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*** UPDATED x1 *** House sponsor indicates SEIU Healthcare is winning legislative battle against nursing homes

Friday, Oct 27, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is backing legislation that would provide tens of millions of dollars in property tax breaks for nursing homes in Cook County after accepting nearly $2 million in campaign contributions from their industry trade group, including more than $700,000 in the past year.

A political action committee for the Health Care Council of Illinois is one of Harmon’s biggest campaign contributors in recent years. It represents nursing home interests and is lobbying members of the General Assembly to pass the tax relief measure in coming days.

* Much of the information in the piece was covered by Crain’s Chicago Business a week ago. From that story…

If enacted into law, the measure would shift tens of millions of dollars “and maybe more” in annual property taxes from nursing facilities to homeowners and other businesses, according to Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office. Some south suburban communities would be particularly affected. […]

The fray has largely gone under the radar. The provision involved was quietly tucked into a much larger property tax bill that mostly dealt with routine matters. The provision to cut nursing home taxes surfaced as an amendment introduced on May 19 in the state Senate, was approved by the full Senate on the same day, then sent to the House for concurrence. […]

A fact sheet distributed by the health care council and its lobbyist to lawmakers says the tax-cut bill would provide “critical relief” to 300 nursing homes in Cook County “that have been experiencing escalating property taxes and systemic inequities. . . .The current system is not sustainable and is adding to the financial burdens that could force some nursing homes to close and reduce access for residents in their communities who need it the most.” […]

[Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s] team found the tax shift from nursing homes to other taxpayers would exceed 2% of total valuations in several towns and hit 8.5% in Robbins. Chicago has a much wider tax base, but, even there, other taxpayers would have to have to pick up $441 million in valuation being removed from nursing homes, says David Morrison, deputy assessor for policy and intergovernmental affairs.

The House voted to concur on the amendment six days after the Senate passed the amended HB2507. It ended up clearing both chambers without a single vote against. The governor has suggested that members didn’t quite know what they were voting for.

* But here’s something not mentioned in either story: While it’s true that the Health Care Council of Illinois has contributed $115,000 to three of Harmon’s campaign committees since early August, the chief opponent to the amendment, SEIU Healthcare IL/IN, has contributed a total of $137,000 to Harmon’s personal and caucus committees since late August. And SEIU Healthcare has contributed a total of $373,000 to state legislative committees since the start of August, including $137,000 to Speaker Chris Welch’s personal and caucus committees.

Those contributions appear to have had an impact.

* The House’s chief sponsor, Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, told Crain’s that she would move for an override, but also said she’d be willing to pull out the nursing home language if that’s what her colleagues wanted. Well, a week later, she indicated to the Sun-Times that her colleagues weren’t thrilled about voting to override the governor’s veto. But Rep. Kifowit’s quote was buried near the end of the story…

“In talking to members of the caucus, they want more discussion and research on this topic,” said state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego. “I think that they want to pause” and “look at it holistically how we can provide assistance to those nursing homes.”

If the bill’s sponsor in the originating chamber is saying that, then SEIU Healthcare has likely won the floor fight, regardless of any shenanigans in the spring. There’s still almost two weeks left to go, though.

*** UPDATE *** I asked the Senate sponsor of the amendment in question, Celina Villanueva, if Harmon or his chief of staff had anything to do with the nursing home language. Sen. Villanueva’s response…

No. This came out of the on going negotiations/convos with my House counterpart.

A whole lot of ink may have been spilled for nothing.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** Will the Democrats avoid the trap?

Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* As I told you the other day, the Democratic legislative leaders had not yet spoken with their respective caucuses about how best to address the terrorist attack on Israel and resulting war. Those conversations have now happened.

What I’m hearing today is that some Senators in both parties will rise to talk about the war’s impact on the people of their districts. Sen. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) told me she plans to speak, for instance. At least one House Democrat will likely do the same (regarding the murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume). We’ll see what happens.

* Some Republicans spoke yesterday…

On the House floor, Minority Leader Tony McCombie made a statement on point of personal privilege condemning the attacks. Republican state Rep. Brad Halbrook discussed his bill, HR 449, in support of Israel, also on point of personal privilege.

And in a follow-up statement: Republican state Rep. Martin McLaughlin called it “completely shocking” that Democrats wouldn’t speak up on the issue.

Rep. McLaughlin is running against Democrat Maria Peterson, who is allied with Rep. Nabeela Syed, the first Muslim woman elected to the General Assembly. He’s made a campaign issue out of Rep. Syed signing the progressive legislators’ letter after the attack, hence his statement yesterday.

* The Democratic super-majority in the General Assembly has mostly avoided the trap that at least some Republicans appear eager to set by engaging in the same sort of divisive, over-the-top vitriol that has afflicted the Chicago city council, first on asylum-seekers and then on this topic. Yes, there was some back and forth online at first, but that seems to have faded away with time.

Not to say that there aren’t deep emotions on this. There most certainly are. But a choice has apparently been made by members to not let their emotions completely disrupt their ability to conduct actual state legislating going forward.

House debate is here. Senate debate is here. We’ll see what happens. The House has canceled Thursday’s session, by the way.

*** UPDATE *** The Senate’s process is beginning. Click here. Four members will be recognized to share points of information about “events and occurrences happening in their districts to reflect what’s going on in our larger world,” according to Senate President Harmon.

…Adding… Sen. Laura Fine is talking about how two Hamas kidnap victims live in her district. The two women have been released…

I have a responsibility to those constituents as well as the hundreds of others who have family in Israel to stand up today and speak. And so I stand before you today to say on behalf of my Jewish constituents and myself, never again. Never again will we allow this kind of hatred and anti-semitism that led to the murder of 6 million people in places like Auschwitz and Dachau. Our world has been shaken and forever changed, but we are resilient and we will go on. […]

As Illinois legislators we must recognize that this conflict has torn a rift between individuals and communities here at home and commit ourselves to fighting racism, Islamophobia, and anti-semitism here in our own state. I’ve spoken to parents of children who are afraid to go to school. There are Holocaust survivors who no longer feel safe out in the community. This state of fear and violence is not an inevitable outcome, and we must not accept it in Illinois. […]

I urge all of us to go forward as leaders in our community with love and hope in our hearts, and a lasting secure peace as our goal.

Please pardon all transcription errors.

…Adding… Sen. Sara Feigenholtz…

When we called our cousins in the Old City, our hearts were shattered. One cousin had gone to the Nova music festival and was unaccounted for. We didn’t know how he was but we prayed for his safe return. And we prayed day and night. Then on Monday, we got the call that every loved one dreads. This beautiful 23 year old innocent soul, who was just starting his life was brutally murdered, along with 260 other festival goers. I was shattered. My whole family was shattered at the news. […]

[Reading from a letter sent by a constituent] Last week, our family attended a peaceful Israel solidarity rally and prayer in Skokie, in a sweet little banquet hall in Skokie that’s often used for Bar Mitzvahs and weddings. And during this gathering, protesters who learned about the [event] on social media made sure that they shuttled from downtown to bring their violence and hatred of Jews to our neighborhood. And to be honest, I must tell you that I feel that this hatred is a different hatred. It’s a deeper and more violent, hatred, than I’ve ever felt in all of the chapters of my family’s history. No longer can I say that we are part of a big human family. We can no longer kid ourselves. There are monsters among us. This attack was an attack on all of us. It is here in America. […]

The hostility to Israel is palpable. First it was religion. Then it was race. And now that those prejudices are not popular, It’s about the land. The reasons seem to change over time, the hate stays the same. The common theme is Jews, that we are Jews. […]

Jewish constituents in their neighborhoods and across Illinois are scared. They need to know you and other leaders are working to make us safe. There must be consequences. against those who preach and encourage violence.

…Adding… Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel…

I’d like to take a moment to recognize Wadea Al-Fayoume, the little six year old Palestinian American boy who was tragically killed in Plainfield during a senseless hate crime. I’m heartbroken by the loss of this young, innocent life. No person should ever have to bury their child. My heart breaks for this family and for his family and for the many people who fear for their life and safety solely because of their beliefs or the way they look. We have to respect and honor every faith race and religion. Let us never forget that hate has no home, in our community, in our state, or across our nation. We must stand together against any form of hate. So I ask for a moment of silence for Wadea Al-Fayoume.

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*** UPDATED x2 *** Proponents abandon override attempt of ‘Right of First Refusal’ bill

Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Some background from the Tribune editorial board…

In Ameren’s downstate Illinois territory, more than $3.6 billion worth of new transmission lines is planned, Pritzker said in his veto message. The bill he vetoed would give Ameren “right of first refusal” over building and operating those, effectively elbowing out competitive bids that could lower costs for ratepayers.

A major national priority of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the measure is designed to ensure members of IBEW locals get all the work tied to the projects. It was an eleventh-hour push by Washington, D.C.-based IBEW President Kenneth Cooper, who called Illinois legislative leaders personally in the final days of the spring session, that got Springfield’s attention. Opponents were blindsided.

The bill passed the Senate with a comfortable veto-proof majority. The House sent it to the governor, but a large number of members choosing not to vote kept the margin short of the veto-proof threshold. […]

Of course, as is often the case in the utility business — dependent as it is on public officials, who must approve its rates — there’s no shortage of hypocrisy here. Ameren, whose parent company is based in St. Louis and operates throughout the Midwest, lobbied against a similar proposal seven years ago in Kansas when the incumbent utilities there wanted the monopoly and Ameren was interested in bidding on work. That was then, this is now, Ameren says.

The Trib’s editorial board has upped its game and it showed with that editorial.

* The bill only received 63 House votes, not nearly enough to override the governor. Today, the proponents acknowledged the obvious and threw in the towel. House sponsor Rep. Larry Walsh, Jr…

Rright of first refusal is basically allowing the state of Illinois to give the incumbent utility first crack at building the transmission lines that we’ve had in the state for over the last 100 years to maintain their systems. And we’re gonna have more talk about what this policy does. But in my viewpoint, the simple fact of the matter is transmission lines and the electric grid is a regulated monopoly. Has been and always will. If we allow private entities to come in to build these transmission lines, you’ll have a patchwork of these systems throughout the state. And it’d be just like the tollway, six different companies own different sets of mileage. It’s not integrated into the way we should be doing things. I think it’s bad policy.

And our purpose here today is first and foremost to announce that we’re not going to try to override the veto the amendatory veto on House Bill 3445. We’re going to go and educate members, legislators. There was an argument that this thing was done in the dark, which it wasn’t. But the process is the process. We’re going to open that door. We’re going to put subject matters out in the spring. We’re going to work with legislators, the governor’s office, the rate-payers, the community on what right of first refusal,actually is. And when they hear that they’re going, I believe, agree with us. This is the right step for Illinois.

Please pardon all transcription errors.

*** UPDATE 1 *** Toward the end of the press conference, Rep. Walsh, who chairs the House Public Utilities Committee, said this…

We’re looking at doing a full education swing in the spring, introduce a bill that puts the state of Illinois as a right of first refusal state for the whole state with no sunset.

“The whole state” would include ComEd’s turf. One of the ways that legislators have defended their votes is to differentiate Ameren, which has no history of federal corruption probes here, from ComEd, which most certainly does have a history of federal corruption probes here. If you thought this has been a heavy lift for Ameren, adding in ComEd is gonna be 10 times as difficult.

*** UPDATE 2 *** Rep. Ann Williams chairs the House Energy & Environment Committee…

I agree that we must use skilled Illinois union labor for these energy-related infrastructure projects. I look forward to more conversations this spring with organized labor, Ameren and environmental advocates to consider transmission issues as part of a broader conversation about creating the infrastructure to ensure a clean energy future, build capacity, put consumers first, and address the climate crisis.

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After legislative turmoil, DCFS will no longer license child care centers

Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Illinois Action for Children press release…

[Yesterday], at the Carole Robertson Center for Early Learning, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the launch of a new, unified early childhood state agency-eliminating the need for multiple state agencies to administer the early childhood education and care system (ECEC) in Illinois. […]

The major programs that will be housed under the new agency will include the Early Childhood Block Grant at the Illinois State Board of Education, which funds the Preschool for All and the Prevention Initiative programs, the Child Care Assistance Program, Home Visiting, and Early Intervention programs at the Department of Human Services, and licensing for child care programs, which is currently administered by the Department of Children and Family Services.

Emphasis added because we talked about that topic last week. Some members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules were furious at the way DCFS was handling child care licensing and said they wanted to move that function to another agency.

Well, they’re getting their wish.

* Meanwhile, it turns out that one of the child care associations which has been complaining to JCAR members and other legislators about the problems with DCFS licensing rules was totally shut out of the process to create this new unified early childhood agency. And it claims others were as well. Excerpt from a press release by the Illinois Directors and Owners of Childcare Centers (ILDOCC)…

We agree wholeheartedly that new leadership and a fresh approach is critical to rebuilding and strengthening childcare access in Illinois. And creating a single agency focused exclusively on this issue is a positive step forward.

However, even with today’s announcement, it is important to note that the biggest trade organizations that represent providers of child care in every corner of the state were not involved, consulted or informed prior to this morning’s event. This is an example of what providers have faced far too often — where policy decisions are made without the input of the front line experts that provide these services which are relied upon by working families in Illinois. […]

As an organization that represents nearly 1,000 separate childcare facilities in Illinois, we look forward to the promise of our inclusion in this process. More importantly, we look forward to working with our legislative champions to ensure this process improves the industry, addresses the long-standing staffing crisis crippling the industry, and increases access to affordable childcare in every corner of the state.

In other words, if the administration keeps freezing them out, they’ll work with sympathetic legislators to make sure their voices are heard.

…Adding… I just received a call from the governor’s office. They point out that ILDOCC’s only major issue is allowing unqualified people to staff daycare centers and the administration refuses to allow this to ever happen. They also rightly note that this consolidation has been in the works for some time now.

…Adding… ILDOCC…

Yesterday, ILDOCC was happy to praise and state our gratitude to Governor Pritzker for his announcement on creating a new state agency for early childhood education. The change in licensing from the Department of Children and Family Services is something for which this organization has advocated for years.

We also shared our desire to work with the Governor’s office and other stakeholders as this moves forward. As an organization that represents nearly 1,000 licensed childcare centers in the state of Illinois, it is our hope that providers who are doing the work of caring for children will get to have a voice in these decisions being made, and we look forward to the opportunity to work together on this issue.

We are, however, disappointed with the statement from the Governor’s office this morning in response to our statement yesterday. While it is true that ILDOCC believes strongly that on the job experience should be given greater consideration in licensing standards, this is neither the only issue on which we advocate, nor does our organization support policies that are against the best interests of the children and families we serve.

It remains our hope that the Governor’s commitment yesterday to work with all stakeholders was an honest step toward a better system in Illinois where all voices are heard, and that this morning’s statement from his office was an unfortunate mistake.

We continue to look forward to working with the administration on an inclusive, transparent process toward passing legislation that genuinely improves the system in Illinois, and finally addresses the long-standing staffing crisis that has plagued this industry.