The Rauner Administration has filed a direct appeal to the State Supreme Court in AFSCME’s case to block the administration from implementing its last, best and final offer. The following statement is attributable to General Counsel Dennis Murashko:
“After 67 days of negotiation, the Administration presented AFSCME with a contract that reflects our last, best, and final offer. This is as far as we can go, and it is time to implement it. Every day we don’t costs our taxpayers more than $2 million, which is why we are asking the Illinois Supreme Court to resolve this case quickly. The taxpayers deserve a contract substantially similar to the one ratified by 20 other unions and includes earning overtime after 40 hours, implementing merit pay, and using volunteers.”
*** UPDATE *** From AFSCME Council 31…
Instead of wasting more time and money in the courts, Governor Rauner should simply do his job and negotiate with our union. State workers are willing to do their part, but Bruce Rauner is so blinded by his anti-union animosity that he refuses to compromise.
Contrary to the misleading statements from the governor’s office, no other union has accepted Rauner’s extreme demands that would hike health costs by 100%, freeze wages for four years and remove safeguards against irresponsible privatization schemes.
Finding that AFSCME has a “reasonable likelihood” of prevailing on appeal, the 4th District Appellate Court blocked Rauner from rushing to impose those demands. Since the governor continues to choose confrontation over compromise, we are prepared to make our case before the Supreme Court.
* As we’ve discussed before, the Wells Center, a drug abuse treatment center in Jacksonville, was on the verge of shutting down and the governor’s office was blaming the comptroller.
Press release…
At a special Board meeting last night, the Board of Directors of Wells Center voted to postpone closing the Center. This decision was reached after the Executive Director reported to the Board that Comptroller Mendoza had visited Wells Center and agreed to work with the Center to see that payments are received in a timelier manner.
This action also allows Wells Center to continue looking at other solutions that will help the agency maintain stability for the long term. These solutions could include working with other organizations to merge with or even acquire the Center.
The Board of Directors are very excited to be able to take this vote. Substance abuse treatment and prevention services are very much needed in our community and this is an opportunity to not only keep these valuable services but to improve them and ensure these services will be available in our community for a long time.
Illinois voters are deeply divided over how to handle the state’s budget impasse. Given three options for addressing the deficit, 45 percent favor cutting waste and inefficiency as the only way to handle the problem, while 11 percent favor a tax increase. However, 35 percent agreed with the statement that the state budget crisis will require both budget cuts and an increase in revenue. When the 35 percent who chose this option are added to the 11 percent who say they favor a tax increase, the result is 46 percent total who favor both raising taxes and cutting spending while 45 percent believe that cutting waste and inefficiency is sufficient.
This is one of the major findings of a recent statewide poll of registered voters taken March 4th-11th sponsored by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Sixty percent of the interviews were via cell phones.
The increasing revenue option was favored by 13 percent in both Chicago and suburban Cook and the five Collar Counties while only 7 percent of downstate voters favored it. Forty three percent of Chicago voters thought a combination of both increased revenue and service cuts would be required, compared with 32 percent of suburban voters and 33 percent of downstate respondents who chose this option. Fifty percent of downstate voters chose the “cut waste and inefficiency” option, followed by 47 percent of suburban voters and only 34 percent of Chicago voters who chose this answer.
In terms of party identification, 18 percent of Democrats said increased revenue was the key; 7 percent of independents and 4 percent of Republicans chose this solution. In contrast, 60 percent of Republicans thought eliminating waste and inefficiency was the answer, while 45 percent of independents and 34 percent of Democrats took this choice. The combination of both increased revenue and cuts in services was the solution to the impasse according to 38 percent of Democrats, 39 percent of independents, and 29 percent of Republicans.
“The voters of Illinois are apparently as conflicted and divided over what to do about the budget impasse as their legislators and the governor are”, said John Jackson, one of the designers of the poll.
“When the voters are deeply divided, particularly in policy areas where the divisions are close, the office holders are given more leeway to fashion workable solutions to problems like the budget impasse, and then explain them and sell them to the voters, which is an obligation of leadership in a representative democracy,” Jackson continued.
Despite the growing number of Illinoisans who have come to the conclusion that the state’s budget crisis can only be managed by a blend of tax increases and program cuts, that forces legislators to vote for a pair of negatives; voting for tax increases while voting to cut programs people want and need.
The voters were asked about specific areas where there could be budget cuts in state service in areas ranging across education, welfare and a wide range of other state government services such as the state police, prisons, and parks and environmental regulation. Not a single governmental function was targeted by a majority of the voters as places they would support cuts in the agencies’ budgets.
In the case of K-12 education, fully 82 percent of the respondents were opposed to cutting budgets, and only 15 percent supported. The only function which came close to majority support for cuts was pension systems for public workers where 45 percent favored cuts and 49 percent opposed.
In “programs for poor people,” only 21 percent favored cuts, while 72 percent opposed cuts in those areas. Possible cuts to the state’s universities were opposed by 67 percent and supported by only 30 percent—both providing somewhat unexpected high levels of opposition to places where cuts have already been deep.
The respondents were then asked about a series of specific ways that the state might raise additional revenue. The results showed that naturally some proposals were more popular than others. The most popular proposals had well over majority support.
The single most popular proposal was applying a surcharge of 3 percent on income above one million dollars per year: 78 percent approved; 19 percent disapproved, and 3 percent had no opinion or were undecided. This is a measure which has been championed for several years by House Speaker Mike Madigan. Illinois voters overwhelmingly supported an advisory referendum on the millionaire’s tax proposal in 2014, but House lawmakers narrowly rejected two attempts to place the amendment on the ballot in 2015 and 2016.
The next most popular revenue proposal was amending the constitution to allow a graduated income tax, which 72 percent supported, with 24 percent opposed and 4 percent undecided.
In that same vein, 55 percent favored applying the state income tax only to retirement income above $100,000 per year; 39 percent opposed, and 5 percent were undecided.
Another proposal, which is a part of the current debate over raising revenue, is the possibility of expanding gambling in Illinois. This plan was a part of the “grand bargain,” which had been advocated by Senate President John Cullerton and by Republican Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, which passed the Senate in late February before the bargain fell apart. Gambling expansion was approved by 55 percent and disapproved by 41 percent of respondents, with 4 percent undecided.
Other revenue plans garnered less than majority support. Raising the income tax to 4.99 percent was approved by 35 percent and opposed by 61 percent, with 4 percent undecided. Applying the income tax to all retirement funds was favored by only 23 percent; with 72 percent opposed and 6 percent undecided.
The respondents were asked about expanding the sales tax base “to cover services like home repairs and landscaping.” This proposal was supported by 36 percent and opposed by 60 percent, with 4 percent undecided. But asked if they favored this addition to the sales tax if the overall tax rate was reduced by half a percent, 57.1 percent favored, 39.4 percent opposed, and 3.5 percent said they did not know.
Finally, the poll asked if the gasoline tax should be raised in order to fund improvements to state highways, roads, and bridges: 42 percent favored, 56 percent opposed, and only 2 percent were undecided.
“It’s a perfect storm. There is divided government in Springfield, no clear voter support for a solution, no taste for cuts to specific areas of the budget, and tremendous amounts of campaign cash already gearing up for the 2018 election,” said Delio Calzolari, associate director of the Institute.
* According to the poll, 67 percent opposed cuts to higher education, 70 percent opposed cuts to public safety programs, 63 percent opposed cuts to natural resource programs, 72 percent opposed cuts to programs for the poor, 86 percent opposed cuts to programs for people with mental and physical disabilities and 49 percent opposed cuts to public pension benefits (45 percent favored).
As far as revenues go, 72 percent opposed taxing retirement income, but 68 percent favored that particular tax if the first $100K is exempted.
* Kim Geiger was at the lawmaker paycheck lawsuit hearing yesterday and filed this report…
After listening to arguments from both sides, [Cook County Judge Rodolfo Garcia] said lawmakers are “in control of their own future” and that court was not the proper place to solve the dispute.
“I think there are serious problems with the legislators coming here to make a claim,” Garcia said, noting that the problem could be solved “by simply passing a budget.”
Garcia said from the bench that he was granting a motion for summary judgment, a move to throw the case out of court. But he returned to the courtroom moments later to allow the lawmakers’ lawyer to advance a new argument based on a stopgap spending plan that was approved last June. Garcia then said he would hear additional arguments. The lawyers for the two sides agreed to return to court March 23. […]
The lawmakers’ lawyer had tried to argue that the comptroller was operating outside her authority by delaying the payments. The judge said the legislature had abdicated its authority by failing to enact a budget.
“To the extent that the legislature has avoided making the very hard decisions in passing a budget, it has delegated that sort of discretion to the comptroller,” Garcia said. “Someone’s got to make these decisions.”
I’m not sure that the judge has read the papers, beyond maybe the Tribune editorial page. And, heck, even that page recently blamed the governor for the lack of progress.
Also, subscribers know more about a specific legal argument made by the judge yesterday.
* The state’s EDGE tax credit program for expanding or relocating businesses is expiring at the end of April, so some replacements are being mulled. Here’s Greg Hinz…
One measure pushed by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce would both rein in and expand the program.
Sponsored by Rep. Michael Zalewski, D-Chicago, the measure would cap credits at $50 million a year statewide and limit them to five years for any given project, down from 10 years now.
But instead of employers negotiating a cut in their income-tax liability, they’d get a cut worth 10 percent of wages of newly hired or retained slots. That credit would rise by half if the jobs were located in high-poverty, high-unemployment communities. And the credit would be made permanent, rather than having to be renewed every five years. […]
An alternative version offered by Sens. Pam Althoff, R-Crystal Lake, and Melissa Bush, D-Grayslake, would limit the credits to net new hires and allow them to be collected over a 10-year period—15 years in the case of facilities located in poor communities.
* The Althoff bill renames the program to THRIVE. WAND TV…
A House committee heard from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity on their support for the Transforming, Helping and Reviving Illinois’ Versatile Economy program, or THRIVE. According to Sean McCarthy, Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, This program is an update to the Economic Development for a Growing Economy, or EDGE program.
Under THRIVE businesses would still be given a tax credit incentive for job creation. THRIVE would also change the Illinois tax withholding for jobs creation from 100 percent under EDGE to half that, at 50 percent.
THRIVE would also allow for businesses of all sizes to be eligible for this tax credit. “The eligibility threshold is modified so small businesses have a greater access to the program.THRIVE provides that any company regardless of the size has easier access to the incentive” said McCarthy. “So for example the current EDGE program you have a requirement of 25 jobs and a capitol investment of $5 million. In THRIVE the eligibility is 10 percent of the global workforce or 50 jobs, whatever is lesser.”
THRIVE would also redefine the “But, for” clause that is current in EDGE. This would end the practice of companies seeking incentive offers from other states, while still requiring businesses to submit a case for why the incentive is needed.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington, questioned the propriety of the state singling out businesses for tax breaks.
“Why should the state of Illinois pick winners and losers? Why not keep tax rates relatively low?” McSweeney asked, while suggesting Illinois get rid of the credit process and create a deduction for a corporation’s portion of its Illinois net income earned as a result of a manufacturing process.
House Majority Leady Barbara Flynn Currie questioned McCarthy on how the state ensures that they’re giving credits to create jobs, not as political favors.
“If we are going to create special incentives, we want to make sure that there was a reason to do it, not just glad-handing,” she said.
The figure represents $1,000.00 for each of the 12.8 million men, women and children who call Illinois home. The backlog is the pile of unpaid bills the state has accumulated by spending more than it takes in as we operate without a budget.
Illinois State Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza said this unprecedented failure to meet our financial obligations cannot continue without increasingly troubling consequences for Illinois families.
“Illinois is in the midst of a historic financial meltdown and these numbers tell only a small piece of the story. Our social service agencies, schools and seniors have suffered during the 21 months we’ve waited for executive action on an actual budget. It is long past time for the Governor to fulfill his duty under the Illinois’ Constitution (Article VIII Section 2(a)) to present a balanced budget proposal for the General Assembly to consider. Legislators must rise to the occasion and meet their responsibility as well.”
Earlier today, Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced that Illinois’ bill backlog has reached $1,000 per Illinoisan.
Here’s what hypocrite Mendoza failed to mention when lashing out at those trying to fix the mess – she helped cause it.
“Illinois’ debt is a tragedy that Susana Mendoza helped create. During the decade she served Mike Madigan in Springfield, Mendoza voted for every single enacted Madigan budget, adding billions in debt. She even supported Madigan and Blagojevich’s numerous schemes to underfund the pension system, adding tens of billions more in debt.”
“If Mendoza is looking for reasons why Illinois is in bad fiscal shape, she should look in the mirror.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
The backlog was about $4.6 billion when Gov. Rauner took office. The overall problem is shared, but this specific bill backlog is on Rauner and the 99th and 100th General Assemblies…
As Comptroller, Susana Mendoza is seeing firsthand the devastation she caused during her ten years in Springfield voting for Speaker Madigan’s tax hikes, borrowing and pension holidays. We are hopeful that she will stop trying to shift blame and start working with all parties to do things differently and clean up the mess she has made.
Again, the bill backlog has skyrocketed since Bruce Rauner became governor. This particular problem is on him and the GA, not the comptroller.
Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman was doing what any red-blooded baseball fan would have done when a foul ball came his way in the eighth inning of Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday night.
But when he lunged for the ball and deflected it from Cubs outfielder Moises Alou, his big night at the ballpark turned into a nightmare. […]
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said he might have to put Bartman in the witness-protection program and joked that if the 26-year-old fan ever committed a crime, he would have no hope of a pardon from the governor’s office.
“You’ve got to be looking out for your team,” Blagojevich said.
Count Mayor Rahm Emanuel as one of the proud Northwestern University alums delighting in the team’s historic Cinderella dance into the second round of their first-ever NCAA tournament.
But the mayor who has a reputation for being ruthless in politics is showing no mercy for the Vanderbilt star whose mistake made it possible: sharpshooter Matthew Fisher-Davis.
“The guy on Vanderbilt needs a witness-protection program,” Emanuel said during a taping Friday for the WLS-AM radio program “Connected to Chicago,” to be broadcast at 7 p.m. Sunday. “How do you foul a guy when you’re up? I don’t get it. He must have had a brain freeze.”
After almost singlehandedly shooting his team back into the game, Fisher-Davis committed an intentional foul against Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh in the mistaken belief that Vandy was down by one point, rather than up.
When McIntosh proceeded to nail his free-throws, the Wildcats’ improbable victory was sealed.
Aping Blagojevich might not be the brightest thing he’s ever done. Plus, leave the poor kid alone.
It’s March Madness, but only one statewide Illinois elected official posted a bracket of picks for the NCAA tournament.
If you guessed Comptroller Susana Mendoza, you’d be correct. Perhaps the Chicago Democrat is continuing her attempt to follow in the footsteps of the late Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, who was known for being the “fun” statewide official.
How’d the new comptroller do on Day One? Mendoza correctly picked #12 seed Middle Tennessee upending #5 seed Minnesota, though her other first-day upset special of #12 University of North Carolina-Wilmington did not upend #5 Virginia.
She’s also got home-state team Northwestern losing in the second round to top-seeded Gonzaga, so no pandering there. Her finals? Arizona-North Carolina, with the Tar Heels as champs.
* A House committee took testimony yesterday about the impact of the US House’s Obamacare replacement bill on the state’s Medicaid fund…
Illinois Health and Hospital Association spokesman David Gross testified that Illinois would lose at least $38 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the act’s 10-year lifespan. The association arrived at this figure by taking Illinois’ share of the nation’s Medicaid beneficiaries and multiplying it by the $880 billion in reductions estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office under the Republican plan. Gross said the cuts would jeopardize patient care.
Democratic Rep. Greg Harris of Chicago, who chairs the appropriations committee for human services, said one in four Illinois citizens receives Medicaid benefits and could be affected.
Illinois currently devotes $10 billion in state funds each year to Medicaid, or about one-quarter of the general fund. The federal government matches that amount.
Harris said lawmakers would need to find ways to fill the $4 billion-a-year hole.
Officials pointed to two aspects of the GOP plan that would hurt the state’s Medicaid system. One provision would cap how much the federal government reimburses states, which is different from the current system. States that exceed the cap would be responsible for shouldering the additional costs, something that could prove challenging for cash-strapped Illinois.
The proposal also would freeze Medicaid expansion in 2020. People enrolled before then would be allowed to stay in the program but only if they never leave the program. Anyone who loses coverage starting in 2020 couldn’t re-enroll.
“We know from the data that this is really an end to the expansion, that people circulate off the Medicaid program. And this is not a gentle slope. This is a cliff for the Medicaid program,” said Roberta Rakove, senior vice president for government and public affairs at Sinai Health System.
Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said Thursday that lawmakers also should focus on problems with the Affordable Care Act put in place under Barack Obama when he was president. He cited one portion of the congressional report that said the Republican health care proposal would reduce federal costs and lower the deficit.
Keep in mind, however, that at the moment this thing is “just a bill.” There’s a very long way to go.
The Democratic primary race for Illinois Governor is starting to take shape. But, the race is still fluid, even with a candidate with high name recognition in the field. In a three-way matchup between Kurt Summers, J.B. Pritzker, and Chris Kennedy, Kennedy leads with 44 percent of the vote. But 34 percent of the electorate is undecided and 41 percent are weak supporters of the candidates.
When voters hear more about the potential candidates for Governor, 21 percent of the vote shifts to Summers, who has a compelling background that includes his roots in Chicago, his competence as a financial manager, and his advocacy for underserved communities.
Descriptions of Candidates for Governor
J.B. Pritzker is a successful businessman with a focus on growing the tech community in Chicago, and an active philanthropist. His family foundation focuses on improving the lives of at-risk children, he established the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development at the University of Chicago, and serves as chairman of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. Pritzker knows how to grow the economy and attract jobs to Chicago, he founded the largest technology venture in the Midwest and created 1871, Chicago’s digital startup center. He has raised millions of dollars for Hillary Clinton and will have the resources to compete with Rauner.
Kurt Summers serves as the Chicago City Treasurer and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. With a strong support system, he worked his way through college and earned his MBA from Harvard University. He left a successful career on Wall Street to come back home to help save his grandfather’s small business. Later, he served as Chief of Staff to Board President Toni Preckwinkle, where he helped eliminate Cook County’s budget deficit of 487 million dollars. As City Treasurer, he has generated 100 million dollars in new revenue that is being re-invested in underserved communities to grow the economy. Summers believes economic opportunity and job creation are the solution to violence, and he has stood up against predatory lending to protect small business owners. Summers has the financial know-how to eliminate Illinois’ deficit, and would be our first African American Governor.
Chris Kennedy is a successful businessman and the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy. He was the President of the Merchandise Mart, the largest commercial building in the world, and launched a nonprofit that provides fresh food options at lower cost to underserved communities. Kennedy has been an active member of the Chicago community for three decades, serving on numerous boards with other business leaders and charitable foundations. He was chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and will make college affordability a top priority. Kennedy worked to bring almost 5000 companies to the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, and he will use this experience to help bring more companies and good paying jobs to Illinois.
After hearing positive information on all three candidates, Summers moves into a strong second place position, Pritzker sees minimal growth, and Kennedy’s vote share is flat.
Looks like Pritzker’s bio isn’t all that compelling, at least, not the way it’s portrayed in this poll. And Kennedy’s one-point drop is well within the margin of error. That name is golden.
Summers particularly resonates with important segments of the electorate – Chicago voters, liberals, African Americans, and younger voters. After positive information, Summers is essentially tied with Kennedy in Chicago (35 to 37 percent) and among African Americans (38 to 36 percent), and he leads Kennedy with voters under 50 (42 to 30 percent).
Summers has a unique background with both financial experience and roots in the community, appeal with key voting blocs, and overall the potential to shake up this race. With the primary just a year away, it’s anyone’s race to win.
The memo reflects some key findings from a statewide survey of 500 likely 2018 Democratic primary voters conducted March 2-6, 2017. It carries a margin of error of 4.38 percent at a 95 percent confidence level.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Chris Kennedy is now using the poll in a fundraising e-mail…
Since we announced our campaign for governor six weeks ago, your support has given us the momentum we need to beat Bruce Rauner and put Illinois on a better path. We are building a movement to change Illinois and restore the American Dream in our state in a single generation.
There are already early signs that we are making progress in our campaign. A new poll out today shows Chris leading the Democratic primary for Illinois governor with 44% of the vote - a 4:1 lead over our closest potential primary opponent.
While it is still early in the race, we need your continued support to keep our momentum strong.
* The House and the Senate aren’t in today, but we have a sponsor, so, here’s the post. Today’s post is sponsored by the American Heart Association of Illinois. Follow everything in real time right here with ScribbleLive…
* No details yet, but the Cook County judge who’s presiding over the legislative pay case deferred a ruling in the matter until next week. The hearing began at 2 o’clock this afternoon.
As you surely know, former Comptroller Leslie Munger put legislator paychecks into the same waiting line as social service vendors, delaying those paychecks by as long as six months. That practice has continued under current Comptroller Susana Mendoza. A lawsuit was brought shortly after the election to end the practice.
The preliminary reports I’m hearing are that the judge was actually leaning against the legislators who brought the suit.
Briefs are due next Wednesday and there will be a hearing next Thursday the 22nd Friday the 23rd.
The Illinois House approved legislation State Representative David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) is sponsoring to eliminate the requirement for the Secretary of State to do a statewide mailing with information about proposed changes to the Illinois Constitution.
House Bill 348 directs the Secretary of State to publish a proposed Constitutional Amendment, the explanation of the amendment, the arguments for and against the amendment, and the form in which the amendment will appear on the ballot on a website controlled by the Secretary of State when the amendment is published in newspapers. The bill eliminates the requirement to mail the information to people. Newspaper notices about the constitutional amendment would still be required.
“Eliminating the requirement to mail voters about proposed changes to the Constitution would save taxpayers about $1.3 million each time the Legislature approves a Constitutional Amendment to appear on the ballot,” McSweeney said. “I believe advertising a proposed Constitutional Amendment in newspapers and putting information on a central website is sufficient to get information to the public about the proposed changes. There is no need to add more cost to this process by sending information in the mail.” […]
House Bill 348 passed the House on a vote of 108-0 and now moves to the Illinois Senate. State Senator Tom Cullerton is lead sponsor of the legislation in the Senate.
llinois state Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, decided to celebrate Sunshine Week, when open government and open records are celebrated, by co-sponsoring a bill that would allow local school boards to be less open.
House Bill 3660 would allow school districts to avoid printing a summary of their statement of affairs in local newspapers. Schools would still need to publish a notice saying the full statement was online, but none of the details that would tell taxpayers if something were amiss and worth further investigation.
The first problem is that not everyone has internet access or the ability or time to navigate to the information.
Second, public bodies are notoriously bad at following dictates to put public information online.
The Citizen’s Advocacy Center surveyed 750 public body websites in Illinois to see how many were complying with state law to post meeting notices, agendas and minutes. Only 73 percent were posting meeting notices, 57 percent posted proposed agendas and only 48 percent posted minutes after the meetings.
* Related…
* Mitchell: Bill aims to address mental health crises and guns
Now that Illinois’ new license plates have started appearing on cars and other vehicles, I’d like to revise an opinion from last fall, when I wrote that the plates’ design was busy and banal.
That was too kind.
In real life, with a long line of letters and numbers obscuring Abraham Lincoln’s face and all the other stuff that got thrown into this “everything but the kitchen sink” design, the new plates are hopelessly cluttered, not always easy to read, and a major lost chance to project a better image for a state that’s synonymous with political dysfunction.
You may ask: “Why is the architecture critic devoting a second column to the design of a piece of metal that measures 6 inches by 12 inches?”
Here’s why: Beyond its obvious role of identifying a vehicle and helping cops catch bad guys, a license plate should express a state’s identity and encourage outsiders to visit the state or do business there. Think of it as a mini-billboard funded by your tax dollars.
* The plate…
* The Question: Do you agree or disagree with Kamin? Explain.
As you may know there is a proposal in the Illinois State Legislature to put a one cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages including all full-calorie soft drinks and any juice drinks, sports drinks, teas, or flavored waters containing added sugar. For example, under this proposal a ninety nine cent, two-liter bottle of sugar-sweetened drink will be taxed an additional sixty eight cents. This new tax is estimated to raise between $390 to $560 million dollars a year. The revenues would be put into the general fund to help close the five point three billion dollar budget deficit.
Do you favor or oppose this proposed one cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages? (IF FAVOR/OPPOSE, ASK:) And would you say you STRONGLY (favor/oppose) or just SOMEWHAT (favor/oppose) the tax?
16% STRONGLY FAVOR
18% SOMEWHAT FAVOR
14% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE
48% STRONGLY OPPOSE
3% DON’T KNOW (DO NOT READ)
* REFUSED (DO NOT READ)
34% TOTAL FAVOR
62% TOTAL OPPOSE
That’s quite different from another poll result I shared with you the other day. In that poll, taken for the American Heart Association, the tax was supported 56-41.
Every time government faces a problem the first reaction is to take our money with new taxes. And, when the state runs low on money, the tax will go up and up. The Illinois legislature needs to trim their budget fat and leave our grocery budgets alone.
83 percent found that argument convincing, with 62 percent saying it was very convincing.
Public Opinion Strategies conducted a statewide telephone survey of registered voters in Illinois on behalf of the American Beverage Association. The survey was completed March 10-13, 2017, among 600 registered voters, including 240 cell phone respondents. The margin of error for a survey of N=600 is ±4.0% in 95 out of 100 cases.
* A House committee approved a bill yesterday to elect members of the Chicago Public Schools board over CPS opposition…
“An elected school board would have no more authority than our existing board to raise additional revenue for Chicago Public Schools — and revenue is at the root of our problem,” Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson testified.
She told legislators that CPS students are on an upward academic swing, despite the district’s gaping $129 million budget hole, and don’t need any more instability she believes such a large elected body would impose.
Former school board vice president Jesse Ruiz, who recently protested the Board of Ed himself, joined her, calling the bill “a grave mistake.”
He said the bill would create the largest school board of any major urban district and would diffuse the accountability among 21 politicians instead of resting with just one: The mayor of Chicago.
“I’m not here to make a generalization about elected versus appointed school boards and its impact in any school district,” Jackson told a House panel. “But I am here to say that for Chicago Public Schools, we have been governed in a particular way — and that is being threatened. And I believe that there will be an impact on academic outcomes because of the lack of stability.
“Nobody knows that having an elected school board is going to lead to higher outcomes for our students. So in a district like Chicago, with a large population of minority students and low-income students, why would we threaten that when we’re on the right trajectory?” she said.
I dunno. These arguments seem pretty darned weak to me. Your own thoughts?
A top official of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration said Wednesday he couldn’t predict how many replacement workers the state may need in the event of a strike by AFSCME members.
Michael Hoffman, acting director of the Department of Central Management Services, also told the Senate Appropriations Committee that his agency is continuing to work on a new version of the state hiring process that would be used for people who want to be replacement workers. […]
“The website does not replace the normal application process,” Hoffman said. “What it does is provide us with a pool of interested people who would be interested in serving in a temporary capacity in a worst-case scenario if we had a strike or work stoppage.”
Hoffman said the site has attracted more than 2,000 applicants so far. […]
Hoffman said the state would not be solely reliant on website applicants to fill state jobs in the event of a strike. He said the state already has contracts with temporary employment agencies to provide workers when needed.
I’m kinda wondering what the screening process is on that strikebreaker employment website.
“America is still reeling from a disastrous, eight-year liberal agenda. Illinois can’t afford a Bernie-inspired radical liberal like Carol Ammons.” - Illinois Republican Party spokesman Aaron DeGroot
This past February, The News-Gazette reported State Representative Carol Ammons is considering a run for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. Even as Democrats across America rejected Bernie Sanders’ radical agenda during the 2016 Presidential Primary, Ammons doubled down, took Bernie’s campaign cash, and pushed liberal policies that would make even Bernie blush.
Carol Ammons and Bernie Sanders are a liberal match made in a workers’ paradise:
BUDGET-BUSTERS
Carol Ammons and her spending habits have pushed Illinois to the brink. Ammons voted for Mike Madigan’s wildly out-of-balance budget, the largest spending plan in state history. The Madigan-Ammons budget was $7 billion out-of-balance - large enough to force a massive $1,000 tax hike on every Illinois family.
Bernie Sanders loves spending money, especially when it’s other people’s money. In Washington, Sanders pushed free college, free healthcare, free everything. Sanders’ policies are so expensive that some estimates say his proposals would add $21 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
TAX-LOVERS
Carol Ammons hasn’t seen a tax she doesn’t like. In Springfield, Ammons supported extending the 67% Quinn-Madigan tax hike on every Illinois family without offering any reforms. Even worse, Ammons has advocated tax hikes on Illinois businesses and job-creators, putting our state’s economy at risk.
Bernie Sanders is Washington’s biggest tax fan. During his failed bid for president, Bernie proposed $15.3 trillion in tax hikes, “hitting virtually everyone, including the politically all-important middle class.” Even Hillary Clinton’s tax plan wasn’t that extreme.
SOCIALIST-SYMPATHIZERS
Carol Ammons makes no bones about it - she gets her inspiration from left-wing, Communist radicals. In 2014, Ammons said her “all-time hero” was a two-time failed candidate for Vice President on the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) ticket. Her hero even traveled to failed nations like the Soviet Union and East Germany, praising Vladimir Lenin and supporting his violent massacre of political dissidents.
Bernie Sanders will say it himself - he’s a proud socialist. Sanders has spoken highly of deceased-Communist leader Fidel Castro, praising his authoritarian Cuban government. Bernie Sanders even honeymooned in the Soviet Union and addressed foreign governments sympathetic to Communism.
Whew. That’s a lot of muck to throw to protect Rodney Davis’ behind.
By the way, the “hero” referred to above is Angela Davis.
I read it again this morning and looked for the hot buttons my friend mentioned last night. This story has everything. So I’m going to make it easier for you to read.
* According to the report, in a little over five years, there have been 41 shootings at Parkway Gardens, including the recent murder of 11-year-old Takiya Holmes and last August’s killing of a cousin of Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade, who was shot while pushing a baby stroller containing her newborn child. Former First Lady Michelle Obama lived in Parkway Gardens as a child.
The article claims residents also complain about problems with roaches and mice, and the project’s latest HUD inspection score put it “just above what was historically the threshold for passing.” But the real problem is the violence.
* The place was developed and managed by a company owned by Stephen Ross, the wealthy owner of the Miami Dolphins. Ross gave Mayor Emanuel’s campaign fund $25,000 in 2015. The Trib reports that the company has a $20 billion real estate portfolio and has a new luxury rental building on Lake Shore Drive and is developing the site of the failed “Spire” tower.
A three-bedroom apartment at Parkway, for example, can bring in up to $1,375 per month, and a two-bedroom can command $1,167, according to Related. That’s up to 14 percent higher than HUD estimates is “fair market rent” in the surrounding Woodlawn community, records show.
* The company acquired the complex for $40 million and ended up spending a total of $100 million after the rehab, according to the article. But the company didn’t do it alone. Taxpayers helped - a lot.
According to the Trib, the company received $59 million in bonds issued by the Illinois Housing Development Authority. It also got $30 million in federal low-income housing tax credits for 10 years, and another $9.6 million in tax credits after the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It also received a $10.4 million federal developer’s fee, for a grand total that appears to be just shy of its $100 million outlay, not including rent…
“These are pretty safe bets,” [Alan Cravitz, a vice president at Draper and Krame] said. “You’ve got a long-term contract with the government and rents are higher than market rates.”
* Mary Mitchell and Mark Brown both wrote about Parkway Gardens in February columns…
* Mitchell: Time for Parkway Gardens’ owners to step up: Between 2011 and 2014, there were so many shootings in this area that a Chicago Sun-Times analysis of police data found it was the most dangerous block in Chicago in terms of shootings in a three-year period.
* Mitchell: Parkway Gardens ground zero for Chicago’s violence: For many working-class families, Parkway Gardens was seen as an alternative to the Chicago Housing Authority’s Robert Taylor Homes and Stateway Gardens. It is now a textbook example of what happens when hope moves out and despair moves in.
* Brown: ‘Small’ Parkway Gardens kids program must get a bit bigger
On Friday, after meeting with an official from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Related announced a series of security improvements, including limiting and redesigning entry points to the complex, better lighting, more fencing and cameras and beefed-up security staffing. The measures were the culmination of months of planning, the company said.
OK, fine. Let’s hope something happens. But where’s the outrage from the alderman and state and federal legislators who supposedly represent that complex? It’s just bizarre that nobody has spoken up more about this.
Provides that within one-year after the effective date of this amendatory Act, the Legislative Information System shall create a Spanish-language version of its website to provide legislative information. Specifies the legislative information to be placed on the Spanish-language website, and allows for the placement of additional unspecified information.
“There is a segment, especially in my district, that are Spanish speaking and that follow the General Assembly and as a state representative, I want to commit to continue to have this bill and make sure we provide the best possible constituent services,” [sponsoring Rep. Silvana Tabares, D-Chicago] said.
Tabares estimated the cost of the translation, if initial software could not do it alone, at between $60,000 and $100,000 to pay for another website or software company. But she added that if a third party was needed to add Spanish to the site, it would have an estimated cost of between $800,000 to $1.5 million.
That estimate prompted House Republicans to offer up free options, such as Google Translate. It also had [Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego] holding up his own tablet to Democrats to show that he translated the website for free using Google.
“Why are we against a great free bipartisan solution?” State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, said before the bill was pulled. “We should have a Kumbaya and have a beer afterwards. Let’s pull this bill out of the record, let’s amend it. Let’s do something that’s free and help people who speak every language.”
The bill is now on Postponed Consideration.
The problem with any translating software (free or paid) is whether it can pick up nuances. Statutes are usually written in precise ways. Things can literally be lost or misconstrued in translation.
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration tried another approach in the battle over Chicago Public Schools finances, urging lawmakers to back an effort from two Senate Republicans to both overhaul state pensions and send CPS $215 million that officials say is needed to avert an early end to the school year. […]
Rauner took to Facebook on Tuesday to say he would sign a bill that combines an effort to curb public sector pension benefits — legislation that recently fell four votes short of winning Senate approval — and a one-year CPS funding measure the governor vetoed in December.
Rauner later acknowledged he was “a little emotional” when he announced the veto not long after Democratic Senate President John Cullerton publicly suggested there had never been a deal linking the $215 million in CPS pension aid to broader statewide pension reforms.
CPS moved to cut costs after the veto by furloughing employees, freezing school budgets and saying it could be forced to cut summer school and shorten the school year by about three weeks — for a savings of about $96 million — if the state or the courts don’t intervene.
“I will compliment the governor. This is an acknowledgment that, in fact, there’s pension inequity in the system,” the mayor said. “But, if I’m not mistaken, it’s only one year of pension funding while the pension reform is permanent. That doesn’t sound to me like a full agreement.”
Emanuel urged Rauner to take the first step toward a larger agreement by signing a bill he has threatened to veto, saving two of four city employee pension funds.
“The Laborers and Municipal Fund pension reform is on his desk. And the first step on the road to ensuring and securing our pensions and our fiscal stability would be to sign that bill,” Emanuel said.
Rauner spokesperson Eleni Demertzis countered that the state “already provides a special block grant for CPS as a substitute for the state not picking up its normal cost of pensions.”
“The bipartisan agreement reached last summer was to give Chicago one year support for its pensions of $215 million on top of its special block grant,” she wrote in an email.
* Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesman agrees.
The proposals that Senators Tracy and Connelly mentioned in their press conference were filed [yesterday]. A quick read reveals that while the pension changes would be permanent, the associated funding for CPS is for FY 17 only.
“That legislation forces permanent pension changes for thousands of teachers, university employees and state workers, and the tradeoff is one-time funding assistance for Chicago schools.
“Illinois Democrats have said no to real reforms with a truly balanced budget. First, they refused to consider a long-term property tax freeze and reduced spending. Now they’re rejecting a plan to help Chicago Public Schools while providing statewide pension reform. They’re even blocking Governor Rauner from cutting on his own to balance the budget. While Governor Rauner does his job, they’re back to being the party of no.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
*** UPDATE *** 2 Press release…
Governor Rauner released a video message Thursday encouraging the General Assembly to take swift action on legislation that would enact statewide pension reform while delivering Chicago Public Schools the $215 million it has requested from the state.
“The people of Illinois want to see their leaders get good things done in Springfield and right now, we have the opportunity to make that happen. Comprehensive pension reform for the entire state would save taxpayers billions, and allow us to meet a request for assistance from the city of Chicago,” Rauner said. “Illinois has been asking for a compromise, and this is a compromise we can all get behind. Let’s get it done.”
Senators Michael Connelly and Jil Tracy this week introduced legislation taking the pension bill (SB 16) from the “Grand Bargain” and combining it with a bill delivering $215 million to CPS for its teacher pensions. The package would be expected to win bipartisan support given that the pension proposal came within four votes of passage and the CPS funding passed both chambers of the General Assembly last summer.
Last June, Governor Rauner and the four legislative leaders agreed the state would pay for one year of CPS’ teacher pensions as long as lawmakers provided the necessary funding by passing statewide pension reform. The agreement was broken when the Illinois Senate did not follow-through with the pension reform component and sent only the CPS bill to the Governor’s desk.
Recently, the Rauner Administration offered two paths to help CPS fill its multi-million dollar budget hole: the legislative proposal or through city TIF funds.
“We urge the General Assembly to move forward quickly with the deal on pensions that helps our state save billions of dollars,” Rauner said. “By honoring the agreement we worked out last summer, Democrats could jumpstart momentum to break the budget impasse in Springfield.”
As Illinois’ finances deteriorate and gridlock prevails in Springfield, dark money groups spend millions of dollars to influence elections and public policy without disclosing the sources of their funding.
That frequently leaves taxpayers and elected officials in the dark about a group’s true motivations for supporting or opposing legislation or policies.
Senate Bill 2089, sponsored by Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), would require greater transparency of politically active dark money groups by requiring them to register as political committees and disclose their donors.
“Accountability for political donations is vitally important in our system of government and elections,” Harmon said. “For too long, dark money groups have been able to hide behind the cloak of their nonprofit status and conceal the true intent of their work, which is to raise unlimited amounts of money and peddle political influence, unbeknownst to the average voter and taxpayer.
Harmon noted that the groups in question are not the charities and civic organizations for whom tax-exempt status was intended.
“These are political groups organized specifically to take advantage of nonprofit protections and hide their political activity,” he said.
Harmon added that as Illinois continues to see unprecedented spending by candidates and outside groups seeking to influence elections, it’s important for voters that the General Assembly closes loopholes that allow runaway spending by dark money groups.
“I think nearly all of us can all agree that a flood of secret political donations by billionaires and corporations is not good for our state,” Harmon said.
Senate Bill 2089 advanced out of the Senate’s Executive Committee in an 11-3 vote Wednesday.
Numerous good-government organizations indicated support for the measure, including the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, the Better Government Association, Illinois PIRG, and the 2,700 members of the League of Women Voters of Illinois.
Only two organizations indicated they are opposed to the measure, although they did not send representatives to Wednesday’s hearing to explain why: the Illinois Policy Institute and Americans For Prosperity. Both are dark money groups that would be required to disclose their contributions and expenditures when they bill becomes law.
