The governor said he’s not opposed to the idea of overhauling the antiquated electric grid, but maintained the legislation up for debate in Springfield doesn’t go far enough. Quinn said he wants more investment in alternative energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power, and suggested ComEd needs to pick up more of the cost instead of passing it along to consumers. […]
Quinn said his office is willing to negotiate with ComEd to pass a new version of the bill before lawmakers are scheduled to go home at the end of May. He said there are a number of legislative proposals that could easily be incorporated that would help win his support.
* Meanwhile, Sears’ state incentives are expiring next year and it’s shopping around…
Twenty-two years ago, Sears Roebuck and Co. leveraged an impending move from Sears Tower and fears it would move out of state into a sweet deal valued at $240 million and a sprawling new headquarters in Hoffman Estates.
Now, with the last of those state and local incentives set to expire in 2012, Sears again has been quietly evaluating where it wants to call home.
Sears Holdings Corp., the beleaguered parent to Sears Domestic, Sears Canada and Kmart, reportedly has been talking with officials in North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and New Jersey. […]
As part of that process, the company commissioned an economic impact study that concluded the company’s departure could send shock waves through the suburbs with the potential loss of about 6,000 Sears employees and another 9,000 ancillary jobs with nearby businesses, vendors and contractors.
House Bill 3435, which amends the Economic Development Area Tax Increment Allocation Act, was introduced in February. It would allow Hoffman Estates to extend the current deal that lured Sears to Hoffman Estates by 15 years beyond the current 23-year limit.
Sears would continue to get the lion’s share of property tax dollars collected from the development area in return for keeping at least 4,000 jobs at its headquarters.
The measure hasn’t really moved since it was introduced.
“Sears has been an Illinois company for decades,” Quinn said at a news conference today.
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Quinn said he has met with Sears officials in recent months. […]
“I know how to work with the big businesses,” Quinn said, referring to news last week that Motorola Mobility would stay in Libertyville with the help of $100 million in credits from the state. The company also was reportedly investigating sites elsewhere.
Quinn sought to sound a confident tone in Chicago, saying he’d work with Sears officials to try to strike a deal that would work well for both taxpayers and the company.
The sixth biennial “Capitol Capers” promises to once again show us unknown talents that lurk, often undetected, under the Statehouse dome.
The show is a fundraiser for the Conference of Women Legislators.
State Rep. KAREN MAY, D-Highland Park, co-producer with Rep. SARA FEIGENHOLTZ, D-Chicago, has hinted at what’s to be seen. Written once again by Chicago scribes RHONA and JULIAN FRAZIN, the theme is based on “The Wizard of Oz,” with a legislative freshman lifted by a Midwestern tornado into Emerald City, also known as Springfield. […]
COWL provides 10 to 12 $2,500 scholarships annually to women of all ages
The show starts this Wednesday at 6:30. Cocktails begin at 5:30. I’ll have a bit more for subscribers tomorrow.
* The Question: Which Illinois politicians or political players would you cast as the wizard, tin-man, lion, scarecrow, the Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the Good Witch, Dorothy and Toto? Any others?
And take it easy, people. Let’s not go overboard here. It’s supposed to be fun. Also, killjoys should find someplace else to comment.
Rahm Emanuel will be sworn in as Chicago’s new mayor on May 16, just 15 days before the end of the state legislative session.
So, while Emanuel has more than enough on his plate dealing with the first Chicago mayoral transition in 22 years, he and his team appear well aware that they will have precious few days to get what they want out of the Statehouse after he’s inaugurated.
Emanuel’s transition team hired a Statehouse emissary several weeks ago. They’re not calling him a “lobbyist,” however. He’s more of an “observer,” they say.
And they decided not to call attention to themselves by choosing any of the well-known, Chicago-connected contract lobbyists in town. Instead, they hired Mike Ruemmler, who ran Emanuel’s campaign advance team. Born and raised in southern Illinois’ Mount Vernon, Ruemmler is not your typical city lobbyist. He ran a campaign for state Sen. Michael Frerichs, so he has some Statehouse connections.
Emanuel has tried hard not to step on Mayor Daley’s toes, using the “one mayor at a time” phrase over and over. While that philosophy has extended to Springfield, it doesn’t mean Emanuel is completely uninvolved.
He sat down with House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and Sen. Kimberly Lightford before the final school reform deal was made. His staff also worked on behalf of Lightford’s bill, and Emanuel since has pledged to make sure the House passes the reform bill.
As anyone who has tried it most surely knows, working with Madigan is not the easiest thing in the world. Madigan has not yet committed to approving the Senate’s school reforms as-is. Indeed, some of his people have all but declared that the bill will have to be changed.
Too many anti-union tweaks could endanger the bill’s viability in the Senate, however, where the majority Democrats always are resistant to being pushed around by the House.
Making sure the bill survives the usual House vs. Senate back and forth will be a significant test of Emanuel’s abilities.
A source with close ties to Emanuel predicted last week that the mayor-elect and the speaker should be able to work together. Emanuel served time as a leader in Congress, so he understands how to deal with needy, demanding legislators.
More important, Emanuel, like Madigan, absolutely hates being lied to. Nothing upsets him more than someone who makes a commitment and then doesn’t follow through.
Madigan, of course, always has reserved his most intense payback for those he believes haven’t told him the truth.
But Madigan is a one-of-a-kind character in politics. He won’t ever lie to you, but he also won’t come right out and say what he intends to do until he’s ready to do it.
“He’ll say, ‘You’re going to be fine,’ when you ask him if your bill’s gonna pass,” marveled one longtime Statehouse denizen.
“You never know what that means. Am I going to be fine personally even if my bill dies? Is my bill going to pass? You just don’t know.”
Madigan gave Daley a huge welcome wagon present after Daley was first elected in 1989 by jamming through a tax hike solely for schools and local government.
But Madigan’s latest tax hike gives not a penny more to schools and local governments. In fact, cuts to both are likely.
Madigan often has tried to test new leaders to see what they are made of. But he hasn’t yet clearly shown his hand one way or another when it comes to Emanuel.
As mayor, Daley was reluctant to lobby legislators one on one, even when invited to by Madigan. That refusal to get down into the trenches often meant his bills died, which frustrated his allies to no end.
Emanuel broke with that tradition even before he was elected, lobbying individual members on behalf of the civil unions bill late last year. And then there is his ongoing involvement with the school reform bill, which neatly dovetailed with his campaign promises to rein in the teachers’ union.
He reportedly intends to use the same personal touch on major legislation important to his agenda, personally or municipally. But he will try not to overdo it, I’m told. Instead, he’ll keep that weapon “in reserve” and use it only when he has to.
I’ve covered state politics for 21 years, yet this is the first Chicago mayoral transition I’ve ever seen up close. It should be fascinating.
* Daley honored by military, marches in final parade
* Mayor Daley’s name turns up in FBI files on embezzler John F. Duff Jr.: There’s nothing in the 600-plus pages — which include intelligence reports from informants, newspaper stories, subpoenas and agents’ notes, some of it with names and details redacted — to suggest that the mayor did anything illegal. In all, there are about 20 references regarding Daley and the elder Duff.
It would take a no-growth spending plan over the next three years to put the budget into the black, according to a new report from the bipartisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Keeping a balanced budget when the tax hike expires will be a struggle, especially because Illinois continues to lug billions of dollars in overdue bills.
And, as I told you before, the Democratic leaders and the House GOP Leader are not proposing enough cuts to ensure that the tax hike goes away…
Allied with Democrat Madigan is Rep. Tom Cross, the House Republican leader. The Madigan-Cross spending plan is $33.2 billion out of the state’s main checking account. That’s about $1 billion less than what the Cullerton-led Senate Democrats want to spend and about $2.2 billion less than Quinn’s version.
At this point, the House plan would come closest to the first-year level the state’s budget forecasting commission says is needed to right the financial ship and eventually allow some of the tax hike to go away.
But Cross says there are no worries…
Cross is more confident. “There’s a path there to not continue the tax increase,” he said. “We feel pretty good about that.”
There are worries. Plenty of them. For instance, the Civic Federation’s new report…
Quinn’s budget overestimates revenues by $976 million because it doesn’t set aside enough money for income tax refunds, Msall said. That makes the total budget shortfall $2.4 billion — far more than the $1.45 billion caused by the governor’s added spending alone.
So, the House’s cuts may not be quite enough to even balance next fiscal year’s budget.
About $2.5 billion in outlays aren’t part of the budgets that are being considered by the various General Assembly appropriations committees. The biggest part of that is money the state sends to local governments to prop up their finances.
Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed suspending that revenue-sharing unless lawmakers approve a borrowing plan to pay off old bills. Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, a Senate budget expert, said the idea of cutting revenue-sharing would be on the negotiating table regardless of the borrowing plan.
“We could take it all, take a percentage, suspend it for a year,” Trotter said of the options open to lawmakers.
Feigenholtz’s measure, an amendment to House Bill 2934, would authorize short-term borrowing $900 million from existing state funds for the purpose of paying down Medicaid health care bills in order to snag extra federal money.
The House voted, 118-0, to approve the bill and send it the Senate for consideration.
Currently, the federal match for Medicaid is 57%. After June 30, the match will drop to 50%. By paying Medicaid bills early, Feigenholtz estimates that the state could save $90 million.
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services alone will have $1.3 billion in Medicaid bills on hand at the end of the state’s fiscal year on June 30, 2011. Currently, there is insufficient money to pay the bills. By utilizing $400,000,000 from the Water Revolving Fund and $500,000,000 from the General Obligation Bond Retirement and Interest Fund or other state funds from June 25 to July 30,the state could reduce its Medicaid bill by $90 million.
The state funds would be repaid by August 31, 2011.
Last week, state Sen. William Delgado complained that his colleagues on the Democratic side of the aisle in the Senate were trying to sneak through a series of budget cuts to a variety of social service programs.
“I thought this would be a more open process,” he griped. “I wasn’t part of this.”
Turns out, the Senate Democrats did outline the proposed cuts during two meetings — one in a closed-door session in Springfield and the other via a conference call. […]
Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, had hoped to get the budget ball rolling in his chamber last Tuesday with an eye on finishing things up for the spring by the end of the month.
By the end of last week, however, the ball was no longer moving and lawmakers began to murmur about blowing their targeted May 31 adjournment date, forcing them to spend the summer in Springfield.
“This is what the rank and file asked for,” Trotter said of budgets being drafted by committees rather than a handful of lawmakers. “They asked to come into the kitchen. They’re finding out it’s hot in the kitchen.”
Gov. Pat Quinn notched a rare legislative victory last week, when his last-minute veto threat apparently played a role in the defeat of a proposal to allow people to carry concealed handguns in Illinois. Otherwise, however, observers say Quinn hasn’t been closely involved with General Assembly deliberations this spring – even on proposals Quinn himself initiated.
When Quinn gave his budget address in February, he called for saving money by reducing the number of school districts from 868 to 500, eliminating regional school superintendents, getting rid of legislative scholarships and borrowing billions of dollars to refinance the debt the state owes to local governments, schools and vendors.
As the General Assembly enters the final three weeks of its regular session, none of those ideas have gained much traction. Meanwhile, both legislative chambers seem intent on slashing Quinn’s budget proposal by $1 billion or more.
“I don’t think there has even been any request for bills,” said Steve Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, about Quinn’s proposals to consolidate schools and eliminate the state’s regional school superintendents. When he made the budget speech, Quinn estimated school consolidation would save $100 million, while axing the regional superintendents would save $13 million.
On that score, while we cheered Senate Republicans a month ago for coming up with a series of proposed cuts, it is fair to note that they have yet to introduce any of them as bills. Over on the House side, the GOP is actually working with Democrats to craft a budget. If their Senate colleagues aren’t up to doing the latter, could they at least try the former to get more deeply involved in the process?
The bottom line is that everybody in Springfield must get serious about passing a responsible budget that might hurt more than Illinoisans would like, but is vital to setting the state on a course toward solvency. Anything short of that means a future meltdown for everybody. Lawmakers who can’t accept that and who aren’t willing to say no when necessary ought to rethink why they’re in the Legislature.
“[Gov. Quinn] should be looking to try to shape the product as it’s being formed in the legislature so we don’t have an issue of him getting a budget that passed the General Assembly that he’s decided to veto,” [Senate Republican Matt Murphy] said.
* The hidden (federal) costs of Illinois budget cuts: Here’s how it works. Illinois receives over $35 million in ongoing annual federal funding for rental subsidies and other operating costs, and about $7 million in Medicaid reimbursements through supportive housing programs. Those funds come on the condition that Illinois matches 25% (ie, for every dollar Illinois puts in, the Federal Government puts in four). That means any dollar cut at the state level actually costs supportive housing five dollars in the end. This problem hits Continuum of Care and Neighborhood Stabilization Programs especially hard, threatening their ability to provide homeless services and neighborhood development efforts in every county in the state.
* An obviously understated problem explained by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability in its latest revenue and economic forecasting report…
Perhaps a concern to the economy of Illinois and its financial recovery is the weekly earnings of the subsector of jobs seeing improvement. The “Education and Health Services” and the “Leisure and Hospitality” subsectors have seen the largest improvement in the number of jobs over the last decade but are two of the lowest subsectors in terms of weekly earnings. Equally troublesome is that those subsectors with the highest weekly earnings were the subsectors that have lost the most jobs.
For example, the subsector with the highest weekly earnings in CY 2010 was the construction subsector, paying, on average, $1,237 per week. However, construction jobs are down 26.5% since CY 2000. The second highest paying subsector is the “Information” subsector ($1,039 per week), but employment in this category is down 31.1% over the last 10 years. These statistics would suggest that although employment levels are improving in Illinois, the jobs being added appear to be lower paying jobs.
One of every five patronage workers on a secret clout list filed at least one worker’s compensation claim against the city, a Sun-Times analysis found. That incredibly high injury rate would make patronage work one of the most dangerous jobs in America.
* There are some things missing from this AP story…
Gov. Pat Quinn says the state of Illinois will provide $100 million in tax credits to Motorola Mobility as part of a deal with the company to keep its headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville.
Under the deal announced Friday, the Motorola spinoff will keep a workforce of about 3,000 at the facility. Motorola Mobility designs mobile phones and other related products.
* That $100 million number is pretty astounding until you realize that it will be doled out over 10 years and requires a significant commitment from Motorola…
Motorola Mobility is committing to spend more than $500 million in research and development related to these jobs over the next three years.
* The cash is a tax credit applied to the company’s annual withholding tax liability or its annual corporate income tax liability. However, Gov. Quinn did not announce a corresponding budget cut to make up for the revenue loss. Then again, the revenue loss to the state would’ve been quite big if the company had left - not to mention the hit to the state’s reputation. And Motorola Mobility had been looking elsewhere…
The cell phone maker had been considering moving its head office to more high-profile tech centers, such as Silicon Valley, San Diego or Austin, Texas, since it was spun off from Motorola Inc. earlier this year.
Morningstar analyst Joseph Beaulieu said, “Given that CEO Sanjay Jha has a second home in Southern California and given that the San Francisco area is home to some of the top technology companies in the United States, this is a big win for Illinois.”
Ed Longanecker, executive director of Naperville-based tech trade association TechAmerica, said Illinois’ efforts to keep Motorola Mobility and to create an Illinois Innovation Council are welcome efforts to accelerate technology and economic growth.
* Back-seat passengers under the age of 19 are already required to wear seat belts in Illinois. The House voted yesterday to expand that to everyone…
Back-seat passengers who now can decide whether to buckle up would have to start wearing seat belts under legislation that narrowly passed the House Thursday.
The bill, which squeaked through 61-55 and now heads to the Senate, would add Illinois to the list of 11 other states that require backseat seat-belt usage for all passengers.
“We’ve had people in our area killed and maimed who hadn’t had a seat belt on in the backseat,” said Rep. Mark Beaubien (R-Barrington Hills), the bill’s chief House sponsor. “Totally unnecessary.”
State data was not immediately available after Thursday’s vote. But nationwide, 1,095 back-seat passengers not wearing seat belts died in 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
* The Question: Do you support mandatory back-seat seat belt usage? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Education Association have just issued a joint statement. Essentiall, this means that the teachers unions support the Chicago Teachers Union desired changes in the education reform bill, but without the CTU’s way over top rhetoric…
“After months of historic collaboration and bargaining in good faith, the Illinois House can, by making necessary adjustments, ensure that Illinois gets education reform legislation that reflects what was intended and agreed upon in the negotiations.
We are on the precipice of passing some the most serious reforms to education that Illinois has seen in decades, and drafting such legislation is a deliberate process. The coalition that came together remains united in our ultimate objective: to pass reforms that protect the voice of the teacher in the classroom while making our schools better for our kids.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** “Joint statement of Robin Steans, Executive Director of Advance Illinois, Jessica Handy, Policy Director of Stand for Children – Illinois and Jeff Mays, President, Illinois Business Roundtable in response to the Chicago Teachers Union’s removal of support from Illinois Senate Bill 7″…
SB 7 is the same legislation that the Chicago Teachers Union assisted in crafting and openly supported in the Illinois Senate. For more than three months, state senators, school management groups, the State Board of Education, education reform organizations and teachers’ unions- including the Chicago Teachers Union- sat at the same negotiating table and hammered out the specifics of SB 7.
This process was extraordinary for its inclusive and collaborative nature and something which proudly sets Illinois apart from other states.
The proposed language of the bill has been available and under discussion for months. All parties were given the chance to review the final language of SB 7 and, indeed, the Chicago Teachers Union did propose last minute changes, which were incorporated before it was passed unanimously by the Illinois Senate on April 14th.
The Chicago Teachers Union has now removed its support from SB 7 and in doing so, has undermined the good faith in which it was negotiated.
Since passage in the Senate, we have worked with the Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Federation of Teachers, school management groups, and legislators on clean-up language in several areas. We remain committed to continuing to work collaboratively with legislators and stakeholders on this landmark legislation.
In another possible blow to the legislation, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) is considering an amendment that would shift the cost of teacher pensions, a move that could torpedo the bill’s chances, according to two sources familiar with the confidential talks. The sources requested anonymity because they remain involved in the negotiations.
The amendment would require school districts to levy a separate property tax for teacher pensions, the sources said. The move would shift the burden from the state to local taxpayers. Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) introduced the concept in February.
There are actually two education reform bills (another, cleanup version was passed the day after the first one passed). I think only one of those two will be amended with Madigan’s pension changes. We’ll see.
It would require that a public body – at both the state and local level –muster a three-fifths supermajority vote before pensions for its employees can be enhanced.
“It’s very easy to vote for a bill that increases a pension benefit,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, the amendment’s sponsor. “Everyone would be better served if there were a higher bar regarding pension bills.”
Organizations representing local governments – such as the Illinois Municipal League – signed up in favor of the amendment.
Unions representing public employees lined up in opposition. Steve Preckwinkle of the Illinois Federation of Teachers said the amendment could hamstring pension changes needed to clear up problems instead of enhancing benefits.
* Illinois Democrats Enrage Public-Worker Unions With Drive to Tame Pensions
* Michael Carrigan: Illinois should honor current pensions - Cutting the retirement benefits earned by state workers is unconstitutional and fundamentally unfair.
* Sean Smoot: Society’s promise to public safety workers goes beyond memorials
* Illinois labor launches campaign to protect pensions
* Rep. Lou Lang said yesterday that he thought he had 58 votes going into the debate on his medical marijuana bill. That’s still two votes shy of the 60 required, but Lang thought he might pick up a couple of extra votes during the debate. He was wrong. When all was said and done, he ended up with just 53 votes. However, four members, all Democrats, switched from Yes to No before the roll call was closed. Watch…
Democratic Reps. Acevedo, Reitz, Thapedi and Verschoore all flipped to No at the end when they saw the bill was going down. Thapedi switched back and forth a couple of times.
[Sigh.]
* That vote was seriously disheartening for those of us who believe we need some sane drug laws in this country. The bill established a three-year pilot project. No growing by patients would be allowed. The amount of pot that people could have was reduced to two and a half ounces. A specific list of maladies that could be treated with medical marijuana was in the bill, as well as a limit on the number of dispensaries and who could operate them. You can’t get much tighter than that, although they could lower the amount of pot that patients could purchase and it wouldn’t bother me much. Even some opponents agreed with that. But the rhetoric by some opponents was just ridiculous. “A flawed piece of West Coast marijuana legislation,” said Rep. Rich Morthland. Watch…
You’d think by listening to some of these people that marijuana is some outrageously dangerous drug. When you talk to legislators, quite a few privately admit that they tried weed in college or even high school, or even since then. Yet, they seem fine now. The simple fact is that pot itself doesn’t damage nearly as many lives as being arrested for smoking it. Our last three presidents all admitted to smoking it. The republic has somehow managed to survive. Yet, it’s highly doubtful that any of them would’ve been elected if they had been busted by the cops for giving it a try. What rank hypocrisy this is.
As the bill failed, Jim Champion of Somonauk watched from his wheelchair in the House gallery. He said he was “deflated” by the vote because he has suffered from multiple sclerosis for 23 years and marijuana is the only thing he has used to control his symptoms without horrible side effects.
But because marijuana is illegal, Champion currently is on methadone, the latest in a long list of legal prescriptions. He said he could move to a state like Michigan or California, where medical marijuana is legal, but Illinois is his home and he wants to stay.
During debate, Lang pointed to Champion, a U.S. Army veteran who said he worked with Lang to craft a bill that would pass.
Champion said he often has people come up and thank him for his service, but he feels the thanks aren’t warranted because he has to break the law to use marijuana.
“I feel like a criminal. I don’t feel like an honored veteran,” Champion said. “I don’t, and my state’s doing it to me.”
“At night when I sleep, my knees grind together, and I almost end up turning into a ball. I wake up in the morning and take my pills, and they do nothing,” Champion said. “I take three puffs off a cannabis cigarette, and I am able to separate my legs. I am able to basically get ready in the morning.”
We don’t wish the pain and suffering of AIDS or cancer or multiple sclerosis on any human being.
But we wouldn’t mind one sleepless night of it for the legislators who voted “no” to legalizing medical marijuana in Illinois.
That tally came to 61 on Thursday. That’s how many members of the Illinois House of Representatives are willing to let others suffer needlessly so they can pose and posture that they’re tough on crime. […]
This is a simple matter. They are choosing to put politics above real people who need real help. […]
*** UPDATE 1 *** The House just passed a bill with 66 votes that allows counties to opt out of the ICE program. Rep. Randy Ramey, Jr., who has been a major backer of proposals to get tough on illegal immigration, is, surprisingly enough, a co-sponsor of the bill and spoke in favor of it during debate. Two counties want to opt out after having opted in, and one of those is in his district. The bill also does this…
…provides that as a condition for its continued participation in the “Secure Communities” program, the State of Illinois shall modify its Memorandum of Agreement with ICE to provide that, in line with ICE’s Congressional authorization of identifying “aliens convicted of a crime, sentenced to imprisonment, and who may be deportable,” Public Law 110-161, 121 Stat. 1844, 2365 (2007), no Illinois arrest record information regarding any individual may be analyzed by ICE through the “Secure Communities” program unless such individual has been convicted of a criminal offense.
DHS officials confirmed to The Huffington Post that they will still require the state to share fingerprints with immigration enforcement — even though Quinn said he wants to terminate a memorandum of understanding with the agency to share the data.
In making this decision, DHS is flouting the state’s decision to withdraw from the program in favor of more universal immigration enforcement and likely setting the stage for a lawsuit.
Recently, the Illinois Senate approved legislation (Senate Bill 2185) aimed at allowing student immigrants who have a valid taxpayer ID to invest in their college education – this legislation has been the subject of much misinformation on the Internet and in the media.
The bill requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to create an Illinois DREAM Fund that will provide scholarships funded entirely from private contributions – no Illinois tax dollars will be directed toward these scholarships. In addition, to be eligible for the program, a student must be a resident of the State of Illinois.
Contrary to some of the misinformation being spread by opponents of the measure, it is not an immigration bill – in no way, shape or form does it grant undocumented immigrants citizenship. Also, contrary to what’s been previously reported, the legislation does not permit driving certificates for undocumented immigrants.
*** UPDATE 4 *** This is what you call doubling down. From the Palatine Tea Party…
Shameful Illinois Republican State Senators
(Palatine, Illinois) - It is a sad day in Illinois when 11 Senate Republicans seek the cover of the leftist media over their ill-advised vote. The Illinois Tea Party outrage at the passage of the Illinois Dream Act through the Illinois Senate has now made the Huffington Post.
These 11 Senators spend tax dollars like drunken sailors on shore leave, and once caught try to spin their way out of a problem they created. The Tea Party and its allies in the Illinois know that Illinois is in a financial crisis of epic proportion.
Once again the Illinois dream act is another spending bill that could adversely affect Illinois citizens. It has and will be the job of Tea Parties throughout the state to hold our elected officials accountable. The actions of these 11 Senators will not soon be forgotten. Many of these 11 call themselves conservatives, yet there is nothing conservative about the Illinois Dream Act.
This is a failure to the citizens of Illinois and these shameful Senators need to be held accountable for their actions. Please keep calling these numbers and keep expressing your contempt at this ill-advised vote.
Republicans that voted YES are: Althoff, Bomke, Brady, Dillard, Duffy, Tom Johnson, Murphy, Radogno, Sandack, Schmidt, Syverson.
Notice how they don’t explain how and why this is allegedly “another spending bill that could adversely affect Illinois citizens.”
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* The Palatine Tea Party issued an outraged press release yesterday blasting the Senate Republicans who voted for the Illinois DREAM Act…
An Open Letter to Illinois Republican Senators
The Illinois Republican Senators who voted ‘YES’ to Dream Act SB 2185 are part of the problem in Illinois. Instead of focusing on issues like jobs, taxes and our economy they are more interested in getting votes. It is clear our current elected officials are much more concerned with their reelection than what matters for the citizens of Illinois.
We will Never forget your VOTE!
Republicans that voted YES are: Althoff, Bomke, Brady, Dillard, Duffy, Tom Johnson, Murphy, Radogno, Sandack, Schmidt, Syverson. If you are outraged with their votes, contact them directly
Note, there is a difference between the state version of the DREAM Act and the federal version, which failed during Congress’ lame-duck session late last fall. The state version, unlike the federal version, does not provide a direct path to citizenship. And some of the Republicans state Senators who voted for it feel like they’re being unnecessarily hammered at.
* There are other differences as well. And Sen. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) is one of those who feel like they’re being whacked for no good reason. From a press release…
“It is important to clarify that this bill is not an immigration bill. It does not grant any sort of legal citizenship status,” Sandack clarified.
Senate Bill 2185 requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to create an Illinois DREAM Fund that will provide scholarships funded entirely from private contributions. A potential recipient must meet residency and educational requirements in order to receive the assistance.
“This legislation specifies that the recipient of educational assistance through the Illinois DREAM Fund have at least one parent who immigrated to the country. This bill is in no way affiliated with the Federal DREAM Act.”
The legislation also provides for educational training for school counselors regarding higher education opportunities for undocumented immigrants, as well as specifying that college savings programs must be made available to those with a valid social security number or taxpayer identification number.
It really isn’t a gigantic bill. That was a huge overreaction by that tea party. The bill is here. It passed the Senate 45-11.
* Meanwhile, you’ve probably already read about this already. I didn’t put it on the blog yesterday because I got busy with other stuff…
Illinois this week became the first state in the country to officially pull out of a program known as Secure Communities, saying it will no longer provide information the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency about illegal immigrants who’ve been arrested.
Governor Pat Quinn’s office cited the deportation of illegal immigrants who were charged with only minor crimes or no crimes at all as a top concern. Quinn spokesperson Brie Callahan says ICE did not follow protocol in the deportations, often removing people from the U.S. before they’d been convicted of any crime.
Yesterday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement notifying the agency that because of its indiscriminate use of the “Secure Communities” deportation program, the State is ending its participation in the program. The letter states “that the implementation of the Secure Communities program in Illinois is contrary to the stated purpose of the MOA… By ICE’s own measure, less than 20% of those who have been deported from Illinois under the program have ever been convicted of a serious crime.” The Governor’s letter concludes, “With this termination, no new counties in Illinois can be activated and those counties that were previously activated… must be deactivated and removed from the Secure Communities program.” […]
The Governor’s letter comes in the wake of mounting criticism of the “Secure Communities” program for what U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California describes as outright deception in its implementation and for the widely reported use of the program to deport people still presumed to be innocent despite the program’s mission of focusing on “convicted dangerous criminals.”
The Illinois legislature is scheduled to weigh in on the program with a pending vote on the Smart Enforcement Act, which would regulate and require reporting on the program.
Nearly a third of all illegal immigrants deported out of Illinois under the program have never been convicted of any crime, the letter stated, citing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement figures. Quinn’s office suspended the state’s role in the program in November amid concerns about its effectiveness.
“During the suspension, we voiced our concerns to ICE and asked them to prove that Secure Communities can and will be implemented as agreed to,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “After review, we were not satisfied and determined that ICE’s ongoing implementation of Secure Communities is flawed.” […]
“Illinois is without competition the most pro-illegal immigration state in the country, even before this,” said Roy Beck, executive director of the Virginia-based NumbersUSA organization.
However, it wasn’t immediately clear if Quinn’s move would completely end Illinois’ connection to the federal program.
For one, fingerprints of suspects collected by local law enforcement have always been sent to the FBI for checks against criminal history and fingerprint databases, and nothing in Illinois’ notice can stop the FBI from sharing information.
Also, while Illinois’ 26 participating counties rely on state police for the program to work, they could come up with their own systems or work with ICE independently. The letter to ICE said that no new Illinois counties would enroll in the program.
Statistics from the immigration agency showed that nearly one-third of immigrants deported from Illinois under the program had no criminal convictions. It is a civil violation for an immigrant to be in the United States illegally; it is not a crime. [Emphasis added.]
* Related…
* Hispanic Caucus calls on Obama to freeze controversial immigration enforcement program
* Illinois Senate passes DREAM Act - Bill headed for a state House vote
* The fight for the DREAM Act: faltered but not fallen: So far, 10 other states have passed versions of the DREAM Act, extending in-state tuition to undocumented students, including California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
* Otis McDonald, the plaintiff in the NRA’s successful lawsuit against Chicago’s handgun laws, told Fox Chicago yesterday that Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) committed to him to support the concealed carry bill. Rep. Davis voted “No” yesterday, which the NRA claims is what actually killed the bill. Watch…
Rep. Davis denied saying any such thing. However, I talked to four people yesterday (the NRA’s lobbyist and three NRA members) who told me that Davis did, indeed, say she’d vote for the bill. Here she is talking to McDonald last year at the Statehouse. She called him a “great hero” and appeared supportive of his cause…
* The bill was placed on the order of “Postponed Consideration,” so there is no recorded roll call. But here’s the video of the big board…
* Split among suburban lawmakers dooms concealed-carry bill: Thursday’s Illinois House defeat of a proposal to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons hinged on regional differences, not partisan ones, with lawmakers from the Chicago suburbs holding the swing votes.
