* The House’s budget proposal cuts education by well over $200 million. Here are a few of the cuts…
* Early childhood education - $25 million
* General State Aid - $211 million
* Free breakfasts and lunch - $12 million
The Ounce of Prevention Fund claims that the cuts in early childhood education would result in “fewer than 70,000 children” being able to attend preschool this fall in the program. That would be down from 95,000 four years ago. The governor’s introduced budget spared education from cuts.
At the same time, however, prison and other state facility closures have largely been avoided in the House’s budget.
* The Question: Should education be spared from state budget cuts next fiscal year? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments please. Thanks.
* 12:28 pm - Democratic candidate Brad Harriman’s campaign has just confirmed that he has dropped out of the 12th Congressional District race against Republican Jason Plummer.
* 12:30 - And here’s the press release…
“Today, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce that I am ending my campaign after consultation with my doctor. I know in my heart that this decision is in the best interest of the voters of southern Illinois who deserve a candidate that can withstand the pace that this race will require. My condition has noticeably worsened over the course of the campaign to the point that if I do not address it with surgery, I am facing irreparable damage. While it is non-life threatening, I need to address it now.”
Harriman has lived with the neurological condition without limitation or noticeable change since 2010, though he began noticing worsening symptoms in May and underwent testing to determine whether his condition had worsened. His physician advised of long-term and permanent injury if the condition is left untreated and allowed to worsen over the course of the campaign.
Harriman continues:
“I know the rigors that this campaign will demand, and I know that my health will prevent me from running the kind of campaign that southern Illinoisans should expect. Over the course of the past seven months of this campaign, I have been humbled by the support I have received from hardworking southern Illinoisans, and I will always be grateful to those that invited me into their homes and their businesses. For those individuals and the future of southern Illinois, I have confidence that the democratic county chairmen will work together in the most transparent way possible to select a candidate that will continue to fight for the southern Illinois way of life.”
Harriman was never considered much of a candidate. He wasn’t raising money. His campaign plan was in total disarray (if you could call it that).
Plummer, on the other hand, has had early support from the US Chamber and was looking to a lot of us like a winner. The Democrats will need to pick a strong, well-known candidate… and fast.
*** UPDATE - 1:14 pm *** Incumbent Congressman Jerry Costello, Sr. walked into House Speaker Madigan’s office a few minutes ago. Meanwhile, the DCCC reportedly wants either Costello Sr. or his son, Rep. Jerry Costello, Jr. to run for the seat. Rep. John Bradley’s name has been mentioned to me as well. Bradley has not yet returned my call.
“Brad’s decision to end his campaign due to health problems is understandable, and I wish Brad the very best in the future.
The law is very clear on the procedure to select a successor. The Democratic party chairs from each ofthe12 counties in the congressional district will meet to decide on a candidate to fill the vacancy. Each chairman will have a weighted vote based on the number of Democratic votes cast in the March primary election in their respective county.
Under the law, as the elected Democratic state central committeewoman and committeeman, Barb Brown and I will co-chair the selection committee and will recommend that they follow an open process to select the most qualified candidate. Committeewoman Brown and I will discuss the process with the 12 county chairs and make a public announcement soon.
As you know, I announced last October that I will not seek re-election, and I am not going to reconsider and will not be a candidate for re-election.”
* From Jason Plummer…
“My thoughts and prayers go out to Brad and his family as he deals with his medical condition. He had a distinguished career as an educator and leader in the area, and I wish him the best.
While I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him on the campaign trail, this race was never about Brad or myself. This race is about and will be about Southern Illinoisians electing a congressman who will represent their values and fight the ballooning federal government.
My campaign will continue to provide residents of the 12th District a new direction to shrink the size of government, reduce regulations on small businesses and best utilize the natural resources of our state.”
* Cub family patriarch Joe Ricketts’ PR problems continue. New York Times…
[Ricketts] is involved in another effort slated for this summer, a documentary film based on a widely criticized book, “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” by Dinesh D’Souza, which asserts that Mr. Obama is carrying out the “anticolonial” agenda of his Kenyan father.
Mr. Ricketts’s aides said he was one of roughly two dozen investors, providing only 5 percent of the film’s budget. But his involvement shows how the more strident attacks against Mr. Obama, which Mr. Romney’s aides view as counterproductive, continue to find backing even as the Republican Party and the Romney campaign seek to keep the focus on the economy.
The episode involving the proposed Wright advertisement put new attention on the ability of wealthy donors, working with groups independent of the candidates, to shape the presidential race, and stoked further debate about whether outside groups were driving politics to become increasingly negative. […]
In explaining the rejection of the Wright proposal questioning Mr. Obama’s character, which was drafted after Mr. Ricketts held two meetings with the strategists behind it, a top aide said that it reflected “an approach to politics that Mr. Ricketts rejects” and that his role this year would “be focused entirely on questions of fiscal policy, not attacks that seek to divide us socially or culturally.”
Yet the film Mr. Ricketts is helping to finance, called “2016: Obama’s America,” is built on the premise that “Obama has a dream, a dream from his father, that the sins of colonialism be set right and America be downsized,” according to a trailer.
Oops.
Old man Ricketts can’t throw a consultant under the bus this time around. This one is all on him. And it ain’t pretty. Downsizing America to fullfill his African father’s dream of ending colonialism? Yeah. OK.
An early glimpse of his views on Mr. Obama can be found in a June 2010 graduation speech he gave at Bellevue University in Nebraska, for which he is a leading benefactor. Lamenting the banking and auto bailouts, he declared, “Our Republic is under assault from our government,” adding the historical note that “most of the past threats have come from outside our borders.”
He called this “a most dangerous time,” when “people begin to second-guess the American experiment” and “flirt with dead-ends like socialism.” It was in that climate, he said, that he had decided to become more personally involved in politics.
Mr. Ricketts’s aides said he was primarily motivated by his concern for the budget deficit and government spending.
He detests government spending unless, of course, it’s being spent on his family.
* What I want to know is, where the heck is the Chicago media on this story? Why is the NYT scooping them so often on the Ricketts?
Soon after Mark Kirk’s ex-wife announced she would no longer support his 2010 run for the U.S. Senate, he brought her onto his campaign team, then quietly paid her after his victory.
But Kimberly Vertolli, a lawyer who received $40,000 from the campaign, again is at odds with her ex-husband, filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Kirk and his then-girlfriend may have broken campaign finance law.
The girlfriend, Dodie McCracken, who works in public relations, has acknowledged receiving more than $143,000 in fees and expenses for her campaign work. A former live-in girlfriend, she is no longer romantically involved with Kirk, according to a campaign aide.
Kirk’s campaign has characterized Vertolli as an aggrieved ex-wife and labeled “groundless” her complaint filed late last year about payments to McCracken.
At the heart of the matter is Vertolli’s assertion that the Kirk campaign may have improperly hidden money to McCracken by paying her through another company working for the campaign. Because the money was not paid directly to McCracken, her name does not appear in Kirk’s federal disclosures.
Go read the whole thing before commenting, please. It appears that payments to both the ex and the girlfriend were deliberately hidden. But there were news stories about the girlfriend being on the payroll, so that wasn’t exactly a secret. Vertolli is another matter. She just inadvertently outed herself as a payroller as well.
On the bright side, all those vile rumors spread by people like Jack Roeser and Andy Martin are now proved false.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Last week the Illinois House of Representatives took a stand for bringing jobs and new revenue to Illinois, and we applaud their vote. Experts predict that SB 1849 will create more than 20,000 jobs and more than $200 million in new annual revenue at a time when our state desperately needs them.”
“Getting through the House was the first big step in getting this bill passed,” said Michael Carrigan, president of the Illinois AFL-CIO. “We want to remind Senate leaders about the importance of getting Illinoisans back to work. SB 1849 is a solution that would put tens of thousands of workers back on the job. Now is the time for the Illinois Senate to show the leadership necessary to restore economic stability.”
SB 1849 will save 30,000 plus agri-business jobs, while creating more than 20,000 new jobs, including nearly 10,000 construction jobs. The state’s unemployment remains hovering around 9 percent. The time for a solution is now. SB 1849 will put Illinoisans back on the job and will produce millions in revenue for the state of Illinois.
* Subscribers know a whole lot more about what’s going on with pension reform and what to expect, but let’s check the existing coverage as of this writing. SJ-R…
Under the legislation, which would not apply to the state’s judges:
– Employees and retirees will be offered a choice between having access to a state health care plan upon retirement and having their raises count toward their pensions, or keeping the 3 percent compounded annual cost-of-living adjustment that they have today. If they choose to keep retiree health care and pensionable raises, their COLA will be one-half of the urban consumer price index or 3 percent, whichever is less. The COLA will not be compounded.
– If employees and retirees choose the lesser COLA, they will not receive it until age 67 or 5 years after they retire, whichever comes first. This will affect employees who have already retired. Nekritz gave this example: An employee retires at age 55; he or she is now 58 and chooses the new COLA. The new COLA will not kick in until the retiree reaches age 60 and he or she will be without a COLA for the next two years.
– The bill will phase in a shift of the normal pension costs for teachers and university employees to school districts, state universities and community colleges. The normal cost is the total benefits accrued by active employees for the current fiscal year.
– The legislation will have an immediate effective date upon Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature, but employees will be given an unspecified period of time to decide which choice they want to make. Still, the effective date is important. If the legislation passes, some employees have speculated that the courts might strike down the provisions that apply to those who have already retired but uphold them for those who had not yet retired when the governor signs the bill.
Efforts to develop a plan for comprehensive reform of public employee pensions hit a snag Monday as opposition intensified over a provision to shift retirement costs for suburban and Downstate teachers onto local school districts.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has said the cost shift from state taxpayers to local school property taxpayers should be part of any proposal to curb unsustainable costs for a state worker pension system that is the most underfunded in the nation. A pension bill could come up for a vote as soon as Tuesday as lawmakers scramble to finish their work before a Thursday night deadline.
But even a top member of Madigan’s Democratic leadership team said pushing costs on overburdened suburban property taxpayers is “craziness.” […]
Senate Republicans also said there were attempts to make local school districts — and local taxpayers — make up for any increase in the unfunded liability of the teachers’ retirement system in the future, even if it was caused by a lower return on investments.
The plan will not apply to judges in order to sidestep any potential constitutional challenges over separation of powers. Judges in the past have successfully sued to block efforts by the Legislature to withhold cost-of-living increases.
The measure also will not contain any of the changes Mayor Rahm Emanuel sought for the city’s pension systems during a trip to Springfield in early May.
While the Illinois Constitution bars a reduction in pension benefits, retirees would be given a choice to either take the less-generous annual pension bumps or potentially lose access to state-funded health care — a benefit Nekritz says isn’t protected by the constitution.
“There’s nothing that protects that,” she said.
The choice that would be given to employees and an accompanying contract, supporters argue, would make the plan constitutionally legal.
Union officials have not agreed to the plan offering those choices, and the Illinois Education Association has been pushing its members to call lawmakers to protest the changes for days.
* And this is how he’s prepping, according to the station…
Ahead of a busy week in Springfield, Gov. Pat Quinn marched Monday in the Park Ridge Memorial Day Parade and headed off to Wrigley Field to continue honoring veterans.
So, a parade and a ballgame at a decrepit stadium is how he’s preparing for the week? The Senate was in session until 8 o’clock last night, for crying out loud.
…Adding… And what the heck was that Pravdaesque headline writer thinking? This ain’t the Soviet Union, man.
* A new poll conducted for Democrat Brad Schneider shows he is tied with Republican freshman incumbent Bob Dold in the 10th CD. From the pollster…
Schneider is in a dead heat with Dold despite the fact that Dold has a greater than two-to-one name identification advantage (79% to 35%).
Not only is Dold’s vote support well below the traditional safe mark of 50% for an incumbent, but other measures of his political support show signs of weakness and vulnerability. Specifically:
o Dold has a favorable rating of just 35% favorable and 31% unfavorable. In the old 10th, where voters know him better, his favorable rating is a few points worse at 35%-34%.
o Dold’s job rating is also tepid. Just 43% rate his performance as “excellent” or “good” while 30% rate his job as “not so good” or “poor.” As with his favorable rating, in the old 10th Dold’s job rating is a little worse at 45%-35%.
After voters hear brief biographical information and positive messages on both candidates (identifying Dold as a pro-choice Republican in the fashion of Mark Kirk who will rein in spending and cut taxes and Schneider as a businessman who will protect Medicare and a woman’s right to choose), Schneider surges ahead of Dold 48% to 41%.
In a race against an incumbent, the structure of the initial vote and who moves is critical. As the table below shows, Schneider firms up his base and takes a decisive lead among Independents. Dold actually loses ground among Independents when voters are better informed about both candidates.
Congressman Dold occupies the most Democratic House seat currently held by a Republican in the country. The new 10th district is comprised of portions of the old 8th, 9th and 10th Congressional Districts. In 2010, the worst year for Democrats in a generation, Dold lost by six points to Dan Seals in the portions of the old 10th that remain in the new 10th. Melissa Bean beat Joe Walsh decisively in the portions of the old 8th that are now in the 10th. The small portion of the new 10th that was in the old 9th is reliably Democratic.
The polling data reinforce the solidly Democratic nature of the new 10th. Specifically:
o President Barack Obama remains popular with a favorable rating of 56%-38% and a job rating of 54%-45%. Moreover, he leads Governor Mitt Romney 55% to 41%.
o The generic vote for Congress is seven points Democratic at 48% to 41%.
o Party identification is nine points Democratic at 47% Democrat and 38% Republican.
If Brad Schneider is able to raise the resources to be competitive in the Chicago media market he is well positioned to take advantage of the weakness of Congressman Dold and the Democratic nature of the new 10th District and pick up the seat for the Democrats.
* Methodology…
(A) telephone survey conducted among 400 likely voters in the Tenth Congressional District of Illinois. Interviews were conducted May 21-23, 2012. The sampling error for this survey is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
* Meanwhile, the Chicago Retail Merchants Association has a new poll about Mayor Rahm Emanuel. From the pollster…
Chicago Retail Merchants Association (CRMA), a committee of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association (IRMA), has released findings from a poll testing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s job approval rating, his impact on the business climate, handling of NATO and the debate surrounding a possible strike from Chicago’s teachers union.
The poll finds Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s job approval rating at 64% while 57% or respondents indicate the Mayor has done an excellent/good job improving the city’s business climate. In addition, 78% of Chicagoans reacted positively to Mayor Emanuel’s handling of the NATO summit. Finally, the poll revealed that 71% of respondents believe teachers should wait for an independent report to be issued before they go on strike.
The poll was conducted by We Ask America on Thursday, May 24th collecting responses from 1,267 registered voters with a margin of error of ±2.76%. CRMA serves as the voice of Chicago retailers employing nearly one out of every five people.
“Retailers employ one out of every five people and is an important voice concerning public policy impacting the City of Chicago,” said David Vite, Chicago Retail Merchants Association.
“The poll indicates that Chicagoans give Mayor Rahm Emanuel high marks on a series of public policy issues, including improving the business climate in Chicago which is of great importance to retailers and job creators.”
* 1. Do you generally approve or disapprove of the job Mayor Rahm Emanuel is doing?
Approve 64.18%
Disapprove 28.68%
No Opinion 7.13%
2. How would you rate the job Mayor Rahm Emanuel is doing on improving the business climate in Chicago?
Excellent 28.13%
Good 29.23%
Fair 25.55%
Poor 11.29%
No Opinion 5.80%
3. How do you think Mayor Rahm Emanuel handled the NATO summit?
Great Job 55.56%
Good Job 23.28%
Fair Job 12.15%
Poor Job 5.72%
No Opinion 3.29%
4. Finally, as you may be aware, there is a disagreement between the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools on a new contract, and the teachers have threatened to go on strike. By law, an independent arbiter will recommend a solution to the impasse on July 16th. However, some are urging teachers to go on strike BEFORE that report comes out. Do you agree or disagree that teachers should wait for that independent report BEFORE going on strike?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Lots of questions remain unanswered as the House considers Allied Waste’s HB3881. More troubling, lots of questions haven’t even been asked.
Why is Allied Waste in such a hurry to pass as bill that will increase waste hauling costs for towns, businesses and taxpayers?
That answer is clear. Flexing its political muscle to shut down a Cook County landfill and prevent an Illinois family business from expanding helps Allied corner the market, limit competition and increase profits.
But other questions remain unanswered.
Why are so many lawmakers supportive of legislation that hurts a local business, local municipalities and undermines local decision making?
Do green advocates understand that by supporting HB3881, they’re standing in the way of increased environmental protections at Land and Lakes’ Chicago facility and efforts to turn Chicago brownfield land into green space?
Does Allied’s desperate money grab have anything to do with recouping the $11 million in fines it just paid to the City of Chicago for abusing M/WBE contract requirements?
The real question is…what’s the big hurry?
Land and Lakes joins public officials in urging lawmakers to hold off on making any rash decisions before these and other questions can be answered.
* It ain’t over ’til it’s over, but things appear to be humming right along. Even so, nobody wants to start talking about the end quite yet…
(L)egislators tackled some huge problems and seem to be on track to wrap up by Thursday, the last scheduled day of session. But no one will tempt fate by predicting a smooth finish.
“That’s when the wheels go flying off,” warned Rep. Joe Lyons, D-Chicago.
The House’s schools plan would cut how much state money suburban schools get by nearly 4 percent. Suburban schools typically rely on state money less than less-wealthy downstate schools, and the House budget would leave alone money for buses — an issue that local officials have focused on in particular in recent years.
But the Senate plan doesn’t cut schools at all, meaning the two sides will either have to compromise soon or pick one plan.
And at least some suburban lawmakers could foresee missing the deadline, a move that would make Republicans more relevant in a legislature dominated by Democrats because budget plans would require more votes for approval. […]
The Senate didn’t meet Saturday, and House lawmakers don’t believe they’ll be bowing to the Senate’s budget plan, which generally doesn’t cut spending as far.
“They’re going to have to come down,” said state Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat. “We cannot, because of our own rules, spend more than what the revenue estimates are. So they’re going to have to come down, there’s no other way around it. I hate to say there is no compromise, but that is a fact.”
* Even the grouchy curmudgeons at the Tribune seem fairly pleased. But they’re not happy with everything…
Our concern here is that some lawmakers are more determined to impress voters — See? We saved the day! — than to salvage the nation’s worst-funded pension system. Once more, with feeling:
The only enduring solution to Illinois’ pension debacle is … an enduring solution to Illinois’ pension debacle. That means rolling all employee groups into a legislative package. We’re focused on that because some timid legislators would rather pass reforms affecting some employees today, but leave, say, teachers, police and firefighters for another day — which may never arrive.
Not good enough, lawmakers. You’ve come a long way since the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago presciently warned in 2006 that pension and health costs were driving Illinois toward “financial implosion.” If you leave Illinois pension protocols unreformed, every voter — and every rating agency — will see through your little charade. Settle on fixes that begin to solve the problem right now and keep it from ever recurring.
Maybe an editorial board member ought to run for the General Assembly so the rest of the board can be informed that waving a magic wand does not pass legislation. There are no magic wands.
* Related…
* Record tax hike isn’t fixing Illinois’ problems: Quinn aides are quick to note that Democrats alone didn’t create the pension problem. They point to a 1995 pension law passed under Republican Gov. Jim Edgar. Billed as a way to stabilize the pension system and get it 90 percent funded by 2045, the law backloaded pension payments so that they were minimal in early years but increased over time.
* State Considers Tax Break To Video Game Industry: Illinois lawmakers are talking about spending cuts. But they’re also advancing a tax break for one industry. Video games are a huge business. So much that 20 different institutions in Illinois offer classes that teach how to design them. But few jobs are available in this state. Senator Toi Hutchinson, a Democrat from Olympia Fields, is pushing a tax credit for video game companies that set up shop in Illinois… Actually, about 15 states have them. Hutchinson points out Electronic Arts, one of the biggest game makers, left the Chicago area in 2008. She says her plan won’t cost taxpayers, as the credit only would apply once the number of employees goes above a certain level. But not everyone agrees with it. Some Republicans say the state should consider breaks for small businesses, including a roll back of the state’s income tax.
* Medicaid cuts threaten nursing home reforms, advocates say
* Thousands will feel pinch of Illinois’ Medicaid cuts
It looks like the controversy over Joe Ricketts’ conservative politics won’t stand in the way of a $300 million deal to renovate Wrigley Field, but it could pave the way for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to play hardball with the Cubs.
With Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts running around doing damage control and admittedly in a weakened political position, it’s advantage Emanuel — which is precisely where Chicago’s controlling mayor likes to be. […]
Emanuel said “the point has been made” and that he sees no need to prolong the dispute, nor will he allow the controversy to sabotage Wrigley negotiations that were rounding third and heading home before Joe Ricketts started the political fire.
“We will [talk] at the appropriate time. … At the appropriate time, they’ll represent their interests, and I’ll represent the taxpayers,” the mayor said.
* Greg Hinz is a bit dubious, and so, by the way, am I…
In his comments today, Mr. Emanuel is quoted as saying “the point has been made” and that he “will (talk to the team about Wrigley) at the appropriate time.”
I wouldn’t want to read too much into that. The “appropriate time” might never arrive.
But Tom Ricketts took it as a good sign.
In an interview earlier today on the Mully and Hanley Show on WSCR-AM/670, Mr. Ricketts said he had “pretty good discussions” with the city until the flap. “We need to keep going and put it behind us,” he said.
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column was due before the House vote on the cigarette tax hike. So while there is no House vote total in the piece, the prediction was solid…
As state legislative support for a cigarette tax hike grew in late May, anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and other conservatives stepped into the Illinois fray.
A top House Republican said over a week ago that the roll call in favor of a dollar a pack cigarette tax hike was in the double digits within his caucus. The tax would raise $700 million, including the federal match, to help close the Medicaid program’s gaping $2.7 billion budget hole.
In return, Republicans won concessions from the Democrats, particularly when it came to sparing doctors from Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed Medicaid provider rate cuts.
For the past several decades, the House Republicans’ most reliable campaign supporter has been the Illinois State Medical Society. The House GOP always sticks with the docs, no matter what. The Medical Society was against last year’s workers’ compensation reform agreement that the Senate Republicans, including former gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, supported. The House Republicans sided with the doctors and took a hard line against it. The decision not to cut physicians’ Medicaid payment rates was a huge win for the House Republicans, so they agreed to put votes on the cigarette tax.
Norquist is probably best known for his anti-tax pledge that most Republican members of Congress have signed, and that he aggressively holds them to whenever they start thinking about revenue enhancements. Norquist first allied himself with tobacco companies in the 1990s as part of the national Republican effort to defeat President Bill Clinton’s health care proposal, which was funded in part by a cigarette tax hike. He has since fought against cigarette tax hikes in numerous states.
Cigarette tax hikes are by far the most popular tax increases with the public. A poll of southern Illinois voters taken by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute last year found that 60 percent of them backed a dollar a pack tax hike. A statewide poll taken in 2010 found that 74 percent of Illinoisans - including 71 percent of Republicans - supported a dollar per pack tax increase.
But Joshua Culling, the state-affairs manager for Norquist’s group, wrote that Cross’ caucus could “ruin the GOP brand in the state for a generation” if it backed the cigarette tax increase. “Tom Cross seems content to cut a deal that will further imperil Illinois’s economic outlook while simultaneously eroding the national party’s messaging on the toxicity of Obamacare,” Culling wrote.
Since April, Cross has done several public events outside Springfield and Chicago to urge that President Obama’s health care reform bill be repealed and said he was adamantly opposed to any moves in Illinois to implement the federal law. That refusal led directly to the death of a bipartisan effort by Democratic state Rep. Frank Mautino to set up a health insurance exchange in Illinois.
But Cross’ attempts at appeasing his party’s right wing apparently didn’t go far enough. In a letter sent to supporters, the Illinois Policy Institute’s director singled out Leader Cross for criticism, saying the Medicaid proposal “destroys the credibility of leaders who talk about economic freedom only to vote in favor of more heavy-handed government.”
And the United Republican Fund, one of the oldest and most conservative GOP organizations in the state, also sent out a press release about the Medicaid compromise and the cigarette tax hike. “The time has come for legislators to stop being the unwitting (or intentional) co-conspirators in the slow demise of our great state. The time has come for leadership and courage. For statesmen instead of politicians. For competence instead of compromise.”
The Republican Party’s more pragmatic, governing wing has been in full retreat for the past few years as national politics has invaded state government as part of the GOP’s messaging against the President from Illinois. That aggressive national push has resulted in far more Illinois Statehouse partisanship, so legislators who supported cigarette tax increases in the past, like Senate Republican Leader Chris Radogno, are now vocally against any tax hike of any sort. Her caucus is even against a proposal to close a loophole that allows commercial roll your own cigarette operations to avoid most state sales taxes.
But, in Illinois, some things still trump national party interests. The Medical Society is one of those things. Sorry, Grover. You may have all the Washington, DC Republicans scared out of their wits, but things are a little different here.
* Related…
* The Medicaid money trail?: Roughly 16 percent of the state’s 47,000 doctors aren’t signed up for the program. Even among those who are, the overwhelming majority infrequently see patients, leaving the care concentrated in the hands of a few, according to a Crain’s analysis of payment records. About 25 percent of Medicaid doctors account for just 0.4 percent of the $2.8 billion paid from 2009 through 2011 and make less than $1,400 a year in the program, Crain’s finds. At the other end, the top 10 percent of Medicaid earners received more than 55 percent of the total payments, making at least $70,000 a year, the analysis shows. The shortage of doctors, particularly specialists, is likely to get worse, experts say. In 2014, an estimated 611,000 additional residents will be eligible for Medicaid, a 22 percent increase over the 2.7 million people with full benefits under the Illinois program. Meanwhile, the rising number of aging baby boomers already is increasing demand for doctors.
* The House is in at noon, the Senate returns at 2 o’clock. Committee are scheduled until 4 o’clock. Here are some late Morning Shorts from my intern Owen Irwin…
* `You shouldn’t be a legislator!’ Illinois lawmaker tells colleague: “I want to know why you’re allowed to do something when someone else isn’t,” Mulligan said in floor debate, looking across the House chamber at Sente. Mulligan suggested that “because you’re considered a target, you’re getting special treatment” from the Democratic leadership of the House. A “target” is an incumbent who the other party considers to be weak enough to possibly be defeated in the next election. As a Democrat from the northern suburbs of Chicago, Sente is part of an endangered species. After Mulligan pressed Sente on whether that was the reason she was being allowed to sponsor the popular legislation, Sente shook her head slightly and didn’t respond. That angered Mulligan, who said to rising shouts from both sides of the chamber: “You should answer questions or you shouldn’t be a legislator!”
* The House will be back Monday at noon, so I’ll re-open comments late Memorial Day morning. The Senate comes back Monday at 2 o’clock. I hope to extract as much fun as I can out of our truncated holiday weekend and I hope you can as well.
I’ll keep the automated live-blog up and running in case we have some breaking news. But at this point, breaking news would probably be bad news, so let’s hope all is calm and quiet for the next couple days.
This song was famously written in one white hot night of creation, along with one of his other favorites, “Unlocked Doors” (”And all these broken clocks had met their deaths. I measure time in steady breaths.”), when he was about 20 years old. By John’s standards, this is an old song.
He’s utterly brilliant, and one of the most grounded people I am privileged to know. So, so happy to see so many people getting on the Fullbright bus.
Also? He is semi-distantly related to Leon Russell by marriage. Trufax.
* Saturday is, by far, the lowest traffic day of the week on this website. I’m not expecting too many comments today, but after I close everything down when the House adjourns I’ll reopen all the posts on Monday morning before the House comes back.
In an admittedly desperate effort to attract some comments, let’s do a funny caption contest instead of a question today. Speaker Madigan and Leader Cross with staff…
A stripped down version of a new tax on Illinois strip clubs advanced in the General Assembly on Thursday.
On a 53-0 vote, the Senate forwarded a proposal to the House that would raise an estimated $1 million to help finance rape crisis centers throughout the state.
The measure initially called for the clubs to charge $5 per patron with a goal of raising an estimated $6 million. […]
“After all of the uncomfortable jokes and snickers, we must pass this important law,” said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale.
“It is a serious issue,” added Republican state Sen. Tim Bivins, a former county sheriff from Dixon.
As I told you back in March, some Senate Republicans had balked at the fee before the March primary. That’s over, and the bill has been revised since then, so on board they climbed.
Club operators can choose two different ways to be taxed. They can either pay a $3 surcharge for each customer they serve, or they can pay a certain amount to the state depending on their gross receipts for the calendar year.
Under the second approach, if a venue made less than $500,000, it would pay a $5,000 fee. Venues making between $500,000 and $2 million would pay $15,000. Venues making more than $2 million would pay $25,000.
* Roundup…
* Eavesdropping reform bill stalls in Senate: Advocates for allowing recordings are angered by Noland’s stance. Joshua Sharp, the director of government relations for the Illinois Press Association, said Noland is welcome to vote against Nekritz’s measure, but should remove his name as a sponsor. Sharp called Noland a “hostile” sponsor who seems to want unlimited police surveillance of citizens.
* Business incentives transparency bill goes to Quinn: The program, known as Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE, offers tax breaks to companies that create or retain jobs and make investments in the state. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which administers the program, annually releases the names of companies receiving the credits, but details of the agreements, such as the dollar value of the incentives, are often kept secret. If the bill is signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, the department would post on its website the terms of each agreement after it is reached.
* House votes to cut some Illinois regional superintendents: Senate Bill 2706, unanimously approved by the Illinois House Friday, would cut the number of superintendents from 44 to 35 and fund the positions out of the state’s general revenue fund.
There’s a lack of consensus at the Capitol on raising the retirement age from 65 to 67 for many government workers, so that’s out. And there’s no agreement on requiring current workers to take more out of their paychecks. […]
Instead of a compound-interest formula that more quickly escalates pension checks, one plan gaining traction would see the state switch to a simple-interest-style system installed a few years ago for new hires. Cost-of-living adjustments would be equal to half the consumer price index or 3 percent, whichever is less. […]
Under one plan being considered, a retired worker could keep collecting 3 percent annual cost-of-living increases based on compound interest but would have to give up access to a retiree health care plan. At the same time, a retired worker willing to take the lower cost-of-living adjustment would have the opportunity to stay in the state’s health insurance plan, said Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, a key pension negotiator. […]
Current workers also would have choices. Workers willing to accept a lower pension cost-of-living increase would be eligible for whatever health care plan is in place when they retire. In addition, future salary increases would be calculated into the size of their pensions, Nekritz said.
But current employees who want to keep the 3 percent compound interest in their pensions would be unable to count any more pay raises into the salary that their retirement checks are based upon. They’d also lose any state health care when they retire.
Nekritz said another change being considered would delay the start of giving cost-of-living adjustments to retirees. Under that scenario, cost-of-living increases would start at either age 67 or five years after retirement, whichever is earlier.
I’m not so sure that this is going to save all that much money. How do you force people into the lower-benefit retirement package? Giving up access to government health insurance in order to keep compounded cost of living increases would be a no-brainer for a whole lot of people. The magic of compounded interest adds so much more income over time that it’s probably worth it to find private insurance until a retiree reaches Medicare age.
Chairing a committee in the Illinois Legislature can be a boon or bust to lawmakers’ campaign war chests, depending on the committee and the chamber.
In the Illinois House, those heading the appropriation, judiciary or revenue committees usually are leading their colleagues in the campaign contributions arms race.
Leaders of the fundraising pack in the Illinois Senate are chairing the judiciary, executive appointments and revenue committees.
The appropriations, judiciary and revenue committees are, what Kent Redfield calls, “power committees.”
They determine “who gets taxed and who doesn’t get taxed, who gets funded and who doesn’t get funded,” said Redfield, author of “Money Counts: How Dollars Dominate Illinois Politics and What We Can Do About It.”
The numbers support Redfield’s assertion:
* Each chairman of the five House appropriations committees brought in $29,757.83 more than the average representative for every two-year election cycle since 2005-06, according to the campaign contribution database maintained by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a government watchdog. That’s a fundraising advantage of 25 percent.
* Each chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee since 2005-06 brought in an average of $147,161.36 more than the average senator for every two-year election cycle since 2005-06. That’s a fundraising advantage of 15 percent.
One of those approp chairmen is Rep. Fred Crespo, who has been heavily targeted for defeat in recent years. He’s probably moving the needle for everyone.
“It’s about access to power, getting meetings set up, getting a heads up on legislation, getting phone calls returned, all the things interest groups want,” Redfield said.
Former state Rep. Michael Smith, D-Canton, chaired the House Elementary and Secondary Education Appropriations Committee in 2005-06, during which he raised $826,603, or $643,577.09 more than the average House member.
Smith attributed his impressive fundraising more to a competitive race rather than his chairmanship.
“My fundraising was a little bit different in that time period. It was a very expensive and costly campaign,” Smith said.
Comparing Smith to legislators who never face Tier One challengers is more than just apples to oranges. It’s apples to horseshoes - the throwing kind, not the eating kind.
The top donors are interest groups that give to committee chairmen who may have power over legislation the groups are interested in.
The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, a lobbying group, was one of the top donors to state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, chairwoman of the House Judiciary Civil Law Committee.
Notice how the article doesn’t say how much Nekritz raised from the trial lawyers. I always look up the numbers when I see stuff like that.
Starting way back in 1996, Rep. Nekritz has received 19 contributions from ITLA totaling just $39,710.98 (There’s another $2K contribution from “ITLA” that doesn’t show up on that link.)
That’s $2,481.93 per year, on average. Hardly a king’s ransom. And she hasn’t chaired the committee all along, either.
Someone elected to two positions in different local governments could not collect two pensions under legislation that passed the Illinois Senate Friday.
The bill’s chief sponsor, Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said he believes state law was already clear about pensions for people who serve both as a county board member and another locally elected position. However, a legal opinion from a state’s attorney made the already “tangled web” even more complicated, he said.
House Bill 5078 clarifies that officials cannot get credit toward a pension for both jobs. It passed on a vote of 31-18 Friday.
Prohibits any person who holds elected office in a unit of local government from entering into an additional elected office in another unit of local government if he or she is: (i) earning service credit under the Pension Code as a result of holding the first elected office and (ii) will earn service credit under the Pension Code as a result of simultaneously holding the second elected office.
* The bill would also take away one person’s pension sweetener. From the Sun-Times…
A former suburban police chief who benefited from an obscure pension sweetener and unapologetically declared “I deserve every penny of it, and I deserve a lot f—— more” could wind up getting a lot less.
By a 31-18 vote, the state Senate Friday moved to repeal a state law that allowed retired Oak Brook Police Chief Thomas Sheahan — a member of one of Chicago’s better-known political families — to boost his pension by more than $30,000 a year.
The deal that originally benefited Sheahan passed the General Assembly in 2007 and was signed into law by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, eventually blindsiding the western suburb with a tab of $750,000 in unfunded pension liabilities. […]
Sheahan was the only person to benefit from the 2007 provision that was tucked into a larger bill aimed at safeguarding the pensions of police widows. That bill was sponsored by state Rep. Robert Molaro (D-Chicago), who has since left the Legislature and signed on as a contract lobbyist for Oak Brook,
In short, the law that benefited Sheahan created a now-expired six-month window for members of one public-sector pension fund (the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund or MEABF) to transfer credit into another (the “Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Personnel” program of IMRF) if they participated in both.
That enabled Sheahan to shift five years of credit from MEABF into IMRF so he could retire in 2011 with roughly 24 years of combined service. Without the legislation, he would have had fewer than 19 years of service and retired with two pensions worth a collective $45,000 rather than one worth $77,000.
Sheahan, who worked for Oak Brook for six years, is drawing that pension now on top of a $65,000-a-year salary he draws for being the part-time village manager of Lyons. […]
Even though the state Constitution bars any diminishment of pensions, Dillard said he believes his measure will pass constitutional muster and said that it is patterned after November legislation Gov. Pat Quinn signed that repealed the pensions of a pair of Illinois Federation of Teachers lobbyists, Steve Preckwinkle and David Piccioli.
“Section 1. Retroactive repeal. This amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly hereby repeals and declares void ab initio Section 8-226.7 of the Illinois Pension Code as contained in Section 5 of Public Act 95-504 as that Section furnishes no vested rights because it violates multiple provisions of the 1970 Illinois Constitution, including, but not limited to, Article VIII, Section 1 and Article IV, Section 13. Upon receipt of an application within 6 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly, the System shall immediately refund any contributions made by or on behalf of a person to receive service credit pursuant to the text set forth in said Section 8-226.7, as well as any amount determined by the Board to be equal to the investment earned by the System on those contributions since their receipt.
“Void ab initio” means that a “contract is null from the beginning if it seriously offends law or public policy in contrast to a contract which is merely voidable at the election of one of the parties to the contract.”
* Check out the roll call for the House vote on the cigarette tax hike yesterday by clicking here.
This was an old-fashioned “structured” roll call, where the two parties work together to each put just enough votes on a bill to pass it. The bill received the bare minimum of 60 votes, with 18 House Republicans voting for it.
We haven’t seen one of these structured roll calls in years, mainly because the two parties just haven’t worked together all that well.
Another major reform to the state’s Medicaid program fell into place for Springfield lawmakers Friday with House passage of a $1-per-pack cigarette tax increase to help plug a $2.7 billion hole in the state’s health-care program for the poor.
The bill needed 60 votes to advance through the chamber and just reached that number, passing by a tally of 60-52. It now moves to the Senate, which passed a $1-a-pack cigarette tax hike in 2009.
After both chambers voted to send Gov. Pat Quinn a bill on Thursday that cut $1.6 billion in the program, legislators agreed to a tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products that supporters say will generate $800 million.
“This is an important revenue-generating measure so that we do not have to make further cuts in Medicaid,” said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn-Currie (D-Chicago), the chief sponsor of the tax legislation.
Under the proposal, the state’s current 98-cent per pack state tax on cigarettes would increase to $1.98. In addition, the state would tax small cigars at the same rate as cigarettes. Taxes also would hit so-called roll-your-own cigarettes, and taxes on other tobacco products would double.
The tobacco taxes would generate $350 million, which the state could use to leverage another $350 million from the federal government.
Another provision would put in place a new tax on the state’s hospitals with the hopes of generating $50 million in new state revenues that also could leverage another $50 million from Washington.
William J. Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Association of Convenience Stores, warned that stores in border areas like the Metro East would buy their cigarettes in the neighboring state. “This is an unfair tax,” he told lawmakers before the vote. “Smokers already pay more than their fair share.”
Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica, whose district includes vast amount of border areas along Iowa and Wisconsin, acknowledged he didn’t have “a lot of constituents that support this legislation.” But, he said, his position has evolved.
“We are in the midst of the worst crisis financially this state has ever seen,” Sacia said, urging support for the measure. “It’s a tough vote but the right vote.”
Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, voted in favor of the bill, saying it was the best option available based on the state’s financial needs. More cuts to Medicaid programs wouldn’t have passed the legislature, he said.
“I’m willing to step up and take what some people argue is a bad vote to be part of that solution,” Watson said.
Saturday, May 26, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As opponents continue to ignore closing coal plants and rising electric costs, the REVISED SB 678 offers SAVINGS FOR RATEPAYERS and LOW, HARD RATE CAPS FOR ALL CUSTOMERS. The new SB 678 would:
• Save Illinois ratepayers an expected $437.7 million over 20 years with below-market energy costs – yes you read that right – the revised Tenaska plant would have BELOW MARKET COSTS
• Require Tenaska to absorb 100% of any cost overruns
• Cap even the possibility of a rate hike at .75% for residential customers (less than 60 cents per month);
• Cap even the possibility of a rate hike at $0.00085 per kilowatt-hour for ALL larger customers
• Postpone coal-to-natural gas portion of Taylorville plant and preserve it as a hedge against potential future natural gas price increases, a back-up plan that couldn’t go forward without General Assembly approval.
Illinois needs to take action now. As the Chicago Tribune reported on May 17:
Residential electricity rates are expected to spike more than 10% beginning in 2015, with consumers paying between $150 and $330 a year more than this year, as coal plants, the least expensive producers of electricity, continue to close.
Tell legislators you agree with CUB, the Attorney General, business, labor and environmental groups that you want a smarter energy future in Illinois.
* The Senate has adjourned until Monday at 2 o’clock, but the House is in session at 9:30 today. Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary is meeting at 8:30 and Appropriations-Public Safety is meeting at 9 o’clock. If there are enough members here today the House may move some of its budget bills. I was told yesterday that adjournment is expected around noonish, but that, of course, is subject to change. After adjournment, the House will return Monday at noon. You can listen or watch House floor debate and committee action by clicking here.
* Despite my best efforts yesterday, including trying some medicine, my left eye is almost swollen shut from that stupid, but harmless stye. It looks gorgeous (not). I finally made it out yesterday and wore my sunglasses everywhere except to dinner. Unless this thing starts getting better soon I won’t be going into the Capitol today. It just looks too horrid. Don’t wanna scare anyone.
* Anyway, on to the live coverage. Blackberry users click here…
