36 Comments - RNUG - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:29 am: For comparison, there were about 77,000 employees right before the 2002 ERI. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:35 am: Hopefully, the DNR will be restaffed. Turns out that the parks don’t maintain themselves. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:40 am: === Of the 1,646 additional workers, 700 would be in public safety positions (mainly Corrections) and 600 in human services (a good deal in the Department of Children and Family services). Remember, though, that Pritzker said there would be a hiring freeze if the graduated income tax isn’t approved.=== Dear Raunerites, Stop. K? Stop. Stop right now with that type of grab is the Governor “holding hostage” Illinois, with “or else” if the progressive tax fails. Here’s why ya need to stop; 1) You held a state hostage for a whole General Assembly because y’all and your Parton couldn’t get 60/71 and 30/36. You are in NO position to call ANYONE a hostage taker, as social services closed, and 1 in 13 Illinoisans were personally hurt by YOU. 2) Show your cuts. Enough …, “garbage”… pardon my French. Ya wanna play this game, show YOUR cuts without the monies that can be generated. If y’all won’t put your names to cuts, zip it. Let’s also remind you that your Patron refused on numerous occasions to show cuts, but as a feature, not a bug, held a stats hostage to make severe, devastating cuts, and y’all cheered. I have the receipts. 3) Lastly, y’all can barely rub 4 nickels together to run folks in the fall. Unless you have the means, and not meaning Statehouse Chick’s editorial board or IPI, the focus on the amendment should be on the spending side that’s all speculative, not the “hostage taking” which is phony… since the voters will decide… with the governor’s $20-25 million behind it. Be smart. Don’t waste assets and time on an uphill fight you can’t match, but can, in the districts talk all day about spending money wished upon. So, this is me helping, again, and most of y’all are thinking this is me dinging, It’s not me helping. Promise. Think. Don’t look foolish and whiny. “Anyone so willing to spend monies a governor hasn’t even secured, its enough for this General Assembly to take pause.” If you all want to look like a bunch of phony hypocrites, with a $20-25 million framing, and run against the ghosts of awful Raunerite votes, keep it up. Be smarter to the task at hand. - Grandson of Man - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:44 am: “If you are a non-state worker you are probably already moaning about padding the payroll and filling do-nothing jobs an all of the other nonsense that goes on.“ Wow, can’t believe Finke said this. No, Mr. Fink, a lot of Illinoisans don’t share the professional loathing and utter mischaracterization of state workers that rich anti-government right wingers like the IPI and others have, judging by 2018’s voting. State workers went four years without getting their earned lawfully-owed pay increases, nor COLA’s, and not once did they disrupt employment with work slowdowns, blue flus, etc. They can look taxpayers in the eyes. Like to see Finke and the anti-union people go through this without any complaints. Heck, many are totally freaking out over paying a little higher tax via the Fair Tax. - Thomas Paine - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:47 am: Dear Chairwoman Cassidy - As chair of the Public Safety appropriations committee, can you explain why the number of prison guards is going up in the wake of cannabis legalization? This does not seem like the social equity we were planning on. Sincerely, Thomas - Donnie Elgin - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:53 am: Perfect timing for JB to hold the FOID card hostage to the CA. - City Zen - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:02 pm: ==Show your cuts== Will JB pay me twice like his staff for this info or does he expect me to work for free? - very old soil - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:05 pm: How many of these positions are GRF vs federal or other funds? - Perrid - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:05 pm: Grandson, Finke seems to me to be blasting people who don’t think more workers are needed. Pretty sure he’s on your side here. I mean, read the sentence after the one you quoted, for crying out loud. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:08 pm: === Will JB pay me twice like his staff for this info or does he expect me to work for free?=== While I, myself, am not a fan of that choice, if you’d like to apply to work for the Governor, not one person I know is stopping you. You need double the salary to prove your cuts, you’re as comical as Ms. Bourne calling *this* particular Governor a hostage taker as she aided and abetted her patron. - Ducky LaMoore - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:10 pm: Thomas Paine, in a (hyphenated) word, under-staffing. The amount of overtime with regard to prisons is huge. At some point, it becomes more cost effective to hire more guards than it does to keep adding overtime shifts. Now, how many people in state prison are there for marijuana offenses? I really don’t know. But I doubt there are that many that were a simple possession that would be expunged. I would bet many were with intent to distribute and/or are imprisoned for more crimes than marijuana. - Grandson of Man - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:27 pm: “I mean, read the sentence after the one you quoted, for crying out loud.“ You’re right and I’m sorry to Mr. Finke, I way overreacted (nobody apologizes as quickly and easily as I do, believe me). As to the article, if Republicans want to promote more bipartisanship some should join in support of a graduated income tax. There is a lull now in super-rich right wingers funding the ILGOP, and even the anti-Fair Tax PAC has zero funds. Republicans have state workers in their districts, and many constituents would get a tax cut, which is what the ILGOP wants. - foster brooks - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:36 pm: good luck on that income tax increase after all the other fee’s and taxes that were just raised - Magic Dragon - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 12:47 pm: The addition of nearly 700 frontline employees at Corrections should make a significant impact on reducing high overtime costs. Therefore, the cost impact of adding these positions is not nearly as significant as it appears on the surface. - Common sense - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 1:00 pm: If you want out of the hole, stop digging. - Cubs in '16 - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 1:05 pm: ===good luck on that income tax increase after all the other fee’s and taxes that were just raised=== 97% of the folks who saw those increased fees and taxes won’t be negatively affected by the Fair Tax. - Mr. Tibbs - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 1:16 pm: Wonder why the Dept. of Lottery needs 31 new positions? Wasn’t it privatized? - Almost the weekend - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 1:24 pm: I would LOVE to see the county breakdown for where each position would be located. - Muddy trail - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 1:38 pm: == If you want out of the hole, stop digging.== That’s why we hired more people, to fill the hole. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 1:43 pm: === If you want out of the hole, stop digging.=== Truly, only a fool would call the hollowing out of this state, and the charge to fill the lacking, a hole. These same fools, usually, they will be the first to point to the failures of agencies and mission statements, because pointing at problems is far easier than to want to solve them. - Nick - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 1:58 pm: Cubs No one trusts that something might change after the fact And the ones who weren’t supposed to be affected Ultimately will be - Blue Dog Dem - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 2:00 pm: 1,646 employees at $100k each. There goes the cannabis yearly revenue. - Demoralized - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 2:02 pm: ==No one trusts that something might change after the fact== What you can trust is that if the Graduated Income Tax fails taxes most certainly will go up on everyone right away. So, you can vote to increase taxes on a relatively few right now or you can vote to increase taxes on everyone. Your choice. - OpentoDiscusssion - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 2:53 pm: Donnie Elgin - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:53 am: Perfect timing for JB to hold the FOID card hostage to the CA. I assume you are jesting. Holding any specific program ‘hostage’ in such a case is never smart. - OpentoDiscusssion - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 2:54 pm: RNUG - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 11:29 am: For comparison, there were about 77,000 employees right before the 2002 ERI. Thanks for the data. You are good at that. Can you tell me where you got this info and for other years as well? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 2:55 pm: === Holding any specific program ‘hostage’ in such a case is never smart.=== Holding a state hostage for two years, Illinois is still recovering. - RNUG - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 3:09 pm: == Can you tell me where you got this info and for other years as well? == From actually being there … and being one of the about 11,000 that left 12/31/2002. There are various budget reports and other statistics, like the annual SERS report, that have various staffing and membership numbers in them. - Anyone Remember - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 4:01 pm: RNUG - My memory is that in Thompson’s introduced FY 1986 budget the number of new jobs was greater than the number of votes Seymour Simon said he won by. You? - RNUG - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 4:09 pm: == My memory is that in Thompson’s introduced FY 1986 budget … == My memory isn’t working for that far back … - Karma's Janitor - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 4:34 pm: No one is being held hostage here. JB Pritker is a progressive Governor. The voters want more government in Illinois. JB isn’t doing anything he wasn’t elected to do. After he gets his progressive income tax in November, even more state workers can be hired. - Anyone Remember - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 4:52 pm: RNUG - Didn’t read it, heard it from a Walker / Thompson / Edgar BoB person … - Southern - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 5:30 pm: After he gets is progressive tax in November I’m not against the progressive tax, but I think it is far from a slam dunk. To the average voter, all kinds of taxes and fees were raised and the Governor is making speeches about needing even more money. Tough sell when the state government has proven time and again they can’t be trusted to raise taxes again if it passes. - Pundent - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 7:09 pm: A tax increase, progressive or otherwise is a slam dunk. It’s a this or that option not all or nothing. - Southern - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 9:42 pm: tax increase, progressive or otherwise is a slam dunk. It’s a this or that option not all or nothing I get it. I just think the average voter, who isn’t always the most informed, is paying all of these new taxes and fees, received absolutely nothing from a property tax relief force, and now is being asked to raise taxes again so the government can provide essential services is a tough sell. With the history of government corruption in this state, it is hard to convince people a tax increase will only be on 3% of the people. - Pundent - Monday, Feb 24, 20 @ 10:23 pm: The “millionaires tax” vote although not binding showed that a tax on “anyone but me” is quite popular. It will really come down to messaging. Save the millionaires is a bad message. For Pritzker it’s all about making clear what the alternative is and underscoring it with Republicans want to raise taxes on everyone. - lost in the weeds - Tuesday, Feb 25, 20 @ 8:42 am: The Declaration of Independence was not a declaration of independence to the idea of government, it was to one particular king and parliament that did not act in the interest of the colonists and did not act at all. I suggest that each one of us read the Declaration and then compare the colonists grievances to what is happening today and happened in recent years during all the gridlock. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.