Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » 2016

Durkin: Madigan attempting to “prevent future compromise”

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background here. From House Republican Leader Jim Durkin…

“After the compromise that occurred last week outside of the purview of Speaker Madigan, I’m not surprised by his attempt to take my statements out of context in an attempt to prevent future compromise. I have been consistent for months - work with the Republicans to reach a negotiated balanced budget that provides for state services with real money rather than the phony appropriation bills he supports that only add to the $7 billion plus backlog of unpaid bills.”

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Madigan warns members about GOP intent

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Memo to HDems…

To: House Democratic Caucus Members
From: Michael J. Madigan
Date: April 25, 2016
Re: Republican Leadership Comments on Higher Education Funding

Mere hours after the House of Representatives passed a small stopgap funding package for higher education last Friday, the Decatur Herald & Review reported the following:

However, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said the funding approved Friday could end up being all that universities receive for the current fiscal year.

“I’m not quite sure we can get anything else done on higher ed,” Durkin said.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Durkin also said:

“The only thing I’ve made a commitment with is to work with the Democrats on human services.”

The House minority leader’s comments confirmed my predictions about what legislative Republicans and Governor Rauner would do if Senate Bill 2059 moved forward and passed in the form it did. I shared with you in our caucus meeting, among other concerns, that I wanted to continue fighting for a bill that included greater funding for our universities, community colleges and MAP grant recipients to sustain our institutions of higher education for a longer period of time for the very reason the minority leader expressed: I believed the Republicans may consider Senate Bill 2059 a final action on higher education. However, a number of those involved in the negotiations on Senate Bill 2059 felt that was not the case and that the bill was only the first step in a larger agreement for higher education.

In a statement I released last Friday, I expressed hope that Governor Rauner would not see this funding as a final solution to higher education as I had feared, but would begin working with Democrats to craft a full-year budget that properly funded higher education and human services. While I will continue fighting to ensure a full budget is passed for higher education, the House minority leader’s comments just hours after the passage of Senate Bill 2059 do not leave me optimistic that will happen.

* Except Leader Durkin also said this today…

An Illinois legislative leader is predicting the months-long state budget standoff could be nearing an end.

Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin (R) Western Springs, told “The Big John Howell Show” on WLS, ”I’m hopeful we can have an FY (fiscal year) 16 and FY 17 budget that we can accomplish by the end of May. We have members that are now saying ‘Enough’s enough. Let’s get this done.’”

Let’s stop trying to knock the train off the tracks, shall we?

32 Comments

It’s time for a rethink

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Solitary confinement may work to hold down incidents in prisons, but what happens when the inmates get out of jail?…

Brian Nelson’s years in solitary confinement left him terrified of other people, and he says he can still taste the concrete dust from his cell, even though he’s been free since 2010.

The 51-year-old is afraid to ride the bus, he takes five psychotropic drugs, and sees a psychiatrist every week. Even when he’s at a park surrounded by grass, he says everything starts turning gray, and he remembers how tiny air pockets in the walls kicked up dust whenever he would clean his cell at a now-shuttered maximum security prison in Tamms, near the southern tip of Illinois. He was confined there for the final 12 years of a 26-year sentence for murder and armed robbery.

“Those four walls beat me down so bad,” he told members of an Illinois House committee during a recent emotional hearing on the state’s solitary confinement practices.

Stories like Nelson’s have led Illinois lawmakers to push prisons to restrict the use of solitary confinement, joining a national movement that has policymakers rethinking the longstanding form of punishment that critics say has a profound psychological impact on inmates.

* More…

Monica Cosby, who spent 20 years in prison, experienced solitary confinement about 12 years ago when guards discovered lip balm in her pocket.

The typical 15- to 30-day penalty would extend for months due to what Cosby characterized as minor violations such as lying in bed at an angle that leaves a guard unable to see her face. […]

Allen Mills, executive director of Uptown People’s Law Center in Chicago, said current solitary confinement practices are unconstitutional, citing a similar case where an inmate who had a piece of candy in a pocket received 30 days in isolation.

Mills spoke of another inmate who was having a seizure and was sentenced to a year of solitary confinement after guards thought she was faking and pushed her against a wall to restrain her.

Mike Atchison, the Department of Corrections’ chief of operations, said that instances like these may be attributed to rogue officers. But if a person commits a serious enough offense, the language in the rules the department follows speaks to the preservation of the safety and security of the facility.

Preserving the “safety and security of the facility” was the same argument used back in the day to justify giving imprisoned gang leaders the power to hand out prison jobs. Back then, prison officials were focused solely on the problems they themselves faced (not blaming them, really, because the problems were and are huge), but didn’t consider the problems they were creating once those prisoners were released. Every now and then, they need to be reminded of this. And it’s happening again.

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Today’s quotable

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Finke…

As you’re no doubt aware, there’s a Democratic bill floating around the General Assembly to set tax rates should the state adopt a graduated income tax.

Supporters said it would actually give a tax cut to 99 percent of Illinois taxpayers and increase taxes only on the very wealthy. […]

A number of objections were raised to the idea of a graduated income tax and to the Democratic proposal in particular, including this one raised by a couple of Republicans: The bill would raise $1.9 billion in new revenue, but the state’s budget deficit is many billions of dollars more than that. So the bill didn’t solve the state’s financial problems.

That’s true. It’s also true that a constant Republican theme for months has been that the Democrats are trying to maneuver the state into a massive tax increase. To then argue a revenue bill is flawed because it doesn’t raise enough money is a good one.

19 Comments

Benton hit with one-day suspension

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Federal elections have had non-coordination rules for years. Candidates get around these rules sometimes by posting tracker videos on YouTube or pics on Facebook, among other things. The idea is that it’s not their “fault” if some independent expenditure PAC watches the videos or comes across a photo. They can’t control what some random person does with their stuff.

In Illinois, doing such a thing might not bring a penalty from the Illinois State Board of elections. However, it can still get you in trouble if you happen to work for the Illinois State Police…

State Trooper BRYCE BENTON of Springfield, who lost the 50th Senate District GOP primary on March 15 to state Sen. SAM McCANN, R-Plainview, was given a one-day suspension without pay because pictures of him in uniform were used in campaign materials.

Benton benefited from more than $3 million in “independent expenditure” advertising from a group called Liberty Principles Political Action Committee, and some TV ads from the group featured Benton in uniform. […]

“As part of my campaign,” [Benton] added, “my staff asked me to submit as many pictures as possible for potential use in campaign materials. I gave the campaign a multitude of pictures, including pictures of me in uniform. I advised my staff that I believed we may be unable to use the pictures due to ISP directives, and to refrain from using them pending approval.

“At some point during the week of January 18, my campaign uploaded multiple pictures to my website, including pictures of me in uniform without my knowledge or consent. I was unaware that the pictures were in the public arena until the morning of January 22, when I saw them on television in a third-party ad,” he said. “My campaign staff learned of the use of the uniform pictures the morning of January 22 and removed the pictures from our campaign website early (that) afternoon.”

“At no time did we coordinate with the third-party group on the usage of the pictures in their commercial,” Benton wrote, “and have still had no interaction or discussions with the group.”

That’s probably true about specific coordination. But why even post the pictures to begin with? Benton knew that wasn’t allowed, and his staff surely did as well.

And, man, that suspension is gonna look downright horrible if Benton ever runs for a contested seat in the future. His own people may have ruined their guy. But he was probably disposable to begin with. Maybe now he realizes that.

41 Comments

Utilities behaving badly

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Belleville News-Democrat has a new editorial about “consumer math”…

The wholesale cost of electricity is $17 per megawatt hour and increases to $150 per megawatt hour, increasing the consumer cost by $131 a year. What will a drop to $72 per megawatt hour save that same consumer in a year? A: $21. B: $71. C: We could explain it, but there’s a lot of consumer math involved. You wouldn’t understand.

The answer is A.

See? That’s consumer math. It doesn’t ever work out to the consumer’s advantage.

Ameren Illinois customers paid out $131 more when the wholesale electricity cost surged, but then when it dropped to less than half at the most recent auction the expected savings will not be less than half that increase, as one might expect. You’ll save about $21 in the coming year.

* Meanwhile, Crain’s reports how ComEd is derailing solar projects…

Commonwealth Edison’s leaders rarely miss a chance to tout how the evolving smart grid is ushering in green technologies and customer choice.

But while solar power grows in other states, including those with climates similar to Illinois’ like Minnesota, the industry essentially doesn’t exist here. In ComEd’s vast service territory, with 3.6 million households, there are little more than 500 residential rooftop solar customers.

In Chicago itself, residential solar power is nearly nonexistent, in large part because so many residents don’t own or control access to a roof on which to place solar panels.

Solar industry representatives and their environmentalist supporters say the lack of inroads here is no accident. ComEd recently went out of its way to halt a state rule aimed at jump-starting one of the most promising new technologies—solar energy fields built to serve groups of customers in densely populated areas like Chicago.

The company’s “plan” is here.

* OK, now look at this story about Exelon’s desire to close the Clinton nuke plant…

In an October 2015 report on the implications of a shutdown of Exelon’s three Illinois plants, The Nuclear Energy Institute, a lobbying group, noted that “over the past 10 years, the (Illinois’ 11 reactors) … have operated at 96 percent of capacity, which is above the industry average and signifcantly higher than all other forms of electric generation.” […]

“The average consumer could pay twice as much for electricity” if the [Clinton] plant closes, contends Stoner. Estimates from a state study indicate that wholesale energy prices could rise by as much as $341 annually for families and businesses in the surrounding region.

Perhaps produce less electricity? I dunno. But if prices are too low with all plants running at almost full capacity, and if prices will skyrocket if one plant is shuttered, perhaps they could come up with an Exelon-based power management decision that doesn’t require a ratepayer bailout?

[Story changed a bit because I had a brain freeze. Still recovering from last week, I think. Sorry.]

16 Comments

Question of the day

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Your thoughts on the current performance of the White Sox, Blackhawks and other, lesser teams?

42 Comments

Schools continue freak-out over impasse

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* You may not like Senate President John Cullerton’s idea to withhold school funding until school funding reform is completed, but it’s most definitely putting pressure on legislators to end the impasse…

HARRISBURG — The economic hard times that have hit this Illinois coal town are particularly visible inside its 113-year-old high school, where cracks in the walls and holes in the ceiling go unfixed and paint is peeling off the purple lockers lining the hallways.

But lately a greater worry is weighing on Superintendent Mike Gauch: that he’ll have to close the doors. He’s among scores of school officials who face this prospect as Illinois lawmakers’ epic fight over a state budget threatens to spill into summer and jeopardize the education of several hundred thousand students.

Unthinkable even a few months ago, the possibility of the impasse extending to a second year and shutting down school systems has grown stronger in recent weeks. If it happens, it would be the most traumatic consequence of a fight between the state’s Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, and Democrats who run the legislature, and mark a new low for political dysfunction in the nation’s fifth-largest state.

“It scares me to death,” says Gauch, who estimates that without state funds his district of about 2,100 students could remain open until November or December, at best. Other superintendents say their schools won’t make it that long. […]

“Had I not seen that with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it either,” said Jeff Fritchtnitch, superintendent in the Altamont school district. “For the first time in 30 years (in education), I think this can happen.”

What we’ve seen since June will pale in comparison to what we’ll see if K-12 schools aren’t funded.

37 Comments

“Anti-consumer, but pro-politician”

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* From a reader…

Rich,

Thought you might be interested in this opinion from the Third District Appellate Court, Mercy Crystal Lake Hospital and Medical Center v. Illinois Health Facilities and Service Review Board, 2016 IL App (3d) 130847. http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2016/3rdDistrict/3130947.pdf

I have no involvement in the case, but found it interesting while reviewing cases because two of the justices, Holdridge and Schmidt, offer insight into what Holdridge calls the “sausage factory in Springfield.” (see paragraph 34.) Schmidt’s special concurrence gives some historical context behind the Certificate of Need for hospitals and basically rips the whole process. Schmidt says, “This legislation assures that money keeps pouring in to Illinois politicians not only from those wishing to build new hospitals, but also from incumbent hospitals wishing to avoid any competition. Each side wants their friends on the Board. This, of course, leads each side to “donate” to Illinois governors and senators. This in addition to the history of bribes to Board members.” (see paragraph 48)

I realize it pales in comparison to other things going on in Springfield (not the least being the lack of budget), but thought you might be interested.

Thanks for doing such an amazing job with the blog. It is must-read for anyone who cares about Illinois.

Regards,

[Redacted]

* The opinion’s setup…

In closing, we offer a few words on the special concurrence. Justice Schmidt’s offering brings to mind a timeless observation made in 1869 by American lawyer and poet John Godfrey Sax, to wit: “Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) An Impeachment Trial, The Chronicle, Mar. 27, 1869, at 4. By taking the public on a tour of the sausage factory in Springfield, Justice Schmidt risks triggering a collective case of indigestion. On the other hand, Justice Schmidt may be this generation’s Upton Sinclair. A little dyspepsia might be a small price to pay for some much needed (and long overdue) transparancy. After all, as Justice Brandeis so aptly put it, “[p]ublicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.” Louis D. Brandeis, Other People’s Money and How the Bankers Use It (1914). We can only hope that the light that Justice Schmidt shines on the factory floor in Springfield leads to the production of more sanitary and wholesome sausages in the future. For now, to paraphrase Captain Renault from Casablanca, we will merely note that we are shocked, shocked to find that political considerations are influencing the legislative process in Illinois.

Heh.

* The hardball concurrence…

In essence and in fact, this legislation is nothing more than an additional corruption tax added to the cost of healthcare in Illinois. This legislation is clearly anticonsumer, but propolitician. Ironically, eradicating the Planning Act would fulfill the stated goal of the Planning Act. Yet, as the cost of healthcare continues to rise and Illinois remains the poster-child for political corruption, the General Assembly repeatedly refuses to do so. This legislation assures that money keeps pouring in to Illinois politicians not only from those wishing to build new hospitals, but also from incumbent hospitals wishing to avoid any competition. Each side wants their friends on the Board. This, of course, leads each side to “donate” to Illinois governors and senators. This is in addition to the history of bribes to Board members.

By restricting the output of healthcare services and diminishing incentives to pursue innovation, the Planning Act imposes significant and unnecessary costs on healthcare consumers, i.e., the people of Illinois. As a result of this legislation, Centegra has been forced to jump through years of pointless hoops and incur untold unnecessary costs in order to build its hospital. Guess who ultimately incurs those costs. This is unacceptable. For these reasons, I specially concur in the judgment.

20 Comments

Today’s number: 60 percent

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois Issues takes a deep dive…

Last year, 60 percent of Illinois beehives collapsed, devastating beekeepers and putting our favorite fruits and vegetables at risk.” Bees are an important source for honey, but in addition to that, 30 percent of crops worldwide depend on them for pollination according to a 2011 NRDC report. In America, that equals about $15 billion a year in crops. “Without bees, many plants including food crops would die off,” the report says.

Democratic Rep. Will Guzzardi of Chicago introduced House Bill 5900, which would make it illegal to use neonictinoids on public land and for residential use. Currently, seven states restrict the use of neonictinoids. Rep. Guzzardi says: “Home Depot and Lowe’s are no longer selling anything that contains neonics, and the grocery store, Aldi, is not selling any foods that have been sprayed with neonics. It is time for the government to step up and join these private corporations’ efforts.”

* Now, check out the careful wording of this statement by a neonictinoid producer…

Jeff Donald — a spokesman for the German chemical company Bayer, which patented the first commercial neonicotinoid and currently manufactures the globally used chemical Syngenta — said in a written statement: “Although bee health is an important concern, honey bee colonies are not declining, and U.S. colonies have steadily risen over the past decade, reaching 2.74 million in 2014, the highest level in many years. Scientists around the world have affirmed the safety of these products to pollinators and consumers when used according to label. A ban on neonicotinoids would only hurt those who depend on these products.”

Notice, the flack didn’t talk about the number of bees, just the number of colonies. The actual bee population is in alarming decline…

These statements stand in stark contrast to what bee experts have observed, says Gene Robinson, director of the Bee Research Facility at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. He says the latest national numbers show a 40 percent reduction in the bee population since last year.

* But…

While experts agree that cutting the use of these pesticides could help bees, they also note that neonictinoids are only one of multiple threats. Pollinator experts are clear that banning the use of neonicotinoids would not solve the problem.

Robinson says there is no single smoking gun that is causing the honeybees to die. “The declining bee population is a four-part problem: Neonictinoids are harmful to pollinators. Honeybees need to be nutritionally healthier. We need more pollinator acreage, and we need to combat the varroa mite,” Robinson says. Varroa mites carry disease that can devastate bee colonies. Robinson says, the mite and the Asian bee have an “evolutionary live-and-let live relationship.” But he says, “the mite and western honeybee do not share this live-and-let-live understanding, and the mite is killing honeybees in record numbers.”

28 Comments

“First step toward compromise”

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The governor has signed the stopgap higher education funding bill…

Governor Bruce Rauner signed SB 2059 today and issued the following statement:

“This legislation doesn’t solve our budget crisis or help our economy grow, but it does represent a first step toward compromise between Democrats and Republicans. Now is the time to build on this bipartisan momentum and focus on enacting a truly balanced budget for Fiscal Years 2016-2017 alongside meaningful reforms that create jobs and free up resources for education, social services and infrastructure.”

Discuss.

40 Comments

Another hostage about to go belly up

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* People, this war has to end now…

The list of victims related to the state’s budget impasse continues to grow, as officials with an Elgin-based drug treatment center traveled to Springfield last week to announce they will close shop July 1 without state help.

About 160 people are at risk of losing their jobs should the Latino Treatment Center, which also has locations in Chicago and West Chicago, go under.

The state owes the center $56,326, on top of $60,690 cut from the group’s budget by the Rauner administration in 2015.

To get by without state funds, agency officials said they cut staff salaries and exhausted credit lines and cash reserves. Without a budget agreement, employees will begin to be laid off on May 15, and two facilities will close by June 15. The third will follow by July 1.

Once more, with feeling: Find. Another. Way.

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*** UPDATED x1 - LIVE coverage *** Hearing begins today on alleged AFSCME impasse

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

Rauner administration officials and lawyers for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 will meet in a courtroom this morning to begin what could be a weekslong hearing over whether to end negotiations for a new contract for state workers.

At issue is the Rauner administration’s contention that the two sides have reached “impasse,” a technical stage in contract negotiations that could put the union in the position of having to either accept Rauner’s terms for a new contract or go on strike.

An administrative law judge at the Illinois Labor Relations Board will hear arguments from both sides after Rauner asked the panel in January to decide whether impasse had been reached. […]

Rauner contends that the two sides are deadlocked on “nearly every core issue” in the negotiations and that more bargaining “would be futile,” according to paperwork his administration submitted to the board. The union says it’s not done negotiating and Rauner should get back to the table.

According to the Trib, the hearing is expected to last through May. Whoever loses can appeal to the full board.

*** UPDATE *** Monique Garcia is live-tweeting today’s hearing. Follow along here with ScribbleLive…

109 Comments

More ideas worth thinking about

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Democratic state Sen. Daniel Biss has outlined three broad goals to kick off his new effort to help formulate a progressive response to Raunerism…

Tackle the outliers first. People can quibble about all sorts of things, but there’s no question that when it comes to a few measures — credit rating, for instance — Illinois is an extreme state, and not in a good way. That means that we should try to solve the extreme problems first. Does it bother you that Illinois is only 35th best in some way? Fine. But let’s work on that after we’ve tackled the ways that Illinois is one of five or fewer states that need to change a practice.

Go after the structural causes of corruption. The transactional nature of Illinois politics has harmed us in many ways, not least in helping us avoid long-term thinking and therefore adding to our debt load. We need to take this culture on by understanding what enables it and fighting accordingly, starting with money in politics, lobbying practices, and the proliferation of unscrutinized silos all across government.

Take advantage of our assets and retool for a high-skill, high-wage modern economy. This might be the most controversial of the principles, but it is also the most important. We can no longer afford to ignore the changes that have swept the Midwest. We have to acknowledge them in our policies, and we need to chart a bold new economic course. Governor Rauner wants that course to be a race to the bottom, using lower compensation as an economic development tool. Instead, we should capitalize on our many strengths to become a high-wage leader in the new economy.

Go read the whole thing, but what do you think of these and would you add any further expansive goals?

31 Comments

These are good ideas, too

Monday, Apr 25, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller

* State Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) Mark Denzler, vice president and COO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association and Bill Gibson, Illinois state director at Great Lakes Graphics Association wrote this on behalf of the AIM Coalition…

Illinois is home to more than 450 corporate research and development facilities, yet businesses watched the R&D credit renew and expire four different times over the last 13 years. Imagine how hard it must be for a business to invest and spend in Illinois with the uncertainty of our tax environment.

Companies plan their R&D investment 5, 10 or even 20 years in advance and the present on again/off again cycle is one we need to break. Further, the absence of a permanent policy is driving R&D investments to neighboring states taking those good, high paying jobs averaging salaries of $80,000 with them. We are seeing this migration more frequently as new agricultural implement research expands in Iowa and as companies remain headquartered in Illinois, but choose to manufacture and develop product across state lines.

Or in the case of the commercial printing industry, Illinois is the only state in the nation without an incentive for commercial printers engaged in manufacturing activity. Yes, once again we’re at the bottom. The graphic arts exemption expired at a time when the industry employed 55,100 workers in more than 2,300 facilities. Quite simply, that industry’s livelihood is dependent upon this incentive encouraging businesses to invest in higher quality, more technologically advanced printing and graphic arts equipment.

An opportunity exists with bipartisan support to rally around legislation that backs the modern and permanent extensions of four critical tax incentives including:

Go read the whole thing.

18 Comments