Thursday, May 12, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
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House Democrats today rejected a common-sense proposal pushed by Republican legislators to add funding for critical state correctional facilities to SB2038, a stopgap funding bill aimed at helping social services providers.
“House Democrats today chose to put Mike Madigan’s political war ahead of public safety and what is good for their own districts,” said Illinois GOP spokesman Steven Yaffe. “They rejected a reasonable Republican amendment that would have provided critical emergency funding for state correctional institutions. It’s outrageous that House Democrats are willing to put prison workers and public safety at risk just to avoid crossing Mike Madigan.”
SB2038, the $700 million social service stopgap bill passed the House today, does not fund critical Department of Corrections facilities. Without any amendments, this bill lacks funding for facilities in the following districts.
The administration has been pushing this idea for weeks, but the HDems have so far resisted.
Sigh.
On the other hand, Rauner did veto their approp bill last year.
* If you haven’t read it yet, click here for House Speaker Michael Madigan’s comments to Jordan Abudayyeh about his plan to “continue to do budget-making without references to changes in collective bargaining, workers’ compensation and prevailing wage.”
* The Question: Should Madigan resist any and all attempts to reform collective bargaining, workers’ compensation and prevailing wage in relation to a new state budget? Or should he try and find a reasonable compromise? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Thursday, May 12, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Exelon was caught this week with their hand in the cookie jar.
Exelon, the only company ever kicked out of the American Wind Energy Association and the company single-handedly preventing a fix to Illinois’ broken RPS claims the near zeroing-out RPS funding in their multi-billion dollar bailout bill was a two-page “drafting error.”
* Permanent Nuclear Subsidy – Continues for the “useful life of the plant.”
* Subsidy in Advance – Exelon gets their subsidy a year in advance by projecting revenues and costs.
* Windfall Profits – if energy prices go up, Exelonkeeps the windfall profits.
* ComEd Gets Back in the Generation Biz – breaks 1997 deregulation agreement preventing ComEd from owning generation.
* Demand Charge Rate Hike – First in nation “demand charge” will raise rates for nearly ½ of ComEd customers.
* Energy Efficiency – ComEd to earn first-ever guaranteed profits on efficiency programs.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. JUST SAY NO TO THE EXELON BAILOUT.
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
Illinois Democrats are proposing $700 million to partially finance various human service programs that have gone without state funding since last summer because there’s no budget.
A House committee on Wednesday unanimously advanced the bill to the full chamber. The measure would use $450 million from a fund dedicated to human services and $250 million from other special funds. […]
The money would go to programs including homelessness prevention, rental assistance, addiction treatment, and veterans’ rehabilitation.
The proposal would fund 46 percent of what human service programs expected to receive had the state budget taken effect July 1.
Officials with Rauner’s office threw cold water on the social services plan, saying they feared the legislation is a signal that Democrats will pull out of behind-the-scenes negotiations aimed at striking a comprehensive deal, which has thus far remained elusive.
Further, if lawmakers continue to empty those funds, there will be less flexibility for Rauner down the road when the next budget emergency arises – such as the operation of prisons, where vendors are also waiting to be paid.
* That approp bill passed today. A senior administration official passed along this memo from the governor’s budget office which claims there are some bigtime problems with the bill…
Senate Bill 2038 has been put forward as a stop gap measure to fund some state programs currently not funded due to lack of appropriation authority.
The language contained in section 996 would prohibit some agencies from funding some of the very programs that this bill purports to fund. By prohibiting the use of funds for operational expenditures, some of the programs, which are operational in nature, would not be able to be funded. The prohibitive language is as follows:
“Section 996. No appropriation authority granted in this Act shall be used for personal services, state contribution for employee group insurance, contractual services, travel, commodities, equipment, permanent improvements, land, electronic data processing, operation of automotive equipment, or telecommunications services, as those terms are defined in Section 13 of the State Finance Act.”
We believe this provision clearly prohibits spending from operational line items which would be needed to implement some of the spending priorities outlined in this bill.
In fact, the appropriations language that authorizes funding for these programs references that the funding can be used for “administrative expenses” over 30 times in the bill, then prohibits the use of administrative expenses to carry out the programs in Section 996. Section 996 language is extraordinarily uncommon and seems to run counter to the purpose of the bill.
A few examples:
Dept on Aging
• Senior Help Line is a call center. Aging could not pay the related phone line charges and communication equipment used to support the call center.
Military Affairs
• Lincoln’s Challenge could not pay for food, educational/instructional materials and supplies to support the program.
Healthcare and Family Services
• Information Technology Infrastructure is an intergovernmental agreement with Michigan to develop new eligibility system. These expenditures would fall under contractual services and electronic data processing, which would be prohibited by Article 996.
Dept of Human Services
• Cornerstone is the main reporting and billing system for programs such as Early Intervention. A third party administers this system and DHS would not be able to pay the vendors to maintain the system or upgrade the computer software.
Dept of Public Health
• HIV/AIDS ADAP program could not purchase medical supplies, pay for lab testing or pay insurance premiums for clients.
Oy.
*** UPDATE *** Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), who chairs the Human Services Appropriations Committee, just called to say that the language was “intentional.” It wasn’t an error. Harris explained it was done this way to prevent the administration from transfering the money around for administrative costs.
But GOMB makes a good point that there could very well be some unintended consequences, so we’ll see what happens now that it’s in the Senate.
* Jordan Abudayyeh asked House Speaker Michael Madigan about his spring session goals…
“My goal for the remainder of the session is to continue to do budget-making without references to changes in collective bargaining, workers’ compensation and prevailing wage. And my further goal is not to agree with the governor to use the government to bring down the wages and the standard of living of middle class families, to send injured workers to the emergency room or to welfare, or to continue to hurt the vulnerable in our society. Those are my goals.”
An Illinois judge on Thursday tentatively set a trial date well before the November general election in a 7-year-old workplace retaliation lawsuit accusing Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Duckworth of ethics violations while she led the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.
Union County Judge David Boie rejected an effort by government lawyers to dismiss the lawsuit, allowing the case to go to trial in August and remain a campaign issue for Duckworth. The Illinois congresswoman is trying to oust Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk in November. Duckworth did not attend the hearing. […]
Duckworth’s supporters call it a twice-dismissed nuisance suit resuscitated to embarrass her politically amid a campaign with national implications, as Democrats seek a net gain of at least four seats in 2016 to take back the Senate majority Republicans won in 2014.
The case was initially scheduled to go to trial in April and remained largely idle as Duckworth’s accusers took more than three years to provide certain documents requested by the state.
This week [Kirk’s] campaign launched an online ad featuring a hearing on a lawsuit two Illinois VA employees filed against Duckworth, accusing her of retaliating against them when she led the agency- complaints that have twice been dismissed. Kirk also has repeated claims by two whistleblowers who say Duckworth ignored their reports of misconduct at a federal VA hospital west of Chicago.
They point to two employees at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital near Chicago who say they took their concerns to Duckworth and other Democrats but heard nothing, and to an Illinois Auditor General report of the state Department of Veterans’ Affairs that found inadequate financial controls and programs that were supposed to be implemented but weren’t during the time Duckworth was leading the office.
The two other employees, whose lawsuit is in court Thursday, say she tried to fire one employee and gave another a bad review that cost her raises after the women complained about facility leadership at an Illinois VA home, where they still work. Duckworth was appointed to lead the Illinois VA in 2006 by now-imprisoned ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Alarmed by chronic problems with lead-contaminated water in downstate Galesburg, federal officials are urging local officials to provide bottled water or filters to residents where testing at household taps found high levels of the toxic metal.
Though the small Knox County city stands out for repeatedly exceeding U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lead standards, a Tribune analysis of state data has identified nearly 200 other public water systems in Illinois — serving more than 800,000 people in all — where test results exceeded federal standards during at least one year since 2004.
In the Chicago region, about a dozen water systems exceeded the EPA standard at least twice during the same time period, including Berwyn and Forest View in Cook County, York Township in DuPage County, Barrington and Volo in Lake County, and Marengo and Richmond in McHenry County. […]
Drinking water typically is lead-free when it leaves a treatment plant but can be contaminated as it passes through or stagnates in lead service lines that connect homes to water mains, as well as lead plumbing inside homes. The hazards are widespread in Illinois, which has a large number of older homes and more lead service lines than any other state. [Emphasis added.]
We’re probably gonna need some national help with this.
Miller says she is disappointed with the finger pointing that has gone on for the last 10 months but in some ways, it’s fitting. “Both sides blame the other side, and maybe they’re right to do that because they’re both to blame,” she says. “One of the most devastating things about this crisis is that it was absolutely preventable, and everyone knew it was coming. And now that we’re here, nobody seems to want to take responsibility for it.”
Thursday, May 12, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Recently, a bill with strong bipartisan, labor, and community support called the Next Generation Energy Plan (NGEP) was introduced in Springfield that will drive Illinois’ clean energy future, while protecting and creating thousands of jobs and strengthening the state’s economy.
Specifically, the NGEP will:
• Introduce a Zero Emission Standard, keeping the state’s at-risk, nuclear facilities operating, saving 4,200 jobs, and preserving over $1.2 billion in economic activity annually.
• Enhance the reliability and security of the power grid
• Jumpstart solar energy in Illinois with rebates and more than $140 million per year in new funding for solar development.
• Nearly double energy efficiency programs, creating $4.1 billion in energy savings
• Provide $1 billion of funding for low-income assistance.
• Reduce the fixed customer charge for energy delivery by 50% and create equitable rates, giving customers more control over their bills.
• Strengthen and expand the Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Members of the Illinois General Assembly: Vote YES on the Next Generation Energy Plan by May 31 to avoid lost jobs, economic activity and increased carbon emissions in our state.
An alternative to the paper license pocket card is now available for the majority of licensed professionals regulated by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). An estimated 1.1 million active licensees within the Division of Professional Regulation (DPR) and the Division of Real Estate (DRE) may now choose to store an electronic license pocket card on their smartphone or tablet. This is of particular importance to more than 110,000 licensed professionals across seven regulated professions who are statutorily required to carry a pocket card and the many others who choose to carry with them proof of their professional licensure. The e-license pocket card is the latest announcement from IDFPR in their ongoing efforts to modernize the state’s regulatory agency.
“Smartphone technology permeates our existence in 2016,” said Bryan A. Schneider, IDFPR Secretary. “We use them in all facets of our lives, from keeping up with our friend’s social lives to managing our personal finances. By providing an electronic pocket card, we are able to offer the latest in innovation for our licensee’s digital wallet.”
“For the over 43,000 licensed real estate professionals who are required to carry their license at all times, the e-license pocket card is a welcome announcement,” said Kreg Allison, Director of Real Estate. “By offering this option, we provide our real estate professionals added flexibility and convenience.”
For licensees wishing to store an electronic license pocket card on their smartphone or tablet, please visit: www.idfpr.com/GetMyLicense. Electronic pocket cards may be saved as a PDF file or by taking a screenshot and storing as a photo.
* The remap reformers filed their petitions the other day to put their initiative on the ballot. Opponents have now filed a challenge. Click here to read the whole thing, but it appears to boil down to these arguments…
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** From Dennis FitzSimons, Chair of Independent Maps…
“Political insiders want to deny voters the chance to reform Illinois government. Independent polls show close to two-thirds of Illinois voters are ready to vote ‘yes’ on an independent, transparent and impartial process for drawing state legislative maps. Springfield insiders aren’t willing to risk those odds and would rather cynically preempt at the courthouse what they cannot win at the ballot box.
“Plain and simple, this lawsuit is a struggle for power. It is Illinois politicians struggling to retain the power to manipulate elections versus citizens demanding reform. We knew this lawsuit would be the response to our submission of 570,000 petition signatures from Illinois voters, and we are ready to aggressively defend the constitutionality and fairness of the Independent Map Amendment.”
Lots of Tribune-style huffing and puffing, but no legal argument.
* Mayor Emanuel is not happy with the GOP’s recent Chicago bashing…
“How about this? … Give us back all our money and then you go on your way. You don’t get to participate in O’Hare. You don’t get to participate in all the institutions of higher ed here. I don’t think that’s a deal the state wants to cut. So my point is, it’s not really an accurate question. We can’t cut and go our own way, nor are we expecting to go our own way. On the other hand, you can’t keep trying to manage the state without the city of Chicago.”
Emanuel’s comments came as the city versus suburbs and Downstate rhetoric is heating up in the waning days of the spring legislative session. State Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said in a radio interview that aired Sunday on WLS-AM that Emanuel needs to shutter a bunch more schools. “But they have 100 more that are really, you know, adult employment centers serving as schools. They need to do more in that regard,” Murphy told reporter Bill Cameron.
With Emanuel’s wife, Amy Rule, looking on from the crowd Wednesday at an event to promote a summer jobs program for at-risk youth, Emanuel was measured in his response to Murphy. “I’ll listen to everybody and have suggestions,” the mayor said. “But it’s probably noted, we did close schools that were failing educationally and were under-enrolled. And we did something that other people never did, and took a big step. I appreciate the counsel from Sen. Murphy.”
Emanuel then repeated his recent shot at Palatine, saying the school district in Murphy’s hometown was able to recently award teachers a 10-year contract with pay raises only because the state is picking up the teacher pension payments there, unlike in Chicago.
* Meanwhile, Democratic Senators who voted for Andy Manar’s school funding reform bill are defending themselves from Illinois Republican Party attacks for voting for a “Chicago public schools bailout”…
“Downstate taxpayers should not be forced to bail out Chicago, and downstate schoolchildren deserve more than to be used as political pawns,” the GOP release said.
“I don’t really give a damn about Chicago,” [Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton] said. “I voted my district. I voted for the schools in my district who do the best they’ve done in recent years by Senator Manar’s bill.” He said Manar’s bill isn’t perfect, but is a good first step.
“The governor’s plan puts $55 million into the school systems, and my districts still lose,” Haine said.
[Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton] said schools in his district gain almost $4 million under Manar’s plan but would lose 35 percent under the governor’s proposal.
“The main reason I voted for this bill was not for up north, but for my district,” Forby said.
Sen. Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, voted this week in favor of a new Illinois school funding formula that could cost his hometown’s elementary schools about half the $10 million they now receive in state aid.
You’d better believe that was a tough vote. A principled one, too.
But Harmon, whose Senate district stretches from the Chicago Public Schools-served neighborhoods of Austin and Galewood to the DuPage County enclaves of Addison and Bensenville, said Illinois must begin overhauling its flawed system of distributing education dollars.
I called Harmon on Wednesday because I knew his Senate district encompasses the varying impacts of changing the funding formula — with some communities coming up winners and others losers.
Despite the losers, Harmon believes the bill that advanced Tuesday through the Senate on a partisan 31-21 vote is a good start in the direction of fairness by directing more resources to students that need them the most.
A group of lawmakers from both parties and both legislative chambers who had been meeting as part of the so-called Budgeteer Group in Springfield is forwarding a budget package to leadership, Illinois Playbook has learned. As part of the package: proposed cuts and proposed tax increases. There are no items from Rauner’s turnaround agenda included in it.
“This is a really simple budget issue. Just pluses and minuses. That was the agreement from all the leaders,” said a legislative source who is part of the negotiations. “This is a package that somehow on paper is balanced. This is forwarded to the leaders and the governor and we’ll see how they react … Keep in mind, that at the end of the day, no matter what we put together, this particular group cannot get to 60 votes in the House and 30 votes in the Senate. That’s up to leaders and to the governor’s office.”
MONEY FOR SCHOOLS — What’s not included in the package? Funding for K-12 education. Education leaders in the House are discussing a new “hybrid” plan that would take portions of a Senate-backed funding formula overhaul and partner it with a so-called evidence-based plan backed by school superintendents. Sources tell Playbook that Manar’s proposal will have a tough time passing as is, with opposition coming from lawmakers whose school districts lose out under the Bunker Hill Democrat’s funding proposal change. The hybrid approach would mean no schools would lose money but Manar’s machinations would go into effect based on district need to boost those with the least funding, while keeping others at the same levels.
And there are no Turnaround Agenda items because this package is from the people working on the budget. Work continues on the governor’s agenda.
*** UPDATE *** I was curious about that school funding part, which I didn’t have today. But I’m now told that money for schools is actually in the budgeteers’ framework.
* The long-haired guy on the right with the purple shirt and the silly grin was Grant Ward, one of the best friends I ever had…
Grant ran off to join the circus when he was a young man. He followed the Grateful Dead’s “circus” for a while as well. I wrote about him years ago when the Springfield factory where he worked moved operations to Mexico.
He wasn’t famous, he wasn’t “accomplished” in the socially accepted way, but he was a truly kind-hearted soul who would always do anything for anyone. He didn’t make enemies. He made friends, and he kept those friends his whole life. Those friends will never forget him.
Grant loved to fish. We spent long hours on my pontoon boat trolling around the lake late at night, drinking beers and talking about music and politics and women and whatever else came to mind. He almost never caught a fish on those outings of ours, but neither of us much cared.
A couple of summers back, we took my camper to that flying carp festival on the Illinois River. We had a flat tire on the way there, blew out my electrical system at the makeshift campground, got thrown out of a bar and scolded by some off-duty cops, but, man, did we ever have a great time. He was just about the easiest person in the world to hang with.
He was also a dog lover and one of those people whom dogs loved as well. Oscar couldn’t get enough of the man.
Years ago, Grant and his brother Tedd shared a house in Springfield. I moved into the coal bin in the basement. I was somehow surviving on $50 a week writing for the Illinois Times in an attempt to break into the business. Living in Grant and Tedd’s basement helped me find a way to change my whole life around. Without them, I’m not sure I could’ve done it. I’ve loved them both like brothers for 25 years.
Grant died in an auto accident yesterday. My heart feels like it’s broken. This one’s for him…
Mama, Mama, many worlds I’ve come since I first left home
When Exelon last week unveiled its new plan to preserve two Illinois nuclear plants at danger of closure, the company touted concessions to its traditional environmentalist adversaries, including $140 million in spending annually on new solar power projects in the state.
But when green groups and renewable power companies read the actual language of Exelon’s bill a few days later, it turned out the measure only would generate about $7 million a year. That would effectively kill Illinois’ clean-energy law, which has a goal of gradually boosting the state’s reliance on wind, solar and other renewable electricity sources over time.
Exelon acknowledged what environmentalists said about the bill language. But the company said that wasn’t its intention. The company said a drafting error was to blame.
The error, Exelon said in a statement, “already has been fixed to ensure all of (the bill’s) intended benefits, which includes $140 million in new funding for solar, solar rebates for customers and increased energy efficiency, are fully included. The reality is that changes to legislative language are a normal part of the process to make corrections and incorporate negotiated changes into a pending bill and we have submitted an amendment to correct the error.” […]
“This doesn’t give us confidence that Exelon has reversed its historic opposition to the renewable portfolio standard,” said Sarah Wochos, co-legislative director at the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center. “In a carefully crafted bill, it’s hard to believe that this latest attempt to eviscerate renewable funding was a two-page ‘drafting error.’” […]
And, even if one accepts Exelon’s explanation, the company’s bill doesn’t allow for funding via the state’s clean-energy law for new wind farms, said Seth Kaplan, EDP senior government affairs manager.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s polling numbers are edging dangerously close to Mayor Rahm Emanuel territory. A new survey out today by Morning Consult shows Rauner’s approval dipped 8 percentage points to 34 percent since it conducted a similar survey last year.
The percentage of people who said they disapproved of the way that Rauner is doing his job went up by 9 points, giving him a disapproval rating of 54 percent. According to the Morning Consult rankings, Rauner is the sixth most unpopular governor in America. His numbers dropped during a period that saw an unprecedented Illinois’ budget stalemate persist, leaving social services in a lurch and a very public crisis in higher education that was only recently, partially resolved.
* However, a word of caution. This isn’t your usual poll. From an e-mail sent by the company…
More than 66,000 registered voters across America have evaluated the job performance of key elected officials on Morning Consult’s weekly online national polling from early January 2016 through May 5, 2016.
On each poll, Americans indicated whether they approved or disapproved of the job performance of President Barack Obama, their state Governor, both of their U.S. Senators, their Member of Congress and their mayor (if they lived in a city with more than about 10,000 residents). For each question, they could answer strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, strongly disapprove, or don’t know / no opinion.
Morning Consult obtained an up-to-date list of Governors, U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives from Sunlight Foundation’s Congress API v3 and Open States API and obtained a list of mayors from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Survey respondents were assigned to their appropriate Governor and both U.S. Senators based on their state of residence, assigned to their Member of Congress based on a combination of zip code, IP address, latitude and longitude, and assigned to their mayor based on their state and zip code.
Morning Consult obtained population parameters for registered voters from the November 2012 Current Population Survey (CPS) and applied post-stratification weights based on gender, age, educational attainment and race. Thus far, the median state includes a total of 883 respondents, the state with the most respondents is California (n = 5,968) and the state with the least respondents is Wyoming (n = 165).
Online polling conducted over five months. I dunno. Maybe.
According to an April 8 poll commissioned by The Illinois Observer for our e-newsletter, The Insider, delivered to subscribers on April 15 (subscribe here) of 703 likely 2016 voters in the district of State Senator Melinda Bush (D-Crystal Lake), a top 2016 GOP target, voters blame Bush over Governor Bruce Rauner – 45.7%-32.2% – for the continuing budget stalemate. 22.1% are undecided.
The survey has a +/- 3.75% margin of error.
Additionally, the poll finds that Bush’s job approval is upside down with just 29.5% approving and 41.3% disapproving. 28.2% are undecided.
That’s a dramatic reversal from a July 6 survey of 556 likely voters commissioned by The Insider that had found that Bush had a 22.3% job approval rate from voters and a 18.5% disapproval or a net positive of 4-points and a whopping 58% were undecided.
That survey, conducted by Chicago-based Ogden & Fry, had a +/- 4.24% margin of error.
As I told you the other day, incumbent legislators are shouldering the blame for this impasse and there are a whole lot more Democratic incumbents than Republicans.
