No money, no water
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From WSIL TV…
The water has been shut off at the State Highway Department in Vienna due to budget issues.
The city of Vienna turned the water off in mid-September because they couldn’t pay the bills.
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NRSC: “Duckworth sides with terrorists”
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the NRSC, I kid you not…
Tammy Duckworth Sides With Terrorists, Protects Iran Again
Good Afternoon,
Tammy Duckworth’s blind support for the nuclear giveaway to Iran reached a new low today when she cast a vote in Congress to protect the Iranian regime and support terrorists instead of their victims.
The Justice For Victims Of Iranian Terrorism Act would have prohibited $100 billion in sanctions relief for Iran under the nuclear deal unless the regime complied with an order to pay $43.5 billion in damages to terror victims and their families. This afternoon, Duckworth voted against the measure.
Duckworth had the opportunity to hold the Iranian regime accountable, instead she gave a free pass to state sponsors of terror, that’s just not the kind of leadership Illinois families deserve.
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* From the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police…
“Law enforcement officers know about hostage situations, where people try to get their way by threatening innocent lives. We know that the best and safest way to resolve a hostage situation is through negotiation. What we are seeing now with the state budget is a hostage situation. Unfortunately we aren’t seeing a willingness to negotiate by the person who is holding that budget hostage, Governor Bruce Rauner,” said FOP State Lodge President Chris Southwood. “That’s very concerning to us, both as law enforcement officers and as Illinois citizens. Refusing to consider any possible solution, even a temporary or partial solution, until your list of demands is met is not a responsible or safe way to deal with programs and services that affect the well being of nearly 12 million Illinoisans. We urge Governor Rauner to stop the posturing and sit down with the legislative leaders to craft a budget and end this crisis.”
“One of the more recent victims of the state’s budget hostage situation has been the funding to train police officers to deal with the unique and dangerous situations they face every day. This training directly affects the safety of police officers and the people they protect. Government’s function is to provide the services that the private sector can’t. When government fails to provide those services, law enforcement officers, many of them FOP members, must pick up the pieces,” said FOP Labor Council Executive Director David Wickster. “The Governor should not hold for ransom the services millions of people depend on each day, nor should he demean the working men and women of this great state by implying that they are part of the problem. Governor Rauner, don’t shoot the hostage. Negotiate in good faith with the Illinois General Assembly to end this budget crisis.”
Thoughts?
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* From all state university presidents…
October 1 , 2015
The Honorable Governor Rauner, Senate President Cullerton, Senate Minority Leader Radogno, House Speaker Madigan, and House Minority Leader Durkin:
We write as leaders of the nine public universities in Illinois that annually educate 200,000 students and function as regional economic engines to urge you to end the fiscal 2016 budget standoff. Currently, without a state budget, the state is committed through the K - 12 budget, court ordered expenditures, continuing appropriations and statutory transfers to spend a little more than $34 billion in general funds. The public higher education community has not received a single dollar in state funding.
Requiring the public universities to operate without a budget appropriation is unsustainable. The uncertainty of not knowing when, or at what level, appropriations will be forthcoming is resulting in some students and faculty questioning whether Illinois is the best place to learn or to teach. Students and families are alarmed about the possibility that financial aid and services will not be available. In addition, we are deeply concerned about losing the reputational excellence and the important grant funds that support both students and the Illinois economy.
The impasse casts a shadow of uncertainty over the campuses. We are on the brink of serious operational damage. Mid-term exams are not far off, and so too are decisions that must be made about staffing, academic offerings and student services for the spring semester.
Although the universities we lead have different mixes of resources depending on our respective missions, we all have a crucial reliance on state appropriations to deliver affordable, high-quality education to hundreds of thousands of Illinois students. The appropriation is a fundamental tenet of the partnership between the state and public universities.
Our universities represent over 150 years of investment by the state and its people. Our missions include teaching, discovery, health care, innovation and the transformation of young lives. We achieve these goals, and more, not as cost centers, but as a multitude of regional and statewide economic engines, employing a total of 61,000 Illinois residents and taxpayers, with annual spending of $6.9 billion. This spending generates an estimated $28 billion in economic impact.
As leaders of Illinois public universities, we strongly reiterate a commitment we made last spring to accept our responsible share of providing solutions to Illinois’ fiscal problems. We again urge you to act on a fiscal 2016 budget that provides public universities with a responsible, sustained and predictable level of support that would ensure all of our students can continue to progress academically . We look forward to meeting with you at your earliest convenience.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration given to our request.
Discuss.
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Roskam bows out, Kinzinger lashes out
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Despite his recent rhetoric, this would’ve been a positive for Illinois if he had run…
Rep. Peter Roskam, a Republican from Wheaton, will not seek a leadership post in the House after Speaker John Boehner’s resignation, he said in a letter Wednesday to his 246 GOP colleagues.
Roskam, 54, entered Congress in 2007 and was chief deputy whip of the House from 2011 to 2014, when he lost a bid to be elected whip, the No. 3 post after speaker and majority leader. The whip corrals votes and helps shape the party’s message. […]
In his letter, Roskam urged the GOP-led Congress to “aggressively” assert its constitutional authority against President Barack Obama’s administration and “be more provocative in our challenges so as to command more of the narrative of these debates.”
He also said the GOP should reflect on what is expected of House leaders. “Right now, we ask of our leaders the impossible task of being on the road, in our districts, and in the press — all while fulfilling other vital policy and communications responsibilities,” he said.
I’ve known Roskam a long time and he’s a lot more thoughtful than his letter might make him look. He has some strong principles which I may sometimes disagree with, but I’ve always respected his abilities.
* Meanwhile, from Illinois Review…
Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) - who’s not been a favorite of Illinois’ old right wing since he ousted veteran Congressman Don Manzullo in 2012 - has riled the angst of longtime Illinois conservative activist Paul Caprio.
Caprio, who heads up the Family PAC Federal, sent out a press release Thursday “blasting” Kinzinger’s quotes in Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet’s column criticizing conservative U.S. House Republicans the congressman says pushed House Speaker John Boehner to retire.
“Stop attacking the integrity of the Republican Party base, Congressman. It’s insulting and divisive to grassroots conservatives. This is why so many conservatives are angry with Washington,” Caprio said in a press release.
Kinzinger made it clear to Sweet he rejects idealism and grasps a more pragmatic approach to politics that he believes should soothe conservatives’ frustration with GOP leadership.
The Lynn Sweet story is here. The full Caprio release is here.
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The final results are in and as many analysts have noted, “Exelon was the big winner in this year’s [PJM grid capacity} auction.” Here are the highlights:
- $1.7 BILLION RATE INCREASE FOR EXELON – Exelon engineered the new rules to increase their profits. Their $1.7 BILLION reward will be paid for by struggling Illinois ratepayers.
- Byron and Quad Cities Both Cleared the Auction and are Obligated to Run Well into the Future
Exelon’s Low Carbon Portfolio Standard would have raised $1.6 billion over 5 ½ years for Exelon. The Capacity markets, under Exelon-pushed rules, earned Exelon $1.7 billion over only three years.
Illinois doesn’t have a balanced budget, service providers are being decimated and real people across Illinois are hurting. It’s time for Exelon to take their HUGE $1.7 BILLION WINDFALL and stop asking legislators to keep padding their profits.
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.
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Derrick Smith’s prison report date extended
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This guy caught such a break, but now he wants another one? Sun-Times…
Former state Rep. Derrick Smith might have as many as three more weeks of freedom before facing the music for taking a $7,000 cash bribe.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman put Smith’s surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on hold until Oct. 21 “unless this court orders otherwise” after hearing arguments Tuesday from defense attorney Michelle Jacobs. But she only did so after pointing out that Smith’s mere five-month prison sentence could already have been behind him.
“He would have been done by now,” Coleman said. “It would have been over.”
Coleman herself characterized Smith’s sentence as “brief” during Tuesday’s hearing, which Smith attended. Jacobs has argued Smith might win either a new trial or a reduced sentence on appeal, but that process might not end before Smith leaves prison. He was previously due to report to a federal prison in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday. […]
Or, the judge said, the sentence could “maybe go up.”
That’s the same judge who recently threatened to hold the Illinois comptroller in contempt of court. She’s not to be trifled with.
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Illinois Credit Unions – A Smarter Choice
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Profit. We generally think of profit as good. We all like to profit from our decisions.
However, when you become profit for someone else, it takes on a whole new meaning.
Credit unions are different. They are not-for-profit financial cooperatives that return earnings to their members. Services are based on member needs, not profit margins.
It’s time your money profited YOU. If you are a credit union member, you already know the credit union difference. If you are not a member, go to asmarterchoice.org to discover all the advantages credit union membership holds.
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* From Randy Wells at the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association…
Good Morning Rich:
I realize you get inundated with releases and material from everyone but I wanted to pass this on to you.
As you may know, IADDA’s members provide mental health and substance abuse treatment. We have been surveying our members for the last three months as to the impact the budget situation is having on them. We have not released the results of what our members were telling us until this point due our members not wanting to alarm or panic those they serve or their staff. However, the results of our latest survey of members show a significant change in the status of the end of September and their status in the immediate future without a resolution to the budget. The survey shows we have reached “critical mass” when it comes to the future of many our members and suspect many other human service providers.
I’ve attached the survey for your review and use if choose to do so. Please note, several of members requested we not distribute their data at this time due to staffing considerations which means their data is not included in the attachment.
If you have any questions please give me a call.
Randy
* From the survey results…
Wells Center (Jacksonville)
Detoxification Services
• Effective October 1, 2014, Wells Center is discontinuing providing detoxification services and will lay-off 10 staff. Over 300 patients annually will not have access to detoxification services. Next closest Detoxification program is over an hour away (Quincy, Decatur, or Bloomington)
Drug Court Services
• Wells Center currently has a contract to provide substance abuse services to the courts in the 2nd Judicial Circuit.
Given the lack of state funding for these services, Wells Center will be ending these services, as well. At this time, it is unknown if the court system may continue some of the drug courts services using local money until the budget passes. Wells Center will determine lay off either 1.5 FTE’s or 2.5 FTE’s depending on whether or not the courts continue to fund 1 staff.
Corrections Contracts
• Wells Center has notified IDOC that they will not continue to provide substance abuse treatment at Logan Correctional Center, Dixon Springs IIP and DuQuoin IIP since these programs are all funded with General Revenue.
IDOC is currently looking for another vendor to provide these services. This will affect 22 program staff, and approximately 1200 inmates.
* Meanwhile…
U.S. Cellular Field will have three new outfield video boards next year—including a new center-field video board that is more than four times the size of the current one—under a renovation approved by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.
The public agency that owns and operates the Chicago White Sox’s home stadium will foot the $7.3 million bill for the three new signs, which are slated to be ready for the start of the team’s 2016 season.
Most prominent in the upgrade will be a roughly 6,500-square-foot video board in center field that will dramatically alter the park’s backdrop. It will replace the existing 1,484-square-foot video board that was installed in 2003 and is the smallest among main video boards at all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums. The new board will be one of the 10 largest in the league, according to ISFA.
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* From the Illinois AFL-CIO…
The state’s largest labor organization endorsed Tammy Duckworth for U.S. Senate and Susana Mendoza for Illinois Comptroller for the March Primary Election.
The Illinois AFL-CIO Executive Board voted on the endorsements at its meeting Wednesday.
Duckworth is running for the nomination to face off against first-term Sen. Mark Kirk in 2016.
“Congresswoman Duckworth has a 97 percent voting record on issues affecting working families,” said President Michael T. Carrigan. “She has a track record supporting the middle class. Her race will be one of the most important in the nation. It is critical that union members are educated and mobilized for that race.”
Mendoza is running for the Democratic nomination for State Comptroller – a race in the fall that will likely be against Gov. Bruce Rauner’s hand-picked appointee Leslie Munger. Munger was selected to fill the vacancy following the death of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka.
“The Illinois AFL-CIO endorsed Judy Baar Topinka and we supported her,” Carrigan said. “We believe Susana Mendoza will stand with working families and against the Rauner anti-worker agenda.”
Mendoza, currently the City Clerk in Chicago, had a 92 percent voting record with the state federation during her 10 years in the General Assembly.
“We have already started our education and mobilization plan with members, families and community allies,” Carrigan said. “The proposals coming out of the Governor’s office and Congress are harmful to the middle class. Who we send to Springfield and Washington can change the priority to focus on income inequality and empowering everyday working people.”
Endorsements for other races in the Illinois Primary Election are scheduled for meetings set in mid-January.
The Illinois AFL-CIO represents more than 1.5 million members of union families.
* The Chicago Tribune has Andrea Zopp’s negative react…
But Bryce Colquitt, Zopp’s campaign manager, said he believed the backing of Duckworth by the state’s umbrella organization for organized labor had been engineered earlier by outside forces.
Colquitt said Zopp’s camp originally had been told that endorsement interviews would occur in January but were asked earlier this week to meet with the AFL-CIO’s executive board on Wednesday. He said news of Duckworth’s endorsement came less than an hour after Zopp’s interview.
“This is another example of the D.C. elites tipping the scales to try to coronate Tammy Duckworth. It’s clear that their campaign is concerned about the momentum we’ve been getting,” Colquitt said. He likened the endorsement to Duckworth’s early and controversial backing from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
* So, I asked Bill Looby at the AFL-CIO for a response…
It’s not an unusual claim from candidates who didn’t receive an endorsement to say that there was outside influence on the process.
The case for supporting Tammy Duckworth is pretty clear.
This is a race with national repercussions. Duckworth has been endorsed by the Illinois AFL-CIO in her congressional races and, most importantly, she has a 97 percent voting record with the AFL-CIO. She is well-known in the labor movement and we have had thousands of union family members volunteer to knock on doors and make phone calls to help get her elected.
There are concerns about Andrea Zopp’s actions in corporate management and on the Chicago Board of Education. With the current environment in Illinois and Washington D.C., it is critical that we elect a strong and proven ally of working families to the U.S. Senate. Tammy Duckworth’s record earned her the Illinois AFL-CIO endorsement.
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Chicago fuel tax reserves running on fumes
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Standard & Poor’s, June, 2015, all emphasis added…
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its ‘AA+’ long-term rating and underlying rating (SPUR) on Chicago’s existing motor fuel tax (MFT) revenue debt. The outlook on all ratings is stable. The rating reflects our view of: The pledged revenue stream’s diverse statewide base; The insulation of pledged revenues from the financial challenges facing the state of Illinois, because we view the governing statute as not allowing tax revenues to be used to support the state’s general operations. The fact that although MFT revenues are subject to state appropriation, the state historically has never been late in disseminating the MFT revenues…
What was that line in “Animal House”? Something like “You (messed) up, you trusted us”?
Oops.
* From the Bond Buyer…
The Illinois budget stalemate has left Chicago on the hook to cover monthly payments to the trustee on its motor fuel tax bonds because state transfers are trapped without a fiscal 2016 budget in place.
Pending legislation would allow the state to distribute the motor fuel revenues without a budget, but its fate is uncertain.
Chicago is tapping residual revenues it collects and pledges to bond repayments in order to cover monthly payments on $270 million of outstanding bonds.
Once those funds are exhausted, the city intends to look elsewhere for revenue to avoid a default, according to city finance officials. Biannual debt service payments to holders are made in January and July. […]
The state Senate in early September passed a bill that would allow the motor fuel distribution appropriations to resume without a state budget in placed. The bill was not called up in the House during its session last week because it lacked the votes.
Ugh.
* But, a new bill has been introduced…
Several suburban House Democrats yesterday rolled out a bill to authorize the release of tax money owed to Illinois cities.
Introduced on Wednesday, the proposal, House Bill 4305, would require the state to release money owed to local municipalities that is collected through gaming operations, the motor fuel tax, and other surcharges.
“The money collected from these funds is meant to be distributed to local municipalities, not used as a political pawn,” said State Rep. Marty Moylan (D-Des Plaines), the bill’s chief sponsor. “The governor’s refusal to let these funds go to their intended recipient is hurting our local communities and weakening the region’s economy.”
Moylan, a former mayor of Des Plaines, notes that the town is the recipient of revenue generated by Rivers Casino, totaling almost $9 million last fiscal year. Currently, the city is receiving no money from its share of the gaming tax revenue.
Additionally, the bill also allows winners of the state lottery to collect their full prizes. Currently, winners are only allowed to collect $25,000 regardless of their prize value.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Bean counters
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune has a story today about a legislative battle that has been going on for months: The Rauner administration’s emergency rules that shut down most new access to the state’s childcare program as well as home care programs for the elderly and disabled.
We’ve talked about this topic numerous times, but here’s the GOP response as printed by the Trib…
“This may be shocking to the system and the protocol and the feel and jibe of what has been, I get that, but we are truly in new circumstances, these are unventured territories,” said Rep. Ron Sandack of Downers Grove, Republican co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, the panel that’s responsible for overseeing the minutiae of putting a law in place.
“There is only so much that the administration can control, and the few things they can are really difficult topics, it’s not fun,” he added. […]
“With no budget in place and the majority party refusing to pass a single reform to grow our economy, the state of Illinois is most certainly in a state of fiscal emergency,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “Illinois is facing a $4 billion deficit, and the administration is trying to responsibly manage the state’s finances amid statutorily required payments and various court orders and consent decrees.” […]
“We are on autopilot,” Sandack said. “For those who have made much to do about the rules process, I would ask have they been around for a budget impasse that’s lasted this long? The state has no appropriation authority and the ability to manage what amounts to pennies in the overall budget. If that’s not an emergency, I don’t know what would ever qualify.”
On a purely bean-counting basis, I get what they’re saying. But on a purely bean-counting basis, how do you then justify this?…
Gov. Bruce Rauner has offered packaged food giant ConAgra tax incentives to move its headquarters from Omaha to Chicago, according to a source familiar with the deal.
The revelation comes on the heels of news that ConAgra is negotiating to lease office space large enough to accommodate as many as 1,000 workers at River North’s Merchandise Mart. […]
(A) source familiar with the deal said Rauner met with ConAgra executives earlier this year and offered them Edge tax incentives to move to Illinois.
Though Rauner has since ordered a halt on such incentives until the state’s budget impasse is resolved, the commitment to ConAgra was made before that and will be honored, the source said.
Without businesses and jobs, we don’t bring in tax money. I totally get that. I’m not opposed to this tax incentive.
I’m just saying that when you’re cutting off grandma and grandbaby it might not be such a great time to be handing out bigtime tax breaks to Chef Boyardee.
*** UPDATE *** An interesting press release…
State Representative Grant Wehrli today called on the Rauner administration to work with the Naperville community and the Naperville Development Partnership to replace hundreds of local jobs that will be lost when food giant ConAgra relocates the Naperville jobs to Chicago. Representative Wehrli (R-Naperville) said the Naperville-to-Chicago move is part of a larger agreement that will provide ConAgra EDGE tax incentives for relocating their corporate headquarters to Chicago from Naperville and Omaha, Nebraska.
“These incentives are used to mask the poor business climate in Illinois. Without reforming things like workers compensation and unemployment insurance, we are left in the position of having to buy jobs with these unsustainable incentives,” Rep. Wehrli said.
“We all want to bring new jobs here from other states; but when the deal, brokered with tax incentives, costs an Illinois community 400 jobs, then it’s a hollow victory. Governor Rauner needs to work equally hard to ‘back fill’ those jobs leaving Naperville. The governor’s office cannot just create a hole and walk away,” said Rep. Wehrli.
ConAgra’s Naperville headquarters provides jobs for 400 employees. Its home to many of the company’s largest brands, including Hunts, Chef Boyardee, Peter Pan, and Hebrew National. Corporate leaders announced earlier this week that they are negotiating for office space in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart that will accommodate 700 employees including the relocation of employees from both Naperville and Omaha.
“Shifting hundreds of jobs from one community to another creates winners and losers within our own state. I know the Governor worked hard to bring these jobs to Chicago. Now, he needs to work equally hard to help us bring jobs back to Naperville,” Rep. Wehrli concluded.
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Rep. Drury loses round at Supreme Court
Thursday, Oct 1, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Daily Law Bulletin…
The Illinois Supreme Court ordered an appeals panel to look into a candidate’s claim that the incumbent’s $9 million defamation suit was aimed at silencing him during their campaign. […]
Democratic Rep. Scott R. Drury of Highwood filed the suit last year in Cook County Circuit Court, along with a motion for injunctive relief aimed at keeping Mark Neerhof — his Republican opponent for the 58th House District seat on the North Shore — from disseminating any ads “containing false information” about him.
He claimed Neerhof’s campaign and a conservative political action committee, Liberty Principles PAC, placed TV ads and mailers that incorrectly said he supported legislation to change the state’s education-funding formula. The ads also claimed he took that position to appease Democratic leaders.
Neerhof and his campaign filed a Section 2-619 motion to dismiss, arguing Drury’s claims should be tossed because of the Citizen Participation Act, which aims to protect citizens from so-called SLAPPs, or, Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
He also submitted an affidavit saying neither he, nor his campaign, had anything to do with the advertisements.
In my non-lawyer opinion, this looks like a prime candidate for SLAPP designation. Go read the rest for more background and info.
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* From Emily Miller at Voices for Illinois Children…
Today marks the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. All across the country, advocacy groups, survivors and allies will be joining together to remember those who have lost their lives as well as those who managed to survive and to teach others the importance of creating a culture free from fear of abuse.
But this year, by failing to pass a fully funded year-long budget, the governor and Illinois lawmakers have eliminated state investments in services to empower and protect survivors of domestic and sexual abuse. This failure has put the lives of tens of thousands of people, mostly women and children, at risk.
Instead of receiving the help they need to heal, physically and emotionally, survivors in Illinois now face the reality that our elected leaders simply do not care enough to protect them.
The consequences of the budget impasse are real, not exaggerated. They include:
* Ending state funding for services that help 75,000 survivors of domestic violence across the state of Illinois—20,000 women and children in Cook County alone. This includes medical, psychological and legal services as well as emergency shelter and other protections.
* Some rape crisis centers are facing closure and others will be forced to lay off 30-40 percent of their staffs in the coming months, which would result in turning away 3,400 victims of sexual violence who need advocacy and counseling;
* Eliminating state funding for services that provide immediate crisis intervention for at least 3,700 survivors of sexual assault;
* Eliminating state funding of civil legal aid, compromising access to the civil justice system for 17,500 vulnerable Illinoisans impacted by domestic violence, eviction, and financial exploitation.
Go read the rest.
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The exodus continues
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor has often bemoaned the number of people who are leaving Illinois. Well…
Last week paleoecologist Eric Grimm, the director of science at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, rented an 8-meter-long truck, bought $500 worth of lumber, and built temporary shelves in the back. Then, with the help of his wife and former coworkers, he loaded his cargo: roughly 30 sediment cores drilled from lake bottoms.
The cores, which hold pollen grains, minerals, and other clues that help researchers reconstruct past environments, had been stored at the museum where Grimm has worked for 28 years. But the museum is scheduled to close on 1 October as the result of a tense budget standoff between the state’s Democrat-led General Assembly and its Republican governor. So Grimm is moving his collection to the University of Minnesota’s National Lacustrine Core Repository (LacCore) in Minneapolis. And he’s retiring from his post at the museum—with a certain sense of dismay.
“It’s a travesty,” Grimm says of the political stalemate that has dominated Illinois for months, and the consequences for the museum. “I think it’s political corruption and malevolent anti-intellectualism.”
Grimm isn’t the only one mourning the imminent closure of the 138-year-old Illinois State Museum and four related sites. Researchers know the museum as the home to the largest collection of mastodon fossils in the world, databases used by international scientists, and artifacts from native Midwestern tribes. Its collection includes some 13.5 million objects, including 8.5 million anthropological and archaeological artifacts. The museum also hosts a relatively small but active research program, run by a staff of 10 curators and scientists. […]
For now, Grimm and his colleagues are continuing to pack up their boxes. Soon, he’ll be driving to Minnesota to sort his sediment cores and preparing to move from Illinois. “I can’t even stand to look at it,” Grimm says of the museum closure. “You watch the whole thing you helped build be brought down basically because of politics.”
* Meanwhile…
“I am very disappointed they are moving forward with the closure,” said Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, who said he’s had “ongoing discussions” with Rauner’s office during the whole closure process.
“I’m going to continue talking to them,” he said. “We need to have a plan to reopen the museum. I do believe there is a commitment from the governor’s office to reopen the museum once we have a budget. It will be difficult. We’re going to lose some very good employees.”
Not everyone agrees. Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, defended the closure.
“The governor does have to do it,” Brady said. “The Democrats have left him with a multiple billion dollar budget deficit that has to be dealt with. I blame the Democrats with this.”
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* Property taxes aren’t based on an ability to pay, and folks have been attempting to make that tax more “progressive” for a very long time. Mayor Emanuel’s proposed property tax hike is a big step in that direction. From Greg Hinz…
At a council committee hearing this week, the mayor’s financial team released a revealing “fact sheet” on the pending tax/homestead plan that disclosed fascinating new details.
The most significant section, tucked into a paragraph in the middle of three charts on Page 2, says: “Homeowners living in homes valued at $250,000 or less will see little or no increase and most—nearly 290,000—will see a decrease in their overall bill.”
An accompanying chart spells that out. For instance, in the first year of the tax hike (the levy would be phased in after four years) the owner of a home worth $200,000 would see their tax bill drop to $3,054 a year from $3,260. Three years later—after the full hike is levied, and with the mayor’s proposed homestead break in effect—that owner still would be paying $65 a year less than now, assuming no other changes. […]
I can report that well over half of city taxpayers apparently would have their bill cut under the mayor’s plan, which is pending in Springfield. According to Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios’ office, 419,153 Chicago homeowners applied for the homestead exemption in the most recent tax year. Almost three-quarters of them—291,755 to be exact—had property worth less than $250,000.
Hinz is upset about this and I think he has a right to be. Everybody ought to have some skin in the game when solving this fiscal mess. That’s not to say that those at the bottom should pay the full freight, but shouldn’t they pay a little something something?
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From a press release…
Four finalists remain in the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission’s search to replace retiring Auditor General William Holland. The Commission has been actively searching for candidates since Holland announced his intent to retire. An LAC Search Subcommittee reviewed a total of 14 applications, conducted background checks, and last week interviewed seven candidates before narrowing to four finalists. The four candidates include:
• Frank Mautino of Spring Valley, IL. State Representative Mautino serves as Deputy Majority Leader in the Illinois House and chief negotiator on major legislative issues.
• Mary Modelski, CIA, CISA, CGAP, of Walnut Creek, California. Ms. Modelski, a Hoffman Estates native, is a Division Chief for Internal Audit for Alameda County, California.
• Elaine Nekritz of Northbrook, IL. State Representative Nekritz is an Assistant Majority Leader in the Illinois House and an attorney.
• Attorney Larry Sanders of Marion, IL. Mr. Sanders is the General Counsel of the Rend Lake Conservancy District. He served as senior partner of Sanders & Sanders, where he represented many southern Illinois school districts.
“The Auditor General serves as our partner in our effort to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in State government,” said LAC Co-Chair State Senator Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington). “This is why it’s so important that we find the best candidates for the positon.”
The Audit Commission will make its recommendation to the General Assembly from the remaining candidate pool. The Legislature has the final authority to choose the Auditor General and statute requires that the successful candidate be selected by a 3/5s majority vote in both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate.
The Auditor General is a constitutional officer charged with the audit of public funds of the State. In addition, the Auditor General performs investigations and efficiency, management, and program audits at the direction of the Legislature or the Legislative Audit Commission. State law requires that each State agency be audited every two years.
“Our next Auditor General will have a tough act to follow, as current Auditor General Bill Holland has built an impeccable reputation as a steward of taxpayer dollars,” said LAC Co-Chair State Representative Bob Rita (D-Blue Island).
Bill Holland has served as Auditor General since 1992. In June he announced that he will retire on December 31, 2015. The Audit Commission announced the search for a replacement soon after via press release and also placed notices in several online publications to attract individuals with experience in auditing, accounting, administration, law, or state government. Ads ran in four daily newspapers and a total of 14 individuals applied for the position.
* The Question: Your pick for Auditor General? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
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Oy
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
[Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy] pointed to curious behavior from Chicago criminals, who tend to hold on to their guns during police chases because “the sanction from the gang for losing a gun is greater than the sanction for getting caught by police and getting put through the criminal justice system.”
I’m not sure the courts could order beatdowns of gun violators, but I see the superintendent’s point.
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* Um, OK, how about just taking out the lights and putting up stop signs?…
As part of the city’s ongoing study into traffic-control devices, officials on Sept. 15 turned off the traditional red, yellow and green traffic light setup at two intersections: Spring and Monroe streets, and Second and Edwards streets.
Instead, drivers on Spring and Edwards streets saw a flashing red light, which meant they had to stop and then proceed when the intersection was clear, while drivers on Monroe and Second streets saw a flashing yellow light, which meant they could proceed through the intersection with caution but without stopping.
Some drivers didn’t pick up on the change and would often wrongly stop at the flashing yellow light, causing confusion, said Lori Williams, the city’s traffic engineer. In addition, pedestrians had trouble crossing the streets.
So last week, the city changed back the lights at both intersections to the traditional red, yellow and green configuration.
Oy.
Springfield has way too many traffic lights downtown. Most are only useful for about an hour in the morning and then another hour after work. And even then, stop signs would probably suffice.
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Today’s number: $400,000
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
Guerry Suggs, chairman of the state museum board of directors, said the move [by the governor to close the museum] doesn’t make much sense.
Researchers and scientists will continue their work, but it’s unclear what staff such as tour guides and security officers will do, Suggs said. […]
“Closing the Illinois State Museum and Sparta Shooting Complex will save Illinois taxpayers millions of dollars,” [Rauner spokeswoman Lyndsey Walters] said in an emailed statement.
Suggs estimated the savings from laying off a small number of nonunion museum employees would be less than $400,000 annually — minuscule compared with the state’s multibillion-dollar deficit or the tax revenue generated by tourists, he said.
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On the other hand…
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Erickson…
“As we move into fall, I think you’ll see some rank-and-file members calling for increased levels of discussions,” said state Rep. Dan Brady of Bloomington. “There are pressure points everywhere, from child care services to higher education.”
Brady, the ranking Republican on the House committee overseeing the budget for higher education, said the lack of a spending plan for the state’s universities is taking a toll.
Southern Illinois University, for example, recently announced a series of a program cuts designed to ensure the institution can continue operating into the new year.
Eastern Illinois University saved about $10 million through a series of cost-cutting measures enacted in the summer, including employee furloughs, attrition and reductions to athletic programs.
“We know that this cannot go on like this,” Brady said.
I have long been convinced that the real key to solving this impasse will be moderate Republican legislators who have been endorsed by unions. Those folks, like Rep. Brady’s ISU, often have government facilities in their districts. They don’t see unions as inherently evil. They generally prefer compromises.
So, if those moderates make common cause with Democrats who aren’t willing to bash unions, they could make a real difference.
* And then you have a handful of rich folks who don’t care what the governor might do to them…
“The governor needs to show he has the votes,” said [Barrington Republican state Rep. Dave McSweeney], adding, “And he can count me as a ‘yes’ vote.”
But if Rauner’s rabidly anti-union Turnaround Agenda fails to get the necessary 71 votes in the House?
“We still need a budget,” declared McSweeney. “We need to get this over with.”
* Even so, betting on a “mushroom revolt” is always a fool’s wager. As much as I like Rep. McSweeney (and I do), he doesn’t exactly have a huge following in his caucus. And what makes moderates like Rep. Brady so, um, moderate is their general aversion to fights to the death, particularly with their leaders, and particularly when their leaders have taken such a hard line…
Achieving a budget deal before 2016 looks to be a near impossibility. “Highly unlikely,” Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin tells POLITICO. The Illinois House only has two more session days scheduled for the remainder of 2015. Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders haven’t met since May. “At what point do they realize if they want to get through this they have to be willing to negotiate?”
Could be a while.
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I just don’t see it
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Things are not always as simple as they initially appear. For instance…
The lack of inertia to get a budget in place after three months of gridlock has some lawmakers itching to jump-start talks.
“I think we need an outcry from the rank-and-file lawmakers to the leaders to sit down and figure this out,” state Rep. Sue Scherer, a Decatur Democrat, said Tuesday.
But…
At issue is the Republican governor’s insistence that Democrats approve a number of pro-business, anti-union proposals before he signs off on a tax increase designed to balance the budget.
Democrats have balked at the changes sought by Rauner, saying they would hurt the middle class.
“We can’t give that up,” Scherer said.
The bottom line is that while all rank and file Democrats want a solution, the vast majority of them (pretty much all, really) aren’t willing to decimate unions in the process (OK, maybe one guy is).
In other words, they’re not being held back by their leaders. There is no yoke on them, no golden handcuffs. When you see assertions to the contrary, you should always check to see if they’re being written by somebody who is regularly in Springfield…
Rise up, mushroom lawmakers in Springfield.
Leave the musty darkness of your cellars. Unshackle yourselves from your leaders. Stifle your re-election fears.
Grow a spine.
There are few in the General Assembly willing to do any of that.
Again, where is the evidence that large numbers of Democratic lawmakers are impatiently itching to vote to whack unions, if only their party bosses would let them?
This protracted war is not about the budget or even taxes. The governor has said repeatedly that he is willing to raise taxes, but only if his anti-union preconditions are met.
* From Rep. Jack Franks…
I can’t fault Democrats for opposing severe cuts to services, and I stand alongside many of my Republican colleagues in opposing higher taxes; like the people I represent, I believe that with hard work and compromise, we can find a more balanced approach. What troubles me is that instead of seeking this middle ground, both sides have come to agree on a destructive shared delusion that it’s OK for taxpayers to suffer as long as the other side of the aisle takes the blame.
It’s clear that breaking the budget stalemate will require a new way forward.
The governor campaigned on closing corporate tax loopholes as a means of generating revenue and closing the state’s budget deficit. This is a common-sense approach that Republicans and Democrats alike should agree on, but unfortunately the governor has yet to introduce legislation to make it happen. Illinois can’t wait any longer. Last week I introduced a bill that will generate new revenue without raising taxes by closing billions of dollars in corporate loopholes and rewriting outmoded elements of our state tax code.
We’ve talked about the Franks proposal before. But, again, nothing matters if the governor continues to make impractical demands about his Turnaround Agenda. Democrats just ain’t gonna go for it.
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Caption contest!
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Instagram…
matthias1966 Well look who we found at #pilotlightchefs #chicago_gourmet #riseandshine #governorrauner #whowouldhavethought
* The pic…
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