Uh-oh
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Reuters…
A deal to plug a $1.6 billion hole in Illinois’ current budget is not imminent, the president of the state Senate said on Friday, contradicting assertions this week from the governor and House Speaker.
Senate President John Cullerton told Reuters the fiscal year 2016 budget unveiled by Governor Bruce Rauner on Wednesday complicates negotiations over the budget gap in fiscal 2015, which ends June 30. An impasse could potentially threaten cutoff of operating funds for child care, prisons and other state institutions, he added.
The Republican governor’s $32 billion general budget for fiscal 2016 beginning July 1, aims to chop $6.6 billion from healthcare, local government revenues, mass transit and other areas. It raises no new revenue and controversial pension changes account for $2.2 billion of the savings.
“Because it’s slashing programs and no revenue, I think that’s going to make it difficult for us to reach an agreement” on the 2015 budget gap, said Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat.
In his budget address Wednesday, Rauner said a resolution was “literally days away.” Madigan, also a Chicago Democrat, said after the speech he expected a deal “in a matter of days.”
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Rauner’s Friday afternoon appointments
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Rep. Rich Brauer is moving to IDOT…
Governor Bruce Rauner announced today he has selected a new Assistant Secretary for the Illinois Department of Transportation and filled openings on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission.
Name: Rich Brauer
Position: Assistant Secretary – Illinois Department of Transportation
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Rep. Rich Brauer to serve as the Assistant Secretary at the Illinois Department of Transportation. Brauer has served on transportation committees, and as a downstate resident, he will be a strong advocate for the region on transportation issues.
For the past 13 years, Brauer worked for the people of Illinois in the General Assembly as a state representative. His committee assignments included Transportation, Regulation, Roads; Transportation: Vehicles & Safety; Tourism & Conventions; and Appropriations, among others.
Brauer also spent much of his career in the agricultural industry as the owner of OASIS Farms, a farrow-to-finish operation. As the owner he oversaw the creation of new facilities and managed employees. He is a member of the Illinois Farm Bureau. Brauer is also the past president of the Illinois Pork Producers and served on the Board of Directors of the National Pork Producers.
Brauer attended Southern Illinois University and Western Illinois University.
Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Name: Joann Fratianni-Atsaves
Position: Chairman – Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Joann Fratianni-Atsaves as the chairman of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). She has 34 years of experience in workers’ compensation law and is currently an arbitrator on the IWCC.
Fratianni-Atsaves has worked for the IWCC for the past 27 years. She began her career as an arbitrator in 1987 and was appointed to be a commissioner from 1990 to 1993. She continued her work as an arbitrator after her term as a commissioner was complete. She currently hears workers’ compensation matters by trial or settlement, and renders written decisions and approves settlement contracts.
Prior to her work for the IWCC, Fratianni-Atsaves worked in private practice at the law offices of Anthony V. Fanone where she handled insurance defense litigation for workers’ compensation matters, often trying cases within the IWCC. She began her legal career at Osterkamp, Jackson & Hollywood.
Fratianni-Atsaves is a graduate of the University of Illinois and earned her law degree at Northern Illinois University.
Name: David Gore
Position: Commissioner – Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Governor Bruce Rauner has reappointed David Gore to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). This will be Gore’s fourth term as a commissioner and he has served on the board since 2006. He represents the employee community as a labor commissioner.
Gore has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney, previously serving as a partner at the law firm Gore & Gore. It specialized in workers’ compensation cases. He also worked as an Assistant Attorney General for the Illinois Attorney General and a staff attorney with the Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau.
Gore also has experience working on workers’ compensation matters as a staff representative for the United Steel Workers of America, AFL-CIO-CLC. He handled unfair labor practice charges and represented the union before the National Labor Relations Board.
Gore holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing, a law degree and an M.B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Name: Kevin Lamborn
Position: Commissioner – Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Governor Bruce Rauner has reappointed Kevin Lamborn to a third term as a commissioner of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission (IWCC). He has served on the board since 2007 as a Business Member Appointee. In this position, he conducts hearings and issues written decisions on litigation appealed from arbitration.
Prior to his work on the IWCC, Lamborn was an associate attorney at Storino, Ramello & Durkin where he practiced municipal law. He represented local municipalities in civil actions, and also served as an Administrative Hearing officer in property impoundment and code violations.
Lamborn’s legal career also included being a partner at McAauley & Lamborn. In that practice, Lamborn focused on a large range of the law including civil litigation, property transactions, work-related injury, and criminal defense, among others.
Lamborn began his career as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Cook County. He worked his way up from traffic court to the felony trial division. He spent his final two years in the Special Prosecutions Bureau, where he investigated and tried cases involving public officials accused of misconduct.
Lamborn received his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago. He earned two bachelor’s degrees in political science and criminal justice from Valparaiso University.
Name: Joshua Luskin
Position: Commissioner – Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Joshua Luskin to serve as a public member commissioner on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission. Luskin is currently an arbitrator on the IWCC and has more than 15 years of law experience.
Prior to his work on the IWCC, Luskin was a partner at the law firm Nyhan, Bambrick, Kinzie & Lowry, where he specialized in workers’ compensation law. Luskin also served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he handled military prosecution and offered legal service to members of the military. He also worked in the Champaign County State’s Attorney’s office, and in the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s office.
Luskin graduated from Macalester College in 1994 with a degree in philosophy. He earned his law degree from the University of Michigan.
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An “ever-burgeoning bureaucracy”
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* John Bambenek and I have become sorta pals over the years. I always appreciate his insights. He’s a former legislative candidate, has his own consulting firm and is a visiting lecturer at UIUC.
When John told me about the huge skim the U of I was taking from tuition and grants, I was appalled and asked him to send me an op-ed. Check it out…
In light of potential higher education budget cuts, I decided to calculate how much of the University of Illinois’ tuition dollars end up in instructors’ pockets.
I teach 125 Computer Science students. Assuming they are all in-state and they are all 3-hour students, they pay about $1,655 to take the class. This adds up to $207,000 paid to the University. It’s actually much higher than that because about half my students are out-of-state and pay double the in-state tuition and I have about a half-dozen 4-hours students.
My salary and the grading staff pay is only about 13% of that $207K. So the vast majority of those tuition dollars goes to things other than actually teaching the class. By way of comparison, when I teach overseas I am paid between 50-60% of the course cost.
Don’t mistake this as a gripe about my pay, I do this because it’s fun and to help deal with a very critical skill shortage in my field.
Some of this is necessary overhead. However, many of the typical overhead costs are paid (or at least subsidized) by student fees like the Academic Facility Maintenance Fund Assessment (for buildings), Transportation Fee, Library and Information Technology Fee and others.
Doing some spot checking of other lecturers on campus I found between 10% and 30% of tuition dollars ended up paying those who actually perform the service people are paying for.
And it’s just as bad on the research side.
The University charges 58% to federal grants for unitemized “overhead charges”. So a large portion of research dollars are spent on things other than direct costs of actually doing the research the institution was paid to do.
The University of Illinois has two missions: teaching and research. The question is why is a majority of the funds in both categories not being spent directly on those missions?
The answer lies in the fact that while the number of students has remained generally flat or grown slightly, the growth in the number of non-teaching administrators has skyrocketed. In the last 25 years, the number of administrators has doubled according to a recent study. Here is a helpful graph to show the problem:
This isn’t to say that support staff are unimportant or that the University needs no administrators. I know in my department I rely on the good work many people do. That said, many faculty members have remarked they don’t feel like the University’s mission is to support those who do teaching and research. They feel that it’s the mission of researchers and teachers to support an ever-burgeoning bureaucracy that delivers nominal benefit to students. With the number above, it’s easy to see why.
The Governor’s budget can easily be spun to say it will cut academic opportunities to college students. Or it can be an opportunity for higher education to focus on its core missions and trim those functions that do little to no good in making it happen.
Discuss.
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* Gov. Bruce Rauner’s new chief of staff ran Rodney Davis’ first congressional campaign. Maybe they’ll finally start to listen to reason on 2.5. From the Republican Congressman’s press conference today…
Rodney telegraphed his message last Wednesday…
Judy Baar Topinka would’ve kicked Rauner’s behind for all of his over the top union bashing. But with her untimely death, no other Republican elected official with ties to organized labor has stepped forward as a voice of reason or as a middle-man.
So, good on Davis. Rauner’s war is not only unwinnable, it’s costing him dearly in the GA.
* Allow me to explain. There’s a reason why Rauner drastically toned down the rhetoric during the general election and said attacking unions wasn’t even on his radar in October. Politics is a game of addition. The race was close. Rauner wanted to win. Why push people away?
Well, every significant legislative roll call is like an election. You need 60 votes in the House and 30 in the Senate to win. So, why needlessly push people away when you know you have to get some big things done?
The governor was smart in the fall about this issue, but not so much since he was inaugurated.
Hopefully, he’ll listen to Rodney.
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Schock hit with off-season DCCC mailer
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the DCCC…
New Mailer Delivers Aaron Schock’s Latest Ethical Lapses And Tax Dollar Abuses Right To Voters Door
Following a flurry of news stories exposing Congressman Schock’s shocking abuse of tax dollars, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today launched a direct mail piece to show voters exactly what their hard earned tax dollars were going to fund. This mailer is being delivered to thousands of voters in Schock’s district.
According to reports, Schock spent more than $220,000 in tax payer funds to redecorate his swanky Washington DC office in a Downton Abbey theme, to fund his global gallivanting as well as a private plane and a photographer to chronicle his travels.
“Congressman Schock seems to be confused: he was elected to be a member of Congress, not the Earl of Grantham,” said Matt Thornton of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “His lavish lifestyle and blatant abuse of tax dollars is just the latest head scratching failures from Republicans who control Congress.”
This is not Congressman Schock’s first ethical lapse. In 2013, Schock was involved in an ethics complaint surrounding campaign contributions that also ensnared fellow Republican Congressman Rodney Davis.
* Click the pic for a larger image of the mailer…
I just don’t understand what the Democrats think they are gaining by these attacks except causing a little trouble for a guy in a safe district.
…Adding… People, this is a DCCC mailer - the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It has nothing to do with Kirk’s Senate race or whatever. If anything, the DCCC should be happy to see him move on to greener pastures.
Insights are usually appreciated, but put this into context, please.
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Question of the day
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Bruce Rauner shakes hands with House Speaker Michael Madigan before delivering his budget address…
* The Question: Caption?
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I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but…
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* While some folks are encouraging you to ignore all the specifics of the governor’s proposed budget cuts, the governor’s own wife is taking those proposals quite seriously…
The Ounce of Prevention Fund, an early-childhood nonprofit headed by first lady of Illinois Diana Rauner, issued statements to the media and supporters this week criticizing cuts proposed by the governor that target the state’s Child Care Assistance Program and Early Intervention programs.
A statement to the media reads, “We are opposed to the many proposed cuts in health, social service and education programs that would directly impact vulnerable children and families and their communities. We will oppose any changes to the Child Care Assistance Program that would adversely affect low-income families.” […]
A spokeswoman for the Ounce says Diana Rauner approved the statement and though she didn’t see the Action Alert, “everything in it reflects the position of the Ounce organization, including our president Diana Rauner.”
The governor’s office declined to talk about any discussion he had with his wife about the budget-cutting plans
Discuss.
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Budget addresses have consequences
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Despite various attempts to downplay the significance of the governor’s proposed budget cuts, the reality is that’s it’s February 20th - meaning the only budget plan we have right now is the governor’s. And since that’s the case, the media will naturally gauge the impact of what the governor wants to do.
Seth Richardson at the SJ-R has an interesting story about the governor’s 50 percent cut in municipal revenue sharing…
In his budget speech, Rauner said the reduction would only account for three percent of local municipalities’ budgets. But Illinois Municipal League legislative director Joe McCoy said every community would feel the pain, but smaller communities might fare worse.
“If a community doesn’t have a very vibrant array of other taxes that they can generate revenue from, then (the Local Government Distributive Fund) becomes that much more important,” McCoy said. “So I think it is a community-by-community issue, and there are a lot of communities that rely much more heavily on LGDF, and those would feel the most impact.”
He said some communities with smaller tax bases and no businesses rely on the fund for 15 percent to 20 percent of their budgets.
The likely outcome, according to several mayors, is the reduction of public safety personnel. [Springfield Mayor Mike Houston] said if Rauner’s decrease passes, the city would have to look at laying off personnel, likely in public safety, which takes up 70 percent of the $118 million total budget.
Cutting budgets is like that old saying about bank robbery: You go where the money is. The local money is in public safety. And the same goes for the state. If you’re not cutting P-12, some very big money is in local government.
* Phil Kadner takes a look at the governor’s claim Wednesday that local governments are sitting on a $15 billion cash pile of reserves…
The governor’s office said the $15 billion estimate of local government reserve funds came from the state comptroller’s office, but that office’s figures total about $18 billion.
Municipalities have roughly $6.5 billion in fund balances, counties have $3.4 billion, townships $894 million, park districts $862 million, fire protection districts $540 million, public library districts around $400 million and special purpose districts $944 million, according to the comptroller’s office.
It said Cook County, the city of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, the Regional Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District have a combined $4.4 billion in reserve fund balances. […]
[Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin] said Orland Park has about $20 million in reserve on a $50 million annual operating budget “because we’ve been doing what the state should have been doing all these years” — living within a budget. He said the village has a policy of keeping 20 percent of its operating budget in reserve.
* And in Lake County…
“Instead of fixing the state, he’s coming after local governments,” Gurnee Mayor Kristina Kovarik said Wednesday afternoon. “I’m not happy at all. Gurnee has its house in order — we have a AAA bond rating, no local property tax and exceptional services. I don’t know why he’s decided to pick on us.” […]
“I was very hopeful about the new governor. I’m so disappointed,” she said. “He’s ignoring everything at the state level and coming after the local guys.”
* Riopell…
“Municipalities throughout the state have been pickpocketed for years by Springfield, and now Governor Rauner’s proposal to eliminate 50 percent is akin to armed robbery,” Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said.
Armed robbery? Pretty strong words for Geneva’s mayor.
* In other budget-cutting news, the Tribune looks at the governor’s proposed $400 million cut to higher education…
The new Republican governor’s move follows a pattern of higher education funding reductions embraced by fellow GOP governors such as Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, a pair of Republicans who like to burnish their bonafides with their political bases. […]
When a variety of restricted funds are added in for categories like research and student housing, [UIUC] operates on an overall $5.6 billion budget.
That’s the figure Rauner’s team prefers to focus upon when looking at public universities as it tries to defuse a bit of the political blowback to the governor’s proposed funding cuts. Through that lens, the cuts are closer to 6 percent of total revenues going to universities.
The Rauner administration also counts general state funds that go into the university pension funds — a number that budget officials estimate is more than $1 billion — along with hundreds of millions more for health care. […]
“They’ve taken hits for a long time,” said Sen. David Luechtefeld, the Republican spokesman on the Senate Higher Education Committee. “I think they’re pretty close to rock bottom.”
* And at NIU…
Northern Illinois University officials are considering reducing staff, restructuring academic programs and pursuing more grants after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal included a 31 percent cut in NIU’s state funding.
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* Regarding the governor’s proposed Illinois Department of Corrections’ budget increase and sentencing reform…
While increasing staff numbers may be a sensible way to cut back on the cost of overtime, for which employees must be paid 1.5 times their normal salary, it’s not a long-term solution to the systemic problem at hand. IDOC is amidst a budgetary crisis, and will be unable to make payroll by April. To get prison spending under control, the state must incarcerate fewer people. Prison may make sense for violent criminals who pose a threat to public safety. But nearly 70 percent of Illinois’ prison population is serving time for nonviolent offenses. Many would benefit from diversion into drug- and mental-health treatment programs, parole, or other programs that keep families together and allow offenders to continue working instead of costing taxpayers billions each year.
In order to build a fairer and more cost-effective system, the state needs major criminal-justice reforms. The state must strongly consider policies that:
* Reform mandatory minimum sentencing: Repeal laws that set a minimum number of years to serve for an offense, allowing judges to tailor punishments to each crime and individual circumstances.
* Roll back overcriminalization: Reduce laws that criminalize victimless activities and lead to overcrowded prisons, overextended public budgets and police militarization.
* Ease offender re-entry into society: Remove state-imposed barriers, such as occupational-licensing rules, that prevent ex-offenders from finding work and integrating back into society.
If taxpayers want Illinois’ criminal-justice system to prioritize individual rights and fiscal responsibility, lawmakers must reorganize the state’s corrections system to focus on rehabilitation and recovery, not simply punishment and incarceration. Hopefully, Rauner will act with the General Assembly to pass sensible reforms to the state’s justice system.
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Run away! Run away!
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The last thing the Republicans want is a detailed discussion of the proposed cuts in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget. It’s probably why legislative staff, reporters and others were not thoroughly briefed on the budget plan this week. Cuts are never popular. People generally want the government to cut “waste” and continue doing largely what it has been doing - and everybody’s got a different idea about what waste actually is.
Plus, lots of Republican legislators are beyond nervous about the governor’s proposed cuts. Nerves most definitely need to be calmed.
So…
In a sign that a final state budget plan will look significantly different from what Gov. Bruce Rauner outlined Wednesday, the man expected to deliver Republican votes in the House predicted tough but “delicate” negotiations lie ahead.
In an interview Thursday with the Quad-City Times Springfield Bureau, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, downplayed concerns that Rauner proposed a budget that is not balanced because it relies on $2.2 billion in savings from an overhaul of state employee pensions.
“Everything in that speech is subject to negotiation,” Durkin said […]
Durkin said his goal in the coming weeks will be to find ways to cut state spending within the parameters laid out by Rauner. But he did not commit to following the exact template proposed by the rookie chief executive.
“The governor has indicated he wants to live within a certain revenue number, and how we get there, he’ll be very open to how we do that,” Durkin said. “It’s going to be really delicate, but I think its going to be a very good negotiating year for the caucuses.”
…Adding… The Tribune editorial board has also refused to get into the weeds of the governor’s budget plan, preferring instead to echo Durkin’s comments. So gutsy.
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Rauner’s magic pension beans
Friday, Feb 20, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As I told subscribers yesterday, neither Sen. Biss nor Rep. Nekritz are buying into the validity of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed pension reform plan. Neither of then can figure out how it could save $2.2 billion in the first year and they can’t fathom how the governor can claim it will immediately knock $25 billion off the state’s unfunded pension liability…
“I’m not quite sure I understand the numbers at all. It seemed a little confusing to me,” said [Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Evanston], a Harvard-educated former mathematics professor at the University of Chicago. “I also don’t know how you can possibly bank the savings before you’ve gone to court.” […]
“This, to me, is a return to fuzzy pension math,” [Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook]. “There’s just no way, looking at the proposal, that you protect every retiree and give every worker [the “vast majority” of whom are already ages 45 to 50] the pensions they have earned and say that you are going to knock 25 percent off of the unfunded liability. If you are going to preserve all of that, the math just doesn’t add up.”
She also said that during negotiations on the pension reform bill, some suggested then the idea of moving workers into a 401(k)-style plan.
“Pretty much all of the experts came back and said that that will blow a bigger hole in the pension systems,” she said.
Discuss.
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* Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart had this letter delivered to the governor’s office yesterday evening…
Illinois is in serious financial distress and we owe the citizens of this state an honest conversation about how we address the crisis, both from a fiscal standpoint and a moral one. Like many, I welcome a fresh look at how taxpayer dollars are being used and abused in all levels of government.
Yet, your budget proposals are alarming, not only for their insensitivity to the millions of lives they impact, but also for their lack of financial sense. In the face of jaw-dropping budget shortfalls, politicians for years have looked to cut state services that are crucial to large segments of our population who lack the cash and the lobbyists to fight back.
After just a month in office, you are proposing more of the same. Cutting already strained mental health programs; alcoholism and substance abuse treatment programs; criminal justice services and youth services does nothing to make Illinois a place people want to live. Slashing funding for our most vulnerable children through DCFS and kicking 18-year-old wards to the curb with no transitional support does nothing to right our ship.
Morality aside, such tactics – which are scaring hundreds of thousands of people and children across this state – are simply bad budgeting. When mental health and substance abuse programs are shuttered, where do you think the people needing that care end up? When a DCFS ward – even the ward’s child in some cases – is sent into the world without adequate help, what do you think will happen to that teenager on the street?
We know, all too often, they end up in the most costly government system of all, the criminal justice system. Once there, costs for prosecution and incarceration start racking up every minute, every day, every month.
You know this too. Your own budget calls for spending more money to reduce recidivism to save the state prison system money. You recently announced an ambitious goal to lower the state prison population by 25% in the next 10 years. Yet, cutting social safety net programs will only widen the pipeline to state prison for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Knowing your business acumen, I expected a budget proposal that was not so penny wise and pound foolish with people’s lives. Please reconsider this short-sighted proposal.
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It’s about the unions, governor, not the tycoon
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* President Obama is in Chicago to designate the Pullman Historic District as a national monument. It’s Chicago’s first national park. From the pool report…
THen at 2:25 [the President] gathered with officials, including Emanuel, and signed the official documents presumably designating the monuments.
Rauner tried to make his way onstage for the signing but was left at the rope-line.
Asked afterwards about not being invited onstage, Rauner just smiled and walked away.
Hmm. Quite a large number of other folks made it to the stage, including GOP US Sen. Mark Kirk. Obama even helped Kirk to the stage.
* So perhaps this is why the governor was rebuffed?…
Some helpful background on the Pullman strike is here.
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Governing ain’t easy
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last year, candidate Bruce Rauner’s “Bring Back Blueprint” promised $500 million in savings by reforming CMS.
But Gov. Rauner’s proposed budget contains a $22 million, 97 percent increase for CMS’ operational, grants and awards lines.
* Meanwhile, here’s candidate Bruce Rauner last October…
“(W)hat I am advocating and always have and always will is we’ve got to restructure Medicaid in Illinois. It is filled with waste and fraud.”
Also from last October…
“The waste and fraud under our Medicaid program is out of control.”
That same “Bring Back Blueprint” mentioned above claimed Rauner would save $250 million by implementing Medicaid verification reform.
His proposed budget produces nowhere near those savings…
Rauner proposes saving $75 million by being more aggressive in determining eligibility and by adding new efforts to “detect and prevent fraudulent and abusive billing practices by providers,” according to the budget document.
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Spiking, living large and the Supremes
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Riopell writes about a little-noticed Bruce Rauner proposal from yesterday…
Rauner wants to change a state law that makes local school districts pay penalties if they give big end-of-career pay raises to teachers and administrators.
School districts can still give the pay raises, but the state says local officials have to pay for the pension consequences.
Now, school districts have to pay penalties if they give late-career pay raises of more than 6 percent. Rauner wants to enact penalties for those pay raises if they’re greater than the rate of inflation, which lately has been around 1 percent. […]
Most districts avoid big penalties, even writing in a 6 percent pay raise cap into their contracts with teachers. But 1 percent is a lot lower, of course.
“While a so-called reform was enacted in an effort to prevent pension spiking, teacher contracts in recent years have made the six percent cap a floor rather than a ceiling,” Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said.
Whew.
* Meanwhile…
The ABC7 I-Team has been looking into a mind-boggling statement made by the Gov. Bruce Rauner on Wednesday.
“One out of every four dollars taken from taxpayers by the state goes into a system that is giving more than 11,000 government retirees tax-free, six-figure pensions worth as much as, in one case, $450,000 per year,” Rauner said. […]
The person receiving a $450,000 pension went unnamed, but the I-Team has learned he is a man named Tapas Das Gupta, a doctor retired from University of Illinois Chicago Hospital. Currently taxpayers are footing his annual pension of $452, 843, but what the governor didn’t mention is that the No. 2 top pensioner also makes about that much. […]
Runner-up top state pensioner is Dr. Edward Abraham, a UIC orthopedic surgeon educated in Beruit, Lebanon, who retired at age 66 and receives a $439,000 a year pension.
Even as he receives that pension, Dr. Abraham has been hired back here at UIC part-time. It’s double dipping that is perfectly legal in Illinois and that other state pensioners take advantage of.
* And…
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced it will hear oral arguments in the state’s landmark pension-overhaul case on March 11.
Arguments will begin at 2:30 p.m. in the high court chamber in downtown Springfield.
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Illinois vs. Indiana – Workers’ Compensation
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Illinois is often compared to our neighbor Indiana when it comes to workers’ compensation costs for businesses. Unfortunately, it is not a fair or accurate comparison. Wages are the main driving factor when it comes to workers’ compensation costs. Workers’ compensation benefits (non-medical) are based on a worker’s average weekly wage. On average, Indiana pays its workers 27 percent less than Illinois. Illinois ranks 8th in the country for average weekly wages, while Indiana ranks 35th. Because workers’ compensation replaces lost wages, lower wages in Indiana naturally creates lower workers’ compensation costs.
Indiana businesses may have lower workers’ compensation costs for employers; however workers injured on the job have meager options for their health care under Indiana’s workers’ compensation laws. In addition, Indiana’s early return to work program often forces injured workers back to work sooner than they should be and often leads to re-injury or new injuries.
Workers in Illinois deserve better. A fair and reasonable workers’ compensation system in Illinois helps injured workers get back on their feet and back to work.
For more information on workers’ compensation, click here.
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Today’s quotable
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois State University President Larry Dietz reacts to the governor’s proposed 31 percent cut to his school’s state funding…
“Some areas that could be affected include tuition – as set by our Board of Trustees – scholarships, faculty and staff compensation, hiring decisions and maintenance projects.
“Throughout the process, I want to assure you that protecting the jobs of our outstanding faculty and staff is our highest priority. We will do everything we can to prevent measures such as layoffs and forced furlough days.”
So, tuition and scholarships are on the table then?
I believe it’s imperative that we strengthen our university systems. But this insistence on protecting the bureaucracy to the detriment of the students is preposterous.
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* From a press release…
[US Sen. Mark Kirk], Diana Rauner To Highlight Success of Early Childhood Education Programs in Englewood
Participating Children were 35% Less Likely to Visit an Emergency Room
Every Dollar Spent Provides Return Investment of $5.70
* It’s probably no accident that Gov. Rauner proposed increasing early childhood education funding yesterday by $25 million. From a Wednesday press release by Illinois Action for Children…
Governor Rauner should be applauded for making early childhood a clear priority today. As the Governor said in his address, every dollar invested today in early childhood saves us more than $7 in the future.
It is a positive sign that the Governor has proposed to increase Pre-K investments and maintain child care funding in FY16, while also signaling that he and the General Assembly are negotiating to reach an agreement to fill the current $300 million shortfall facing the Child Care Assistance Program. Ending that crisis now must be the highest priority of our elected officials.
But much of that increase will be paid for by zeroing out all state funding for Advance Placement, Arts/Foreign Language, Agricultural Education, After School Matters, the Parent Mentoring Program, Lowest Performing Schools, funding to East St. Louis SD 189, Regional Safe Schools, Children’s Mental Health Partnership, National Board Certified Teachers, Tax Equivalency Grants, Teach for America, and Targeted Initiatives.
I wonder what Sen. Kirk and Mrs. Rauner think about those cuts?
* Greg Hinz has additional thoughts…
The advisory notes—correctly—that Diana Rauner heads the Ounce of Prevention Fund, which has done some very nice work trying to help poor families. It says that the federal Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Visiting Program has provided assistance to young mothers that not only makes childhood injuries less likely but has cut teen pregnancy rates. […]
I just have to wonder whether such needy folks might have a harder time of it if hospitals are less willing to provide treatment in the future because the governor has cut reimbursement rates. Or whether the fewer government-funded slots that will be available in alcohol and drug treatment programs might make a difference in their lives.
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Stop the satellite TV tax
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The cable industry is asking lawmakers to place a NEW 5% tax on satellite TV service. The satellite tax is not about fairness, equity or parity – it’s a tax increase on the 1.3 million Illinois families and businesses who subscribe to satellite TV.
Satellite Tax Will Hurt Illinois Families and Small Businesses
• Satellite TV subscribers will see their monthly bills go up 5%.
• This tax will impact every bar, restaurant and hotel that subscribes to satellite TV service, which will translate into higher prices, decreased revenues, and fewer jobs.
• Rural Illinois has no choice: In many parts of Illinois, cable refuses to provide TV service to rural communities. Satellite TV is their only option.
Satellite Tax Is Not About Parity or Fairness
• Cable’s claim that this discriminatory tax is justified because satellite TV doesn’t pay local franchise fees could not be further from the truth. Cable pays those fees to local towns and cities in exchange for the right to bury cables in the public rights of way—a right that cable companies value in the tens of billions of dollars in their SEC filings.
• Satellite companies don’t pay franchise fees for one simple reason: We use satellites—unlike cable, we don’t need to dig up streets and sidewalks to deliver our TV service.
• Making satellite subscribers pay franchise fees—or, in this case, an equivalent amount in taxes—would be like taxing the air. It’s no different than making airline passengers pay a fee for laying railroad tracks. They don’t use; they shouldn’t have to pay for it.
Tell Your Lawmakers to Stop The Satellite TV Tax
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The right way and the wrong way
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The response from the Senate Black Caucus to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal was mostly predictable, but on point…
“Yes, government leaders in positions of power hold many responsibilities, one of which is ensuring a thriving private sector, attractive to business and industry – but not to be forgotten are the awesome responsibilities of protecting and serving the people.” – State Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood 4th)
“Cutting services that uplift communities are not only a slap in the face, but it’s an attack on the lower and middle class. This irresponsible, smoke-and-mirrors budget balances our state’s debts on the backs of the neediest, but refuses to close corporate loopholes.” – State Senator Donne E. Trotter (D-Chicago 17th)
“I am outraged that the governor is knocking middle and lower-class families down when they are already facing tough economic circumstances. He’s putting lives and livelihoods in jeopardy by treating our state’s most vulnerable people like burdens.” – State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago 3rd)
“This proposed budget would close doors of opportunity for youth in disadvantaged communities throughout the state.
“By cutting funding for anti-violence initiatives and services for wards of the state who face homelessness and exploitation when they turn 18, this administration signals that it is giving up on the tremendous potential within our young people struggling to emerge from difficult circumstances.
“And with one-third of higher education funding eliminated in the Rauner budget, young men and women who beat the odds and make it to college would face higher tuition, less assistance and fewer resources.” – State Senator Jacqueline Y. Collins (D-Chicago 16th)
* Sen. Gary Forby also got in some licks…
“It’s pretty cold of the governor to propose cuts to energy cost assistance at a time when working families are struggling to deal with spikes in the utility bills.”
“This budget is filled with cut after cut after cut,” Forby continued. “Tuition costs are going to go up putting more of the burden on our students when they are trying to prepare themselves for the workforce.”
* As did Sen. Heather Steans…
In hearings starting next month, my colleagues and I will thoroughly discuss each agency’s needs and where savings can be achieved. But the numbers in today’s proposal simply don’t add up. I look forward to working with the governor’s office on a balanced budget that is realistic and fulfills our responsibilities to our most vulnerable residents.
* And Sen. Daniel Biss…
(T)he Governor’s proposal singles out working families and the most vulnerable among us for the deepest cuts, while asking nothing of the rich. It is simply unconscionable to slash Medicaid, foster care, and much of the rest of our safety net while leaving the most fortunate among us untouched.
* Sen. Trotter and others also did a credible job during WBEZ’s extensive coverage. But then Donne reverted to one of his bad habits…
Sen. Donne Trotter said Wednesday Rauner has proposed a “slash-and-burn budget.” The Chicago Democrat says Rauner acted “as if he was an ISIS warrior fighting a battle, not against the state of Illinois but against the people of Illinois.”
Rauner spokesman Lance Trover says the administration welcomes dialogue with legislators. But he’s urging lawmakers “to refrain from over the top rhetoric that demeans the process.”
Trover is right, Trotter is wrong.
What the Senator did was distract attention away from the governor’s cuts and put it onto himself.
C’mon, man.
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When spending less costs more
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed $1.47 billion in Medicaid cuts includes reductions in dental services, mental health care and other coverage. But some legislators and patient advocates say the targeted services don’t just help keep people healthy — they also save the state money. […]
“We found, for example, that if you cut people’s dental services and then they don’t go to a dentist, they end up going to an emergency room and it costs us more money,” Cullerton said. “So we went back and examined that and made a change.”
“People will not miraculously get better if they’re denied care for services,” said Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago. “They’ll just end up at a higher level of care in an acute care setting at the most expensive end of their disease.”
Other legislators responded that the added costs of emergency room services have not been well-documented.
“It’s theory,” said Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon.
No, it’s not a theory. This does happen.
* From a 2012 New York Times story…
In a report this year, [the Pew Center on the States] estimated that preventable dental problems were the primary diagnosis in 830,590 emergency room visits in 2009 — up 16 percent from 2006.
“It’s penny-wise and pound-foolish,” said Shelly Gehshan, the director of the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign. “Rather than an $80 extraction or a $300 filling, states are spending much more on emergency room visits that can’t fix the problem.”
* Also, this…
(M)any Medicaid enrollees continue to live with the pain and discomfort of tooth decay and gum disease, which can exacerbate other health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Eventually, some go to costly emergency rooms, which can do little but provide short-term pain relief.
…Adding… More on this general topic from the Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities group…
Governor Bruce Rauner’s $27 million cuts to drug treatment services undermine the very criminal justice reforms that he has been publicly championing.
Criminal justice reforms and cost savings simply cannot happen without drug treatment and coordinated case management upon which Illinois courts rely.
Last year alone, working with judges and community-based treatment providers, TASC diverted 2,080 people from prison and immediately saved Illinois $35 million. Under the governor’s proposed budget for next year, millions of those savings would be wiped out.
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Shared sacrifice is pretty one-sided
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
“If you’re going to look for major reforms and finding savings, I suggest you look at the tax code where there’s a bunch of corporate giveaways and corporate loopholes,” Emanuel said. “That’s a perfect place to start, but do not think you are going to do this, not only on the backs of families and children, but the resources that go directly to the city are things that we use to pay for our police, firefighters and first responders.” […]
Rauner’s draconian budget offers little hope for Emanuel that such solutions are on the horizon. Instead, it’s estimated Chicago could lose $135 million in income tax distributions, which Emanuel said would lead to sharp cuts in city services.
“We use those resources to pay for police officers, firefighters, basic services. The idea that you would be look at basic services and cuts to the municipalities when you have a tax code that has giveaways to corporations, in my view is the wrong priorities,” Emanuel said. “I understand the need for change. I understand the need for reform. Start with the tax code that doesn’t actually meet the obligations of the state’s economic opportunity and future.”
The mayor criticized Rauner’s mass transit cuts saying, “This is not the time to cut back on the support for mass transit. This is the time to double down, just the opposite” to drive economic growth and create more jobs.
Last year, Rauner repeatedly said he wanted to close several corporate loopholes. So, why didn’t he include them in his budget yesterday? Well, state law forbids this. Governors are required, by statute, to introduce budgets with existing tax revenue streams. The law was designed to prevent fantasy budgets from being submitted with tax hikes that couldn’t pass anyway.
He could have, of course, mentioned his desire for loophole closures yesterday. But that phrase has not crossed his lips since the election. Almost all the sacrifice he demanded is placed on the backs of public employees and the poor and those who serve them.
* Well, almost. He did make one cut that has gone mostly unnoticed. Rauner proposed cutting a $1.5 million DCEO grant to the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. Even so, the IMA had nothing but plaudits for Rauner’s overall budget yesterday…
While it’s a dose of tough medicine, Illinois needs to take action in order to get a healthy financial outlook once again. It’s important to stop kicking the can down the road and restore fiscal stability. Balancing the budget while preserving critical programs like education and vocational training will help jump start Illinois’ economic engine leading to job growth and economic development.
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* AP…
Rauner said Illinois could save more than $2 billion by moving all state workers to a less-generous pension system lawmakers approved in 2010 for employees hired after Jan. 1, 2011. Workers also would have the option of moving to a 401(k)-style plan. He said firefighters and police would be able to keep their current benefits.
Projected savings from any pension changes aren’t likely to be realized in the next fiscal year, however. Even if Rauner could get a bill through the legislature, the state’s powerful labor unions — with whom Rauner has clashed repeatedly since taking office — would challenge it in court.
Those unions and retirees already have sued over a 2013 pension overhaul that cut benefits. A lower court found the measure unconstitutional, and the Illinois Supreme Court is considering the case.
* Sen. Daniel Biss, who helped craft the current pension reform law, agreed via press release yesterday…
“It is completely irresponsible to claim to balance a budget through pension reforms that would surely be litigated. An inevitable lawsuit will leave the state in financial limbo while the proposal meanders its way through the judicial system, and banking the savings of such a plan during that process puts us at risk of further damaging the fiscal condition of the pension systems.”
* And so did Senate President John Cullerton…
Governor Rauner leaves a $2.2 billion hole in the budget by relying on unrealistic revenues from a questionable pension proposal. Even as the courts review a significant test case, the governor’s plan banks phantom savings for a pension plan that may fail key legislative and judicial tests. When we passed pension reform last year, we took care to exclude possible savings from budget plans pending a legal resolution. The governor’s plan rejects that wisdom.
* Speaker Madigan piled on…
Madigan said the governor shouldn’t be balancing his budget with money from a pension reform plan that has yet to pass, let alone be tested in court.
“I think the governor proposes to engage in conduct which I would consider reckless,” Madigan said.
He said Rauner’s plan cuts benefits, unlike the pension reform bill he championed that he said only cut increases in benefits going forward. Also, Madigan said the state did not count on any savings from the pension reform bill, which is currently being heard by the Illinois Supreme Court.
* But I agree with Mark Brown…
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Madigan renewed his call for an income tax surcharge on millionaires, which I don’t regard as either serious or responsible
The truth is, nobody is being serious about this budget. Not Rauner and not Madigan. The Democrats have been completely unserious for way too long, and the new governor clearly demonstrated yesterday that he’s not above the same sort of ridiculous sleight of hand games that the Democrats have played for years.
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What Rauner didn’t mention yesterday
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Jamey Dunn points out that Gov. Bruce Rauner skipped over quite a few of the cuts he proposed yesterday…
Rauner touted increased education spending in the form of General State Aid. He talked about waste and special interest groups and laid out ways to combat both. But what he did not talk about are the cuts he proposed to programs that serve children, the elderly, the poor and the disabled in Illinois. Rauner’s budget plan includes substantial cuts to:
* The Department of Children and Family Services. It would also eliminate services for youth ages 18 to 21.
* Community care for senior citizens.
* Mental health services.
* Addiction treatment.
* Dental Care for adults on Medicaid.
* Support for children on ventilators.
After the speech, Democratic lawmakers on budgeting committees decried the proposed cuts of state funding for the Arc of Illinois, a nonprofit that provides services to developmental disabled residents and their families, The Autism Project, a major statewide provider of services to Autistic Illinoisans, and programs for epileptic.
Rauner wants to pump more into general funding for schools, but he is also making some cuts to education. The plan would zero out line items in the State Board of Education’s budget for:
* Arts and foreign language
* The Children’s Mental Health Partnership program
* Advance placement courses
* Regional Safe Schools, which offer education to students who are expelled or suspended.
Failure to mention those reductions shows either that he’s not wedded to those cuts, or he just didn’t have the guts to talk about them. Or?…
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The consequences of leadership
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kurt Erickson on GOP react to the governor’s budget…
Republican lawmakers downplayed Rauner’s tough talk, saying it is early in the budgeting process.
“It’s opening day here for the budget in Springfield,” said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington.
But, he added, “All of those are going to be sacrifices, painful sacrifices.”
Brady himself will be asked to make a painful political sacrifice.
Illinois State University, which is in Rep. Brady’s district, is slated to receive a $23 million cut in state subsidies, a 31.5 percent reduction. Rep. Brady is the Republican Spokesman on the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee - which means if these university cuts survive the budget process, Brady will have to sponsor and argue for the approp bill in his chamber.
That’ll be fun.
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Smith sentencing today
Thursday, Feb 19, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Prosecutors are asking that former state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) be sentenced to four to five years in prison for accepting a $7,000 cash bribe. He’ll be sentenced today…
Prosecutor Marsha McClellan argued in court papers filed ahead of Thursday’s sentencing that Smith’s “steadfast refusal to accept responsibility, no doubt contributes to the erosion of the public’s trust in its elected officials.”
But Smith’s attorney Vic Henderson urged U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman not to compare “Smith’s conduct to that of other Illinois politicians, such as Governor Ryan and Governor Blagojevich,” citing the small sum of cash involved and adding, “Derrick Smith did not orchestrate the incident leading up to his indictment.
“The situation was created by the government.”
Given Smith’s ongoing denial of guilt, he is unlikely to offer a full-throated apology on Thursday, though Henderson said Smith is “is remorseful for bringing himself and his family shame as a result of his arrest and conviction.”
In other words, he’s ashamed that he got caught.
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