Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Saturday:
“I am encouraged by the progress we continue to make with Leader Durkin and the other leaders. Building on this progress and Friday’s overwhelmingly bipartisan budget vote, the House will be voting Sunday on a revenue package that is modeled on the bill supported by the governor, and House and Senate Republicans in their recent announcement of their budget blueprint, and ensures a balanced budget for our state.”
I’m not sure yet whether this means they have a deal or what. Stay tuned.
…Adding… The House just adjourned until tomorrow at 2 pm.
…Adding… It doesn’t sound yet like there’s a deal. Just a revenue bill that, unless there’s an agreement, probably wont go anywhere. I’ll let you know when I know more.
…Adding More… I’m not so sure now about that “probably won’t go anywhere” part. We’ll see.
*** UPDATE *** House Republican Leader Jim Durkin,,,
“There is no agreement on a comprehensive budget package that includes reforms and revenue. This impasse can only be resolved in a negotiated manner. It is our hope that Democrats will remain at the negotiating table,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin.
* So I asked Steve Brown if there was an agreement. His reply…
I think members have told the Speaker that a number of Republicans are prepared to vote for the revenue bill.
* From the Senate Democrats…
Key negotiators for the Illinois Senate Democrats today said budget talks at the Statehouse are progressing, and they urged calm, continued optimism from everyone involved.
“Our expectation and understanding is that now that the budget piece is getting nailed down, that was key to finalizing a few of the other pieces,” said Senator Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat and chairwoman of one of the Senate’s appropriations committees, during a briefing with reporters at the Capitol Saturday afternoon.
Steans said lawmakers from all four legislative caucuses were engaged in budget negotiations until late Friday night, and talks resumed at the Capitol Saturday morning. She added that workers’ compensation negotiations hinge on finalizing budget talks and that property tax relief talks are still on the table, as are other pieces, such as getting the governor’s signature on the Senate Democrats’ school funding reform bill.
Steans noted that it is a heavy lift to get so many of different lawmakers to come together to resolve the budget stalemate, adding that the Senate saw the challenge of it firsthand this spring with its Grand Bargain negotiations.
But, she said, “I believe we’re actually getting there. I actually do feel we’ve been knocking each of the items off the list and getting to the point where we’re going to be able to get all four caucuses doing that.”
Senator Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and chairman of another Senate appropriations committee, also is part of these budget negotiations. Given the productive nature of talks on Friday and the length of the protracted budget stalemate, he said, it’s important that lawmakers don’t start pointing fingers at each other now.
“We have to realize that we are going on our third year without a complete budget in place. Given the progress that was made yesterday, the last thing we need today is finger pointing from either side,” he said.
“We left here last night with a sense of progress and a sense of hope that we can wrap this thing up. I would urge everyone in both chambers – both parties – to strive for slow and steady progress so we can strive for finality to what has been a fiscal impasse that has gone on for far too long.”
Senator Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), assistant majority leader of the Senate, also participated in Saturday’s press briefing and said now is the time for all lawmakers to work together on behalf of the people of Illinois.
“It’s time to listen to what is happening in our communities. It is time to go forward and to ensure that the individuals of our state are the recipients of all the good things that we can do to ensure there is going to be a quality of life they can raise their children in,” Trotter said.
“We have a lot of work to do, but it is not because we don’t know what the situation is. We cannot keep on repeating the discussions that have taken us nowhere. We should go forward with the positive discussions we’ve been working on.”
Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights) told reporters Senate Democrats are continuing to work in good faith with lawmakers from all of the caucuses to resolve the budget stalemate.
“It’s going to take all hands on deck to get this handled. We’re here in Springfield, we’re ready and we’re continuing to work in good faith to get to the point where we can stabilize what is happening,” she said.
“This is the state of Illinois, and it needs us to be better than we ever were. We’re really urging for cooler heads to prevail and not to devolve into things that could knock us off course when we make winning the gotcha game more important than saving the state.”
* There’s a typo in this release. The bill is HB 1811, not SB 1811. It’s the revamped 911 emergency services bill that was passed on Thursday, sent to the governor today, vetoed by agreement today and then promptly overridden with huge bipartisan super-majorities. You’d never know there was an agreement by reading this, however…
Governor Bruce Rauner today issued the following statement regarding the General Assembly’s decision to override his amendatory veto of SB1811, which tied critical 9-1-1 emergency services to a massive tax hike on Illinois families and businesses:
“While the majority in the General Assembly has been unable to move forward with a balanced budget, it has found the time to inflict further abuse on Illinois taxpayers. Today the majority failed taxpayers by using the threat of canceling 9-1-1 services as leverage to force a tax hike on Illinois residents. We tried to stop this cynical legislation by utilizing an amendatory veto that would have ensured that emergency services continued without an unnecessary tax hike. The veto also would have allowed 9-1-1 to continue in future years without special legislation to renew the services.
“Instead of passing those common sense changes, the majority in the General Assembly has chosen to hold innocent people, our most vulnerable residents and essential services hostage to pass an excessive, unwarranted tax hike. They appear to be using the same strategy in the current budget impasse. We will continue to fight against these attempts to shakedown taxpayers by threatening critical services that they depend on.”
* Notice his last lines about the budget impasse. Things are not going well. It started with this…
No budget vote this weekend. Gov. Rauner insisting on 11th hour changes. Please continue to pray for our state! #BudgetNow#Compromise
— Emanuel Chris Welch (@RepChrisWelch) July 1, 2017
* Republicans, however, said at a press conference today that it’s the Democrats who are holding things up…
Rep. @tomdemmer says they are troubled by Speaker Madigan's attempt to slow down the process.
*** UPDATE *** Some Senate Democrats will hold a press conference later today to talk about the new demands from the Republicans.
There were three demands related to education, I’m told. One was additional K-12 mandate relief. Another was an exemption from the procurement code for the K-12 PARCC testing program. And the third was a $1.5 billion school voucher plan, which may wind up as a limited pilot program.
The Senate Democrats I’ve talked to say there have been problems in negotiations, but nothing huge that can’t be dealt with. For instance, they rejected several items yesterday during negotiations and the Republicans came back late last night with the same demands.
* I’m of two minds on the House Speaker’s plan to allow members to go home if they want until Monday.
1) If rank and file members do go home today, they’ll get an absolute earful from constituents to do their jobs and pass a budget already. That pressure could rattle them enough to shake a few more votes loose for a resolution;
2) It sends a very bad signal to the folks back home, the New York bond rating agencies and just about everyone else that they’re not serious about getting anything done. Legislators should, in other words, at least look like they’re doing their jobs even if their job is to sit around and wait for the leaders and the working groups to wrap this up.
* The Question: Should rank and file be allowed to go home or specifically told to stay in Springfield? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
There will be a session tomorrow, but we do not expect that any bills will be called. The leaders met yesterday, they will meet again today. The appropriations revenue people met late last night. Workers’ compensation people met this morning. All of those people will meet again
* Leader Durkin then rose to say he’s worried about the state credit rating agencies. “We had great momentum yesterday in this chamber. Sending our members back home… does not move us to resolution to this issue… I want this done today.”
There was thunderous and sustained applause for Durkin. Madigan replied “Did someone tell their members to go home?”
Durkin explained that by saying we’re done today, don’t come back tomorrow, “it says ‘take no action today’ and it speaks for itself.”
Madigan said there will be no bills ready to call tomorrow. “You know that,” he said.
“I don’t believe we’re that far apart,” Durkin replied. Saying that the chamber is going to gavel out right now “to me does not send a message to Illinoisans that we’re prepared to bring this to resolution any time soon.”
So, Madigan said if Durkin has some bills he’d like called today, that’s fine. He announced that the House would “stand at ease” until Durkin produced some bills.
* But then this…
As Durkin and Madigan leave House chambers, a GOP Rep yells "Speaker Junk"
…Adding More… Usually, stuff like this is worked out between leaders in advance. It does saying something that Madigan would do this apparently without coming to an agreement with Durkin first.
*** UPDATE *** So, Speaker Madigan didn’t talk to any of the other leaders before he tried to adjourn, either…
GOP Radogno enters last leaders' meeting. Says House out not positive. Means clear IL will get to junk bond status. pic.twitter.com/yG9CKzVkFx
* The Illinois Policy Institute’s vice president of policy and its policy analyst published this today…
Today, term limits are nowhere to be found in any of the “compromise” deals swirling around Springfield.
In fact, virtually every reform Rauner and legislative Republicans once sought is gone or watered-down to the point of uselessness.
Collective bargaining reforms: Gone.
Lowering income tax rates to 3 percent: Gone.
Stand-alone 401(k)-style plans for new state workers: Gone.
And term limits? Gone.
When Rauner and Republicans stated their reform goals back in 2014, they called for term limits on all lawmakers. Less than three years later, term limits were only being pursued for legislative leaders.
Now term limits are gone altogether.
What was once at the heart of Rauner and Republicans’ reform proposals is no longer a part of negotiations.
In their desperation for a deal, Republicans have rolled over.
They started out with a plan to strip Madigan of power, but the speaker managed to strip theirs instead.
Nothing remains of the reforms that could have weakened the Springfield political machine.
If they vote for a compromise plan – a punishing tax hike plan devoid of reforms – Republicans will be signing off on Illinois’ continuing slide toward bankruptcy.
And in dropping term limits as a demand, Republicans are showing they are willing to let Illinois’ corrupt, complacent and morally bankrupt political culture continue.
Because of the budget impasse in Springfield, Mega Millions sales have been suspended until further notice. For that reason, your Mega Millions subscription was canceled at 12:30 a.m. July 1, 2017. The remaining balance of the subscription will be refunded to your account. You will then be able to use the funds to play other in-state games such as Lotto, Lucky Day Lotto or Pick 3 and Pick 4 PLUS FIREBALL. You will also have the option to transfer the remaining funds to your bank account or request a check from the Illinois Lottery.
When Mega Millions is available again for sale in Illinois, you will be notified via email.
Thank you for being a loyal Illinois Lottery player. For more information, please reference our Mega Millions FAQs on illinoislottery.com or contact the Player Hotline directly at 1-800-252-1775.
Friday’s vote (on an amendment to Senate Bill 6) served as a test, gauging whether Republicans would join with Democrats, who control the General Assembly, to approve a budget.
“Now is the time to bring this nightmare to an end. Now is the time to stop quarreling and to start governing,” Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, said, prompting applause from Democrats.
While that falls short of the 30 Republican votes that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan recently said will be required to successfully pass the tax increase, and generate the necessary revenue to pay for that spending, the vote shows a path toward compromise.
Seventy-one votes are required for passage; Democrats hold just three seats short of that threshold in the House.
I see it as a positive that Madigan went ahead with the negotiations even though they HGOPs fell shy of 30 votes. If 23 was enough, so be it.
For the first time since Rauner took office, no authority exists to pay contracts for roadwork, prompting warnings of layoffs of up to 25,000 workers at the height of construction season. Illinois already has been kicked out of the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions lottery games. And a federal judge on Friday compelled the state to start paying more Medicaid bills each month. That’s money Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza has said the state doesn’t have.
Continuation of the stalemate rattled elementary and high schools, some of which have just a few months’ worth of cash on hand. It also could cause some public universities to lose their accreditation — and the ability to accept federal money that comes with it.
Lawmakers on both sides spent the end-of-June special session publicly lamenting the destruction that already had been caused by the historic stalemate and declaring it time to bring the impasse to an end. […]
Unlike when the impasse began two years ago, the state is now weighed down by $15 billion in unpaid bills, and according to the comptroller, no longer has the cash flow to keep spending so far beyond its means. By August, the state’s obligations to make payments required under law or court order will run into the red, Mendoza warned, saying the result would be “either horrific financial consequences or catastrophic financial consequences.”
It goes without saying that the stakes are extremely high.
Significant issues remain, not the least of which is the more than $5 billion in tax hikes needed to make the spending bill balance. Madigan said negotiations continue.
The latest tax hike plan proposed by Democrats calls for raising the personal income tax rate from the current 3 percent to 4.95 percent, just below the level it was during the temporary income tax increase that expired in 2015. Still unresolved is whether the income tax increase will be permanent or limited to four years as Gov. Bruce Rauner wants.
The House Democrats’ plan does not include a tax on some services nor does it tax satellite television services. Both of those were part of a bill approved earlier by the Senate.
Agreements must also be struck on workers’ compensation, property tax relief and pension reform, all measures Rauner said need to be approved before he’ll entertain talk of higher taxes. Republicans have complained that previous Democratic proposals to address property tax relief and workers’ comp were watered down and did not really address the issues.
But the desire for settlement was palpable. Democrats and Republicans urged endorsement of the spending plan for different reasons.
Democratic Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago believes the state should spend more on social services, but he suggested Rauner “take this as a victory in driving down spending in the state of Illinois.”
Few places in Illinois have been hit harder by the financial mess than the capital city, where state bills owed to the city, hospitals and other vendors have topped $300 million, said Springfield Republican Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez.
“Almost everyone in my district has been touched by this crisis, and many have lost sleep, including me,” Wojcicki Jimenez said. “I’ve not been able to go to church, drop off my kids at school, go to the grocery store, eat out, without friends, neighbors, people I don’t even know, urging me to pass a balanced budget.”
It is hard to imagine how the Legislature will approve a full budget on Saturday, regardless of the mounting pressure. The appropriations bill passed by the House Friday must be read a third time and voted on again. Then it must be passed in the Senate. Then everybody has to quit playing chicken and approve an income tax hike, likely to 4.95 percent from 3.75 percent.
This could easily go until tomorrow or even Monday or Tuesday. We’ll see. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad if they can’t get it finished today because there are just so many moving parts to deal with. As long as there’s progress, as long as they’re talking, I’m not gonna complain. The leaders, by the way, are meeting after the House votes on the 911 emergency services bill today. Watch our live coverage post for updates.
Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, voted in favor of the spending plan and said there should be a vote on a budget implementation bill Saturday, which should put the longstanding impasse to rest.
“The good news is for all the negativity that’s been coming out of Springfield for so long, we’ve finally broken that dam,” Pritchard said. “And we’re finally going to be able to address some of these issues and rebuild our state.”
Votes on “trailer” bills about workers’ compensation, a property tax freeze and other issues should follow, with the session concluding Sunday, Pritchard said.
Although the atmosphere within the statehouse was optimistic after passage of the appropriations amendment, Pritchard admitted there will likely be a negative public response on how to handle the state’s $15 billion bill backlog.
* Related…
* Mark Brown: Another budget deadline passes, but maybe a glimmer of hope at Capitol
* Sen. Daniel Biss has so far reported almost $200,000 in contributions for the month of June. There are probably more coming because of statutory reporting deadline delays. But half of that money, $100,000 came from one source, the Senate Democratic Victory Fund. It’s the largest contribution Biss has ever reported receiving since he first ran for the Illinois House.
Steve Campbell at SDVF explains…
Today, the Illinois Senate Democratic Victory Fund transferred $100,000 to State Senator Daniel Biss. Senator Biss made a $100,000 donation to SDVF last November immediately following the 2016 election.
As an organization, SDVF does not make endorsements in statewide primaries. We are committed to electing Democratic state senators and standing up to Bruce Rauner’s destructive agenda. We look forward to working with Democratic candidates and campaigns to achieve these goals.
Hmm.
* Meanwhile, Chris Kennedy sent out a fundraising e-mail yesterday before the contribution deadline entitled “Our mission is more powerful than their money”…
When people get hurt, we change the rules. Just as we’ve changed the rules of football or hockey to prevent people from getting hurt, so too must we change the rules of our broken political system because it’s hurting the people of Illinois.
We all know that the property tax system in Illinois is hurting people, but still our government has done nothing to fix this. Why? Because the system has been corrupted by the connected and the insiders. They don’t want to change this system because it benefits them, regardless of whether it hurts the middle-class and those most vulnerable in Illinois.
That’s why I need you with me. Taking on the political establishment will be tough, and they have lots of ways to fight back. But I’m not afraid of them or their money.
Please make a $5 contribution before our midnight fundraising deadline to show the establishment that we are ready for this fight.
Your contribution will give us the resources we need to compete but more importantly, it will help show the establishment that there is a groundswell of support, made up of thousands of people, ready to stop insiders from abusing the system for their own gain.
I know that our mission is more powerful than their money and our beliefs are stronger than their billions. With your support, we can show the establishment that we are ready for radical change.
* From the Pawar campaign…
Ameya Pawar, 47th Ward alderman and Democratic candidate for Illinois governor, today released a new digital spot highlighting the Chicago’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance which goes into effect July 1, 2017.
Starting Saturday, nearly half a million workers across the Chicago will earn the right to paid sick leave. Nearly a quarter million workers in the Chicago will get a raise because of the increase in the minimum wage.
“It has been my honor as the co-chairman of the Chicago Working Families Task Force to pass paid sick leave, raise the minimum wage, combat wage theft, making sure we don’t procure uniforms from sweatshops. This is what it means to be a Progressive - getting things done, working with groups and making progress for all people.” - Ameya Pawar
* And the JB Pritzker campaign whacked Gov. Rauner yesterday…
Today, a U.S. judge ordered Illinois to pay Medicaid providers an additional $586 million a month to ensure health care continues for millions of Illinoisans. In response, JB Pritzker released the following statement:
“We are at the point where the courts are having to do Bruce Rauner’s job for him to ensure 3 million Illinoisans are still able to receive health care,” said JB Pritzker. “With over $14 billion in unpaid bills, Illinois is broke and essential services are at risk. Whether Illinois can continue to provide health care or educate our children is entirely unclear under Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership. This is unprecedented, the people Bruce Rauner is supposed to represent are suffering, and the damage this will do to our state will take years to remedy. Illinois must pass a budget and then come together to clean up Bruce Rauner’s mess.”
Despite sailing through both chambers of the Illinois state Legislature, a bill creating an elected school board for Chicago is stalled and won’t be coming back up until at least the fall.
That’s the unhappy conclusion of the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago. He and others have long pushed to replace the city’s mayoral-appointed school board.
The overwhelming support for an elected school board came as a surprise this legislative session, and Marwick had hoped to get it finalized in June. But the legislation was overshadowed by the intense budget negotiations, he said. After failing to pass a budget for two years, state lawmakers are now under intense pressure to pass one.
“The budget negotiations have really, and rightly so, have consumed all the air in the building … we have been hyper focused on that,” Martwick said.
He said he needed the attention of leaders to iron out differences between bills passed by the House and the Senate.
I think the leaders just don’t want to do it. Not now, not ever. The governor doesn’t relish the fact that the CTU could elect school board members. The Senate President is closely allied with Mayor Emanuel, who opposes it. And the rest of the leaders don’t need the complicating headache.
* The next Senate Republican Leader can apparently see into the future. From the Sun-Times..
Although Brady on Friday declared he works well with the governor, in a debate shortly before the March primary, Brady had especially harsh words, comparing Rauner to a certain disgraced Democratic governor.
“The more I hear Bruce Rauner speak, the more he sounds like Rod Blagojevich. That’s the way he [Blagojevich] came to Springfield. You have to bring people together. But you have to be decisive. You can’t be divisive,” Brady said.
“Mr. Rauner continues to berate the Legislature and the experience of the Legislature like Rod Blagojevich did. That didn’t solve our problems. We need a leader.”
Although he is as comfortable talking to conservatives in church basements as he is discussing tax policy in business board rooms, Brady chafes at being called “a country club Republican.”
“I think you have business Republicans and then you have social Republicans. And I would be both,” he once said.
Brady, 56, was chosen by a unanimous vote at a meeting of Senate Republicans, Radogno told reporters. The formal transition was to come with a vote on the Senate floor.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” Radogno said. “He will be a very capable successor and I wish him all the luck in the world.”
“I think the whole state of Illinois needs some luck,” Brady said.
“The good news is,” he added, “I’ve got a great caucus behind me, as leader Radogno had, that can help provide a real solution to this state.”
Radogno resigned effective at the end of business day today, so Brady won’t be attending leaders’ meetings until that resignation becomes effective. Also, the full Senate has to approve his election, but that’s a perfunctory matter. It could get complicated if this thing wraps up today, however, because the Senate then won’t be in tomorrow. But, one burning bridge at a time, as they say.
* Related…
* Will Brady “Protect Taxpayers” as he promised when running for governor?: Brady boasted during his last gubernatorial bid that he would “protect taxpayers” and that he had never “voted for a tax increase.” His “Brady for Illinois” website still features his call for Illinois’ 2011 67% temporary income tax hike to sunset in 2015.
