CHICAGO (Aug. 22, 2017) – “Earlier today an email went out from my office that did not accurately reflect my views. I can understand why some people found the cartoon offensive. And I believe we should do more as a society and a nation to bring us together, rather than divide us.
“There are many passionate people engaged in public policy debates, and different people react differently.
“It is not my place to comment on every cartoon or picture that comes from people outside the governor’s office or to tell people how they should feel.
“I urge everyone to put this behind us so we can focus on solving the very real challenges of education fairness and economic opportunity facing our state.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Galia Slayen at the Pritzker campaign…
That’s not a statement. That’s Bruce Rauner throwing the “Best Team in America” under the bus because he can’t find the courage to condemn blatant racism in his own state.
…Adding… Twitter reactions are kinda brutal…
"different people react differently" — is that like saying people were offended "on both sides" #twill
“Bruce Rauner continues to undermine his moral authority by singing from the Donald Trump hymnal: saying that ‘different people react differently’ on racial caricature is like Donald Trump talking about ‘both sides’ of the horrible events in Charlottesville. The Governor’s abdication is the height of cowardice, beneath the dignity of his office, and raises additional questions.
Governor Rauner says his earlier statement did not ‘accurately reflect his views.’ What are his views? The people of Illinois still deserve to know. Does Bruce Rauner stand with the bipartisan, multiracial group of lawmakers who condemn the Illinois Policy Institute’s offensive practice of racial caricature, or not?
How is it that Rauner’s own words – from an emailed statement released by his spokesperson – do not reflect his own views? Though the wholesale takeover of the Governor’s office by the Illinois Policy Institute was disturbing, citizens expected that the Governor was still the chief executive. Given the incredible power of the Illinois governorship, the people of Illinois deserve an answer to a simple question: Is Bruce Rauner in charge of his own office?”
“In light of the progress made today by the four leaders, I am canceling session previously scheduled for Wednesday, August 23. During our talks today, Leader Durkin noted he was unavailable for any meetings tomorrow in order to wrap up negotiations. In light of that, we have decided to meet on Thursday in Chicago. I am hopeful we can finish our negotiations shortly to ensure schools around the state can receive the money needed to operate schools throughout this school year.
“If we don’t reach compromise later this week, the House will move to override the Governor’s veto of SB 1 in session next week.”
…Adding… I’m told the reason Durkin couldn’t meet tomorrow is that he wanted staff to flesh out some details before the leaders sat down again.
…Adding More… Press release…
Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill) issued the following statement in response to today’s leaders’ meeting about school funding reform and cancellation of Wednesday’s House override vote:
“Three weeks ago, Representative Will Davis and I respectfully asked Governor Rauner to allow lawmakers to continue negotiations on Senate Bill 1 so that we could avoid having a divisive veto override vote. He did not extend to lawmakers on both side of the aisle that were actively engaged in negotiations the courtesy of additional time. Instead, he issued a dismantling veto of SB 1.
“Nevertheless, I am pleased that negotiations took shape today and appear to be promising. They should continue. But it bears repeating that the uncertainty over school funding needs to end — next week at the latest.
“Inequity in our schools needs to end. It’s time to bring this debate that has spanned a generation to a close, either through a bipartisan agreement or through an override of the governor’s veto in the House. One way or another we must fix this broken formula, right now.”
* Secretary White spoke at Pritzker’s event during the State Fair last week, so I’m assuming he’s going to make it official. From a media advisory…
JB Pritzker and Secretary of State Jesse White to Make Campaign Announcement
WHAT: JB Pritzker and Secretary of State Jesse White to be joined by the internationally known Jesse White Tumbling Team and Aldermen Walter Burnett Jr., Michael Scott Jr., Chris Taliaferro, Pat Dowell, and Michelle Harris at a press conference for a major campaign announcement.
Republicans said the asked Speaker Madigan not to hold override vote tomorrow on SB1 as sign of good faith. Got no promises in response. https://t.co/Pq5Pjnzfjm
We are making progress. And I will just say we went through a lot of issues, down to the minutiae. And to me that is positive. It shows that there is a willingness to bring this to a negotiated settlement, and I would say that is the collective goal of each one of the leaders and including the governor.
Leader-Designate Brady said the Republicans emphasized to Madigan it would be “a gesture of good faith” if Madigan held off on an override vote tomorrow. But, he said, there was no commitment from Madigan.
Leader Durkin then said: “We’re in constant communication with the governor over this issue and we will continue to do that because we want to have a bill presented to him that he will sign with enthusiasm.”
Sweeney noted that 40 percent of building trades workers identify as Republican.
“So I’ve got to give those members, and I think all labor leaders need to be giving members, a choice in both parties,” said Sweeney, a one-time Democrat who now considers himself more of an independent.
Sweeney is trying to recruit Sen. Sam McCann, a union-friendly Republican from Plainview, to make the race. McCann has said he is considering a run, but has not committed. As far as I can tell, there is no Plan B if he doesn’t.
“[McCann] definitely wants to run,” Sweeney said Monday. “The key is having enough support, and more importantly, the money we would need to support a campaign and not put him on a suicide mission.” […]
Sweeney said he believes Rauner is beatable in a GOP primary.
“The poll numbers are still good for him, but that’s without a viable candidate,” Sweeney said, arguing that Rauner’s support is especially soft in central and southern Illinois.
But is McCann a viable statewide candidate? Bernie Schoenburg has written a bunch of stories about his personal finances, and there could be more out there.
There are those in organized labor who think that running a pro-life, pro-Trump Republican against Rauner only helps the incumbent in the general election. Your thoughts?
While CPS enrollment has dropped roughly 10 percent between 2007 and projections for this upcoming year, total annual spending increased by a third over that same span, to a projected $6.48 billion.
In the same period, the total number of CPS employees is down 20 percent, with the steepest drop in the central office rather than in the classroom. But in a real-life version of whack-a-mole, central office staffing has a tendency to pop back up after each periodic purge. Meanwhile, the district’s general obligation debt has soared to $7.7 billion from $4.1 billion, with interest rates as high as 9 percent.
After a staggeringly ill-timed pension holiday late in the tenure of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, CPS is finally putting aside closer to what it’s supposed to for employee retirement, with annual contributions skyrocketing to a projected $719 million in fiscal 2018 from $169 million in 2007. That’s the biggest reason that overall spending is increasing. But the damage has already been done: The ratio of assets to liabilities in its retirement fund is at a pathetic 52.5 percent. […]
According to Civic Federation President Laurence Msall, the district needs a long-term plan to achieve a truly balanced budget, a plan that involves more than waiting for Godot, er, Springfield. “Over time, your expenses should be dropping if your enrollment is dropping . . . or at least not rising as fast.”
Bobby Otter, director of the budget center, notes that the number of CPS schools (including charters) has risen to 649 from 600 since 2002, even as student population dropped 14.8 percent. That suggests that, contentious as the last round of school closings was, more are needed. Overall, though, he’s in the “more revenue” camp—even after the recent $272 million-a-year property tax hike for teacher pensions—saying deep cuts now would seriously hurt classroom performance.
Inflation has increased 21 percent over that time period, but that doesn’t account for all of the spending growth, obviously. The number of charter schools has really taken off. Also, population shifts have required new schools. Areas that were once filled with people who sent their kids to, for instance, Catholic schools, now have families who can only afford public schools. Also, there’s been a huge demand for North Side schools while the South Side suffered huge population losses.
* The latest on the Illinois Policy Institute’s cartoon from Mary Ann Ahern…
…Adding… Setting aside the whole “white male” issue and even the cartoon, this is a really odd response during a national debate over public statues and memorials to the Confederacy. Not to mention the Chicago debate over the Balbo monument. With his comment about political “art,” is he now excusing himself from that whole thing?
“We are all Americans. It doesn’t matter what party, it doesn’t matter who we vote for. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we stand for justice and fairness and equality. That’s what America is about. And racism and bigotry and violence has no place in our society.”
Charges of racism must be taken very seriously. The tragedy in Charlottesville and its aftermath serve as sobering reminders that even today, some remain who would use violence and hate to divide us. We must never relent in working toward a future built not on what divides us, but what unites us.
The governor would never try to talk anyone out of their reaction to any piece of art, political or nonpolitical, right or left, good or bad. Those reactions deserve respect on their own terms.
The governor has great respect for the black caucus and members of the General Assembly who voiced concerns about the cartoon. The governor’s office has also heard from members of the black community who found truth in the imagery and do not find the cartoon offensive. Here is where things stand: The cartoon was removed days ago. And the governor – as a white male – does not have anything more to add to the discussion.
The fixation on this cartoon and the governor’s opinion of it has been disappointing. What the media and political class should be concerned about is ensuring schools open on time and stay open with a fair funding formula. Now is the time to come together to do what’s right for all of Illinois’ children.
So, now they’re experts at what reporters should be writing about? Great messaging.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Rep. Christian Mitchell (D-Chicago), who was the first to call out the Illinois Policy Institute’s cartoon, responds…
“Refusing to comment on the Illinois Policy Institute’s offensive cartoon ‘as a white male’ is a display of cowardice and a stunning abdication of moral leadership by Governor Rauner. Furthermore, it raises more questions than answers. Is Governor Rauner’s identity as a white male more important to him than his job as Governor? Will he no longer comment on issues affecting non-white Illinoisans? Will he no longer stand against reproductive rights for women, since he’s a male? These are just a few of the questions now facing Bruce Rauner.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Pritzker campaign…
Instead of denouncing the racist cartoon published by the Illinois Policy that has sparked widespread outcry, a spokesperson criticized the reaction, calling it “disappointing.” In a bizarre and baffling statement almost a week after the cartoon was published, the spokesperson said, “[Rauner] — as a white male — does not have anything more to add to the discussion.”
Six days ago, the Illinois House rose in overwhelming, bipartisan opposition to the cartoon and denounced it from the House floor. Also six days ago, Rauner said, “racism and bigotry and violence has no place in our society” in another days-late response to the Charlottesville attacks. His attempt to wipe his hands of his responsibility to respond to blatant racism from an organization he is closely tied to is absurd. Bruce Rauner calls out racism when it is politically convenient for him and otherwise can’t seem to be bothered.
“As the governor of this state, Bruce Rauner has an obligation to use his platform to fight racism in Illinois,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Rauner’s refusal to denounce the racist cartoon from the Illinois Policy Institute is what Illinoisans should now expect after the failed governor staffed his administration from their ranks. This is a complete abdication of Rauner’s responsibility to provide moral leadership and defend the values of this state.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** Mayor Rahm Emanuel…
“The governor should be embarrassed for turning a blind eye to what is plain for everyone to see. The cartoon issued by the governor’s allies at the Illinois Policy Institute is unambiguously racist. We can give no quarter to racism, and there can be no justification for leaders unwilling to stand up and call out racist acts. For a man so eager to speak his mind so often, the governor’s silence is deafening.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** Press release…
Tom Elliott, communications director for Ameya Pawar’s campaign for governor, issued the following statement today in response to a comment by a spokesperson for Governor Bruce Rauner that, “as a white male he has nothing more to add to the discussion” over the racist cartoon published by the Illinois Policy Institute:
“I am shocked Gov. Rauner would admit he is not qualified to lead a state as diverse as Illinois.”
“Rauner’s silence on this issue abdicates his responsibility as governor and ignores his own privilege and the role it should have in fighting racism and bigotry.”
“We need to elect leaders like Ameya Pawar who will address the serious issues surrounding race and class, and who will work tirelessly to bring our state together. The only way we will overcome our inequities is by uniting as one Illinois, and resisting the tactics Rauner uses to divide us so nothing at the top ever changes.”
Bruce Rauner, Republican Governor of Illinois, told the local press Friday he may sign a new bill passed by the heavily Democratic Illinois legislature to frustrate federal immigration enforcement.
Claiming it was supported by “the immigration community” in addition to the Illinois Sheriff’s Association and businesses, Rauner told WBEZ, Chicago’s FM public radio channel, that SB31 “seems very reasonable.” Rauner’s office did not respond to Breitbart News’s request to clarify to whom “the immigration community” referred. […]
One Illinois immigration hawk was unconvinced. “I think the biggest question Illinois taxpayers have for Governor Rauner and any legislator who would want to pass this bill is, ‘Does making it easier for illegal aliens to stay in Illinois improve the lives of Illinois residents?’” former Republican candidate for the U.S. Congress and Illinois Minutemen-founder Rosanna Pulido told Breitbart News.
She explained:
We already spend 4.5 Billion dollars a year for free services for illegal aliens. By signing this Bill, SB 31, Rauner will create an even stronger magnet for illegal aliens who are looking not to be apprehended by the law. Thus, the already overburdened taxpayer will be saddled with even more of a burden. It will truly be the straw that broke the camels back. Personally I am already checking out a different state I can move to. It is a truly sad day in Illinois.
A twofer. Hmm. /snark
* From Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart…
“At a time when the violence in Chicago continues at alarming and unacceptable rates, local police need to be focused on crime and violence reduction. To do that effectively requires community cooperation and support, both of which diminish quickly if there is fear that reporting a crime or turning in an offender will lead to detention by immigration authorities. Signing the Illinois TRUST Act (SB31) into law will ensure everyone understands the role of local law enforcement in Illinois - to protect and serve, not to scare and harass.”
*** UPDATE *** I was told this last week off the record, but it appears they’re now confirming it…
Breaking: Gov Rauner to sign AVR & SB 31 Monday Aug 28 accdg to spksm. #twill
In an unprecedented ruling, an appellate court declared the city of Harvey so severely neglected its firefighters’ pension fund that it was on the verge of insolvency — meaning there might not be any money for retirees or firefighters on the job there today.
The ruling comes as local firefighters complain of equipment in disrepair and manpower cuts. And it follows another embarrassing ruling in which a Cook County judge took away control of Harvey’s water finances from leaders of the scandal-plagued and debt-ridden south suburb.
In a scathing opinion filed earlier this month, the 1st District Appellate Court found that for nearly a decade, the city neglected to pay enough money to keep the pension fund solvent, leaving it in danger of running dry in as little as five years. Indeed, the court found that over that period, the city contributed only 17 percent of the amount needed to sustain the pension fund.
“Harvey has set up a collision course over a period of many years where the beneficiaries of their firefighters’ Pension Fund are being paid substantially out of the money that the firefighters have themselves contributed to the Pension Fund and the money the Pension Fund earns from investments…” the court wrote. “In essence, Harvey is robbing Peter to pay Paul, but what happens when Peter retires?”
It is the first time a court has declared a pension fund to be “on the verge of default or bankruptcy,” the ruling said, meaning that the fund now has the right to be funded under a little-known clause in the state constitution.
On a campaign stop for his bid for governor, State Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston, stopped by Joliet Junior College Sunday to talk to voters and accept an endorsement from fellow Sen. Pat McGuire, D-Crest Hill.
“I’ve served with Daniel for five years,” McGuire said. “We know he’s smart. He also has a really big heart and he works like the dickens.” […]
For McGuire, he argued that what sets Biss apart, is his ability and willingness to tackle issues big and small. Over the hour and a half event, Biss spoke with the 40 or so attendees about property taxes, pension reform, balancing the budget and education funding.
“I don’t think we can afford another rookie governor in Illinois, Democrat or Republican,” McGuire said.
* I shot this video just before and during the full eclipse yesterday. It’s not a great video because most of my attention was on watching the eclipse, but it does show you how dark it got and how well Ozzy Osbourne can still play…
Another Ozzy video, which, unlike mine, was shot with a filter so you can see the eclipse itself, is here.
I’ve been to more than a few first-time music festivals, and they can often be a hassle. But the folks at Walker’s Bluff put on one of the best I’ve ever attended. Everything seemed to run smoothly.
* A bunch of us avoided the brutal heat before the show by hanging out in the air conditioned Tasting Room and going outside every few minutes to view the eclipse…
* At one point before the show I tried to take a photo of the eclipse by holding a lens from an eclipse viewer over my mobile phone’s camera lens. But then my eyes were briefly blasted by sunlight because I couldn’t see what I was doing so I took off my own eclipse glasses to get my phone into position. Oops. I’m sure these had nothing to do with my little accident…
Enactment of a fiscal 2018 budget in Illinois did not bring an end to the ongoing political stalemate that caused its two-year budget impasse. The governor and General Assembly remain at odds over funding policy for the state’s school districts. It is also uncertain, in S&P Global Ratings’ view, whether the governor will proceed to implement a budget provision authorizing the state to refinance a portion of its accumulated budgetary debt with general obligation (GO) bonds. Reducing the backlog of unpaid bills with lower-interest-cost GO debt would restore some of the state’s capacity to engage in extraordinary forms of cash management.
In our view, Illinois’ growing reliance on delaying payments was a sign of its intensifying fiscal stress. Its ability to do so, however, served a crucial reserve-like function during its protracted fiscal crisis. We don’t take a position on any of the state’s specific debt or fiscal policy proposals. But given that its budget reserve remains depleted, we believe that foregoing the opportunity to replenish some of this implicit cash flow borrowing capacity would leave the state’s liquidity profile subject to heightened vulnerability. The Illinois General Assembly recently approved a permanent increase in the state’s individual and corporate income tax rates, which should help bring its budget closer to balance. Throughout its unprecedented two-year budget standoff, however, Illinois’ revenue base was structurally inadequate to support its authorized and legally required payment obligations. In response, the state comptroller prioritized paying the state’s core commitments over those she deemed to be lower-priority claims. In our view, the state’s practice of delaying payment on some of its obligations represents an exercise of its sovereign authority and is a tool that enabled it to sustain the funding of essential services. In the context of the state’s budget crisis, the payment deferrals insulated Illinois’ ability to cash-fund in a timely manner what the comptroller determined are the state’s core obligations, including debt service. But given its widening structural deficit in fiscal years 2016 and 2017, the bill backlog soared to record levels and by the end of fiscal 2017 was approaching $15 billion.
We believe there is a threshold beyond which the state’s ability to triage its cash and various payment obligations in favor of its chosen priorities can become impaired. Given its status as a sovereign, the precise boundary of this limitation for Illinois is unspecified. However, a recent federal court ruling circumscribed the state’s leeway to continue delaying payments to its Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). The ruling found that the state was not compliant with prior consent decrees pertaining to the timeliness of payments to the MCOs. We viewed this as a sign that Illinois was rapidly approaching the point at which even its emergency cash management measures would become exhausted. Because of the court’s ruling, beginning in July the state was required to increase payments to the MCOs by $290 million per month (net of federal matching subsidies). But in negotiations, the state comptroller had offered to increase payments by a much lower amount–$75 million (which, with federal matching funds, could generate up to $150 million in funding). This indicated to us that the state’s cash flows were becoming inadquate to fund its range of priority payments. Therefore, absent the ability to access other state funds which was provided with the enactment of the budget, the court’s ruling mandating stepped-up Medicaid payments threatened to precipitate a liquidity crunch for the state.
In recent years, the balance on Illinois unpaid bills has increased roughly in parallel with the state’s annual fiscal deficits. Consequently, issuing bonds to retire some of the bills might be viewed as tantamount to a deficit financing. And while bonding for current or past operating expenses typically is not a best practice, we believe it is encompassed in the state’s ‘BBB-’ GO debt rating. Furthermore, the unpaid bills themselves are debts of the state. Thus, replacing the unpaid bills with bonds does not represent a net increase in its overall liabilities, though it would increase the state’s annual (fixed) debt service costs. Issuing the bonds would also cause the state’s various debt ratios we consider under our rating methodology to increase. However, key metrics would remain, as they are now, in the ‘moderately high’ range as defined in our criteria (see table below).
As enacted, the General Assembly’s budget legislation authorized up to $6 billion in GO bonds for refinancing the bills. However, as described by the legislative sponsors in the House of Representatives, the budget plan estimated an operating surplus of $360 million, enough to support debt service on approximately $3 billion in GO bonds with a 12-year maturity. Even this may overstate the state’s ability to pay debt service from a budgetary surplus if certain budget assumptions don’t hold. Furthermore, unlike the bill backlog, over which the state retains some flexibility with regard to the timing of repayment, debt service on the bonds would be a new hard cost. But it’s likely that the bonds could be sold at a lower interest cost than what it pays on much of its bill backlog (up to 12%). Therefore, the state may realize net fiscal savings which we believe Illinois can ill-afford to pass up given its weakened financial position, even if the additional debt service adds incrementally to its operating deficit.
At its current rating level, we believe unanticipated liquidity stress remains one of the leading risks to Illinois’ credit quality. Without a budget reserve, the range of fiscal tools available to Illinois with which to navigate a stress scenario is narrower than it is for other states. Throughout its budget impasse, accumulating payables—in effect, shifting the burden of managing a cash flow deficit to its payees—became the state’s de facto approach to liquidity management. However, with nearly $15 billion in unpaid bills as of early July, its ability to continue relying on payment delays was approaching legal and practical limits. The federal court ruling reducing the extent to which the state can delay payments to its Medicaid MCOs illustrated this fact. Retiring a portion of the unpaid bills with proceeds from a GO bond issue implies that in the event of renewed liquidity stress, the state would have restored a portion of its deferral capacity. On its own, implementing the bonding strategy is unlikely to improve the state’s credit quality. However, refinancing a portion of the state’s high interest bill backlog could offer a modest layer of potential cushion to its liquidity. Therefore, the refinancing plan may, to a limited degree, protect Illinois’ credit quality to the downside.
*** UPDATE *** Pritzker campaign…
According to a new report by S&P Global Ratings, Bruce Rauner’s refusal to refinance state debt is forcing Illinois taxpayers to pay the price and bringing “heightened vulnerability” to the state’s finances. Taxpayers are on the hook for $2 million a day in interest alone on unpaid bills.
S&P says by taking the commonsense step to pay state vendors with bonds, “the state may realize net fiscal savings which we believe Illinois can ill-afford to pass up given its weakened financial position.” The bill backlog is close to $15 billion, nearly triple what it was in June 2015.
“Bruce Rauner’s damage is done after putting our state through a 736-day budget crisis and tripling our bill backlog, so it should come as no surprise that he would skip an opportunity to bring our state out of financial ruin,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “This is a fiscal mess of Rauner’s own creating, and one he is either unwilling or unable to solve.”
As politicians continue to bicker over state school funding with payments already behind, Gov. Bruce Rauner is accusing Mayor Rahm Emanuel of using the city’s tax increment finance districts as a “slush fund” that shortchanges Chicago Public Schools.
Emanuel fires back by saying the city has used TIF districts to pump more money into education than it could have in their absence. And he contends that Rauner’s assertions are meant to pit suburban and Downstate children against their city counterparts.
A Tribune examination shows that Emanuel is right when he says the city has used the controversial taxing districts to spend more on schools and that state law prevents it from tapping most of the money in those districts for CPS costs. […]
The city under Emanuel also has halted new projects in downtown TIF districts, allowing the city each year to declare more TIF money as surplus that then gets distributed to local taxing districts. More than $400 million in TIF surplus funds have gone into CPS coffers since 2011, city officials said, on top of tens of millions of dollars declared surplus under Daley.
And both Daley and Emanuel have spent money in TIF districts to build, expand and upgrade schools. City officials say the amount spent on those projects over the years tops $1.3 billion.
* Meanwhile, the Illinois Municipal League’s president Karen Darch sent a letter to Gov. Rauner the other day…
Dear Governor Rauner:
On behalf of the Illinois Municipal League (IML), I write to respectfully express concern with your recent description of Tax Increment Financing (TIP) districts as “slush funds” during your interview with Chicago Tonight on Monday, August 14, 2017.
TIP districts are not only an essential tool, but frequently the only tool available for municipalities to revitalize blighted properties over time. Blighted properties underperform economically, depress nearby property values and ultimately reduce the amount of property tax revenue collected by local governments, including school districts. TIP was designed to benefit communities by rehabilitating these underperforming properties so they can make positive economic contributions to the surrounding property tax base and the community as a whole.
As Village President of Barrington, a non-home rule community, I can personally attest to the absolute need for and value of TIP as an effective community development tool. The entire revitalization of downtown Barrington would not have occurred without TIP assistance, as the older individual retaillcommercial parcels in our downtown could not attract redevelopment “but for” the assistance the TIP district could provide. The downtown improvements not only serve to lessen the devastating impact of the decline in property values following the mortgage crisis, but have added to the sales tax and employment base for my community as TIP districts have in many others throughout Illinois.
As President of the Illinois Municipal League, I participated in a conference call of the organization’s Executive Committee on Tuesday, August 15. The mayors on the call believed it important to convey to you our strong support for TIP. Macomb Mayor Michael Inman cited the ongoing rehabilitation of an old hotel into a modern senior living facility using TIP. North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham cited the redevelopment of a 40-acre site that would not have occurred without TIP assistance. Mayors throughout the state could offer similar examples.
IML strongly supports TIF as an effective and, for many municipalities, the only viable redevelopment tool available to improve local communities and expand employment opportunities.
Rauner spokeswoman Laurel Patrick pretty much said the governor has made up his mind.
“While TIFs stimulate economic growth in some areas, they do so by depriving economic growth in other areas. They also put government in the position of choosing winners and losers,” she said in an email.
Beyond that, TIF districts are subject to abuse, she said, pointing to a recent Crain’s story about the diversion of TIF funds from the McCormick Place area to a project at Navy Pier, Patrick continued. “A more effective economic development tool is low regulation and low taxes.”
Of course, by that logic, Rauner would veto a bill now on his desk to renew the state’s Edge payroll tax-credit for companies that add or retain jobs in the state, since that’s “choosing winners and losers.” But Rauner’s office has indicated he intends to sign the bill.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Apparently, the governor doesn’t agree with his spokesperson because he signed this bill on August 18th…
Creates a tax increment allocation financing extension for an ordinance adopted on January 31, 1995 by the Village of Milledgeville.
*** UPDATE 2 *** By my count, the governor has signed 7 TIF creation/extension bills…
1/ Also signed bill in 2016 extending TIFs in Bradford, Lacon, Chicago, LaSalle, Oak Forest, Pinckneyville, Springfield, Rosemont …
* I asked Democratic candidates for governor this question…
Should Cook County repeal its pop tax? Failing that, should the General Assembly pass a bill to repeal the tax? House Bill 4083 is bipartisan legislation to do just that and was introduced this week.
Their deadline was noon today, but they all complied well before their deadline for a change. Some candidates ignored the second question, but some didn’t answer either one. Here are the responses in the order they were received.
* Tio Hardiman…
“Cook County should definitely repeal its pop tax. The pop tax was not a good idea in the first place. Too many consumers of pop and sugary drinks are complaining and there are many stories of people going to Indiana and other neighboring states to purchase pops.”
* Bob Daiber:
Yes! I encourage Cook County to repeal the pop tax because it is excessive for lower and middle class residents.
At recent public meetings, I have heard outward opposition to this tax. Also, the pop tax will begin to impact Cook County businesses as some residents shop elsewhere to buy soda and choose to buy other items as well. The end result will be a down turn in total sales tax receipts. Please see the attached receipts from two Walgreens stores for the identical purchase of a twelve pack of Pepsi. The pop tax added $1.44 to the purchase.
Since I support home rule of local government, I do not believe the General Assembly should intervene and pass HB 4083 because it preempts home rule.
* Chris Kennedy…
The Cook County sweetened beverage tax is another form of a regressive tax on lower income families. Cook County should not balance its budget on the backs of families who can afford it the least. I strongly oppose it and believe Cook County should immediately repeal it. We cannot clean up our finances with a patchwork of regressive fixes like a sweetened beverage tax. Illinois needs a wholesale reform of our tax code, starting with ending our reliance on a broken property tax system to fund local schools.
* Ameya Pawar…
“I was a proponent of raising cigarette taxes and going after menthol brand cigarettes because tobacco companies target and market menthol cigarettes to minority communities. These tax increases do indeed change consumer behavior and lead to better public health outcomes. But I also believe there must be more aggressive action against tobacco companies and their lobbies at the federal and state level, including the elimination of subsidies to tobacco farmers. Similarly, I know the soda tax at the county level will likely reduce consumption over time and in the near term raise enough revenue to protect critical county services. But like tobacco, we must go after the Sugar Lobby, Coca Cola, and Big Agra as they have pushed false data over the last half century on the impacts of sugar consumption to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. As governor, I will take on the sugar and tobacco industries who profit off disease and death. And finally, if we are serious about reducing the consumption of sugary drinks, then clean drinking water must be a top priority for the state. This means, addressing lead in water systems, banning fracking to prevent the contamination of underground water supplies, and joining the US Climate Alliance. As governor, I will do just that.”
Way to not answer the question, man.
* Scott Drury…
The purported need and continuous call for targeted regressive taxes at the State and local levels are symptomatic of the long-term fiscal mismanagement of Illinois and various local governments. In order for Illinois to prosper, it must get its fiscal house in order. This is not done simply by talking about adding this tax or repealing that tax. Illinois must confront its outrageous debt problem in a fair and constitutional manner. By reducing its debt load, Illinois can reduce its multi-billion dollar annual debt obligation and reinvest that money into public education, healthcare, job training, local government and neighborhoods. As we have experienced, Illinois’ failure to address its debt crisis will leave our State in a perpetual chase for its tail, while Illinois residents suffer.
Another non-response.
* Sen. Daniel Biss…
“We have a tax code that was written by billionaires and political insiders for their own benefit. Because the system doesn’t work for middle class Illinoisans, local governments are placed in a no-win situation to generate revenue.
“Fixing this broken system starts with an honest conversation about how tax decisions get made and why, for decades, we have balanced our budgets on the backs of the middle class. I hope that as members of the House consider House Bill 4083, they also take the opportunity to adopt a more holistic and progressive revenue approach—one that makes corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share.”
Another dodge.
* JB Pritzker…
“Bruce Rauner is a failed leader who put our state through a 736-day budget crisis, forcing counties, townships and cities across the state to find ways to make ends meet. Even now, Rauner continues his ill-conceived crisis making, threatening school closings across Illinois. The damage is done, and people across the state are attempting to clean up the mess Rauner’s made.
“This governor has done nothing to make the tax system in Illinois more fair for the middle class and those striving to get there. I strongly support a progressive income tax and will work to pass one as governor. Progressive taxes are fairer than regressive taxes and that’s why I do not support the soda tax.
“However, given the damage the governor has done, local governments should be given deference to make decisions over their own jurisdictions to deal with the crisis this governor has created. Unlike Bruce Rauner, I’ll work to make sure the state lives up to its obligations so that counties, townships and cities are not put in such a challenging position.”
MAXWELL: Your recent polling, your internal polling, said you were a frontrunner, but yet it’s a big fight. You’ve got a long way to go. Seven other candidates gunning for that top spot, and there’s a lot of money in this race. JB Pritzker has $21 million already that he’s self-funding in his campaign. Are you going to be able to catch up there? How’s fundraising going lately? I know you brought on Bill Daley.
KENNEDY: Yeah, Bill Daley’s been incredible, and we’ll have the resources to compete. I’m not worried about the money.
MAXWELL: Are you going to cut a check?
KENNEDY: If you look at the number of donors we have, the number of volunteers, the support across the state is incredible. I know I’m ahead in the polls, but I’m gonna run this like, uh, like I’m the underdog and I think that’s an important message to people as well.
“It was a bad quarter, no question about it,” Daley told me. “There was a lot of political outreach. (But) there wasn’t even a finance committee, just a committee of stakeholders.”
Fixing that is the first thing on his agenda, Daley said. A full finance committee is being assembled (Daley declined to disclose any names), with an initial meeting set for next week. Lists of fundraising targets will be assembled, and regular calls and contacts made, he continued. Some of that will involve the candidate himself. “Chris has to spend more time on it.”
Since then, Kennedy’s campaign has reported just $34,700 in contributions. Now, he could be holding back his deposits in order to make a big splash at the end of the quarter. But you’d think a candidate who’s been under fire for not raising enough money would want to get out in front of that story by rolling out some big donors.
MAXWELL: I want to ask you about healthcare for a minute because a lot of the candidates are weighing in. There was a recent fight over single payer, public option. And I want to see if I can get you to weigh in here. What direction would you like to see the country, and what direction would you like to see the state of Illinois go in how it provides healthcare for people?
KENNEDY: I think there are, there are, there are great examples to us around the country. I don’t think we need to invent it all ourselves in Illinois. I think if you at what happened under Governor Romney in Massachusetts and the expansion of Medicaid there and the ability for the state to provide great coverage to people at all economic levels.
MAXWELL: We’ve expanded Medicaid in Illinois. One in four residents in this state are on Medicaid.
KENNEDY: And I think we can continue to do that, and in effect migrate towards a single payer system. I think we need to free up Medicare and Medicaid to negotiate pricing.
MAXWELL: That sounds like a slow incremental process you’re describing, migrate towards single payer. How long do you think that would take?
KENNEDY: I don’t know. But I think we’re moving, we’re moving in that direction. It’s clear to me that that’s where we’ll end up, both as a state and as a country over time. And we ought to be on the front-burner here in Illinois.
MAXWELL: You’re describing it as inertia, something that’s already on the track, and maybe a spectator. Would you push that faster?
KENNEDY: Oh, I’d definitely push it faster, absolutely. And I think we should continue to expand as best we can by negotiating with the federal government what, uh, what issues and who can be covered in Illinois, then do a better job recruiting people who haven’t signed up to sign up for the available care in our state now. And I think that’s how we get full coverage for everyone. There’s coverage, I mean, the fact is that we’re just handling it poorly. People are getting sick and going to emergency rooms, and it doesn’t have to be like that. The problem with the state is largely we look so, we look inward and not outward, and we ought to look to other states and see what great outcomes are occurring there. We could provide better coverage and better healthcare for people in our state.
MAXWELL: So you mention Massachusetts, RomneyCare. It’s a deep blue state there. They’ve had some trial balloons and things on the national healthcare scene. Any other states or any other practices that you’ve seen in relation to how you’d lower drug prices or how you would make medicine more affordable for average Americans?
KENNEDY: I think some of the things they’ve done in California are helpful. And California, places like California and Texas have massive populations, and they’ve begun to negotiate. And I think we can create a consortium with other states, cooperate. I know that we’re competitive with the people in Indiana and Wisconsin and Iowa, but we can work with them and create regional competition, or regional buying power, that allows us to use the market to drive down pricing.
* But the Chicago Tribune editorial board was its usual downer self…
We’re sure that will be a thrilling sight. But there’s another eclipse in Illinois that isn’t thrilling — or so brief.
This eclipse doesn’t occur only on Aug. 21.
It is happening every day.
You don’t need special glasses to see it.
Just keep your eyes open to the grim, familiar evidence of Illinois in eclipse:
Job seekers and company execs who cross Illinois off their lists early because of its toxic political and business climate.
Droves of students who flee to financially stable out-of-state universities.
For sale signs that sprout galore. Illinois in eclipse has led the nation in population loss three years in a row. (Such a three-year streak has happened only one other time since 1900, during World War II.)
While finally having a state budget for Illinois is good news, there’s a cost for local governments and residents. The new budget includes a sales tax collection fee of 2 per cent, meaning the state will keep some of the revenue generated by local sales taxes.
The official reason for the sales tax collection fee is to pay the state’s administrative cost - of collecting the money and remitting it to local governments. Unofficially it’ll help Illinois make up for its huge past due bills and big budget deficits.
Kathy Carr, Finance Director for Moline, says the new fee will cost her city 172,000 dollars a year - Moline has been using sales tax revenue for the general fund and for road construction and repairs. […]
East Moline will lose about 9,000 dollars per year according to Finance Director Megan Petersen - her city also uses this money for street maintenance and repairs.
In accordance with current statute, the Illinois Department of Revenue is required to provide an estimated entitlement* of the amount of Personal Property Replacement Taxes for Fiscal Year 2018.
The FY18 replacement tax allocations are estimated at $1,117 million. This is a decline of 23.84% from FY17 replacement tax allocations that totaled $1,467 million.
Replacement tax allocations are estimated to be lower for several reasons:
* Replacement tax revenues are expected to decrease by approximately 2% due to weak domestic profits suppressing replacement tax receipts.
* The reconciliation of the tax year 2015 and 2016 returns involved with the tax calculation split was completed last year which resulted in additional monies of $235.6 million being deposited into the PPRT fund during FY-17. The income tax/replacement tax deposit percentages have been adjusted for FY-18, therefore no additional monies have been built into this estimate for FY-18.
* The statutory refund fund transfer to the PPRT fund is $10.1 million because more replacement tax refunds were paid in FY-17, whereas last year’s transfer amount was $63 million.
* The business income tax refund fund percentage has increased from 17.25% in FY17 to 17.5% in FY18.
* Public Act 100-0021 authorized $297 million in expenditures out of the PPRT fund for FY-18.
The PPRT distribution will fall by $350 million , and $297 million of that is due to the state’s new sales tax collection “fee.” So, about 85 percent of the reduction is due to the new fee.ADDING: Too much road traveling last night and not enough coffee this morning. These are two different things. Sorry. The point is, locals are gonna be up in arms.
I would expect this story to grow as more and more local governments discover what’s going on. You can click here for the full list of governments and what they’re getting.
The governor is quite good at identifying and denouncing Illinois’ many problems. He’s not wrong about everything—just the opposite, in fact. I agree with many of his diagnoses.
But a commenter on my blog once wrote that the governor often reminds him of that LifeLock TV ad where violent, hooded robbers bust into a bank and a frightened woman lying on the floor tells a uniformed man to “do something.”
“Oh, I’m not a security guard,” the man replies. “I’m a security monitor. I only notify people if there’s a robbery.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner has said for the past several days that he’s open to just about any sort of compromise in order to get school funding reform signed into law.
For example, he recently told Amanda Vinicky on Public Television’s “Chicago Tonight” program that there was nothing on his list that he had to have. “Nothing,” he said when asked to clarify. “Absolutely nothing has to happen. The only principle we should be guided by is what’s best for our children, what treats them all the same so they have the best chance they can at the American dream.”
That could be a very big caveat. It more than just implies that he intends to stick to his guns on stripping money from the Chicago Public Schools, which he contends is given special treatment in the education funding reform bill he vetoed. The Democrats will most definitely not like that.
But even if the negotiations among the four legislative leaders do produce some progress, some folks are still doubtful that Gov. Rauner can bring himself to sign the bill, or that his new staff can get him to stick to his word.
If you go back to 2015, you may remember that after weeks of negotiations over a stopgap budget and after a tentative deal had been reached, Rauner decided during the ensuing weekend that he had some additional demands that would clearly be unacceptable to the Democrats. His top staff fought back hard, insisting that he couldn’t back out after accepting terms. Rauner signed the bill.
More recently, near the end of June, you might recall that Rauner’s office publicly berated the Democrats for not officially transmitting the Chicago gun crimes bill to his desk in order to deliberately deprive the governor of a “win.” The Democrats denied they had any such intentions and the legislation was quickly sent to Rauner. The governor’s staff set up a press conference for the very next day and Chicago’s police superintendent came down to the Statehouse for the signing ceremony.
Just before he was set to sign the bill, however, Rauner blew up at his communications staff over a single sentence in a Chicago Tribune article which detailed his battle with Mayor Rahm Emanuel about the sale of the James R. Thompson Center building. As it turns out, Rauner had misread the sentence, but the blowup was “like nothing I had seen before,” said one person who was present.
And then the governor reportedly had second thoughts about signing the gun bill, other sources say. Mind you, this was just before the signing ceremony was supposed to begin.
A task force inserted into the legislation to help the Illinois State Police combat violent crimes was what reportedly set him off. Sources say he flip-flopped and wanted to veto the bill. Again, this was minutes before he was set to publicly sign the thing with Chicago’s most senior cop on his way to town.
His top staff had to intervene again and eventually convinced him to calm down and sign the bill.
Most of those staffers had been with Gov. Rauner since the campaign. They’d learned over the years how to deal with him and, since they helped get him to the governor’s office, Rauner trusted them enough to eventually listen. But Rauner fired some of them when he brought in far-right Illinois Policy Institute staffers and the rest quit in disgust.
Nobody on his current upper echelon staff has a similar personal history with Rauner. And, so far, nobody on that staff appears to have the ability to steer him in the right direction. They’re letting Bruce be Bruce, and that has its consequences.
Rauner’s former staffers negotiated what started out as a quasi “sanctuary state” bill for illegal immigrants to a point that was even further to the right than where the governor wanted to be. While he is expected to sign the bill as I write this, Rauner hedged publicly about it during an appearance on the Fox News Channel and proponents couldn’t get him to firmly commit to make it a law.
So, there’s naturally some informed doubt that the governor will be able to bring himself to sign something as big and important as an education funding reform bill. The governor publicly denied last week that the First Lady has become more involved in his administration, but by all accounts she most certainly has and she now may be the only hope of keeping him on track. This piece of legislation will forever define him, one way or another. If it’s passed over his veto (in whatever form), he may never live it down.
* Mary Ann Ahern has taken the Illinois Policy Institute story from “Is its cartoon racist?” to “Why won’t the governor even look at a controversial cartoon published by one of his strongest allies?”…
NEW Rauner spox on IPI cartoon: "he doesn't have time to worry about political cartoons when we don't have an agreement on k12 … " (1)
But as pressure mounts on Rauner to weigh in, he has refused to join the conversation, with his office saying Friday that he had not seen the cartoon at the center of the debate.
“He doesn’t have time to worry about political cartoons when we don’t have an agreement on K12 funding. His priorities are where they should be,” Rauner’s spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said Sunday, again declining to say if the governor had seen it.
Governor Bruce Rauner spent most of last week dodging press questions about a cartoon that was deemed racist by many and was condemned by the entire Illinois House legislature. The cartoon was drawn by the right-wing Illinois Policy Institute whose former employees now count as most of Rauner’s top aides. Last week, Rauner’s team twice defended the cartoon’s creators last week while claiming he never saw the cartoon.
Over the weekend, NBC5’s Mary Ann Ahern received this response from Rauner’s team:
“He doesn’t have time to worry about political cartoons when we don’t have an agreement on K12 funding. His priorities are where they should be.”
On Friday, legislative leaders met to discuss a possible solution to Rauner’s education crisis. Rauner was not at the meeting. And today Governor Rauner’s public schedule lists one event – watching the eclipse in Carbondale.
Three hours down, and three hours back. Assuming Governor Rauner does not use more personal money to conduct state business and rent a helicopter from a President Trump supporter, at some point he should get bored. Maybe he’ll find the time…
“Governor Rauner shows leadership just about as often as the United States experiences a total solar eclipse,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Bruce Rauner willingly pushed the state into an education funding crisis with his veto pen. Now his political allies are picking up on his divisive education funding rhetoric and are being criticized by everyone, outside Bruce Rauner’s office. It took four days for Governor Rauner to denounce President Trump’s rhetoric – how long will it take him to denounce his top aides’ former employer?”
* Pritzker campaign…
According to a Rauner spokesperson yesterday, Bruce Rauner “doesn’t have time to worry about political cartoons.” That’s the latest out of the governor’s office on the controversy surrounding the Illinois Policy Institute’s racist cartoon that was denounced by the entire Illinois House last Wednesday.
After saying he’d only “heard” about the racist cartoon on Friday, Rauner’s staff doubled down on his non-response Sunday by not just refusing to take a strong stand against the symbol of hate, but also minimizing the discrimination felt by so many in our state. Both Republicans and Democrats were appalled by the blatant display of racism and unanimously condemned it from the House floor. Despite the overwhelming condemnation by the state legislature, Rauner remains silent.
“Bruce Rauner is the governor of the fifth largest state in the country. Surely he can find time to call out racism from an organization he is closely tied to,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “It’s time for Rauner to stop being a coward and stand up for Illinois families to make it clear that racism has no place in Illinois.”
