No ruling in legislative pay case
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* No details yet, but the Cook County judge who’s presiding over the legislative pay case deferred a ruling in the matter until next week. The hearing began at 2 o’clock this afternoon.
As you surely know, former Comptroller Leslie Munger put legislator paychecks into the same waiting line as social service vendors, delaying those paychecks by as long as six months. That practice has continued under current Comptroller Susana Mendoza. A lawsuit was brought shortly after the election to end the practice.
The preliminary reports I’m hearing are that the judge was actually leaning against the legislators who brought the suit.
Briefs are due next Wednesday and there will be a hearing next Thursday the 22nd Friday the 23rd.
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It’s just a bill
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* But it may be a good idea…
The Illinois House approved legislation State Representative David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) is sponsoring to eliminate the requirement for the Secretary of State to do a statewide mailing with information about proposed changes to the Illinois Constitution.
House Bill 348 directs the Secretary of State to publish a proposed Constitutional Amendment, the explanation of the amendment, the arguments for and against the amendment, and the form in which the amendment will appear on the ballot on a website controlled by the Secretary of State when the amendment is published in newspapers. The bill eliminates the requirement to mail the information to people. Newspaper notices about the constitutional amendment would still be required.
“Eliminating the requirement to mail voters about proposed changes to the Constitution would save taxpayers about $1.3 million each time the Legislature approves a Constitutional Amendment to appear on the ballot,” McSweeney said. “I believe advertising a proposed Constitutional Amendment in newspapers and putting information on a central website is sufficient to get information to the public about the proposed changes. There is no need to add more cost to this process by sending information in the mail.” […]
House Bill 348 passed the House on a vote of 108-0 and now moves to the Illinois Senate. State Senator Tom Cullerton is lead sponsor of the legislation in the Senate.
* Perhaps a wee bit of self-interest contained in this newspaper editorial…
llinois state Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis, decided to celebrate Sunshine Week, when open government and open records are celebrated, by co-sponsoring a bill that would allow local school boards to be less open.
House Bill 3660 would allow school districts to avoid printing a summary of their statement of affairs in local newspapers. Schools would still need to publish a notice saying the full statement was online, but none of the details that would tell taxpayers if something were amiss and worth further investigation.
The first problem is that not everyone has internet access or the ability or time to navigate to the information.
Second, public bodies are notoriously bad at following dictates to put public information online.
The Citizen’s Advocacy Center surveyed 750 public body websites in Illinois to see how many were complying with state law to post meeting notices, agendas and minutes. Only 73 percent were posting meeting notices, 57 percent posted proposed agendas and only 48 percent posted minutes after the meetings.
* Related…
* Mitchell: Bill aims to address mental health crises and guns
* Manar advances measure to address shortage of nurses in Illinois
* Close call prompts Stadelman to introduce emergency prescription refill legislation
* Plan would make changing birth certificates easier for transgender people
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Question of the day
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Blair Kamin…
Now that Illinois’ new license plates have started appearing on cars and other vehicles, I’d like to revise an opinion from last fall, when I wrote that the plates’ design was busy and banal.
That was too kind.
In real life, with a long line of letters and numbers obscuring Abraham Lincoln’s face and all the other stuff that got thrown into this “everything but the kitchen sink” design, the new plates are hopelessly cluttered, not always easy to read, and a major lost chance to project a better image for a state that’s synonymous with political dysfunction.
You may ask: “Why is the architecture critic devoting a second column to the design of a piece of metal that measures 6 inches by 12 inches?”
Here’s why: Beyond its obvious role of identifying a vehicle and helping cops catch bad guys, a license plate should express a state’s identity and encourage outsiders to visit the state or do business there. Think of it as a mini-billboard funded by your tax dollars.
* The plate…
* The Question: Do you agree or disagree with Kamin? Explain.
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* From a new Public Opinion Strategies poll…
(W)ould you say that things in Illinois are going in the right direction, or have they pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track?
12% RIGHT DIRECTION
82% WRONG TRACK
4% NO OPINION (DO NOT READ)
2% REFUSED (DO NOT READ)
As I’ve said before, I’d really like to know who those 12 percent are.
* Anyway, the American Beverage Association sent me this poll because they wanted to share the results of this question…
As you may know there is a proposal in the Illinois State Legislature to put a one cent per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages including all full-calorie soft drinks and any juice drinks, sports drinks, teas, or flavored waters containing added sugar. For example, under this proposal a ninety nine cent, two-liter bottle of sugar-sweetened drink will be taxed an additional sixty eight cents. This new tax is estimated to raise between $390 to $560 million dollars a year. The revenues would be put into the general fund to help close the five point three billion dollar budget deficit.
Do you favor or oppose this proposed one cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages? (IF FAVOR/OPPOSE, ASK:) And would you say you STRONGLY (favor/oppose) or just SOMEWHAT (favor/oppose) the tax?
That’s quite different from another poll result I shared with you the other day. In that poll, taken for the American Heart Association, the tax was supported 56-41.
* Check out this question…
Every time government faces a problem the first reaction is to take our money with new taxes. And, when the state runs low on money, the tax will go up and up. The Illinois legislature needs to trim their budget fat and leave our grocery budgets alone.
83 percent found that argument convincing, with 62 percent saying it was very convincing.
* After a bunch of those negative statements, they asked the question about the pop tax again and 73 percent would up opposed while just 26 percent were in favor.
* Methodology…
Public Opinion Strategies conducted a statewide telephone survey of registered voters in Illinois on behalf of the American Beverage Association. The survey was completed March 10-13, 2017, among 600 registered voters, including 240 cell phone respondents. The margin of error for a survey of N=600 is ±4.0% in 95 out of 100 cases.
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CPS testifies against elected school board
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* A House committee approved a bill yesterday to elect members of the Chicago Public Schools board over CPS opposition…
“An elected school board would have no more authority than our existing board to raise additional revenue for Chicago Public Schools — and revenue is at the root of our problem,” Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson testified.
She told legislators that CPS students are on an upward academic swing, despite the district’s gaping $129 million budget hole, and don’t need any more instability she believes such a large elected body would impose.
Former school board vice president Jesse Ruiz, who recently protested the Board of Ed himself, joined her, calling the bill “a grave mistake.”
He said the bill would create the largest school board of any major urban district and would diffuse the accountability among 21 politicians instead of resting with just one: The mayor of Chicago.
* More…
“I’m not here to make a generalization about elected versus appointed school boards and its impact in any school district,” Jackson told a House panel. “But I am here to say that for Chicago Public Schools, we have been governed in a particular way — and that is being threatened. And I believe that there will be an impact on academic outcomes because of the lack of stability.
“Nobody knows that having an elected school board is going to lead to higher outcomes for our students. So in a district like Chicago, with a large population of minority students and low-income students, why would we threaten that when we’re on the right trajectory?” she said.
I dunno. These arguments seem pretty darned weak to me. Your own thoughts?
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CMS talks strike preparedness
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Finke…
A top official of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration said Wednesday he couldn’t predict how many replacement workers the state may need in the event of a strike by AFSCME members.
Michael Hoffman, acting director of the Department of Central Management Services, also told the Senate Appropriations Committee that his agency is continuing to work on a new version of the state hiring process that would be used for people who want to be replacement workers. […]
“The website does not replace the normal application process,” Hoffman said. “What it does is provide us with a pool of interested people who would be interested in serving in a temporary capacity in a worst-case scenario if we had a strike or work stoppage.”
Hoffman said the site has attracted more than 2,000 applicants so far. […]
Hoffman said the state would not be solely reliant on website applicants to fill state jobs in the event of a strike. He said the state already has contracts with temporary employment agencies to provide workers when needed.
I’m kinda wondering what the screening process is on that strikebreaker employment website.
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ILGOP throws kitchen sink at Ammons
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the ILGOP…
“America is still reeling from a disastrous, eight-year liberal agenda. Illinois can’t afford a Bernie-inspired radical liberal like Carol Ammons.” - Illinois Republican Party spokesman Aaron DeGroot
This past February, The News-Gazette reported State Representative Carol Ammons is considering a run for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. Even as Democrats across America rejected Bernie Sanders’ radical agenda during the 2016 Presidential Primary, Ammons doubled down, took Bernie’s campaign cash, and pushed liberal policies that would make even Bernie blush.
Carol Ammons and Bernie Sanders are a liberal match made in a workers’ paradise:
BUDGET-BUSTERS
Carol Ammons and her spending habits have pushed Illinois to the brink. Ammons voted for Mike Madigan’s wildly out-of-balance budget, the largest spending plan in state history. The Madigan-Ammons budget was $7 billion out-of-balance - large enough to force a massive $1,000 tax hike on every Illinois family.
Bernie Sanders loves spending money, especially when it’s other people’s money. In Washington, Sanders pushed free college, free healthcare, free everything. Sanders’ policies are so expensive that some estimates say his proposals would add $21 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
TAX-LOVERS
Carol Ammons hasn’t seen a tax she doesn’t like. In Springfield, Ammons supported extending the 67% Quinn-Madigan tax hike on every Illinois family without offering any reforms. Even worse, Ammons has advocated tax hikes on Illinois businesses and job-creators, putting our state’s economy at risk.
Bernie Sanders is Washington’s biggest tax fan. During his failed bid for president, Bernie proposed $15.3 trillion in tax hikes, “hitting virtually everyone, including the politically all-important middle class.” Even Hillary Clinton’s tax plan wasn’t that extreme.
SOCIALIST-SYMPATHIZERS
Carol Ammons makes no bones about it - she gets her inspiration from left-wing, Communist radicals. In 2014, Ammons said her “all-time hero” was a two-time failed candidate for Vice President on the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) ticket. Her hero even traveled to failed nations like the Soviet Union and East Germany, praising Vladimir Lenin and supporting his violent massacre of political dissidents.
Bernie Sanders will say it himself - he’s a proud socialist. Sanders has spoken highly of deceased-Communist leader Fidel Castro, praising his authoritarian Cuban government. Bernie Sanders even honeymooned in the Soviet Union and addressed foreign governments sympathetic to Communism.
Whew. That’s a lot of muck to throw to protect Rodney Davis’ behind.
By the way, the “hero” referred to above is Angela Davis.
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* A friend of mine asked me yesterday if I’d read a late February Tribune story about a South Side housing project called Parkway Gardens. I did see it, but I didn’t read it very carefully because the piece was kind of all over the place.
I read it again this morning and looked for the hot buttons my friend mentioned last night. This story has everything. So I’m going to make it easier for you to read.
* According to the report, in a little over five years, there have been 41 shootings at Parkway Gardens, including the recent murder of 11-year-old Takiya Holmes and last August’s killing of a cousin of Chicago Bulls guard Dwyane Wade, who was shot while pushing a baby stroller containing her newborn child. Former First Lady Michelle Obama lived in Parkway Gardens as a child.
The article claims residents also complain about problems with roaches and mice, and the project’s latest HUD inspection score put it “just above what was historically the threshold for passing.” But the real problem is the violence.
* The place was developed and managed by a company owned by Stephen Ross, the wealthy owner of the Miami Dolphins. Ross gave Mayor Emanuel’s campaign fund $25,000 in 2015. The Trib reports that the company has a $20 billion real estate portfolio and has a new luxury rental building on Lake Shore Drive and is developing the site of the failed “Spire” tower.
* According to the article, the rent collected on a fully leased complex, which includes 35 buildings and 694-units, is $10.5 million a year…
A three-bedroom apartment at Parkway, for example, can bring in up to $1,375 per month, and a two-bedroom can command $1,167, according to Related. That’s up to 14 percent higher than HUD estimates is “fair market rent” in the surrounding Woodlawn community, records show.
* The company acquired the complex for $40 million and ended up spending a total of $100 million after the rehab, according to the article. But the company didn’t do it alone. Taxpayers helped - a lot.
According to the Trib, the company received $59 million in bonds issued by the Illinois Housing Development Authority. It also got $30 million in federal low-income housing tax credits for 10 years, and another $9.6 million in tax credits after the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It also received a $10.4 million federal developer’s fee, for a grand total that appears to be just shy of its $100 million outlay, not including rent…
“These are pretty safe bets,” [Alan Cravitz, a vice president at Draper and Krame] said. “You’ve got a long-term contract with the government and rents are higher than market rates.”
* Mary Mitchell and Mark Brown both wrote about Parkway Gardens in February columns…
* Mitchell: Time for Parkway Gardens’ owners to step up: Between 2011 and 2014, there were so many shootings in this area that a Chicago Sun-Times analysis of police data found it was the most dangerous block in Chicago in terms of shootings in a three-year period.
* Mitchell: Parkway Gardens ground zero for Chicago’s violence: For many working-class families, Parkway Gardens was seen as an alternative to the Chicago Housing Authority’s Robert Taylor Homes and Stateway Gardens. It is now a textbook example of what happens when hope moves out and despair moves in.
* Brown: ‘Small’ Parkway Gardens kids program must get a bit bigger
* The media attention seemed to work, according to the Tribune article…
On Friday, after meeting with an official from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Related announced a series of security improvements, including limiting and redesigning entry points to the complex, better lighting, more fencing and cameras and beefed-up security staffing. The measures were the culmination of months of planning, the company said.
OK, fine. Let’s hope something happens. But where’s the outrage from the alderman and state and federal legislators who supposedly represent that complex? It’s just bizarre that nobody has spoken up more about this.
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Bill pulled after high costs questioned
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the synopsis of HB 695…
Provides that within one-year after the effective date of this amendatory Act, the Legislative Information System shall create a Spanish-language version of its website to provide legislative information. Specifies the legislative information to be placed on the Spanish-language website, and allows for the placement of additional unspecified information.
* The bill came up for a floor vote yesterday…
“There is a segment, especially in my district, that are Spanish speaking and that follow the General Assembly and as a state representative, I want to commit to continue to have this bill and make sure we provide the best possible constituent services,” [sponsoring Rep. Silvana Tabares, D-Chicago] said.
Tabares estimated the cost of the translation, if initial software could not do it alone, at between $60,000 and $100,000 to pay for another website or software company. But she added that if a third party was needed to add Spanish to the site, it would have an estimated cost of between $800,000 to $1.5 million.
That estimate prompted House Republicans to offer up free options, such as Google Translate. It also had [Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego] holding up his own tablet to Democrats to show that he translated the website for free using Google.
“Why are we against a great free bipartisan solution?” State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield, said before the bill was pulled. “We should have a Kumbaya and have a beer afterwards. Let’s pull this bill out of the record, let’s amend it. Let’s do something that’s free and help people who speak every language.”
The bill is now on Postponed Consideration.
The problem with any translating software (free or paid) is whether it can pick up nuances. Statutes are usually written in precise ways. Things can literally be lost or misconstrued in translation.
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* Tribune…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration tried another approach in the battle over Chicago Public Schools finances, urging lawmakers to back an effort from two Senate Republicans to both overhaul state pensions and send CPS $215 million that officials say is needed to avert an early end to the school year. […]
Rauner took to Facebook on Tuesday to say he would sign a bill that combines an effort to curb public sector pension benefits — legislation that recently fell four votes short of winning Senate approval — and a one-year CPS funding measure the governor vetoed in December.
Rauner later acknowledged he was “a little emotional” when he announced the veto not long after Democratic Senate President John Cullerton publicly suggested there had never been a deal linking the $215 million in CPS pension aid to broader statewide pension reforms.
CPS moved to cut costs after the veto by furloughing employees, freezing school budgets and saying it could be forced to cut summer school and shorten the school year by about three weeks — for a savings of about $96 million — if the state or the courts don’t intervene.
* Mayor Emanuel gently responded yesterday and offered up his own demands…
“I will compliment the governor. This is an acknowledgment that, in fact, there’s pension inequity in the system,” the mayor said. “But, if I’m not mistaken, it’s only one year of pension funding while the pension reform is permanent. That doesn’t sound to me like a full agreement.”
Emanuel urged Rauner to take the first step toward a larger agreement by signing a bill he has threatened to veto, saving two of four city employee pension funds.
“The Laborers and Municipal Fund pension reform is on his desk. And the first step on the road to ensuring and securing our pensions and our fiscal stability would be to sign that bill,” Emanuel said.
Rauner spokesperson Eleni Demertzis countered that the state “already provides a special block grant for CPS as a substitute for the state not picking up its normal cost of pensions.”
“The bipartisan agreement reached last summer was to give Chicago one year support for its pensions of $215 million on top of its special block grant,” she wrote in an email.
* Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesman agrees.
The proposals that Senators Tracy and Connelly mentioned in their press conference were filed [yesterday]. A quick read reveals that while the pension changes would be permanent, the associated funding for CPS is for FY 17 only.
“That legislation forces permanent pension changes for thousands of teachers, university employees and state workers, and the tradeoff is one-time funding assistance for Chicago schools.
“That’s a bad deal.”
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** 1 ILGOP press release…
“Illinois Democrats have said no to real reforms with a truly balanced budget. First, they refused to consider a long-term property tax freeze and reduced spending. Now they’re rejecting a plan to help Chicago Public Schools while providing statewide pension reform. They’re even blocking Governor Rauner from cutting on his own to balance the budget. While Governor Rauner does his job, they’re back to being the party of no.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
*** UPDATE *** 2 Press release…
Governor Rauner released a video message Thursday encouraging the General Assembly to take swift action on legislation that would enact statewide pension reform while delivering Chicago Public Schools the $215 million it has requested from the state.
The Governor has pledged to sign the legislation when it reaches his desk. The video can be viewed on his Facebook page.
“The people of Illinois want to see their leaders get good things done in Springfield and right now, we have the opportunity to make that happen. Comprehensive pension reform for the entire state would save taxpayers billions, and allow us to meet a request for assistance from the city of Chicago,” Rauner said. “Illinois has been asking for a compromise, and this is a compromise we can all get behind. Let’s get it done.”
Senators Michael Connelly and Jil Tracy this week introduced legislation taking the pension bill (SB 16) from the “Grand Bargain” and combining it with a bill delivering $215 million to CPS for its teacher pensions. The package would be expected to win bipartisan support given that the pension proposal came within four votes of passage and the CPS funding passed both chambers of the General Assembly last summer.
Last June, Governor Rauner and the four legislative leaders agreed the state would pay for one year of CPS’ teacher pensions as long as lawmakers provided the necessary funding by passing statewide pension reform. The agreement was broken when the Illinois Senate did not follow-through with the pension reform component and sent only the CPS bill to the Governor’s desk.
Recently, the Rauner Administration offered two paths to help CPS fill its multi-million dollar budget hole: the legislative proposal or through city TIF funds.
“We urge the General Assembly to move forward quickly with the deal on pensions that helps our state save billions of dollars,” Rauner said. “By honoring the agreement we worked out last summer, Democrats could jumpstart momentum to break the budget impasse in Springfield.”
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Caption contest!
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The man on our left is James Coyne with the Plumbers Union…
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* Press release…
As Illinois’ finances deteriorate and gridlock prevails in Springfield, dark money groups spend millions of dollars to influence elections and public policy without disclosing the sources of their funding.
That frequently leaves taxpayers and elected officials in the dark about a group’s true motivations for supporting or opposing legislation or policies.
Senate Bill 2089, sponsored by Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), would require greater transparency of politically active dark money groups by requiring them to register as political committees and disclose their donors.
“Accountability for political donations is vitally important in our system of government and elections,” Harmon said. “For too long, dark money groups have been able to hide behind the cloak of their nonprofit status and conceal the true intent of their work, which is to raise unlimited amounts of money and peddle political influence, unbeknownst to the average voter and taxpayer.
Harmon noted that the groups in question are not the charities and civic organizations for whom tax-exempt status was intended.
“These are political groups organized specifically to take advantage of nonprofit protections and hide their political activity,” he said.
Harmon added that as Illinois continues to see unprecedented spending by candidates and outside groups seeking to influence elections, it’s important for voters that the General Assembly closes loopholes that allow runaway spending by dark money groups.
“I think nearly all of us can all agree that a flood of secret political donations by billionaires and corporations is not good for our state,” Harmon said.
Senate Bill 2089 advanced out of the Senate’s Executive Committee in an 11-3 vote Wednesday.
Numerous good-government organizations indicated support for the measure, including the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, the Better Government Association, Illinois PIRG, and the 2,700 members of the League of Women Voters of Illinois.
Only two organizations indicated they are opposed to the measure, although they did not send representatives to Wednesday’s hearing to explain why: the Illinois Policy Institute and Americans For Prosperity. Both are dark money groups that would be required to disclose their contributions and expenditures when they bill becomes law.
The bill is here.
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*** LIVE *** Session coverage
Thursday, Mar 16, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Today’s post is sponsored by the American Heart Association of Illinois. Follow everything in real time right here with ScribbleLive…
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GOMB director: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* No surprise here…
This is the same person, by the way, who insisted to the media last month that the governor’s proposed budget was balanced.
…Adding… Press release…
The Rauner Administration today released the below statement following the Senate Executive Committee voting down legislation to give Governor Rauner the authority to cut spending and balance the budget:
“Governor Rauner has said from the beginning that if the legislature is unwilling to fulfill its constitutional obligation to pass a balanced budget, he is prepared to balance the budget on his own. We are deeply disappointed that the Senate majority voted down a bill to give the governor the ability to make spending cuts and balance the budget. If Senate Democrats are unwilling to let the governor balance the budget on his own, they have no alternative but to work with him to achieve a bipartisan balanced budget that makes structural changes to our broken system.”
The Unbalanced Budget Response Act, introduced as part of the governor’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget, would provide the executive branch authority to reduce government spending in all areas except K-12 General State Aid, early childhood education and debt service. If the General Assembly enacted the governor’s introduced appropriations bills with the Unbalanced Budget Response Act, he would be able to balance the budget on his own. The governor’s preferred path remains working together with the General Assembly on a comprehensive approach to getting Illinois back on track.
…Adding More… SDems…
For more than a week, Senate committees asked Gov. Bruce Rauner’s agencies to identify potential budget cuts to help close a $5 billion gap in the governor’s state budget. So far, they’ve been unable to come up with any.
That experience is among the reasons Democrats on Wednesday voted down a plan to give the governor unilateral power to cut whatever he wants to fill the gap in his budget. Another reason would be the Senate’s own efforts to create a grand bargain budget deal to restore financial stability.
In response to the rejection of his blind budget cutting authority, Gov. Rauner issued a press release criticizing Democrats for not working with him.
Illinois Senate Democrats took issue with that:
“The governor had the chance to balance the budget on his own. We even set aside a day for him to unveil it to the public. He had that chance last month, last year and the year before that. He’s failed at every chance. So, I’m not sure who he’s talking to anymore when he demands that someone needs to balance his budget,” said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford, a Maywood Democrat.
“If this is working with us on the budget, let me know when he starts working against us,” said Senate Assistant Majority Leader Terry Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat.
“Maybe the governor missed a memo. His own budget director has told us time and again that the governor’s budget is balanced. I don’t know what the governor’s getting so worked up about. He should go talk to his own budget director to be reassured of just how balanced his budget is,” said Senate Majority Leader James F. Clayborne, a Belleville Democrat.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Pontiac Daily Leader…
Shell Gas Station employee Jenny Hamilton was up at 4 a.m. to help a handful of employees as the gas station in Pontiac prepared to welcome in its first customers in almost nine months.
The Shell Gas Station at 1910 W. Reynolds St. may not have been the most devastated of the nine businesses impacted by a tornado that touched down in Pontiac on June 23, but it served as a backdrop for the news media, who met at the location to hold press conferences with local authorities and Gov. Bruce Rauner.
I have only one superstition. Whenever I drive I-55 to Chicago and back, I always stop in Pontiac to fill up my gas tank. It’s pretty close to the half-way mark, but my mom was born there and my maternal grandparents are buried there.
I’ve been doing this for decades. And the only time I ever remember not stopping in Pontiac, I got into a car accident.
* The Question: What are your superstitions, if any?
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On poverty and violence
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* AP…
People living in poverty are more likely to become victims of violent crime than higher income earners whether they live in cities, suburbs or rural areas, but the rural poor experience crime at higher rates, according to a Wednesday report by a Chicago research group.
The Heartland Alliance, a nonprofit organization, analyzed the overlap between poverty and crime at state and national levels for the first time in the nearly two decades it has studied poverty in Illinois. The group’s 44-page report cites census data, federal statistics and studies featuring victim interviews.
Chicago’s alarming rise in murders has dominated headlines, with over 750 homicides in 2016. However, when murder is taken out of the equation, the rural poor overall experience violent crime at a rate 192 percent higher than those with higher incomes in the same areas, according to the report.
“A lot of people envision violence as an urban problem, but there are a lot of types of violence,” said Heartland’s research director Katie Buitrago. “Some of the isolation and lack of resources that are in rural communities might result in people not being as aware of rural violence.”
The organization’s data show that Alexander County, along Illinois’ southernmost border, had the highest rate of violent offenses per 100,000 residents in 2015. The tally includes sexual assault and robbery, but excludes murder. The Mississippi River county, among the state’s poorest, has been hit hard by years of unemployment, a housing crisis and dwindling social services. Following behind Alexander for the rate of violent offenses are northern Illinois’ Winnebago County and Vermilion County in central Illinois. Cook County, which includes Chicago, ranks eighth.
* A few snippets from the full report…
Five neighborhoods—Austin, Englewood, New City, West Englewood, and Greater Grand Crossing—accounted for nearly half of the increase in murders between 2015 and 2016. A staggering 764 people were murdered in Chicago in 2016. A much higher percentage of homicides in Chicago are committed with a gun than in other major cities—and while Chicago’s non-gun-related homicide rate is similar to rates in other major cities, Chicago’s gun homicide rate is significantly higher. […]
Growth in number of poor people living in extreme poverty neighborhoods in Chicago between 2000 and 2008–2012: 384% […]
Several Chicago and national studies have found that common responses to violence exposure include stronger retaliatory beliefs, difficulty controlling aggressive behavior, and the use of physical aggression. Exposure to community violence can normalize the use of aggression as a way to solve problems among youth, who may come to see violence as an appropriate behavior, be hyperaware of threats, and become more likely to ascribe hostile intent to benign behavior. One study found that youth experiencing high trauma were two times more likely to be chronic weapons carriers than those who were not. The biological response to trauma lends insight into why it may lead to aggressive behavior: the stress response becomes overstimulated, while the brain struggles to extinguish fear responses and becomes increasingly sensitive to stress. These neurological processes interfere with memory processing and the ability to exhibit self-control, reasoning, problem-solving, and planning. […]
The prison population in Illinois has grown by 350 percent between 1980 and 2014. […]
Employment, jobs, and income intersect with the cycle of poverty, violence, and trauma at many points. Wage declines explain a significant portion of increases in violent crime rates, while increasing wages reduces the amount of time spent on criminal activity. Experiencing violence can lead to trauma that interferes with employment. Survivors of domestic violence, in particular, face employment challenges, both due to trauma as well as abuse. Domestic violence survivors have a decreased likelihood of escaping poverty, have high unemployment rates, and experience traumatic symptoms that make it hard to maintain employment.106 The inability to get and keep good-paying jobs is a major cause of poverty. In 2015, 48.5 percent of domestic violence survivors in Illinois reported a monthly income of $500 or less and 65.3 percent were either employed part-time or not employed. […]
Children who are victims of violent crime struggle to achieve in school, and the effect worsens as they are exposed to more violence. Experiencing violence has negative effects on children’s academic achievement, including lower reading levels, lower test performance, and IQ scores. […]
The Illinois school districts with the highest poverty rates receive 27% less in funding per student than districts with the lowest poverty rates. […]
One study estimates that reducing the average blood lead level in preschool children by one microgram would result in nearly 2,500 fewer robberies, almost 54,000 fewer aggravated assaults, over 4,100 fewer rapes, and over 700 fewer murders nationwide per year.
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* But it’s long overdue…
Taxpayers bear the cost of hidden interest on Illinois’ enormous bill backlog with no real clarity about how deeply in debt the state is, how much interest is accruing on overdue bills and how long it will take to pay off the penalties.
Senator Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza hope to change all of that with Senate Bill 1652, the Debt Transparency Act. The measure requires more accountability from state agencies regarding Illinois’ bill backlog, which today is more than $12.4 billion.
An estimated $4.9 billion worth of overdue bills is being held by agencies because of lack of appropriation or processing delays, and the comptroller’s office projects that Illinois will owe at least $700 million in interest and penalties on those overdue bills by the end of the current fiscal year.
“That’s $700 million of taxpayer money we are just throwing away – it’s not helping kids get day care or go to college. It’s not helping seniors get meals on wheels or keep their home health care,” Mendoza said. “Just think how many state employees could get timely health care if we had $700 million to pay our past-due medical bills. Think how many more Illinois students could get MAP grants to attend college with that money.”
But without accurate reporting on what the state owes, it’s impossible for the comptroller to precisely report interest charges. The Debt Transparency Act would require state agencies to report monthly to the comptroller the bills they are holding and estimate the amount of interest that will be paid on those bills.
The bill is here.
* AP…
State lawmakers are attempting to revive an effort that failed last year to bring automatic voter registration to Illinois.
Democratic Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill plans to hold a news conference Wednesday on a proposal that would allow residents to automatically register to vote when they visit certain agencies. Lawmakers OK’d a similar measure last year but Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed it over concerns it lacked necessary safeguards.
The latest iteration of the plan requires residents to confirm their eligibility before their information is passed along to election authorities. Its predecessor would have sent applications regardless.
* For decades, the threshold was $150. It was raised to $300 about six years ago…
Officials representing retailers, sheriffs and municipalities Tuesday said they are opposed to raising the threshold value of a stolen item from the current $300 to $2,000 for shoplifting to be considered a felony in Illinois.
The higher dollar amount for a felony charge was among recommendations in a report issued in December by the Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform, which was named by Gov. Bruce Rauner in early 2015. The goal of the commission was to recommend changes in state law that could reduce the prison population by 25 percent by 2025.
Rob Karr, president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, said at a Statehouse news conference that his group has backed legislation to avoid first-time nonviolent offenders from doing prison time. But he also said that the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention has found that retail thieves are caught “once out of 48 times they steal,” so they are “not someone typically just walking in and acting for the first time.”
He also said 80 percent or more of shoplifters detained in stores have money on them, showing that in those cases, they are “hardly stealing for need.” And he said the average retail thief in jail has several prior arrests.
* The Illinois Association of the Deaf’s crusade (background here) against the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission continues…
Illinois Senate committee members gave unanimous approval Tuesday to a bill designed to make the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission more accountable, professional and active in improving the lives of deaf people. […]
“This legislation will allow us to better position IDHHC for success,” Jason Altmann, 37, legislative chairman of the Illinois Association of the Deaf, said after the vote. […]
The bill would require that people appointed by the governor to the Springfield-based commission’s board be confirmed by the Senate. The bill also explicitly requires the commission to “advocate” for the deaf and provide a range of services. […]
The legislation would require the commission’s director to have earned at least a bachelor’s degree — something [IDHHC Director John Miller] lacks — but that requirement would apply only to future directors.
* Press release…
Senator Daniel Biss’ groundbreaking measure to protect Illinois college students from crushing education debt advanced out of a Senate committee on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 1351 establishes the Student Loan Bill of Rights in Illinois to provide as much protection as possible for student borrowers, a population that frequently is targeted by bad actors in the student loan industry.
“At a time when a quarter of student loan borrowers are behind in their payments, we need to make sure borrowers understand their rights and have access to resources that will prevent them from defaulting on their loans,” Biss said. “I am pleased to work with Attorney General Lisa Madigan on behalf of student borrowers, and I encourage each of my colleagues to support this measure.”
The Student Loan Bill of Rights would help to ensure students and their families receive clear information about the money they borrow for higher education and how their student loans are serviced. Among the protections offered in the legislation:
· Requires student loan services to provide specialized employees to assist borrowers with questions about loan payments, explain repayment options and evaluate a borrower’s financial situation to determine which payment plan is appropriate.
· Requires loan servicers to give borrowers accurate information on billing statements and properly process borrowers’ payments, and bars servicers from charging unreasonable fees.
· Requires loan servicers to tell borrowers when and how their federal loans may be discharged due to a borrower’s disability or a problem with the school the borrower attended.
· Requires loan servicers to provide information so cosigners know the conditions of being released from their obligations.
· Requires servicers to follow procedures when a loan is transferred to a new servicer to ensure continuity and ensure borrowers’ payments are properly handled.
· Ensures borrowers have the right to request information and file account disputes with their servicer and appeal any servicer determination.
· Creates a student loan ombudsman in the office of the attorney general to assist borrowers with student loans.
· Establishes a student loan servicing license with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to qualify, oversee and discipline services for violating the Student Loan Bill of Rights.
* Related…
* State rep seeks $25M anti-terrorism grant for Jewish groups: Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang introduced the legislation Monday. It would fund a grant program in the secretary of state’s office for “emergency” upgrades to prevent or respond to “acts of terrorism.”
* Kadner: Parents and older teens boozing it up together in Illinois?: Wheeler’s measure, House Bill 494, is stuck in committee and she admits it’s not likely to get out, at least not this session of the Illinois General Assembly.
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Birth certificate bill clears committee
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the ACLU…
House Bill 1785, sponsored by Representative Greg Harris, this morning cleared the House Human Services Committee by a vote of 7 to 4. The bill would update and modernize a more than half-century old rule by eliminating an antiquated surgical requirement that prevents countless transgender and intersex Illinoisans from changing the gender marker on their birth certificate to match their gender and the gender marker on their other state and federal identification documents. The bill now goes to the full House for a vote.
The following can be attributed to John Knight, Director of the ACLU of Illinois’ LGBT and HIV Project:
The Committee today took an important step to protect people in Illinois who are transgender or intersex. No one should face the dilemma of being denied a birth certificate that conforms with their gender simply because they are unable – or cannot afford – to undergo surgery that the medical community agrees is not necessary for everyone who transitions.
Illinois should join the federal government, thirteen other states, and the District of Columbia in allowing people to change the gender marker on their birth certificate without surgery. People who are transgender and intersex should make their own medical decisions with the guidance of medical health professionals—not politicians. We thank Representative Greg Harris for his leadership, and we hope the House acts quickly to pass this bill and send it to the Senate.
The legislation is here.
* From the Illinois Family Institute’s David E. Smith…
This morning, the Illinois House Human Services Committee held a hearing on a highly controversial proposal that would legalize fraud through the alteration of birth certificates by gender-dysphoric persons who wish to have the government reinforce their deceit.
The bill passed on a party line vote, 7 Democrats voted yea, while 5 Republicans voted no.
State Representative Greg Harris (D-Chicago), who represents Chicago’s gay community known as Boys Town, is one of three openly homosexual members of the Illinois General Assembly and an LGBT activist, is once again pushing this deceit, as he did last session.
HB 1785 would amend the Vital Records Act to allow transgender Illinoisans to easily change their gender and name on their birth certificate. According to HB 1785, all that would be needed is for a licensed health care worker or mental health professional to issue a declaration that the gender dysphoric person has undergone “gender transition treatment,” which doesn’t necessarily include surgery.
Take ACTION: Click HERE to send an email message to your state representative to ask him/her to reject HB 1785 and uphold birth certificates as legal documents. The state of Illinois has no duty or right to make it easier for men and women who wish they were the opposite sex to falsify their birth certificates. Ask your lawmaker to vote NO to the Birth Certificate Designation Act, HB 1785.
I just don’t understand how people can get so worked up about a relatively small bill like this. I mean, how, exactly, does it hurt you if somebody else changes their own birth certificate?
But, as Rep. Kelly Cassidy said at a press conference today, “There’s a lengthy pattern of punching down, if you will, looking for people who you perceive to be beneath you and aiming your attacks there.” She called transgender folks the “target du jour.”
And as Rep. Greg Harris said today at the same press conference, in a high-security era where all your various documents need to match up and your documents need to match your appearance at, say, airport security checkpoints, the bill is actually needed.
* Related…
* End “panic defense” for attacks on gays in Illinois: Defendants in very recent trials have invoked panic defenses, including a 2011 California case involving the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy by a male classmate. Defense attorneys argued that the victim, Larry King, provoked his death because he asked his killer to be his Valentine. The jury was hung.
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SEIU loses JCAR OT fight
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Illinois Public Radio’s Tom Lisi…
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s new rules restricting overtime pay for home health aids passed a major test Tuesday. Starting August 1, caretakers will be limited to a 45-hour work-week. If people require more care, they’ll have to find an additional worker.
Some families affected by the rule showed up at a hearing to demonstrate their objections. K.L. Cleeton, 28, lives in Effingham with his parents. He says he made the choice with his parents that they would quit their day jobs and devote themselves to his full-time care.
“Because my disability is so severe, I require 24-hour assistance. If I have an itch, I can’t scratch it. So this is very much my choice,” Cleeton said.
When the new rules kick in, his parents will be limited to 45 hours of on-the-clock work in taking care of him. After that, they’ll have to find an outside worker to fill in the gaps — and figure out to how to replace the lost income.
* Finke…
The overtime rule has become an issue between Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration and SEIU Healthcare Illinois, which represents the home care workers. The union issued a statement Tuesday saying that any savings the administration expects from the new rule would be wiped out if 182 people now receiving home care assistance are forced instead into nursing homes. The administration thinks placing limits on overtime will save $8 million.
“That’s not the main purpose of the rule,” Flather said. “The main thrust of this rule is customer security.”
Democrats twice tried to pass motions that would have prevented the rule from being put into effect. Both times the motion failed on tie votes of 6-6.
Flather said the agency will send communications to clients in the next week or two that will tell then what to expect.
* Press release…
In a vote along party lines, republican members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) voted to approve Governor Bruce Rauner’s DHS Overtime Policy. Over the last year, people with disabilities, their caregivers, and advocates have warned about the devastating affects this misguided policy would have on the lives of consumers and workers in the DHS Home Services Program (HSP). Despite the outcry from stakeholders, Bruce Rauner and DHS refused to meet with those impacted and instead stayed the course to implement their rules.
Following is statement on behalf of Access Living, the Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living, and SEIU Healthcare Illinois in response to the JCAR vote:
“Today, thousands of people with disabilities and personal assistants in the DHS Home Services Program were abandoned by republican JCAR members. Hundreds of phone calls, emails, and personal letters were submitted to JCAR prior to their vote highlighting the problems with this policy. Instead of heeding the warnings, republican JCAR members voted to undermine the strength of the Home Services Program and the independence of people with disabilities.
“No one won today with this unfortunate vote – not people with disabilities, not personal assistants, and certainly not Illinois taxpayers. The minor cost-savings projected from this misguided policy will be completely negated if only 182 individuals with disabilities are forced into more costly nursing home care as a result, stripping them of their dignity and independence and leaving Illinois taxpayers to foot the bill.
“Our coalition vows to continue the fight against this terrible policy and our commitment to reaching a fair agreement that will protect the health and safety of people with disabilities remains.”
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Simon poll: Rauner disapproval at 58, Madigan 61
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
Nearly two years into Illinois’ historic budget impasse, a majority of Illinois residents disapprove of the jobs being done by Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, according to a new poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The poll asked whether respondents approved or disapproved of the job being done by the Governor and the four legislative leaders.
The Simon Poll was conducted Saturday, March 4th to Saturday, March 11th. The sample included 1,000 registered voters and a margin for error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Sixty percent of the interviews were conducted on cell phones.
Both political leaders are underwater with voters statewide. Roughly six in ten disapprove of the job being done by both Madigan (61 percent) and Rauner (58 percent). Last October’s Simon Poll showed Madigan’s disapproval rating at 63 percent and Rauner’s at 55 percent.
“Clearly, both political leaders are taking a beating with voters as the Statehouse stalemate nears the two-year mark, and the gap between the two is shrinking,” said Jak Tichenor, interim director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. “It’s not good news at all for either man, both of whose political fortunes are at risk heading into next year’s elections.” Rauner is seeking his second term in 2018 and Madigan will defend his 67-seat Democratic majority in the 118-member House after losing a net four seats last November.
“We have tested Gov. Rauner’s job approval four times since he took office, and two findings jump out at us,” said Charlie Leonard, a former visiting professor at the Institute, and one of the designers of the poll. “First is that the governor’s approval rating, since Spring of 2015, right after he assumed office, has remained relatively steady in the high 30s to low 40s, though at 36 percent it’s the lowest we have seen. Second is that his disapproval rating has grown consistently, from 31 disapproving in March 2015 to 58 percent today—almost doubling.
Statewide, Rauner’s results show 36 percent somewhat approve or strongly approve of his performance, while 58 percent somewhat disapprove or strongly disapprove. That compares with a 40 percent approval rating and 55-percent disapproval rating last October.
Rauner fares worst with voters in the City of Chicago, where 64 percent disapprove of his performance while 31 percent approve. Rauner edges closer to positive territory in downstate Illinois, where 38 percent approve of the job he’s doing compared to 56 percent who disapprove. In the suburbs of Cook and the collar counties, he remains in negative territory with 58 percent disapproving and 37 approving.
Speaker Madigan’s disapproval ratings also remain in negative territory with 61 percent somewhat disapproving or strongly disapproving and 26 percent somewhat approving or strongly approving. Madigan scored 63 percent disapproving overall last year with 26 percent approving.
Madigan’s best job approval ratings came in the City of Chicago, where 28 percent approve and 60 percent disapprove. His suburban Cook and collar counties job approval ratings are 27 percent approve to 60 percent disapprove. Downstate voters were least generous in their assessment of Madigan’s tenure with 64 percent disapproving and 23 percent approving.
Voters do not appear to have picked heavy favorites or shown a strong dislike for the remaining three legislative leaders. In the case of Senate President John Cullerton, 39 percent somewhat disapprove or strongly disapprove of his performance while 25 percent approve and 32 percent are not sure. Last fall, 41 percent disapproved, 26 percent approved, and 29 percent weren’t sure.
Voters were also less conclusive about the job performances of Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. Leader Radogno’s job approval stands at 27 percent statewide, compared with a disapproval rating of 26 percent. An overwhelming 45 percent were not sure. In the case of Leader Durkin, 31 percent approved, 36 percent disapproved, and 29 percent were unsure. [Emphasis added.]
So, more Chicagoans approve of Rauner’s job performance than Madigan’s.
Let that sink in a bit.
* Either way, both of these guys are hugely unpopular. The toplines (click here) show that just 11 percent strongly approve of Gov. Rauner’s performance, while just 5 percent strongly approve of Madigan’s. Another 39 percent strongly disapprove of Rauner’s performance. Madigan’s strong disapprove number is 44 percent.
* Click here for the crosstabs. Only 27 percent of Republicans strongly approve of Rauner’s job performance (63 percent overall). But just 9 percent of Democrats strongly approve of Madigan’s performance (only 40 percent overall approve).
On the other hand, 14 percent of Republicans strongly disapprove of Rauner’s job performance and 31 percent overall disapprove, which is pretty high. But 27 percent of Democrats strongly disapprove of Madigan’s job performance while 47 percent overall disapprove, so he’s underwater with his own party.
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Support House Bill 40
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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Caption contest!
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune’s photo of JB Pritzker is, um, quite something…
Let’s welcome him to the race, shall we?
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* I told subscribers about this earlier today…
* The linked press release…
Senators Michael Connelly (R-Naperville) and Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) today announced they were filing a compromise statewide pension reform plan, which is modeled after a proposal agreed to on a bipartisan basis last summer. With Democrats refusing to meet Republican requests for property tax relief, jobs legislation and spending reductions, some have called on the legislature to try to move smaller agreements on other important state issues. Pension reform would be the ideal starting place, combining the Senate President’s own language for statewide pension reform along with the exact same language Democrats supported last year that provides Chicago Public Schools with a one-year pickup of its pension normal costs.
“The so-called ‘Grand Bargain’ is in a holding pattern while we wait for Democrats to agree to freeze property taxes, make Illinois more competitive and cut spending to balance the budget,” said Sen. Connelly. “But that shouldn’t prevent us from moving forward on areas where we agree, including pension reform. Republicans want pension reform that helps the whole state save money while the mayor of Chicago is asking for pension assistance to solve his own pension crisis. We have bills already filed and supported by Senate Democrats that we can move right now to solve both issues. We should honor the agreement reached last summer, and hopefully moving a pension deal now will spark momentum toward a larger budget deal as well.”
The Connelly-Tracy pension package consists of two bills: One which includes the consideration model portions of SB16, and one which includes the Tier 3 and budgetary items of SB16 along with the text of SB 2822 from the previous General Assembly (that bill provided $215 million for Chicago Public Schools pensions in Fiscal Year 2017).
As part of the stopgap passed last June, Governor Rauner and the four legislative leaders agreed the state would pay for one year of CPS’s teacher pensions as long as lawmakers passed statewide pension reform. President Cullerton broke that agreement in November, which led to Governor Rauner vetoing the bill that would have contributed $215 million from the state to CPS to pay its pensions. Now, however, President Cullerton has filed a statewide pension bill (SB 16) which could easily be paired with the previously vetoed legislation.
* The Tribune editorialized in favor of this concept the other day…
Is it possible to combine pension reform with CPS funding and get a bill on Rauner’s desk? Voting on this duo separate from, or instead of, the overall compromise is a risk. Take out the pension bill from the package of 12 bills and that broader effort could stumble even more.
But if the grand compromise is faltering, can something good come of it?
Don’t give up, senators. Keep talking. The condition of the state continues to worsen at an alarming rate. There is no time for grudges.
* Doug Finke…
“We can’t sit around and wait for a compilation of 15 or 16 bills to magically appear,” Connelly said. “This was agreed to last summer. In large measure, we are taking what was agreed to back then and bringing it forward.” […]
Tracy said the bills should not be taken as an indication that the “grand bargain” is dead.
Cullerton spokesman John Patterson said the components of Tracy and Connelly’s bills are contained in the pension reform legislation that’s part of the grand bargain. He said the focus is still on passing the bargain, not separating out the component issues.
“Right now we’ve left the proposals together because we remain interested in a comprehensive plan to solve the state’s problems,” he said.
Seems like Connelly and Tracy don’t totally agree about the grand bargain’s chances.
Either way, what do you think of separating this from the grand bargain and running it as a stand-alone?
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis today called on Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to support legislation being filed by Senators Michael Connelly and Jil Tracy, which would enact statewide pension reform while providing CPS with $215 million for its pension payment.
“At a time when cost-effective, logical solutions are scarce, it is imperative that our state’s leaders support any measures that can fill budget gaps and move the state forward in funding our schools,” Secretary Purvis said. “The Connelly-Tracy pension package offers a solution to achieving comprehensive statewide pension reform, and provides $215 million in funding for CPS. CEO Claypool, Mayor Emanuel and education leaders across the state should join together to support this bill as a way to provide statewide pension reform and support the children and teachers of Chicago.”
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Another cost of the impasse
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When not paying vendors costs the state more money…
That makes plenty of sense. Stiff your plumber and he won’t come back. Stiff another plumber and word’s probably gonna get around that you’re a deadbeat. It’ll cost you more to hire the third one, if you can even find someone willing to do the work (and, as pointed out in comments, the willing plumber might not be a good one).
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* As we discussed yesterday, the Well’s Center in Jacksonville is on the verge of shutting down. The center has been providing drug treatment for almost 50 years and the Rauner administration says Comptroller Mendoza is to blame for the crisis because she hasn’t released state money owed to the organization.
Mendoza traveled to Jacksonville yesterday to meet with the center’s director and then spoke to the media. Here’s WCIA TV…
The financial feud between Governor Bruce Rauner and Comptroller Susana Mendoza continues to escalate, with the Comptroller making a grim prediction sure to raise the eyebrows of unpaid state vendors.
“There is going to be a point of like a bubble bursting where social service providers are going to have to close their doors,” she warned. “Not just one or two but hundreds or thousands of them.”
The comptroller drove to Jacksonville on Tuesday, along with an entourage from her office, to blame the governor for the budget crisis. She didn’t deny it was unorthodox for someone in her position to travel the state and hold public media availability events. Instead, she claimed this town-hall style of politics helps her to understand the plight of the unpaid vendors of Illinois. She says she has no plans to stop. […]
“Part of the idea today was to get the [Wells Center] to a point where we could hopefully still be able to provide services here in this area - here in this building - with the same staff,” Mendoza said. Although she clarified, “It may have to be under different management because the Wells Center has already made a decision that, I think, this was an inevitable conclusion of what the last two years has meant to them.”
The “last two years” reference was a not-so-subtle jab at Governor Rauner’s administration, during which time the state’s backlog of bills has ballooned to a historic $12.3 billion. Ms. Mendoza denied party politics fuels their rivalry, instead blaming Mr. Rauner personally.
“It’s his personality and his desire to hold onto his pet projects at all costs… At the cost of the [Wells Center] that has been a part of Illinois families for over 50 years.”
For a Downstate TV station, it’s actually a pretty darned good story, so go read the whole thing.
* The governor’s office released its own statement…
Comptroller Mendoza has half a billion dollars at her office to pay the Wells Center and avoid its closing. It’s disappointing that instead of simply doing her job, she used taxpayer resources to travel the state and grandstand in front of the center. The appearance is unseemly at best.
* One thing I didn’t see covered, however, is what the center’s leadership says. So, I called executive director Bruce Carter this morning.
Carter said quite a bit of money owed to him by the state has already been covered by the Vendor Assistance Program - which is basically a cash advance program of 90 percent of what the state owes a provider. Much of the $131,000 that the comptroller paid the center last week, in fact, was already received by the organization via the VAP. Carter said about $342,000 in invoices are still sitting at the comptroller’s office, but much of that may not yet be eligible for the VAP because the invoices may not yet be 3 months old. The governor’s office (this one and most past ones) often sits on vouchers to make the “official” bill backlog look lower than it really is.
* I told Carter that I hated to put him on the spot, but I wondered if he blamed Mendoza for the center’s current crisis.
“No, I don’t blame her,” Carter said. “The comptroller has twelve and a half billion dollars in outstanding bills she’s aware of and half a billion dollars to pay it.”
Carter said he’s hoping any money he can get from the comptroller’s office in the coming days will “allow us to buy enough time to partner with someone else” and keep the center open.
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IDOC says crime bill will save state money
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Corrections estimates that a measure targeting repeat gun offenders cosponsored by Senator Anthony Munoz (D-Chicago 1st) and Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago 13th) could save the department $62 million over 10 years.
“Many opponents of this legislation speculated that it would drive up costs and increase the prison population due to the recommendation of tougher penalties for repeat gun offenders,” Raoul said. “This estimate from the Department of Corrections shows that, because the recommended increase in sentencing ranges is coupled with other criminal justice reforms, it could actually decrease the population and save money.”
In addition to saving millions of dollars, the Department of Corrections said the reforms could result in a decrease of 1,471 incarcerated offenders over 10 years.
The legislation increases sentencing guidelines for repeat gun offenders while enacting a series of criminal justice reforms aimed at lowering the prison population and addressing the disproportionate sentencing of nonviolent offenders.
Reforms in the legislation include:
· Reduces certain drug possession offenses from Class 1 to Class 2 and 3 felonies based on amount.
· Increases access to educational, vocational and re-entry programming for individuals incarcerated for truth-in-sentencing offenses, allowing eligible individuals to reduce their sentence up to 15 percent.
· Reduces the protected area for drug crimes from 1,000 to 500 feet, removes public housing as a protected area, and requires prosecutors to prove a connection between the crime and the protected area before a felony can be enhanced.
· Expands the eligibility for the Offender Initiative Program, Second Chance Probation and all other drug probation programs
· Reduces the period of mandatory supervised release for certain offenses and allows the Prisoner Review Board to terminate a person’s mandatory supervised release if that person is determined to be low-risk.
SB 1722 advanced out of the Senate Criminal Law committee with a 6-5-0 vote last week and will move to the Senate for consideration.
* Meanwhile, on a semi-related note, this is from Diana Popa at WalletHub…
Hi Rich,
With gun sales declining since President Donald Trump took office, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017’s States Most Dependent on the Gun Industry.
To determine the states that depend most heavily on the arms and ammunitions industry both directly for jobs and political contributions and indirectly through firearm ownership, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 13 key metrics. The data set ranges from firearms industry jobs per capita to gun sales per 1,000 residents to gun ownership rate.
Illinois’ Dependence on the Gun Industry (1=Most Dependent; 25=Avg.)
38th – Gun Ownership Rate
35th – Firearms-Industry Jobs per Capita
9th – Avg. Firearms-Industry Wages & Benefits
22nd – Total Firearms-Industry Output per Capita
43rd – Total Taxes Paid by Firearms Industry per Capita
3rd – NICS Background Checks per Capita
39th – Gun-Control Contributions to Congressional Members per Capita
42nd – Gun-Rights Contributions to Congressional Members per Capita
The full report is here.
* And this is from DNAInfo Chicago…
A spike in demand by city residents saw the state issue 63 percent more permits to Chicagoans to own a gun in 2016 than in 2015, according to data obtained by DNAinfo from State Police.
In 2016, some 38,712 Chicagoans got a state-issued Firearm Owners Identification card compared to 23,725 in 2015.
About 212,000 people are licensed to own a gun in Chicago, according to State Police.
The number of Chicagoans allowed to own a gun has been on the rise since 2015, when it jumped 21 percent from 2014, according to the State Police.
In addition, there has been a surge in the number of Chicagoans who obtained a permit to carry a concealed gun under a 3-year-old law, jumping 50 percent — from 13,948 in 2015 to 22,517 in 2016, according to State Police data.
* Related…
* Dart aide to testify for a law to withhold bond in gun cases: Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is proposing a law making it clear that prosecutors can ask judges to deny bond for a range of gun cases — including possession by a felon, aggravated discharge of a weapon, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, being an armed habitual offender and gun possession by a gang member.
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Don’t Let Big Soda Sugarcoat the Facts
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Big Soda companies and their lobbyists want you to believe that a tax on sugary drinks would bring our economy crumbling to the ground. That assertion is extremely misleading, just like their downplaying of sugar’s negative impact on public health over the years.
Sugary drinks are the number one source of added sugar in the American diet and have been directly linked to heart disease and diabetes. In recent polling, 56% of voters said they support this choice tax as one way to balance the budget.
Despite Big Soda’s message, the tax will NOT include a number of everyday products. There are plenty of non-taxed, healthier items that people can still choose:
· Diet and low-cal drinks
· 100% fruit or vegetable juice
· Milk
· Infant formula
· Unsweetened, coffees, and sparkling waters
In short, a sugary drink tax is:
· Overwhelmingly supported by voters
· A choice tax that lets people opt out
· A benefit to Illinois’ public health
Don’t let Big Soda companies sugarcoat the facts: taxing sugary drinks is good for Illinois. The American Heart Association supports a sugary drink tax to balance the Illinois budget.
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*** LIVE *** Session coverage
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Today’s post is sponsored by the American Heart Association of Illinois. Follow everything in real time right here with ScribbleLive…
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