To the Honorable Members of
The Illinois House of Representatives,
99th General Assembly:
Today I veto House Bill 580. Nearly one year ago, the General Assembly passed an almost identical bill, Senate Bill 1229. I vetoed that bill because it was a dangerous, unprecedented attack on our taxpayers. HB 580 recycles the same dangerous proposal that I vetoed last fall.
Prior to the veto override vote on SB 1229 and within the last few days, newspaper editorial boards from all corners of the state – north to south, urban and rural, heavily Democrat and Republican districts, and those with large union and non-union readerships – wrote about the dangers of stripping taxpayers of their voice at the collective bargaining table.
The editors at The Southern wrote, “[n]othing like SB 1229 exists anywhere in the country. Nor should it. It’s an open assault on transparent representative government.” The Pantagraph in Bloomington wrote, “This is a terrible piece of legislation that should have never received much attention.” Just yesterday, the Dispatch-Argus rightly called HB 580 “worse than the original.” And The News-Gazette described HB 580 as “wrong on so many levels that it represents Exhibit A for the sloppy, irresponsible manner in which our failed state has been and continues to be run.”
HB 580 goes even further than SB 1229 did, sneaking in additional costly language under the guise of technical changes. For the reasons I explain in this message, our taxpayers rightly insist that HB 580 not become law.
We should be very clear about what prompted SB 1229 and now HB 580. A single union, AFSCME, made unaffordable and unsustainable salary and benefits demands during its collective bargaining negotiations, and then refused to meaningfully compromise. AFSCME’s leaders demanded salary increases of up to 29% over four years; a more expensive, platinum health care plan; and lavish overtime benefits, including time and a half after 37.5 hours of work each week and 2.5 times wages for some holidays. AFSCME is demanding that our taxpayers fund these additional benefits to the tune of $3 billion over the life of the contract. What’s worse, with HB 580, AFSCME wants to ensure that those taxpayers have no say in the matter.
Everyone knows that our taxpayers simply cannot afford these unreasonable demands. As a result, our negotiators emphatically rejected AFSCME’s most costly contract proposals. We offered solutions that are fair to both our taxpayers and our employees. Those proposals included performance bonuses of up to 8% of salary, greater choice of lower cost health care plans, and changes in work rules that would require the payment of overtime after 40 hours of work per week, which is standard and consistent with federal law, rather than 37.5 hours. We also proposed to eradicate underutilization and to promote the hiring and advancement of minorities in state government jobs by setting aside the current arbitrary barriers that stand in the way. AFSCME rejected all of these common sense proposals.
Unaccustomed to having to explain how the State could possibly pay for AFSCME’s unaffordable demands, union leaders sought to legislate away such inconvenient questions. AFSCME asked legislators to strip taxpayers of their rights under existing Illinois labor laws. Current law ensures that the Governor represents taxpayers’ interests at the bargaining table. Those rights are consistent with every state and municipal labor law in the country and the rights given to employers in the National Labor Relations Act, the federal law that governs all private sector labor negotiations, as well. AFSCME wants to squash those rights precisely because they stand in the way of AFSCME’s unreasonable demands.
HB 580 replaces the Governor in collective bargaining negotiations with an unelected, labor-friendly arbitrator who can single-handedly impose the union’s $3 billion demand on the taxpayers, and do so over the objections of the Governor, the General Assembly, the Labor Board, and the majority of taxpayers themselves. One person would have the ability to determine over 25% of our annual budget for the next 3 years, forcing increased taxes and cuts to other vital state services to pay for it all.
More than 30 years ago, AFSCME, and many others in the labor community, were instrumental in writing the collective bargaining laws across the country. In Illinois, AFSCME’s efforts led to the passage of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act, the very law by which these negotiations were conducted for almost a year. Now AFSCME seeks to rewrite its own handcrafted rules simply because our negotiators invoked those same rules to protect our taxpayers against AFSCME’s unaffordable financial demands.
The AFSCME bill is crafted to apply to only a single negotiation and a single Governor. AFSCME cannot identify any jurisdiction in the country – even the most labor-friendly – that has ever enacted this type of sweeping rewrite of its labor laws targeting a single negotiating session. Taxpayers, through their elected officials, have an important, longstanding role in public labor negotiations. My action today defends taxpayers who are being denied their voice at the bargaining table.
I urge the General Assembly to stand with taxpayers and sustain my veto. In responding to AFSCME pressure to override this veto, please keep the following two things in mind:
First, a year ago, you were told that SB 1229 was needed to protect all labor unions from a concerted attack on organized labor from a series of unreasonable bargaining demands being made by our administration. But since then, 12 different bargaining units representing the State’s electricians, plumbers, painters, machinists, carpenters, engineers, and many others have voluntarily negotiated and agreed to substantially the same proposals offered to AFSCME. Despite AFSCME’s heated rhetoric trying to portray our bargaining proposals as unreasonable, these 12 unions chose to join 5 Teamster units in acting reasonably and reaching fair agreements with our administration. State employees ratified many of those agreements by over 80%. Together, these 17 agreements now cover more than 5,000 state employees.
What makes these unions different from AFSCME is none of them insisted upon the same unrealistic financial demands that AFSCME’s leadership is still making to this day. Significantly, but not surprisingly, many of AFSCME’s own members do not support these demands either. Unlike their union leaders, these members want to be part of the solution, not exacerbate the problem. But AFSCME has refused to allow them to vote on these proposals. Before AFSCME asks members of the General Assembly to vote to override this veto, why not ask them to let their own members take a vote on the same proposals that were ratified by wide margins by 17 other unions? Given that opportunity, if AFSCME allows for a fair, democratic vote without undue influence by union leaders, I predict AFSCME members would ratify this contract by the same overwhelming margins that their coworkers have.
Second, as you are aware, the impasse in negotiations with AFSCME is currently being litigated before the Illinois Labor Relations Board. AFSCME filed its own unfair labor practice charge that is part of that litigation. The Board will decide if negotiations should continue or an impasse has been reached. The Board will decide if we have offered a plan that is fair to AFSCME members. The General Assembly has a long history of not intervening in active litigation. That is precisely the procedural status of the current proceedings between the two sides. If AFSCME’s attack on our bargaining proposals has merit, AFSCME has ample opportunity to make that case to the Board. If AFSCME succeeds, the Board can order both parties back to the bargaining table to negotiate a mutual agreement. There is absolutely no need for the General Assembly to be involved.
AFSCME did say that the Labor Relations Board proceedings are unfair and that you should intervene to stop these hearings before they resulted in a decision. But here, too, AFSCME’s leaders are being disingenuous. I have attached a copy of the Tolling Agreement, which is a contract voluntarily signed by AFSCME Executive Director Roberta Lynch herself. In fact, this is the third such agreement signed by AFSCME. This one was signed on September 9, 2015 – just days after the veto override vote on SB 1229.
As the Tolling Agreement clearly states, “if a dispute exists with respect to the existence of an impasse, the parties agree to submit the matter to the Illinois Labor Relations Board.” The agreement adds, “this agreement will remain in effect until the ILRB resolves the issue” and furthermore “that this agreement will remain in effect until impasse is reached.” Director Lynch signed this agreement freely and voluntarily, including those provisions that select the Labor Relations Board, and not an arbitrator, as the appropriate authority to resolve the present dispute. HB 580 dramatically changes the terms of the Tolling Agreement and would improperly alter the very dispute resolution procedures agreed to by the parties in that contract.
AFSCME also recently filed a separate lawsuit that asks a court to decide if the parties are in compliance with the terms of the Tolling Agreement. AFSCME admits in that lawsuit that the Tolling Agreement was entered freely and voluntarily and is a valid agreement. That is a significant concession that should end any further effort to turn HB 580 into law. AFSCME squarely acknowledges it signed a valid contract. AFSCME should be required to hold up its end of the deal.
But just as with its push for HB 580, AFSCME is also asking the court to rewrite the Tolling Agreement in a way that would permit AFSCME to sidestep the Labor Board process to which it has agreed. Because the issue of what the Tolling Agreement obligates the parties to do is now squarely presented not only before the Labor Board but also in court, the General Assembly has double the reason not to interfere.
The question now before the General Assembly is whether to intervene in ongoing litigation and alter the terms of a binding contract between the State and AFSCME – all at the expense of the taxpayers we represent. I urge you to resist the pressure to override HB 580 and instead stand with taxpayers by holding AFSCME to its own commitments under the Tolling Agreement.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 580, entitled “AN ACT concerning State government”, with the foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
Sincerely,
Bruce Rauner
GOVERNOR
* AFSCME’s response…
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has vetoed the fair arbitration bill, House Bill 580. AFSCME Council 31 executive director Roberta Lynch responds:
“Public service workers in state government keep us safe, protect kids, respond to emergencies and much more. They want to stay on the job to serve their communities, not be forced out on strike, and they deserve fair pay and health care they can afford. This bill seeks compromise and avoids a strike by allowing an independent, neutral third party to settle the differences between workers and management. It is the process already used for tens of thousands of fire fighters, police officers, correctional workers and others throughout Illinois.
“Beneath Governor Rauner’s false claims and wild exaggerations about the bill is this reality: The governor walked away from negotiations with our union in January and is seeking total power to unilaterally impose his demands, including forcing state and university employees to pay double their current costs for health care. Given that power, the governor could impose his demands and leave state employees no choice but to strike. That’s exactly what Rauner as a candidate vowed to do.
“Governor Rauner doesn’t like HB 580 because it would require him to be moderate and seek compromise. He wants his way or no way at all. Public service workers in state government want better for the millions of citizens we serve. That’s why new polls show voters support the fair arbitration bill by 3-1 margins even in Republican districts, and why we will urge all lawmakers of both parties to protect public services, ensure fairness and override the governor’s veto of HB 580.”
For too many years, Illinoisans have been misled. Each of you in state government has been misled. Taxpayers who fund government have been misled. Recipients of public services, including our most vulnerable residents, have also been misled. The consequences are before us, and they are dire.
I ran for office to right these wrongs. I believe that solving our state’s crisis requires a simple first step — for someone to tell the truth. So here it is.
The truth is that Illinois is broke. Our taxpayers, who pay the highest property taxes in the nation, are maxed out and local governments continue to raise property taxes.
Expanding the size of government faster than middle-class paychecks are growing is a failing strategy. That is why I have no choice but to veto AFSCME’s arbitration bill, HB580.
It’s not because I don’t want to see you earn a better living today. I do. I veto HB580 because I want to protect the pension system that you are counting on for your retirement.
If I signed this bill, I would be subjecting all taxpayers to another $3 billion in higher taxes. That makes no sense when too many jobs have been leaving Illinois, and those hardworking Illinoisans that remain see their incomes falling.
We can make Illinois a state where our employees receive the pension benefits they were promised, where our budget is truly balanced through strong economic growth rather than destructive tax hikes, and where our state workers are not forced to work in decaying buildings with technology that is older than my children and furniture that is older than me.
I pledged on my first day in office to build a partnership with state employees, and that is exactly what we have done. Our 1970s computers are being replaced with next generation technology. With the General Assembly’s help, I pledged to put the Thompson Center up for sale and move employees to more modern space. We pushed for more flexible scheduling and ended Rod Blagojevich’s corrupt hiring system.
When Attorney General Madigan sought to shut off pay, Comptroller Munger and I defeated that misguided attack on state employees. And I have called on the General Assembly to honor Governor Quinn’s failed promise of wage increases from 2011. We must respect our commitments and not make new commitments that we cannot afford.
We also sought employees’ ideas for improvements and savings, prompting us to send out the first-ever state employee survey. The results were eye-opening.
You told me that promotions and compensation are not based on merit. You told me that agencies don’t reward creativity and innovation. I want to reward hard work and ingenuity. Unfortunately, union leadership is blocking many of these common sense ideas — ideas that you want. Rest assured, I heard your desire for these reforms loud and clear.
So my administration took action. We launched a truly meaningful merit pay program. We started a gainsharing program that will reward state employees for helping save taxpayers’ money. We implemented a “rapid results” system that removes obstacles to employee innovation and allows employees to personally change processes that impede good customer service.
But as I have noted, with a truly historic budget deficit and skyrocketing debt, our taxpayers cannot afford the added spending pressure of huge wage and health insurance increases. That is why I must veto HB580, ensuring that the legal process agreed to with AFSCME leaders and currently underway before the Labor Board, is allowed to proceed and fairly resolve any outstanding issues.
But I make this pledge: The State will honor its promises to you. We will continue to listen and build a workplace that values and rewards hard work, innovation, and creativity, all in a welcoming work environment. We will keep fighting to get you paid in full and on time. And we will continue to stand for fiscal discipline so that you and your families can again know you are, finally, being told the truth.
Illinois owes 800 service providers more than $350 million under contracts the state issued but lacks the appropriations authority to pay, according to Department of Human Services data obtained by the Fiscal Policy Center. The state issued these contracts even though Governor Rauner vetoed spending bills that would have allowed the state to make good on these contracts. Without payment for the services they have provided, many organizations are struggling to survive.
In an attempt to get desperately needed emergency funding to human service programs after more than 10 months without a state budget, the General Assembly last week approved by overwhelming margins a bill for more than $700 million in funding to social services. The nearly $250 million designated for DHS programs would allow the state to pay a sizable portion of the what the state owes under these contracts. Governor Rauner has not yet said whether he will sign this bill.
Pay Now Illinois, a coalition of 64 Illinois-based human and social service agencies and companies, is suing Governor Rauner and agency heads seeking payment of more than $100 million for services provided in FY16. The lawsuit seeks to begin immediate payments of the most overdue bills. The coalition notes that the lawsuit is the “only possible basis of preventing an even more serious cutback of services” and that once “these services and programs are cut or eliminated, it will be difficult to resume them.”
The list on Voices site is a sobering collection of IOUs.
Like the $7.7 million owed to the Ounce of Prevention Fund for its healthy families and parents-to-be programs. The fund’s president is Diana Rauner, otherwise known as the governor’s wife.
Among some of the others who got contracts and have been doing the work but not getting paid are Cardinal Health, at $11.5 million; the city of Chicago at $22.2 million just for child care; $2 million to the Easter Seals program for early intervention; $6 million to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault; and $3.5 million to the Women’s Treatment Center for anti-addiction programs.
…Adding… Emily Miller in comments…
(T)his is only the list of contracts from DHS. There are many hundreds of millions of dollars more in contracts issued from other Departments without appropriation authority for the comptroller to pay for them.
The Illinois Republican Party made sure media outlets were aware of the video footage of Illinois state Rep. Katherine “Kate” Cloonen, D-Kankakee, and another state Democrat playing video games during a budget session last month. The image was caught and broadcast by WCIA-TV in Champaign and a television station in Rockford.
“This was a mistake, and I apologize,” Cloonen told the Daily Journal. “It won’t happen again, and that’s needless to say.” […]
She said she hasn’t cashed a single paycheck since the budget impasse started last July and has spent countless hours reaching out to social service providers, schools and other entities that need state funding to survive.
“I hear these struggles,” Cloonen said. “We work on it every day.”
If you ever wondered why Cloonen has been able to win a majority Republican district, you just found out. That was very well done. Time to move along.
The State Board of Elections today narrowed the scope of its inquiry into Frank Mautino’s campaign spending. Frank will be working with his team to amend his campaign reports by July 1 in an attempt to resolve these questions.
* From a local reporter…
The state Board of Elections found that the complaint against Frank Mautino was filed on justifiable grounds.
* Gov. Rauner is often (and justifiably) criticized for putting politics over governance. But he’s not the only one who plays this game. For years, the needs of politically targeted House Democrats have driven Speaker Madigan’s policy goals. Every now and then, he’ll muscle something through and give the targets a pass, but more often than not his political shop dominates.
So, have a look at what a Tier One target, appointed state Rep. Andy Skoog (D-LaSalle) has to say about Sen. Andy Manar’s school funding reform bill…
State Rep. Andy Skoog said his stance on school funding is simple: “No school loses funding in my district.” […]
“We need to work with all stakeholders and local educators to make sure our local schools receive their fair share and to make sure our local schools are not negatively impacted by any formula changes,” Skoog said in a phone message to The Times about questions on school funding.
Skoog’s comments go against a Senate bill Andy Manar, of Bunker Hill, is supporting within his party. That bill would change state funding to give more money to less property wealthy districts, such as Streator Elementary, which the state is recommending for “financial difficulty.” The bill, however, would result in more than $4 million of state funding lost to districts within La Salle County, including Ottawa Elementary, which itself is deficit spending and on an “early warning” list in its financial status. […]
“The taxpayers of the Illinois Valley shouldn’t be on the hook for decades of fiscal mismanagement and failures in the Chicago Public Schools system,” Skoog said in a press statement. “I wholeheartedly stand against bailing out Chicago’s schools.”
How self-centered can you get? Totally, apparently, which is par for the course in the Illinois political world.
Also, the governor has been rightly chastised for his incessant Chicago bashing, but Madigan is spanking it up as well - something he’s done for years.
* There comes a time when you gotta put your state over your party. As anyone who’s ever been around a while knows, Madigan has repeatedly done that in the past.
But while his political staff has been brilliant at doing their jobs, there’s just too much emphasis placed on the next election cycle. It has led at least partially to the dire straits we’re in now. People complain about corporations that only focus on the next quarter. Well, the House has historically had the same sort of myopic bent.
We have to somehow move beyond this. There are problems with Manar’s bill. Even he admits that. But our state’s fate shouldn’t depend on what some appointee in LaSalle County wants.
/rant
* Meanwhile…
Republican House (IL-76) candidate Jerry Long has a statement to make about Rep. Andy Skoog’s use of public funds for political campaigning.
“Rep. Andy Skoog pulled a stunt last week that shows a blatant disregard for the law. He used state money to send out a campaign mailing for political purposes when Illinois doesn’t even have a budget.
“Residents in our district got a political mailer masked as a “constituent survey” that trashed political opponents and pandered for votes from target demographic groups. Illinois law specifically prohibits politicians from using public funds for their campaigns.
“The idea that taxpayers would fund this mailer is an outrage, but this is what politicians do when they’re on Michael Madigan’s leash. They do whatever they can to get re-elected so Madigan can keep his stronghold on power in the Illinois House.
“I am confident that the voters will see right through this. November can’t come soon enough for us.”
Most of the letter in question can be seen here, here and here. Mainly standard stuff. Lots of potshots at Rauner, though. And sending these mailers when there’s no budget should be called out (which I’m sure the Dems will do as well).
*** UPDATE *** From Rep. Skoog…
Jerry Long is continuing the kind of politics that has caused chaos and gridlock in Springfield and Washington. This is the kind of politics that is destroying our state and causes the inability for elected leaders to work across the aisle and get things done for our families. In addition to walking door-to-door and calling hundreds of constituents to stay in touch with residents and identify important local issues each week, I sent a survey to constituents to help me better understand residents’ concerns and to provide updates on issues at the capitol including my fight against reckless plans that slash critical state funding for cancer screenings, care for the elderly and services for victims of sexual assault.
Monday, May 16, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Daily fantasy sports is not gambling, it is my passion and a hobby.
I find myself entering a few contests a week. I honestly do not do it for the money. Instead, I enjoy the competition and challenge. I enjoy the camaraderie of playing against friends. The contests are fun and exciting! Furthermore, I enjoy daily fantasy sports because I love the skill involved. I love it so much I now write articles helping others who do not have time to do the research. I ask lawmakers to think about their constituents. Please, pass a bill to legalize and regulate the contests, but do not take away our right to continue to play.
A bipartisan group of legislators came together, and last week presented the governor and legislative leaders with a menu of options for getting to a balanced budget.
One of them — Senator Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat — says, as has previously been reported, that it calls for raising the state income tax from 3.75 percent to 4.85 percent, a corporate tax hike, closing corporate loopholes and a expanding the sales tax base. […]
“We’re looking at a beverage tax, which some have called a sugar tax or the pop tax, which would bring in approximately $375 million.” Trotter also says the package contemplates gambling expansion.
“Also on the table is that old standby of looking at the possibility of bringing gaming, or to expand gaming here in the state of Illinois,” Trotter said Sunday on WGN radio’s “Sunday Spin” program.
Judge Approves Agreement in Ashoor Rasho v John Baldwin
The Illinois Department of Corrections is pleased that the settlement agreement in the case of Ashoor Rasho v John Baldwin has been approved. U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm accepted the agreement on Friday, May 13th, noting that the Department’s plans for improving the delivery of services for mentally ill offenders are “fair and reasonable.”
The agreement requires the Department to update its policies for treatment and observation, increase out of cell time for mentally ill offenders housed in segregation, construct four residential treatment units aimed at providing individualized care for mentally ill offenders, provide an inpatient level care for offenders who require the most intensive level of treatment, and hire additional staff to accommodate the changes.
While the Department does not admit liability regarding the allegations made in the suit, it does recognize that providing adequate care for offenders with mental illness will improve their quality of life and ultimately improve safety within its correctional facilities. The Department has already taken significant steps to comply with the terms of the agreement:
· The Department has updated its policies to ensure that Mental Health Professionals are involved in all disciplinary actions taken against those identified as having a mental illness.
· The Department has revised its segregation policies for all offenders, which will continue to result in a significant reduction of segregation time.
· Construction continues on the residential treatment units at Dixon, Pontiac, and Logan Correctional Centers as well as the former IYC Joliet facility.
· The Department has hired additional mental health staff for the treatment units at Dixon and Logan.
· The Department has partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Illinois to develop curriculum and ensure all IDOC staff receives training on how to better interact with, communicate with, and understand the needs of those who require treatment.
· The Department has hired an internal legal advisor and has secured an external monitor to ensure that it remains in compliance with the agreement.
The Ashoor Rasho case has lingered in the courts since 2007 after an offender at Pontiac Correctional Center filed suit challenging the delivery of mental health services within the IDOC. The Department reached a partial agreement in 2013 but had not been able to fully implement a plan to streamline mental health services. Governor Rauner’s commitment to improving the state’s correctional system put the case on a fast track and his administration worked diligently with the IDOC legal team to reach a suitable agreement.
* Related…
* AP: Judge OKs settlement in lawsuit on mentally ill inmates
* One day, he’s gonna have to play this argument straight. In the meantime, the more he says they could find money other ways, the less credible he’s gonna appear when the tax hike vote hits the floor…
During his trip to Normal West High School this week, Rauner said [education] funding could come from a number of sources and raising taxes isn’t one of them.
“Number one: procurement reform,” said Rauner. “We could save a billion dollars from that. That’s a lot of school funding.”
Pension reform was another way Rauner said Illinois can save money.
“We can do it where we protect everybody’s pension – everything they’ve earned so far they get protected – but future work can have different options that may be more cost effective,” said Rauner. “That could save $1-2.5 billion.”
The governor added consolidating units of governments is an option as well. He said Illinois has 7,000 units of government.
I thought he’s said procurement reforms produced half that amount, but whatever. And I seriously doubt that any pension reform savings could be realized until the Supreme Court weighs in - and even then, I doubt those numbers are real.
…Adding… My preference is to be paid a billion-trillion dollars for Capitol Fax. But I would never say that with a straight face because people would think I was daft…
Rauner said his preference is to cut all taxes (unclear which ones) but he's open to raising them; talked workers comp as part of compromise
Like any other, the Thompsonville High School graduating class includes its cliques: the athletes, the studious ones, the artists, the comedians, the popular kids and so on.
Though, in this case, the list really isn’t that long.
These “cliques,” as described by the students, also are a bit smaller in size — comprising just a few, or even one student, each.
That’s just part of the oddities experienced by a class of only 12 students.
12 kids in the graduating class. They have a principal, with full staff and infrastructure for 12 kids.
I attended a high school with 12 kids in its graduating class many moons ago. That high school (in Hanover, IL) was eventually consolidated with some other towns.
One of the advantages of attending a small school is that when it comes to graduation, each senior can really savor the moment. Shiloh High School’s 24 members of the Class of 2016 made their graduation Friday night a very personal affair.
There are indeed advantages to attending such a small school. There are also disadvantages, and overhead cost is just one of them.
Monday, May 16, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The daily fantasy sports gambling industry is pressuring officials to pass a bailout that actually costs taxpayers. According to COGFA these Internet gaming giants would each pay just $900,000 in state taxes, but they could afford $500 million in television ads last year.
Taxpayers may actually have to subsidize regulating online sports wagering. The Illinois Gaming Board doesn’t know how much it will cost to oversee this new form of online gaming.
The state is facing an unprecedented budget crisis, but two out-of-state companies, which the Attorney General said broke law, want you to give them valuable Internet gaming licenses.
Everyone but paid fantasy sports operators agree, it’s gambling:
Proponents are telling elected officials a fantasy, but the budget crisis is real. Don’t make it worse and pass a fantasy sports bailout that actually costs the state money.
Monday is the deadline for Rauner to act on that bill that would send unresolved labor negotiations between the state and some of its employee unions to binding arbitration. If he doesn’t act, the bill automatically becomes law.
Rauner was asked last week what he plans to do with the bill. He wouldn’t say exactly, but he did say, “It’s stunning. It’s atrocious legislation.”
Gee, sounds like he’s going to sign it.
* And the governor’s office has been busily contacting editorial boards. Here’s one of the latest…
Not only does HB 580 contain the same language as SB 1229 which would allow an arbitrator – not the elected legislature or governor – to decide what could eventually be a $3 billion tax hike for Illinois taxpayers, it also contains additional language that could cost taxpayers another $400 million on top of that.
With negotiations stalled, and the previous contract having expired, the Rauner administration announced that it would not continue to pay automatic salary step increases that the state could not afford. SB 508 includes new language that would force the state to retroactively pay these step increases from the expired contract to the tune of another $400 million, according to administration sources.
*** UPDATE *** At least one guy in comments (somebody who usually knows these things) thinks the deadline is tomorrow. Either way, the Illinois Policy Institute is sending mailers against the bill. Here’s one…
In response to Republican Mark Kirk’s latest in a series of misleading attack ads, the Duckworth campaign today released a new 30-second campaign spot, entitled “Repeatedly.” The ad highlights Duckworth’s service to her country over the course of 23 years in the military, as well as her accomplishments on behalf of her fellow Veterans. By contrast, Kirk has been caught repeatedly lying about his own military record — including claims to have served in combat when he never did. Last week, the Kirk campaign acknowledged to the Associated Press that they are actively attempting to undercut Duckworth’s service record and commitment to Veterans — a line of attack that had even Republicans ’saying they don’t think voters will buy it,’ according to the AP. The ad can be viewed HERE.
“Republican Mark Kirk’s new ad isn’t just dishonest, it’s shameful — but what else would you expect from someone who has lied about his military record at least 10 times, including falsely claiming to have been in combat. Tammy Duckworth is a 23-year Veteran of the National Guard who nearly lost her life in Iraq in 2004, and who has been a fierce and accomplished advocate for her fellow Veterans since recuperating at Walter Reed. Unlike Kirk, Tammy can point to real results at the state and federal level helping our Veterans get jobs, reducing Veterans’ homelessness, increasing awareness and screening for PTSD, and addressing the scourge of Veterans’ suicide — among other things. Kirk is obviously willing to say or do anything to hold on to his Senate seat — including taking a page out of Karl Rove’s old ‘swift boat’ playbook. He should be ashamed of himself.” -Matt McGrath, campaign spokesman
Ending months of speculation, Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks announced his candidacy for McHenry County Board Chairman, setting up what is sure to be a fierce race for the first-ever election for the seat.
But while the move gives the McHenry County Republican Party a hard fight for what was an uncontested race, it also gives the GOP a chance to reclaim the 63rd Illinois House District seat that Franks said he is relinquishing to run for chairman instead.
Franks, of Marengo, made the announcement Sunday morning, shortly after the Democratic Party of McHenry County voted to slate him to run against Republican nominee Michael Walkup. Walkup, a County Board member from Crystal Lake, narrowly defeated incumbent Chairman Joe Gottemoller, R-Crystal Lake, in the March 15 primary. […]
The county Democratic Party has until August to select a candidate to run against Reick, and Democratic Party of McHenry County Chairman Michael Bissett said the decision will not happen until at least after Memorial Day.
“I’ll be the face of McHenry County in both Springfield and Washington,” Franks said. “I’ll give us credibility, and I’ll be able to put McHenry County back on the map.”
Franks sought to portray the long-rumored move as a result of frustration over the lack of a state budget. But as a Democrat holding a seat in Republican territory, Franks was potentially a target of Republican Gov. Rauner and his allies this fall.
Rauner is trying to pick off as many House Democrats as he can this year and in 2018 to dethrone Speaker Michael Madigan, his chief nemesis at the state Capitol. It’s an uphill struggle for Rauner this fall, as he faces a political landscape that includes a Madigan-drawn legislative map, a presidential year when Democrats turn out in greater numbers and the prospect of Donald Trump at the top of the GOP ticket.
For Franks, running for County Board president allows him to sidestep a possible Rauner-funded challenge. While Franks got 58 percent in 2014, Rauner easily carried the district. It’s Republican territory, but Franks was able to use family name recognition to hold onto the seat since first winning it in 1998.
* Riopell asks what Franks’ departure means for “taxes, budget stalemate.” Not much…
Franks often votes against Democratic budget and tax plans, anyway. Democrats in the House have 71 members, enough to override a Rauner veto if they all stick together.
But they often haven’t, and Franks’ votes along with Democratic Reps. Scott Drury of Highwood and Ken Dunkin of Chicago have often meant Rauner’s vetoes stand.
The drama will continue to play out as a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rauner’s budget director came up with a package of budget ideas last week that includes an income tax hike. And the state hasn’t approved a full state budget that’s now in danger of becoming a year overdue.
“Maybe this will help break the deadlock, the gridlock. Because the fact is, I keep hearing about this mythical 71. You know, do all the tax increases. But it’s not real,” Franks said. “It’s a mirage.”
Democratic bench: Independence? Executive experience? It’s something Democrats are looking for as they are to face a bitter gubernatorial election in 2018. So far, no one has raised his or her hand to go up against deep-pocketed Rauner. But should Franks win the county chair seat, it could quickly propel him high on the Democrats’ short list.
An Illinois rape crisis center is suspending nearly all of its services and will lay off five employees after operating for nearly a year without state money.
The (Champaign) News-Gazette reported that the nonprofit Rape Advocacy Counseling and Education Services agency will end counseling, legal advocacy and community education programs June 1.
But the Urbana center’s 24-hour crisis line will continue with $25,000 from United Way of Champaign to hire a part-time volunteer coordinator. The money comes from United Way’s emergency fund designed to help agency partners in need.
City Water, Light and Power of Springfield is among municipal utilities that would earn monthly interest on overdue state bills under a change pending with an Illinois rules-making panel.
The change also assumes eventual legislative approval of the spending.
CWLP is owed $11.7 million from overdue state electric bills. The state owes the city another $1 million for water, sewer and sanitary service, according to CWLP figures. A $2.8 million payment in April brought the total paid toward overdue bills to $6 million since the start of the state fiscal year last July. […]
A rules change proposed by the Illinois Department of Central Management Services would include municipally owned utilities under the state’s Prompt Payment Act. The change would allow for a 1 percent interest charge after 90 days for each month a bill is overdue. The change would apply to utility service provided after July 1, 2015, according to a summary of the rule at the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
While House Democrats’ priority has been to pass a comprehensive, full-fiscal year budget using a balanced approach that includes spending cuts but does not decimate needed services, Gov. Rauner’s priority puts his personal agenda first and attacks the wages and standard of living of the middle class. His insistence on passing his personal agenda has been the single roadblock to finding a true bipartisan budget solution.
However, since March 26, 2015, Gov. Rauner has approved six budget proposals that did not include any part of his personal agenda. This reaffirms my previous statements that when the governor sets aside his personal agenda that hurts middle-class families, we can make progress on the state’s most important issue. The people of Illinois want to see progress. They want to see a comprehensive full-year budget. I, too, am committed to passing comprehensive budgets for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. I also hope the governor will look at his recent budgetary actions and see that we can come together to find reasonable solutions when he sets aside his personal agenda that will hurt middle-class families and has nothing to do with the state budget.
* So, it’s difficult to disagree with all of this Tribune editorial…
Rauner’s own budget director has been involved in the talks among rank-and-file lawmakers. Those talks have addressed the possibility of raising income taxes and adding new taxes on services such as landscaping and attorney fees. The talks also have addressed some spending reforms, such as reducing costs within the state’s health care program for the poor and pushing high-end pension costs onto local governments that generate them. There’s also talk of borrowing $5 billion to pay down a backlog of overdue bills.
More borrowing? Grrr. But the point isn’t that anyone loves everything being negotiated. It’s that some serious people in Springfield are trying to cut a deal. […]
Rauner has said he is open to the possibility of raising taxes to straighten out the state’s fiscal nightmare. It is Madigan who is shutting the door to compromise, mostly for political reasons. He doesn’t want to jeopardize his members’ chances at re-election this fall with controversial votes. Madigan is doing exactly what he accused the GOP of doing in 2010 — saying “no” for campaign reasons, even though it hurts the state. […]
Judging by Madigan’s reaction to proposals being negotiated by his own members, prepare for some semblance of 2014 and 2015 in 2016. There will be no grand bargain without Mr. No.
The governor and speaker haven’t given up their partisan politics. Rather, there’s a sense that Rauner finally may have watered down his Turnaround Illinois agenda enough that a reasonable compromise can be reached. Cullerton is key to that happening.
Unlike the total tactician that is Madigan—at this point in his career, does he give a damn about anything other than doing what it takes to win the next election?—Cullerton seems to remember that his North Side voters sent him to Springfield to get stuff done. And that he has, somehow keeping together the most liberal legislative caucus the Capitol has seen in decades while on occasion rolling the dice to accomplish something.
There are two issues in particular that the Senate president is associated with: revamping the state’s broken public school aid formula and reforming the state’s hugely indebted public pension plans. Both are central to finally getting a budget deal before the General Assembly’s scheduled May 31 adjournment. […]
Whether we finally get a budget deal in the next week or two probably depends on whether the Senate president is willing to isolate the speaker. It would be risky. Lots of people have rued the day they attacked Madigan. But if someone doesn’t take him on, the state may never get a budget, despite the rising human toll.
That makes Cullerton the man on the spot. Let’s see if he’s up for it.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has been visiting schools almost every day for weeks to drive home his message that the Illinois General Assembly must approve a funding bill by the end of this month for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Rauner wants to make sure schools open on time, and he often talks about how we need good schools to make sure Illinoisans can get quality, high-paying jobs.
But much of the best job training is being done by community colleges, and the Republican governor vetoed their budget last year. He also vetoed the budget for four-year universities, which companies large and small rely on for white-collar workers. And he vetoed money for scholarships for kids from impoverished families who are trying to make a generational step-up.
What gives?
“The one important difference between K-12 schools and our university system—and, frankly, our community colleges—is the universities have other funding sources that are very, very significant that our K-12 schools do not have,” Rauner explained to reporters recently.
OK, that’s just silly. Yes, universities and community colleges charge tuition. But all public K-12 schools rely heavily on local property taxes, and they get bucks from the federal government. Also, anyone with a kid in school knows about all the special fees they have to pay every year.
We saw some examples last week of why school funding reform is so difficult to accomplish in Illinois.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin appeared with Gov. Bruce Rauner at Lyons Township High School, which is in Durkin’s district. Durkin pointed out to reporters that the school would lose $1.9 million in state funding under Sen. Andy Manar’s controversial school funding reform bill.
Leader Durkin also claimed that every school district in his House district would lose funding with Manar’s proposal. Chicago, he noted, would gain hundreds of millions of dollars. Durkin declared that he and his members could not and would not support a plan that shoveled bigtime bucks at Chicago while cutting their own districts.
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But that’s really the whole point of Manar’s plan. He wants to shift state funding away from wealthier suburban districts like those Durkin represents (14.2 percent of Lyons Township High School students are from low-income households) to districts that have high numbers of impoverished students (86 percent of Chicago Public Schools students are from low-income households). Sen. Manar wants a “hold harmless” provision to make sure no district loses money right away, but that’ll cost quite a bit of cash, which the state doesn’t currently have.
Leader Durkin represents half of Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno’s district, so convincing both of those chamber leaders to sign off on a plan that takes state money away from their own schools is just as difficult as convincing the two Chicago Democrats who head up the House and Senate to agree to Gov. Rauner’s K-12 funding proposal that reduces Chicago’s annual appropriation by $74 million because of the state’s antiquated and complicated funding formula.
Like I said, this ain’t easy.
The governor has also dumped all over Sen. Manar’s plan. He and his his surrogates have slammed the proposal as a Chicago “bailout” and have vowed campaign reprisals.
It’s not exactly the same, of course, but, in a way, Sen. Manar is to Senate President John Cullerton what former state Sen. Barack Obama was to Senate President Emil Jones, who helped mentor Obama’s rise to power.
Manar is Cullerton’s former chief of staff and Cullerton is helping him any way he can. He’s essentially Cullerton’s golden boy.
There is no doubt that Sen. Manar has worked this piece of legislation harder than any individual has worked a bill in recent memory. He has traveled from one end of the state to the other, meeting with school superintendents and other education leaders in an attempt to cobble together a workable plan. He was on Chicago’s South Side just the other day, which produced smirks from some Republicans who believe he’s attempting to use this issue to advance his political career.
But the reality is Manar has Cullerton’s full support, and Cullerton has been far more cooperative about coming up with a deal to end the months-long governmental stalemate than has House Speaker Michael Madigan. So, maybe the governor and his peeps should lay off the rhetoric a bit because things are tough enough.
Cullerton allowed Manar to hold a vote on his funding plan last week, even though Manar and other Democrats went out of their way to declare that the bill needs a lot more work.
Republicans claimed that forcing the vote could very well make it more difficult to reach an agreement on education spending. Many freely admit that the current system is horribly flawed. But the school funding formula is so crazily complicated that any successful revamp will take serious bipartisan effort. And, indeed, talks have been held to devise a more easily constructed “bridge” between today’s system and a future more in line with Manar’s vision.
But the Republicans say by running Manar’s bill instead of negotiating, the Senate Democrats may have very well hardened positions on their side of the aisle. Only one Republican voted for it, after all.
So the momentum has shifted to the other chamber, where a special committee led by House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie is attempting to construct an alternative. But there are those who believe Madigan isn’t serious about getting something done.
But someone had better come up with something soon because Manar said last week there was no way he will vote for the governor’s K-12 appropriations bill because it slashes funding for schools in his district, as did other Senate Democrats. And even some Downstate Republicans who voted against Manar’s bill would prefer a different formula to prevent their own schools from losing state money under the current formula.
