now is almost a rite of passage for kids in urban areas.
So for everyone sitting at work saying, “man, that video messed me up,” well, yea. It should mess you up. It’s a disgusting thing to watch. For everyone who says “I can’t even” or “I need to disengage today,” those are normal reactions to exposure to violence. Seek help if seeing people get hurt doesn’t bother you.
And, the emotional me wants to grab people by their collars and drag them to a crime scene so they can see the ghostly faces of people who saw it happen lingering around waiting for detectives, or the anger behind someone’s eyes while they sit there staring at the body.
Go read the whole thing.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Remember last year when I was deciding whether or not to leave iOS behind and move to Android Land? I ended up buying a Samsung Galaxy S5. It was a pretty darned good phone.
On Friday, however, a good friend bought a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Whoa, man, it was cool. So I picked one up the next day. It feels perfect in my hand, looks great and works like a charm so far.
Highly recommended.
* The Question: Have you made any significant personal tech purchases recently? If so, what did you buy and are you happy with the purchase?
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* Progress Illinois…
The Illinois Department of Human Services is holding the second of two public hearings Wednesday over the Rauner administration’s proposals to toughen the appeals process for key benefits programs.
The Rauner administration’s proposed rule changes would impact Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), according to disability advocacy group Access Living.
The group says the Rauner administration is seeking to make the appeals process harder for people who are denied benefits or terminated from those programs.
The Rauner administration’s proposed rules “do not provide customers with due process, are unnecessarily complicated and confusing, and in some cases are in conflict with the federal statutes and regulations protecting the rights of those eligible for the various benefits programs,” Access Living’s advocacy director said in a posting on the group’s website.
SEIU Healthcare Illinois is also speaking out against the proposed changes.
“The Rauner administration is adding a blizzard of new barriers to access services as well as denying due process to the very poor in ways that conflict with existing statutes, regulations and court cases–not to mention Rauner’s own public statements that he is committed to preserving benefits for the vulnerable,” the union said in a media release. “Among the changes, the state would alter the entire premise for Illinois social services and place the burden of proof for aid on those who need help the most — a drastic departure from current conditions — and would move hearings when benefits are denied far away from access points for the poor.”
The proposed rule changes are here. Some criticisms are here.
* From today’s hearing…
Sheesh.
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Look at the fine print
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Matt Dietrich…
When the Independent Map Amendment anti-gerrymandering effort got under way this spring, I expected it would run into opposition. After all, this movement seeks to take away the most coveted prize in Illinois politics — a party’s ability to rig legislative maps in favor of its members.
But I thought the opposition would come in a court challenge in 2016 by lawyers for House Speaker Michael Madigan on behalf of the Illinois Democratic Party, of which Madigan is chairman. That’s what happened the last time a citizen initiative tried to pry the map-drawing tools away from the politicians.
This time, though, the opposition is early, organized and — judging from its first target mailer — willing to make outlandish claims to advance its fear-mongering campaign.
“Minority groups have worked tirelessly over many decades to ensure our voices are heard in the Illinois General Assembly,” reads a letter sent last week by People’s Map, a political committee registered last week with the Illinois Board of Elections. “The proposal to change the redistricting process would undo our effort and struggle, and if such an effort is successful, we will not soon forget it…
“We hope that you, as a community leader, will cease activities viewed by many as an attack on the progress minorities have made in Illinois,” the letter concludes.
The letter is here.
* Tom Kasich…
The wordy, eight-paragraph amendment specifically states, supporters note, that the redistricting plan “shall not dilute or diminish the ability of a racial or language minority community to elect the candidates of its choice, including when voting in concert with other persons;” and that it “shall not either intentionally or unduly discriminate against or intentionally or unduly favor any political party, political group or particular person.”
Jim Bray, a spokesman for the Independent Map Group, said that the amendment “protects and strengthens minority-voting rights and embeds Voting Rights Act protections which are not” now in the Illinois Constitution. […]
“As with any change in government the status quo likes it the way it is and they’re going to fight to keep their power,” Bray said. “We knew there would be opposition and this time around it has created a committee. We take it seriously because their arguments are incorrect and the facts are on our side, and we want to be sure that our supporters and the people who haven’t thought about this amendment yet are aware that they are not telling the truth.”
“I think maybe (Democratic Party Chairman Michael) Madigan’s hearing the number that we’re up to 200,000 signatures already and maybe if we present the State Board of Elections with 600,000 signatures, it’s going to be harder for them to throw out 90 percent of them at times as they did with some of the sampling the last time,” said Shepard.
* Mark Brown…
Count me among those who think it would be a good idea to shake up the political status quo in Illinois by changing the redistricting process. The way it stands now we allow incumbent legislators to pick the constituents most likely to re-elect them, instead of letting voters pick their representatives.
Just the same, I can’t totally discount the concerns that changing the system might inadvertently undercut certain protections for minority communities built into current law, although I am certain the main people pushing the Independent Maps Amendment aren’t intentionally seeking to dilute minority voting rights, contrary to what the opposition group is alleging.
* This is a classic case of “reformers can do no wrong.” The media always assumes that reformers are the good guys and anyone who questions them are bad people.
And I’m not saying they aren’t good guys in this case. I’ve been in favor of non-partisan map-making for as long as I can remember. And, setting aside the fact that no prominent African-American organization is backing this proposal, I do have a very specific complaint about this line…
(T)he redistricting plan shall respect the geographic integrity of units of local government
* The line could easily be interpreted to mean that, for instance, Chicago legislators would all be corralled within city limits, which might very well result in a form of “packing”…
(P)ushing as many minority voters as possible into a few super-concentrated districts, and draining the population’s voting power from anywhere else.
The current 17th Senate District runs from around 70th St. in Chicago all the way down to the northern border of Kankakee. Such a district would most certainly not “respect the geographic integrity of units of local government.” Abolish districts like that and you wind up with fewer black-majority districts. Period.
* Or, take the 96th House District, which includes predominantly black neighborhoods in Springfield and Decatur. Forbid that sort of intrusion into “geographical integrity” and you could possibly get “cracking”…
(S)plintering minority populations into small pieces across several districts, so that a big group ends up with a very little chance to impact any single election.
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More progress as bills signed into law
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Aside from the governor’s truly bone-headed, short-sighted and overly bean-counting veto of Medicaid funding for heroin treatment, this has been a tremendous year for criminal justice reform.
Yes, I know, we’ve talked about it several times before, but the signatures keep coming…
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has been on a crusade this year to keep some accused shoplifters and trespassers from having extended stays behind bars before trial.
Dart recently notched a bipartisan victory in that campaign when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the so-called “Rocket Docket” bill into law.
Rep. Mike Zalewski and Sen. Bill Cunningham, both Democrats, were the primary sponsors of the bill envisioned by Dart. Zalewski is from west suburban Riverside and Cunningham is from Chicago.
Rauner signed the bill late Friday, according to Dart’s office. It passed unanimously in the Senate and by a margin of 71-36 in the House.
“This is a good first step to rethinking how our criminal justice system works to punish and correct unlawful behavior,” Zalewski said.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez has supported the measure. So has Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, who visited the jail in July.
* And…
Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed legislation allowing immunity from prosecution to minors who call 911 to get help.
Rauner on Monday signed the bill sponsored by Legislative Democrats, Rep. Scott Drury of Highwood and Sen. Heather Steans. It provides legal protection for a person needing medical help and the person who called for him or her.
Police would have the authority to determine whether protection from legal discipline is appropriate.
The plan is modeled after a similar one addressing heroin overdoses. At least two dozen other states have similar laws.
* And…
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) on Monday signed into law a sweeping reform of the state’s school discipline policies, putting Illinois at the forefront of the nationwide push to make school discipline less exclusionary and more effective.
Senate Bill 100 eliminates automatic “zero tolerance” suspensions and expulsions, and requires that schools exhaust all other means of intervention before expelling students or suspending them for more than three days. The bill also prohibits fines and fees for misbehavior, and requires schools to communicate with parents about why certain disciplinary measures are being used.
Under the new law, which goes into effect in September of 2016, students returning from suspension will be allowed to make up the school work they missed, and students suspended for more than four days will be offered access to support services, like academic counseling and mental health professionals. […]
According to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, Illinois has one of the widest disparities in the nation between suspended black students and their white classmates. During the 2012-13 school year, Chicago Public Schools issued suspensions for 32 of every 100 black students, compared to just five of every 100 white students.
* Related…
* Black & White: Middle Schools Discipline With BIST Intentions
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YOU Matter to Illinois Credit Unions
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Do you ever stop and think about how decisions are made regarding your money? Far too often, it comes down to how much someone can make from you. Transaction fees and high-interest credit cards are just a few of the ways you may be contributing to someone else’s bottom line.
Credit unions are different. They are not-for-profit. As a member of a credit union, you matter. That’s why credit unions offer services that are member friendly. Services that are not about profit – but rather serving member’s needs.
Credit unions return their earnings to their members by way of lower fees, lower loan interest rates and higher returns on savings. Credit unions know their members. Loan decisions are made locally under the guidance of the true cooperative philosophy.
If you are a credit union member, you already know the credit union difference. If you are not a member, go to asmarterchoice.org to discover all the advantages credit union membership holds for you.
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Caption contest!
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Heh…
* Close-up…
Have fun.
And if, perchance, the owner of that sign sees this, please contact me. I’d like to buy it.
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* From the twitters…
*** UPDATE 1 *** The comptroller’s office says the above tweet is in error. There was no finding of contempt, just an order to make the payments. Consequently, the headline on this post has been changed.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Tony…
Hey Rich,
Rich Carter called me about the tweet after seeing it posted on the blog. I told him what I’ll tell you, just so you have it, and then you can do with it as you want, although I’m sure you don’t want to be in the middle of all the back-and-forth.
Did the judge say the state was in contempt? Not outright. She said not following the court order, and even not telling her that the order wasn’t going to be followed ahead of time, would put them in contempt.
Brent Stratton agreed with the judge that they didn’t tell the court on Friday that the comptroller wouldn’t be making payments that day.
So maybe for the purposes of twitter, I could’ve added more nuance to that tweet. But the judge defined what being in contempt looks like, and the AG agreed their actions fit that description. I tried to clarify that in a second tweet.
That’s what I got for you.
Hope you’re doing well in your recovery.
-Tony
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the comptroller…
Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger released the following statement Wednesday in response to a Federal Court order involving the Ligas Consent Decree impacting services for people with developmental disabilities:
“I appreciate the Court’s recognition of the difficult challenge we face in making necessary payments in light of Illinois’ continued failure to pass a balanced budget.
“My priority remains to ensure that organizations serving our elderly, children and other most vulnerable residents take precedence when it comes to state payments. As a longtime volunteer and former Board member for an organization serving the intellectually and developmentally disabled, I know firsthand the hardship that is caused when payments don’t arrive as scheduled, and I will do everything in my power to lead the state in keeping its promises to those most in need.
“In the absence of a balanced budget for this fiscal year, my office will continue to work to meet the payment timelines set by the Courts despite the state’s limited resources.
“To be clear: taxpayers deserve better than government by Court Order. Ultimately, we can best serve Illinois families, businesses and organizations by passing a balanced budget that includes reforms that will allow us to become more competitive and grow our economy so we can put people back to work and fund critical services.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** Tribune…
Coleman, who noted that she was not pleased to have been called back from vacation to hear the case, said the state risked being held in contempt of court and ordered that it provide an accounting of which bills have and have not been paid.
The judge also said she understood the comptroller’s predicament. Without a budget, state government has been spending at a rate billions of dollars beyond what it is set to take in, mostly because of a series of maneuvers by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled legislature and a number of court orders requiring it to continue paying for services during the impasse.
William Choslovsky, a lawyer representing residents at Misericordia, was less forgiving. He suggested to Coleman that the Rauner administration and the comptroller’s office were willfully withholding the money.
For checks to go out, the Rauner-run Department of Human Services must first authorize the payments by sending a voucher to the comptroller, who then decides when to cut the check. But lawyers representing both the state and the comptroller could not provide answers as to which bills have and have not been paid.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Some background…
Attorneys representing 10,000 Illinois residents with disabilities filed an emergency motion in federal court on Tuesday asking that the state be held “in civil contempt of court,” for failing to pay service providers’ bills. Some payments have been on hold since July 1.
“Many of these individuals cannot feed, clothe, or toilet themselves or administer critical medication needed on a daily basis,” plaintiffs’ attorneys, represented by Equip for Equality, wrote in the emergency motion.
Munger’s office says it couldn’t make payments on time because of a “severe cash shortage,” but Democrats don’t buy it.
“There’s cash coming in every day. There should be plenty of cash. They’ve been paying various vendors faster than they have for years,” Brown told the Sun-Times. “I’m afraid the comptroller’s office has been misleading the media and the courts.”
The motion is here.
The amount owed for July is about $120 million.
* More background from Ed McManus, with emphasis added…
Attorneys for Illinois residents with developmental disabilities filed an emergency motion in federal court today asking that state officials be ordered to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court for violating last week’s court order to immediately resume making payments to provider agencies.
A hearing Is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Chicago.
Coleman last Tuesday ordered the state to make the payments by Friday, but only a few payments have been made. “It is inarguable that the situation is dire, as residents’ lives literally hang in the balance,” the attorneys said in their motion. It was filed by Barry Taylor and Laura Miller of Equip for Equality and Ben Wolf of the ACLU on behalf of the plaintiffs in the Ligas lawsuit and two attorneys for ICFDD residents, William Choslovsky and Scott Mendel. Named as defendants were Felicia Norwood, director of the Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services; James Dimas, secretary of the Dept. of Human Services; and Comptroller Leslie Munger.
Violation of order on expedited payments: Last week’s order required the state to make payments for FY16 services at a level no less than FY15 until a new state budget is adopted. The judge also ordered that “providers that were paid on an expedited basis during FY15 shall be paid on the same expedited basis for services rendered during FY16.” But the head of DHS’s expedited payment program said this morning in a letter to a provider that the expedited payment program was suspended.
A CILA provider in the south suburbs sent me the letter, and I have forwarded it to the lawyers. It appears to be in clear violation of Judge Coleman’s order. The letter, from Mary E. Collier, manager of the bureau of expenditure accounting in the DHS Office of Fiscal Services, says: “This letter is to inform you that the Illinois Office of the Comptroller is current in processing the FY15 vouchers for DHS. Therefore, the expedite program has been suspended. After the FY16 budget impasse has been resolved, the expedite program will be reevaluated for restarting expedited payments.”
NEEDED: ‘A DATE CERTAIN’ WHEN PAYMENTS WILL BE MADE . . .
In their emergency motion seeking immediate payment of all Medicaid bills, the attorneys said if the payments are not made, “numerous providers will immediately close their doors, and thousands of individuals with developmental disabilities will not receive services that are essential to their survival. . . . The state must account for its repeated and ongoing failure to comply with this court’s orders.” They asked that the three officials be directed to appear in court and provide an explanation for why they have failed to comply “and to provide a date certain in the immediate future when the state will comply before this court holds them in civil contempt of court.”
Despite the judge’s order on Aug. 18, the state did not make the required payments by Aug. 21, the motion said. “In fact, it is now Aug. 25, and all of the mandated payments still have not been paid.” (The Division of DD issued a statement yesterday saying that DHS had forwarded $120 million in vouchers to the comptroller last week and that the comptroller would begin paying a portion of them last night “and will continue working through the vouchers as funds are available. At this point, we cannot give you a specific time frame of how long it will take.”)
The attorneys said they contacted the lawyer representing the state in the Ligas case Friday and he acknowledged that the payments had not been paid. “He could not explain why, nor could he say when payments would be made.” They asked him to call them over the weekend or on Monday morning as he learned more information, but he did not. “Late Monday, counsel for the state finally called and advised that some of the payments for providers on the expedited payment program would begin that evening, but he could not say when all expedited payments would be made” or when payments to ICFDDs would be made.
The comptroller’s website showed that the comptroller paid bills totaling $243 million yesterday but did not pay the disability providers, and that the comptroller still had $70 million on hand at the end of the day.
Editorial comment: The state administration has really failed our disability community. Both the governor and the legislature share the blame for the budget mess, but while that stalemate drags on, it is inexcusable that Gov. Rauner and his staff are holding our providers–and the people they serve–hostage.
Judge Coleman first issued an order June 30 that all payments be made. But Secretary Dimas on July 23 notified providers that he was narrowly interpreting that order to apply only to the relatively few people actually receiving services through the Ligas consent decree. The plaintiffs’ attorneys challenged that in a motion for a new order Aug. 6, and the state’s lawyer told the judge that “the administration has changed its position” and that all Medicaid payments would be made. But “I can’t give you a specific date,” he said. A week later, he still couldn’t, and the judge finally ordered that it be done by Friday. But again, nothing on Friday.
Meanwhile, state employees are getting their paychecks on time, and the governor approved the appropriation to assure that all public schools will be paid.
DHS didn’t forward the July vouchers to the comptroller until last week?
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Bost, Shimkus, Raja
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Post-Dispatch looks at the DCCC’s alleged problems recruiting a candidate against freshman US Rep. Mike Bost…
In Illinois’ 12th Congressional district, national Democrats got a turndown earlier this summer when St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson decided not to run after being courted by the DCCC. The district covers part of the Metro East and Southern Illinois.
“It’s surprising that Democrats haven’t found a top recruit in the 12th District,” [Nathan Gonzales Editor & Publisher of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report] said. “This is a district Democrats (in the Legislature) drew to elect a Democrat. They lost the seat in a terrible midterm election, but there shouldn’t be a lot of excuses as to why they can’t find someone to run in a presidential year.”
He said that Bost, 54, a longtime member of the Illinois House, is “easy to underestimate as a candidate.”
“It’s hard to see how Democrats get anywhere near a (U.S.) House majority without winning this seat,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales is absolutely right about the dangers of underestimating Bost as a candidate. The DCCC did that last year and got its clock cleaned.
But the reason that the DCCC is having “troubles” there is that it refuses to bow to the wishes of the St. Clair County Democrats, who have their own candidate - CJ Baricevic. The D-trip doesn’t want anything to do with Baricevic, but St. Clair will control that Democratic primary, so unless they have something really meaty on the guy, they should probably just back the heck off because they’re gonna lose. And if they do have something on him, then it’s oppo dump time. The filing process officially kicks off next week.
* And speaking of the Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report…
Illinois’ 15th District.
* State Sen. Kyle McCarter is openly talking about challenging Rep. John Shimkus in the GOP primary. McCarter discussed the possibility with fellow Republicans before and on the recent Family-PAC cruise on Lake Michigan. Local sources caution that there can be a large gap between what McCarter says and does, and he would need financial help from an outside, anti-establishment group, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. Shimkus had $1.2 million in the bank on June 30 and would have the support of GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner.
McCarter floated his name for lieutenant governor in the run-up to 2014. He doesn’t seem to enjoy being in the Illinois Senate, but a move against Shimkus would likely be futile.
* Moving northward…
Villa Park Village President Deborah Bullwinkel announced plans Tuesday to run for the Democratic House nomination in the 8th Congressional District.
Bullwinkel joins Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and state Sen. Michael Noland of Elgin in trying to succeed U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth. The two-term congresswoman is vying for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mark Kirk, who is seeking re-election.
Bullwinkel, 47, is in her first term as village president of the DuPage County suburb after first being elected to the Village Board in 2009. In announcing her congressional bid, she stressed her gender while attacking the Republican-controlled House.
If she can raise some money, being the only woman in a three-person race could very well be a big help in a Dem primary. But Raja has raised a ton of money and has been solidifying his endorsements, so it ain’t gonna be easy.
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This Is Illinois
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Great. We’ve got our first approved store but there’s no product to sell…
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional announced Tuesday the first registered [medical marijuana] dispensary is called Harbory. It’s located in the southern Illinois city of Marion.
Registration means the industry is one step closer to sales. But so far no growers have products to sell. Sales are expected later this year.
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Michael J. Mushroom
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you read this 2009 interview of House Speaker Michael Madigan regarding the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, you’ll see that Madigan did a long stint as an eager and unquestioning foot soldier before rising to power in his own right…
[Daley] was the commander. He would give his orders and give his directions. And this is an important point with me—It’s because there was a group of people like myself, about the same age, that came in as ward committeemen in the early seventies. There was Alderman Burke, Ed Vrdolyak, Tom Hynes, Congressman Lipinski, Alderman Mel, and Ed Kelly. This was the group there that came along at about the same time, and if they were being honest with you, they would tell you that they would have trouble living under his methods.
So they were duly elected to whatever office they held. After a while, they would think, “Well, I ought to be part of the decision-making.” So they would be troubled by that. They would struggle with that. There would be complaints when he would make a decision and they didn’t like it. But with me, I had no trouble with that at all. That was because, to me, the mayor was just a carbon copy of my father. So I’m the only son. I have a sister. There were two children in our family. My father was very strong-willed. He was not inclined to change his opinions on things
* And…
I got a call to come over and see [Daley] at city hall. We sat down, and he started into a negative conversation about [Gov. Dan Walker]. He said, “He did this wrong. He did that wrong. We’ve got to take that guy out of the governor’s office.” So I listened for a while. Then finally, I just said, “Mr. Mayor, you don’t have to convince me. I’m part of your team. If you want to be against this guy, fine. Sign me up. I’m ready.”
And so, in that election, in this ward, we defeated Walker sixteen thousand to eight thousand—two-to-one. So there are two points—There was his political genius in organizing that effort against Walker, and then there was my relationship where I was not going to disagree with him. Every once in a while, he’d ask for my opinion and I’d give him my opinion. But I was not going to make a cause out of it. I was very happy to be there.
He was just “happy to be there.” Very telling.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Huh?
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* These numbers just don’t seem to make sense…
A total of 411,547 people visited the Illinois State Fair this year.
The fair announced the low turnout for the 11-day event Tuesday despite what it called near perfect weather conditions. Fair officials provided no immediate explanation for the figure that was less than half the 847,000 who attended the fair last year.
Fair organizers said $1,357,000 was collected in gate and parking revenue. Despite fewer people attending the fair this year, the gate and parking revenue was just $55,000 shy of last year’s amount.
Preliminary estimates show that one of the biggest contributors to the fair’s total revenue this year was Grandstand ticket sales, which at $1.9 million was the second-highest in state fair history. This year’s fair also ranks fifth in number of Grandstand ticket sales, with 51,420 being sold.
Gate and parking revenues are down only slightly, Grandstand ticket sales are second-highest in history, yet attendance was off by half?
Um, huh?
Are they counting noses differently than in the past?…
The department of agriculture’s spokeswoman notes that parking and admission revenue is audited, while turnout is not.
In a statement, the fair’s new director says a strict methodology was used to tabulate attendance. He says he’s proud of the fair, and its strong grandstand sales.
Illinois’ fair date is set by statute; this year, a late Labor Day meant the fair was held when many students were already back in school.
So, maybe past attendance numbers were grossly inflated?
Either way, something’s not right here.
*** UPDATE *** SJ-R…
The total attendance includes estimates to account for people who had free admission and children under 5. For instance, senior citizens had free admission on Senior Day, and veterans (and their families) had free admission on Veterans Day.
“There are several free days on the grounds, and we used US Census information (seniors) and data from the Department of Defense (veterans) to estimate attendance on those days,” [Department of Agriculture spokesperson Rebecca Clark] said in an e-mail.
A press release from the fair included the following comment from Buchen:
“We are very proud of the Illinois State Fair and what we were able to present to fairgoers. We have put together a methodology that is tried and true by event industry professionals nationwide because vendors, sponsors and Illinois taxpayers deserve an accurate depiction of who attended the fair.”
Looks like they drastically changed the head-counting procedure.
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Illinois Mayors Know What’s Best For Their Communities
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Mayors know the importance of our nuclear power plants and are tired of hearing from special interest groups telling them what is best for their communities.
In response to the BEST Coalition’s baseless attacks on Illinois communities and middle class families, current and former mayors from the communities of Minooka, Mount Morris, Braceville, Farmer City, Morris, Byron, Cordova, Wilmington, Clinton, Braidwood, Fulton and Seneca have said:
• “The BEST Coalition has been in Springfield for months peddling misinformation and scare tactics in an attempt to stop a legislative proposal that would help save nearly 8,000 jobs and prevent the decimation of communities across Illinois. Why does the BEST Coalition want to do tremendous harm to our communities? Why does it support the loss of so many middle class Illinois jobs?”
• “The BEST Coalition supposedly stands for ‘better energy solutions for tomorrow,’ and has not offered a single solution to help move Illinois forward. Their sole goal is supporting the premature closure of nuclear energy plants in Illinois. We question the BEST Coalition’s motivations and want to know what they stand to gain by the loss of Illinois jobs, taxes and economic activity.”
• “This organization is funded by companies that stand to profit financially from the closure of Illinois’ nuclear energy plants. The state of Illinois faces serious challenges that require serious solutions and cannot afford to let the greed of special interest groups undermine real policy solutions for Illinois.”
Mayors and elected officials across Illinois support nuclear energy and legislation that could help save jobs and support our economy. Stand with them and urge the BEST Coalition to do the same.
BEST COALITION:
STOP THE BASELESS ATTACKS ON MIDDLE CLASS ILLINOIS FAMILIES.
Learn the facts about our current fleet of nuclear power plants in Illinois at www.NuclearPowersIllinois.com
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Rauner admin blasts Dem moves on child care
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
The House spent [Tuesday] working to reverse the Republican governor’s cuts to child care programs and to release $146 million in fuel-tax money to help cities fill potholes — four-tenths of 1 percent of what the state usually spends annually, and the governor lauded a $2.5 million sale of surplus aircraft.
Rauner’s spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said the Legislature’s piecemeal spending approach represents Democrats’ attempt to “claw their way to a massive tax hike by hamstringing the state with an unbalanced budget.”
* We’ll get back to that quote in a bit, but first, some more on the child care cuts…
A key change put in place by the Department of Human Services includes tougher income requirements, which advocates say has shut out all but about 10 percent of families that previously qualified. Participants also face higher copays, and the state has frozen the intake of new clients.
DHS said the state is projected to save $47 million annually using higher copays and other measures, and an additional $5.3 million per month from freezing intakes to the program.
But critics say the short-term savings will be greatly outweighed by the harm to parents who will be forced to quit school or work because they no longer receive help caring for their children.
Lawmakers heard testimony from Chandra Ankoor, a single mother of three from Springfield who said she works seven days a week bartending, waitressing and cleaning office buildings to make ends meet. Without the program, Ankoor said she would not be able to make rent and pay for child care.
“For me, to lose this program would cause me to be homeless,” said Ankoor, who has testified in the past on the issue.
* The administration’s full response to yesterday’s House action…
Today’s action represents yet another week of Speaker Madigan and the legislators he controls trying to claw their way to a massive tax hike by hamstringing the state with an unbalanced budget.
This amendment impacts state funds because it draws from the General Revenue Fund, and the state cannot afford near unlimited child care without a balanced budget.
Illinois needs the reforms proposed by the governor to free up resources to help the most vulnerable and to grow the economy. One of the governor’s first major actions as governor was to save child care funding from the Democrats purposefully underfunding it in the last fiscal year.
That last sentence is true. You’ll recall that the Democrats planted several time bombs in the 2015 budget, and underfunded child care was one of them. But now we’re talking an administrative rule which will prevent 90 percent of those previously eligible from qualifying.
* Meanwhile…
The official overseeing the state’s child care program who was reassigned from her post by the Rauner administration has retired.
Linda Saterfield, a longtime associate director of the Office of Early Childhood, on Tuesday confirmed her departure.
Her retirement comes after she was reassigned after her testimony to lawmakers that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s cuts to child care assistance would be “devastating” for families who rely on it.
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