Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Saturday:
“I am encouraged by the progress we continue to make with Leader Durkin and the other leaders. Building on this progress and Friday’s overwhelmingly bipartisan budget vote, the House will be voting Sunday on a revenue package that is modeled on the bill supported by the governor, and House and Senate Republicans in their recent announcement of their budget blueprint, and ensures a balanced budget for our state.”
I’m not sure yet whether this means they have a deal or what. Stay tuned.
…Adding… The House just adjourned until tomorrow at 2 pm.
…Adding… It doesn’t sound yet like there’s a deal. Just a revenue bill that, unless there’s an agreement, probably wont go anywhere. I’ll let you know when I know more.
…Adding More… I’m not so sure now about that “probably won’t go anywhere” part. We’ll see.
*** UPDATE *** House Republican Leader Jim Durkin,,,
“There is no agreement on a comprehensive budget package that includes reforms and revenue. This impasse can only be resolved in a negotiated manner. It is our hope that Democrats will remain at the negotiating table,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin.
* So I asked Steve Brown if there was an agreement. His reply…
I think members have told the Speaker that a number of Republicans are prepared to vote for the revenue bill.
* From the Senate Democrats…
Key negotiators for the Illinois Senate Democrats today said budget talks at the Statehouse are progressing, and they urged calm, continued optimism from everyone involved.
“Our expectation and understanding is that now that the budget piece is getting nailed down, that was key to finalizing a few of the other pieces,” said Senator Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat and chairwoman of one of the Senate’s appropriations committees, during a briefing with reporters at the Capitol Saturday afternoon.
Steans said lawmakers from all four legislative caucuses were engaged in budget negotiations until late Friday night, and talks resumed at the Capitol Saturday morning. She added that workers’ compensation negotiations hinge on finalizing budget talks and that property tax relief talks are still on the table, as are other pieces, such as getting the governor’s signature on the Senate Democrats’ school funding reform bill.
Steans noted that it is a heavy lift to get so many of different lawmakers to come together to resolve the budget stalemate, adding that the Senate saw the challenge of it firsthand this spring with its Grand Bargain negotiations.
But, she said, “I believe we’re actually getting there. I actually do feel we’ve been knocking each of the items off the list and getting to the point where we’re going to be able to get all four caucuses doing that.”
Senator Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and chairman of another Senate appropriations committee, also is part of these budget negotiations. Given the productive nature of talks on Friday and the length of the protracted budget stalemate, he said, it’s important that lawmakers don’t start pointing fingers at each other now.
“We have to realize that we are going on our third year without a complete budget in place. Given the progress that was made yesterday, the last thing we need today is finger pointing from either side,” he said.
“We left here last night with a sense of progress and a sense of hope that we can wrap this thing up. I would urge everyone in both chambers – both parties – to strive for slow and steady progress so we can strive for finality to what has been a fiscal impasse that has gone on for far too long.”
Senator Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), assistant majority leader of the Senate, also participated in Saturday’s press briefing and said now is the time for all lawmakers to work together on behalf of the people of Illinois.
“It’s time to listen to what is happening in our communities. It is time to go forward and to ensure that the individuals of our state are the recipients of all the good things that we can do to ensure there is going to be a quality of life they can raise their children in,” Trotter said.
“We have a lot of work to do, but it is not because we don’t know what the situation is. We cannot keep on repeating the discussions that have taken us nowhere. We should go forward with the positive discussions we’ve been working on.”
Senator Toi Hutchinson (D-Chicago Heights) told reporters Senate Democrats are continuing to work in good faith with lawmakers from all of the caucuses to resolve the budget stalemate.
“It’s going to take all hands on deck to get this handled. We’re here in Springfield, we’re ready and we’re continuing to work in good faith to get to the point where we can stabilize what is happening,” she said.
“This is the state of Illinois, and it needs us to be better than we ever were. We’re really urging for cooler heads to prevail and not to devolve into things that could knock us off course when we make winning the gotcha game more important than saving the state.”
* There’s a typo in this release. The bill is HB 1811, not SB 1811. It’s the revamped 911 emergency services bill that was passed on Thursday, sent to the governor today, vetoed by agreement today and then promptly overridden with huge bipartisan super-majorities. You’d never know there was an agreement by reading this, however…
Governor Bruce Rauner today issued the following statement regarding the General Assembly’s decision to override his amendatory veto of SB1811, which tied critical 9-1-1 emergency services to a massive tax hike on Illinois families and businesses:
“While the majority in the General Assembly has been unable to move forward with a balanced budget, it has found the time to inflict further abuse on Illinois taxpayers. Today the majority failed taxpayers by using the threat of canceling 9-1-1 services as leverage to force a tax hike on Illinois residents. We tried to stop this cynical legislation by utilizing an amendatory veto that would have ensured that emergency services continued without an unnecessary tax hike. The veto also would have allowed 9-1-1 to continue in future years without special legislation to renew the services.
“Instead of passing those common sense changes, the majority in the General Assembly has chosen to hold innocent people, our most vulnerable residents and essential services hostage to pass an excessive, unwarranted tax hike. They appear to be using the same strategy in the current budget impasse. We will continue to fight against these attempts to shakedown taxpayers by threatening critical services that they depend on.”
* Notice his last lines about the budget impasse. Things are not going well. It started with this…
No budget vote this weekend. Gov. Rauner insisting on 11th hour changes. Please continue to pray for our state! #BudgetNow#Compromise
— Emanuel Chris Welch (@RepChrisWelch) July 1, 2017
* Republicans, however, said at a press conference today that it’s the Democrats who are holding things up…
Rep. @tomdemmer says they are troubled by Speaker Madigan's attempt to slow down the process.
*** UPDATE *** Some Senate Democrats will hold a press conference later today to talk about the new demands from the Republicans.
There were three demands related to education, I’m told. One was additional K-12 mandate relief. Another was an exemption from the procurement code for the K-12 PARCC testing program. And the third was a $1.5 billion school voucher plan, which may wind up as a limited pilot program.
The Senate Democrats I’ve talked to say there have been problems in negotiations, but nothing huge that can’t be dealt with. For instance, they rejected several items yesterday during negotiations and the Republicans came back late last night with the same demands.
* I’m of two minds on the House Speaker’s plan to allow members to go home if they want until Monday.
1) If rank and file members do go home today, they’ll get an absolute earful from constituents to do their jobs and pass a budget already. That pressure could rattle them enough to shake a few more votes loose for a resolution;
2) It sends a very bad signal to the folks back home, the New York bond rating agencies and just about everyone else that they’re not serious about getting anything done. Legislators should, in other words, at least look like they’re doing their jobs even if their job is to sit around and wait for the leaders and the working groups to wrap this up.
* The Question: Should rank and file be allowed to go home or specifically told to stay in Springfield? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
There will be a session tomorrow, but we do not expect that any bills will be called. The leaders met yesterday, they will meet again today. The appropriations revenue people met late last night. Workers’ compensation people met this morning. All of those people will meet again
* Leader Durkin then rose to say he’s worried about the state credit rating agencies. “We had great momentum yesterday in this chamber. Sending our members back home… does not move us to resolution to this issue… I want this done today.”
There was thunderous and sustained applause for Durkin. Madigan replied “Did someone tell their members to go home?”
Durkin explained that by saying we’re done today, don’t come back tomorrow, “it says ‘take no action today’ and it speaks for itself.”
Madigan said there will be no bills ready to call tomorrow. “You know that,” he said.
“I don’t believe we’re that far apart,” Durkin replied. Saying that the chamber is going to gavel out right now “to me does not send a message to Illinoisans that we’re prepared to bring this to resolution any time soon.”
So, Madigan said if Durkin has some bills he’d like called today, that’s fine. He announced that the House would “stand at ease” until Durkin produced some bills.
* But then this…
As Durkin and Madigan leave House chambers, a GOP Rep yells "Speaker Junk"
…Adding More… Usually, stuff like this is worked out between leaders in advance. It does saying something that Madigan would do this apparently without coming to an agreement with Durkin first.
*** UPDATE *** So, Speaker Madigan didn’t talk to any of the other leaders before he tried to adjourn, either…
GOP Radogno enters last leaders' meeting. Says House out not positive. Means clear IL will get to junk bond status. pic.twitter.com/yG9CKzVkFx
* The Illinois Policy Institute’s vice president of policy and its policy analyst published this today…
Today, term limits are nowhere to be found in any of the “compromise” deals swirling around Springfield.
In fact, virtually every reform Rauner and legislative Republicans once sought is gone or watered-down to the point of uselessness.
Collective bargaining reforms: Gone.
Lowering income tax rates to 3 percent: Gone.
Stand-alone 401(k)-style plans for new state workers: Gone.
And term limits? Gone.
When Rauner and Republicans stated their reform goals back in 2014, they called for term limits on all lawmakers. Less than three years later, term limits were only being pursued for legislative leaders.
Now term limits are gone altogether.
What was once at the heart of Rauner and Republicans’ reform proposals is no longer a part of negotiations.
In their desperation for a deal, Republicans have rolled over.
They started out with a plan to strip Madigan of power, but the speaker managed to strip theirs instead.
Nothing remains of the reforms that could have weakened the Springfield political machine.
If they vote for a compromise plan – a punishing tax hike plan devoid of reforms – Republicans will be signing off on Illinois’ continuing slide toward bankruptcy.
And in dropping term limits as a demand, Republicans are showing they are willing to let Illinois’ corrupt, complacent and morally bankrupt political culture continue.
Because of the budget impasse in Springfield, Mega Millions sales have been suspended until further notice. For that reason, your Mega Millions subscription was canceled at 12:30 a.m. July 1, 2017. The remaining balance of the subscription will be refunded to your account. You will then be able to use the funds to play other in-state games such as Lotto, Lucky Day Lotto or Pick 3 and Pick 4 PLUS FIREBALL. You will also have the option to transfer the remaining funds to your bank account or request a check from the Illinois Lottery.
When Mega Millions is available again for sale in Illinois, you will be notified via email.
Thank you for being a loyal Illinois Lottery player. For more information, please reference our Mega Millions FAQs on illinoislottery.com or contact the Player Hotline directly at 1-800-252-1775.
Friday’s vote (on an amendment to Senate Bill 6) served as a test, gauging whether Republicans would join with Democrats, who control the General Assembly, to approve a budget.
“Now is the time to bring this nightmare to an end. Now is the time to stop quarreling and to start governing,” Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, said, prompting applause from Democrats.
While that falls short of the 30 Republican votes that Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan recently said will be required to successfully pass the tax increase, and generate the necessary revenue to pay for that spending, the vote shows a path toward compromise.
Seventy-one votes are required for passage; Democrats hold just three seats short of that threshold in the House.
I see it as a positive that Madigan went ahead with the negotiations even though they HGOPs fell shy of 30 votes. If 23 was enough, so be it.
For the first time since Rauner took office, no authority exists to pay contracts for roadwork, prompting warnings of layoffs of up to 25,000 workers at the height of construction season. Illinois already has been kicked out of the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions lottery games. And a federal judge on Friday compelled the state to start paying more Medicaid bills each month. That’s money Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza has said the state doesn’t have.
Continuation of the stalemate rattled elementary and high schools, some of which have just a few months’ worth of cash on hand. It also could cause some public universities to lose their accreditation — and the ability to accept federal money that comes with it.
Lawmakers on both sides spent the end-of-June special session publicly lamenting the destruction that already had been caused by the historic stalemate and declaring it time to bring the impasse to an end. […]
Unlike when the impasse began two years ago, the state is now weighed down by $15 billion in unpaid bills, and according to the comptroller, no longer has the cash flow to keep spending so far beyond its means. By August, the state’s obligations to make payments required under law or court order will run into the red, Mendoza warned, saying the result would be “either horrific financial consequences or catastrophic financial consequences.”
It goes without saying that the stakes are extremely high.
Significant issues remain, not the least of which is the more than $5 billion in tax hikes needed to make the spending bill balance. Madigan said negotiations continue.
The latest tax hike plan proposed by Democrats calls for raising the personal income tax rate from the current 3 percent to 4.95 percent, just below the level it was during the temporary income tax increase that expired in 2015. Still unresolved is whether the income tax increase will be permanent or limited to four years as Gov. Bruce Rauner wants.
The House Democrats’ plan does not include a tax on some services nor does it tax satellite television services. Both of those were part of a bill approved earlier by the Senate.
Agreements must also be struck on workers’ compensation, property tax relief and pension reform, all measures Rauner said need to be approved before he’ll entertain talk of higher taxes. Republicans have complained that previous Democratic proposals to address property tax relief and workers’ comp were watered down and did not really address the issues.
But the desire for settlement was palpable. Democrats and Republicans urged endorsement of the spending plan for different reasons.
Democratic Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago believes the state should spend more on social services, but he suggested Rauner “take this as a victory in driving down spending in the state of Illinois.”
Few places in Illinois have been hit harder by the financial mess than the capital city, where state bills owed to the city, hospitals and other vendors have topped $300 million, said Springfield Republican Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez.
“Almost everyone in my district has been touched by this crisis, and many have lost sleep, including me,” Wojcicki Jimenez said. “I’ve not been able to go to church, drop off my kids at school, go to the grocery store, eat out, without friends, neighbors, people I don’t even know, urging me to pass a balanced budget.”
It is hard to imagine how the Legislature will approve a full budget on Saturday, regardless of the mounting pressure. The appropriations bill passed by the House Friday must be read a third time and voted on again. Then it must be passed in the Senate. Then everybody has to quit playing chicken and approve an income tax hike, likely to 4.95 percent from 3.75 percent.
This could easily go until tomorrow or even Monday or Tuesday. We’ll see. I don’t think it’s necessarily bad if they can’t get it finished today because there are just so many moving parts to deal with. As long as there’s progress, as long as they’re talking, I’m not gonna complain. The leaders, by the way, are meeting after the House votes on the 911 emergency services bill today. Watch our live coverage post for updates.
Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, voted in favor of the spending plan and said there should be a vote on a budget implementation bill Saturday, which should put the longstanding impasse to rest.
“The good news is for all the negativity that’s been coming out of Springfield for so long, we’ve finally broken that dam,” Pritchard said. “And we’re finally going to be able to address some of these issues and rebuild our state.”
Votes on “trailer” bills about workers’ compensation, a property tax freeze and other issues should follow, with the session concluding Sunday, Pritchard said.
Although the atmosphere within the statehouse was optimistic after passage of the appropriations amendment, Pritchard admitted there will likely be a negative public response on how to handle the state’s $15 billion bill backlog.
* Related…
* Mark Brown: Another budget deadline passes, but maybe a glimmer of hope at Capitol
* Sen. Daniel Biss has so far reported almost $200,000 in contributions for the month of June. There are probably more coming because of statutory reporting deadline delays. But half of that money, $100,000 came from one source, the Senate Democratic Victory Fund. It’s the largest contribution Biss has ever reported receiving since he first ran for the Illinois House.
Steve Campbell at SDVF explains…
Today, the Illinois Senate Democratic Victory Fund transferred $100,000 to State Senator Daniel Biss. Senator Biss made a $100,000 donation to SDVF last November immediately following the 2016 election.
As an organization, SDVF does not make endorsements in statewide primaries. We are committed to electing Democratic state senators and standing up to Bruce Rauner’s destructive agenda. We look forward to working with Democratic candidates and campaigns to achieve these goals.
Hmm.
* Meanwhile, Chris Kennedy sent out a fundraising e-mail yesterday before the contribution deadline entitled “Our mission is more powerful than their money”…
When people get hurt, we change the rules. Just as we’ve changed the rules of football or hockey to prevent people from getting hurt, so too must we change the rules of our broken political system because it’s hurting the people of Illinois.
We all know that the property tax system in Illinois is hurting people, but still our government has done nothing to fix this. Why? Because the system has been corrupted by the connected and the insiders. They don’t want to change this system because it benefits them, regardless of whether it hurts the middle-class and those most vulnerable in Illinois.
That’s why I need you with me. Taking on the political establishment will be tough, and they have lots of ways to fight back. But I’m not afraid of them or their money.
Please make a $5 contribution before our midnight fundraising deadline to show the establishment that we are ready for this fight.
Your contribution will give us the resources we need to compete but more importantly, it will help show the establishment that there is a groundswell of support, made up of thousands of people, ready to stop insiders from abusing the system for their own gain.
I know that our mission is more powerful than their money and our beliefs are stronger than their billions. With your support, we can show the establishment that we are ready for radical change.
* From the Pawar campaign…
Ameya Pawar, 47th Ward alderman and Democratic candidate for Illinois governor, today released a new digital spot highlighting the Chicago’s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance which goes into effect July 1, 2017.
Starting Saturday, nearly half a million workers across the Chicago will earn the right to paid sick leave. Nearly a quarter million workers in the Chicago will get a raise because of the increase in the minimum wage.
“It has been my honor as the co-chairman of the Chicago Working Families Task Force to pass paid sick leave, raise the minimum wage, combat wage theft, making sure we don’t procure uniforms from sweatshops. This is what it means to be a Progressive - getting things done, working with groups and making progress for all people.” - Ameya Pawar
* And the JB Pritzker campaign whacked Gov. Rauner yesterday…
Today, a U.S. judge ordered Illinois to pay Medicaid providers an additional $586 million a month to ensure health care continues for millions of Illinoisans. In response, JB Pritzker released the following statement:
“We are at the point where the courts are having to do Bruce Rauner’s job for him to ensure 3 million Illinoisans are still able to receive health care,” said JB Pritzker. “With over $14 billion in unpaid bills, Illinois is broke and essential services are at risk. Whether Illinois can continue to provide health care or educate our children is entirely unclear under Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership. This is unprecedented, the people Bruce Rauner is supposed to represent are suffering, and the damage this will do to our state will take years to remedy. Illinois must pass a budget and then come together to clean up Bruce Rauner’s mess.”
Despite sailing through both chambers of the Illinois state Legislature, a bill creating an elected school board for Chicago is stalled and won’t be coming back up until at least the fall.
That’s the unhappy conclusion of the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago. He and others have long pushed to replace the city’s mayoral-appointed school board.
The overwhelming support for an elected school board came as a surprise this legislative session, and Marwick had hoped to get it finalized in June. But the legislation was overshadowed by the intense budget negotiations, he said. After failing to pass a budget for two years, state lawmakers are now under intense pressure to pass one.
“The budget negotiations have really, and rightly so, have consumed all the air in the building … we have been hyper focused on that,” Martwick said.
He said he needed the attention of leaders to iron out differences between bills passed by the House and the Senate.
I think the leaders just don’t want to do it. Not now, not ever. The governor doesn’t relish the fact that the CTU could elect school board members. The Senate President is closely allied with Mayor Emanuel, who opposes it. And the rest of the leaders don’t need the complicating headache.
* The next Senate Republican Leader can apparently see into the future. From the Sun-Times..
Although Brady on Friday declared he works well with the governor, in a debate shortly before the March primary, Brady had especially harsh words, comparing Rauner to a certain disgraced Democratic governor.
“The more I hear Bruce Rauner speak, the more he sounds like Rod Blagojevich. That’s the way he [Blagojevich] came to Springfield. You have to bring people together. But you have to be decisive. You can’t be divisive,” Brady said.
“Mr. Rauner continues to berate the Legislature and the experience of the Legislature like Rod Blagojevich did. That didn’t solve our problems. We need a leader.”
Although he is as comfortable talking to conservatives in church basements as he is discussing tax policy in business board rooms, Brady chafes at being called “a country club Republican.”
“I think you have business Republicans and then you have social Republicans. And I would be both,” he once said.
Brady, 56, was chosen by a unanimous vote at a meeting of Senate Republicans, Radogno told reporters. The formal transition was to come with a vote on the Senate floor.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” Radogno said. “He will be a very capable successor and I wish him all the luck in the world.”
“I think the whole state of Illinois needs some luck,” Brady said.
“The good news is,” he added, “I’ve got a great caucus behind me, as leader Radogno had, that can help provide a real solution to this state.”
Radogno resigned effective at the end of business day today, so Brady won’t be attending leaders’ meetings until that resignation becomes effective. Also, the full Senate has to approve his election, but that’s a perfunctory matter. It could get complicated if this thing wraps up today, however, because the Senate then won’t be in tomorrow. But, one burning bridge at a time, as they say.
* Related…
* Will Brady “Protect Taxpayers” as he promised when running for governor?: Brady boasted during his last gubernatorial bid that he would “protect taxpayers” and that he had never “voted for a tax increase.” His “Brady for Illinois” website still features his call for Illinois’ 2011 67% temporary income tax hike to sunset in 2015.
Half of that $586 million is reimbursed by the federal government, but it’s money the state doesn’t have and won’t have without a budget.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From Comptroller Susana Mendoza…
As if the Governor and legislators needed any more reason to compromise and settle on a comprehensive budget plan immediately, Friday’s ruling by the U.S. District Court takes the state’s finances from horrific to catastrophic. Payments to the state’s pension funds; state payroll including legislator pay; General State Aid to schools and payments to local governments – in some combination – will likely have to be cut. Payments to the state’s bond-holders will continue uninterrupted. A comprehensive budget plan must be passed immediately.
In the face of the State of Illinois’s ongoing budget impasse, a federal court today ordered the state to substantially increase monthly outlays to pay bills for healthcare provided under the Medicaid program. Under the court’s order, if the budget impasse continues, the state Comptroller is obliged to pay $586 million toward the state’s Medicaid obligations monthly, as opposed to the current payments of about $160 million. The state will be able to claim reimbursement for half of those expenditures from the federal government.
The court-ordered payment, which is the amount the state ordinarily pays in years when there is a budget in place, will prevent the $4 billion backlog of unpaid bills from growing larger. The court also ordered the state to pay $2 billion toward the backlog of unpaid bills over the next 12 months, with the goal of getting it down to the amount owed before the state budget impasse started.
In issuing the order, Judge Lefkow additionally emphasized that the State shall, “prioritize appropriate preference to ‘Safety Net Hospitals’ and other providers most crucial to affording the plaintiff class members’ access to federally mandated healthcare services.”
“The court’s order prevents the collapse of the healthcare system that serves children, families, seniors and people with disabilities across Illinois,” said David Chizewer, an attorney with the Chicago law firm Goldberg, Kohn, who is part of the team representing the healthcare beneficiaries. They are also represented by attorneys from the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law (Shriver Center) and Legal Council for Health Justice.
Although the court had previously ordered the state to make Medicaid payments during the budget impasse, for two years it has been paying only a small percentage of those bills. The growing backlog of unpaid bills precipitated the current crisis. “Without these payments, doctors, hospitals, clinics and other key healthcare providers would stop seeing Medicaid patients, or else simply go out of business altogether,” said Tom Yates, of Legal Council for Health Justice.
“It is important to note that the Illinois General Assembly met today, the last day of the fiscal year, to try finally to pass a full year fully funded budget,” said the Shriver Center’s John Bouman. “We urge them to get that work done and to be sure it includes a path to pay down the back bills. That is the only sure way through this thicket.”
KENNEDY: I won’t be someone who’s tied to the status quo, indebted to them for my election and reliant upon them for all good things in the future. […]
The establishment in both parties has failed to do the basic things like pass a budget. The fact that they can’t get that done is an indictment of their capacity across the board.
CAMERON: Why couldn’t JB [Pritzker] get that done?
KENNEDY: I think the manner in which he might get that done would be in a way that is completely reliant on the status quo and the current leadership. I think he’ll arrive there, if he were to be elected, as the product of the Madigan machine and as such he’ll be indebted to them.
The reason we don’t pay for our schools at the state level is it would mean we’d shrink the reliance on property taxes. But the leadership in our party and many of the people in both parties make their money in the property tax appeals business. So, if the property tax is a smaller part of our economy, then they’re going to make less money. So they’re not free of the conflict of interest to vote on what really matters to the future of our state. They can’t embrace a new system because they’re making money off the old one. Someone needs to stand up to that.
Man, that’s quite an indictment. Later, though, he said he thought Madigan would be willing to “sacrifice” by giving up his property tax assessment business. I’m not so sure I agree.
* Kennedy also went after the governor later in the interview, saying Gov. Rauner has created a “culture of fear” in his party and in the state. He also said this about Rauner…
I think his hope, really, is to cripple it - cripple government’s functionality by leaving it with such incredible debt that it’s capable of doing little else than to service that debt.
A Trump administration letter requesting data from all 50 state’s voting rolls has put some states and voting rights advocates on edge after many were already wary of the aims of the President’s commission on voting.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity’s vice chairman, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, sent a letter to each state Wednesday asking a series of questions soliciting feedback about election administration, voter fraud and the integrity of the process. CNN obtained a copy of the letter sent to Maine’s secretary of state.
Kobach also requested that each state provide “publicly available voter roll data” as allowed under each state’s laws, which could include full names of registered voters, dates of birth, party registration, last four digits of Social Security numbers and voting history.
The letter was discussed on an organizational call of the commission, according to a White House readout and spokesman Marc Lotter.
* Several states have refused to comply and people have absolutely freaked out about this on social media today, particularly about the Social Security numbers stuff. One Democratic gubernatorial candidate here issued a press release about it…
“There is no evidence of voter fraud in Illinois. That’s a fact and not an alternative one this administration is using to peddle false voter fraud conspiracies,” said JB Pritzker. “The Kobach Commission is nothing short of a scam. The administration’s request for Illinois voter rolls is not just a waste of time and resources, it’s a violation of Illinoisan’s privacy. I urge Bruce Rauner to stand with the leaders of Virginia, California, and Kentucky and refuse to comply. It is past time for Rauner to protect Illinois families from Donald Trump’s lies, attacks, and nonsense.”
* Secretary of State Jesse White was apparently getting bombarded with so many inquiries that he took to Twitter to remind Illinoisans that he doesn’t oversee elections here…
.The IL State Board of Elections handles voter info: not IL Sec. of State. Call them at 217-782-4141 or 312-814-6440.
Illinois election officials on Friday acknowledged receiving calls of concern over information being sought by President Donald Trump’s Election Integrity Commission, but said they have yet to receive a formal request for the state’s voter data.
I am requesting that you provide to the Commission the publicly- available voter roll data for Maine, including, if publicly available under the laws of your state, the full first and last names of all registrants, middle names or initials if available, addresses, dates of birth, political party (if recorded in your state), last four digits of social security number if available, voter history (elections voted in) from 2006 onward, active/inactive status, cancelled status, information regarding any felony convictions, information regarding voter registration in another state, information regarding military status, and overseas citizen information.
Emphasis added. They don’t want anything that’s not already publicly available.
Kobach said Friday that Kansas also won’t be sharing Social Security information with the commission, for which he serves as vice chairman, at this time. The state will share other information about the state’s registered voters, including names and addresses, which are subject to the state’s open record laws. […]
Other states, including Republican-led Oklahoma and Utah, announced plans to provide some information to the commission while withholding other pieces, such as the partial Social Security numbers.
“That’s perfectly fine,” Kobach said Friday when asked about states that would provide names but withhold other information. “We understand that. And that is entirely up to each state.”
[The Kobach] letter hadn’t arrived yet in Illinois, where state elections board members are scheduled to meet Monday. They still could discuss the request for “publicly available data” the president’s commission is seeking. […]
Illinois law allows voter data to be obtained by political committees, which use them to develop their voter databases, and by governmental agencies for governmental purposes, such as for jury duty notices.
But Illinois law prevents the release of more personal information associated with the voter files, such as Social Security numbers, drivers’ license numbers or digital copies of voter signatures. [Emphasis added.]
So, most of your info won’t be shared and there’s no demand from Kobach that all of it has to be shared, either. Pritzker himself has probably already purchased the same voter info either from the Board of Elections or through Democratic list vendors, or his direct mail vendor did. It’s no more of a “violation of Illinoisan’s privacy” than what countless campaigns here have already done and will do in the future.
The A.C.L.U. has filed four suits against Kobach since he was elected in 2010. All of them challenge some aspect of his signature piece of legislation, the Secure and Fair Elections Act, or SAFE Act, a 2011 state law that requires people to show a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers to register to vote. Kobach has long argued that such a law is necessary to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote, a phenomenon that he has repeatedly claimed is both pervasive and a threat to democracy. The A.C.L.U. has countered that the real purpose of the law is not to prevent fraud but to stop the existing electorate from expanding and shifting demographically. The same principle informed the “grandfather clauses” of the Jim Crow era, which exempted most white voters from literacy tests and poll taxes designed to disenfranchise black voters. Even a seemingly small impediment to registration, like a new ID requirement, favors the status quo, and in Kansas, and indeed nationally, the status quo favors the Republican Party.
When Kris Kobach, Kansas’ aggressive secretary of state, convinced the state legislature to give him prosecutorial power to pursue voter fraud, he said it was necessary to root out tens of thousands of undocumented aliens who were voting as well as tens of thousands more who he claimed were voting in two states.
Two years later, Kobach has produced exactly nine convictions. Most of them were not illegal immigrants but rather older registered Republicans.
Sheesh.
And the Kobach Commission is also hugely controversial. It looks like he put a bunch of vote-suppression types on it. Click here for that stuff. Whew.
Resisting this request is fine by me if that’s what states (including this one) want to do. The commission seems like a massive waste of time to me and may even have nefarious intent to find ways of suppressing votes.
* But some of your personal data is already being shared with campaigns. Keep that in mind when you take to social media to scream into the electronic wind.
dangerous to have adjourned before 5 p.m……regardless of ongoing meetings, have to hope S&P analysts also want to get out of office early https://t.co/3SWKDCxfhn
*** UPDATE *** Some folks have asked for an analysis of the House Democratic budget proposal. That proposal will undoubtedly be altered during talks with Republicans, but click here if you want to look at it.
Governor Bruce Rauner today issued an amendatory veto of SB 1839 to ensure that critical 9-1-1 services continue without a massive tax hike on Illinois families and businesses.
“The majority in the General Assembly waited until the last moment to send this 9-1-1 service reauthorization bill to my desk. Unfortunately, those lawmakers also inserted a major tax hike into this bill, a tax that’s both excessive and unwarranted, and that I strongly oppose,” Governor Rauner said. “This extreme increase is unfair and indefensible. But the majority in the General Assembly is using the threat of cancellation of 9-1-1 services on Saturday as leverage to force this tax hike through over my opposition.”
In the amendatory veto, the Governor removed all the surcharge increases and special interest giveaways. He also revoked the sunsets on the Emergency Telephone System Act and the sections regarding telecommunications and cable and video in the Public Utilities Act. These changes mean 9-1-1 would continue in Illinois without the General Assembly having to pass legislation to renew the service.
“This mean-spirited strategy has been employed by the majority repeatedly over the years, most prominently in the current budget impasse: holding innocent people, our most vulnerable residents and essential services hostage as leverage to force excessive, unwarranted tax hikes onto the people of Illinois,” Governor Rauner said. “This practice must stop.”
“The majority” was actually a bipartisan super majority, and an even bigger bipartisan super majority passed another, revamped bill this week.
While noting that the measure that passed was “only an amendment,” Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, said, “Obviously, things are heading in the wrong direction. Today, the Republicans in the General Assembly raised the white flag to a massive tax increase.”
McSweeney said Republicans who do vote for the tax increase that’s on the table – more than $5 billion – owe an apology to former Gov. Pat Quinn.
“Now they support a tax increase bigger than he did,” McSweeney said. “We’ve done nothing to reform government. Spending continues to increase. I am going to be fighting tooth and nail to stick to our core principals.” […]
Rep. Jeanne Ives criticized the House budget plan as bloated spending and requiring a tax increase that taxpayers can’t afford.
“This budget does not look out for small businessmen,” Ives said. “This budget does not look out for the ordinary taxpayer. This budget is gross overspending of people’s hard-earned income, going to a bloated system that we have failed to reform.”
She continued: “This budget is a disaster, and this budget is the death knell for Illinois. It tells every taxpayer who’s capable of moving from the state of Illinois it’s time to pick up stakes and leave. That’s what this budget does.”
* Kristen McQueary: Are Illinois taxpayers finally waking up?: You know the scene in the movie “Goodfellas” when Henry, actor Ray Liotta’s character, is worried about the pasta sauce, but drug enforcement helicopters are circling his house? That’s Illinois. The Too Late State.
* The House has just voted to approve an omnibus appropriations amendment 90-25.
Speaker Madigan rose after the vote to thank Leader Durkin and the Republicans who voted for the amendment.
I think it’s a good step forward. A step that we can build upon. There’s much work yet to be done. Therefore the House will be in session tomorrow.
Momentarily I will send a message to the bond rating agencies asking them to defer credit ratings on the state of Illinois until we have sufficient time (to work things out)
Next I will be convening a meeting of the leaders today (to talk about budget and non-budget issues)… and I will convene a meeting of interested parties on the revenue bill…
Let’s keep up the good work and we’ll get the job done.
Today’s House debate was remarkable for its bipartisan nature, which isn’t often seen in that chamber. GOP Rep. Steve Andersson received thunderous applause for his remarks, with Rep. Greg Harris saying it was the finest speech he’d ever heard delivered in the chamber.
* From Speaker Madigan’s office…
“The work of the governor and General Assembly is clearly not done. As a result, the House will remain in session. While we’ve made progress on solving the governor’s budget crisis, we are not done. We will remain in session to continue our progress toward passing a balanced budget. In light of this ongoing progress, I would ask that bond rating agencies temporarily withhold judgment and allow legislators time to negotiate a bipartisan, balanced budget.”
*** UPDATE *** As I noted earlier today in our live coverage post, this amendment vote was Speaker Madigan’s idea. He wanted the budget amendment adopted as a sign of good faith and then he’d restart negotiations on the non-budget issues and revenues. The budget itself is still not agreed.
So, a “top Republican source” described today’s floor action as more of a “procedural vote” than a sign of support for the underlying bill. There’s still a lot of work to do.
* Meanwhile…
Here's a letter Madigan sent to bond houses asking to delay cutting credit rating to junk status. Calls it the "governor's budget crisis." pic.twitter.com/qGkObVQ1tl
*** UPDATE 1 *** I was moving so fast I posted the wrong ad. Sorry! I accidentally posted the first ad, which is already on the air. Here’s the Do Your Job, Inc. spot which is online right now, but will be put on TV if today ends without an agreement…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Do Your Job, Inc. had scheduled a press conference for today at 1:30, but they just canceled it.
When I asked why, I was told “good faith.”
The ad’s still up, however.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Latest ad buy report from Comcast…
*** UPDATE 4 *** I asked the group’s spokesman what the group plans to do tomorrow and was told “We’ll see.” The spokesman said the buy extension was done to “coincide with the special session.”
State Sen. Bill Brady was elected by a unanimous vote of his Republican colleagues to serve as new Illinois Senate Republican Leader for the remainder of the 100th General Assembly on Friday.
“It is an honor to be chosen to lead the Senate Republican Caucus,” Sen. Brady said. “I thank them for their faith in me. I also appreciate my constituents in the 44th District for giving me the privilege to represent them in the State Capitol and the opportunity to serve as Leader,” Brady said.
The Bloomington Republican was nominated by Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) and Sen. Karen McConnaughay (R-St. Charles.)
“The issues facing Illinois are daunting, but our caucus remains committed to working together to face those challenges,” Brady said.
Brady has served in the State Senate since 2002. He previously served as state representative from 1993 until 2001. He currently serves as Assistant Republican Leader.
The official vote will come by a vote of the full Senate as soon as possible.
Governor Bruce Rauner issued the following statement on Sen. Bill Brady’s election as the new Senate Republican Leader:
“It’s an honor to congratulate Sen. Bill Brady as the new Senate Republican Leader. He is a champion for Illinois families – understanding the changes our state needs to create jobs, lower property taxes, strengthen schools, and reform our political system. I look forward to working with all of the outstanding leaders in the Senate Republican Caucus as we work to fix Illinois by creating a more responsive and responsible state government.”
Comptroller Susana Mendoza explains what’s at stake if there is no budget passed by midnight Friday (as well as where we are and how we got here) in a new video that for Illinois, is going viral. As of last evening it had 1.4 million views and more than 32,000 shares on Facebook.
“Derailment is imminent,” Mendoza warns. “This is not a false alarm.” Unless there is a budget, she says: “Illinoisans must brace for maximum impact.” In the video, Mendoza urges the public to call state legislators and the governor and tell them to pass a budget.
After a caucus meeting on Wednesday, a number of other House Democrats have started floating the notion in private conversations they could live with passing a budget deal before the first checks of the next fiscal year are scheduled to come out on July 15th.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a former House Democrat herself, strongly advised against this reckless strategy.
“People need to act like adults,” Mendoza said. “Anyone who thinks that June 30 at midnight is not a real deadline is just insane. Because guess who does think that’s a real deadline? All of the credit rating agencies who are watching. They don’t believe July 15 is a credit deadline.”
Lindsay Perez, a suburban Chicago mother, and her 9-year-old daughter Elena, who survives on a Medicaid-funded ventilator, described for reporters on Thursday the horrific situation of losing some of her medical supplies because of the budget crisis.
The girl, who was born without a lung, urged politicians to pass a budget.
“If you could try hard enough, you could do it,” she said.
City Colleges of Chicago is laying off 120 employees, part of larger cuts planned in response to the prolonged state budget crisis.
Chancellor Juan Salgado announced the cuts Wednesday to outline priorities for his spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Reductions also will include 10 percent pay cuts for senior leadership. City Colleges also plans to sell the district headquarters at 226 W. Jackson Blvd. and move administrative staff to the Kennedy-King College in Englewood and Dawson Technical Institute in Bronzeville. […]
The layoffs come at a time when City Colleges has experienced a significant decline in enrollment and what administration officials have called an unprecedented state budget shortfall of $70 million in the last two years alone. The system has about 90,000 students at seven colleges and five satellite locations.
Eastern Illinois University’s president announced a “hard freeze” on purchases effective immediately Thursday.
In a memo, David Glassman told account managers, P-Card holders, and OfficeMax users that he is implementing a temporary freeze on “all purchases.”
Last year, there was a freeze implemented on many purchases at the university, including things like travel expenses and non-instructional capital equipment purchases. This time around, the freeze has “stronger” and more definitive language to better rein in university expenditures, said Paul McCann, vice president for business affairs.
He said Thursday’s halt has been implemented to set more rigid control over cash outflow.
Mike Madigan may be about to take Illinois to a new low.
16 years without a balanced budget and 26 credit downgrades on his watch have destroyed our state.
But Mike Madigan doesn’t care. As long as his power is maintained and his special interests are flush with taxpayer cash, Madigan is content to turn Illinois into junk.
Today, the ILGOP is releasing ads calling out Madigan’s meltdown.
“We’re approaching a third fiscal year without a budget and our bond rating is about to go to junk, but Illinoisans can find Bruce Rauner sitting at his desk waiting for someone else to do his job,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Governor Junk has driven this state to the edge of a fiscal cliff and he is about to slam his foot on the gas.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Text from a top Republican…
Hey - Think it is worth noting that the party has pulled down the digital ad they released last night following the floor action this morning
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan plans to call a Democratic spending plan for a vote on Friday, amid a midnight fiscal budget deadline and the very real threat of credit agencies dropping the state to “junk” status. […]
Leaders met again on Thursday to iron out their differences, including on workers’ compensation and pension reform. While Madigan said he’d call the Democratic spending plan on the floor, Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang, D-Skokie, said House Democrats have a backup plan, placing provisions within the spending plan into “smaller subsets” in case the overall spending bill fails.
“We took the higher education portion, the K-12 and the transportation provisions into separate bills. They’re ready to go. They look exactly the way they look in the main bill. And we may or may not call them. We’ll just see how the votes goes when we vote on the entire spending plan,” Lang said.
State Rep. Greg Harris, Madigan’s appointed budget negotiator, filed an amendment on Thursday to the Senate’s revenue bill. While the income tax rate hike remains at 4.95 percent, streaming and satellite fees have been removed.
“We have closed corporate tax loopholes. We have increased the earned income tax credit for working families to keep more in their pockets. We’ve also restored the research and development and manufacturers’ tax credit to attract more businesses and bring jobs,” Harris said.
*Where they’re at on tax increases: There’s general agreement to hike the state income tax from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent but disagreement on whether to make the start date Saturday or retroactive to Jan. 1, which would take a bigger bite out of your paycheck. There’s also disagreement about whether to make the tax hike permanent. And there’s disagreement about whether to expand the service tax or close corporate tax loopholes.
*What else is up in the air: The tax hikes almost certainly won’t pass without resolution of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s economic items. Differences remain on a property tax freeze. A four-year freeze is agreed to, but House Speaker Michael Madigan wants exemptions for Chicago Public Schools, Chicago City Hall, troubled school districts and pension costs. Rauner is opposed. Another sticking point is workers’ compensation reform. Rauner wants to further cut fees that doctors, hospitals and pharmacies receive for treating injured workers. Madigan said if those fees were cut, they wouldn’t be cut as deep as the low amounts set by Medicaid rules. Madigan also wants to regulate workers’ comp rates set by insurance companies.
*The potential ramifications if nothing gets done: A Wall Street downgrade to “junk” credit status, no Mega Millions or Powerball lottery games, uncertainty for some school openings in the fall, the future of what remains of a frayed social service safety net and the prospect of road construction project shutdowns. In addition, a federal judge’s ruling is expected on a lawsuit that seeks to require the state to start paying hundreds of millions of dollars more each month to Medicaid providers. All of that led Democratic Comptroller Susana Mendoza to say that the consequences to the state of failing to reach a budget agreement by midnight Friday go from currently “horrific” to “catastrophic.”
*The backup plan: If those measures fail to gain enough support, state Rep. Greg Harris said Democrats would consider a series of bills to appropriate funds in key areas such as social services and education. But those efforts would not come with the needed dollars to actually pay for the programs, meaning they are likely designed to provide political cover to allow Democrats to say they voted in favor of projects important to their districts.
* The House Democratic perspective from Rep. Kathleen Willis’ Facebook page…
Today I plan to vote on a full budget. It is a spending plan that is lower than the governor’s proposed plan and lower than what we are spending now under court orders. It is funded by a combination of cuts, closing corporate loop holes and returning the income tax to 4.95 percent.
* The anti-tax House Republican perspective from Rep. John Cabello’s Facebook page…
The note on the left a unknown person put on my car at the hotel I am staying at. The note on the right I put on my car in response.
* It’s gonna be a busy day, campers. It’s the last day of the fiscal year, the House and Senate convene at 9 o’clock, with the House taking up its budget bill. The Senate Republicans will meet today to vote on Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno’s replacement. As always, watch it happen in real time with ScribbleLive…
In a stunning development amid ongoing negotiations to end the budget crisis in Springfield, Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno has announced she is stepping down July 1.
Radogno’s announcement came after a private meeting with GOP Senate colleagues, on the heels of a meeting of the four top state lawmakers at the Illinois State Capitol.
“I have really tried hard and it’s time for someone else to take the reins,” Radogno said at a news conference, adding she wants to travel with her husband and spend time with her five grandchildren.
She told reporters that the end of the fiscal year is a “natural break” to leave her position, despite the fact that leaders in the House and Senate have still failed to reach a budget deal. She said she would continue to work on a resolution through Friday.
Radogno began her third term as leader in 2013. She has served in the Illinois Senate since 1997 and represents the 41st District in DuPage, Will and Cook counties.
In discussing her departure, she also became teary-eyed while discussing the sudden death of Lisa Radogno, her daughter, in 2014. Lisa Radogno, 31, was an executive assistant for Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill.; she died from a blood clot in her lung about a month after she was injured in a hit-and-run accident.
“It doubled down my interest in it [politics], but it did give me the perspective that nothing is forever,” Radogno said. “And I don’t want to squander my life with my husband and my grandkids and my other daughters. We only all have a certain amount of time and that experience told me, that’s for sure.”
Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, praised Radogno, saying she “demonstrated true willingness to negotiate in good faith,” and that she showed the “humanity” that’s needed within the next few days to end the budget impasse.
* Illinois Senate Republican leader Radogno steps down: Even before her announcement, behind-the-scenes efforts to replace Radogno were being made by state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, who served as her top deputy in the Senate GOP caucus, and by state Sen. Karen McConnaughay, the former Kane County Board chairwoman from St. Charles, legislative sources said. Talk of Radogno’s decision had begun spreading privately during the closing days of June in the aftermath of months of contentiousness with a Democratic legislative majority and a demanding Republican governor who has extensively used his personal wealth to command loyalty among GOP lawmakers. Radogno found her members’ loyalty to Rauner sometimes created problems with loyalty to her leadership, some GOP lawmakers said privately. That surfaced in attempts with Democrat Cullerton to negotiate an end to the state’s historic budget impasse known as the “grand bargain.”
* Christine Radogno resigns from Illinois Senate: She said she was not leaving out of frustration with a lack of support from the governor. “I feel strongly the governor has the right agenda, but it’s not that easy getting there. We need fundamental change in this building, but we need to compromise in order to get there,” she said.
* Radogno sends shockwave with sudden resignation from Senate: Radogno said she isn’t resigning because of the lack of budget progress. “I can expel that unequivocally,” Radgono said. “I was disappointed … that it didn’t happen. If that was my motivation, I would have been gone then. I really wanted to continue to try to deal with the hand we’ve been dealt and try to get to a place where we have the agreement.”
* Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno to resign: In the past few weeks, Radogno has maintained a relatively low profile at the Capitol. When Senate Republicans have scheduled news conferences or other public events to present their views, Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington and Sen. Karen McConnaughay of St. Charles have often led the discussion. Radogno, who has served in the Senate since 1997, did not mention a successor to her role as Senate Republican leader. In her statement, she said it was time for a new leader.
* Batinick: Timing of Radogno’s resignation ‘brings uncertainty’: “I’m not surprised that she resigned; I am surprised that she is doing it so soon,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “I knew her very well and respected her very much. I wish her the best in the future. Her replacement has big shoes to fill.”
* Speaker Madigan told reporters this afternoon, “We had a very good leaders’ meeting,” and then gave everybody a summary of what went on…
* Education funding reform…
“Sen. Cullerton and I reasserted our strong support for SB 1,” and said the governor should “sign the bill as-is.”
* Workers’ comp…
Madigan restated the need for “real rate regulation” for the companies that sell workers’ comp insurance.
“We indicated that if there were to be, if there were to be adjustments to the medical fee schedule, we would not relate them to the Medicare schedule.”
* Property taxes…
The Republicans asked for adjustments to the property tax freeze bill that couldn’t pass the House yesterday. “We indicated that we would be open to other adjustments.”
* Government consolidation…
The bill that passed the House and the Senate is the one they’re sticking with. “We ought not to go any further.” (The governor wants another bill on this topic).
* Pensions…
“Sen. Cullerton indicated that we should delete the section of the bill that’s concerned with a voluntary consideration model and just proceed with the remaining elements of the bill, which I think would be satisfactory to the other leaders and the other caucuses.”
My translation after speaking with Democrats: Despite what he said, I think there’s still some movement possible on SB 1. I was told yesterday there are some important language issues on the workers’ comp insurance regulation stuff. Madigan seems to be moving a bit on his refusal to lower rates for workers’ comp medical providers, which is something the IMA wants. There’s more work to do on property taxes, but Madigan at least appears open to more movement (the big sticking point is still an exemption for pension costs).
Madigan also said the House will bring their spending plan to the floor tomorrow. Revenues are still being discussed.
* Earlier today, Gov. Rauner tweeted out an image of himself sitting at a desk in his ceremonial Statehouse office “preparing for a balanced budget to arrive.”
A buddy of mine just said to me, “You can’t cut a final deal until the principal lays out his bottom line.” By all accounts, Leader Durkin is doing a good job, but the governor is most definitely “the principal.” Then again, Rauner, Speaker Madigan and Senate President Cullerton aren’t exactly pals. If he joins the meeting, things might not go so well. But without his presence, the other leaders may not be certain he’ll support whatever they come up with (if they do come up with something).
* The Question: Should Gov. Rauner join the leaders’ meetings? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Do Your Job, Inc. is calling voters across the state and asking them to tell Governor Rauner to do his job.
The call can be heard here: https://clyp.it/i1h5wcgv
Transcript:
Every year for decades the state of Illinois has passed a budget. For the three years under Bruce Rauner, Illinois had failed to pass a budget due to Rauner’s refusal to compromise. Governor Rauner is a bully with an extreme agenda who is destroying our state. The consequences will be grave if we don’t pass a budget right away. Call Governor Rauner at 217.782.0244. Encourage him to sit down, pass a budget and do his job. Paid for by Do Your Job, Inc.
The robocall comes on the heels of a mailer paid for by Bruce Rauner’s Republican Party distorting the budget crisis. The mailer attempts to solely blame the legislature for the budget crisis and abdicate the state’s chief executive of his responsibility to govern.
The robocalls will also begin on a day when Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno – who often worked on a bipartisan basis for the good of the state - announced that she will be vacating her post at the start of the fiscal year. In a statement, Radogno expresses her “sadness and some disappointment” and joins Illinoisans who “hope and pray that the Governor, other legislative leaders, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House can find a path to solve the state’s problems.”
Do Your Job, Inc. is currently on air with an advertisement entitled “The Brink” encouraging Governor Rauner to secure a budget. In the ad, which began airing yesterday, Edgar declares that Illinois is in the worst condition he can ever remember including the state’s tenure during disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich. That ad can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/2seEb1I
Do Your Job, Inc. is led by IL Sen. Michael E. Hastings of South Suburban Cook County, IL Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie and Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan. “The Brink” will run in conjunction with the legislature’s special session schedule in hopes of helping to secure a budget.
* I’ve been talking with Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno for weeks about the rumors that she’s going to resign. We chatted yesterday and I was promised a formal response today. Radogno just sent me a text message…
I’m out of here 7-1. End of business.
Let’s hope she helps finalize a budget deal by then. Personally, I’d like to see her go out on a high note.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Full statement…
Statement from Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno:
“It truly is an honor to represent the 41st Senate District and my Republican colleagues in the Illinois Senate.
I have done the job to the very best of my ability and always with the needs of the state and my constituents in mind. I am proud of my legislative accomplishments – none of which were achieved alone. I have always appreciated the support, advice and counsel of my colleagues in both parties, staff and family.
I have particularly enjoyed my friendship and working relationship with Senate President John Cullerton that began the day we were chosen as Leaders of our respective caucuses.
However, I believe it’s time for a new Senate Republican leader.
I have done everything I can do to resolve the state’s budget crisis. I will continue to do so for the coming days. But if the solution will not come on my watch, I hope and pray that the Governor, other legislative leaders, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and House can find a path to solve the state’s problems.
Though I leave political office with a sense of sadness and some disappointment, I leave with no regrets. I did my best – that’s all I could do. It has been a privilege to serve. But now I am looking forward to returning to private life and spending time with my family, especially my five grandchildren.
Effective close of business on July 1, 2017 – the start of the new fiscal year – I intend to resign my position as Senate Leader and Senator from the 41st District.
The Caucus has already begun executing the plan for a smooth, orderly and expeditious transition.”
She’s a class act through and through.
*** UPDATE 2 *** I think it may wind up being a little narrower than this, but this is true at the moment…
Source: Senators Bill Brady, Karen McConnaughey and Michael Connelly are on the short list to replace Christine Radogno. https://t.co/jjc8pl1vP7
From what I’ve been hearing, Brady has been working a roll call for the past couple of days.
*** UPDATE 3 *** Press release…
Governor Bruce Rauner today released the following statement regarding Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno’s resignation:
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Leader Radogno these last two years as we continue to try to improve the lives of the people of Illinois. She is a consummate professional and public servant, who has championed fiscal responsibility and human services that help our most vulnerable residents. While she will be sorely missed, Diana and I wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** From House GOP Leader Jim Durkin…
“Chris Radogno has been my Senator and Co-Republican Leader for many years. I am fortunate to call her a confidant and friend. Her contributions to her district and the State of Illinois are immeasurable. Chris always stayed above the fray in this very partisan environment. Her constituents and I will miss her valued leadership.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** From Mayor Rahm Emanuel…
“Leader Radogno has been a committed and courageous public servant who has put the needs of her constituents, and all Illinois residents, ahead of special interests, politics and partisanship. Throughout her five terms in office she has always proven willing to reach across the aisle to find solutions for Illinois’ most pressing challenges, and her reasonable, pragmatic, collaborative approach to policy stands as a model for other legislators to follow. As the first female leader of a party in the Illinois legislature, she has served as a role model and paved a path for future generations to follow. I join residents across the state of Illinois in thanking Leader Radogno for her service and wishing her well in her next chapter.”
*** UPDATE 6 *** Press release…
Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton issued the following statement regarding the pending retirement of his colleague and friend Republican Leader Christine Radogno.
She and I began as Senate leaders on the same day. We started our relationship in those roles by voting for each other. We then turned our attention to the impeachment trial. We followed that up with a long-overdue, bipartisan agreement on investing in roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure.
It has been nine years of cooperation and professionalism
It’s been my honor to have Leader Radogno as my legislative partner, and I have cherished the opportunity to work with her as a colleague and friend. She was the one who first reached out to me to start the Senate effort to show that we could balance the budget. Frankly, this week’s leaders meetings wouldn’t be occurring if it wasn’t for her.
I will miss her camaraderie and common sense. But I also hope that she has a few tricks left up her sleeve before July 1 to help us finally get out of this mess.
*** UPDATE 7 *** Sen. Bill Brady…
“Over the years, it has been a privilege and an honor to work alongside Leader Christine Radogno. Chris has a track record of being an incredibly hard working, principled and bipartisan leader who truly believes in working across the aisle to do what is best for the people of this state. I want to thank her for her years of service to the state of Illinois, and wish her and her family nothing but the best as she moves on into this next phase.”
* As subscribers know, Edgar told me much the same yesterday. Here’s Bernie…
Former Republican Gov. JIM EDGAR said he didn’t know in advance that his voice would be used on an ad critical of Rauner.
“Do Your Job, Inc.” announced the new ad this week, and the made-for-TV spot includes audio of Edgar in a radio interview saying no budget for two years “has put this state in the worst condition I can ever remember. Even during the (ROD) BLAGOJEVICH years, it wasn’t this bad.”
A narrator says Rauner “has brought Illinois to the brink of collapse.” Rauner has consistently blamed Democrats for not meeting his pro-business conditions to approve a full budget.
Contacted Wednesday, Edgar said he didn’t know about the ad until he read about it on the Capitol Fax blog.
“I guess when you say something to the media and it’s reported, that’s fair game,” he said. “That’s my comment.”
At my desk, preparing for a balanced budget to arrive. Lawmakers need to come together & get this done for Illinois. Time is running out. pic.twitter.com/mnspNHImmf
I’m giving speeches seven days a week, five, six times a day. I’m speaking at African American churches every Sunday morning, and I judge myself by how many standing ovations I get.
Rauner’s public schedules do not list anywhere close to the number of speeches he claimed to give, and there is not always an African-American church on his weekend schedule.
He and his wife were at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Springfield on Sunday, but TERESA HALEY, a member there who happens to be president of the Illinois chapter and Springfield branch of the NAACP, said there was no speech. Rauner introduced himself and his wife when visitors were asked to say who they were, and he said something like, “It’s not about Democrat or Republican, it’s about coming together and worshiping Sunday morning,” Haley said. She said the Rauners seemed to enjoy the service.
She said Rauner “did walk around and introduce himself to several people.”
“No one gave him a standing ovation,” Haley said.
“When you go to church for fellowship and to praise God … it’s not about you,” she said.
Illinois lawmakers led by House Speaker Mike Madigan have barely worked during the special session – convening for only 122 minutes and sometimes not even showing up.
While Mike Madigan stalls, Illinois crumbles. Financial institutions are threatening junk status.
Madigan needs to get serious before his caucus of junk politicians fails to send the Governor a balanced budget for the second year in a row.
Today, the Illinois Republican Party is releasing a digital video highlighting the legislature’s inability to get to work.
* Meanwhile, as I told subscribers this morning, this is one of the five Illinois Republican Party mailers that have been sent into Democratic Rep. Jerry Costello’s district in the past seven days…
Notice anything missing from the Rauner plan? A way to pay for it, perhaps?
Today, Daniel Biss announced the endorsement of State Representative Kelly Cassidy.
“From the minute I met Daniel, I was impressed,” said Kelly Cassidy. “First, by his hair. But after that, by his willingness to be his own person - that he would make his own decisions on behalf of his district based on what he believes is right, even when a vote might be politically risky for him.
“Daniel is the only candidate in this race who has a record of enacting real, progressive change, including for the LGBTQ community. When we passed the ban on conversion therapy, when we passed marriage equality — he was there every step of the way, working with me and others in the community, doing the actual hard work of making laws that protect us.
“We have seen from the last 2.5 years that being Governor should not and cannot be an entry level job. Daniel has the real experience in governing we need. I’m proud to support him, and excited continue working with him as Governor.”
“It’s an honor to have Kelly on my side,” said Daniel Biss. “Kelly has proven herself a moral compass in a lost legislature, and a passionate defender of equal rights, especially for the LGBTQ community. From fighting for a living wage, to reforming our criminal justice system, to creating a safe and equal place for all of our communities, Kelly and I have worked together for years, and it means the world to me to me to receive her support today. I’m excited to work with Kelly today and for years to come to ensure that all Illinoisans have a seat at the table.”
That’s the second House Democrat to endorse Biss this week, even though he spends a lot of time lumping Speaker Madigan in with Gov. Rauner.
Pritzker, meanwhile, is planning a phone bank over the issue of health care as Republicans in Washington try to advance a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
The phone bank is the latest effort among Democrats critical of Rauner for not saying more about the GOP proposals, including a Senate Republican measure that would phase out funding for Illinois’ expansion of Medicaid coverage.
Rauner has said he has “concerns” about the proposals.
“We will call Bruce Rauner. We will call Republican congressional leaders. We will call (Illinois’ Democratic U.S. Sens.) Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin to thank them for their hard work. And we will call on others to help us make a difference,” Pritzker said in a statement.
I’ve never seen a press release announcing a phone bank before. Then again, I’ve never seen a phone bank that focused on calling elected officials. They also called voters, though.
* Meanwhile, Ameya Pawar has a new campaign video (click here) and the Trib talks about Chris Kennedy’s latest fundraising e-mail (click here).
Now, the Rauner people don’t like me writing about this issue, as I have a few times now.
Illinois’ two U.S. senators, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, have pretty much made up their minds and won’t move much even if Rauner talks to them, the governor’s people say.
And, they add, some other GOP governors who are outspoken are lame ducks and don’t have to manage the calculus of keeping the GOP base intact, as Rauner will have to do in his race for a new term next year.
And as one ranking Raunerite argued in an exchange today, the governor has his hands full right now in Springfield battling House Speaker Michael Madigan and other intransigent Democrats to finally bring a dose of desperately needed reform and structural change to Illinois.
I get all of that. But most of those excuses are lame or wrong—or both.
* I would only add that the governor has not taken any public role in the overtime session negotiations and yet still managed to squeeze in the time to leave town today for this event…
WHERE’S RAUNER? In Chicago, taking part in a round table to discuss trade and commerce opportunities between China and the Midwest.
I don’t blame him for going to Chicago for that highly important event. I’m just saying he ought to be able to find time to at the very least answer a question about something that could totally blow up this state’s budget and very probably harm many of the state’s hospitals.
…Adding... From the governor’s office…
He’s not going to Chicago. He’s attending via video conference from Springfield.
The legislation that allows the collection and distribution of fees for the state’s 911 call centers expires June 30. […]
This is the textbook example of a “no-duh” action that must be addressed in the Statehouse. Ensuring responses by police and fire departments in emergency situations is about as essential a service as it gets. But we’re in Illinois, where bitter partisan bickering has left us teetering on the brink of fiscal insolvency.
By overwhelming margins, the House and Senate passed Senate Bill 1839, which would extend the ability to collect and distribute fees to fund 911 services. As proposed, the legislation would raise the 911 surcharge in Chicago from $3.90 to $5, and from 87 cents to $1.50 elsewhere in Illinois. […]
If approved as is, it would be about a 28 percent increase in fee for Chicago residents, and more than 72 percent for everyone else in the state.
And as Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration noted in a memo issued June 22 that declared the hikes “unacceptable,” Chicago has already received two increases in the past four years: From $1.25 to $2.50 in 2013 and from $2.50 to $3.90 in 2014. The memo didn’t offer a suggested amount, but noted a 911 advisory board recommended a $1.05 statewide fee. It also warned of the dire consequences if lawmakers don’t send Rauner a “clean” extension bill before July 1. […]
We urge lawmakers to put SB 1839 to the side for now and explore other avenues to ensure continued operation of 911 centers. Legislators have introduced or amended existing bills to provide other options. The simplest — and one that should fly through the Capitol’s chambers and land on the governor’s desk as soon as humanly possible — is House Bill 4072, which would extend the sunset dates for 911 and similar services from this week to Dec. 31, 2020. […]
HB 4072 would allow 911 services to continue uninterrupted, and Rauner’s office said Wednesday he would support it. Leave the fee increases — and the fighting that accompanies them — to another day, and extend the act.
Apparently, the SJ-R editorial board was only paying attention to what the governor’s office told them.
So, let him veto it again. It could turn out to be worse than Pat Quinn’s humiliation on the ComEd “smart grid” veto.
*** UPDATE 1 *** 47 votes in the Senate and the governor still calls it a Democratic tax hike…
The Majority Party is holding 911 systems hostage in exchange for a tax hike on your phone bills. We need a clean bill to preserve 911. pic.twitter.com/0k5Sfyl5bI
During a special session that’s costing taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars a day without any results, both Democrats and Republicans are talking up the idea of compromise without publicly doing much to reach one. […]
Compromise, then, is proving to be in the eye of the beholder at the Capitol, a rhetorical tool to help sell the idea that the other side is to blame if no budget deal is reached by a Friday deadline.
Despite the fallout that will accompany such a failure, there’s little to indicate a resolution will be reached by then. Rauner sent the loudest signal Wednesday when he said if lawmakers fail to send “a balanced budget package to my desk by Friday, we will have no choice but to keep them in session until they get the job done.”
A property tax freeze critical to ending Illinois’ historic budget jam failed in the House Wednesday and the Republican governor who is demanding the freeze threatened to keep lawmakers in session over the July 4 holiday unless there is an agreement on a spending plan by the end of Friday. […]
But on a 59-46 vote, far short of the three-fifths majority necessary for the measure to take immediate effect, lawmakers’ efforts to avoid the ignominy of starting a third consecutive July 1 without a budget outline were thrown into doubt. Republicans oppose the Democrats’ freeze because it makes significant exceptions for Chicago, its school system and 17 other financially-strapped school districts, and for cities struggling to pay long-term debt and make contributions to police and fire pension accounts. […]
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs branded Democratic moves on Wednesday as “political theater.” While the four leaders of the House and Senate met for a second straight day in Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan’s third-floor Capitol office, none emerged to speak to a media throng outside.
But that could signal progress and an unwillingness to publicly criticize one another. Rep. Tom Demmer, a Dixon Republican tasked with pension-fix negotiations, said the House votes on the tangential issues were “premature” and negotiations continue.
John O’Connor is a longtime Statehouse reporter and he picked up on the same thing I did yesterday afternoon. When the leaders meet and then don’t talk to reporters, that’s usually a good sign. But that’s one of the only good signs we had yesterday.
Meanwhile, legislative leaders planned to meet again on Thursday morning.
As long as they’re talking, there’s some hope. But talks can also be used as a cover to mask a refusal to actually close a deal. Appear as if you’re making progress, then claim the other side was being unreasonable or hasty or whatever. We saw this happen a bunch in the Senate this year.
Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, said there was no point in postponing a vote.
“We are at 90 to 95 percent of what the governor asked,” she said. “The idea that we should wait, wait, wait doesn’t make much sense.”
Republicans aired similar complaints about the other bills, that they were the product of Democrats alone and not negotiations between the two parties. They complained the measures were watered down and that negotiations should continue on stronger legislation.
However, Democrats said the time had come to vote with just a couple of days left before the start of a new fiscal year.
So far, it’s almost an exact replay of the Senate at the end of May.
Republican state Rep. Steven Andersson urged lawmakers to pump the brakes on voting for bills currently being negotiated by leadership on both sides of the aisle.
“I’m certainly going to urge every member of my caucus not to vote for these bills,” Andersson said. “Not necessarily because they’re all that bad. Some of them might be there; some of them might be close.
“But if we vote ‘yes’ now, that ends that negotiation. Those negotiations are over because we already agree with you and we’re not quite there yet.”
Both sides are gonna play this game as long as they think they can. The only question is when does it end?
Meanwhile on the House floor, Democrats moved their bills pertaining to Governor Rauner’s reforms, but Republicans called them “fake.” They said Democrats abandoned negotiations in order to ram through their own plan.
“Hell, you have no idea how low I will go to get a budget,” Representative Steven Andersson said. “You have no idea. But the point is here, you do this now, you interrupt these negotiations.”
Democrats counter they’re trying to work with the GOP.
“This is a place of compromise. This is a place of negotiation. Each and every one of these proposals have been discussed with Republicans,” Representative Lou Lang, said.
Bills that are only “discussed” with the other party are, by definition, not compromises.
From my vantage point in the House, it has become increasingly clear that neither Governor Rauner nor House Speaker Mike Madigan wants a budget. Each is more concerned with the upcoming election and preserving power than the best interests of the public. Had both sides been forced to simultaneously submit truly balanced budgets back in 2015 – as I publicly called for – all of this would have been avoided. That is type of honest change Illinois yearns for.
With time counting down to the end of the state’s budget year, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton urged the governor to use the coming days to reach an agreement. The following comment is in response to the governor already talking about ordering more Special Sessions beyond Friday, June 30 and can be attributed to John Patterson, spokesman for Illinois Senate President John Cullerton:
“It’s Wednesday. Now is not the time for the governor to give up. Now is the time to find agreement. People are counting on us. Jobs, schools, vital services all hang in the balance. The avenue to success is there. We would hope that the governor would finally show the willingness to end this impasse and end the chaos.”
Governor Bruce Rauner today released the following statement regarding the General Assembly’s budget negotiations:
“If the legislature fails to send a balanced budget package to my desk by Friday, we will have no choice but to keep them in session until they get the job done.”
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown called extra special session days “not surprising.”
“All he [Rauner] needs to do is understand that the Legislature has gone way past middle ground to compromise,” Brown said. “We’ve been working on his reforms.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
Democratic candidate for governor Daniel Biss released the following statement in response to Governor Rauner’s threat to extend special session if the legislature does not pass a balanced budget by Friday.
“The Senate did its job and passed a budget. Instead of holding the state hostage to costly stunts, demands, and political manipulation, he needs to sit down with Speaker Madigan, make hard decisions and find compromise, and end this madness.”
* Rep. Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) just sent me a photo of a mail piece that landed in her district yesterday…
* She also sent me this text…
I just voted to freeze property taxes. Regardless if I liked the bill or not I took the vote in order to compromise with the Governor on his non budgetary demands. The 46th district and the entire state of Illinois desperately need a budget. It is time for the Governor to stop spending his money on mail and do his job.
Madigan demands of Rauner signal doom for budget deal
House Democrats are advancing legislation this week designed to get a budget deal by appeasing Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on the tangential issues he’s demanded.
But a spending plan that has been absent in Illinois for two years appears doomed in advance of Saturday’s start of another fiscal year. That’s because House Speaker Michael Madigan is making his own non-budget demands.
The Chicago Democrat wants Rauner to sign an education funding overall, OK insurance-rate regulation in workers’ compensation and more.
That’s unlikely. Madigan says, “That’s his decision, not my decision.”
* The Question: Percentage chance that this will all be wrapped up by this Friday night at 11:59? And don’t forget to explain your answer.
The Senate janitors told me that they have to take the trash to the Stratton now because the dumpsters were just removed because state didn’t pay? Might want to check
I’ve since seen some tweets and Facebook posts about it.
* So, I checked with Secretary of State Jesse White’s spokesman Dave Druker. The SoS controls the Statehouse, so they’re in charge.
Dave told me that the contract is expiring with the current garbage collection provider, so it’s now removing its dumpsters. The new provider, which submitted a lower bid, is starting on Monday.
In the interim, janitors will have to take the trash to the Stratton Building.
* It would’ve been a great story, though.
*** UPDATE *** I’ll bow to popular demand and make this a caption contest.
* Rep. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) posted this to his Instagram account regarding today’s House floor votes on the Democrats’ “non-budget” bills. His frustration and anger is palpable…
House Democrats have attempted time and time again to try to compromise with the Governor and House Republicans on their non-budgetary items yet they continue to say it’s not enough. We give them 70% of what they want on Workers Compensation, the reply? It’s NOT enough! We give them 80% of what they want on local government consolidation, the reply? It’s NOT enough! We give them 90% on pensions, the reply? It’s NOT enough. Compromise is not the same as ceding to ultimatums.
Despite frequent prodding by the hosts to attack Speaker Madigan and the Democrats, Rep. Brady tried to remain as focused as he could on the actual progress being made behind the scenes.
Brady is right about that. Rank and file House Democrats and Republicans have been working together to try to resolve some issues, like property taxes, workers’ comp, pensions, etc.
The problem isn’t necessarily with the members, it’s the two guys at the top of the food chain who can’t resist trying to knock this off the rails. Gov. Rauner has done this time and time again, of course, and Speaker Madigan appears to be doing it today with House floor votes on “non-budget issues” despite the fact that rank and file negotiations are continuing. (Debates are happening on those bills as I write this, by the way, so click here for our live coverage post.)
“I’d like to say to both of them ‘Just sit on the sidelines because there’s key people that can get it done.’ […]
“People will ask me, ‘What is it I can do?’ Everybody’s good at the negatives and the smart comments and that’s fine. If you want to do something positive, drop an e-mail or a call to the governor and/or the speaker today and let them know what you think.”
House Republican Leader Rep. Jim Durkin says Madigan is insisting that Rauner sign off on a bill to let Chicago raise cell-phone fees.
“Three-and-a-half days out before the close of the fiscal year, and new demands from the speaker over-complicates closure to this process,” Durkin said.
If Chicago raises the fees, the money would be used to pay for 911 services. The bill would also extend funding for downstate 911 centers, and would let AT&T phase out traditional landline telephone service.
The legislation passed with bipartisan support, but Rauner prefers a so-called “clean” bill that would allow current 911 services to continue.
House Democratic spokesman Steve Brown said he’s not sure he’d call Madigan’s position on the legislation a “demand.” He says Republicans outlined Rauner’s objections to the Chicago mobile phone fee hikes that would be allowed by the legislation, and Madigan responded that the governor should just sign the bill.
Paul Caprio, Director of Family-Pac, today urged Governor Rauner to veto S.B. 1839.
Caprio said, “We strongly oppose S.B. 1839 for two important reasons. First, we oppose the increase in the 911 telephone tax. Illinois does not need another tax increase on this essential service which hits hardest on those least able to afford it.”
Caprio continued, “Secondly, we strongly object to the provision in this bill that would effectively end telephone land lines and create a cell phone monopoly in the state. This is reckless intervention by government with the freedom to choose which Illinois consumers should have. S.B. 1839 is a classic example of state government promoting ‘crony capitalism’ as opposed to responsibly regulating public utilities.”
Caprio added, “Without land telephone lines in the state of Illinois, our 1st Amendment right to redress grievances through communication with our legislators will be greatly impeded. This is not a time when Illinois should be passing legislation that reduces communication between voters and their Representatives.”
* The plaintiffs are Medicaid managed care providers operating under a federal consent decree. They’re demanding the state pony up at least $500 million a month. The state simply doesn’t have the money…
Judge Lefkow gives 2 sides til Friday to find deal on Medicaid payments #ILBudget
A lawyer has told a federal judge in a civil case surrounding billions of dollars in unpaid Medicaid bills that trying to squeeze money out of Illinois as it heads into a third year without a budget is like trying to squeeze “blood out of a stone.” […]
State attorney Brent Stratton said Illinois can’t come close to finding a spare $500 million. He said it could pay $150 million at best, half paid by federal funds.
Right now, the oldest bills held by the Illinois Comptroller’s office date back to July 1, 2015, when the budget impasse began. Bills being paid on a day-to-day basis still date back to October of 2016. The Comptroller estimates that there are over 188,000 bill requests from state agencies waiting for payment in her office.
Whew.
Just let that sink in for a bit. The oldest bills date back to 7/1/2015.
The state owes Illinois dentists $225 million, and some of those bills go back 23 months, according to the Illinois State Dental Society. Some dentists in college towns or other areas with lots of state workers are selling their receivables to keep their heads above water. Others are asking state employees to pay in cash, says Ronald Lynch, a dentist in Jacksonville.
“There are dentists who have to do this just to survive,” says Dr. Lynch. “It’s very stressful.” Dr. Lynch, who hasn’t asked for such cash payments, says he is owed about $250,000, forcing him to forgo a salary so he can continue to pay bills and his employees.
Health care is the capital’s biggest employer apart from the state itself. Springfield’s two hospital systems — Memorial Health and HSHS St. John’s — say they together are owed more than $200 million by the state. Edgar Curtis, Memorial Health’s chief executive, says he has put off a $100 million capital-expansion project because of the uncertainty. “We hate to see projects being shelved because of what is going on at the state level,” he says.
When payments to vendors are not completed on time, there are financial consequences for the state. The Illinois Prompt Payment Act is a state law that sets mandatory penalty interest payments for most bills over 90-days past due. For most expenses, the interest penalty is 12% per year.
Since the beginning of the year, Illinois has paid $181 million in interest on late payments alone from debts created in previous years. An estimate from the Illinois Comptroller’s office says the state will have accrued $800 million in penalty interest this year that must be made in future fiscal years. The state must pay interest on every bill from the backlog, leaving less revenue left over for other bills in the queue.
That’s $800 million that can’t be spent on social services, schools, universities, public safety, you name it.
Habitually paying “late fees” through interest rates is not a practice used in other highly populated U.S. states. Other states have similar “prompt payment” laws that set late payment dates and penalties for debts in those states. These laws generally give states between 25 and 45 days to pay bills, and penalties range from 5% to 10% annually.
However, no current significant bill backlogs have been reported in California, Texas, New York, Florida, or Pennsylvania. While they each have their share of financial challenges, Illinois’ unprecedented lack of a budget has created a concept that simply does not exist in other states: $15 billion in unpaid bills.
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan introduced his long-awaited spending plan Tuesday, but didn’t offer specifics on how to pay for the $36.4 billion proposal that would direct money to schools, universities and social service programs.
That prompted Republicans backed by Gov. Bruce Rauner to accuse Democrats of refusing to “show their cards” on a tax increase, saying without details it’s impossible to tell if Madigan’s blueprint was balanced.
With a Friday deadline looming to strike an agreement before Illinois government enters a third-straight year without a budget, both political parties appear to be locked in a high-stakes game of chicken.
Rauner, his Republican allies in the legislature and the Democrats who control it agree that an income tax hike from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent is a starting point to dig the state out of a multibillion-dollar hole. In the House, neither party wants to blink first and face the blame from voters who don’t want to fork over more of their money.
“I have said from the beginning … a revenue bill will be a joint effort,” Madigan said Tuesday.
That’s a pretty good take, except that Gov. Rauner and the Republicans haven’t introduced their own tax hike bill, either.
House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) and Republican Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) both agree the state should raise the flat income tax to nearly five percent and the corporate rate up to seven percent, but neither has presented their tax plan in bill form.
Durkin says that’s Madigan’s job.
“I don’t run the chamber,” Durkin says. “I am not running this process. I am not included in participating in the budget which we will see in the next two days. [House Democrats] control it, so they will own the introduction of the tax bill — the Democrat tax legislation.”
After you, sir. No, after you, sir. No, by all means, after you, sir. No, I must insist, after you, sir.
There’s still no concrete plan to pay back the bill backlog, as well. The state is currently paying 12 percent interest on those bills. With refinancing, the state can get that down to 4.5 or 5 percent, but they would need new revenue. In budget talks, Senate Democrats contemplated bumping the income tax to 5.25 percent to pay down the backlog, but other ideas are being discussed as well.
Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said on Tuesday that House Democrats “would be open to discussion of different revenue sources.”
“In talking to folks who are familiar with the bond market, you do need a dedicated revenue source to get the lowest possible rate,” said Harris, adding that Democrats want to pass a budget plan first, then tackle the revenue bill.
A 5.25 percent income tax rate, even if part of that rate is only in place for a few years for a specific purpose, would be a non-starter for a governor who repeatedly promised during the campaign to lower the rate to 3 percent by the end of his first term.
Rauner wants a statewide property tax freeze and a major overhaul of the workers’ compensation insurance program to cut costs on businesses, which he views as key to economic growth. Madigan, who long argued Rauner should not hold the budget process “hostage” to political demands, now says he has “reluctantly” given in on the need for some changes in order to end the impasse. Still, Madigan warned that Democrats will not simply give Rauner everything he wants, repeatedly calling on the governor to be “reasonable.”
To that end, Madigan said Democrats planned to vote on several pieces of legislation Wednesday designed to meet the governor part of the way, though Republicans said they feared the proposals would be “watered down” to the point they would achieve little in the way of change.
“I can’t determine whether they are sincere or not,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs.
The GOP pointed to a Madigan pattern of offering up versions of legislation he knows they can’t support, then blaming them when a deal falls apart. Democrats countered that Republicans were unable to recognize a fair bargain when offered, saying Rauner was immovable.
* Leader Durkin on today’s votes…
“Only three days remain in this fiscal year, time is running out. So after today’s political theater and ‘gotcha’ votes have finished, I’m calling on the legislative leaders to resume meeting and continue negotiations to bring this to a conclusion,” said House Republican Leader Jim Durkin.
That’s a very good response. Nobody should allow somebody else to derail the train.
Also, it’s decent political cover in case this whole thing does crash and burn beyond repair.
…Adding… From Durkin’s spokesperson via text…
Leader Durkin has offered his office for leaders to meet at 2 pm today
…Adding More… From the House GOP…
Leaders are meeting at 12:30 pm in Speaker Madigan’s office
Madigan told reporters he plans to call four reforms for a vote on Wednesday: workers’ compensation reform, a property tax freeze, local government consolidation and pension reform.
“This is governmental negotiation, and I think you all know that in governmental negotiation, like negotiations in most other areas, nobody gets 100 percent,” Madigan said of the governor’s reform asks. “Everybody gets something less than 100 percent.” […]
Republicans also disagree with Democrats on workers’ compensation reform, including the medical fee schedule and on insurance reform.
* It’s not just legislative Republicans. Here’s the top lobbyist for the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association…
House Dem plan for work comp is NOT compromise nor will it reduce costs. It could actually increase costs and make IL worse. Fake reform.
Missing in action is Rauner’s much touted push for term limits. Wednesday marks the last day the Senate could clear a constitutional amendment to send it to the House.
“Leader Radogno has consistently pushed for term limits and a vote on the Senate floor,” Radogno spokeswoman Patty Schuh said. “Based on discussions today, she is not anticipating a vote tomorrow.”
Her constitutional amendment was moved directly to the floor without a hearing on May 19th and then placed on 3rd Reading way back on May 22nd.
The House has to use up three full days to read this into the record before they can vote on it, so today is the deadline.
