* 2:23 pm - The leaders meeting started at about 2 o’clock. We’re hoping for audio from IIS sometime this afternoon.
Whilst we wait, let’s take a look at a newly moved AP story, which underscores my point earlier today that Quinn just doesn’t have enough credibility to make budget-cutting threats on his own. He needs some outside assistance, and fast…
[Gov. Quinn is] making the rounds of social service agencies to guilt lawmakers into doing what he wants. […]
But skeptics say Quinn’s guilt trip is too little, too late and it’s a tactic former Gov. Rod Blagojevich overused.
Still others argue the debate over a tax increase can’t truly get off the ground in tough economic times until officials cut waste and improve government efficiency.
The AP has apparently abandoned the “straight news” concept.
* 2:58 pm - The entire AP story is now posted and it truly is a farce. Here’s a hint: Rep. Jack Franks will never vote for a tax hike. No how, no way. So, quoting him talking about how more cuts are needed before he can vote for a tax hike means absolutely nothing….
“I have to look my constituents in the eye and say, ‘You know what, I’ve done everything possible and there’s no other way.’ Right now I can’t even come close to saying that,” said Rep. Jack Franks, a Democrat from Marengo.
* 5:18 pm - The leaders meeting ended a few minutes ago, so maybe we’ll know a little something soon.
QUINN: Now, I’m going to be probably more aggressive than ever this week. I don’t think this is the time to run in place and pretend all is well. It’s the exact opposite and we have to have an urgent approach to a crisis that we never encountered — most of us in our lifetime.
The problem for Quinn is that he has so little credibility on this issue. Nobody really believes that a liberal like Quinn will allow a doomsday budget to happen. The governor needs backup, so maybe he should do something like bring in Republicans like Jim Edgar, Steve Schnorf etc. to help him make the case that the budget situation is, indeed, dire and the huge cuts that are coming are all too real.
CROSS: Everybody in Illinois government knows that when the Speaker wants to pass something he gets it passed. And unfortunately, this time around he didn’t pass it. It certainly begs the question of why he would send an unbalanced budget or a budget that doesn’t take care of certain segments of society, why he would do that to the governor and more importantly to those people in Illinois.
Quinn said he can’t think of a higher priority than children. Lawmakers’ first responsibility should be fiscal responsibility; spending beyond what the state can afford hurts all residents, children included.
Quinn says a tax increase is needed. If he hopes to convince lawmakers of that, he is first going to have to get serious about cutting programs and services. They made clear they are not going to ask taxpayers to sacrifice anymore than they already do unless state government goes first.
I don’t mean to pick on the BN-D, but how much do newspapers make off of public advertising mandates? And how much do they save because of targeted state sales tax exemptions on everything from newsprint, to ink to printing equipment? They’d be a lot more credible when they scream for cuts if they offered themselves up first.
* As most of you know, I’m solidly for redistricting reform, but this is a very dangerous idea…
Both House GOP Leader Tom Cross and Senate Republican chief Christine Radogno brought up remap at a meeting last week with their Democratic counterparts and Gov. Pat Quinn over whether to raise taxes to fill a budget hole.
Mr. Cross even asked the governor if he would consider using his veto pen to rewrite a pending bill and make reapportionment a non-partisan process.
Illinois just impeached and removed a governor for grossly abusing his powers, and using an amendatory veto to drastically rewrite legislation to implement a huge idea that hasn’t even been debated in the General Assembly would be a gigantic abuse of gubernatorial power.
That Cross would even consider this silly idea in the name of “reform” pretty much undercuts his argument that he wants reform.
* Roeper writes about the parking meter uproar and reminds me to make a point about reform notions and political reality…
Yes, the rate hikes were obscene, the city blew a potential $1 billion in revenue by farming out the business, and the pay-and-display boxes have been plagued with mechanical problems.
However. The one silver lining in this cloud is people who live, work and play in the city can sometimes find a spot so they can run into the dry cleaners or drop something off or take a quick meeting, whereas in the past so many spots were taken by “squatters” who would find a spot early and feed the meter every two hours.
This notion, pushed by the city’s inspector general and others, that the city could’ve gotten an extra billion dollars by just jacking up the parking meter rates and keeping the money for itself is patently absurd and ignores reality. Without a private contract in place, those rates would’ve been lowered to their original levels by now because aldermen are under such heavy attack from angry constituents.
Also, Roeper is right about empty meters. But that won’t stop the screaming.
Judges are elected in most states, including Illinois. The main value of Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in a West Virginia case is to provide another good reason why judicial elections are a bad idea.
When Springfield leaders concluded that the specific reform would not substantially affect their operations, they gave the reform the green light. When they concluded that the reform threatened their status quo, they did not.
For example, in our discussions about procurement reform, we were told repeatedly that the General Assembly doesn’t approve many contracts and leases; on transparency, we were told that the General Assembly doesn’t get many Freedom of Information Act requests. In these two areas, and a related area involving patronage abuses (the General Assembly doesn’t hire either), we received some reform.
A different story line emerged when the General Assembly’s leaders concluded that the commission’s proposed reforms might alter the rules of the game in Springfield: campaign finance, enforcement and government structure. In each of these areas, the commission’s proposals were treated as a grave threat, so the proposals were substantially watered down (campaign finance); rejected in full (enforcement tools for state prosecutors); delayed (redistricting), or outright ignored (legislative leader term limits and legislative rule changes to improve democracy).
By failing to adopt any of these game-changing proposals, the General Assembly spoke clearly about its unwillingness to get to the core of the culture of corruption.
In everything I’ve read by Collins so far, including the reform commission’s report, he never really explains why the concentration of power in the leaders’ hands is at “the core of the culture of corruption.”
I could give you a list. You could probably make up your own. But Collins has never fully justified these proposals, which I find quite odd. We’re just supposed to take his word for it that he’s right.
* Senate President Cullerton lists the reforms passed by the GA and then gets defensive in an op-ed piece…
Critics say that these reforms are “watered down” or do not go far enough. That’s because recognizing the accomplishments of legislators would be inconsistent with the legislative witch hunt that has been promoted by some.
* Boland calls for U of I resignations: In October 2007, it was reported Boland gave the daughter of one of his larger political donors three legislative college scholarships worth a total of $17,536. At the time, Boland said he was not influenced by campaign donations totaling nearly $16,000 from the student’s mother. State Sen. Gary Dahl, R-Granville, said any potential investigation should examine other ways lawmakers exert influence on higher education, such as the legislative scholarship program.
Hiring plans among Chicago-area employers will modestly pick up during the third quarter, according to a survey released Tuesday by employment services provider Manpower Inc
State officials say visitors to Illinois spent more and stayed longer in 2008. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity said Monday that tourists spent $30.8 billion last year. That’s up more than $883 million from 2007.
Over the past five years, tourists spent more than $7.8 billion, helping to create 303,500 jobs in the travel industry.
Illinois remains the sixth most popular state among overseas tourists. About 1.4 million overseas tourists visited Illinois during a time when the dollar was below the Euro. That’s a 21 percent increase from 2007.
Chicago tourists declined to 44.21 million, 2.1 percent less than 2007’s record-breaking numbers. However, those tourists increased the number of days spent in the city by 6 percent.
Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents city civilian public-safety employees, were recently informed by the Chicago Department of Human Resources that 293 workers will receive layoff notices this week that will be effective July 1st, according to a news release from the union.
The layoffs would include 186 crossing guards, 67 detention aides and 40 traffic control aides, the release said. The jobs will be performed in the future by Chicago police officers, the union said it was told.
The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal by four Chicago-area riverboat casinos, including two owned by units of Penn National Gaming Inc. and others owned in part by MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.
The casinos argued that the law was an unconstitutional taking of private property without compensation. The Illinois Supreme Court upheld the measure, saying the U.S. Constitution’s takings clause doesn’t apply to government-imposed fees.
The law places a 3 percent surcharge on the four casinos’ gross receipts, adjusted to exclude money paid to winning bettors. Under the law, some of the collected money is used to increase horse-racing purses and the rest to subsidize tracks.
The companies said in court papers that they paid more than $75 million during the original two years of the surcharge and may pay $100 million more under a three-year extension enacted last year.
A windfall of more than $7 million may save struggling Fairmount Park — which has faced cuts and possible closure — as a lawsuit blocking the funding crossed the legal finish line Monday.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided to step away from a fight between Illinois casinos and horse tracks, clearing the way for a state plan meant to prop up the struggling horse racing industry.
Officials said the much-needed infusion of cash means Collinsville’s track will be able to continue live thoroughbred racing for the next two or three years — and maybe longer. Without the funding, the track’s future looked bleak, officials said.
Would you share a taxicab with total strangers headed in the same direction — at any time, day or night — in exchange for a 50 percent fare cut?
Instead of waiting for a rush-hour bus on a congested route, would you pay $3 or $4 to share a “group-ride cab” with three other passengers?
“If it’s workable and could benefit the driver and consumer, absolutely” Chicago will try it, said Reyes, commissioner of the city’s Consumer Protection and Business Affairs Department.
A federal judge has dissolved decades-old legal restrictions placed on Chicago police because of their infamous Red Squad.
U.S. District Court Judge Joan Gotschall voided the consent decrees today in response to a joint motion from Mayor Richard Daley’s administration and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The slaying highlights a perilous flaw in how non-violent offenders sent to maximum-security prisons for disciplinary infractions have been locked up in the same cells with predatory inmates who are serving long sentences and have nothing to lose.
There were 156 murders in Chicago between January and the end of May this year. That’s 20 less than the same time period last year and it’s good news for the police department which saw a 5-year high in the murder rate in 2008 when there were a total of five-hundred and 10 killings.
* Kristen McQueary argues that Speaker Madigan must retire from public life if his daughter runs for governor…
In this climate of incessant conflict-of-interest gauging, voters will, and should, consider the Madigans a package deal before supporting the younger Madigan, should she run for governor. That is precisely why the elder Madigan must retire before she takes the leap.
But she also kinda makes the case for why a Lisa Madigan governorship might clip the elder Madigan’s wings…
Speaker Madigan, if he stuck around and Lisa Madigan won, would straddle the impossible position of representing the interests of his caucus and avoiding an embarrassing outmaneuver of his daughter.
And outmaneuvering governors is what he does best.
* The Question: Should Speaker Madigan resign from public life if his daughter runs for governor? Explain fully.
Almost every reporter who covered the unveiling of new budget-cutting recommendations by the governor’s Taxpayer Action Board last week claimed the “TAB” had found a half billion dollars in reductions for the coming fiscal year. It was reported that way because that’s what the board’s chairman, Illinois Taxpayers Federation President Tom Johnson, said.
Johnson’s comment demonstrates how amorphous, politically difficult and fiscally suspect many of these proposals really are. If you do the math, the board’s report actually claims budgetary savings this coming year could be as high as $1 billion if all its recommendations are implemented.
There was, apparently, a major internal push-back from some of the more experienced budget experts on the citizens board. Former George Ryan budget director Steve Schnorf - who also served under Jim Edgar and is one of the smartest budget gurus I’ve ever met - and the very highly regarded former Democratic state Rep. Woods Bowman were two of four signatories to a harshly critical “Minority Report” letter drafted by Schnorf.
“You can, and I believe you will, get some savings from the suggestions in this report,” Schnorf wrote to Gov. Pat Quinn in his dissent. “It probably won’t equal billions and it certainly won’t all happen over 12-18 months. Good luck.”
Indeed. Look closer and you’ll see that half of the touted billion dollar savings in next fiscal year comes from two items which are already being done, and then some. The board suggested a 2-3 percent across the board cut of almost all state spending. But the governor ordered agencies last week to begin preparations for a whopping 25 percent across the board cut. The board’s proposal looks tiny and almost harmless in comparison.
The board also wants a freeze in the state’s operating budget. But the General Assembly approved a budget last month which funds state programs at an average of 50 percent of the current fiscal year’s appropriations. That’s much more than a freeze.
The rest of the savings come from things like Medicaid managed care, which supposedly would save $95 million in the first year - a far cry from the $3 billion in savings that the Senate Republicans have been claiming and the Chicago Tribune has been touting.
Other savings, like reducing the prison population by freeing inmates charged with nonviolent drug and property crimes ($30-65 million) carry huge political risk for the governor.
“My best personal estimate is that you will be able to save very little, if any, money [next fiscal year],” Schnorf wrote, claiming he’d be “thrilled” to find $200 million in “actual, achievable” savings in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1st. Other than across the board cuts and freezes, he’s likely correct.
However, this report is a good thing in that it shows without doubt that there is just no way for Illinois to fully cut itself out of this awful budget mess.
After the federal stimulus cash is factored in, Illinois still faces a $7 billion budget hole in the coming fiscal year. Yet after two months of work and a horde of consultants, the governor’s commission only came up with $1 billion in “cuts.”
The obvious problem is that if all the board’s recommendations were followed and they all worked as advertised, the state would still be left with a massive $6 billion hole to fill.
And then there’s the very real problem of what happens after the billions in federal stimulus dollars are spent. The state put that cash right into its spending base. When the stimulus money is gone, the state will have yet another horrific hole to fill.
And what about the out years? The report’s claimed savings in future years rely heavily on reopening the state’s collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME and other unions. However, the four-year union contract is just a year old.
“Based on my personal experiences,” Schnorf wrote, “your largest union will not agree” to reopen negotiations on that contract.”
He ought to know.
“Take everything we say to you with some grain of salt,” Schnorf wrote, adding. “Our suggestions aren’t the ordained word, handed down from on high.” Let’s hope everyone keeps that sound advice in mind as the process moves forward. There are more cuts to be made that the board missed, but even those won’t completely solve the problem.
* Related…
* Mike Lawrence: So much promise, so little achieved: During the 1960s and early ’70s, W. Russell Arrington was the Mike Madigan of his era in influencing legislative outcomes. When a young aide tried to console the Senate Republican leader by suggesting the legislature’s failure to resolve a major issue might advantage him politically, he replied, “That’s not the point, Jim. We’re here to solve problems, and we didn’t solve the problem.”
* Abused fight back against budget cuts: Thirty-four percent of the shelter’s funding comes from the state, but in the partial budget passed by the state legislature those dollars are cut in half. Executive Director Linda Healy has told the seven women and 20 children staying at the house right now that they will have to move out by June 30. She is not accepting new residents unless they can promise to be out by July 1.
* Illinois Budget Negotiations Trudge On, No Deal In Sight: PHELON: We’re not as optimistic that we’re going to come out of Tuesday’s meeting with a solution that means we’ll have it in place before July 1.
* Illinois can’t have everything: Illinois income tax bills will have to go up. We’re with Quinn on this one. Lock that treasure chest up tight. Don’t open it until the legislature makes the painful decisions necessary to put the state on a sustainable path.
* If this is true, then Treasurer Giannoulias may have gotten a very bad political issue off the table…
There is bright news for the thousands of parents who invested college savings money in Illinois’ Bright Start Savings Plan. In January, this column revealed that one of the fund managers within the Bright Start plan had made unauthorized trades that cost investors in its most conservative fund $85 million.
Now, after months of negotiations with Oppenheimer, the fund management company, the state has a tentative agreement to recover $77 million for fund investors — which would be a remarkably high recovery for a negotiated settlement. The amount that will be returned to each affected account will depend on a complicated formula that is still being negotiated.
But…
The treasurer’s office said it was “concerned” that the filing of individual claims could scuttle the deal, which would apply to all investors. Anyone filing an individual claim would not be part of the settlement, but an avalanche of individual claims could rupture the fragile agreement
Well-known consumer advocate and plaintiff’s attorney Andrew Stoltman filed the claim on behalf of Tom and Leigh Ann Reusche, whose 19-year-old daughter, Nadya, will be a sophomore this fall at DePauw University in Indiana. […]
Stoltmann created a Web site, recover529losses.com, to reach investors. He says the Reusche filing was the first of more than a dozen he has lined up, in an attempt to get investors’ money back, plus damages and legal fees. […]
Told of the pending settlement over the weekend, Stoltman replied, “Let’s see the final result. Nine out of 10 times, the ultimate recoveries by a state are much smaller than what I can settle for with my individual clients. … If the state recovers all the money, I’d recommend she take the settlement. But if they can’t get back all the money that was lost, then I’m going after them.”
U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk’s office said Friday the congressman and his wife of eight years, Kimberly Ann Vertolli, are divorcing.
The divorce becomes final Monday.
“They remain friends, and the legal filings related to the divorce will not be sealed,” according to a brief statement from the Highland Park Republican’s office.
The filing was made under seal in Virginia, which kicked up some questions and apparently necessitated a press release on Friday. Glad to see it will be made public so we don’t have to go through yet another wrenching divorce drama. Also glad to see that it probably won’t be contentious. Nobody needs that.
Proft: Blagojevich is gone. That illegal expansion of [Medicaid by Blago] is not [gone]. Doubling the eligibility of Medicaid has resulted in a 33% increase in Medicaid spending by the state just in the last three years. […]
Dan Proft: In this fiscal year, according to Quinn’s budget…it looks like they are projecting about 18 billion dollars in Medicaid spending, so it would save you about five billion dollars, that’s the increase over the last three fiscal years alone.
Jeff Berkowitz: It would save about 5 billion dollars in the 2010 budget…?
Dan Proft: It would save at least that amount.
According to the Taxpayer Action Board report, total Medicaid spending was $10.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2007 and has risen to $11.2 billion this fiscal year. Also, the system grew fastest during George Ryan’s term…
For example, in July 2000 the income eligibility threshold for the aged and disabled population was increased. This change alone has resulted in approximately 136,000 new enrollees in this category. In October 2002, the income standards for parents of low-income children, already eligible for coverage, were also increased, adding another 170,000 enrollees to the program… Finally, beginning with the enactment of legislation covering all uninsured children of any income level in November 2005, Illinois began an aggressive public relations campaign to promote enrollment of children in the All Kids health insurance program. This campaign has resulted in 68,600 additional children being added to the Medicaid program.
* Potential Democratic statewide candidate Rep. Mike Boland is furious at the U of I…
Fallout from questionable admissions practices at the University of Illinois continued Sunday as a state representative called for the resignation of the school system’s president and the trustees who meddled with student applications.
State Rep. Mike Boland (D-East Moline), chairman of the state House Higher Education Committee, said President B. Joseph White and other university leaders betrayed the public’s confidence by giving preferential treatment to politically connected applicants.
“They were trusted to protect our university,” Boland said. “In my eyes, they failed in that regard and they should resign.”
Mike Boland’s upset at preferential treatment for politically connected applicants? Really?
Let’s begin by congratulating Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown for her decision to stop accepting cash gifts from employees. Though she long defended the practice as perfectly legal (sad but true) and completely voluntary (unlikely), Brown now acknowledges that at the very least, it looks bad.
She still won’t tell us how much those gifts were worth, though. That looks worse.
Appearances are everything as Brown mulls a run for Cook County Board president and tries to convince voters that the operations of her office have improved. The last thing she needs is a replay of last September’s embarrassing coverage of her 55th birthday celebration at the Hotel Allegro. Employees groused privately that their “invitations” included a request for a minimum $125 campaign contribution. The bash was organized by a group called “The X Company,” whose members are mostly senior staffers in the clerk’s office. In addition to being dinged for a campaign contribution, employees were offered the opportunity to add their personal birthday wishes to a souvenir book — for a price. Proceeds from the book were given to Brown as a gift.
* And former reform commission chairman Patrick Collins pens an op-ed in the Tribune entitled: Bring on the elections…
Every political candidate should be asked three questions. What have you done in the last five years to restore the public trust? When have you taken a stand against your political or party self-interest? What will you do to repair the integrity crisis?
If voters insist on making subsequent elections a referendum on corruption, we could get meaningful reform in Illinois.
[Carbondale] Mayor Brad Cole is considering a run for statewide office as part of the Republican ticket in 2010 and is beginning a fundraising effort.
Cole announced his decision in a letter mailed Friday to possible supporters, although he did not name in the letter or say in an interview which office he will seek. […]
After college, he was hired to run then-Gov. George Ryan’s Marion office, the first Southern Illinois of an Illinois governor, he said. He was later deputy chief of staff.
* Related and semi-related…
* Entitlements for some, providing they have the right clout: Sure there are a some downstate and Chicago lawmakers” names tucked into the records, but the list is overwhelmingly suburban. Thumb through the records and you”ll find names like state Sen. Chris Lauzen, a Republican from Aurora who has degrees from Duke and Harvard. He has fought against minority “entitlements.” In a column posted on his website he had this to say, “American Hispanics, native and immigrant (both legal and illegal), are at a crossroad. They are deciding individually and as a group whether America for them is a land of earned opportunity or a land of demanded entitlement.” He contends life should be based on merit. But he did make a call on behalf of a constituent”s kid. He contends he was trying to help the applicant deal with the bureaucracy and his inquiry was misinterpreted.
* Creditors may get control of Tribune Co.: report
Tribune Co. and its creditors are in early negotiations for a reorganization plan in Bankruptcy Court that would likely transfer control of the media conglomerate from billionaire Sam Zell to a group of large banks and investors, the Chicago Tribune said, citing sources.
The plan centers on a debt-for-equity swap that would likely give the lenders, who hold $8.6 billion in senior debt, a large majority ownership stake in the reorganized company, the paper said.
Under the plan, a $90-million warrant, which Zell negotiated as part of his $8.2-billion deal to take the company private in 2007, would be wiped out, a source with knowledge of the situation and plan told the paper.
Fenz said the company pays between $12,000 and $16,000 a year in taxes for each turbine. Because the tax-supported ambulance association serves the development area, the association expects to get $190,000 a year from the existing turbines.
Schools also benefit. Ridgeview Superintendent Larry Dodds said his district expects to get about $1.7 million in tax money from the existing turbines. If 300 are added, the district might see another $3 million a year, he said.
Of the existing turbines, 161 are within school district boundaries. Dodds believes the planned expansion would bring 250 more within the boundaries.
Schemes to put a price on climate-change pollution would be expensive for the Midwest, according to the report commissioned by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. That’s because the region is a big polluter. The report finds that the heartland produces 1/20 of all the carbon emissions worldwide, mostly because the Midwest burns so much coal. Council president Marshal Bouton says that makes it all the more important for Midwestern states to speak up as the policies are being formed.
On Friday… Ameren Illinois Utilities filed a request with the Illinois Commerce Commission seeking a 266 million dollar rate hike for delivering electricity and natural gas. Ameren officials are calling the action an effort to ensure the utilities will continue to have the resources needed to provide “a reliable, safe energy delivery system.”
In response to the proposed rate hike— – the president of the Citizen’s Utility board released this statement. “Ameren’s 226 million dollar rate–hike proposal is a slap in the face to consumers who already are struggling to pay monthly bills during the economic downturn.”
The ink is barely dry on Ameren’s 160 million dollar rate hike, approved just last year, and the company is back at the table, asking state regulators for a new 226 million dollar increase.
The chairman of the board of directors for the LPGA State Farm Classic said Sunday an agreement in principle has been reached to keep the women’s professional golf tournament in Springfield beyond this year.
The National Park Service is backing a plan that calls for growing the park into Illinois, potentially making good on a decades-old dream of extending the Arch grounds into East St. Louis.
“Going back to Saarinen, the idea was there would be something on that side,” park superintendent Tom Bradley said. “Although the public really likes the idea of having something over there, it hasn’t really been tested with the Illinois community.”
The Evanston Democrat isn’t returning phone calls, and those close to her aren’t saying. But, for what it’s worth, the announcement is scheduled to occur in Skokie, in the center of Ms. Schakowsky’s district, rather than in, say, the Loop, a good place to reach a statewide audience.
Reliable sources have told this journalist that Cong. Jan Schakowsky (D- Evanston, 9th CD) will announce tomorrow morning her decision not to run in the 2010 Democratic Primary for the Senate seat previously held by Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald, Democratic President Barack Obama and currently held by Democratic Senator Roland Burris.
After exploring a Senate run, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told me Sunday she instead will seek another term in the House. […]
In a statement to be released today, Schakowsky, an Evanston resident first elected to Congress in 1998, said the time requirements to raise the millions of dollars need to run in the Senate contest would have turned her into “a telemarketer five to six hours each day.”
* Done. Finished. Kaput. Too many crazy working days in a row can drive you insane, ergo our weekly Friday song…
I’ve always been different with one foot over the line
Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind
It ain’t been so easy but I guess I shouldn’t complain
I’ve always been crazy but it’s kept me from going insane
The Trib recently published some blistering editorials decrying “overspending” by the state as the sole reason for Illinois’ budget mess, so this NYT article might help enlighten their minds…
The carnage in state budgets is getting worse, [an NCSL] report said Thursday, with places like Arizona being hurt by falling revenue on multiple fronts, like personal income and sales taxes. Other states are having mixed experiences, with some tax categories stable, or even rising, even as others fall off the map. […]
“What this report really underscores is that the states are facing revenue-based problems,” said Todd Haggerty, a research analyst at the conference, a nonpartisan group based in Denver. “If there’s been an increased demand for state services — as there has in many states — it’s putting them into a really tough situation.”
A report issued by the group in April said that spending increases related to the recession, from more people seeking state services, were compounding the impact of a decline in tax revenue. Sixteen states were facing higher-than-anticipated costs for health care, seven were spending more on public safety and four were seeing cost overruns on programs for the poor like food stamps.
Worse is yet to come. The total collective budget gap that the states will have to resolve in the fiscal year that starts, in most states, next month, is $121 billion, compared with 102.4 billion for the year approaching its end, the report said. Measures on the table to fill those holes, or already in place, range from the macro (a cut of 25 percent in grants to local governments in Minnesota) to the micro (elimination of staffing at metal detectors in local courthouses in Maine).
This article might help as well: “Total revenue into [Illinois] state government is still running far behind last year’s totals.”
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich confirmed today that he did indeed refer to former state treasurer Judy Baar Topinka as “a crazy old aunt,” when he ran against Topinka in the 2006 governor’s race.
Blagojevich, in an appearance on on WLS-AM (890) today, was referring to comments his wife, Patti, made Thursday on the reality TV show, “I’m a celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!” […]
“Yes, it’s Judy Baar Topinka,” Rod Blagojevich said this morning. “When you’re in a campaign and you have to be with your opponent from time to time, sometimes they’ll do things to you that you think are unfair. They’ll twist things. I’m sure they think the same thing about you. For me, I try to get myself in a mindset where I could love my opponent and not let it [get] personal. To discipline myself, I tried to imagine, like a method actor might, that Judy Baar Topinka was one of my old aunts. That deep down she was a good person and when she would say the things that she would say or do the things she would do, it was more amusing than anything else. And I think that really probably is who she is. You know, crazy aunt in a good way.”
“The fact that they bring it up in this way just proves that [they] really have no respect for anything,” Topinka said. “They are shameless. They certainly have no respect for the system. They have no respect for the people of Illinois. It’s all about them. You can’t tell me that — as she sits there looking sane, with a bunch of has-beens and wannabes and goofs — she looks better by comparison. This is the same gal with the potty-mouth who was yelling on one of these transcripts of a phone message, you know, ‘Go knock these guys off the [Chicago] Tribune, get rid of these editorial writers if they can’t make a deal on the Cubs, and expletive deleted.’ I mean, Who is this woman? Now she’s suddenly playing Martha Washington. I mean, c’mon. She knew what was going on. She’s lucky [U.S. Attorney] Patrick Fitzgerald isn’t on her case, too.”
* The problems with and questions about this specific project are legion…
The Illinois Senate on Sunday sent Gov. Pat Quinn a bill that will provide an unusual state tax benefit to the developers of a planned commercial hub at Glen Carbon.
The proposed $1.5 billion development, called University Town Center, would be funded with “sales tax revenue’’ (STAR) bonds, which would be paid off by using the sales taxes collected within the development.
Holland wants to build the complex near the intersection of Interstate 270 and Illinois 157, and has plans for new restaurants, retail stores, performing arts and entertainment. Holbrook said the development would bring 10,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs to the region. But Haine and Hoffman said they worry it will take jobs and businesses away from other metro-east communities.
Supporters say the project will create 10,000 construction jobs and 3,200 permanent jobs. They argue that the taxes paid by those workers – along with construction costs and other activities – will more than make up the estimated $15 million that the state will lose from sending back the sales tax revenues to pay off the bonds.
A project of this size is likely to divert business from other Madison and St. Clair businesses. Motels in the area are currently running at 54% capacity (down 24% from last year) and we have an approved hotel on hold. O’Fallon alone has more than 175 acres of Interstate-ready retail building lots that do not require government support. O’Fallon and Fairview Heights have three major furniture stores and a national electronics store sitting empty and available immediately for rent.
“The amendments did not change the floodplain requirement. An eligible site must be at least 600 acres and have 30 percent in the 100-year floodplain. The Glen Carbon site is 900-plus acres, 100 percent is in the 100-year floodplain. It consists entirely of jurisdictional and prior-converted wetlands, which play an important role in storing floodwaters and trapping sediment that comes from water flowing from the bluff.”[…]
“… That water will go elsewhere, not remain on site,” Andria said.
At last check, the developer had signed no contracts to actually bring any retail, hotel, etc. establishments to the site. He doesn’t even own all the land. The STAR bonds would help pay for that.
* How the bonds work: The developer will get all the state sales tax money generated by businesses in the STAR bond district. That can be used to sell bonds, which the developer can use to build both horizontal and vertical infrastructure - roads, sewers or even stores for the companies he’s luring.
* The immediate problem is obvious. A study by the Dept. of Revenue claims the state will lose $15 million a year in sales tax revenues. There’s only so much money that will be spent on retail in a given area. So some retail spending will shift to the STAR bond district, creating losers elsewhere in the region. Businesses won’t be able to relocate to the district, but as experience with TIF districts have shown, they may be able to get around that.
* And that brings me to the real problem with this legislation. The bill is specifically written for the Glen Carbon site, but laws can be changed as easily as 1-2-3 in Springfield. Rosemont is already looking at a STAR bond district. A suburban Will County town has already contacted its lobbyist about getting in on the action. Chicago would be foolish not to make a move in that direction.
TIF districts are a much abused economic development tool, but that’s local property tax money we’re talking about here, so it’s no skin off the state’s back. But this STAR bond thing is state money. How long do you think it’ll be before Mayor Daley and others decide to let their TIF districts expire and convert them to STAR bond districts? Half of Chicago, remember, is already in a TIF district.
* Imagine the budgetary consequences for Illinois in just a few short years if this thing spreads. And it will spread. That’s guaranteed. Stuff like this always spreads. Just look at Nevada. It used STAR bond districts to lure a Cabela’s (a name that is also being mentioned for the Illinois site) to Reno and a Legends casino in nearby Sparks. Legends, by the way, is also part of a Kansas City STAR bond development.
And as Reno developers work to protect their own projects, Las Vegas businesses also are working their own deals. Harrah’s Entertainment wants a special exemption for the stadium it wants to build with STAR bonds and the city of Las Vegas wants to be able to use STAR bonds in its redevelopment areas.
Once this thing starts, it’ll never stop. Guaranteed. It won’t be long before a very large chunk of this state is in a STAR bond district, meaning that state sales tax money will be spent on local projects, meaning that the state’s budget situation will only get worse while the locals try to cannibalize each other. Mark my words.
* Top billing today goes to Delmarie Cobb, US Sen. Roland Burris’ crack media consultant, who talked to Politico about all the people lining up to run against Burris…
“They keep trotting out these marquee names to scare Roland,” said Delmarie Cobb, the senator’s media and political adviser, adding that some Democrats are out to “lynch” Burris and turn him into a “whipping boy.”
Apparently navigating Illinois politics isn’t all that different from life in the jungle. On last night’s “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!” Patti Blagojevich had some words of advice for John Salley, who was struggling with a crotchety Janice Dickinson.
“My husband had this campaign where he was running against this woman who was a little bit like her,” Patti told him quietly. “And he thought of her as, as like a crazy old aunt. That he had to kind of like suffer and kind of like, and kind of just like, roll your eyes at. Like she’s the kooky old aunt. You had to be respectful to her because she’s your old aunt.”
Presumably she was speaking of Judy Baar Topinka, who challenged Rod Blagojevich in the 2006 governor’s race. Topinka is more often described as “colorful.”
There is a building called Westhaven Park Tower just a few blocks from the United Center on Chicago’s near West Side. The building is part of the Chicago Housing Authority’s billion-dollar mixed-income experiment. It was created to invent new neighborhoods with racial and class diversity. But an us-vs-them mentality is bubbling at Westhaven among condo owners and public housing residents.
On May 27, American Chartered Bank sued Plitt, saying the firm overstated the value of collateral used to back its loan from the bank. American Chartered says Plitt is worth only half the $12.6 million it owes.
McDermott Will & Emery issued its second layoff memo this year on Thursday. The grim news: the loss of 25 lawyers and 47 administrative staff.
The elimination of 72 people is on top off a reduction of 149 jobs in February, which included 60 attorneys. The combined hit represents about 8 percent of the 1,100 attorneys the firm had in February.
Firms are now reevaluating their recruiting practices. The first signs of change: Big firms, including McDermott, have dramatically cut the number of second-year law students they hire for their summer-internship programs. And many have deferred the start dates of students who have just graduated from law school until next year.
Not filling about 45 job vacancies and eliminating the sheriff’s crime prevention unit are among steps Sangamon County officials have proposed to plug a projected $2.7 million hole in this year’s budget.
County Board member Andy Goleman, chairman of the board’s finance committee, said Thursday the crunch comes from a surprisingly deep decline in revenue, which he attributed to the recession.
Chicago’s city hall is warning union workers that layoff notices could be in the mail soon. The city’s Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold says monthly revenues continue to come in below projections. And he says personnel costs are more than 80-percent of the city’s budget.
That’s right. The cost for the actual electricity we use just decreased by an average of about 9 percent, saving custom ers about $96 a year.
The rate cut is the culmination of a lot of hard work from fed-up Illinois consumers, consumer groups like the Citizens Utility Board, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Gov. Pat Quinn. In 2007, they led the fight to slay ComEd’s “reverse-auction” power-pricing system, which increased bills by an average of 26 percent.
In the end, Illinois consumers got $1 billion in refunds, and the state created the Illinois Power Agency, the cornerstone of an electricity-pricing system that’s unique in the nation.
Prosecutors in Cook County say they will continue seeking the death penalty. That’s in response to a request from the public defender’s office to take the option of capital punishment off the table. The public defender says his office has run out of money used specifically to defend clients facing the death penalty. Sally Daly is with the state’s attorney’s office. She says a lack of money is no reason to change the judicial process.
* NRA seeks to strike down Chicago-area gun-control laws
The NRA wants the court to rule that last year’s gun-rights decision invalidating a handgun ban in the District of Columbia applies as well to local and state laws.
Kildeer, population 4,200, just OK’d hiring newly elected Mayor Nandia Black’s brother-in-law as the new village administrator at $100,000 a year. Never mind that he has almost none of the qualifications the village listed as musts during a candidate search that cost taxpayers $20,000. That search yielded 13 candidates who do hold the listed requirements for the post, village administrator experience and a public administration degree.
“There is a level at which gifts are not appropriate,” Canary said. “I think it’s very troublesome if people feel pressured to give.”
A former employee who has complained in the past about politics in the clerk’s office said employees feared their careers were in jeopardy if they didn’t donate toward yearly birthday gifts for Brown.
“If you didn’t contribute, you were treated differently than other people who did,” said Barbara Nicosia, a former union leader who retired in 2002 after more than 30 years in the office and repeatedly sparred with Brown. “Eventually, you paid for it.”
Brown disputes the notion that employees are under pressure to give.
* An Illinois congressman is again putting pressure on oil giant BP because of the company’s pollution discharges in Indiana.
KIRK: First they try to violate the water quality of Lake Michigan, notw we find they are violating the clean air act.
Kirk has joined 18 other members of Congress in asking EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to closely examine BP’s emissions.
This week, the EPA cited BP’s Whiting Refinery for violating the Clean Air Act from 2003 to 2008.
The meters — in the 5100 block of North Clark Street — were spray-painted with silver paint, and some kind of putty was shoved into the coin slots, Officer Robert Perez of the Chicago Police Department’s news affairs office said.
Police were called before 11 this morning about what turned out to be 15 to 20 vandalized parking meters on both sides of Clark Street.
Shortly after, they found about 40 more damaged parking meters in the same neighborhood, on North Sheridan Road, West Argyle Street, North Kenmore Avenue and North Winthrop Avenue.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request, Chicago officials revealed that parking meter violations have grown by 13 percent to more than 161,000 so far this year, representing more than $8 million in potential fines.
* This is part of what I told subscribers Wednesday and have been hinting about here at the blog. The General Assembly passed a budget that not only funded programs at an average of about 50 percent of their current levels, but which also had a $1.5 billion deficit…
An independent analyst says lawmakers were far too rosy in their assessment of the state budget when they voted this week and have left the state $1.5 billion short. […]
The shortfall stems from lawmakers deciding to keep their scheduled contributions towards the state’s pension systems, but not providing the actual revenue needed for the contributions, according to Bukola Bello, pension policy analyst for the bipartisan Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.
Ralph Martire, executive director of the CTBA, said the brunt of cuts would be directed toward community care groups that receive grants from the state. […]
The budget approved by lawmakers Sunday already had $5 billion in unspecified budget cuts. If there is a $1.5 billion deficit hidden on top of that, the situation could move from dire to devastating, said Charles N. Wheeler III, a professor of public affairs reporting and an expert in the budgeting process.
So, again, on top of the 50 percent reduction to programs, there’s a $1.5 billion deficit that has to be dealt with because the state pension fund payment wasn’t fully funded. The governor’s panel on budget cuts suggested a 2-3 percent budgetary reserve. That won’t come close to what will be needed to solve this thing.
To put this in some perspective, the state’s payroll cost is about $3 billion. Cutting $1.5 billion more would necessitate some gigantic layoffs.
Wonderful, eh? Sheesh. Wait until you see how they deal with that one. They’ve already started and it ain’t pretty at all. Subscribe to find out.
In the meantime, Speaker Michael Madigan said lawmakers have to work with the budget they’ve got, one he predicted would require “very significant'’ state employee layoffs.
“That’s the question before this group: How do we work through a slimmed-down state government?'’ Madigan said.
Slimmed-down? That’s an understatement. Try starved to death. More from MJM…
On Thursday, House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said he was prepared to vote for a tax increase, but “that failed. Now we’re looking at working with a slimmed-down budget.”
Brace yourselves.
* There are two people still talking about a tax hike…
Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) said a tax increase was “inevitable,” and Quinn said even major cuts won’t go far enough to fill the state’s gaping budget hole.
“After doing all the things that you just heard — reforms, reforms, cutting costs, no frills — we’re still going to have to balance the budget, and that means more revenue,” Quinn told reporters.
We believe there are responsible reforms — outsourcing state jobs, restructuring pension plans and converting Medicaid services to managed care — that ought to come before making the kind of cuts the governor is threatening. State payrolls can be reduced through hiring freezes, forced furloughs and streamlining of operations, all standard in the private sector lately. Quinn’s own Taxpayer Action Board recommended similar ideas on Thursday.
If the edit board had bothered to think after reading that editorial, they’d know that the TAB recommendations barely make a dent in the problem.
* Budget causes uncertainty: “It’s about consumers and the people we serve being held hostage — the least capable of being able to fend for themselves. It’s morally wrong,” said Vanya Peterson, associate director of Stone-Hayes Center for Independent Living.
* Local social agencies fear looming state budget cuts: But soon, the state will start sending notices to local agencies that provide a wide array of services, warning they could lose much of their state funding.
* Sen. Bill Brady: The systemic solution to our economic crisis should include revenue increases through natural growth and spending reduction.
* Downtown Rally Calls For A “Fair Budget”: “They haven’t heard the last of us,” Albany Park activist Diane Limas told us. “This is just the beginning. They think they’re going to cut these funds? Who do they think votes for them? They need to get back to the table.”
