* From the dark money group supporting the governor’s graduated income tax…
Today, Think Big Illinois released a new television ad highlighting the allies of former Governor Bruce Rauner who are behind the campaign against a fair tax. The ad underscores how the same people who led an administration defined by holding the budget hostage for 793 days, slashing funding for our education system, and putting partisan politics over middle-class families are now fighting to keep our current unfair tax system in place. This is just the latest in their efforts to protect the wealthy at the expense of Illinois’ hardworking families.
The ad, “Behind,” will run on television in Springfield and across digital platforms. Think Big Illinois’ previous ads, “How Unfair,” “Affect You,” “Almost Every” and “Wealthy” will continue running in Springfield and in markets across the state.
* Westchester chief of police Steve Stelter spoke at an anti-cannabis legalization press conference today…
I’m here to address you today. I want to tell you that the people who are pushing this bill are feeding you a bunch of baloney is what they’re doing. They’re pulling the wool over your eyes.
This bill, the way it stands right now is absolutely terrible. I can’t understand and law enforcement can’t understand how they allow people to grow this stuff in their homes.
As Rep. Moylan said, how are we going to possibly regulate five plants? There is absolutely no way. These people will tell you that ‘Well, now that we can buy it legally, that’ll compete with the cartels and the black market.’
Wrong. The black market increases when legalized marijuana comes in. Not only do you have the Mexican drug cartels, the Jamaican drug cartels enter your world. You have the Chinese drug cartels enter your world.
They buy homes, dilapidated homes, foreclosed homes and they turn them into marijuana factories. And they sell this stuff in the neighborhoods. How can you possibly allow home grow? We don’t understand it.
Growing more than five plants would still be illegal. And if the neighbors and the Westchester police can’t figure out that a dilapidated, formerly vacant house has been turned into a marijuana factory with dozens of Chinese drug cartel employees working night and day, I just don’t know what to say, except those cartels could do all of that today if they wanted. It’s not like they follow the law.
…Adding… Press release…
In response to the recent press conference held by Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Legalize Illinois issued the following statement:
“Today’s distortions from our opponents are just more of the same from an organization that takes money from big tobacco and pretends to have the best interests of Illinoisans in mind. SAM would like to hold back progress on smart, sensible and equitable adult-use cannabis legalization even though the majority of the public supports legalization. Their false claims do not have the best interests of the public in mind. The truth is, the legislation that was just introduced is the most responsible and inclusive bill in the nation, developed by peer-reviewed research and input from stakeholders to create the most equitable and regulated industry in the nation.”
* A new income tax isn’t the only graduated tax Gov. Pritzker has proposed this year. From his budget book…
More than 30,000 video gaming terminals (VGTs) operate in almost 6,800 locations around the State of Illinois. Many of the video gaming operations are single site operations while others may be numerous separate LLCs underneath a larger parent entity. These larger entities may be operating hundreds of video gaming machines at scores of locations around the state, yet they pay the same tax rates as the smaller single-site operations. In riverboat gambling, the state accounts for differing market sizes through a progressive wagering tax. Video gaming should do the same. The new structure will require combined reporting of net terminal income at the parent entity level. The Governor proposes that marginal net terminal income that exceeds $2.5 million per year be taxable at a 50 percent rate rather than the current 30 percent rate.
On the surface, at least, that’s a good idea. The ubiquitous chain video gaming outlets and the “operators” who install the devices all over the state should pay a higher tax rate. The small places, however, should be protected from higher taxes.
One problem, though. The operators and the video gaming outlets split the after-tax proceeds down the middle. So, when the state raises taxes on high-earners, there’s a smaller pot to split and that will reduce the take for the mom and pop operations.
Barry Gregory owns Crehan’s Irish Pub and Banquet Facility in Belleville. Installing video gaming terminals in his business allowed him to make a number of investments that he wouldn’t have been able to otherwise do after the state’s smoking ban curtailed business.
“The very next day we gave our staff a pay raise, we’ve completely redone the outside of our building,” he said. “It’s been very helpful.”
He’s among the business owners who signed on in support of Bet on Main Street, a coalition opposed to the governor’s proposed tax hike on gambling operators that supply bars, VFWs and other establishments with terminals.
* Again, this is a graduated tax that’s supposed to hit the high-earners, but the lower-earners will also feel the pinch…
Randy Rehmer, owner of Waterloo’s Double R Bar just south of East St. Louis, says raising taxes on video gambling will eat at the $70,000 he makes each year off the machines alone.
Besides bringing more customers to his business, Rehmer says video gambling revenue has helped him remodel the building, hire an extra employee and give his staff pay raises.
“I’ve got nothing against raising the minimum wage,” Rehmer said. “But the state is telling me to pay people more at the same time that it takes money away.”
Rehmer joined several other small business owners at a news conference Wednesday morning. He was referring to a possible tax increase on video gambling terminals
My suggestion: Do the 50/50 split between operators and establishments before the graduated tax is imposed. The mom and pops shouldn’t be hurt by this tax.
* Gov. Pritzker was in Carbondale today to attend a ribbon cutting at the Centene and IlliniCare Health offices and posed with some regal-looking Salukis…
It’s finals week at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and I want to remind every Saluki to get some fresh air and finish strong!
The numbers are clear, we now have the money to balance the budget with no new taxes.
He would do that with cuts to next fiscal year’s budget based on this fiscal year’s appropriations. As Speaker Madigan told reporters this week and as I’ve been telling subscribers, the House appropriations committees are working on cuts to the budget. Those cuts are averaging about 6 percent to each agency. Again, those are not cuts of Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposed increases, those are cuts to existing FY 2019 appropriations. The Democrats described the meetings as “exercises” and “scenarios” because it’s doubtful that six percent across the board cuts will be accepted by rank and file Democrats.
* Rep. Dan Brady, the Republican spokesperson of the Higher Education Appropriations Committee, told reporters today that it can be done…
I’d just point to higher ed’s working group and what we did, and that was before yesterday’s news. What we did is we went ahead and we made the cuts in a bipartisan fashion. It can be done and we had in the higher ed working group that scenario played out and we can do it without raising taxes and that was about a six percent cut.
* From a Tribune report after this fiscal year’s budget passed last May…
State universities each will receive about 2 percent more for operations starting in July. […]
Overall, funding for public universities still lags about 8.2 percent behind what schools received in 2014-15, the last time the state approved a budget on schedule.
* Lawmakers, university officials warn of higher ed cuts without new revenue: Barbara Wilson, executive vice president of the University of Illinois system, said further cuts in higher education funding would have a big impact on the state’s largest university. “Across the U of I system we are educating 52 percent of the students who go to public institutions in this state,” Wilson said. “So I always say, if you hurt U of I, you’re hurting a big chunk of the students and families in the state.”
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
More than 800 solar energy projects are on hold because Illinois’ renewable energy program isn’t adequately funded to meet either current demand or the statutory renewable portfolio standard requirement of 25% by 2025.
The waitlisted, shovel-ready projects could create thousands of jobs, lower consumer electric bills and generate $220 million in property tax revenue for local governments. Funding for new commercial and community solar projects and wind farms will be depleted after 2019.
This morning, Senators Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) was joined by a bipartisan group of leaders from government, commerce, organized labor, and the construction industry to announce legislation that will produce approximately $2.4 billion in annual funding for transportation infrastructure throughout the state of Illinois.
Sandoval stated that this funding is necessary to boost the safety of Illinois’ roads, bridges, and transit systems. “We have been underfunding our transportation infrastructure for decades,” said Sen. Sandoval, “and the end result is that we now have pothole-ridden roads that we can’t afford to fix and more than 2,300 bridges rated as ‘structurally deficient.’ This problem has been left to worsen for too long, and now is the tie for leadership and decisive action.”
HB3233 will provide the additional funding through increases to Illinois’ motor fuel tax on gasoline and special fuels, vehicle registration fees, driver licensing fees and title certificate fees. The current state tax on gasoline – which has remained at 19 cents per gallon since 1990 – would increase to 44 cents on July 1, 2019. This increase alone would create more than $1.2 billion in additional annual revenue. To offset the increase in special fuel tax rates, the legislation will eliminate the current Commercial Distribution Fee, a tax on all trucks. (Click to view bill summary)
Fuel tax rates will also be indexed to inflation to keep pace with rising costs. Since Illinois last adjusted its fuel tax in 1990, the state’s infrastructure purchase power has been continually diminished by inflation and increased efficiency. A long-term funding solution will allow state agencies to plan projects well into the future.
Sen. Don DeWitte (R- West Dundee), who serves as the Minority Spokesman for the Senate Transportation Committee, attended the press conference as a show of Republican bipartisan support and discussed the need for an infrastructure plan that would be sustainable for years to come. “The proposal put forth today is a good starting point as we work toward a comprehensive infrastructure plan that addresses the critical needs facing our state’s transportation, education and public facilities,” said DeWitte.
The legislation also creates the Illinois Works job program that will help community-based organizations recruit and prepare the next generation of Illinois’ workforce for apprentice training programs. The legislation will encourage the use of apprentice training and provide incentives for contractors to utilize minority, female and veteran workers.
“Illinois has some of the most advanced career training programs in the world,” said Marc Poulos, executive director of the Indiana-Illinois-Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting. “Our ailing infrastructure demands repair and maintenance, and by addressing that problem, we can also put a generation of Illinois workers into good-paying careers with ongoing education, healthcare, and retirement benefits. Illinois’ workforce will see substantial benefits from this much-needed investment.”
“Almost 20 percent of Illinois’ public roads are in ‘poor’ condition,” said Mark Barkowski, senior vice president of F.H. Paschen and chairman of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association. “The safety of our infrastructure has suffered from the lack of investment, and the deficiencies are on display across the state. Much of the repair work that has been done is temporary, and the time for permanent fixes is now.”
“Infrastructure’s impact upon Illinois’ economy cannot be ignored,” said Tyler Power, director of government affairs for the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce. “Illinois is the commercial hub of the nation, and our economic strength relies upon being able to transport goods safely and quickly through the state. This legislation would fund the kind of infrastructure investment that will pay massive dividends across all sectors of our economy.”
HB 3233 will offer flexible funding opportunities to the Regional Transit Authority and allow municipalities to generate infrastructure revenue. A new project selection process will prioritize the most needed transportation and transit infrastructure projects.
* Check out all the tax and fee hikes. The Motor Fuel Tax would rise by 25 cents per gallon, to 44 cents. Vehicle registration fees would be increased by $50 a year. Drivers’ license fees, title fees and electric car and all truck registration fees would be increased…
And that doesn’t include paying for “vertical” projects.
* WUIS reports on Senate President John Cullerton’s proposal to jack up the tax on cigarettes by a dollar a pack. The governor supports the idea…
The plan would also increase the taxes on other tobacco products at 64 percent of the wholesale price. In a statement, Victoria Vasconcellos, president of the Smoke Free Alternatives Coalition of Illinois, said this tax will make it harder for smokers to quit despite the added cost.
“We have seen that vapor products are a factor in the unprecedented decline in cigarette sales,” said Vasconcellos. “That’s why classifying vapor products in the same category as cigarettes is a backward step for public health, and adults should not be penalized for making healthier choices.”
Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for Gov. Pritzker, said he would support the steeper tax.
On its face, a presentation this week by lawmakers and community groups seeking funding for community-based legal services for the poor seemed straightforward enough.
The Illinois Access to Justice Program would create a $10 million fund to be split among groups that deal with the legal problems of undocumented immigrants and others that specialize in helping ex-offenders.
Yet in many ways the most significant aspect of their effort remained largely unspoken — an attempt at finding common ground and forging cooperation between African-American and Latino lawmakers and the communities they represent.
So often in politics, “black and brown communities”— to borrow the phrase currently in vogue — are pitted against each other to compete for scarce resources and opportunities.
That’s about to play out again in Illinois with the upcoming 2020 census—and the redistricting that will follow.
* Press release…
Last night, the Illinois Senate Criminal Law Committee approved House Bill 1613, a measure that would make permanent the current practice of collecting data about every traffic stop conducted by police in the State of Illinois. The practice has been in place in Illinois since 2004 when then-State Senator Barack Obama championed the law.
The following can be attributed to Khadine Bennett, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois:
“Today’s strong vote by the Senate Criminal Law Committee moves this important legislation one step closer to final passage. As the Committee heard today, collecting and analyzing data about traffic and pedestrian stops by police allows the public to provide appropriate transparency of law enforcement and serves as a critical tool for law enforcement supervisors to use in training and managing officers interacting with the public.
It is time to make this practice – which has been good policy for more than a decade – permanent. We look forward to passage of this measure by the full Senate. With the leadership of sponsor Senator Elgie Sims, we are confident that the measure will be on its way to the Governor.”
* Other stuff…
* Senators Rethink ISBE Property Tax Relief Plan: Education advocates who testified before the committee said if the tax relief measure isn’t changed, the legislature should increase the state’s school equity appropriation from the statutorily-required $350 million to at least $450 million. Lawmakers on the Senate education committee listened, but didn’t articulate a response.
* Senate Measure Would Protect Consumers Against ‘Deceptive’ Energy Suppliers: Under the Senate plan, suppliers can still provide their services as long as contracts don’t automatically rollover and consumers are informed about any rate increases before they happen. Suppliers would also need to report their rates to the Illinois Commerce Commission and attorney general. Attorney General Kwame Raoul said suppliers’ deceptive practices often hurt those who can’t afford to pay more.
ALD. WALTER BURNETT, who heads the 27th Ward Committee, is taking applications and preparing to interview candidates to replace state Rep. Melissa Conyears-Ervin. She’ll be sworn in May 20 as Chicago’s new city treasurer. Among those applying for her statehouse job: Burnett’s eldest son, Jawaharial “Omar” Williams, who has worked as a plumber for the city’s Water Department.
Another applicant: MAZE JACKSON, the lobbyist and WVON radio commentator who has consulted for former governors Bruce Rauner, Pat Quinn and Rod Blagojevich. “We’re getting a lot of applicants,” Burnett told Playbook.
Replacing Conyears-Ervin quickly is important to Democrats since so many big-ticket revenue bills will be up for consideration by May 31.
Burnett says he’s working to have a replacement named by May 18. On that day, the committee will have a so-called slate-making session “where we’ll allow folks to present their credentials.” During an executive session after that, committee members will decide on the new state representative.
Burnett said he will back his stepson Jawaharial “Omar” Williams to replace Conyears-Ervin over the more than a dozen other interested candidates.
Williams has been working precincts since he was a teenager alongside the alderman, who has been a member of Secretary of State Jesse White’s political organization for decades along with Ervin and Conyears-Ervin.
“I don’t know of any family business that don’t — I shouldn’t say family business — but if your kids work hard… that’s what I work for, to promote my kids, help my kids if they do well,” Burnett said. “If they’re not deserving of it, they’re not deserving of it. So we’ll see how all the other members look at it and we’ll take it from there. It’s no different than Jason pushing his wife for the state rep spot and pushing her for treasurer.” […]
WVON radio morning show host Maze Jackson told The Daily Line in an emailed statement he is also interested in replacing Conyears-Ervin and would strive “to bring economic resources back to the district, and to be an uncompromised vociferous advocate for self-interests of the Black community. I want to get an answer to ‘What’s in it for the Black People?’ in the state of Illinois.”
In addition to Williams and Jackson, Chavonne Carter, an assistant in White’s office; Dwight Lee, an executive in White’s office; Gerard Moorer in U.S. Rep. Danny Davis’ office; and former state Rep. Eddie Winters are also interested in replacing Conyears-Ervin, Burnett said. […]
Conyears-Ervin replaced former state Rep. Pamela Reaves-Harris, who served one two-year term. Before her, former state Rep. Derrick Smith also served one term beginning in 2012. Smith was ousted by House colleagues after he was charged with accepting a bribe, and was convicted of bribery in June 2014.
Smith was replaced by Winters, a former Chicago Police officer.
Recently re-elected in the fall, the question locally now is how his replacement will be chosen. Randolph County Democratic Chair Kerry Johnson said with the likelihood of big votes coming this session, namely the governor’s tax plan and the legalizing recreational marijuana, he would like a replacement in before the session ends so the 116th has its say.
Matt Dietrich, public information officer for the Illinois State Board of Elections, pointed to state statute saying the county precinct committeemen have 30 days to name a successor.
“Each committeeperson of the appropriate legislative or representative committee shall be entitled to one vote for each vote that was received,” state statute says of the mechanism for replacing political appointees.
Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) will cast the third-highest weighted vote, at nearly 17.6 percent.
Waguespack said he has never met Williams, has no idea what qualifications he brings to the job and is troubled by the secretive nature of the process. […]
“The last time Walter [Burnett] chose somebody, we got Derrick Smith. That ended up pretty horribly,” Waguespack said.
Smith was expelled from the Illinois House after being indicted on bribery charges, but won re-election anyway. He was forced to step down from the Illinois House after his conviction.
Good point by Waguespack. Smith is a permanent stain on Ald. Burnett’s track record.
Wednesday, May 8, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
If Roe is overturned, Illinois law could again require:
· Spousal consent
· Doctor consent committees
· Restrictions on some forms of birth control
· 24 hour waiting periods
· Misinformed consent
· Unnecessary regulation
· Bans on assisted reproductive techniques
· Criminal penalities
Illinois lawmakers on Tuesday took aim at the state’s Department of Children and Family Services, which has been haunted for decades by deaths wrought of abuse and neglect and is in the spotlight again following the beating death of a 5-year-old suburban Chicago boy with a long history of contact with the agency.
Rep. Sara Feigenholtz stood with more than a dozen House and Senate members of a new child welfare reform caucus to propose legislation that would bolster checks and balances in the child welfare agency.
On Monday, Feigenholtz filed legislation to establish a review process for cases involving abuse or neglect. The measure, which was filed as an amendment to an existing bill sitting in Feigenholtz’s committee, would require the deputy director of child protection to create a system for checking 5 percent of cases where allegations were not substantiated and the child is younger than school age, meaning they may not have come into contact with teachers, social workers or other mandated reporters.
The legislation also requires the review of cases where allegations were confirmed for older children, but the family has declined services or there are other reasons why the department is not taking protective custody. Moreover, the department would have to file semi-annual reports with the General Assembly summarizing the cases reviewed and providing recommendations for systemic reforms.
“It builds a review process that ensures that the administrative level of the department is aware and accountable for what’s going on in the field,” Feigenholtz said.
Additionally, the measure bans incentives, monetary or otherwise, from being offered to child investigators or private contractors deciding which services to offer a family or whether to close a case.
Feigenholtz said that the existing organizational structure of DCFS requires all problem reporting to go to the director of operations, a position that’s been vacant for what she said was “a very long time.”
* Report On DCFS: Overburdened Case Workers, Unresponsive Hotline: “50% of the hotline calls go into voicemail and need a callback. So for emergency cases where children are really in trouble, that’s a huge problem,” said Illinois State Representative Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago.)
Last week in testimony before the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, I was pleased to announce that our April revenues were $1.5 billion higher than expected. However, I also sounded an important note of caution about those revenues. It is important to keep in mind that we still face a $6-to-$8 billion backlog of pending bills with no dedicated revenue stream to pay them. We have aggressively targeted the state’s highest-interest-accruing bills with those receipts, bringing the backlog lower than it would otherwise be, to $6.07 billion as of today.
While we cannot confirm or deny the Dept. of Revenue’s projection of $800 million more than expected for Fiscal Year 2020 at this time, we are hopeful and will continue to research this possibility thoroughly. My office has prioritized pension payments and debt service since I took office and that will be our policy going forward.
In April, base monthly receipts increased $1.502 billion. The jump in receipts reflected very strong performances of both personal and corporate income taxes, which in turn allowed reimbursable spending to surge, thereby generating a significant gain of federal sources. An extra receipting day assisted in the overall monthly gain.
While a precise component breakdown is not yet available for April’s income tax receipts, preliminary views point to very strong non-wage income tax performance [e.g. the more volatile capital gains and dividends components]. As a result, this significant one month over performance cannot safely be extrapolated into future underlying growth. Other states have begun to anecdotally report similar strong performance, with most urging caution of future expectations. In Illinois, historically the withholding component comprises approximately 80% of personal income tax receipts, with the remainder roughly split between estimated and final payments. Despite their much smaller percentage make-up, those non-wage components [fueled by capital gains, dividends, and sometimes shifts in tax payer behavior] are the most volatile, demonstrating significant swings in gains/losses. As such, they cannot be counted on to follow predictable trends, nor safely be expected to recur. Again, further analysis is required before any definitive conclusions are made.
With those caveats in mind, for the month, gross personal income tax receipts leapt $1.068 billion or $903 million on a net basis. In addition to an extra processing day, some of the increase is due simply to last year’s final payments reflecting a “blended” rate due to the tax year’s split tax rate; whereas this year’s final payments were all at the higher rate. As explained above, data is not yet available to offer other conclusive analysis for the month’s grand performance. Gross corporate income tax also grew impressively, rising $288 million or $237 million net. Sales tax also enjoyed a robust uptick, with gross receipts increasing $53 million, or $85 million on a net basis.
Other sources experiencing monthly improvement include interest income which grew $12 million, inheritance tax was up $6 million, and public utility, cigarette, and corporate franchise taxes each eked out a $1 million gain. Only insurance taxes and other sources experienced declines with both lines falling a modest $3 million.
Overall transfers into the general funds were down $1 million. Federal sources, fueled by reimbursable spending made possible by the influx of income tax receipts, finally reversed what up until now had been a very disappointing fiscal year, by growing $263 million. […]
Despite April’s performance, at an April 30th CGFA meeting held to discuss the State’s Group Insurance program, a representative from the Comptroller’s Office testified that their agency continues to operate in “triage’ mode given the State’s over $6.1 billion bill backlog.
A Melrose Park hospital must remain open while a court reviews the decision by a state board to allow it to close, a judge ruled Tuesday.
The village of Melrose Park had filed an emergency motion to stall the planned closing of Westlake Hospital while they appeal the decision by the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board to allow Pipeline Health to close the facility.
Cook County Judge Anna Loftus ruled in favor of the village, saying the hospital, at 1225 Lake St. in Melrose Park, must stay open — for now. The state board had unanimously approved Pipeline’s application last week.
That decision already has been slammed by residents and elected officials, who say the review board should have put off a decision until after a pending lawsuit against Pipeline is resolved.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker was the latest to weigh in; Monday night, he removed his two newly appointed board members, both of whom had voted against deferring the application.
* React…
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside and state Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Northlake, are applauding a recent court ruling requiring Westlake Hospital to remain open until the judicial system can fully consider the critical services Westlake provides and review the Health Facilities and Services Review Board’s (HFSRB) recent regarding the future of the facility.
“This is a major victory for struggling families in our area whose health care was about to be taken away by an out-of-state corporation,” Welch said. “The Review Board’s vote to close Westlake was wrong. I am glad Governor J.B. Pritzker removed his appointees who supported the closure and I encourage him to appoint two new members who will side with our community and protect local access to care.”
Both Welch and Willis have been fighting to keep the Melrose Park-based facility open since Pipeline Health turned its back on Westlake Hospital after they promised to support it. The HFSRB was tasked with reviewing the closure, but voted to allow Pipeline’s plan to close the hospital. Recently, a Cook County judge issued a ruling mandating that Westlake remain open during the court’s review of the HFSRB’s decision to support Pipeline’s closure of the facility.
“We must continue fighting to keep Westlake open and serving our most vulnerable residents,” Willis said. “The communities I represent should not have their health care hanging by a thread because out-of-state billionaires are pushing for higher profits.”
