A deal to plug a $1.6 billion hole in Illinois’ current budget is not imminent, the president of the state Senate said on Friday, contradicting assertions this week from the governor and House Speaker.
Senate President John Cullerton told Reuters the fiscal year 2016 budget unveiled by Governor Bruce Rauner on Wednesday complicates negotiations over the budget gap in fiscal 2015, which ends June 30. An impasse could potentially threaten cutoff of operating funds for child care, prisons and other state institutions, he added.
The Republican governor’s $32 billion general budget for fiscal 2016 beginning July 1, aims to chop $6.6 billion from healthcare, local government revenues, mass transit and other areas. It raises no new revenue and controversial pension changes account for $2.2 billion of the savings.
“Because it’s slashing programs and no revenue, I think that’s going to make it difficult for us to reach an agreement” on the 2015 budget gap, said Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat.
In his budget address Wednesday, Rauner said a resolution was “literally days away.” Madigan, also a Chicago Democrat, said after the speech he expected a deal “in a matter of days.”
Governor Bruce Rauner announced today he has selected a new Assistant Secretary for the Illinois Department of Transportation and filled openings on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Name: Rich Brauer
Position: Assistant Secretary – Illinois Department of Transportation
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Rep. Rich Brauer to serve as the Assistant Secretary at the Illinois Department of Transportation. Brauer has served on transportation committees, and as a downstate resident, he will be a strong advocate for the region on transportation issues.
For the past 13 years, Brauer worked for the people of Illinois in the General Assembly as a state representative. His committee assignments included Transportation, Regulation, Roads; Transportation: Vehicles & Safety; Tourism & Conventions; and Appropriations, among others.
Brauer also spent much of his career in the agricultural industry as the owner of OASIS Farms, a farrow-to-finish operation. As the owner he oversaw the creation of new facilities and managed employees. He is a member of the Illinois Farm Bureau. Brauer is also the past president of the Illinois Pork Producers and served on the Board of Directors of the National Pork Producers.
Brauer attended Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University.
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Joann Fratianni-Atsaves as the chairman of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). She has 34 years of experience in workers’ compensation law and is currently an arbitrator on the IWCC.
Fratianni-Atsaves has worked for the IWCC for the past 27 years. She began her career as an arbitrator in 1987 and was appointed to be a commissioner from 1990 to 1993. She continued her work as an arbitrator after her term as a commissioner was complete. She currently hears workers’ compensation matters by trial or settlement, and renders written decisions and approves settlement contracts.
Prior to her work for the IWCC, Fratianni-Atsaves worked in private practice at the law offices of Anthony V. Fanone where she handled insurance defense litigation for workers’ compensation matters, often trying cases within the IWCC. She began her legal career at Osterkamp, Jackson & Hollywood.
Fratianni-Atsaves is a graduate of the University of Illinois and earned her law degree at Northern Illinois University.
Name: David Gore
Position: Commissioner – Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Governor Bruce Rauner has reappointed David Gore to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). This will be Gore’s fourth term as a commissioner and he has served on the board since 2006. He represents the employee community as a labor commissioner.
Gore has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney, previously serving as a partner at the law firm Gore & Gore. It specialized in workers’ compensation cases. He also worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the Illinois Attorney General and a staff attorney with the Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau.
Gore also has experience working on workers’ compensation matters as a staff representative for the United Steel Workers of America, AFL-CIO-CLC. He handled unfair labor practice charges and represented the union before the National Labor Relations Board.
Gore holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing, a law degree and an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Name: Kevin Lamborn
Position: Commissioner – Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Governor Bruce Rauner has reappointed Kevin Lamborn to a third term as a commissioner of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). He has served on the board since 2007 as a Business Member Appointee. In this position, he conducts hearings and issues written decisions on litigation appealed from arbitration.
Prior to his work on the IWCC, Lamborn was an associate attorney at Storino, Ramello & Durkin where he practiced municipal law. He represented local municipalities in civil actions, and also served as an Administrative Hearing officer in property impoundment and code violations.
Lamborn’s legal career also included being a partner at McAauley & Lamborn. In that practice, Lamborn focused on a large range of the law including civil litigation, property transactions, work-related injury, and criminal defense, among others.
Lamborn began his career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County. He worked his way up from traffic court to the felony trial division. He spent his final two years in the Special Prosecutions Bureau, where he investigated and tried cases involving public officials accused of misconduct.
Lamborn received his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He earned two bachelor’s degrees in political science and criminal justice from Valparaiso University.
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Joshua Luskin to serve as a public member commissioner on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Luskin is currently an arbitrator on the IWCC and has more than 15 years of law experience.
Prior to his work on the IWCC, Luskin was a partner at the law firm Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie & Lowry, where he specialized in workers’ compensation law. Luskin also served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he handled military prosecution and offered legal service to members of the military. He also worked in the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s office, and in the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s office.
Luskin graduated from Macalester College in 1994 with a degree in philosophy. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan.
* John Bambenek and I have become sorta pals over the years. I always appreciate his insights. He’s a former legislative candidate, has his own consulting firm and is a visiting lecturer at UIUC.
When John told me about the huge skim the U of I was taking from tuition and grants, I was appalled and asked him to send me an op-ed. Check it out…
In light of potential higher education budget cuts, I decided to calculate how much of the University of Illinois’ tuition dollars end up in instructors’ pockets.
I teach 125 Computer Science students. Assuming they are all in-state and they are all 3-hour students, they pay about $1,655 to take the class. This adds up to $207,000 paid to the University. It’s actually much higher than that because about half my students are out-of-state and pay double the in-state tuition and I have about a half-dozen 4-hours students.
My salary and the grading staff pay is only about 13% of that $207K. So the vast majority of those tuition dollars goes to things other than actually teaching the class. By way of comparison, when I teach overseas I am paid between 50-60% of the course cost.
Don’t mistake this as a gripe about my pay, I do this because it’s fun and to help deal with a very critical skill shortage in my field.
Some of this is necessary overhead. However, many of the typical overhead costs are paid (or at least subsidized) by student fees like the Academic Facility Maintenance Fund Assessment (for buildings), Transportation Fee, Library and Information Technology Fee and others.
Doing some spot checking of other lecturers on campus I found between 10% and 30% of tuition dollars ended up paying those who actually perform the service people are paying for.
And it’s just as bad on the research side.
The University charges 58% to federal grants for unitemized “overhead charges”. So a large portion of research dollars are spent on things other than direct costs of actually doing the research the institution was paid to do.
The University of Illinois has two missions: teaching and research. The question is why is a majority of the funds in both categories not being spent directly on those missions?
The answer lies in the fact that while the number of students has remained generally flat or grown slightly, the growth in the number of non-teaching administrators has skyrocketed. In the last 25 years, the number of administrators has doubled according to a recent study. Here is a helpful graph to show the problem:
This isn’t to say that support staff are unimportant or that the University needs no administrators. I know in my department I rely on the good work many people do. That said, many faculty members have remarked they don’t feel like the University’s mission is to support those who do teaching and research. They feel that it’s the mission of researchers and teachers to support an ever-burgeoning bureaucracy that delivers nominal benefit to students. With the number above, it’s easy to see why.
The Governor’s budget can easily be spun to say it will cut academic opportunities to college students. Or it can be an opportunity for higher education to focus on its core missions and trim those functions that do little to no good in making it happen.
* Gov. Bruce Rauner’s new chief of staff ran Rodney Davis’ first congressional campaign. Maybe they’ll finally start to listen to reason on 2.5. From the Republican Congressman’s press conference today…
Davis: I don’t agree with Gov. Rauner on all of the issues. I have a lot of support from many in organized labor…
Judy Baar Topinka would’ve kicked Rauner’s behind for all of his over the top union bashing. But with her untimely death, no other Republican elected official with ties to organized labor has stepped forward as a voice of reason or as a middle-man.
So, good on Davis. Rauner’s war is not only unwinnable, it’s costing him dearly in the GA.
* Allow me to explain. There’s a reason why Rauner drastically toned down the rhetoric during the general election and said attacking unions wasn’t even on his radar in October. Politics is a game of addition. The race was close. Rauner wanted to win. Why push people away?
Well, every significant legislative roll call is like an election. You need 60 votes in the House and 30 in the Senate to win. So, why needlessly push people away when you know you have to get some big things done?
The governor was smart in the fall about this issue, but not so much since he was inaugurated.
New Mailer Delivers Aaron Schock’s Latest Ethical Lapses And Tax Dollar Abuses Right To Voters Door
Following a flurry of news stories exposing Congressman Schock’s shocking abuse of tax dollars, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today launched a direct mail piece to show voters exactly what their hard earned tax dollars were going to fund. This mailer is being delivered to thousands of voters in Schock’s district.
According to reports, Schock spent more than $220,000 in tax payer funds to redecorate his swanky Washington DC office in a Downton Abbey theme, to fund his global gallivanting as well as a private plane and a photographer to chronicle his travels.
“Congressman Schock seems to be confused: he was elected to be a member of Congress, not the Earl of Grantham,” said Matt Thornton of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “His lavish lifestyle and blatant abuse of tax dollars is just the latest head scratching failures from Republicans who control Congress.”
This is not Congressman Schock’s first ethical lapse. In 2013, Schock was involved in an ethics complaint surrounding campaign contributions that also ensnared fellow Republican Congressman Rodney Davis.
* Click the pic for a larger image of the mailer…
I just don’t understand what the Democrats think they are gaining by these attacks except causing a little trouble for a guy in a safe district.
…Adding… People, this is a DCCC mailer - the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It has nothing to do with Kirk’s Senate race or whatever. If anything, the DCCC should be happy to see him move on to greener pastures.
Insights are usually appreciated, but put this into context, please.
* While some folks are encouraging you to ignore all the specifics of the governor’s proposed budget cuts, the governor’s own wife is taking those proposals quite seriously…
The Ounce of Prevention Fund, an early-childhood nonprofit headed by first lady of Illinois Diana Rauner, issued statements to the media and supporters this week criticizing cuts proposed by the governor that target the state’s Child Care Assistance Program and Early Intervention programs.
A statement to the media reads, “We are opposed to the many proposed cuts in health, social service and education programs that would directly impact vulnerable children and families and their communities. We will oppose any changes to the Child Care Assistance Program that would adversely affect low-income families.” […]
A spokeswoman for the Ounce says Diana Rauner approved the statement and though she didn’t see the Action Alert, “everything in it reflects the position of the Ounce organization, including our president Diana Rauner.”
The governor’s office declined to talk about any discussion he had with his wife about the budget-cutting plans
* Despite various attempts to downplay the significance of the governor’s proposed budget cuts, the reality is that’s it’s February 20th - meaning the only budget plan we have right now is the governor’s. And since that’s the case, the media will naturally gauge the impact of what the governor wants to do.
In his budget speech, Rauner said the reduction would only account for three percent of local municipalities’ budgets. But Illinois Municipal League legislative director Joe McCoy said every community would feel the pain, but smaller communities might fare worse.
“If a community doesn’t have a very vibrant array of other taxes that they can generate revenue from, then (the Local Government Distributive Fund) becomes that much more important,” McCoy said. “So I think it is a community-by-community issue, and there are a lot of communities that rely much more heavily on LGDF, and those would feel the most impact.”
He said some communities with smaller tax bases and no businesses rely on the fund for 15 percent to 20 percent of their budgets.
The likely outcome, according to several mayors, is the reduction of public safety personnel. [Springfield Mayor Mike Houston] said if Rauner’s decrease passes, the city would have to look at laying off personnel, likely in public safety, which takes up 70 percent of the $118 million total budget.
Cutting budgets is like that old saying about bank robbery: You go where the money is. The local money is in public safety. And the same goes for the state. If you’re not cutting P-12, some very big money is in local government.
* Phil Kadner takes a look at the governor’s claim Wednesday that local governments are sitting on a $15 billion cash pile of reserves…
The governor’s office said the $15 billion estimate of local government reserve funds came from the state comptroller’s office, but that office’s figures total about $18 billion.
Municipalities have roughly $6.5 billion in fund balances, counties have $3.4 billion, townships $894 million, park districts $862 million, fire protection districts $540 million, public library districts around $400 million and special purpose districts $944 million, according to the comptroller’s office.
It said Cook County, the city of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, the Regional Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District have a combined $4.4 billion in reserve fund balances. […]
[Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin] said Orland Park has about $20 million in reserve on a $50 million annual operating budget “because we’ve been doing what the state should have been doing all these years” — living within a budget. He said the village has a policy of keeping 20 percent of its operating budget in reserve.
“Instead of fixing the state, he’s coming after local governments,” Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m not happy at all. Gurnee has its house in order — we have a AAA bond rating, no local property tax and exceptional services. I don’t know why he’s decided to pick on us.” […]
“I was very hopeful about the new governor. I’m so disappointed,” she said. “He’s ignoring everything at the state level and coming after the local guys.”
“Municipalities throughout the state have been pickpocketed for years by Springfield, and now Governor Rauner’s proposal to eliminate 50 percent is akin to armed robbery,” Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said.
Armed robbery? Pretty strong words for Geneva’s mayor.
The new Republican governor’s move follows a pattern of higher education funding reductions embraced by fellow GOP governors such as Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, a pair of Republicans who like to burnish their bonafides with their political bases. […]
When a variety of restricted funds are added in for categories like research and student housing, [UIUC] operates on an overall $5.6 billion budget.
That’s the figure Rauner’s team prefers to focus upon when looking at public universities as it tries to defuse a bit of the political blowback to the governor’s proposed funding cuts. Through that lens, the cuts are closer to 6 percent of total revenues going to universities.
The Rauner administration also counts general state funds that go into the university pension funds — a number that budget officials estimate is more than $1 billion — along with hundreds of millions more for health care. […]
“They’ve taken hits for a long time,” said Sen. David Luechtefeld, the Republican spokesman on the Senate Higher Education Committee. “I think they’re pretty close to rock bottom.”
Northern Illinois University officials are considering reducing staff, restructuring academic programs and pursuing more grants after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal included a 31 percent cut in NIU’s state funding.
While increasing staff numbers may be a sensible way to cut back on the cost of overtime, for which employees must be paid 1.5 times their normal salary, it’s not a long-term solution to the systemic problem at hand. IDOC is amidst a budgetary crisis, and will be unable to make payroll by April. To get prison spending under control, the state must incarcerate fewer people. Prison may make sense for violent criminals who pose a threat to public safety. But nearly 70 percent of Illinois’ prison population is serving time for nonviolent offenses. Many would benefit from diversion into drug- and mental-health treatment programs, parole, or other programs that keep families together and allow offenders to continue working instead of costing taxpayers billions each year.
In order to build a fairer and more cost-effective system, the state needs major criminal-justice reforms. The state must strongly consider policies that:
* Reform mandatory minimum sentencing: Repeal laws that set a minimum number of years to serve for an offense, allowing judges to tailor punishments to each crime and individual circumstances.
* Roll back overcriminalization: Reduce laws that criminalize victimless activities and lead to overcrowded prisons, overextended public budgets and police militarization.
* Ease offender re-entry into society: Remove state-imposed barriers, such as occupational-licensing rules, that prevent ex-offenders from finding work and integrating back into society.
If taxpayers want Illinois’ criminal-justice system to prioritize individual rights and fiscal responsibility, lawmakers must reorganize the state’s corrections system to focus on rehabilitation and recovery, not simply punishment and incarceration. Hopefully, Rauner will act with the General Assembly to pass sensible reforms to the state’s justice system.
* The last thing the Republicans want is a detailed discussion of the proposed cuts in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget. It’s probably why legislative staff, reporters and others were not thoroughly briefed on the budget plan this week. Cuts are never popular. People generally want the government to cut “waste” and continue doing largely what it has been doing - and everybody’s got a different idea about what waste actually is.
Plus, lots of Republican legislators are beyond nervous about the governor’s proposed cuts. Nerves most definitely need to be calmed.
In a sign that a final state budget plan will look significantly different from what Gov. Bruce Rauner outlined Wednesday, the man expected to deliver Republican votes in the House predicted tough but “delicate” negotiations lie ahead.
In an interview Thursday with the Quad-City Times Springfield Bureau, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, downplayed concerns that Rauner proposed a budget that is not balanced because it relies on $2.2 billion in savings from an overhaul of state employee pensions.
“Everything in that speech is subject to negotiation,” Durkin said […]
Durkin said his goal in the coming weeks will be to find ways to cut state spending within the parameters laid out by Rauner. But he did not commit to following the exact template proposed by the rookie chief executive.
“The governor has indicated he wants to live within a certain revenue number, and how we get there, he’ll be very open to how we do that,” Durkin said. “It’s going to be really delicate, but I think its going to be a very good negotiating year for the caucuses.”
…Adding… The Tribune editorial board has also refused to get into the weeds of the governor’s budget plan, preferring instead to echo Durkin’s comments. So gutsy.
* As I told subscribers yesterday, neither Sen. Biss nor Rep. Nekritz are buying into the validity of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed pension reform plan. Neither of then can figure out how it could save $2.2 billion in the first year and they can’t fathom how the governor can claim it will immediately knock $25 billion off the state’s unfunded pension liability…
“I’m not quite sure I understand the numbers at all. It seemed a little confusing to me,” said [Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston], a Harvard-educated former mathematics professor at the University of Chicago. “I also don’t know how you can possibly bank the savings before you’ve gone to court.” […]
“This, to me, is a return to fuzzy pension math,” [Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook]. “There’s just no way, looking at the proposal, that you protect every retiree and give every worker [the “vast majority” of whom are already ages 45 to 50] the pensions they have earned and say that you are going to knock 25 percent off of the unfunded liability. If you are going to preserve all of that, the math just doesn’t add up.”
She also said that during negotiations on the pension reform bill, some suggested then the idea of moving workers into a 401(k)-style plan.
“Pretty much all of the experts came back and said that that will blow a bigger hole in the pension systems,” she said.
* Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart had this letter delivered to the governor’s office yesterday evening…
Illinois is in serious financial distress and we owe the citizens of this state an honest conversation about how we address the crisis, both from a fiscal standpoint and a moral one. Like many, I welcome a fresh look at how taxpayer dollars are being used and abused in all levels of government.
Yet, your budget proposals are alarming, not only for their insensitivity to the millions of lives they impact, but also for their lack of financial sense. In the face of jaw-dropping budget shortfalls, politicians for years have looked to cut state services that are crucial to large segments of our population who lack the cash and the lobbyists to fight back.
After just a month in office, you are proposing more of the same. Cutting already strained mental health programs; alcoholism and substance abuse treatment programs; criminal justice services and youth services does nothing to make Illinois a place people want to live. Slashing funding for our most vulnerable children through DCFS and kicking 18-year-old wards to the curb with no transitional support does nothing to right our ship.
Morality aside, such tactics – which are scaring hundreds of thousands of people and children across this state – are simply bad budgeting. When mental health and substance abuse programs are shuttered, where do you think the people needing that care end up? When a DCFS ward – even the ward’s child in some cases – is sent into the world without adequate help, what do you think will happen to that teenager on the street?
We know, all too often, they end up in the most costly government system of all, the criminal justice system. Once there, costs for prosecution and incarceration start racking up every minute, every day, every month.
You know this too. Your own budget calls for spending more money to reduce recidivism to save the state prison system money. You recently announced an ambitious goal to lower the state prison population by 25% in the next 10 years. Yet, cutting social safety net programs will only widen the pipeline to state prison for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Knowing your business acumen, I expected a budget proposal that was not so penny wise and pound foolish with people’s lives. Please reconsider this short-sighted proposal.
* President Obama is in Chicago to designate the Pullman Historic District as a national monument. It’s Chicago’s first national park. From the pool report…
THen at 2:25 [the President] gathered with officials, including Emanuel, and signed the official documents presumably designating the monuments.
Rauner tried to make his way onstage for the signing but was left at the rope-line.
Asked afterwards about not being invited onstage, Rauner just smiled and walked away.
Rauner proposes saving $75 million by being more aggressive in determining eligibility and by adding new efforts to “detect and prevent fraudulent and abusive billing practices by providers,” according to the budget document.
* Riopell writes about a little-noticed Bruce Rauner proposal from yesterday…
Rauner wants to change a state law that makes local school districts pay penalties if they give big end-of-career pay raises to teachers and administrators.
School districts can still give the pay raises, but the state says local officials have to pay for the pension consequences.
Now, school districts have to pay penalties if they give late-career pay raises of more than 6 percent. Rauner wants to enact penalties for those pay raises if they’re greater than the rate of inflation, which lately has been around 1 percent. […]
Most districts avoid big penalties, even writing in a 6 percent pay raise cap into their contracts with teachers. But 1 percent is a lot lower, of course.
“While a so-called reform was enacted in an effort to prevent pension spiking, teacher contracts in recent years have made the six percent cap a floor rather than a ceiling,” Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said.
The ABC7 I-Team has been looking into a mind-boggling statement made by the Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday.
“One out of every four dollars taken from taxpayers by the state goes into a system that is giving more than 11,000 government retirees tax-free, six-figure pensions worth as much as, in one case, $450,000 per year,” Rauner said. […]
The person receiving a $450,000 pension went unnamed, but the I-Team has learned he is a man named Tapas Das Gupta, a doctor retired from University of Illinois Chicago Hospital. Currently taxpayers are footing his annual pension of $452, 843, but what the governor didn’t mention is that the No. 2 top pensioner also makes about that much. […]
Runner-up top state pensioner is Dr. Edward Abraham, a UIC orthopedic surgeon educated in Beruit, Lebanon, who retired at age 66 and receives a $439,000 a year pension.
Even as he receives that pension, Dr. Abraham has been hired back here at UIC part-time. It’s double dipping that is perfectly legal in Illinois and that other state pensioners take advantage of.
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois is often compared to our neighbor Indiana when it comes to workers’ compensation costs for businesses. Unfortunately, it is not a fair or accurate comparison. Wages are the main driving factor when it comes to workers’ compensation costs. Workers’ compensation benefits (non-medical) are based on a worker’s average weekly wage. On average, Indiana pays its workers 27 percent less than Illinois. Illinois ranks 8th in the country for average weekly wages, while Indiana ranks 35th. Because workers’ compensation replaces lost wages, lower wages in Indiana naturally creates lower workers’ compensation costs.
Indiana businesses may have lower workers’ compensation costs for employers; however workers injured on the job have meager options for their health care under Indiana’s workers’ compensation laws. In addition, Indiana’s early return to work program often forces injured workers back to work sooner than they should be and often leads to re-injury or new injuries.
Workers in Illinois deserve better. A fair and reasonable workers’ compensation system in Illinois helps injured workers get back on their feet and back to work.
For more information on workers’ compensation, click here.
* Illinois State University President Larry Dietz reacts to the governor’s proposed 31 percent cut to his school’s state funding…
“Some areas that could be affected include tuition – as set by our Board of Trustees – scholarships, faculty and staff compensation, hiring decisions and maintenance projects.
“Throughout the process, I want to assure you that protecting the jobs of our outstanding faculty and staff is our highest priority. We will do everything we can to prevent measures such as layoffs and forced furlough days.”
So, tuition and scholarships are on the table then?
I believe it’s imperative that we strengthen our university systems. But this insistence on protecting the bureaucracy to the detriment of the students is preposterous.
[US Sen. Mark Kirk], Diana Rauner To Highlight Success of Early Childhood Education Programs in Englewood
Participating Children were 35% Less Likely to Visit an Emergency Room
Every Dollar Spent Provides Return Investment of $5.70
* It’s probably no accident that Gov. Rauner proposed increasing early childhood education funding yesterday by $25 million. From a Wednesday press release by Illinois Action for Children…
Governor Rauner should be applauded for making early childhood a clear priority today. As the Governor said in his address, every dollar invested today in early childhood saves us more than $7 in the future.
It is a positive sign that the Governor has proposed to increase Pre-K investments and maintain child care funding in FY16, while also signaling that he and the General Assembly are negotiating to reach an agreement to fill the current $300 million shortfall facing the Child Care Assistance Program. Ending that crisis now must be the highest priority of our elected officials.
But much of that increase will be paid for by zeroing out all state funding for Advance Placement, Arts/Foreign Language, Agricultural Education, After School Matters, the Parent Mentoring Program, Lowest Performing Schools, funding to East St. Louis SD 189, Regional Safe Schools, Children’s Mental Health Partnership, National Board Certified Teachers, Tax Equivalency Grants, Teach for America, and Targeted Initiatives.
I wonder what Sen. Kirk and Mrs. Rauner think about those cuts?
The advisory notes—correctly—that Diana Rauner heads the Ounce of Prevention Fund, which has done some very nice work trying to help poor families. It says that the federal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Visiting Program has provided assistance to young mothers that not only makes childhood injuries less likely but has cut teen pregnancy rates. […]
I just have to wonder whether such needy folks might have a harder time of it if hospitals are less willing to provide treatment in the future because the governor has cut reimbursement rates. Or whether the fewer government-funded slots that will be available in alcohol and drug treatment programs might make a difference in their lives.
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The cable industry is asking lawmakers to place a NEW 5% tax on satellite TV service. The satellite tax is not about fairness, equity or parity – it’s a tax increase on the 1.3 million Illinois families and businesses who subscribe to satellite TV.
Satellite Tax Will Hurt Illinois Families and Small Businesses
• Satellite TV subscribers will see their monthly bills go up 5%.
• This tax will impact every bar, restaurant and hotel that subscribes to satellite TV service, which will translate into higher prices, decreased revenues, and fewer jobs.
• Rural Illinois has no choice: In many parts of Illinois, cable refuses to provide TV service to rural communities. Satellite TV is their only option.
Satellite Tax Is Not About Parity or Fairness
• Cable’s claim that this discriminatory tax is justified because satellite TV doesn’t pay local franchise fees could not be further from the truth. Cable pays those fees to local towns and cities in exchange for the right to bury cables in the public rights of way—a right that cable companies value in the tens of billions of dollars in their SEC filings.
• Satellite companies don’t pay franchise fees for one simple reason: We use satellites—unlike cable, we don’t need to dig up streets and sidewalks to deliver our TV service.
• Making satellite subscribers pay franchise fees—or, in this case, an equivalent amount in taxes—would be like taxing the air. It’s no different than making airline passengers pay a fee for laying railroad tracks. They don’t use; they shouldn’t have to pay for it.
* The response from the Senate Black Caucus to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal was mostly predictable, but on point…
“Yes, government leaders in positions of power hold many responsibilities, one of which is ensuring a thriving private sector, attractive to business and industry – but not to be forgotten are the awesome responsibilities of protecting and serving the people.” – State Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood 4th)
“Cutting services that uplift communities are not only a slap in the face, but it’s an attack on the lower and middle class. This irresponsible, smoke-and-mirrors budget balances our state’s debts on the backs of the neediest, but refuses to close corporate loopholes.” – State Senator Donne E. Trotter (D-Chicago 17th)
“I am outraged that the governor is knocking middle and lower-class families down when they are already facing tough economic circumstances. He’s putting lives and livelihoods in jeopardy by treating our state’s most vulnerable people like burdens.” – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago 3rd)
“This proposed budget would close doors of opportunity for youth in disadvantaged communities throughout the state.
“By cutting funding for anti-violence initiatives and services for wards of the state who face homelessness and exploitation when they turn 18, this administration signals that it is giving up on the tremendous potential within our young people struggling to emerge from difficult circumstances.
“And with one-third of higher education funding eliminated in the Rauner budget, young men and women who beat the odds and make it to college would face higher tuition, less assistance and fewer resources.” – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago 16th)
* Sen. Gary Forby also got in some licks…
“It’s pretty cold of the governor to propose cuts to energy cost assistance at a time when working families are struggling to deal with spikes in the utility bills.”
“This budget is filled with cut after cut after cut,” Forby continued. “Tuition costs are going to go up putting more of the burden on our students when they are trying to prepare themselves for the workforce.”
* As did Sen. Heather Steans…
In hearings starting next month, my colleagues and I will thoroughly discuss each agency’s needs and where savings can be achieved. But the numbers in today’s proposal simply don’t add up. I look forward to working with the governor’s office on a balanced budget that is realistic and fulfills our responsibilities to our most vulnerable residents.
* And Sen. Daniel Biss…
(T)he Governor’s proposal singles out working families and the most vulnerable among us for the deepest cuts, while asking nothing of the rich. It is simply unconscionable to slash Medicaid, foster care, and much of the rest of our safety net while leaving the most fortunate among us untouched.
Sen. Donne Trotter said Wednesday Rauner has proposed a “slash-and-burn budget.” The Chicago Democrat says Rauner acted “as if he was an ISIS warrior fighting a battle, not against the state of Illinois but against the people of Illinois.”
Rauner spokesman Lance Trover says the administration welcomes dialogue with legislators. But he’s urging lawmakers “to refrain from over the top rhetoric that demeans the process.”
Trover is right, Trotter is wrong.
What the Senator did was distract attention away from the governor’s cuts and put it onto himself.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed $1.47 billion in Medicaid cuts includes reductions in dental services, mental health care and other coverage. But some legislators and patient advocates say the targeted services don’t just help keep people healthy — they also save the state money. […]
“We found, for example, that if you cut people’s dental services and then they don’t go to a dentist, they end up going to an emergency room and it costs us more money,” Cullerton said. “So we went back and examined that and made a change.”
“People will not miraculously get better if they’re denied care for services,” said Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago. “They’ll just end up at a higher level of care in an acute care setting at the most expensive end of their disease.”
Other legislators responded that the added costs of emergency room services have not been well-documented.
In a report this year, [the Pew Center on the States] estimated that preventable dental problems were the primary diagnosis in 830,590 emergency room visits in 2009 — up 16 percent from 2006.
“It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish,” said Shelly Gehshan, the director of the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign. “Rather than an $80 extraction or a $300 filling, states are spending much more on emergency room visits that can’t fix the problem.”
(M)any Medicaid enrollees continue to live with the pain and discomfort of tooth decay and gum disease, which can exacerbate other health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Eventually, some go to costly emergency rooms, which can do little but provide short-term pain relief.
…Adding… More on this general topic from the Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities group…
Governor Bruce Rauner’s $27 million cuts to drug treatment services undermine the very criminal justice reforms that he has been publicly championing.
Criminal justice reforms and cost savings simply cannot happen without drug treatment and coordinated case management upon which Illinois courts rely.
Last year alone, working with judges and community-based treatment providers, TASC diverted 2,080 people from prison and immediately saved Illinois $35 million. Under the governor’s proposed budget for next year, millions of those savings would be wiped out.
“If you’re going to look for major reforms and finding savings, I suggest you look at the tax code where there’s a bunch of corporate giveaways and corporate loopholes,” Emanuel said. “That’s a perfect place to start, but do not think you are going to do this, not only on the backs of families and children, but the resources that go directly to the city are things that we use to pay for our police, firefighters and first responders.” […]
Rauner’s draconian budget offers little hope for Emanuel that such solutions are on the horizon. Instead, it’s estimated Chicago could lose $135 million in income tax distributions, which Emanuel said would lead to sharp cuts in city services.
“We use those resources to pay for police officers, firefighters, basic services. The idea that you would be look at basic services and cuts to the municipalities when you have a tax code that has giveaways to corporations, in my view is the wrong priorities,” Emanuel said. “I understand the need for change. I understand the need for reform. Start with the tax code that doesn’t actually meet the obligations of the state’s economic opportunity and future.”
The mayor criticized Rauner’s mass transit cuts saying, “This is not the time to cut back on the support for mass transit. This is the time to double down, just the opposite” to drive economic growth and create more jobs.
Last year, Rauner repeatedly said he wanted to close several corporate loopholes. So, why didn’t he include them in his budget yesterday? Well, state law forbids this. Governors are required, by statute, to introduce budgets with existing tax revenue streams. The law was designed to prevent fantasy budgets from being submitted with tax hikes that couldn’t pass anyway.
He could have, of course, mentioned his desire for loophole closures yesterday. But that phrase has not crossed his lips since the election. Almost all the sacrifice he demanded is placed on the backs of public employees and the poor and those who serve them.
While it’s a dose of tough medicine, Illinois needs to take action in order to get a healthy financial outlook once again. It’s important to stop kicking the can down the road and restore fiscal stability. Balancing the budget while preserving critical programs like education and vocational training will help jump start Illinois’ economic engine leading to job growth and economic development.
Rauner said Illinois could save more than $2 billion by moving all state workers to a less-generous pension system lawmakers approved in 2010 for employees hired after Jan. 1, 2011. Workers also would have the option of moving to a 401(k)-style plan. He said firefighters and police would be able to keep their current benefits.
Projected savings from any pension changes aren’t likely to be realized in the next fiscal year, however. Even if Rauner could get a bill through the legislature, the state’s powerful labor unions — with whom Rauner has clashed repeatedly since taking office — would challenge it in court.
Those unions and retirees already have sued over a 2013 pension overhaul that cut benefits. A lower court found the measure unconstitutional, and the Illinois Supreme Court is considering the case.
* Sen. Daniel Biss, who helped craft the current pension reform law, agreed via press release yesterday…
“It is completely irresponsible to claim to balance a budget through pension reforms that would surely be litigated. An inevitable lawsuit will leave the state in financial limbo while the proposal meanders its way through the judicial system, and banking the savings of such a plan during that process puts us at risk of further damaging the fiscal condition of the pension systems.”
Governor Rauner leaves a $2.2 billion hole in the budget by relying on unrealistic revenues from a questionable pension proposal. Even as the courts review a significant test case, the governor’s plan banks phantom savings for a pension plan that may fail key legislative and judicial tests. When we passed pension reform last year, we took care to exclude possible savings from budget plans pending a legal resolution. The governor’s plan rejects that wisdom.
Madigan said the governor shouldn’t be balancing his budget with money from a pension reform plan that has yet to pass, let alone be tested in court.
“I think the governor proposes to engage in conduct which I would consider reckless,” Madigan said.
He said Rauner’s plan cuts benefits, unlike the pension reform bill he championed that he said only cut increases in benefits going forward. Also, Madigan said the state did not count on any savings from the pension reform bill, which is currently being heard by the Illinois Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Madigan renewed his call for an income tax surcharge on millionaires, which I don’t regard as either serious or responsible
The truth is, nobody is being serious about this budget. Not Rauner and not Madigan. The Democrats have been completely unserious for way too long, and the new governor clearly demonstrated yesterday that he’s not above the same sort of ridiculous sleight of hand games that the Democrats have played for years.
Rauner touted increased education spending in the form of General State Aid. He talked about waste and special interest groups and laid out ways to combat both. But what he did not talk about are the cuts he proposed to programs that serve children, the elderly, the poor and the disabled in Illinois. Rauner’s budget plan includes substantial cuts to:
* The Department of Children and Family Services. It would also eliminate services for youth ages 18 to 21.
* Community care for senior citizens.
* Mental health services.
* Addiction treatment.
* Dental Care for adults on Medicaid.
* Support for children on ventilators.
After the speech, Democratic lawmakers on budgeting committees decried the proposed cuts of state funding for the Arc of Illinois, a nonprofit that provides services to developmental disabled residents and their families, The Autism Project, a major statewide provider of services to Autistic Illinoisans, and programs for epileptic.
Rauner wants to pump more into general funding for schools, but he is also making some cuts to education. The plan would zero out line items in the State Board of Education’s budget for:
* Arts and foreign language
* The Children’s Mental Health Partnership program
* Advance placement courses
* Regional Safe Schools, which offer education to students who are expelled or suspended.
Failure to mention those reductions shows either that he’s not wedded to those cuts, or he just didn’t have the guts to talk about them. Or?…
Republican lawmakers downplayed Rauner’s tough talk, saying it is early in the budgeting process.
“It’s opening day here for the budget in Springfield,” said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington.
But, he added, “All of those are going to be sacrifices, painful sacrifices.”
Brady himself will be asked to make a painful political sacrifice.
Illinois State University, which is in Rep. Brady’s district, is slated to receive a $23 million cut in state subsidies, a 31.5 percent reduction. Rep. Brady is the Republican Spokesman on the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee - which means if these university cuts survive the budget process, Brady will have to sponsor and argue for the approp bill in his chamber.
* Prosecutors are asking that former state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) be sentenced to four to five years in prison for accepting a $7,000 cash bribe. He’ll be sentenced today…
Prosecutor Marsha McClellan argued in court papers filed ahead of Thursday’s sentencing that Smith’s “steadfast refusal to accept responsibility, no doubt contributes to the erosion of the public’s trust in its elected officials.”
But Smith’s attorney Vic Henderson urged U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman not to compare “Smith’s conduct to that of other Illinois politicians, such as Governor Ryan and Governor Blagojevich,” citing the small sum of cash involved and adding, “Derrick Smith did not orchestrate the incident leading up to his indictment.
“The situation was created by the government.”
Given Smith’s ongoing denial of guilt, he is unlikely to offer a full-throated apology on Thursday, though Henderson said Smith is “is remorseful for bringing himself and his family shame as a result of his arrest and conviction.”
* Rep. Rich Brauer (R-Petersburg) is resigning from the House effective Friday. Brauer has been widely rumored to be moving into the Rauner administration.
* Last year’s winner of our Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Insider is moving up in the world…
Nancy Kimme, who was the top aide to the late Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, is hanging out a lobbying shingle. Given that she privately was very much inside Gov. Bruce Rauner’s kitchen cabinet, she should do quite well.
Kimme’s clients so far include the Illinois Hospital Association—man, do they need help, given what Rauner is proposing to do with cuts to Medicaid—the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, Ameren and a cable TV group. All are top clients.
“I am going to lobby both the General Assembly and the (Rauner) administration,” Kimme tells me in an email. “That’s the one good thing about being around so long. I have gotten to know a lot of folks.”
She should do more than quite well. She’s one of those people who knows everybody and everything and has been indispensable to Team Rauner. They’ll be lining up around the block to give her contracts.
She’ll also be setting up Comptroller Munger’s campaign.
Wednesday, Feb 18, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While the state budget crisis increasingly hits struggling Illinois families, Exelon demands a corporate bailout. This is exactly the wrong thing for Illinois’ citizens and businesses.
Exelon is a successful, profitable company. While we appreciate success, when they claim they need more of OUR MONEY, it’s time to be skeptical.
EXELON 2014 PROFITS: $2,068,000,000.00
That’s two BILLION with a B. And yet this wildly profitable company is asking US for a bailout while Illinois struggles. So let’s review:
In 2014, EXELON made $5,665,753 per day or $236,073 per hour
When legislators are being asked to slash everything from education to healthcare to mental health services, and when Crain’s Chicago Business says Exelon actually MADE money from its Illinois Nuclear Fleet, how can anyone think having struggling Illinois businesses and families bail out a highly profitable company is a good use of OUR money?
* The Tribune has a profile today on Donna Arduin, Gov. Rauner’s $30,000 a month CFO. Here are a couple of excerpts about her time in New York and California…
While Arduin was working for Pataki, the state enacted tax cuts, reduced the number of employees and had a run of budget surpluses. But those successes came at a time when tax revenues were booming from a bull market. Pataki was criticized for not preparing for tougher times ahead, and after a recession hit in 2001, Albany again faced major budget problems. […]
Schwarzenegger used voter-approved borrowing to finance the state deficit and won a one-year, $2 billion cut from education. The rest of the budget was balanced by shifting local property tax revenue and transportation funds, and raising some taxes and fees.
Arduin lasted just 11 months in Sacramento. Some said she had never intended to stay more than a year, but others questioned whether the political environment drove her away.
“Maybe it was difficult because it was a Democratic legislature facing a Republican governor, but it’s also possible that a governor and a finance director with a different approach might have made some headway,” said Graves, the budget advocate. “A lot of it has to do with personal relationships. It seems pretty clear that Donna Arduin did not put much stock in developing personal relationships with members of the legislature.”
* A group called the United Working Families has been pushing stories on Arduin for the past few days. Here’s the latest…
Cutting Medicaid for the sake of cutting, then hoping “for the best”
Before she became more polished in selling her massive cuts to Medicaid, Arduin experienced a rare moment of candor, explaining massive cuts to Medicaid acknowledging that there was nothing to support an argument that it produced efficiency.
In 1995, as a deputy budget director for New York Gov. George Pataki, she told the New York Times: “The first thing you can do is hope that the cut will force industries to create efficiencies. We can only hope for the best there.”
(“In New York The Dying Days of Expansive Government” The New York Times, May 8, 1995)
Replacing more effective drugs with down-brand, generic alternatives
Arduin proposed a cost-cutting plan for then-Florida Gov. “Jeb” Bush to replace effective drugs for Medicaid recipients with down-brand, less-effective generic alternatives. “If they started switching people from the new drugs to the old drugs, it would turn the clock back years,” one critic told the St. Petersburg Times in 1999.
(“Plans Push Cheaper Medicines” St. Petersburg Times, February 28, 1999)
Political appointees limit drugs to Medicaid patients
Arduin’s radical plan for Jeb Bush included installing a politically-appointed panel that “would describe which drugs require authorization,” according to the St. Petersburg Times.
(“Medicaid Cost-Cutters looking to lose Viagra” St. Petersburg Times, April 19, 1999)
Getting “compassionate conservative” rhetoric down, Arduin begins to claim that limiting Medicaid drugs was to benefit other social programs
Where before Arduin provided no “compassionate conservative” justification, in 2000, she justified a draconian program to limit Medicaid drugs by claiming (falsely) that it was being done to expand other social spending. She told the Ledger that, “We’re trying to manage our funds better so we can use the funds for other needs like developmental disabilities and improving student achievement.”
(“Bush Aims to Cut Medicaid Drug Costs” The Ledger [Lakeland, Fla] February 21, 2000)
Arduin’s “efficiency” rhetoric is a sham
As Arduin continued to work for Republican governors seeking to cut Medicaid and social services, her game plan was clear. A Florida lobbyist described it thusly in 2003: “There have been a lot of serious cuts proposed…It was always done in the name of efficiency and streamlining, and the rhetoric always followed that it was not going to hurt the delivery of servides, which in fact never was true.”
(“Budget auditor may target social services” Sacramento Bee [California] October 19, 2003)
Cuts to therapy for the disabled and AIDS programs and reduced payment rates for Medicaid
As part of her controversial 2003 proposal of cuts to California’s Medicaid program, Arduin targeted disabled children and immigrants with AIDS. As well, she sought lower payments to doctors and hospitals for Medicaid patients.(“Schwarzenegger Aide Offers First List of Proposed Budget Cuts” The New York Times November 26, 2003)
Would put tens of thousands of children on a waiting list for Medicaid
Arduin proposed placing tends of thousands of California children on a waiting list for Medicaid benefits as part of her 2003 proposal.
(“Schwarzenegger proposal alarms children health advocates” Associated Press December 1, 2003)
“Donna Arduin is (Gov. Schwarznegger’s) John Ashcroft.”
As she proposed massive cuts to California’s Medicaid program, Arduin was compared in 2004 to the ideologically pure member of George W. Bush’s cabinet. “Her history has been one of slashing and burning on social programs,” one legislator said.
(“Governor’s Hard-Nosed Budget Boss; Arduin Known for Tough Fiscal Views” San Jose Mercury News March 8, 2004)
Draconian proposals included ending access protections for developmentally disabled
Arduin’s massive cuts to Medicaid and social programs were rejected in budget talks in California in 2004, but not before she proposed ending legislation guaranteeing access to programs for the developmentally disabled, care for homebound family members and a string of Medicaid caps.
(“Revised budget backs off cuts; $103 billion plan mostly spares health services” Sacramento Bee [California] May 14, 2004)
Rejects legislative oversight and storms out of hearing
During Schwarznegger’s first week in office, according to the Los Angeles Times, Arduin stormed out of a committee hearing during a question. She left the position in California after 11 months and in controversy.
(“Audit to Leave Finance Position” Los Angeles Times October 14, 2004)
Sought to end $10 million program for strays and more quickly euthanize cats and dogs
As part of her round of cuts in California, Arduin proposed ending $10 million in aid to shelters which would have “shortened the length of time dogs and cats are kept alive at shelters.”
(”A Florida Transplant, Arduin was on Job for Less than a Year” San Francisco Chronicle October 14, 2004)
Anti-ObamaCare, free-market Medicaid voucher program a failure
Arduin has been a critic of ObamaCare and has proposed vouchers as a replacement. A pilot plan in Florida she supported was a total failure. “Hardly any of the 300,000 Medicaid patients enrolled in the pilot project…” the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported.
(“Skimming Through the GOP Gubernatorial Job Plans” Sun-Sentinel [Fort Lauderdale, Florida] July 29, 2010)
* I’ll be on Jak Tichenor’s Illinois Lawmakers program today before and after the governor’s budget address. Click here to watch. You can watch Speaker Madigan’s budget react by clicking here.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday plans to propose a 6.7 percent increase in general school spending despite signals that he’ll call for major cuts elsewhere during his first budget speech.
A Rauner adviser said the governor will suggest a $300 million boost in general state aid, the main pot of state dollars for education. […]
The increase would build on the more than $4.5 billion lawmakers in general aid signed off on last year. However, it would fall $266 million short from what the Illinois State Board of Education says is needed to reach what’s called the “foundation level” — the minimum amount of spending per student to provide a basic education. That benchmark is $6,119 per pupil, which education officials said would require spending more than $5 billion a year.
Still, Rauner’s office said it was “proud of the commitment we are making in this budget,” saying education spending has been cut in recent years even when it didn’t need to be.
In a report released [yesterday], the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability—a group that leans left but generally gets its math right—says just 11.8 percent of Illinois individual income tax payers got 54.5 percent of the savings when… the tax rate dropped from 5 percent back to 3.75 percent. […]
According to the analysis of state tax collections, those with an adjusted gross income of more than $1 million make up just 2 percent of tax filers, but they got 13.5 percent of the savings, with an average of $37,000. Those with AGI of $200,000 to $1 million got 19.2 percent of the savings, and those earning between $100,000 and $200,000 captured 21.7 percent.
Of course, it’s hard to get much money out of low-income people who don’t make much. To put that a different way, the rich of course will benefit most from a tax cut, at least in the short run, because they make the most.
But the relative shares of who got what still are pretty stark. According to the analysis, the combined savings netted by every taxpayer in the state who reported AGI of under $35,000 was less than the savings earned by the 0.2 percent of taxpayers who are millionaires.
(B)y focusing the majority of tax relief on top income earners, the phase-down of the personal income tax rate cannot be expected to generate much economic activity. That’s because the economy is primarily made up of consumer spending, and typically, affluent families are not likely to spend most of the tax relief they receive, because their disposable income is already increasing significantly over time. Given this growth in disposable income, affluent families do not have significant unmet needs, and tend to save rather than spend what they receive in tax relief.
Low and middle income families, however, have greater unmet needs because in real terms their earnings are declining over time.1 So when low or middle income households obtain an additional dollar of income—say through targeted tax relief—they tend to spend that dollar in the consumer economy. Unfortunately, the bottom 60 percent of income earners in Illinois will receive only $491 million or 13.2 percent of the $3.7 billion in tax relief from the phase-down, which greatly diminishes any potential the phase-down has to stimulate spending.
In fact, to the extent that there is any mild stimulative impact that can be anticipated from the phase-down of the personal income tax rate, it will be negated by the public service spending cuts that will have to be made to pay for the $3.7 billion loss in recurring tax revenue it causes.
* A commenter pointed to this 2014 statement yesterday by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle as an explanation for why Gov. Bruce Rauner is so hostile to unions. He’s always been hostile to unions…
[Preckwinkle] told a reporter that long before Rauner was a gubernatorial candidate, she had interviewed him for an opening on the board of the county health system, and was turned off by him then.
“First of all, he was very arrogant. He was a know-it-all,” Preckwinkle said.
“Second, he made claim to know about health care, and when I said, ‘What do you know?’ he said, ‘You know I own this health care company,’ and we’ve seen what that’s about. And then he went on a rant against public employee unions when I asked where the challenges were. I said, ‘You understand that almost all our workforce is unionized? How are you going to be an effective board member if that’s your attitude?’
Illinois’ new Republican governor on Wednesday will pitch a plan for fixing the state’s budget mess that includes deep cuts to Medicaid and higher education and a new plan for reducing pension costs, according to three lawmakers with knowledge of the proposal. […]
The three legislators, briefed on details of the plan discussed in a Tuesday meeting between Rauner and legislative leaders, told The Associated Press that the governor will recommend cutting Medicaid by $1.5 billion and reducing funding for higher education by nearly $400 million, or 31 percent. They said he’ll also propose reducing state aid to local governments and ask lawmakers to approve a new pension reform plan he says will save Illinois $2.2 billion. […]
A Rauner administration official said Tuesday the governor will call for hiring more prison guards and spending more money on mental health care for inmates. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly before the noon speech.
The mental health funds are aimed at meeting a federal court mandate that requires Illinois to improve its services, while the official said hiring more than 470 new prison guards would reduce overtime costs by about $10 million.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 would establish the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum as an “independent entity,” according to an administration source with knowledge of the budget.
No details were immediately available on what form that entity would take.
The presidential library and museum is now managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which oversees more than 50 historic sites and memorials across the state, including Lincoln’s Tomb and the Old State Capitol in Springfield and Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville.
Under Rauner’s proposal, the management of all sites under the Historic Preservation Agency — except the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield — would be transferred to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. DCEO’s Illinois tourism office would be in charge of administration of the sites.
You’re not going to get a better overview unless you subscribe. Just sayin…
Rauner wants to cut off services for former foster care children who have passed the age of 18, the source said.
News of that recommendation already drew the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has longstanding legal battles with the state and its child welfare agency.
“For us to essentially throw them out on the street at age 18, if that’s what the governor is going to propose, is just plain cruel,” said Benjamin Wolf, associate legal director of the ACLU of Illinois. “If you want to increase homelessness and suffering, abandoning them at age 18 is a good place to start.”
Child-related funding that was spared the budget ax includes early childhood education. The governor wants to increase state support by $25.3 million. He also wants to continue funding for the All Kids health care program, including for undocumented children, and leave intact health and human services programs for children of immigrants.
Rauner wants the ability to move funds within the current budget to plug gaps in a day care program that helps low-income parents. The state’s main tax collection agency, the Department of Corrections and the Illinois State Police also face funding challenges that could be resolved by giving the governor more flexibility to shuffle money within the budget.
Madigan, however, said that concept remains a hard sell among Democrats.
“There are certain members of the legislature, Democrats and Republicans, who will not be anxious to give up authority,” Madigan said. “It’s going to require some persuasion.”
Slipping, dodging, sneaking
Creeping hiding out down the street
See me life shaking with every who I meet
Refried confusion is making itself clear
Wonder which way do I go to get on out of here
* As subscribers were told this morning, the four tops met with the governor this afternoon. The Tribune has some MJM quotes…
“We had a very pleasant discussion,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. “The governor simply said that he’s got some tough medicine to deliver tomorrow. He understands that some people will not be happy, but he’s committed to reforming the finances of the state. And he has a program and an agenda to accomplish that.” […]
Madigan said he doesn’t expect the governor to propose ways to raise new revenue but does anticipate at Rauner push for large spending reductions. Madigan indicated Rauner was in store for a tough fight on that front.
“I said 10 days ago, I don’t think you can cut your way out of the problem,” Madigan said. “I think you need some additional revenue, and that’ll be my position tomorrow.”
Speaker Madigan is scheduled to hold a press conference at 1:15 tomorrow afternoon, shortly after Rauner’s budget address.
An Illinois lawmaker wants motorcycle safety to be a formal part of driver’s education courses.
The proposal by Republican Rep. Tom Bennett of Gibson City would amend the driver’s education act in the Illinois School Code to require that all behind the wheel instruction include lessons on motorcycle safety and awareness “to ensure students understand their surroundings when operating a motor vehicle.”
A bill filed in the Illinois House would form a new task force to address thefts of recyclable metals, including copper.
The Belleville News-Democrat reports the panel would review efforts to combat theft and come up with new ideas. Findings would be reported to the governor annually.
Members of the task force would include state legislators, local police chiefs and industry representatives, among others.
Tuesday, Feb 17, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While the state budget crisis increasingly hits struggling Illinois families, Exelon demands a corporate bailout. This is exactly the wrong thing for Illinois’ citizens and businesses.
Exelon is a successful, profitable company. While we appreciate success, when they claim they need more of OUR MONEY, it’s time to be skeptical.
EXELON 2014 PROFITS: $2,068,000,000.00
That’s two BILLION with a B. And yet this wildly profitable company is asking US for a bailout while Illinois struggles. So let’s review:
In 2014, EXELON made $5,665,753 per day or $236,073 per hour
When legislators are being asked to slash everything from education to healthcare to mental health services, and when Crain’s Chicago Business says Exelon actually MADE money from its Illinois Nuclear Fleet, how can anyone think having struggling Illinois businesses and families bail out a highly profitable company is a good use of OUR money?
Tuesday, Feb 17, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
My name is John Lattner. I grew up and raised my family in the Chicago area. I played football for the University of Notre Dame and was honored to have won the Heisman Trophy in 1953 and went on to continue my football career playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1954.
I have recently learned from my doctors that I have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma and that I have a challenging prognosis. I am hoping that I get luckier than most folks who get this kind of news. I have been very lucky most of my life and I hope that luck holds up. Any man who has had the life I have had and the family with which I have been blessed with has already had more than his share of good luck.
Back when I was playing at the University of Notre Dame, I was able to get summer jobs working with asbestos in Chicago. No one ever told us anything about it being dangerous and I was happy to have a job at all. I went on to do other things and now learn years later that this asbestos has given me cancer.
My doctors told me that it is medically impossible to get mesothelioma before a minimum of 15 to 20 years of exposure. The outlook for my condition is not good and I’ve been told most people who are diagnosed with this disease die within a year or two. I am someone who has always believed in fairness. I don’t think anyone should have a leg up on any other person. A strong civil justice system in Illinois provides that fairness not just for me, but for the other men and women who get the call from the doctor that I got. I know how tough of a call it is to get.
* I started hearing about this story last week. I’m not sure there’s an Obama connection here, but there might be a Dick Durbin connection…
A Democratic consultancy run by former top Obama campaign aides is working to place stories designed to stir up controversy over the personal finances of a House Republican leader.
The firm is working with other Democratic operatives who are trying to seize on a media frenzy that began with a humorous if slightly embarrassing Washington Post story about the Downton Abbey-themed office of Rep. Aaron Schock (R., Ill.). […]
Behind the scenes, a prominent Democratic consultancy run by former top Obama campaign aides has contacted reporters covering Schock’s tastes in interior design and offensive comments by his staff. The firm is pushing those reporters to cover the sale of Schock’s home as well. […]
The allegations originated at Blue Nation Review, a blog run by Jimmy Williams, a former senior advisor to then-Sen. Joe Biden (D., Del.) and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), whose leadership PAC has donated $10,500 to Schock’s Democratic opponents. […]
Democratic consultancy Smoot Tewes pitched the story to reporters. The firm is run by former Obama 2012 deputy campaign manager Julianna Smoot and Paul Tewes, a senior official on the president’s 2008 campaign.
Smoot Tewes consultant Gary Ritterstein, who has worked on numerous Democratic congressional campaigns, emailed reporters last week linking to coverage of Schock’s home sale controversy and encouraging them to follow up.
“If you’re interested, I’d be happy to get you on the phone with the folks who have been helping research the story,” he wrote.
In addition to the other connection, Julianna Smoot once worked for Durbin. But why would he care? I’m not sure who’s actually behind this, but consultants don’t usually get involved if there’s no paycheck or reciprocity involved.
* After i heard about this, I started checking around last week. An operative with the firm, I’m told, reached out to the Democratic Party of Illinois to ask what DPI was going to do to help push the Schock stories. The operative was told the party wasn’t much interested, but was given some names of reporters who might be.
The only contact I’ve ever had with the consulting firm was them sending me press releases over the past year promoting ethanol use.
A second University of Illinois campus has formed a union for tenured faculty, even as organizing efforts continue at the Urbana-Champaign campus.
The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on Friday certified the faculty union at the UI Springfield, which has 137 members and is affiliated with the Illinois Federation of Teachers. […]
The UI’s Chicago campus signed its first faculty union contract in May 2014, and about 475 non-tenure-track faculty at Urbana won recognition for their union in July. The Campus Faculty Association is also pushing for a union to represent tenured and tenure-track faculty at Urbana.
The lecturers, instructors and other “specialized faculty,” as the campus refers to non-tenure-track faculty, represent about 20 percent of the total faculty at Urbana, according to the Campus Faculty Association Local 6546.
This win is part of a trend in higher education where faculties are pushing back against college administrators turning university teaching into an unstable, temporary job. Stability for educators means higher retention rates and more experience in the classroom. Faculty organized with the goals of: negotiating fair wages and benefits, sharing governance with the administration, and for freedom from retaliation when advocating for the rights of students.
A 22-year-old Washington University law school student has been selected to replace Wayne Rosenthal as state representative in the 95th District.
Avery Bourne of Pawnee, one of 10 people who applied for the job, was chosen Saturday at a meeting of Republican leaders from the four counties within the 95th District: Macoupin, Montgomery, Christian and Madison. […]
She is a law student at Washington University in St. Louis and has volunteered on several candidates’ campaigns, including those of U.S Rep. Rodney Davis, Rauner and Rosenthal.
“Avery shares the conservative values of the constituents in the 95th District. She is very intelligent and has a bright future ahead of her,” Macoupin County Republican Party Chairwoman Terri Koyne, one of the leaders on the committee that chose Bourne, said in a press release. “Avery has shown that she is talented and that she will make it her mission to represent and serve the residents in the district, regardless of their background, experience or views.”
Assistant Field Coordinator
Rodney for Congress
May 2014 – August 2014 (4 months)Taylorville, Illinois
Grassroots Intern
Citizens for Rauner, Inc.
June 2014 – July 2014 (2 months)Taylorville, IL
Congressional Intern, Running Start Wal-Mart Star Fellow
Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins
January 2014 – April 2014 (4 months)Washington, D.C.
Etc.
She’s never held a job outside politics, never had a job longer than 6 months, and all but one of her jobs was an internship.
* And subscribers already know what I think this and another possible GA appointment means…
Now, the governor may be poised to launch another set of political dominoes in motion by naming state Rep. Rich Brauer to a job at the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Other than confirming that rumors about Brauer’s departure have been running rampant through the Capitol for weeks, no one is saying the new position is a done deal for the Republican from Petersburg. […]
Already there is jockeying for the seat. Among those identified as possible appointees is Tim Butler, who is currently chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville.
Butler, a Springfield resident who also served as a spokesman for former U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood of Peoria, could have a leg up on the competition since he hails from the county with the biggest percentage of the weighted vote.
I told subscribers about Butler’s possible appointment last week. He’s not high on the list because he lives in Sangamon County, it’s because he’s close to Team Rauner.
* Last week, Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger decided to stand with the state constitution and laws (and public employee unions) against her party’s governor. Munger wasn’t supported by a single union in her 2014 state House bid, but she’s obviously not holding a grudge.
The appointed GOP incumbent capped her week by attending Equality Illinois’ Valentines Day event - the only statewide Republican official to show for the gay rights gala.
Running in 2016 isn’t going to be easy for any Republican here, but she’s proving to be a quick study.
First-term Gov. Bruce Rauner has come under increasing pressure to overhaul Illinois’ troubled child welfare system after a leading civil rights group asked for quick federal court action over “dangerously inadequate” care and services.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois filed a complaint against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services late Friday, the latest turn in a decades-old consent decree aimed at keeping adequate foster care and child protective services in place. Rauner’s administration responded Monday by touting a new director and efforts to help foster care children. But days ahead of his first budget address, questions lingered over how the Republican will make and fund any major changes. […]
[ACLU attorney Benjamin Wolf] said Rauner’s administration inherited issues but that recent talks over problems raised by newspaper stories and lawmakers’ hearings weren’t productive. He said agency officials wouldn’t agree to immediate overhauls, which triggered the lawsuit. In previous years, DCFS has agreed to comply on issues such as reducing worker caseloads.
The complaint said the care of juveniles with mental health needs is “dangerously inadequate,” with long waiting lists for children who need specialized placements and lengthy stays in temporary shelters. The complaint cited reports from experts, providers, clients and caregivers.
Rauner, who has pledged to manage the state’s budget crisis without raising taxes, has asked lawmakers for broad powers to move money around within the current budget and is negotiating with legislative leaders.
“I’ve got to reallocate money from nonessential government services and move it over into essential services,” Rauner told students Tuesday at Lanphier High School in Springfield.
“It is very broad, what has been put on the table and asked for. Very unusual,” [Sen. Heather Steans] said. “We have done emergency budget acts before, but nothing in terms of the scope that’s been requested to date.”
She said the power would essentially take the legislature out of the budget picture. […]
She also said the administration has pushed for latitude over $2.5 billion in “statutory transfers,” which includes things like income tax money shared with local governments. The administration could also be given authority to take about $700 million from special state funds and not be required to repay it. Money in those funds usually comes from fees and assessments on a comparatively small group that benefits from those funds, such as regulating certain businesses.
Subscribers know more about this stuff.
* Related…
* 29 more kids among Illinois child-welfare agency’s faces of failure
* The Illinois Policy Institute commissioned a statewide poll and reported this result via e-mail…
Gov. Bruce Rauner job approval: 41.2 percent approval, 35.6 percent disapproval and 23.3 unsure
They haven’t posted this online yet, as far as I can tell, and no crosstabs were provided.
But, wow, man. A 41 percent approval rating after only a month in office?
The Policy Institute didn’t say when the poll was conducted, but did disclose this…
According to the pollster [Odgen & Fry], 36.8 percent of respondents self-identified as independent, while 34.5 percent of Illinoisans polled self-identified as Democrats while 28.7 percent self-identified as Republicans. The poll surveyed 481 people with a margin of error at 4.56 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval.
Odgen & Fry conducted a poll on February 11th which found Rauner’s approval at 43 percent, with 28.2 percent disapproving. That poll was of 908 voters, so its MoE was much lower. A poll conducted by We Ask America on January 14th had Rauner’s approval rating at 52 percent, with just 23 percent disapproving.
So, either the two February polls are wrong, or Rauner is already disappointing his constituents.
“Since 2004, the unions have negotiated wage increases of approximately 80 percent during collective bargaining negotiations. By comparison, total inflation over the same time period was approximately 26 percent, and private sector employee salaries increased by a total of 31 percent,” the suit notes.
Erickson calculated that the lawsuit claims a person making $50K a decade ago would be earning $90K right now. Could that possibly be true? He took a look at state union contracts and concluded it wasn’t…
Based on those contracts, workers were in line to receive wage increases totaling just over 32 percent — a figure that matches up more favorably with the private sector number cited by Rauner in his lawsuit.
“It includes overtime and is based on salary averages,” Lance Trover wrote in an email last week.
Overtime costs are mainly driven by worker shortages. Hiring more workers would drastically lower those OT costs, but doing so would also drive up other costs for things like training, health insurance and pensions.
However, there are other ways to get pay raises under the contract, including step increases. I’m no expert here, so maybe some commenters can fill us in. And I have yet to see someone challenge Rauner’s basic fact: State employee salary costs have risen 80 percent over the past decade.
Three top administrators at the Illinois education agency took big bonuses home in their paychecks earlier this month.
According to a review of state payroll records by the Quad-City Times Springfield Bureau, the Illinois State Board of Education paid a total of more than $41,000 in bonuses to the trio.
A state board spokesman said the employees received the extra cash because each of them took on added duties.
“(T)heir salaries will return to the previous levels during the next pay period,” Illinois State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover said in an email. […]
“Given the significant reduction in agency headcount and the increased burdens placed on the agency by the Legislature, it is disingenuous to suggest that only the senior level administrators have had to take on additional duties meriting these adjustments in pay,” noted Aviva Bowen, spokeswoman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
ISBE employees are represented by the IFT, and those frontline workers have indeed taken on extra duties without additional pay - unlike the top brass.
*** UPDATE *** From AFSCME Council 31…
FALSE CLAIM: “Since 2004, unions have negotiated wage increases of approximately 80 percent”
FACT: Negotiated wage increases since 2004 are 32.25 percent. The average increase over that period is 2.9 percent per year.
FACT: The average wage increase in the current contract is just 1.3 percent per year — below inflation for that period (1.73 percent per year).
FACT: Adjusted for inflation, payroll is effectively flat since 2004 – up just 0.5 percent per year.
FACT: Payroll is a small share of state spending, and dropped from 7.5 percent in FY05 to 6.7 percent in FY13.
Controversial former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) is talking up a Tea Party challenge to Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).
“I am very seriously considering challenging him in a primary,” Walsh told The Hill on Thursday. “Mark Kirk has got to be challenged.” […]
Observers speculate that Walsh is likely looking to stir controversy to boost ratings. Many think that he’s ultimately unlikely to run and is a longshot, at best, if he does. […]
Walsh argued that Kirk’s 2012 stroke, which has left him with slightly slurred speech and forced him to use a wheelchair much of the time, was scaring off other potential primary foes. But he said that the senator’s health is part of the reason he shouldn’t win another term.
“I think because of his overall physical condition I don’t know anyone else would consider challenging him and that’s just plain wrong,” he said. “If you privately talk to people who would ordinarily primary him, they’d all say ‘he’s got no business running, but I can’t challenge him, look at who he is, people are going to say I’m mean spirited because I’m challenging him.’ Because of sympathy for Mark Kirk I don’t know of a serious candidate who would challenge him besides me.”
Every governor over the past 25 years—Republican and Democrat—has learned a lesson from Gov. Jim Thompson.
Every governor except one.
Running for re-election in 1982, Thompson was in the fight of his political life, and the Republican speaker of the House was making things worse.
Illinois had plunged into recession under Republican President Ronald Reagan, and Thompson was running against a household name, former U.S. Sen. Adlai Stevenson III.
Then, House Speaker George Ryan of Kankakee allowed an anti-union “right to work” bill to move to the House floor. Organized labor was furious. Thousands of workers gathered on the Statehouse lawn in June to angrily denounce Ryan. Thompson was met with a resounding chorus of boos when he took the stage.
More than a few statehouse types have been wondering aloud for weeks what Gov. Bruce Rauner is up to with his almost daily attacks on organized labor.
Just what, they ask, is the end game here?
His people say that the governor feels “liberated” since the election to speak his mind about a topic that stirs great personal passion in him. He played up the issue during the Republican primary, then all but ran away from it in the general election, including just a few weeks before Election Day when he flatly denied that “right to work” or anything like that would be among his top priorities.
Yet, there he is, day after day, pounding away at unions, demanding right-to-work laws, vilifying public employee unions as corrupt to the point of issuing an executive order barring the distribution of state-deducted employee “fair share” dues to public worker unions such as AFSCME. The dues are paid by people who don’t want to pay full union dues.
Some top Democrats believe that Rauner may be setting them up for a grand bargain this spring. Democratic lawmakers most certainly are going to freak out when Rauner presents his draconian budget. Rank-and-file members undoubtedly will demand some sort of tax hike to prevent draconian cuts to their cherished programs. Rauner eventually could say he’d agree to additional revenues in exchange for passage of his economic package.
But some top Republicans who have regular contact with the governor say they haven’t yet discerned a rhyme or a reason. “I just don’t see an end game here at all with them,” confided one GOP operative. Another concurred, saying if there is an end game, it hasn’t been shared with anyone else.
For their part, the Democratic House speaker and Senate president have asked the governor gently to focus his considerable energy on attacking the state’s massive budget deficit, rather than spend his time attacking labor. The governor will need all the cooperation he can get to fix that budget problem, and he’s making more enemies than friends right now.
Rauner and his top people are misreading the Senate President in particular, I’m told. The Senate Democrats, much like the U.S. House Republicans, vote privately on pretty much every major issue. If a majority is opposed to an idea, they don’t move forward.
So even if Rauner manages to muscle all 20 Senate Republicans onto a bill, that doesn’t mean the majority party will allow it to be called for a vote. And the more Rauner attempts to undermine their traditional supporters in organized labor, the less they may be willing to go along with him on other things.
And the Democrats aren’t his only problem.
Rauner met with members of the Senate Republican Caucus in a Springfield restaurant earlier this month and delivered a stern warning. Rauner started by reportedly referencing the $20 million sitting in his campaign account and said he wanted to be their partner in the upcoming session and would support those who supported him.
But then the hammer came down. Sources say the governor told the Republicans that he would ask for their votes on 10 issues and he needed them all to vote “yes” on all 10. Not five, not seven. Ten. And if anyone in the room didn’t vote for all 10, then they’d have a “[f-bomb expletive deleted] problem” with him.
Organized labor doesn’t have many friends among Senate Republicans, but they do have some House Republican allies. So top House Republicans hope Rauner will exempt those members from taking any anti-union votes. They point to folks such as Rep. Mike Unes, R-East Peoria, as a Republican who represents a traditionally Democratic district. If he starts voting against his district, he could be on the bubble.
In a major Democratic presidential wave year, with unions completely engaged against a hated governor, the Republicans fret they could lose even more seats if any of those 10 votes Rauner wants has to do with demolishing labor unions.
And the governor isn’t exactly inspiring confidence in the ranks. Rauner’s executive order about fair share dues was declared illegal by the attorney general last week. He reworked it to keep it on track, but it’s still not legal, according to the state’s highest-ranking lawyer.
In politics, it’s always unwise to threaten somebody with an unloaded pistol. Then again, $20 million can buy a whole lot of bullets, whatever the objective may be.
