* This photo I took sums up how I will remember my good friend Grant, who passed away this week. He’s the guy in the funny straw hat and the (of course) US Grant t-shirt. Always the joker…
A happy, kind man surrounded by close friends he loved and who loved him, cracking endless corny jokes and kicking back to enjoy a day on the water.
* Grant had a dog years ago he named Stella. He said he did it so he could stand on his back porch and yell “Stel-la!!!” like Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire.
He was an odd bird, that one. Completely irreplaceable. It feels like I’ve lost a physical part of me, and I know I’m not the only one.
It all rolls into one
And nothing comes for free
There’s nothing you can hold
For very long
And when you hear that song
Come crying like the wind
It seems like all this life
Was just a dream
To: Agency Ethics Officers
From: Georgia Man, Chief Compliance Officer and Associate General Counsel
Re: Enforcement of State Officials and Employees Ethics Act Political Activity Ban Date: May 6, 2016
The State Officials and Employee Ethics Act (5 ILCS 430) (the “Ethics Act”) makes clear that State employees shall not perform prohibited political activity on State time, using State resources, or on State property (5 ILCS 430/5-15). The Ethics Act states that “a person is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor if that person intentionally violates any provision of Section 5-15….” Furthermore, the Ethics Act states that a State employee who intentionally violates Section 5-15 is subject to “discipline or discharge by the appropriate ultimate jurisdictional authority.”
Recently, we have received questions and complaints about political flyers and pamphlets being displayed in the workplace. These flyers and pamphlets trigger our obligations under the Ethics Act and Executive Order 2016-04 to promptly notify the Office of the Executive Inspector General (the “OEIG”) of alleged misconduct, including potential violations of the Ethics Act’s ban on prohibited political activity.
Such behavior is not unexpected as we near the close of the legislative session in an election year. Nevertheless, we must ensure that we continue to comply with the obligations of the Ethics Act, and that public employees continue to channel their enthusiasm for the political process into lawful methods of discourse.
Accordingly, ethics officers must take appropriate steps to ensure that prohibited political activity is not occurring on State-compensated time, using State resources, or on State property. Ethics officers are directed to take the following actions with respect to political flyers and pamphlets in the workplace:
1. Remind employees of their obligations under the Ethics Act with respect to prohibited political activity, and the potential penalties involved for violation of Section 5-15 of the Ethics Act;
2. Promptly report any information concerning potential violations of the Ethics Act to the OEIG; and
3. Remove any flyers or posters that contain political messaging.
If any State employee raises concerns to you about political flyers or pamphlets in the workplace, steps 2 and 3 above should be followed. The State of Illinois does not tolerate retaliation against State employees who raise genuine concerns about unethical, inappropriate, or illegal behavior, including State employees who report unlawful political activity in the workplace to their Ethics Officer and/or the OEIG.
The State appreciates and welcomes the free speech rights of employees and the public. However, the State must ensure that whenever members of the public visit State facilities, there is no appearance of impropriety or partiality on the part of those delivering State services. Moreover, the law permits the State to implement procedures to avoid such appearance.
Um, wow. Seems a bit harsh.
* So, this flier began appearing…
Heh.
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Policy Institute is having its own rally…
Taxpayers have remained silent for far too long.
Join us on May 17 for a Taxpayer Advocacy Day, and make your voice heard in the Statehouse.
DATE AND TIME
Tuesday, May 17
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
LOCATION
Illinois Statehouse
Howlett Building
501 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, IL 62756
Register online at Eventbrite.
Invite your friends on Facebook.
Our team will provide $40 gift cards to cover travel costs.
$40 gift cards? Interesting. I guess that’s easier than arranging bus transportation.
Friday, May 13, 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.
* Like many of us, I own some of the late Bob Waldmire’s fantastically complicated map posters. Here’s a tiny part of one Bob did of Springfield many moons ago…
All in!! $2,000,000.00 from Illinois Republican Party to House Republican Organization. https://t.co/PuARKRLiGh
— Trib IL CampaignCash (@ILCampaignCash) May 13, 2016
* Meanwhile, the state GOP is sending out a bunch of identical press releases attacking numerous Democratic legislators over redistricting. Here’s just one…
Will Sen. Tom Cullerton Side with the People or with Mike Madigan?
“Tom Cullerton owes it to the voters to make clear where he stands on Mike Madigan’s lawsuit to stop redistricting reform. Democrats already played political games this session to kill redistricting reform in the legislature. Now, they are trying to block voters from having the chance to vote on it in November.
If Tom Cullerton was truly committed to fair maps and stopping the Speaker’s disrespect to the voters of Illinois, he should refuse any support from the Illinois Democratic Party or Mike Madigan until the lawsuit is dropped.” – Illinois GOP Spokesman Steven Yaffe
Illinois Democratic Party General Counsel Mike Kasper filed a lawsuit Wednesday trying to kick a non-partisan redistricting reform Constitutional Amendment off the Illinois ballot this November.
From The Chicago Tribune:
The people of Illinois want to change the state constitution so that lawmakers don’t draw their own districts. House Speaker Mike Madigan is determined not to let that change happen.
Once again, a citizens’ group has collected hundreds of thousands of signatures to put a proposed redistricting amendment to a vote in November. And once again, Madigan’s proxy has gone to court to try to block the measure.
Independent Maps, a nonpartisan coalition, raised $3.6 million and circulated thousands of petitions because lawmakers, who could put an amendment on the ballot without spending all that time or money, refuse to do so — for obvious reasons.
Those lawmakers cannot possibly harbor any doubts that their constituents want this change. Poll after poll after poll has shown an overwhelming majority of voters support having an independent commission draw the maps. The Independent Maps campaign is the third such attempt since 2010.
The group submitted its petitions last week, assembled in a single binder as required by law. It was 35 feet thick and contained twice the required number of signatures, the better to survive the inevitable challenge before the Illinois State Board of Elections.
That’s separate from the attack launched Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court. Michael Kasper, general counsel for the Illinois Democratic Party — chaired by Madigan — filed a lawsuit claiming the proposal runs afoul of the rules under which citizens can amend the constitution.
Friday, May 13, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Credit Unions are member based, not-for-profit financial organizations that believe in the philosophy of “People Helping People”. For more information on the credit union difference, go to ASmarterChoice.org.
Chicago Public Schools has been bracing principals for school budget cuts of at least 20 percent for the upcoming fiscal year, the district acknowledged Thursday.
That devastating math is based on an estimated $1 billion deficit to CPS’ operating budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.
CPS has offered scheduling training so principals can allocate staff in smarter ways — and maybe share positions, too, said Nate Pietrini, principal of Hawthorne Elementary Scholastic Academy.
But “the reality is scheduling or sharing of resources isn’t going to close a $1.1 billion budget hole,” he said, adding that only the state can do that.
The Illinois State Board of Education, following an investigation of the district’s finances, said CPS is planning to cut $120 million in its coming budget year. ISBE officials said that with those cuts, CPS can stave off a “negative operational budget” until its 2019 fiscal year.
Without the cuts, ISBE said, CPS would have no cash balance to pay its bills as early as its 2018 fiscal year.
Even after borrowing money through a strategy that resembles a payday loan, the district projects it would end its current budget year with about $24 million in cash. That amounts to less than two days’ worth of operating expenses.
There will be a Governor’s Prayer Breakfast this spring after all, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office said Thursday. The event is now planned to take place at the Executive Mansion on May 26.
A spokesman for the volunteer organization that puts on the breakfast told The State Journal-Register Monday that the event was being postponed this year and was unlikely to take place – breaking an annual tradition that began in 1963.
The governor’s office told the newspaper Thursday that Rauner was disappointed that the event wasn’t going to happen, so the office reached out to several local and statewide organizations to see if they would be willing to continue the tradition.
Glenn Hodas, a member of the all-volunteer organization that had been planning the breakfast, had said Monday that the state’s budget impasse made it difficult to find speakers, and that lawmakers were busy with session negotiations.
“I appreciate learning from you what the governor intends to do,” Hodas told a reporter Thursday evening, “and we’re planning on meeting to discuss it.”
Hodas, you will recall, was Sen. Sam McCann’s media advisor.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, thought he had the votes to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of legislation that would have empowered the state’s largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The bill would have limited Rauner’s authority to bargain during contract negotiations. So Rauner vetoed it. Every Illinois taxpayer should have applauded him for doing so.
But when the motion came before the House to override his veto, it crashed and burned. Madigan didn’t have enough votes. One of his caucus members, Rep. Ken Dunkin, D-Chicago, failed to show up. Dunkin was out of town when Madigan had to have every Democratic vote.
Dunkin’s absence and his outspokenness about Madigan’s iron fist cost him his political career. Madigan ran a candidate against Dunkin in the March primary and beat him.
The man got 32 percent of the vote. He won three precincts, and those were all partial precincts. He spent $1.3 million and others spent even more. The President himself came out against the guy after Dunkin attempted to turn a public presidential putdown into a ringing endorsement. Members of the Black Caucus, which he once led until they believed he became far too cozy with Rauner, were so disgusted with him they wouldn’t lift a finger to help his campaign. He was accused of attempting to choke a woman with a phone cord. He was also accused of paying people $50 cash per vote.
* Last month, I wrote a subscriber-only piece about the amazing progress women have made at the Statehouse since I started working there. Among the many replies I received was this…
I would say that the inappropriate conduct continues. I’ve had male representatives/senators say or do really inappropriate things to me or to my staff. Dunkin’s demise addresses some of that.
If the Commission fails to adopt and file with the Secretary of State a redistricting plan by June 30 of the year following a Federal decennial census, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the most senior Judge of the Supreme Court who is not affiliated with the same political party as the Chief Justice shall appoint jointly by July 31 a Special Commissioner for Redistricting.
Currently, if the redistricting process is deadlocked, Democrats and Republicans basically flip a coin to decide whose map is adopted. Under the new proposal by the Independent Maps coalition, if the process becomes deadlocked, the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and the justice of the opposing party with the most seniority appoint someone to draw the new boundaries.
And if the two justices don’t agree? Maybe they can play rock-paper-gavel.
Our Supreme Court is currently a very amicable body. But things can change, especially with all the money that’s floating around out there and the importance of that single appointment.
* The Supreme Court’s changed role is the subject of a Tribune editorial…
The proposed amendment falls outside the legislative realm, supposedly, because it would assign mapmaking tasks to entities outside the General Assembly. (The plan relies on the state’s auditor general to select a review panel to name the members of the redistricting commission, for example, and tweaks the Supreme Court’s role in breaking a deadlock.) […]
The language of the constitution has been twisted and tortured beyond reason by those gotcha arguments. The section that spells out how citizens can amend it might as well say that they can’t.
That’s the version Kasper is selling, at least. We hope the judge doesn’t buy it this time.
“There is gonna be a time, very soon, that I am gonna run again. My biggest obstacle in making the decision was my wife. And she’s warming up to the idea. She told me, she said, ‘There’s gotta be two things, I want two things: Number one is, you can’t finance your own campaign… she’s 100 percent right.. I did it and told her I would never do it again. But more importantly, you know what she says to me? She says ‘Scott, I don’t want you to run unless you have a plan on how to fix whatever it is you want to fix.’ Does that make sense? You have people who run just to run. You have people who run because they’re arrogant. And they have no plan.”
File this under: #ThingsCanAlwaysGetWorse
But if he’s not financing his own campaign, you gotta wonder who would kick in that kind of dough for him. So, maybe we’re safe after all.
* Toward the end of the interview, Cohen gave out his AOL e-mail address and said…
“There’s a bunch of intelligent people that watch this show, they’re smart people. I wanna ask if there’s anybody that has a plan or an idea. How to fix the budget. How to bring revenue in creatively. Um, how to fix the pension problem that we have. I’m not saying ‘Fire this person, fire that person.’ That’s all bull—t. I want somebody that has a real idea, a real plan. Contact me. And I’d love to hear what they have to say.”
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey has been indicted on federal corruption charges in connection with an ongoing investigation into his business dealings with a Florida doctor, authorities said Wednesday.
The indictment charges the Democrat, who has held his seat since 2006, with 14 counts, including bribery and conspiracy, over his ties to Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida optometrist and the politician’s longtime friend. […]
The indictment states that Menendez accepted nearly $1 million worth of “lavish gifts” and campaign contributions from Melgen in exchange for using the power of his Senate office to influence the outcome of ongoing contractual and Medicare billing disputes worth tens of millions of dollars to Melgen.
Melgen was also seeking Menendez’s support of the visa applications of several of Melgen’s girlfriends, according to the indictment.
Senator Mark Kirk, a Republican from Illinois, says the nuclear agreement with Iran “condemns the next generation to cleaning up a nuclear war in the Persian Gulf.” […]
“The president will make this a viciously partisan issue, leading most Democrats to standing with the Iranians and hopefully losing the next election on this point,” Kirk said. “He will ask the Democrats all to stand with Iran and make sure that we can’t get two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate.”
Asked if any Democrats disagreed with the president, Kirk pointed to New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez, who he believed “has just been indicted maybe on the crime of being against the Iran deal.”
Kirk said he believed the only reason the president supported legislation from Republican Sen. Bob Corker, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, that allowed Congress to review the deal was because he “wants…to get nukes to Iran.”
At least one Republican is coming to aid Menendez: Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois. He argues the president (who comes from the same state) is exacting revenge on Menendez because he was using his position on the Foreign Affairs Committee to undermine the administration’s nuclear talks with Iran.
“I worry that in Chicago they play a kind of politics just to destroy and bury our enemies,” Kirk accused. “And this is kind of Chicago politics with Bob.”
Kirk doesn’t have evidence, but he says if you think New Jersey politics are rough, just come to Chicago where the president was groomed.
“You know, the case of what Justice Department people come to the president and say, ‘Hey, we were thinking about nailing Menendez to the wall.’ I think the president probably says, ‘Yeah, go for it.’”
That’s a farfetched conspiracy, according to many observers — even allies of Menendez, including U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-New Jersey.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk hasn’t let up on his insistence that President Obama is using his power as president to lash out at a political enemy.
At a fundraising event last month in Chicago, the Illinois Republican can be heard on audio defending indicted New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat, while accusing Obama of targeting Menendez because of his stance on Iran.
“And let me say something about Bob Menendez. I believe that Bob Menendez was indicted solely on the crime of opposing the President on Iran,” Kirk is heard saying on a recording provided to POLITICO. […]
On Thursday, Kirk’s campaign shrugged off the audio, saying Kirk has stood by his statement and made similar remarks in the past.
So, he’s repeatedly defending a fellow US Senator who’s been indicted on 8 bribery counts and his opponent is the DC insider and is “everything that’s wrong with Washington”?
* I got a whole lot of press releases from GOP legislators yesterday, including this one…
The House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation that would send $700 million in designated funds to human service agencies that have been caught in the state’s budget battle. In response to the bipartisan support given to SB 2038, State Representative Peter Breen (R-Lombard) has issued the following statement:
“While Speaker Madigan continues his efforts to score political points through continued gridlock, today we saw a more of a new trend in Springfield: Democrat lawmakers coming back to the negotiating table with Republicans to fund vital Illinois programs. Just as we did a few weeks ago with emergency funding for higher education, today we approved $700 million in stopgap funding for our human service charities.”
* And this one…
Calling it a major victory for Republicans who have been fighting for responsible and balanced spending in Springfield, State Representative Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) applauded the House’ 111-0-3 vote on Thursday that will send $700 million in dedicated and available funds to human services agencies that have been caught in the crossfire of the budget battle.
“House Republicans have advocated for over a year now and have beseeched our Democrat colleagues to engage in responsible budgeting and spending,” said Sandack. “Throughout the year we have opposed spending money we didn’t have and making funding promises we couldn’t keep. Today, we matched spending with identified revenue to provide stopgap funding for struggling human service agencies.”
A stopgap appropriations bill to immediately fund social services agencies will likely sit idle on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk.
The measure, approved by both the Illinois House and Senate on Thursday would have authorized spending about $450 million from a human services fund, and another $250 million from special funds to be spent on items such as foreclosure prevention, and affordable housing.
The governor can sit on this thing for 60 days, and that appears to be the case for now here. So, all that glorious talk yesterday was for show. Expect a Speaker Madigan press release about GOP gamesmanship in 3… 2…
Despite Republican support for the plan in the House, the governor was lukewarm on the idea of signing another stopgap funding bill, saying Thursday that he preferred a comprehensive budget compromise to a quick fix. […]
The Rauner administration also laid groundwork for a future veto, sending a memo to lawmakers detailing a glitch in the bill’s language that could prohibit funding operational expenses for human services programs. For instance, the memo contends an HIV/AIDS program within the Department of Public Health couldn’t pay for administrative costs like lab testing or medical supplies under the plan.
Emily Miller, director of policy and advocacy with Voices for Illinois Children, dubbed the appropriations bill “emergency cash” — not a stopgap — while urging a full budget for social service agencies.
“Only a budget can actually provide some stability and let them have the lines of credit returned to them. This doesn’t really do that,” Miller said. “We’ve got to agree on new revenue and a total budget package.”
We absolutely need a real budget. No doubt about it.
But if it doesn’t happen, he needs to sign that bill.
There is widespread speculation that state Rep. Jack Franks will be the candidate that McHenry County Democrats caucus in Sunday to run against Republican Michael Walkup for McHenry County Board chairman.
Franks, D-Marengo, already is on the November ballot seeking re-election to the 63rd District House seat he currently holds. He simultaneously can run for both offices, although he likely wouldn’t serve in both if he were to win both.
Franks and party leaders aren’t talking publicly about the speculation, but if it’s true, what a monster race that would turn out to be.
November will be the first time voters popularly elect their County Board chairman. County Board members themselves have chosen their chairman every two years after the fall election. Not afraid to get involved in county politics, Franks has been an advocate for years for county government’s top official to be elected by voters. And voters in 2014 approved a referendum to popularly elect the chairman beginning this year.
* Since he doesn’t want to confirm anything, I asked Rep. Franks a hypothetical question this morning: Is it possible, hypothetically, to run for both the House and the county board chairmanship at the same time?
Caught on camera: Lawmakers play video games during budget debate
Investigation reveals diverted attention from some members
Instead of eyes on the budget, lawmakers had their eyes on their phones.
When people vote a lawmaker into office, they’d expect them to always be focused on their job. But during a budget session in April, some lawmakers played video games during a major debate over higher education funding.
State Representative Mike Smiddy (D-Port Byron) was found playing a game at his seat, and he didn’t apologize for his divided attention.
“I knew about the higher education bill. I had been in caucus, I knew what it was going to do for my schools both Western and Blackhawk,” Smiddy said.
He was asked if playing the game gave a bad impression to voters, or if it was a mistake to pull out the app during a debate funding hundreds of millions to colleges and universities. Smiddy had no answer.
Another lawmaker, State Representative Katherine Cloonen (D-Kankakee) was seen playing Candy Crush during the same debate. She put it away after she saw our cameras overhead.
She said in a statement she’s “been focused on working to end the budget impasse.” But she did not apologize or express any regret for playing games.
Hilarious.
* The Illinois Republican Party pounced…
#CandyCrushCloonen Doesn’t Have Time To Pass a Balanced Budget
Democrat State Rep. Kate Cloonen shamelessly plays videos games on the House floor
Just days ago, Democrat State Representative Kate Cloonen was caught shamelessly playing video games during session on the House floor.
Cloonen, unaware that voters in the 79th House District didn’t send her to Springfield to play video games, eventually stopped when she became mindful that she was on the House floor and there were onlookers in the gallery.
When asked on the matter, Cloonen said “she’s been focused on working to end the budget impasse.” When Cloonen was further pressed on the issue, Matt Porter, Capital Bureau Chief at WCIA-TV, says, “[Cloonen] did not apologize or express any regret for playing games.”
“If playing Candy Crush during session is being ‘focused,’ God help us from whatever havoc Kate Cloonen will wreak on Illinois whenever she decides to put down her iPad,” said Aaron DeGroot, spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party. “Illinois has gone nearly a full calendar-year without a budget. Our unpaid bill backlog is exploding, as is our unfunded pension liabilities. House Democrats like Kate Cloonen would rather play Mike Madigan’s ‘Game of Drones’ than pass a balanced budget. Legislators must act before it’s game over for Illinois.”
I understand why the party jumped down her throat, but this is probably not a road that anybody wants to go down. Just sayin…
“Like other House Democrats, Mike Smiddy would rather play Mike Madigan’s ‘Game of Drones’ than pass a balanced budget,” said Aaron DeGroot, spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party. “Smiddy seems to be blissfully unaware that Illinois has gone nearly a full calendar-year without a budget, has an exploding unpaid bill backlog and unfunded pension liability, among other financial woes. Legislators like Smiddy must act before it’s game over for Illinois.”
A hike in the state income tax, an expansion of the sales tax and $2.5 billion in cuts are among the key budget recommendations that rank-and-file lawmakers have sent to top legislative leaders, sources told the Sun-Times.
A bipartisan working group dubbed the “Budgeteer” group proposed the package for $5.4 billion in new revenue and sent it to the leaders on Wednesday.
Gov. Bruce Rauner said he is generally “cheering” the group’s work, but a top Republican leader cautioned that they are not “anywhere close to a deal.”
Illinois Budget Director Tim Nuding has been part of the talks, and has given Rauner some of the revenue numbers.
Under the proposal, the state would bring in roughly $5.4 billion through a combination of tax increases. That includes raising the personal income tax rate from 3.75 percent to as much as 4.85 percent, expanding the sales tax to certain services and eliminating some corporate tax breaks. […]
Meanwhile, spending would be cut by roughly $2.5 billion. That includes a reduction in health care spending for the poor, saving $750 million in pension costs by ending late-career salary spikes and requiring schools and universities to pick up employee pension costs above a $180,000 yearly salary, along with unspecified changes in how the state buys goods and services. In addition, the state would no longer be required to pay back $450 million it borrowed from special funds last year to plug a separate budget hole.
The state also would borrow $5 billion to pay down a backlog of bills expected to hit $10 billion by July 1. That debt has skyrocketed this year, in part because of the tax rollback, which created a $4 billion hole that only grew worse during the impasse. That’s because while there isn’t a full budget, more than 90 percent of government operations have been kept running through various laws and court orders, but big-ticket items like higher education, prisons and social services have only been partially funded or not funded at all.
The loan would be paid back over five years, with the goal that the state would carry a more manageable load of unpaid bills of about $3 billion a year.
It also includes $2.4 billion in cuts to state spending to areas like Medicaid, changing state purchasing laws and adopting pension reforms Rauner outlined in his budget proposal. […]
Sources said the plan would extract about $400 million in savings from Medicaid without a rate reduction or elimination of services. About $750 million would be saved by implementing pension changes Rauner sought in his budget speech. That includes schools and universities picking up pension costs for employees who make more than $180,000 a year. […]
Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, also tried to tamp down expectations.
“There’s no agreement with the group,” Crespo said. “It was basically an exercise to put together a balanced budget. There’s no agreement in the group. We just agreed to present this to the leaders and see how they react and what direction they give us afterward.”
The lawmakers also outlined $2.4 billion in savings, including a $400 million reduction in Medicaid spending, about $450 million from letting the state off the hook for repaying money borrowed from special funds to plug holes in last year’s budget, and $750 million from pension changes Rauner has proposed. […]
Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, who is a member of the bipartisan budget group but declined to go into detail about its work, said the conversations among lawmakers have been “sometimes heated but generally productive.”
Thursday, May 12, 2016 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
When your car breaks down or the air conditioner stops cooling your home, paying for a repair can cause a serious strain on the family’s finances, in addition to causing emotional stress. You need a trusted ally who will help guide you through your financial options when times get tough. The credit union difference is based upon a strong relationship between credit unions and their members. Credit union staff go out of their way to assist members in times of need. For credit unions, members are their top priority, not profits. Be it offering monetary assistance or advice, credit unions stand by their members during times of need.
Credit Unions are member based, not-for-profit financial organizations that believe in the philosophy of “People Helping People”. For more information on the credit union difference, go to ASmarterChoice.org.
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.
