Even as parts of the Chicago area clean up from torrential rains that deluged waterways, streets and basements, the worst could still be yet to come for some areas as stormwater flowing from the north could bring with it record flooding in the coming days.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources said Thursday that unprecedented water levels flowing downstream from Wisconsin are expected to cause problems in northern Illinois in the coming days — even if there’s no additional rainfall.
“Flooding of this magnitude has not been seen before,” a statement from the department warned. [Emphasis added.]
* You would think the governor’s new crack PR team would be all over this. As the old saying (from Gov. Rauner himself) goes: “Crisis creates opportunity.” Yeah, he just vetoed the budgets for IEMA, ISP and IDNR, so that might be tough to explain, but I doubt any local reporters will bring it up.
As a former Rauner staffer said today, going to Lake County would allow Rauner to look like he’s “in control” and “gubernatorial,” and could help deflect questions about his recent staff hires.
The governor has only one event on his schedule today, an appearance this afternoon with the First Lady at Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital (no media availability, by the way). But even if he wants to avoid Lake County to let people do their work, he hasn’t sent out any statements about the flooding, even though Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital was evacuated yesterday. I mean, he hasn’t even mentioned the floods on his Twitter page.
…Adding… As a buddy of mine points out, he could also just fly over the area in the state helicopter.
* To give you an idea of the usual protocol, this is what the governor’s office sent out on May 1st…
Governor Rauner this morning activated the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield to ensure state personnel and equipment are ready to be quickly deployed if needed to help local emergency responders with flooding-related public safety issues in several areas of the state.
“Several inches of rain has caused our rivers to swell, which has caused flooding in some communities. In order to expedite any state assistance to protect residents and critical infrastructure, I activated the State Emergency Operations Center with personnel from several key agencies to quickly react to any requests,” said Governor Rauner.
Representatives from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), Illinois State Police (ISP), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC), Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Department of Public Health, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the American Red Cross (ARC) have reported to the SEOC to coordinate deployment of state resources and personnel to assist communities preparing for or already battling floodwaters.
Nothing like that was issued either today or yesterday as far as I can tell.
Shortly before 3 o’clock, I asked the governor’s office whether the State Emergency Operations Center had been activated and what else the governor is doing. I delayed this post for an hour to allow them time to respond. I’ll let you know if they ever reply.
…Adding… From a “senior Illinois Republican leader”…
He’s replaced major leaguers with single A amateurs. What do you expect from them?
*** UPDATE 1 *** From a link posted in comments…
* Gov. Scott Walker called for National Guard in southern Wisconsin to help with flooding cleanup: Gov. Scott Walker declared a state of emergency and called up the National Guard to assist residents in parts of Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties in dealing with flooding after yesterday’s historic rains. Eighty-five National Guard members were helping at various areas in southern Wisconsin, including Burlington, which was heavily flooded.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Mary Ann Ahern tweeted she’s hearing Rauner may show up in Lake County tomorrow, days after the flooding started on Wednesday.
During his 2014 campaign, Bruce Rauner repeatedly bragged about the “superstars” he would bring into state government. With these “superstars,” he claimed he would “drive a result” and revitalize state government with an outsider perspective.
Fast forward to present and Rauner’s new team of “superstars” is actually a group of radical right-wing Illinois Policy Institute staffers with limited government experience and fantasy budget proposals. The only result they’re going to achieve is further devastation and more crises as schools and working families continue to pay the price.
“The only thing this new team will be super at is dragging Illinois down a right-wing path of economic destruction,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “In the backward fantasyland they’ve proposed, Illinois children will be left with shuttered school buildings and public universities will shut down. With these ‘superstars’ charting the course, it’s clear that Bruce Rauner is looking to retire with a bang.”
We need to assemble the most talented team of leaders and executives who’ve ever turned around a state government, and that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what I’ve done my whole life. Every time we start a business or invest in a business or build a business, we try and put the most talented team that really knows that industry or that sector. That’s what we do. That’s what I’ve done for 32 years. I’ve assembled dozens and dozens and dozens of super talented teams. That’s how we succeeded. Evelyn and I are committed to assembling talent. The most talented people from around Illinois we want to bring them into here, into Springfield to turn the government around.
You know, Mitch Daniels is my role model. Mitch Daniels brought in 30 superstars from the private sector around Indiana and around America into Indianapolis and had them put in charge of the government to run the government efficiently and effectively and transparently, and that’s exactly what we want to do here.
Now be careful. If you raise your hands during this, I may actually recruit you to come in and work for the government, so be slow to raise your hand. But I want to assemble… we’re very blessed. We’ve already had many executives come to us and say ‘Bruce, like your leadership, like your message, love the state of Illinois, and I’d be willing to work for a dollar a year too. I’ll give back for a few years. We’ll come in, and we’ll work for the government and help transform it.’ We need expertise in pensions, expertise in Medicaid, expertise in tax strategy, expertise in business policy, expertise in workers comp.
We need brilliant people who are doing it for the right reasons to drive a result.
I wonder whatever happened to all those business executives who said they’d work for a dollar a year?
* The Illinois Policy Institute has a new post entitled “Understanding why the new budget fails Illinoisans.” Here’s point 5…
It sets up Illinois for another unbalanced budget in 3 years
Illinois’ budget will still end up underwater in just a few years, even with $5 billion in tax hikes.
Even if all the 2018 budget’s assumed savings are successfully implemented, the state will be back to deficit spending again by 2021 based on conservative projections of the state’s revenues and expenditures.*
Pension costs could rise due to new actuarial assumptions or a downturn in the stock market. Department spending on core government services could eat into planned budget balances. Tax revenues could fall as more people leave to avoid paying the 32 percent income tax hike.
Deficits will occur because the budget doesn’t fix the state’s true problem: out-of-control government spending.
*The Illinois Policy Institute assumes both revenues and expenditures will grow 2 percent annually. If the presumed savings ($1.1 billion of pension savings and $814 million of “unspent appropriations”), revenues or additional expenditures (up to $700 million in additional annual debt service to pay down the backlog of bills) are off in any way, the state could be deficit-spending as soon as fiscal year 2019.
Good point. But if our governor actually proposed and then worked to pass a legitimate and reasonable budget for once, he could get in front of problems by controlling some state spending. He also doesn’t have to spend all the money appropriated in the new budget. He can choose to not sign leases and contracts, and he can work to lower those and other costs.
That’s what governors are supposed to do, not just sit back and let everything run on auto-pilot and then demand that the General Assembly craft a budget plan for him - and then veto the end product when that finally happens.
Rauner’s New Right-Wing Staff Not as Silent as the Governor on Health Care
Will Rauner’s Right-Wing Reset Include Siding with IPI, and Calling for Ending ACA’s Expansion?
This morning, the Senate Republicans released their newest version of Trumpcare, and will look to vote on the measure in the coming days. Last time the Senate offered legislation it failed in part due to pressure from Republican and Democratic Governors…not named Bruce Rauner
Despite the calls for leadership from the public and press, Rauner refused to comment on Trumpcare. Rauner was ridiculed for his silence. The Sun-Times called Rauner “AWOL” while Lynn Sweet wondered if Rauner had any “guiding principles.” Greg Hinz of Crain’s Chicago said Rauner’s silence was “lame” while other Governors forcefully spoke out.
Trumpcare has the potential to devastate Illinois’ budget and people. Its cuts to Medicaid would blow a $40 billion hole in the state’s budget. Rauner, fresh off his latest bipartisan budget defeat, has chosen to ignore this ax hanging over the fiscal future of the state.
One Illinois group has an idea, though; The Illinois Policy Institute has called for ending the Medicaid Expansion in Obamacare, currently providing coverage to 650,000 Illinois residents, to cut the budget.
Does Governor Rauner agree with his new staff that Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion needs to be rolled back?
“For months, Rauner kept his silence on Trumpcare for political expediency,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “He has failed to lead in the Trumpcare debate and abdicated responsibility for standing up for the welfare of Illinois’ residents. Trumpcare would drive up premiums for middle class families while stripping protections for people, and blowing a hole in the state budget. While other Republican Governors have stood up and made their voices heard, Rauner’s silence on Trumpcare helps it succeed.”
Central Illinois state legislators returned to a familiar target early and often while addressing Twin City business leaders on Thursday at Illinois State University.
“(House) Speaker (Michael) Madigan inserted a clause into the budget bill that holds schools hostage,” said State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet. “No one in this room would ever say, ‘This is a legitimate negotiating tactic, let’s hold schoolchildren hostage.’ … Those type of tactics from the speaker not only aren’t right, but make it almost impossible to find some sort of consensus.”
Rose joined Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, State Sen. Jason Barickman and State Rep. Dan Brady, all Bloomington Republicans, in blaming Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, for many of the state’s ills during a forum with the McLean County Chamber of Commerce at the Hancock Stadium Club.
* As the Pantagraph story clearly notes, “No one in this room” included Bill Brady. It just so happens that Sen. Brady sponsored the Republicans’ “Capitol Compromise” budget package. The appropriations bill in that package included this language…
The following amounts, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are appropriated to the Illinois State Board of Education for Evidence-Based Funding, provided for in Section 18-8.15 of the School Code:
Payable from the Education Assistance Fund ………71,349,300
Payable from the Common School Fund ………….3,611,012,300
Payable from the General Revenue Fund ………..1,863,211,200
Payable from the Fund for the Advancement of Education:……….641,000,000
* Now, look at the approp bill that passed both chambers and became law…
The following amounts, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are appropriated to the Illinois State Board of Education for Evidence-Based Funding, provided for in Section 18-8.15 of the School Code:
Payable from the Education Assistance Fund……..243,349,300
Payable from the Common School Fund………….3,611,012,300
Payable from the General Revenue Fund………..2,203,098,300
Payable from the Fund for the Advancement of Education……….619,000,000
Those highlighted “for Evidence-Based Funding” passages are what Rep. Rose was talking about. Billions of dollars can’t be spent on K-12 until the state has an evidenced-based funding law on the books. SB 1, which hasn’t yet been sent to the governor, includes that needed language.
* Not only that, but Sen. Rose himself publicly supported Brady’s bill. If you click here, you’ll see a Sen. Rose press release touting his support for the “Capitol Compromise.”
* But despite its obvious shortcomings, the above Pantagraph story is hugely insightful. Buried way down is this passage…
“No one’s more disappointed than the four of us” about the lack of reforms, said Bill Brady.
He added education funding reform “is a leverage point we have that we hope we can use to get the reforms that were on the table.” The budget requires a new state funding formula for K-12 schools before they receive any more money — the tactic Rose criticized.
So, it appears that Sen. Brady wants to do exactly what Sen. Rose said no one should ever do. According to Brady’s own words, he wants to use the pending crisis of schools not opening because of the current lack of an evidenced-based model as “leverage” to pass the governor’s reforms.
* This money has been piling up unused in special state accounts for months. The House Democrats included the cash in their “Lifeline Budget” in May, which the governor opposed and which went nowhere in the Senate. Appropriations from that fund were included in the bipartisan budget deal that the governor vetoed but Comptroller Mendoza supported, so she took the opportunity to announce the disbursement…
Using over $695 million in existing education funds, Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza announced today the first release of funds to state colleges and universities in more than seven months.
The recent override of Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of the state’s first comprehensive budget in over two years provided appropriation authority to utilize existing higher education funds.
State colleges and universities had not received funding since the expiration of the “stopgap” budget on Jan. 1, 2017.
Comptroller Mendoza met with Eastern Illinois University President David Glassman Thursday morning as her office expedited a payment of $5.7 million to the school. EIU, Western Illinois University in Macomb and Chicago State University had been among those hardest hit by the budget impasse.
President Glassman showed Comptroller Mendoza some of the deferred maintenance on campus. Like other Illinois universities suffering through the last two years without a state budget, Eastern had to lay off more than 400 staff, Glassman said.
The release of $327 million for the MAP program will go toward an estimated 110,000 students from all over Illinois who qualified under the need-based award program for the 2016-17 academic year that just ended this Spring. These funds will fulfill the state’s commitment to those students attending public and private universities, colleges and community colleges who had to worry all year long whether the state would honor its commitment.
Comptroller Mendoza had been urging legislators and the Governor to deliver these funds for several months as the budget impasse stretched into its second year.
“The state’s institutions of higher education were devastated by the budget crisis and their mistreatment proved to a be a breaking point for legislators on both sides of the aisle. Delivering this money will provide immediate aid to students, parents, faculty and administrators who have struggled for more than two years to pay their bills.”
“Like the many legislators who supported a bipartisan budget solution last week, my office is committed to helping our colleges and universities recover from the unprecedented – and unnecessary – wreckage,” Comptroller Mendoza said.
Under Governor Rauner, state funding to public colleges and universities over the last two years was cut more than 60 percent. During this time, the credit rating of five major state colleges and universities dropped to junk status.
The funds released today will provide for payments that were owed to universities, colleges and to students eligible under the need based Monetary Award Program (MAP). They will benefit Chicago State University; Eastern Illinois University; Governors State University; Illinois State University; Northeastern Illinois University; Northern Illinois University; Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and Edwardsville; the University of Illinois system and its schools in Chicago, Springfield and Urbana-Champaign; and Western Illinois University; as well as other schools with MAP grant students in attendance. State universities will receive $327 million in funding. The remaining $36 million will be delivered to state community colleges.
Overall, the new bipartisan budget provides about $1.1 billion to higher education for the past fiscal year.
Additionally, the Comptroller has directed her Office to work with the universities and colleges to begin issuing another $160 million to public universities and community colleges for operational support from the state. Payments have already begun to be released as vouchers are submitted to the Office.
Many public institutions had to exhaust their local reserves to the point that it has threatened their ability to even make debt service payments. The release of these payments will ensure that these institutions can open the fall semester on time without disruption to staff and operations.
“Our schools and our students need stability. These desperately needed past-due payments will bring more stability to operations going into the fall semester and provide a reassurance to the accrediting and credit rating agencies that state funds are on the way,” Comptroller Mendoza said.
Our state’s public institutions provide benefits that extend well beyond their campuses. Every $1 invested in Higher Ed generates $4 in economic activity for the state.
* Related…
* Chicago Tonight: Comptroller Susana Mendoza on State Budget
* What does $15 billion in overdue bills mean for doctors and hospitals in Illinois?: Having a budget doesn’t put everyone at ease. Dr. Timothy Wall’s pediatric practice is one of the largest private providers of Medicaid managed care in DuPage County, and insurers owe it more than $1 million. He’s put off vaccinating children after their first birthdays because the insurers stopped paying for the expensive shots, and he’s stopped taking patients covered by Family Health Network, one of the biggest Medicaid insurers in the state. He might do so soon for patients covered by Meridian, another large carrier.
About 185 low-income, older adults who receive state assistance to remain in their homes in McLean County will transition to another service provider as YWCA McLean County ends its long-standing, state-assisted home care services.
Home-care services for 24 private-pay older adults will remain.
“It’s true that we now have a state budget,” Liz German, YWCA McLean County vice president of operations, told The Pantagraph on Wednesday. “But the damage has been done. We can’t turn back the clock.”
YWCA is owed $500,000 by the state and $300,000 of that is for state-assisted home-care services, German said.
YWCA’s last day providing state-assisted home care services for people 60 and older will be Aug. 5, German said.
The agency has been been providing state-assisted home-care services for 45 years and has been the largest provider in McLean County, said Vicki Hightower, YWCA senior director of adult services. Two companies — Addus HomeCare and Help At Home — also accept state-assisted home-care clients in McLean County. Several companies work with private pay clients, who aren’t affected by the transition.
* From the Pritzker campaign…
“As Rauner staffs up with a radical right-wing team determined to cause more devastation, our most vulnerable communities are still reeling from the damage of round one,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Rauner’s actions are salt in the wound and Illinois seniors, children, and families can’t afford his callous leadership any longer.”
* Related…
* Women’s Center in Carbondale still in need of state funds despite end of budget impasse: “How long are we gong to be able to survive? Because we don’t know when the money is going to start coming,” said McClanahan The Women’s Center took out a $250,000 loan because of the budget stalemate. “That’s money we are going to have to pay back with interest,” said McClanahan
Some Illinois and Washington party officials think the contest might run well in excess of $300 million, blowing away the current record-holder for statewide office — the $280 million California governor’s race between former eBay executive Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown in 2010. […]
The $250 million to $300 million figure includes expected spending from candidates, super PACS and outside groups. […]
Several people close to Rauner said he was willing to withdraw as much as $150 to $200 million from his own personal fortune, and that he was determined not to let Pritzker outspend him. […]
One thing is clear, [said Curt Anderson, who helped to run Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s race in 2010, when over $150 million was spent]: it would be a mistake to begin airing slash-and-burn commercials anytime soon — a step, he said, that would badly turn off voters.
Um, Curt, they’ve already started.
*** UPDATE 1 *** If you click here, you’ll see Pritzker explaining why he isn’t raising money…
“One of the things you may or may not like about my candidacy is I’m not raising money. The reason that I chose not to do that was predominantly because Bruce Rauner, who people think self-funds, actually takes tens of millions of dollars from the Koch brothers. His largest contributor, $20 million, Ken Griffin, the wealthiest man in Illinois… And there’s going to be much more, probably the Uihleins and probably lots of others because they did this in 2016. And I want you to know that when I stand up in front of you and tell you that I’m for a progressive income tax, and that I’m gonna fight for 15 and that I’m gonna make sure we legalize marijuana, that those are the things I really believe and there’s nobody who’s gonna call me in the middle of the night who backed me, who wrote me a check or something, who’s gonna say to me ‘You can’t do that thing you said you were gonna do because we won’t back you in the next election.’”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity…
Rich,
I hope you ask Pritzker what he means by his statement that Rauner has actually taken tens of millions of dollars from the Koch brothers.
Is he saying that Rauner is taking illegal unreported contributions? As the person who has run a Koch-affiliated organization, Americans for prosperity, in Illinois, I can say that his comment is completely false.
Perhaps he should be a bit more careful before leveling accusations of illegal Blago-like activity.
Regards,
David From
On it.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the Pritzker campaign…
“We appreciate David’s feedback, but unlike Bruce Rauner, our campaign doesn’t take cues from shady, dark money networks and radical anti-union crusaders. Since AFP is having trouble connecting point A to point B, we’re happy to spell it out. Rauner’s new extremist ‘superstar’ team comes from a Koch funded policy institute. Rauner’s donors come from the Koch network, with Ken Griffin and his $20 million leading the charge. And, Rauner’s agenda of forcing pain to make anti-union gains is right out of the Koch playbook. You don’t get a state government this devastating for working families without the Koch brothers lurking in the background.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** From AFP Illinois…
Rich,
I’m sure you’re not interested in an extended back-and-forth. But but for your future use, I wanted to set the record straight on a few things the Pritzker campaign said in their response:
1- IPI does not receive Koch network funding. They raise plenty of money on their own but do not receive Koch money.
2- Ken Griffin is not a Koch Bros. They do not direct Griffin’s political giving. And he does not direct Koch funding.
i’m sure the Pritzker crew will try to make these claims again as part of their boogie man narrative.
Thanks for posting the initial response.
Regards,
David From
*** UPDATE 5 *** From Galia Slayen of the Pritzker campaign…
When attempting to “set the record straight,” David might find it helpful to consult the actual record:
The Illinois Policy Institute Received Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars From The Koch Brothers, Koch Groups, And Koch-Related Donors Like The Knowledge And Progress Fund. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Illinois Policy Institute received funding from the Donors Trust that was funded by The Knowledge and Progress Fund, The Charles Koch Foundation, and Koch-Related Donors. [Center for Public Integrity, accessed 7/10/17]
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is hardening his anti-tax stance as he readies a re-election bid following a major legislative defeat, replacing key staff with leaders of a conservative group that blasted the Republican just a few weeks ago for even considering a tax hike to end a years-long budget impasse.
Rauner’s new chief of staff and a top policy aide, among others, come from the Illinois Policy Institute, a think tank that has advocated for deep cuts to the Medicaid program for the poor and mass layoffs of state workers to fix the state’s finances without new taxes. The overhaul also has included Rauner’s communications director and other communications staff and longtime loyalists, and more changes are expected this week.
If you’re a solid anti-taxer, that’s a pretty darned good lede. If you’re more moderate than that, then it is probably a bit disconcerting.
Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman said appointing former organization President Kristina Rasmussen his chief of staff is an “unmistakable signal” that Rauner intends to fulfill a promise to make Illinois “prosperous and free.”
“With the governor’s decision to add Kristina to his team, Illinois taxpayers and families have an effective and proven champion on their side,” Tillman said.
We’re all gonna be prosperous and free now that our champion is on our side. Hooray!
Some people will rejoice, others may scratch their heads and wonder what that dude is talking about.
“Everyone was in shock,” said a Rauner staffer who asked to remain anonymous.
“I mean everyone came to work Monday morning. But when we were told Richard [Goldberg] was out, we had a feeling if he could do that to him — who was a leader and fiercely loyal — who wouldn’t they do that to?
“Over the next 24 hours everyone was a wreck,” the source added.
“Staff fear was at its height. Doors were shut. People were crying. We then watched one person’s head roll after another. When you see a friend you respect who has worked so hard get dismissed just like that, it’s very difficult.” […]
“It’s been tough. The morale is bad. People are afraid. It has been a coup d’etat type of environment. The conservative Illinois Policy Institute has taken charge.”
Sneed hears Rauner and his wife, Diana, were planning on making these changes earlier — especially in the communications department — but surprised some of their advisers on how quickly they moved to do so.
…Adding… Something Sneed left out was that Goldberg insisted on staying in the office all morning until he had the opportunity to walk the entire 16th floor and personally thank every staff member for their hard work on the governor’s behalf. That classy move may have led to some of the crying.
The administration of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner issued layoff notices to eight employees of the Illinois Department of Transportation Wednesday, saying there was a “lack of work” for them to do, but also saying the action is part of “cleaning up past hiring mistakes and personnel practices.”
Don Craven, a lawyer representing the members of Teamsters Local 916, said the union would “take all appropriate actions to defend the rights” of the members.
Notices informed the workers their last day would be Aug. 15. Those being laid off include the wife of the business manager of Laborers Local 477, and the wife of Bill Houlihan, state director for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Bill Houlihan is also an elected member of the Democratic State Central Committee. […]
Another layoff notice was sent to Cindy Houlihan, 60, of Springfield, whose salary is listed as $85,464 annually. She said she has been on disability due to multiple sclerosis since April, but has hoped to return to work. She said her job has been statewide coordinator of the adopt-a-highway program. She didn’t comment directly on the layoff notice. Comptroller’s records show she worked for the state since 1998.
* Also, by way of contrast, I’m told that Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady has asked Phil Draves to stay on as chief of staff and asked Patty Schuh to remain as press secretary.
* Related…
* Bernard Schoenburg: Some new hires, like Rauner, challenge public unions
* In late June, Chris Kennedy called out what he believed at the time to be a Republican “tracker” at one of his events. But he did it in a pretty unusual way. Kennedy said people need to “show up” in politics and get involved, “like this young fella over here,” he said while pointing at the young man tracking him.
The audience laughed, but Kennedy said, “At least he’s showing up, he’s doing something.” Video…
The campaign didn’t share the video at the time because, a spokesperson said, “We weren’t sure it was a Republican tracker, but have since confirmed that he is.”
* Last night, Kennedy ran into the tracker again at the Independent Voters of Illinois’ Independence Day Dinner Candidate Forum. They reportedly chatted for a minute, with the tracker asking if Kennedy could hold an event in Malibu so he could get a free trip out there. Kennedy asked the tracker if they could take a pic of Kennedy posing as a tracker. “He was nice enough to go along with it,” a Kennedy campaign spokesperson said…
Sources tell NBC 5 that the governor may opt not to veto all of it, but may instead choose to use an amendatory veto on provisions involving a pension fix for the city of Chicago.
While House Speaker Mike Madigan was able to corral the votes, including numerous Republican defectors, to override Rauner’s veto of the budget bill, doing so on SB-1 may be a much harder sell.
If he just vetoed the Chicago stuff, it would, indeed, make an override more politically difficult. I think they’re looking at other options.
The Democratic plan would provide more money to all school districts, with CPS getting at least $286 million more for pensions and general state aid. The competing Republican plan would take away grant money going to CPS and spread it to suburban and downstate districts, with city schools seeing either a $38 million funding cut or $177 million in additional money, depending on whether pension help materializes.
Adding to the complicated dynamics: Rauner’s recent decision to replace his senior staff with people from a conservative think tank that opposes the underlying concept of both school funding formula bills. That means the governor’s office could end up being an incubator for a third competing plan, albeit one that would have the greatest difficulty winning buy-in from lawmakers at the Capitol.
* The Pritzker campaign dug down a bit…
With an influx of new radical staff coming directly from the Illinois Policy Institute, it’s worth taking a look at where the right-wing propaganda machine stands on this bill.
A March 2017 post on their website declares, “evidence-based education funding doesn’t work.” After the bill passed, they posted another article urging Rauner to veto the bill and perpetuating the myth that it is a Chicago bailout.
Rauner and the new far-right members of his administration staunchly opposing SB 1 — legislation that will allow schools to open in the fall — leaves the state on the verge of a new crisis. .
“When you have a track record as bad as the governor’s, you need to create something to alarm people,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy said. “He’s taking a page out of Donald Trump’s book, a page of divide and conquer and hatred. He wants to separate our state and say that downstate is against Chicago.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Emily Bittner at CPS…
Rich:
Three points on the Trib’s stories on ed funding this morning.
1 - The state increased funding for downstate and suburban teacher pensions by $500M this year alone and no one in Chicago called that a “downstate bailout.” The VAST majority of this money is going to the state’s unfunded liabilities, i.e, making up for the State’s own past skipped payments, which were more severe than Chicago’s.
From TRS on next year’s increase for downstate and suburban teacher pensions: “The total projected employer contribution for 2018, including State, Federal, and School Districts, is $4.72 billion. Of this amount, $1.05 billion, or about 22%, is for the employer portion of the normal cost and 78% is for unfunded actuarial accrued liability. The required State contribution for 2018 is $4.56 billion, an increase from $3.99 billion for 2017.”
In other words, 78 percent of this underfunding is directly because of past underfunding from the state – exactly what the Republican objection to funding Chicago teacher pensions is. Pretty hypocritical to fund suburban and downstate unfunded pensions but not fund Chicago’s lesser liability.
2 - Downstate and suburbandistricts are feeling tremendous pressure and uncertainty about whether they’ll open on time and stay open. I want to reiterate the mayor’s point that CPS is opening on time and staying open.
3 - Deep in the main bar on SB1 is this important point: if school funding were treated equally, Chicago students would get about $500M more from the state.
From the Trib: Republicans count only general state aid and grant funding, which includes the extra $250 million for CPS. Viewed through that lens, CPS gets 23.6 percent of all the money the state provides for K-12 education, even though the district’s nearly 382,000 students represent just 18.8 percent of Illinois public school students.
But city school officials say that calculation is misleading because it fails to include what the state spends on teacher pensions. That’s $4 billion, about a third of the total education pie. Include that money, and CPS gets just 15.3 percent of state education dollars.
CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said he’d gladly give up Chicago’s extra grant money if the state covered his district’s pension costs the same way it does for other school districts.
“Pension subsidies are no different than general state aid or any other form of educational assistance,” Claypool said during a recent interview. “They all go to the same thing, primarily paying for the salaries and retirement benefits of teachers.”
That Claypool would make that trade is not so surprising. The math shows that CPS would have received about $500 million more from the state during the last school year. (emphasis mine.)
This single point cuts through the confusion and clutter on education funding – if you add up all the sources of funding and treat all the districts the same, Chicago students are getting dramatically shortchanged by $500 million. This is grossly unfair, but all the more pernicious because of its racial implications–which are at the core of CPS’ civil rights lawsuit.
Thanks,
Emily
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Adam Collins in the mayor’s office…
We’ve known for a while that the governor didn’t care about the social safety net for those living in poverty around the state, but we hoped he might still care about the education of black and brown children living in poverty around the state. Guess that’s out the window now too as Rauner pivots from the right-wing to the far right-wing.
