Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

*** UPDATED x1 *** Willie Wilson to blast Pritzker spending plan

Thursday, Jun 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Unfortunately I will miss this because I am taking tomorrow off…

I think he is probably talking about infrastructure funding since the operating budget didn’t rely on tax hikes.

* Gov. Pritzker was asked yesterday about the impact of the fees and tax hikes to fund infrastructure on everyday people. He talked about job creation, but also said this…

I would say that the infrastructure bill allows us to invest in things that will save people money in the long run.

For example … when you drive to work and you hit all those potholes and then you get a flat tire, that costs you money. When you drive to work and you hit the potholes and now you need to go out and get your steering realigned and you have to get your car fixed because of it, that costs you money.

When the rail system, when our mass transit system isn’t operating properly and you can’t get to work, that costs you money.

* Speaking of which…

Chicago roads. It’s getting bad out here. Paulina & Cullom #chicagopothole #sinkhole pic.twitter.com/Xu2h0d8cOX

— Robin Hoecker (@RobinEHoecker) June 6, 2019

*** UPDATE *** Here you go…

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Somebody isn’t telling the truth

Thursday, Jun 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Background is here if you need it. Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki was asked today if he believed in the concept of separation of church and state. He said he did and said…

This is not a case of the church trying to tell government officials what to do. It’s not intended as a political statement, it is intended, in fact it’s being issued after the vote here because it’s a statement really talking about the integrity of what it means to be a Catholic.

* From Speaker Madigan’s statement…

I was notified by Bishop Paprocki that if I permitted the House of Representatives to debate and pass the Reproductive Health Act, I would no longer be allowed to accept the sacrament of communion.

…Adding… Tribune…

Madigan and Cullerton would be allowed to receive the church sacrament again in Springfield if they make a public statement and introduce legislation to repeal the recently passed abortion bill, the bishop said.

That sounds like a church official “trying to tell government officials what to do.”

* Paprocki was then asked if he had reached out to Speaker Madigan about this topic…

I have spoken with Speaker Madigan on a couple of occasions and some time ago we spoke about it in a general way. I called him last week just to basically remind him of the importance of this issue and it was a brief conversation.

…Adding… Bishop Paprocki also said he followed up with Madigan and Cullerton last week by sending them letters. Speaker Madigan’s spokesman said today that, as of this afternoon, no such letter had been received.

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Capital bill roundup

Thursday, Jun 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* A circle can’t fit where a square should be takes a look at the capital bill…

In Springfield, $350 million is earmarked for the Capitol complex, but it’s unclear for what. Messages left for the Capitol Architect on Wednesday were not immediately returned.

There’s also $122 million for the long-shuttered State Armory, which is right across the street from the Capitol in Springfield.

“The funding included in Rebuild Illinois will allow the state to return the Armory to a usable space and that work will include new HVAC, plumbing, electrical and an entirely new roof and renovations to the interior space,” Central Management Services Deputy Director Mike Deering said. “But right now we don’t have a determination of what agency or what it will be repurposed for.

“It’s just not usable, the water is turned off, all the different utilities, it needs to brought up to speed and for a safety standard,” Deering said. “It’s much needed for that facility.” […]

The plan includes $3.1 billion over several years for school construction. In the first, first year there’ll be $200 million available for grants. It goes up from there to $450 million the second year, $500 million each for years three and four. Year five there’ll be $800 million in grants awarded and each year after that there’ll be around $660 million available for school construction grants.

For higher education buildings, Eastern Illinois University is getting a new science building for $118.8 million.

“After a couple of decades we’ve got funding … for a new science building,” said Butler who’s a graduate of EIU. “There are so many high schools in the state of Illinois that have much better science facilities than EIU does and that’s a shame. There are tarps that are over some of the equipment to make sure the ceiling doesn’t fall on some of the equipment.”

* Mark Brown has an exhaustive list and this tidbit…

I’m told state representatives were instructed to designate $2.5 million-$3 million worth of projects for their districts, while senators were allotted $5 million-$6 million, not to suggest everyone was treated equally.

Although many of those “member initiatives” are detailed in the legislation, H.B. 62, others are lumped together in large multi-billion categories with more specific appropriations expected to be disclosed later. […]

Individual legislator’s names are not listed with the earmarks in the legislation.

Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), the first Indian-American elected to the Senate, said he pushed for the new Pan Asian community center, which he envisions as a place for the area’s diverse and fast growing Asian population to come together for services of common need. He expects it to be located on the North Side or north suburbs with Skokie emerging as an early favorite.

I didn’t spot any obviously egregious taxpayer boondoggles in my first reading of the bill, which is not to say they aren’t in there.

Those member projects lists have been leaked in the past, so we’ll just have to see if that happens again.

…Adding… Daily Herald…

State Sen. Cristina Castro confirmed she will receive $6 million in member initiative money. The former Kane County Board member said she isn’t giving any to Longmeadow. She’s committed her dollars to projects brought to her by local officials during the state budget process. […]

[Republican Sen. Don DeWitte] received “an awful lot of” funding requests for local projects. … DeWitte and fellow Republican state senators expect to receive about $4 million each from the member initiative pool.

* Click here for a decent explanation of how the new revenues will be divvied up. It was put together by a group affiliated with Local 150 of the Operating Engineers. Here’s a couple of charts…

Distribution of Anticipated New Annual Revenues from Increasing Motor Fuel Taxes

Bonding Authority Increases for Transportation Projects

* Related…

* Pritzker’s Budget Funds Roadwork For South Suburban Airport: In May, Kelly reported that land acquisition and planning for the airport was 90 percent complete. The state so far owns 89 percent of the land where it will sit and is poised to secure the rest once all other details are in place. All FAA approvals are in place, except for the final, detailed construction plan by the contractor. What’s needed, she and the other elected officials said in a letter to Pritzker, was the funding to wrap up the final leg of the project. The new budget gave them $162 million to do that.

* Lawmakers pass bill for infrastructure - Granville mayor is pleased by the news

* Illinois Central College lands $5.1M in capital bill

* SIU Carbondale gets about $140 million in construction, upgrades in capital bill

* ISU staff optimistic to receive government funding; Money will be used for renovations

* Northlight Theatre receives $927,500 from newly announced statewide arts funding

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Springfield bishop lashes out at Madigan, Cullerton over abortion bill

Thursday, Jun 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* LifeSiteNews…

[Springfield] Bishop Thomas John Paprocki has ruled that state legislators who are working to pass Illinois’s new abortion bill may not present themselves for communion in his diocese and that priests are expressly forbidden from giving the Eucharist to both the Senate president and the speaker of the House.

“In accord with canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law … Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and Speaker of the House Michael J. Madigan, who facilitated the passage of the Act Concerning Abortion of 2017 (House Bill 40) as well as the Reproductive Health Act of 2019 (Senate Bill 25), are not to be admitted to Holy Communion in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois because they have obstinately persisted in promoting the abominable crime and very grave sin of abortion as evidenced by the influence they exerted in their leadership roles and their repeated votes and obdurate public support for abortion rights over an extended period of time,” Paprocki wrote in a statement dated June 2, 2019.

“These persons may be readmitted to Holy Communion only after they have truly repented these grave sins and furthermore have made suitable reparation for damages and scandal, or at least have seriously promised to do so, as determined in my judgment or in the judgment of their diocesan bishop in consultation with me or my successor,” he continued.

Although they are not named, Paprocki included other pro-abortion state politicians in his interdict, saying, “I declare that Catholic legislators of the Illinois General Assembly who have cooperated in evil and committed grave sin by voting for any legislation that promotes abortion are not to present themselves to receive Holy Communion without first being reconciled to Christ and the Church in accord with canon 916 of the Code of Canon Law.”

The full decree is here.

* Paprocki was interviewed by the National Catholic Register…

I think they should see this as a clear affirmation of Church teaching about the respect for human life from conception to natural death. It should be also an affirmation of the clear teaching that abortion is wrong. It should also be seen as a clear effort to uphold the integrity of the sacraments and to maintain the consistency between all of those.

It is scandalous, I think, to people — that’s another issue here — it is truly scandalous to people when they see Catholic politicians saying, “I’m a Catholic but I am going to vote for this abortion legislation.” And then they do vote for it, and they vote for this extreme legislation that is promoting abortion, and other faithful Catholics wonder how can they do that? How can they do that and get away with it?

This document is not intended as a political document. The legislation has already passed. What this document is saying is that the people who have done this have done something that is simply not acceptable to the Catholic Church.

So the approach I’m taking here is, there’s two canons in the Code of Canon law, Canon 915 and Canon 916 that are applicable. Canon 915 is the one that has received a lot more media attention, and that is the one that basically says that those who have obstinately persisted in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion. So obstinate persistence requires more than one act. And that’s why my decree really just singles out the Speaker of the House here in Illinois, Michael Madigan, as well as the president of the State Senate, John Cullerton, because they have a persistently over a number of years now, pushed this pro-abortion legislation.

* Tribune…

“To the best of my knowledge the Senate President hasn’t ever attended services there,” a Cullerton spokesman said Wednesday.

Madigan issued a statement saying Paprocki had notified him earlier that if he permitted the House to debate and vote on the Reproductive Health Act, he would no longer be able to take communion.

“After much deliberation and reflection, I made the decision to allow debate and a vote on the legislation,” the Madigan statement said. “I believe it is more important to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, including women who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. With women’s rights under attack in an increasing number of states across the country, Illinois is now a leader in making sure women are protected and their rights are upheld.”

When asked if Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich has ever imposed similar sanctions on lawmakers who supported abortion-rights legislation, the Archdiocese of Chicago released a statement: “Cardinal Cupich has had a longstanding position over his 20-plus years as a bishop that it is important to place the emphasis on teaching what the Church believes about important issues of the day, all the while maintaining an unshakable confidence that the Eucharist is an opportunity of grace and conversion to bring people to the truth.”

…Adding… Full Madigan statement…

The Reproductive Health Act is a recognition that women across Illinois deserve access to health care without intrusion from government. I was notified by Bishop Paprocki that if I permitted the House of Representatives to debate and pass the Reproductive Health Act, I would no longer be allowed to accept the sacrament of communion. After much deliberation and reflection, I made the decision to allow debate and a vote on the legislation. I believe it is more important to protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, including women who become pregnant as a result of rape or incest. With women’s rights under attack in an increasing number of states across the country, Illinois is now a leader in making sure women are protected and their rights are upheld.

I don’t think it’s totally legal to offer an inducement to legislators or threaten a specific punishment of them in advance of a vote on legislation.

* ACLU IL statement…

It is sad to read the report of the legislative leaders targeted because each took their oath to our state constitution seriously and respected the religious liberty of all Illinois residents.

We know the passage of the Reproductive Health Act — at a time when other states are criminalizing reproductive health care - was possible because of the leadership and vision of Speaker Madigan, in particular, to move this legislation forward in the House.

The Speaker and Senator Cullerton deserve deep appreciation for advocating for the fundamental rights of individuals to make their own health care decisions.

…Adding… With a hat tip to Hannah Meisel, Madigan doesn’t even attend church any longer. From February..

While he’s known as a classic Chicago South Side Irish politician and went to Catholic school (he graduated from St. Adrian elementary school, St. Ignatius College Prep in 1960, Notre Dame in June ‘64 and Loyola Law School in June ’67), Madigan does not go to church. Madigan said “once upon a time” he regularly attended services as St. Adrian and that “for a time” he “would be a regular attendee at St. Nicholas of Tolentine” but he does belong to a church or parish.

…Adding… One more reference…

Madigan also said he was not a member of any church or parish, including St. Mary Star of the Sea, the neighborhood Catholic church less than half a mile from his West Lawn home of the last 42 years.

Asked if he ever regularly attended church, Madigan said, “Once upon a time St. Adrian. And let me amend that, for a time I would be a regular attendee at St. Nicholas of Tolentine.”