* From the governor’s office…
MEMORANDUM
TO: All Issuers of Health Insurance Coverage and Travel Insurance
FROM: Robert H. Muriel, Director of Insurance
DATE: March 02, 2020
Re: Insurance Coverage for Coronavirus COVID 19
In the midst of the ongoing COVID 19 outbreak, the Illinois Department of Insurance (Department) is issuing this bulletin in recognition of the critical role that health insurance coverage plays in the public’s actual and perceived access to and affordability of health care services. This bulletin does not apply to excepted benefit policies or short-term, limited-duration health insurance coverage.
Balance Billing and Surprise Bills
Members of the public may seek a variety of forms of health care in connection with COVID 19, including physician office visits, laboratory testing, urgent care services, and emergency services, among others. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) have agreed to bear the cost of the lab test for the presence of COVID 19. However, it is possible that hospitals will still charge their own fees for collecting the specimens, which then could be billed to the patient or to the patient’s health insurance issuer. The federal government also may stop covering the cost of CDC lab test at some point. Press coverage of the outbreak has revealed uncertainty for the moment about who will bear the costs arising from quarantines imposed upon individuals returning from overseas, including the hospital stay and ambulance transportation.
Given this uncertainty, it bears a reminder that Section 356z.3a of the Illinois Insurance Code requires health insurance issuers to impose no greater cost-sharing on an enrollee than their coverage provides at the in-network level when the enrollee receives care from certain specialists at participating network hospital or participating ambulatory surgical center, even if the specialists themselves are not participating providers. This requirement does not apply if the enrollee has willfully chosen a non-participating provider specialist when a participating provider was available. These specializations include radiology, anesthesiology, pathology, emergency physicians, and neonatology, some of which could be called upon to address testing or treatment in connection with COVID 19. The enrollee must be held harmless from any of these providers’ charges that exceed the applicable cost-sharing for an in-network provider, regardless of whether the issuer and provider have agreed upon the overall charges.
Additionally, emergency services for an emergency medical condition must be covered at the in-network level regardless of which provider performs the services. 215 ILCS 5/370o, 124/10(b)(7), and 134/65. Emergency services include transportation services, such as ambulance services, as well as inpatient and outpatient hospital services from a qualified provider that are needed to evaluate or stabilize the patient. Many individuals who have contracted COVID 19 are only mildly ill and do not have an emergency medical condition that triggers this consumer protection, but exceptional circumstances may arise.
Barriers from Cost-Sharing
Individuals enrolled in health insurance coverage with a high deductible could be reluctant to seek testing or treatment because of the anticipated cost. The Department encourages health insurance issuers to consider all feasible and prudent options to reduce the barriers of cost-sharing for testing and treatment of COVID 19 during the outbreak.
Prescription Drug Supply
The CDC and American Red Cross have general guidance for disaster preparedness that households should maintain at least a 30-day supply of any prescription drugs used by household members. In the event that individuals are subject to quarantine at home for COVID 19, they could be reliant on their existing supplies. To the extent consistent with clinical guidelines, and in a manner prudently calculated to ensure an enrollee’s ability to maintain a 30-day supply at home during the outbreak, the Department encourages issuers to cover enrollees for prescription drug refills even when the enrollee has not yet reached their scheduled refill date, provided that the prescription itself would remain valid beyond the refill date. This recommendation does not apply to prescription drugs with a high likelihood of abuse, such as opioids that are restricted to 7-day prescriptions.
In the same vein, the Department encourages issuers to consider allowing enrollees the temporary use of out-of-network pharmacies at the in-network benefit level of coverage in the event a shortage of medications occurs at network pharmacies.
Health insurance issuers are also reminded that Illinois law requires that any form of third-party payments for prescription drugs, such as drug manufacturers’ coupons or financial assistance from not-for-profit or government organizations, be counted toward a policy’s applicable cost-sharing limitations, including any copay, coinsurance, deductible, or out-of-pocket maximum. 215 ILCS 5/155.36 and 134/30(d).
Denial or Termination of Coverage
Section 356z.27 of the Illinois Insurance Code prohibits individual or group accident and health insurance from imposing any pre-existing condition exclusions, including in connection with COVID 19. Federal law and state regulations provide protections against preexisting condition exclusions in health insurance coverage, as well. 42 U.S.C. 300gg-3; 50 Ill. Adm. Code 2001.5.
A health insurance issuer may not cancel or nonrenew coverage based on an enrollee’s receipt of, or attempt to obtain, treatment or testing for COVID 19. An issuer also may not deny enrollment in new coverage based on testing for or treatment of COVID 19. See 50 Ill. Adm. Code 2001.4.
Travel Insurance
Unless a travel insurance policy contains an exception applicable to COVID 19, a policy of travel insurance that covers the risks sickness, accident, or death incident to travel presumptively must cover such risks relating to COVID 19. The extent of coverage for health care services, including emergency transportation within a foreign country, as well as the costs of returning to the United States for further treatment, may depend on the terms and conditions of the policy.
Public Education
Issuers have an opportunity to magnify public health education efforts to relay guidance about mitigating the risk for contracting or spreading COVID 19 and to explain options available for covered health care services. Informative communications received from an issuer could reassure enrollees that medically necessary testing and treatment will be covered, and thereby reduce the risk of the virus spreading untracked and untreated. The Department encourages informative engagement with enrollees subject to the guidance of public health officials.
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Question of the day
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Your current level of concern about COVID-19? Make sure to explain, please.
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Justice Charles Freeman
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Illinois Supreme Court…
Justice Charles E. Freeman, who had a long and distinguished career on the Illinois Supreme Court from 1990 to 2018 and was the first African American to serve on the Court and as Chief Justice, passed away on March 2, 2020. He was 86.
“It is with great sadness that I have learned of the passing of Justice Charles E. Freeman. Charles and I had been acquaintances for several decades before I joined the court, having often attended many of the same social events,” Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. “However, we became close friends once we became colleagues and I considered Charles to be my mentor. He was a gentleman and a truly gracious individual. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. He was a consensus builder and treated everyone equally and with respect.”
Chief Justice Burke continued: “Justice Freeman was also a trailblazer. He was the first African American to become a member of the court and the first African American Chief Justice, positions he held with dignity and integrity. He was an accomplished jurist as well, serving the court with skill for almost 30 years.
“Justice Freeman was a devoted family man. He was married to the love of his life, Marylee for more than 50 years. Charles once told me that Marylee would slip a little love note into his suitcase every time he travelled to Springfield. I knew then that they had one of those storybook romances – everlasting. Charles was also a loving father to his son, Kevin, and daughter-in-law Cami, and a devoted grandfather to his grandchildren, Skye and Miles.
“He will be greatly missed.”
Born in Richmond, Virginia, on December 12, 1933, Freeman descended from slaves freed by Quakers before the American Civil War. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Virginia Union University in 1954 and earned his Juris Doctor from the John Marshall Law School in 1962.
In private practice from 1962-1976, Freeman also served as an Illinois assistant attorney general, Cook County assistant state’s attorney, and assistant attorney for the County Board of Election Commissioners. He was appointed by Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner as an arbitrator with the Illinois Industrial Commission, where for nine years he heard thousands of work-related injury cases. Then from 1973-1976, under Gov. Dan Walker, he served on the Illinois Commerce Commission.
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Spending pressures abound
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WTAX…
As the group which represents the state’s mayors and city councils rolls out its legislative wish list for 2020, the cities want a return to the old days for getting money from the state.
River Forest Village President Catherine Adduci wants the “local government distributive fund” returned to ten percent of the state income tax.
“If you can just think, taking another half percent, or another percent, we are talking about $45 million more that can come back to the municipalities. That’s not insignificant,” Adduci told a Capitol news conference Monday. “I don’t think there’s a mayor that is part of the Illinois Municipal League that is not concerned about this constant picking at the possible revenue we have in our budgets”
That LGDF was ten percent for years and was cut to about six percent around ten years ago. The cities want it back at ten percent, whether the graduated income tax passes or fails.
* Republican Sen. Jason Barickman…
Gov. JB Pritzker recently gave his annual budget address in Springfield. In his speech, he laid out his priorities for funding, and there were certainly some good things in there that we can all agree with. The total price tag, however, adds up to $1.6 billion dollars in new spending. Where will the additional money come from? The majority of it would come from the passage of a tax increase the Governor is seeking. Because that new tax money isn’t guaranteed, the governor has proposed holding a certain amount of spending back, until after he sees if the new tax passes.
Unfortunately, the money he is planning on holding back includes $150 million destined for our schools, an idea with which I strongly disagree.
* Rep. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) and Stephenson County Sheriff David Snyders…
You may have seen that we recently alerted the public to a very serious concern with funding law enforcement training in the State of Illinois. Without intervention by the Illinois legislature, the responsibility for paying for law enforcement training will be shifted from minor traffic offenses and criminals convicted of more serious crimes paying for this training to, instead, Illinois taxpayers picking up the tab as part of a bigger progressive push to hold criminals less accountable for their actions.
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* Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 14 attorneys general, announced settlement agreements under which three national fast food franchisors will cease using “no-poach” agreements, which restrict the right of fast food workers to move from one franchise to another within the same restaurant chain.
The agreements entered with the chains Burger King, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Tim Hortons, which are owned by Restaurant Brands International, are the result of an investigation into national fast food franchises announced by the states in July 2018 over concerns that no-poach agreements hurt low-wage workers by limiting their ability to secure better paying jobs.
“I will continue to push restaurants to end their use of no-poach agreements, which allow businesses to take advantage of low-wage workers,” Raoul said. “These agreements stop employees from seeking higher-paying opportunities and escaping the cycle of poverty.”
Under the terms of the settlements, the franchisors have agreed to stop including no-poach provisions in any of their franchise agreements and to stop enforcing such provisions in any franchise agreements already in place. The franchisors also have agreed to amend existing franchise agreements to remove no-poach provisions and to ask their franchisees to post notices in all locations to inform employees of the settlement.
Raoul and the coalition began their investigation in July 2018 by sending letters to Arby’s, Burger King, Dunkin’ Brands, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Little Caesars, Panera Bread, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, and Wendy’s requesting documents, including copies of franchise agreements and communications related to no-poach provisions. Raoul and the coalition alleged that no-poach provisions make it difficult for workers to improve their earning potential by moving from one job to another or seeking a higher-paying job at another franchise location. Additionally, Raoul and the coalition argued that many workers are unaware they are subject to these no-poach provisions.
In March 2019, the attorneys general announced they had reached settlements with Dunkin’, Arby’s, Five Guys, Little Caesars and Panera under which the restaurants agreed to cease using no-poach provisions in their franchise agreements. These franchisors have reported that all franchisees in the settling states amended their franchise agreements to remove the no-poach provisions. Wendy’s provided confirmation that it never used no-poach provisions in their contracts with franchisees.
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It’s just a bill
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Center Square…
A new proposal in Springfield would open up a whole new market of direct-to-consumer wine delivery.
Currently, only the producer of wine can ship bottles into Illinois and deliver them to a customer. A vineyard sending their wine club shipment, for instance. If Senate Bill 3830, sponsored by state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, is enacted, Illinois residents could have wine shipped to them from retailers or wine clubs from all over the world.
The bill is a response to the protectionist and anti-consumer ban on consumers receiving wine shipments from out-of-state retailers and wine clubs, said Tom Wark, executive director of the National Association of Wine Retailers.
“When you have an entire group from the middleman wholesaler to the Illinois retailer who don’t have to deal with competition from around the country, what you’ve got is protectionism,” he said.
Should the ban be lifted, Wark said the state’s tax revenue would increase immediately.
“In the first year, the state of Illinois would reap somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million to $6 million in tax revenue,” he said.
It would also put an end to an ongoing lawsuit challenging the ban’s constitutionality.
* SJ-R…
The team name “Indians” is labeled across Pawnee High School’s football and basketball jerseys and a Native American is depicted on the football scoreboard and on the matted walls in its gymnasium.
But the high school doesn’t offer specific classes geared toward Native American history or culture. It is instead tied into subjects within U.S. history courses.
Rep. Maurice West, D-Rockford, wants high schools with Native American imagery to provide classes and school-wide programs teaching Native American culture and societal contributions in order to keep its team name and imagery.
West said there are 52 high schools in Illinois that have Native American imagery, with the Pawnee Indians, about 20 miles south of Springfield, being one of them. Under his proposal (House Bill 4783), the schools would also have to receive written consent from a Native American tribe based within 500 miles and renew the consent every five years.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Certain chemicals that are commonly used as sealants on asphalt driveways, parking lots and playgrounds could soon come under state regulation over concerns about their impact on human health and the environment.
A state Senate committee advanced a bill Thursday that would require public entities, including schools and state agencies, to publicly disclose their use of coal tar-based sealants or any other sealants with high concentrations of a substance called “polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon,” or PAH, a compound that federal officials say poses risk to both human health and the environment.
“According to the American Medical Association, it increases your chances of developing certain kinds of cancers by 38 times,” said Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview, the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 2954. “And so with this legislation, we’re just educating parents of what may or may not be on their child’s playground so they can make that decision for their health.”
The bill requires public schools to inform the public at least 90 days before the signing of a contract to use the chemical. Those entities also must post, for a minimum of 10 years after application, signage on the school’s grounds regarding the dangers the use of the chemical poses.
* Other bills…
* State lawmakers introduce bills to reform DCFS
* New proposal could change how schools report data to state
* Municipal group critical of bill to require all Illinois fire districts to levy foreign fire insurance fees
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Happy Pulaski Day!
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Brown…
For many if not most Chicagoans, Pulaski Day is that quirky bonus Illinois holiday that nobody else gets: an opportunity perhaps to take the kids for a three-day weekend getaway to the Dells without having to fight the crowds unleashed on a real holiday.
Not so for our political leaders, who in a fitting payback for this blatant sop to Polish-American voters, must stick close to home.
That’s because no current or aspiring officeholder dare miss the command appearance at the annual Pulaski Day celebration at the Polish Museum of America, 984 N. Milwaukee Avenue.
On most Pulaski Days, you will find at least one U.S. senator, several Congressmen, the governor, the mayor, the county board president and numerous lesser figures seated on the stage of the museum’s Great Hall.
* Tribune reporter…
* It’s not a state day-off holiday, so that’s why I’m working today…
* Related…
* Who was Casimir Pulaski and why does he have his own holiday? 9 things to know about a Poland-born American hero
* Celebrate Casimir Pulaski Day At The Polish Museum of America
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*** UPDATED x1 *** COVID-19 roundup
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
– The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) are today announcing that a fourth Illinois patient has tested positive for COVID-19. The tests conducted in Illinois resulted in presumptive positives for COVID-19. The positive test results will have to be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab. The individual is a woman in her 70s and is the spouse of the third case – a man in his 70s. This fourth case is quarantined at home and is complying with health officials. Both cases are reported to be in good condition.
Public health officials are working to identify and actively monitor individuals who were in contact with both patients in an effort to prevent additional transmission. Public health officials will reach out to individuals who may have been exposed.
Governor JB Pritzker has requested that hospitals across the state implement additional testing to improve surveillance for COVID-19. Illinois was the first state to provide COVID-19 testing and Gov. Pritzker announced two more IDPH labs in central and southern Illinois that will be able to test specimens this week.
Illinois’ previously confirmed two cases of COVID-19 and both patients made a full recovery.
Symptoms reported among patients have included mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Right now, the virus has not been found to be spreading widely in the U.S., and the risk to the general public remains low. Public health officials are encouraging the public to not alter their daily routines and remain vigilant about keeping germs from spreading, by covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands with warm soap and water, and staying home when sick.
Easier said than done about that last point. If you don’t have paid sick leave at your job, staying home could mean financial devastation.
* Earlier…
Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights confirmed Monday morning a patient who’s tested positive for coronavirus is being treated at the northwest suburban hospital, as a local school district told parents two staffers and their two children were staying home because of exposure to a person who treated someone with coronavirus.
The patient was the third in Illinois to be diagnosed with coronavirus. The hospital issued a statement saying it is following all associated protocol, including examining who the patient may have had contact with and treating the patient in isolation.
The hospital statement said the state is requesting assistance from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team and confirmation of the diagnosis from one of its labs.
* Brace yourselves…
Researchers who have examined the genomes of two coronavirus infections in Washington State say the similarities between the cases suggest that the virus may have been spreading in the state for weeks.
Washington had the United States’ first confirmed case of coronavirus, announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 20. Based on an analysis of the virus’s genetic sequence, another case that surfaced in the state and was announced on Friday probably was descended from that first case.
The two people live in the same county, but are not known to have had contact with one another, and the second case occurred well after the first would no longer be expected to be contagious. So the genetic findings suggest that the virus has been spreading through other people in the community for close to six weeks, according to one of the scientists who compared the sequences, Trevor Bedford, an associate professor at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington.
Dr. Bedford said it was possible that the two cases could be unrelated, and had been introduced separately into the United States. But he said that was unlikely, however, because in both cases the virus contained a genetic variation that appears to be rare — it was found in only two of the 59 samples whose sequences have been shared from China, where the virus originated.
* Daily Herald…
In preparation for a possible outbreak, the Illinois Department of Public Health is assessing hospitals throughout the state for available space should more people require care for coronavirus infection. The department also is assessing the availability of personal protective equipment — gloves, masks, gowns, goggles and the like — for health care workers.
Health care providers and their individual hospitals, meanwhile, are preparing themselves by implementing infection prevention protocols, screening patients for symptoms and risk factors, and running drills on their response to a positive diagnosis of COVID-19.
“We assembled a team representing infection prevention, emergency preparedness, supply chain and other departments to ensure our facilities are prepared with ample supplies and support to keep our patients and team members safe,” said Dr. Gary Stuck, chief medical officer of the Downers Grove-based Advocate Aurora Health hospitals.
* This is a very real problem…
*** UPDATE *** Media advisory…
UPDATED: Daily Public Schedule: Monday, Mar. 2, 2020
What: Governor JB Pritzker and Director of Illinois Department of Public Health Dr. Ngozi Ezike to provide update on COVID-19 cases.
When: 2:30pm
Where: Blue Room, Thompson Center, Chicago
…Adding… Watch or listen live…
https://multimedia.illinois.gov/balance/press-live.html
https://multimedia.illinois.gov/balance/press-live-cc.html
https://multimedia.illinois.gov/balance/press-live-a.html
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* It has long appeared as though the most high-profile establishment Democrats were holding back on their support for former VP Joe Biden until after he proved he could actually compete. Besides, nobody was going to convince Pete Buttigieg or Tom Steyer to bow out before Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina voted.
But with those four over-hyped smallish contests behind them and with the massive Super Tuesday just around the corner and then the Illinois/Ohio/Florida primaries on March 17th, the time was simply right.
And so…
Citing the strength of his experience on foreign policy, Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday morning.
The announcement is the latest in a series of endorsements that has the Democratic establishment in Illinois lining up squarely behind Biden ahead of a primary that is a little more than two weeks away.
Duckworth’s backing came just hours after former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a fellow veteran, bowed out of the race. She also decided to weigh in on the race amid calls for the party’s moderates to unify around Biden in a bid to stop Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders from accumulating an insurmountable delegate lead in the presidential race.
Just a bragging bundler for now, but something to keep in mind…
* And…
Secretary of State Jesse White, the longest-serving statewide official in Illinois, has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden ahead of the March 17 presidential primary.
White, one of the state’s most prominent African American politicians, said the decision came down to which candidate has the best chance to win in November.
“I’ve been asked by a number of candidates for their support,” White said in an interview Saturday afternoon. “I decided I was going to go with Joe Biden, because I believe that he has what it takes to be able to beat Donald Trump and put this country back on a sound footing.”
You may also have noticed that Speaker Madigan’s 13th Ward endorsed three Biden delegate candidates.
A list of all Illinois presidential endorsements is here.
…Adding… The consolidation continues…
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Two overlooked Illinois contests
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Antonia Ayres-Brown at the Tribune…
Questions about diversity and judicial reform have marked a contentious campaign to fill the seat of retired Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles E. Freeman, the only person of color ever elected to the state’s highest court.
Freeman was elected in 1990 and served 27 years, including three as chief justice. Justice P. Scott Neville Jr., who also is African American, was appointed by the Supreme Court in 2018 to complete Freeman’s term and has won the endorsement of the Cook County Democratic Party going into the March primary.
Neville now faces six opponents — five state appellate judges and one private attorney — in his bid for a full 10-year term. Two of the other candidates are African American, one is Latino and three are white.
Depending on the election’s outcome, the court could have an all-white bench for the first time in 30 years. Going into this year’s elections, 23 states have all-white supreme courts, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a progressive-leaning law and policy institute at New York University Law School.
You can find some candidate profiles by clicking here.
* Sarah Schulte at ABC7…
Diversity has driven the race. If Freeman is not replaced by a minority, the high court will be all white.
“The Chicago Bar Association believes there should be diversity on all our courts from the highest down to the circuit,” said Maryam Ahmad, first vice president of the Chicago Bar Association.
With the exception of Daniel Epstein, the Chicago Bar Association has rated all the other candidates qualified or highly qualified.
* Meanwhile, on to Pearson…
Heading into the 2020 campaign season, Republican leaders were concerned about finding a strong candidate to challenge Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 ranking Democrat in leadership.
Representing the GOP on the March 17 ballot is an underfunded group of five candidates, many pursuing unorthodox strategies in seeking the nomination in the only statewide seat up for election this year.
One candidate is a former Democrat and onetime suburban county sheriff who has said he believes that “God had a hand” in electing President Donald Trump.
Another is a Downstate social media agitator who spurred a suburban police investigation after saying she brought a gun and ammunition into a candidate forum at a high school to “prove a point” about safety, only to say at a later event that she “misspoke” and had her gun locked in her car.
There’s a perennial candidate who has run unsuccessfully for a variety of offices from both political parties, most recently as a Democratic candidate for governor, who wants to split Illinois into three states.
Go read the whole thing.
* Bernie…
Dr. Tom Tarter, Springfield’s entry in the five-way Republican primary race for U.S. Senate, has been taking particular aim at perhaps the best known of his opponents.
In news releases in recent weeks, Tarter, 67, a retired urologist and cancer surgeon, pointed out past comments about President Donald Trump by one of his opponents — former Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran.
Lake County is just north of Cook County, in the far northeast corner of the state. Tarter calls Curran a “never-Trumper,” which Curran denies.
“I support the president and think he is doing a solid job,” Curran told me.
Says Tarter: “Mark Curran claims he’s always supported President Trump, yet he’s on record multiple times having opposed Trump since 2015. Is he lying or has he flip-flopped? Either way, he can’t be trusted.”
* Related…
* Five things to know about this year’s bar association ratings: A third of the 117 judicial candidates on the March 17 Cook County primary ballot have received at least one negative rating from the three major bar associations. Here’s what that means.
* ENDORSEMENT: P. Scott Neville Jr. for Illinois Supreme Court in 1st District Democratic primary
* For the Illinois Supreme Court: Neville and Overstreet
* Endorsement: Howse for Illinois Supreme Court
* What They Said: Republican Senate Candidates on the Issues
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Mike’s Campaign Is Built To Win Everywhere
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* Stephanie Zimmermann and David Roeder at the Sun-Times…
Chicagoans would see much higher utility bills if expected rate hikes for electricity and natural gas are approved even though energy production prices are now low.
ComEd and Peoples Gas are planning significant capital spending that threatens to eat up any savings that might have come from low energy prices.
“There will be a significant effect on customers’ bills,” says Jeff Orcutt, president of the consulting firm Chapman Energy Strategies, which analyzes utilities for the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.
David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board, another private, not-for-profit watchdog group, says there’s “no question” ComEd’s latest spending projections will boost customers’ bills. And he says an expected Peoples Gas rate hike could create an “impending crisis” for low-income consumers.
* Steve Daniels at Crain’s…
Nicor Gas, the utility delivering natural gas to most of suburban Chicago, is pushing legislation in Springfield to put the rate changes for it and Peoples Gas, the utility serving the city, on the same sort of autopilot that ComEd and downstate utility Ameren Illinois have enjoyed for eight years. Bills were introduced in mid-February in the House and Senate.
For its part, Peoples says the bill is Nicor’s idea and that Peoples is still reviewing it. Sources hear that Peoples intends to file with the Illinois Commerce Commission for a rate hike as soon as this month, so that’s presumably more on the minds of the utility and Wisconsin-based parent WEC Energy Group than Nicor’s bid to convince lawmakers to let it set rates via a truncated annual-formula process. Gas utilities currently must use the traditional route, requesting rate hikes at times of their choosing from the ICC and going through an exhaustive 11-month review process.
Naperville-based Nicor, a unit of Atlanta-based Southern, has obtained ICC approval of two rate hikes in the past two years, together adding $261 million in additional revenue from ratepayers. With Peoples not having received a rate increase since 2015, its request is likely to be a whopper whenever it arrives. And it will come at a time when Chicago households are showing increasing difficulty paying their heating bills. […]
The average residential customer in the city paid $1,222 for natural gas last year. That includes many dwellers of small homes and condominiums, so average usage is less than that of Nicor’s customers in the suburbs.
*** UPDATE *** Interesting news from Steve Daniels…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants Illinois to approve legislation putting the state on the path to 100 percent clean energy in the foreseeable future. But, unlike virtually every other major energy bill the state has enacted in the past two decades, he doesn’t want Commonwealth Edison to write it.
So he’s calling in reinforcements. The governor’s office has hired Doug Scott, former Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman under Gov. Pat Quinn, as a consultant to advise on legislation to advance more clean-energy development in Illinois.
As ICC chair, Scott, now vice president for electricity and efficiency at Minneapolis-based consultancy Great Plains Institute, led Quinn’s ultimately unsuccessful effort to kill ComEd’s smart grid bill in 2011, which permits the utility to raise rates via an annual formula that gives regulators little say.
Before that, he was director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. He spent many years in Springfield before his administrative roles as a Democratic state representative from Rockford.
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Fitch reacts to Pritzker budget proposal
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fitch Ratings…
The fiscal 2021 executive budget recently introduced by Illinois’ governor includes a significant $1.4 billion contingency tied to voter approval of a constitutional amendment in November that would allow the state to implement graduated income tax rates, which are already statutorily approved. Under the governor’s budget proposal, failure of the income tax amendment would trigger fiscal actions that could exacerbate the state’s structural budget challenges and pressure local governments, particularly school districts, says Fitch Ratings. The proposal now moves to the legislature for consideration, and Fitch will evaluate the final budget once enacted.
Illinois’ ‘BBB’ Issuer Default Rating (IDR) reflects an ongoing pattern of weak operating performance and irresolute fiscal decision-making that has produced a credit position well below the level that the state’s broad economic base and substantial independent legal ability to control its budget would otherwise support. The state’s elevated long-term liability position remains a key credit challenge. As of Fitch’s December 2019 State Pension Update report, the state’s combined debt and Fitch-adjusted pension burden was 27.5% of personal income, well above the 5.7% state median and the highest of the states. Fitch estimates the state’s total long-term liabilities at approximately $200 billion with pensions accounting for 80% of the total.
Response to Income Tax Amendment Vote Will be Critical
Fitch has indicated that the credit implications of the November 2020 vote on the income tax amendment depend on whether Illinois uses any increased revenues to address structural budget challenges, or if the state can adequately adjust its budget to work toward structural balance if the amendment fails. In his executive budget, the governor proposes to hold $1.4 billion of budget actions in reserve, dependent on voters’ decision. If the amendment fails some of the governor’s proposals, including deferral of up $400 million in employee health insurance costs and more than $500 million of interfund transfers or borrowings, would risk exacerbating the state’s structural budget challenges. If voters approve the constitutional amendment the governor’s executive budget would avoid such non-recurring measures and appears to continue recent progress towards structural balance.
Pensions Pose Structural Budget Challenge
Importantly, Fitch notes that pension contributions remain a point of structural weakness for the state, regardless of the income tax amendment vote, as the governor’s proposal continues the practice laid out in current law of underfunding the systems relative to actuarial determinations. The state currently structures its contributions to pension systems to target 90% funding by 2045, short of the actuarially determined contributions (ADCs), which target 100% funding. Fitch considers full ADC contributions to be a crucial element of structural balance.
Based on analysis of the state’s fiscal 2018 CAFR, Fitch estimates Illinois’ actual pension contributions totalled approximately $7.7 billion, 71% of the ADC of $10.9 billion that year, a gap of more than $2.0 billion; the gap likely increased since then given the underfunding embedded in the statutory 90% target. Fitch believes the supplemental annual pension contributions of $100 million-$200 million proposed by the governor if the income tax amendment passes would be helpful. But on their own, they would not materially affect Fitch’s view that the state’s budget remains structurally unbalanced given the sizable gap between actual contributions and the ADC. As with other states, Illinois retains substantial budgetary powers allowing it to manage the associated fiscal challenges at a level commensurate with its ‘BBB’ IDR.
Executive Budget Implications for Local Governments
For local governments, and particularly school districts, the $1.4 billion of reserved items in the governor’s budget proposal pose risks. The 2017 statute establishing the revised evidence-based funding formula (EBF) for K-12 school aid established a target of annual increases of $350 million. In the current year, the enacted budget included slightly more than that, with a $379 million increase. For fiscal 2021, the governor’s executive budget holds $150 million of the suggested $350 million increase, or more than 40%, in reserve, to be released only if voters approve the income tax amendment. The governor’s office notes that a $200 million increase would still reflect a higher annual growth rate than school districts have received over the past decade and the total increase in EBF funding since fiscal 2018 would total $1.3 billion.
Several additional measures could also affect local governments, but generally to a much less significant degree. The governor proposes holding approximately $100 million in combined income tax and sales tax revenue shared with local governments in reserve, pending voters’ decision on the income tax amendment. Additionally, $40 million in increased state funding for school districts for certain mandated categorical items is likewise held in reserve in the executive budget plan.
* Speaking of local government funding…
Municipalities Push for Full Restoration of Local Revenue Sharing in “Moving Cities Forward” Legislative Platform
WHO: Brad Cole, Illinois Municipal League Executive Director
Leon Rockingham Jr., North Chicago Mayor and IML President
Catherine Adduci, Mayor of River Forest and IML second vice president
WHEN: Monday, March 2, 2020
10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Illinois State Capitol Blue Room (basement, room 010)
401 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois
WHAT: Municipal leaders will unveil their 2020 “Moving Cities Forward” legislative platform designed to ensure the long-term success of Illinois’ cities, villages and towns. The platform includes proposals to reinstate full funding to the Local Government Distributive Fund, empower non-home rule communities and expand the state’s Financially Distressed Cities Law.
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* My Crain’s Chicago Business column…
After trying and failing to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot, activists hoping to reform the state’s legislative and congressional redistricting process have given up on that tack and are instead hoping to convince three-fifths majorities in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly to put it on the ballot.
To say the well-meaning and sincere proponents are facing an uphill battle is perhaps the understatement of the year. Lots of legislators, particularly in the majority party, prefer the status quo of their leaders drawing the maps to make sure they’re all re-elected with as little effort as possible.
It’s just human nature. If you worked at a private company that issued new personnel rules designed to put your job in jeopardy, you’d be wary, too. On top of that, what if your company said you might also have to sell your house and move a few blocks away because your territory had been changed, and, by the way, there will be no help with your expenses?
Even though the proponents appear to be doomed, they should still try because this is hugely important. But what they’re doing so far doesn’t impress me.
For starters, they should
Click here to read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.
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A look inside MJM’s operation
Monday, Mar 2, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Chicago public radio station WBEZ recently published a story about emails between Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s former consigliere, Mike McClain, and top staffers in Madigan’s office. Federal investigators raided the former ComEd lobbyist’s home last year.
The WBEZ reporters culled pretty much all the really good stuff, including discussions about how Madigan was McClain’s “number one client,” getting former Madigan staffers jobs with ComEd and muscling a pro-ComEd resolution through a committee by replacing some Democratic members so that the vote was unanimous.
I decided to take a look at the emails myself to see what else might be there.
The determination to jam that resolution through with a unanimous vote is unusual because it was an “agreed” resolution. ComEd parent company Exelon was pushing legislation in 2014 to bail out their nuclear power plants, but the four legislative leaders decided to just pass a resolution urging various other entities to help Exelon. Speaker Madigan was the chief sponsor and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin was the chief co-sponsor.
An Exelon lobbyist emailed McClain on the afternoon of May 27, 2014 to report that he had nine “Yes” votes out of 16 committee members, with an “outside chance” of flipping one of the “No” votes to his side. McClain forwarded the email to Madigan’s then-chief of staff Tim Mapes and Madigan’s then-Issues Staff director Will Cousineau, among others. And then three hours after the original email was sent, Cousineau replied with what he said would be the final roll call. Five House Democrats on the committee who had been identified as opponents were to be replaced with five supportive Democrats and a sixth had been flipped to Exelon.
“The opponents won’t have contemplated all the subs we’re lining up since I don’t like to rely on Republicans,” Cousineau announced, even though there wasn’t much of any formal opposition.
“I love you,” McClain replied.
Mapes replied to say he’d bet McClain’s lobbyist friends hadn’t given this replacement tactic any thought, and asked if McClain was in charge of Exelon’s lobbying efforts.
“No,” McClain wrote, “but we’re going to have a little bit of a discussion after session about the quality of their lobby.” McClain called Exelon’s Statehouse operation “101 level.”
That the House Democratic staff and the ComEd lobbyist McClain would expend so much effort to make sure that Madigan’s word was gold to a giant energy company tells you much of what you need to know about how that operation worked at the time.
And the internal mindset was further summed up months later when Mapes complained about his workload to McClain.
“We love the guy,” McClain wrote, “but his requests are totally consuming and because we love him we do not want to fail even on the simplest of items. It is what it is. We would not change it but it is what it is.”
That’s Team Madigan in a nutshell.
There were numerous mentions of jobs and other favors in the email exchanges.
Raymond Nice, for instance, is a longtime Madigan precinct worker who also lobbied for ComEd after he retired from Cook County. The town of Merrionette Park, where Nice once had a contract, was recently hit with a federal subpoena. The subpoena also demanded all communications between the village and Madigan, McClain, Mapes and Madigan’s alderman Marty Quinn and Quinn’s brother Kevin.
Kevin Quinn was the beneficiary of a fundraising effort by McClain after he was forced out of his job with Madigan when Alaina Hampton complained about sexual harassment.
I’d heard that Madigan only asked Gov. Bruce Rauner to hire a few people and Nice was one. Just before Rauner was inaugurated, McClain and Mapes exchanged emails about who Madigan had placed on state boards and commissions. McClain led off his list with “Ray Nice….you already know about him, of course.”
The emails reveal just how involved the lobbyist McClain was in House Democratic operations.
Numerous emails were exchanged, for example, after a reform group offered to host a meeting with Gov. Rauner and the four leaders to try and break the budget impasse. McClain was involved in crafting the House Democratic response to Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget veto of legislator salaries as punishment for not reforming pensions. And Mapes summoned McClain to an exclusive upper-echelon meeting with Madigan to discuss what to do about the upcoming spring session with incoming Gov. Rauner.
The emails make crystal clear that McClain was closer to Madigan’s operation than anyone but Mapes. McClain is now gone and so is Mapes after his own sexual harassment scandal. Only Madigan is left.
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