*** UPDATED x2 *** What’s on tap today?
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Senate leaders this week are hoping to revive their sweeping budget proposal, which has stalled after the governor weighed in on the plan.
The latest talks center on a potential tax hike, with negotiators saying Rauner is pushing to make any income tax increase temporary. They say his office wants that hike to be limited to five years and paired with a five-year property tax freeze.
Some Democrats are worried about a temporary hike, saying it would create a funding “cliff” in the future (that’s what happened when the 2011 temporary income tax hike expired in 2015). They also are concerned about extending a property tax freeze for that long. They instead want a two-year freeze that would allow local voters to say if they want to extend it for three more years. […]
Senate lawmakers plan to meet behind closed doors Wednesday, when they are likely to decide whether to move ahead with another round of voting on the plan, which is being negotiated by Senate President John Cullerton and Republican leader Christine Radogno.
* But…
Senator Bill Brady, (R)-Bloomington, has introduced 7 budget bills he says will create the first balanced budget the state has seen in years.
The Bloomington Republican announced his package of bills Tuesday afternoon, which he says contain $5 billion in cuts. “Cuts are never easy, and I don’t anticipate the cuts outlined in this budget will be well received by everybody, but given the situation that our state is operating at a court ordered spending plan, with billions of dollars of deficit spending it’s time to fix Illinois fiscal crisis.” he said.
Senator Brady says his proposal provides for selling revenue bonds totaling $6 billion to reduce the state’s backlog of unpaid bills and save the state millions of dollars in interest costs.
“The state’s unpaid bills now total almost $13 billion, or $1,000 for every man, woman and child in the state. If we do nothing, our unpaid bills, what we owe to medical providers, social service agencies and other vendors, will grow to move than $20 billion over the next two years. That’s not the message Illinois out to be sending to the world, and it’s not the kind of system we should ask Illinoisans to accept.” he said.
Senator Brady says this budget package is not being proposed as a replacement for the Grand Bargain, rather a supplement to it. “I have always said that a balanced budget must be an integral part of the grand compromise that the Senate has worked on. While I appreciate the hard work and progress that has gone into some of these proposals, nobody has been talking about a budget. What I’m proposing is a balanced budget that takes into account the new revenues from that compromise but also includes more than $5 billion in general revenue fund spending cuts, adjustments and cost savings, including 5 percent across-the-board cuts for most of state government outside elementary and secondary education.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Ugh…
From the story…
“Now that I’ve read it, what I see is that there’s a significant departure from our agreement,” he says. “There’s a lengthy list of things that do not reflect our agreement. Some of those are things we discussed and I thought we had an agreement on, but the amendment doesn’t reflect that. Others are concepts that were never discussed that are being introduced now in this amendment.” […]
But after actually reading Manar’s plan, Barickman asked for lots of big changes. Manar points out that Senate Republicans have never filed a school funding reform bill, and suggests it’s time for them to do so. If they do, Manar says, “I guarantee I will have it heard in the Senate education committee.”
That bill is an integral part of the grand bargain. No SB1, no grand bargain.
…Adding… Barickman did sponsor an education funding reform bill and Manar was a co-sponsor. So it has been done before. Click here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Yep. Subscribers know more…
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* From the comptroller’s office…
A notice of intent to appeal was filed Tuesday in the Legislator Pay case. Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office filed the notice on behalf of Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza with the First District Appellate Court in Chicago.
Comptroller Mendoza believes there is a sound policy reason, given the absence of a balanced state budget, to prioritize payments to the state’s most vulnerable – hospice care; child care; meals on wheels for seniors – ahead of paychecks for elected officials.
The motion is here.
They should appeal this case, if for no other reason than we ought to know once and for all if the executive branch has the constitutional authority to starve out legislators.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
Deputy Governor Leslie Munger released the following statement on Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s decision to appeal the judge’s ruling on lawmaker pay.
“We appreciate that Comptroller Mendoza will appeal the Court’s ruling, but frankly, it’s too little too late. Before the ink was dry on the judge’s order, she expedited payments for all eight months of lawmaker back pay costing taxpayers more than $8 million and causing more delays for human service organizations. She had the chance to ask the Court to keep politicians, including herself, from being prioritized for payment from the state but she declined. It’s clear that Comptroller Mendoza’s priorities are to help herself and her friends in the legislature at the expense of those most in need.”
Deputy Governor Munger will be available for interviews. Please contact Eleni Demertzis for availability.
And, yes, I put that response on the wrong post earlier. Weird day.
* Related…
* Mendoza, Munger and Rauner locked in endless campaign: It’s been nearly five months since Democrat Susana Mendoza defeated the governor’s hand-picked candidate Leslie Munger in the state comptroller’s race – but it’s almost as if the campaign never ended. Mendoza again lashed out Tuesday at Gov. Bruce Rauner, criticizing his “inability” to propose a budget, while dubbing him “the worst governor that’s ever served this state.” In response, Munger, whom Rauner appointed deputy governor with a $138,00 salary after her defeat, urged her former competitor to look in the “mirror,” instead of point fingers over who’s to blame for the “sorry condition of our state.”
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* Tribune…
A group of House and Senate Democrats on Wednesday are scheduled to unveil what they’re calling the “Illinois comeback agenda,” a five-point plan to try to counter Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “turnaround agenda.”
Rauner has made parts of his economic plan prerequisites for a full budget deal, which hasn’t yet been struck during his first term. While the governor’s plan has continued to morph, key pillars include a property tax freeze, changes to the state’s workers’ compensation system and term limits on elected officials.
Details of the Democratic plan were still being worked out Tuesday. Details of the Democratic plan were still being worked out Tuesday but could include five legislative measures dealing with the budget, campaign finance, criminal justice, education funding and health, said Ryan Keith, an adviser helping to organize the announcement. The group also will unveil a new nonprofit called Reimagine Illinois to help push the proposals.
The effort comes as some rank-and-file Democrats grow increasingly frustrated by what they view as a lack of a strategy to fight back against Rauner. They want to present ideas to counter accusations that they are simply acting as obstructionists. [Emphasis added.]
Big presser today and yet they admit they hadn’t worked out the issues by the day before. Yep. They’re experts at that messaging stuff, those Dems.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the ILGOP…
The Illinois Republican Party issued the following statement regarding the Chicago Tribune’s report this morning that Democrats will announce a new legislative agenda focused on campaign finance, criminal justice, education funding, health care and the budget.
“While it’s nice to see Democrats join the Governor on criminal justice reform and improving schools, it’s alarming that their agenda appears to include nothing to lower property taxes or increase jobs throughout the state. And any effort to fix the political system that doesn’t include term limits or redistricting reform isn’t a serious one. Illinoisans want a balanced budget with real spending caps, a true property tax freeze, and economic reforms to grow jobs. Democrats should add these key items to their agenda if they are serious about improving Illinois.” - Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
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* From the ILGOP…
Quad-City Times: “Mendoza ditched campaign pledge”
She’s revealed herself to be “just another pawn of the Democratic machine”
From the Quad-City Times Editorial Board:
Like a good Illinois Democrat, state Comptroller Susana Mendoza rolled over.
Mendoza had two choices last week after a court ordered her to pay state lawmakers when no budget exists: Appeal or cave. She chose the latter.
Mendoza immediately started issuing lawmakers’ paychecks following a ruling in Cook County ordering the release of lawmakers’ paychecks. Mendoza didn’t come up with the idea to withhold paychecks for the very people responsible for Illinois’ two-year fiscal dumpster fire. Her GOP predecessor, Leslie Munger, died on that hill.
Click here to read the rest.
* Here’s a passage the state party didn’t quote from the editorial, however…
Mendoza’s lack of action so far suggests she’s just another slave to Madigan’s Chicago Democrats.
Appeal the decision, Ms. Mendoza. Anything less will verify our suspicions.
Whew.
…Adding… Newspaper editorial boards are committees of people who make their living writing. So, every word matters in editorials because those words are published with an explicit intent to persuade an audience. And I gotta say, the use of the word “slave” in this context is repellent.
This isn’t some random person calling into a radio station talk show, or a nasty person on Twitter. These words were written by professionals and presumably approved by the entire board.
Also, if she’s “just another slave,” who are the others? Does that include black legislators, too?
That edit board has some explaining to do.
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Kennedy has hereditary disorder
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Subscribers were told about this yesterday morning…
Calling it “more of a nuisance than a disability,” Chris Kennedy on Tuesday acknowledged that he suffers from a hereditary disorder that causes tremors — a day after the Sun-Times reported that the gubernatorial candidate’s hands were shaking during a meet-and-greet with Cook County Democratic leaders.
“I wanted to set the record straight. The shaking is a condition I’ve lived with my whole life called familial [tremors.] It runs in the family. Doctors don’t know what causes it other than it is hereditary and does not cause impairment — more of a nuisance than a disability. In fact, many of my family members live with it. It doesn’t limit any of us in any way,” Kennedy wrote in a statement on Facebook.
“I don’t talk much about it, not because I’m ashamed of it, but because having dealt with it my whole life, it’s just not that big a deal to me. The fact is millions of people live their lives with far, far great challenges than an occasional handshake.
“The fact is improving the health of this state is a whole more important to me than talking about a minor condition. Once in a while, my hand will shake whether I like it or not. But regardless, most of the time, the kind of handshakes you’ll see from me will be on the campaign trail, earning the votes of the people of Illinois who believe in our quest to restore the promise of our state,” he wrote.
* As noted above, he has what’s known as “familial tremor,” which is a subset of “essential tremor.” Here’s the definition…
Essential tremor signs and symptoms:
Begin gradually, usually on one side of the body
Worsen with movement
Usually occur in the hands first, affecting one hand or both hands
Can include a “yes-yes” or “no-no” motion of the head
May be aggravated by emotional stress, fatigue, caffeine or temperature extremes […]
About half of essential tremor cases appear to result from a genetic mutation, although a specific gene hasn’t been identified. This form is referred to as familial tremor. It isn’t clear what causes essential tremor in people without a known genetic mutation. […]
Essential tremor isn’t life-threatening, but symptoms often worsen over time.
He has it in both hands.
It’s really not a big deal for an average person. The problem for Kennedy is that the shaking can sometimes become more prominent during times of stress, like, perhaps, during an important debate or TV appearance. Again, physically, it’s not a big thing, but people just don’t pay a lot of attention to state politics, so they can be very shallow when making their judgements about candidates.
This game, whether we care to admit it or not, is a lot about show business. It doesn’t affect his brain, but it could affect the perception of him.
…Adding… As a commenter notes below, one possible irony here is that Kennedy’s uncle, JFK, won a presidential debate and maybe even the whole campaign because Richard Nixon looked horrible on TV.
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*** LIVE *** Session coverage
Wednesday, Mar 29, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Today’s post is sponsored by the American Heart Association of Illinois. Follow everything in real time right here with ScribbleLive…
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