* WTVO…
Illinois Senator Steve Stadelman is pushing to eliminate degree requirements for state jobs.
The bill would stop state agencies from requiring applicants to have a bachelor’s degree to be eligible for hire going forward.
The requirement would not apply if the knowledge, skills or abilities required for the position can only be reasonably obtained through a course of study in pursuit of a bachelor’s or other degree. […]
The bill looks to provide working families and other communities who have been underrepresented with government jobs.
* The Pantagraph…
State Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, filed legislation earlier this year that would end the twice-a-year clock changes. It has been assigned to an Illinois House committee but hasn’t been heard yet.
Morgan has never gotten the legislation over the finish line, but he said he feels this may be the year.
“Families, businesses and health experts all have a stake in this conversation, and I expect a robust dialogue on how this change could improve the lives of all Illinoisans,” Morgan said. “While there’s still work to do, I’m optimistic that the momentum is growing to finally make this change.” […]
Permanent daylight saving time, which is what Morgan’s bill would achieve, would offer more light in the evening, while standard time would offer more light earlier in the day.
* Sen. Ram Villivalam…
State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) will hold a Senate Transportation Committee subject matter hearing on Tuesday to hear from advocates and stakeholders about Senate Bill 5 and Senate Bill 1938.
Senate Bill 5 would combine the Regional Transit Authority, Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and PACE into one entity referred to as the Metropolitan Mobility Authority, as well as outline its responsibilities for public transit in the region.
Senate Bill 1938 would make changes to public transit that would provide improved service board coordination and accountability measures, coordinated safety measures, agency interconnection and a universal fare tool, service board composition and other governance changes, as well as create a Road Usage Charge Pilot Program.
Both measures make reforms to our public transit system to provide service that is safe, reliable, accessible, integrated, environmentally conscious, and economically impactful.
WHO: Chairperson Villivalam and members of the Senate Transportation Committee
WHAT: A subject matter hearing on Senate Bill 5 and Senate Bill 1938
WHEN: Tuesday, March 11 at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Bilandic Building Room C600, 160 N. La Salle St., Chicago and streamed live on ilga.gov.
* Richard Day dug into the Metropolitan Mobility Act for Streetsblog Chicago…
The primary question that has been debated over the last year is how the [Chicago mass transit] should be governed. Right now, we have the three agencies that provide service, plus a fourth, the Regional Transit Authority, that is supposed to provide oversight. Even though the three systems provide service across municipal lines, the CTA is controlled by the City, and Metra and Pace are controlled by the suburbs. The RTA is hamstrung by a super-majority voting requirement that ensures either the City or suburban appointees can veto its decisions. […]
Then last year, and again this year, Senator Ram Villivalam (D-8th) and Representatives Eva-Dina Delgado (D-3rd) and Kam Buckner (D-26th) introduced versions of the Metropolitan Mobility Act in Springfield. The bill takes the most straightforward approach possible to reforming the system. That is, it eliminates the separate service boards, and consolidates them into a single Metropolitan Mobility Authority, responsible for transit in Chicagoland. The organization would be overseen by an 18-member board of directors, appointed as follows:
- 3 members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Illinois Senate
- 5 members appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council
- 5 members appointed by the Cook County board president and confirmed by board members
- 5 members (one per county) appointed by the boards of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will Counties
- 1 additional board member chosen as a board chair by the other 18 directors […]
The MMA would include some other important changes to transportation funding in the region. It would eliminates a current requirement that agencies fund 50 percent of their operating costs via fare revenue and other revenue sources, aka the farebox recovery ratio. That figure is untenable in the short term, given the post-COVID ridership drop. But it’s also been rendered kind of meaningless, as more and more costs, like security, have been carved out. In 2019, before the pandemic, the actual recovery share net of exclusions was only 39 percent. […]
The MMA could give us a better shot at delivering capital projects faster, and at lower cost. Right now, that’s an enormous problem. The Red Line Extension is currently projected to cost over a billion dollars per mile. At that rate, it’s the last rail buildout the CTA will ever make. The RLE is particularly troubling, but this problem is endemic. The CTA’s recently finished Damen Green Line station cost $80 million and was delivered four years behind schedule.1 Meanwhile, Metra took 15 years and $34 million to build an above-ground infill station at Peterson and Ridge.
Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl…
State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, is working to preserve access to clean drinking water by unanimously passing a bill out of the House Energy & Environment Committee expanding the use of treated water for industrial purposes in order to conserve our supply
of freshwater for individual use.
“In the near future, fresh water will begin to be of greater and greater importance to the economy and the health of our communities due to increasing scarcity,” Katz Muhl said. “Illinois and the Midwest currently have plenty of fresh water, but that doesn’t mean we should squander it. This legislation expands the number of use cases for treated municipal wastewater and thereby enables us to conserve more of what we have without sacrificing productivity.”
Katz Muhl’s House Bill 2391 makes it unequivocally clear that treated municipal wastewater can be put to industrial use. Current law permits it to be used for irrigation, but is unclear as to whether it can be used for industrial applications. The bill was passed unanimously by the 26-member Energy & Environment Committee and now moves to consideration by the full House of Representatives.
* Center Square…
Workers at companies that don’t offer a retirement plan are automatically enrolled in the Secure Choice Savings Program and the automatic contribution starts at 5% of the employee’s paycheck.
House Bill 1435 would amend the Secure Choice Savings Program Act and change penalty criteria for employers who fail to enroll employees in the program and remit contributions. […]
“It’s one time registering online on our website to then create an online access, an account that they can use,” [Christine Cheng with the state treasurer’s office said]. “It’s uploading their information on eligible employees, and if they have people who do want to participate, doing the payroll deduction process as they might for any other type of payroll deduction to make sure the money move.” […]
The bill passed out of committee with an eight to four vote.
* Daily Herald…
In the General Assembly, Senate Bill 257 would prohibit cat declawing statewide in Illinois. Initiated by the Illinois Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society) and sponsored by Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat. […]
The Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association expressed concerns about the House bill. The association stresses that declawing should remain a last resort, but adds that the decision of whether to perform the procedure should be left to medical professionals. The association also claimed a complete ban could result in cats being abandoned or ultimately euthanized.
Once Democratic state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz of Chicago, chief co-sponsor of the bill, learned what declawing entailed and how it involved multiple amputations after one of her cats underwent the procedure, she said she could not “bear the thought of it and I would never do it again.” She said she discourages owners from getting the procedure for their cats.
“Educating people about this is what is going to win the day, whether this bill passes or not,” Feigenholtz said. “I would love for it to pass, but the simple fact that voluntarily, all of these veterinarians discourage this and say, ‘We’re not providing the service,’ it speaks volumes.” […]
Poll results from ALDF released last June revealed 70% of veterinary professionals oppose cat declawing. Half of veterinarians interviewed reported their practice does not perform any declawing procedures.
- Incandenza - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 8:49 am:
One critical thing that appears, from news coverage, to be missing from the transit debate is the land use around rail and bus corridors. As long as land-use is inefficient near rail corridors, ridership will not increase.
In order to boost ridership, and get more efficiency in the system as a whole, it is critical to also have land use reform in a certain radius around existing stations. Spurring Transit Oriented Development is key to giving the system longevity and efficiency.
- Donnie Elgin - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 9:03 am:
=In order to boost ridership, and get more efficiency in the system as a whole, it is critical to also have land use reform in a certain radius around existing stations=
That should continue to be left to the individual communities who have locally approved zoning laws that govern land use.
- Sox Fan - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 9:39 am:
I just want the daylight savings time issue to be settled one way or another rather than discuss it endlessly every year.
- Father Ted - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 9:49 am:
Haven’t posted in a few years, but I’ve been lurking. I’m concerned about the transit board merger as a former employee of one of the agencies. I’ve also been a daily rider of all three services at various times for more than 20 years.
I understand the rationale about overlapping and/or duplicated efforts. No one can pretend it doesn’t exist. I would argue the redundancy across the service boards is nowhere close to what might be perceived. There is not a one-size-fits all approach to the administration and operation of buses in Aurora vs. Chicago, or for Metra vs. CTA rail service.
Where I always thought the overhead existed was at RTA. They do a decent job of establishing themselves as the “oversight” agency, but do little to no actual oversight. Administration was heavily bloated. RTA has some good programs, but many others were just not useful and wasted money.
In my personal opinion, I think the best chance for the MMA to succeed is if it can truly be run like a regional service board with the ability to maintain some local and specialized focus which the current agencies try to achieve. In other words, not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Related to that, the other best opportunity for success is a regional focus, free of city vs. suburbs political competition that has been so incredibly detrimental to service delivery for decades. Holy pipe dream, Batman!
- Payback - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 10:00 am:
“Illinois Senator Steve Stadelman is pushing to eliminate degree requirements for state jobs.” I hope this doesn’t apply to IDOT engineers who build bridges over the Mississippi river. Based on some of the hacks from IDOT that I’ve had to deal with, requiring a bachelors degree to plow snow might be a good idea. Congrats to Stadelman, the “long march” of leveling all standards advances in Illinois.
- OutHereInTheMiddle - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 10:21 am:
My understanding is that federal law currently allows states to choose year round standard time but that year round daylight savings time would require Congressional action.
- We've never had one before - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 10:23 am:
Anyone can learn to trim the claws on their indoor cat.
Any cat (well, most any) can learn to put up with the claw trimming procedure. Anyone, regardless of income level, can come up with something other than their leg or furniture for the cat to reach out and shred.
- JoanP - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 10:36 am:
= Any cat (well, most any) can learn to put up with the claw trimming procedure. =
Meet my cat, Smoke. Fortunately, he likes his cat tree.
- Politix - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 10:54 am:
I love falling back. We get an extra hour. We could ease the spring forward by scheduling the time change for a mid-morning Monday.
- Jack in Chatham - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 11:05 am:
Senator Stadelman is on to something. What is important is the ability to read, write and do math logic at the High School level. There are managers who work twenty minutes a day, who allegedly have college degrees and do not read at the junior high school level. I have had better experiences working with a one armed Marine lacking a bachelor’s degree than with alleged college graduates.
The State needs a modern time keeping system and needs to screen potential hires and existing staff (including managers) with basic reading comprehension, writing, math logic and use of office software. The State is not professionally managed.
Payback also has a point and I can say from personal experience Governor Blagojevich cost savings by removing professional certification and licensure for some positions has cost more money than saved. In fact, removing the CPA requirement from PSA positions may be part of the reason GAAP packages are not being timely submitted to the Comptroller’s office for the annual comprehensive financial report. I recall personnel promoting Accountants into Advanced Accounting positions when they were not timely clearing reconciling items; I thought why didn’t someone ask me if this person was ready for additional responsibilities? Then they removed the CPA requirement from PSA titles and promoted this individual to manager. This person was my staffer and I could have told them they have not mastered being an Accountant.
The former union staff with alcohol problems who have risen to PSA and SPSA positions really think all the “real work” has been contracted out, but it hasn’t. They come in late and hungover and leave early to drink and golf. That is why Healthcare & Family Services failed over a two year period to request $601 million in medical reimbursement from Federal CMS and why HFS and DHS can’t complete their routine year end GAAP packages.
- ChicagoBars - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 11:08 am:
I just don’t see how merging multiple public transit service boards solves for the years late and millions overbudget problem with seemingly every public transit construction project.
It is just different people in charge not old or new leaders being held to account. When McCormick Place costs were starting to put Chicagoland’s convention industry at risk there were governance AND cost savings agreements. I don’t see that here.
Now excuse me while I go circumnavigate the CTA/Red Brown line modernization program site that is somehow in it’s 5th year straight tearing up the same intersection in Wrigleyville.
- Name Withheld - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 11:09 am:
If we’re going to do away with the time change, we should just revert to Standard Time. Permanent DST just amounts to changing your time zone at a state level.
- Lurker - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 11:14 am:
I do not think Illinois should change the time zone without it being done on the federal level. I do not like changing the clock but Ive lived where you are in one time zone half the year then change the other half. That was more harmful to me.
- Jibba - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 11:33 am:
We should just tilt the earth’s axis back to vertical so time changes are unnecessary. Perhaps by executive order.
- Mason County - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 12:15 pm:
=Illinois Senator Steve Stadelman is pushing to eliminate degree requirements for state jobs.=
Seems reasonable but some solid testing requirements will need to be developed to ensure that applicants are qualified. And not just a lowering of standards to ensure almost anyone can qualify.
- Frida's Boss - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 12:52 pm:
Rearranging all the deck chairs on the RTA model isn’t a quick solution.w they can right-size th I don’t know hoe operations and administrations of all these agencies in one session with one bill.
A lot will fall through the cracks with a hurried bill.
- Jerry - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 12:54 pm:
@incandenza: Transit used to run more in neighborhoods till somebody got the idea to put it in the middle of the expressway.
I agree with Ted. There is a different business model for CTA trains that run differently in the city versus suburban buses served by Pace. And that needs to be taken into consideration in determining a governing model. And what to do with Metra?
Just an FYI, you can walk just as fast as the trains on the Blue Line between Forest Park and Kedzie.
- Suburban Mom - Monday, Mar 10, 25 @ 1:30 pm:
Not a fan of declawing, but as an adopter of last-chance cats who have often been adopted and returned multiple times, I actually share the concern that a lot of perfectly nice cats will end up returned to the shelter and euthanized.
I have no data or policy ideas about it, and the problem seems to be the humans involved having unrealistic cat expectations, I just do worry about that aspect.
(My cats’ state of clawedness is the least of the problems by the time they get to me, they just come how they come claw-wise. They’re usually pretty sick or have lost a limb or similar when I take them.)