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Thursday, Mar 9, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I’m old enough to remember the days when saying “B.S.” to a group of pastors in a church was considered disrespectful and very bad form…

Businessman and Democratic candidate for governor Chris Kennedy called Illinois’ current chief executive’s pro-business agenda “B.S,” while speaking to a group of South Side pastors Thursday.

“What we need is certainty. What we need is predictability,” Kennedy said, speaking at Bethlehem Star Church on South Cottage Grove. “What we need is a budget. Gov. Rauner, do your job. Get us a state budget.”

Kennedy formerly managed the Merchandise Mart, and he said he dealt with 5,000 companies during his 25 years there.

“Not one in 25 years ever said to me that they were worried about coming to Illinois because of the way we draw our state rep. districts,” Kennedy said. “None of them said they were worried about tort reform or workers’ comp or term limits. That agenda is B.S. when it comes to attracting companies to our state.”

As I’ve said many times before, Democrats should be pushing for remap reform. Right now, they’re counting on Gov. Rauner to lose in 2018. And if he wins and vetoes their map, they’re counting on winning the hat draw, which is a 50-50 proposition. Get the General Assembly out of drawing the maps or Rauner may draw the next one.

And no companies at the Mart were concerned with being sued? Or worried about the state’s high costs when their workers were injured? C’mon. I find that a little difficult to believe. And, even if it’s true, then maybe he should go talk to some Downstate manufacturers before the last one leaves Illinois. COGFA’s executive director Dan Long told me yesterday he believes one reason the state’s revenues are tanking so hard is due to the heavy loss of manufacturing jobs. The Merchandise Mart is important to Illinois, but it doesn’t reflect reality everywhere else.

*** UPDATE *** From the ILGOP…

“Chris Kennedy keeps repeating Mike Madigan’s talking points because he wants to be the Speaker’s chosen candidate. Only a Madigan machine politician would call term limits, fair maps and job-creating economic reforms ‘B.S.’”

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The big squeeze on higher education

Thursday, Mar 9, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* News-Gazette…

Leaders of Illinois’ public colleges and universities said Tuesday that their institutions can’t withstand further budget cuts and painted a picture of a system already badly damaged.

One president said the state’s higher-education system is approaching the equivalent of “junk-bond status.”

In a two-hour session, the university officials said they had eliminated thousands of positions, instituted furlough days, cut programs and now were assessing whether to undertake extraordinary measures, including eliminating instructional days and perhaps an entire college. […]

Southern Illinois President Randy Dunn said the university is reviewing whether to eliminate academic departments and possibly an entire college.

“If we have to go there, it will be significant and send a tectonic shock through southern Illinois,” he said. “… If you get away from the fiscal analysis, we have a public university system here in Illinois that in the higher education marketplace is just about to go to junk bond status.”

* Daily Egyptian…

SIU President Randy Dunn on Wednesday said SIU cannot operate for another 20 months without state support “short of hollowing out” its core programs. […]

If Illinois does not pass a budget for another 20 months, Dunn said SIU would be forced to gouge the core of its campus programs, services, facilities and regional support projects through another round of budget cuts. He said “the lion’s share” of those reductions would be felt by the Carbondale campus and would go into effect before July 1.

This would come after a “pounding our regular operations have taken,” Dunn wrote in the column.

* Moody’s…

Moody’s has issued a short report (attached) noting the 21-month long budget impasse in the State of Illinois (rated Baa2/negative outlook) is continuing to have negative credit implications for the state’s public universities and community colleges through interrupted state funding for operations. The ongoing budget deadlock is increasingly forcing the state’s public universities to take considerable steps to continue operations and stem the tide of eroding unrestricted liquidity. The state’s community colleges have experienced similar, though less severe, operational and credit pressure.

In the past week, both Northeastern Illinois University (Ba2/negative) and Governors State University (Ba1/negative) announced significant steps to combat the continued absence of state funding for operations. Northeastern Illinois University announced it will eliminate 300 student employee positions and roughly 1,100 university employees will take an unpaid week off during the university’s spring break. The university has also continued hiring and spending freezes from the prior fiscal year. Governors State University announced steps that include the elimination of 22 academic programs and a 15% tuition increase for all undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs to take effect during the next academic year. In the last two years, the university has eliminated a total of 35 programs and it has cut 62 staff positions in 2016. Material programming reductions and staffing cuts, while necessary to keep the state’s public universities operational in the short-term, will further impair the universities’ abilities to sustain their strategic competitiveness and attract students for the upcoming fall 2017 class.

We believe the state’s public universities will likely take additional steps to mitigate budgetary and liquidity stress while continuing operations. While universities can pull a number of operational levers including academic program elimination, mandatory employee furloughs and reductions in force, these actions will further weaken the universities’ strategic positions. Illinois’ public universities are already coping with continued pressures on enrollment, operations and liquidity. Moreover the budget impasse has also left Illinois universities and colleges with far less MAP (Monetary Award Program) grants than anticipated for the state’s low income students.

The budget impasse has also taken a lesser toll on Illinois community colleges because property taxes are typically the largest revenue source for these schools, followed by tuition and state appropriations. Community college reserves have declined, but remain healthy for the community colleges that we rate. Illinois community colleges can also issue both short-term cash flow notes and long-term working cash bonds to boost liquidity. Despite advantages, many community colleges have made substantial cuts to expenditures or increased tuition to offset reduced state aid distributions that could hurt enrollment and long-term competitiveness. Community colleges also rely on the state for pension contributions, which is a longer term risk for the sector.

Finally, Illinois universities and community colleges remain exposed to demographic challenges that will suppress long-term demand for higher education in the state. Illinois will fare worse than its regional and national peers with decreasing numbers of high school students over the next 15 years, with high school graduates expected to be 14% lower in 2031-32 than 2016-17, compared to 3% lower nationally and 7% lower regionally. Illinois is already a net exporter of high school graduates with net out migration of nearly 17,000 students in fall 2014, the second highest of any state in the country. These demographic challenges add further pressure to the state’s universities, limiting their ability to grow student related revenues to mitigate the impact of state-level issues.

* Related…

* Bernard Schoenburg: Rauner talks up higher ed, but has cut funding

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Rauner announces new hate crimes initiatives

Thursday, Mar 9, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune last night…

In response to recent local acts of anti-Semitism and reports of increased hate crimes nationwide, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday will announce a multipronged effort to boost the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes through stronger laws and better education.

Rauner will detail his four-point plan at a downtown dinner benefiting the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, according to his office. He tapped the state director of public safety and the secretary of education to help carry out the proposal.

* Press release last night…

Governor Bruce Rauner announced today at the Illinois Holocaust Museum Humanitarian Awards dinner a number of steps the administration is taking to combat hate crimes and growing anti-Semitism in Illinois.

“We cannot stay silent on hate. We cannot stay silent when families in our community are in danger. The promise of ‘Never Again’ requires us to take action,” Governor Rauner said. “Illinois is a leader in standing up to hate crimes and anti-Semitism, but we can and must do more.

In a memo to Illinois Director of Public Safety Rodger Heaton and Secretary of Education Beth Purvis, the Governor outlined a number of objectives to protect minority communities from hate and violence. Those objectives are:

· Strengthening Illinois’ Hate Crime Law
The Illinois Holocaust and Genocide has proposed legislation to increase penalties for acts of vandalism against houses of worship and religious centers. The administration is working with the bill’s sponsors on HB 2390, and the governor will sign the agreed bill when it reaches his desk.

· Improve Law Enforcement Training and Response on Hate Crimes
In conjunction with the Anti-Defamation League, the Illinois State Police (ISP) and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, the administration will develop a statewide standardized training plan for state troopers and local police departments. Illinois will also strengthen its partnerships with the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation to protect religious minority institutions across the state.

· Expand Anti-Hate Education in Schools
Illinois was the first state in the country to require students learn about the Holocaust as part of their curriculum. The administration will work with Illinois State Board of Education to create a dedicated portal to anti-hate education in support the state’s requirement to educate our students about the Holocaust.

· Strengthen Illinois’ Landmark anti-BDS Law
Illinois was also the first state in the country to pass legislation to fight the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement by restricting state pension funds from investing in countries that boycott Israel. Other states followed Illinois’ lead, but went a step farther in prohibiting state contracts with companies that boycott Israel. The administration will work with the General Assembly to strengthen Illinois’ landmark by prohibiting state contracts for companies that boycott Israel.

“In a time of rising hate crimes and anti-Semitism, we need to remember that America is the flagbearer for freedom of religion,” Governor Rauner added. “We should do everything we can to prosecute those who look to incite hate and violence against others because of their religion.”

* Another press release last night…

Attorney General Lisa Madigan today sent a letter to Governor Rauner calling on him to restore the state’s Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes to combat a troubling increase in hate crimes.

In her letter, Madigan urged the governor to immediately appoint a diverse group of individuals to fill the 20 vacant positions on the Commission due to the pressing need to have a fully functioning commission to combat increasing reports of hate crimes, that include recent bomb threats, against people in Illinois.

“Appointing members to this commission is a critical responsibility that the governor has ignored for too long,” Madigan said. “We must bring Illinois’ vibrant and diverse community of leaders and advocates together to help combat growing hate and discrimination in our communities.”

Madigan sent her letter after convening a recent summit with Illinois civil rights leaders for communities of color, women, people with disabilities, immigrants, LGBTQ individuals, Muslims, Jews and Christians on hate crimes. Leaders at the summit detailed increasing experiences of hate and discrimination and voiced their need to have an active and engaged Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes fulfill its mandate to coordinate statewide efforts to combat these unlawful acts.

Data from the Chicago Police Department shows that hate crimes reached a five-year high in 2016 and are outpacing that level in 2017, according to reports. In addition, the Southern Law Poverty Center reported over nearly 1,100 hate incidents nationally in the month after last fall’s election. Just this week, a new wave of bomb threats was made against Jewish Community Centers in Illinois and across the county.

…Adding… The hate crimes commission has been plagued for years with division. Remember this from 2006?…

Five Jewish members of Illinois’ hate-crimes commission have resigned in protest over another commissioner who is an official with the Nation of Islam. Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, rails against Jewish and gay people this week in front of commissioners. Chicago Public Radio’s Catrin Einhorn reports.

And from a pal…

I’m trying to find Lisa Madigan’s letters to Pat Quinn asking him to fill the hate crimes commission for the six years it sat empty under him.

Can’t seem to locate them. Curious.

* Related…

* Sneed: Rauner opens up on religion in launching hate-crimes plan

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*** LIVE *** Session coverage

Thursday, Mar 9, 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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