Attorney General Lisa Madigan today sent a letter to Gov. Rauner condemning the federal executive orders on immigration and urging him to use his authority to protect all Illinois residents from the harm caused by the executive actions. While there is a temporary halt to the immigration travel ban, other provisions of the Orders could greatly impact the lives of Illinois immigrants.
The president issued several Executive Orders on immigration. The executive orders instructed the Secretary of Homeland Security to seek agreements with states and localities to authorize local law enforcement to serve as immigration officers. They also directed that sanctuary jurisdictions are not eligible to receive certain federal grants. Another order suspended immigration from seven nations for 90 days and suspended the admission of all refugees for 120 days.
In her letter, Madigan stated that the Executive Orders have threatened the future of immigrants and refugees who have settled in Illinois and who greatly contribute to the state. The Attorney General urged the governor to refuse to agree to deputize Illinois law enforcement to work as federal immigration officers, policing immigrants in the state. Madigan also urged the governor to strengthen the state’s efforts to ensure immigrants and refugees can safely settle in Illinois and protect them against hate crimes. […]
The Attorney General urged the governor to pledge to protect immigrants and refugees in several ways:
* Refuse to enter into any agreement that would use Illinois law enforcement authorities as federal immigration officers. Deputizing Illinois law enforcement as immigration officers would not only divert already scarce resources away from public safety efforts and raise serious legal questions, but also undermine the values on which the country was built.
* Strengthen the work performed by the Bureau of Refugee and Immigrant Services within the Illinois Department of Human Services, which assists immigrants and refugees settling in Illinois through training, health screening, citizenship classes and other services. From October 1, 2016 through January, 31, 2017, 1,001 refugees arrived in Illinois.
* Commit to strong enforcement of Illinois’ anti-discrimination laws and bolster efforts to fight hate crimes against all residents across the state, including immigrants and refugees. Illinois’ hate crime statute provides both criminal and civil protections to those who have experienced hate-based harassment, injury and property damage.
Immigrants make up about 14 percent of Illinois’ population or nearly 1.8 million residents, making Illinois sixth among all states in the number of foreign-born residents. Cook County ranks the third largest U.S. county in its number of foreign-born residents. The benefits of immigration to Illinois are immense. A recent study found that Illinois businesses owned by immigrants produced $2.6 billion in business income in 2014, with immigrants composing 22 percent of the entrepreneurs in Illinois and immigrant-owned businesses employing over 280,000 people.
* Related…
* ADDED: Press Release: Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed an amicus brief today in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco in support of a lawsuit challenging the federal Executive Orders on immigration as illegal and unconstitutional.
Still trying to close a $215 million budget gap they blame on the governor, Chicago Public Schools officials are trying to chip away at that hole by freezing $51 million in spending, officials announced Monday.
About $28 million of the $51 million in planned savings will come by CPS halting planned expenditures on new textbooks, more technology, field trips, hourly employees and other items. An additional $5 million in planned spending on teacher training also is being frozen.
No school is supposed to lose more than 5 percent of its initial budget this year, but CPS wouldn’t immediately release any school-by-school figures. Schools that have squirreled away money for supplies or to get a jump on equipment for next year likely have the most to lose.
Another $18 million in savings is set to be realized by CPS scaling back funding to the 100-plus charter schools it helps bankroll. Those schools will have to decide how to adjust their budgets accordingly. […]
“Unfortunately, there is still more we must do to close the $215 million hole Gov. Rauner blew in our budget,” [CPS CEO Forrest Claypool] wrote in a letter addressed to Local School Council members tasked with approving individual school spending.
Notice they didn’t blame the House Speaker for not trying to override the bill in December. And, yes, I know the override woulda failed, but my point is what’s done is done and we’re in a new spring session and it’s time to move forward already.
Chicago Public Schools faced a shortfall in its operations budget of roughly $500 million at the close of its past fiscal year, leaving the financially troubled district with a significant bill to cover even as it struggles to balance this year’s spending plan.
The budget shortfall was reported in a recently issued financial postmortem for 2016 that also repeated a long-held conclusion: CPS either needs an infusion of new money or will have to make major cuts if it is to keep operating as it has been. […]
Even if CPS manages to make up for state aid that hasn’t arrived and pulls together other savings to balance a $5.5 billion operating budget, which relied on ambitious assumptions, more than $100 million from last year’s shortfall remains.
…Adding… Yeah, this message from Claypool will help…
Governor Rauner, just like President Trump, has decided to attack those who need the most help. Governor Rauner and President Trump regularly attack Chicago because they hope to score political points. It is shameful.
Most recently, Governor Rauner broke his word by blocking Chicago from receiving $215 million for our schools. That $215 million was supposed to be a first step – just a first step — toward treating your children fairly. That $215 million was supposed to be a first step toward providing your children with their fair share of the dollars Illinois spends on children in the rest of Illinois. But Governor Rauner broke his word and did not take even that first step.
*** UPDATE *** Um, dude, he can’t “reverse his veto.” What’s done is done…
Claypool: We ask the governor to reverse this veto immediately. We ask parents to call Rauner's office to demand fair funding.
As Missouri’s right-to-work legislation is signed into law today, Illinois is now surrounded by states with right-to-work laws, and the Illinois Chamber of Commerce is calling on Illinois lawmakers to respond with a strong pro-growth policy agenda.
“As of today, Illinois is now surrounded by states that have right-to-work laws. As pressure increases from other states, it is essential that Illinois responds with a strong pro-growth agenda for jobs and the economy in our state,” said Todd Maisch, Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. “That doesn’t mean that Illinois has to adopt a right-to-work law. But it does mean that Illinois needs to take strong action on pro-growth policies to help us compete. Other states are becoming more attractive for employers, and Illinois should respond on behalf of our economy.”
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce is calling on state lawmakers to address five key state policy areas that can help accelerate the Illinois economy in 2017. They are:
Enacting pro-growth economic reforms - Illinois tax policy cannot be developed without regard to its effect on Illinois businesses, workers and our economy. Instead, any revenue discussions must be balanced by including corresponding pro-economic growth reforms to help employers and workers. For example, the state could establish tax credits to help small businesses shoulder the cost of bringing on new employees. In addition, the state must immediately restore the Illinois Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Program (the EDGE tax credit) that helps attract investment and job creation and retention in the state.
Reforming Illinois’ unfair workers’ compensation system - The current workers’ compensation system in Illinois is tilted far out of balance. Employers throughout the state continue to call for reform of the system because it hurts the ability of Illinois employers to create – and even maintain – jobs here. Reforming the system can restore balance, reduce employers’ costs for insurance, and no longer allow workers’ compensation costs to be an obstacle to growing a business in Illinois.
Rejecting anti-competitive proposals – Lawmakers should do no further harm to our state’s jobs climate. Proposals that pile more requirements on employers in our state adversely affect Illinois businesses and make our state less competitive with others. These shortsighted proposals would only move Illinois in the wrong direction and lawmakers must reject them.
Working together on common sense regulatory issues – When state Democrats and Republicans worked together, they have enacted important regulatory reforms for the state. In fact, the Illinois Chamber has led initiatives that reduce costs and make government more responsive. In 2017, legislators can finally modernize the state’s outdated telecommunications law to drive more investment in modern technologies and networks to benefit those who rely on them: Illinois businesses, consumers and public safety officials.
Focusing on education outcomes and workforce preparation - While K-12 education funding gets most of the headlines out of Springfield, Illinois must avoid being dragged into an education debate that strictly focuses on who pays more, who pays less, whose communities receive more and whose receive less. Illinois must ask tougher questions if we are to improve our economy, respect taxpayers and live up to our obligations to the next generation. State policymakers must be focused on improving educational outcomes and supporting students interested in careers that do not require a four-year college degree. Those goals must be in sight before we begin a new discussion about education funding, not the other way around.
“These reforms will re-establish balance and help Illinois become more competitive. By enacting them in 2017, we believe Illinois can better compete with other states and begin living up to its full economic potential,” Maisch said.
Notice how they dumped on the governor’s education funding reform commission?
Also, Maisch mentioned a progressive tax proposal that was recently introduced in the Senate as being a non-starter. He also dissed the “opportunity tax” idea and dismissed the Senate’s grand bargain for not doing nearly enough. “We are open to the idea of additional revenues. We are. But that seems to be the first thing people want to talk about,” he said.
Maisch told reporters that the Senate’s proposal is “out of whack,” and “out of balance.”
“My members will tell me when they think there’s a package that’s worthy of their support,” he said.
* Subscribers can watch the press conference with their special password. Click here.
* Meanwhile…
Cullerton says grand bargain plan now only has 12 bills; no minimum wage.
*** UPDATE *** You can read Cullerton’s speech as prepared for delivery by clicking here.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Senate President John Cullerton is speaking to the City Club today. From his office…
Declaring “failure isn’t an option,” Illinois Senate President John Cullerton today will address the City Club of Chicago in an effort to rally public support for a sweeping balanced budget deal designed to end a devastating financial impasse that has dragged on for nearly two years.
“If we can pull this off, we’ll pay businesses on time, fully fund MAP scholarships, ensure state workers get paid and government doesn’t shutdown, assemble a complete budget for the first time in two years and put Illinois on the path to a balanced budget,” Cullerton is expected to say in the speech.
“We’ll also save billions on pension costs, give voters the power to reduce Illinois’ ‘most in the nation’ number of local governments and give schools relief from state mandates.
“It’s an intricate and delicate give-and-take designed to create a plan that can win bipartisan support among lawmakers and hopefully get the governor’s signature.”
The Senate President is scheduled to deliver his remarks at noon today.
* I’m told that this passage from one of my recent newspaper columns will be featured in his speech…
[Over the past two years], sexual assault victims were frozen out of counseling, homeless teens and domestic violence survivors were kicked to the curb, breast cancer screenings were eliminated, and large and formerly stable charities like Lutheran Social Services of Illinois as well as small and vulnerable service providers laid off thousands of staff members and discontinued programs.
When: 11:30 am, Monday, February 06th
What: ILGOP Chairman Schneider holds press call to discuss Madigan Family attempt to block employee pay
Call in information: Call-In: 1-857-216-6700, Passcode: 905279 [Numbers updated]
Today, the Illinois Republican Party added Attorney General Lisa Madigan to BossMadigan.com after her action to shut down state government.
Check out the page and watch the ILGOP’s new digital ad here: BossMadigan.com/Lisa-Madigan/
No one has benefited more from Mike Madigan’s political machine than Lisa Madigan. Mike helped jumpstart Lisa’s political career when she was just 32 years old and was elevated to the state senate. Just four years later, Mike helped make her Attorney General. She’s now been the state’s top prosecutor for more than a dozen years.
While corruption ran wild through Illinois, Lisa Madigan did little. Even as patronage scandals circled the Speaker’s office, Lisa could find no wrongdoing. Still, Lisa was held to be above politics.
Until now.
After months and months of waiting, Lisa suddenly and without warning filed a court motion to block state employees from getting paid.
Her action could force a major crisis of state government and hurt thousands of Illinois families. With a government shutdown, the lives and livelihoods of those who rely on and provide vital government services would be in danger. Not surprisingly, this is the exact type of crisis Mike Madigan wants.
It’s now clear: Lisa Madigan is working for the Speaker, not the people.
ILGOP Chairman Tim Schneider Statement on Madigan Family Attempt to Block Employee Pay
“Lisa Madigan is playing politics with state workers, their families, and millions of Illinoisans who rely on government services. It’s clear that Mike and Lisa Madigan are working together to protect the status quo and stop reform by causing a crisis.” - Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith is prepared to tell potential free agents not to sign with the Bears should a new Illinois bill that targets athletes be passed.
This bill would remove workers’ compensation for athletes in the state of Illinois beginning at the age of 35. For a professional athlete, this would be considered injury care in retirement. […]
“This bill being sponsored by (senate Republican minority leader Christine Radogno) is being designed to target professional athletes and take away their right to health care that every worker in the state of Illinois is entitled to,” Smith told the Spiegel & Parkins Show.
“The Bears’ owners are behind it as well, to beat the expense of the players who actually do all the work. … They’re pushing the bill. Our understanding is they’re the people who have lined up the lobbyists to promote the bill.”
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has hired former state Comptroller Leslie Munger to serve as a deputy governor.
In a statement released first to The Associated Press on Friday, Rauner says Munger will focus on long-term budgeting and work with human services organizations hit hard by the state budget impasse. […]
Munger will serve in addition to current Deputy Governor Trey Childress and will earn $135,000 annually.
Thoughts?
…Adding… Press Release…
Governor Bruce Rauner on Friday announced that former Illinois Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger has been named Deputy Governor, bringing a unique mix of business, human services and government experience to assist in addressing financial challenges facing the state and its nonprofit organizations.
“Leslie’s vast business, human services and government experiences make her uniquely qualified to serve in this important role,” Governor Rauner said. “We are thrilled that she has agreed to return to public service and bring people together to find long-term solutions for our state and its residents.”
Prior to serving as Comptroller, Munger was a brand management executive with Unilever HPC/Helene Curtis where she led the $800 million U.S. Hair Care business and prior to that she did brand marketing for Procter & Gamble. She previously led recruiting at McKinsey and Company, Inc.
Munger is also a 20-year volunteer and former board member with a nonprofit serving intellectually and developmentally disabled adults. She knows from experience about the challenges facing human services organizations and prioritized their state payments during her time as Comptroller.
As Deputy Governor, Munger will add her voice to the state’s budget discussions and work with nonprofit leaders to address their challenges and increase their financial security.
“I love Illinois, I was born and raised here, educated here, and my husband and I chose to raise our family here,” Munger said. “I am excited to use my skills and experience to help get our state back on track, and I am grateful for the opportunity to work to bring financial strength to state government and ensure that Illinois lives up to the promises it has made to our human service organizations.”
Munger earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and her M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University.
* Another e-mail from JT went out yesterday afternoon…
Dear Colleagues,
I’ve continued to receive many questions from employees regarding the State’s Last, Best, and Final offer. In particular, these questions have asked about the State’s subcontracting proposal.
Let me begin by saying that the State has no plans to engage in mass privatization of state employee jobs. Any statements you have heard to the contrary are not correct.
Second, unlike the last AFSCME collective bargaining agreement, the State has offered protections against subcontracting that borrow from AFSCME’s contracts with other public employers. These protections give state workers a more meaningful role in subcontracting discussions, potentially leading to better outcomes for employees. Under the last contract, state employees did not have this ability.
You can read the specifics of the State’s subcontracting proposal on page 186 of our last, best, and final offer, which is posted on the TeamIllinois website.
Please refer to the State Employee FAQs page for information on subcontracting and other labor issues, as well as to submit questions.
Sincerely,
JT
John Terranova
Deputy Director
CMS Office of Labor Relations
* I asked AFSCME’s Anders Lindall for a response to one particular passage…
You asked for a response to “JT’s latest email to state employees [which says]: ‘unlike the last AFSCME collective bargaining agreement, the State has offered protections against subcontracting that borrow from AFSCME’s contracts with other public employers. These protections give state workers a more meaningful role in subcontracting discussions, potentially leading to better outcomes for employees. Under the last contract, state employees did not have this ability.’”
This is more Rauner/Terranova misinformation.
Here’s the truth: If the state wants to privatize, the union contract now requires subcontracting to meet a standard of “greater efficiency [or] economy”. Rauner wants to do away with that or any standard. Instead, under his “final offer”, the administration could, “at [its] discretion”, allow employees to bid against private contractors—but even then, the administration could reject any bid without justification or appeal.
The existing “efficiency or economy” standard helps to protect the public from outsourcing deals that waste tax dollars or let private entities cut corners to maximize profits. An example: When the state hired a corporation called Maximus to scrub the Medicaid rolls, AFSCME found that privatization would cost $18 million a year more than doing the work with state employees. In addition, Maximus was wrongly stripping Medicaid recipients of their medical coverage (likely because it employed untrained call center workers it hired on Craigslist). We showed that the “efficiency or economy” standard was not met and Maximus was dropped, potentially saving millions of dollars for taxpayers.
In general we believe that public oversight, accountability and transparency are important whenever privatization deals are considered. We think Rauner’s push to delete the “efficiency or economy” language could permit privatization without any safeguards. But we have said time and again that we’re willing to consider the administration’s proposals on this and any other issue, and to modify the proposals we’ve made previously, in an effort to find common ground. The only way to do that, though, is through negotiations, and as you know, the Rauner administration has refused to even meet with our bargaining committee for more than a year.
…Adding… And about the claim that the Rauner proposal borrows from AFSCME’s contracts with other public employers, here’s Anders…
I don’t know where they got their language from. I do know that AFSCME has thousands of contracts with employers all across the country; some have stronger subcontracting provisions than the current state of Illinois contract does, some weaker. We think the current standards are good for Illinois, but the governor can suggest changes by coming back to the bargaining table — which he refuses to do.
* From the Northeastern Illinois University President…
TO: University Community
FROM: Richard J. Helldobler, Interim President
DATE: February 3, 2017
RE: Preparations for a salary-savings program
Today I write to you with strong feelings of discouragement and frustration. It had been my hope that our state leaders would have found a way forward to providing us with either additional stop gap funding or a resolution to the budget impasse. Regrettably, that is not the case, and there does not seem a solution in the near future.
It has been 19 months since we have operated without a state spending plan, and as a result, Northeastern Illinois University is experiencing the worst budgetary climate it has ever experienced in its history. In spite of all this, we remain strong in our resolve to serve and provide our students with a quality education.
As I have communicated in the past, the University will complete the spring semester and hold the May Commencement ceremony. However, without stop gap funding or an adequate appropriation, we must find ways to stay afloat beyond that. A salary-savings plan, or furlough program, we have determined, is the most fair and least intrusive way for Northeastern to survive financially through the summer months until fall tuition dollars become available.
So, we have begun preparations to negotiate and roll out a salary-savings plan, or furlough program, starting in the spring semester. Those who took part in the program last spring know that a furlough plan was negotiated and is a mandatory unpaid leave of absence. Last time, we required one furlough day each week. For this spring, we have not yet determined what those requirements will be. To prepare for any negotiated plan, we have reached out to each of the five collective bargaining units that represent Northeastern employees, letting the leaders know that we would like to begin to negotiate the details and discuss how to implement such a program. I anticipate that these negotiations could last about four to five weeks, which would be roughly the amount of time before we would have to begin any agreed-upon plan to garner enough salary savings to remain solvent through the summer.
In addition to the unions, we have had discussions with other leaders at the University in the spirit of shared governance to alert them to our next moves given the budget outlook. These discussions included representatives from the Civil Service and Administrative and Professional Councils, Student Government Association, University Budget and Planning Council, University Advisory Council and the Faculty Senate.
For those of you who are Administrative and Professional or non-negotiated employees, I invite you to join me and the vice presidents at an open discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 3:05 to 4:05 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Main Campus. We can talk about our preparations and what a salary-savings program might entail for you. As always, if we are not able to talk to you in person, we invite you to submit your input or questions to the University Feedback Form. Additionally, this meeting will be available via livestream at the following link while the event is taking place: http://connectcast.tv/neiustream.
We are doing everything we can both in Springfield and here in Chicago to advocate for higher education funding and manage our finances judiciously. If you are so inclined, on Wednesday, Feb. 8, the University will provide bus transportation to and from Springfield from the Main Campus so that any interested student, staff or faculty member can participate in the Statehouse Rally to Save Higher Education. Please refer to the Jan. 31 Targeted Announcement about this event. I will be on the bus and hope to share the ride with many of you.
The only thing that will keep us from a salary-savings plan, or furlough program, is receiving adequate funding from the state. At the moment, that prospect looks grim. However, should we receive appropriate funding prior to the implementation of the plan, or after beginning the plan, we will hit the pause button, assess our financial situation, meet with appropriate leadership and discuss options.
These are very difficult financial times for Northeastern, but we will do what needs to be done to continue to provide for our students an exceptional learning environment. It is my hope that you will remain engaged in the process moving forward, whether through your union, various councils or faculty or student governance bodies. We need you at the table for these important discussions.
I want to express my sincere gratitude to you and each and every student and member of our faculty and staff for your continued commitment to Northeastern.
Thank you.
*** UPDATE *** From the University Professionals of Illinois, which is a branch of the IFT…
Dear UPI Members:
We will be sitting down at the table with the administration with regard to cost-saving measures.
We have, however, already communicated our perspective to the president and provost: furloughs are a very bad idea because they hurt the entire university; furloughs harm our students individually and retention generally; UPI agreed to furloughs last year with the proviso that we would not do so again.
As with any negotiations, our position will develop in consultation with our membership and we will be calling on all of you.
Please remember that we have the support of organizations throughout the state and in Chicago. Most importantly, we will work with our partners in the student body and with other unions and councils across the university to help craft the best political response to Illinois’s failure to represent and foster the livelihoods of the state’s people.
In solidarity and in support of the arts and sciences and professional schools at our university,
* Remember the Ohio pastor who told President Trump that he’d talked with “top gang thugs” in Chicago who said they’d commit to lowering Chicago’s “body count, [if] we come and do some social programs”? Yeah, well, not so much…
FOX 32: So, there are no gang leaders offering to reduce the body count in exchange for federal funds?
“No! I mean, c’mon now! (laughs) No!” Pastor Darrell Scott said. […]
Pastor Darrell Scott also told FOX 32 a lack of sleep caused him to tell President Trump that Chicago gangs had offered to “lower the body count.” He said he actually spoke to one former gang member, and not to any gang leaders.
* Scott also tweeted this…
NOT "Gang Thugs", FORMER street guys that are now community activists. MY BAD! No harm or disrespect intended! (I'm a former street guy too)
Frankly, it sounds like a bunch of bull to me and to other activists who have worked with street folks for years. […]
“There are no major gang leaders in the city of Chicago,” noted Hal Baskin, a grass-roots activist in Englewood who was once a gang-banger.
“My reality — and I have been at this for 45 years — talking about bringing the body count down in exchange for social programs, you and I know that is a ridiculous idea,” he said. […]
Tio Hardiman, president of Violence Interrupters, said he doesn’t blame the pastor for wanting to help, but agreed there isn’t any real gang structure in Chicago.
“Chicago is too divided politically, religiously and on the streets and that’s why we can’t stop the violence,” he said.
Either way, let this be a lesson. Whenever somebody says they have a simple solution to a horribly complex problem, that person is lying or incredibly misinformed.
FOX 32 asked one of Chicago’s smartest anti-violence crusaders what he would tell the president if he were invited to the White House.
“I’d tell him that we can’t just look in one area. When you look at public safety, it’s linked to public health. It’s linked to education. It’s linked to a whole number of things. It’s linked to jobs,” said Christopher Mallette, Executive Director of Chicago Violence Reduction Strategy.
A man was killed and his coworker wounded in a Logan Square neighborhood shooting early Friday on the Northwest Side, according to Chicago Police.
About 2:30 a.m., they were driving in the 3700 block of West Fullerton when a black four-door vehicle pulled alongside them and someone inside it opened fire, police said. […]
It was the city’s first fatal shooting since Tuesday night, a span of nearly 55 hours that marked Chicago’s longest stretch without a gun homicide so far this year.
In response to questions on social media, Scott said the people he spoke with include the Rev. Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church, Kublai Toure, a longtime activist and former Chicago firefighter, and Torrence Cooks.
