Another angle on the IHSA lawsuit
Monday, Jul 28, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Phil Kadner writes about a little-known angle of the Better Government Association’s suit against the not-for-profit Illinois High School Association…
(T)he IHSA generates money for its schools, and the school boards, athletic directors and coaches are prepared to protect it from public scrutiny.
That’s how Consolidated High School District 230, based in Orland Park, got dragged as a defendant into the BGA lawsuit.
There’s a law that states a public agency that does business with another agency, even if it is private, must turn over any documents in its possession about that private business.
Andrew High School in Tinley Park is in District 230, and its principal, Andrew Nolting, is an IHSA board member.
So the BGA filed a freedom of information request with District 230, asking for the IHSA documents that it couldn’t get from the IHSA. District 230 denied the request, claiming that the documents sought “do not pertain to the transaction of the district’s public business.”
Let’s forget the legal mumbo jumbo for a minute and the responsibility of public bodies to be transparent.
Why would organizations that use schoolchildren to make money refuse to provide information about how they spend that money?
There would be no need for a lawsuit if people of good will simply did what was in the public’s interest.
I can see how the IHSA can say it’s protected from FOIA, but a high school district?
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Was Rauner consultant behind anti-Schock ads?
Monday, Jul 28, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Open Secrets has a story (I’m quoted) which shows some links between Nick Ayers, the former executive director of the Republican Governors Association and Bruce Rauner’s media consultant, and the now infamous out of nowhere advertising attacks on Congressman Aaron Schock while he was mulling a GOP gubernatorial bid. Read the whole thing…
Rauner’s campaign denied any responsibility for the [anti-Schock] ads. He went on to win the nomination with the help of Nick Ayers’ media buying firm, Target Enterprises, which was paid a whopping $12.9 million — making it the campaign’s biggest contractor by far. Another $133,000 went to C5 Creative Consulting, which lists Ayers as its owner.
Along the way, Jobs & Progress [the group behind the anti-Schock ads] vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared. […]
Named by TIME as an up-and-comer in Republican ranks, with a successful RGA tenure and big-name presidential campaign (even if it flopped) under his belt, Ayers was someone that a candidate like Bruce Rauner would have good reason to hire. […]
On numerous occasions — once before he worked for either Rauner or Perdue, once while working for Rauner and many times this past spring while working for Perdue — companies that Ayers led were paid by various arms of the same Ohio groups that attacked Schock and Kingston. […]
First, before and at the same time as he worked for Bruce Rauner’s campaign, Nick Ayers worked for Government Integrity Fund, which has the same board president as Jobs & Progress Fund — Columbus lobbyist Tom Norris. Jobs & Progress is the group that attacked Schock, discouraging him from making a run against Rauner.
Norris did not return a call seeking an interview. Rauner’s campaign spokesman, Mike Schrimpf (who formerly worked for Ayers at the RGA) said he did not know of any connection with Jobs & Progress Fund, and said the campaign did not track who else paid its top consultants.
It’s a bit convoluted, and there is no hard proof, but Russ Choma at OS has done a pretty good job of connecting some very big dots.
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False equivalence taken too far
Monday, Jul 28, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The AP’s Chicago bureau claims that both gubernatorial candidates “are playing a little fast and loose” with budget numbers. But so is the AP…
Under Rauner’s plan, the rate would drop to 3.75 percent in January then be scaled back over four years to 3 percent.
Except Rauner has also said he’s open to raising the rate after January’s scheduled drop. No mention of that in the piece.
…Adding… This commenter accurately points to yet another big problem with the AP story…
“Under Rauner’s plan, the rate would drop to 3.75 percent in January”
“rolling back the rates as scheduled on Jan. 1, which Rauner supports”
That is–at present–the plan for Quinn, too. Quinn signed the sunsetting increase into law and signed a budget that includes that drop.
Exactly. Rolling the rate back to 3.75 percent come January 1st isn’t “Rauner’s plan,” it’s current state law.
The AP’s Chicago bureau does a horrible job with state government. They need to let Springfield’s top-notch bureau carry the load.
* And this appears to have been added to make the story look more “even-handed”…
Quinn overstates the revenue drop under Rauner’s plan — at least to start.
A report from the non-partisan Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability says rolling back the rates as scheduled on Jan. 1, which Rauner supports, would reduce revenues by almost $5 billion for the budget year that begins in July 2015 — not $8.5 billion. Rauner says his sales tax plan would generate another roughly $600 million, bringing the total revenue loss to about $4.4 billion. This year’s entire general fund budget is $35.7 billion.
The larger drop in revenue would come later, when the rates would be lowered to pre-2011 levels.
The number the Quinn campaign is using is accurate because they’ve never said it was the immediate impact.
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The weekend in Facebook
Monday, Jul 28, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Greg Harris…
Really inappropriate dreams starring my friends Guy Zakrzewski, James Hallberg Piechocinski, a random bag lady, Little Jim’s and a copy of the state budget.
What, no bacon or Sharknado references?
* Will Caskey…
Toddler’s new favorite toy is a small plastic hammer. So he was hanging out with me and tried to hammer the window. I said no, off limits.
Then he hit himself on the head with it and got upset. I comforted him and said that’s why we don’t hit ourselves.
He looked at me defiantly and hit himself in the head again.
Insert political metaphor here.
I’m sure we can come up with something.
* Anders Lindall…
You know you’re dragging when … you try to plug your phone charger into your granola bar.
* John Fritchey…
How did I get this far in the day without knowing that it’s National Tequila Day?
* Rep. Rob Martwick’s band “Little Egypt” performed at Jeff Fest over the weekend…
What did you post?
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Question of the day
Monday, Jul 28, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Pat Quinn has agreed to live off the equivalent of the minimum wage, but he hasn’t yet said what that would entail…
At Sunday’s event, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky had just told the crowd that she has lived for a week on a minimum-wage income. She then turned to ask Quinn if also he’d also take what she called “the live-the-wage challenge.” He answered, “Yes.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what that would entail for Quinn, including what amount of money he’d live off of and for how long.
But Schakowsky said she lived on $77 for the week, or $11 a day. That is the amount of expendable money supposedly left over after subtracting typical housing expenses.
She conceded some critics saw what she did as a gimmick.
“I say to them: Try it,” she said. “There’s no way that you can stop into a Starbucks, that’s for sure, or pass a vending machine and decide you want a snack. Everything needs to be planned out for the week.”
* The Question: A political stunt or a worthwhile endeavor? It undoubtedly includes a bit of both, but it’ll be up to you to decide which way it leans. Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
surveys
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Republicans look to the future
Monday, Jul 28, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bernie talked to Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider…
Schneider said he hopes the party can pick up three or four House seats to end the Democrats’ veto-proof majority there. He said the climb is steeper in the Senate, where Democrats hold a 40-19 majority.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Schneider said.
“What I truly believe is once the voters, and the people of Illinois, understand what a Republican-led administration can do,” he said, “we’ll see the transition of the House and the Senate to Republican leadership.”
* Bruce Rauner was even more optimistic…
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner predicted a GOP majority in Illinois eight years from now during a campaign stop in Springfield Saturday afternoon. […]
“We’re going to rebuild our Republican party from the grassroots up in every county. We’re going to take seat after seat in the General Assembly, and eight years from today we’re going to be celebrating. We’re going to be the majority party,” Rauner told the crowd.
He later defended the statement as “very realistic.”
“Limited government, low taxes, individual liberty and personal responsibility. Many Democrats believe in that, independent voters believe in it and if we build the Republican party on that, that’s a unifying message,” he said.
A Republican governor during the next remap process would, indeed, be a huge development.
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* From the Executive Inspector General…
First Deputy Inspector General Kristy Shores today discussed the results of the investigation by the Office of Executive Inspector General for the Agencies of the Illinois Governor (OEIG) into the solicitation and acceptance of gifts from State vendors at the DuQuoin and Illinois State Fairs. In a ruling issued on July 24, 2014 and made available today, the Executive Ethics Commission (EEC) found that DuQuoin Fair Manager John Rednour, Jr. improperly solicited a gift valued between $4,000 and $8,000 and that Illinois State Fair Manager Amy Bliefnick improperly accepted gifts from a fair vendor, both in violation of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
“The Ethics Act sets clear standards for what State employees may solicit and what they may not solicit or accept,” said Deputy Inspector General and Chief of the Springfield Division Laura Bautista, whose division led the investigation. “It is illegal to solicit or accept gifts of a certain value from a vendor, and our investigation revealed that both State employees violated the law in this regard.”
After conducting its investigation, the OEIG referred the matter to the Office of Illinois Attorney General (OAG) for prosecution. Assistant Attorney General Francis Neil MacDonald represented the OEIG before the EEC and subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment in this matter. In proceedings before the EEC, John Rednour, Jr. acknowledged that he had asked a State vendor for gifts worth between $4,000 and $8,000 in 2012 and Illinois State Fair Manager Amy Bliefnick acknowledged receiving gifts from a State vendor in varying amounts worth more than $100 each year.
The EEC levied a $5,000 fine against John Rednour, Jr., which in this instance is the maximum fine available. In its decision, the EEC also noted that Mr. Rednour agreed to not seek or accept State employment for five years from the date of the EEC’s final decision. The EEC also levied a $1,000 fine against Amy Bliefnick.
Obviously, the Rednour problem is far more serious. Rednour, one of the heirs to a wealthy, connected southern Illinois Democratic family, resigned in January to take over his late father’s bank.
*** UPDATE *** This turns out to be a bit silly. I highly doubt they drank all that beer themselves. They most likely gave the tix away…
Illinois State Fair manager Amy Bliefnick has been fined $1,000 by the Executive Ethics Commission after she admitted to the commission that she accepted $540 in free beer tickets from a beer vendor during the 2013 fair.
The commission also fined former DuQuoin State Fair manager John Rednour, Jr., $5,000 after he admitted he solicited up to $8,000 in free beer tickets from beer vendor at that fair.
That’s fairly standard practice in the private sector. But, whatever.
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* Greg Hinz…
One insider tells me that a combination of the state and national parties and the Rauner campaign is prepared to spend as much as $2 million just on an absentee ballot operation—perhaps seven or eight times as much as in 2010, when Republican state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington lost to Gov. Pat Quinn.
Another source reports that the party has opened 20 field offices just in the collar counties. In comparison, Mr. Brady had three offices in the entire state. […]
Mr. Rauner is “showing leadership, because he’s willing to spend resources” on more than his own campaign, says Democratic strategist and campaign operative Greg Goldner. “He’s creating an infrastructure that hasn’t existed for a very long time on the Republican side.” […]
Mr. Rauner’s campaign—typically as closed-mouthed as someone who’s just had three teeth pulled—won’t say a lot about this. But it is known that the candidate put an emphasis on grass-roots organizing from the beginning. His field operation is being run by deputy campaign manager Mike Zolnierowicz, who handled similar chores for Mark Kirk in his successful 2010 run for the U.S. Senate.
“I think we’re making a historically significant investment,” allows Chip Englander, Mr. Rauner’s campaign manager. “We’re making a big push, an unprecedented push, and it’s paying dividends.”
* Meanwhile…
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie came to Chicago Friday and gave Republican Bruce Rauner $2.5 million.
With that the Republican Governors Association more than doubled its financial support of Rauner’s campaign for governor.
Christie, the association’s chairman and a potential presidential candidate, appeared with Rauner at Portillo’s in River North.
“This is amongst the most important governor’s races in the country,” Christie told reporters.
Discuss.
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Yet another stumble
Monday, Jul 28, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* My weekly syndicated newspaper column…
Back in January, state Sen. Michael Frerichs formally kicked off his campaign for Illinois state treasurer and posted a video online touting the fact the he’d ended “free, lifetime health care for state legislators.”
Actually, Frerichs had voted against that bill in the General Assembly. Frerichs’ campaign had to pull the video and replace it with a new one, even though he’d been planning his formal launch for at least a year.
In April, Frerichs appeared to flip-flop on his long-standing position that the comptroller’s and treasurer’s offices should be merged.
“People have said to me,” Frerichs told a WBBM Radio interviewer, “‘Wouldn’t it just be a lot more efficient if we just had one financial officer?’ And I’ve said yes, we could become very efficient, efficient like the city of Dixon, Illinois, who just had one chief financial officer and she was able, from this small little town, over several years to take something like $52 million away from them.”
Frerichs was quickly forced to restate his support for the office merger.
A few weeks ago, Frerichs was endorsed by the Illinois Education Association. At the kickoff tour, a Springfield reporter asked an IEA official why her organization backed Frerichs over Republican state Rep. Tom Cross. The official quickly deferred to her union’s spokesman, who was mostly silent for 25 very long and uncomfortable seconds while he tried to come up with an answer. He eventually cited the union’s “long association” with Frerichs and Frerichs’ support for more state revenues.
Since at least February, Frerichs has been pushing an idea to make the treasurer’s investment fund more Illinois centric.
“The current Republican Treasurer has placed a premium on investments outside of Illinois and the US, over the benefits that can be gained from investing in our people, our infrastructure, and our businesses,” he wrote on a Daily Herald questionnaire published on February 14th. Over and over since then, Frerichs has criticized incumbent Treasurer Dan Rutherford for investing Illinois dollars “overseas.”
But Frerichs either didn’t check the details of Treasurer Rutherford’s investment portfolio or didn’t think anyone else would because the one and only “overseas” investment in Rutherford’s portfolio is in bonds issued by the Israeli government.
Oops.
Support for Israel has long been an important statewide political issue in Illinois, dating back to at least US Sen. Charles Percy’s first win and then his 1984 loss to Paul Simon because Percy had allegedly become less supportive of the nation. Mark Kirk made a congressional career out of his unquestioning support for Israel and that stance helped him defeat Alexi Giannoulias for US Senate in 2010. There are other examples, but you get the idea.
So, last week, Tom Cross’ campaign blasted Frerichs for his investment proposal.
“One country that would be singled out under Frerichs’ plan is Israel,” a Cross press release noted. “The office of Treasurer currently has $25 million invested in foreign bonds, all with Israel.”
Treasurer Rutherford later confirmed that Israeli government bonds are the only overseas investment his office makes. So, if, indeed, Frerichs wants to divest the state treasurer’s portfolio of “overseas” investments, those Israel Bonds are the one and only instruments he could sell off.
Frerichs quickly sent out a statement noting that he’d co-sponsored a bill to encourage more purchases of the Israeli bonds, and attached a quote from several Jewish state legislators claiming that he was “among the most outspoken and vocal advocates for the State of Israel in the Illinois General Assembly.” The Frerichs campaign later issued a statement which said in part: “He would continue investing in Israel bonds as Treasurer. To say anything else is flat out wrong.”
But Cross’ hit was politically legitimate. He didn’t go overboard and frantically accuse Frerichs of being anti-Israel or anti-Semitic, he merely pointed out a simple fact: Frerichs has repeatedly demanded overseas divestiture and in the real world that can only mean one thing, Israel Bonds.
I wouldn’t expect that this easily preventable problem will go away any time soon.
Frerichs has earned a reputation for being a hardworking state legislator. He’s easy to talk to, but educated and ambitious. He raised a ton of money early on. The Downstater worked overtime to keep all potential Chicago-area candidates out of the Democratic primary. Most Democratic primary voters are in Cook County, so that was a real coup for the Champaign County legislator.
But he’s obviously not living up to expectations. He needs to up his game.
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Question of the day
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* How would you rate your own state legislators (House and Senate)? Let’s rate them A through F. Explain.
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Emanuel blames state for phony school budget
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mayor Rahm Emanuel explains why he signed off on a school budget that uses 14 months of revenue for twelve months of spending…
He argued that he had no choice when Illinois ranks 50th among 50 states in school funding and Chicago Public Schools has a pension crisis that still has not been solved.
“Chicago taxpayers pay for the pensions of suburban and Downstate teachers and their own teachers. We should be part of that system so Chicago taxpayers are not bearing the burden of pension costs twice,” the mayor said.
“So, the solution to this is working with Springfield to get the resources we need….The state has to be part of the solution on the fiscal side.”
Hmm. Barring more state cash (and there isn’t any), could they fold the city’s school pension fund into TRS?
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AFSCME: Cullerton plan “looks like extortion”
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AFSCME has responded to Senate President John Cullerton’s new pension reform idea, which is outlined here. From Council 31…
The latest pension-cutting concept outlined by Senate President John Cullerton looks like extortion—both unconstitutional and blatantly unfair to teachers, police, nurses, caregivers and other public employees.
For years, our union and the We Are One Illinois coalition of which we are a part have stood virtually alone in urging fair and constitutional solutions to the underfunding of Illinois pensions. We demonstrated our commitment last year by working constructively with Senator Cullerton to develop a compromise pension measure.
We also strongly opposed pension-cutting schemes that are clearly unconstitutional, but politicians charged ahead, triggering costly litigation. We will continue to defend the integrity of the Illinois Constitution.
Recently, a near-unanimous bipartisan majority of the state Supreme Court sent a strong signal that the retirement benefits of public employees are inviolable. To suggest that politicians could prevent workers from bargaining for fair wages only if they surrender a protected right is the same kind of thinking that has delayed real solutions to the pension funding problem. It’s long past time for gimmicks.
Public employees earn their modest pensions by teaching kids, caring for the most vulnerable and keeping us safe. They have always paid their share. That’s why it’s so outrageous that the politicians who caused the pension debt—and their corporate allies whose tax loopholes divert billions from the public good—are still seeking ways to force public servants alone to pay the cost.
Discuss.
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BGA sues IHSA over FOIA
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
The not-for-profit group that oversees high school sports in Illinois should be subject to state open-records law because it “performs a governmental function” and generates income “from events involving predominantly public schools,” a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Better Government Association contends.
The government watchdog group’s case, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, aims to force the Illinois High School Association to disclose details about its sponsorship deals, vendors, pension expenses and other aspects of its $11-million-a-year budget.
IHSA officials have said they aren’t required to comply with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act because the association doesn’t get money directly from taxpayers and membership is voluntary. […]
The BGA lawsuit, however, notes that IHSA lawyers argued in 2005 that the sports governing body “was organized for the purpose of conducting public business” and is a “state actor.” The IHSA attorneys — who made those statements in an appellate court filing in response to a defamation case the association ultimately won — also described Hickman as a “public employee.”
The IHSA’s own words “make clear IHSA is a public body under FOIA,” according to the BGA complaint, filed by the Loevy & Loevy law firm.
The BGA also provides content for the Sun-Times, so this is an interesting development, partially because the lawsuit might end up helping the Sun-Times’ bottom line by exposing real problems with the organization and possibly forcing a shakeup or more. I’ll get to that in a minute, though.
* The IHSA responded to the lawsuit late yesterday…
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) released documentation from the Illinois Office of the Attorney General on July 24, 2014 confirming that the Association is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The documentation was provided after a lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court on July 23, 2014 that seeks to force the IHSA to submit to FOIA requests.
The documentation is a letter from the AG’s office written in 2010 which says IHSA is exempt from state FOIA requirements.
* I’ve been lately sorta watching this developing story from afar. I think excellent arguments can be made that the IHSA should be opened up to FOIA. The institution can stop public school kids from playing sports. It has all sorts of rules and regulations, and leaving it is impossible since the IHSA must approve any games between an IHSA team and a non-IHSA team.
But there is another angle, and one of our better commenters summed it up pretty well back in April…
There’s something in the background that NONE of the parties want to get pushed out front.
IT’S MONEY.
The media folks (in particular broadcasters) are seeing local (high school) sports being the last available ‘cash cow’ where they are not having to fork out serious cash for broadcast rights to other parties, like, but not limited to, IHSA.
They (media/broadcasters) want to make sure those payments for broadcasting rights won’t be happening anytime soon.
Part of the reason this whole issue is coming up is that some different high school athletic conferences are looking for new revenue sources, in light of potential future cutbacks in local/high school sports funding.
You have broadcasting groups who are talking about setting up complete multi-position filming of high school games, and then offering copies of game film for license to college athletics - in effect, acting as ‘advance scouting’ for college athletics.
I just wonder if any of this is going to come out in these so-called ‘hearings’.
That’s real money.
* But it isn’t just traditional broadcasters. Wrapports not only owns the Sun-Times, it also owns High School Cube, which broadcasts live high school sporting events. So far, it’s a free service funded by advertisers. From a 2013 article…
The numbers are staggering. Is this how Ray Kroc, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg got started? Chicago-based HighSchoolCube.com is to high school sports what McDonald’s is to hamburgers, Apple to the personal computer, Microsoft to computer software and Facebook to social networking.
Founded in January 2011 by two Texas entrepreneurs who wanted to own their own company and were passionate about high school space, HighSchoolCube.com provides a streaming platform for high schools to broadcast their live events — sports, band, concerts, plays, graduation. […]
In December 2011, it attracted 80,000 visits to its website. Last month, the number sky-rocketed to 400,000.
And it’s been going up ever since.
Wrapports also has a site called High School Cube News which features stories about high school sports (including the BGA lawsuit story above).
* To be clear, news is news and the IHSA story is most definitely news. I’m not accusing any reporters of any bias by any means. I have yet to see a single “bad” story at the paper about this particular subject.
It’s just that releasing the IHSA’s tight grip on high school sports could conceivably benefit the corporation which owns a newspaper that has been all over this particular story. It’s an angle that really hasn’t been explored.
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* FLOTUS…
“Gov. Quinn has been a great friend and a fantastic partner in our work on military families, she said. “And I’m looking forward to doing more work with you in the years to come, because I’m going to be voting for this man. And we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure he gets over the finish line. He is the guy for this state. ”
Discuss.
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The consequences of budget cuts
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* April 14, 2011…
The Illinois Medicaid agency recently cut costs by moving numerous medications, including several anti-psychotics, to a non-preferred list. Some mental health advocates are saying the agency’s action will come at a high price for people with chronic conditions such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, the state Medicaid agency, maintains a list of preferred and non-preferred prescription drugs for patients, with mostly generics left on the preferred list. Effective April 1, the agency re-categorized a number of medications, including several name brand atypical anti-psychotics, as non-preferred. That means doctors who want to prescribe them to patients on Medicaid will have to obtain prior authorization from the department first.
This may result in people with chronic mental disorders not getting the specific medication they need, said Mark Heyrman, a professor at the University of Chicago law school and the facilitator for the Mental Health Summit, a coalition of mental health advocates and providers. As a result of going untreated, they might end up hospitalized or in jail, he said.
“This is a real risk for people with mental illnesses,” he said.
* August 15, 2012…
In the past two years, Illinois has done just about everything it could to reduce the amount it spends on prescription drugs for mental health. It has placed restrictions on the availability of 17 medications used to treat depression, psychosis and attention-deficit disorder. Doctors now have to explain to Medicaid why the drugs are necessary before a patient can get access to them. Then in July, as part of an effort to cut overall Medicaid spending by $1.6 billion, the state capped the number of prescriptions for Medicaid recipients to four a month, even if they previously were taking a broader cocktail of behavioral medications.
In financial terms, there is no question that it has worked. Last year, the state’s Medicaid mental health drug spending budget was reduced by $112 million. The new cap on prescription drugs is expected to save another $180 million.
Up until 2011, behavioral health drug spending made up about a quarter of Illinois’ Medicaid prescription drug costs. The state spent about $392 million that year on drugs for treating mental health patients. In fiscal 2012, the state spent $280 million on mental health drugs.
But what are the implications for quality of care? Some physicians argue that they are disastrous. “It’s a mess,” says Dr. Daniel Yohanna, a psychiatrist at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “People who were stable on some drugs have been unable to get them. It has created a significant problem.”
* July 22, 2014…
A team of researchers published data Tuesday in the American Journal of Managed Care showing that prior authorization policies in Medicaid programs have significantly higher rates of severe mental illness in their prison populations.
Schizophrenics living in states with prior authorization requirements in Medicaid were 22 percent more likely to be jailed for a non-violent crime than those in states without those restrictions.
“What’s novel in this paper is documenting a link between Medicaid policy and prison populations that’s never previously been looked at,” says Darius Lakdawalla, a professor at University of Southern California and study co-author says. […]
Another paper Lakdawalla has worked on, published this spring, found that states with prior authorization policies tended to see their spending on hospital spending go up faster. The idea here is that patients who didn’t receive anti-psychotic medication may have ended up having to take more trips to the hospital in order to control their symptoms.”In that respect, Lakdawalla says, “It doesn’t seem like you’re getting a lot of bang for the buck in reducing health care costs. There is collateral damage.”
The researchers don’t claim to prove that prior authorization policies cause higher rates of incarceration among the mentally ill. But what Lakdawalla does see in this study is a space for further exploration, of whether these Medicaid policies are having the unintended consequence of driving up incarceration rates of the mentally ill.
“From a policy perspective, this suggests there may be a link between underfunded mental health systems, criminal activity and cost-shifting onto the prison system,” he says. “It’s probably not all about prior authorization, but could be the larger mental health spending picture.”
…Adding… From Rep. Greg Harris…
Your post on the consequences of budget cuts relating to anti-psychotic meds for Medicaid patients and crime/incarceration and mental illness is one of the major reasons that we removed anti-psychotic drugs from the prior authorization list in SB741 that became effective July 1.
I am still working with providers and DHFS on other issues related to what drugs go on the preferred drug list of the formulary such as Concerta and Abilify, and even a quirk in policy that was brought to my attention by Lurie Childrens hospital yesterday that when Medicaid patients turn 19 there is a problem with continuation of ADHD medications.
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* From Illinois Public Radio…
As Gov. Pat Quinn battles a lawsuit accusing his administration of political hiring, the state watchdog charged with investigating ethics violations is asking to get involved.
Confidentiality restrictions prevent the Inspector General from saying what he is or isn’t looking into.
But a letter to the Attorney General tiptoes to the very edge of admitting that there’s some sort of investigation relating to hiring Illinois’ Department of Transportation. In the letter, Inspector General Ricardo Meza says the court has been informed of an inspector general investigation that “may be related to, or overlap with” allegations related to an ongoing court case.
Meza writes in the letter that his office may assist the court with “useful information and perspectives” as it decides on a lawsuit brought by Michael Shakman.
* From Meza’s letter…
Although confidentiality provisions in the Ethics Act prevent the OEIG from directly commenting on or confirming the existence of an ongoing investigation, or on a completed but not yet released OEIG Final Summary report, the OEIG understands that the Court has been informed about the status of an OEIG investigation that may be related to, or overlap with, allegations that have been made in this matter.
The OEIG therefore believes that appearance as amicus curiae may assist the Court with useful information and perspectives that may aid the Court in determining whether any relief should be granted and, if so, what form any such relief should take.
* Sun-Times…
A Madigan spokesman said the attorney general’s office has confirmed with Meza that it will represent him.
A Quinn spokesman indicated the governor’s office would respond to the letter later Thursday afternoon .
Shakman, meanwhile, said he does not view Meza’s request as being “inconsistent with what we’re doing.”
“I read the letter saying the inspector general has statutory duties that include some of the same subject matter we’re dealing with at the federal courthouse and through our request for a federal monotiror so he’d like to have a chance to appear before the court and address what should be done,” Shakman told Early & Often, the Chicago Sun-Times’ online political portal. “That’s fine. Maybe we’ll agree with him. Maybe we won’t.”
There’s no update with the Quinn response. Imagine that.
* From the Illinois Republican Party…
In case you haven’t been following the story, here’s a brief summary:
The Better Government Association found one of the biggest agencies under Gov. Pat Quinn’s control – the Illinois Department of Transportation, or IDOT – has been skirting federal hiring guidelines.
IDOT jobs under Pat Quinn have gone to political insiders over qualified workers.
Michael Shakman is suing for access to documents and a federal hiring monitor to prevent more Quinn patronage.
Pat Quinn refuses to turn over thousands of hiring documents and won’t allow a federal hiring monitor.
Bruce Rauner has called on Quinn to withdraw his motion in federal court and allow a federal hiring monitor at IDOT.
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“Instant responders”
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Phil Bradley…
Instant Responders
Driving up to Chicago we were the car behind the semi which slammed into a line of stopped cars, killing four people, including a young girl, and injured others. Had we been in front of him rather than behind, i am sure we would be dead.
This leaves images that are hard to shake. Thankfully, first responders arrived in droves, ambulances, seven fire engines, a dozen police cars and two Med-evac heliocopters.
But before all that, another image that, happily, stays as well.
After the crash there was a moment of total stillness and silence.
And then it happened. Suddenly there were guys running to the wreckage. The doors on truck cabs opened and guys jumped down and ran to the wreck. Guys got out of their cars and ran toward the diaster. Guys even stopped on the other side of the highway, climbed the divider fence and ran.
They all ran toward a tangle of cars that might explode and burn, and that was certain to be an horrific thing to see close up.
But all those wonderful guys just ran to it, to see if they could help, because it was the right, human thing to do.
When Sylvia’s Jeep flipped on 55 years ago, the same thing happened. Truckers rushed up and freed them from the vehicle long before anyone else arrived at the scene.
They are everywhere. Guys who take care of their neighbors because it is right. Guys whose first impulse is help because they see a need. The Instant Responders. God Bless them!
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* After snidely whacking the “conservative savants” on his own newspaper’s editorial board, the Tribune’s always thoughtful John McCarron turns to Senate President John Cullerton for answers about how to deal with pension reform going forward…
His idea is to present them with a stark choice as their contracts come due for renewal: Workers could agree to a scaling back of the COLA they’ve been promised in retirement or forgo any pay raises while they’re still working.
“The state constitution,” said Cullerton, “does not guarantee pay raises.”
Cullerton predicts most workers nearing retirement will opt to keep their 3 percent COLA. But enough younger and middle-age workers will choose continued pay raises that will achieve more substantial long-term savings. Current retiree benefits wouldn’t be touched, and since 2011, new “Tier 2″ hires already have had their promised benefits reduced.
That’s actually brilliant. He’s done it again. Whether the state could get the union to agree to such a change without a strike is another story, but it’s probably worth a shot.
* And whether you agree with Cullerton or not, he’s offering up more insight and thought than we’ll ever possibly get from those afore-mentioned “savants,” one of whom throws up her hands in the Tribune today about the future of pension reform and Illinois…
Anyone want to go halvsies on a moving van? Last one out of Illinois, hit the lights.
Whatever.
* From a March, 2014 report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability…
As I’ve been telling subscribers, we’re at the top of the Jim Edgar “ramp.” There is another significant bump up next year because the three biggest systems adjusted their ROI percentages after COGFA released its report, but then that’s pretty much it.
And, as is obvious by the chart, most of the pension reform law’s savings occur decades from now.
But the “savants” at the Trib (or anywhere else) will never tell you that. They’d rather just scare you into believing the worst without any actual facts. It’s utterly and despicably shameful. Not to mention that nobody will ever give up a sweet gig at the Mother Ship and move to Hoosierland or the equivalent because pension reform is in peril. The Trib loves its victimhood.
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Here comes teh crazy - for real
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Gov. Pat Quinn…
“Like so many Americans, I am deeply concerned about the welfare of the unaccompanied children who cross our nation’s southern border – especially those escaping violence, abuse, abandonment and human trafficking.
“Last week in Washington D.C., I met with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and let her know that the state of Illinois is prepared to help in whatever way necessary to preserve the well-being of these children. My administration will continue to discuss this important subject with other federal, state and local elected officials.
“I commend the Obama Administration for working with governors across our country toward a solution, and I join the President in calling on Congress to act.
“In times of trouble, we cannot forget that kindness to strangers and trusting in our faith will always help lead us to do the right thing.
“Leaders of conscience must cooperate to protect the vulnerable. Now and always, we have a responsibility to ensure all children are treated with respect, compassion and dignity.”
Bruce Rauner hasn’t yet issued a response. I’ll let you know what he says when I know.
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Today’s quotable
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Wordslinger…
Here’s what I’ve come to believe: politicians claim so much credit for the good times, some people believe it. So when the bad times come, people blame them for that.
The poster boy is Daley. He was given an enormous amount of credit, locally and nationally, for economic growth that he had nothing to do with.
Meanwhile, he neglected or screwed up some of his core responsibilities, including fiscal stewardship.
Illinois was booming during most of Blago’s one-and-a-half terms. Does anyone believe that he had anything to do with it? The guy who sat around at home all day in his jogging suits, watching cartoons and dreaming up crooked scores?
North Dakota ain’t booming because of the governor there, whoever it is. Texas ain’t booming because of Rick Perry’s policies. If it was, MIssissippi would be booming, too.
It’s important to hold politicians to their core responsibilities of human services — something we neglect to do when we pretend they’re Big Daddies who can make everyone rich.
Don’t believe the hype of governors, or mayors, when they say they are creating jobs. Consumers create jobs, risk-takers create jobs, and the job of politicians is to do their limited-jobs and get out of the way.
Exactamundo.
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Adventures in state-funded stupidity
Friday, Jul 25, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* We’ve gotten so caught up in attempting to find “criminal” behavior in the governor’s botched anti-violence initiative that we’ve tended to ignore how ridiculous some aspects of the program actually were. From the BND…
One component of the program involved training residents of the communities, both parents and youths, to serve as “mentors” to their peers. The individuals were paid to provide mentoring to their peers, but the audit found that time-keeping records in many cases were non-existent or poorly maintained.
The advice given by the mentors also has been questioned. In one instance, a mentor gave advice to a mother about how to deal with a child who violated curfew.
“I told her to tell him that night is the prime time that youth get harassed and killed by the police,” the mentor wrote in his report.
The same mentor gave similar advice to another mother: “We talked about speaking with child about danger of being out on streets late, such as shootings, police brutality, influence of bad things from other peers,” the mentor wrote in his report.
Oy.
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