Madigan: “Clearly part of Rauner’s plan to underfund social services”
Monday, Aug 22, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller * Speaker Madigan was asked today if the impasse has had any impact on Chicago’s violence problem. Some have suggested that the lack of social services could exacerbate some of these problems, the reporter said. Madigan’s response…
Madigan was also asked about his own post-election budgetary plans, but he said he was too focused on campaigns right now to talk about it. Full audio is here, with many thanks to my good buddy Dave Dahl.
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- Norseman - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:10 pm:
Rauner’s destruction of social service agencies is “a feature” not a side-effect.
- Big Muddy - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:12 pm:
Please. Madigan hasn’t PASSED a balanced budget out of his chamber for years. Years and years of financial lies to the residents of Illinois by the Speaker. Oh, and I can already hear the “Governors own” line. Stop already.
All those years of overspending by previous administrations and yes, Madigan, have caught up to the Democrats who have been pushing financial fiction for years.
- Honeybear - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:14 pm:
Would absolutely agree with that. It’s all Rauners drive to destroy labor, “drive a wedge”, and consolidate social services under organizations like Ounce of Prevention.
Buy it, break it, sell it.
- AlfondoGonz - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:18 pm:
Big Muddy-
Very prophetic, politely asking others not to post a valid counterpoint to your half-baked argument.
- Big Muddy - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:22 pm:
Honeybear,
Was it okay when Madigan passed budgets that underfunded education and social services in the past? Was it okay to pass budgets, later signed by Governors, that were grossly out of balance and never had the intention of paying for all the services promised? Budgets that failed to meet the constitutional requirement that they balance? All stood by while this happened and only NOW we have a problem? Sorry, all who support(ed) this practice are guilty of gross negligence.
- Ron Burgundy - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:22 pm:
Well if “underfunding” means setting spending levels above the level of revenue being generated to pay for it, that’s been going on for a long, long time.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:25 pm:
===grossly out of balance and never had the intention of paying for all the services promised===
The governor signed a stopgap budget into law that’s around $8 billion out of whack, after opposing a House Dem spending bill that was about $7 billion out of whack.
- Honeybear - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:26 pm:
Underfunding social services? Ummmm first back up your assertion. Two there is quite a difference between supposed underfunding and killing entirely. Dude, stay in your lane.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:26 pm:
===Oh, and I can already hear the “Governors own” line. Stop already.===
Ok. “Pat Quinn failed”… or…
“By nearly every measure, the state is worse off since Rauner took office.” - Crain’s.
You’re welcome.
To the Post,
Diana Rauner secured $5 million from the Pritzkers for The Ounce and said The Ounce suing Bruce was a “business decision”
The Rauners always take care of themselves… and if that means destroying social services and save The Ounce, so be it.
“Simple”
- Cassandra - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:28 pm:
Yes, yes, we know this is the Democrats’ position. What we don’t know, is what is considered adequate funding of social services-by either party. And that’s what’s important, not only to the recipients of these services, but to those of us who have to pay for them, perhaps pay more for them through a tax increase. What services, what eligibility, what income limits (if any), what can we afford in light of other demands on the state treasury,, that kind of stuff. On those important details, the silence continues, from all of our political masters.
- Honeybear - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:34 pm:
Now it is a different animal/question as to whether the impasse caused/contributed to the violence. I have to think it strongly contributed. Social services are like the foundation of a house (hat tip to rich for finding that rebranding study). If you’ve got a week foundation parts of the house are going to eventually come down. Reduce lives to helplessness and hopelessness and this is what you get, violence. Now the point I think needs discussing and studying is, “Why is East St. Louis not as violence?” It’s pretty violent but not to Chicago levels. That’s what I’d love to see studied.
- Arock - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:39 pm:
Madigan’s budgetary solution is the same as always, raise taxes.
- Big Muddy - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:42 pm:
Rich,
That temp budget had huge flaws too as you point out. Bad piece of legislation for the very same reasons past budgets have been albatrosses.
- Huh? - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:57 pm:
I am going to translate post by Alfondo into more blunt language - don’t feed the troll. Muddy’s arguments are just that - muddy.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 4:57 pm:
- Big Muddy -
… and yet, Rauner signed a “deal” a whole billion dollars worse… for 6 months.
“By nearly every measure, the state is worse off since Rauner took office.” - Crain’s.
To the Post,
This also goes back to Social Services being stuck, not wanting to get on any governor’s bad side, and this governor purposely destroying social services, hoping for thankful, humble groups that will not rock the boat, and hoping they don’t become vengeful groups.
But, that’s ok. Rauner has proven he will, without a second thought, “bury” anyone in his way.
Vote Accordingly. That’s what the Speaker is reminding.
Who has been on social services’ side? Who has, long before raising their hand and taking an oath? decided to hold hostage people, and groups, squeezing them, seeing what can survive, while ignoring signed contracts?
Bruce Rauner counted on social service grooms to take him at his word, got them to sign contracts, with no plan to pay for services(?)
It’s not any type of accident Diana Rauner’s The Ounce secured $5 million… for them.
Not an accident.
The Rauners donate millions (ask them, they’ll tell you!) so they can destroy what they want, for the agenda Bruce Rauner craves.
- Ugh^2 - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:12 pm:
Last week Rauner: not very involved in elections, focused on government and administering.
This week Madigan: not discussing veto session agenda/budget, focused on election.
At least there’s some honesty in the latter statement. But good grief, who could listen to either and have any faith in our state government.
- Anon221 - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:26 pm:
What OW is referring to…
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160802/NEWS07/160809958/j-b-m-k-pritzker-give-5-million-to-ounce-of-prevention-fund
- DuPage Bard - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:31 pm:
Quick question- the Governor has a veto pen and couldn’t he have…………
Nevermind
- steward - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:32 pm:
It may have been the general assembly and prior administrations that drove the car up to the cliff. But it was Rauner who gleefully drove it off the cliff and told the GOP in he GA that they are #winning.
One group let spending outpace revenue for politics. The latter purposefully exploited the structural weaknesses in the budget to hold impoverished people hostage in order to break organized labor. If you can’t see the difference in these two agendas, I can’t help you. I can dislike both strategies while believing one is inherently worse.
- Big Muddy - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:33 pm:
Huh? Wrote:
“I am going to translate post by Alfondo into more blunt language - don’t feed the troll. Muddy’s arguments are just that - muddy.”
Classic name calling argument. I’m a troll. Been posting here for years, albeit not every day because i have a day job, and I’m a troll. Sigh. Huh, can you tell me the year or years under Blago or Quinn when we had a budget that met the requirements of the Illinois Constitution? Don’t worry, I won’t be holding my breath as I wait under my bridge.
- Joe Schmoe - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:34 pm:
Stop being an apologist for Madigan.
- Earnest - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:50 pm:
> hoping they don’t become vengeful groups.
Sadly, human service agencies and the people we serve don’t have enough political power to be a threat to much of anyone. That’s why they made for good hostages.
- Earnest - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 5:51 pm:
>Let’s not forget it has been clearly part of Rauner’s plan to underfund social services. He spoke to that at a Republican function a few years ago. Laid out, that was his plan for interaction with the Illinois Legislature.
Michael Madigan, why haven’t you been saying this so plainly and clearly every day for 18 months? There’s more to be won in life than elections.
- Last Bull Moose - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 6:00 pm:
I thought that Quinn’s budget after the tax increase counted as balanced. Pensions were paid as per the ramp and payable were reduced.
- RNUG - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 6:35 pm:
When it comes to Illinois budgets, “balanced” is a slippery term. The GA / BOB / COGFA just has to project (estimate) the budget will be balanced at the end of the year to meet the constitutional requirement. That almost never meets “balanced” as a CPA, or even a layman, would define it.
Howrver, it can be validly claimed that some of the Quinn budgets were balanced since the pension payments got made, health insurance claims were paid albeit late (but not as late as today), and on top of the operating budget there was enough surplus to slowly work the bill backlog down from about $9B to a out $4.5B when the temp tax expired / Rauner took office. So I would have considered the operating budget “balanced” those years.
- Last Bull Moose - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 6:54 pm:
Thanks RNUG, Your definition of balanced works for me.
- Juice - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 8:37 pm:
Big Muddy, fiscal years 2011, 2013 and 2014 are the years that saw the payables go down. So was it balanced in a pure sense, no, since we still had a backlog of bills. But for those years specifically, did revenues exceed budgeted expenditures, yes. (So did 2015, but the Dems get an incomplete on that one.)
And if Governor Rauner is such a great fiscal steward, why do we still have all of these staff at Kewanee IYC when no kids have been there for over a month?
- Shemp - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 8:39 pm:
Too busy campaigning to work on the State’s biggest problem. That is Illinois problem in a nutshell.
- Deft Wing - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 9:01 pm:
How do I know Madiagn’s cray-cray? Read above, it’s Exhibit A.
- Cheswick - Monday, Aug 22, 16 @ 9:23 pm:
Will the governor come out tomorrow and defend his position against the speaker’s assertions? Doubtful. Standing by, but not holding my breath.
The Speaker gets the last word on this.
- campbell - Tuesday, Aug 23, 16 @ 7:17 am:
I was afraid no-one was going to remark on the fact that elections come before his job as legislator - thanks Shemp - i don’t feel so alone!
I’m not a term limits fan but maybe just limit the terms of leaders????