COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONER WILLIAM BEAVERS INDICTED ON FEDERAL TAX CHARGES FOR ALLEGEDLY FAILING TO PAY TAXES ON CAMPAIGN FUNDS AND COUNTY EXPENSE ACCOUNT USED FOR PERSONAL PURPOSES
CHICAGO — Cook County Commissioner William Beavers was indicted today on federal tax charges for allegedly obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and failing to report, and pay taxes on, all of his income. Beavers allegedly concealed his under-reporting of income and underpayment of taxes on thousands of dollars that he converted to personal use from his campaign accounts – including more than $68,000 in personal gain on one occasion that was not reported – as well as from his county discretionary spending account. Between 2006 and 2008, Beavers allegedly paid himself more than $225,000 from three separate campaign accounts and used at least a portion of those funds for personal purposes, including gambling. In 2006, he used more than $68,000 from a campaign account to boost his city pension, and between 2006 and 2008, he used his $1,200 monthly county contingency account for personal purposes without reporting any of these funds as income on his federal tax returns, the indictment alleges.
Beavers, 77, of Chicago, was charged with one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the IRS and three counts of filing false federal income tax returns in a four-count indictment that was returned today by a federal grand jury, announced Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Alvin Patton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division in Chicago; and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Beavers, who was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners, representing the 4th District, in November 2006 and began serving as a commissioner a month later, will be ordered to appear for arraignment on a date to be determined in U.S. District Court. Previously, Beavers served as the 7th Ward alderman on Chicago’s City Council from 1983 until November 2006, when he was elected to the commissioner’s post.
“If politicians choose to use their campaign funds for personal use then they, like all the citizens they serve, share the obligation to honestly report their income and pay the correct amount of taxes,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “The indictment alleges that over a course of three years, Commissioner Beavers repeatedly used his campaign accounts for personal use and then thwarted the Internal Revenue Service by causing his campaign committees to create false records to cover it up.”
Mr. Patton of the IRS said, “When public officials raise money for political campaigns and use those funds for personal expenses, they must report it as income and pay taxes. A system of government, like ours, which depends on its citizens’ voluntarily compliance with tax laws, is undermined when elected officials shirk their tax responsibilities.”
According to the indictment, Beavers had sole authority over three campaign committees that supported his political activities – Citizens for Beavers, Friends of William Beavers, also known as Friends for William Beavers, and 7th Ward Democratic Organization. As part of the corrupt endeavor to obstruct the IRS, Beavers allegedly converted campaign funds for his own personal use, provided false information to his campaign treasurers regarding the use of these funds, and understated his income and the taxes he owed in his individual income tax returns for 2006, 2007 and 2008.
During those three years, Beavers caused his campaign committees to issue checks payable to himself and to third parties on his behalf, and he allegedly used at least part of the proceeds for personal expenses, including an unspecified amount for gambling. The checks included approximately 100 payable to Beavers personally, totaling about $96,000 in 2006, $69,300 in 2007, and $61,000 in 2008, for a total of approximately $226,300.
As part of the corrupt endeavor, the indictment alleges that Beavers concealed his personal use of campaign funds by maintaining and causing campaign workers to maintain records that falsely reflected the uses of campaign checks payable to Beavers, including records used to prepare semi-annual Illinois campaign finance reports known as D-2s. Beavers caused campaign workers to falsely record, on check stubs and other records, that certain campaign checks written to him and used for personal purposes were instead used for campaign expenses, the charges allege.
In some instances, Beavers allegedly attempted to conceal his use of campaign funds for personal use by telling campaign workers that checks payable to and cashed by him were for paying campaign-related expenses, even though those expenses were not incurred by the campaign committees until months after Beavers had converted the funds. In other instances, Beavers withheld from his campaign staff any explanation of certain checks payable to him, or he caused workers to falsely record that certain checks were “void” or unused even though he had cashed them.
The indictment alleges that on Nov. 14, 2006, Beavers caused a check for $68,763.07 to be paid from Citizens for Beavers to the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, a pension plan for certain City of Chicago employees including Aldermen, to increase his monthly pension from $2,890 to $6,541. The check allegedly was for personal use and should have been, but was not, reported as income on his 2006 income tax return.
Beginning in December 2006 when he began serving as a county commissioner, through November 2008, Beavers received $1,200 a month from Cook County in the form of a Commissioner Contingency Account (CCA) check for discretionary use. Any personal use of these funds was reportable as income, according to the indictment. Beavers allegedly used the total of $28,800 for personal purposes without reporting any of the funds as income on tax returns.
The three counts of filing false tax returns allege that Beavers failed to include unspecified gross income from his campaign committees and county account when he reported the following amounts of total income and taxable income on his federal returns for 2006 - 2008:
$208,561 total income and $98,453 taxable income for 2006;
$487,568 total and $204,228 taxable for 2007; and
$300,408 total and $171,507 taxable for 2008.
Each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine and restitution is mandatory. In addition, defendants convicted of tax offenses must pay the costs of prosecution and remain liable for any and all back taxes, as well as a civil fraud penalty of 75 percent of the underpayment plus interest. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Getter and Samuel B. Cole.
The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Beavers, 77, said they only indicted him because he refused to wear a wire on fellow Commissioner John Daley, the former mayor’s brother.
“They tried to get to me to become a stool pigeon and I wouldn’t become a stool pigeon,” Beavers said Thursday, telling the Sun-Times he hadn’t been told of the indictment. “They wanted me to wear a wire on John Daley. S—.”
Asked why FBI agents wanted him to wear a wire, he barked: “How do I know? I don’t know. I don’t even know John Daley that well. I told them I’m too old to be a stool pigeon. S–. And when I’m ready to confess, I’ll go to confession — that’s what I told them. I have an attorney.”
John Daley said he was surprised at what Beavers said. “I have no idea what he’s talking about,” the commissioner said.
He said Beavers never approached him to say that any federal agents had asked Beavers to wear a wire on him. Looking at the indictment against Beavers, Daley said: “It’s pretty obvious what this is about, and this has nothing to do with me…
*** 2:43 pm *** Statement from President Preckwinkle…
“Today’s action by the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges serious allegations against Commissioner Beavers. As are all individuals charged with a crime, he is to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. We hope and expect that justice will be served.”
*** 2:59 pm *** I really find this whole John Daley thing difficult to believe. As if John Daley would ever tell Bill Beavers anything. Not gonna happen, unless the feds are more naive than I ever figured.
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* Perhaps the most surprising Democratic press release I received yesterday was from Mayor Rahm Emanuel praising Gov. Quinn’s budget address…
I applaud the Governor’s decision to be honest with the taxpayers about the state’s pension obligations. The hardworking families who rely on public pensions deserve honest answers, as do the taxpayers who have to honor those pension obligations. The time has come to deal with the state’s pension obligations and I commend the Governor for being forthright today. In addition, I strongly support the Governor’s commitment to maintain funding for education so that our children have the resources they need to learn, thrive, and succeed in the future.
Those two guys have had their problems, but the mayor seems to be working lately to repair things in public, at least.
* Whatever the mayor’s reaction was, House Speaker Michael Madigan’s take is always the most watched…
“I think he did a very good job of setting out what the problems of the state budget are. He delivered a very strong message,” House Speaker Michael Madigan told Illinois Lawmakers after Quinn’s speech. “He topped it all off by saying to them, ‘Don’t expect to go home until we get our job done,’ which was a legitimate request from a governor to the legislature.” […]
The House led the budgeting process last year, but Madigan said he wants Quinn to be involved this year. “The governor must sign that bill in order for it to be effective, and so the sooner that he joins the group, the better.”
Madigan also said he’d talked to House GOP Leader Tom Cross and had been assured they’d work together again on the budget.
* And when he was asked about Gov. Quinn’s threat to keep legislators in town through the summer if they didn’t fix the Medicaid problem, Madigan said…
“I’m prepared to spend the summer in Springfield. Springfield’s a nice town in July and August.”
“The first step is to educate the public on how tough these decisions are. And I think he did that today. That makes it easier for the legislators to end up voting for some of these tough issues,” Senate President John Cullerton told Illinois Lawmakers.
Cullerton said that Quinn is letting the working groups negotiate behind the scenes. “The governor can’t propose a solution yet because we’ve got to wait and see what everybody wants to do collaboratively,” he said.
Senate President John Cullerton said he would work with Quinn on a pension reform proposal that preserved the “constitutional rights of current employees and retirees. Unlike Indiana and Wisconsin, we intend to work with unions to accomplish this goal.”
Dave Druker, a spokesman for White, said that office has not submitted its budget yet.
“We will outline a budget that will contain cuts,” he said. “We fully respect the difficult situation the state is in.”
However, he stopped short of saying White will match the 9 percent cut requested by Quinn.
“We want to be as cooperative as possible, but we don’t want to go back to the old days of long lines at the facilities,” Druker said.
Natalie Bauer, spokeswoman for Madigan, says that office’s budget hearing is in late March.
“We are crunching the numbers right now,” she said.
* Apparently, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle wasn’t briefed on the budget address. From a press release…
“Today the Governor took great steps to lay out the budgetary problems that Illinois is facing in an honest and forthright manner. He laid out a strong framework for pension reform that I hope will prove a successful roadmap for the General Assembly.
“While the Governor’s candor struck the right tone, absent from his address were clear recommendations on Medicaid and human services funding. Protecting our public health institutions and the Cook County residents who rely on them for care is among my most urgent priorities as President of the Cook County Board. Cook County and the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, as the result of various financial agreements, provide hundreds of millions of dollars to the State of Illinois every year for human services funding for residents throughout the state of Illinois. It is currently unclear if that is accurately recognized in the Governor’s proposed budget.
“The state of Illinois remains under enormous financial pressure, as do Governments at every level. I am confident that the Members of the Illinois General Assembly will fashion a responsible budget that will strengthen our state’s future.”
Almost all of the facilities the governor wants to close are in downstate Illinois. … I’m mad as hell. Illinois is one state, not Chicago and everybody else.” —State Senator Gary Forby, Democrat from Benton.
State Rep. Brandon Phelps, D-Harrisburg, also represents a district that includes Tamms and many of its nearly 300 employees.
“Alexander County already has a high unemployment rate. This would devastate those people,” Phelps said. “I am very, very upset by this and hopefully its not going to go anywhere.”
State Rep. Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, said he is concerned the governor’s plan to close facilities could divert attention away from the need to deal with Medicaid and pension costs.
“It seems like he’s actually creating more problems,” Verschoore said.
When it comes to closing facilities, you just can’t win.
And Sen. Jeff Schoenberg says that attitude is a significant problem. The Evanston Democrat is co-chair of the legislative committee that reviews proposals to close state facilities.
He says he’s been willing to make tough votes on closing state facilities. But his colleagues?
“Downstate Republicans are not willing to make the difficult choices,” Schoenberg says. “They talk a good game about being fiscally conservative, but when it comes to closing a public facility that’s under-utilized or not cost-efficient, they’re like New Deal Democrats, and that tune’s got to change.”
* Apparently, we don’t just hate ourselves here in Illinois. The country takes a dim view of us as well, according to a series of Public Policy Polling surveys…
Over the course of four months starting last October, PPP asked American voters nationally what their impressions of each state are. Hawaii came out on top, by far, with California bringing up the rear.
Americans generally have a favorable view of most states. Only five are in negative territory, led by California (27% favorable and 44% unfavorable), Illinois (19-29), New Jersey (25-32), Mississippi (22-28), and Utah (24-27).
The one positive, if you could call it that, is that more people were “Not sure” (52 percent) about Illinois than those other states.
* Indiana scored 31 percent favorable, 12 percent unfavorable and 57 percent not sure. 38 percent viewed Michigan favorably, while 21 percent viewed it unfavorably and 40 percent were unsure. 40 percent had a favorable view of Wisconsin, with 17 percent seeing it as unfavorable and 42 percent unsure.
* The crosstabs show that the kids kinda dig us, though…
* Treasurer Dan Rutherford praised Gov. Pat Quinn’s speech yesterday. From a press release…
“Let me be clear: I commend Governor Quinn’s proposal to fully fund next year’s pension obligation. I heard a commitment from the governor today to make meaningful, fair reforms to both the public pension system and Medicaid. If these reforms are accomplished, it will be a very productive session for the Illinois General Assembly. I stand ready to work with the governor. We must act now.”
* Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka has to deal with the state’s mountainous backlog of overdue bills 24/7, so her negative reaction was completely understandable…
The budget is “a hodgepodge of ideas that are not thought through, and that will do little to address the state’s mountain of unpaid bills,” Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said in a statement yesterday.
Republican Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, who ran against Quinn in 2010 and is a member of the legislative group examining pensions, said he’s concerned that the governor’s proposed facility closings would harm pension negotiations that already have begun.
“It’s going to take employee participation to solve these problems in the area of pensions, and to throw this out at this point in time, I’m just concerned about how those representing employees are going to react,” Brady said.
It’s an interesting point, but I’m not sure it’ll have as much impact as Brady believes. Time will tell.
“Governor Quinn’s matinee performance today was just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Pat Brady, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party.
* After bitterly complaining early in the week about possible facility closures, Sen. Cultra had this to say…
“I’ve been to 10 budget addresses now, and this is the first one that had no applause,” said Sen. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga. “He was talking Republican ideas. I don’t think it played too well to his base.”
Two things, Senator: 1) Those last ten budgets didn’t solve the problems, so applause is meaningless. 2) Why are you opposed to “Republican ideas”? Just sayin…
“Finally there is some recognition from Chicago that there’s a problem,” Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said. “I am willing to work with them. I think on both of those issues (Medicaid and pensions) we’ll have substantial progress this spring.”
* And the Republican leaders, who will be crucial to any final deal, were less than enthusiastic, at least in public…
“We need to know what direction he’s headed. That’s the role of the governor – to provide some leadership – and that’s what’s been lacking,” said the top Republican in the Senate, Minority Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont. “He’s relying entirely on these pension and Medicaid working groups.”
“Be the governor and introduce some legislation, and we’ll work off it,” added her House counterpart, Minority Leader Tom Cross of Oswego.
Legislators introduce legislation, but whatever. Also, I’m still waiting for last year’s GOP budget proposal to be put into actual bill form. Still, I’m pretty sure those two will come around.
Righter said he “is more than willing to help” Quinn try to fix the Medicaid program which the governor said “is on the brink of collapse.”
But the veteran lawmaker said he still was skeptical that Quinn would be willing to go along with slashing $2.7 billion from the $14 billion program.
“He needs to remember that any bill that gets to his desk, he’s got to sign it. And if it’s not $2.7 billion then he needs to say this isn’t enough. Now I’m ready to do that,” Righter said. “The question is whether or not he’s willing to do it and whether the (Democratic) party that has doubled the size of the Medicaid program in 10 years, whether or not they’re ready to do that. You’re talking about some incredibly difficult choices here.”
In order to reach $2.7 billion in savings, Righter said, “you’re talking about eliminating every optional service, almost all of the populations the federal government does not require us to cover and cutting rates. I’m not sure how many legislators understand what that means, particularly in the majority party, and once they understand that, are they going to be willing to do what’s right to save the whole program?”
If you focus only on eliminating optional services, then, yes, Righter is correct. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, however.
* And there was the usual parochial stuff which directly collided with accepted GOP orthodoxy…
“He talked about rolling back spending to 2008 levels, but it’s actually $3.4 billion higher. Our spending is up, he’s proposing new spending, new programs, and he still doesn’t have a plan to pay the bills,” [state Sen. Christine Johnson, R-Shabbona] said.
“I’m particularly unhappy to hear him talk about closing Singer Mental Health Center. He’s targeting our most vulnerable citizens. Some of these people aren’t really able to be put into community settings.”
“He talked a lot about Medicaid but didn’t give us a whole lot of specifics about how to we’re going to get from point A to point B, except he’s going to keep us around all summer if we don’t do what he says,” state Rep. Rich Morthland, R-Cordova, said.
He doesn’t want you to do what he says, Rich. He wants you to work cooperatively to solve the problem this spring or you’ll be here all summer.
There were no applause lines in Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address. In fact, no one applauded until the 30-minute speech was over — and that’s good.
There is little worth applauding in either the state’s financial condition or the “solutions” presented by Quinn on Wednesday.
But we aren’t complaining — not really.
Let’s face it, the governor’s track record in achieving goals announced in big speeches isn’t that good. So it’s actually refreshing not to hear a lot of proclamations of what he’s going to do or a lot of lines designed to trigger applause but achieve no real change.
Instead, Quinn set a properly somber tone and correctly pointed out the two biggest areas in need of change: the public pension systems and the Medicaid program that’s bleeding worse than most of the patients who rely on it.
His emphasis was on what he called a “collaborative approach.” That’s what has worked in the progress he has made, such as pension changes for new employees and limited workers compensation reform; that’s what it will take to make the fundamental changes needed in public pension systems and Medicaid.
Quinn isn’t going to bully the Legislature into doing what he wants; he can’t. He needs cooperation from the leaders of both parties.
* And while I agree with the substance of the Tribune’s editorial, this “dismantling Illinois” phrase of theirs is just goofy branding hyperbole…
The governor’s core message was spot-on: Runaway pension and Medicaid costs are straitjacketing every other spending priority. We hope he’ll now follow through. Recall that in the past he has abandoned his own demands on lawmakers for budget discipline.
This time, Quinn and legislative leaders have no choice but to deliver. The dismantling of Illinois has only just begun.
* The speech seemed to stir editorial writers throughout Illinois, including at the Sun-Times…
But when a state finds itself in such dire financial shape, there are no good fiscal policies, certainly no palatable ones.
Just different degrees of bad.
Consider this: Illinois is expected to pull in an extra $720 million in revenue this year, which sounds pretty good. But the state’s pension bill will jump by $1.1 billion.
If Quinn and the state’s legislative leaders do nothing this year but solve the Medicaid and pension problems, they will go down in Illinois history as great statesmen.
They may also get voted out of office by an angry mob. That’s what happened to Gov. Dick Ogilvie in 1972 after he bravely pushed through the state’s first income tax.
No one expected good news in this address. We’d say that we were impressed with Quinn’s focus and resolve, but we said that last year and it came to nothing because the governor was insufficiently involved with lawmakers during the legislative session. Clearly, where the big issues of Medicaid and pension reform are concerned, Quinn has adopted a new strategy of collaboration as he prepares for fiscal year 2013. The question now is whether Quinn, in his fourth round of budget crafting as governor, will be a forceful and effective participant and leader in addressing those critical areas.
I also liked Quinn’s words, and I simultaneously wonder whether he’s up to executing his duties.
And he saved his most important assertion for the closing line of the speech: “Loyalty to the common good is far more important in Illinois today than loyalty to your caucus or loyalty to your lobbyist. It’s time to put progress ahead of politics in Illinois.”
It absolutely is. The governor’s speech at last helped us see that he knows what the “common good” is. But we’re not going to know whether anyone has the will to achieve it until we see specifically what achieving it will take.
From a parochial standpoint the local hit isn’t that objectionable compared to what some other communities are facing. Peoria’s adult transition center is located on Main Street Downtown and was a controversial matter - nobody wanted it next door - when its location was being debated in the mid-1990s. Peoria will miss the jobs - about 30 of them - and 205 residents will be released into the community on electronic detention, which may alarm some, but in fact they’re out and working now, only spending nights there. Closing it will save the state $4.1 million. Illinois has more government than it can afford. That’s just a fact. One can’t in good faith tell Springfield to cut … everywhere else but here.
Alas, he is between a rock and a hard place, though it’s a squeeze of state government’s own making after decades of mindless budgeting on which various special interests were allowed to gorge themselves. It’s diet time. This is a more focused, disciplined budget plan than last year, and Quinn seems more on the same page with legislative leaders. That’s a good start. He told legislators Wednesday they should be prepared to work through the summer, which caused a bit of a ripple. That ought to be incentive enough for them to accomplish something this spring.
* There are a whole lot of stories to sort through on the budget, so I’d like to get your impression first before posting opinions from others.
* The Question: Overall, what grade would you give Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address? Take the poll and then make sure to explain your answer in comments, please.
* I’ll be on Public Television at noon today before the start of Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address. Check your local listings. The broadcast will also be carried live on Public Radio, so you can listen in if you don’t have access to a TV or don’t want to actually see me (and I don’t blame you).
* We’ll have a separate thread with this morning’s news stories about the upcoming budget address, but this will be our live coverage post throughout the day, with react and all sorts of other goodies, so stay with us right here. As always, Blackberry users click here, everybody else can just kick back and watch the show unfold before your very eyes…
* The House Agriculture Committee approved HB 4085 yesterday. The bill requires physicians to offer women who are about to have an abortion “an opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound of her unborn child.” From the News-Gazette…
Tuesday’s hearing included an emotional exchange between Jakobsson and the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Joseph Lyons, D-Chicago.
“(Y)ou are hoping that after a woman sees this, you are hoping that she is discouraged from having an abortion?” Jakobsson asked.
“I think it gives the human face to the procedure, when they see the heartbeat and see that it’s not just a procedure like getting your tonsils taken out or having an appendectomy,” Lyons said. “It’s the idea of trying to put a face, a touch, on the whole process. And if it saves one life, Naomi, is that a bad thing? If it saves one life, would that be a bad idea?”
Jakobsson responded, “I think what you are getting at is trying to discourage the woman from trying to protect her life.”
Lyons called the legislation “a pro-choice bill. A woman has the choice to say no. Most women will. This doesn’t force this on any woman. It just says, would you like to see the ultrasound?”
* The Question: Should the General Assembly intercede between a patient and her doctor in this instance? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please. Thanks.
* Republican congressional candidate Rodger Cook released his tax returns yesterday and challenged others in the race to follow suit. Jason Plummer, who adamantly refused to release his tax returns when he ran for lt. governor two years ago, is taking the refusenik line this time as well…
Plummer issued a statement in which he stated that voters “want to know where you get your money, where your money is invested, and what kind of financial relationships you have. They should want to know these things, it is tremendously important information.”
But this information is obtained ” through a legally required Federal Personal Financial Disclosure, not a tax return,” Plummer wrote. ” A tax return does not have all the details a PFD has, which is why I released my PFD before any other candidate.”
In 2010, when he ran for lieutenant governor as the Republican nominee, Plummer resisted call to turn his tax returns. In a disclosure report filed late last year, Plummer listed personal assets of between nearly $3 million and $41 million.
Plummer’s full press release is here. A press release supporting Cook is here…
“In Illinois, politicians work the system for power and gain. If you’re going to run for office, you need to prove to the people of Illinois that you’re clean. Show us that you haven’t profited from the Illinois political class,” stated Rodger Cook.
“The people of Illinois deserve the truth. If you don’t have gold-standard ethics, you’re part of business-as-usual. Rodger Cook is the latest and most prominent candidate in this election cycle to lead on this transformational ethics policy,” said Adam Andrzejewski, former 2010 gubernatorial candidate
* In other news, We Ask America has Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. with a big lead over Democratic rival Debbie Halvorson. Click the pic for a larger image…
Clearly, the voters of Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District aren’t buying into conventional wisdom. We’ve included the Ethnic Origin breakdowns to show there is a definite Minority/White split of opinion. Of course there’s still time for Halvorson to reduce the gap, and if the 50+ percent of voters who are African American stay home on Primary Day (March 20), we may be in for a surprise.
But for now, Congressman Jackson appears ready to prove the naysayers wrong.
Discuss.
* Related…
* Cunningham is back on ballot in 11th district race: Jack Cunningham’s name will appear on the ballot in the race for the Republican nomination in the 11th Congressional District. Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Susan Fox Gillis on Tuesday ordered that Cunningham’s name appear on the March 20 election ballot, reversing the Illinois State Board of Elections, which had upheld objections to the nominating petitions of Cunningham and Diane Harris.
* Perhaps Rep. Franks will learn a valuable lesson from this bit of success. Phil Kadner fills us in…
A bill that would freeze property tax levies during years when property values decline overwhelmingly passed the Illinois House of Representatives on Tuesday.
I first wrote about the proposal, from state Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo), to freeze property taxes last year.
Although that effort failed, Franks vowed the fight wasn’t over.
“It passed this year because I didn’t seek any publicity before the vote,” Franks said.
“Last year, I thought I could rally public support by talking about the bill. It turned out that gave the opposition, the government taxing bodies, time to lobby legislators to vote against it.
“This time I just put an amendment onto an existing bill, the groups that lobbied against it didn’t have time to rally opposition, and it received 74 votes (the final tally was 74 “yes” and 39 “no.”)
Under the measure, if the “total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in a tax district for the current levy year is less than the total equalized assessed value of all taxable property in the taxing district for the previous year, then the extension limitation is a) 0 percent or b) the “rate of increase approved by voters in a referendum.
Franks emphasized that taxing districts wouldn’t lose money.
“They would get the same amount of money they received the previous year, but could not increase their tax levy unless voters approved a tax rate increase in a referendum.”
* The Illinois Federation of Teachers laid out its opposition yesterday…
· Each year’s levy is based upon the previous year’s levy; therefore reductions are permanent, continuous, and compounding.
· The proposal eliminates a local school board’s authority to levy based on the needs of the community and student population. School board members are elected to serve as fiscal stewards of our school districts and consider the impact of fiscal decisions on their community prior to adoption a levy.
· A decrease in EAV can be caused or contributed to by many factors unrelated to declining home property values/assessments, including the county multiplier, a change in assessment factors, or large number of property tax appeals.
· One property owner’s lowered assessed valuation could cause the 0% extension limitation.
· The proposal would override rates previously approved by voters.
· Districts in tax-capped counties are already limited in their ability to access additional local revenue due to PTELL provisions.
· Freezing local resources will increase the amount of general state aid for which districts are entitled. This year the State Board of Education has indicated general state aid will be prorated, a result of inadequate state resources.
· School districts have already experienced reduced revenue through cuts in: Transportation, Elimination of the ADA Block Grant, GSA Hold Harmless,
* This pretty much sums up the situation on multiple levels…
Jack Lavin, Quinn’s chief of staff said, “Every year, we say, ‘This is the toughest budget,’ and I’m saying again this year, ‘This is the toughest budget we’ve ever faced.’”
Needless to say, if Gov. Pat Quinn had taken more decisive action earlier in his administration, these cuts wouldn’t be necessary. But, I suppose, that’s all water under the bridge now.
Hours before Gov. Quinn presents his budget proposal, Republicans are already working to defeat it.
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, says despite Quinn’s plans to close 14 state facilities, include prisons in Dwight and Tamms, the $33.8 billion budget actually increases spending.
“That’s a billion dollars more in spending and that’s just simply unacceptable,” Brady said.
Brady says he won’t support any new spending, especially when Illinois is already $8 billion behind in paying its bills.
Total spending is rising by a billion dollars mainly because state pension payments are set to rise by a billion dollars next fiscal year. Tribune…
The quick math: The state expects to take in about $700 million more during the financial year that starts July 1. State worker pension costs alone will rise by more than $1 billion.
And even the pension reform proposal submitted by House Republican Leader Tom Cross would raise pension spending by a biliion dollars next year.
“Budget cuts have gone too far already, harming priorities like public safety and care for the most vulnerable. Further devastating cuts to public services and thousands of lost jobs are the worst possible approach to what ails our state. Illinois has the nation’s 13th-largest state economy but ranks 42nd in state spending, the 5th-largest population but the smallest state workforce per capita. The problem is an unfair tax system riddled with giveaways—to rich people, who pay a lower effective tax rate while the middle class gets squeezed, and to corporations, two-thirds of which pay no corporate income tax at all.”
The union knows full well that the state Constitution won’t be changed this year to implement a graduated income tax.
* The Tamms Super-Max prison is by far Alexander County’s largest employer, so I get the local anger…
The… Tamms closure was drawing heavy criticism from Southern Illinois legislators throughout the day Tuesday. The criticism was directed at Quinn, a Chicagoan. “I’m mad as hell. I don’t know where this guy is coming from,” state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, wrote in a Twitter feed.
The BND published an investigative series in August 2009 reporting that many inmates at Tamms were mentally ill and became worse because of long-term solitary confinement in the prison located in the southern tip of Illinois. It holds inmates the state describes as the “worst of the worst.”
Laurie Jo Reynolds, head of the Tamms Year Ten Committee, said closure is long overdue.
“From the day it opened, Tamms has been a financial boondoggle and a human rights catastrophe. The staff to prisoner ratio is the highest in the system and the mental health worker to prisoner ratio is vastly higher,” Reynolds said.
Two Republican lawmakers, whose districts include Dwight and who have pushed for cuts in state spending, immediately condemned the closing.
“This is the typical pattern we have come to expect from this governor,” said state Rep. Jason Barickman, R-Champaign. “He doesn’t back up his ideas with facts or long-term plans, instead offering an unrealistic plan of closing prisons at a time when those facilities are already overcrowded.”
Sen. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga, promised a fight over the proposal.
“They have tried to close Pontiac (prison) twice and now they want Dwight. Shame on them. Do they not think they are absolutely crippling the economy of Livingston County?” Cultra said. “Governor Quinn needs to rest assured of one thing, we are in this fight for the long haul and that’s exactly what this is — a fight over families’ lives, local economies and our state’s public safety.”
Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, lambasted the governor for balancing the budget “off the backs of the sickest and the weakest and the least of thee.”
Following a legislative hearing about expected state income, Flowers also chastised Quinn for considering a cutback in hours at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield — the most popular presidential library in the nation, which draws more than 350,000 tourists and schoolchildren a year. Some tourist sites would close up to two days a week during off-peak times, the administration said.
“I’m not happy at all,” Flowers said. “In light of Presidents Day just being a couple of days past, Lincoln would probably be sitting at his desk with the candlelight burning, crying and knowing that the children of this state would be deprived of the opportunity to learn about our history.”
One issue Quinn is not overtly pushing in his latest budget is his plan to sell bonds to ease the huge backlog of unpaid bills. That plan, which was a major component of his fiscal 2012 budget proposal, failed to win over legislators.
Borrowing is off the table, but the past due bills issue is not. Quinn has essentially punted this issue to the General Assembly.
Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget speech won’t include specific plans for fixing two of Illinois’ biggest financial problems.
Aides say Quinn will outline the depth of the state’s pension and Medicaid problems Wednesday and discuss general solutions. But they acknowledge he won’t spell out exactly what the governor thinks should be done.
Quinn advisor Jerome Stermer told reporters Tuesday evening that Quinn will work with lawmakers and outside groups to negotiate solutions.
There are good reasons to defer proposing bold solutions for these problems tomorrow since nobody is on the same page as of yet. But the lack of specifics opens the governor up to all sorts of criticism…
Illinois GOP Party Chairman and Congressman Aaron Schock accused Quinn of showing no leadership on pensions and warned him not to build the budget on projections of Medicaid savings that may never materialize.
Hey, Congressman Schock. Have you solved all the federal budget problems yet? Until you do, perhaps you could get back to your own job. Thanks.
Shutting down six adult transition centers, including two in Chicago and one in Aurora, would result in $17.7 million in savings. Prisoners at these halfway houses would be put on electronic home detention when they weren’t employed in their communities during the day.
“We will not jeopardize public safety. That’s our No. 1 concern,” said Jack Lavin, Quinn’s chief of staff. “We’ll work closely with … the Department of Corrections to make sure public-safety concerns are addressed on these closures.”
Last year I was at a White Sox game and two women behind me had unusual devices strapped to their ankles. I politely asked if they were electronic monitoring devices and they cheerily admitted they were supposed to be on home confinement. But, they said, nobody ever seems to monitor their movements. So, they decided to enjoy a ballgame.
* Rest of IL budget to be squeezed by pensions, Medicaid: Medicaid and pensions “are putting the pressure on roads, on state parks, on school transportation,” state Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, said. “When you have Medicaid (going) from $5 billion to $10 billion in five years, that is putting all of the pressure on other things.”
* Medicaid spending could drive up other IL health costs: One out of every three hospitals in the state is operating in the red, said Chun. Decreasing how much the state pays doctors for treating Medicaid patients or cutting services covered by Medicaid will force hospitals to make up the difference elsewhere. “Health-care costs will go up for non-Medicaid patients and for employers who pay for insurance and premiums,” Chun said. Any Medicaid cut “has a domino effect across the health-care system,” he said.
* Quinn wants spending cuts but largely punts on key Medicaid, pension spending: Still, department Director Julie Hamos is outlining a “menu” of $3 billion in potential cuts, though some insiders say they believe the state will do well to hold spending even next year, rather than letting it increase by the usual $600 million or so.
* 14 facilities proposed for closure in Quinn austerity budget: Vaught said the closures are fallout from the state’s crushing pension costs. State revenues are expected to increase by $720 million in the next budget, but pension costs alone are supposed to increase by $1 billion. “In the rest of the budget, we suffer the squeeze,” Vaught said. “There is no new money for anything else. Everybody in the state is going to be affected by this downsizing of state government.”
* Illinois Mental-Health Cuts Seen Reducing Doctor Access for All Patients: Illinois’ mental-health spending declined 12 percent to $520 million in fiscal 2012 from $591 million in 2009, according to NAMI Illinois, a patient advocacy group that’s part of the Arlington, Virginia-based National Alliance on Mental Illness… Illinois’ trims were among the deepest cutbacks in the U.S. and reflected worsening care for low-income, jobless and uninsured psychiatric patients across the U.S., said Dr. Michael Wahl, president of the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians.
* ‘This is an absolute nightmare’: Quinn to close Murray Center in Centralia; 550 jobs at stake: During a budget briefing Tuesday evening with reporters, Quinn’s chief of staff, Jack Lavin, said Murray Center is in need of a “significant amount of maintenance.”… But Rep. John Cavaletto, R-Salem, said the center actually doesn’t cost anything to operate. “It’s the only facility in the state of Illinois that doesn’t lose money. It actually makes money because of the federal funds that come into it,” Cavaletto said.
* Intelligence Report: What will Gov. Quinn cut?: “Number one, I didn’t create all this, I inherited it, and our job is to eliminate it and to reform everything and repair it - that’s my job. You know, I assumed office after one governor in jail and the other one going to jail, but we’re going to have to reform the system. I’m going to outline how to do it,” said Quinn. “We have a pension working group that is working on it and we’ll have to get it done this year. It’s a tall mountain but I’m prepared to lead the journey up that mountain and we’re going to accomplish our goal.”
* Aside from facility closings, Quinn’s budget proposal is expected to be short on details: However, Quinn also plans to call for some new spending. The governor wants a $20 million increase for early childhood education and a $50 million increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants for college students. Both areas have been cut in recent budget years. The governor also plans to revisit tax cut proposals pitched in his State of the State address as ways to spur economic growth in the state. Quinn also plans to propose new capital spending on schools, water systems and deferred maintenance at state facilities. His budget staff said that he does not have a specific estimate for how much new capital borrowing would be needed for such projects. They said new revenues would be needed to fund the projects but did not point to any one source. “We need to make sure that it’s not just about cutting. It’s about building and growing,” Lavin said of Quinn’s proposal.
The pro-choice group Personal PAC has filed suit to kill off Illinois’ campaign contribution limits to certain political action committees. If the group succeeds, some candidates may start justifiably quivering.
Currently in Illinois, contributions to state political action committees are capped at $10,000 for individuals and $20,000 for corporations, groups and unions.
Personal PAC’s lawsuit wants those caps wiped out, arguing that the controversial “Citizens United” U.S. Supreme Court case and the “Wisconsin Right to Life” U.S. Appeals Court case mean the caps are unconstitutional. The two rulings declared that spending and contribution limits on federal and state PACs that are engaged in independent expenditures are unconstitutional.
Personal PAC claims it has missed out on $100,000 in contributions since the state caps were put into place last year. Nobody will be holding a tag sale for the group any time soon, however. At the end of December, Personal PAC had more than $1.4 million in the bank. It raised close to $700,000 last year alone, after the contribution caps first kicked in.
Four years ago at this time, the group had $770,000 in the bank after raising $997,000 the previous 12 months. The state’s year-old campaign contribution caps haven’t appeared to hurt the group much, if at all, but it wants more freedom to raise even more cash.
Personal PAC long has been one of Illinois’ top-performing political action committees. It raises and spends tons of money every election cycle and has one of the better track records in Illinois politics.
But because of the new caps, it wants to set up a separate entity to make uncoordinated, independent expenditures on behalf of candidates. That means the group won’t give money directly to candidates but will spend the cash to help them without coordinating with the candidates’ campaigns.
In the past, Personal PAC usually designed its direct mail and radio and TV commercials and reported them as what are called “in kind” contributions to the campaigns it was supporting. The group could coordinate directly with the candidates it supported, but Personal PAC usually tightly controlled its message, regardless of what the candidates wanted it to do.
That independence created some friction over the years. The group is heavily funded by liberal Democrats, but Personal PAC has backed several pro-choice Republicans against Democrats. A few years ago, some Democrats attempted to start a contribution boycott, but the group was just too strong to stop.
Back when the law limiting contributions to groups such as Personal PAC was passed, I wrote that the proposal was a direct shot at the group itself.
Personal PAC can’t set up one of those newfangled, independent-expenditure committees because Illinois law also forbids groups from establishing more than one campaign account at a time. This provision also is aimed at Personal PAC and groups like it. Since the Wisconsin case, which was decided by a Chicago-based federal appeals court, allowed PACs with independent-expenditure committees to raise money without limit, Personal PAC wants the court to stop Illinois from interfering.
It looks like Personal PAC has a pretty good case here.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that limiting independent expenditures won’t rein in corruption, and the original legal rationale for campaign contribution caps was to stop corruption. So, now it’s Katie bar the door.
If this contribution cap is lifted, Personal PAC and other groups will be free to raise as much money as they can from large contributions. But candidates still will be operating under strict campaign finance limits. Personal PAC and other groups, like labor unions, corporations, etc., will be able to raise and spend money freely to go after candidates who can do neither.
In other words, Illinois’ campaign finance reforms, combined with the U.S. Supreme Court’s logic, have the real potential to transfer power from the political class to the monied class.
If Personal PAC wins, the legislative effort to stifle and limit the group’s voice will have backfired badly on the control-minded politicians.
* The Question: Do you agree with the US Supreme Court that limiting independent expenditures will not rein in corruption? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments please. Thanks.
* AP reporter Chris Wills just Tweeted that Gov. Pat Quinn will propose closing 14 state facilities in his budget address tomorrow. You’ll probably see more stories like this on our live feed today as we gear up for the budget address. Also, check back in the evening because reporters will be given a briefing, and some may update from the room.
The Senate’s not in session today, but the House is and you can watch or listen here. Blackberry users click here, everybody else kick back and watch the show…
* Sun-Times reporter Abdon Pallasch went to House Speaker Michael Madigan’s district and reports that Madigan’s signs are everywhere…
Driving through the 22nd district confirms the outward show of Madigan support. Nearly every lawn on some blocks has the rectangular white signs, positioned perfectly perpendicular to the homes, looking almost in military formation like the tight political organization Madigan runs.
On the 3800 block of West 68th Street, nearly every house has a Madigan sign except two. Those are the homes of Olivia Trejo and Mike Rodriguez, the other two candidates in the Democratic primary with Madigan and Piszczor.
One of the two homes between Trejo’s and Rodriguez’ has a Madigan sign. There are no signs on Trejo’s or Rodriguez’s lawns or windows. No one answered the door at either home, though the television went off at the Rodriguez home after the Sun-Times rang the bell.
Attendees of the DeVry University Job Boot Camp hosted by state Rep. Michael Madigan, D-Chicago (pictured below addressing the crowd at the 13th Ward Office), Alderman Marty Quinn (13th Ward) and state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago) learned new ways to improve skills for gaining employment. Topics of the workshop included resume preparation, job interview skill development, job search strategies, social media assistance and professional networking.
“We want to provide people with the tools they need to be prepared for finding good paying jobs,” said Rep. Michael Madigan.
Photo from the event…
Caption?
* So, why is Madigan putting himself through the full program? The man never takes chances and he has a feisty opponent who continues to generate media coverage…
If there are really five candidates in this race for state representative on the Southwest Side, why does only one of them have his own campaign sign on his front lawn?
Candidate Michele Piszczor, 25, says it’s because the only real candidates in the race are herself and Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.
And when Madigan heard she’d be running against him, he drew her neighborhood out of the district, so there’s no point in posting a sign on her lawn — her neighbors can’t vote for her, she said.
“They’re not real candidates,” Piszczor said of the others. “I’m the only legitimate candidate standing up to Mike Madigan,” whom she calls “the most powerful … man in this state.”
* Piszczor sent me this press release over the weekend…
Michele Piszczor, a Hispanic/Polish woman running against Michael Madigan in House District 22 democrat primary race was ambushed at a press conference led by Joshua Hoyt, Chief Strategic Executive of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), on Friday February 10th, 2012 in Chicago. “Mr. Hoyt made several derogatory comments and character assassinations to the media about Jack Roeser, who has not even contributed to my campaign. Hoyt’s group also tried to convince me to donate the few campaign contributions I have received to charity. Hoyt’s group stated that my contributors are ‘dark people’ and ‘spreading hate’ within our community” said Piszczor.
“The ICIRR is attacking people who have a history of providing good jobs to our community”, said Piszczor. ICIRR’s mission is to promote the rights of immigrants and refugees. They provide many free services, which are very temporary. “Some of the people interested in my campaign are people who have great respect for and provide considerable jobs for Hispanics. That is very lasting and empowering for my community” said Piszczor.
Since the video of the press conference has gone viral on the internet Piszczor is getting emails from all over the state. “There are people from all over Illinois - including Republican groups - who are contacting my campaign all of a sudden and want to contribute. Hundreds of Democrats have told me that they can not openly support me and of course that I will not get help from the Democrat Party, since Madigan is the chairman. I believe the anti-Madigan sentiment is rising. Joshua Hoyt’s unscrupulous press conference and obvious pro-Madigan strategy has gotten my campaign rolling full steam ahead,” according to Pizczor.
“For those groups of people, such as Hoyt’s, who think I should donate the contributions I have received in my campaign to charity – I will. However, in order for there to be a level playing field you must get Madigan to donate the 4 million dollars in his campaign chest to charity as well. Madigan goes first. (Hoyt should look at the many contributions Madigan gets from Republicans as well).
Madigan has name recognition, huge amounts of cash, is chairman of the Democrat party and almost NO ONE KNOWS HIM IN THE 22ND DISTRICT. I’m a young Hispanic/Polish female with little money, no name recognition and a huge desire to represent the people of the 22nd district with honor and integrity. There are other so-called candidates in the race. Why didn’t Hoyt get the other candidates to the press conference/ambush? It is because they are fake candidates meant to confuse the voters. It is really pathetic and just another reason why Madigan will go to his deathbed one day with an enormous amount of guilt. With Madigan’s wide-ranging corrupt power and money, why is he (or Hoyt) worried about a little Hispanic/Polish girl anyway?” stated Piszczor.
They may not know him, but they all have his signs in their yards. Just sayin…
* Anyway, Piszczor told me via e-mail this weekend that Jack Roeser will henceforth be backing her campaign. Piszczor reported $5,000 in total contributions yesterday from a Barrington company and a Wheeling CEO.
* Last fall, state Senate candidate Tom Pliura (R-Ellsworth) went a bit off track during a tea party forum…
Pliura said he was “disappointed” to see the passage of a civil-unions law in Illinois earlier this year, saying it “wasn’t necessary” and “wasn’t appropriate.”
The LeRoy physician and attorney said he was “strongly opposed to gay marriage.”
“I don’t think society ought to be condoning that anymore than, quite frankly, if a guy wants to get married with a donkey,” he said. “If you want to have relations with your donkey, that’s fine. Just don’t ask me to say, ‘OK, now that we have a civil union here, my donkey can get health care benefits.’”
And now somebody has posted a mocking video of Pliura’s moment…
Oy.
I called Dr. Pliura today and asked if he would do anything different if he had to do it over again. Pliura said he was talking in the forum about how his late brother was gay and how he was personally opposed to civil unions, but did admit “I probably should have just stopped right there.”
No kidding.
“I’m learning very quickly,” Pliura added. “I’m a newbie to this.”
* This TV ad isn’t so humorous. As subscribers already know, Rep. Randy Ramey was whacked for his DUI…
* Congressman Don Manzullo goes after Congressman Adam Kinzinger on government spending…
…Adding… Congressman Kinzinger also has a TV ad up…
A deeper look into where the responses to this poll came from reveals that Manzullo continues to lead comfortably in the areas he represented prior to the re-map, while young Adam Kinzinger is cleaning up in both his former area and the areas that are new to both candidates. As we always like to point out: a single poll in a given district should never be taken as a prediction of the inevitable. But the internal numbers–especially WHERE the responses came from–point to Kinzinger as the clear leader for now.
* This is a classic media overstatement about a legislative proposal…
Taxing junk food and cigarettes could save Illinois much-needed money, according to the Illinois Hospital Association.
On the line are 19,000 jobs that could be eliminated as Illinois Governor Pat Quinn tries to cut back on Medicaid costs.
“They’ve shown a link between these sugary beverages and obesity and thus diabetes,” said Jeni Tackett, a registered dietician with Trinity-Bettendorf.
Tackett says taxing sodas and energy drinks would force people to think differently about what they’re putting into their bodies.
The hospital association will “vigorously” fight any cuts to Medicaid payments to hospitals, she said. Such payment cuts could result in the closure of struggling hospitals, leaving Illinois with more “health care deserts,” such as in East St. Louis, which already lost its only hospital.
“This is not a haircut; $2 billion is a scalp,” [Illinois Hospital Association chief Maryjane Wurth] said.
Hospitals would pay a tax on outpatient gross revenues, which would generate a $240 million federal match per year. That would result in $480 million a year to Medicaid providers, including hospitals, nursing homes and providers of services for people with developmental disabilities. […]
Q. You also propose increasing revenues for Medicaid by raising cigarette taxes from the current 98 cents a pack, adding a tax on junk food and increasing the sales tax on soft drinks.
The cigarette tax hike would bring in $377 million. All all that up and you’re talking real money. But still not enough to forestall all those cuts. And “tax” is now a four-letter word in Illinois since the income tax was raised. It’s a tough road.
Women’s health advocates fear that waiting lists for a state-funded screening program will grow if Illinois officials cut even more from the program in the next fiscal year.
Waiting lists that have developed in recent months for uninsured women seeking medical tests and examinations through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program may not be eliminated despite $1.4 million in supplemental grants sent out this week, program director Jean Becker said Friday.
Advocates are concerned that Gov. Pat Quinn, in his fiscal 2013 budget address Wednesday, may propose even deeper cuts for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program.
“I’m very worried about it,” said Anne Marie Murphy, executive director of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. “The funding for this year’s program was woefully inadequate.”
* Unions may have to choose between salaries, pensions: As Gov. Pat Quinn prepares his budget address for Wednesday, the president of the Illinois Senate says state workers might have to compromise between salary increases and pension benefits… “AFSCME’s at the table. They know that. How can they ask for a pay raise for their salaries when they know all of the extra money the state will be bringing in this year as a result of normal growth will go to pensions?” he said.
* Quinn to call for spending cuts, action on bills: But it’s not clear whether Quinn will present detailed proposals for solving those problems when he speaks Wednesday. Quinn aides said he will “lay out all the options” and “put the options out there.” Anderson did say Quinn is not counting on cutting pension costs in the upcoming budget and that the state will make its full contribution to the retirement systems for government employees.
* Quinn Proposes $50 Million For Illinois Scholarship Program: Governor Quinn says he will close facilities and make cuts to other departments to cover the costs of the educational investments. St. Sen. Mike Jacobs says he wants to know where the cuts will fall, before he gives the governor his support. “If he’s going to make some additional dollars spent toward education, I want to know exactly what he’s going to cut,” said Jacobs.
* Quinn’s budget speech could set stage for ‘ugly year’: “I can’t imagine he’s going to go down the road of closing correctional facilities because we are overcrowded,” said Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield. “I felt that was an empty threat last fall.”
* Governor Pat Quinn to Announce Budget Plan: Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) said, “If the talk is only about making the deep cuts and we never get around to really addressing the core problems, then I think we’re just going to continue to just exist as opposed to flourish like we really should be doing.”
* Illinois Chamber President Doug Whitley gave Gov. Pat Quinn a C to a C+ grade for job creation policies so far. The governor took umbrage…
Quinn responded that he believed the United Auto Workers would give him an A thanks to his role in convincing Chrysler to bring 1,800 jobs to its Belvidere plant.
Point taken, but considering that Illinois is almost always portrayed as the worst state in the entire freaking universe, an average to slightly above average grade from the state Chamber leader is comparatively positive.
To that end, Whitley said that ahead of Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address Wednesday, the Chamber of Commerce is highlighting five areas where the state needs to focus on making serious improvements. They include restoring fiscal integrity, reducing the cost of doing business, improving education and work force skills, investing in infrastructure and improving confidence in the state’s judiciary.
Thus far on making the necessary improvements, the Chamber’s leader gave Quinn a grade of ‘C,’ mainly because he said the jury is still out on the changes the governor has implemented. Yet he acknowledged Quinn has improved our situation in the last three years.
Whitley took a favorable view of reports that Quinn plans to call for a 9 percent cut in state spending over the coming year.
“I would think that would be significant,” he said. “If that’s what comes through, that would set the right tone.”
Whitley did praise the governor for identifying economic development as a priority, and especially for putting renewed focus on generating more trade between Illinois and the rest of the world. But he says Quinn “gets a really low grade on fiscal policy.”
“The situation is not terribly different in Illinois than the situation in (debt-crippled) Greece,” Whitley said. “We are going to have to do things that aren’t terribly popular — but it’s the only way to turn this state around.”
Granted, cutting the Illinois budget by a similar amount would have a lesser impact on the economy than slashing a federal budget. But it’s still gonna hurt, and it’s a bit unseemly to be so glib about the coming cuts (which we’ll discuss in another post).
