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*** UPDATED x1 - Durkin announces support *** Legislation surfaces to get rid of Tollway board members, clean up ethics and raise caps on state agency director salaries

Monday, Jan 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I told subscribers this was coming on Friday afternoon and again today. From the Daily Herald…

State lawmakers could consider legislation in next week’s lameduck session aimed at ending the terms of Illinois tollway directors in the wake of controversy at the agency.

The move could allow Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker to appoint replacements after he is sworn in Jan. 14.

Asked for reaction, a spokeswoman for Pritzker said bills could be introduced next week but did not elaborate on the content.

Five tollway directors have terms ending in May, and sources told the Daily Herald the bills could aim to terminate those appointments, as well as that of Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, immediately.

* As I told subscribers earlier today, that language has now surfaced. From SB1298, Floor Amendment 2…

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the term of office of each director of the Authority serving on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, other than the Governor and the Secretary of the Department of Transportation, is abolished and a vacancy in each office is created on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly. The Governor shall appoint directors to the Authority for the vacancies created under this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly by February 28, 2019. Directors whose terms are abolished under this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly shall be eligible for 15 reappointment.

* The Pritzker team summarized the bill this afternoon…

• Ends the tenure of the current members of the Illinois Toll Highway Authority. New directors must be appointed by February 28, 2019.
• Requires the Board’s by-laws direct members to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
• Requires that a process to override the Chairman of the Board’s veto be spelled out in the by-laws, and consistent with statute.

* Jordan Abudayyeh, spokeswoman for the transition…

The Governor-elect’s administration is moving swiftly to restore the public’s trust in the integrity of the government, starting with the Illinois Tollway – where too little transparency and unethical behavior is unacceptable. With the construction season around the corner, it’s critical that billions worth of road-building contracts aren’t awarded to political insiders and the Tollway needs a fresh start to move forward with rebuilding Illinois.

* From another Daily Herald story…

New Illinois tollway bylaws no longer include a process for the board to overturn a veto by the chairman.

The bylaws also omitted language that previously included “potential conflicts of interest” as something board directors should avoid.

* I also told subscribers about this proposal, which surfaced today. From SB3531, Floor Amendment 3…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for terms beginning after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the annual salary of the director or secretary and assistant director or assistant secretary of each department created under Section 5-15 shall be an amount equal to 15% more than the annual salary of the respective officer in effect as of December 31, 2018. The calculation of the 2018 salary base for this adjustment shall not include any cost of living adjustments, as authorized by Senate Joint Resolution 192 of the 86th General Assembly, for the period beginning July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2019. Beginning July 1, 2019 and each July 1 thereafter, the directors, secretaries, assistant directors, and assistant secretaries shall receive an increase in salary based on a cost of living adjustment as authorized by Senate Joint Resolution 192 of the 86th General Assembly.

* Jordan Abudayyeh…

The past four years have been destructive to Illinois, and it will take talented people to make progress for our state. Many critical positions – including those that protect our safety and security – no longer have competitive salaries, and we are moving to bring them in line with their peers around the country to attract talent.

* Explanation…

• Provides for an immediate 15% raise to agency directors and assistant directors at key agencies, so that the state can attract the talent necessary to turn put Illinois back on track.
• Provides a mechanism by which we can, with the assistance and consent of the legislature, keep compensation competitive and the state on track.
• The bill will not require a new appropriation.

Click here for examples of compensation disparity between selected states.

* House Republican Leader Jim Durkin talked about both bills on Rick Pearson’s radio show yesterday. He supported the concepts, but wanted to see the language before fully committing.

*** UPDATE *** From Leader Durkin’s office…

Leader Durkin will be supporting both legislative requests from Governor-elect Pritzker as a gesture of good faith moving forward into the 101st General Assembly.

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Stava-Murray says she will file complaints, run against Durbin

Monday, Jan 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* January 2nd…

A freshman Democratic state representative is filing discrimination claims against House Speaker Michael Madigan after she says he sent women lawmakers to coerce her to vote for him as speaker.

Newly-elected Rep. Anne Stava-Murray, D-Naperville, said she plans to file discrimination charges against the long-time speaker with the Illinois Human Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Illinois Office of Legislative Inspector General.

Even though she’s yet to be sworn in, Stava-Murray says she’d been harassed on three occasions since her election in November, allegedly at the direction of Madigan.

“You can’t harass someone to do something they don’t want to do if they’re sticking up for a federally protected class of people,” meaning victims of harassment, she said Wednesday. […]

Stava-Murray said she sat through hours of calls from veteran Democratic women lawmakers in the days leading up to their gathering and subsequent call to support Madigan for House Speaker, something she says she refuses to do because of his poor handling of sexual assault victim rights under the dome.

“I got calls from legislators continuously telling me that there would be no value if I voted against the speaker, telling me that if I wanted to play the game, I needed to get on the game board that existed,” she said.

The different lawmakers who called her all used uniform language, she said, as if it had been prepared for them, but she wouldn’t disclose their names.

Legislators are elected officials, so their employers are considered to be the voters in their respective districts. That’s why legislators aren’t covered by the Illinois Human Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

* As far as I can tell, nobody in the House has received a committee assignment yet. The new committee structure hasn’t even been unveiled as of yet…

The rookie lawmaker campaigned on a vow to vote against Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) retaining his title. Within days of announcing her decision to a private House Democratic conference, Stava-Murray says she faced “next level retribution” from Madigan’s allies.

Stava-Murray claims Madigan denied her a chance to sit on a committee, though the Speaker’s office has not yet officially finalized committee assignments for the upcoming session. She also complained that Madigan gave other longer serving House members preferential treatment in deciding the House floor seating chart. […]

Stava-Murray said she intends to mask the origin of her ideas so they can survive the legislative process. She detailed how she plans to work behind the scenes to “do the leg work” and craft legislation, then ask other members to introduce her bills under their name because she fears Madigan won’t allow bills with her name on them to pass out of committee.

“In some ways, I’m a pass through entity that makes my colleagues smarter,” she said.

* “Bodily fluids”?…

* And then came this…

Due in part to the environment for women in Springfield, Stava-Murray announced Tuesday that she would be running for U.S. Senate in 2020, a seat currently held by long-time Senator Dick Durbin, who has been rumored to be near the end of his tenure in Washington.

Stava-Murray made the decision to announce a run now in an effort to keep Durbin from winning re-election only to resign and allow the Illinois Democratic Party to appoint someone.

“If there weren’t such a toxic culture in Springfield, in an ideal world would I have spent more than a few years as a state rep? Absolutely,” she said. “I don’t feel like I should have to go to an unsafe workplace for more than two years.”

Stava-Murray is a survivor of workplace harassment and said that the experiences have left her with post-traumatic stress. She’s committed to sponsoring legislation during her two years in Springfield that would give victims of sexual harassment in Springfield rights.

* More…

She said she’s never met the veteran lawmaker but disagrees with his “turn of becoming more centrist.”

“I think that he sort of writes off the progressive branch of the party, of which I identify myself with, as being unwilling to compromise, and certainly there might be some key players who aren’t giving the progressive cause a good look, but in the most part what I see when I talk to my fellow progressives and Democrats in Springfield and other fellow progressive Democrats is a total willingness to work across the aisle.”

Durbin eventually confirmed he was running.

* Last word…

Moderates like my opponent? Who are too busy playing political games to have a real talk with McConnell?

I work across the aisle and expect my Senator to do the same- not play the blame game as he has been. https://t.co/EHKVv6dAAP

— Anne Stava-Murray (@TeamStavaMurray) January 7, 2019

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Pritzker could be sent gun shop licensing bill from this GA

Monday, Jan 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller

* We have a lot of catching up to do. This Tribune story is from December 28th…

A proposal that would give the state more oversight over Illinois gun dealers could be among the first big issues that land on Democratic Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker’s desk after he takes over, and an aide says he’d sign it.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in the spring vetoed a bill that would have required the state to license and regulate gun shops. Lawmakers approved the plan in the wake of the killing of Chicago police Cmdr. Paul Bauer and the high school shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Supporters contended that federal regulators are stretched too thin to regulate all the shops operating in Illinois. Rauner, though, called the proposal “duplicative” because the federal government already licenses firearms retailers. He said adding another layer of oversight would be costly for businesses and “do little to improve public safety.”

Lawmakers didn’t override Rauner’s veto, but they approved a new version. Likely knowing the governor would veto that one, too, Democratic Senate President John Cullerton in May put a procedural hold on the bill, keeping the paperwork off Rauner’s desk.

Now, Cullerton could release it in the coming weeks just before Pritzker is inaugurated Jan. 14, steering the gun dealer licensing proposal into the Democratic governor’s hands instead of Rauner’s. There’s still time, though, for Cullerton to decide to send it to Rauner or it might not work out for procedural reasons.

* As subscribers were told on Friday, the parliamentary maneuver planned for the gun bill will also likely be used on a couple of other proposals. But can one General Assembly hold onto a bill until after the next GA convenes?…

State Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said it’s an interesting question of whether a previous General Assembly can pass legislation but hold it and then send it to a new governor.

“This is, I know, one of the unusual years where the General Assembly is sworn in before the governor. Just an oddity in the way that the calendar falls,” Harmon said. “I’m going to have to look into that.”

Monday and Tuesday are the final two days of the 100th General Assembly. The 101st General Assembly is seated Wednesday, Jan. 9. Gov.-elect Pritzker is inaugurated Jan. 14.

Longtime statehouse observer and University of Illinois Professor Emeritus Kent Redfield said it’s technically possible for lawmakers to hold a bill that passed in one General Assembly and then pass it onto a new governor. He said it’s an ambiguous area that he’s not aware has been fully litigated.

“Particularly if it’s controversial legislation involving something like gun control measures, something involving taxes, there certainly would be a court challenge,” Redfield said. […]

Per the state constitution, lawmakers are supposed to send measures that passed both chambers to the governor within 30 days of passing. A procedural hold called a motion to reconsider was used on House Bill 40 in 2017 after it passed both chambers. That hold kept the controversial bill allowing more tax dollars for abortions from the governor for a total of four months. The hold was eventually lifted and sent to the governor who signed the bill. A lawsuit challenging that procedure as an abuse of the legislative process has been appealed to the state Supreme Court, but whether the court will hear it is still not known.

The Illinois Constitution is silent on the matter.

…Adding… This has happened before, however. From early 2015…

Gov. Bruce Rauner sided with the state’s two largest electric suppliers Friday when he signed legislation giving Ameren Illinois and ComEd two more years to recover costs of upgrading their delivery systems.

The move allows Ameren to continue seeking rate increases via a special formula, rather than going through a longer regulatory process.

The governor’s action came after legislative leaders in December delayed sending the measure to former Gov. Pat Quinn on the belief that he would veto the proposal. The maneuver left it up to Rauner to approve or deny the plan, even though it was approved by a previous General Assembly.

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