Former GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner never once, as governor, met with the Illinois delegation. And they noticed.
On Monday night, at Pritzker’s request, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., hosted a dinner for Pritzker and delegation members in his Capitol office, signaling a new era in Springfield-Washington cooperation. The office of Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., the dean of the Illinois House Republicans, said he was co-hosting.
You don’t get a medal for just doing your job, but it’s nice that somebody is finally doing at least part of their job.
The last four years were so bizarre on so many levels.
With the strong support of Gov. JB Pritzker, the Illinois State Board of Education today named Dr. Carmen I. Ayala as the 30th State Superintendent of Education, making her the first woman and first person of color to serve as the permanent superintendent.
Dr. Ayala has more than 30 years of education experience, most recently serving as the Superintendent of the Berwyn North School District. She previously served as an Assistant Superintendent in Plainfield District 202, Director in Community Consolidated School District 300, and as an Assistant Superintendent, Director of Bilingual Services, and a teacher at the Aurora East School District. She began her career at Chicago Public Schools, serving as a teacher for five years. Dr. Ayala received her Bachelor of Arts from Mundelein College, her MBA from Dominican University, and her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Loyola University of Chicago.
“For decades, Dr. Ayala has worked to ensure her students receive a high-quality public education, and I’m thrilled that families across Illinois will now benefit from her leadership,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “There is nothing more important to the future of our state and our economy than providing a quality public education, and I know that Dr. Ayala will be a strong partner in ensuring students in all of our communities receive the education they deserve. My focus will be continuing to invest in education, even during budget challenges, so that school districts receive the support they deserve, including with the largest-ever increase in early childhood education.”
“I’m honored to serve as our state’s Superintendent of Education and grateful to the board members for placing their trust in me,” said Dr. Ayala. “Governor Pritzker has made it clear that education will be a top priority for the new administration, and I look forward to our work ahead. Together, I know we can break down barriers to opportunity and ensure that students of all races, backgrounds, income levels and zip codes receive a strong education in Illinois.”
In a recently launched digital ad, Ideas Illinois — a conservative 501(c)(4) group — has positioned itself as “on a mission” to put Illinois on a “sustainable” path through job creation, spending cuts and economic growth.
On the other side of the spectrum is Think Big Illinois, a left-leaning 501(c)(4) group which includes Pritzker on its list of donors, according to CEO Quentin Fulks, a former deputy manager of the Pritzker campaign.
Think Big’s recently launched digital ad touts a “fair tax” and equates Ideas Illinois’ “mission” with former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “stubborn” leadership. Fulks said Think Big will be closely monitoring the fight for a graduated tax.
“I think we’re going to do whatever it takes to get the job done and to make sure that we’re getting the word out there that the graduated income tax is the best way to solve the problems in Illinois,” he said. “At this moment, we don’t have plans like a TV ad ready to go, but it is something that is in our arsenal if we need to use it. … As long as we’re able to sustain it, we’ll stay up on TV and on digital doing everything we can.”
Interesting that Q decided to go after the other side so early.
The Belvidere Assembly Plant will lay off up to 1,371 workers starting May 2, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Tuesday.
The company said a slowing global market is causing the reduction.
Starting May 6, the plant will return to a more traditional work schedule, with employees working two shifts. Now, three crews work 10-hour days four days a week.
The company “will make every effort to place indefinitely laid-off hourly employees in open full-time positions as they become available based on seniority,” spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said on Tuesday it will invest $4.5 billion in five plants to build new models of Jeeps to compete in the lucrative market for full-size, three-row SUVs currently dominated by rivals General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co. […]
The new investments announced on Tuesday will create 6,500 jobs in Michigan, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) said in an announcement about three months after GM said it would not allocate new products to five plants in North America that mostly produce less-popular sedan models. […]
[FCA Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley] added that 60 percent of SUV sales are for three-row models “and we don’t have a three-row offering… and this is a segment that I’ve been very interested in for some time.”
* The SALT deduction was designed to prevent double-taxation. You’re not paying taxes on the taxes you’ve already paid. It also gave people a break if they lived in states that weren’t federal spending freeloaders…
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants federal lawmakers to lift a cap on a tax deduction that he said helps lower-income people.
One tax expert said the deduction actually benefits wealthy people.
Pritzker joined with governors from other high-debt, high-tax states like New Jersey and New York on Friday to call for removing the $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax deduction, or SALT. Lawmakers capped the SALT deduction as part of President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul.
“In Illinois, it affects nearly 2 million people in a very negative way and 85 percent of those people make $200,000 or less a year,” Pritzker said.
Jared Walczak, with the nonpartisan Tax Foundation, said the unlimited SALT deduction benefited high-income earners the most. The cap included in the overhaul limited the savings for wealthy homeowners in states with high property taxes.
“It is subsidizing high-income people in high-tax states,” Walczak said. “What it’s really doing is subsidizing the higher taxes in those states.”
Yes, it does subsidize higher taxes in those states. And most of those states were already net federal tax exporters.
Illinois U.S. Representative Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, said it is unlikely the SALT cap will be lifted as he said his constituents are now paying less to the federal government because of tax changes he said Republicans brought together.
Davis said SALT incentivizes the states like Illinois to raise taxes on its citizens.
“That’s wrong,” Davis said. “We took that incentive away. Illinois Democrats need to learn to live within their means.”
Dude who voted for tax breaks that caused huge federal deficits telling Illinois to live within its means. That’s super-duper rich, Rodney.
And, by the way, Davis probably has more state facilities/universities in his district than any other member of the delegation. Wanna tell the state which ones to close, Congressman?
The fiscal 2020 executive budget plan recently introduced by Illinois’ governor would not materially address the state’s structural budget issues in the current fiscal year or the next, says Fitch Ratings.
Illinois’ ‘BBB’ Issuer Default Rating (IDR) reflects an ongoing pattern of weak operating performance and irresolute fiscal decision-making. The Negative Rating Outlook reflects our assessment that near-term fiscal challenges will pressure the rating.
Fitch has indicated that we would lower the state’s IDR if Illinois returned to a pattern of deferring payments for near-term budget balancing. Elements of the governor’s proposal, including a $1.5 billion GO bill backlog borrowing that reduces but leaves largely unresolved the 2019 deficit and numerous one-time measures in fiscal 2020, appear to do that without a clear path toward long-term balance. The legislature will take up the executive budget, a multi-part pension proposal, and a possible capital improvements bill over the next several months, with the goal of enacting a final budget by June 30. Fitch plans to review the state’s rating and Negative Outlook following passage of a final budget for fiscal 2020.
A return to single-party control could ease the legislature’s budget review and adoption process this year, but unified control is not a panacea for Illinois. It also would not mean the end of the state’s credit challenges, which have persisted regardless of the political make-up of the state government. Illinois faces significant fiscal problems that will likely take multiple years to fully address, but the executive budget does not provide enough clarity on how the state will deal with them.
The governor’s fiscal 2020 budget plan relies heavily on non-recurring revenues and large savings from an uncertain pension proposal that poses risks for the state. The budget plan could also be challenged from the start if the sizable fiscal 2019 gap is not adequately addressed. The governor framed the $38.7 billion general funds ($77 billion all funds) plan as a bridge budget that would buy time until the state is able to implement his proposed graduated income tax and then achieve more substantive fiscal progress. This new tax requires a state constitutional amendment that must be approved by legislative super-majorities (which Democrats have in both chambers) and then by voters, also by a super-majority. Fitch estimates the earliest it could be approved would be in the November 2020 general election and notes that prospects for passage at both levels are uncertain.
Fiscal 2019’s gap, estimated at $1.1 billion in the general funds, poses a particular challenge for the state, and the administration’s budget plan leaves it largely unresolved. The governor proposes a $1.5 billion general obligation (GO) bond sale to reduce backlogged bills. $600 million of the proceeds would be deposited directly in the general revenue fund to pay down remaining interest accruing bills. After accounting for other adjustments to the budget, the general funds deficit declines modestly to an estimated $900 million. The remaining $900 million from the GO sale would be deposited in the Health Insurance Reserve Fund (outside of the general funds) to cover unpaid employee health insurance bills.
While potentially beneficial economically by trading high-interest backlogged bills for likely lower-cost GO debt, the state’s liability profile would be essentially unchanged with the proposed GO sale. The administration’s $1.1 billion fiscal 2019 deficit estimate reflects elimination of several items from the enacted budget that Fitch previously noted as questionable, including the sale of the Thompson Center and savings from pension buyouts.
Fitch anticipates the administration will continue working with agencies and the legislature to seek additional measures to address the fiscal 2019 general funds deficit. But those measures have not been articulated, and only four months remain in the year.
For fiscal 2020, the executive budget includes an estimated $1.1 billion in new revenues, with roughly one-third ($370 million) coming from non-recurring sources. Initial licensing fees from legalization of cannabis ($170 million) and sports wagering ($200 million) are assumed to accelerate into fiscal 2020 supported by related tax credits included in the budget plan. Separately, the governor also proposes a delinquent tax payment incentive (amnesty) plan estimated to generate $175 million in one-time revenue.
On a recurring basis, the most significant revenue source proposed by the governor is nearly $400 million from a new assessment fee levied on healthcare managed care organizations that should generate additional federal matching revenues under Medicaid. The combined revenues would be deposited outside of the general fund into the Healthcare Provider Relief Fund and used for Medicaid, thereby reducing the general funds support of Medicaid. The governor noted that other states including California and Ohio use similar fees.
Separately, the governor estimates sports wagering could generate between $77 million and $136 million annually in future years from a 20% tax on gross wagers - only $12 million of tax revenue is included in the fiscal 2020 budget. The governor did not provide an estimate of ongoing cannabis tax revenue.
The only material expenditure reduction is in the state’s pension contributions which the governor proposes to decrease from the current year by $400 million to a general funds total of $7.1 billion, by implementing a five-part pension proposal outlined earlier this month (see “Fitch Ratings: IL Pension Plan Frames the Rating Picture; Budget Details Still Key,” Feb. 19, 2019). This would also be $1.1 billion below the required contribution based on the 26-year closed amortization to 90% funding set out in current law.
$878 million in savings comes from a potentially costly extension of the pension amortization by seven years to 2052, while maintaining the comparatively weak 90% funding target. Without committing to full actuarially determined contributions, the re-amortization could cost the state more over time by perpetuating an already inadequate funding approach. $125 million derives from the administration’s estimate of savings by extending the pension buyout programs permanently.
Over the long term, Fitch considers the proposed open-ended buyouts as indirect pension benefit changes that could gradually reduce the long-term pension liability but would require an ongoing funding source. The enacted fiscal 2019 budget anticipated issuance of up to $1 billion in GO bonds to fund pension buyouts and the governor proposes issuing the first tranche of $300 million by April. Absent a constitutional amendment, Illinois’ ability to more directly reduce already-accrued retiree benefits appears sharply limited.
Education funding is a key area of growth in the governor’s budget plan. K-12 funding under the evidence-based formula increases by $375 million (a robust 5.5%) to $7.2 billion. The minimum wage increase recently signed into law by the governor drives more than $100 million in proposed spending growth (combined state and federal) for providers paid through the state’s Departments of Human Services and Aging. Like Pennsylvania’s executive budget, Illinois’ assumes $25 million in individual income tax revenue growth tied to increased economic activity supported by the higher minimum wage.
The governor also called for a capital improvements bill to fund new infrastructure projects but did not offer a specific plan or revenues to support new issuance. The state maintains between $3 billion and $4 billion in unused GO authorization for various capital projects, and the governor proposes using $1.1 billion over the next year. Illinois also has roughly $370 million in remaining authorization for the Build Illinois sales tax-backed bonding program.
The budget plan also does not make material progress on reducing liabilities as it trades accounts payable for GO debt to repay bills. By the end of fiscal 2020, the governor projects reducing year-end general funds accounts payable by 10% from fiscal 2018, or $900 million over two years, while issuing $1.5 billion in GO bonds to repay bills.
Fitch currently rates Illinois two notches above junk status, so the state has a tiny bit of breathing room, but not much.
Chicago Board of Elections says turnout is extremely low so far for Election Day… on pace to have 30% turnout which would beat the previous low record set in 2007. Still time to vote. Polls open until 7p. @cbschicago#municipal
Going out on a limb to predict that once all of the mail ballots are counted Chicago's turnout for today's election will be higher than the 34.03% from Feb 2015.https://t.co/C1p06ntoXl
* Seniors dominating morning vote [updated with noon totals]…
Turnout numbers as of noon. Age-group-based stats reflect Election Day, Early Voting, and received Vote by Mail ballots. Hourly results reflect only Election Day. pic.twitter.com/0rrStRvpSa
So far the 19th Ward on the South Side has seen the highest turnout, with 26 percent of voters turning in a ballot. That’s followed by the 41st Ward (23 percent), the 47th Ward (22 percent) and the 13th Ward (20 percent).
The 22nd Ward (8 percent) and the 24th Ward (8.1 percent) have seen the lightest turnout so far.
* Early voting stats as of yesterday…
Unofficial total of 25,705 used Early Voting (EV) today, pushing total to 125,600 for this election. That's up 40% from the Feb 2015 EV total of 89,869. Onward to Election Day. Polls open 6 am to 7 pm on Tues., Feb 26. Find your precinct polling place at https://t.co/KcbxuSY02V
* Magnanimity (or total indecision, or a very large and diverse family) in the 19th Ward…
In a mayoral race this wide open, no Chicagoan can guarantee they have the next mayor’s campaign sign on their lawn. No one except the owners of this Beverly bungalow https://t.co/knmjMH8SlBpic.twitter.com/TCUVNzNvFG
And while universities are receiving a 5 percent increase in operating assistance, the total appropriation is still just 96.4 percent of what they were appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2015 budget – the last one approved before the two-year impasse began.
But Illinois’ investment in higher education is even more inadequate when viewed over the long term. Even with the Governor’s proposed increase in funding, Illinois would be providing less support for higher education in FY2020 than it did in FY2000 in both nominal and inflation-adjusted terms. In fact, the proposed FY2020 appropriation is just over half of the inflation-adjusted appropriation two decades earlier.
Some of the communities hit hardest by the opioid epidemic and a related methamphetamine spike also are facing another health crisis: a steep rise in syphilis.
It isn’t a coincidence.
Many opioid users have started to use meth, either in combination with opioids or as a cheaper, more accessible alternative. Stimulants such as meth are even more likely than opioids to promote risky sexual behavior that increases the likelihood of contracting syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Women are increasingly susceptible as their drug use continues to rise, and more of them are passing on the disease to their infants — with deadly results.
Many addicted pregnant women forgo prenatal visits for fear of being drug tested and losing custody of their babies, doctors say. And mothers with untreated syphilis have an 80 percent chance of infecting their unborn babies, contributing to a growing crisis that many states have tried to combat in recent years.
In adults, syphilis can be cured with a course of antibiotics. But syphilis among newborns, called congenital syphilis, can cause deformities, severe anemia, an enlarged liver and spleen, jaundice or brain and nerve problems such as blindness or deafness.
Up to 40 percent of babies born to women with untreated syphilis may be stillborn or die as a newborn, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of congenital syphilis cases climbed by 154 percent between 2013 and 2017. More than 900 cases were reported in 37 states in 2017 — the highest number of cases in the past two decades.
* This was released late yesterday afternoon, just hours before today’s ISBE board meeting…
Gov. Pritzker Appoints New Members of Illinois State Board of Education
Springfield, Ill. — Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced his appointments serve on the Illinois State Board of Education:
Darren Reisberg will serve as chair of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Reisberg currently serves as the vice president for strategic initiatives and deputy provost at the University of Chicago. He served the university as vice president and secretary, and the first executive director of the university’s Institute of Politics, where he currently serves on the Institute’s Board of Advisors. Prior, Reisberg served as general counsel and deputy superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. In those roles, he counseled the State Superintendent of Education and State Board of Education on legal, policy, and operational matters. He also was an employment and labor attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin LLP and worked as a judicial law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer. Reisberg received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School and his Bachelor of Arts in political science at Duke University.
Christine Benson will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Benson has 35 years of teaching and administrative experience in Illinois public schools ranging from elementary, middle and high school. She served as central office administrator for seven years, focusing on budget management, curriculum development and grants. Benson served as superintendent for six years at Mendota High School, five years at Ottawa Elementary School District and six years at Streator Elementary School District. She received her Doctor of Education from Northern Illinois University and her Master of Science in education administration and Bachelor of Music Education from Illinois State University.
Cynthia Latimer will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Latimer has over 33 years of administrative and classroom experience in Aurora school districts. Beginning her career as a special education teacher at East Aurora District 131 and later West Aurora School District 129 for 10 years, Latimer went on to serve as principal of W.S. Beaupre Elementary School from 1990 to 1993 and Abraham Lincoln Elementary School from 1993 to 2000. She then served as chief officer for special populations at District 129, working closely with social workers, psychologists, speech and language pathologists, teachers and nurses throughout the district. In 2006, Latimer was promoted to Assistant Superintendent in the Division of Student Services, and in 2008, she became the Assistant Superintendent in the Division of Teaching & Learning, which included oversight of all aspects of PK-12 instruction including those of the former Student Services Division. She held this role until her retirement in 2014. Latimer received her Master of Science in educational leadership and policy study from Northern Illinois University and her Bachelor of Science in special education from Illinois State University.
Donna Simpson Leak will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Leak currently serves as superintendent of Community Consolidated Schools District 168. She has trained thousands of teachers and presented at more than 200 conferences worldwide. Previously, Leak served as assistant superintendent and superintendent of schools in Rich Township High School District 227, where she oversaw all functions of the district including curriculum and instruction, federal and state grants, district improvement, and campus restructuring initiatives. During her tenure in Rich Township, the district’s high schools received the distinction of Best High Schools in America from U.S. News & World Report. Leak has been a member of the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics Board for several years and is a lead instructor with the Professional Learning Community academies. Leak has also been an active member of the American Association of School Administrators for the past decade, recently receiving her National Certification Certificate. Leak received her PhD in administration and supervision from Loyola University, Master of Arts in educational administration from Governor’s State University and Bachelor of Science in mathematics from University of Illinois at Chicago.
David Lett will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Lett has spent more than 35 years teaching and leading K-12 school and in higher education. He currently is an adjunct professor on the Education Leadership Department at the University of Illinois at Springfield. From 2001 to 2017, Lett served as superintendent for Pana Community Unit School District 8. Prior, he serves as the middle school principal at Seneca Grade School and assistant principal at Ottawa Township High School. He taught social sciences at Seneca, Morrison High School and Reddick Junior High/High School at the beginning of his career. Lett received his Doctor of Education and Master of Education Administration from Illinois State University and his Bachelor of Science in economics from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Susan Morrison will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Morrison has worked as an Illinois educator and advocate for children for almost 40 years. She began her career as a social studies teacher, working for 10 years in Homer and Girard. Morrison taught middle and high school social studies and had administrative experience as a building principal and director of curriculum and instruction. She was also selected as the first state director for AdvancED at the University of Illinois. Morrison’s statewide leadership responsibilities have included positions as state director of School Improvement, state director of Gifted Education, state director of Education to Careers, and program director for many state and federal programs. She had oversight for state accountability, standards and assessment, teaching and learning, educator effectiveness, special education, early childhood education, bilingual education, and career and technical education prior to retiring as deputy superintendent/chief education officer at ISBE in June 2015. Morrison received her Master of Arts in educational administration from the University of Illinois Springfield, her bachelor’s degree from Cornell College, and a specialist degree in superintendency from Eastern Illinois University. She holds a Professional Educator License endorsed for teacher, principal and superintendent. Two of Morrison’s four children are public school teachers in Illinois. Morrison was appointed to the Illinois State Board of Education in July 2017 by Governor Bruce Rauner.
Cristina Pacione-Zayas will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Pacione-Zayas currently serves as the director of policy at Erikson Institute where she generates systemic solutions leading to equitable opportunities and positive outcomes for young children, families, and communities. Her work is informed by over a decade of experience leading education policy and community education initiatives in Illinois’s Latinx communities. Previously, Pacione-Zayas led the Latino Policy Forum’s Education Department with a focus on improving education policy in the birth-to-third-grade continuum that will produce positive outcomes for Latinx and immigrant children. During her two years as the culture of calm coordinator for Roberto Clemente Community Academy, a public high school in Chicago, she cultivated a 29 percent reduction in serious disciplinary infractions. As the community schools director at Enlace Chicago, she managed a network of eight community schools in the Little Village neighborhood, representing more than 1,500 youths and 650 adults. She received her doctorate in educational policy studies, Master of Education in educational policy studies and dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in sociology and Spanish from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Jane Quinlan will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Quinlan currently is regional superintendent for the Champaign-Ford Regional Office of Education 9, where she previously was the assistant regional superintendent. She served as the vice president of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools from 2011-13. She previously served as director of ROE SchoolWorks, the professional development division of Champaign-Ford ROE and Vermilion ROE. Quinlan also has worked as a reading and language arts specialist at Education Service Center 13, where she later became assistant director and director. She received her Ph.D. in educational organization and leadership and her M.Ed. in reading from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her B.S.Ed. in elementary education from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.
Jacqueline Robbins will serve as a member of the Illinois State Board of Education.* Robbins served as UniServ Director for Region 53 and 35 at Illinois Education Association from 2007 to 2017. She previously taught at Dunlap High School, served as community relations manager and instructor of 28 programs at Hult Health Education Center and as program coordinator and instructor at Illinois Central College. She received her Master of Arts from Bradley University and Bachelor of Arts from Millikin University.
All appointments are pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate.
Tuesday, Feb 26, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
State Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, just showed Springfield what real leadership looks like.
State lawmakers are often criticized for not listening to voters. But the reality is most voters assume lawmakers don’t listen, and never contact them.
That wasn’t the case for House Bill 2864, which would have established a pilot program for a per-mile driving tax in Illinois. More than 30,000 Illinoisans in one week signed a petition opposing the tax.
“If people don’t like a bill, you stop it and you go back to the drawing board,” Rep. Evans said. He tabled HB 2864.
Not only did Rep. Evans listen to his constituents and taxpayers across the state, he took action. That’s leadership.
Flooding along the Ohio River forced crews to close roads in Hardin County Tuesday. They shut down Route 1 where the road is submerged.
“The last couple days, the water really started coming up on both side of Route 1,” said Hardin County Deputy Sheriff Joe Jenkins. “It’s completely over the road.” […]
The high water levels along the Ohio River are expected to last at least through the rest of the week.
Senator Dale Fowler said a meeting between lawmakers, first responders, IEMA, and the Army Corps of Engineers will take place Wednesday. They’ll be working to figure out if and when state resources can be deployed to help with damage.
* The governor apparently decided not to wait for Wednesday’s meeting…
Daily Public Schedule: Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019
What: Gov. Pritzker to hold media availability after surveying flooding and receiving an emergency response briefing in Metropolis. The governor will then depart to Cairo to survey flooding.
Where: Metropolis Fire Department, 213 West 7th Street, Metropolis
When: 11:30 a.m.
* Harrah’s Casino closed on the 18th. The governor’s folks sent me this pic today…
* And here’s one of Pritzker with Sen. Fowler and others…
More often than I care to remember, I’ve brow-beaten governors into traveling to flood zones. I didn’t even know about this flood until today.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker has directed the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield to monitor flood conditions in southern Illinois and quickly deploy state assets and personnel if local officials request assistance as they battle floodwaters.
Gov. Pritzker and Illinois Emergency Management Agency Acting Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau met with local officials and emergency management officials in Massac and Alexander County today as the communities continue to prepare for significant river crests this weekend.
“I want all of our communities that have been impacted by recent flooding, from northern Illinois to southern Illinois, to know we are taking this very seriously,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The state will do everything we can to help communities experiencing these extreme conditions this upcoming weekend and beyond. It’s important we work together in the days and weeks ahead to keep families safe and protect our communities.”
On Tuesday, a crew from the Illinois Department of Correction’s Shawnee Correctional Center began sandbag operations to aid the flood fight in Alexander County. Additional sandbags and pumps have also been deployed to Massac County and Alexander County. IEMA staff have been deployed to southern Illinois to help local emergency management officials assess the need for state assets or personnel. The American Red Cross is also working throughout the area assisting residents and attending to the needs of volunteers.
Public safety officials also want to take this time to remind motorists to be on the lookout for road closure postings. Residents are urged to avoid areas already flooded and never cross any barriers that are put in place by local emergency officials.
“Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other thunderstorm related hazard,” said IEMA Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau. “Over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood waters. Please heed the warning from your local officials. Turn around, don’t drown. It is never safe to drive or walk into flood waters.”
Nearly 100 Illinois children who died within the last two years were involved with the state’s Department of Children and Family Services. That’s according to a recent Inspector General report. […]
Past Inspector General reports reveal the seemingly-high number to be average by comparison. Within the last 10 years, between 84 and 113 children have died while being supervised in some capacity by DCFS.
* But that’s not the most worrisome number, as Hannah Meisel points out today…
However, the number of children who died after a DCFS caseworker investigated a claim of abuse or neglect, but was not able to substantiate the claim, continued to rise in 2018, as in years past.
Thirty-seven children died after a caseworker had investigated either their parent, guardian, home or other situation related to the child but classified the complaint as “unfounded,” according to the report.
[Inspector General Meryl Paniak] pointed to a memo sent anonymously from the agency’s Joliet field office to Gov. JB Pritzker, Paniak, the agency’s former acting director, Beverly “BJ” Walker, several other administration officials and members of the Chicago news media describing a severe understaffing in the office.
The unsigned two-page letter, which is dated “February 2019,” describes the Joliet field office as in a “major crisis,” and says caseworkers who live within miles of the Joliet office are so “stressed and overwhelmed” with their jobs, they’ve found other jobs much further from their homes.
The letter says the Joliet office should have 30 child protection investigators, but in reality has “less than half” the staff needed.
“We are continuing to lose investigators weekly,” according to the letter. “This is a safety concern and unfair to the current staff.”
* This isn’t the first time the Joliet office has been in the news. From 2017…
As state child welfare investigators probed allegations of abuse in the Joliet Township home where 17-month-old Semaj Crosby would later be found dead, their supervisor was launching a contest that awarded $100 gift cards to the two workers who closed the most cases in a month, according to agency interviews and internal emails examined by the Tribune.
The 3rd place winner would get a $50 gift card.
Evidence of the Joliet office contest emerged as the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services faces mounting criticism from state lawmakers that it is quickly closing abuse and neglect investigations even when basic information has not been gathered and children are left in harm’s way.
If you promote an atmosphere like this, then you can’t be surprised when more kids die every year after their cases were deemed unfounded.
…Adding… More from Hannah…
9/11) Another huge thing about DCFS: Since Gov. Blagojevich's first year in office, 2003, the agency has had 11 directors in 16 years. @GovPritzker is conducting a nationwide search for the next one. The names are below. 2 under Blago, 5 under Quinn, 4 under Rauner (some overlap) pic.twitter.com/Uf2WogjVLQ
The budget would raise $1.1 billion of fresh revenue from a new tax on plastic bags, license fees from legalized cannabis and sports betting, closing a corporate tax loophole, taxing e-cigarettes, raising the existing cigarette tax, assessing a tax on Medicaid, changing the existing tax structure on video gambling and capping a retailers’ discount.
About one-third of the new revenue is one-shots, Fitch analyst Eric Kim said.
Another $175 million would be raised from a delinquent tax amnesty and while there’s no new interfund borrowing from non-general fund accounts the budget defers repayment of $320 million previously borrowed. Both are one-shots.
A projected $155 million end-of-year balance would go to pay down the now $8.3 billion backlog of the state’s unpaid bills. A $1.5 billion borrowing to pay down the backlog would generate an estimated $110 million of savings for fiscal 2020.
