* Yesterday, I asked you to vote on which optional Medicaid services you would eliminate. Just one of those optional services received more than 50 percent “support”: Group Psychotherapy for Nursing Home Residents. But eliminating that program saves only $13 million out of a total of $1.8 billion in cuts I presented to you.
Not so easy, is it? That won’t even make a dent in Gov. Pat Quinn’s demand for $2.7 billion in Medicaid reductions.
* Today, let’s look at possible cuts to Medicaid eligibility. Rep. Greg Harris posted the Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ 14 ways to cut eligibility which totaled about $196 million. I can only put 10 at a time on my polling app, so I took most of the top ten.
What we have here is the program name, followed by the number of human beings that will be cut off the rolls and then the total savings. “FPL” means federal poverty level. You can vote for as many cuts as you can stomach. Have at it, but make sure to explain your cuts in comments, please…
Potential conflicts of interest and other flaws created “serious deficiencies” in the state’s decision last year to award $7 billion in contracts for state employee health insurance, according to an audit released Wednesday. […]
The audit also questions the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ estimate that the contracts would save the state about $100 million a year.
“It is difficult to know how Mercer calculations show the state saves money …,” the audit states. “No one from the department validated the figures Mercer provided.”
* The Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which oversaw the process, came in for some harsh criticism…
• Failed to include all relevant information, including scoring evaluation criteria, in the RFPs.
• Utilized a consulting firm to have a major participation role in the procurements even though the firm had business relationships with all the firms that proposed on the two State procurement opportunities.
• Failed to ensure that all members of the evaluation team had all needed materials to score the proposals.
• Failed to comply with policy by not having the evaluation teams meet during the evaluation process.
• Allowed 10 of 12 evaluators to violate the evaluation procedures by not providing appropriate comments.
• Failed to address major differences in scoring by evaluators, a violation of evaluation procedures.
• Within the period of one month, March 7, 2011 to April 6, 2011, had developed and the Director had signed two different recommendations to award the State healthcare contracts. • The Department awarded [Blue Cross Blue Shield] 20 counties it did not even bid on. Also, network documentation showed that BCBS had zero primary care physicians in 24 counties that it was awarded. [Emphasis added.]
The Department took the first recommendation to a meeting with officials from the Governor’s Office and the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget in late March 2011. Sometime after that meeting and the date the awards were announced on April 6, 2011, the recommendation was changed. While the Department indicated that the Chief Procurement Officer (Matt Brown) could not support the initial recommendation, documentation did not support that position.
Given the serious deficiencies in the procurement activities, including the disregard for following evaluation procedures and lack of documentation to support how the recommendation to award changed, we are unable to conclude whether the State’s best interests were achieved by the Department for the awards for the State health insurance procurements. Additionally, oversight of these procurements by the Commission lacked adequate review prior to approving the award of the contracts. These are serious problems given that this involved over 400,000 enrollees and eligible dependents and $7 billion in taxpayer monies.
“The technical issues identified in the audit did not affect the outcome of the procurement process, and the Department continues to believe that the overall procurement was executed in a fair and competitive manner,” said department spokesman Mike Claffey. “This was both a complex procurement and the first use of the state’s new procurement law for the group health insurance program. We will take into consideration the (auditor general’s) input in future Department procurements, including finalizing long-term health insurance options for state employees and retirees.”
The contracts resulted in one losing bidder, Urbana-based Health Alliance, filing a lawsuit in Sangamon County Circuit Court that cited many of the same deficiencies documented in the audit.
HFS has decided to settle the lawsuit by allowing companies such as Health Alliance and Humana to bid on a supplemental long-term contract for managed-care coverage that could begin July 1.
* We have two new congressional TV ads to rate today. First up, Jesse Jackson, Jr…
Among other things, the spot features a woman doing all the talking, probably because of the congressman’s problems in that regard. It also showcases a photo of President Obama and claims Debbie Halvorson “sat on the sidelines” during the healthcare debate.
The first time I heard the ad, it almost sounded like Kinzinger had something in his past he was trying to dismiss. Not sure it’s the greatest line, although it does make sense in the context of Don Manzullo’s long congressional tenure
* Ward Room interviewed House Speaker Michael Madigan’s Democratic primary opponent Michele Piszczor…
Ward Room: How would you vote on the conceal carry bill?
Piszczor: I don’t know. I’m out there canvassing. Ultimately, it’s not my ideas. It’s the people of my district’s. That’s why I’m out there canvassing, talking to the people of my district, hearing how they want me to vote in Springfield. Politicians too quickly put their own two cents in it, get paid by contributions that they get from people like Michael Madigan to vote certain ways. I’m out here for the people. However they wish for me to vote on these issues, that’s how I’m going to vote?
Ward Room: Has that come up yet?
Piszczor: It hasn’t. Their issue right now is the DREAM Act, which I am in favor of. The income tax increase, from 3 to 5 percent has been a big issue. […]
Ward Room: What does the state have to do to balance its budget, if not a tax increase?
Piszczor: If we have corporations to come back into Illinois and invest and want to do investment, then that gets people to get hired. When they get hired, they get taxed, federally and state, and then they turn around and buy homes, which you then purchase a mortgage, which you get taxed on, and those people purchase products in this state, which they get taxed on.
Ward Room: So what would you to bring jobs to Illinois?
Piszczor: The taxes are incredible, overcharging these people. The environment is not conducive for corporation investment in Illinois, is the best way I can put it. I’m talking to business owners, and they’re saying, ‘The taxes are killing us. At this point, it’s better for us to just close our doors.’
* The margin of error on this poll is so high that anybody who reports these numbers as fact should be put under heavy sedation in order to keep them away from a computer…
Republican primary voters in Southern Illinois favor former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 29 percent to 21 percent, according to a new poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The survey, conducted last week, also shows former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich as the choice of 11 percent of GOP primary voters, while Texas Congressman Ron Paul drew 6 percent.
The “front-runner” among area voters is “undecided.” A plurality of Southern Illinois Republicans — 30 percent — said they were undecided, and 4 percent chose “other.”
Yes, 400 registered voters were surveyed. But 17 percent of them said they probably weren’t voting and another 17 percent said they weren’t sure if they were voting. Also, just 32 percent of those 400 registered voters are taking Republican ballots, meaning that a mere 128 people were polled on the presidential primary. That gives us a MoE of 8.66 percent. So, Santorum’s 29-21 lead over Romney is actually within the margin of error.
If you live in Chicago and you don’t know where your precinct polling place is, the Board of Elections says there’s now an easy new way to find out.
What you have to do is text the board at (312) 361-8846. In the message space, put the simple version of your home registration address, e.g., 1000 W. Washington — no ZIP code, unit number or city. The board’s computer then will text you back with the address of your polling place for the March 20 primary.
Board Chairman Langdon Neal says “Where do I vote?” is the top question every Election Day. If enough people use the new system — and it works — it will be fully in place for the busier November general election, Mr. Neal adds.
* 8th Congressional District: Competing democrats focus on ousting Walsh - Democrats Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi avoid attacking each other in run up to primary
* Illinois GOP primary seen as increasingly relevant in presidential race
Rod Blagojevich plans to make a public statement in person before he reports to federal prison for his 14-year sentence on corruption charges, his spokesman said Wednesday.
The 55-year-old impeached governor won’t slip out of Chicago and will speak before cameras here days before he reports to a federal prison March 15, Glenn Selig told the Associated Press. He declined to offer details, including what Blagojevich might say or on what day.
Since his December sentencing for corruption, Blagojevich hasn’t granted interviews. His lawyers have said he wants to enter prison in a dignified way, without any media frenzy. That’s fueled speculation he could try to leave Chicago days in advance without comment. But Selig says Blagojevich never intended to do that.
“The governor has always taken things head on and never tried to circumvent anything,” he said.
* The Illinois Policy Institute will unveil its annual budget proposals today. I watched their preview video early this morning and noticed that the group’s plan includes pushing $800 million in state payments to the Teachers Retirement System off on local school districts. Chicago has its own teachers retirement system, but the state picks up the tab for suburban and downstate employers’ costs in TRS.
The idea of moving the costs down the governmental food chain was proposed last year by Senate President John Cullerton. Gov. Pat Quinn has since said it was an idea worth considering, as has House Speaker Michael Madigan. However, the proposal has run into a buzzsaw of opposition from suburban and downstate legislators, teachers unions, media and local pols.
* The group also wants to eliminate the Personal Property Replacement Tax, which would wipe out the Local Government Distributive Fund. The Illinois Policy Institute claims killing off the LGDF would “save” the state $1.6 billion, but it won’t really save the state any money at all. This is basically just a pass-through account. Brain freeze. Nevermind.
The group also favors cutting state employee paychecks by 10 percent, saying it would save $500 million.
* In other budget-related news, Attorney General Lisa Madigan is objecting to the governor’s proposed 9.4 percent cut to her appropriation. Madigan claims her office generated $908 million last year, 30 times its taxpayer funding. She’s also saying that it’s tough to retain lawyers on her payroll as it is…
“We’re bringing in revenue for the state. We want to continue bringing in revenue,” Madigan said. “I can’t do that if I don’t have lawyers.”
The office gets less money today from taxpayers than it did in 1998, she said. Her lawyers haven’t had raises since 2006. One-third of them have retired or left for better jobs, often with other state agencies, in just the past two years.
“Morale is terribly low in the office, and people are voting with their feet,” said Madigan, a Chicago Democrat. […]
Sen. Pamela Althoff, the top Republican on one of the Senate’s appropriations committees, pointed out that the attorney general’s budget was cut deeply several years ago and has never recovered. “She’s not even coming from a level playing field,” said Althoff, of McHenry.
The starting salary for an attorney in Madigan’s office is just $50,500. That’s really pathetic. Most of her folks work there because they want to do public service. But that emotion only lasts so long for most people. Eventually, you gotta pay your bills and feed your family.
* Secretary of State Jesse White issued his own warning yesterday…
Illinois’ license plate czar said he may have to close as many as five driver’s license facilities because of Gov. Pat Quinn’s call for deep spending cuts.
Secretary of State Jesse White told a House panel Wednesday that he may be able to avoid layoffs and closures under his budget plan, which calls for an overall 2 percent reduction in spending from the current fiscal year.
But, Gov. Pat Quinn has called on the state’s agency chiefs and constitutional officers to trim 9.4 percent in the budget that begins July 1. White said such a cut would be “devastating.”
“It would be tough to do business,” White said.
* Indeed, just one statewide officer proposed a 9.4 percent cut in line with the governor’s wishes, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon. The rest argued for less…
Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka also outlined her budget plan to the committee, a proposal that calls for a 2 percent reduction from the current year.
“We’ve been cutting right along since day one,” Topinka said. “We’re down to what the office was in 1998.”
Topinka said headcount in her office will remain at 257, down from more than 300 10 years ago. The office will be negotiating new contracts with its unions, but Topinka warned employees not to get their hopes up.
“One of the things we will continue to put forward at this point is no raises,” Topinka said. “If we’re not taking in more than we’re spending, we have to stop it. Nobody is above it, which includes our managerial staff, our union staff, me. We’re all going to cut.”
Treasurer Dan Rutherford said his budget continues a 2 percent reduction that he requested in his current spending plan.
* Related…
* Press Release: Lawmakers vote to cut their own pay
* Budget battle begins between IL gov, lawmakers: Radogno warned that the $33.7 billion is not a spending cap. She urged the General Assembly to spend less than the projected revenue to start remedying the state’s longtime cash flow conundrum, something not even a 67 percent individual income tax increase has fixed.
* Lawmakers decide how much Illinois will have for budget
* The House convenes at 2 this afternoon and the Senate convenes at noon. BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can just kick back and watch today’s events unfold…
Madigan’s a brilliant political strategist and an iron-fisted leader, but it’s hard to admire any of that considering the state of the state. We think — we hope — he’s finally ready to put that muscle behind some painful but necessary fixes.
Democrats often put up phantom opponents to dilute any anti-Madigan vote. This time he has a real opponent: 25-year-old Michele Piszczor, who speaks bluntly about corruption in Illinois.
We’re tempted … she has a lot of gumption … but we don’t think she’s ready yet for the job. So we offer no endorsement.
Wednesday, Mar 7, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* Rep. Greg Harris posted a list of just about every possible Medicaid cut on his Facebook page the other day. What I’ve done here is taken the most expensive “optional” Medicaid program and am asking which of these you would eliminate.
Remember, Medicaid must be trimmed by $2.7 billion. Optional services total about $2 billion. The items below total about $1.8 billion. Keep in mind these are services offered to real live human beings that we’re talking about here. Also, after you make your cuts (as many as you want), explain your reasoning in comments. The option to send nursing home residents to supported living facilities is a savings, not a cut, obviously. But keep that in mind when voting on the supported living facilities line. Thanks.
* We talked the other day about a bill to require physicians to offer ultrasound tests to women who are seeking abortions.
Well, the legislation has attracted some hostile, mocking amendments. For instance, Amendment 1, which has since been tabled, would’ve changed the title from the “Ultrasound Opportunity Act” to the “Ultrasound and Erectile Dysfunction Information Opportunity Act“…
Consent to a prescription for medications for erectile dysfunction is voluntary and informed if and only if prior to prescribing medications for erectile dysfunction the physician who is to prescribe medications for erectile dysfunction has, in person, orally and in writing informed the man of all of the following:
(1) The particular medical risks, if any, associated with the condition of erectile dysfunction.
(2) The medical risks associated with the particular medication that would be prescribed, including, but not limited to, the medical risks of heart problems, stroke, hearing loss, vision loss, and priapism.
(3) That erectile dysfunction medication may be dangerous if the man has:
(A) heart problems, including heart pain (angina), heart failure, abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), or a recent heart attack;
(B) high or low blood pressure (hypertension or hypotension) that isn’t controlled;
(C) a history of stroke;
(D) eye problems such as retinitis pigmentosa or blood relatives with certain eye problems; or
(E) sickle cell anemia, leukemia, or a health problem that can cause priaprism.
(4) The details of the medical or surgical method that would be used to treat priapism, stroke, cardiac arrest, vision loss, and hearing loss, including the offer to view a medically accurate video depicting treatment of priapism.
* Amendment 3, introduced by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, substitues “person” for the original language’s “woman” and “medical procedure” for “abortion” and considerably broadens the scope…
Section 15. Offer of ultrasound required.
(a) At any facility where medical procedures are performed, the physician who is to perform the medical procedure, the referring physician, or another qualified person working in conjunction with either physician shall offer any person seeking medical care, including, but not limited to, cardiac, renal, liver, gallbladder, vascular, abdominal, obstetric, gynecological, muscle, ligament, tendon, eye, testicle, salivary gland, lymph node, breast, liver, kidney, and joint diagnosis or treatment, an opportunity to receive and view an ultrasound by someone qualified to perform ultrasounds at the facility, or at a facility listed in a listing of local ultrasound providers provided by the facility, at least one hour prior to the person having any part of a medical procedure performed, and prior to the administration of any anesthesia or medication in preparation for the medical procedure.
A group or individual policy of accident and health insurance or managed care plan amended, delivered, issued, or renewed after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly that does not provide coverage for contraception may not provide coverage for erectile dysfunction medication.
This isn’t the first time that an ultrasound bill has picked up hostile amendments, but I’m pretty sure there are more of them this year.
* Senate panel advances proposed strip club tax: A proposal to start charging an entrance tax on Illinois strip clubs limped out of a Senate committee Tuesday. Although the measure is now positioned for a vote in the full Senate, senators raised concerns that it unfairly relies on downstate strip club patrons to generate revenue for rape crisis centers in Chicago.
* Vote delayed on RN staffing levels for nursing homes
* Yellow lights a second longer?: State Sen. Dan Duffy’s longtime crusade against red light cameras took a baby step forward this evening when a Senate committee advanced his plan to extend the duration of a yellow light by one second at any intersection with a red-light camera. What’s an extra second get you? Duffy said studies from other states show that a longer yellow light means fewer accidents at an intersection. And it might mean fewer tickets for drivers, giving them a little extra time to get through an intersection. Even though the Senate committee voted to send it to the full Senate, Duffy’s plan has to change before it moves forward. Because of various concerns from lawmakers on the panel, they asked the Lake Barrington Republican to agree not to proceed further until he hears out their ideas and considers changes.
* House committee OKs fees for state parks: House Bill 5789, sponsored by Rep. JoAnn Osmond, R-Antioch, leaves it up to DNR to decide what the fees should be. The department supported the legislation, noting that it faces a 13.5 percent budget cut under Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed fiscal year 2013 budget.
* Kadner: Riley opposes shifting pension costs to schools
* Mitchell would reduce taxes for ‘S’ corporations
* Lawmakers across US file “Caylee’s Law” legislation: In Illinois, Senator Ira Silverstein filed Senate Bill 2537 in November; it was assigned to the Criminal Law Committee in January. Silverstein’s legislation creates three Class 3 felony offenses in cases where a parent or guardian fails to notify law enforcement of a child’s disappearance in a timely manner, learns of but does not report a minor child’s death or refuses to provide medical information or disturbs evidence related to the death, or provides false or misleading information to authorities during an investigation of a missing child.
* As subscribers were told several weeks ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to use his handgun registration bill in the negotiations over concealed carry legislation. A bill passed a House committee recently which imposed a $20 per handgun registration fee (the originally proposed $65 fee was lowered by an amendment). But it doesn’t sound like southern Illinois Democrats are in any mood to negotiate. From a Senate Democratic press release…
“I’m spitting mad,” [Sen. Gary Forby] said. “These Chicago politicians are trying to take our guns out of our hands. They’re trying to take money from Southern Illinois to pay for their own programs. It is our Constitutional right to own guns. The mayor of Chicago and his cronies may not respect the Constitution of the United States, but we do.”
“Registering guns and charging excessive fees is just another step toward taking all of our guns away,” [Rep. John Bradley] said. “Taking guns away from law-abiding Southern Illinois hunters isn’t going to solve Chicago’s violence problems. They’re not the ones murdering people on the mayor’s streets.”
“I can’t believe these Chicago politicians think we’re just going to roll over and let them push their ridiculous laws on Southern Illinois,” [Rep. Brandon Phelps] said. “It’s time for them to face the facts and realize that guns don’t kill people. People kill people, and criminals are not the ones who are going to register their weapons. Only law-abiding citizens like the people in Southern Illinois will end up paying these Chicago gun taxes.”
All three Southern Illinois Democrats are strong advocates of allowing Illinoisans to carry concealed weapons.
“I think the time has come for conceal carry in Illinois,” Bradley added.
“Maybe the Chicago mayor thinks his bills are a starting point for negotiations,” Forby said. “They’re not. We’re not negotiating. We’re killing these bills.”
“I don’t know what these Chicago politicians are thinking,” Phelps said. “The governor wants to close prisons and cut parole officers, and the mayor wants to take our guns. Do they think that will make anyone safer?” [Emphasis added.]
* On the complete opposite side of the issue is Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat…
Originally from Florida, Cassidy said she grew up in a setting where guns were a way of life, and she empathizes with hunters and others who shoot for sport.
“But I’ve spent 15 years in the criminal justice system seeing what guns are doing to my community,” Cassidy said. “I absolutely see no legitimate purpose for handguns. I just don’t.”
It’s rhetoric like that which is driving Downstate Democrats up a wall. As I’ve told you before, Cassidy is in a hot primary fight, but she also needs to remember that life will go on after this primary and she’ll have to work with those Downstaters if she wins. They’re not gonna be too eager to do that.
In May — the most recent time the Illinois House voted on concealed carry — 30 of the 32 lawmakers who voted against concealed carry were from Cook County.
“Concealed carry is a geographic issue in Illinois,” [Rep Kelly Burke, D-Chicago] said. “And since the geography is not going to change, we need to work on our differences and not just jam legislation through the House.”
Former state Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, said concealed carry is one of a handful of issues that splits the General Assembly by location, not by political party.
“You get a downstate-suburban versus Chicago regionalism,” Black said. “And it’s only getting worse.”
State Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Galesburg, said concealed-carry supporters need to focus on the big picture this year, and not push for legislation that cannot pass the House or the Illinois Senate.
“This is just from a guy who has been around the track a few times. The objective here is to move toward concealed carry, and I support that, “Moffitt said. “Keep in mind, the goal is to pass permit to carry.”
The Rifle Association refused to allow any sort of compromise last year which would’ve allow Chicago to opt out of concealed carry. Until that happens, the proposal may not go anywhere, although Rep. Phelps says he’s very close…
It will take 71 votes — not a simple majority of 60 — for the House to approve concealed carry. Lawmakers decided long ago that a statewide concealed-carry law would pre-empt local laws. […]
Phelps said he has 70 votes. Last May, 65 state representatives voted for concealed carry. A vote on HB5745 is not scheduled in the House and, Phelps said, he may change the legislation before the final deadline in late May.
Actually, Phelps said he was at “almost 70″ votes. Here’s some video of Rep. Phelps’ comments…
Wednesday, Mar 7, 2012 - Posted by Advertising Department
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* Mick Dumke at the Chicago Reader takes a look today at Illinois’ innumerable prison problems, including these…
(T)he state’s prison population has been inching upward for years. In fact, while diversion programs and drug law reforms have helped shrink the inmate totals in most large states, Illinois has been a national leader in prison population growth, including the biggest increase anywhere in 2010, according to a recent federal report.
Although corrections officials previously predicted a drop in the inmate population, it’s grown from 44,669 in 2005 to 47,504 in 2010 to 48,380 last week. That’s an increase of about 8 percent in seven years. Over the same period, the state corrections budget has grown about 20 percent, to $1.2 billion.
We’re not just talking about violent criminals, either. Since 2005, the portion of prisoners in for nonviolent offenses has remained constant—about 49 percent. That means more people have been incarcerated for offenses like DUIs, thefts, and residential burglaries.
On the upside, fewer prisoners are in on drug charges. On the downside, drug offenses still account for 20 percent of the inmates in Illinois prisons. Nearly 800 of these prisoners are there for marijuana-related offenses.
One reason the state saw the prison population skyrocket so much in 2010 was because of the badly botched early release “push” program that set free violent offenders. The “push” program was abolished, but so was the rest of the early release program and Corrections employees claimed during the year that parole officers were scrambling to put people back into prison so that the governor didn’t have a campaign problem if one of those guys killed somebody.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s chief of staff Jack Lavin claimed the other day that the prison census was declining. But he was using very short-term numbers to justify this claim. Overall, the population has obviously grown a lot. Maybe we should start talking about at least freeing those marijuana convicts.
* Progress Illinois takes a look at the governor’s proposal to close Tamms…
Edgar’s Task Force, for instance, made clear that prisoners were only supposed to be housed in Tamms temporarily: “The Super‐Max…is a management tool for addressing specific security problems… To serve its purpose, inmates must move in and out based on some objective classification and standards.”
The primary purpose mentioned above was to rehabilitate those causing trouble in other prisons. Thus, the Task Force’s report argued, prisoners must be allowed to earn their way out of Tamms based on good behavior: “Inmates would be required to earn their way to progressively less restrictive levels [of confinement], and eventually back into the general prison population… Reviews of inmate behavior would be made every 30 days.” […]
As advocacy group Tamms Year Ten has pointed out, these regulations were either never put in place or never followed. (The group’s flier on the subject, from which the above quotes were culled, is available here.)
Prisoners have been housed at the Tamms facility indefinitely — they have been moved “in” but not “out.” A third of the current inmates have been incarcerated at the supermax prison since 1998, according to Tamms Year Ten. Some of these prisoners have long since reached the highest good behavior “level” described by the Task Force; and yet they have not been returned to the general prison population. Instead, they remain imprisoned in exactly the sort of “long-term isolation” the Task Force warned against.
* Related…
* Some see Pat Quinn’s budget as attack on downstate Illinois: Quinn budget spokeswoman Kelly Kraft argued last week that the 14 proposed major facility closings are evenly divided by region, with seven in the upper half of the state, including places such as Rockford, Joliet and Aurora. However, Illinois is a state where “downstate” is commonly defined as anything outside Chicago — and just two of the 14 facilities are in the city. By that measure, some argue, Quinn’s proposed cuts show a clear geographic pattern. “There’s no doubt in my mind that he is Cook County-centered,” said Rep. Jim Watson, R-Jacksonville, who is fighting the proposed closing of the Jacksonville Developmental Center and other facilities in his area. “(Cook County) is his power base, that’s where his voting base is, that’s where his loyalties are.”
* AFSCME launches “No Quinn Cuts” Campaign to protect public services and jobs
* Hundreds rally to stop closure of Dwight Correctional Center
* The House convenes at 12:30 this afternoon and the Senate convenes at 11:45 this morning. BlackBerry users click here. Everybody else can just sit back and watch today’s events unfold…
So real it’s unreal. Like, where are the overturned cars and alcohol-poisoned bodies stacking up at the morgue?
Exactly.
* This is a 2012 Major League Baseball open thread. Spring training has begun and I’m starting to get that anticipatory feeling. I’m not sure why because the White Sox have been disappointing me all winter. But, hey, it’s baseball. I love baseball and it’s the preferred sport of this website. So, talk away.
* A group of liberal Democrats around the country is monitoring Rush Limbaugh’s radio talk show and compiling a list of his advertisers. The idea is to use the list to enforce a boycott of Limbaugh’s show over his grotesque remarks about birth control and a woman who testified in Congress.
John Majka is monitoring Rush’s show on WLS radio for advertiser names. One of the advertisers he added to the master list yesterday was the Illinois Lottery.
* So, does the Illinois Lottery really advertise on Rush Limbaugh’s show?
Well, as it turns out, a Lottery ad did run on Rush’s program yesterday during a WLS traffic report. But the ad was mistakenly placed by an advertising network, a Lottery spokesperson claimed today. Metro Networks buys ad time for the Lottery’s traffic spots.
According to the Lottery, it doesn’t advertise on national programs and doesn’t advertise on WLS radio. It also doesn’t advertise on “political” programs. Metro Networks is supposed to follow the Lottery’s rules, but apparently didn’t in this case.
The company is refunding the Lottery’s money, according to a Lottery spokesperson. Two Metro Networks execs werent able to immediately confirm the Lottery’s explanation. I’ll let you know if the company has a statement.
The Lottery was all over this when I alerted them to the fact that they were on the Rush advertiser list. They don’t need or want that sort of publicity.
* Meanwhile, Illinois Review has doubled down on the Rush controversy by publishing a new cartoon…
* Kelly Kraft of the governor’s budget office went on Fox Business News because somebody had said on the channel last week that Gov. Pat Quinn had asked for a federal bailout. The interview was at times pretty contentious, with host Stuart Varney regularly interrupting.
Varney offered up what he claimed was a simple solution to the state’s pension problems: All new hires should be put into 401(k) plans. “I know how this works, I know how this works,” Varney said. What he didn’t know, though, was that Illinois would have to start making Social Security payments for tens of thousands of workers if the state followed Varney’s advice.
Varney also claimed the state’s income tax hike didn’t bring in the amount of money that was expected. Wrong.
And Varney flatly stated than long term municipal bonds paid lower interest rates than short-term bonds. He made that claim while arguing that a ten-year California bond’s interest rate which is much lower than that for a recently sold 25-year Illinois bond meant Illinois’ credit problems are worse than California’s. Um.
An interest rate of 300 percent is usually associated with lenders who threaten kneecaps if payments aren’t made.
But in Illinois that interest rate is allowable, and it appears it will remain so after a House committee last week refused to consider legislation that would have imposed new regulations on car title lenders.
Currently, the interest rate that can be charged by car title lenders is capped at 300 percent, if you can call that a cap.
The House Consumer Protection Committee, a misnamed group if there ever was one, was asked last week to consider a bill that would have capped that interest rate at 36 percent. Only five of the 21 members of the committee voted “yes,” putting the legislation in turmoil. The legislation had been supported by many groups, including the Decatur City Council, which had approved supporting the cap. […]
(T)he state has a role in regulating such loans. In this instance, the House Consumer Protection Committee acted more like a predatory loan protection committee.
I can see their point.
* Phil Kadner is right to be upset that local legislators aren’t returning his calls to talk about a very important issue…
I’ve been waiting for an outcry from Southland legislators about a plan being discussed in Springfield to shift the state’s obligation to pay teacher pensions onto the backs of homeowners.
I haven’t heard a word.
I’ve called state senators Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields), Maggie Crotty (D-Oak Forest) and James Meeks (D-Chicago) and have yet to get a return call.
I ran into Crotty at a charity fundraising event, and she apologized for not returning the call. She told me that legislative leaders are discussing all options on pension reform, and rumors about a “done deal” when it comes to shifting the pension payments to school districts are inaccurate.
But representatives of the Illinois Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, have told me that such shifting is the one proposal they’ve heard that would be constitutional.
* Let’s end this on an up note. Toronto Star travel editor Jim Byers attended a tourism briefing held by Gov. Pat Quinn this week and filed a long report about our state’s wondrous beauty, including this…
The state also is home to more bald eagles than any other state in the U.S. except Alaska, and, according to Quinn, is an excellent place for bird-watching. (Actually, Quinn made this point several times in an entertaining speech that made me think the guy is quite smart but likes playing up the image of a good old boy hunkering for a tasty snack at the Bar-B-Q Barn in Harrisburg, complete with a country fried steak and a big old Coke)
Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed budget cuts to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources are so severe, the agency’s chief of staff says it’s on the brink of closing.
Jay Curtis says in the past decade the department’s budget shrunk from $106 million dollars to $45 million. And Curtis says in that ten years the agency has lost over half its employees. […]
Quinn wants to reduce D-N-R’s budget this year by 13.5 %. […]
At least one legislator is suggesting fees to enter state parks as another way to supplement the department’s shrinking budget.
* The Question: Could you support an entrance fee for Illinois state parks? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thank you kindly.
The House’s research and appropriations unit [Democrats] estimates 12-13 percent of state workers, at some point, file a workers compensation claim.
Either the state is a horrible employer that fails to pay attention to worker safety, or workers are abusing the system. The Speaker thinks it could be the latter…
“Given that statistic, my concern is that there’s a culture or environment among some state workers that would encourage workers compensation claims when they’re really not warranted,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).
His approp director suggests it could be the former…
John Lowder, director of the House research and appropriations unit, said there could be more attention to detail if a private company was hired.
“I would think they would be more thoroughly researched to determine what caused the injury, what can we do to lessen the injury and what we can do to lessen the claims,” Lowder said.
*** UPDATE *** From AFSCME…
Because the Speaker’s staff has refused repeated requests to share the material referenced at a recent hearing, we have not been able to review it or assess its validity. We have no way of knowing what assertions it makes or what data such assertions may be based on.
With regard to this issue in general, it is important to consider the very high proportion of state employees who work in uniquely physical, strenuous or dangerous occupations, such as in prisons, on highways, in psychiatric hospitals, law enforcement, developmental centers and veterans homes to name just a few.
We do not know whether the data includes analysis of comparable state employees in other states.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn touted the creation of a whole bunch of well-paying union jobs today. From a press release…
Governor Pat Quinn today announced an agreement between Rock Island Clean Line LLC and Flora, Illinois-based Southwire Company that will support wind turbine and transmission manufacturing in Illinois and create 1,450 union construction jobs under a project labor agreement in Illinois over a three-year construction period. The agreement supports Governor Quinn’s commitment to growing the renewable energy sector in Illinois and continues Illinois’ leadership in the green economy. The governor announced the agreement after delivering the keynote address at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) Regional Wind Energy Summit held today in Chicago.
“Illinois is a leader in the renewable energy sector, and agreements like these are helping make Illinois even more competitive,” Governor Quinn said. “These cutting-edge projects will help maintain Illinois’ national leadership in wind energy and manufacturing, and create good paying, home-grown jobs.”
Under the agreement, Southwire will supply the overhead transmission cable for the Rock Island Clean Line project. This project will consist of approximately 500-mile overhead, high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line that will deliver 3,500 megawatts (MW) of renewable power from Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota to communities and businesses in Illinois and other states to the east. Construction of the Rock Island Clean Line could begin as early as 2014 and continue over the next few years.
* But as the AP reports, it’s tough for some manufacturers to fill their jobs…
Nationwide, an estimated 600,000 manufacturing jobs are going unfilled, according to a survey by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute published last year. Manufacturers expect the shortage to worsen in the next three to five years as older workers retire.
“Exacerbating the issue is the stubbornly poor perception of manufacturing jobs among younger workers,” the report says, adding that manufacturing ranks at the bottom of industries in which young workers would chose to start their careers. […]
In Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn is supporting manufacturing by pledging incentives to retain or expand the employee base for such companies as Ford Motor Co., truck- and engine-maker Navistar International Corp. and Excel. Aides said Quinn’s strategy to help the industry includes investments in roads and a push to streamline regulation, such as last year’s overhaul of the workers’ compensation system.
* In other news, some nursing homes have apparently found a loophole in state law that lets them avoid hiring higher-priced nurses…
But the 2010 legislation does not distinguish between registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), who do not have to undergo as much training as RNs. A new rule expected to come up Tuesday before the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules would require facilities to use RNs for 20 percent of direct care.
Lawmakers who worked on the reforms said that was their intent. “There can be no true nursing home reform without addressing the issue of RN staffing ratios,” says Sen. Jacqueline Collins, a Democrat from Chicago, in a prepared statement.
However, many for profit nursing homes argue that they cannot afford to hire enough RNs to fulfill such a demand. “We are not against improving staffing, but we are against putting in a requirement that sets nursing homes up to fail,” Pat Comstock, executive director of the Health Care Council of Illinois, told the State Journal-Register. Comstock did not return a call from Illinois Issues.
Sen. Heather Steans, who was a sponsor of the reforms, said that a revenue stream was built in to pay for higher staffing levels. “I very much urge the JCAR members to support and pass the rule. I think it will very much help improve the quality of care in our nursing homes. We also passed the bed tax, which was primarily to fund the increased staffing we are putting into place, so funding has been put in place for that,” Steans said.
* Last month, the prestigious National Journal gave Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger a 58 percent conservative voting record score. It gave Kinzinger’s GOP primary opponent Congressman Don Manzullo a 74 percent conservative score. Manzullo is now up with a TV ad that yet again claims Kinzinger is a false conservative and drags in Nancy Pelosi, President Obama and Debbie Halvorson. Kinzinger defeated Halvorson in 2010. Halvorson’s National Journal conservative score was 48 percent at the time, so Manzullo’s ad claims that Kinzinger isn’t much different than the Democrat he replaced. Watch the ad…
* There has been much consternation over National Journal’s rankings, according to Politico’s Dylan Byers…
So I took my first foray into congressional rankings last week and noticed some major discrepancies between the list published by the National Journal last month and those published by conservative groups like Heritage Action and Club For Growth — which, I quickly learned, is an ongoing source of frustration among many conservatives here in Washington.
For instance, Representative Justin Amash — who ranks as the most conservative House member on the Club For Growth’s list and fifteenth most conservative congressman on the Heritage list — ranks as the fourth most liberal Republican representative on the National Journal list. Utah Senator Mike Lee, the second most conservative congressman on the Heritage list, is less conservative than Utah Senator Orrin Hatch on the National Journal list. Per the National Journal, Mitch McConnell is more conservative than Marco Rubio, who is more conservative than Rand Paul, and so on down the seemingly backward line.
“In no planet is Mitch McConnell more conservative than Marco Rubio or Mike Lee,” one source at a conservative think tank told me. “Only in bizzaro world is Rand Paul considered the 32nd most conservative senator.”
Erick Erickson, the editor of Red State, made an even more aggressive critique shortly after NJ’s list came out in February: “I think National Journal must hand over its rating of the most conservative and liberal members of congress to an outsourced shop in Mumbai filled with mental midgets,” he wrote. “There can really be no other explanation for this year’s embarrassing list of the most conservative members of Congress.”
However, in this particular contest, both Heritage Action and the Club For Growth rate Manzullo as far more conservative than Kinzinger.
These two guys have been arguing over who is the more conservative candidate since they kicked off their campaigns. But now Manzullo has some statistical support to back up his claims. From a Manzullo press release…
American Conservative Union lifetime scores: Manzullo 96, Kinzinger 72.
Heritage Action for America: Manzullo 84, Kinzinger 63.
Americans for Prosperity: Manzullo A+, Kinzinger B.
National Journal (conservative composite score): Manzullo 74, Kinzinger 58.
* Kinzinger, by the way, was just endorsed by Dan Proft…
The consequence of failing to return Adam to Congress will be to tell other young, bright, diligent, and principled conservatives to again “wait their turn”. If we do that, we will again suffer the corresponding brain drain.
The benefit of returning Adam to Congress will be to signal to the Regressive Left that they are on the wrong side of history for the next generation of conservative grassroots leaders is ascendant and prepared to abide the Burkian contract between ourselves, our ancestors who provided for us and our posterity to whom we owe a responsibility to act responsibly.
The letter is signed thusly…
Regards,
Dan Proft
WLS Radio Talk Show Host*
*Opinions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WLS-AM 890 radio or Cumulus Media, Inc.
* Meanwhile, if you live in the Chicago area, you could soon be seeing some Republican presidential ads. I’m told the Mitt Romney-backing super PAC Restore Our Future just booked a heavy schedule on the Chicago Cable Interconnect plus AT&T Verse and DirecTV. No Illinois ads are posted on the group’s YouTube site as of yet.
It’s misleading to publish a popular vote poll in this primary, because that’s not how the delegates will be awarded. They’ll be awarded according to the winners of each of the state’s 18 new Congressional districts. This gives Romney a huge advantage, because Santorum isn’t running delegate slates in four districts: the 4th, 5th, 7th and 13th. […]
In addition, Illinois will choose 12 unpledged delegates at the state party convention in June. The Republican National Committeeman and Committeewoman, Richard Williamson and Demetra DelMonte, plus the state party chairman, Pat Brady, will go as “superdelegates.” Romney has the support of Pat Brady, Sen. Mark Kirk and the Illinois Republican Party establishment, so most if not all of those 15 votes will be his.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has a federal prison identification number.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has given Blagojevich the number 40892-424.
Typically, once inmates are assigned a number, it is their individual number throughout their prison term. It is also typically affixed to their prison clothes.
The 55-year-old Blagojevich has been ordered to report to prison on March 15. While he has asked to be incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood in Colorado, he could be sent elsewhere.
* Meanwhile, Commissioner Beavers seems to be taking a page from Blagojevich’s first trial, which ended in a hung jury on all but one count…
Cook County Commissioner William Beavers pleaded not guilty to federal tax charges Friday and then lobbed another bombshell — declaring U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald “a wild man” guilty of driving three political figures to suicide with “Gestapo-type tactics.”
After a relatively mundane arraignment hearing — lasting all of about 10 minutes — Beavers left the courtroom and walked in a crowd of reporters in the lobby of the Dirksen Federal building — unleashing on Fitzgerald.
“I do not owe the government any money — no taxes,” Beavers said, moving on to his next point: Fitzgerald.
“Let me tell you about this federal prosecutor. This man is like a wild man on a train, and somebody needs to stop him.
“He has caused three deaths — Michael Scott, Orlando Jones and Chris Kelly — with these Gestapo-type tactics that he used to try to make them tell on their friends,” said Beavers, 77.
Sam Adam and Sam Adam, Jr. are defending Beavers. They also defended RRB in his first trial.
Randall Samborn, a spokesman for Fitzgerald, declined comment. But Beaver’s allegations don’t square with the known facts about two of the suicides.
Scott, the former Chicago schools chief, was not being investigated by federal authorities but his use of his Chicago public school credit card had been questioned.
Jones, a former top Cook County aide, was under investigation for an alleged contract scheme in Las Vegas.
Illinois Governor Patrick Quinn paid a quick visit to Premier Dalton McGuinty on Monday to talk water, how to stop the Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes and to get tips on hosting a G8 summit. […]
Quinn added he is looking for advice from McGuinty on how to handle a G8 world political summit.
“We have a state that is hospitable and welcoming. We want to have a conference that is peaceable and where people can speak out on the issues they believe in but we want to have law and order.”
In June, 2010, Huntsville hosted the G8 summit and the federal government spent tens of millions on security and sprucing up the Muskoka area.
“We have to be prepared for anything and I am sure he has good advice for me.”
Oops.
* Not much later in the day, the word came down that the G8 was canceled…
Gov. Pat Quinn’s office issued a statement Monday reacting to the relocation of the upcoming G-8 economic summit from Chicago to Camp David.
The statement doesn’t mention G-8. Instead it emphasizes that the NATO summit will still be held in Chicago and stresses that Illinois is “an excellent place to do business.”
The statement says the state of Illinois continues to look forward to hosting world leaders and their representatives in the “great city of Chicago” at the NATO meeting in May.
Despite the well-orchestrated spinning by Emanuel and the White House that it’s a “win-win” for everybody, the move seemed abrupt. Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy had just been interviewed by the Tribune about his preparations for the G-8/NATO summits, expressing confidence. Other political bureaucrats had been trotted out to play talking heads as well.
You don’t send them out there if you think the White House is going to yank the chain.
* Did the mayor keep Quinn and others in the dark?…
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said Mayor Rahm Emanuel was consulted about the switch. Emanuel spokesman Sarah Hamilton said the White House called late morning or early afternoon to inform the mayor about the decision.
Just hours before the White House stunner, Emanuel was still talking up the back-to-back summits at McCormick Place — and playing down the political risks.
That lends credence the claim that the decision came from Washington.
“This is a unique opportunity for Chicago to showcase itself to the world and the world to see the city of Chicago,” the mayor said before the White House announcement.
