The Rauner Administration has filed a direct appeal to the State Supreme Court in AFSCME’s case to block the administration from implementing its last, best and final offer. The following statement is attributable to General Counsel Dennis Murashko:
“After 67 days of negotiation, the Administration presented AFSCME with a contract that reflects our last, best, and final offer. This is as far as we can go, and it is time to implement it. Every day we don’t costs our taxpayers more than $2 million, which is why we are asking the Illinois Supreme Court to resolve this case quickly. The taxpayers deserve a contract substantially similar to the one ratified by 20 other unions and includes earning overtime after 40 hours, implementing merit pay, and using volunteers.”
*** UPDATE *** From AFSCME Council 31…
Instead of wasting more time and money in the courts, Governor Rauner should simply do his job and negotiate with our union. State workers are willing to do their part, but Bruce Rauner is so blinded by his anti-union animosity that he refuses to compromise.
Contrary to the misleading statements from the governor’s office, no other union has accepted Rauner’s extreme demands that would hike health costs by 100%, freeze wages for four years and remove safeguards against irresponsible privatization schemes.
Finding that AFSCME has a “reasonable likelihood” of prevailing on appeal, the 4th District Appellate Court blocked Rauner from rushing to impose those demands. Since the governor continues to choose confrontation over compromise, we are prepared to make our case before the Supreme Court.
* As we’ve discussed before, the Wells Center, a drug abuse treatment center in Jacksonville, was on the verge of shutting down and the governor’s office was blaming the comptroller.
Press release…
At a special Board meeting last night, the Board of Directors of Wells Center voted to postpone closing the Center. This decision was reached after the Executive Director reported to the Board that Comptroller Mendoza had visited Wells Center and agreed to work with the Center to see that payments are received in a timelier manner.
This action also allows Wells Center to continue looking at other solutions that will help the agency maintain stability for the long term. These solutions could include working with other organizations to merge with or even acquire the Center.
The Board of Directors are very excited to be able to take this vote. Substance abuse treatment and prevention services are very much needed in our community and this is an opportunity to not only keep these valuable services but to improve them and ensure these services will be available in our community for a long time.
Illinois voters are deeply divided over how to handle the state’s budget impasse. Given three options for addressing the deficit, 45 percent favor cutting waste and inefficiency as the only way to handle the problem, while 11 percent favor a tax increase. However, 35 percent agreed with the statement that the state budget crisis will require both budget cuts and an increase in revenue. When the 35 percent who chose this option are added to the 11 percent who say they favor a tax increase, the result is 46 percent total who favor both raising taxes and cutting spending while 45 percent believe that cutting waste and inefficiency is sufficient.
This is one of the major findings of a recent statewide poll of registered voters taken March 4th-11th sponsored by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Sixty percent of the interviews were via cell phones.
The increasing revenue option was favored by 13 percent in both Chicago and suburban Cook and the five Collar Counties while only 7 percent of downstate voters favored it. Forty three percent of Chicago voters thought a combination of both increased revenue and service cuts would be required, compared with 32 percent of suburban voters and 33 percent of downstate respondents who chose this option. Fifty percent of downstate voters chose the “cut waste and inefficiency” option, followed by 47 percent of suburban voters and only 34 percent of Chicago voters who chose this answer.
In terms of party identification, 18 percent of Democrats said increased revenue was the key; 7 percent of independents and 4 percent of Republicans chose this solution. In contrast, 60 percent of Republicans thought eliminating waste and inefficiency was the answer, while 45 percent of independents and 34 percent of Democrats took this choice. The combination of both increased revenue and cuts in services was the solution to the impasse according to 38 percent of Democrats, 39 percent of independents, and 29 percent of Republicans.
“The voters of Illinois are apparently as conflicted and divided over what to do about the budget impasse as their legislators and the governor are”, said John Jackson, one of the designers of the poll.
“When the voters are deeply divided, particularly in policy areas where the divisions are close, the office holders are given more leeway to fashion workable solutions to problems like the budget impasse, and then explain them and sell them to the voters, which is an obligation of leadership in a representative democracy,” Jackson continued.
Despite the growing number of Illinoisans who have come to the conclusion that the state’s budget crisis can only be managed by a blend of tax increases and program cuts, that forces legislators to vote for a pair of negatives; voting for tax increases while voting to cut programs people want and need.
The voters were asked about specific areas where there could be budget cuts in state service in areas ranging across education, welfare and a wide range of other state government services such as the state police, prisons, and parks and environmental regulation. Not a single governmental function was targeted by a majority of the voters as places they would support cuts in the agencies’ budgets.
In the case of K-12 education, fully 82 percent of the respondents were opposed to cutting budgets, and only 15 percent supported. The only function which came close to majority support for cuts was pension systems for public workers where 45 percent favored cuts and 49 percent opposed.
In “programs for poor people,” only 21 percent favored cuts, while 72 percent opposed cuts in those areas. Possible cuts to the state’s universities were opposed by 67 percent and supported by only 30 percent—both providing somewhat unexpected high levels of opposition to places where cuts have already been deep.
The respondents were then asked about a series of specific ways that the state might raise additional revenue. The results showed that naturally some proposals were more popular than others. The most popular proposals had well over majority support.
The single most popular proposal was applying a surcharge of 3 percent on income above one million dollars per year: 78 percent approved; 19 percent disapproved, and 3 percent had no opinion or were undecided. This is a measure which has been championed for several years by House Speaker Mike Madigan. Illinois voters overwhelmingly supported an advisory referendum on the millionaire’s tax proposal in 2014, but House lawmakers narrowly rejected two attempts to place the amendment on the ballot in 2015 and 2016.
The next most popular revenue proposal was amending the constitution to allow a graduated income tax, which 72 percent supported, with 24 percent opposed and 4 percent undecided.
In that same vein, 55 percent favored applying the state income tax only to retirement income above $100,000 per year; 39 percent opposed, and 5 percent were undecided.
Another proposal, which is a part of the current debate over raising revenue, is the possibility of expanding gambling in Illinois. This plan was a part of the “grand bargain,” which had been advocated by Senate President John Cullerton and by Republican Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, which passed the Senate in late February before the bargain fell apart. Gambling expansion was approved by 55 percent and disapproved by 41 percent of respondents, with 4 percent undecided.
Other revenue plans garnered less than majority support. Raising the income tax to 4.99 percent was approved by 35 percent and opposed by 61 percent, with 4 percent undecided. Applying the income tax to all retirement funds was favored by only 23 percent; with 72 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided.
The respondents were asked about expanding the sales tax base “to cover services like home repairs and landscaping.” This proposal was supported by 36 percent and opposed by 60 percent, with 4 percent undecided. But asked if they favored this addition to the sales tax if the overall tax rate was reduced by half a percent, 57.1 percent favored, 39.4 percent opposed, and 3.5 percent said they did not know.
Finally, the poll asked if the gasoline tax should be raised in order to fund improvements to state highways, roads, and bridges: 42 percent favored, 56 percent opposed, and only 2 percent were undecided.
“It’s a perfect storm. There is divided government in Springfield, no clear voter support for a solution, no taste for cuts to specific areas of the budget, and tremendous amounts of campaign cash already gearing up for the 2018 election,” said Delio Calzolari, associate director of the Institute.
* According to the poll, 67 percent opposed cuts to higher education, 70 percent opposed cuts to public safety programs, 63 percent opposed cuts to natural resource programs, 72 percent opposed cuts to programs for the poor, 86 percent opposed cuts to programs for people with mental and physical disabilities and 49 percent opposed cuts to public pension benefits (45 percent favored).
As far as revenues go, 72 percent opposed taxing retirement income, but 68 percent favored that particular tax if the first $100K is exempted.
* Kim Geiger was at the lawmaker paycheck lawsuit hearing yesterday and filed this report…
After listening to arguments from both sides, [Cook County Judge Rodolfo Garcia] said lawmakers are “in control of their own future” and that court was not the proper place to solve the dispute.
“I think there are serious problems with the legislators coming here to make a claim,” Garcia said, noting that the problem could be solved “by simply passing a budget.”
Garcia said from the bench that he was granting a motion for summary judgment, a move to throw the case out of court. But he returned to the courtroom moments later to allow the lawmakers’ lawyer to advance a new argument based on a stopgap spending plan that was approved last June. Garcia then said he would hear additional arguments. The lawyers for the two sides agreed to return to court March 23. […]
The lawmakers’ lawyer had tried to argue that the comptroller was operating outside her authority by delaying the payments. The judge said the legislature had abdicated its authority by failing to enact a budget.
“To the extent that the legislature has avoided making the very hard decisions in passing a budget, it has delegated that sort of discretion to the comptroller,” Garcia said. “Someone’s got to make these decisions.”
I’m not sure that the judge has read the papers, beyond maybe the Tribune editorial page. And, heck, even that page recently blamed the governor for the lack of progress.
Also, subscribers know more about a specific legal argument made by the judge yesterday.
* The state’s EDGE tax credit program for expanding or relocating businesses is expiring at the end of April, so some replacements are being mulled. Here’s Greg Hinz…
One measure pushed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce would both rein in and expand the program.
Sponsored by Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Chicago, the measure would cap credits at $50 million a year statewide and limit them to five years for any given project, down from 10 years now.
But instead of employers negotiating a cut in their income-tax liability, they’d get a cut worth 10 percent of wages of newly hired or retained slots. That credit would rise by half if the jobs were located in high-poverty, high-unemployment communities. And the credit would be made permanent, rather than having to be renewed every five years. […]
An alternative version offered by Sens. Pam Althoff, R-Crystal Lake, and Melissa Bush, D-Grayslake, would limit the credits to net new hires and allow them to be collected over a 10-year period—15 years in the case of facilities located in poor communities.
* The Althoff bill renames the program to THRIVE. WAND TV…
A House committee heard from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on their support for the Transforming, Helping and Reviving Illinois’ Versatile Economy program, or THRIVE. According to Sean McCarthy, Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, This program is an update to the Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE program.
Under THRIVE businesses would still be given a tax credit incentive for job creation. THRIVE would also change the Illinois tax withholding for jobs creation from 100 percent under EDGE to half that, at 50 percent.
THRIVE would also allow for businesses of all sizes to be eligible for this tax credit. “The eligibility threshold is modified so small businesses have a greater access to the program.THRIVE provides that any company regardless of the size has easier access to the incentive” said McCarthy. “So for example the current EDGE program you have a requirement of 25 jobs and a capitol investment of $5 million. In THRIVE the eligibility is 10 percent of the global workforce or 50 jobs, whatever is lesser.”
THRIVE would also redefine the “But, for” clause that is current in EDGE. This would end the practice of companies seeking incentive offers from other states, while still requiring businesses to submit a case for why the incentive is needed.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington, questioned the propriety of the state singling out businesses for tax breaks.
“Why should the state of Illinois pick winners and losers? Why not keep tax rates relatively low?” McSweeney asked, while suggesting Illinois get rid of the credit process and create a deduction for a corporation’s portion of its Illinois net income earned as a result of a manufacturing process.
House Majority Leady Barbara Flynn Currie questioned McCarthy on how the state ensures that they’re giving credits to create jobs, not as political favors.
“If we are going to create special incentives, we want to make sure that there was a reason to do it, not just glad-handing,” she said.
The figure represents $1,000.00 for each of the 12.8 million men, women and children who call Illinois home. The backlog is the pile of unpaid bills the state has accumulated by spending more than it takes in as we operate without a budget.
Illinois State Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza said this unprecedented failure to meet our financial obligations cannot continue without increasingly troubling consequences for Illinois families.
“Illinois is in the midst of a historic financial meltdown and these numbers tell only a small piece of the story. Our social service agencies, schools and seniors have suffered during the 21 months we’ve waited for executive action on an actual budget. It is long past time for the Governor to fulfill his duty under the Illinois’ Constitution (Article VIII Section 2(a)) to present a balanced budget proposal for the General Assembly to consider. Legislators must rise to the occasion and meet their responsibility as well.”
Earlier today, Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced that Illinois’ bill backlog has reached $1,000 per Illinoisan.
Here’s what hypocrite Mendoza failed to mention when lashing out at those trying to fix the mess – she helped cause it.
“Illinois’ debt is a tragedy that Susana Mendoza helped create. During the decade she served Mike Madigan in Springfield, Mendoza voted for every single enacted Madigan budget, adding billions in debt. She even supported Madigan and Blagojevich’s numerous schemes to underfund the pension system, adding tens of billions more in debt.”
“If Mendoza is looking for reasons why Illinois is in bad fiscal shape, she should look in the mirror.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
The backlog was about $4.6 billion when Gov. Rauner took office. The overall problem is shared, but this specific bill backlog is on Rauner and the 99th and 100th General Assemblies…
As Comptroller, Susana Mendoza is seeing firsthand the devastation she caused during her ten years in Springfield voting for Speaker Madigan’s tax hikes, borrowing and pension holidays. We are hopeful that she will stop trying to shift blame and start working with all parties to do things differently and clean up the mess she has made.
Again, the bill backlog has skyrocketed since Bruce Rauner became governor. This particular problem is on him and the GA, not the comptroller.
Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman was doing what any red-blooded baseball fan would have done when a foul ball came his way in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday night.
But when he lunged for the ball and deflected it from Cubs outfielder Moises Alou, his big night at the ballpark turned into a nightmare. […]
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said he might have to put Bartman in the witness-protection program and joked that if the 26-year-old fan ever committed a crime, he would have no hope of a pardon from the governor’s office.
“You’ve got to be looking out for your team,” Blagojevich said.
Count Mayor Rahm Emanuel as one of the proud Northwestern University alums delighting in the team’s historic Cinderella dance into the second round of their first-ever NCAA tournament.
But the mayor who has a reputation for being ruthless in politics is showing no mercy for the Vanderbilt star whose mistake made it possible: sharpshooter Matthew Fisher-Davis.
“The guy on Vanderbilt needs a witness-protection program,” Emanuel said during a taping Friday for the WLS-AM radio program “Connected to Chicago,” to be broadcast at 7 p.m. Sunday. “How do you foul a guy when you’re up? I don’t get it. He must have had a brain freeze.”
After almost singlehandedly shooting his team back into the game, Fisher-Davis committed an intentional foul against Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh in the mistaken belief that Vandy was down by one point, rather than up.
When McIntosh proceeded to nail his free-throws, the Wildcats’ improbable victory was sealed.
Aping Blagojevich might not be the brightest thing he’s ever done. Plus, leave the poor kid alone.
It’s March Madness, but only one statewide Illinois elected official posted a bracket of picks for the NCAA tournament.
If you guessed Comptroller Susana Mendoza, you’d be correct. Perhaps the Chicago Democrat is continuing her attempt to follow in the footsteps of the late Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, who was known for being the “fun” statewide official.
How’d the new comptroller do on Day One? Mendoza correctly picked #12 seed Middle Tennessee upending #5 seed Minnesota, though her other first-day upset special of #12 University of North Carolina-Wilmington did not upend #5 Virginia.
She’s also got home-state team Northwestern losing in the second round to top-seeded Gonzaga, so no pandering there. Her finals? Arizona-North Carolina, with the Tar Heels as champs.
* A House committee took testimony yesterday about the impact of the US House’s Obamacare replacement bill on the state’s Medicaid fund…
Illinois Health and Hospital Association spokesman David Gross testified that Illinois would lose at least $38 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the act’s 10-year lifespan. The association arrived at this figure by taking Illinois’ share of the nation’s Medicaid beneficiaries and multiplying it by the $880 billion in reductions estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office under the Republican plan. Gross said the cuts would jeopardize patient care.
Democratic Rep. Greg Harris of Chicago, who chairs the appropriations committee for human services, said one in four Illinois citizens receives Medicaid benefits and could be affected.
Illinois currently devotes $10 billion in state funds each year to Medicaid, or about one-quarter of the general fund. The federal government matches that amount.
Harris said lawmakers would need to find ways to fill the $4 billion-a-year hole.
Officials pointed to two aspects of the GOP plan that would hurt the state’s Medicaid system. One provision would cap how much the federal government reimburses states, which is different from the current system. States that exceed the cap would be responsible for shouldering the additional costs, something that could prove challenging for cash-strapped Illinois.
The proposal also would freeze Medicaid expansion in 2020. People enrolled before then would be allowed to stay in the program but only if they never leave the program. Anyone who loses coverage starting in 2020 couldn’t re-enroll.
“We know from the data that this is really an end to the expansion, that people circulate off the Medicaid program. And this is not a gentle slope. This is a cliff for the Medicaid program,” said Roberta Rakove, senior vice president for government and public affairs at Sinai Health System.
Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said Thursday that lawmakers also should focus on problems with the Affordable Care Act put in place under Barack Obama when he was president. He cited one portion of the congressional report that said the Republican health care proposal would reduce federal costs and lower the deficit.
Keep in mind, however, that at the moment this thing is “just a bill.” There’s a very long way to go.
The Democratic primary race for Illinois Governor is starting to take shape. But, the race is still fluid, even with a candidate with high name recognition in the field. In a three-way matchup between Kurt Summers, J.B. Pritzker, and Chris Kennedy, Kennedy leads with 44 percent of the vote. But 34 percent of the electorate is undecided and 41 percent are weak supporters of the candidates.
When voters hear more about the potential candidates for Governor, 21 percent of the vote shifts to Summers, who has a compelling background that includes his roots in Chicago, his competence as a financial manager, and his advocacy for underserved communities.
Descriptions of Candidates for Governor
J.B. Pritzker is a successful businessman with a focus on growing the tech community in Chicago, and an active philanthropist. His family foundation focuses on improving the lives of at-risk children, he established the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development at the University of Chicago, and serves as chairman of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Pritzker knows how to grow the economy and attract jobs to Chicago, he founded the largest technology venture in the Midwest and created 1871, Chicago’s digital startup center. He has raised millions of dollars for Hillary Clinton and will have the resources to compete with Rauner.
Kurt Summers serves as the Chicago City Treasurer and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. With a strong support system, he worked his way through college and earned his MBA from Harvard University. He left a successful career on Wall Street to come back home to help save his grandfather’s small business. Later, he served as Chief of Staff to Board President Toni Preckwinkle, where he helped eliminate Cook County’s budget deficit of 487 million dollars. As City Treasurer, he has generated 100 million dollars in new revenue that is being re-invested in underserved communities to grow the economy. Summers believes economic opportunity and job creation are the solution to violence, and he has stood up against predatory lending to protect small business owners. Summers has the financial know-how to eliminate Illinois’ deficit, and would be our first African American Governor.
Chris Kennedy is a successful businessman and the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy. He was the President of the Merchandise Mart, the largest commercial building in the world, and launched a nonprofit that provides fresh food options at lower cost to underserved communities. Kennedy has been an active member of the Chicago community for three decades, serving on numerous boards with other business leaders and charitable foundations. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and will make college affordability a top priority. Kennedy worked to bring almost 5000 companies to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and he will use this experience to help bring more companies and good paying jobs to Illinois.
After hearing positive information on all three candidates, Summers moves into a strong second place position, Pritzker sees minimal growth, and Kennedy’s vote share is flat.
Looks like Pritzker’s bio isn’t all that compelling, at least, not the way it’s portrayed in this poll. And Kennedy’s one-point drop is well within the margin of error. That name is golden.
Summers particularly resonates with important segments of the electorate – Chicago voters, liberals, African Americans, and younger voters. After positive information, Summers is essentially tied with Kennedy in Chicago (35 to 37 percent) and among African Americans (38 to 36 percent), and he leads Kennedy with voters under 50 (42 to 30 percent).
Summers has a unique background with both financial experience and roots in the community, appeal with key voting blocs, and overall the potential to shake up this race. With the primary just a year away, it’s anyone’s race to win.
The memo reflects some key findings from a statewide survey of 500 likely 2018 Democratic primary voters conducted March 2-6, 2017. It carries a margin of error of 4.38 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Chris Kennedy is now using the poll in a fundraising e-mail…
Since we announced our campaign for governor six weeks ago, your support has given us the momentum we need to beat Bruce Rauner and put Illinois on a better path. We are building a movement to change Illinois and restore the American Dream in our state in a single generation.
There are already early signs that we are making progress in our campaign. A new poll out today shows Chris leading the Democratic primary for Illinois governor with 44% of the vote - a 4:1 lead over our closest potential primary opponent.
While it is still early in the race, we need your continued support to keep our momentum strong.
* The House and the Senate aren’t in today, but we have a sponsor, so, here’s the post. Today’s post is sponsored by the American Heart Association of Illinois. Follow everything in real time right here with ScribbleLive…
