Rauner raw audio
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we’ve already discussed, Gov. Rauner spoke with reporters today. I thought he handled himself well about the holiday “controversy” over his not answering questions about his whereabouts. As I said before, though, this is becoming a pattern. He needs to realize it.
He also said that he wouldn’t demand that all of his proposals from his local government consolidation be included in one bill. That’s encouraging.
Anyway, listen to the Q&A for yourself…
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The Pat Quinn rehab tour continues
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Equality Illinois Political Action Committee (EQIL PAC) will host a reception with former Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on January 14 to support the EQIL PAC’s mission of electing pro-LGBT equality candidates to state and local offices.
“Gov. Quinn is a great friend of the LGBT community and, among many other achievements, was instrumental in passing and implementing marriage equality,” said Nicole Bashor, Chair of the EQIL PAC.
“He also recognizes that advancing equal rights and ensuring lived equality in Illinois requires identifying, supporting, and electing pro-equality people to public office,” Bashor said.
The reception with Gov. Quinn will take place at Hubbard Inn, 100 W. Hubbard Street, Chicago, on the evening of Thursday, January 14. Details and tickets are available at www.EQILPAC.eventbrite.com.
Gov. Quinn is a steadfast advocate for the equal rights of LGBT Illinoisans. He not only advocated for and signed the marriage equality law in 2013, but he also approved strong anti-bullying protections and the civil unions law and led an administration that was welcoming and affirming for LGBT Illinoisans.
Through candidate questionnaires, endorsements, campaign contributions, and field support, the EQIL PAC works to secure and defend the equal rights of LGBT people in Illinois. The EQIL PAC is the only political action committee in Illinois that is dedicated to electing individuals to public office who will fight for the equal rights of LGBT Illinoisans.
The EQIL PAC is engaging in the 2016 primary and general elections in Illinois. This effort involves evaluating candidates based on their support of policies and proposals that advance LGBT equality. More information about the EQIL PAC is available at www.EQILPAC.org.
It’ll be interesting to see which candidates actually show up for this shindig.
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Why are they leaving?
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
We may be enjoying an unusually mild winter, but you can still blame Illinois’ harsh climate for again sending older residents permanently scurrying for warmer parts of the country.
Two recent surveys — one published by the U.S. Census Bureau and another by movers United Van Lines — both put Illinois among the top three states losing residents to the rest of the U.S. in 2015.
A continuing trend for retiring baby boomers to move South and West is partly to blame for the numbers.
Only New York saw more residents leave for other states, according to the Census Bureau, while only New York and New Jersey had a higher proportion of movers ditching their states than Illinois, according to United Van Lines.
I have a feeling that some folks are gonna disagree with the weather aspect, but it does make some sense. I know plenty of Illinois retirees who’ve sought to live in better weather.
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Lawsuit allegations called “an outright lie”
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kerry Lester today…
Weeks after resigning from his role as a consultant for the College of DuPage, Chris Robling has re-emerged in another political dispute — aiding the son of late Illinois comptroller Judy Baar Topinka in a lawsuit against her former chief of staff over unused campaign funds.
Robling lives a few blocks from Topinka’s former Riverside home and says he has a local connection to Joseph Baar Topinka, now of Texas, and the attorney who represents him. Robling says he’s doing the work largely pro bono and that he has accepted about $750 for work over the last year.
The suit, filed Tuesday in Cook County circuit court, claims Nancy Kimme converted $89,000 from Topinka’s nearly $1 million campaign fund for personal use after Topinka’s death. Kimme says the money went to pay campaign staff and memorial expenses, and that the allegations are a smoke screen for Topinka’s son to claim a portion of the fund. State election law says money received before 1998 – roughly $341,000 — may be returned to Topinka’s estate.
Kimme is represented by Mike Kasper, the Illinois Democratic Party’s top election attorney and a former Madigan aide. “Nobody’s better at election law in Illinois,” Kimme says.
* If you read Bernie’s comprehensive story, you’ll see that the allegations about campaign money for personal use don’t appear to hold up at all. For instance…
The lawsuit alleges that the $68,807 check was made out to “Cash” and endorsed by Kimme on Aug. 7. A hard-to-read copy of a handwritten check was filed with the lawsuit.
Kimme later provided The State Journal-Register with an image of a printed cashiers check for the same amount on the same day, and “Citizens for Judy Baar Topinka” was listed twice – as the remitter and the recipient.
Kimme calls the allegation that she got the $63,807 and used it personally “an outright lie” and “pathetic.”
“I think it speaks to the quality of this lawsuit and this attorney,” she said.
The attorney in question is former Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica.
* That aside, the big question for me is whether Joe even has legal standing to file this suit. He’s the executor of the Topinka estate, but is that really Topinka’s personal property - even though JBT had the option of cashing part of it out, and even though she didn’t apparently have any plans to use campaign cash for personal expenses?…
Kimme said it has appeared to her that Joseph Topinka wanted to personally have the more than $300,000, adding she wouldn’t comment on if that is proper, “other than to say she (Judy Baar Topinka) never planned to take it.”
The courts will have to figure it out, I suppose.
* Nancy probably should’ve dumped that campaign cash a while ago, but she says she didn’t for a good reason…
She said Tuesday that after receiving correspondence about the fund from Peraica several months ago, she consulted with another lawyer “who recommended that we not shut it down and we just hold tight through the process.”
That’s sound advice.
Here’s some more sound advice: Watch yourselves in comments. We’ve apparently got a litigious person on our hands here.
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The power of video
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times editorial…
As of Jan. 1, a new state law, the Authorized Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Care Facilities Act allows video or audio recording devices to be placed in Illinois nursing home rooms to monitor treatment. […]
It’s a new option worth spotlighting and, under the law, all nursing home residents and their guardians must be informed about it within 48 hours of admission to an Illinois nursing home or skilled care rehab facility.
The move seems prudent given that Illinois racked up an average score of F in the 2014 Nursing Home Report Card handed out by Families for Better Care, a nursing home watchdog group. Illinois is expected to draw another F in the next report card, due out soon, watchdog officials say.
* OK, now, scroll to the bottom…
Brian Lee, executive director of Families for Better Care, contends any “senior cam” will merely record the “abuse and neglect” that’s been going on in Illinois for years and “beg the question — what’s next?”
The real culprit, Lee says, is the state’s staffing ratio. Illinois’ worst 2014 report card scores came in its “abysmal” number of direct care staffing hours per resident, Lee said.
If Illinois “senior cams” memorialize the need to improve that nursing home staffing ratio – and galvanize even more legislative action to address it — that would be yet another step forward.
So, in other words, we’re going to have to wait for a gruesome video to emerge before anybody will do anything about staffing problems.
Great.
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Stuff that works
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fox 32…
In the wake of another police shooting, Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for an immediate review of how the Chicago Police Department trains officers to respond to calls involving people in crisis or with mental health problems.
But advocates for what’s known as crisis intervention team training say Chicago’s program has been “starved” of resources, with only about 15 percent of officers completing the 40-hour course. Advocates say they tried to get meetings with Emanuel early in his first term to stress the importance of the training and ask the city to invest more in it, but were ignored. Illinois’ budget crisis also created a lapse, not just in Chicago but elsewhere. There’s been no money for new training classes since last summer, but now some funds are available and Chicago Police plan to train 910 more officers in 2016, starting next month. […]
In Miami-Dade, Florida, by contrast 75 percent of police have been trained. They now take the mentally ill to treatment, which is a big reason James said that Miami-Dade’s jail population fell from 7,800 to 5,600.
By contrast, Cook County Jail remains the State of Illinois’ largest mental health care facility.
This is not expensive training, but it’s invaluable.
* Ben Joravsky has another good idea…
Mayor Emanuel jetted home from his ten-day vacation in Cuba on Tuesday to announce that police have to do a better job of responding to “mental health crises.” […]
But you know, I think the mayor ought to be a little reluctant to ever mention the words “mental” and “health” in the same sentence, given his rather shameful policies on this issue.
I am, of course, referring to his unilateral decision back in 2011 to close six of the city’s 12 mental health clinics, most of which served high-crime, low-income black and Hispanic communities that need such help the most.
Closings the mayor conveniently managed not to mention at today’s press conference, where he tried to enumerate all the people to blame for the recent spate of police shootings without, of course, mentioning himself.
I might mention that the clinic closings were part of his first budget package, which the City Council unanimously passed out of fear that the mayor would avenge a no vote by unfavorably redrawing their wards in the upcoming redistricting.
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More quality schools, please
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Families that lie to get their children into Chicago’s elite selective-enrollment schools seldom face serious consequences, leaving parents to assume there is “little to be lost by committing fraud to get into these highly competitive schools,” the district’s inspector general says in an annual report released Monday.
Inspector General Nicholas Schuler’s office found numerous instances of suburban families using fake addresses to get their children into the city’s best high schools. And families in the city were found to have provided false addresses to give their kids a leg up in an admissions process that takes into consideration a student’s socioeconomic background.
While admissions fraud is nothing new in Chicago Public Schools, Schuler said not enough is being done to stop it. He recommended students with false admission records be kicked out of school and their families be required to reimburse CPS for tuition. Because of a lack of clear policies, students guilty of admissions fraud were able to quickly re-enroll at the same school or transfer to another attractive CPS school, the report says. District officials sometimes allow students with fraudulent admissions to stay in schools and graduate.
There should obviously be greater penalties for this fraud, but this also points to the dire need for more high quality public schools. Why are there so few selective enrollment schools in this state? I get that “selective enrollment” means limited numbers, but there is obviously a huge demand than the educational institutions in the city and suburbs are not meeting.
I mean, even the governor knows this from his own personal experience.
* Sun-Times…
“It is widely known that the selective-enrollment application process is highly stressful for students and families, and that it causes no small amount of tears, anxiety and lost sleep,” states the report. “Indeed, some families decided to remain in Chicago, rather than move to the suburbs because of the chance their children might be accepted at a selective-enrollment high school. Those upstanding and hard-working families who follow the rules bear the brunt of the damage caused by enrollment fraud.”
The report highlights two types of residency fraud: families who live in the suburbs but claim to live in the city; and families who live in the city but claim to live in a poorer neighborhood to boost their chances of getting into a top school. As part of the selection process, CPS considers the socio-economic level of the neighborhood where a student lives.
In one case, a student was admitted to Whitney Young Magnet High School based on an application form that said she lived in Bronzeville, when she in fact lived in North Center. When the inspector general’s office told CPS, the girl was kicked out of Whitney Young at the end of her freshman year. The student attended another school, before re-enrolling a semester later at Whitney Young, according to the report.
Discuss.
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Report: Impasse could be hurting growth
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Emphasis added…
The Flash Index fell to 105.5 in December from its 106.1 level in November. This is not only the lowest reading all year, but the lowest reading since March 2013. The Illinois economy is still growing, as the reading is above 100, the dividing line between growth and decline. However, this reading suggests that the state’s economy slowed considerably in the last part of 2015.
The Flash Index began 2015 strong in the high 106, low 107 range, and then hovered steadily around 106.5 all summer. In the fall and winter, the index dipped, indicating a slow down. “This suggests that the long, slow recovery from the 2007-2009 recession continues to be disappointing,” said J. Fred Giertz, who compiles the index for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs.
Another possible factor contributing the slow down: the political showdown over the budget. “While the decline of the index this month cannot be definitively attributed to the state’s ongoing budget stalemate, it is likely that it is beginning to have an impact,” Giertz said.
State unemployment ticked upward by 0.3 percentage points to 5.7 percent, falling further behind the national 5.0 percent rate. Nevertheless, the Illinois unemployment rate is still below the 6.2 percent rate of a year ago. National GDP grew at a modest 2.0 percent rate during the third quarter.
After adjustments for the new individual and corporate tax rates, corporate and sales tax receipts were down moderately while individual income tax revenues were up in real terms from the same month last year. The slight decline in real sales tax revenues suggests modest holiday sales.
The Flash Index is a weighted average of Illinois growth rates in corporate earnings, consumer spending and personal income. Tax receipts from corporate income, personal income and retail sales are adjusted for inflation before growth rates are calculated. The growth rate for each component is then calculated for the 12-month period using data through December 31, 2015.
The full Flash Index archive is here.
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Illinois Policy Institute to buy IRN
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bernie reported over the break that the Illinois Policy Institute’s news arm is buying the Illinois Radio Network…
“We are thrilled to have Illinois Radio Network becoming a part of INN,” said John Tillman, CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, in a news release. “Both organizations have a history of promoting transparency and accountability in government. And we look forward to continuing that fine tradition.” […]
Mike Lawrence, a longtime Statehouse reporter who became former GOP Gov. Jim Edgar’s press secretary and is retired from being director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, called the sale an “unfortunate development.”
“The Illinois Policy Institute … is a group that has a very definite ideological agenda, and I would be surprised if it did anything else other than to advance that agenda through its newly acquired operation,” Lawrence said. […]
“We’ve done our due diligence,” [Charlie Ferguson, vice president and general manager of Capitol Radio Group] said in an interview, “and we are very confident that INN will maintain and operate the Illinois Radio Network as a separate news organization. … It’s my belief that the reporters for the Illinois Radio Network will continue to deliver an unbiased news product. I think to presume otherwise is just somebody wanting to bend it their way.”
But, as Bernie later reported, IRN was once owned by former Democratic US Senate candidate Alex Seith. And it seemed to function OK back then.
You may also recall that the Chicago Federation of Labor once owned WCFL Radio.
Radio is a really conservative beast these days anyway. I don’t think it’s time to declare the end of the world.
* But this is what I’ll be watching at least for a while…
INN’s website says it operates independently of the policy institute in editorial decisions, but both House and Senate staffs have denied INN reporters floor press box credentials because of INN’s tie to the policy group. For instance, Gov. BRUCE RAUNER’s family foundation gave at least $625,000 to the institute since 2009.
The Policy Institute took the House and Senate to court over the denial of press credentials to the INN, but failed to prevail in its lawsuit.
Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said earlier this week that Illinois Radio Network applications for press credentials would be re-evaluated, “given their new affiliation with the Illinois Policy Institute.”
Thoughts?
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Question of the day
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fox Illinois…
A published report says campaign funds controlled by House Speaker Michael Madigan collected over $7 million in 2015. Including nearly $3 million in December alone.
The Chicago Tribune reports it’s roughly $2.3 million more than Madigan took in during the same pre-election time frame two years ago.
Experts say the increase comes in response to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s fundraising, who had nearly $20 million in his campaign fund at October’s start.
* From the Trib…
A Tribune review showed more than 53 percent of the speaker’s yearly total has come from organized labor and 15 percent has come from law firms and lawyers.
Kent Redfield, a negotiator on the campaign reform legislation, said the ability of political leaders to control multiple funds was a “weakness” in the law. Redfield said Democrats argued that campaign donation limits were to offset the appearance of corruption, but political parties should be exempt because they couldn’t be corrupted.
“This was the first time we got limits (on campaign donations in Illinois), and so there was a sense in which this (law) was viewed as the first step. Then it turned out to be the last step. But clearly, that was all we could get,” said Redfield, a campaign finance expert and professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Still, even with the fundraising blitz, Madigan trails Rauner. The governor had more than $19.6 million in his campaign fund at the start of October. Turnaround Illinois, which supports Rauner’s agenda, had another $2.6 million available. Additionally, a group aimed at pushing Rauner’s issues among Democrats, Illinois Growth and Opportunity, had nearly $9 million.
* The Question: Should Illinois eliminate its campaign contribution caps? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
surveys
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Today’s number: $33 million a day
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Greg Hinz…
Consider that with fiscal 2016 pretty much on autopilot and lacking both adequate cuts and revenue enhancements, Illinois is spending roughly $33 million a day more than it takes in, according to the Civic Federation. Every penny of it is an IOU, piled on top of billions and billions of already-crushing debt.
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* The governor unveiled his local government consolidation proposal today…
* Here’s the official explanation about the poison pills from a press release…
“Part of reforming and turning around Illinois includes empowering local communities. This report shows the efficiencies and inefficiencies within local governments and provides concepts on how to give the people of Illinois more control over their future and their tax dollars,” Governor Rauner said. “I thank the Lt. Governor and the Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates Task Force for their hard work and dedication to the people of Illinois.”
* And he repeated that there will be no help for Chicago until the mayor flips on the unions…
Maybe that’s why the governor is so “disappointed” with Emanuel.
The full report is here.
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Firefighters back Noland
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This is pretty big…
Today the Noland for Congress campaign announced that the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois (AFFI) has endorsed their campaign for Congress. The AFFI represents over 15,000 professional firefighters throughout Illinois.
“Mike Noland has always stood up for firefighters, and we know he will be a great advocate in Congress,” said AFFI President Pat Devaney. “I’ve worked with Senator Noland in the State Senate, he understands the issues and difficult realities faced by first responders on a daily basis. We look forward to him fighting for us in Washington.”
“When I think for a minute about what firefighters do, I am amazed at their courage and their tenacity. To save the lives, the homes, and property of other people, they put themselves in harm’s way. They go into burning buildings at the exact time the rest of us retreat. They are heroes living quietly and, often, without acknowledgement in our communities and in our neighborhoods and I am proud to call them friends and supporters of our campaign,” said Noland. Their endorsement means a lot to me and I will go to Congress and fight every day with everything I’ve got to make sure we honor their work.”
The AFFI is the latest member of organized labor to endorse Noland’s campaign. They join the APWU Local 3140’s executive board, Bricklayers Administrative District Council of Illinois, Sheet Metal Workers State Council, SMART Transportation Division (formerly United Transportation Union), Fox Valley Building Trades, Elgin Trades Council, IFT Local 1211 (Northwest Suburban Teachers Union), Operating Engineers Local 399, Painters District Council 14 & 30, and Teamsters Joint Council 25. Noland’s campaign has also announced that over 75 elected officials have endorsed his campaign including Senate President John J. Cullerton and former Senate President Emil Jones Jr.
Noland is leading in the polls. A recent poll conducted by one of Noland’s opponents showed him with a seven-point lead over his nearest opponent. After voters are provided more information about the candidates, Noland’s lead expands even more.
Noland is a 30-year plus resident of Elgin, a veteran of the US Navy and was elected to the Illinois Senate in 2006. While serving in the Senate he has been one of its most progressive members and has been a strong advocate for working families throughout his time in the Illinois General Assembly.
Because of their work schedules, firefighters can walk more precincts than others. And they’re probably lots more popular with the public than other union members.
* Noland is being out-raised by the guy whom most assumed would be the frontrunner, but Noland’s labor backing is by far the most solid…
The International Association of Ironworkers and its Local 63 union in the Chicago area endorsed Raja Krishnamoorthi today in his bid for Congress in the 8th District of Illinois that includes the northwest suburbs of Chicago.
The backing from the Ironworkers follows endorsements of Raja from other unions and their leaders such as the Illinois State Council of Machinists, the International Union of Elevator Constructors Local 2, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Office and Professional Employees’ Union Local 45 and Illinois Letter Carriers’ President Ken Christy.
Not much there.
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Rauner stirs the pot
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Regardless of what may happen in the House, as long as Senate President John Cullerton remains firmly opposed, he won’t ever get this bill…
Yeah, that’ll help get a budget, even if he did add that the bill likely wouldn’t apply to Emanuel (which the sponsor disputes, by the way)
Whatever the case, the governor has taken the focus off of his “secret” European vacation for now. So he has that going for him.
* Meanwhile, the inestimable James Warren takes a look at some recent national media stories about the mayor…
For sure, Emanuel’s heavy-handed ways and ego leave him with precious few public defenders. There’s also a collective blame to be shared in Chicago that’s missed by hyperbolic, cartoonish analyses that fit a facile national media caricature.
That could also apply to some local coverage.
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Schock complains about LaHood story
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Until this morning, disgraced former Congresman Aaron Schock has not tweeted since May 1st, when he criticized the media. He did it again a few minutes ago…
* The piece is a bit much…
The ruby red paint is gone, as is the red sofa and ottoman, the vase filled with pheasant feathers and other showy adornments.
Aaron Schock’s old congressional office, roundly criticized earlier this year for its “Downton Abbey”-style decor, is now painted in a buttery shade of beige. That suits its new occupant, Darin LaHood, just fine.
The 47-year-old Republican took Schock’s House seat after a special election in September and replaced Schock’s frippery with college pennants, a football helmet and a ball cap touting a nuclear sub, the USS Illinois — the kind of stuff people stash in basements.
A former prosecutor and state senator, LaHood has signaled in both style and substance that he is taking a different course than did Schock, a highflying congressman whose questionable use of tax dollars and campaign cash has made him the target of a federal grand jury probe.
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So… which is it?
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Chester, Illinois, January 1st…
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has arrived in southern Illinois to assess flood damage for himself. […]
Rauner says Illinois can do little but offer encouragement to businesses and residents most affected by the floods. The state has minimal funds to help with damage, due to state deficits and the budget impasse, Rauner said.
* From a January 1st KMOV report…
“Right now we don’t believe that the lack of a budget is affecting services and support for people affected by the flood,” Governor Rauner said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure the communities get the support they need.”
Rauner said he is working with the Department of Commerce to free up available funding, but added the majority of the help will hopefully come from federal relief.
Hat tip: IO.
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Another downgrade coming?
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Buried in the middle of yet another story on the lack of Illinois pension reform progress was this nugget…
Standard & Poor’s removed Illinois’s A- rating from negative watch on Wednesday, a designation that usually signals a downgrade is imminent. In doing so, the New York-based company kept Illinois one step higher than Moody’s and Fitch Ratings. Fitch dropped Illinois in October to BBB+, the third lowest investment grade, and Moody’s cut its rank to the equivalent Baa1 later that month.
* Some of the aforementioned pension stuff…
“What’s the root cause of why we’re in the problem we’re in?” [Richard Ciccarone, Chicago-based chief executive officer of Merritt Research Services] said. “It’s down to the pensions.”
Illinois is like a patient in the emergency room, said Paul Mansour at Conning, which oversees $11 billion of munis, including Illinois securities. The budget stalemate is the crisis at hand, and the unfunded pension liabilities is the chronic disease that’s only getting worse. The budget standoff is hurting future negotiations on pension changes, he said.
“It’s not an atmosphere of conciliation and compromise,” said Mansour. “It’s an atmosphere of conflicts.”
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A look at the 2011 workers’ comp reforms
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* There are two basic ways (with many variations within them) of controlling health care costs: 1) Cut the money paid to medical providers; or 2) increase costs/reduce services/access for patients. The health care aspects of Illinois’ 2011 workers’ compensation reforms focused a lot on providers, which is why the House Republicans (historically staunch allies of the Illinois Medical Society) were so opposed to it while the Senate Republicans (not staunch Med Society allies) were for it. The Illinois Policy Institute takes a look at how that’s working…
30% reduction in fee schedules
In most states, the fees that a medical provider can charge through workers’ compensation are capped by a state-mandated fee schedule. A study by the nonprofit Workers’ Compensation Research Institute, or WCRI, found that prior to the reforms, the fees awarded in Illinois were among the highest in the nation. The 2011 reforms reduced those fees by 30 percent, although actual prices fell by only 24 percent, in part because some providers had already negotiated fees below those set by the state. Savings were also partially offset by doctors billing for more complex office visits, although the effect appears to be small.
While changes to the fee schedule did reduce costs, in many instances Illinois’ costs exceeded those in other states by significantly more than 30 percent, and as such remain higher post-reform. This is not true of all fees: Prior to reform, visiting a doctor’s office cost 14 percent more in Illinois than the average of a representative sample of states. Since the reforms came into effect, those costs are now lower than in surrounding states with an as-yet undetermined effect on quality of care. For other procedures, however, Illinois prior to its 2011 reform was substantially more expensive than other states. According to WCRI, the price paid for major surgeries in Illinois in 2010 exceeded the price in Minnesota by 200 percent and in Michigan by 340 percent.
While it is likely that there would be some variation in costs across states, the magnitude of the difference implies further potential for cost savings. WCRI found that costs for many treatments under workers’ compensation were 200 to 300 percent higher than the cost of the same procedure under Medicare in Illinois, adding weight to the case for further potential cost savings.
* And if the Institute is correct, this loophole definitely needs to be closed…
Capping fees on drug dispensing
Within the workers’ compensation system, doctors are permitted to resell drugs directly to patients – commonly at mark-ups of 60 to 300 percent – and pass the cost on to employers. To limit this practice, the General Assembly imposed price controls that linked the maximum fee to the average wholesale price. Despite this measure, doctors have been able to circumvent the rules by prescribing existing drugs in slightly modified doses. Patients get the same drug, but doctors can call it a new drug and assign a new average wholesale price with the same mark-ups as before.
Ugh.
More here.
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* Some in the media have made a big deal out of the unknown location of Gov. Rauner during the holiday. From the AP on December 24th…
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner left the country for the holidays, but his staff won’t say where he went or even why they don’t want to disclose his whereabouts. […]
David Melton, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, called it “a little odd” for a chief executive who’s away for an extended period.
“I don’t think he’s reconciled himself to the fact he’s a public figure at this point, with all the downsides that may come with that,” Melton said.
There may be valid reasons for not releasing information, whether it’s security concerns or family members’ privacy, Melton said.
It’s also possible Rauner and his staff are concerned about the optics of the governor — who owns multiple homes, though all are in the U.S. — vacationing in a foreign country when Illinois is in the midst of a budget crisis that has hit the state’s poorest residents particularly hard.
Nothing like a little subjective editorializing from the AP. They even used the “optics” word like pros and everything.
* But we now have some more info about why his office was so tight-lipped. First, his general location…
(T)he governor was in fact in Europe with his family on vacation over winter break. He paid for the trip himself and flew commercially… [and] returned early from a planned two-week vacation to respond to deadly flooding in southern Illinois.
* And…
The governor says the reason for the secrecy is that two of his kids are currently living overseas.
“And we wanted to spend some of the Christmas holiday time with them. When they return, and they’ll be back soon, we’ll discuss where they are,” Rauner said. “Our children are private — they are not public officials — and their safety and their privacy is important to my wife and me. So while they’re there, we’re not discussing where they are; when they come back, I’ll talk about it.”
Maybe the governor’s office should’ve talked privately with reporters last month before this story kinda blew up on them.
*** UPDATE 1 *** I’m told the Rauner press shop did speak to at least three reporters off the record about what was really going on. If true, then some reporters were apparently dishonest about what they wrote.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Not sure what this means, but if the prize winner was told about the reasons for keeping the secret then the prize winner lied in her story…
This from a person who sends a copied and pasted e-mail to me every morning. Again, not sure what this is supposed to mean, except that she was beating the drum loudly almost every day about the governor’s whereabouts, and I really didn’t care all that much. We don’t have to always agree.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The last time I checked, the Sahara was not in Europe…
*** UPDATE 4 *** But Spain sure is…
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* But, look, he’s not the president. He’s not our daddy. He’s not even our big brother. I don’t think this is a huge deal, but he certainly has made a troubling habit of secrecy since pledging transparency during the campaign…
The Illinois attorney general has ruled that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office has withheld too much information on his daily appointment calendars from taxpayers.
The state’s public access counselor issued an opinion in response to an appeal under the Freedom of Information Act by The Associated Press. Public access attorney Joshua Jones says the AP correctly argues that Rauner’s staff improperly used exemptions under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act to keep his whereabouts and activities secret.
Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly did not comment because the issue is in court. The Illinois Times filed a lawsuit over the Rauner calendar in September.
Jones dismissed the Rauner administration argument that the calendars are not even public records.
That was quite a timely ruling.
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State will borrow for construction projects
Monday, Jan 4, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* According to the governor’s office, there are “sufficient dedicated revenues to cover the payments” on this borrowing…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration plans to borrow $480 million this month to pay for construction projects.
The state plans to conduct the general obligation bond sale on Jan. 14, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said Sunday. The money would be used for road and transit projects and to pay related costs, she said.
“Road construction and transit improvements are key factors in growing the Illinois economy, which is why Illinois is planning a bond sale in January,” Kelly said in a statement.
She noted that despite the impasse that’s left Illinois without a complete budget since July 1, the three major credit rating agencies have not lowered the state’s general bond rating. First-term Republican Rauner wants pro-business, union-weakening legislation opposed by Democrats, who are allied with trial lawyers and organized labor.
No word yet on where the money will be spent, which ought to be pretty interesting.
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