* I checked today and this blog has been open and functioning at full speed every day, including weekends, since Monday, June 19th. I have published a subscriber edition every day but one since then. I’m not complaining and I’m not bragging. Lots of people work far harder and a whole lot more than I do. I also love my job. I’m just saying that I’m tired. I’m pretty sure I won’t re-open on Monday and instead take a three-day weekend. We could all probably use the break from each other and I could definitely use the sleep. I also need to catch up on some weekday-only errands.
* Not exactly a big news story, but an oppo file landed in my in-box a bit ago, so here it is…
Bruce Rauner Has Paid His Property Taxes Late 5 Times
The First Installment Of The 1996 Property Taxes On Rauner’s Winnetka Home Was Paid Late, Resulting In $31.64 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
The First Installment Of The 2000 Property Taxes On Rauner’s Winnetka Home Was Paid Late, Resulting In $231.66 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
The First Installment Of The 2005 Property Taxes On Rauner’s Winnetka Home Was Paid Late, Resulting In $284.26 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
The Second Installments Of The 2014 Property Taxes On Rauner’s Winnetka Home, Chicago Condos, And Parking Spaces Were Paid Late, Resulting In $1,179.58 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
The First Installments Of The 2016 Property Taxes On Rauner’s Winnetka Home, Chicago Condos, And Parking Spaces Were Paid Late, Resulting In $1,291.89 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
Chris Kennedy Has Paid His Property Taxes Late Four Times
The First And Second Installments Of The 2014 Property Taxes On Kennedy’s Kenilworth Home Were Paid Late, Resulting In $959.77 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
The First And Second Installments Of The 2015 Property Taxes On Kennedy’s Kenilworth Home Were Paid Late, Resulting In $985.36 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
Daniel Biss Has Paid His Property Taxes Late Twice
The Second Installment Of The 2006 Property Taxes On Biss’ Evanston Home Was Paid Late, Resulting In $44.57 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
The First Installment Of The 2014 Property Taxes On Biss’ Evanston Home Was Paid Late, Resulting In $47.43 In Interest Charges. (Cook County Treasurer Records)
Again, it doesn’t look all that horrible to me, but whatevs. Maybe somebody else will get riled about it.
* Social service providers are breathing a sigh of relief with the new budget, but they were whacked so hard by the gridlock that it’s going to take a while to recover…
For providers of drug-abuse and mental-heath treatment, the budget crisis-related gaps in funding and uncertainty led to the layoffs of more than 1,000 people at various agencies statewide, Howe said.
Several centers opted to close down permanently.
Because of political bickering, the capacity of human-service providers in Illinois to serve low-income patients seeking addiction-treatment services dropped during a nationwide opioid crisis, she said.
“It will take years to fix this devastation,” she said.
John Kelker, president of the Springfield-based United Way of Central Illinois, said the budget crisis caused many local human-service providers locally to lose highly trained professionals through layoff or people choosing to leave the field.
“How are they going to pay everybody?” said Merri Ex, CEO of Family Focus, which recently received enough funds from the state comptroller’s office to delay planned layoffs and program cessations. “It’ll take a long time before (the state) catches up.” […]
What the budget lacks is full funding to pay back bills from 2016 and 2017, [Illinois Collaboration on Youth CEO Andrea Durbin] said, adding that the coalition has been told that a combination of fund sweeps and bonding will be used to pay the bills.
“This is not a cash infusion,” said Abdon Pallasch, spokesman for Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza. Once the income-tax hike takes effect, “it will take a while to catch up on all the unpaid bills once the new revenue comes in,” he said, adding that “the comptroller has been prioritizing social-services agencies and the state’s most vulnerable.”
The state owes about $5 million, for example, to Lutheran Child and Family Services of River Forest. Earlier this year, the agency laid off 100 staffers, or 25 percent of its workforce, and shut down nine programs. CEO Mike Bertrand is doubtful that the budget will help the agency restore the programs or rehire the workers. The agency has signed about $24 million in state contracts for fiscal 2018, Bertrand said. “We are certainly hopeful that we as a state will move forward and not let this happen again,” he said.
What the budget lacks is full funding to pay back bills from 2016 and 2017, Durbin said, adding that the coalition has been told that a combination of fund sweeps and bonding will be used to pay the bills. “This is not a cash infusion,” said Abdon Pallasch, spokesman for Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza. Once the income-tax hike takes effect, “it will take a while to catch up on all the unpaid bills once the new revenue comes in,” he said, adding that “the comptroller has been prioritizing social-services agencies and the state’s most vulnerable.” The state owes about $5 million, for example, to Lutheran Child and Family Services of River Forest. Earlier this year, the agency laid off 100 staffers, or 25 percent of its workforce, and shut down nine programs. CEO Mike Bertrand is doubtful that the budget will help the agency restore the programs or rehire the workers. The agency has signed about $24 million in state contracts for fiscal 2018, Bertrand said. “We are certainly hopeful that we as a state will move forward and not let this happen again,” he said.
After yesterday’s historic bipartisan budget votes by the Illinois House, Do Your Job, Inc. is asking Governor Rauner to stop obfuscating responsibility, put politics aside and do his job in a new ad which will air on broadcast and digital platforms.
During the governor’s self-inflicted budget crisis, Illinois has experienced what former republican Gov. Jim Edgar described as the worst condition he can ever remember including the state’s tenure during disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich. Now, Gov. Rauner has engaged in a campaign spree blaming everyone but himself for a tax increase he supported for months. Rauner’s political apparatuses have also chimed in with threats of political retribution and dog-whistle politics.
Moving forward, the Governor can do his job by ensuring schools in Illinois are equitably funded. The legislature has passed Senate Bill 1, which Rauner overwhelmingly supports - to the tune of 90 percent per his education czar - but refuses to sign for what many perceive to be political reasons.
Do Your Job, Inc. is led by IL Sen. Michael E. Hastings of South Suburban Cook County, IL Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie and Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan.
Last week, he tweeted. After 3 years of stalling, Governor Rauner said he was at his desk and ready to sign a budget. So Democrats and Republicans put politics aside sending Rauner a balanced, bipartisan budget. After 30,000 lost jobs, 15 billion in unpaid bills, schools faced with not reopening, it came down to one man. By vetoing the bipartisan budget, Rauner was the only obstacle to progress. Tell Rauner, next time, do your job.
ILGOP Releases Video – Mike Madigan’s Tax Hike
Madigan’s Tax Hike Will Hurt Taxpayers
Mike Madigan’s permanent 32% tax hike includes zero reforms to help the people and fix our political system. It only rewards Madigan and his cronies with more taxpayer money that they have proven incapable of spending wisely. It’s a disaster for the long term health of Illinois.
The Illinois Republican Party is highlighting Madigan’s tax hike with a new digital video.
The income tax increase all but guarantees that residents not directly affected by, and therefore who perhaps ignored, the last two years of dysfunction in the Capitol are about to get hit where they notice. If they weren’t paying attention then, you can bet they will be leading up to next year’s elections. Their ire in forking over more in income taxes might be tempered if lawmakers provide property tax relief and pass reforms that show the days of reckless fiscal policy in Illinois are over.
* The Question: Now that his budget vetoes have been overridden, should Gov. Rauner call a special session on purely non-budget issues? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Steve Anderson, the Rep. from Geneva who, because of Rauner’s abdication of leadership, filled the void and became the de facto governor for the last week - organized with some help, but he was the lead organizer of the 15 Republicans who voted for this tax hike with no spending reforms as the Tribune opines.
KASS: So, if there’s an override today, Madigan is – is Rauner at fault for abdicating, for kind of disappearing?
PROFT: Yes…
KASS: For letting this happen?
PROFT: Yes, he is. And he’s tried to play this game, this inside game for the better part of the last 18 months, and it has been to no effect other than to diminish his standing, dilute his brand, and allow the likes of a Steve Anderson, allow the big government Republicans to be ascendant. So, I would say that’s a problem. That’s not – those aren’t good outcomes from the maverick who’s going to take on the power structure in Springfield to turnaround Illinois. […]
One of the questions is, does Rauner really want, his protestations not withstanding, does he really want his veto to be overridden? Because let me tell you, he doesn’t.
My hope of Dissolving Illinois — to save middle-class taxpayers from being stuck in this toxic wasteland of a state — hit a snag on Thursday.
It wasn’t the hazmat crews crawling over the Capitol Building in Springfield after finding some mysterious white powder tossed around the governor’s office.
It was what Democratic Boss Mike Madigan’s legislature did — with quisling Republican help — in overriding Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of their $5 billion, 32 percent tax increase without any real structural economic reforms.
A quisling… is a term originating from Norway, which is used in Scandinavian languages and in English for a person who collaborates with an enemy occupying force – or more generally as a synonym for traitor. The word originates from the surname of the Norwegian war-time leader Vidkun Quisling, who headed a domestic Nazi collaborationist regime during the Second World War.
He goes on to claim that Steve Andersson, “whined” about death threats. “I thought I could see his lower lip quivering a bit.”
And then he listed the “Republican Madigan enablers” by name.
Today, the JB for Governor campaign released new calls holding Bruce Rauner accountable for the damage he’s done to the people of Illinois through his 736-day manufactured budget crisis. Legislators overrode his desperate and reckless veto, but the suffering of Illinois families can’t be erased.
The robo calls will target state House and Senate districts across the state.
Among supporters, Mr. Rauner’s fierce opposition to a tax increase unless it included other items on his agenda — a freeze on property taxes, cuts to workers’ compensation, term limits — was seen as an example of sticking with principles in the face of overwhelming pressure. It also unveiled a 2018 campaign talking point against the Democrats who ushered through the increase.
“Nobody ever wins the next cycle running on a tax increase,” said Pat Brady, a former Illinois Republican Party chairman. “The governor came out way ahead.” […]
Bill Daley, a member of the Chicago Democratic political family who served on Mr. Rauner’s transition team, said he found the end of the two-year budget impasse “a little strange.”
“It’s pretty obvious that he didn’t get anything out of the last two years,” he said of Mr. Rauner. As for the 2018 election, “there’s only one strategy left for him, and that’s to run against everybody: Democrats, Republicans, the town.”
He’ll also benefit from that same New York Times article referring to him as a “fiscally conservative” leader, which is a crock. The budget he vetoed spent less than the budget he proposed in February, and it was far more balanced. The bill backlog tripled on his watch.
Spending has shot up to $38.1 billion this past fiscal year without a budget. The budget he vetoed spends $36 billion.
The Illinois Lottery has resumed sales of Mega Millions and Powerball tickets now that the state’s budget stalemate has concluded, lottery officials said.
The state stopped sales late last month of the popular Powerball and Mega Millions games due to its inability to contribute to the prize pool without a budget in place.
Road construction workers across the state will begin returning to work after the Illinois Department of Transportation said construction projects can resume with Thursday’s approval of a full-year state budget.
Workers were sent home or not called it at all on Monday, the first work day of the state fiscal year amid the ongoing budget impasse that led to the state shutting down approximately 900 transportation projects totaling $3.3 billion, according to one of the state’s largest contractor associations.
The Illinois Department of Transportation estimated 20,000 workers were affected.
But with Thursday’s Illinois House vote to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of budget-related legislation, IDOT on Thursday evening gave the green light to restart work.
* Now that Rep. Chad Hays (R-Catlin) has announced his retirement, longtime former Rep. Bill Black (R-Danville) has expressed an interest in running…
“I know my way around that situation a little bit and I think I could be an advocate for this district, as Chad was. And an advocate for community colleges and the university (of Illinois) and education,” said Black, who is on the board of Danville Area Community College. “I’m not a shrinking violet and I’m not going to go over there and say, ‘Oh, gee whiz, why did you do that?’” […]
“I’d be 77 years old when I was inaugurated, but one good thing is I’m not going to go over there and say, ‘Boy, I want to stay here as long as I could stay,’” he said. “It would be with no trepidation and no fear of what might happen to me, other than health-related.”
Black acknowledged that he has kidney disease, “but it’s under control.” And he had what he called “a mild heart attack” three years ago, “but I’ve got a great cardiologist.”
He said he and wife Sharon “were out and about yesterday and people were very encouraging. I don’t know. I’m having lunch with people and we’re going to talk about it. Obviously, I’d like to see the seat stay in Vermilion County.”
Bill announced he was quitting a few times before he actually did, and has since talked about running again, so this is not really a surprise. Whether he’ll try it or not is something we’ll have to wait to find out.
Supporters said the plan includes $2.5 billion in spending cuts, including 5 percent across-the-board reductions to most state agencies and a 10 percent cut to higher education.
The personal income tax rate goes from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent, which is expected to generate roughly $4.3 billion. A rise in the corporate income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 7 percent would bring in another $460 million. The research-and-development tax credit would be reinstated, and the earned income tax credit for low-income families would be increased. The law also ends several corporate tax breaks, including those for companies that operate on the continental shelves or shift production out of state.
Lawmakers said the budget includes enough surplus revenue to support roughly $3 billion in borrowing, which could be used to generate a total of $8 billion in extra cash to pay down debts. That’s because the state receives federal money when it makes some Medicaid payments.
Funding for elementary and high schools would be boosted by $350 million […]
The budget also assumes $500 million in savings from pension changes long-sought by Rauner to create a defined-contribution 401(k)-style retirement plan to compete with the defined-benefit pension plans currently offered to state employees.
The bill backlog is about $15 billion. About $4-5 billion of that is an acceptable level. Most people don’t pay bills the moment they arrive, and neither do governments. As long as the payment cycle is around 30 days, that’s normal. but this plan doesn’t get the state to that level.
Also, the governor’s office says that while they support that defined contribution plan, it contains no specific start date, instead allowing the pension systems to start the programs on their own. And that’s why they say there’s a $500 million hole in their own proposal. So, we’ll see.
* Keep in mind that the bills dealing with this issue, from the GOPas well as the Democrats. contain the same language about making school aid funding contingent on the evidence-based reform change…
Illinois got its long awaited budget Thursday afternoon after the House, briefly delayed by a possible hazardous materials situation at the state Capitol, voted to override vetoes by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
But the state’s 800-plus school districts, including the broke Chicago Public Schools, will have to wait a little longer to see their financial problems resolved. […]
The measures House members approved on Thursday do authorize more spending for schools — about $350 million more throughout the state with one of the most inequitable school funding system in the nation — but don’t include the new funding formula for doling out that money. That formula, known as an “evidence-based funding model” is spelled out in separate legislation, including one bill, Senate Bill 1, that has passed both houses of the Legislature but has been targeted for veto by Rauner once it lands on his desk. The other bill, introduced by Sen. Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington), hasn’t been voted on at all.
Will CPS get more money then?
A little, but not the big money it needs to balance its books. The budget bills do contain additional statewide spending for school matters: $50 million extra on early childhood education, $57 million more for transportation, and $3.2 million more for agricultural education. CPS wouldn’t say what its cut would amount to.
The budget bills also would raise new tax revenue — which the Illinois Comptroller’s office said would allow it to cut checks for a remaining $850 million in late block grant payments to CPS and other districts across the state — but there’s no immediate cash infusion, spokesman Abdon Pallasch said.
“The certainty for state workers and others that are owed money, I think that helps provides certainty of a pay check or payments in a timely manner,” Langfelder said. “I think it’ll have domino effect” on the economy.
Until the AFSCME strike talk heats up again. I wouldn’t bet on a big Springfield rebound just yet.
* The Tribune has a pretty good roundup story today, but I do want to point out this one thing…
The budget package calls for spending $36.1 billion in the coming year, which is less than the $39 billion that’s currently going out the door due to a patchwork of court orders and laws that’s left state government to spend billions more than it takes in each year.
The state can’t actually spend more than it takes in. Instead, it promises spending or is ordered to spend and then makes everybody wait for months on end to get paid. The state essentially “borrows” from providers and vendors. And the governor greatly contributed to that hole by signing billions of dollars in contracts over the past couple of years without any legally authorizing appropriations to pay for them.
Government cannot operate without suppliers of goods and services. Illinois relies heavily on not-for-profit groups to provide direct social services. It also relies on thousands of businesses large and small for everything from Medicaid insurance, to paper, to food for prisoners. Local governments are also put on the hook for state facility sewer and water services and, in the case of Springfield, electricity…
Citing the damage the two-year state budget stalemate has caused, Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder welcomed news of a $36 billion spending plan that was put in place Thursday.
Even with the income tax hike that’s part of the deal, a budget is preferable to a continued stalemate, he said.
“It has really stymied the growth of our economic engine with regards to the medical area,” Langfelder said, noting that the state owes local medical providers millions of dollars.
The state also owes $4.3 million to Springfield’s utility, City Water, Light and Power, according to a CWLP spokeswoman. And in the last week, the impasse has halted several major road projects in the city.
Anyway, what this budget does is pay for those goods and services going forward and partially pay off the debt owed to everyone who has sold the state something or provided a service on its behalf.
Chicago Tribune: Welcome to the new Illinois. Same as the old Illinois. Except 32 percent pricier.
Madigan’s Tax-Hike, No-Reform Budget is “Business as usual”
“Mike Madigan’s tax hike is just the latest example of the corrupt political system that Governor Rauner is working to change. The people did not want this tax hike, but the career politicians and special interests did. Taxpayers wanted reforms to grow the economy, lower property taxes, and fix our political system through term limits. Thanks to Mike Madigan and his allies, all we’re getting is more of the same.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
The Chicago Tribune Editorial board slammed Mike Madigan and his allies last night after Madigan forced through a 32% permanent income tax hike without reform:
Finalizing a 32 percent income tax hike, the Illinois House on Thursday approved a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. Illinois taxpayers will begin paying a 4.95 percent individual income rate, up from 3.75 percent, retroactive to July 1.
What are taxpayers getting for sending another $5 billion to Springfield?
Business as usual.
You might think that Democratic legislators — for 14 years the primary architects of a financial fiasco that has created enormous taxpayer debts — would acquiesce on pro-growth economic reforms that our neighboring states have adopted.
You might think the majority party would listen to large and small business owners about the urgent need for more reasonable workers’ compensation insurance costs.
You might think Democrats would have advanced another pension reform bill or created a lower-cost, defined contribution plan for new employees, or attempted to change the Illinois Constitution’s crushing pension obligation language.
You might think they would have been alarmed at the exodus of residents escaping to states with lower taxes, far fewer debt obligations and less dysfunction.
You might think Democrats would have agreed to a property tax freeze.
And on every count, you’d be wrong.
…this budget, like those Democrats advanced for the past two decades, also spends taxpayer money on untested, unproven programs. It includes money for pork projects. It includes money for a clouted downstate shooting complex. It includes money for state fairs, fisheries, diversity programs, agriculture studies, and $330,500 above Rauner’s requested amount for Choose Chicago, the city’s public-private economic development arm that doesn’t make its spending public.
What the budget agreement doesn’t do is adopt the sensible, pro-growth reforms Rauner championed as a candidate and during his 2 1/2 years in office. No meaningful workers’ comp changes. No property tax freeze. No major downsizing of the state’s 7,000 units of government. No votes — that’s all Rauner requested — on redistricting reform or term limits to rebuild trust in government.
And while Democratic sponsors said the spending plan should start paying down a backlog of bills and reduce costs in the pension system, rating agencies that monitor state finances weren’t convinced. Moody’s Investors Service cited the state’s crippling debt — again, taxpayers’ crippling debt — as reason to potentially drop Illinois’ bond rating to junk.
…They passed a massive tax hike without addressing their addictive spending that is the root of the debt problem, and they did not adopt pro-growth reforms to get Illinois’ economy humming.
Taxpayers, we wish we could say the additional income you’ll fork over will be the tourniquet that saves Illinois’ failing government and flailing economy.
We can’t say that. The money, we’re afraid, will merely chase debt that, despite this revenue, keeps rising.
A 32 percent tax hike should have been directly linked to a major overhaul of the way Springfield does business.
…Welcome to the new Illinois. Same as the old Illinois. Except 32 percent pricier.
Bruce Rauner’s legacy will be this – Republican lawmakers, seeing no benefit in continuing Rauner’s two-year budget crisis, broke with the Governor and cut a bipartisan budget deal with Democrats. Rauner’s refusal to compromise drove away members of his own party.
Below are quotes from the 10 House Republicans who voted for the budget revenue and to override Rauner’s veto. Their words show they were concerned their party, led by Rauner, had no plan. They confirmed that everyone knew more revenue was needed and that passing a budget was the fiscally responsible action to take. And they warned what would happen if they did not act.
Through their words, we see Rauner’s refusal to compromise and his failed leadership.
Quotes from the ‘10’
There was no other plan…
GOP Floor Leader Steven Andersson: “For those of you who say there’s a better option, do you have the votes? No. You do not have the votes!”
The budget needed revenue…
Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove: “Today’s budget responsibly reduces spending by more than $3 billion…there has been no legitimate proposal introduced this spring by the Governor, Republicans or Democrats that didn’t include a need for more revenue to balance the budget.”
Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth: “There will have to be new revenue and spending cuts. You’d have to lie to people to say anything else.”
Mike Fortner, R-West Chicago: “Increasing the income tax has never been my preferred option…[but] my balance point was reached. This was a real balanced budget, there were real reductions in spending levels, and sufficient reforms to move forward.”
…and letting the impasse linger would lead to higher taxes later
Norine Hammond, R-Macomb: “If we do not pass the budget package, that backlog would total $24 billion and the tax increase included in the budget package would have to be even larger, depending on the timing — 5.5 percent to 8 percent if the state ever wanted to see a balanced budget, or a day in which bills are paid on time, for that matter.”
The budget was balanced and a compromise…
Mike Unes, R-East Peoria: “Until the House passed a balanced budget last week, we were spending $39B annually. The current budget will immediately cut that spending by $3B, initiating the slow, difficult and essential process of digging our way out of this hole that has been decades in the making.”
Norine Hammond, R-Macomb: “Certainly Republicans didn’t get everything they wanted in that budget and Democrats didn’t either.”
Allowing more debt to pile on was wrong…
Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth: “We shouldn’t put things on our credit card and say it’s OK. It’s not OK. Illinois is in the worst shape it’s ever been in.”
Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove: “For me, one of the fundamental principles for Republicans is to have a balanced budget and to pay our bills.”
Chad Hays, R-Catlin: “I told somebody yesterday, I’ve been to a lot of Republican events over the years, but I’ve never been to one where the crowd, in terms of philosophy, said, you know how we handle paying our bills? We stiff the vendor. That’s not very Republican.”
The lack of action would have ruined Illinois’ finances…
David Harris, R-Arlington Heights: “You are an astute, capable businessman. You understand what the numbers are here. You understand the implications of junk-bond status. Is that what we want for the fifth-largest state in the union?”
David Harris, R-Arlington Heights: “Without a budget the bond rating agencies would have rated us as junk. We would be the first state ever rated as junk. It just starts a death spiral. I’m tired of playing chicken with the fifth-largest state in the union and seeing who blinks first.”
David Harris, R-Arlington Heights: “It’s time to stop playing chicken with the fifth largest state in the Union…I was not elected as a state legislator to help preside over the financial destruction of this great state.”
And most importantly, it was about the district…
Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, R-Leland Grove: “But I think at the end of the day for our community, the fact that the impasse…for now is over will bring certainty and relief to a lot of people who live here.”
Reginald Phillips, R-Charleston: “First of all, if I decide to press my button to override the governor, it doesn’t make me any less a conservative Republican than the rest of the people that stand in here. It makes a person decide he has to vote for his district. He has to think about all the people in his district to the best of his ability.”
