Why does it have to be a war? Because the entrenched power brokers that have run Illinois for so long do not wish to release their power … despite running the State into the ground! They’d rather remain in charge than fix this State (think on that, please). So this will be the summer of our political discontent. Some of the battles will be conspicuous and well known, but most will not. But just know this, there is a war happening right now for the future of Illinois. And Illinois is worth fighting for. PLEASE read the link http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-madigan-rauner-cullerton-illinois-afscme-edit-20150605-story.html
* Moving on to Twitter…
.@GovRauner actually pays tax dollars for @LTrover to behave like a juvenile on Twitter? What a colossal was waste of state funds. #twill
— State Rep. Lou Lang (@StateRepLouLang) June 5, 2015
Committee of the Whole on Property Tax System in Illinois Announced
What: Testimony on Property Tax System in Illinois
Who: President Cullerton Announces Committee of the Whole
Where: Senate Floor, Springfield
When: Tuesday, June 9th at Noon
House Democrats on Thursday passed their own workers’ compensation reform bill despite warnings from their Republican colleagues that it faces a certain veto.
Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville, said Democrats were making a sincere effort to improve the administration of the workers’ comp law and deliver savings to employers.
“We believe that, for the first time, this is us trying to extend an olive branch to the governor,” Hoffman said. “We are trying to move this issue forward.”
House Republicans were not buying in, especially when it came to changes in the definition of causation, or what makes an injury a workers’ comp-eligible injury.
Rauner rejected the proposal labeling it as “phony” and warned that it could potentially cost businesses more. “This makes us less competitive,” he said. The legislation, which passed along party lines. The measure simply codifies existing interpretation of the law for legal purposes, critics say.
Rauner bashed Madigan, saying he believed some Democrats might embrace his proposals if not for their fear of angering the head of the state Democratic Party, who controls the party’s purse strings.
One of the amendments added to the legislation addresses how compensation is paid if an injury is repetitive. Another would allow insurers to sue a previous employer for some of the costs incurred with injuries.
Another item makes it difficult for a company’s employees to obtain compensation if they injure themselves while traveling.
But it wasn’t workers’ compensation that sparked a scorching verbal volley at day’s end. It was a Rauner aide’s comments to lawmakers who earlier in the day questioned him about how Rauner is paying his $250,000-a-year education secretary.
Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Goldberg labeled the appropriations committee’s proceedings as a “sham” when asked why school czar Beth Purvis is on the payroll of the Department of Human Services – an agency Rauner has targeted for spending cuts to deal with the deficit. The Chicago Sun-Times reported the arrangement last week.
Goldberg said previous governors had done the same thing and said, “There’s no reason to subject a great leader like Beth Purvis to a sham hearing.”
* I posted the governor’s stuff yesterday, so let’s take a look at the response…
Democrats say they are not concerned about Dr. Purvis’ qualifications or salary, but that her pay is coming out of a department facing significant cuts which will affect the elderly and children. They argue Dr. Purvis’ salary should come out of the education department or the governor’s office.
“This is not anything other than us being worried about precious dollars being diverted from the programs we are struggling to maintain,” said Representative Natalie Manley (D) Joliet.
“It really looks bad when we’re taking poor people off of child care and kicking them off of community care and paying somebody out of this budget,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago. […]
“Her gender should have absolutely nothing to do with this conversation,” said Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Addison. “That is not what we’re questioning. We’re questioning why is her salary coming out of our budget.”
Purvis herself did not appear before the committee, though numerous members said they wanted to question her personally.
Later in the day, state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie, blasted Rauner’s aide on the House floor.
“You used that committee time as an opportunity to be insulting and to be degrading and to say things that are beneath the dignity of this chamber,” Lang shouted. “I stand against those comments. I stand against that press release. . . . Those comments were degrading to the process, and they should stop.”
When Lang sat down after his remarks, Democrats gave him a standing ovation, including Madigan — who inched toward Lang while applauding and smiling.
State Rep. Lou Lang took to the House floor on Thursday to denounce Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration for accusing Democrats of launching a “sexual smear campaign” against education czar Beth Purvis.
A key Rauner aide answered back.
On Twitter.
“Seriously, Lou. Give it up. It is a sexist smear campaign you and your colleagues continue to engage in,” Rauner’s communication director Lance Trover (@ltrover) tweeted.
Trover also tweeted: “Lou Lang – another politician Madigan controls,” and “Speaker Madigan to Gov: please, please just raise taxes so we can all go home!!”
As House Speaker Mike Madigan took questions from reporters after the House session, Trover tweeted: “The Speaker is the best spokesman for everything that is wrong in this state.”
* An e-mail sent to state employees by the administration…
The many important issues facing the State of Illinois require that all of us make every effort to be thoroughly informed.
The ongoing collective bargaining process is of particular interest - understandably so - given the contracts’ expiration date of June 30, 2015.
To provide a forum for all employees to raise questions and seek answers is one way that we can be better informed with timely and accurate information.
A new website will be available today and will be at http://www.illinois.gov/EmployeeFAQs.
The site will provide you the detail regarding how to submit questions and will be periodically updated with questions and their associated answers. We urge you to visit this site every few days to inform yourself and raise any concerns that you might have.
Welcome to the Illinois state employee Frequently Asked Questions website. The state recognizes that its employees may have concerns about a variety of issues. This website provides a forum for employees to raise questions and find answers about a variety of subjects, including labor issues, the state’s finances, and new policies that may have an impact on state employees.
All questions submitted by employees through this website will remain anonymous. In fact, employees can and should submit questions without providing their names. Thank you for your interest in the state.
State Finances & Economics
Q: Is the state truly facing a financial crisis?
A. Yes. Years of mismanagement have caused a financial crisis. When Governor Rauner took office, the state had nearly $6 billion in unpaid bills, a mid-year budget deficit of $1.5 billion, and over $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Moreover, the state is now facing an over $3 billion hole in the budget the General Assembly recently passed for the upcoming fiscal year.
Contract Expiration – 6/30/15
Q: Will managers have to perform the jobs of union employees if those union employees strike?
A. The administration is negotiating with the unions in good faith and hopes all employees remain active and productive. That said, the state is developing plans to ensure continuity of services for any number of contingencies.
Q: Who makes the decision to strike? Can I abstain?
A. Most unions follow some process by which they request the union membership to vote to authorize their bargaining representatives to initiate a strike. You should familiarize yourself with the process your union follows. If the union initiates a strike, you still have the absolute right to remain at work or return to work.
Ten years ago, I invited a wounded warrior from Walter Reed Army Medical Center to join me in the Capitol for the State of the Union address. Her name was Tammy Duckworth.
Now, my friend, Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth is running to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate in an amazing journey from the battlefields of Iraq to the campaign battleground in Illinois.
Tammy is no stranger to tough challenges, but to win this race, she is going to need our full support. Join me in backing Tammy’s campaign for U.S. Senate by contributing today. […]
From the beginning, Tammy impressed me with her determination to overcome adversity and her commitment to her brothers and sisters in uniform.
It wasn’t long after I met her that she was calling me about problems facing other wounded soldiers and combat veterans at Walter Reed. So eventually, I encouraged her to run for Congress so that she could better advocate for veterans and for working families.
She’s already doing a terrific job, working to help veterans find jobs and access mental health care, and standing up for working families on issues like protecting Medicare and making college more affordable.
The incumbent in this race is already running television ads — 18 months before the election! Tammy needs our help to catch up.
Illinois families deserve a champion like Tammy Duckworth fighting for them in the U.S. Senate. Contribute $5 now to support her campaign.
The timing of Durbin’s endorsement is an extra boost. At the end of March, Duckworth announced her bid to replace Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill. Since then, competition in the March 2016 Democratic primary surfaced.
Andrea Zopp, who is leaving as Urban League chief and Chicago Board of Education member, also is running, with a formal announcement coming in July or August, her campaign said.
I asked Zopp for her reaction to the Durbin move, and she noted that his endorsement was no surprise.
* Remember when Sen. Mark Kirk refused to endorse Durbin’s Republican opponent last year? Well…
Kevin Artl, Kirk’s campaign manager, said in statement that Durbin “is once again choosing political party over Illinois. By hand-picking Sen. Kirk’s opponent, he abandons the bipartisan partnership that they have cultivated on behalf of our state and has delivered a real blow to Illinois.”
* The ILGOP piles on…
“It is clear that Dick Durbin’s endorsement of Tammy Duckworth’s fledgling campaign is a reflection of growing concern among Washington powerbrokers about her candidacy. Duckworth is not an independent voice because she is beholden to insiders in Chicago and the nation’s capital. Senator Mark Kirk is a thoughtful, reform-minded leader who speaks for all Illinois citizens,” said Nick Klitzing, Executive Director of the Illinois Republican Party.
The Republicans are attempting to cause as much trouble for Duckworth as they can because they apparently fear her more than Zopp.
“I don’t know of any bill that actually passed that’s more important to the business community,” says Illinois Chamber of Commerce chief Todd Maisch, whose group was one of several business and labor organizations that backed the measure. “We’ve been pushing this for 10 years.”
The measure, sponsored by Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, and Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, deals with something known as Prevention of Significant Deterioration permits. According to the chamber, 41 other states, including all of those around Illinois, now have state-run PSD programs. The bill allows Illinois to do the same, “putting the state on a level playing field with other states,” by adopting federal regulations as state rules.
There were some changes in wording during the legislative process, and those were enough to get green groups to drop their opposition, says the Environmental Law & Policy Center’s Howard Learner. For instance, the state rules can be more stringent than the federal standards, and those who object to proposed rules will more easily be able to intervene in court or appeals process.
Nekritz notes that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office also was actively involved in developing the bill. “Everyone negotiated,” she puts it—despite the “bigger picture” battles over the budget, pensions and other matters.
Several fronts saw significant progress this year. This is only one.
In Steve Reinboldt’s 1970 high school yearbook, wrestling coach Dennis Hastert wrote that Steve was his “great, right hand man” as the student equipment manager of the Yorkville, Illinois wrestling team.
But Steve was also a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of Hastert, Steve’s sister said today in an interview with ABC News. It is the first time an alleged Hastert victim has been identified by name since his indictment for lying to the FBI and violating federal banking laws to cover-up past misconduct. Hastert, due in court next week, has not responded to the allegations.
In an emotional interview, Steve Reinboldt’s sister Jolene said she first learned of her late brother’s purported years-long sexual abuse at the hands of the future Speaker of the House back in 1979 when her brother revealed to her that he was gay and had been out of high school for eight years.
“I asked him, when was your first same sex experience. He looked at me and said, ‘It was with Dennis Hastert,’” Jolene said. “I was stunned.”
Jolene said she asked her brother why he never told anyone. “And he just turned around and kind of looked at me and said, ‘Who is ever going to believe me?’” […]
“He took his belief in himself and his kind of right to be a normal person,” Jolene said. “Here was the mentor, the man who was, you know, basically his friend and stepped into that parental role, who was the one who was abusing him… He damaged Steve I think more than any of us will ever know.”
There’s so much more. Click here if you can stomach it.
He was a manager of the wrestling team that Hastert coached, the AP found. He was also manager of the football team, student council president and a member of the pep club, letterman’s club, the French club and the yearbook staff. […]
Burdge said her brother told her about his past with Hastert in 1979, after she graduated high school, but never brought his story out into the open because he feared “nobody would believe him.” […]
Burdge considered telling her brother’s story in 2006, as a scandal involving Rep. Mark Foley unfolded. Foley, a Florida Republican, was discovered sending inappropriate emails and sexually explicit instant messages to former House pages while Hastert was speaker. Burdge spoke briefly with news outlets, including the AP, but she ultimately decided against coming forward with a statement at that time. Hastert stepped down in 2007.
By the end of 2006, the House Ethics Committee put out a 200-plus page report indicating that Hastert, his aides and others had failed to take sufficient steps to put a stop to Foley’s long-standing overtures to current and former House pages.
Hastert was singled out for not acting on warnings about Foley’s emails — cautions delivered separately to him by two GOP officials in spring 2006. That was months before media attention on the sexually charged electronic communications Foley sent to former pages led to Foley’s resignation. The warnings came after top Hastert aides were told Foley was behaving inappropriately with male pages, the report said. […]
The committee, in a 200-page report issued in December 2006, found the “weight of the evidence” supported the conclusion that Hastert was told, at least in passing, by both Boehner and Reynolds about Foley’s worrisome emails.
“In all, a pattern of conduct was exhibited among many individuals to remain willfully ignorant of the potential consequences” of Foley’s conduct with pages, the report said.
In the worst of his personal scenarios, Rauner does not run for a second term.
He goes back to one of his seven homes and two ranches. He pops open one of those exclusive bottles of California wine as his friends pat him on the back for giving it his all.
That sounds like a damn good alternative for a man with little to lose.
Rauner knows that.
So does Madigan.
Yeah, and what folks are failing to realize is that Madigan may be willing to “help along” that very scenario: Make Rauner’s life so miserable that he leaves office after a single term.
Something to think about while everyone seems to be cheerleading for war.
Sen. Mark Kirk R-Ill. is donating $10,000 former House Speaker Dennis Hastert R-Ill. contributed to his 2010 Senate fund to a Waukegan charity. […]
Hastert sent the $10,000 to Kirk through his political action fund, “Keep Our Mission PAC.” Kirk’s Senate campaign fund will send the money to Family First.
The DSCC turned up the heat on Kirk and two other senators who took Hastert contributions, Sen. John Boozeman R-Ar. and Sen. Roy Blunt R-Mo. and were aiming to play hardball over the Hastert donation.
“Mark Kirk should return or donate Denny Hastert’s money immediately,” said Sadie Weiner, DSCC National Press Secretary in a statement. “Kirk has taken $10,000 from Denny Hastert who is just the latest Republican Speaker of the House to face serious charges about corruption and misconduct, and until Kirk returns the funds he is giving his tacit approval to these bad actions.”
* That action has prompted the DCCC to demand that GOP Congressman Rodney Davis jettison his Hastert money…
“After refusing to donate money from Aaron Schock’s shady coffers, as well as refusing to cooperate with ongoing ethics investigations, with Hastert’s contributions Congressman Davis now is the recipient of funds from two disgraced former members of the House Republican caucus,” said DCCC spokeswoman Sacha Haworth. “How long will it take for Rodney Davis to come out of the Washington shadows and return these dirty donations?”
Davis received a mere $2,000, but that money could make more problems than it’s worth for him.
* I met Emma not long ago and found her to be very intelligent, bright and quite politically aware for someone her age (or any age, for that matter). She’s also a regular reader of the blog, so go check this out…
Emma Todd, then a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Tulsa, found herself seriously contemplating suicide, again. This time, the Springfield native had made her way to the top of a building. She wanted to jump, but someone stopped her. “I have been extremely lucky. A lot of people aren’t; a lot of people kill themselves,” she says.
Todd struggles with depression, and for much of her young life, body dysmorphic disorder has been a part of that. It’s a mental disorder in which an individual sees his or her body as defective, and at times some people dissociate from their bodies completely. Todd is transgender, and she’s not alone in her feelings.
In 2011, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality published a first-of-its-kind report on discrimination and challenges faced by transgender people. It found that 41 percent of respondents had attempted suicide at some point in their lives. Discrimination is seen in nearly every facet of life — from education to health care to work and relationships. The same study found that of the respondents who had come out as trans in K-12 school, 78 percent reported having been harassed. Respondents dealt with extreme poverty — the sample was four times more likely to live on $10,000 or less per year than the overall population, and they faced double the rate of unemployment. Transgender people face higher risk of physical and sexual abuse. Nineteen percent of respondents reported domestic violence as a direct result of their gender identity. Respondents were more likely to turn to drugs and prostitution than the overall population. For trans people of color, the situation is even grimmer.
In Illinois, transgender individuals have more protections than many other states. According to the Transgender Law & Policy Institute, Illinois is one of 19 states, plus Washington, D.C., that have laws prohibiting discrimination based on someone’s gender identity or expression. But there’s still a push by activists and legislators to enact policies they say would better the quality of life for transgender people.
Todd, now 20, says about her gender: “I was uncomfortable since about the time I was probably 4 or 5 or so. I suppose that’s the earliest I remember it at least … I had felt extremely uncomfortable with my body.” By the time she was 15, Todd knew there was a word for what she was feeling. She had found a forum online for transgender people to share experiences. “For the first time, I felt like there was someone who understood what I was going through.”
This is not a usual topic for this blog, but we should all remember the human faces on the abstract issues we often discuss. So, go read the whole thing and please be respectful in comments. Thanks.
House Democrats engage in sexist smear campaign
to deflect from own failures
Ignore Democrat Legislative Staff Compensation topping $300k Taking a pay raise, while trying to raise taxes on hardworking Illinoisans Fail to explain why budget doesn’t cut General Assembly
SPRINGFIELD - In an effort to distract from their own pay raises, refusal to cut their own budget or that of other Democratic officeholders and passage of a phony state budget with a $4 billion hole, Illinois Democrats today sought to smear the reputation of one of Illinois’ leading educators before a House committee.
“It is clear that politicians controlled by Mike Madigan will stop at nothing to distract from what they’re doing in Springfield,” Governor Rauner Spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “Instead of stopping their own pay increase, instead of cutting their own General Assembly budget and instead of passing an honest, balanced state budget, they are engaging in a sexist smear campaign to tarnish the reputation of a woman who has dedicated her life to improving education for children in this state and makes less in total compensation than the men who lead the offices of the House Speaker and Senate President.”
House Democrats recently passed an out of balance budget that keeps level funding for the General Assembly, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State while cutting the Governor and the Comptroller by 10 percent.
Furthermore, the committee refuses to address some of the highest paid staff of the General Assembly - some topping the $300,000 mark.
* The accompanying chart…
* More…
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Gov. Rauner Deputy Chief of Staff Richard Goldberg House Appropriations Committee on Human Services June 4, 2015
Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee -
Beth Purvis is the one of the most accomplished women I have ever met. A Doctorate in early childhood special education, Beth has devoted her life to bettering the world for future generations. Across Illinois, across America, around the world - Beth is a respected education and cradle-to-career expert who is sought after for her wisdom, leadership and counsel.
Put simply, Governor Rauner recruited a superstar to be in his cabinet. To bring a new approach to how the state treats education and child development. Beth’s philosophy is simple: every agency, every program, every taxpayer dollar that touches a child’s life should be coordinated to support a cradle-to-career approach for each new generation.
As this committee knows well, early childhood education and a range of other programs that touch child development are housed at the Department of Human Services. The Board of Education, Board of Higher Ed, Community College Board and Student Assistance Commission play critical roles as well.
It’s no secret that Governor Rauner puts the issue of education at the top of his priority list. It’s also no secret that, for too many years, Illinois has been failing kids when it comes to education.
So it should be no surprise that a new governor dedicated to turning around education would recruit a superstar like Beth Purvis for his cabinet.
Now I want to make a couple of points that everyone on this committee knows to be true.
First - paying top administration personnel out of agencies is not new. This is a standard practice of every administration. And when you compare this administration’s IGA personnel costs to the previous administration, Governor Rauner comes in more than $500,000 under Governor Quinn on spending.
Second - and I think in the 21st century when we think the days of double standards are behind us - I am deeply troubled by a hearing targeting a highly successful, highly respected woman in our administration when the male staff of the Democratic leadership makes as much or more in compensation. I want to be clear - I am not here to criticize their pay or their professionalism - I’ve worked with them and find them to be utmost professionals. But I will not sit by and watch you berate and belittle an incredibly successful woman like Beth, when those who control this Committee refuse to look in the mirror.
Third, I would point out the deep hypocrisy in attacking the pay of administration personnel when the career politicians who run the General Assembly refuse to cut their own budget or stop their own pay increases.
The out of balance budget you passed keeps level funding for the GA, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State while cutting the Governor and the Comptroller by 10 percent. We are willing to do our part - why won’t you?
Separately, as you know, legislation is required to stop the automatic pay increases legislators receive every year. Leader Durkin and Leader Radogno have introduced legislation to stop this pay increase but the majority refuses to pass that. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee - if this hearing was anything more than a charade to distract the public from your phony $4 billion out of balance budget, you’d have already passed that bill and sent it to the governor’s desk
Let’s call this hearing what it is. A desperate attempt to distract the public from your phony unbalanced budget and your demand to raise taxes without reform — all at the expense of a talented woman who has earned her pay and position.
Let’s end this hearing now and use the time to get back to the negotiating table to deliver a balanced budget and real reform for the people of Illinois.
Illinois House members will return to Springfield on Thursday and are scheduled to take up a workers’ compensation reform bill.
But even before lawmakers arrive in town, Gov. Bruce Rauner said the bill doesn’t go far enough.
“Our team has very quickly reviewed it,” Rauner said. “I’m sad to say that based upon that review, it’s not real reform. It’s more of the same, more of a phony reform, more of an insignificant reform. We’ve seen this movie before.”
Rather than being an attempt at compromise, Rauner said, the proposed bill will actually cost businesses more in some cases.
* From Lance Trover…
“Unsurprisingly, Speaker Madigan has proposed phony reforms in any effort to protect his special interest allies. His proposal ignores the most important reforms we need for our worker’s compensation system, and in another instance, could actually undermine previous reform efforts. Sadly, this is exactly the type of unserious, political posturing Illinoisans have now come to expect from the Speaker and the politicians he controls. Illinois needs real reform.”
* From the business lobby…
Illinois job creators have consistently called for comprehensive and meaningful reform of the Workers’ Compensation Act that will significantly reduce costs for employers – private and public sector - while protecting the rights of legitimately injured workers and ensuring their access to quality health care. Despite the 2011 reforms, Illinois still has the 7th highest cost of workers’ compensation in the United States and it is consistently cited as one of the primary reasons that companies move out of state or choose not to invest capital and grow jobs in Illinois.
“For House amendments 5, 6, and 7 to HB 1287, we are asking all House lawmakers to vote “No” since these amendments will result in zero savings for employers and likely increase the cost of workers’ compensation.
Amendment 5 simply codifies current law and doubles down on the bad ideas that have been thrust upon Illinois employers by our Courts. Amendment 6 will dramatically increase litigation for employers. Amendment 7 does nothing to decrease workers’ compensation costs, it only duplicates and adds additional regulation on employers.
Illinois employers stand ready to work with leaders on both sides of the aisle.”
Associated Builders & Contractors
Chemical Industry Council of Illinois
Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Home Builders Association of Illinois
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Illinois Coal Association
Illinois Construction Industry Committee
Illinois Manufacturers’ Association
Illinois Municipal League
Illinois Retail Merchants Association
Illinois Self-Insurers Association
Illinois Trucking Association
Midwest Equipment Dealers Association
Mid-West Truckers Association
National Federation of Independent Business
Technology & Manufacturing Association
* The Illinois Manufacturers Association was more pointed. Here’s it’s analysis…
1) Codify Venture-Newberg – travel must be required or directed by employer or the course or method of travel must be determined by the employer.
Agree but the Democrat language does not fully codify the court case. Since 2007, Illinois Appellate Courts have made seven major rulings dramatically expanding the scope of a “traveling employee.” In the December 2013 in the Venture-Newberg case, the Illinois Supreme Court stepped in and restricted some of the Appellate Court expansion. Employers should not be held responsible for actions of employees engaged in activities out of their scope of employment.
2) Prohibit insurers from using repetitive injuries that occurred within 3 months of the start of employment to determine premiums.
This is part of a discussion that Democrats used in the working group. It seeks to address the issue that an employer is on the hook for repetitive motion injuries when first hiring an employee. However, rather than relieving the employer from paying the medical costs or award, this simply says that an insurer cannot use that information when calculating premiums. This does not address the fact that a hotel should not have to pay for a $100,000 cost of carpal tunnel injury for a maid that worked for only six weeks.
3) Provide greater transparency and oversight of workers’ compensation rates
• Provide for rate review and pre-approval of rates
• Require insurers to justify deviations from advisory rates
• Make information concerning self-insureds available to the public
• Create a task force to look at the issue of premiums not reflecting NCCI recommended decreases (HJR 49)
This is the standard boiler plate talking points from trial lawyers and labor unions that seeks to shift blame rather than looking at why the cost of workers’ compensation is significantly higher in Illinois. Self-insured companies and governments do not use insurance companies so there is no reason why their information would need to be made public. Illinois has a competitive insurance market (health care, workers’ compensation, property & casualty) with generally low rates except for WC. It’s not because of insurance companies – it’s because of the law and court system. If it were truly the case that insurance companies were “gouging” businesses, then you would see a significant difference in WC costs between insured and self-insured companies.
4) Allow the last employer responsible for providing workers’ compensation to seek contributions from prior employers to the extent they contributed to an employer’s injury
Again, this proposal does not help the last employer who still has to pay 100 percent of all medical and indemnity payments to the injured worker. It actually hurts the employer, especially small and mid sized companies who not only have to pay the WC award, they have to hire an attorney to chase previous employers for potential reimbursement.
Democrats led by House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton have said the budget can be balanced with a tax increase, but Rauner wants a property tax freeze, worker compensation reform, terms limits and other business-friendly changes designed to promote job growth.
“It’s devastating to know that he is trying to do this to working families,” Phelps said. “His budget was out of whack, as well. We had to do something so government wouldn’t shut down. I am hoping he doesn’t want government to shut down, because I don’t.”
Rauner spokesman Lance Trover fired back that it was Democrats who have put the state in a fiscal crisis, forcing the governor to take drastic action to balance spending.
“Rep. Phelps continues to empower Speaker Madigan and vote for his unbalanced budgets, which have plunged Illinois into a $10 billion hole,” Trover said in an emailed response. “Gov. Rauner is working to shake up Springfield while protecting the middle class, not the political class of special interests supported by Rep. Phelps and Speaker Madigan.”
Remember when Rod Blagojevich called Phelps’ neighboring Democratic legislator John Bradley a Madigan-loving “wall flower?” Rep. Bradley used it to his advantage. But Blagojevich didn’t put 3,000 gross ratings points a week behind that message.
* And speaking of Madigan and RRB, read this by News-Gazette columnist Jim Dey, which was shared with reporters by the Rauner press office today…
Madigan said that Rauner’s reluctance to do things the Speaker’s way bears a resemblance to the governance style of the now-imprisoned Rod Blagojevich, the former Democratic governor.
But Blago was a Democrat Madigan supported twice (2002 and 2006) for election as governor, while Rauner is a Republican Madigan tried to defeat. And didn’t Madigan serve as an honorary re-election committee co-chairman for Blago in 2006, when it was clear to anyone paying attention that Blago was a serial felon begging to be indicted? […]
Power is divided, so compromise will be required. Madigan is trying to shove his “let’s-compromise-and do-it-my-way” approach down Rauner’s throat. Rauner isn’t swallowing it […]
Those who are happy with the way things are now in Illinois should be pulling for Madigan. Those who think the state has lost its way and must change need to get behind Rauner.
* The Rauner team also sent around this Sun-Times editorial, which asks “Who’s the real middle class champion?” and then answers…
Who is the real champion of the middle class? A Legislature seemingly bent on playing the same old game that has driven Illinois into the ground? Or a governor… who understands that Illinois is in desperate need of more fundamental reform?
If the Legislature does not work with Gov. Rauner, our state is in for nothing but further decline.
That goes both ways, of course, but having lived through the Blagojevich wars, I really don’t want to see another knock-down, drag-out fight.
* The Rauner folks haven’t yet sent out this editorial from the SJ-R, however…
Understandably, Rauner doesn’t want to walk away from his first legislative session looking like a failure. But his leadership skills in a government setting need some work. Months of tough talk, calling lawmakers corrupt and threatening them with his hefty war chest did nothing to help him advance his agenda.
Likewise, Democrats, who hold a super majority in the legislature, should have given serious consideration to at least a few of his proposed reforms long before now. Instead they drew a line in the sand and dug in their heels, even though a majority of voters sent Rauner to Springfield.
Illinoisans now are left to watch both sides volley blame via media interviews and hostile press releases instead of getting in a room together and identifying issues where they can help each other.
* This gaming bill gets heavier by the week. Two smallish “satellite” casinos with 400-600 gaming positions each are apparently in play…
The site being looked at in Southern Illinois is the Walker’s Bluff entertainment development in Carterville. It features a restaurant, winery, gift store and music venue. The first sign that Walker’s Bluff wanted to be a player in the casino talks came earlier this year when the company hired former state Rep. Dan Reitz, D-Steelville, in early April to serve as its lobbyist in the Capitol.
I’ve been to Walker’s Bluff. Wow, what a place. The owners have put a fortune into it. The grounds are definitely large enough to expand.
* The other spot they’re looking at is Decatur, but the mayor is dubious…
Decatur Mayor Mike McElroy said the city isn’t actively pursuing a casino. He said he only learned of the idea last week during a short telephone conversation.
“This call just comes to me out of the blue,” McElroy said. “We don’t say `no’ to anything. But I don’t think there is a snowball’s chance in hell.”
Illinois Democrats have scheduled a hearing on why Gov. Bruce Rauner’s education secretary is being paid from the state’s human services budget.
Lawmakers are expected to discuss Beth Purvis’ $250,000-per-year salary at a hearing Thursday in Springfield.
Documents obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times showed the money comes from human services, even though Purvis reports to Rauner’s office.
The Republican governor has recommended cutting millions from the agency’s budget for programs that deal with autism and burials for the indigent.
* From a press release…
State Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, announced the House Human Services Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing Thursday at the State Capitol on the $250,000 salary Gov. Bruce Rauner is paying his education secretary and why the money is paid from a state agency where the governor proposed deep funding reductions for the elderly and autistic children.
“This lucrative salary for the state’s head of education is paid by an agency where Governor Rauner recently eliminated funding for autistic children and after-school tutoring and wants to make further reductions that would drastically impact services for the frail, the elderly, children with disabilities and our most vulnerable citizens,” said Harris, who chairs the House Human Services Appropriations Committee. “Taxpayers and the families who stand to be seriously harmed by the governor’s slash-and-burn budget plan deserve an explanation. This six-figure salary buried within the Department of Human Services could go a long way toward helping to fund medical care services for the elderly, persons with disabilities, struggling families, autistic children or any number of other services provided through the department.”
Reports in March revealed Beth Purvis, tapped to be Rauner’s education secretary, would receive a $250,000 taxpayer-funded salary, more than double what her predecessors received. Then last week, following a Freedom of Information Act request, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Purvis’ salary was coming not from the governor’s office allotment or from the State Board of Education, but from the Department of Human Services.
Three weeks after Purvis’ contract was signed in March, Rauner announced $26 million in cuts to human services programs, including funding for autistic children. In unveiling his budget in February, Rauner proposed massive cuts to in-home care for senior citizens, homeless children, and breast and cervical cancer screening for women, while completely eliminating funding for after-school programs, homelessness prevention and services for children with developmental disabilities.
The House hearing follows a letter from Harris, delivered to the governor last week, in which Harris pointed out the human services budget cuts Rauner proposed. Rauner’s office, the Department of Human Services and the State Board of Education have been invited to testify at the hearing.
“We understand cuts will have to be a part of a balanced budget, but for the governor to pay someone a six-figure taxpayer-funded salary at the same time he’s planning to devastate critical services to vulnerable residents is unacceptable and completely out of touch,” Harris said. “What’s more, this game of hide-and-seek with his education secretary’s salary shows that the governor is not the change he promised. It’s more of the same business as usual that people are fed up with.”
The House Human Services Appropriations Committee will meet Thursday at 11 a.m. in Room 118 of the Capitol.
This is exactly the sort of thing we can look forward to for the foreseeable future as the overtime session drags on.
* John Kass wants Gov. Bruce Rauner to wage an all-out war against House Speaker Michael Madigan beyond some TV ads. For instance, Kass notes that Joe Berrios will have to win his ward committeeman’s race to remain the county’s party chairman…
Berrios belongs to Boss Madigan, and the boss doesn’t like it when people see a chink in his armor. Madigan needs Berrios. And that’s where Rauner and company could make a play. They could quietly drop some cash on Democrat candidates to challenge Berrios.
And later, with commercials, they can make the low-key but vitally important post of Cook County assessor into a high-profile race. Republicans could turn that assessor’s race into a referendum of taxpayers against the Boss Madigan and his cronies.
Berrios is gonna have big problems with legit party members unhappy with his reign, but there’s no reason those folks couldn’t receive a bit of help from Team Rauner.
* Kass also wants Rauner to go nuclear on Madigan’s property tax law business. Madigan, as we all know, represents a sizable portion of the city’s downtown real estate owners…
I wonder how Madigan would feel if those wealthy Republican landowners changed lawyers? I don’t know if they have the guts to defy him. And you run risks when you cross the Rubicon.
But no one ever said that Illinois politics was a game.
Chicago’s future as a growing center for film and TV production could quickly fade to black unless Springfield’s budget war eases and crucial state tax credits are restored, industry sources are warning.
Gov. Bruce Rauner announced [Tuesday] that he will “defer application approvals” for any new film credits, which entitle a producer to receive up to 30 percent of qualified in-state expenditures. The freeze won’t be lifted until the GOP governor and majority Springfield Democrats resolve budget and related matters.
The freeze apparently won’t apply to continuing TV shows that are headed into new seasons, including “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.” and “Empire.” But a rumored medical show from “Fire” and “P.D.” producer Dick Wolf may be on the block. And it’s not clear if Spike Lee’s much-discussed new film “Chiraq” will be caught in the freeze. […]
“Hollywood and the film industry are a pretty skittish lot,” one that had to be lured here even though the industry was partially founded here a century ago, [Matthew Irvine, director of the School of Cinematic Arts at DePaul University] added. “It won’t take much to scare them off.”
To set your mind at ease, Illinois Film Office director Christine Dudley has made it known that all existing approved applications will continue to be processed, issued and transferred and that the statue is still in full effect.
New applications will not be processed, however, until this issue is resolved. Dudley encourages filmmakers to continue to file applications, although their approval will be deferred, reports Mark Androw, AICP/Midwest chapter president
The application process applies to all film genres that are eligible to receive a 30% Illinois tax credit on their projects. TV shows “Empire,” “Chicago PD” and “Chicago Fire” are safely set for the new seasons. However, funders of two entertainment projects backed out and left Illinois upon hearing the news.
* I had a couple of things to do this morning, so I’m kinda getting a late start on the blog. Let’s begin with some righteous music. This one’s for my grandma, who passed away a year ago…
