Gov. Bruce Rauner started a multi-city tour of small businesses in Springfield Monday, saying long-term changes in the state’s business and political climate are needed.
Asked at Custom Cup, a coffee shop in the capital city, about what businesses should do in the short term if the nearly two-year state budget impasse is causing them cash-flow problems, Rauner reiterated his themes about needed structural changes.
“I say to them the exact same thing they say to me: stay strong, stay persistent,” Rauner said. “We’re in difficult times, but we’re in difficult times to get to a better day and a better future.”
He said the changes he’s recommended including worker’s compensation reform, regulatory relief, a property tax freeze and government consolidation will “make businesses have more confidence in our state.”
“Term limits and fair maps also restore confidence,” he said.
[Gov. Rauner] said “structural changes” also are needed — including term limits and “fair map” redistricting reforms — to restore investor confidence in the state.
With their business literally rooted in McLean County, there is little danger of Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup of the Funks leaving the state.
Mike Funk said they have carved out a niche and existing regulations have not been a burden to their business.
After Rauner left, Debby Funk said, “We hope the governor will compromise and pass the budget.”
It would’ve been nice if they hadn’t waited until after he’d left to say that, but they’re just civilians and he’s the governor - and a customer (he bought two jugs of syrup).
Early childhood education services in Williamson County’s five school districts may not be available next year unless the state releases all or most of the funds owed to the program in short order, according to Sheila James, program coordinator for the Williamson County Early Childhood Cooperative.
If the state has not released funds owed to the cooperative by Aug. 1, Pre-K will not begin in the fall, James said.
Upon being informed of the concerns of the Williamson County early education cooperative, Rauner’s administration slammed Comptroller Susana Mendoza for failing to release the funds, even though there was no indication that Mendoza was holding the funds hostage.
“Unfortunately, the comptroller is putting high-quality programs at risk for closure by refusing to release these funds,” said Education Secretary Beth Purvis, in a statement provided via email. “We urge Comptroller Mendoza to prioritize the needs of young children and their families so that every child, regardless of community wealth, is given the opportunity to thrive.”
[Abdon Pallasch, spokesman for Comptroller Susana Mendoza] said that in the two years Rauner has been in office, the state’s backlog of bills has doubled to more than $13 billion as he has failed “to fulfill his constitutional duty to propose a balanced budget.” As a result, payments to schools all over Illinois have been delayed despite of the full year funding increase agreed to by the General Assembly and governor. There’s simply not enough money to make all the payments on time, he said.
“Our office just released $1.2 million for Williamson school districts last week, including $270,000 for pre-K programs,” Pallasch said, noting the remainder of funds were for special education and other services. “In response to a hardship plea the cooperative sent our office, we were able to advance them a $115,000 grant last week ahead of schedule, but delays will only get worse as Gov. Rauner holds up a budget deal for his pet projects, using Illinois’ school children as political pawns.”
Honored to be a part of the annual @boyscouts Abraham Lincoln pilgrimage. Shared my fav Lincoln characteristic w them. His persistence. pic.twitter.com/vjCATFB8sN
Also toying with throwing his hat into the ring [for governor] is Lake County lawmaker Scott Drury of Highwood. If the 58th District representative takes the gubernatorial plunge, he can expect Madigan to ignore him about like the Trump administration ignores climate change. […]
It was also a lesson to the former U.S. attorney and his fellow lawmakers to find out what happens when a Democrat crosses cold-hearted Madigan’s iron rule in the House: Drury is now what only can be considered akin to an exiled member of the old Soviet Politburo. Instead of being sent to Siberia, he has to toil in Springfield with little serious committee assignments.
At one time, the third-term House member — who represents portions of Highland Park, Deerfield, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire and North Chicago — was vice-chairman of a House Judiciary Criminal committee, sat on the House Personnel and Pensions committee and a third education panel. No more. He was bounced from all three posts by Madigan.
Ironically, it was master-redistricting mapmaker Madigan who drew the boundaries to a friendly Democratic leaning district which led to Drury’s election. On that count, Drury, if he runs for re-election to the House instead of for governor, can expect a challenger scoured up by Madigan.
That ain’t horrible considering he didn’t vote for either Madigan or Madigan’s rules.
Also, I doubt that Madigan will have any fingerprints on any primary challenger Drury might face if he runs for reelection. Madigan won’t want to make a martyr out of the guy. If Drury does get a challenger, it’ll probably be an independent-minded soccer mom type with no immediately discernible ties to the House Speaker.
And despite announcing a few weeks ago that he was exploring a bid for governor, he hasn’t filed any paperwork with the State Board of Elections to create a committee or alter his current committee. And he’s only reported one contribution for a grand since that announcement.
* But Drury did talk about property taxes and school funding at a local event…
During Drury’s presentation he said the state has a constitutional mandate to fund public education but provides only 25 percent, with 10 percent coming from the federal government and the rest from local property taxes. The national average is 43 percent. He said distribution is also inequitable between wealthier and poorer school districts.
“The districts with the greatest amount of poverty get the least amount of money,” Drury said. “On average, the state’s school districts with the greatest number of low-income students receive 20 percent less funding than wealthier districts. That’s really crazy.” […]
Though Drury did not comment on the suggestion of litigation, he said the funding issue can be solved if legislators will talk to each other to find common ground and forget about party labels. He said there is agreement on the value of education.
“If you educate a kid you give them opportunities to succeed,” Drury said. “The (General) Assembly is a diverse group but they have all benefited from education. They come from all walks of life. There is no need to argue about that. We need to find the funding to educate our kids.”
Drury said the problem comes when they start talking about other programs that must be cut to fund education or raising revenue through taxes or fees. He said the cost of not funding education is real too.
* Chris Kennedy was asked over the weekend about marijuana while speaking to a group of college Democrats in Bloomington. If it was legalized, the student asked, what would his plan be for using the tax money?
“I think you have high hopes,” Kennedy quipped to laughter and applause, and then said…
“I don’t know whether it’ll get legalized, I don’t know if it’ll get taxed. I mean, I think betting our future that all of that occurs and that somehow that’s gonna cure our budget problem. I think we need thoughtful, real, concrete that operate without … without relying on something that has, you know, tenuous, um possibilities. Sorry. I’ll tell you the truth.”
The students were dead silent when he finished, so Kennedy decided to take one more question because, he said, “I can’t go out on that one.”
* One never knows at the beginning of a spring session which bills will jump out and get a lot of media attention. Cursive lessons is one of those bills this year…
Cursive handwriting lessons — which in recent years have become almost as obsolete as chalkboards — might be headed for a comeback in Illinois schools as a result of one suburban lawmaker’s quest.
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Westchester Democrat, tells me his legislation that would require Illinois schools to teach cursive handwriting came out of a dinner-table conversation with his wife, Shawnte.
“You know, schools don’t require cursive to be taught anymore,” he recalls her telling him. Welch said he was startled to learn only a dozen or so states have cursive requirements. The change is due, in part, to the nationally recognized Common Core Standards, which no longer require handwriting instruction.
Illinois has never required cursive as a statewide learning standard, and the State Board of Education is neutral on the bill.
Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, the Hillside Democrat pushing the state requirement, said schools would not have to create a separate cursive class. Instead, they could incorporate it into existing courses. […]
And advocates including the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation say cursive improves students’ reading, spelling and retention skills, as well as making them more focused. “It really benefits them in a lot of ways,” said Sheila Lowe, the foundation’s president.
Not everyone is convinced. Some opponents say that the state shouldn’t make the decision for local schools and that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work well. […]
When the plan was called for a vote in the Illinois House this week, it did win the support of some Republicans and advanced to the Senate by a 67-48 vote. After all, one lawmaker contended, the state already requires the teaching of all kinds of things.
“Yes, it is an issue of local control, but if you look at the school code, outside of the core studies, we have mandated a course of instruction on Bird and Arbor Day, on ‘Just Say No’ day, on Irish famine study,” said Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights. “Really? Irish famine study? I think cursive could be just as important as Irish famine study.”
* Opposition can be summed up in two words, but this was the best example I could find…
Right now the House is debating HB2977, which is another one of these… I'm voting no. pic.twitter.com/WE4ct6NzD8
* The Question: Should schools be required by the state to at least incorporate cursive instructions into their lesson plans? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
That was the message I received from Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig, who was among local mayors who traveled to the state capitol in Springfield last week to push for an end to a two-year standoff blocking a state budget. There’s “no sense of optimism with anyone we speak with on either side of the aisle,” Craig said, adding “it’s pretty clear we won’t see a budget” before the 2018 gubernatorial election.
Statehouse politicians are exploring potential options to place an immediate freeze on controversial lease payments to the owners of a 60,000 square foot warehouse used to store paper records in Springfield.
The Procurement Policy Board held its first public meeting since our reporting uncovered the close ties between Chairman Frank Vala and ex-convict Bill Cellini and his son-in-law Raffi Vartanian. Vartanian is listed as one of the three owners who benefited from the above market lease deal with the state.
An upstart company registered under the name Climate Controlled Holdings purchased the old Barney’s Furniture warehouse for $575,000 before promptly leasing it to the state of Illinois in a guaranteed 5-year, $2.4 million deal. Climate Controlled Holdings registered with Illinois as a new business just two days before the state’s bid deadline was set to expire in February of 2016.
Eventually, three owners would claim an equal share of the company, splitting it up into three equal parts. Mary Hurwitz launched Kidstone, LLC, in September of 2016 on the same exact date Mary Pruitt opened SGA, LLC. Neither Hurwitz nor Pruitt have returned our phone calls or emails inquiring about the nature of their new companies or whether they are open for business to anyone other than the state of Illinois. A lawyer who registered Pruitt’s LLC responded to our requests for comment issuing a stark warning not to “disparage” his client’s company.
Vala holds the tie-breaking vote on the Procurement Policy Board and yet he abstained from holding a vote or making a motion to review or object to this above market lease. When the Procurement Board opts not to vote, lease deals are automatically allowed to pass. His abstention was de facto approval.
On Friday, Vala went silent when asked about his ties to Vartanian and Cellini or if he knew of Vartanian’s whereabouts. It remains unclear if Vartanian maintains a residence in Chicago or if he still lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Pritzker, a Chicago entrepreneur and investor, spoke of restorative justice for Illinois inmates, how to lessen dependency on fossil fuels and the need for increased funding for education.
“We’re so vastly underfunded in our school systems that schools are fighting for scraps,” said Pritzker. “The state only gives 26 percent of funds to schools and the rest is funded by taxpayers. The state has shirked its responsibility for too long and needs to step up and pay those bills.”
“The state” is funded by “taxpayers,” too. But I digress.
Kennedy said he is opposed to funding kindergarten through high school public schools through property taxes.
“We need to get rid of that system. It’s a terrible system,” he said. “Every other state in the United States has figured that out. They pay for their schools at the state level and not through local property taxes and they have much better outcomes.”
In the U.S., school funding comes from a combination of three sources. The balance varies from state to state but, on average, looks like this: 45 percent local money, 45 percent from the state and 10 percent federal.
* Illinois Education Secretary Purvis weighs in on the future of rural schools: Purvis went on to suggest a history buff could go back to the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention and take the headlines from that time about our school funding formula and put it in any current newspaper in the state and they would be relevant today. “So are we fairly funding the schools? No. But that begs the question why aren’t we doing so?” she said.
Monique: Governor, why do you keep saying that the grand bargain in the Senate is close? Last week, Senate President John Cullerton said that that’s not true.
Rauner: (Laughs.) Um. We need to focus. We need to focus, we need to get a balanced budget. Um, the negotiations…
Monique: Have you talked to the Senate President about the budget?
Rauner: I… on uh… Several times. Quite a bit. The, the conversations are continuing.
* So, I asked Senate President Cullerton’s office for comment…
He has talked to the governor within the past week.
I asked whether the talk(s) was fruitful and I’ll let you know the reply.
But that was a pretty measured response from Cullerton.
*** UPDATE *** Here’s the reply to my question about whether the talk was fruitful…
House Bill 109, which has been called the ‘lifeline’ bill, allocates a total of $817 million. Of that amount, $559 million is appropriated for higher education, with more than half for Monetary Award Program (MAP) tuition grants for low-income college students. The remaining $258 million goes to human services. […]
(M)oney for the lifeline plan comes only from two State accounts designated specifically for higher education and human services under State law. Without appropriations by the General Assembly, money accumulating in the two funds may not be spent. […]
Without the lifeline bill, higher education has received average annual funding over the last two years of 41.8% of the level in FY2015, the State’s last year with a full budget. Even if the lifeline plan is enacted, higher education would still receive average annual funding of only 56.2%. Spending on higher education totaled $1.9 billion in FY2015, compared with total funding with the lifeline appropriations of $2.2 billion for FY2016 and FY2017 together. The funding shortfall, based on the FY2015 annual amount, is $1.7 billion. […]
With the lifeline bill, funding for MAP grants would reach an annual average of 83.5% of the FY2015 level. Without the lifeline appropriations, MAP funding for FY2016 and FY2017 has provided for less than one full year of grants. The additional funding will cover the first semester of the 2016-2017 school year and part of the second. […]
The human services funding shortfall is harder to measure than the gap for higher education because most of the historical funding for the area has been provided through court orders and consent decrees. Without any appropriations, the State spent $4.68 billion on human services in FY2016, compared with $5.43 billion in FY2015. Programs not covered by court orders or consent decrees include home care for seniors who are not eligible for Medicaid, community mental health services and addiction treatment programs.
The Governor’s FY2018 budget book shows a remaining funding shortfall of $571 million for human services in FY2016. GOMB officials estimate the gap for FY2017 at $381 million, bringing the total two-year amount needed to $952 million. Lifeline appropriations of $258 million would cover 27.1% of the shortfall.
The Illinois House of Representatives today passed HB 2622, a bill creating a not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurance company that would compete with other insurers to provide workers’ comp coverage to Illinois employers.
Proven to be successful in the 17 other states where they operate, including neighboring Missouri and Kentucky, these companies typically grow to be the biggest providers of workers’ compensation insurance in their respective states.
HB 2622 was sponsored by Rep. Laura Fine (D-Glenview), and supported by organized labor in Illinois, including the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA).
Sean Stott, Director of Governmental Affairs for LIUNA’s Midwest Region, said that the creation of a not-for-profit insurance alternative will enhance competitiveness in Illinois’ insurance market and force insurers to cut costs for Illinois employers.
“Big business and Governor Rauner want to cut benefits for injured workers and exclude legitimate injuries from coverage,” said Stott. “That has proven not to be an effective way to control employer costs.”
In 2011, Illinois lawmakers passed a series of benefit cuts for workers. Stott said the savings from those cuts have not been passed on to Illinois employers, but instead have substantially increased the profits of insurance companies.
Since Illinois does not strictly regulate workers’ compensation insurance premiums, as others states do, the recommendation of a 29 percent cut in insurance rates since the 2011 law changes has not been honored by the insurance industry.
The portion of workers’ compensation premiums paid by Illinois employers that is used to pay injured workers’ benefits has dropped 28.4% since the 2011 law changes. According to the Illinois Department of Insurance, barely half of premiums collected by insurers (53.5 percent) in 2015 were used to pay workers’ comp claims.
“Where is the rest of Illinois employers’ money going?” Stott asked. “It should come as no surprise that insurance company profits are skyrocketing.”
According to the Department, insurer profits on workers’ comp sales have increased 30 percent since 2011.
HB 2622 offers Illinois employers an alternative to padding the profits of insurance companies. State-chartered workers’ comp insurance companies provide long-term savings and a high level of service to their policy holders because they:
• Emphasize avoiding accidents by improving workplace safety through working with employers to eliminate hazards.
• Have no profit motive: they answers to policyholders, not stockholders.
• Do not sell other types of insurance, so their exclusive focus is providing employers with the highest quality customer service.
* The IMA hates the bill…
Illinois’ workers’ compensation costs rank 8th highest in the nation and remain a primary reason why manufacturing companies and good paying jobs are fleeing the state. Since the end of the 2009 recession, Illinois has lost 1,600 manufacturing jobs while our neighboring states have added tens of thousands of new jobs.
This week, House Democrats passed two bills (HB 2525, HB 2622) under the guise of reform. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s window dressing and a political sham designed to deflect from the necessary reforms that are needed to make Illinois more attractive for job creation and capital investment. Further, lawmakers are taking $10 million in employer money from the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission to start a new public insurance company that will compete with the private sector at a time when they have not passed a balanced budget with comprehensive budget reforms.
The bill’s chief sponsor publicly acknowledged in committee that he refused to make any changes in the last year despite personally participating in more than 100 hours of meetings with all stakeholders.
These House Democrat-sponsored bills will not reduce costs or reform the system to make Illinois competitive. In fact, this legislation further hinders Illinois’ workers’ compensation by codifying a horrible court ruling into law for the benefit of trial lawyers and labor unions.
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association continues to call on the Governor and lawmakers to enact real and meaningful reforms to our workers’ compensation system that include these key components:
Create a causal standard
Bring inflated medical costs into line with average states
Reduce the abuse and high cost of drugs and compounds
Strengthen use of American Medical Association standards
It’s time to stop the bogus and contrived political games and start making Illinois work again.
* Steve Schneider, Midwest region vice president for the American Insurance Association, is also no fan…
“AIA is disappointed by the House’s passage of HB 2525 and HB 2622, adverse workers’ compensation legislation.
Illinois is the most competitive state for worker’s compensation insurance. More than 300 insurers compete for the right to earn a customer’s business. Competition is intrinsically good for all Illinois employers who must purchase this mandated, comprehensive coverage. This competition stems from Illinois’ current open competitive rating law that has been in effect for 35 years. HB 2525 would eviscerate that law and its benefits for Illinois employers.
By replacing healthy competition with an extremely vague regulatory standard, HB 2525 could lead to every single workers’ compensation policy and its premiums undergoing formal review by the Department of Insurance every year, or even more frequently. Such bureaucratic interference with open competition will hurt not just workers’ compensation insurers, but all Illinois businesses.
Additionally, HB 2622 not only inappropriately interferes with the private market, but also fails to provide meaningful reform to the Illinois’ workers’ compensation system. No reason exists for Illinois to create its own state-sponsored workers’ compensation insurance company to compete against private sector insurers and jobs when no major crisis is present and massive government intervention is not necessary.
Insurers stand ready to work with policymakers on meaningful reform to provide an effective workers’ compensation system with reduced cost drivers for employers and appropriate benefits and medical care for injured workers with a minimum of delays and disputes. HB 2525 and HB 2622 is not the right approach to achieving meaningful reform.”
The bill passed the House with 67 votes. It’ll be vetoed no matter what the Senate does and then it won’t be overridden.
Pritzker’s campaign last evening confirmed the coming endorsement but would not go much beyond the names of unions that POLITICO already knew of from sources, including: Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 United Association of Plumbers Local 130 and a local laborers group.
Trade unions in this state are historically allied with Speaker Madigan. Not saying, just saying. But word has been building on the street that Madigan allies are starting to more than just lean toward Pritzker because of his self-funding potential and his unexpected campaign abilities.
“He’s presenting himself now as a progressive Democrat,” [Sen. Daniel Biss] said. “I’ve never known him to be that in the past. His track record in the past doesn’t show how that would be the case. I think we need to hear from him what he was hoping to support.”
Biss again mocked Pritzker as a moderate pretending to be a progressive.
“Maybe he was hoping a Republican candidate running against President Obama in 2012 would be more progressive than President Obama,” he said dryly. “That’s not what I saw coming out of the Republican primary in 2012 and I’d be really curious to hear a detailed explanation from Mr. Pritzker.”
“I just want J.B. Pritzker to explain who he is. Let us know the story of J.B. Pritzker and all those pieces of history of not being sure if he wanted Barack Obama to be reelected president in 2012 to the support for a series of moderate candidates over the years. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about. He just needs to tell us and give a clear picture and not just try to become somebody else.”
A campaign spokesperson for Chris Kennedy said, “We’ll let the video speak for itself. The voters can be the judge.”
Um, OK. Biss was an early endorser of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. He crafted a pension reform plan when he was in the House that was opposed by unions. And he raised a bunch of money from Speaker Madigan types last year for his federal PAC.
Democratic governor candidate Chris Kennedy used a fundraising email over the weekend to compare rival J.B. Pritzker to Illinois’ Republican governor.
“Gov. Rauner has done some pretty awful things to our state. The worst thing he has done is fail to pass a budget but the second worst thing he has done is silence his own party. No elected official in the Republican Party has spoken out against him. Why would they? He spent millions in the last election cycle to elect his preferred candidates. He has used his money to intimidate them. He has used his finances to bully them,” Kennedy says in the email solicitation.
“We can’t let what’s happening in the Republican Party happen in the Democratic Party,” he said. “We are at a moment when we can strengthen the Democratic Party in Illinois. But we won’t become stronger by nominating someone to represent us who doesn’t need our money, who doesn’t need our ideas, and who isn’t influenced by our opinions. Big money talks, it doesn’t listen.”
I think Sen. Sam McCann would differ with Kennedy on the “No elected official in the Republican Party has spoken out against him” remark, but maybe that’s because Sam’s the exception which proves the rule.
Either way, that’s probably not a bad angle to use.
* Kennedy spoke to the Will and Grundy Counties Trades and Labor Council Dinner on Friday night…
“This is not a stalemate,” Kennedy said. “This is a hostage taking. This governor isn’t interested in negotiating a budget. If he wanted to negotiate a budget he could get it done within a week and there would be Democratic and Republican support. He’s holding that budget hostage for his turnaround agenda.”
That agenda includes measures such as property tax freezes, lawsuit reform and “right to work” zones, which leaves the decision of whether to require workers to join a union up to voters in their own communities. Unions such as the Will and Grundy Counties Trades and Labor Council see right to work zones as an attempt to weaken the influence of unions statewide.
“We’re definitely not supporting Rauner,” said Council President Charlie Hanus. “We’re looking for somebody that can work with people instead of trying to dictate like Rauner.”
Kennedy also spoke about struggling communities across the state. He specifically mentioned communities downstate with fewer resources such as grocery stores and hospitals as readily accessible as they are in the Chicago area. He said those struggling have become angry with the wealthy, the elite and politicians, and that’s why they voted in Republicans like President Donald Trump. He argued Democrats need to start paying attention to those communities.
* Related…
* ADDED:Democrat doubleheader: Kennedy bashes Rauner, Bernal takes on Long: “Gov. Rauner is using it because he wants to run for president of the United States,” Kennedy said, “He’s adopted a phony Southern accent so he can appeal to the right wing of the Republican Party, largely located in the South. His platform is going to be he’s the guy who beat the unions and destroyed the fundamental tenant of our country, which is the rule of law, and he’s broken the pension contract that workers have. That’s what he wants to do. If he’s going to hold our state budget hostage for something that’s more about his personal ambitions than something that’s good for the rest of the state, that needs to end. He wears a Carhartt jacket around like he’s some sort of pipe fitter that’s just walked off a construction job on a 20 degree day in a 30 knot wind, and he’s using that as a disguise to go right after the people he’s screwing that he’s dressing like, and that shouldn’t be allowed. A guy who wears phony clothes and has that phony accent doesn’t deserve our respect and he sure doesn’t deserve to be re-elected in the state of Illinois.”
* ILGOP Press release: Will Democrats Change Tune This Small Business Week? Dem Candidates for Gov. Race Towards Madigan on Tax-and-Spend Agenda
* Rodney Davis main target of barbs at Democrat luncheon: “Did you get the same email I did from Congressman Davis this week?” Bennett asked the audience. “He’s finally getting back to us on issues that he knows you care about, on airline customer service. The disconnect is unbelievable. But it’s hard to know what your constituents want when you won’t meet with them and you won’t hear any conflicting views.”
* A group of labor unions led by Local 150 of the Operating Engineers is using the international May Day holiday to launch a $2 million advertising campaign under the name “Fight Back.” Click here for the website, and here’s a new TV ad running in Illinois and Indiana…
* The Fight Back Fund kicked in $1 million to last year’s lockbox amendment campaign. It’s a tax-exempt political advocacy group that doesn’t have to disclose its contributors. However, the group’s head, Marc Poulos, told the Tribune last year that it is largely funded by union members.
In normal times, a 40-minute, late-April meeting to talk about the budget between a governor and the House speaker would be so routine that it would likely go unnoticed by pretty much everyone under the Statehouse dome.
But these ain’t normal times.
A funded, full-year state budget has not passed during a spring legislative session since 2013, almost exactly four years ago. We’ve had partial-year or “stopgap” budgets ever since.
And House Speaker Michael Madigan hasn’t formally met with the governor since Dec. 6 of last year, about five months ago. Gov. Bruce Rauner announced at the time there would be no more such meetings until the Democrats were prepared to offer up a balanced budget with specific reforms — something that the governor hasn’t done since, either.
So, it was definitely news when Speaker Madigan requested a private, one-on-one sit-down with Gov. Rauner last week and then the two actually met.
Speaker Madigan issued a statement saying that he had urged the governor “to turn his focus to the budget.” Gov. Rauner’s office then claimed that Madigan “hinted that he may be willing to enact a truly balanced budget with changes that will help create jobs, properly fund our schools and lower property taxes.”
Did they really make progress?
Well, we all know that the governor is prone to exaggeration. He said repeatedly during the two-week spring break that the grand bargain negotiations were close to being wrapped up.
He even claimed at one whistle stop that negotiations were going on between the two caucuses as he spoke, with another scheduled for the following day. None of that was true.
The House speaker has his own issues. He doesn’t say much except to repeat what he’s been saying over and over for two years: The governor should focus on passing a budget. Madigan himself, meanwhile, has been completely focused on denying the governor any wins on Rauner’s terms. All wins must instead be on Madigan’s terms.
Madigan’s spokesman reacted to the governor’s statement by pointing to a bill the House passed last week to make workers’ compensation insurance “more affordable.”
That bill (HB 2622), however, sets up a state-run workers’ comp insurance company to compete with existing private insurers. Trial lawyers and unions insist that the hundreds of workers’ comp insurers in Illinois are colluding to keep prices high. Hey, maybe such a thing could work.
But creating a government insurance company is not exactly the sort of reform that our Milton Friedman-worshipping governor will ever accept as a “win.”
Even so, I choose, for the millionth time, to look at the bright side. At least they met. At least there was apparently a mention (no matter how brief) of non-budgetary reforms. At least they didn’t full-on whack each other after their meeting ended.
You gotta crawl before you can walk, so I’ll take it, no matter how pathetically tiny or how temporary that microscopic bit of progress may have been.
It’s been Madigan’s habit over the years to send the Senate a budget and then announce that the House has completed its work. He did it again last year and was ultimately stymied when the Senate refused to pass it.
But Madigan likely can’t even pass another budget bill out of his own chamber this year, mainly because a group of 10 or so independent Democratic women in his caucus are sick and tired of these impasse games. They have enough votes to block him if they stick together.
And if the Senate ever does send Madigan its grand bargain, those 10 House members and several more will demand that he take some action. This impasse is killing them back in their districts, along with the blame that the governor has so successfully pinned on Madigan with tens of millions of dollars. A deal would take an enormous amount of heat off Madigan’s members, and, by extension, him.
Rauner, for his part, is dangerously close to being permanently labeled as a failed governor. Everything he’s tried has failed. Sure, he can point to minor administrative successes, but he wasn’t elected to save a few bucks on data processing.
And constantly awarding himself an “A” grade by pointing to these little administrative successes comes close to making him look dangerously separated from the reality that his state is rapidly going down the drain.
Both men have good reasons to find a way out of this mess. But they’re also the most stubborn men on the planet. Let’s hope they keep talking.
