HIV Providers in Illinois have been feeling the drastic, statewide effects of the budget impasse for some time now.
• From July - December 2015, grantee HIV testing from the Quality of Life Fund decreased 62%, resulting in a 68% decrease in the number of positives found;
• Direct grant testing decreased 59%, with a 66% reduction in positives found;
• Regional Grant testing decreased 35% with a 70% reduction in positives found, all compared to the same period in 2014;
• In March 2016, the Families and Children’s AIDS Network stopped providing prevention services in Regions 2, 7, and 8;
• Central Illinois Friends of PWA stopped implementing Effective Behavioral HIV Prevention Interventions;
• Sisters and Brothers laid off both its Deputy Director and its Interventions Manager, impacting service delivery in several regions, and cut their Region 5 services to just one day per week;
• Fifth Street Renaissance in Springfield laid off four full-time and 3 part-time positions and reduced services;
• Jefferson County laid off two staff, reduced service hours, and have indicated they may need to close their HIV prevention program;
• Bethany Place’s (Belleville) Prevention Coordinator and entire prevention staff resigned due to non- payment;
• Macoupin County laid off their main prevention staff;
• Outreach and testing that is geared and targeted towards populations with the highest rate of new HIV infections have been significantly reduced, due largely to agencies not having the resources to conduct thoughtful, strategic targeting. As a result, suburban Cook County has seen a significant reduction in the amount of newly identified HIV-positive individuals;
Even with passage of the 2016 stopgap spending plan, which is detailed below, some HIV service providers will only receive 65% of their funding.
• HIV tests in suburban Cook County have fallen by 35% since the start of the budget impasse;
• The Jackson County Health Department has ceased providing HIV testing to recently released inmates in downstate Illinois;
• PrEP 4 Illinois, a program that was intended to cover costs of PrEP for those who required financial assistance, was appropriated $1 million in the FY 15 budget; however, that program was ultimately zeroed out by the incoming Rauner administration. Canceling the PrEP4Illinois program deprived Illinoisans of financial assistance to access this game-changing HIV prevention medication;
• The AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) has been forced to rely solely on federal funds to operate;
• In June 2016, Center on Halsted, Illinois’ largest provider of state-funded HIV testing, had received no state payment for HIV testing. The organization was uncertain if they would be able to continue to provide services without a budget in place […]
Here in Illinois, funding for the HIV Lump Sum, which includes the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and HIV prevention, treatment and education services, has been funded at roughly the same level since FY 2011, with the amount wavering between $25 and $29 million. Since Governor Rauner came into office, he has proposed merely $20 million for FY 16 and $18 million for FY 17. Every new HIV case prevented saves the state nearly $400,000 per person in lifetime medical costs , so this drastic cut to preventive and treatment services has the potential to make the situation worse.
We are at a unique time in the HIV epidemic following the advent of biomedical interventions like PrEP, which can prevent new infections. But effective means of HIV prevention requires a commitment from the state, and Illinois has not included funding for PrEP4Illinois program in proposed budgets since Governor Rauner used his executive authority to remove $1 million in PrEP assistance from the FY 15 budget.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Catherine Kelly in the governor’s office…
“Fitch’s action further demonstrates the importance of reaching bipartisan agreement on a truly balanced budget and changes that will grow our economy and bring new jobs to our state.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From John Patterson, spokesman for Illinois Senate President John Cullerton…
While unfortunate, this was expected.
The looming threat was among the many reasons why the Senate is working on a comprehensive budget and reform plan. The goal is to end the nearly two-year impasse and restore financial stability.
If there’s a silver lining, it would be that hopefully this adds to the growing urgency to pass the Senate’s plan and get a comprehensive budget for the state.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Treasurer Michael Frerichs…
“Our credit rating suffers because the leaders in the General Assembly and the Governor will not negotiate an honest budget,” Frerichs said. “This singular focus on non-budgetary items is silently ripping money out of the pockets of everyone who lives in this state.”
“Borrowing costs money. Borrowing without a budget costs even more money. We know a budget will bring down our borrowing costs and yet we still have a leadership team that chooses not to negotiate. We can do better.”
“Bruce Rauner’s failed governorship continues to hurt Illinois jobs and cost Illinois families,” said DGA Communications Director Jared Leopold. “Over and over again, Governor Rauner has sacrificed Illinois’s economy to protect his special interest friends. Today, Illinois families and business are paying
* And from Illinois Working Together Campaign Director Jake Lewis…
“To borrow a phrase from Fitch Ratings, Bruce Rauner has been an ‘unprecedented failure’ as the governor of Illinois. Today’s downgrade, the sixth under Gov. Rauner, is yet another indicator of the damage the governor has inflicted on Illinois and its people during his time in office. According to Fitch, the budget impasse has ‘fundamentally weakened’ the state. It will take years for Illinois to recover from Rauner.
“As residents and college students flee Illinois in record numbers, it is time for the governor to do something he has failed to do in his first two years in office: listen. The governor must drop his extreme political agenda for good and work to pass a responsible, fully-funded budget.”
Fitch Ratings has downgraded the following ratings of the state of Illinois:
–Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB+;
–$25.9 billion in outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB+’;
–$431 million Illinois Sports Facilities Authority sports facilities bonds (state tax supported) to ‘BBB-’from ‘BBB’;
–$2.6 billion Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority McCormick Place expansion project bonds to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BBB’;
–$267.8 million city of Chicago motor fuel tax revenue bonds to ‘BBB-’ from ‘BBB’.
The Rating Watch Negative is maintained.
Fitch warned it would downgrade the ratings if the state didn’t have a budget by the end of January.
The downgrade of Illinois’s IDR and related ratings reflects the unprecedented failure of the state to enact a full budget for two consecutive years and the financial implications of spending far in excess of available revenues, which has resulted in increased accumulated liabilities and reduced financial flexibility. Even if the current attempts at a resolution to the extended impasse prove successful, Fitch believes that the failure to act to date has fundamentally weakened the state’s financial profile.
The Negative Watch reflects Fitch’s expectation that the state’s implementation of a solution, whether temporary or permanent, will be a challenge in the current political environment and that in the interim the state will continue to delay and defer payments in lieu of balancing the budget. While Fitch acknowledges that there is a plan being developed in the state Senate that contains elements that could ultimately resolve the impasse, its passage is uncertain and the timing of implementing solutions is unknown. Fitch expects to resolve the Rating Watch within the next six months based on an assessment of the state’s fiscal trajectory as it starts fiscal 2018. If the state continues on the current path, a further downgrade would be warranted.
Illinois has failed to capitalize on the economic growth of recent years to bolster its financial position. Rather, the decision to allow temporary tax increases to expire and the subsequent failure to develop a budget that aligns revenues with expenditures have resulted in a marked deterioration in the state’s finances during this time of recovery. Once again, the state has displayed an unwillingness to utilize its extensive control over revenues and spending to address numerous fiscal challenges.
* Fitch projects revenue performance will “continue to track slow economic growth,” and claims it is “unlikely that reductions in state spending alone would be sufficient to achieve budgetary balance given the magnitude of the current budget gap.”
Illinois’ operating performance, both during the great recession and in this subsequent period of economic growth, has been very weak. The failure to address a long-standing structural budget gap with permanent and comprehensive solutions, whether revenue or expenditure, has left the state with an gaping hole in its operating budget and increasing budgetary liabilities.
The state Senate has put forth a series of bills that have the potential to lead to a compromise that will resolve the impasse. The Senate bills include raising the state income tax and other revenue measures, debt issuance to reduce accumulated budgetary liabilities, pension reforms, aid to Chicago public schools, and non-budgetary reforms sought by the governor, including a freeze on property taxes, workers compensation reform, and some form of term limits. These proposals, if they proceed through the full legislature and are signed by the governor, have the potential to meet the requirements to stabilize the Illinois IDR and related ratings. However, their passage is uncertain as is the timing of the implementation of any solutions.
RATING SENSITIVITIES
BUDGET SOLUTIONS: Failure to enact a balanced budget for fiscal 2018 would result in a further downgrade. Successful implementation of measures to enact a structurally balanced budget and reduce accumulated budget liabilities would stabilize the credit.
LIQUIDITY: The rating is sensitive to a material reduction in the state’s ability to manage within available revenues through discretionary payment deferrals. Furthermore, failure of the state to make its statutorily required debt service transfers as scheduled, 12 months in advance on a rolling basis, would result in an immediate downgrade of the rating to below investment grade because it would suggest that the state’s liquidity pressures are presenting a risk to bondholder interests that has not been evidenced to date.
Governor Bruce Rauner’s Illinois School Funding Reform Commission today approved a framework that allows members of the General Assembly to create a new school funding formula.
“Illinois is another step closer to fixing our broken school funding system,” Governor Rauner said. “I applaud the Commission members for putting politics aside to advance a bipartisan framework that can serve as an immediate roadmap for legislation. The framework ensures all public school children in Illinois receive equitable funding, no matter where they live. We look forward to working with members of the General Assembly to quickly resolve the outstanding issues identified in the report with the hope of enacting a bipartisan school funding reform package as soon as possible.”
The 25 commission members, comprised of five members from each party in each chamber and five members appointed by the Governor, met for over 75 hours in the last six months to reform the school funding formula. The framework will better focus resources on the needs of the students and districts. Through this framework, new funding will first go to schools who are farthest away from their adequacy targets, serving the most vulnerable students. This measure will address inequity within districts, not just among districts, and also ensure all public school children, including those who attend charter schools, receive equitable treatment.
“This has been a robust, bipartisan and bicameral process,” said Illinois Secretary of Education Dr. Beth Purvis. “I am incredibly thankful that these really dedicated members of the General Assembly and the Governor’s appointees were able to come and have substantive conversations in which children were at the center of the decision-making.”
Three mechanisms have been discussed that could be used to increase funding to districts with high concentrations of poverty. First, elements could provide increased funding for low-income students and students living in concentrated poverty. Second, using enrollment instead of average daily attendance may increase funding to schools with large low-income student populations or populations of students in concentrated poverty. Third, the distribution formula could direct additional funds to districts based on poverty concentration. In addition, funding alone is unlikely to be sufficient to close the gap; new service delivery approaches will also be needed. ISBE is working to build a model in which the separate and cumulative effect of these factors can be assessed so as to best ensure that this point of consensus is reflected accurately in the data.
So, no consensus apparently on how to distribute funds, which was kind of the point.
Elements will be written into statute; however, it is important to the members of the Commission that there be flexibility in their implementation so that districts can implement strategies that will lead to the best academic and socio-emotional outcomes for their students. Within three years of the initial implementation, ISBE should suggest changes, if warranted.
At the time of writing this report, the amount of additional state money needed for all districts in Illinois to be at or above their adequacy target is estimated to be a minimum of $3.5 billion over the next decade. It should be noted that this figure makes several assumptions and will fluctuate over time as adequacy targets and local capacity change. In fact, for the state to take an increasingly larger share of responsibility for education funding (e.g., 51%), this figure is projected to rise by at least $2.5 billion. However, how the rate at which we achieve that goal has not been decided. Furthermore, this figure does not account for additional capital needs of the districts.
Commissioners agree that consolidation in certain areas of the state is important but that the solution to this problem should not be reached through funding formula reform.
There was also no consensus on mandate relief and private school tax credits.
* We talked briefly about this guy on Monday. Here’s WMAQ TV’s take…
As the Democratic field for the 2018 gubernatorial election continues to take shape, a little-known candidate from Chicago’s northern suburbs has already thrown his hat in the ring.
Alex Paterakis, a 29-year-old Skokie native, said he decided to run for governor in October as a response to the nation’s increasingly polarized political landscape.
“I was getting sick of how politics were being done, how things were being run, partisan politics being everyone against everyone else with no one actually listening to other people’s opinions,” Paterakis told Ward Room Tuesday.
The political newcomer is campaigning on a progressive platform that includes a minimum wage hike, marijuana legalization, and an agenda to oppose President Donald Trump. Paterakis, who owns a pair of small online retail businesses, hopes his campaign will appeal to middle class Illinoisans.
“I think people are really reflecting the message, which a lot of Democrats have forgotten, which is the middle class,” Paterakis said. “They lost the middle class to Donald Trump.”
PS: I have a ton of errands to run today, so I’m not sure when I’ll be back. It’ll likely be a very light early afternoon around here, so make the most of what you’ve got.
At a meeting Wednesday with members of the African American community, President Donald Trump again talked about Chicago violence saying if city officials don’t take steps,”we’re going to solve the problem for them.”
“Because we’re going to have to do something… What’s happening in Chicago should not be happening in this country,” Trump said.
Trump said violence in the city was ‘totally out of control.” […]
[Darrell Scott, an Ohio pastor who campaigned for Trump] said he was talking to members of “top gangs” in Chicago – he did not identify who – who wanted a “sit down” to discuss how to “get that body count down” in return for “social programs.”
“It’s a great idea,” Trump said about a possible meeting involving gang leaders and social programs.
* With all the talk of the Senate’s grand plan and the attorney general’s legal motion on employee pay, we may be forgetting that the governor’s budget address is just two weeks from today. So, this excerpt from a Tribune story today is worth posting…
In 2015, Rauner offered a budget that contained a $2.2 billion hole because of proposed pension savings that the governor eventually acknowledged might not pass constitutional muster. Last year, he offered lawmakers the choice of working with him to cut the budget or letting him do it himself. He did not spell out how he would close a hole of at least $3.5 billion.
* I, for one, believe that we should take the Illinois Policy Institute’s budget plan seriously. For too long, way too many Illinoisans have believed that the undefined “they” could simply cut governmental waste to balance the state’s budget. So, the “Institute,” in some ways, is doing us all a service by showing what will really happen if the budget is balanced without a tax hike, like tossing 600,000 people off Medicaid, or whacking university funding by a billion dollars and forcing school districts to pay a billion dollars a year in higher pension costs, etc.
A [property tax] freeze, coupled with stripping municipalities of the 9-cents per dollar they’ve received since Illinois first implemented an income tax, would further strip localities of another key funding source. The IPI says it’s taking away a “subsidy,” but head of the Illinois Municipal League Brad Cole says that’s a misnomer.
“For many small communities, it’s the only source of income they have, so it provides for the health, safety and welfare of their residents,” Cole said. “It’s not as simple as saying ‘let’s cut the LGDF (Local Government Distributive Fund).’ I mean, that would abandon the entire state, whether it’s Cairo or Chicago.”
Additionally, the IPI wants to make it harder for units of local government to look to raise taxes in the future, by requiring referenda pass with a two-thirds majority before any hikes. […]
That would be a “heavy burden” and is “overly restrictive,” Cole said.
“What if a water treatment facility doesn’t get expanded, then the community can’t grow, or keep up to date with EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulation,” he said, as a hypothetical.
Cole needs to up his game, but at least it’s a start. Local reporters ought to call their mayors, school board chairs and university/college presidents to hear what they have to say, as well. And, you know, maybe talk to some people who got into Medicaid because of Obamacare and who would be facing a life without affordable or any health insurance.
People have seen what the impasse has done. But they have to understand that solving this problem is no easy or painless matter.
research suggests that these cuts would also have a devastating effect on the state’s economy. Partly, that’s because they would directly lead to thousands of lost jobs, as schools and colleges laid off teachers, janitors, counselors, and other employees. (To get a sense of the magnitude, $200 million in cuts led to 1,400 layoffs in the Chicago Public Schools in 2015; Chicago State University laid off 300 employees to save $24 million in 2016. Scaled up to the full statewide cuts, that would total nearly 20,000 lost jobs as a direct results of cuts in the education sector alone).
But education, in particular, drives Illinois’ economy in ways beyond the people that schools directly employ. In fact, economists have estimated that for each dollar invested in an institute of higher education, $2.286 is generated in the state economy, as students, professors, and other employees patronize local businesses, support families, and contribute to a vital local economy. That means that IPI’s proposed $950 million cut to higher education could result in over $2.17 billion in losses to the state economy.
More broadly, CTBA’s recent report on higher education funding highlighted research showing that over the last generation, investing in residents’ educational attainment has been crucial to robust state economies.
Additionally, copious independent studies have found that the Medicaid expansion under Obamacare has been a net positive for state economies. A study in Kentucky found that Medicaid expansion in that state generated 40,000 jobs; another study found that Medicaid expansion created 31,000 jobs in Colorado. Blending these estimates and adjusting for Illinois’ population, that suggests that IPI’s proposal on Medicaid alone could eliminate more than 95,000 jobs.
* The CTBA also looked at the “Institute’s” pension plan and discovered this…
While IPI’s plan costs less in the first few years — in part thanks to artificially lowered state payments from delaying the full implementation of changes to actuarial assumptions — within a decade or so, it actually becomes a net drag on the state budget, and continues to add billions of dollars in additional payments through the 2040s.
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today urged Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to stand on the side of Illinoisans and oppose repeal of our health care system. Repealing health care without a replacement would have immediate and harmful impacts on hardworking Illinois families – including those with employer based insurance – such as reducing insurance coverage, increasing out-of-pocket costs, reducing the quality of health care coverage, burdening providers, killing jobs and harming Illinois’ economy. They also called for his concrete recommendations on how to improve the health care system for Illinoisans state-wide.
“Independent analyses paint a very grim picture of the health care environment that Illinois would face if Republican ‘repeal without replace’ efforts are successful. For instance, the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) has expressed concerns that ‘people will not be able to get the care they need; local economies will suffer; and jobs will be lost.’ In our state alone, the IHA estimates that Congressional Republican plans to repeal the ACA without replacing it would result in ‘potential losses of $11.6 billion to $13.1 billion in annual economic activity, which translates to a potential job loss of 84,000 to 95,000 jobs,’” wrote the senators in a letter to Gov. Rauner. “We strongly urge you to reconsider your position towards these destructive Republican plans, and to stand firmly with Illinoisans against efforts to repeal the ACA without an adequate replacement plan in place to protect the coverage gains, affordability, benefits, and consumer protections that Illinoisans currently enjoy. Further, we would welcome your thoughts on how best to improve the ACA for Illinoisans state-wide.”
Durbin on Monday told the Sun-Times that governors across the country should be standing up against a repeal.
“Governors like [John] Kasich of Ohio are stepping up and saying eliminating Medicaid coverage is a disaster because that is compensation for providers that will go away. What we do know from the Illinois Hospital Association is that many downstate hospitals will be threatened if they lose this Medicaid infusion,” Durbin said. “We also know that when these hospitals in downstate communities start facing closure or they’re going to restrict construction and lay off people with the best paying jobs in town. So it is a devastating impact.”
In a statement regarding the senators’ letter, the Rauner administration on Tuesday noted Durbin was a lead proponent of Obamacare, which they said “resulted in skyrocketing health care costs on millions of Americans.”
“As Senators Durbin and Duckworth well know, our administration has urged Congress to take a thoughtful approach to any new health care changes,” spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “As always, the governor will continue to advocate for the best interests of the people of Illinois.”
The senators’ letter also criticized a Rauner administration response to House Republicans earlier this month, saying it failed to provide information about the potential fallout or benefit from appealing the act.
A political organization aligned with House GOP leaders unveiled a $1.3 million ad campaign on Tuesday that targets Democrats representing districts won by President Trump to urge support for repealing and replacing ObamaCare.
American Action Network’s campaign includes local ads in a total of 24 districts, as well as national TV ads on CNN and MSNBC. The ads focus on eight Democrats in Trump-country districts and 16 Republicans mostly representing swing seats.
The group’s advertising campaign in support of repealing the healthcare law will total $5.2 million for the month of January.
Yeah, it will most definitely mess with the governor’s messaging if it happens. How can Team Rauner say King Madigan is trying to shut down the government via his daughter’s legal motion in St. Clair County if the House puts this one on the big board?
Not to mention that the Illinois Policy Institute has already proposed doing the exact same thing.
On the other hand, how do lots of House members vote for this bill if it doesn’t include money for social service programs, higher education, etc.? And what does the Senate do? They’ve got their own proposal, after all.
So, possibly more positioning, but probably little actual progress - which is pretty much par for the course in the Illinois House.
Democratic members of House leadership received an email from Speaker Mike Madigan’s office Wednesday morning telling them to expect a bill that would appropriate funds for tens of thousands of employees. It could be voted on next week. […]
With such a bill, however, comes an interesting set of questions for lawmakers with various priorities, including those who would question paying state workers before paying social service providers or funding MAP grants for needy students. That likely means additional items are added to the bill. The proposed legislation would not negate the court battle, which could prove to take months, but would act as a stopgap, giving the Illinois Comptroller authority to pay certain bills on time.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The House Republicans are out with their own proposal…
- State Representative Avery Bourne (R-Raymond) filed House Bill 1787 today that would make state workers’ salary payments a continuing appropriation, guaranteeing payment during a budget impasse. This measure would keep workers paid and prevent a government shutdown.
This has become a particularly urgent issue due to Attorney General Lisa Madigan filing a motion in court to end payment to state employees beginning February 28th, 2017. In response, there has been talk of a similar bill that would provide for a short term appropriation for state worker salaries. However, a stop gap appropriation would be a temporary fix and would leave state worker pay vulnerable to future attacks. This proposal is a long-term solution to the problem of state worker pay being held hostage in a larger political fight.
“This legislation will prevent state worker pay from being used as a political pawn. Families across Illinois rely on the vital services provided by our state agencies. Before I arrived in the General Assembly, legislators chose to make their pay a continuing appropriation which guaranteed their pay with or without a budget. However, those legislators did not afford those protections to state employees. This legislation will keep state worker pay out of the political games that are too often played in Springfield.”
If enacted, this legislation would be effective immediately. Bourne previously co-sponsored similar legislation in the 99th General Assembly that was not allowed a committee hearing. Representative Bourne and her colleagues are calling on the House of Representatives to take up this issue as soon as they return to the Capitol next week.
* Greg Hinz on the Illinois Policy Institute’s budget proposal…
So, what’s in the institute’s secret sauce?
Just a few minor things: slashing the state’s Medicaid rolls by 600,000 people, allowing local governments to declare bankruptcy and impose rather than bargain pay and benefits, keeping $1.75 billion a year in revenue that the state now shares with municipalities for its own needs, and enacting workers’ compensation changes that Springfield Democrats have vigorously resisted.
Among other things.
Piece of cake, right?
Policy Institute chief John Tillman urged reporters not to be “cynical” about the plan, not at a time when the state is losing jobs and residents.
“Politicians have not earned the right to ask Illinoisans for more money,” Tillman said, accompanied by state Reps. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, and Allen Skillicorn, R-Crystal Lake. “Our plan, unlike every other budget plan being discussed, ensures that taxpayers are respected and treated fairly rather than being treated like an ATM.”
The other things include a half billion dollar cut to higher education, which is supposed to “eliminate administrative bloat,” but that could mean the General Assembly would have to take over their spending line by line to enforce something like that.
Higher ed would also be saddled with $450 million in additional pension costs and school districts would be whacked with almost a billion dollars in higher pension costs.
Next on the proposal is a revised state pension plan. The Illinois Policy Institute says the state could save $1.65 billion next year by offering some self-managed 401K accounts instead.
The plan would also streamline Medicaid spending and reform higher education.
Also, they have a big university right down the road from that station and yet they refer to a billion dollars in cuts and added costs a year as “reform.” Maybe check a dictionary.
“Raising taxes will not fix Illinois. We must reform the way Illinois does business,” Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman said. “We must reform the way it actually spends the taxpayers’ money. We must slow the growth of spending to a rate below the growth in revenues. It is that simple. Spending must rise more slowly than revenues. That is the only solution.”
Agreed, but a lot of this plan isn’t about slowing state government growth, it’s about taking state money away from local governments, schools and universities and plowing it back into state coffers.
Meanwhile, the Illinois Policy Institute, a free-market think tank, released its own budget proposal on Tuesday — a plan that would impose no new taxes. It would alleviate the budget crisis by encouraging state workers to transition to cheaper pension plans; ease collective bargaining restrictions placed on local governments while reducing the revenue they get from the state; cut Medicaid rolls by limiting eligibility to only the most disadvantaged; and provide local property tax relief with a five-year freeze.
Some of the institute’s ideas have seen bipartisan support at the Capitol. But with a Republican governor and a Democrat-controlled legislature, policy differences create a frustrating divide between what is needed and what is doable.
The “Institute” couldn’t have written that editorial better themselves. The Trib makes a radical proposal look so… mild.
But, hey, look on the bright side. Two years in and they’re finally conceding that “doable” is a real life concept. Back in 2015, you may recall, the ivory tower sneered at folks like Jim Edgar who had the audacity to suggest that the governor ought to try cutting a doable deal. The Mother Ship also referred to those who wanted to work out a compromise as the “Surrender Illinois Caucus.”
* Anyway, it would be interesting to see this proposal put into bill form. Let’s hear from the mayors, the university presidents, the school superintendents and the nursing home residents who rely on Medicaid, among others. And then let’s hear the sponsors and proponents defend it during committee hearings and floor debate. That’s what democracy looks like, not a press conference with a couple of legislators and a snazzy packet.
Much of Caterpillar’s relocation rationale revolves around better international transportation options in Chicago. That’s a bit of a red herring. It can take as long to drive from, say, Naperville to O’Hare International Airport as it can to fly there from Peoria. And Caterpillar can and has use private aircraft to fly from Peoria to anywhere on earth.
Perhaps Caterpillar’s seventh floor is leaving Peoria for a more simple, personal reason, at least in part: [Cat CEO Jim Umpleby] and other executives want to live somewhere else.
Granted, we are speculating. But after talks with plenty of well-connected people the past few days, we believe this theory deserves at least some consideration.
Umpleby is a Caterpillar veteran, with more than 30 years of service. But it appears little of that time has been spent at a Peoria base.
The Chicago-area native worked for Caterpillar all over the country and world, including Malaysia, San Diego and Singapore. How you gonna keep them down on the farm after they’ve seen Kuala Lumpur?
Such personal-preference moves might not be unprecedented. In 2015, ConAgra Foods announced it was moving its world headquarters from Omaha, Neb., to Chicago. The new ConAgra CEO was residing in the Chicago suburbs.
Some commenters here made many of those same points yesterday.
