* You gotta wonder why she didn’t try to make this go away years ago…
Two former employees at the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs claiming to be the victims of workplace retaliation while Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth was the department’s director will get their day in court, nearly a decade after first leveling charges.
The case, which names Duckworth – the candidate facing the Senate’s most vulnerable Republican, Mark Kirk, will be heard on Aug. 15, an Illinois court announced Wednesday.
The Kirk campaign, which has tried to make the trial an issue in the race, took a victory lap in a statement to reporters.
“After seven years of stalling and excuses, Rep. Duckworth is now finally scheduled to go to trial where she will have to face the whistleblowers she sought to silence and address the abuse and neglect veterans endured during her term as Director of Veterans’ Affairs,” said Kevin Artl, Kirk’s campaign manager. “Unfortunately for Illinois citizens, the legacy of Rod Blagojevich continues as yet another Chicago Democrat goes to trial.”
* Then again, maybe she really things this is politically motivated and wouldn’t settle…
Duckworth’s supporters call the case a politically motivated nuisance lawsuit. They note it was dismissed twice before the current lawsuit was refiled in Union County.
Kirk’s campaign has highlighted the case in TV ads accusing Duckworth of mistreating veterans and trying to silence whistleblowers.
Union County Judge Mark Boie says he’ll hear the case August 15 and 16.
The suit has made Duckworth the subject of frequent criticism from Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s campaign for re-election. Kirk aides have accused her of trying to “silence” whistleblowers and has noted her appointment to the state Veterans’ Affairs post was made by now-imprisoned and disgraced ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
“Unfortunately for Illinois citizens, the legacy of Rod Blagojevich continues as yet another Chicago Democrat goes to trial,” Kirk campaign manager Kevin Artl said in a statement.
Thursday, May 19, 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.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that the unemployment rate in April rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.6 percent and nonfarm payrolls increased by +5,400 jobs, based on preliminary data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and IDES. Illinois remains -43,000 jobs short of its peak employment level reached in September 2000.
“April saw modest job growth but more than half of this growth was experienced in temporary jobs or employment agencies,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “Additionally, though Illinois jobs saw a moderate increase over the last four months, the portion of full-time jobs in Illinois remains lower than it was before the recession began in 2007.”
“Illinois’ growth continues to lag the rest of the country, and is one of only three states that have not regained its peak employment,” Illinois Department of Commerce Director Sean McCarthy said. “If Illinois had kept pace with national growth, our state would have added another quarter million jobs for hardworking Illinois families. Instead, unemployment in Illinois rose for the sixth month in a row. We need structural reforms that get the Illinois economy growing in order to create jobs and catch up with the rest of the country.”
In April, the three industry sectors with the largest gains in employment were: Professional and Business Services (+7,600); Educational and Health Services (+2,600) and Government (+1,400). The two industry sectors with the largest declines in employment were: Other Services (-2,300); and Financial Activities (-2,200).
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +67,500jobs with the largest gains in Leisure and Hospitality (+20,800); Educational and Health Services (+20,800); and Professional and Business Services (+14,000). Industry sectors with over-the-year declines in April include: Manufacturing (-5,900); Information Services (-2,600) and Financial Activities (-2,200). The 1.1 percent over-the-year gain in Illinois is less than the 1.9 percent gain posted by the nation in April.
The state’s unemployment rate is higher than the national unemployment rate reported for April 2016, which held at 5.0 percent. The Illinois unemployment rate stood 0.7 percentage points above the unemployment rate a year ago when it was 5.9 percent. According to IDES analysts, the unemployment rate is increasing in Illinois because of lagging job growth and more workers entering the labor force who are not immediately able to find work.
The number of unemployed workers increased +2.3 percent from the prior month to 439,400, up +14.7 percent over the same month for the prior year. The labor force grew by +2.7 percent in April over the prior year. The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and are seeking employment. An individual who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits is still reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
It’s a good thing we added 5,400 jobs because we could be about to lose 5,000.
Last year they said Clinton and Quad Cities’ share of the bailout (about $70 million), would keep those plants running for at least five years. Now, instead of $70 million, those two plants need $250 million. Are you kidding me?
So let’s review. In just three weeks, Exelon is caught deceiving lawmakers - pleading poverty as they bragged to Wall Street. Then they’re caught again – zeroing out RPS funding even as they claimed to be fixing RPS funding. And now, their ask for just these two plants has more than quadrupled.
But wait, there’s more. This bill guarantees that ratepayers will pay Exelon – a company that made more than $2 billion last year - huge profits (estimated at $110 million by Crain’s).
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.
We now know more about one of the oddest but most meaningful events in the 2014 race for Illinois governor: allegations of sexual harassment that torpedoed the candidacy of then-Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford for governor against then-businessman Bruce Rauner.
Results of an outside investigation into whether Rutherford harassed male subordinates and coerced them to do political work have been made public after an agreement among lawyers in two lawsuits ended a protective order that had kept it secret. I have obtained a copy.
The report, by investigator Ron Braver, concludes there is “no evidence” that former top Rutherford aide Edmund Michalowski was retaliated against for failing to acquiesce to alleged sexual advances, “no supporting evidence” that he actually was sexually harassed and “no evidence” that he was forced to do political work.
In a statement, Rutherford’s attorney, Daniel Fahner, who was assigned the case by the attorney general’s office, said the Braver report “finds conclusively that Michalowski’s allegations were unfounded, and also suggests that the allegations were driven by political agendas and personal desperation.”
But the report, which was prepared for Neil Olson, then-general counsel for the treasurer’s office, contains allegations from unnamed office workers that Rutherford made “uncomfortable comments or suggestions” about a staffer, though no formal complaints ever were filed.
* Yesterday, Illinois Review reported that the state GOP was planning to dump the “one-man, one-woman marriage” plank from its platform. That piece apparently kicked up some dust because party leaders might now be edging away…
After hearing from GOP constituents on proposed changes, the 2016 Illinois Republican Party Platform and Resolutions Committee agreed on Wednesday night’s conference call to continue working on platform language that would be acceptable to more members.
This year’s hot button issue - removing the term “one-man, one-woman” from the platform’s section on families - opened the floodgates of discussion between the IL GOP’s differing sides on social issues. The division is between those Republicans that want a party platform that upholds traditional values and those that prefer the platform not focus on social values. […]
After leaks about the proposals being discussed emerged Wednesday on Illinois Review, committee members began hearing from the Republican rank and file - a sore spot with several of the committee members upset about their contact information being made public.
The Platform and Resolution committee members - who are each appointed by their state central committeeman - will present the proposed platform that a majority of the members support Friday morning at 10 am. Saturday, the state’s delegates will be asked to give a thumbs up or down to the finalized platform on the convention floor.
Two-thirds of Americans would have difficulty coming up with the money to cover a $1,000 emergency, according to an exclusive poll released Thursday, a signal that despite years of recovery from the Great Recession, Americans’ financial conditions remain precarious as ever.
These financial difficulties span all income levels, according to the poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Seventy-five percent of people in households making less than $50,000 a year would have difficulty coming up with $1,000 to cover an unexpected bill. But when income rose to between $50,000 and $100,000, the difficulty decreased only modestly to 67 percent. […]
Yet when faced with an unexpected $1,000 bill, a majority of Americans said they wouldn’t be especially likely to pay with money on hand, the AP-NORC survey found. A third said they would have to borrow from a bank or from friends and family, or put the bill on a credit card. Thirteen percent would skip paying other bills, and 11 percent said they would likely not pay the bill at all. […]
When AP-NORC asked if they will have enough savings to retire when they want to, 54 percent of working Americans say they are not very or not at all confident they will have enough. Only 14 percent say they are confident they can retire on time.
State Sen. Kwame Raoul plans to hold public hearings across Chicago this summer in an effort to bolster support for a bill to replace the Chicago Board of Education — appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel — with one that’s elected.
The Illinois House overwhelmingly passed a bill in March that would create an elected school board — replacing the seven the mayor chooses with 21 democratically elected members. But the bill has been stuck in the Illinois Senate since then.
But on Wednesday, Raoul became a co-sponsor of the bill and the Chicago Democrat announced he’d hold hearings to gather input from parents and other community members to ensure fair representations in the transition to elections, which would be held in 2018 if the bill becomes law.
“Chicago’s children deserve nothing less than full equality with the rest of the state – parity in funding and in democratic governance of their school district,” Raoul said in a statement. “It’s time to get this right, and I look forward to working with our parents and advocates to give CPS the government our schools so desperately need.”
The bill is stuck in the Senate because the Senate President is Mayor Emanuel’s top legislative ally.
* Groups pushing for the reform are seeing through it…
Parent and community protestors are not letting up on Sen. President John Cullerton, whose stalling tactics are blocking the elected school board bill from advancing in the Illinois Senate. Groups are in their second week of daily protests and will hit Cullerton’s Loop law office Thursday.
The senator’s staff last week told parents he prefers to meet with constituents downtown instead of at his district office in Lakeview. So, parents and community members are heading to the offices of Thompson Coburn, Cullerton’s law practice, Thursday to send a message to the senator: protests will not let up until he moves HB 0557, the elected school board bill, and supports it on the floor of the Senate.
WHAT: Rally and picket against Cullerton stalling tactics on elected school board
WHEN: Noon, Wednesday, May 19
WHERE: Offices of Thompson Coburn, 55 E. Monroe, Cullerton’s law office
WHY: Cullerton is blocking HB 0557, the elected school board bill, even though he promised constituents he would allow the bill to proceed in the senate. Parents and community members demand that he keep his word.
VISUALS: Parents marching, chanting, carrying signs and disrupting the noon lunch hour in the Loop. Speakers begin at noon.
The elected school board bill sailed out of the Illinois House earlier this year by a vote of 110 - 4, but is now stuck in the Senate because Cullerton refuses to even assign it to a committee. At a meeting with parents last month, he pledged to advance the measure but has not kept that promise.
In response to three days of protests at his Lakeview office last week, Cullerton’s spokesperson said the senator’s not calling the bill because he’s got other, more pressing education bills on his plate.
That didn’t sit well with parents and community members who hold the unelected CPS school board accountable for the chaos and financial catastrophe the district now faces.
On Wednesday, Sen. Kwame Raoul replaced Cullerton as chief sponsor of the bill, a sign that the community protests are working. But as Senate president, Cullerton controls how and when legislation advances and he still needs to assign the bill to committee for it to advance.
The elected school board bill passed out of the house on March 3. Even though the measure has widespread support among Chicagoans and Cullerton’s own constituents, he has blocked the bill in the Senate for the last two months.
A non-binding referendum last February passed by nearly 90 percent in the 35 wards where it appeared on the ballot, including Cullerton’s own 33rd ward. But the Senate President continues to side with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over his constituents and other Chicagoans who are demanding more democracy and accountability in Chicago Public Schools.
The Cullerton protests are being coordinated by the Grassroots Education Movement (GEM), a coalition of labor, parent and community groups working for an elected school board for Chicago.
* The governor should’ve signed the decrim bill last year. Instead, he made some minor changes with an amendatory veto. But even though his changes were acceptable to the pro-pot groups, the House Speaker rarely allows AV’s to come to the floor. So, it died and we had to wait a year for another bill to make it to Rauner’s desk…
House lawmakers sent Gov. Bruce Rauner legislation on Wednesday to decriminalize marijuana across Illinois, meaning people caught with small amounts of marijuana would be fined instead of receiving jail time.
The legislation incorporates changes the Republican governor suggested when he used his amendatory veto powers to rewrite similar legislation last year. Rauner said the old version would have let people carry too much marijuana and set fines too low.
The new edition drops the number of grams allowed from 15 to 10 and raises the range of fines from $55 to $125 to between $100 and $200. Municipalities could add to the fines and implement other penalties, such as a requirement for drug treatment. Citations would be automatically expunged twice a year, on Jan. 1 and July 1.
Under current Illinois law, possession of up to 10 grams is a class B misdemeanor that could result in up to six months in jail and fines of up to $1,500.
Moving to civil penalties for low-level marijuana possession should result in at least two positive outcomes:
Not burdening people with a debilitating criminal record: With good cause, employers and landlords conduct background checks before making hires and bringing on new tenants. But for someone who committed a nonviolent, low-level drug offense in the past, a criminal record becomes a red flag that prevents him from getting a job, applying for student loans and finding a place to live – in essence, keeping him from being a productive, independent citizen. For a person with a criminal record for minor possession charges, one small mistake can lead to a stunted future.
Saving the state money: Illinois spends over $38,000 a year per prisoner, far more than any of its neighboring states. Its prisons are operating at 150 percent capacity. Illinois Department of Corrections data show that in 2013, the state’s prisons housed 8,946 people for violations of the Controlled Substances Act and Cannabis Control Act out of a total 48,877 prisoners. Jailing people for low-level possession offenses is an expensive prospect. Illinois spent $127 million on police, $72 million in judicial and legal costs, and $22 million in corrections costs to enforce marijuana possession laws in 2010, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2012, the Chicago Tribune reported that then-Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said marijuana arrests take police up to four hours each. Spending this time and money on nonviolent offenses takes away the manpower needed to respond to violent crimes, and it also crowds out money for core government services.
Now, let’s get on to legalization. Illinois could use the tax money.
Last week, WCIA reported that Rep. Mike Smiddy was caught playing video games during budget debate on the House Floor. When pressed on the matter, WCIA’s Matt Porter said Smiddy told him he “didn’t need to listen and had no apologies for his actions.”
Illinois hasn’t had a budget in 11 months, but Smiddy apparently thinks that he doesn’t need to listen to, let alone participate in, budget negotiations. Today, the House Republican Organization launched digital ads highlighting Smiddy’s disdainful attitude towards taxpayers. The ads will be pushed on social media networks with a substantial advertising buy.
“Mike Smiddy’s condescending attitude towards the taxpayers funding his salary is not befitting of a state representative,” said GOP spokesman Steven Yaffe. “His attitude, though, is unsurprising. In Mike Madigan’s Illinois, House Democrats have no need to think for themselves – they simply collect their paychecks and take their orders.”
“Mike Smiddy is playing games with the future of Illinois,” Yaffe added. “It’s time to tell him game over.”
* One of the real fears by Democrats is that Gov. Rauner will immediately disassociate himself from a tax hike if they do ever make a deal. These remarks aren’t helping ease those fears, to say the least…
News 4 asked Rauner about the proposed soda tax idea as a way to generate revenue and help balance the budget.
“I don’t want to comment on any specific tax proposal. There are a lot of ideas, all about tax reform to taxing different things on different levels. I want to stay above that discussion for now, I want to say open minded. I’m not a tax, I’d rather cut taxes I don’t want to increase any taxes,” Rauner said.
I think the governor has done a mostly good job this month of avoiding his usual public attacks on the other party. That’s to be commended.
But he needs to start being straight with people. His own budget director (who ain’t a liberal, by any means) sent him a package that includes $5.4 billion in new revenues. You want to calm some nerves? Own it.
(I)f Illinois decision makers ultimately fail to enact a General Fund budget for FY2016 — which ends in just about two months — state spending on social services will end up anywhere from $400 million to $500 million less in FY2016 than last year.
Meanwhile, the harm caused by Illinois’ disinvestment in social services won’t end with denying vulnerable populations the support they need to lead better, healthier lives. The state’s economy will suffer too. Here’s why. Consumer spending represents 67 to 70 percent of all economic activity. The best consumers are low- and middle-income families, who generally spend most or all of their earnings.
But when state government cuts spending, what’s really getting cut is either the jobs or the wages paid to the workers who actually provide services to the public. For the most part, those workers are middle-income. When they lose jobs or have their wages cut, they spend less in the consumer economy, generating private sector job loss. Based on multipliers developed by Mark Zandi of Moody’s, the bond rating agency, the $400 million to $500 million in estimated social service spending cuts for FY2016 will cause the loss of some 5,000-plus jobs statewide.
And while low-income families of all races suffer when Illinois’ poor fiscal policy forces spending cuts, African Americans are hurt disproportionately. Sure, most — 54 percent — poor people in Illinois are white, but that’s just because most of the state’s population, 77.5 percent, is white. However, as a group, only 11 percent of Illinois whites are poor. Meanwhile African Americans, who represent just 14.5 percent of the state’s total population, nonetheless account for 29 percent of its poor folks. Indeed, almost one-third of Illinois’ African Americans live in poverty.
Which is why it’s so incredible — as in, lacks credibility — when some politicians and talking heads claim that Illinois’ fiscal problems won’t be fixed until some “crisis” forces a resolution. Apparently, it isn’t a crisis when lousy fiscal policy just harms poor folks generally and African Americans specifically.
The House Black Caucus was instrumental in passing the higher education stopgap funding bill. It needs to stand up again and push Speaker Madigan to the negotiating table so we can get a real budget for this state.
Thursday, May 19, 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.
According to CMS there is $613 million in loans from the Vendor Assistance Program. Of that $613 million, Blue Cross has $316 million, Health Alliance has $219 million and Coventry Health has $9.9 million for a total of $544.9 million. These numbers are already included in the backlog in with the $3.3 billion that we have for Group Insurance at CMS so it would be double counting to add them to the backlog again. If you need any more info let me know.
Documents obtained by Illinois Public Radio show that since November, the state owes businesses in the Vendor Support Initiative program more than $600 million. That doesn’t include the 1 percent interest fee applied per month to bills over 90 days old under the Prompt Payment Act.
The program allows companies to buy invoices of others who have done business with the state, and are awaiting payment. The companies pay the bills, then make a profit by collecting both the overdue money and the interest on it when the state eventually pays up. […]
A spokesman for the state agency that administers the program says the comptroller won’t have the voucher information until the bill is presented for payment. It’s unclear what vendors are being paid through this program and which have not been approved.
The governor’s office said the state is not a party to those transactions, it’s strictly between the vendor and qualified purchaser. But it said it is aware of who is participating.
* From Emily Miller at Voices for Illinois Children…
Hi Rich,
Attached you’ll find two letters-one to the Governor and one to members of the General assembly-signed by well over 150 service providers and advocacy organizations for Illinois children, families and communities.
The letter to the Governor urges him to immediately sign SB2038, which is now on his desk, and to continue working toward a complete, fully funded budget for FY16 and FY17.
The letter to members of the General Assembly urges them not to construe SB2038 as a substitute for passing a fully-funded budget for FY16 and FY17. It is not. Only a complete, fully-funded budget for both FY16 and FY17 will be considered an acceptable solution to our current budget crisis by the organizations who signed this letter.
You’ll notice that all parties are cc’ed on both letters, and that is intentional. The Governor, legislative leaders and rank and file members of the general assembly need to understand that we hold them all accountable and expect them to reach a budget agreement for FY16 and FY17 before they leave Springfield.
The undersigned organizations are imploring you to end the FY16 budget impasse and to adopt a fully funded FY16 and FY17 budget before May 31. Ending one fiscal year and beginning another one without budgets will hasten the collapse of our education, public safety, and human service infrastructure. Without a budget with new revenue, thousands of people across Illinois will have no place to turn for help when they need it most, children and youth will go without opportunities to get ahead, and thousands of working parents will lose their jobs.
While we are heartened by the bipartisan cooperation that led to passage of SB2038, which would provide emergency funds for human services and public safety items, we oppose any effort to construe the passage of SB2038 as any type of budget solution. While measures like SB2038 may keep some of us open for today, the overwhelming and immediate threats to our organizations and the entire human services sector will remain until the budget impasse is ended. Layoffs and services cuts are inevitable despite SB2038 without the stability and certainty of final budgets for FY16 and FY17.
Indeed, after a year of receiving partial or no payments on state contracts, many organizations simply cannot continue to provide services in FY17 without a budget. Reserves are exhausted, lines of credit are running dry, and our boards are unwilling to let us deficit spend any longer. Decisions about leases, supply purchases, and staffing must be made. Providers throughout the state have learned the hard way that we cannot trust our leaders to end this impasse and ensure payment if we do not see a signed budget supported by adequate revenue. Even with the needed emergency cash that SB2038 may supply, many providers will still be owed for months and months of work. Services will continue to be terminated, coupled with layoffs. It is a virtual certainty that many non-profits will close their doors in the weeks and months to come if we do not find a budget solution now.
While we appreciate SB2038 and have urged the Governor to sign it, SB2038 is simply not enough and it will not prevent the human services infrastructure from continuing to be dismantled. We urge you to come together and pass a budget with adequate revenue that works for the people of Illinois before any more permanent damage is done.
Click here to see which groups signed the letter, including one run by a certain governor’s spouse.
We, the undersigned organizations, write to implore you to sign SB2038 as soon as it reaches your desk.
While the bill is nowhere near a final budget solution for FY16 for human services, further layoffs, services cuts and provider closures are inevitable without it. SB2038 is a lifeline that will provide temporary relief to cash-starved providers to help them continue to weather the impasse in the near future until a comprehensive budget solution for both FY16 and FY17 is found.
While measures like SB2038 will keep some of us open for today, the overwhelming and immediate threats to our organizations and the entire health and human services sector will remain until the budget impasse is ended. We need a FY17 budget and to be made whole for FY16 for the services we have provided without compensation.
We implore you to continue to work with lawmakers toward a long term responsible budget and revenue package to end Illinois’ budget crisis before May 31st, and to sign SB2038 to provide public health and human service providers the emergency cash they need today in order to save the these sectors from complete collapse.
It’s estimated a retirement tax could bring in up to $2 billion a year, real money in a state that’s broke and getting broker.
But seniors can chill because, as I said, it’s unlikely this year.
As an old dude who’d be whacked by the tax, I’m relieved.
As an old dude who worries about the mountain of debt we’re piling onto our children and grandchildren, I think it should at least be considered as part of an overall solution.
Lawmakers in 40 states bit the bullet, faced the wrath of seniors and imposed a tax on retirement income.
Most are still around to talk about it.
But this is Illinois, a dystopian government Wonderland where a refusal to even consider the obvious is business as usual.
The Mad Hatter would love it.
* But AARP is not taking any chances and has launched an ad campaign just in case somebody tries to move it forward. Click here to see the newspaper ad, which is running in these papers…
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Sun-Times
Rockford Register Star
Champaign News Gazette
Springfield Journal Register
Peoria Journal Star
Belleville News Democrat
Illinois is in a deep fiscal crisis – and special interests and some elected officials are proposing a tax on your retirement income in order to solve it.
That just isn’t right or fair.
Retired Illinoisans did not cause this mess. They certainly shouldn’t be sacrificed to clean it up.
Ninety-percent of older Illinoisans, including those still working strongly rejected a tax on retirement income according to an AARP survey.
A tax on retirement income would have a dire financial impact on retirees and their families.
That’s why AARP is fighting to protect the financial security of retired Illinoisans and to make sure taxpayers are represented at the table.
Take action, fight back and make your voice heard! Urge your legislators to oppose the taxation of retirement income.
* And here’s a Chamber press release in response to today’s protest…
“The Illinois Chamber of Commerce appreciated that union workers are concerned about the state budget. The Chamber is too. But we have said for years that grossly unbalanced state budgets would lead to a crisis. You cannot expect smooth sailing when Illinois has been spending billions of dollars more than it has coming in for more than a decade. This was the year that the check came due.”
“To solve this problem, we need pro-growth reforms to bolster the Illinois economy, which will be good for workers, companies, state government, and the organizations that state government funds. Otherwise, we will be in an increasingly precarious situation with each coming year. Time is running out. Let’s solve this problem now.”
* No matter how unthinkable it might be, I can see it happening and I’ve been hearing members and other Statehouse types saying the very same thing lately…
Dem leader Rep Lou Lang at union rally: "We might not have a budget during the term of Bruce Rauner." pic.twitter.com/LxZB4dhvbj
How Leader Lang and others expect our human service provider network to survive even a few more months without an actual budget is beyond me, but we could easily be headed for an unimaginable dystopia come June 1st.
Also, too, what if Rauner is reelected?
…Adding… From an administration official…
It’s clear that Speaker Madigan and his most loyal members are doing whatever they can to derail negotiations and prevent a state budget deal. It’ll be up to rank and file Democrats to either fall in line with Madigan or push for a deal.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Prevailing wage is the minimum wage and workmanship standard for those who build our schools, hospitals, bridges, and other public facilities. Strong prevailing wage laws improve the lives of veterans, who work in construction at much higher rates than non-veterans, and come home to put their battle-tested leadership and problem solving skills to work building our communities while providing a good life for their families. Unfortunately, in the last two years, at least eleven states (including Illinois) have considered repealing or weakening their prevailing wage laws, which would hurt our economy and drive thousands of veterans out of their jobs and into poverty. Our veterans fought for us over there. Let’s show them that we have their back here at home. Stand with veterans and sign our petition for the strong prevailing wage laws that help veterans and their families access good paying construction jobs in our communities.
Chicago ranks 65th out of 70 metro areas for employment equality for blacks and 62nd out of 70 for income equality, according to the 40th annual State of Black America report, published yesterday by the National Urban League.
Unemployment for blacks in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area stands at 18.6 percent, compared with 5.8 percent for whites. Unemployment for blacks in the metro area that ranks first, Providence-Warwick, R.I., is 9.9 percent, compared with 6.8 percent for whites.
Black households in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin area have a median income of $35,169, versus $74,759 for whites. By contrast, black households in the city that ranks first, Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., have a median income of $46,438, with $60,668 for whites. That means in that area, black households’ median income is 76.5 percent that of white households; in Chicago, it’s 47 percent.
“Chicago is in a crisis, a perfect storm of inequities,” says Shari Runner, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. The unemployment rates for blacks ages 20 to 24 is 47 percent, and for 16- to 19-year-olds it’s 88 percent.
There was a bit of good news for Latinos in the region. They had the 49 highest unemployment in the 2015 report at 10.6 percent, but that was down to 42nd highest at 8.6 percent in the 2016 report.
* This was introduced very late in the game and it’s probably going nowhere in the Senate, which is run by an Emanuel pal…
As Mayor Emanuel continues to look for ways to prevent the city’s largest worker pension fund from going broke before the decade’s out, the folks who run the fund have sent the city a legislative message: just pay up.
The Municipal Employees Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago got Illinois Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, to introduce legislation Tuesday that calls for the city to ramp up its contributions to the fund, which is nearly $10 billion in the hole.
Under the proposal, the city would be given 40 years to bring the fund up to 90 percent funding, under the threat of reduced state funding for failure to do so. It does not reduce benefits, as did an earlier Emanuel plan that the Illinois Supreme Court struck down in March. […]
But Emanuel has said he’s still looking for a way to soften the blow on taxpayers when it comes to city workers and laborers. And the administration issued a chilly statement Tuesday in response to the bill: “Introducing and passing legislation that requires scheduled pension contributions from the city without also identifying a dedicated revenue source is irresponsible.”
* Strong opposition by the retailers along with a couple of pledged supporters who didn’t show up for the vote killed this one off…
Legislation that would allow municipalities to share confidential taxpayer information with third-party vendors in order to correct errors from the Department of Revenue was defeated in the Illinois Senate by one vote Tuesday.
This marks the second time in a week the bill has fallen short of passage.
The legislation would give third-party vendors access to information so long as they entered into confidentiality agreements with municipalities. Vendors could then use the information to discover and collect tax revenue that may have been reported to the wrong community by the Department of Revenue.
“Financial advisers may have abilities and software to provide checks and balances with the Department of Revenue,” said Sen. Michael Hastings, D-Tinley Park, the bill’s sponsor. “Time and time again, the Department of Revenue makes multiple mistakes allocating money that municipalities aren’t entitled to.”
As of Tuesday, a bill was making its way through the Illinois statehouse that, if signed into law, would make it easier for ex-offenders to get an occupational license in barbering, cosmetology, roofing, and funeral home directing. The bill would bar the IDFPR from denying occupational license applications to people with a criminal record if their conviction wasn’t “directly related” to the profession. It would also require IDFPR to issue a written decision if it did reject an applicant on the basis of their criminal record, as well as mandate a yearly report from the department on those decisions.
The bill wouldn’t do anything for the the dozens of other professions, like insurance, that require a license in the state. Illinois Representative Marcus Evans is sponsoring the bill in the house.
“We have these four categories which will provide more opportunities, and I think hopefully we can build on that,” he said. “Going through the legislative process you can’t always get everything you want. But as long as we are moving in the right direction I am reasonably satisfied. And hopefully we can get more in the future.”
After Tony Graham was denied his insurance producer’s license, he was unemployed for a while. He almost lost his house. But he eventually found work: driving for the rideshare service Uber.
Eleven of the 18 members of the Illinois Republican Party platform committee reportedly are agreed that the one-man, one-woman marriage plank should be removed from the 2016 platform. […]
Wednesday night, the committee is expected via conference call to confirm the platform they will be recommending to party delegates this weekend IL GOP State Convention in Peoria. […]
Committee members that support removing the section say the IL GOP’s position preferring one-man/one-woman marriage over same sex marriage is viewed negatively by younger voters that are more libertarian on the issue.
Others argue that since the Supreme Court ruled on same sex marriage, states are not allowed to hold positions differing from the decision, thus the position is irrelevant. Still others insist the Republican Party boasts a “big tent” that should welcome anyone with any position on the sanctity of marriage.
A. We recognize that a strong family, based on the institution of marriage, sanctified by God and strengthened by the legal protections afforded to that institution by government, is the basic building block of society. Accordingly, we support public policies that promote the formation, endurance, and autonomy of the nuclear family and that empower parents to provide a safe and nurturing home environment for their children.
B. We recognize that religious freedom is the “first” freedom, as enshrined in the First Amendment. While we oppose discrimination in any form, we also oppose public policies that seek to compel or coerce individuals, businesses, religious institutions, or other organizations to violate their core religious beliefs, including, without limitation, by participating in ceremonies that run contrary to their core religious beliefs.
C. We believe that parents—not bureaucrats—are best-positioned to make decisions regarding the health and welfare of their minor children, and we support public policies that preserve and strengthen parental rights.
D. We believe that the disintegration of the nuclear family is a leading cause of generational poverty and that a connection exists in this and other respects between “social” and “fiscal” public policy issues.
E. We recognize that the states reserved to themselves—implicitly throughout the U.S. Constitution and explicitly in the Tenth Amendment—the power to legislate on matters related to marriage and family, and we oppose efforts by the federal government to encroach on that reserved power.
* I’ve seen a ton of stories about the long security screening lines at O’Hare and other airports, but few point to the fact that this is self-inflicted. From a March 30th AP story..
Launched nationwide in 2012, PreCheck gives previously vetted passengers special screening. Shoes, belts and light jackets stay on. Laptops and liquids stay in bags. And these fliers go through standard metal detectors rather than the explosive-detecting full-body scanners most pass through.
PreCheck lanes can screen 300 passengers an hour, twice that of standard lanes.
The TSA offered Congress a lofty goal of having 25 million fliers enrolled in the program. Based on that and other increased efficiencies, the TSA’s front-line screeners were cut from 47,147 three years ago to 42,525 currently. At the same time, the number of annual fliers passing through checkpoints has grown from 643 million to more than 700 million.
As of March 1, only 9.3 million people were PreCheck members. Applicants must pay $85 to $100 every five years. They must also trek to the airport for an interview before being accepted. Getting once-a-year fliers to spend the time or the money to join has been a challenge. While 250,000 to 300,000 people are joining every month, it will take more than four years at that pace to reach the target.
* The last sentence in this excerpt pretty much sums up the philosophy of the Illinois Policy Institute…
As part of Taxpayer Advocacy Day, Swanson was one of about 50 Illinoisans who gathered Tuesday at the Capitol to lobby for sustaining Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill to send union negotiations to binding arbitration. If an unelected arbitrator were to rule in the union’s favor, it could cost the state billions, Rauner has argued
Over 200 people signed up for the taxpayer rally put on by Illinois Policy Action, an arm of the Illinois Policy Institute that conducts independent research and calls for limited taxation.
“We’re here to show there are people here who want to fix Illinois,” Swanson said.
While rally participants sought to encourage lawmakers to vote against an override of House Bill 580, Hugh McHarry of Havana said they were there to support government solutions that lower taxes and stop residents from fleeing the state.
“We are tired of talking about this in our homes,” McHarry said. “Illinois representatives should represent the taxpayers and not the tax receivers.”
What we really need is a better balance. As I’ve said many, many times before, we need to do things for employers like make workers’ comp insurance more affordable. We need to help local governments deal with their cost burdens as well. But it has to be a balanced approach. Until recently, the governor hasn’t been interested in that. I think he’s changing, at least in the context of making a budget deal before everything crashes and burns.
* And here’s something that the folks who don’t want a deal always miss: Once Rauner agrees to a tax hike, he will have a far tougher time holding everybody hostage. Yes, he can veto future budgets in order to try and obtain even more reforms. But if there’s ample revenue coming in, we won’t be racking up these huge deficits.
So, I think the working group on the “non-budget” items should make its product public, even though it’s not yet completed. Right now, opponents of a deal (including Speaker Madigan) keep talking about how they’ll fight to the death the governor’s proposed reforms from last year. But those proposals have changed, in many cases considerably.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The following is an excerpted letter to the editor from this week’s Crain’s, co-authored by James Hansen, President of Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions and Michael Shellenberger, Founder and President of Environmental Progress.
“…New legislation would invest in renewables and efficiency, and only support Exelon’s two economically distressed plants, Quad Cities and Clinton, not all of its nuclear fleet.
…We would prefer to see a 100 percent zero emission standard by 2030, one that treats all sources of zero-carbon electricity—from solar and wind to nuclear and coal with carbon capture and sequestration—equally. But that is not going to happen this legislative session, so we encourage the Illinois Legislature, Gov. Bruce Rauner, environmental groups, labor unions and others to put pressure on all sides to get a deal and pass a version of SB 1585 into law.
…Time is running out. If Illinois legislators fail to act quickly to pass legislation, the state will lose 23 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources and carbon emissions will skyrocket the equivalent of nearly 2 million cars over the next two years due to the loss of two nuclear plants, Clinton and Quad Cities.
We encourage all sides to agree to reasonable compromise so Illinois can be a leader on climate and green jobs.”
* This local is only about 50 members, but a four-year wage freeze and other stuff in this deal is on the table in the AFSCME negotiations. It’s also notable because today is the big labor rally…
Governor Bruce Rauner issued a statement [yesterday] following the Illinois Federation of Teachers ratification of four-year collective bargaining agreement:
“We are proud to announce that the Illinois Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO Local #919, representing educators at the Illinois School for the Deaf, ratified a four-year collective bargaining agreement with our Administration. This group of educators is dedicated to the School and the Administration’s shared mission “to educate students who are deaf or hard of hearing to be responsible, self-supporting citizens.”
“Through negotiations, our Administration created a lasting partnership with the Illinois Federation of Teachers that will benefit the parents and students we serve. The end result is a labor contract that is consistent with the contracts previously ratified by 17 other bargaining units representing over 5,000 state employees and is a testament to what can be accomplished when both sides are willing to compromise and negotiate in good faith.
“We are excited about the new day in our relationship with the Illinois Federation of Teachers.“
BACKGROUND
The agreement includes the following terms:
· A structure for new labor-management committee to facilitate biannual—if not more frequent—discussions between the Union and senior members of our administration to advance the School’s mission;
· Joining the health insurance program agreed to by other unions and offered to the state’s nonunion employees that will offer employees a variety of new options, allowing them to either maintain their current premiums, maintain their current coverage, or mix and match in the way that is most beneficial to them;
· A new incentive program to reward employees with performance bonuses for cost-saving measures and meeting or exceeding performance standards;
· A four-year temporary salary freeze;
· A commitment to improve summer employment opportunities for educators;
· A commitment to timely fill educator vacancies with well-qualified candidates, allowing sufficient time to recruit highly sought-out candidates with a degree from an accredited Deaf Education program; and
· A program to enable the State of Illinois to address minority underutilization in state government.
The Rauner Administration has reached collective bargaining agreements with the following unions:
· Teamsters (Downstate)
· Teamsters / Professional & Technical Employees Local Union No. 916
· Teamsters (Fox Valley)
· Teamsters, Local 700 (Cook County)
· Teamsters, Local 700 (Master Sergeants at Illinois State Police)
· International Brotherhood of Boiler Makers - Iron Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers, and Helpers
· Illinois State Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
· United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
· International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
· SEIU, Local 1, Fireman and Oilers Division
· International Union of United Food and Commercial Workers
· Laborer’s International Union of North America (LIUNA) (Prevailing Rate)
· International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers
· International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 399
· International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
· United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry
· International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, & Transportation Workers
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Despite increased costs resulting from the regulatory environment, credit unions are the only financial institutions which overwhelmingly offer free checking accounts. A study by Moebs Services confirmed that nearly 74% of credit unions offer free checking to their members, while only 46% of banks offer the same. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, new regulatory requirements have significantly increased compliance costs for all financial institutions. For many, the increased operating costs have been passed on to customers in the form of fees associated with financial transactions. However, credit unions continue to offer financial services at the lowest possible cost – sometimes even free – to their members.
Experience the credit union difference. Visit ASmarterChoice.org to locate a credit union near you!
After they had passed the tuition grant bill, [House Democrats] called votes on legislation to freeze property taxes, an item on Rauner’s legislative wish list. The bill doesn’t include the language Rauner has requested that would allow local governments to save on costs by setting limits on collective bargaining. That language is included in a separate amendment, and Democrats have spent the past year voting to approve the property tax freeze while rejecting the collective bargaining provisions. It’s a trick designed to allow Democrats to go on record supporting the property tax freeze, which is popular with voters, while forcing Republicans to cast protest votes against it.
House lawmakers spent much of the rest of the day debating whether it was the 17th or 18th time Democrats had called the legislation for a vote.
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont said she remains “pretty skeptical.”
“We’ve had a lot of working groups, and (Madigan) disavows any knowledge or interest of them every time,” Radogno said. “I think ultimately the working group needs to be the speaker himself and the leaders because he manipulates the process and then nothing happens. That’s what I’m worried about.”
Video of Radogno’s remarks, along with House GOP Leader Jim Durkin’s comments, is here.
The meeting was the first of its kind since rank-and-file lawmakers last week presented leaders and the governor with a framework for a balanced budget for next year. That outline included roughly $2.4 billion in spending cuts and $5.4 billion in new revenue, which would be generated in part by raising the state’s personal income tax rate from 3.75 percent to 4.85 percent.
After the meeting, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said Rauner reiterated his willingness to raise new revenue to balance the budget.
“That’s, I think, very helpful,” Cullerton said, “because if you don’t have revenue, you could never possibly come to a balanced budget.”
Cullerton said the governor declined to go into specifics about what revenue proposals he would support. The package lawmakers presented also included expanding the state sales tax to some services, an idea Rauner campaigned on.
While Cullerton labeled the meeting productive, Madigan issued a statement shortly afterward, saying Rauner continues to insist upon passing his “personal agenda” before discussions on a state budget could happen. […]
Shortly after the meeting, Madigan gathered enough votes to pass a bill to fully fund MAP grants — funded from the state’s general revenue fund. Rauner has said he’ll only approve spending bills if they come from special funds or from cuts. Lawmakers tried to pass a bill to fund tuition grants in February, which Rauner vetoed.
In a statement about the MAP bill, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said the governor remains “committed to reaching a balanced budget alongside meaningful reforms in a bipartisan manner.”
Chicago Public Schools told some principals Tuesday to expect total school budget cuts of between 20 percent and 30 percent as the district plans for “the worst.”
The broke district, which has been begging Springfield all year for financial help, plans to chop its own per-pupil contribution by nearly 40 percent, according to proposed budgets given to 15 elementary and high schools. […]
The district says principals have to “plan for the worst — higher class sizes, loss of enrichment activities, and layoffs of teachers and support staff” while waiting for the General Assembly to take action on proposed pension help or revising the state’s funding formula, spokeswoman Emily Bittner said.
On average, schools will feel a budget cut of 26 percent once they receive their state and federal funding, she said. The base per-pupil rate will drop from $4,088 to $2,495 if the proposed budget becomes final. It includes an equivalent cut for charters, too, she said.
“Given the size and complexity of an average school budget cut of 26 percent, CPS has involved principals in the school budget process earlier than ever, and has begun working with example schools to understand how cuts will affect students,” the district said in a statement. “We are also exploring mitigation strategies to lessen classroom impacts. Even as we continue to seek equal funding in Springfield, we must continue to plan for the worst – higher class sizes, loss of enrichment activities, and layoffs of teachers and support staff.” […]
“When we are told by our principal that one out of every five teachers may lose their job, that breaks my heart because we have the most amazing teachers at that school,”said CPS parent Lynn Ankney. “Seeing the waste going on in the district– it’s maddening and it’s got to stop.”
This year’s per-pupil spending reductions were partly mitigated by $41 million in federal funds pulled from programs and reserve accounts the district never specified.
CPS has said in financial disclosure documents that each 5 percent cut to the district’s student-based school budget rates would save about $100 million.
The district projects it will end its current budget year with about $24 million in cash. That amounts to less than two days’ worth of operating expenses.
Union supporters plan to rally at the Illinois Capitol to protest Gov. Bruce Rauner’s calls to change collective bargaining policies.
A coalition of labor groups plans to march by the governor’s mansion Wednesday on their way to the state Capitol.
Rauner is in the midst of prolonged negotiations for a new labor contract with the largest union representing state workers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
The march comes days after he vetoed a measure that would let an arbitrator settle state-employee wages and working conditions if union negotiations stalled.
* Press release…
Thousands of working people from across Illinois will hold a march and rally in Springfield today, Wednesday, May 18, to call on Governor Bruce Rauner and his legislative allies to drop their harmful demands and make Illinois work for all.
WHAT: Men and women representing labor, community, and religious organizations from across Illinois will march and rally to bring attention to the negative consequences Governor Rauner and his anti-worker agenda are having on their families and communities. Speakers will highlight how Gov. Rauner has held funding for critical services hostage until his destructive policy demands are met – demands that would drive down the wages of working people, strip their rights to negotiate together, and make it harder for injured workers to get needed care and compensation.
WHEN: Today, Wednesday, May 18, 2016
The march will begin at 11 a.m.
The rally is scheduled to begin at noon
WHERE: The march will start at the corner of 5th and Washington streets in Springfield, Ill., and will proceed down 5th Street, past the Governor’s Mansion, up 4th Street, and to the Capitol via Capitol Ave. The rally will take place at the corner of 2nd Street and Capitol Ave.
WHO: Rally speakers will include:
· Workers whose livelihoods are under attack by Rauner’s malicious agenda
· Illinoisans who have been impacted by the Rauner-driven budget crisis, including people with disabilities, seniors, students and others
· Michael Carrigan, President of the Illinois AFL-CIO
· Jorge Ramirez, President of the Chicago Federation of Labor
· William McNary, Co-Director of Citizen Action/Illinois
· John Bouman, President of the Shriver Center on Poverty Law
· Pastor T. Ray McJunkins, Union Baptist Church of Springfield
WHY: Governor Bruce Rauner is hurting Illinois, holding the state hostage in order to pass his own divisive agenda that is harmful to working people. Rauner and his allies need to drop their extreme demands and join with working families to make Illinois work for all.
Additional Info: The event is organized by Illinois Working Together and has been endorsed by:
· Action Now
· Alliance for Community Services
· Arise Chicago
· Brighton Park Neighborhood Council
· Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
· Chicago Jobs Council
· Citizen Action/Illinois
· Faith Coalition for the Common Good
· Grassroots Collaborative
· ICIRR
· Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans
· Illinois Main Street Alliance
· NAACP Illinois State Conference
· ONE Northside
· Quad Cities Interfaith
· Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
· SOAR (Steelworker Retirees)
· The Rainbow PUSH Coalition
