* Remember last year when I was deciding whether or not to leave iOS behind and move to Android Land? I ended up buying a Samsung Galaxy S5. It was a pretty darned good phone.
On Friday, however, a good friend bought a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Whoa, man, it was cool. So I picked one up the next day. It feels perfect in my hand, looks great and works like a charm so far.
Highly recommended.
* The Question: Have you made any significant personal tech purchases recently? If so, what did you buy and are you happy with the purchase?
The Illinois Department of Human Services is holding the second of two public hearings Wednesday over the Rauner administration’s proposals to toughen the appeals process for key benefits programs.
The Rauner administration’s proposed rule changes would impact Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), according to disability advocacy group Access Living.
The group says the Rauner administration is seeking to make the appeals process harder for people who are denied benefits or terminated from those programs.
The Rauner administration’s proposed rules “do not provide customers with due process, are unnecessarily complicated and confusing, and in some cases are in conflict with the federal statutes and regulations protecting the rights of those eligible for the various benefits programs,” Access Living’s advocacy director said in a posting on the group’s website.
SEIU Healthcare Illinois is also speaking out against the proposed changes.
“The Rauner administration is adding a blizzard of new barriers to access services as well as denying due process to the very poor in ways that conflict with existing statutes, regulations and court cases–not to mention Rauner’s own public statements that he is committed to preserving benefits for the vulnerable,” the union said in a media release. “Among the changes, the state would alter the entire premise for Illinois social services and place the burden of proof for aid on those who need help the most — a drastic departure from current conditions — and would move hearings when benefits are denied far away from access points for the poor.”
When the Independent Map Amendment anti-gerrymandering effort got under way this spring, I expected it would run into opposition. After all, this movement seeks to take away the most coveted prize in Illinois politics — a party’s ability to rig legislative maps in favor of its members.
But I thought the opposition would come in a court challenge in 2016 by lawyers for House Speaker Michael Madigan on behalf of the Illinois Democratic Party, of which Madigan is chairman. That’s what happened the last time a citizen initiative tried to pry the map-drawing tools away from the politicians.
This time, though, the opposition is early, organized and — judging from its first target mailer — willing to make outlandish claims to advance its fear-mongering campaign.
“Minority groups have worked tirelessly over many decades to ensure our voices are heard in the Illinois General Assembly,” reads a letter sent last week by People’s Map, a political committee registered last week with the Illinois Board of Elections. “The proposal to change the redistricting process would undo our effort and struggle, and if such an effort is successful, we will not soon forget it…
“We hope that you, as a community leader, will cease activities viewed by many as an attack on the progress minorities have made in Illinois,” the letter concludes.
The wordy, eight-paragraph amendment specifically states, supporters note, that the redistricting plan “shall not dilute or diminish the ability of a racial or language minority community to elect the candidates of its choice, including when voting in concert with other persons;” and that it “shall not either intentionally or unduly discriminate against or intentionally or unduly favor any political party, political group or particular person.”
Jim Bray, a spokesman for the Independent Map Group, said that the amendment “protects and strengthens minority-voting rights and embeds Voting Rights Act protections which are not” now in the Illinois Constitution. […]
“As with any change in government the status quo likes it the way it is and they’re going to fight to keep their power,” Bray said. “We knew there would be opposition and this time around it has created a committee. We take it seriously because their arguments are incorrect and the facts are on our side, and we want to be sure that our supporters and the people who haven’t thought about this amendment yet are aware that they are not telling the truth.”
“I think maybe (Democratic Party Chairman Michael) Madigan’s hearing the number that we’re up to 200,000 signatures already and maybe if we present the State Board of Elections with 600,000 signatures, it’s going to be harder for them to throw out 90 percent of them at times as they did with some of the sampling the last time,” said Shepard.
Count me among those who think it would be a good idea to shake up the political status quo in Illinois by changing the redistricting process. The way it stands now we allow incumbent legislators to pick the constituents most likely to re-elect them, instead of letting voters pick their representatives.
Just the same, I can’t totally discount the concerns that changing the system might inadvertently undercut certain protections for minority communities built into current law, although I am certain the main people pushing the Independent Maps Amendment aren’t intentionally seeking to dilute minority voting rights, contrary to what the opposition group is alleging.
* This is a classic case of “reformers can do no wrong.” The media always assumes that reformers are the good guys and anyone who questions them are bad people.
(T)he redistricting plan shall respect the geographic integrity of units of local government
* The line could easily be interpreted to mean that, for instance, Chicago legislators would all be corralled within city limits, which might very well result in a form of “packing”…
(P)ushing as many minority voters as possible into a few super-concentrated districts, and draining the population’s voting power from anywhere else.
The current 17th Senate District runs from around 70th St. in Chicago all the way down to the northern border of Kankakee. Such a district would most certainly not “respect the geographic integrity of units of local government.” Abolish districts like that and you wind up with fewer black-majority districts. Period.
* Or, take the 96th House District, which includes predominantly black neighborhoods in Springfield and Decatur. Forbid that sort of intrusion into “geographical integrity” and you could possibly get “cracking”…
(S)plintering minority populations into small pieces across several districts, so that a big group ends up with a very little chance to impact any single election.
Yes, I know, we’ve talked about it several times before, but the signatures keep coming…
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has been on a crusade this year to keep some accused shoplifters and trespassers from having extended stays behind bars before trial.
Dart recently notched a bipartisan victory in that campaign when Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the so-called “Rocket Docket” bill into law.
Rep. Mike Zalewski and Sen. Bill Cunningham, both Democrats, were the primary sponsors of the bill envisioned by Dart. Zalewski is from west suburban Riverside and Cunningham is from Chicago.
Rauner signed the bill late Friday, according to Dart’s office. It passed unanimously in the Senate and by a margin of 71-36 in the House.
“This is a good first step to rethinking how our criminal justice system works to punish and correct unlawful behavior,” Zalewski said.
Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez has supported the measure. So has Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, who visited the jail in July.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed legislation allowing immunity from prosecution to minors who call 911 to get help.
Rauner on Monday signed the bill sponsored by Legislative Democrats, Rep. Scott Drury of Highwood and Sen. Heather Steans. It provides legal protection for a person needing medical help and the person who called for him or her.
Police would have the authority to determine whether protection from legal discipline is appropriate.
The plan is modeled after a similar one addressing heroin overdoses. At least two dozen other states have similar laws.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) on Monday signed into law a sweeping reform of the state’s school discipline policies, putting Illinois at the forefront of the nationwide push to make school discipline less exclusionary and more effective.
Senate Bill 100 eliminates automatic “zero tolerance” suspensions and expulsions, and requires that schools exhaust all other means of intervention before expelling students or suspending them for more than three days. The bill also prohibits fines and fees for misbehavior, and requires schools to communicate with parents about why certain disciplinary measures are being used.
Under the new law, which goes into effect in September of 2016, students returning from suspension will be allowed to make up the school work they missed, and students suspended for more than four days will be offered access to support services, like academic counseling and mental health professionals. […]
According to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, Illinois has one of the widest disparities in the nation between suspended black students and their white classmates. During the 2012-13 school year, Chicago Public Schools issued suspensions for 32 of every 100 black students, compared to just five of every 100 white students.
* Related…
* Black & White: Middle Schools Discipline With BIST Intentions
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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*** UPDATE 1 *** The comptroller’s office says the above tweet is in error. There was no finding of contempt, just an order to make the payments. Consequently, the headline on this post has been changed.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Tony…
Hey Rich,
Rich Carter called me about the tweet after seeing it posted on the blog. I told him what I’ll tell you, just so you have it, and then you can do with it as you want, although I’m sure you don’t want to be in the middle of all the back-and-forth.
Did the judge say the state was in contempt? Not outright. She said not following the court order, and even not telling her that the order wasn’t going to be followed ahead of time, would put them in contempt.
Brent Stratton agreed with the judge that they didn’t tell the court on Friday that the comptroller wouldn’t be making payments that day.
So maybe for the purposes of twitter, I could’ve added more nuance to that tweet. But the judge defined what being in contempt looks like, and the AG agreed their actions fit that description. I tried to clarify that in a second tweet.
That’s what I got for you.
Hope you’re doing well in your recovery.
-Tony
*** UPDATE 3 *** From the comptroller…
Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger released the following statement Wednesday in response to a Federal Court order involving the Ligas Consent Decree impacting services for people with developmental disabilities:
“I appreciate the Court’s recognition of the difficult challenge we face in making necessary payments in light of Illinois’ continued failure to pass a balanced budget.
“My priority remains to ensure that organizations serving our elderly, children and other most vulnerable residents take precedence when it comes to state payments. As a longtime volunteer and former Board member for an organization serving the intellectually and developmentally disabled, I know firsthand the hardship that is caused when payments don’t arrive as scheduled, and I will do everything in my power to lead the state in keeping its promises to those most in need.
“In the absence of a balanced budget for this fiscal year, my office will continue to work to meet the payment timelines set by the Courts despite the state’s limited resources.
“To be clear: taxpayers deserve better than government by Court Order. Ultimately, we can best serve Illinois families, businesses and organizations by passing a balanced budget that includes reforms that will allow us to become more competitive and grow our economy so we can put people back to work and fund critical services.”
Coleman, who noted that she was not pleased to have been called back from vacation to hear the case, said the state risked being held in contempt of court and ordered that it provide an accounting of which bills have and have not been paid.
The judge also said she understood the comptroller’s predicament. Without a budget, state government has been spending at a rate billions of dollars beyond what it is set to take in, mostly because of a series of maneuvers by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled legislature and a number of court orders requiring it to continue paying for services during the impasse.
William Choslovsky, a lawyer representing residents at Misericordia, was less forgiving. He suggested to Coleman that the Rauner administration and the comptroller’s office were willfully withholding the money.
For checks to go out, the Rauner-run Department of Human Services must first authorize the payments by sending a voucher to the comptroller, who then decides when to cut the check. But lawyers representing both the state and the comptroller could not provide answers as to which bills have and have not been paid.
Attorneys representing 10,000 Illinois residents with disabilities filed an emergency motion in federal court on Tuesday asking that the state be held “in civil contempt of court,” for failing to pay service providers’ bills. Some payments have been on hold since July 1.
“Many of these individuals cannot feed, clothe, or toilet themselves or administer critical medication needed on a daily basis,” plaintiffs’ attorneys, represented by Equip for Equality, wrote in the emergency motion.
Munger’s office says it couldn’t make payments on time because of a “severe cash shortage,” but Democrats don’t buy it.
“There’s cash coming in every day. There should be plenty of cash. They’ve been paying various vendors faster than they have for years,” Brown told the Sun-Times. “I’m afraid the comptroller’s office has been misleading the media and the courts.”
* More background from Ed McManus, with emphasis added…
Attorneys for Illinois residents with developmental disabilities filed an emergency motion in federal court today asking that state officials be ordered to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court for violating last week’s court order to immediately resume making payments to provider agencies.
A hearing Is scheduled for 9:45 a.m. Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Chicago.
Coleman last Tuesday ordered the state to make the payments by Friday, but only a few payments have been made. “It is inarguable that the situation is dire, as residents’ lives literally hang in the balance,” the attorneys said in their motion. It was filed by Barry Taylor and Laura Miller of Equip for Equality and Ben Wolf of the ACLU on behalf of the plaintiffs in the Ligas lawsuit and two attorneys for ICFDD residents, William Choslovsky and Scott Mendel. Named as defendants were Felicia Norwood, director of the Dept. of Healthcare and Family Services; James Dimas, secretary of the Dept. of Human Services; and Comptroller Leslie Munger.
Violation of order on expedited payments: Last week’s order required the state to make payments for FY16 services at a level no less than FY15 until a new state budget is adopted. The judge also ordered that “providers that were paid on an expedited basis during FY15 shall be paid on the same expedited basis for services rendered during FY16.” But the head of DHS’s expedited payment program said this morning in a letter to a provider that the expedited payment program was suspended.
A CILA provider in the south suburbs sent me the letter, and I have forwarded it to the lawyers. It appears to be in clear violation of Judge Coleman’s order. The letter, from Mary E. Collier, manager of the bureau of expenditure accounting in the DHS Office of Fiscal Services, says: “This letter is to inform you that the Illinois Office of the Comptroller is current in processing the FY15 vouchers for DHS. Therefore, the expedite program has been suspended. After the FY16 budget impasse has been resolved, the expedite program will be reevaluated for restarting expedited payments.”
NEEDED: ‘A DATE CERTAIN’ WHEN PAYMENTS WILL BE MADE . . .
In their emergency motion seeking immediate payment of all Medicaid bills, the attorneys said if the payments are not made, “numerous providers will immediately close their doors, and thousands of individuals with developmental disabilities will not receive services that are essential to their survival. . . . The state must account for its repeated and ongoing failure to comply with this court’s orders.” They asked that the three officials be directed to appear in court and provide an explanation for why they have failed to comply “and to provide a date certain in the immediate future when the state will comply before this court holds them in civil contempt of court.”
Despite the judge’s order on Aug. 18, the state did not make the required payments by Aug. 21, the motion said. “In fact, it is now Aug. 25, and all of the mandated payments still have not been paid.” (The Division of DD issued a statement yesterday saying that DHS had forwarded $120 million in vouchers to the comptroller last week and that the comptroller would begin paying a portion of them last night “and will continue working through the vouchers as funds are available. At this point, we cannot give you a specific time frame of how long it will take.”)
The attorneys said they contacted the lawyer representing the state in the Ligas case Friday and he acknowledged that the payments had not been paid. “He could not explain why, nor could he say when payments would be made.” They asked him to call them over the weekend or on Monday morning as he learned more information, but he did not. “Late Monday, counsel for the state finally called and advised that some of the payments for providers on the expedited payment program would begin that evening, but he could not say when all expedited payments would be made” or when payments to ICFDDs would be made.
The comptroller’s website showed that the comptroller paid bills totaling $243 million yesterday but did not pay the disability providers, and that the comptroller still had $70 million on hand at the end of the day.
Editorial comment: The state administration has really failed our disability community. Both the governor and the legislature share the blame for the budget mess, but while that stalemate drags on, it is inexcusable that Gov. Rauner and his staff are holding our providers–and the people they serve–hostage.
Judge Coleman first issued an order June 30 that all payments be made. But Secretary Dimas on July 23 notified providers that he was narrowly interpreting that order to apply only to the relatively few people actually receiving services through the Ligas consent decree. The plaintiffs’ attorneys challenged that in a motion for a new order Aug. 6, and the state’s lawyer told the judge that “the administration has changed its position” and that all Medicaid payments would be made. But “I can’t give you a specific date,” he said. A week later, he still couldn’t, and the judge finally ordered that it be done by Friday. But again, nothing on Friday.
Meanwhile, state employees are getting their paychecks on time, and the governor approved the appropriation to assure that all public schools will be paid.
DHS didn’t forward the July vouchers to the comptroller until last week?
* The Post-Dispatch looks at the DCCC’s alleged problems recruiting a candidate against freshman US Rep. Mike Bost…
In Illinois’ 12th Congressional district, national Democrats got a turndown earlier this summer when St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson decided not to run after being courted by the DCCC. The district covers part of the Metro East and Southern Illinois.
“It’s surprising that Democrats haven’t found a top recruit in the 12th District,” [Nathan Gonzales Editor & Publisher of The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report] said. “This is a district Democrats (in the Legislature) drew to elect a Democrat. They lost the seat in a terrible midterm election, but there shouldn’t be a lot of excuses as to why they can’t find someone to run in a presidential year.”
He said that Bost, 54, a longtime member of the Illinois House, is “easy to underestimate as a candidate.”
“It’s hard to see how Democrats get anywhere near a (U.S.) House majority without winning this seat,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales is absolutely right about the dangers of underestimating Bost as a candidate. The DCCC did that last year and got its clock cleaned.
But the reason that the DCCC is having “troubles” there is that it refuses to bow to the wishes of the St. Clair County Democrats, who have their own candidate - CJ Baricevic. The D-trip doesn’t want anything to do with Baricevic, but St. Clair will control that Democratic primary, so unless they have something really meaty on the guy, they should probably just back the heck off because they’re gonna lose. And if they do have something on him, then it’s oppo dump time. The filing process officially kicks off next week.
* State Sen. Kyle McCarter is openly talking about challenging Rep. John Shimkus in the GOP primary. McCarter discussed the possibility with fellow Republicans before and on the recent Family-PAC cruise on Lake Michigan. Local sources caution that there can be a large gap between what McCarter says and does, and he would need financial help from an outside, anti-establishment group, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. Shimkus had $1.2 million in the bank on June 30 and would have the support of GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner.
McCarter floated his name for lieutenant governor in the run-up to 2014. He doesn’t seem to enjoy being in the Illinois Senate, but a move against Shimkus would likely be futile.
Villa Park Village President Deborah Bullwinkel announced plans Tuesday to run for the Democratic House nomination in the 8th Congressional District.
Bullwinkel joins Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and state Sen. Michael Noland of Elgin in trying to succeed U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth. The two-term congresswoman is vying for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mark Kirk, who is seeking re-election.
Bullwinkel, 47, is in her first term as village president of the DuPage County suburb after first being elected to the Village Board in 2009. In announcing her congressional bid, she stressed her gender while attacking the Republican-controlled House.
If she can raise some money, being the only woman in a three-person race could very well be a big help in a Dem primary. But Raja has raised a ton of money and has been solidifying his endorsements, so it ain’t gonna be easy.
* Great. We’ve got our first approved store but there’s no product to sell…
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional announced Tuesday the first registered [medical marijuana] dispensary is called Harbory. It’s located in the southern Illinois city of Marion.
Registration means the industry is one step closer to sales. But so far no growers have products to sell. Sales are expected later this year.
* If you read this 2009 interview of House Speaker Michael Madigan regarding the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, you’ll see that Madigan did a long stint as an eager and unquestioning foot soldier before rising to power in his own right…
[Daley] was the commander. He would give his orders and give his directions. And this is an important point with me—It’s because there was a group of people like myself, about the same age, that came in as ward committeemen in the early seventies. There was Alderman Burke, Ed Vrdolyak, Tom Hynes, Congressman Lipinski, Alderman Mel, and Ed Kelly. This was the group there that came along at about the same time, and if they were being honest with you, they would tell you that they would have trouble living under his methods.
So they were duly elected to whatever office they held. After a while, they would think, “Well, I ought to be part of the decision-making.” So they would be troubled by that. They would struggle with that. There would be complaints when he would make a decision and they didn’t like it. But with me, I had no trouble with that at all. That was because, to me, the mayor was just a carbon copy of my father. So I’m the only son. I have a sister. There were two children in our family. My father was very strong-willed. He was not inclined to change his opinions on things
I got a call to come over and see [Daley] at city hall. We sat down, and he started into a negative conversation about [Gov. Dan Walker]. He said, “He did this wrong. He did that wrong. We’ve got to take that guy out of the governor’s office.” So I listened for a while. Then finally, I just said, “Mr. Mayor, you don’t have to convince me. I’m part of your team. If you want to be against this guy, fine. Sign me up. I’m ready.”
And so, in that election, in this ward, we defeated Walker sixteen thousand to eight thousand—two-to-one. So there are two points—There was his political genius in organizing that effort against Walker, and then there was my relationship where I was not going to disagree with him. Every once in a while, he’d ask for my opinion and I’d give him my opinion. But I was not going to make a cause out of it. I was very happy to be there.
A total of 411,547 people visited the Illinois State Fair this year.
The fair announced the low turnout for the 11-day event Tuesday despite what it called near perfect weather conditions. Fair officials provided no immediate explanation for the figure that was less than half the 847,000 who attended the fair last year.
Fair organizers said $1,357,000 was collected in gate and parking revenue. Despite fewer people attending the fair this year, the gate and parking revenue was just $55,000 shy of last year’s amount.
Preliminary estimates show that one of the biggest contributors to the fair’s total revenue this year was Grandstand ticket sales, which at $1.9 million was the second-highest in state fair history. This year’s fair also ranks fifth in number of Grandstand ticket sales, with 51,420 being sold.
Gate and parking revenues are down only slightly, Grandstand ticket sales are second-highest in history, yet attendance was off by half?
The department of agriculture’s spokeswoman notes that parking and admission revenue is audited, while turnout is not.
In a statement, the fair’s new director says a strict methodology was used to tabulate attendance. He says he’s proud of the fair, and its strong grandstand sales.
Illinois’ fair date is set by statute; this year, a late Labor Day meant the fair was held when many students were already back in school.
So, maybe past attendance numbers were grossly inflated?
The total attendance includes estimates to account for people who had free admission and children under 5. For instance, senior citizens had free admission on Senior Day, and veterans (and their families) had free admission on Veterans Day.
“There are several free days on the grounds, and we used US Census information (seniors) and data from the Department of Defense (veterans) to estimate attendance on those days,” [Department of Agriculture spokesperson Rebecca Clark] said in an e-mail.
A press release from the fair included the following comment from Buchen:
“We are very proud of the Illinois State Fair and what we were able to present to fairgoers. We have put together a methodology that is tried and true by event industry professionals nationwide because vendors, sponsors and Illinois taxpayers deserve an accurate depiction of who attended the fair.”
Looks like they drastically changed the head-counting procedure.
Wednesday, Aug 26, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Mayors know the importance of our nuclear power plants and are tired of hearing from special interest groups telling them what is best for their communities.
• “The BEST Coalition has been in Springfield for months peddling misinformation and scare tactics in an attempt to stop a legislative proposal that would help save nearly 8,000 jobs and prevent the decimation of communities across Illinois. Why does the BEST Coalition want to do tremendous harm to our communities? Why does it support the loss of so many middle class Illinois jobs?”
• “The BEST Coalition supposedly stands for ‘better energy solutions for tomorrow,’ and has not offered a single solution to help move Illinois forward. Their sole goal is supporting the premature closure of nuclear energy plants in Illinois. We question the BEST Coalition’s motivations and want to know what they stand to gain by the loss of Illinois jobs, taxes and economic activity.”
• “This organization is funded by companies that stand to profit financially from the closure of Illinois’ nuclear energy plants. The state of Illinois faces serious challenges that require serious solutions and cannot afford to let the greed of special interest groups undermine real policy solutions for Illinois.”
Mayors and elected officials across Illinois support nuclear energy and legislation that could help save jobs and support our economy. Stand with them and urge the BEST Coalition to do the same.
BEST COALITION:
STOP THE BASELESS ATTACKS ON MIDDLE CLASS ILLINOIS FAMILIES.
The House spent [Tuesday] working to reverse the Republican governor’s cuts to child care programs and to release $146 million in fuel-tax money to help cities fill potholes — four-tenths of 1 percent of what the state usually spends annually, and the governor lauded a $2.5 million sale of surplus aircraft.
Rauner’s spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said the Legislature’s piecemeal spending approach represents Democrats’ attempt to “claw their way to a massive tax hike by hamstringing the state with an unbalanced budget.”
A key change put in place by the Department of Human Services includes tougher income requirements, which advocates say has shut out all but about 10 percent of families that previously qualified. Participants also face higher copays, and the state has frozen the intake of new clients.
DHS said the state is projected to save $47 million annually using higher copays and other measures, and an additional $5.3 million per month from freezing intakes to the program.
But critics say the short-term savings will be greatly outweighed by the harm to parents who will be forced to quit school or work because they no longer receive help caring for their children.
Lawmakers heard testimony from Chandra Ankoor, a single mother of three from Springfield who said she works seven days a week bartending, waitressing and cleaning office buildings to make ends meet. Without the program, Ankoor said she would not be able to make rent and pay for child care.
“For me, to lose this program would cause me to be homeless,” said Ankoor, who has testified in the past on the issue.
* The administration’s full response to yesterday’s House action…
Today’s action represents yet another week of Speaker Madigan and the legislators he controls trying to claw their way to a massive tax hike by hamstringing the state with an unbalanced budget.
This amendment impacts state funds because it draws from the General Revenue Fund, and the state cannot afford near unlimited child care without a balanced budget.
Illinois needs the reforms proposed by the governor to free up resources to help the most vulnerable and to grow the economy. One of the governor’s first major actions as governor was to save child care funding from the Democrats purposefully underfunding it in the last fiscal year.
That last sentence is true. You’ll recall that the Democrats planted several time bombs in the 2015 budget, and underfunded child care was one of them. But now we’re talking an administrative rule which will prevent 90 percent of those previously eligible from qualifying.
The official overseeing the state’s child care program who was reassigned from her post by the Rauner administration has retired.
Linda Saterfield, a longtime associate director of the Office of Early Childhood, on Tuesday confirmed her departure.
Her retirement comes after she was reassigned after her testimony to lawmakers that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s cuts to child care assistance would be “devastating” for families who rely on it.
Illinoisans for Growth and Opportunity (IllinoisGO) today announced the launch of its third web ad, which educates Democratic voters about the financial challenges of cities across Illinois and the importance of lawmakers statewide coming together to find real, long-term solutions to fix these problems. IllinoisGO’s video, part of a larger digital organizing campaign, is airing on digital platforms in suburban Cook County and the Collar Counties.
Cities across the state are struggling with budget deficits, growth of unfunded pension debt, and state cuts to education. State legislators have made local problems worse by cutting funding for education, creating an unequal funding system for teachers’ retirement, and authorizing pension holidays.
Chicago’s situation is particularly acute, with a massive budget deficit and the threat of devastating cuts to its schools without action by Springfield. But the impact of Chicago’s problems does not end at the city’s borders. 600,000 workers commute into the city from the suburbs. In fact, three out of four downtown workers don’t live in Chicago. So the economic health of the state’s largest city affects all of Illinois.
Chicago can come back, if given a fair shake by Springfield. That means a fair school funding formula, an end to double taxation on Chicago residents, and investments in programs that grow our economy and create jobs – like infrastructure and transit.
“Chicago is an anchor for our state. Its economy, culture, and even sports teams are important to Illinoisans everywhere,” said IllinoisGO Chairman Anthony Anderson. “Chicago is facing a massive financial crisis, made worse by bad policies from Springfield. The City can come back, just like it always has, but it needs state lawmakers to step up and do their part.”
A Peoria political reporter will remain in a hairy situation as long as Illinois legislators are deadlocked on a budget.
Journal Star reporter Chris Kaergard says he won’t shave his beard until lawmakers reach a deal.
He says it started as a bit of a gag in May when lawmakers adjourned in the spring without a spending plan in place. But now Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled Legislature are still at an impasse nearly two months into the new fiscal year.
Tuesday, Aug 25, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The 2018-2019 PJM Capacity Auction Cleared far higher than analysts expected resulting in as much as $650 million total capacity revenue for Exelon. Here are the highlights:
$400 Million in ADDITIONAL REVENUE for Exelon – Exelon received a HUGE windfall. According to the Chicago Tribune, Exelon will receive “roughly $400 million in additional revenue” over the previous year. Exelon VP Joe Dominquez characterized this massive cash bonanza as “a marginal improvement…”
Byron Cleared the Auction – Will Run Through At Least May 2019 – Byron is now obligated to run until May 31, 2019. According to Crain’s, Byron, which Exelon characterized as troubled just weeks ago, now “…stands to reap profits of around $26 million even if future energy prices remain this low.”
Had Quad Cities Cleared, It Could Have Made More Than $100 Million – Had Exelon bid at the level they did in the 2016-2017 auction, Quad Cities would have likely received upwards of $100 million in revenue for that year.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL:
Additional Auction Revenues Coming – On August 31 and September 9th, PJM will announce the results of two additional auctions which are expected to generate hundreds of millions in additional revenue beginning June 2016.
As social service providers are being decimated and legislators are forced to make increasingly painful choices, it’s time for Exelon to stop asking policy makers for $1.6 billion from struggling ratepayers. Enough is enough.
Just Say “NO” to the Exelon Bailout
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
* My doctor told me yesterday it was OK to attend session from here on out. I’m running a bit late to the Statehouse today, however, because I’ve had two visits from nurses today, both of whom I let go with my doc’s blessing.
I’m not allowed to drive for about four more weeks, and I did get pretty tired after my mom and I were out doing errands for about 6 hours yesterday. I still have my limits, but I’m starting cardio rehab in a few days.
* Also, the doc nixed my idea to attend the Lockin’ festival next month. All the surviving “core four” Grateful Dead members are playing separately, so I’m figuring we could see another reunion. He sympathized, but said I just couldn’t go.
* I told subscribers about this development early yesterday morning, so they already have my take. From a press release…
To the people of the 51st District:
As each election season approaches, every elected official must take time to reflect and self-examine before seeking another term. After many moments of reflection and discussions with my family, I have decided that, after seven terms as your representative from the 51st District, I will not seek reelection in 2016. The time has come for me to return to private life at the end of my current term and move on to different adventures.
Over the past thirteen years, it has been an honor to represent you through the many significant moments in our State’s history. Many decisions have not been easy, particularly with mounting fiscal problems and entrenched corruption. I am stepping away with pride, having fought to represent your interests throughout all of it.
I believe it is important to put new voices in Springfield. I agree with Governor Rauner that term limits are a necessary reform towards making Illinois great again in order to ensure that our government remains what Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it should be: of the people, by the people, and for the people. With that, rather than win reelection and then allow my successor to be appointed, I believe that it is better for the will of the people to be heard in an open election.
I plan to spend my time after leaving office with the people who have sustained me throughout my time as state representative: my family. My family is the center of my life, and has been the inspiration for my career in public service. My great-grandfather served as a state representative from McHenry, my father has been an active member of the Mundelein community on both the Mundelein High School Board and the Village Board, and my mother has served for years as a librarian at the Fremont Public Library. My wife, children, parents, and grandparents, as well as my sisters and their families, have been my top supporters through it all.
When I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes two years ago, I realized that I needed to make changes in my life so that I can be there for my wife and young children, Trish, Kaileigh, and Finn, as they have been here for me. I look forward to serving many more terms as a husband and father.
It has been the honor of my life to serve as your representative in Springfield. I look forward to spending the remainder of my term working with Governor Rauner to make Illinois a better place, and continuing to be your friend and neighbor in the years to come.
Sincerely,
Ed Sullivan
* Sullivan already had a primary opponent, and after Sullivan’s announcement yesterday ultra-conservative Dan McConchie issued a rather unclassy statement…
“The incumbent has had both fists in the taxpayer’s pocket for too long,” McConchie said. “What has Ed Sullivan put his mark on other than enriching himself at taxpayer’s expense? He takes two government salaries simultaneously, and is in two different pension funds. Residents call him the most unresponsive public official they know. It’s time for a consistent conservative to truly represent the 51st district, a representative who lives out the conservative principles they claim to hold.
“I will be a strong advocate in helping Governor Rauner bring back Illinois by reigning in spending, growing the State’s economy and putting the politicians on notice that the old way of doing business is over,” continued McConchie.
McConchie noted that Springfield power brokers fear he will upset the apple cart and challenge the status quo.
“I was visited by a member of House leadership who told me, ‘Wait your turn.’ I don’t think it’s up to the Springfield elite to make the decision for the voters of the 51st district. Bruce Rauner ran to be Governor not because he was a career politician, but because he cared about the people of Illinois. Like Rauner, I will be a representative who puts their interests first.”
You probably won’t be surprised to learn that McConchie is backed by former US Rep. Joe Walsh.
Lake Barrington resident Nick Sauer, who describes himself as a conservative Republican, said Monday that he will run to succeed Sullivan. He’s a member of the Lake County Board and a Lake County Forest Preserve commissioner. And Gov. Bruce Rauner recently appointed Sauer as a director of the Illinois Tollway Board.
“So the governor is in my corner, and I’m excited about his ideas for reform [that] he has advocated,” Sauer said.
Sullivan, you will recall, was one of just a handful of Republicans to vote for the gay marriage bill.
Today I return House Bill 4113 with specific recommendations for change.
First, House Bill 4113 exempts printing contracts for the student newspaper at Southern Illinois University’s Carbondale campus from the Illinois Procurement Code for one year, during which time the bill requires those contracts be publicly awarded through an alternative process. Student newspapers are a vital part of vibrant and engaged student populations at all universities.
The changes made by this bill – which provide more flexibility to the student newspapers while ensuring a public procurement process – should apply to all public universities and colleges during the one-year trial period.
The governor has made a big to-do of late about “special deals” for Chicago, and is now apparently applying that same logic to SIU.
I can see what he’s saying, but SIU is the only school to ask for this exemption. So, passing it for everyone at this point doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Plus, a pilot project can lead to more and perhaps broader action down the road if it’s a success.
For 30 years, Steve Brown has been the voice of Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan — a press secretary whose pronouncements often provide the only insight into the thinking of one of the state’s most powerful politicians.
But Madigan’s top aide has never been a state employee, unlike the people handling similar duties elsewhere in Illinois government.
Instead, Brown works for Madigan under a lucrative contract that lets Brown also do consulting work for other clients that rely on Madigan and the Illinois General Assembly for funding, records examined by the Chicago Sun-Times show.
Brown’s clients include a state agency and a state university. They also include a private nurse-assistant training program called New Start Inc. whose state funding more than doubled over two years, records show.
Brown’s contract with Madigan is not a new story. He makes no secrets about it and I found a piece from twenty years ago on the same topic after 30 seconds on the google.
According to the article, Brown’s clients don’t pay him all that much. The most “lucrative” contract reported is $19,200 a year from the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, a client referenced in that above-linked 1995 story.
* What’s supposed to be different about this CS-T story, though, is the allegation that Brown is helping his clients with Madigan…
New Start Inc., the Springfield not-for-profit, which has a $10,000-a-year consulting contract with Brown. New Start was started by the late James Torricelli, a longtime Brown friend, and now is run by Torricelli’s son Steve Torricelli.
In the 2011 budget year, the group got $366,043 in state funding approved by the Legislature to train nursing assistants. Its state funding was increased to $550,698 in 2012 and to $750,000 a year during each of the next two years. […]
Torricelli, New Start’s executive director, says he’s never asked Brown to lobby Madigan or any other lawmakers to fund New Start.
“We speak for ourselves,” Torricelli says. “The biggest role he provides for me is to connect me with people who could help the agency. We started a campus in Chicago. We needed to find a nursing home that would be a partner with us. He had a contact.”
* Brown appeared on WGN Radio yesterday. It’s online headline…
Mike Madigan’s Right Hand Man Responds to Corruption Allegations
Brown said during the interview that the Sun-Times contacted his clients and others and asked all of them whether he did any lobbying with the Speaker and the paper came up empty.
This sort of thing is sometimes called “honest graft,” a phrased coined in 19th century New York for a practice honed to an art in Chicago. If you’re a prominent politician or in good with one, you set up a law firm or insurance office or consulting business and the customers roll in, just playing the odds. You don’t have to cross a single ethical line, though the whole point is that some clients hope you might.
The House on Tuesday will conduct a hearing on a plan to restore cuts to child assistance for working parents. And it will convene as an entire body to continue discussions of the budget stalemate.
* A federal judge ordered the state to make payments to help more than 10,000 Illinoisans with developmental disabilities by last Friday. The state didn’t make the payments, citing a severe cash crunch…
Advocacy groups went to court arguing the state’s failure to make payments to agencies providing services to those with disabilities put providers at risk of closure. Closure could displace thousands of people with profound developmental disabilities.
Citing a recent legislative analysis, [Comptroller Leslie Munger’s spokesman Rich Carter] said the state is on pace to run a deficit of $5 billion. He said the office is prioritizing payments for nonprofits.
“Right now the severe cash shortages created by the budget impasse are preventing us from making those payments. We are extremely concerned about our non-profits,” he said. “Bottom line: Because of the combination of the continuing appropriations we have to pay, along with the court orders, along with the loss of the income tax revenue, we’re facing significant cash shortages right now. That will continue until we have a budget agreement.”
The state had not made a payment to the providers since the new fiscal year started July 1.
* From the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform…
SB 248, a bill that ICPR spearheaded, was signed into law this weekend by the Governor. The bill increases the transparency of political spending in Illinois by adding a year-round 5 day reporting requirement for Independent Expenditures.
SB 248 was the only campaign finance bill to pass this session, and was made possible by the support of Senators Julie Morrison and Matt Murphy, and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie. We also received support from other reform groups, such as the BGA, Illinois PIRG, the Citizen Advocacy Center, and the League of Women Voters of Illinois.
That’s a good bill, considering that these IE groups are now spending year-round.
* But you’d never know the bill passed by watching the governor’s daily calendar of events. As we’ve discussed here before, the governor has eschewed signing ceremonies this year…
It’s a time-honored tradition for Illinois governors to invite lawmakers, journalists and members of the public to ceremonial bill signings, an easy way for the chief executive to take credit for accomplishments and create a sense that he’s getting things done. Rauner has signed more than 400 bills into law since he took office in January. He has held zero public signing ceremonies.
Asked why that’s the case, Rauner spokesman Lance Trover did not directly answer the question but did say the “work of the General Assembly is not done.” […]
“Bill signings are ceremonial, and they’re meant to be almost like victory laps,” said House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs. “I don’t see any reason why anybody would be celebrating what has happened in Springfield until we get a budget done.”
The closest he’s gotten was a signing ceremony for an executive order several months ago.
“This could be part of a trend to try to control what the message of the day is,” said Mike Lawrence, who was press secretary to former Republican Gov. Jim Edgar. “In other words, if you’ve got a bill signing and you do it with the media there, then the media ask you questions about other issues. That can overtake what you’re doing on the bill.”
* There was no gubernatorial brick on HB 1 when it zoomed through both legislative chambers with just four total “No” votes and bipartisan sponsorship. The legislation was designed to combat the heroin epidemic without resorting simply to the old ways of toughening up criminal penalties. The governor himself even pointed out yesterday that the bill was “a result of the recommendations of the bi-partisan Heroin Task Force.”
Unfortunately, Rauner said that in his veto message. The governor zeroed out a major funding component…
House Bill 1 mandates that fee-for-service and medical assistance Medicaid programs cover all forms of medication assisted treatment of alcohol or opioid dependence, and it removes utilization controls and prior authorization requirements. These changes would limit our ability to contain rising costs at a time when the State is facing unprecedented fiscal difficulties.
Gov. Bruce Rauner Monday rewrote a sweeping proposal aimed at curbing the heroin abuse that has plagued some suburbs in recent years, saying that while he supports much of it, the plan should be changed to limit costs for the state.
The plan sent to Rauner tried to focus drug courts on treatment instead of jail, and the state would cover treatment for Medicaid users. It also would have required all police and fire departments in the state to stock a heroin antidote that has been shown to save people from overdose deaths, plus train personnel on how to administer it.
Last year, 33 people died in DuPage County from heroin overdoses, helping prompt a response from state lawmakers.
“I support all of the above measures and applaud the multifaceted approach to combating this epidemic in Illinois,” Rauner said in his veto message. “Unfortunately, the bill also includes provisions that will impose a very costly mandate on the state’s Medicaid providers.”
House sponsor Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang says the savings from curing addicts would far outweigh the costs and that restricting Medicaid coverage would cut out a sector from treatment.
Lang added that Rauner never suggested alternatives that would lessen the plan’s financial impact. Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly pointed to the governor’s message that he supports the idea and hopes Lang “will accept the governor’s changes and move forward.” […]
Roosevelt University released a study this month showing that Illinois’ addiction-treatment capacity fell from 28th in the nation five years ago to third worst. One-quarter of state-funded treatment admissions in Illinois, 35 percent in Chicago and its surrounding counties, are for heroin addiction, compared with 16 percent nationally.
Lead author Kathleen Kane-Willis, director of the Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy, said Illinois is one of the few states in the nation that doesn’t allow Medicaid coverage of addiction treatment with methadone, a proven, effective drug that’s cheaper than counterparts.
“This is a critical component of this legislation; if the only people you affect are people that have insurance, then you haven’t done that much. There is a whole swath of people out there who need health care from the state who have drug addictions,” said sponsoring Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. “The governor is taking the position that we can’t afford to save these lives.”
I think on Aug. 19 a new and brief window of opportunity opened that could finally help wrap up this long and drawn-out state legislative overtime session.
But that window will only be open for 15 calendar days – the time the Illinois Constitution gives each legislative chamber to vote on a veto override.
Allow me to explain.
I spoke with some Rauner folks last week and, man, are they ever on the warpath about the Senate’s Aug. 19 override of the governor’s veto of the AFSCME bill – which would prevent a strike by or lockout of state workers and would instead require binding arbitration after an impasse is reached. The House has 15 days from that date to take its own action.
Even though AFSCME has never invoked its binding arbitration power with state corrections’ officers (who cannot strike by law), the governor and his people clearly see this bill as an outrageous intrusion on executive branch powers.
The governor has called the legislation the “worst bill in Illinois history.” He says it would remove the only popularly elected official from labor negotiations (himself) and replace him with an unelected, pro-union arbitrator (although the unions have numbers that show employers have won a slightly higher percentage of arbitration cases in this state than employees).
He has ginned up editorials all over the state, privately warned all Republicans that a vote to override guarantees a primary opponent next year, and made it clear to Democrats that the best way to ensure a 2016 GOP opponent would be to vote “yes” on this motion.
One Senate Democratic operative only half jokingly said last week that the governor was “flipping out” about the bill.
The governor was also quite blunt the day of the Senate vote when he said that this override was a “test” of Senate President John Cullerton. “Is he controlled by Speaker Madigan, or does he make his own decisions for the benefit of the people of his district in the Senate?” Rauner asked rhetorically.
The clear implication was that if Cullerton went ahead with the override, the days of referring to him positively in public were over. Rauner has often said that he could work with Cullerton and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel if it wasn’t for that bad ol’ House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. Rauner’s people have also made a point of mentioning that they left Cullerton out of Rauner’s TV and direct mail attack ads, referring only to Madigan. But those days are over, too.
After the Senate’s override, the Rauner folks were vowing revenge. Cullerton “walked his members out on a plank,” said one. If Madigan doesn’t call the bill for a vote, Cullerton will have put his members, particularly his suburbanites, in fatally harm’s way, said another. Madigan should not expect a single House Republican vote to replace any of his own conservative “no” votes, said another, even though one Senate Republican, Sam McCann, voted with the Democrats to override last week.
It was clear to me that they were declaring all-out war.
So, why is any of this positive news? Well, it’s pretty elementary.
The governor has obviously established his top immediate priority, which is preventing the first and clearly most important veto override of his brief career.
There are, of course, two ways out of a corner. You can either negotiate or bull through it and fight.
Right now, the Rauner folks are itching for a fight. They want to stop this override dead in its tracks in the House and then start their revenge war in the precincts. It’s understandable. They’re angry as all get-out.
But Rauner has a way to stop the override if he can see beyond his anger and realize he’s in a trap of his own making: Cut a deal on his “Turnaround Agenda,” fix the budget, declare victory, and bring the overtime session to a conclusion.
Tellingly, the House Democrats made some discreet behind-the-scenes inquiries last week about possibly setting up negotiations on the governor’s agenda, which he says must be completed before he’ll talk about the budget.
The point is that on Aug. 19, we arrived at what could be the single most important moment in this overtime session.
After the 15-day clock runs out, we could very well look back on this as either the beginning of a negotiated truce or the start of the harshest, meanest political war we’ve ever seen.
A crucial swing vote that will determine whether the General Assembly will override Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill essentially stripping him of his ability to negotiate with a powerful state employee union is still undecided.
Democratic state Rep. Jack Franks of Marengo said he still is weighing his options regarding Senate Bill 1229, which would allow negotiations between Rauner and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to go to binding arbitration as both sides struggle to come to terms on a new contract. The veto override is now headed to the House after Senate lawmakers voted on it last Wednesday.
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan has a 71-seat supermajority on paper – the exact number needed to override a gubernatorial veto – but fiscally conservative Democrats regularly assert their independence and can make that threshold difficult for the powerful speaker to attain. Without Franks’ support, Madigan would need at least one Republican vote.
Franks said Friday he still is looking at both sides and examining all the information he can before he makes a decision. While he said that binding arbitration is hardly a new concept, and is used for other classes of state employees, there are aspects of the proposed legislation that he does not like.
“Most of the pressure I’m under is self-imposed. I just want to do the right thing,” Franks said.
Speaker Madigan said last week he didn’t think he would hold the floor vote this week. It’ll have to be next week.
