Bruce Rauner barnstormed his way to the governor’s office by promising to “shake up Springfield.” Now it seems he has a new mantra: Don’t rock the boat.
A bipartisan cartel of Illinois’ longest-serving and most tone-deaf politicians are plotting what they call a budget “grand bargain.” Unsurprisingly, the lynchpin of the proposal is a mega income tax increase. The plan contains few fixes to our broken state government.
Translation: We pay more for the same old, same old.
Once upon a time, this was the kind of thing Gov. Rauner would rail against. Career politicians cutting deals that perpetuate, rather than eradicate, Illinois’ deep-rooted problems.
Rank and file members of the Illinois House of Representatives, including:
· Representative Kelly Cassidy (D-14),
· Representative Deb Conroy (D-46),
· Representative Laura Fine (D-17),
· Representative Christian Mitchell (D-26),
· Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-57),
· Representative Carol Sente (D-59),
· Representative Litesa Wallace (D-67),
· Representative Emanuel Chris Welch (D-7), and
· Representative Sam Yingling (D-62)
are eagerly anticipating the Governor’s annual budget address. The Illinois Constitution requires the Governor to present the General Assembly with a balanced budget every year, and requires that the members of the General Assembly — including rank and file members — approve a budget.
For the last two years, however, leaders in Springfield have created a toxic political discourse that has prevented a budget from being enacted. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents are increasingly alienated by the political process and are quickly losing faith in government.
“For the last two years, the so-called budget negotiations conducted by leaders in Springfield have been dominated by toxic political rhetoric from two conflicting camps: the Governor and the Speaker,” said Representative Sam Yingling. “Rank and file House members have been left on the sidelines of a debate that has more to do with ego and political games than the needs of our constituents.”
The lack of a state budget under Governor Rauner has harmed Illinois’ economy and has lead to the steady decrease of the state’s credit rating. To make matters worse, the backlog of unpaid bills has steadily risen during the budget impasse, reaching nearly $11 billion by the end of 2016.
“The impact of the last two years without a state budget has been devastating on the families and communities in my district,” said Representative Chris Welch. “Without a responsible budget, children and families in my district do not have access to vital, life-saving services. Students at our community colleges and public universities seeking higher education — an education that serves as a stepping stone to the middle class — are not certain that they will be able to complete their degree programs. Illinois businesses are left without a trained workforce.”
“I look forward to hearing Gov. Rauner fulfill his constitutionally prescribed role of presenting my colleagues and I with a balanced budget that prioritizes working families and the most vulnerable,” said Representative Litesa Wallace, “The last 2 years have gravely impacted those who need their state government the most—whether it’s a disabled individual attempting to maintain their independence and dignity or a working family just trying to make ends meet as they pay for their child to attend child care or college — they deserve a full budget. Again, I look forward to the governor prioritizing the people of Illinois with his Budget proposal. ”
Rank and file members of the house are awaiting the Governor’s balanced budget proposal, scheduled for Wednesday February 15th at noon, and are eager to be independent voices for the people of their districts as they debate the proposal offered by the Governor.
“Actions speak louder than words. These legislators are now trying to cover up the fact that they ceded all control to Mike Madigan last month when they voted to again make Mike Madigan the Speaker of the House. If House Democrats wonder why rank-and-files legislators have little say over the workings of the Illinois House, they should look in a mirror.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
In an outrageously ironic press release, nine House Democrats today issued a statement today complaining that “Rank and file House members have been left on the sidelines.”
Yes, that’s what House Democrats are claiming just weeks after voting to give Mike Madigan a 17th term as Speaker and passing Mike Madigan’s “rules” which give him total power over the Illinois House.
Kelly Cassidy, Deb Conroy, Laura Fine, Christian Mitchell, Elaine Nekritz, Carol Sente, Litesa Wallace, Emanuel Chris Welch, and Sam Yingling all voted to crown Mike Madigan.
* The abject failure of this government’s leaders to get their acts together is flat-out immoral…
One mother says her son’s facing death, all because the government isn’t paying its bills.
“It’s just been awful, it really has,” Kenea said.
Her twin one-year-old boys were born premature, but while Kade is just fine, Kobe lags behind. His lungs still haven’t fully developed and he struggles to breathe on his own.
“It’s very scary, very, very scary,” said Kenea.
That’s why in between the happy noises of their big family, in their home, you can always hear the constant drone of a machine pumping critical oxygen into Kobe’s lungs, without which, he can’t survive.
“Kobe would be dead or in a hospital permanently,” Williams said.
Kenea works for the state of Illinois. Like many of us, she relies on her insurance. She pays her premiums and expected that the state would pay its bills.
But she says she was wrong.
After three years, Illinois still doesn’t have a budget and is now billions of dollars in debt to service provides.
Byrd-Watson, the company that supplied Kobe’s oxygen machines, told Kenea they wanted Kobe’s oxygen machine back.
“She stated to me many times, we are not getting paid for your equipment,” Kenea said.
Kenea was in a panic. But the worst moment came with a bang on the door.
Marion County Sheriff’s Deputies showed up at her home, the supplier at their side, demanding their equipment.
What kind of company does that?
And what kind of government allows this to get to the point where a baby’s oxygen machine is threatened with seizure?
A state representative from Chicago on Friday proposed a radical reform to Illinois’ criminal-justice system, introducing a bill that would do away with cash bail.
Working in concert with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, state Rep. Christian Mitchell has filed a bill that would allow people charged with nonviolent offenses to be released on their own recognizance until their court hearings.
“In our current system, whether or not someone is in jail has more to do with wealth than risk. Our jails have become as [Cook County] President [Toni] Preckwinkle has often said, the intersection between racism and poverty in this state and in this country.”
Judges would have the discretion to order detention or electronic monitoring for people accused of harming others, Mitchell said.
Mitchell said about 62 percent of people in Cook County Jail can’t afford to pay their money bond. Many of them are charged with nonviolent crimes.
An Illinois senator wants to give the public a stronger voice in Illinois elections.
Senator Dan Biss of Skokie proposed a bill that would create a donor match program for constitutional offices and legislative elections. He says it would allow everyday people to have a greater impact on political races.
“What it says is there’s going to be two way to fund a campaign,” he says. “You can fund a campaign in the old way, with big money, or you can fund a campaign the people’s way, by having ordinary people contribute 25, 50, 100, 150 dollars, and have those contributions matched at a six to one level so that it will be enough resources to allow you to communicate your message.”
The Tri-State Tollway would be renamed for former President Barack Obama under a bill pending in the Illinois General Assembly.
The measure was authored by State Rep. Robert Martwick (D-Jefferson Park).
The tollway connects Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin — all states Obama won in 2008 to reach the White House, Martwick said, crediting Patrick Steffes, a former campaign aide, with coming up with the idea.
That’s a better idea than declaring yet another state holiday.
Rush, a Chicago Democrat, made his comments during a news conference Thursday about the hardships that social-service agencies and low-income people are suffering as state government’s unpaid bills pile up.
The state is $11 billion in arrears for all bills, Rush said.
“While these two despots are engaged in war, I am reminded of a movie I used to see called Godzilla vs. King Kong,” Rush said in a prepared statement. “There were two giant monsters fighting for power and destroying the city of Tokyo as a result of it. They were wiping out homes and businesses and wreaking havoc on the people of the city.
“Madigan and Rauner are like King Kong and Godzilla and they are destroying Illinois.”
* Freshman Sen. Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) was interviewed on Will Stephens’ WXAN Radio program this week about the Senate’s attempts to negotiate a grand bargain…
The voters expect us to work together and compromise. That doesn’t mean sell out our principles. That doesn’t mean do a bad deal.
But at the same time, anything that’s going to pass is going to require Democratic votes to pass. So, the other side is gonna weigh in. There’s going to have to be some compromise.
We’re not trying to put together something that is perfect as if Paul Schimpf were king and I could dictate, or even if the governor could dictate everything he wants. It’s gonna have to have Democratic votes to pass, so there is going to have to be some compromise.
And that’s something where I’ve been a little bit disappointed with some of the groups like the Illinois Policy Institute. I don’t think their proposals are realistic, in terms of they’re not something that would get any votes from the other side.
And also… they’re proposing shifting the burden to the local municipalities. You as the mayor of Murphysboro certainly know that Murphysboro needs some state aid. The cuts that the Illinois Policy Institute is advocating would really cripple some of our local municipalities. […]
I appreciate everybody’s input, but I think the reality is we cannot get ourselves out of this hole that we’ve been digging for two decades just by spending cuts alone. I’m gonna insist there be spending cuts, but I don’t think that’s going to get us out of it just on those alone.
* The “Institute” has been targeting Republican Senators for several days with Facebook ads like this one and some GOP members aren’t amused…
Take the Local Government Distributive Fund, or LGDF. This state fund is made up of $1.3 billion in income tax money that the state hands out to local governments with no strings attached.
Local leaders say this money is used to help keep property taxes low. But that argument doesn’t hold water in a state with the highest property taxes in the nation.
They also say it’s a pillar of basic services such as public safety. That’s a convenient excuse. In reality, this money enables reckless spending habits propped up by the state. Practices such as pension spiking, sick leave accumulation and pension “pickups” are rampant in the Land of Lincoln.
Money from the LGDF also enables local governments to pay the state-mandated prevailing wage for work on public projects. The costs this requirement entails are astonishing. […]
And yet, most Republicans still won’t touch programs like the LGDF. Doing so requires taking on the mayors, township supervisors, highway commissioners, park district officials and legions of others who have staked their hopes on multibillion-dollar tax hikes as a way out of the budget mess.
A new report says Illinois’ financial situation is so bad that the state would have to slash spending by more than 26 percent to balance next year’s budget through cuts alone.
The nonprofit Civic Federation released its proposed five-year plan for stabilizing Illinois’ finances on Friday. […]
Civic Federation President Laurence Msall says Rauner and legislators “need to take action immediately.”
The group recommends Illinois limit spending growth and increase the individual income tax rate from 3.75 to 5.25 percent.
Limit State Spending: Illinois should limit spending growth to 1.7% through at least FY2022, using the Governor’s estimated maintenance FY2017 spending level as a base. The State should also stop paying hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary interest penalties on its overdue bills. Ending the budget impasse is the only path to reducing the state’s highest-in-the-nation interest costs, including an estimated $700 million in penalties if bills on hand are paid at the end of FY2017.
Increase Income Taxes: The State should retroactively increase the income tax rate to 5.25% for individuals and 7.0% for corporations as of January 1, 2017. If the Civic Federation’s proposals are implemented, the State should be in a position to lower the individual tax rate to 5% on January 1, 2022. The burden of the increase on low income residents should be alleviated by expanding the earned income tax credit by 50%.
Eliminate Tax Exemption for Federally Taxable Retirement Income: Out of the 41 states that impose an income tax, Illinois is one of only three that exempt all retirement income. The State can no longer afford to provide this generous benefit, which is out of line with most other states.
Expand Sales Tax Base and Lower the Rate: The State should enact a new service tax including a broad-based definition of consumer services and a firm exemption for business-to-business transactions and medical services. In conjunction, the State should lower the general sales tax rate for goods and services from 6.25% to 5.5%. This would reduce the effective rate in Chicago to 9.5%, down from 10.25%, which is the highest of any major metropolitan area in the nation.
Limit Business Tax Expenditures: Illinois should cap the retailer’s discount, eliminate the E-10 ethanol incentive, decouple from the federal domestic production activities deduction and eliminate the continental shelf exemption, because these expenditures do not provide sufficient public value to justify their cost.
Merge the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund with the Teachers’ Retirement System: There is no good public policy reason for Illinois to maintain two separate funds for public school teachers’ pensions. The Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund and Teachers’ Retirement System should consolidate, providing more equitable pension funding for all teachers and helping to stabilize Chicago Public Schools’ finances.
Consolidate and Streamline Government Units: The multiplicity of Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation 6,963 units of local government is often cited as a reason for high property tax rates in Illinois.
Borrow to Clear the Bill Backlog: In conjunction with a balanced budget and credible plan to maintain fiscal sustainability, borrowing to eliminate the backlog would save on interest penalties and restore confidence in the State’s finances.
Make Supplemental Pension Payments: Beginning after backlog bond debt service ends, the State should make supplemental payments to bring all five State retirement systems to 100% funded.
Establish a Rainy Day Fund: The State of Illinois should work toward building a rainy day fund equal to 10.0% of State-source General Funds revenues to cushion the budget from the next economic downturn.
A constitutional amendment limiting the pension protection clause to accrued benefits;
A constitutional amendment allowing a graduated individual income tax;
A reduction in the interest Illinois pays on overdue bills under the Prompt Payment Act;
A return of the lapse period to two months from six; and
A phase-out of Section 25 liabilities and other practices that allow prior year’s costs to be paid from current year’s appropriations.
Keep in mind that this is the Civic Federation, not the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club. Two very different entities, but they are often confused with each other.
When gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy sent out his first email to supporters last night, he mentioned incumbent Bruce Rauner’s name—twice. But President Donald Trump’s name appeared three times.
When I asked a top Rauner strategist if they’re worried, he had a two-word reply: Mike Madigan. […]
“Rauner is a failed governor who has made Illinois worse by dividing people and failing to fix the mess,” says Kennedy strategist Eric Adelstein. “There are a lot of parallels with President Trump and his stubbornness and failure to bring people together.”
When I asked Adelstein if voters should expect to hear a lot more about Trump from the Kennedy campaign, he had a one word answer: “Yes.” […]
“Mike Madigan is in far worse shape with voters than Trump,” says [a Rauner source]. And to the extent that Trump is disliked: “Voters understand he has different views from Trump” on issues ranging from abortion rights to abolishing Obamacare and converting Medicaid to a block grant.
I seriously doubt that many voters know the governor is opposed to converting the Medicaid program to a block grant system, but otherwise it’s not a bad point.
Elections are referendums on the incumbent. The idea by the Republicans has always been to make Madigan the incumbent in voters’ minds. Rauner is an outsider, he just got here two years ago. Madigan is the entrenched insider stopping all progress. You know the drill.
It’s like the old story about the two guys around a campfire seeing an approaching bear. One puts on his running shoes. The other says “You’ll never outrun a bear even in those shoes.”
“I don’t have to outrun the bear,” the first guy says, “I just have to outrun you.”
That right there is what Rauner has been doing to Madigan. Yes, the governor is unpopular, but Madigan is more so. He just has to outrun Madigan.
The Trump card wasn’t played much here last year, so we don’t know how effective it’ll be, but, for now, it doesn’t hurt the Democrats at all. Likely primary voters are fired up like we haven’t seen in a long while, so it’s a smart move at the moment.
* Meanwhile, this is from one of Kennedy’s fundraising e-mails…
States controlled by the radical right are losing people and jobs. Banks and investors are reluctant to fund new investments. Meanwhile, Republican legislatures have cut government services for thousands, including kids who are disabled, the sick and elderly, and wounded veterans.
Governor Rauner has supported the same alt-right, anti-woman, anti-immigrant, anti-worker agenda that Donald Trump has promoted. With this election, we have the opportunity to reject that agenda and send a message from Illinois that this behavior won’t be accepted anywhere in the country.
With redistricting coming up soon, this race takes an even bigger importance. We can’t let Governor Rauner and his allies try to gerrymander our maps to elect more Republicans from Illinois who will blindly support President Trump.
With the right leadership, we can oppose the worst of the Trump agenda and embrace the best of economic success and opportunity.
OK, well, that first paragraph could be about Illinois and the Democratic legislature, which hasn’t approved a real budget and has therefore effectively cut lots of services.
That second graf may be over the top, but it’ll probably resonate with Democratic primary voters at this point in the game.
And I’m kinda surprised that the Republicans haven’t whacked Kennedy yet for that third paragraph, because that might possibly imply he wants Madigan to draw the next map. He should’ve probably insisted on remap reform.
