* From the governor’s office…
October 23, 2015
Dear Speaker Madigan, President Cullerton, Leader Durkin and Leader Radogno:
Next week we will complete an unprecedented fourth month without a state budget. Over four months, it’s become clear that there are not enough votes to pass a tax increase in the General Assembly without also enacting much-needed structural reforms. In order to solve this budget impasse, we must come together to agree on a package of structural reforms that can save taxpayers billions alongside a balanced budget.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve met with each of you individually to try to move beyond this impasse. I believe it’s time for all of us to meet as a group, and thanks to the invitation of a few advocacy groups, I understand everyone has availability on Wednesday, November 18 from 9:30 AM to Noon and is interested in a public meeting. This is excellent news.
As you know, Leaders Meetings are held and conducted by the governor’s office. As such, while we appreciate the advocacy groups desire to be involved, we will pick up the organization of the meeting from here.
We are happy to host the meeting in the governor’s office in either Springfield or Chicago and will coordinate with your office on the most appropriate media access (fully open, pooled press, streamed online, etc.). We will also circulate an agenda in advance of the meeting. My chief of staff will reach out to your chief of staff to finalize scheduling and logistics.
Thank you for your commitment to solving this impasse. I look forward to seeing you all soon and on November 18.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
Governor, State of Illinois
Background is here.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Senate President Cullerton’s spokesperson…
Anytime, anywhere.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Leader Jim Durkin…
“I accept the Governor’s invitation and look forward to a productive meeting.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman just said that his boss wants to wait and see what the governor’s office actually sends to the chiefs of staff, by way of an agenda, etc.
*** UPDATE 4 *** Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno…
“I am available to attend the leaders meeting called by the governor on November 18th in either Springfield or Chicago.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s chairperson, former state Sen. Susan Garrett, just told me…
“We are extremely pleased that so much progress has been made in such a short period of time.
“Hopefully, moving forward, the agenda will receive input from the leaders so it’s an agreed upon agenda.”
That suggestion makes sense.
Hopefully, the governor doesn’t demand a 100 percent “Turnaround Agenda” discussion or this could very well fall apart.
Either way, congrats to Garrett and the other good government leaders. I was pretty skeptical that this would work when we initially discussed it here.
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Meh
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Several people have sent me the video clip, but I haven’t been able to get all that excited about a guy who won some Lottery money and is now whining because he hasn’t been paid and is actually suing. Get in line, pal. Plus, I didn’t think the segment was all that funny.
But, it’s easier to understand than the lack of childcare funding, or cuts to meals on wheels or MAP grants or whatever, and, as Jim Edgar said the other day it’s the little things that do you in, so it’s a national story…
Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” brought its comedic look at the news to Illinois with a feature on state government’s inability to pay lottery winners.
“Daily Show” correspondent Jordan Klepper and a camera crew traveled to Oglesby in north-central Illinois earlier this month to meet with Danny Chasteen and Susan Rick, who won $250,000 in the lottery but haven’t been paid.
The Illinois Lottery has delayed payments for all winnings exceeding $600.
As part of the comedic segment, which aired Wednesday night, Klepper hauled an oversized $250,000 check into Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago in hopes of getting Rauner to sign it. Rauner wasn’t there.
The segment is here.
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Today’s good deed
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor’s legal team and the General Counsel for IDVA will be providing free legal consultations on health care powers of attorney at this event tomorrow…
Warrior Summit Coalition, City of Chicago, and Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs (“IDVA”), and US Department of Veterans Affairs will host its’ 7th Welcome Home Warrior Summit on October 24, 2015. The Summit features a wide range of businesses, community-based organizations, and government entities to influence economic self-sufficiency within the veteran community. This full-day event provides veterans and others with an opportunity for practical education and advice in the areas of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, education, employment, housing, legal, family services, mental health, and faith based services. Warrior Summit Coalition offers the program free of charge to veterans, and the general public who may attend on behalf of a military relative.
The 2015 Welcome Home Warrior Summit at The UIC Pavilion continues a legacy of supporting veterans as they continue to access resources during and after military service. The 2015 featured services and workshops will include, but are not limited to:
• Onsite registration for healthcare through the US Department of Veterans Affairs
• Onsite Registration for CEDA Gas, energy, light bill assistance (eligibility form attached)
• Onsite Registration for CEDA Home Weatherization Services
• On-site Registration for Veteran State ID, and Veteran Driver’s License
• VA Home Loan for Home Or Condominium Ownership Workshops
• Financial Accountability and Empowerment Workshops
• Entrepreneurship, Starting / Growing Your Own Business Workshops
• Free Business Suits for Male and Female Job Seekers
This post reminds me that the House’s chief doorkeeper Lee Crawford runs a charity that, in part, provides free business suits for job seekers. I’ve shrunk by many pounds over the past year or so, and he’s getting all of my Statehouse clothes which no longer fit. Maybe I can finally get that done this weekend.
Have you done any charity work lately?
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“Don’t count on it”
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Lisa Hammer…
Black Hawk College president Bettie Truitt was among several college presidents who met with Governor Bruce Rauner on Thursday.
Dr. Truitt told the college’s board of trustees Thursday night that the governor spoke about his “turnaround agenda” for 15 or 20 minutes before asking for their input. She said she had made the point that in terms of the best taxpayer value for the buck, MAP grants given to community colleges are ideal. She noted the average MAP grant at a community college is $942, whereas the average MAP award at a four-year college is far more.
She said the governor was cautiously optimistic there would be a budget passed in January when not a supermajority but just a simple majority vote is needed.
Black Hawk receives $7.2 million from the state each year, which is 22 percent of the college’s total revenue. So far since July 1, the college hasn’t received anything. She said she asked the governor if a budget is passed, would the state receive funds retroactive to July 1?
“’His response was, ‘Don’t count on it,’” she said.
* And speaking of January, our commenter “Juvenal” wrote something today worth front paging…
Democrats and Republicans don’t like to raise taxes, and Democrats and Republicans don’t like to cut either.
The false partisan dichotomy when it comes to budget-making is one of the underlying problems in public policy analysis that has led to the failed GOP strategy.
Madigan understands that Republicans don’t like to cut, and he is using that to his strategic advantage.
As soon as Republican lawmakers adopt a new strategy that recognizes that Democrats don’t like to raise taxes, we will pass a budget.
Anyone who thinks it will be January is delusional.
He’s right about this weird Rauner assumption that Democrats can be “rewarded” for whacking unions by being allowed to vote for a tax hike. It makes no sense whatsoever, and it’s why I recently called for a capital plan to help grease the wheels.
Giving the Democrats a tax hike vote ain’t giving them a win. The resulting revenue is a win, for sure (and, don’t kid yourself, it’s a win for both parties), but the tax hike vote is not.
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* Cook County Democrats have gathered to discuss whether to rescind Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown’s party slating. [UPDATE: The slating was rescinded.] Watch it go down via ScribbleLive…
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* Remember that letter to the four tops and the governor yesterday from several good government groups which offered to host a meeting to “discuss solutions for the current prolonged budget impasse threatening our state”?
Well, Speaker Madigan called them back. Not only was he interested in the idea, he also suggested that the meeting be held in public.
The Union League Club offered a room. A date has been set: November 18th from 9:30 to noon.
“We’re now in the process of going back to all the leaders,” said Susan Garrett, who chairs the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.
I’ll let you know what I hear from the rest of them.
*** UPDATE *** Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesperson just told me that Cullerton has accepted the invite and will attend.
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Today’s number: $225 million
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bloomberg…
The State Employees’ Retirement System on Wednesday asked the Illinois State Board of Investment for $100 million on Nov. 10, and another $125 million on Dec. 10 to pay for retiree benefits in the next two months, according to Tim Blair, the system’s executive secretary. The request for cash from the investment board is the largest in the system’s history.
The call comes one week after Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger said Illinois’s $560 million November payment to its retirement funds would be delayed, and its December payment could also be postponed as the budget stalemate approaches a fifth month. The move was the latest in a series of measures such as failing to appropriate funds to some social-service providers and agencies like the secretary of state’s office that have worsened a financial crisis that is triggering credit downgrades to the state and local entities. Moody’s Investors Service cut Illinois’s general-obligation rating on Thursday.
“I’m disappointed by a lack of willingness to pass a budget,” said Gary Pollack, who manages $12 billion, including some Illinois debt, as head of fixed-income trading at Deutsche Bank AG’s Private Wealth Management unit in New York. For the pensions, “given the level of underfunding, it would probably be more prudent to get more money into that fund sooner rather than later,” he said. […]
While the fund has requested transfers in the past, it has never had withdrawals of more than $100 million, said Blair, who is based in Springfield, the state capital.
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Child care and the workforce
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* During last year’s campaign, Bruce Rauner talked often about people dropping out of the labor force. For instance, here’s a press release…
Bruce Rauner: “Tens of thousands of people are giving up looking for work because of Pat Quinn’s failed policies. More than 63,000 people have given up hope on finding a job since April and Pat Quinn is out celebrating — it’s downright offensive to struggling families around Illinois.”
* Well, slashing the Child Care Assistance Program is certainly making families struggle and risks driving thousands out of the workforce…
Danielle Kimble hasn’t had the easiest year.
The 25-year-old single mom recently was hit with a double whammy. She was laid off from her job as a receptionist for Youth Services Network, a nonprofit that serves disadvantaged youths in Winnebago and Boone Counties, at the beginning of October because of the state budget impasse. Unemployment checks have helped, but now if she finds a new job, Kimble could lose the state child care assistance she needs for four-year-old Ja’ciane’s day care.
“It’s like I lose either way,” Kimble said.
Kimble, like thousands of other low-income parents throughout northern Illinois, is the victim of drastic cuts to the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, which provided child care subsidies to qualifying full-time workers or students. Citing a lack of funds due to Illinois’ unsolved budget crisis, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration in July enacted “emergency” rules that greatly reduced the scope of program. Before cuts, a family of two could qualify for the program by earning $2,456 a month. Now, the same family can only receive subsidies if breadwinners take in $664 a month — less money than a full-time, minimum-wage employee makes. […]
When Kimble received child care assistance, she said she paid only $50 to $80 per month to send Ja’ciane to Hand-n-Hand Child Care Center in Loves Park. Now, she must pay $145 per week to cover her son’s combination day care and preschool. Without an income, Kimble owes thousands of dollars in back payments to Hand-n-Hand. She’s been trying to get out of debt and wants to move to a nicer apartment, but her child care dilemma is holding her back.
* From a recent analysis by Illinois Action for Children…
• The number of child care assistance applications submitted in August 2015 is down almost 50 percent from August 2014. This suggests that many parents, knowing they will be denied, are deciding to not even apply.
• The CCAP caseload decreased by 9 percent, from 154,050 to 140,812 [almost 15,000 people], after just one month of data collected under the new rules.
• Since July 1 st, 100 providers in Cook County alone have reported closing their doors
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Examining the Moody’s downgrade
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Today’s coverage of yesterday’s Moody’s downgrade was mostly he said/she said goofiness. Let’s look at the actual language, shall we?…
SUMMARY RATING RATIONALE
The downgrades reflect weakening of the state’s financial position during 2015 and our expectation that an ongoing budget stalemate will lead to further deterioration.
Did you see the date? It’s all about this year. This impasse. This particular problem. Forget about making excuses and playing the victim. Fix this crisis.
* Let us continue…
Structural budget imbalance, accounts payable, and other fiscal metrics are back-tracking, despite a favorable economic climate, leaving the state more vulnerable to the next economic downturn, barring unexpectedly strong and swift corrective actions.
Wait. Did Moody’s say Illinois has a “favorable economic climate”? Did it also say the state would be vulnerable to the next economic downturn unless “strong and swift” actions are taken on the state budget?
Why, yes, they did.
That’s one of the strongest independent third party rebukes of the governor’s ongoing effort to hold the budget hostage while pushing for his anti-union reforms I have yet seen.
* More…
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO UP
- Implementation of a realistic plan to provide long-term funding for pension obligations
- Progress in reducing payment backlog and adoption of legal framework to prevent renewed build-up of unpaid bills
- Expectation of sustainable, structural budget balance
What? No mention of whacking unions? Nothing about term limits? C’mon, Moody’s! You’re off script!
* More…
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO DOWN
- Persistent and growing structural imbalance that leads to reduced liquidity and growing payment backlog
- Continued growth in unfunded pension liabilities and indications of unwillingness to allocate sufficient resources to retiree benefits
In other words, stay on this current track and you’re gonna get zapped again, dudes.
* I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I totally agree with the governor that we need some economic reforms if state taxes are increased. But as long as the governor sticks to his radical proposals on collective bargaining, this state ain’t going anywhere but down.
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Then and now
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This May 1, 2014 Chicago Tribune editorial was an exceedingly rare rebuke of Bruce Rauner…
Gov. Pat Quinn made a politically difficult but necessary decision 2 1/2 years ago to scale back the state’s antiquated and expensive network of developmental centers — institutions that care for people who can’t live independently because of profound disabilities. Most other states have closed these facilities and moved residents whenever it’s appropriate to community-based group homes. It is the compassionate and cost-effective thing to do.
Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor, recently announced that he opposes Quinn’s plans to close the Murray Developmental Center in Centralia. “Right now, Murray Center is the best option for these families,” Rauner said at a Saturday appearance there.
Rauner wants to keep the center operating until the relatives and guardians of all of its 222 residents are willing to accept an alternative placement for their loved ones, a campaign spokesman said.
This mystifies us. Doesn’t Rauner profess to be the candidate who will make the tough decisions to put Illinois on sound financial footing? In this case, he’s taking political advantage of a tough decision made by Quinn … to put Illinois on sound financial footing.
But this wasn’t just a cold financial calculation by Quinn. The evidence from around the country is that people with disabilities are better served by living in community settings than by living in institutions.
* Today’s column by one of those same editorial board members puts the exact opposite spin on the development center closures…
In 2011, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan attended a private fundraiser for Republican U.S. House Speaker John Boehner. Madigan was a guest of the host, Terrence Duffy, chairman of CME Group, the parent company of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade.
Four months later, Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton gathered lawmakers in Springfield for a rare special session to approve tax-break legislation that included CME Group, cutting the company’s annual state income taxes nearly in half.
At the time, Illinois was facing the possible shutdown of seven facilities, including mental health institutions and a home for the developmentally disabled. For weeks, parents with adult disabled children were visiting the Capitol trying to save the facility slated for closure. They pushed their loved ones around in wheelchairs or sat outside the House chamber carrying framed pictures of their kids.
Their efforts didn’t work. Jacksonville Developmental Center was eventually closed. But CME Group got its tax break.
* From a thoughtful, balanced November 16, 2011 Chicago Tribune editorial about that CME Group tax break…
CME has argued that its tax burden is too high, and that’s correct. Its business has shifted from the open-outcry trading floors to computerized trading. Its tax structure didn’t shift at all, and the company pays as if every transaction still takes place amid the shouting and arm-waving of the old trading pits. CME should have acted long ago to address the inequity, and it’s unfortunate for CME that Duffy’s timing fell flat.
…Adding… From comments…
She also ignores the fact that the CME legislative package also included an increase in the standard deduction and an increase in the EITC. So it’s not like it was only a corporate giveaway. (Though the bills did have to be separated out, because members of a certain political party for for the corporate welfare, but against providing greater relief to actual people.)
She also ignores the fact that Madigan and Cullerton provided funding to not close those facilities. (At the behest of the Republicans, those paragons of fiscal responsibility.). But Quinn closed them anyways.
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* This press release kinda got lost in the shuffle yesterday…
After several months of good faith negotiations, Governor Bruce Rauner has agreed to terms on new four-year collective bargaining agreements with the International Union of Operating Engineers, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, and the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers. The last set of agreements expired June 30, 2015.
The new contracts cover workers at the Departments of Agriculture, Central Management Services, Corrections, Historic Preservation, Human Services, Juvenile Justice, Military Affairs, Transportation, Veterans’ Affairs, and the Illinois State Police. The employees are all professional tradesmen and women who work as stationary engineers and plant operators, plumbers and steamfitters, and machinists.
The tentative agreements are being submitted to the membership of the trade unions for a ratification vote. The terms of the tentative agreements are confidential until the end of the ratification process.
As a continuation of the productive negotiating sessions, the trade unions and the Governor’s Office also pledged to form a long-term relationship to improve employer-labor relations in state government.
One sure-fire way to improve those relations would be to stop bashing unions and proposing to gut collective bargaining rights after repeatedly claiming no interest in doing so during last year’s campaign.
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Jim Edgar is not going away
Friday, Oct 23, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Cassie Buchman at the Daily Eastern…
“It is not all (Rauner’s) fault, but the governor is the person in charge and the governor has got to be the one who sets aside maybe some of the things they’d like to do to get done what has to be done,” [former Gov. Jim Edgar] said. “Right now, we need a budget. Hopefully both sides will kind of come together.” […]
To pass a budget, Edgar said everyone has to do things they might not want to do.
“Democrats don’t like to cut, Republicans don’t like to raise taxes, but they’re gonna have to do both,” Edgar said. “People have to realize there are things they want, but might not be able to get this year.”
Edgar said nothing’s more important right now than bringing stability to the state.
“You cannot have a state function without a budget, and four months is way too long,” Edgar said.
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