It was great to see Oscar’s pic today, thanks. I’d like to suggest, for a Friday music video embed, the Bottle Rockets’ “Dog” video. It includes fellow Springfield resident Keith Voegele and his dog Oscar De La Voegele, although Oscar passed earlier this week. I just thought I’d make the suggestion.
Governor Bruce Rauner today submitted his statutorily-required Statement of Economic Interests as well as a Supplemental Statement of Economic Interests required by the governor’s Executive Order 15-09.
When filling out his Statements of Economic Interests, the governor used a broad definition of “doing business in Illinois” to determine what to include. For example, the governor lists “Pittsburgh Steelers Sports, Inc.” even though he owns a minority stake in the organization and the Steelers did not play a game in Illinois during the calendar year.
DEPUTY GOVERNOR LESLIE MUNGER JOINS ILLINOIS TOLLWAY TO GIVE AWAY TREE SEEDLINGS AT LAKE FOREST OASIS TO CELEBRATE ARBOR DAY
WHAT: The Illinois Tollway is celebrating Arbor Day by giving away 7,500 tree seedlings and 7,500 pollinator seed packets to customers at its headquarters and oases throughout the Tollway system. Deputy Governor Leslie Munger and Tollway Executive Director Greg Bedalov will be helping distribute tree seedlings and seed packets at the Lake Forest Oasis.
WHEN: Friday, April 28, 9 a.m.
WHERE: Lake Forest Oasis – Tri-State Tollway (I-294)
WHY: Talk with Deputy Governor Munger and Tollway Executive Director Bedalov about Illinois’ emphasis on limiting the environmental impacts of roadway construction and other capital projects to protect and enhance natural landscapes. The Tollway is committed to expanding the tree canopy coverage along its 292-mile system and has created a pollinator program to restore and sustain habitat for monarch butterflies and other important pollinators.
Um, that looks like something incumbents do when they’re running for reelection.
* From the governor’s February 3rd press release announcing Munger’s hiring…
As Deputy Governor, Munger will add her voice to the state’s budget discussions and work with nonprofit leaders to address their challenges and increase their financial security.
* A photo from the event…
@ILTollway Deputy Governor Leslie Munger and Tollway Executive Greg Bedalov thank customers at Lake Forest Arbor Day GiveAway pic.twitter.com/iZvawcooWC
A seven-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot red-brick, Romanesque Revival mansion on Astor Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood sold Thursday for $4 million. […]
Astor Street’s record is the $14.5 million that Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker paid in 2006 for a mansion.
* By comparison, Cook County estimates Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Winnetka mansion is worth $3.33 million. The governor paid $81,967.28 in property taxes in 2015.
No wonder he wants a property tax freeze. /s
* Sen. Daniel Biss’ residence, by the way, is estimated to be worth $247,880 by Cook County. Biss paid $5,943.09 in property taxes in 2015.
But I have to admit that this situation Illinois is in (and could well remain in beyond the November 2018 election cycle if there is no change in the current political structure) is one of stubbornness all around.
I couldn’t help but be repulsed by the statement put out by Madigan on Thursday – the one about the meeting the two had to talk about the state budget predicament. It came across as being little more than Madigan trying to absolve himself of any blame for the current situation. It’s Rauner’s fault – just as pathetic as all the Madigan-bashing that GOPers engage in as they desperately want to think their political gamesmanship makes them appear heroic, instead of negligent toward the state’s responsibilities. […]
And while Madigan says, “I ask the governor to turn his focus to the budget,” I’m sure there are those who could legitimately think that the state’s long-running “Mr. Speaker” ought to do the same.
Agreed.
* The Tribune editorial board “fact checks” Madigan’s press release from yesterday…
Sentence 2: “Throughout the governor’s time in office, we have agreed to seven compromise budget bills when negotiations are allowed to focus on the budget.”
Many of those compromises were temporary budget deals, emergency money and carve-outs that stood in place of full-year balanced budgets. In this sentence, Madigan suggests Rauner should focus on the budget, not his other agenda items.
Yet for decades, the budget process in Illinois has included all kinds of side deals to get spending plans passed, including issues that fall outside the narrow line items of the budget. There is no purity to the process. That’s why it’s called sausage-making.
Very, very true. Madigan has cut all sorts of side deals on past budgets.
Schools have not been served by budgets that provided them only partial funding, which has been the state’s practice since 2012. Human service providers have not been served by budgets that threw them scraps after union workers and their pensions got priority. And rating agencies have asked for budgets that don’t rely on fairy dust.
All of those entities are asking for stable, balanced budgets, not the kind Democrats have advanced.
Also true. We need a real budget and we haven’t had one since even before Rauner took office.
I agree with the folks who call on Gov. Rauner to do his job. But so should the House Speaker.
Rauner is good at running for office. He’s good at staying on message. But he’s not good at his job.
By waving his bankroll around and threatening Democratic lawmakers with expensive re-election challenges, Rauner’s made them more beholden to Madigan and Cullerton, their protectors. By defaming Madigan nonstop in speeches, on TV and on the web, he’s driven Madigan’s job approval numbers down to just 26 percent in the most recent Simon Institute poll (10 points worse than Rauner’s), which is down from 40 percent in a 2009 poll, but also driven a wedge in a relationship that’s key to finding accord.
By ducking the truly tough decisions — for example, refusing to outline the specific program cuts and tax increases he would sign off on to balance the budget without billions of fantasy dollars — Rauner revealed his fundamental political cowardice.
Even if you think Speaker Madigan is evil personified, you have to admit Rauner’s been clueless about how to work with or around him. And even if you like Rauner’s ideas for improving the state’s business climate, you have to admit he’s proved remarkably inept when it comes to advancing them.
When he was running against incumbent Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn in 2014, Rauner blasted Quinn as “a massive failure” for not solving the very problems that have gotten measurably worse since January 2015. Rauner deserves a solid whack with his own yardstick.
* From IDES…
Unemployment rates were down over-the-year in all but one of Illinois’s metro areas. Six of the metro areas had increases in nonfarm jobs and eight reported declines, according to preliminary data released today by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES).
“This month’s report almost mirrors last month’s,” said IDES Director Jeff Mays. “The only difference is the overall increase in jobs is down when compared to last month. Even though the unemployment rate is lower, we still don’t have enough people working.” [Emphasis added.]
Meanwhile, over in neighboring Indiana, they actually got something done.
Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law a new budget and a 10-cent-a-gallon hike in the gasoline tax, declaring that the latter represents “the largest investment in the state’s infrastructure in history,” one that will connect Indiana to the world like never before.
Hmm. Let’s get this straight.
Conservative Indiana, the place Rauner often points to as an a guide to the pro-business place Illinois could be, raises the hated gas tax, having concluded that privatizing its tollway as it did a few years ago was not enough to make needed improvements.
But in progressive Illinois, they can’t even get to a capital budget and how to pay for it because of the continuing war over the state budget and whether to include Rauner’s turnaround agenda of term limits, workers compensation changes, spending cuts and property tax freezes as part of the mix.
“I’m a business guy. I’m not a politician. I don’t like to pay lip service. I don’t frankly like to talk about stuff. I like to do things that get results. Results are all that matters.”
* The latest TV ad pushing Gov. Rauner’s agenda was recorded for me by a subscriber using his mobile phone, so it’s not great quality. I’ve asked the RGA for a high quality version, but haven’t yet heard back…
(T)he Senate approved legislation that would allow Illinois to license gun dealers, an effort supporters say would crack down on irresponsible sellers behind the city’s gun violence. Opponents argue gun shops already are regulated by the federal government.
* But there was some horse trading involved to keep some powerful interest groups on the sidelines…
The measure would allow Illinois to license gun dealers, currently gun dealers are only licensed through federal regulations. The legislation creates exemptions for big box stores, whose gun sales are 20 percent or less of their overall sales, and small dealers who sell under ten guns a year. The exemption of big box stores caused controversy from those on the right, who say that exemption will cause small businesses throughout the state to shut their doors.
Bill Sponsor Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, acknowledged that provision was only included to help ease some of the opposition to the bill, but that was of no solace to members who fear what it would do to shops in their communities.
“I appreciate your honest and completely transparent answer as to why we have exempted out the big boys, but gosh darnit. I don’t represent the big boys. I represent mom and pop shops trying to put food on their tables, and by the way, they don’t just put food on their table. They sponsor those youth raffles, those habitat restorations. That money stays locally.” said Senator Chapin Rose, R-Champaign.
It’s likely, though, that those big box stores have some pretty strict corporate guidelines to follow, unlike smaller shops.
The Gun Dealer Licensing Bill passing the Senate is an important step to combat gun violence and hold those who enable it accountable. I want to thank Senator Don Harmon, Representative Kathleen Willis, and all our partners in the fight for sensible gun regulations, including the Joyce Foundation, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Brady Campaign and UCAN, for supporting this bill. I look forward to the House of Representatives passing this bill, as well, and codifying these commonsense laws so that we can keep guns away from children at schools, and hold those accountable who continue to sell guns that are used in crimes. Stopping straw buyers from giving guns to criminals is essential to improving public safety, not just here in Chicago, but in every corner of the state and across the Midwest.
Trouble is, just 30 Senators voted for the bill, which is the bare minimum. The House is generally more conservative on stuff like this, so it remains to be seen if they can get this to Gov. Rauner’s desk.
“Not just in the City of Chicago, but in Oak Park. I’m lucky, I have colleagues in this chamber who see kids shot in front of their house. And dammit we do nothing. Over and over again, we do nothing. I’m not asking for much, I’m asking to give local law enforcement the ability to go into the bad apples and say why do you sell 50 guns to one guy last month. Is that too much to ask?” said Senator Harmon.
The Illinois House passed a bill Thursday that would mean police could no longer arrest parolees just for having contact with a gang member.
By a 67-to-48 bipartisan vote, the House moved to change the law so parolees would need to be involved in gang-related activity to face arrest. The measure now goes to the Senate. […]
The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday that in recent years Chicago police have arrested thousands of parolees for having contact with alleged gang members. In communities with large populations of ex-offenders, many parolees have been locked up after walking down the street, visiting with neighbors or getting rides, though they were accused of no other criminal activity.
The story also reported that the cops were increasing those types of arrests because they could no longer bust people for simple pot possession.
* I’ve kinda ignored the back and forth pleadings in this case because defense lawyers say a lot of stuff. But this can’t be ignored…
The lawyer for the U.S. House of Representatives asserted Wednesday that investigators looking into the financial dealings of former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill., possibly committed a crime themselves when they directed a staffer-turned-informant to take materials from Schock’s district office.
In a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office that supervised the case, U.S. House of Representative General Counsel Thomas Hungar wrote that he had “serious concern” about investigators’ tactics, which he asserted the U.S. Attorney’s Office had “erroneously characterized as lawful.”
Requesting a staffer take records from a congressional office without authorization from the congressman or House clerk, Hungar wrote, “amounts to a solicitation of that employee to steal official records.”
“Such conduct likely constitutes a federal crime, both on the part of the employee who steals the records and, quite possibly, on the part of the federal agents who induce the commission of that underlying crime,” Hungar wrote.
Hungar’s letter asserts that while the surreptitious recording may be a “legitimate law-enforcement technique in some circumstances,” recording a member of Congress triggers “special constitutional concerns.”
“(T)he separation of powers precludes non-consensual review of legislative communications by Executive Branch officials in the absence of appropriate constitutional safeguards … however, it appears that the procedures followed by your office in this regard did not ensure compliance with those constitutional safeguards,” Hungar writes. […]
“The letter is helpful because the government needs to be held accountable for its conduct. Conduct we believe was driven to find a crime where one does not exist. As has been acknowledged repeatedly, these were clerical errors and omissions by former Congressman Schock for which he has taken full responsibility,” said Mark Hubbard, a spokesman for the defense team, in a written statement to CNN. […]
The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment and no official response to Hungar’s letter has been filed on the public docket.
A spokeswoman for Hansen’s office confirmed receipt of the letter, but declined to comment.
However, in a court filing last week, prosecutors defended the tactics used in the case and disputed any claim of impropriety or illegality. However, they said they do not plan to use the records obtained by the informant at trial.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis…
“With this distraction behind us, we can move forward on working with the General Assembly to fix our state’s school funding formula. Governor Rauner’s bipartisan commission has recommended changes that will create an equitable school funding formula to better meet the needs of each student within every school district in our state. Instead of pointing fingers and blaming decades of fiscal mismanagement on a governor who has been in office for two years, CPS should be urging lawmakers to pass a balanced budget that includes changes to our education system that will better meet the needs of every student.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Sen. Andy Manar…
“Illinois school districts are in a state of emergency, and I’ve seen little evidence that the governor understands the magnitude of their crisis,” Manar said.
“Somehow, lawsuits, social media campaigns and thunderous rallies outside the doors of his office aren’t getting the message across to him. News reports about districts nearly missing payroll, cutting programs and laying off teachers apparently aren’t setting off alarms, either, because he’s done very little to move the ball forward on school funding reform.
“Superintendents and parents are sending a clear message to Springfield: their schools can’t survive much longer under the status quo. It’s up to Gov. Rauner to bring lawmakers together to get a balanced budget and to revamp the state’s school funding formula. Only then can we begin to ensure all students benefit from fair and adequate school funding in Illinois.”
*** UPDATE 4 *** Sen. Kimberly Lightford…
“The General Assembly has a responsibility to make sure the academic progress of Chicago’s children is not disrupted due to our governor’s unwillingness to help them. His rhetoric has done nothing but alienate these children, and their education is not a political pawn.”
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* The Tribune looks at the CPS lawsuit against the state. A hearing will be held today at 2:30 and the judge is expected to announce his ruling at that time…
CPS is asking [Cook County Judge Franklin Ulyses Valderrama] to bar state government from making new payments to any Illinois school district until it can show it will pay for education and teacher pension costs in a nondiscriminatory manner. It isn’t yet clear how such a move, if approved, would lead to a rapid solution for the district’s immediate financial pressures.
State government attorneys argue such a decision would have an outsized and harmful effect on the 80 percent of Illinois schoolchildren who do not attend CPS, a retort derided by the district as confirmation of the “precise evil” enabled by discrimination.
The state’s lawyers argue CPS has no legal basis to sue under Illinois’ civil rights law and have asked the judge to dismiss the case outright. […]
The district’s lawsuit argues that the state discriminates against its largely impoverished and minority students, and violates Illinois civil rights law, by contributing more money to teacher pensions in the suburbs and Downstate than Chicago.
CPS didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Thursday. But even if CPS scores a legal knockout Friday, a financial rescue can’t possibly come in time to stave off the early closing date of June 1 that Chicago Public Schools has threatened.
For one thing, Rauner could appeal an adverse ruling. His office declined to say for sure on Thursday, or to answer other questions. A spokeswoman sent a repeat of a prepared response telling CPS to “urge legislators to pass a balanced budget that includes school funding reforms that will better meet the needs of every student.”
And even if he doesn’t appeal, a rewrite of the school funding formula that has eluded the state lawmakers for decades won’t be easy or quick, particularly not as the state budget stalemate drags on.
That means if Emanuel hopes to preserve the longer school year that he endured a teachers strike to achieve, he will have no choice but to roll the dice and rescue CPS.
Yep. A favorable ruling will strengthen Emanuel’s hand in future negotiations, but it probably won’t in and of itself solve the immediate problem facing CPS.
“There were times that we believed, many times, in the Democratic caucus that we were going out on the floor to vote on the grand bargain and we were then informed that because the governor’s office was not supportive — didn’t think there was a deal good enough for him, goodness knows — that they weren’t going to be able to vote on it,” state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said.
“The Republican votes were coming off. That happened to us several times. The goalpost had continued to have been moved. So you can’t sit there and say that Democrats were not willing to vote on it. In the Senate, the Democrats and Republicans had been working very closely together, very collegially, and I’ve been very appreciative of that fact. And when things broke down it was because there was an intervention by the governor’s office. That’s not where we’re going with this. And that’s not where I want to go with this. ”
Goldberg said the governor is trying to be flexible.
“The goal posts haven’t moved. They’ve widened perhaps to make it easier to get an agreement. If they’re moving, they’re moving closer to you over the last two years,” Goldberg said. “I don’t know what else the governor can really do to make himself more clear to you that he is trying to achieve a truly balanced budget with changes to the system.”
“He can suggest that they vote on the grand bargain bills or else actually file an amendment,” Steans interjected, adding it’s not productive to lay blame on the General Assembly.
During the hearing, Goldberg pressed back on Senate Democrats’ repeated accusations that the Rauner administration has refused to outline specific budget cuts following a series of previous hearings where agency directors couldn’t, or didn’t, name any. Goldberg said it’s as if senators were operating “in a vacuum” or “alternative universe,” given that Rauner had in prior years proposed cuts to everything from higher education to programs that support autistic kids to child care support for low-income working parents.
“The governor is clear,” that he wants a balanced budget paired with structural changes such as term limits, a property tax freeze and overhaul of the workers’ compensation system that he believes will lead to a “booming economy,” Goldberg said.
“Now we’re here several weeks away from the end of session for FY18’s budget and I want to come back to what I want to say: We need to work together and get this done,” Goldberg said.
* The mayor’s office and at least one credit ratings agency believed just a few weeks ago that this bill would pass with Republican votes as it had in the past. But the governor put a brick on it and it only received 63 votes - far short of the 71 needed to override a veto…
The Illinois House on Thursday once again passed a bill designed to shore up the pension funds for Chicago laborers and other city workers — a measure with identical language to a bill Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed in March. […]
The latest bill had no support from House Republicans. House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said he wouldn’t support the measure without statewide pension reform.
“House Republicans are sensitive to the fiscal issues confronting Chicago and its pension system. However, we are confronted with the same problems with our 5 state pension systems which for all practical purposes are in worse shape,” Durkin said in a statement. “Unless paired with statewide pension reform, SB 14 today is a non-starter. The deadline to pass the Chicago Pension Bill should be extended so as to include with negotiations on broader pension reform.” […]
Rep. Christian Mitchell, D-Chicago, said the measure had bipartisan support last year, and blamed Rauner for the lack of Republican support.
“The only reason why anyone would be voting against this bill is the governor is throwing a temper tantrum as per usual about his useless Turnaround Agenda and wants to leverage the city of Chicago, the taxpayers of the city of Chicago in order to gain political advantage,” Mitchell said.
After two and a half years, the House Democrats have still not yet come to terms with the fact that this governor isn’t one of them.
This week [Gov. Bruce Rauner has] been up against an onslaught of public protests organized in part by (taxpayer subsidized) public unions and groups demanding that taxpayers pay for abortions.
And all of it covered by journalists who refer to the Republican Party as the “Rauner-funded Republican Party.”
For those of you not versed in such things, quotation marks are considered almost holy to journalists. Put those quotes on what somebody said or wrote and it has to be accurate. Period.
* So, I did a Google search for that exact phrase. Click here to do your own search. It produced only nine results - a handful of Democratic press releases, that column above and a mention of that column elsewhere.
But Google came up with a total of zero news stories written by journalists.
Now, perhaps a TV reporter used the phrase and it didn’t appear online in a transcript. But you’d think if it was such a common and prevalent occurrence that a prominent Chicago columnist would use it to throw mud on his colleagues that something, somewhere would pop up.
Nope.
* Also, if you search Illinois GOP contributions going back to January 1st of 2015, you’ll see that Rauner and his committees have given the state party $21.1 million, plus at least another $5 million that he washed through accounts controlled by Leader Durkin and former Comptroller Munger. During that same period, the party raised $31 million. So, the governor’s money accounts for at least 61 percent of that total, and likely significantly more.
Looks Rauner-funded to me.
* Also, the unions are only “taxpayer subsidized” if you believe that once a public employee is paid that their earnings somehow still rightfully belong to the government.
On p. 4 of its new Weekly Credit Outlook for Public Finance released today (attached), Moody’s notes the ongoing budget impasse in the State of Illinois (rated Baa2/negative outlook) has delayed over $1 billion in payments to school districts, with a handful of districts facing increasing cash flow pressures and a growing potential for a material decline in reserves amid the continued delays. The most vulnerable districts are those that are highly dependent on state grant funding and those with limited operating reserves.
The most vulnerable rated school districts are Chicago Public Schools (B3/negative), Will County Community High School District 210 (Lincoln Way) (Ba1/negative) and Marion, et al Counties High School District 200 (Baa1). These three districts’ narrow cash reserves provide limited protection against continued delays
Illinois provides two types of cash distributions to schools: general state aid, which supports districts’ general operations, and categorical grants, which support specific programs such as transportation and special education. School officials report that general state aid has been received on time, but grant funding is increasingly delayed against a backdrop of continued state budget pressures. Reported lags in quarterly grant payments to districts have increased from approximately three to six months in prior years to nearly nine months in the current year.
We expect that delays in grants will not materially affect most rated districts because they have limited dependence on state grants and ample operating liquidity. Even districts with relatively high reliance on state grants, such as McHenry County Community Unit School District 200 (Woodstock) (Aa2) and Kankakee & Will Counties Community Unit School District 5 (Manteno) (Aa3), will not likely experience cash flow stress, though they may experience credit-negative declines in reserves.
Most rated Illinois school districts have limited dependence on state operating grants. In fiscal 2016, grants comprised less than 5% of revenues for 54% of rated districts, between 6% and 10% of revenues for 42% of rated districts, and more than 10% of revenues for just 4% of rated districts.
While general state aid revenues have continued to flow for Illinois school districts in the current fiscal year, a budget for schools will need to be passed for disbursements to continue in fiscal 2018. In the last two years, the state has passed its K-12 budget in May. Any event that results in delayed or reduced general state aid disbursements for Illinois schools could result in a much larger group of materially impacted credits.
* Earlier today, Speaker Madigan issued a press release (click here) saying he’d met with the governor today and urged him “to turn his focus to the budget.”
The governor had a different viewpoint of what went on…
The Rauner Administration has released the following statement regarding the Governor’s meeting with Speaker Michael Madigan. The following is attributable to spokesperson Eleni Demertzis:
“For the first time in more than two years, Speaker Madigan today hinted that he may be willing to enact a truly balanced budget with changes that will help create jobs, properly fund our schools and lower property taxes. It’s too soon to tell if the Speaker will ultimately agree to follow through, but the governor remains optimistic that all sides can work together to enact a balanced budget with changes that fix our broken system and restore balanced budgets for the long-term through strong economic growth. ”
There have been some whispers about this possibility of late, but it couldn’t be confirmed. We’ll see.
*** UPDATE *** Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown disputed the notion that the House hadn’t been interested in passing a balanced budget, pointing to the cooperation with the governor on the FY 15 budget fix.
He also noted that the House has already passed a property tax freeze bill and “we’ve talked about things that create jobs,” including moving ahead with one bill today to make workers’ comp more affordable.
BVR: We need to shrink the bureaucracy in our university system. We have an expensive overhead, pension, work rules, restrictions. Just like inside state government, we need to shrink that bureaucracy. We need to put our money in our schools, in our teachers, in our students, and we need the state to step up and do a better job supporting our schools. We also need to eliminate the redundancy in our schools. Many of them offer the same majors and options, and we have too much overlap. We need to help streamline our university system.
AV: Was that the plan all along? To force mergers, administrative layoffs, consolidate programs?
BVR: No, not at all. I’ve wanted a balanced budget with proper university funding for more than two years now. It’s outrageous the general assembly has not passed a balanced budget. […]
AV: If you want some of these programs to consolidate, some of these universities to “shape up,” why hasn’t that been done? If not now, when?
BVR: There are negotiations underway with our Board of Higher Education, and universities talking about how they can streamline their overhead, how they can work together and specialize in certain majors. Those discussions are going on right now and I’m optimistic that they can lead to even better school options for our students, and more value for taxpayers.
OK, first of all, the budget he proposed in 2015 included a 31.5 percent cut to higher education.
Secondly, as a product of elite schools, I’m not sure if the governor understands the usefulness of and need for non-elite universities. Lots of kids whose families can’t afford to send them to top-notch schools need the state’s “directional” universities to help themselves move up the ladder of life. And a lot of those students attend the directionals nearest their parents. So, yeah, there’s curricular overlap, but there’s good reasons for that.
* Rauner’s right about overhead costs, though, and Southern Illinois University claims it’s about to announce a revamp…
Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn said that his Carbondale campus is developing a “financial sustainability plan” that will be released around July 1.
“Everything within the magnitude of operations, we’re going to be looking at,” Dunn said. “Potentially making reductions or closing certain operations. Everything other than tenured faculty would be available for reorganization, restructuring, removing.” […]
“We may look like a different institution. We may have to let some programs go and reconfigure others. We may not have as many people. Staffing will change. But from the standpoint of a 150-year history being lost, that’s not going to happen.”
From March 2015 to January 2017, the 99th General Assembly passed 938 bills that were ultimately signed into law; however, only 2.9 percent of the bills contained fiscal notes. A fiscal note essentially acts as a price tag for a bill and contains details about how much the state will pay for a particular law its legislature passes.
Though problematic, this lack of fiscal notes is nothing new for Illinois.
Between 2011 and 2012, less than 3 percent of the 1,173 bills passed by the 97th General Assembly and enacted into law contained fiscal notes. The trend continued into the 98th General Assembly, and in 2013, only 3.4 percent of the bills passed in that year contained fiscal notes.
While not every bill passed relates to fiscal matters, many bills, even those of seemingly little consequence, can have an effect on the state budget. Other laws, which may contain notes pertaining to pensions, land conveyance appraisal and other issues, don’t always have fiscal notes, even though they have a direct or indirect impact on the state’s finances. Illinois’ financial problems are legion, and yet only 27 of the 938 bills passed in the 99th General Assembly have fiscal notes.
The solution is simple: Require every bill to have a fiscal note.
The idea is not uncommon. At least 10 states require every bill to have a fiscal note, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. But in Illinois, the state’s current fiscal notes law only requires fiscal notes on bills that pertain directly to state revenues or debt impact bills. Despite this requirement, many pieces of legislation that have financial implications do not include fiscal notes.
One example is recent legislation relating to Illinois’ tax credit program, which often benefits large corporations. Senate Bill 513, which would later go on to become Public Act 99-0925, extended the Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit program through April 30, 2017, potentially costing taxpayers millions. Yet, the bill did not contain a fiscal note when it was introduced because it did not fall under the narrow criteria set forth by the current fiscal notes requirements. House Bill 2685, now Public Act 99-0238, became law Aug. 3, 2015, and allows the Regional Transportation Authority to borrow over $100 million through bond sales – yet there was no fiscal note. Without real reform, politicians will continue to pass bills that do not tell their true impact on the state’s finances.
Ironically, the most important thing missing from this analysis is a cost estimate. And that might be high. The analysis only reports on the number of bills passed, but about 6,200 bills have been introduced during this spring’s session. The GOMB would have to hire a whole bunch of people to prepare all those notes.
Thursday, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner hosted a live event on his Facebook page to connect with Illinois students.
Additionally, third graders from Riverton Elementary School joined Governor Rauner at the State Capitol as part of the Facebook Live. […]
Gov. Rauner took questions from students and teachers from across the state.
He also spoke about what it’s like to work every day for the people of Illinois and how he’s working to ensure every child in Illinois receives a high-quality education.
The governor also told the children about his favorite foods (ice cream, hamburgers and pie), the time that his pet snake got out and scared his mom and how he loved multiplication tables when he was in third grade.
* And some of those little kids were either really tired, or bored or both today…
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Thursday after a meeting with Gov. Bruce Rauner:
“I requested a meeting with Governor Rauner to ensure he understood my desire to pass a full-year budget and discuss the urgent need for a resolution to the state budget impasse. Throughout the governor’s time in office, we have agreed to seven compromise budget bills when negotiations are allowed to focus on the budget. Schools, human service providers, rating agencies and thousands of others have asked us to do one thing – pass a budget. I ask the governor to turn his focus to the budget.”
Chicagoland accounted for almost 87 percent of the nearly 426,000 private-sector jobs added since the Great Recession. This graphic shows the percentage change in private-sector employment by year in the Chicago area and the rest of the state compared to 2009.
Sixty-three percent of Indiana’s counties have lost population since 2010. The percentage is 67 percent in Missouri and Michigan, 73 percent in Iowa and Ohio, 55 percent in Minnesota and 53 percent in Wisconsin. Illinois topped them all: 86 percent of the state’s 102 counties lost population.
The magnet-like attraction of the Chicago region defies its highly-publicized problems. Data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics show Chicago and its surrounding metro counties are the engine for 9 out of 10 new jobs in Illinois. It is a trend vividly underscored in recent months when farm and construction equipment giant Caterpillar announced it was moving its headquarters from Downstate Peoria to north suburban Deerfield. […]
Despite talk of statewide economic development strategies, the lure of investment almost always benefits large metropolitan areas. Wage data bear that out. Just three of Missouri’s 115 counties—in metro St. Louis and Kansas City—have an average weekly wage of $900 or more, while the average wage in 49 counties is under $600, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In Indiana, frequently pointed to by politicians and interest groups as a model for Illinois to follow, average weekly wages are below the national norm in 90 of 92 counties, statistics show. […]
“Moreover, because Chicago is less reliant on goods-producing employment, it has been better insulated than the rest of the state from the struggles affecting both the construction and manufacturing industries,” the report said. “The difference between the Chicago-area economy and the economy in the rest of the state has had and will continue to have important implications for Illinois.”
* Related…
* Dynegy to decide by year-end whether to exit southern Illinois: Representatives of MISO Energy, the grid operator for all or parts of 15 states in the central U.S. including downstate Illinois, in recent months have privately warned legislative leaders in Springfield and Gov. Bruce Rauner of potential power-supply shortages in the future if they don’t assist some of the coal-fired plants downstate. Absent a court ruling halting the subsidies, which will take effect late this year, or additional state help to his fleet, Flexon said more plant closures are inevitable. Recent market signals are very negative. Under an auction conducted earlier this month by the regional grid operator for the Midwest, generators in downstate Illinois will be paid next to nothing for their promise to be available during peak-demand periods in the year beginning June 1, 2017.
Prison nurses in communities around the state will get at least a temporary reprieve from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s plan to privatize their jobs, thanks to attention brought to their plight by two central Illinois senators.
“This whiplash approach to governing is giving a lot of people a headache,” said Senator Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill). “It’s never too late to do the right thing, but this entire situation, all the turmoil and stress for these workers and their families could have been – and should have been – avoided if the Rauner administration simply did a better job at running the state.”
Manar, along with Republican Senator Sam McCann (R-Pleasant View), sponsored bipartisan legislation to halt Gov. Rauner’s plan to lay off 124 unionized nurses currently employed by the state of Illinois in prisons around the state and privatize their jobs with an out-of-state corporation. According to the administration, the laid-off nurses would have an opportunity to reapply for their positions with the corporation, presumably at lower salaries.
The legislation that would have stopped the governor from pursuing his short-sighted plan passed in both houses of the Legislature and made it to the governor’s desk.
The administration intends to reverse its plan to lay off the nurses and continue contract negotiations with them instead, it was announced this morning.
*** UPDATE 2 *** IDOC…
Hey Rich,
We remain committed to working with the INA to avoid the potential layoffs, and believe there is ability to reach common ground on compromise proposals that would allow DOC and INA to come to an agreement. Although we are disappointed that INA is not available until May 8, we are ready to meet whenever and hope they find availability sooner.
…Adding… I’m told that the layoffs have been rescinded until May 22nd.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the Illinois Nurses Association…
Today, it has been reported that the Illinois Department of Corrections has rescinded the layoffs of 124 nurses who work at a dozen Illinois Correctional Facilities.
This is welcome news if it is true. In their communications with us, the Department links “rescind” to good-faith meetings while at the same time, failing to repudiate their position that they do not have a duty to bargain in good faith with the INA over subcontracting. It remains to be seen what the Department actually intends.
Because of this uncertainty, INA is urging all Illinois legislators to continue working to support Senate Bill 19, which would halt further privatization of Illinois government jobs, including the 124 nursing positions. We believe a legislative remedy provides more assurance that the 124 nurses will be able to retain their positions and provide excellent health care to Illinois prisoners.
* Sen. Daniel Biss…
The Rauner administration’s sudden move to halt its drive to privatize the jobs of 124 unionized prison nurses shouldn’t offer sense of comfort to those whose jobs are on the line, state Senator Daniel Biss said Thursday.
Biss, an Evanston Democrat, noted that Gov. Bruce Rauner reverted to his anti-union rhetoric earlier this month when he said nobody would miss state workers should they choose to go on strike. Previously the governor had expressed support for state workers and ensuring they continue to be paid during the state budget stalemate.
“The Rauner administration did the right thing by putting the brakes on its plan to outsource these prison nurse jobs, but I remain wary of the governor’s motives, particularly given his inconsistent and recently strident anti-union statements. I wouldn’t blame any of these nurses if they aren’t ready to breathe a sigh of relief just yet.”
Don’t toss the grammar-school composition paper yet.
The Illinois House approved legislation 67-48 Wednesday requiring elementary and high schools to teach cursive writing.
The sponsor is Chicago Democratic Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch. He says it’s important that tech-savvy children to retain cursive writing to read historical documents, write personal notes and sign documents.
Republican Rep. Steven Andersson of Geneva says cursive does not help develop young minds any better than printing. He says a legal document doesn’t need a signature but only a “mark.”
Members of the Illinois House passed legislation today that would require state agencies to buy American products, even if they’re not the cheapest.
Democratic Representative Jay Hoffman of Swansea is sponsoring the proposal. He says it aligns with President Donald Trump’s focus on American manufacturing.
“I could just reference your president’s executive order regarding ‘Buy American.’ This is saying our state taxpayer dollars should put our people to work and we should use the buying power of our state to create jobs and economic opportunity.”
Republicans voted against the measure. They say it doesn’t make sense given the state’s financial crisis.
* Press release…
A controversial plan before Congress that would permit companies to fine workers who refuse to share their genetic information through workplace wellness programs has prompted Illinois lawmakers to tighten up a state law protecting workers from such repercussions.
“We’re seeing changes proposed at the federal level that are concerning to me and to others,” said Senator Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat and sponsor of Senate Bill 318. “The goal here is only to protect the genetic information of individuals when that information might be used against them in the employee-employer relationship.”
The legislation advanced out of the Senate Labor Committee Wednesday. It was prompted by news that Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, in March proposed the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act (HR1313).
Supporters said the measure would enable employers to have the “legal certainty” to promote good health while lowering health care costs. However, critics said it would allow employers to pressure workers to share their private genetic information by rewarding them with lower health insurance costs, while penalizing those who choose not to disclose such details.
The Winston-Salem Journal, Foxx’s hometown newspaper, called the measure an example of “big government run amok,” in an editorial urging Congress to kill it.
Under Illinois’ Genetic Information Privacy Act, employers must handle genetic testing consistent with the federal laws. It prevents employers from requiring genetic testing as a condition of employment, from changing terms of employment as a result of genetic information, or from classifying employees based on genetic testing. Further, it says testing done in the context of a workplace wellness program is available to employers only in aggregate form, not on an individual basis.
Manar’s proposed update to the law would bar employers from penalizing workers who choose not to disclose their genetic information or do not participate in a program that requires disclosure of their genetic information.
“I think we have a strong law in Illinois, but I don’t think it’s very strong about barring employers from penalizing employees,” he said.
With support from labor unions, Illinois House Democrats passed legislation Wednesday that would restore certain bargaining rights for Chicago Public Schools teachers — letting them negotiate with the city on things like class size, length of school day, and layoffs.
For the last 22 years, Chicago Public School Teachers have been constrained in collective bargaining — limits that don’t apply to teachers in the rest of the state. The legislation would restore that parity — letting Chicago teachers have a say in private vendor contracts, class schedules and size, and the length of the school day.
Representative Silvana Tabares ,D-Chicago, the proposal’s sponsor, tied the interests of teachers with students. “Teachers will have a voice to have a discussion about these items, and that will improve the quality of education.”
Opponents take a different tack, that what’s good for teachers is not always what’s good for students. Representative Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, says the bargaining limits were established after multiple harmful strikes from CPS teachers in the 1980s.
* Sen. Andy Manar asked the governor’s chief of staff Richard Goldberg during a hearing this morning whether Gov. Rauner would sign a K-12 funding bill in absence of a full budget.
“I don’t think that we should be considering hypotheticals,” with several weeks to go before the end of the spring session, Goldberg said.
However, Goldberg went on to say that he believes “K-12 education, ensuring that schools open in the fall will absolutely be a top priority for him,” as it has in the past.
Yet, the governor won’t agree to fund other programs without a full budget, including the House’s stopgap proposal which uses money from designated social service and higher education funds that is currently piling up in bank accounts collecting dust.
Meanwhile, a 2014 Democratic primary candidate for governor, TIO HARDIMAN, now of Calumet City, talked with some of the candidates after the speeches, and Daiber told Hardiman he had voted for him. Former Gov. PAT QUINN defeated Hardiman in that primary, but Hardiman won 28 percent of the vote, and topped Quinn in more than a quarter of the state’s counties.
Daiber told me it was a “protest vote” because he had been upset with Quinn for seeking to cut out pay for regional superintendents when Daiber was president of their organization.
“Pat Quinn was a good governor,” Daiber said. “He did a lot of good things.” He said he has campaigned with Quinn, backed him in the 2014 general election, and they are friends.
Hundreds of minimum wage workers rallied at the state capitol to fight for $15.
The rally drew workers from all over the state and multiple organizations were represented, all fighting to make the minimum wage $15 an hour. Many speakers came out including State Senator Daniel Biss, D-Evanston.
“We’re not going to stand for it, we are not going to accept it. We are going to fight, we are going to fight, and we are going to win.” he said to the hyped up crowd.
Attendees were there pushing for House Bill 198, a bill pending in the House that would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022.
* Ameya Pawar continued his visits to Downstate communities…
As the campaign’s volunteer director, I can tell you that Ameya Pawar doesn’t just meet with voters. He’ll even meet their Republican parents.
In rural communities - including areas that haven’t voted for Democrats in years - Ameya is unafraid to articulate the same message of a New Deal for Illinois that he touts in Chicago. That’s what he did on a recent trip to Prophetstown when one of our supporters invited him to travel there to meet her conservative parents.
These trips are part of our work to mobilize voters in every county. And Ameya is winning over voters, one skeptical dad at a time.
* And JB Pritzker is back in Springfield for another event today…
B Pritzker to Speak at Springfield IFT Rally in Support of Higher Education
WHAT
JB Pritzker to rally with the Illinois Federation of Teachers and speak about Bruce Rauner’s harmful cuts to higher education.
* Politico has published a 2,000-word piece about the possibility that Theo Epstein, the president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, will run for office some day. The story includes a lengthy interview of David Axelrod. It’s a bit on the silly side…
Politico: Let’s imagine the messaging of a hypothetical Epstein campaign. Could he sell himself as the ultimate turnaround artist? First, the Red Sox, then the Cubs, next the state of Illinois, for example?
Axelrod: [laughs] It would work if he were running for alderman on the North Side of Chicago, but I suspect voters might resist the idea that turning around a baseball team is commensurate with turning around a city, a state or a country … A good example would be Bill Bradley (a former New York Knicks star who became a Democratic senator from New Jersey). When he ran he did very little referencing of basketball. He was actually even self-conscious about being a jock, so I think you have to separate yourself a little bit from sports … One thing that is transferable is the notion of building a team and getting people to work together. You could use that as a bridge to say what we need in this country is to regain the sense that we’re all on the same team and that we’re only going to prosper if we work together and find a way to build that bridge. That would be a winning message.
Politico: But you don’t think he’ll take the bait?
Axelrod: I think as soon as he gets that call, he’s immediately changing his number … I think Theo would be frustrated in public office because of the situation he’s in now. He basically has free rein to do what he needs to do for the success of the organization. That is not the case in politics—you’re seeing that with the governor in Illinois (Bruce Rauner) right now. You have to deal with legislatures and all kinds of public stakeholders. And if you’re used to making things happen, I’m not sure the Senate would be a particularly satisfying job for you. When I talked to him on my podcast … about what he might want to do next … he allowed that he might want to own a team sometime and use that team or use that platform to try to impact on a community. He clearly cares about the larger world and wants to make an impact … But there are many, many reasons I think Cubs fans can relax and enjoy the benefits of his leadership for many years to come.
A day after advocates descended on the Capitol to push for women’s rights, the Illinois House passed a bill that proponents say would help close the pay gap between men and women.
Sponsored by Democratic Rep. Anna Moeller of Elgin, the measure would bar employers from asking job applicants for prior wage or salary history unless it’s already public information or the applicant is moving within the company. Moeller and other supporters say this would help curb wage discrimination against women by ensuring an employer’s salary offer isn’t based on an unequal wage. […]
But the bill did win support from some Republicans who said it was time for lawmakers to address inequalities in the workplace. It passed the House 91-24 and now heads to the Senate.
“I may be one of the few people in this assembly that spent 30 years working for a large corporation, in fact one of the largest corporations in the world. This was my life, and I have to vote for this bill,” said Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena, a former attorney for a major oil and gas company. “I think about with very great regret how much more I would have retired with if we’d had some of the protections that our representative is fighting for here today.”
Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, said the law will hamstring employers who hire sales representatives who work on commissions.
“I need to ask how much they made in the past (to evaluate them),” Batinick said.
Moeller said the information is not relevant.
“To say it is not relevant, I think is an absurdity,” Batinick responded.
However, Rep. Steve Andersson, R-Geneva, said he’s spent 25 years hiring people, and past salary history is not relevant.
“You know what’s relevant? Recommendations, work experience, where your education came from,” Andersson said. “We have to accept the reality that women are paid less than men.”
“The very fact that women continue to make less demonstrates that we must do better in this state. Illinois can be a leader in assuring that women are paid for their work.” said Representative Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, the sponsor of the bill.
Opponents of the measure say the new restrictions on employers would be bad for business in the state and could cause them to leave.
“This bill has nothing to do with pay equity. All it is doing is putting additional restrictions on people who want to create jobs in the state. That’s the reason every single business group in the state is opposed. This is the stupidest bill we have considered this week.” said Representative Peter Breen, R-Lombard.
The roll call is here. Lots of Republicans voted for that bill. Politically, it’s conceivable that Gov. Rauner could undo some of the damage he’s done to himself by flip-flopping on HB 40 by signing that legislation into law. We’ll see.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana Rauner are not the only new residents at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.
In response to questions at an Employer Action Day event on Wednesday, Rauner explained that a family of foxes has taken up residence beneath the stairs of the Director’s House, where the Rauners are staying during a major historic restoration of the Illinois Executive Mansion.
“I learned my first morning, there’s a den of foxes under the stairs, so a mom and six little pups,” Rauner said during the event at Wyndham City Centre.
Rauner said precautions have been taken to protect the litter from the family dog, Stella, who he pointed out is a hunting dog. He joked that he also wanted to avoid a “social media event” involving Stella and the fox family.
“Stella’s not with me, so we don’t have an interaction that would be very unproductive,” said Rauner. “I hope those puppies grow fast and then move on. That would be a great thing.”
* Press release…
ILLINOIS STATE COMPTROLLER SUSANA A. MENDOZA RELAUNCHES COMPTROLLER’S CRITTERS PROGRAM
Who: Illinois State Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza
The Honorable Daniel Solis, Alderman – 25th Ward
The Honorable Nicholas Sposato, Alderman – 38th Ward
The Honorable James Cappleman, Alderman – 46th Ward
Susan J. Russell, Executive Director, Chicago’s Commission on Animal Care & Control
Kristen Pearson, CEO, PAWS Chicago
Steve Dale, Syndicated Columnist, My Pet World
What: Comptroller Mendoza will relaunch the late Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka’s animal rescue program, Comptroller’s Critters. Immediately following the announcement will be a tour of the Chicago Animal Care and Control Facility.
Where: Chicago Commission on Animal Care & Control
2741 South Western Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60608
When: Thursday, April 27th, 2017 10:30am - 12:00pm
About Comptroller’s Critters: Comptroller’s Critters was designed to help people locate pet adoption shelters throughout Illinois and place shelter pets in loving forever homes. Our goal is to give people the resources they need to adopt a pet and ultimately reduce animal control costs at a state and local level. The Office has partnered with shelters throughout Illinois to help reduce the number of animals waiting to be adopted.
She also included a pic of herself with Ald. Sposato and the late Judy Baar Topinka at a pet adoption event they hosted together…
* And since we’re talking about pets, Oscar and I were joined by our good friend Ken this past weekend on the ol’ pontoon boat…
My opponents will suggest a lot of things, I’m sure, that aren’t true. Here’s the thing, I’m a Democrat. You’ve heard what my progressive values are. I’ve stood for those things. I’ve fought harder than anybody that’s running in this race against Donald Trump.
He also pointed out that he backed Obama after the 2008 primary and supported him in 2012.
Even so, those 2012 comments will make for a heck of a TV ad or ads on Chicago black radio stations.
“He was down on the ground with us regular folks when we were out there knocking on doors for the democratic party,” [Ald. Walter Burnett] said. “J.B. was there too and his wife was there also – who I met before he even married her. He knows how to feel people.”
And Pritzker was expressing some of those feelings on the South Side. Pritzker announced his campaign kickoff in Alderman Michelle Harris’ South Side ward, and Harris said the enthusiastic turnout was well earned.
“Out of every candidate, his concepts, his ideas and his vision for this state really connects with the African American community,” Harris said.
Harris admits another major fact is the fact that Pritzker is worth billions and has the money to run against wealthy incumbent Republican Governor Bruce Rauner.
