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*** UPDATED x4 *** This just in… AG Madigan motion denied in St. Clair County

Thursday, Feb 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* 3:29 pm - A St. Clair County judge has denied Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s motion to dissolve a 2015 court order mandating that the state pay its employees without an appropriation. More in a bit.

*** UPDATE 1 *** From AFSCME…

AFSCME, other unions successfully defend state employee paychecks

A St. Clair County Circuit Court judge has denied a request by the Illinois Attorney General to dissolve an order previously won by unions representing state employees, ensuring that state workers would continue to get paid on time and in full even in the absence of an enacted state budget.

Legal counsel for the unions led the defense of the order, arguing persuasively that by agreeing to abide by court orders, the General Assembly has in effect appropriated funds for state employee payroll. The judge indicated that he did not want to see state government shut down and that the balance of equities in the case favored continuing to pay state employees.

“Through all state government’s chaos of the past two years, the people of Illinois have been able to rely on state workers to be there, providing important public services,” AFSCME Council 31 Executive Director Roberta Lynch said. “This decision ensures that that commitment can continue.”

*** UPDATE 2 *** Rauner administration…

The Rauner Administration issued the following statement from General Counsel Dennis Murashko in response to a St. Clair County judge denying the Attorney General’s motion to block state employee pay.

“We’re pleased our hard working state employees, who show up to work every day on behalf of the people of Illinois, will continue to be paid. It is our hope the Attorney General drops this lawsuit so the bipartisan negotiations in the Senate can continue in order to reach a balanced budget with changes to get our state back on track.”

*** UPDATE 3 *** Attorney General Madigan’s spokesperson…

We think the law is clear. The Illinois Constitution requires an enacted appropriation for state spending. Under the current injunction, the state has spent over $3 billion in taxpayer money without any transparency or legislative debate as required by law. The Governor is using this injunction to avoid following the Constitution and enacting a budget, irreparably harming the people of Illinois. We will appeal the court’s order.

*** UPDATE 4 *** We don’t have the judge’s ruling yet, but a friend who was in the courtroom said the judge appeared to be swayed by an AFSCME argument which references this language in the stopgap budget passed last June…

All appropriation authority granted in this Act shall not supersede any order of any court directing the expenditure of funds for fiscal years 2016 or 2017.

The GA didn’t appropriate any money for state employee payroll in that approp bill. It instead relied on the court order to pay workers.

Most of the stopgap expired at the end of December, but there are other approps in that bill that last through the end of the fiscal year.

AFSCME’s filing is here.

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*** UPDATED x1 *** CTBA: Almost one of every five spending dollars isn’t funded by governor’s budget

Thursday, Feb 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability took a look at yesterday’s budget address. Here’s some of what they found…

The speech broke little new ground, and repeated some long debunked myths. CTBA is combing through the details of the proposed budget, and will be providing more in-depth analysis over the next few days and weeks. […]

The first is that the Governor has proposed a budget with a $4.57 billion deficit — at a time when the state is projected to begin the next fiscal year with as much as $13.5 billion in unpaid bills. Even discounting that backlog, nearly $1 of every $5 the Governor proposes to spend on General Fund services is not paid for. […]

One of the most glaring inaccuracies in the speech was that Illinois has the nation’s fifth largest state and local tax burden. This ranking comes from a Tax Foundation report that includes taxes paid to other states. If you look only at taxes actually collected by governments in Illinois, then our state ranked just 27th in state and local tax burden as a percentage of income in 2014 — slightly below the median. And 2014 was before the phase-down of the temporary income tax increase; if our income tax had been what it is now, CTBA estimates Illinois would have ranked 37th, tied with Idaho and Texas. […]

The Governor’s demand for a permanent property tax freeze is not sound fiscal policy either. Freezing the main revenue source for local governments and public education will cause severe strain in communities across the state. Indeed, such an initiative would make it virtually impossible for communities to maintain adequate levels of such basic services as police and fire protection. This is an especially questionable proposal now, given that recent state law imposed a significant increase in pension funding requirements on local governments that will continue to grow over the next two decades. [Emphasis added.]

*** UPDATE *** The Senate Democrats have posted their own analysis of the governor’s budget plan. Click here to read it.

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Cardinal Cupich speaks out against House abortion bill

Thursday, Feb 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Tribune…

Calling on parishioners to “speak for the children in the womb,” Cardinal Blase Cupich condemned legislation that would expand Illinois women’s access to abortion services.

The bill in question would eliminate a so-called “trigger” provision that would make abortion illegal in Illinois if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. It also would allow women with Medicaid and state employee health insurance to use their coverage for abortions.

The measure is a direct response from Democratic state lawmakers to Republican President Donald Trump, who has touted anti-abortion policies and said he would appoint Supreme Court justices with the goal of overturning Roe v. Wade. […]

The measure could be voted on in the House as early as Thursday. Cupich urged parishioners to ask their lawmakers to reject the bill and instead focus on passing a budget that funds “essential services.”

* From his letter…

It is with some urgency that I write to you today, about a bill in our Illinois legislature, HB 40. The bill in question, if passed, would use tax dollars to pay for taking the life of a child in the womb through an abortion. There are strong indications that HB 40 could be enacted into law if we fail to act.

In addition to mandating state funding of abortion through the Medicaid program, HB 40 also calls for abortion coverage in state employees’ health care plans. It also allows for the use of tax dollars to fund grants to organizations that refer, counsel for and perform abortions, e.g., Planned Parenthood. All of these state-funded mandates are currently prohibited by Illinois law.

We have raised our voices in the past for those who have no voice, whether they be the immigrant or the refugee, the poor, or the unemployed. We now need to speak for the children in the womb, who are the weakest among us.

We need to let our elected officials know that taxpayers should not be forced to fund the taking of human life. In fact, tax money should be used to fund prenatal services for the poor and child care for working mothers, as well as expand health-care options for those in need. Please join me in advocating for all life by urging your state representative to reject HB 40 and work instead to pass a budget that funds all essential services.

The last abortion-related bill approved by the House only passed with 61 votes, all of whom were Democrats. One of those Democrats, Mike Smiddy, lost to a Republican last year.

…Adding… A group called Catholic Vote has issued a warning to Gov. Rauner…

If he supports a new law to authorize taxpayer funding for abortion — Catholics will oppose him next year. This is no empty threat.

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*** LIVE *** Session coverage

Thursday, Feb 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Follow along with ScribbleLive…

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Rauner already campaigning on budget proposal

Thursday, Feb 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller

* I subscribe to the governor’s campaign YouTube channel and just got an alert that this video was posted. I expect to receive a press release about it soon. Have a look…

* Script…

Whatever it takes. Bruce Rauner’s plan to balance the budget reforms Illinois, builds a new economy, freezes property taxes, caps spending, pays down the debt and term limits politicians’ power. Learn more at BudgetAndReform.com.

The website is here.

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