More than a little unclear on the concept, of course. The House impeaches, the Senate removes, and the Senate has no control over who the House elects as its Speaker.
The State of Illinois has been without a budget for 60 days. The state museum network goes broke on September 30, 2015. Social service agencies are turning away people in need because they have no funding. Local governments aren’t receiving their gas tax revenues, because it’s illegal to distribute the funds unless there is a state budget. The root cause of the budget impasse is the lack of communication between Bruce Rauner and Michael Madigan. Their inability to agree on even the most issues has brought Illinois to a complete halt. Removing these two men from office may save Illinois.
* Andrea Durbin, the chief executive officer of Illinois Collaboration on Youth, has a different idea…
In recent weeks, we in Illinois were both entertained and appalled by Kentucky clerk Kim Davis’ refusal to do her constitutional duty when she refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. The nation raised alarm and expressed astonishment for her blatant disregard of public office, indifference to the rule of law, and willful disobedience.
But here at home, our own elected officials have failed for months to do their constitutional duties, and I cannot understand how this situation is fundamentally different from that of Kim Davis’. […]
How is it possible that our elected leaders have not met in four months? What could be a higher priority than doing their constitutionally defined job? Where are these supposed negotiations taking place if they are not even speaking to each other? Where is the outrage? Where is the public shaming?
Our leaders have harmed far more people by their refusal to do their jobs than Kim Davis ever has, but she’s the one who was held in contempt of court. It seems only just that our elected officials — legislative leadership, rank-and-file legislators, and the governor — should face such consequences. Isn’t their unwillingness to meet a demonstration of their contempt for us and the Illinois Constitution?
Friday, Oct 2, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The final results are in and as many analysts have noted, “Exelon was the big winner in this year’s [PJM grid capacity} auction.” Here are the highlights:
$1.7 BILLION RATE INCREASE FOR EXELON – Exelon engineered the new rules to increase their profits. Their $1.7 BILLION reward will be paid for by struggling Illinois ratepayers.
Byron and Quad Cities Both Cleared the Auction and are Obligated to Run Well into the Future
Exelon’s Low Carbon Portfolio Standard would have raised $1.6 billion over 5 ½ years for Exelon. The Capacity markets, under Exelon-pushed rules, earned Exelon $1.7 billion over only three years.
Illinois doesn’t have a balanced budget, service providers are being decimated and real people across Illinois are hurting. It’s time for Exelon to take their HUGE $1.7 BILLION WINDFALL and stop asking legislators to keep padding their profits.
Enough is enough!
Just Say “NO” to the Exelon Bailout
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
Last fall, 60 percent of [Illinois] state legislators faced no opposition on the ballot.
What kind of democracy is that? A broken one.
You may have heard that the nonpartisan Independent Maps coalition is collecting signatures to place the Independent Map constitutional amendment on the November 2016 ballot.
The amendment, if approved, will create an 11-member commission that will take away the once-a-decade map-drawing power from politicians. New districts will be drawn in an open, transparent manner with no regard to incumbency or partisanship.
The petition drive, which began in May, has collected more than 300,000 signatures toward its goal of 600,000, which is about twice the number necessary.
* That 60 percent figure is true. From Ballotpedia…
Independent commissions draw the lines for both state legislative and congressional districts in six states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana and Washington. Specific membership requirements for these commissions vary from state to state. Generally speaking, however, these commissions do not include legislators or other elected officials
* OK, so let’s combine these two sets of data and look at the percentage of uncontested legislative seats in those six states which have independent district commissions…
Alaska 33.33%
Arizona 40.0%
California 0.07%
Montana 15.20%
Washington 33.33%
All of them are much better than Illinois.
I don’t particularly care for this particular “fair map” proposal, but we definitely need to try something else.
* Yesterday’s story about water service being shut off at an IDOT office led me to call CWLP in Springfield to see if the Statehouse and the area’s myriad other state offices were in danger of having their power or water service disconnected by the municipally owned utility.
“We’re not at a critical mass,” said Amber Sabin at the utility. “We’re used to the state paying on a 60-day schedule,” she said. The state’s Capitol Complex has a bill due later this month for $2.3 million, by the way.
Sabin said the utility would “rather have their revenue,” so “Disconnects are going to be a last resort.”
She also joked that it’s “not like they’re leaving the state, they’re not fleeing us.”
Hey, maybe the governor could move the capitol to Florida and get out from under the electric bill. The winters would be nicer, but I’d have to come back north during the summer.
* And along those lines, here’s an October 1 e-mail sent by Donald C. Barnes, who is the Energy Manager for CMS…
Fiscal Emergency Issues
We have communicated the details surrounding the current fiscal state of emergency relative to our lack of disbursement authority to the various utilities throughout the state and requested that they defer any automatic service termination actions which would be triggered by the non-payment of bills within the legally-defined time frames.
To date, most utilities have responded that they will not be terminating services on State of Illinois accounts though some made those pledges more conditionally than others. Specific responses obtained thus far are as follows:
• Ameren – states it will follow applicable tariff and legal requirements; does not specifically guarantee it will not terminate services for non-payment.
• Illinois American Water – states that it will freeze all termination actions through March 2016 and will re-visit the policy then if the crisis continues.
• Nicor – indicates that all accounts coded as governmental service will not face actual termination (see attached).
• Peoples Gas/North Shore Gas – official communication being developed but Account Executive gave unofficial sense that they will work with State through crisis and let us know in advance of any change in position.
• ComEd – no official response yet.
• Mid-American Energy – no official response yet
• City of Chicago (water and sewer services) – no official response yet but has inquired as to whom the central point of contact with the State will be on this issue. Was informed to keep CMS Utility Management in the loop and we will either respond or forward to the accountable agency for response.
• City of Beardstown - States that it will not initiate any shutoff actions.
• City of Springfield - City Water Light and Power reportedly indicated it will not initiate termination actions at this time but made assurance conditional on the duration of the non-payment status.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has been a large proponent of businesses in the state, in the chamber’s opinion. [Illinois State Chamber of Commerce President Todd Maisch] said state chamber officials have regular talks with legislators, but said the governor’s direction is the way he feels the state should go.
Maisch said that he thinks small businesses and those affected by the budget impasse know that without change, growth will continue to stagnate.
“The status quo is completely unacceptable,” he said. “The governor has our full support. We talk to our members every day and they’re unwavering. They say ‘if we don’t make real changes now, we may never make them and my business and my children may not be in Illinois to see the aftermath’.”
* From the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability…
Through the first quarter of the fiscal year, base receipts are down $987 million. The drop reflects comparatively lower income tax rates as well as the one-time nature of some pharmaceutical court settlements recovered by the Attorney General‘s Office last fiscal year.
Gross personal income taxes are down $699 million, $621 million net of refunds, or $829 million when the diversions to the education and human service funds are included. Gross corporate income taxes are behind last year’s receipting by $154 million, or $138 million net of refunds. Other sources are down $117 million, reflecting the aforementioned court settlement proceeds received last fiscal year in a similar amount. Public utility taxes are off $25 million, inheritance corporate franchise taxes $6 million, and vehicle use tax $1 million.
Overall transfers are up by $57 million, and federal sources, despite its weakness, are up $50 million for the quarter.
* I didn’t get to this earlier in the week, but let’s try now. Amanda Vinicky…
Illinois’ racing board is taking a gamble in an attempt to save the beleaguered industry. Two historic Illinois tracks will hold no races next year, a decision that could lead to their permanent closure.
The decision by Illinois’ 11-member racing board was unanimous: no horses will run at Balmoral and Maywood parks in 2016.
“We can’t sit out a year and survive; we’ll have to default on our lease and that’ll be the end of it,” said Duke Johnston, a partial owner of the tracks. […]
The board has given it and the Hawthorne park all Chicago-area races. The idea is that consolidating races - and therefore expenses and prizes - will make the remaining tracks more competitive.
“It raises purses at both entities, which will attract more horses, which will result in larger field size, which results in more wagering which results in more purses. It’s circular,” Arlington racecourse General Manager Tony Petrillo said.
After unsuccessfully fighting to eliminate Hawthorne’s spring thoroughbred meeting for the last four years Arlington International Racecourse formed an alliance with its former adversary and the tracks made a joint presentation.
Hawthorne agreed to give Arlington a portion of the host track money it receives from out-of-state simulcasts to use to significantly bolster purses at its summer thoroughbred meeting. In return, Arlington supported Hawthorne’s requests for the two harness meetings and its usual spring and fall thoroughbred meetings.
The tracks also have promised to promote one another.
* I think we need more follow-up on this claim, but wow…
Social service groups said the situation is getting dire – and even deadly – as state funding remains stalled due to the budget standoff between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic lawmakers.
Nancy Maruyama, executive director of education and community outreach for SIDS Illinois, had the direst pronouncement, saying some victims of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome might have been saved if her group’s program to educate parents about safe ways to put their babies to bed hadn’t suffered cuts.
“The majority of the death reports that I receive from the medical examiner’s office, those babies are in unsafe sleep situations, and if we had been able to get out there and do this education, it’s really possible that these deaths could have been prevented,” she said. “How many babies have to die before something is done about this situation?”
* There are some caveats to remember when reading today’s Tribune story. First, businesses aren’t infallible nor are they necessarily permanent. Stuff happens, stuff changes, companies go out of business. Second, the Great Recession most certainly did require some drastic actions, including giving tax breaks to help Illinois companies survive.
Illinois’ flagship job program has awarded millions of dollars to companies that never hired an additional employee.
It’s doled out millions more in tax breaks for corporations that eliminated jobs and became smaller.
And it’s allowed companies to reap lucrative rewards and then relocate to other states without penalty or repayment.
Illinois cut these deals through a strategy dubbed EDGE — short for Economic Development for a Growing Economy — that was launched in 1999 by Gov. George Ryan as a way to create jobs and lure businesses from other states.
But what began as a modest number of tax breaks for a handful of companies has mushroomed into a billion-dollar giveaway rife with failure.
The Honorable Bruce Rauner
Governor of Illinois
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
Dear Governor Rauner,
I am writing to underscore how the current budget stalemate adversely impacts the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office. Also, it is my responsibility to stress that if a resolution is not reached soon, there may be significant impacts to the state’s ability to pay its bills, run programs, and conduct essential government operations.
As you know, the Illinois Treasurer is the state’s Chief Investment and Banking Officer. Currently, my office manages approximately $23 billion, which includes $10.1 billion in state funds, $7.3 billion in college savings plans, and $5.5 billion on behalf of state agencies and municipalities. The Treasurer’s Office also oversees the Unclaimed Property program, administers the state’s multiple banking functions and financial services, and provides several low-interest loan and financial programs aimed at spurring economic growth, creating jobs, assisting farmers, and enhancing Illinois communities. Our primary focus remains preserving the state’s investment portfolio, providing the necessary liquidity to meet daily cash flow demands, and consistently producing investment earnings that enrich the people and communities of Illinois. To that end, the Treasurer’s Office returns $28 in revenue to the state for every $1 spent on operations.
While my office is committed to fulfilling its duties, the current budget impasse presents significant concerns and challenges that warrant your attention. As we approach the three month point of this budget stalemate, critically important banking and investment contracts remain unpaid which threaten to disrupt operations. If services from these vendors are suspended, there may be devastating effects on the state’s ability to manage its finances, pay its debts, and maximize returns for the people of Illinois.
I want to focus your attention on three specific areas of greatest concern:
1. Disruption of Banking Activities
In order to administer treasury, cash management, and investment operations on behalf of state and local governments, the Treasurer’s Office utilizes a wide variety of financial services and products from outside parties, including brokerage firms, securities dealers, investment consultants, banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions. These entities provide a number of critically important banking and investment services to the Treasurer’s Office. If funds are not available to pay our vendors, banking and financial services that we provide to state agencies may cease, such as: depository services, electronic payments, and lockbox services. State agencies would then not be able to deposit or accept checks, cash, or electronic funds, including federal funds. Further, our office may not be able to make funds available to the Comptroller which would not allow for vendor payments and payroll deposits.
2. Disruption of Investment Operations
Every day, the Treasurer’s Office actively invests and manages monies on behalf of state agencies and local governments. The largest portfolio, the State Portfolio, currently holds assets of approximately $10.1 billion. These monies are managed to provide the necessary liquidity to meet the state’s daily obligations. Remaining funds are placed in authorized short- and long-term investment vehicles.
While the majority of investments in the State Portfolio are positioned for quarter end, the Treasurer’s Office executes a number of daily and short-term trades to ensure sufficient liquidity. These activities could be severely jeopardized by any contractual disruptions. If the Treasurer’s Office is unable to pay contractual fees to banks and they terminate existing contracts and close investment and custodial accounts, our office may be forced to liquidate all investments due to the inability to hold securities with our custodian bank or the Federal Reserve. This may shut down our securities lending program which generates significant incremental income. In addition, security sales may need to be made in order to meet daily liquidity needs, something this office has never been forced to do in its 197-year history.
The Treasurer’s Office may have to sell off $10.1 billion in investments before our bank accounts close. As such, the State of Illinois may lose significant investment earnings and the potential loss of principal depending on market volatility. While it is imprudent to submit an exact figure considering the extensive variables in play, to provide some perspective, consider investment earnings under normal operations:
• The State Portfolio typically earns $3.5-$5 million in monthly earnings ($4.2 million in August 2015) or $42-$60 million in annual investment earnings.
• The Treasurer’s Office currently earns approximately $33,000 per day ($800,000 to $1.3 million per month) in securities lending income. If the Treasurer’s Office cannot replace treasury securities or called securities, securities lending income will be adversely impacted.
3. Risks to Agencies Upgrading to Chip-Card Payment Systems
October 1, 2015, is the deadline for organizations that accept credit card payments to adopt a new microchip processing system. Failure to do so may result in a liability shift that renders them financially responsible for fraudulent charges. This applies to state and local government agencies as well. The liability shift compels businesses and organizations to purchase new terminals and software that read E.M.V. (Europay, MasterCard, and VISA) microchips.
The Treasurer’s Office has been working for months with state and local agencies to prepare for this transition to newer technology. However, there may be agencies that are not ready for this transition as they lack the appropriation authority to purchase the required terminals. This is unnecessarily exposing the state to risks and could create a significant liability for already stretched government agencies.
The Treasurer’s Office will continue to work to forestall these impacts while considering contingencies if our vendors discontinue services. My office will keep you abreast of any pertinent developments, and should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you for your time and attention to these important matters.
Sincerely,
Michael W. Frerichs
Illinois State Treasurer
Cc: Senate President John Cullerton
House Speaker Michael Madigan
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin
Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti
Attorney General Lisa Madigan
Secretary of State Jesse White
Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger
“I think what’s important is that when you talk about a budget you have to not only have expenditures .. but you also have to have revenue to pay for those expenditures,” Quinn said. “I tried in my six years as governor to always tell the facts to the voters. Sometimes they were difficult. When we say that, ‘Well we need more revenue from the income tax in order to properly pay our bills and to have a decent and humane state,’ there are those who campaign against you on that. But when they do that the consequences are very dire for the public. That’s what we’re experiencing now.”
He added, “I think it’s the job of the governor to realize and tell the truth that Illinois has to use revenue from the income tax in order to properly balance the budget and pay the bills. He didn’t do that last year. He did something else and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”
“We appreciate the former governor’s input, but the people of Illinois have already seen what happens when a governor allows the General Assembly to impose a tax hike on the people of Illinois without any reforms,” [Lyndsey Walters] said. “Governor Rauner is committed to reforming the broken status quo in Illinois and will continue fighting for the taxpayers.”
* Quinn put the blame for the impasse on Gov. Rauner and said Democrats weren’t going to throw unions under the bus…
“It’s important for those who were elected to office, after they’re elected, to understand that their duty is to the public at large and not to a political party or to a particular ideology. So it’s important to talk,” said Quinn. “I did that when I was governor. I recommend that to anybody who serves in that office. I know that Governor (James) Thompson, Governor (Jim) Edgar who served before me oftentimes interacted with legislators of different parties and worked hard to get a fair budget.” […]
“They’re not going to compromise on the right of everyday people to organize and have a union, to have collective bargaining,” he said. “And to make sure that we have decent wages. We just had the pope visit our country last week and made it very clear that it’s a moral duty to make sure that the people who work hard, work 40 hours a week, get paid a decent wage in decent working conditions and have decent benefits.”
The Rauner administration responded that the current AFSCME contract, which Quinn negotiated, requires only a 37.5-hour work week and that Gov. Rauner very much supports a 40-hour work week.
* He was also at West Chicago Community High School…
Sneed hears former Gov. Pat Quinn, who has been on the road visiting family and friends since he lost his gubernatorial mantle, is gearing up for a new public role.
Sneed is told Quinn, who was one of the founders of the storied Citizens Utility Board, is on tap for a consumer advocacy comeback.
“He is concerned nobody is looking out for the little guy,” said a top Quinn source.
* As we’ve already discussed, legislation was introduced earlier this week to fund this program and several others, but its fate is not quite certain…
The budget fight between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats in the General Assembly could leave Illinoisans stranded in an emergency.
Without a budget in place, emergency 911 telephone systems in every corner of the state are no longer receiving revenue from a tax on cellphone users.
Ken Smith, coordinator for Williamson County’s 911 services, said the budget crunch and a consolidation of services in his county have resulted in the layoffs of office staff and the potential for longer wait times for callers reporting an emergency. […]
Under current state law, 911 fees for landline phones are paid to the county-level systems, but fees for cellphones go into a statewide pool.
But, without a budget in place, the Republican governor says the money cannot be distributed.
Tammy Duckworth Sides With Terrorists, Protects Iran Again
Good Afternoon,
Tammy Duckworth’s blind support for the nuclear giveaway to Iran reached a new low today when she cast a vote in Congress to protect the Iranian regime and support terrorists instead of their victims.
The Justice For Victims Of Iranian Terrorism Act would have prohibited $100 billion in sanctions relief for Iran under the nuclear deal unless the regime complied with an order to pay $43.5 billion in damages to terror victims and their families. This afternoon, Duckworth voted against the measure.
Duckworth had the opportunity to hold the Iranian regime accountable, instead she gave a free pass to state sponsors of terror, that’s just not the kind of leadership Illinois families deserve.
“Law enforcement officers know about hostage situations, where people try to get their way by threatening innocent lives. We know that the best and safest way to resolve a hostage situation is through negotiation. What we are seeing now with the state budget is a hostage situation. Unfortunately we aren’t seeing a willingness to negotiate by the person who is holding that budget hostage, Governor Bruce Rauner,” said FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood. “That’s very concerning to us, both as law enforcement officers and as Illinois citizens. Refusing to consider any possible solution, even a temporary or partial solution, until your list of demands is met is not a responsible or safe way to deal with programs and services that affect the well being of nearly 12 million Illinoisans. We urge Governor Rauner to stop the posturing and sit down with the legislative leaders to craft a budget and end this crisis.”
“One of the more recent victims of the state’s budget hostage situation has been the funding to train police officers to deal with the unique and dangerous situations they face every day. This training directly affects the safety of police officers and the people they protect. Government’s function is to provide the services that the private sector can’t. When government fails to provide those services, law enforcement officers, many of them FOP members, must pick up the pieces,” said FOP Labor Council Executive Director David Wickster. “The Governor should not hold for ransom the services millions of people depend on each day, nor should he demean the working men and women of this great state by implying that they are part of the problem. Governor Rauner, don’t shoot the hostage. Negotiate in good faith with the Illinois General Assembly to end this budget crisis.”
The Honorable Governor Rauner, Senate President Cullerton, Senate Minority Leader Radogno, House Speaker Madigan, and House Minority Leader Durkin:
We write as leaders of the nine public universities in Illinois that annually educate 200,000 students and function as regional economic engines to urge you to end the fiscal 2016 budget standoff. Currently, without a state budget, the state is committed through the K - 12 budget, court ordered expenditures, continuing appropriations and statutory transfers to spend a little more than $34 billion in general funds. The public higher education community has not received a single dollar in state funding.
Requiring the public universities to operate without a budget appropriation is unsustainable. The uncertainty of not knowing when, or at what level, appropriations will be forthcoming is resulting in some students and faculty questioning whether Illinois is the best place to learn or to teach. Students and families are alarmed about the possibility that financial aid and services will not be available. In addition, we are deeply concerned about losing the reputational excellence and the important grant funds that support both students and the Illinois economy.
The impasse casts a shadow of uncertainty over the campuses. We are on the brink of serious operational damage. Mid-term exams are not far off, and so too are decisions that must be made about staffing, academic offerings and student services for the spring semester.
Although the universities we lead have different mixes of resources depending on our respective missions, we all have a crucial reliance on state appropriations to deliver affordable, high-quality education to hundreds of thousands of Illinois students. The appropriation is a fundamental tenet of the partnership between the state and public universities.
Our universities represent over 150 years of investment by the state and its people. Our missions include teaching, discovery, health care, innovation and the transformation of young lives. We achieve these goals, and more, not as cost centers, but as a multitude of regional and statewide economic engines, employing a total of 61,000 Illinois residents and taxpayers, with annual spending of $6.9 billion. This spending generates an estimated $28 billion in economic impact.
As leaders of Illinois public universities, we strongly reiterate a commitment we made last spring to accept our responsible share of providing solutions to Illinois’ fiscal problems. We again urge you to act on a fiscal 2016 budget that provides public universities with a responsible, sustained and predictable level of support that would ensure all of our students can continue to progress academically . We look forward to meeting with you at your earliest convenience.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration given to our request.
Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican from Wheaton, will not seek a leadership post in the House after Speaker John Boehner’s resignation, he said in a letter Wednesday to his 246 GOP colleagues.
Roskam, 54, entered Congress in 2007 and was chief deputy whip of the House from 2011 to 2014, when he lost a bid to be elected whip, the No. 3 post after speaker and majority leader. The whip corrals votes and helps shape the party’s message. […]
In his letter, Roskam urged the GOP-led Congress to “aggressively” assert its constitutional authority against President Barack Obama’s administration and “be more provocative in our challenges so as to command more of the narrative of these debates.”
He also said the GOP should reflect on what is expected of House leaders. “Right now, we ask of our leaders the impossible task of being on the road, in our districts, and in the press — all while fulfilling other vital policy and communications responsibilities,” he said.
I’ve known Roskam a long time and he’s a lot more thoughtful than his letter might make him look. He has some strong principles which I may sometimes disagree with, but I’ve always respected his abilities.
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) - who’s not been a favorite of Illinois’ old right wing since he ousted veteran Congressman Don Manzullo in 2012 - has riled the angst of longtime Illinois conservative activist Paul Caprio.
Caprio, who heads up the Family PAC Federal, sent out a press release Thursday “blasting” Kinzinger’s quotes in Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet’s column criticizing conservative U.S. House Republicans the congressman says pushed House Speaker John Boehner to retire.
“Stop attacking the integrity of the Republican Party base, Congressman. It’s insulting and divisive to grassroots conservatives. This is why so many conservatives are angry with Washington,” Caprio said in a press release.
Kinzinger made it clear to Sweet he rejects idealism and grasps a more pragmatic approach to politics that he believes should soothe conservatives’ frustration with GOP leadership.
The Lynn Sweet story is here. The full Caprio release is here.
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The final results are in and as many analysts have noted, “Exelon was the big winner in this year’s [PJM grid capacity} auction.” Here are the highlights:
$1.7 BILLION RATE INCREASE FOR EXELON – Exelon engineered the new rules to increase their profits. Their $1.7 BILLION reward will be paid for by struggling Illinois ratepayers.
Byron and Quad Cities Both Cleared the Auction and are Obligated to Run Well into the Future
Exelon’s Low Carbon Portfolio Standard would have raised $1.6 billion over 5 ½ years for Exelon. The Capacity markets, under Exelon-pushed rules, earned Exelon $1.7 billion over only three years.
Illinois doesn’t have a balanced budget, service providers are being decimated and real people across Illinois are hurting. It’s time for Exelon to take their HUGE $1.7 BILLION WINDFALL and stop asking legislators to keep padding their profits.
Enough is enough!
Just Say “NO” to the Exelon Bailout
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
* This guy caught such a break, but now he wants another one? Sun-Times…
Former state Rep. Derrick Smith might have as many as three more weeks of freedom before facing the music for taking a $7,000 cash bribe.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman put Smith’s surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on hold until Oct. 21 “unless this court orders otherwise” after hearing arguments Tuesday from defense attorney Michelle Jacobs. But she only did so after pointing out that Smith’s mere five-month prison sentence could already have been behind him.
“He would have been done by now,” Coleman said. “It would have been over.”
Coleman herself characterized Smith’s sentence as “brief” during Tuesday’s hearing, which Smith attended. Jacobs has argued Smith might win either a new trial or a reduced sentence on appeal, but that process might not end before Smith leaves prison. He was previously due to report to a federal prison in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday. […]
Or, the judge said, the sentence could “maybe go up.”
That’s the same judge who recently threatened to hold the Illinois comptroller in contempt of court. She’s not to be trifled with.
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Profit. We generally think of profit as good. We all like to profit from our decisions.
However, when you become profit for someone else, it takes on a whole new meaning.
Credit unions are different. They are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that return earnings to their members. Services are based on member needs, not profit margins.
It’s time your money profited YOU. If you are a credit union member, you already know the credit union difference. If you are not a member, go to asmarterchoice.org to discover all the advantages credit union membership holds.
* From Randy Wells at the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association…
Good Morning Rich:
I realize you get inundated with releases and material from everyone but I wanted to pass this on to you.
As you may know, IADDA’s members provide mental health and substance abuse treatment. We have been surveying our members for the last three months as to the impact the budget situation is having on them. We have not released the results of what our members were telling us until this point due our members not wanting to alarm or panic those they serve or their staff. However, the results of our latest survey of members show a significant change in the status of the end of September and their status in the immediate future without a resolution to the budget. The survey shows we have reached “critical mass” when it comes to the future of many our members and suspect many other human service providers.
I’ve attached the survey for your review and use if choose to do so. Please note, several of members requested we not distribute their data at this time due to staffing considerations which means their data is not included in the attachment.
• Effective October 1, 2014, Wells Center is discontinuing providing detoxification services and will lay-off 10 staff. Over 300 patients annually will not have access to detoxification services. Next closest Detoxification program is over an hour away (Quincy, Decatur, or Bloomington)
Drug Court Services
• Wells Center currently has a contract to provide substance abuse services to the courts in the 2nd Judicial Circuit.
Given the lack of state funding for these services, Wells Center will be ending these services, as well. At this time, it is unknown if the court system may continue some of the drug courts services using local money until the budget passes. Wells Center will determine lay off either 1.5 FTE’s or 2.5 FTE’s depending on whether or not the courts continue to fund 1 staff.
Corrections Contracts
• Wells Center has notified IDOC that they will not continue to provide substance abuse treatment at Logan Correctional Center, Dixon Springs IIP and DuQuoin IIP since these programs are all funded with General Revenue.
IDOC is currently looking for another vendor to provide these services. This will affect 22 program staff, and approximately 1200 inmates.
U.S. Cellular Field will have three new outfield video boards next year—including a new center-field video board that is more than four times the size of the current one—under a renovation approved by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.
The public agency that owns and operates the Chicago White Sox’s home stadium will foot the $7.3 million bill for the three new signs, which are slated to be ready for the start of the team’s 2016 season.
Most prominent in the upgrade will be a roughly 6,500-square-foot video board in center field that will dramatically alter the park’s backdrop. It will replace the existing 1,484-square-foot video board that was installed in 2003 and is the smallest among main video boards at all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. The new board will be one of the 10 largest in the league, according to ISFA.
The state’s largest labor organization endorsed Tammy Duckworth for U.S. Senate and Susana Mendoza for Illinois Comptroller for the March Primary Election.
The Illinois AFL-CIO Executive Board voted on the endorsements at its meeting Wednesday.
Duckworth is running for the nomination to face off against first-term Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016.
“Congresswoman Duckworth has a 97 percent voting record on issues affecting working families,” said President Michael T. Carrigan. “She has a track record supporting the middle class. Her race will be one of the most important in the nation. It is critical that union members are educated and mobilized for that race.”
Mendoza is running for the Democratic nomination for State Comptroller – a race in the fall that will likely be against Gov. Bruce Rauner’s hand-picked appointee Leslie Munger. Munger was selected to fill the vacancy following the death of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.
“The Illinois AFL-CIO endorsed Judy Baar Topinka and we supported her,” Carrigan said. “We believe Susana Mendoza will stand with working families and against the Rauner anti-worker agenda.”
Mendoza, currently the City Clerk in Chicago, had a 92 percent voting record with the state federation during her 10 years in the General Assembly.
“We have already started our education and mobilization plan with members, families and community allies,” Carrigan said. “The proposals coming out of the Governor’s office and Congress are harmful to the middle class. Who we send to Springfield and Washington can change the priority to focus on income inequality and empowering everyday working people.”
Endorsements for other races in the Illinois Primary Election are scheduled for meetings set in mid-January.
The Illinois AFL-CIO represents more than 1.5 million members of union families.
But Bryce Colquitt, Zopp’s campaign manager, said he believed the backing of Duckworth by the state’s umbrella organization for organized labor had been engineered earlier by outside forces.
Colquitt said Zopp’s camp originally had been told that endorsement interviews would occur in January but were asked earlier this week to meet with the AFL-CIO’s executive board on Wednesday. He said news of Duckworth’s endorsement came less than an hour after Zopp’s interview.
“This is another example of the D.C. elites tipping the scales to try to coronate Tammy Duckworth. It’s clear that their campaign is concerned about the momentum we’ve been getting,” Colquitt said. He likened the endorsement to Duckworth’s early and controversial backing from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
* So, I asked Bill Looby at the AFL-CIO for a response…
It’s not an unusual claim from candidates who didn’t receive an endorsement to say that there was outside influence on the process.
The case for supporting Tammy Duckworth is pretty clear.
This is a race with national repercussions. Duckworth has been endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO in her congressional races and, most importantly, she has a 97 percent voting record with the AFL-CIO. She is well-known in the labor movement and we have had thousands of union family members volunteer to knock on doors and make phone calls to help get her elected.
There are concerns about Andrea Zopp’s actions in corporate management and on the Chicago Board of Education. With the current environment in Illinois and Washington D.C., it is critical that we elect a strong and proven ally of working families to the U.S. Senate. Tammy Duckworth’s record earned her the Illinois AFL-CIO endorsement.
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its ‘AA+’ long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on Chicago’s existing motor fuel tax (MFT) revenue debt. The outlook on all ratings is stable. The rating reflects our view of: The pledged revenue stream’s diverse statewide base; The insulation of pledged revenues from the financial challenges facing the state of Illinois, because we view the governing statute as not allowing tax revenues to be used to support the state’s general operations. The fact that although MFT revenues are subject to state appropriation, the state historically has never been late in disseminating the MFT revenues…
What was that line in “Animal House”? Something like “You (messed) up, you trusted us”?
The Illinois budget stalemate has left Chicago on the hook to cover monthly payments to the trustee on its motor fuel tax bonds because state transfers are trapped without a fiscal 2016 budget in place.
Pending legislation would allow the state to distribute the motor fuel revenues without a budget, but its fate is uncertain.
Chicago is tapping residual revenues it collects and pledges to bond repayments in order to cover monthly payments on $270 million of outstanding bonds.
Once those funds are exhausted, the city intends to look elsewhere for revenue to avoid a default, according to city finance officials. Biannual debt service payments to holders are made in January and July. […]
The state Senate in early September passed a bill that would allow the motor fuel distribution appropriations to resume without a state budget in placed. The bill was not called up in the House during its session last week because it lacked the votes.
Several suburban House Democrats yesterday rolled out a bill to authorize the release of tax money owed to Illinois cities.
Introduced on Wednesday, the proposal, House Bill 4305, would require the state to release money owed to local municipalities that is collected through gaming operations, the motor fuel tax, and other surcharges.
“The money collected from these funds is meant to be distributed to local municipalities, not used as a political pawn,” said State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines), the bill’s chief sponsor. “The governor’s refusal to let these funds go to their intended recipient is hurting our local communities and weakening the region’s economy.”
Moylan, a former mayor of Des Plaines, notes that the town is the recipient of revenue generated by Rivers Casino, totaling almost $9 million last fiscal year. Currently, the city is receiving no money from its share of the gaming tax revenue.
Additionally, the bill also allows winners of the state lottery to collect their full prizes. Currently, winners are only allowed to collect $25,000 regardless of their prize value.
* The Tribune has a story today about a legislative battle that has been going on for months: The Rauner administration’s emergency rules that shut down most new access to the state’s childcare program as well as home care programs for the elderly and disabled.
We’ve talked about this topic numerous times, but here’s the GOP response as printed by the Trib…
“This may be shocking to the system and the protocol and the feel and jibe of what has been, I get that, but we are truly in new circumstances, these are unventured territories,” said Rep. Ron Sandack of Downers Grove, Republican co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, the panel that’s responsible for overseeing the minutiae of putting a law in place.
“There is only so much that the administration can control, and the few things they can are really difficult topics, it’s not fun,” he added. […]
“With no budget in place and the majority party refusing to pass a single reform to grow our economy, the state of Illinois is most certainly in a state of fiscal emergency,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “Illinois is facing a $4 billion deficit, and the administration is trying to responsibly manage the state’s finances amid statutorily required payments and various court orders and consent decrees.” […]
“We are on autopilot,” Sandack said. “For those who have made much to do about the rules process, I would ask have they been around for a budget impasse that’s lasted this long? The state has no appropriation authority and the ability to manage what amounts to pennies in the overall budget. If that’s not an emergency, I don’t know what would ever qualify.”
On a purely bean-counting basis, I get what they’re saying. But on a purely bean-counting basis, how do you then justify this?…
Gov. Bruce Rauner has offered packaged food giant ConAgra tax incentives to move its headquarters from Omaha to Chicago, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The revelation comes on the heels of news that ConAgra is negotiating to lease office space large enough to accommodate as many as 1,000 workers at River North’s Merchandise Mart. […]
(A) source familiar with the deal said Rauner met with ConAgra executives earlier this year and offered them Edge tax incentives to move to Illinois.
Though Rauner has since ordered a halt on such incentives until the state’s budget impasse is resolved, the commitment to ConAgra was made before that and will be honored, the source said.
Without businesses and jobs, we don’t bring in tax money. I totally get that. I’m not opposed to this tax incentive.
I’m just saying that when you’re cutting off grandma and grandbaby it might not be such a great time to be handing out bigtime tax breaks to Chef Boyardee.
*** UPDATE *** An interesting press release…
State Representative Grant Wehrli today called on the Rauner administration to work with the Naperville community and the Naperville Development Partnership to replace hundreds of local jobs that will be lost when food giant ConAgra relocates the Naperville jobs to Chicago. Representative Wehrli (R-Naperville) said the Naperville-to-Chicago move is part of a larger agreement that will provide ConAgra EDGE tax incentives for relocating their corporate headquarters to Chicago from Naperville and Omaha, Nebraska.
“These incentives are used to mask the poor business climate in Illinois. Without reforming things like workers compensation and unemployment insurance, we are left in the position of having to buy jobs with these unsustainable incentives,” Rep. Wehrli said.
“We all want to bring new jobs here from other states; but when the deal, brokered with tax incentives, costs an Illinois community 400 jobs, then it’s a hollow victory. Governor Rauner needs to work equally hard to ‘back fill’ those jobs leaving Naperville. The governor’s office cannot just create a hole and walk away,” said Rep. Wehrli.
ConAgra’s Naperville headquarters provides jobs for 400 employees. Its home to many of the company’s largest brands, including Hunts, Chef Boyardee, Peter Pan, and Hebrew National. Corporate leaders announced earlier this week that they are negotiating for office space in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart that will accommodate 700 employees including the relocation of employees from both Naperville and Omaha.
“Shifting hundreds of jobs from one community to another creates winners and losers within our own state. I know the Governor worked hard to bring these jobs to Chicago. Now, he needs to work equally hard to help us bring jobs back to Naperville,” Rep. Wehrli concluded.
The Illinois Supreme Court ordered an appeals panel to look into a candidate’s claim that the incumbent’s $9 million defamation suit was aimed at silencing him during their campaign. […]
Democratic Rep. Scott R. Drury of Highwood filed the suit last year in Cook County Circuit Court, along with a motion for injunctive relief aimed at keeping Mark Neerhof — his Republican opponent for the 58th House District seat on the North Shore — from disseminating any ads “containing false information” about him.
He claimed Neerhof’s campaign and a conservative political action committee, Liberty Principles PAC, placed TV ads and mailers that incorrectly said he supported legislation to change the state’s education-funding formula. The ads also claimed he took that position to appease Democratic leaders.
Neerhof and his campaign filed a Section 2-619 motion to dismiss, arguing Drury’s claims should be tossed because of the Citizen Participation Act, which aims to protect citizens from so-called SLAPPs, or, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
He also submitted an affidavit saying neither he, nor his campaign, had anything to do with the advertisements.
In my non-lawyer opinion, this looks like a prime candidate for SLAPP designation. Go read the rest for more background and info.
Today marks the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. All across the country, advocacy groups, survivors and allies will be joining together to remember those who have lost their lives as well as those who managed to survive and to teach others the importance of creating a culture free from fear of abuse.
But this year, by failing to pass a fully funded year-long budget, the governor and Illinois lawmakers have eliminated state investments in services to empower and protect survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. This failure has put the lives of tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, at risk.
Instead of receiving the help they need to heal, physically and emotionally, survivors in Illinois now face the reality that our elected leaders simply do not care enough to protect them.
The consequences of the budget impasse are real, not exaggerated. They include:
* Ending state funding for services that help 75,000 survivors of domestic violence across the state of Illinois—20,000 women and children in Cook County alone. This includes medical, psychological and legal services as well as emergency shelter and other protections.
* Some rape crisis centers are facing closure and others will be forced to lay off 30-40 percent of their staffs in the coming months, which would result in turning away 3,400 victims of sexual violence who need advocacy and counseling;
* Eliminating state funding for services that provide immediate crisis intervention for at least 3,700 survivors of sexual assault;
* Eliminating state funding of civil legal aid, compromising access to the civil justice system for 17,500 vulnerable Illinoisans impacted by domestic violence, eviction, and financial exploitation.
