Graduated tax starts to move
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker and leading members of the General Assembly announced a major step forward for the fair income tax, as lawmakers introduced language to amend the state’s Constitution, which currently requires that all taxpayers pay the same rate, regardless of their income. Governor Pritzker’s proposed fair income tax would address the state’s multi-billion-dollar budget deficit by raising taxes only on those making more than $250,000, who represent only 3% of taxpayers.
“Working with the General Assembly, my administration is taking an important next step to change our tax system to be more fair to the middle class,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The action we’re taking today means we are one step closer to giving voters a choice about whether the wealthy will pay more and 97% of families will pay the same or less. I’ve said from the beginning that it doesn’t make sense that I pay the same rate as a teacher or first responder, and today brings us closer making Illinois’ tax system fair.”
The amendment would revise the state’s Constitution as follows:
Current
A tax on or measured by income shall be at a non-graduated rate. At any one time there may be no more than one such tax imposed by the State for State purposes on individuals and one such tax so imposed on corporations. In any such tax imposed upon corporations the rate shall not exceed the rate imposed on individuals by more than a ratio of 8 to 5.
Proposed
The General Assembly shall provide by law for the rate or rates of any tax on or measured by income imposed by the state. In any such tax imposed upon corporations the highest rate shall not exceed the highest rate imposed on individuals by more than a ratio of 8 to 5.
As the constitutional amendment moves forward, Governor Pritzker’s administration is simultaneously continuing negotiations with the General Assembly over the tax rates, which would ensure that only those making more than $250,000 a year – only 3% of residents – would pay more in taxes. Additionally, the governor has proposed increasing the property tax credit by 20% and creating a child tax credit targeted to working families.
The administration expects that rates will be finalized with lawmakers this legislative session so that Illinoisans can understand how the rates would affect their family before voting on the constitutional amendment. More information is available at www.illinois.gov/FairTaxCalculator.
SJRCA1 Amendment 1 is here.
The plan is to move the proposal forward this week and vote on it in the Senate when they return from spring break.
…Adding… Response…
“Today is the first step by Springfield politicians to hand themselves a blank check with middle class families’ hard earned money,” said Greg Baise, chairman of the anti-graduated tax dark money group Ideas Illinois. “With zero transparency and zero accountability, JB Pritzker and Speaker Madigan are preparing to stick taxpayers with a massive Jobs Tax that will hurt job creators in our state. At the very least, the politicians who are set to support yet another massive tax hike should do the right thing and release their full tax returns so voters have a clear picture.”
* And…
Think Big Illinois Executive Director Quentin Fulks released the following statement on the newly announced language for the fair tax constitutional amendment:
“It’s time for Illinois to have a tax system that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few, and Think Big Illinois applauds the amendment language proposed by Governor Pritzker and Democrats in the legislature today. A fair tax will help address Illinois’ $3.2 billion budget crisis and put our state on the path toward fiscal sustainability, all while lifting the burden off middle and working-class families who are disproportionately hurt under our current unfair tax system.
“This amendment language is an important step toward ensuring Illinois voters have the opportunity to make their voices heard on this critical issue and decide if they want the wealthiest Illinoisans to finally pay their share.
“Think Big Illinois remains committed to being a staunch ally for our working families as we implement a fair tax in our state.”
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Question of the day
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* IDOT…
The Illinois Department of Transportation is recognizing six members of the public for their creative ideas to improve safety as part of the department’s digital message sign contest. More than 1,400 entries were submitted in six categories.
“Millions of drivers see our digital signs each year, so they are an important tool for heightened safety awareness on our roads,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “With more than 1,000 traffic fatalities last year, the public’s messages could be the difference between life and death.”
The six winners will receive a decorative, personalized street sign. Their messages will be in rotation on approximately 100 overhead dynamic message signs statewide in 2019.
* A few of the winners…
PUT DOWN THE PHONE AND NOBODY GETS HURT
DRIVE LIKE YOUR FAMILY IS IN THE NEXT CAR
YOU LOOK SO CUTE IN THAT SEATBELT
* The Question: Your own IDOT message sign ideas?
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It’s just a bill
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Trace…
Spurred by revelations that the gunman who killed five people at an Aurora manufacturing plant in February bought his weapon despite a prior felony conviction, Illinois Democrats are moving to extend the use of fingerprint background checks for prospective gun owners.
That would close what state lawmakers and former federal law enforcement officials say is a loophole that could be allowing criminals to purchase firearms.
Three bills filed in the Illinois General Assembly would require authorities to collect fingerprints from people applying for state gun licenses or, alternatively, allow people seeking a state Firearms Owner’s Identification card to provide their fingerprints to the Illinois State Police as part of their background checks. […]
[Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield] said she is considering revisions to bring her legislation in line with a bill filed Monday by state Rep. Kathleen Willis, D-Northlake, that would make fingerprinting mandatory.
Both of their proposals would require private gun transactions to be conducted through a licensed dealer and do more to try to ensure that people whose FOID cards are revoked surrender their weapons.
* Other bills…
* Candidate who died before election highlights limit of state election rules
* Illinois House OKs sex education lessons on consent in schools
* Illinois lawmakers look to start college savings accounts
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Illinois Is Facing A Clean Energy Cliff
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Thousands of Illinoisans working in wind and solar energy are facing a critical deadline that needs a legislative fix.
Statewide demand for renewable energy is surging, with more than 1,300 new wind and solar jobs added last year in Illinois. But the state’s renewable energy program will not be able to support new wind and solar projects after 2020. SB 1781 / HB 2966 will fix the cliff.
Without an expansion of the Renewable Portfolio Standard, wind and solar businesses will be forced to lay off employees and move on to states with more stable markets. SB 1781 / HB 2966, the Path to 100 Act sponsored by Rep. Will Davis and Sen. Bill Cunningham, will allow wind and solar jobs to continue growing in Illinois.
Vote Yes on SB 1781 (Cunningham) and HB 2966 (Davis)
Learn more at www.pathto100.net
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I stand corrected
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Background is here. From Amanda Kass, the Associate Director of the Government Finance Research Center…
Hi Rich:
Hope you are doing well. I was in DC for a week, so am a bit behind on things and just read yesterday’s post related to SURS (“Failing to learn from the past”). It struck me that the $13 million decrease figure isn’t really what should be used to account for the Governor’s proposed cut to the pension payments. The $13 million figure is calculated by comparing the FY2019 General Fund SURS contribution with the proposed FY2020 General Fund contribution. But, since the pension contributions are based on the existing funding law, in which the payments increase from year-to-year, the more important comparison is the Governor’s proposed FY2020 SURS contribution ($1.63 billion, all funds) with the certified FY2020 contribution ($1.86 billion, all funds)—looking at those figures for just SURS the proposed cut is about $225 million (so much higher than the discussed $13 million).
Amanda
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Support House Bill 1613
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Pritzker’s Revenue Roller Coaster
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
“The most important thing we are accomplishing is stabilizing the finances of the state,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at the March 7 press conference rolling out his proposal for a graduated income tax.
But Pritzker’s tax structure would actually make Illinois’ moving revenue target even harder to hit. If Illinois had adopted the governor’s progressive tax rates in 2007, income tax volatility would have been 30 percent higher. Larger swings in income tax revenue would make state finances less stable, harder to predict, and increase the likelihood and size of Illinois’ already chronic budget shortfalls.
Take the 2009 recession, for example. Illinois income tax revenues would have fallen by approximately $2.16 billion that year if Pritzker’s proposed income tax rates were in place – a 13 percent drop. But under the current flat income tax, revenue would have fallen by $1.55 billion – a 10 percent drop. That’s a $613 million larger swing in revenue in just one year.
Increasing the state’s reliance on corporate and progressive individual income taxes could lead to even larger budget shortfalls. And those budget shortfalls will require middle class tax hikes, because the middle class makes up a larger share of taxpayers and their incomes are more stable.
A spending cap, which already has bipartisan support in the General Assembly, would shore up state finances and prevent further shortfalls.
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Downtown Chicago still booming
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Danny Ecker at Crain’s…
Companies moved into more downtown office space in the first quarter than they did all of last year, lowering the vacancy rate in the market after three consecutive quarters of increases.
Fueled by a series of co-working providers readying new locations over the past three months, downtown office vacancy fell to 12.9 percent at the end of the first quarter from 13.4 percent at the end of 2018, according to data from brokerage CBRE. The current vacancy matches the rate at the end of the first quarter last year, tying its lowest mark since the end of 2016, CBRE data show.
The numbers tell the story of a healthy downtown office market chock full of leasing activity that has kept vacancy hovering around 13 percent for more than two years and allowed many office landlords to boost rents.
Downtown net absorption, which measures the change in the amount of leased and occupied space compared with the prior period, was up by about 525,000 square feet, according to CBRE. That towered over the roughly 415,000 square feet of net absorption the downtown office market saw in all of 2018 and was the highest single quarter for positive net absorption downtown since the fourth quarter of 2015, according to CBRE.
* Meanwhile, from the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy…
Harris Public Policy scholars Christopher Berry and Anthony Fowler devised an innovative method for statistically testing the effectiveness of leaders. Although many elected leaders take credit for economic growth, boosting employment and lowering crime, the new study downplays the impact of politicians around the world, especially U.S. governors and mayors. […]
Berry and Fowler found no evidence that governors matter for economic outcomes in their states. Although governors differ in their abilities or appetites to raise and spend money, including federal aid, those differences don’t translate into differences in state income and employment. Governors do, however, influence property and violent crime rates, but not because of their political affiliation. There is little effect on crime when looking at Democratic versus Republican administrations.
Berry and Fowler examined the effects of mayors in the 100 largest U.S. cities and found little evidence of mayoral effects on income or employment. What’s more, they found no evidence of mayoral effect on some of the most important outcomes in a city—the economy, the size of city government and crime rates. One possible explanation is that mayors lack control over governance and service provision within their jurisdictions.
“While previous studies have focused exclusively on aggregate economic outcomes, our results highlight the importance of matching different offices to relevant outcomes when estimating leader effects,” said Fowler, an associate professor at Harris Public Policy. “RIFLE can be applied to virtually any setting with leaders and an objective outcome of interest, so its continued application should improve our understanding of where, when and why leaders matter.”
* Related…
* Economists Differ on Prospects for City, State Under Progressive Agenda: But Michael Miller, associate professor of economics at DePaul University, sees things differently. He thinks that over-regulation and higher taxes will ultimately drive people and businesses away from Chicago and Illinois.
* Mayor-elect wants to change the way Chicago does business. Now she needs to persuade business leaders: “We’ve been the top city for six years now for these corporate relocations,” said Howard Tullman, the former CEO of 1871, the influential tech hub. “The thought that all of that momentum would slow down or not be a priority is pretty scary in terms of my sectors — business and technology.”
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The debate over home-grown
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Dotnonymous in comments…
Home grow is a check against so many things that can… and do… go wrong…including but not limited to… delays in implementation, slow rollouts, limited access to retail stores, limited product availability or inadequate quality… and… it’s the only check against artificially high prices.
Aside from the liberal use of ellipses, that’s the best, most succinct explanation I’ve seen to date.
* The other side…
Drugs have already done too much damage in minority communities, said Tim McAnarney, lobbyist for Healthy and Productive Illinois, a coalition of anti-marijuana organizations. […]
If marijuana is legalized, the coalition hopes to at least eliminate home-grown pot, McAnarney said, because some of it will inevitably supply the black market.
If people can brew beer and make wine at home, then why prohibit them from growing a couple of plants for personal consumption? Keep in mind that small-time home-growers currently face the possibility of having their houses seized by the local cops.
* More…
“Our position is, you eliminate many of the benefits of regulation if you allow home-grows,” said Ed Wojcicki with the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police. He said it’s turned other states into the “wild west.”
I got news for you, Ed. People are already growing it in their homes. This won’t just start happening outta nowhere. Put some limits on it if necessary. I have no problem with regulation. My problem is with adult prohibition.
* Related…
* Illinois police chiefs speak out against legalizing industrial hemp
* Smoking Pot vs. Tobacco: What Science Says About Lighting Up: A sweeping federal assessment of marijuana research found the lung-health risks of smoking weed appear “relatively small” and “far lower than those of smoking tobacco,” the top cause of preventable death in the U.S.
* Activists on both sides are pushing hard as marijuana legalization bill looms in Illinois: On Thursday, pro-legalization groups made their case at the Thompson Center in Chicago. Partners in the push include ACLU Illinois, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Clergy for a New Drug Policy, and union officials, including Tom Balanoff, president of the Service Employees International Union State Council. He spoke of the estimated $350 million to $700 million a year the measure could raise in tax revenue, and provisions to clear the criminal records of thousands of workers with minor marijuana convictions. “We need this legislation to help our most vulnerable communities and to create opportunities for both working families and entrepreneurs,” he said.
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* Cook County Record…
A lawsuit which accuses the campaign of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker of racial discrimination, and accuses Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton of defamation, can continue, a Chicago federal judge has ruled.
The judge, however, removed Pritzker himself as a defendant in the action.
A group of Pritzker campaign workers on Nov. 6 amended their initial complaint to add Pritzker and Stratton as individual defendants in a discrimination lawsuit brought in the closing days of the campaign, particularly targeting Stratton for allegedly defaming the campaign workers behind the suit as “extortionists.” […]
However, Kendall dismissed claims of discrimination and harassment against Pritzker, Stratton, Capara and Quentin Fulks, saying the complaint lacked “even bare conclusory allegations” of those people being involved in the alleged retaliation. She also dismissed some individual plaintiffs’ harassment claims, but would not dismiss any allegations of discrimination.
The workers alleged the campaign neglected a sexual harassment complaint because the worker who complained was black, terminated workers who challenged racial inequality, subjected a worker to unsafe work conditions because of her race and failed to address both racial discrimination complaints and risks of violent crime at a regional office, all of which Kendall said could rise to the level of adverse employment actions bolstering a discrimination complaint.
Kendall dismissed the retaliation charge, noting the complaint didn’t name which five workers were placed on paid suspension of the eight who could make up that group. But she did allow the defamation claim against Stratton to survive, noting the workers only had to claim harm to their professional reputation.
* Let’s take a look at one of the claims the court allowed to proceed…
Plaintiffs allege that after they filed their complaint, Defendant Stratton widely disseminated false and disparaging statements about them, including that they were “extortionists.” […]
The Complaint alleges Stratton made the false statement that Plaintiffs were “extortionists” and, as a result, Plaintiffs suffered reputational harm, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment, fear, emotional trauma and dis- tress, and interference with their normal lives. […]
There is sufficient plausibility at this stage that per se defamation of professional integrity may be proven. Given the applicability of per se professional integrity prejudice the claim of defamation does not fail for lack of factual plausibility.
* Except Stratton never said the word “extortion” and never called them “extortionists.” The word was used by some reporters, but not by her…
In a statement to POLITICO, Pritzker running mate Juliana Stratton called the suit “baseless” and describes the lawsuit in terms of extortion or a shake-down
* This is Stratton’s full statement that was distributed to reporters without further comment…
I am very proud of the campaign that JB and I have put together. The majority of our senior team are African American and almost 45% of our entire staff are people of color. When people feel like they have been harassed or discriminated against, they have the right to come forward and have their voices heard. In this case, we had a letter delivered to us asking for $7.5 million dollars in 24 hours or they threatened legal action and to go to press. That’s not a good faith effort.
The incidents listed in this complaint are baseless and make offensive claims in regard to several members of our staff. We stand by our staff and that’s why we are not afraid to litigate this to the fullest extent of the law. I couldn’t be prouder to be on the ticket with JB and of the statewide, grassroots campaign we’ve built.
She called the process “not a good faith effort,” which is a very long way from calling the plaintiffs “extortionists.”
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* Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma L.P. and Purdue Pharma Inc. (Purdue) over its deceptive marketing practices designed to significantly increase prescriptions issued for opioids.
Raoul’s lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court against Purdue, an opioid pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Connecticut. According to Raoul’s lawsuit, Purdue carried out an aggressive and misleading marketing effort to increase prescriptions of opioid painkillers even as communities throughout Illinois and across the country faced an opioid addiction epidemic.
According to Raoul, between 2008 and 2017, Purdue dispatched sales representatives to Illinois hundreds of thousands of times. Raoul alleged Purdue also funded third-party publications under the guise of educational materials to promote opioids and downplay their risks, using terms like “pseudo addiction.” Sales representatives informed doctors and patients that the risks could be controlled. Despite knowing that its opioid painkillers were dangerous and being misused and diverted, Purdue allegedly targeted doctors with addicted patients and whose patients were diverting drugs for unlawful use. Raoul alleged that Purdue’s tactics tripled prescriptions of its opioids in Illinois.
“Opioid addiction has destroyed lives and families throughout Illinois. Not only was Purdue aware of the dangers associated with its opioid products, but it downplayed those effects and used the opioid epidemic to increase its profits,” Raoul said. “In addition to filing this lawsuit, I will continue to collaborate with attorneys general from across the country to investigate and take action against all of those responsible for our nation’s unprecedented opioid crisis.”
Opioids are often prescribed to treat severe pain, as they reduce the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain; however, they can have serious side effects and are highly addictive. Opioids – such as morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, and methadone – are a class of narcotic drugs that include heroin, some prescription pain relievers and fentanyl.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more than 130 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), more than 2,000 Illinoisans were killed by opioid overdoses in 2017. IDPH’s data also shows that between 2011 and 2016, instances of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which can occur when a newborn is prenatally exposed to opiates, increased by 53 percent. Babies born with NAS experience a variety of medical complications, including withdrawal symptoms, and often require longer hospital stays after being born.
Raoul’s lawsuit asks the court to prohibit Purdue’s deceptive conduct in order to ensure it does not happen again in the future, and to assess penalties against Purdue. Raoul is also asking the court to require Purdue to give up revenues made as a result of the conduct, and pay to help remediate the problem.
* Tribune…
Illinois is late to the game suing Purdue, which last month agreed to a $207 million settlement with the state of Oklahoma, the largest settlement following a deluge of almost 2,000 lawsuits against Purdue regarding opioids that threaten to bankrupt the company. […]
The lawsuit “contains factual errors and gross distortions and misrepresentations based on highly selective excerpting of language from tens of millions of documents,” Purdue spokesman Robert Josephson said in an emailed statement. “The complaint is merely designed to publicly vilify Purdue. The company vigorously denies the allegations in the complaint and it will continue to defend themselves against these misleading and damaging allegations.”
The statement didn’t detail what in the lawsuit was in error.
* Related…
* Metro-east veterans sue drug companies over their opioid addictions: The drug companies specifically marketed to veterans, the suit alleges, because they suffer from chronic pain 40 percent more than non-veterans. Purdue Pharma funded webinars related to veteran pain management where opioids were “pushed on veterans’ prescribers as an effective pain management tool,” the complaint stated. The lawsuit alleged Purdue Pharma and the other drug companies devised a strategy to market to veterans by telling doctors that veterans were “trustworthy” and would not get addicted. The lawsuit further alleged that companies misrepresented the signs of addiction, calling it “pseudoaddiction.” The treatment for pseudoaddiction was more opioids, according to the suit.
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* NBC 5…
A deadly fungus is spreading rapidly in Chicago and suburban health care facilities.
The Candida auris fungus effects mostly people with multiple underlying conditions. Illinois health officials report 154 cases — second only to New York. Of those Illinois cases, 95 are in Chicago, 63 in the suburbs, and three downstate.
The fungus is often resistant to drug treatment.
This is serious stuff, but some perspective is in order here. Those 154 cases were detected over a three-year period, May 24, 2016 through April 4, 2019.
* New York Times…
The germ has spread into long-term care facilities. In Chicago, 50 percent of the residents at some nursing homes have tested positive for it, the C.D.C. has reported. The fungus can grow on intravenous lines and ventilators.
Read that closely. It’s half of residents at some nursing homes. The NYT article doesn’t say how many. And the piece doesn’t say if the fungus had caused infections in the residents or was just found on their skin, which is far less of a problem.
Again, very serious stuff here, but some of these articles seem written to incite the most possible fear. That NBC 5 story was classic tabloid TV crud.
* It would also help if the government was more open about it…
Yet as the problem grows, it is little understood by the public — in part because the very existence of resistant infections is often cloaked in secrecy.
With bacteria and fungi alike, hospitals and local governments are reluctant to disclose outbreaks for fear of being seen as infection hubs. Even the C.D.C., under its agreement with states, is not allowed to make public the location or name of hospitals involved in outbreaks. State governments have in many cases declined to publicly share information beyond acknowledging that they have had cases.
The IDPH web page on the fungus lacks a lot of crucial information. How fast is it spreading, for instance?
* Also important to remember…
According to the CDC, symptoms of the fungus may be difficult to detect because patients are often already sick and only a lab test can identify the superbug. Candida auris can cause different types of infections, including bloodstream infection, wound infection, and ear infection.
People who recently had surgery, live in nursing homes, or who have breathing tubes, feeding tubes or central venous catheters appear to be at highest risk.
“Based on information from a limited number of patients, 30 – 60% of people with C. auris infections have died. However, many of these people had other serious illnesses that also increased their risk of death,” the CDC said.
* But the fungus is incredibly difficult to eradicate…
The man at Mount Sinai died after 90 days in the hospital, but C. auris did not. Tests showed it was everywhere in his room, so invasive that the hospital needed special cleaning equipment and had to rip out some of the ceiling and floor tiles to eradicate it.
* Again, some perspective…
Many cases of the disease in the U.S. have been resistant to at least one antifungal treatment, but health officials said the vast majority of cases in Illinois have responded to treatment. Ninety-five of the known cases in the state are in Chicago, 56 in suburban Cook County, seven in DuPage, Lake and Will counties, and three near St. Louis.
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It’s all one thing
Tuesday, Apr 9, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Politico…
Legislators are expected to vote for J.B. Pritzker’s progressive income tax plan by the time the session ends in May. And you can expect the capital bill and budget to be approved at the same time, too.
That’s because Democratic leaders are subtly offering a piece of the capital bill to get votes for the progressive income tax. Lawmakers get a sense that they could be treated well in the capital bill if they vote in favor of a graduated income tax, which Pritzker calls “the fair tax.”
The constitutional change to secure the progressive income tax is expected to be introduced in the state Senate by next week for a first reading.
The message to lawmakers is that the capital bill won’t be possible without supporting the progressive income tax. “If we can’t put ourselves on a path to balance the budget, we can’t ask people to support the taxes necessary to fund a capital bill,” a Dem leader told POLITICO. Funding the capital bill would likely include a gas tax and license-plate fees. […]
Slowing down or rejecting a revenue proposal has consequences. During a recent Democratic Caucus meeting, lawmakers were told that they’ve got to come up with areas in the budget to cut if Pritzker’s menu of revenue generators aren’t met. After going through that exercise, it’s expected the progressive income tax might be more appealing after all.
Mostly true except the Senate won’t be in session next week. You could possibly see some movement this week if the Senate Democratic caucus decides to get the proposal into place for a quick vote after the two-week spring break.
Again, the rest of the excerpt above is pretty accurate. There was a time during the impasse, for instance, that Senate President Cullerton seriously considered running a capital bill. But he pulled back because spending money on infrastructure while not having a state budget in place was just too much to ask.
Capital bills can be wonderful things for governors because they can be used to help attract votes for less palatable proposals. The progressive tax would be no exception.
And those budget briefings are also helping convince Democrats to back Pritzker’s pension holiday. The budget as it stands doesn’t “work” without the nearly $900 million annual diversion.
* Related…
* Lawmakers hear requests for local funding, little on where to find money: After hearing hours of requests, committee chairman Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, became frustrated with officials ready to ask for millions for projects, but afraid to endorse higher taxes to pay for those projects.
* Local officials outline capital project needs at Peoria legislative hearing: Committee co-chairman Martin Sandoval, D-Chicago, repeatedly pressed panelists on what their institutions and governments were doing to ensure they had adequate participation from minority businesses in their existing operations and ongoing projects. In some instances, those testifying could not provide estimates on those participation levels, or were unfamiliar with voluntary state programs to report that data. Sandoval suggested he’d be interested in a component in a capital bill that had stricter requirements for achieving set participation levels.
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* Press release…
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Tuesday:
“Lori Lightfoot’s election marks a moment in our city, our state, and our nation’s history when those who have too often been marginalized and excluded are stepping forward to claim their seat at the table. Mayor-elect Lightfoot inspired Chicagoans with her message and impressed them with her record of accomplishment in both the public and private sectors. As Chicago and Illinois face major decisions, her election sends the clearest message yet that we believe that these decisions should be made by a government that reflects the diversity and the experience of Illinois’ citizens.
“I’m proud to welcome Mayor-elect Lightfoot to a Capitol where women, people of color and members of the LGBTQ community are serving in critical leadership roles within the House Democratic Caucus. I believe Illinois is strongest when Chicago succeeds and when all are heard; I look forward to working with Mayor-elect Lightfoot as I have with Chicago’s mayors throughout my career to strengthen our state, our city, and our communities.”
Notice that he didn’t mention any of the reforms she wants to accomplish.
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