* I should’ve started this earlier. Better late than never, I suppose…
*** UPDATE 1 *** Pension reform is being delayed until the fall veto session at the earliest. From a press release…
May 30, 2011
STATEMENT REGARDING PENSION REFORM
We are absolutely committed to reforming Illinois’ public pension system for current employees. It must be done to stabilize our systems and address long term financial issues for both the public employee pension systems and state government.
We believe passage of legislation addressing this issue is essential to the state’s well being.
It was made very clear during the May 26th hearing in the Personnel and Pensions Committee that both those who support pension reform and those who are opposed to Senate Bill 512 acknowledge we have a problem and something must be done.
Our goal is to enact reforms to our pension systems that provide a long term solution for both those who are members of the pension systems and those who fund them.
We will convene meetings over the summer to address the issues and concerns that have been raised and work toward a solution in this year’s Fall Veto Session. [Emphasis added]
-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan
-Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross
-Tyrone Fahner, President, Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago
*** UPDATE 2 *** As mentioned in the live-blog above, the Senate Democrats passed an amendment through committee today that contains over $400 million in extra funding for state budgets. They attached the extra funding to a capital projects bill, so if the House doesn’t approve the extra funding the projects are held up. Click here to read their analysis…
Attached is a Senate budget overview associated with HB 2189.
Explanation of columns:
“FY 11” is the current year’s budget.
“FY 12 Intro” is the Governor’s proposed budget.
“FY 12 Senate” is the Senate budget proposal.
“FY 12 House” is the House budget proposal.
“Restorations” are Senate additions to the House budget lines.
The House budget amounts are being used as the base for proposed funding restorations in select categories.
The Senate is proposing restorations totaling $431 million.
* The Tribune has a story today about the big money raised by House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton this month…
All told, more than $600,000 in amounts of $1,000 or more has flowed into political funds controlled by Madigan and Cullerton this month. That campaign cash is changing hands during a month when lawmakers traditionally face the most controversial legislation — an agenda dictated by the two Democratic leaders. […]
“Our only criteria in the Democratic caucus in the House is whether legislation represents a common-sense solution to a problem or making sure a program operates in a common-sense fashion,” [Madigan spokesman Steve Brown] said. He said it is “critical” to raise money “every month of the year” to defend incumbents because of the recent effect of groups that accept unregulated and anonymous sources of money “to put slop on the heads of candidates.”
By contrast, Republicans who have spent the past decade out of power in the House and Senate saw their leadership funds raise only $38,500 in donations of $1,000 or more in May, state records show. […]
“Six hundred thousand dollars at the close of session when all the very controversial legislation is attempting to move forward?” asked Sen. John Millner, R-Carol Stream. “It doesn’t look good and it might create more cynicism on the part of our constituents. I think we really have to seriously re-evaluate how we’re doing business.”
Democratic Sen. Don Harmon of Oak Park, the sponsor of the current campaign finance law, said he’s concerned that Illinois is increasingly seeing “unregulated political interest groups, who don’t disclose where they get their money, launching campaigns to influence public policy.” Harmon, a member of a bipartisan commission looking at the law, said he remains open to suggestions and recommendations.
Fundraising is banned on most session days, however Monday events before session begins on Tuesday is a regular occurrence around these parts.
* The Question: Should all legislative fundraising be banned during session months? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments. Thanks.
* You may have seen this story last week about the Rockford Diocese dropping adoption and foster care services because of the new civil unions law…
The Rockford Diocese announced Thursday that it would end those services rather than be forced to serve same-sex or unmarried opposite-sex couples. The agency served children and families for more than 100 years.
“It’s the moral teaching of our faith that we believe in the natural order of marriage. In order to serve our children best, we believe that they be in that kind of a family,” said Ellen Lynch, general counsel for the diocese. “This is not a judgment on whether or not they are loving or capable. We are strictly following the teachings passed down by our faith.” […]
The agency was forced to opt out of its contract with the state for adoption and foster services because legislators failed to enact an amendment to the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act that would have allowed Catholic Charities to continue its practice to refer unmarried couples, whether same or opposite sex, to other agencies.
“Catholic adoption agencies have no need to stop serving foster and adoption families,” said attorney Peter Breen of Chicago-based Thomas More Society. “In our view, Illinois law does not require sectarian agencies to abide by the same non-discrimination standard as non-sectarian agencies. We’re encouraging Catholic Charities adoption agencies to continue their work just as they have before.” […]
Thomas More Society attorneys argue the Illinois Human Rights Act currently does not force Illinois non-discrimination public accommodation laws on sectarian organizations, only non-sectarian groups. The Illinois Human Rights Act defines specifically where the non-discrimination laws apply, and sectarian adoption agencies are not listed. […]
Because “non-sectarian adoption agencies” are listed and sectarian are not, Breen argues that Catholic Charities may continue to operate without referring for fostering or adoption same sex or opposite sex couples whose partnerships are not considered marriage by the church’s definition.
* Whatever happens, the kids will apparently be cared for…
Transitions like this have happened in the past, and other agencies are expected to step up to support the children and families served by Catholic Charities, officials with Children’s Home + Aid Society and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois said. Each agency serves families that are married or unmarried, including gay and lesbian partners.
“We’re sad to lose the partnership with Catholic Charities in this community,” said Kathy Reese, program director for Children’s Community Services of LSSI. “The foster care community here is very collaborative … if we’re called upon to be of help with this situation, we’ll stand ready to work with Department of Children and Family Services in any way that it’s deemed appropriate.”
Senate Republicans defeated a Democratic bid to borrow nearly $1.5 billion over seven years to pay down part of the state’s crushing backlog of unpaid bills. The measure failed by a 19-23 vote with 36 votes needed for Senate passage.
“It’s always a bad idea to borrow money when you don’t know how to repay it,” said Sen. Dale Righter (R-Charleston), who voted against the measure.
The one-sided loss involving the first piece of a four-bill, $6.1 billion borrowing proposal represented another significant defeat for Quinn: It effectively killed his hopes of righting the state’s bleak budget situation and persuading lawmakers this spring to authorize borrowing to pay unpaid state bills.
In February, the governor called for $8.75 billion in borrowing to deal with unpaid bills but had swung his support to the $6.1 billion borrowing plan pushed by Sen. John Sullivan (D-Rushville).
Stretching out the payment cycle to Medicaid providers into next year will allow Gov. Pat Quinn’s office to “manage” hundreds of millions of dollars, said state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago, adding that the state pays $28 million a day for Medicaid services. […]
An Illinois Senate panel on Sunday approved a measure that would extend the amount of time the state has to pay its bills from three months to six months. That period, know as lapse-period spending, covers bills that arrive in Springfield after the end of the budget year, which ends in June. Illinois traditionally would pay those bills by September, but lawmakers want to give the governor until December to send the checks. […]
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said if lawmakers do not give the governor more time, they have to either give him more money or tell businesses and hospitals to sue the state.
“This is not new spending,” said Cullerton. “This is giving (the governor) more time to pay the bills.”
Quinn’s budget spokeswoman, Kelly Kraft, said the governor would prefer that lawmakers “restructure” the state’s backlog of bills by borrowing $6 billion, but the Quinn administration will take what it can get.
“An extension is something we need to manage the state’s cash flow” said Kraft.
One idea that’s been tossed around is to limit local governments to the same share of revenue that they received this year. That would mean no additional money if the economy rebounds and the state collects more than expected from income and sales taxes.
State government retirees – many of whom don’t pay premiums for health insurance – would have to pick up roughly half the cost under a bill approved by the Senate Executive Committee Sunday.
The prospects for the bill, Senate Bill 175, are uncertain, however. Two senators on the committee said they voted for it only in order to give the full Senate a chance to consider the measure. They did not pledge to vote for it when it is debated by the full chamber.
The bill would affect thousands of retired state employees, most of whom pay no premiums for their state health insurance, according to a consultant hired by the state. Mercer Health and Benefits said that is a rarity both among state governments and large private employers.
Illinois reduces health insurance premiums by 5 percent for each year a retiree worked for the state, so a retiree with 20 years on the job pays nothing in premiums.
* After last night’s House defeat of the workers’ compensation bill, Caterpillar, Inc. sent out this statement…
As previously stated, Caterpillar did not oppose the workers’ compensation bill passed by the Illinois Senate, but the company was concerned that it did not go far enough to position the state to attract additional jobs and investment. While the bill failed in the House, we are hopeful that a compromise can yet be reached, that would provide for meaningful reform. We remain committed toward supporting changes that support our goal of making Illinois one of the best states in the union for attracting investment and jobs.
* Gov. Pat Quinn’s office had a much different take…
“Tonight House Republicans have walked away from a chance to bring meaningful reform to Illinois’ workers’ compensation system—the best opportunity our state has seen in decades. This is a bill that saw bipartisan support in the Senate. This proposal had broad-based support in Illinois’ business community, from large companies including United and American Airlines, Hyatt, Ford Motor Company and Navistar, as well as business advocacy groups including the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Illinois Retail Merchants’ Association and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce - groups that represent thousands of businesses across our state.
“Most importantly, this proposal would have resulted in more than $500 million in savings to Illinois businesses, while still protecting the rights of workers.
“House Republicans had a choice between enacting landmark reforms, or voting to support their own partisan agenda, and maintaining the status quo. Their political decision was made at the expense of workers and business owners in their districts. When they return home, House Republicans will need to explain to their constituents why they chose the interests of their political leadership over significant financial savings for their constituents.”
Notice he didn’t mention any of the Democrats who voted against the bill or cast a “Present” vote.
* Sen. Kwame Raoul, the bill’s Senate sponsor, pointed out the obvious: The House Republicans voted in lockstep to protect their favorite interest group, the Illinois State Medical Society…
“The Republican leader and his caucus are largely financed by the medical society,” Raoul said. “I’m sure that Rep. Bradley could not donate as much to their campaigns as the medical society, so I don’t see them changing their position.”
Freshman Republican Rep. Dwight Kay, who voted present, expressed frustration about the political nature of the vote.
“Today, I found out a lot of things that I really don’t know about politics,” said Kay, of Glen Carbon. “But I have learned a couple things. The first is that there is no such thing as perfection. Well, you learn that in life, but we try to attain it. Then you learn when you get here about politics, and you think you know what that’s about until you get here. And then when you kind of (get) disenchanted with the political part, you say to yourself, ‘What’s possible?’ Well, because we don’t have perfect and because there is an awful lot of politics in Springfield, we aren’t doing what’s possible. And I’m sorry, I can’t apologize for my feelings. Because we need reform.”
“Illinois employers will not get an opportunity to realize $700 million in savings. No bill is perfect in Springfield, but this one was certainly better than the system we live under today.”
“[Opponents say] we’ve never gone far enough, but we’ve never gone anywhere,” said David Vite, president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “Every election, candidates from both parties talk about the jobs climate, talk about helping Illinois business, and when it comes right down to it, they didn’t step up to the plate today.”
* The House has already passed the “nuclear option” bill to eliminate the workers’ comp system altogether. The Senate has advanced the bill to the floor. Will they call it or try to work out an agreement? Unclear at the moment…
State Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, was the Senate sponsor of the failed measure, and said late Sunday that he would be moving Bradley’s “nuclear option” in the Senate as soon as Monday.
“We need some type of workers’ compensation reform, and that may be our only option at this point,” Raoul said.
“For something that produces upwards of 20,000 cases a year or more, how’s the Illinois court system going to handle that?” Baise told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I guess it’s a lawyer’s delight.”
* We’re going to try something new today. I’ve set ScribbleLive to follow a few Statehouse types and I’ll be adding my own updates as well. But I’ve also enabled ScribbleLive’s comment function so that you can also update everybody on the front page. Just click the “Comment Now” button and post your session update.
Please, try to leave opinions out of your ScribbleLive comments. Just post updates and links to news stories you see pop up during the afternoon/evening (add a headline, though, or we won’t be able to figure out what the links mean). You can post your opinions in the blog’s comment section below. Thanks.
…Adding… I just realized that my account automatically moderates all ScribbleLive comments. So, don’t be alarmed if your comment doesn’t immediately appear. I’ll get to it.
A circuit judge in Illinois earns $170,000 — just $7,000 less than Gov. Pat Quinn.
As the Illinois Policy Institute pointed out last year, that’s $39,855 more than a circuit judge in Iowa, $43,908 more than a circuit judge in Indiana and $49,701 more than one in Missouri.
So with judges making so much, why would the sponsors of the bill keep judges out of the mix?
I’m no wizard at math but even I know that a judge who earns $170,000 a year puts a greater strain on the state’s pension system than a teacher making $40,000.
Shouldn’t they at least be paying the same percentage of their paychecks toward retirement?
Illinois judges currently make less than most first year associates at big Chicago law firms. Most surrounding states like Iowa don’t have a wealthy big city like we do.
But that last line, about judges paying the same percentage as teachers, ignores the fact that judges currently pay 11 percent of their salaries toward their pensions, while teachers pay about 9 percent. A floor amendment which would include the judges requires them to pay 34 percent of their salaries to the pension fund, compared to 14 percent for teachers. And many teachers union locals have already negotiated away their currently required 9 percent contribution. The school districts pick up the whole tab.
Then again, I can see the point he makes. Let’s discuss.
* The Question: Should judges be included in the pension reform bill? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks.
* Doug Finke reports on a recent Senate Appropriations Committee hearing which looked at the House’s cuts to the human services budget…
Things like phones and travel also took hits. Cutting those things plays well back home, especially travel. Everyone knows that when you talk about state travel, it means public employees going off on junkets to resort areas, right?
Well, members of the state guardian’s office testified about what those cuts mean to their operations. Cut travel? That means cutting the money for staff to make the home visits required by state law. Cut telecommunications? Most of that money is used for staff to access computer files on clients.
It all falls under the general category of unintended consequences. Expect a whole lot of those stories in the days and weeks after the General Assembly adopts a new state budget that lawmakers from both parties vow will cut state spending.
The latest bill would add conspiracy, “luring,” unauthorized videotaping and other offenses to the range of crimes that can land a person on the registry. It would also expand the minimum time on the list for misdemeanor offenders from 10 to 15 years.
Bills to expand the reach and restrictions of the registry are practically an annual requirement in Illinois for any lawmaker who wants to look tough on crime. “If it was your son or your daughter walking to school, you’d want to know who was trying to lure them,” said Dennis Reboletti, R-Addison, speaking in favor of Saturday’s bill.
“We’re making it impossible for them to live anywhere, we’re making it impossible for them to work anywhere, we’re making it impossible for them to go anywhere,” said Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Des Plaines. “We need to take a step back.”
Nekritz is a liberal Democrat, but concern about this latest expansion wasn’t limited to that wing.
“You’re making this more and more onerous for people to comply” with the registration list, warned Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Sycamore, a conservative stalwart.
Another, Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, R-Park Ridge, acknowledged that “most of us will vote for it because it looks bad if you don’t,” but she expressed concern about the annual proliferation of “layers” of new laws regarding the list.
Pritchard and Mulligan both ended up voting “yes,” and the bill is now on its way back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. It will almost certainly pass, but the issue is clearly becoming less cut-and-dried than it used to be.
Lawmakers take holiday break with big issues left to tackle
They adjourned yesterday afternoon and are back this afternoon. That’s not much of a “holiday break.” Sheesh.
* Related…
* Backseat passengers need to buckle seat belts under bill sent to governor: “In the last year … 38 folks died unfortunately because they weren’t wearing their seat belt,” said Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), the bill’s chief Senate sponsor. “This bill is going to definitely save lives.”
* Catching suburban texting drivers can be difficult
* Parents of disabled children giving up on Illinois - Families move to other states as Illinois’ social service funding shrinks
* Caterpillar was at the heart of a huge controversy earlier this year after its CEO revealed he was being courted to move the company’s headquarters to another state because of Illinois’ business climate. The workers’ comp reform bill was seen by many as a chance to show Cat and other business leaders that the state was getting its act together. But Cat is dissatisfied with the workers’ comp reform plan which overwhelmingly passed the Senate yesterday. From a press release…
“At Caterpillar, our goal has been, and remains to help make Illinois one of the best states in the union for attracting investment and jobs. This legislation is a small step toward lowering the cost of doing business in Illinois. However, we remain concerned it will not put the state in a position to attract additional investments and jobs.”
“We are not opposed to this bill, but even with this change, more work needs to be done, or Illinois will continue to struggle to find companies willing to invest and grow their operations in the state. We will continue to encourage state officials to work toward meaningful reforms that will improve the business climate in Illinois.”
Sen. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, charged the bill would not make Illinois competitive with other states. LaHood ticked off how Caterpillar decided to build an excavator plant in South Carolina and an engine plant in Texas as a “direct result of our workers’ compensation system here in Illinois.”
But Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, shot back with a frank question: “Is this better or worse than what the status quo is? I say it’s better.”
“It’s important that we highlight, not to just the employers in Illinois, but to people who are looking at making investments around this nation that our job is not done here. This may not even be getting to first base,” said state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington. […]
“I would hope that we’re all open to a realistic review. If the costs don’t come down, we need to come back, but of course it needs a little bit of time to work,” state Sen. Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, said on Saturday.
* Sen. Brady also expressed regret at the 30 percent reimbursement rate hit taken by by the medical community. And the Medical Society made this point yesterday about that cut…
Businesses said a 50 percent cut would be best, while medical groups said anything beyond 20 percent would be too painful for doctors and hospitals.
“Yes, Illinois competes for business, but you also compete for physicians,” said James Tierney, lobbyist with Illinois State Medical Society. “Fifty percent leave the state already. This legislation will make a very, very harsh practice environment that much worse.”
With the bill’s fate now in the hands of the House, which reconvenes today, Raoul gave a vigorous response to the lineup of mostly Republican critics who said the legislation didn’t go far enough.
“This is major reform, and you all cannot deny it. I refuse . . . to accept the characterization that this is just a step in the right direction. That’s political speak,” Raoul said. “This is major reform.”
* I’ve been told by a very top source that Kinzinger will run in the 16th. This report is from Kurt Erickson at Lee Newspapers…
Mapped out of his home territory by a new Democratic map, Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger could be gearing up to run in a district stretching from Livingston County to Rockford.
In a note distributed Saturday, Livingston County Republican Party Chairman John McGlasson said Kinzinger may be planning to run in the newly drawn 16th Congressional District in the 2012 election.
That would set up a potential face-off against fellow GOP colleague Don Manzullo. Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh of McHenry also may be angling for a shot in the 16th after Democrats drew him into a district with Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren of Winfield.
The confusing jockeying by Republicans is exactly what Democrats had hoped would happen as they released a proposed new set of boundaries for Illinois congressional districts Friday. The map is drawn to favor Democrats and puts Kinzinger, a former member of the McLean County Board, into a tough-to-win district with Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. […]
In his note, McGlasson said Kinzinger “has called to say he intends to run for election in our new district.”
Former U.S. Rep. Bill Foster has plans to make another run at Congress. The Foster campaign on Saturday confirmed that Foster on Tuesday is expected to announce that he will be running in the Congressional district containing Aurora.
A filing with the Federal Election Commission shows that Foster, of Batavia, filed to run as a Democrat in the proposed 11th District, which would cover Naperville and Joliet in addition to Aurora. He would run in the 2012 election.
Foster, a Democrat, represented the 14th District for more than two years before losing the seat to Randy Hultgren in November.
But state legislative leaders want Foster, a physicist and businessman, to run in an expansive new 14th district that includes his home in Batavia and runs from far north suburban Antioch and Harvard to southwest suburban Minooka.
Democrats, who control both houses of the state Legislature, could approve the new congressional map Sunday.
The new map of the 11th district includes Burr Ridge, where insurance broker John Atkinson lives. Atkinson, though, has already raised $500,000 to launch a primary challenge in the 3rd district against Rep. Dan Lipinski, a conservative Democrat from the Southwest Side.
“I have serious policy differences with Dan Lipinski — I would prefer someone in that seat who wanted to work with the president,” Atkinson said Saturday.
But state Democratic leaders want Atkinson to win a new seat for Democrats in the 11th rather than challenge Lipinski, an ally of powerful state House Speaker Michael Madigan, who lives in the 3rd district.
Atkinson said Saturday he was still evaluating what to do.
“I’m not going to be rushed — this is not about who plants a flag first. This is about who puts together a campaign to be able to win,” he said.
The new 13th District includes the home of U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, but it is a virtually new district for him, including not only most of Champaign-Urbana, but also most of Bloomington-Normal, and Springfield, Decatur and some parts of Democratic Madison County.
It would be a politically competitive district, said Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Champaign.
Frerichs was coy when asked if he would be interested in running in the district, which has a heavy tilt toward higher education and student voters. It has four public universities — the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Illinois-Springfield, Illinois State University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville — plus a number of private schools, including Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington and Millikin University in Decatur.
“I’ve told people I’m interested in serving the people of East Central Illinois,” he said. “I think I am happy where I am today.”
One feature of the new map is a district connecting Decatur with the east side of Springfield. It appears designed to oust freshman Republican state Rep. Adam Brown of Decatur and replace him with a Democrat.
Which got us to thinking: Is there a Democrat who lives in Decatur but works in Springfield and has extensive knowledge of both state government and Decatur city government?
Indeed, there is. His name is Michael Carrigan, a former member of the Decatur City Council who serves as president of the Illinois AFL-CIO.
We ran the scenario past him during a break in the action of the General Assembly last week. He laughed and said he was a bit too busy to contemplate the idea of running for the seat because of the crush of legislative business under way in the Capitol.
* And Democrats Ilya Sheyman of Waukegan and Brad Schneider of Deerfield have already opened campaign offices in the new 10th District…
Sheyman, who was endorsed by former presidential candidate and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean this week, likes the look as well. He has lived and worked in the areas as a community organizer. He feels he knows the people and their needs.
“I’m extremely pleased Buffalo Grove where I grew up and Waukegan where I live are in the district,” Sheyman said. “These are communities I have organized for years.”
Though the campaign is young, charges have already been made Schneider has voted in Republican primary elections and donated $3,300 to Kirk. He explained he voted in the 2000 Republican primary to support close friend Andy Hochberg.
Local Democrats are looking elsewhere, however.
* In other news, Chinese-American groups are upset at the new congressional map. From a press release…
The Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC) is deeply disappointed with the Illinois Congressional map proposal, issued yesterday, which continues to divide the Greater Chinatown community area into three districts at the Congressional level. After a great deal of hard work to keep the community intact at all levels in the redistricting process, CBCAC considers this new development to be a setback in its effort to gain fair voting rights for the Chicago Chinatown community. Despite the community’s success with the state house and senate maps, which keep Chinatown intact, the result of Congressional redistricting indicates a lack of regard for the community that is unacceptable.
CBCAC is disappointed in the process that did not provide opportunity for input in the drawing of Congressional boundaries and asks that adjustments be made in the remaining time before the map is passed by the state legislature. For the past ten years, the Chinatown community has suffered from neglect and poor representation as a result of the way it was fractured at all levels during the 2001 redistricting process. According to the 2010 census, the Asian population in Illinois grew by 38.6 percent, the fastest rate among minority groups in the state. The area that is currently and continues to be divided between Danny Davis’s 7th District, Daniel Lipinski’s 3rd District, and Luis Gutierrez’s 4th District, includes about 30,000 Asian Americans, an increase of more than 50 percent since the 2000 census. The people in this community deserve better. We call on the Illinois Senate and House Redistricting Committees to address our community’s concerns so that we may be fairly represented all levels of government.
* Related…
* Editorial: Guv has every excuse to veto this map, too
* Map proposal for congressional districts unifies Macon County with Shimkus as incumbent
