* From AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall…
“Less than a day after the second legislative session of his tenure ended again with no state budget in place, Governor Rauner is back on the campaign trail and exploiting state worksites for his own political purposes.
“This morning Rauner held a news conference at the Alton Mental Health Center where, according to media reports, he attacked Democrats and urged people to vote against them. At midday he held another media event at a state prison in Vienna with Republican state Senate candidate Dale Fowler in tow.
“It is highly unethical for Governor Rauner to use a public psychiatric facility and a correctional center as backdrops for his partisan political attacks and candidate promotion, and quite possibly a violation of the State Ethics Act, which prohibits political activity on state property and state time.
“In addition, it is disingenuous at best for Governor Rauner to pose at these facilities after he has spent more than a year falsely attacking state employees, denigrating their union, and threatening them with disciplinary action merely for criticizing his policies.
“Governor Rauner should focus on his own job—signing a budget without precondition—and leave state employees to do theirs.”
…Adding… The governor’s folks are flatly denying that he made any campaign statements at the facilities and said they invited local mayors to the Vienna event. Fowler is a mayor.
…Adding More… From an administration official…
I don’t know what’s more absurd - AFSCME claiming that elected officials advocating to keep government facilities open constitutes campaigning or the state’s largest employee union rooting for a government shutdown.
…Adding Still More… AFSCME points to this tweet as evidence of campaigning…
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Rauner wants more overtime session days
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Rauner bashed the heck outta Democrats in Mahomet today, from Speaker Madigan to Senate President Cullerton all the way down to the rank and file. He was then asked about calling a special session…
“So far the Speaker has said that he’s planning on calling his General Assembly members in on Wednesdays going forward. I don’t think that’s enough. So, I’m gonna negotiate with the Speaker and ask that we meet far more regularly than that. And then we’ll see what we can work out.”
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Naptime open thread
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Kids, I’m gonna try to take me a little nap. Long, grueling, frustrating month, ending with an even longer day, then a late night and a very early morning. Coffee isn’t working. B-Complex isn’t working. Sleepy and a bit cranky. I often tell cranky commenters that they need a nap, so I’m taking my own advice.
Be nice to each other. Thanks.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* After last night’s dreadful end to the spring session, what’s the one thing you don’t want people to do? Make sure to explain yourself.
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No dough? No dough
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The administration has been using spit and bailing wire to keep the government going during the impasse. One example…
Description and Specifications: Emergency purchase of bread and bun bases for Illinois Correctional Industries to use in making of inmates’ bread and to provide to other state agencies.
Key Information
Notice Type: Emergency Procurement
Published: 02/17/2016
Notice Expiration Date: 06/07/2016
Emergency Justification: Illinois Correctional Industries uses bread/bun base and sweetdough base in the production of bread & buns, and other food staples required to provide to inmates and for sale to various state agencies. The current master contract #PSD4017603 has an expiration of 12/16/2017 but the vendor refused to deliver the said products due to lack of payment. So as not to interrupt customer demands and prevent or minimize serious disruption to the IDOC and other state agencies, it is imperative that this emergency purchase be made.
Accordance with Admin Rule: Minimize serious disruption to critical state services that affect health, safety, or collection of substantial state revenues […]
Total Amount of Award: $190,000.00 (Total Dollar Value Only/Includes Any Renewal Options)
Estimated/Actual Value Description: Estimated
Length of Initial Term: 3
Contract Begin Date: 02/12/2016
Contract End Date: 05/11/2016
Hat tip to a commenter.
…Adding… With a hat tip to another commenter, remember this pledge to cut wasteful spending like emergency procurements from the 2014 campaign?…
Welcome to the real world, governor.
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* As you’ll recall from yesterday, Gov. Rauner made some pretty harsh, hyper-partisan remarks during his press conference yesterday in front of a backdrop of Republican legislators on the grand staircase…
Rauner suggested the legislature’s majority party had orchestrated a “stunning failure” this spring and accused Madigan, his chief political nemesis, of holding the state and its services “hostage.”
“Speaker Madigan’s Democrats have controlled our Generally Assembly for more than 30 years. Speaker Madigan’s Democrats have controlled spending in our state government for more than 30 years. Under the Democrats’ control, we have the highest deficit, the highest debt, the highest unfunded pensions of any state in America,” Rauner said, flanked by GOP lawmakers along an ornate statehouse staircase.
“The Democrats have spent our state into the toilet for 30 years,” Rauner said. “We are like a banana republic. We can’t manage our money and employers don’t have any confidence in us. They won’t come here unless we can get our act together and balance our budgets. I will always veto unbalanced budgets. I will not sign one. And I will not sign a tax increase unless we have pro-growth, pro-investment reforms and we have property tax protection for our homeowners and our small business owners.”
* Senate President Cullerton reacted…
That sort of talk isn’t particularly helpful, said Senate President John Cullerton.
“You know, I don’t see the advantage in criticizing someone you want to sit down with and negotiate with,” he said. “It’s kinda like, you know, starting a fight … insulting your wife before you negotiate with your wife over something that’s important. You know, ‘I don’t like your mother in law’. That’s not the way you start off with a negotiation.”
Meh. Look, the Democrats have been taking verbal potshots at this governor for a very long time. They’re big boys and girls. They should take what they dish.
* But there was apparently something else going on. Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) posted this on her Facebook page just before the press conference…
This is why cooperation and compromise are in such short supply in Springfield.
Over the last few days, a group of rank and file members of both parties in both chambers came together to plan a show of unity calling for cooperation and civility after our anticipated adjournment without a budget tonight. This morning, nearly every member of the Republican caucus posted a meme using variations on the language from our yet to be released joint statement. Then, the Republican leader theatrically introduced new bills with stopgap budget language, declaring that we could stay until midnight and pass this compromise. Except under our constitution, a bill has to be read on 3 different days, so that’s not possible. Then, I encountered the bank of cameras pictured below and learned the plan is for the Governor and Republican leaders to denounce the Democrats for refusing to cooperate.
I’m ready to work together without gotcha games. It’s well past time.
* Here’s one of the memes she mentioned…
* And then after the presser, an obviously upset Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) posted this on his Twitter feed…
Oof.
*** UPDATE *** In an e-mail to constituents, Rep. Cassidy claimed the Rauner press conference “derailed” the bipartisan press conference…
Over the last week, my conversations with colleagues on both sides of the aisle suggested a growing belief that the solution lies with the rank and file and a willingness to stand up and say exactly that. A majority of both caucuses in both chambers planned a press conference immediately after adjournment to mutually declare a desire for continued negotiation, compromise and civility. Instead, the Governor introduced a stopgap budget plan that just a couple of days ago he ridiculed when a similar solution was suggested by the Senate President. The Governor and most of the members of the Republican caucuses in both chambers stood with him to have another “gotcha moment,” declaring that the Democrats weren’t willing to work with them on a bill that was introduced yesterday via press release. This action derailed the planned bipartisan press conference.
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A total mess
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Illinois Department of Human Services…
Sent: Wednesday, May 18, 2016 3:49 PM
Subject: FY17 Homeless Youth Continuation Application Plan & Budget Forms
Importance: High
Dear Providers:
Attached are the FY17 Continuation Application Plan & Budget forms and instructions along with the Grant Application cover page. All documents must be completed and submitted on or before June 6th to be considered for funding in FY17. We apologize for the short turn around, but we needed to ensure that we were in compliance with 30 ILCS 708, the Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA). It should be noted that very little has changed in the Application Plan, so most of the existing information from last year’s plan can be updated. Additionally, the Uniform Budget Forms that are required are not yet ready, but we expect them any day. DHS is working on creating a usable PDF version that will be sent out as soon as possible. I am including an excel version of the Uniform Budget template for you to use as a guide. However, it is very important that you double check the formulas as they are incomplete.
When completing your budget forms and narrative, please be as complete and detailed as possible. These budgets must be approved prior to DHS issuing contracts for FY17. We will not be able to approve these budgets if there is not sufficient detail provided.
So, they’re bidding out contracts for FY17 grants when they don’t even have a budget for FY16. Man, what a state. Talk about bad faith contracting.
* And those budget forms that “are required” but “not yet ready”? Bad news…
Sent: Friday, May 27, 2016 1:25 PM
Subject: FY17 Homeless Youth Continuation Application Plan & Budget Forms
Importance: High
Afternoon All,
As you are aware, the complete Uniform Budget Template is still not fully complete. In lieu of this, we have a new plan. Attached please find a fillable 4-page PDF version of the Uniform Budget Template. This version does not include the worksheet pages in which you were to include your detailed budget narrative/justification. It will still be necessary for you to provide a detailed budget narrative/justification along with the attached 4-page Uniform Budget Template.
Budgets will NOT be approved if sufficient detail is not provided in this narrative. It is necessary to provide this detailed justification for EACH section and line item within your budget. For those of you that have received funding through this Bureau in the past, you are aware of the level of justification required for the budget to be approved.
Please understand that FY17 contracts cannot be issued until after your budget is approved. So please describe the program need and “show your work” so-to-speak as to how you arrived at the amount being requested for each item. Also, please make sure your administrative costs (direct +indirect) do not exceed the maximum 20% including match (if required).
For this year, you may provide that narrative justification/detail in whatever format you like. You may use the previously provided excel version of this template, some variation of that, something you used in a previous year or even provide it in a word document. If you chose a narrative (non-table) format – please be certain that all line items are listed and fully addressed.
Finally, as this year funding is only being awarded for one year, please disregard the years 2 and 3 columns in the budget template.
* And then…
Date: Fri, May 27, 2016 at 1:59 PM
Subject: FW: FY17 Homeless Youth Continuation Application Plan & Budget Forms
Unfortunately, for you to be able to fill and save these forms we just sent you need to have more than Adobe Reader on your computer. If someone in your office has Adobe Acrobat they should be able to open the document in acrobat, fill and save. But you obviously do not and should not have to go through all of that.
Please try this – we have tried on multiple computers with only reader software and it has worked.
We are very sorry for the inconvenience.
If anyone is experiencing accessibility issues with this document, please email me at [redacted] and we will be able to provide an ADA compliant accessible version.
One last thing – you can find the CSFA # and the CSFA Description/title on the Application Cover Page (3-page pdf document). For this program there is no NOFO number, please indicate N/A.
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The governor’s “bridge” plan
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we’ve already discussed, the governor is out on the hustings today touting his “Fully Funded Stopgap Budget and Clean Education Bill.” Here’s the outline, which was shared with subscribers yesterday morning…
To: Interested Parties
From: Tim Nuding, Director, Governor’s Office of Management & Budget
Date: May 30, 2016
Re: Short Term “Bridge” Appropriations Bill
After fully reviewing SB 2048, the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget (GOMB) has confirmed our initial belief that the full year appropriations contained therein would result in total state general funds spending of $40 billion – making it $7.5 billion out of balance. GOMB continues to recommend a total veto of that unworkable spending plan.
Last week, I urged the General Assembly to focus on a comprehensive balanced budget alongside meaningful reforms to grow our economy. It has become abundantly clear that the legislative majority will not compromise and pass a balanced budget with reforms.
Progressing into Fiscal Year 2017 with no appropriations is not an acceptable alternative as schools must open in the fall, vendor and grantee patience has understandably worn thin and the continued delivery of critical life, health and safety state services would be in jeopardy.
As an option of last resort, the General Assembly should fulfill the Governor’s long-standing request to pass a standalone appropriations bill for PK-12 education and also pass a fiscally responsible appropriations bill that serves as a bridge to keep government functioning and protects the public’s health, welfare and safety.
Taking into account the very latest and disappointing developments in the status of negotiations, GOMB would support the following approach to keep government functioning and to protect the safety of the public during the continued impasse.
This proposal is not designed as a full-year budget. It is designed as a bridge plan that allows schools to open, keeps the lights on, protects public safety and prevents a government shutdown. It is fully funded and therefore fiscally responsible, unlike other potential short-term budget proposals that seek to impose piecemeal out-of-balance budgets for months at a time.
For Fiscal Year 2016:
1. Appropriate the remaining non-GRF line items that have yet to be appropriated in FY16.
a. Includes funding for homeless programs, domestic violence prevention programs, sexual assault programs, state parks, and the senior citizens real estate tax deferral program.
2. Utilize the balance in the Rainy Day Fund to pay outstanding bills at various state agencies from Fiscal Year 2016.
a. Funds for utilities, food and medical services at state prisons, mental health centers and veterans homes. These allocations would allow the state to make payments to the many municipal utilities that are owed money.
b. Funds for postage at agencies such as the Department of Revenue required for revenue collection and tax compliance.
3. Appropriate $458 million from the Commitment to Human Services Fund – the amount estimated to be available in that fund by the end of the fiscal year – to provide payments to human services providers who are not covered by court orders or consent decrees.
For Fiscal Year 2017:
1. Appropriate full year funding for Early Childhood, Elementary & Secondary Education.
a. Recommend a standalone bill for education.
b. Full funding of general state aid, no proration.
c. Additional funds for hold harmless so that no school gets less money through the formula in FY17 than they did in FY16. Allows time to continue to discuss changes to the school aid formula for FY18.
d. Provides local schools with certainty of full year funding and ensures that all schools open on time in August.
2. Appropriate all federal funds, mirroring what was done in Fiscal Year 2016. This has no impact on the general revenue fund and will allow federal funds to flow directly through to providers, such as child care providers.
3. Appropriate non-GRF line items, including:
a. appropriations to restart mothballed capital projects in mid construction that were halted due to lack of appropriation authority in Fiscal Year 2016, including projects for public universities and community colleges and including the flood plain buyout program.
b. appropriations for emergency repairs at state facilities statewide.
c. appropriations to fund the full road construction program in Fiscal Year 2017, including bridge repair and local government road allocations which are funded predominantly out of motor fuel tax funds and vehicle registration fees.
d. appropriations to fund the state’s low income heating and energy assistance program.
e. appropriations for required debt service payments related to Met Pier bonds, Civic Center bonds, and Sports Facilities Authority bonds.
f. ensure continued food delivery and utility services at our state veterans homes.
4. Appropriate $600 million from the Education Assistance Fund for Higher Education. This is the amount expected to accrue to the Education Assistance Fund over the first six months of fiscal year 2017.
a. Provides stop-gap funding for public universities and community colleges and the Illinois Math & Science Academy.
b. Ensures those universities most at risk, including Chicago State University, Western Illinois University and Eastern Illinois University are able to open for and complete the fall semester.
5. Appropriate $180 million from the Commitment to Human Services Fund for payments to human services providers not covered by court orders or consent decrees. This is the amount expected to automatically accrue into this fund in the first six months of Fiscal Year 2017.
6. GRF appropriations of $450 million fully funded by non-repayment of interfund borrowing.
a. Ensure food vendors get paid to continue food deliveries to our 24 hour residential facilities, including state prisons, state facilities for persons with developmental disabilities, state facilities for persons with mental illness.
b. Ensure that utilities such as electricity and water services, and medical services continue to be provided to these same facilities.
c. Ensure that our fuel vendors and vehicle maintenance vendors who provide the services needed to keep our state troopers on the road and keep our Department of Transportation trucks on the road, including salt distribution and snow removal in the winter months.
d. Ensure that child support payments continue to be provided statewide.
e. Ensure purchase of cigarette tax stamps so that Illinois can continue to collect cigarette tax revenues.
f. Provide funding for the Secretary of State to help cover utility costs for critical government facilities.
7. All appropriations for FY17 could include language allowing those appropriations to be used to pay outstanding Fiscal Year 2016 bills, if necessary.
Discuss.
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Yes, there was an uprising and some agreement
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WSIL…
In an editorial published over the weekend, [Reboot Illinois] called on rank-and-file Democrats — meaning those outside the leadership — to defy House Speaker Michael Madigan and strike a deal with Gov. Rauner.
That didn’t happen.
On Tuesday afternoon, Doubek didn’t seem too surprised. She pointed to the very real power Speaker Madigan has over House Democrats, which makes it risky to get on his bad side.
“He provides a lot of the funding for their campaign,” she said. “He provides a lot of the workers who go door-to-door. He gets a lot of that money and manpower from labor unions in the state of Illinois as well as from trial lawyers.”
* Actually, Madigan was rebuked hard, just not in the House…
Several Senate Democrats, including some members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, were unhappy with the budget blueprint Madigan muscled through the House last week, contending the longtime speaker too often dictates to them what the state budget will be. The bill failed, garnering only 17 “yes” votes and 31 “no” votes — an emphatic rejection of the powerful Madigan, who also chairs the state Democratic Party. […]
Cullerton met behind closed doors with black caucus members Tuesday evening. State Sen. Emil Jones III told reporters the biggest issue was that “we didn’t have a part in that budget. We weren’t a part of the negotiations.”
“Yeah, it may have taken away a pressure point, but we’re going to be here to negotiate all summer, so we’ll get something done,” Jones said.
* More…
The Senate’s refusal to adopt a budget plan bearing the clear imprint of Madigan, the state party chairman, represented a stinging rebuke to the longest-serving statehouse speaker in America and a setback Rauner allies called a “catastrophe” for Democrats.
Within the 39-member Senate Democratic majority, some senators complained they were unable to have input in the House-passed plan, which arrived last week as a take-it-or-leave it proposition, one of Madigan’s legislative hallmarks over the years in his dealings with Illinois’ upper legislative chamber.
“There was a lot of resentment over the way it was passed,” said Senate President John Cullerton.
* And there was some agreement with the governor…
On the Senate floor, Cullerton said working groups would be finding a way to fund education.
Despite the lack of action on budget deadline day, late Tuesday Cullerton told reporters he’s confident he can get a temporary budget — one that could fund the state until January — in a week. He said he was “optimistic” he could work with Rauner and the leaders on passing a temporary budget that will help the state move forward.
“I hope to have a budget. Think about this. A real budget, signed by the governor — an agreement — within a week. That’s more positive than we’ve been up until now,” Cullerton said.
Cullerton said he reached an agreement with Rauner during a Tuesday leaders meeting to pass a budget “that’s not going to be encumbered by things that have kept us from passing a budget until now.”
* Cullerton held a press conference near the end of last night’s session. Raw audio…
…Adding… Tribune…
How [the Senate] voted on Speaker Michael Madigan’s state budget (which failed): The 17 “yes” votes were all Democrats. The 10 “present” votes were all Democrats. And of the 31 “no” votes, 19 were Republicans and 12 were Democrats, including some potential GOP targets.
The roll call is here.
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A pox on everyone
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times editorial…
The Democratic leadership’s spending plan, first passed by the House last week, was $7 billion short on revenue. It was nothing but a political document, a way to put Gov. Bruce Rauner on the spot — sign this joke or you will be to blame when the schools don’t open — and he made clear he would never sign it.
But Rauner’s own solution was only marginally more responsible. Completely reversing a stand he took just last week, the governor now wanted the Legislature to approve a stopgap measure to fund the state through the end of year, pulling money out of old pants’ pockets and forgotten wallets — one-time tricks. He would fund the worthiest causes — homeless programs, state parks and domestic violence prevention programs — but only by raiding the state’s Rainy Day Fund and the like. His “bridge plan,” as he would be the first to agree, would do nothing to improve long-term government stability and predictability.
Rauner remains an inept rookie politician. He still thinks like a private equity guy, not like a governor. He understands how power works in private business — he who has the most money wins — but not in politics. And he continues to treat the great city of Chicago, truly the beating heart of a healthy Illinois, like a corporate subsidiary to be shed if it fails to meet its quarterly earnings projections. […]
Rauner continues to insist on some degree of acceptance of his pro-business and anti-union “turnaround agenda” reforms before he’ll contemplate higher state taxes, though finding additional revenue ultimately is the only way a balanced state budget will be achieved. We sure wish we could divine Rauner’s bottom line on that.
And House Speaker Michael Madigan continues to insist that Rauner’s reforms would only hurt the middle class. But we’d like to know Madigan’s real bottom line, too. Or is he determined not to budge even an inch, biding his time until after the November elections, putting raw politics ahead of what’s best for Illinois?
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* From the Responsible Budget Coalition…
The regular session of the General Assembly ended last night at midnight and there was no agreement reached on a fiscal year 2016 or fiscal year 2017 budget. There is some indication that negotiations will continue during June in order to try to get something done before the end of the fiscal year on June 30. However, with the November general election and the partisan warfare intensifying, there is a real threat that no budget agreement will be reached until after the November general election, if ever.
The Responsible Budget Coalition (RBC) releases the following statement:
Another major deadline has passed and again the officials charged with operating state government have failed to produce a fully-funded budget that implements Illinois’ policy priorities– that is, they have not produced a responsible budget.
The failure of our leaders to reach a budget agreement means that:
Child care centers that serve the children of tens of thousands of low-income workers will stop receiving funding.
Elementary and high schools may not open on time in the fall.
As many as 130,000 low-income college students could lose the Monetary Assistance Program grants they need to afford a college education.
All 29 agencies serving survivors of sexual assault will continue furloughs and staff reductions begun in July 2015 and services for over 3,700 sexual assault survivors will be in jeopardy.
The waiting time for the suicide hotline will be at least six months.
Thousands of more people experiencing homelessness will join the 8,000 that have already lost services.
In-home care services for seniors will continue to be slashed, forcing them into nursing homes, and many more will join the over 3,000 seniors that have already lost home-delivered meals (Meals on Wheels) services.
Illinois cannot wait any longer for a responsible budget; it cannot wait until after the election. Every day of the impasse causes more suffering and unmet need, loss of infrastructure and talent, and neglected state policies and programs. Every day of the uncertainty, unpredictability and dysfunction of the impasse further erodes the business climate. The Governor and the legislators have a job to do. They must pass a fully funded budget for FY16 and FY17 before the end of June.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Press release…
Monsignor Michael M. Boland, President of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, released the following statement today in response to the lack of a resolution to the Illinois State Budget.
“Pope Francis has called on us as a society to care for the least among us and places special value on the lives of the elderly and children. Yet, for more than a year our state leaders have failed to pass a State budget that remembers those who are suffering the most in our communities.
The social safety net across the state is continuing to crumble. Like every other human services provider, we have been greatly impacted by the lack of a State budget or clear plan of how to proceed, more than a year after we anticipated a budget would be passed. We are owed more than $25 million by the State of Illinois for services that we were contracted to provide.
More than 1 million people count on Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago for help. These are the most vulnerable people in our state – seniors, children, veterans, families. These are the very people our elected leaders pledged to protect.
Throughout this past year we have made incredibly difficult decisions, including significant administrative budget cuts and implementing a hiring freeze, in order to keep our doors open and help those most in need in our communities.
This entire year we have operated in good faith that our elected officials will work together to find a solution to the State budget. It has become increasingly clear that the budget stalemate will continue into the summer.
We are the lifeline for support for 1 million people. However, it is unsustainable for us to continue to float the state more than $2 million each month for programs to support those most in need. Difficult decisions will need to be made soon if this budget stalemate continues. I strongly urge our elected leaders to take responsibility and pass a state budget that is not balanced on the backs of the poor. This is not a matter of politics, it is a matter of people’s lives.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** More bad news…
June 1, 2016
The following message was sent today by University of Illinois President Tim Killeen to faculty, staff and students regarding the state budget situation.
Dear colleagues:
The General Assembly yesterday adjourned for the second straight year without reaching agreement with the governor on funding to support the University of Illinois system and public higher education across our state. These consecutive failures in Springfield are unprecedented in Illinois history.
Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders have pledged to continue negotiations, but I am gravely concerned about the implications for our students, our faculty and staff and our campuses if we are forced to weather another protracted period without adequate funding from the state.
This great university system is not in danger of shutting its doors, but a crisis is worsening nonetheless.
We are now 11 months into fiscal 2016 with only stopgap funding that will provide about a quarter of the nearly $650 million in state funding that we received the year before. Now, we face the prospect of a new fiscal year with no state support.
To date, we have weathered the shortfall responsibly through significant cost-saving initiatives, structural reforms and prudent financial management. But we cannot withstand a continued loss of state funding without considerable damage to our core missions – teaching, research, public service and economic development.
All options are on the table as we go forward – layoffs, reductions of academic programs, closure of units and cuts in a health-care enterprise that provides critical care to underserved populations in Chicago. All would damage the very core of our mission to serve students and the public good, and erode a rich, 150-year legacy of academic excellence and economic impact that would be far more costly to rebuild than sustain.
We will continue to do everything in our power to preserve the world-class quality that is synonymous with the University of Illinois, ramping up efforts that have been underway for well over a year to advocate at every turn for the interests of our students, our employees and the people and families of Illinois. I hope all of you will join us, and I will update you as the budget process unfolds.
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Taking the arrows
Wednesday, Jun 1, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Brown…
Although the session dragged on into the night, Rauner officially threw in the towel at 5 p.m., telling reporters the legislative session had been a “stunning failure.”
Not surprisingly, Rauner put all the blame on Madigan and the Democrats who follow the speaker’s lead, conveniently overlooking his own role in the continued debacle.
Asked if he took any responsibility, Rauner said “absolutely,” before deflecting it again.
* The full quote…
Asked by a reporter if he bore any responsibility, Rauner responded, “Absolutely. You know what, I will always veto dramatically out-of-balance budgets.”
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* 9:09 pm - Senate Democratic rank and file pushed back very hard against Senate President Cullerton’s advocacy for Speaker Madigan’s budget bill, and as a result…
So now it becomes a test of wills between the Senate and the House. The Senate Democrats are tired of being forced to vote for a House budget for the umpteenth time, which is a big reason why the caucus rejected the House proposal. The Senate has advanced a stand-alone education bill to the floor which funds K-12 and higher education. But it’s not at all clear that it will pass the House if it clears the Senate because it provides $200 million a year for CPS pensions and the House just had to pull a $100 million subsidy out of the record because of widespread opposition.
There’s a procedural problem. The Senate’s stand-alone education funding bill is the last House appropriations bill the Senate has in its possession. Once that bill is sent across the building, it has no more bullets to fire. ADDED: The Senate has one more approp bill after this. Sorry about that. The House is sitting on, I believe, three Senate approp bills, so it has more options.
* I have no idea what’s going to happen next, which is why I love this stuff. The House could wind up forcing the Senate’s hand, or they could adjourn with nothing passing, or the Senate could find a way to get something else done. As always, keep an eye on our live coverage post for immediate updates.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The Senate has passed its stand-alone education funding bill and soundly thumped the House’s approp bill.
*** UPDATE 2 *** So, what’s the next move? The House will take up the Senate’s stand-alone education funding bill. If that dies, Madigan’s spokesman says the next step will likely be to work on a stopgap budget with the governor’s office, which could take a week or two.
*** UPDATE 3 *** The House defeated the Senate’s stand-alone education bill by a lopsided 24-92 vote. Budget and non-budget working groups convene in the morning. Attempts will be made to structure a stopgap budget bill. More tomorrow.
And check out the governor’s public schedule for Wednesday…
Daily Public Schedule: June 1, 2016
What: Governor Discusses Fully Funded Stopgap Budget and Clean Education Bill
Where: Alton Mental Health Center
4500 College Ave, Alton
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Time: 9:00 a.m.
What: Governor Discusses Fully Funded Stopgap Budget and Clean Education Bill
Where: Vienna Correctional Center
6696 State Route 146 E, Vienna
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Time: 11:00 a.m.
What: Governor Discusses Fully Funded Stopgap Budget and Clean Education Bill
Where: Mahomet-Seymour CUSD#3 Administration Office
1301 S Bulldog Dr., Mahomet
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Time: 1:15 p.m.
What: Governor Discusses Fully Funded Stopgap Budget and Clean Education Bill
Where: Quincy Board of Education
1416 Maine St, Quincy
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Time: 3:30 p.m.
What: Governor Discusses Fully Funded Stopgap Budget and Clean Education Bill
Where: Tazewell County Sheriff Office
101 S. Capitol St., Pekin
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Time: 5:15 p.m.
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Rauner lays out his case
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. Rauner listed some some pretty compelling reasons this afternoon during a Statehouse press conference why he believes the Democrats ought to pass his stopgap funding proposal. Speaker Madigan has said he would negotiate a temporary budget, but Madigan refused to advance it today.
According to Rauner, Senate President John Cullerton made it clear in the leaders meetings that the non-budget items shouldn’t be voted on until after the election. Quite a few of Rauner’s proposals are not backed by unions, and Cullerton doesn’t want to go against his allies during the election season.
OK, that’s fine, Rauner said. So, he said, let’s pass a stopgap budget to get the state through the rest of this fiscal year and the first half of next fiscal year - without those controversial Turnaround Agenda items. Keep state agencies from imploding. Make sure schools and universities open on time. Make sure human service providers have some funding. And then come back in November and start working again.
Like I said, that’s pretty compelling. I mean, what the heck is the harm in that, unless you truly do want a collapse?
* Rauner also re-started his attacks on House Speaker Michael Madigan, blaming him for high property taxes, unbalanced budgets, population exodus, high unemployment, and pretty much everything else under the sun.
“The Democrats have spent our state into the toilet for 30 years,” Rauner said. “We’re like a banana republic.”
But the hyper-partisan rhetoric aside, he made a reasonable argument.
* When I asked if the stopgap proposal would be taken off the table come June 1st, Rauner wouldn’t say. He also wouldn’t reveal any plans for special sessions.
The governor was asked about a possible bond rating downgrade, but he didn’t directly answer. However, a senior administration official told me, “If the majority fails to act today and the state suffers a credit downgrade because of it, every Democrat in the General Assembly will own that credit downgrade.”
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Hump day will also be session day
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sun-Times…
Democratic leaders on Monday for the first time spoke of scheduled sessions in June, as the budget deadline ticks loudly and Republican leaders appear unlikely to agree with Democrats on a budget bill. […]
[House Speaker Michael Madigan] announced the House would be in session every Wednesday through June. Cullerton also said the Senate would be “available” to work through June. […]
Durkin said the Democrats are stalling because they’re focused on the 2018 gubernatorial election.
“I think it’s pretty clear just in talking to people in the building and outside the building is that they don’t want to see Gov. Rauner get re-elected,” Durkin said. “So it’s just my impression — ‘they’ meaning organized labor and also the Democrats who run both chambers.”
Madigan said the Wednesday sessions would begin next week. So, no session tomorrow unless the governor calls a special session. No word on that option yet. Stay tuned.
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Rezko still claims he was wrongfully convicted
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I had no idea that Tony Rezko was recently released from prison…
More than 250 friends, family, political activists, and government officials attended a special “Welcome Home” celebration on May 12 to honor Antoine “Tony” Rezko who was released from Federal custody only one week earlier.
Rezko served 8.5 years in federal custody allegedly for illegally raising money for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who remains in a federal prison serving out a 14 year prison sentence.
In addressing the crowd at the posh Al Hambra Palace Restaurant just west of the Chicago Loop, Rezko told supporters that he was tried and convicted of a crime he did not commit.
“Even though I was indicted, tried and convicted of a crime I did not commit, I am very blessed. I am fortunate to have the friends I have. I am blessed to be born as a Rezko. I am fortunate and blessed to have Danny, Adam and Chenelle call me father. And I am indeed fortunate to share my life with Rita, my wife,” Rezko said naming members of his family who attended and also spoke at the event.
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Ignoring a huge public health crisis
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the Illinois Department of Public Health…
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is reporting the first bird to test positive for West Nile virus in Illinois for 2016. Douglas County Health Department employees collected the blue jay on May 20, 2015, in Arcola Township.
* Also from IDPH…
Bats are starting to become more active, which means the possibility of exposure to rabies is increasing. Bats are the primary carrier of rabies in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has already had 10 bats test positive for rabies this year.
* But isn’t this a far worse threat to public health?…
* Memorial Day weekend closes with 69 shot in Chicago, many of them on West Side
* 6 dead, 63 wounded in Memorial Day weekend shootings: Six people were killed, including a 15-year-old girl, and at least 63 others were wounded in shootings across Chicago over Memorial Day weekend.
* 69 shot over 76 hours: A look at every shooting over holiday weekend
* Thugs stalk couple at lakefront, ends in woman’s death
* 17-year-old boy shot in Little Village
* Holiday violence: ‘Every time you look up, it’s a shooting, it’s an innocent’
* Man, teen charged with string of North Side robberies: A man and teenage boy have been charged with committing four armed robberies in just over an hour this weekend on the North Side.
* Man, 29, stabbed on CTA bus
And that’s just a few of them. There’s more. Lots more.
* If we weren’t so insane in this state, we’d have an urgently coordinated response to this disaster.
So, no offense at all to IDPH. They have a tough job to do and they seem to be doing it well. But I’m far less worried about West Nile and rabies (and the 2014 campaign “issue” of Ebola) than I am about the future of my state’s largest city.
/rant
* Related…
* The History of Violence as a Public Health Issue
* The Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention
* Violence as a Public Health Risk
* Is Violence a Public Health Problem?
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
While Exelon’s $2.6 BILLION nuke bailout “reeks” as the Quad City Times editorialized, perhaps even more outrageous is that ComEd/Exelon’s so-called “Next Generation Energy Plan” GUARANTEES more than $1 billion in profits on program spending of just $2.4 billion for the first 10 years.
Instead of passing-through expenses with no mark-up for programs like energy efficiency, which has been done for years, NGEP forces ratepayers to borrow from ComEd and then pay guaranteed profits with no risk. It’s like a massive statewide predatory lending scheme.
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The great salesman
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* May 25th…
Amazon plans to more than double its presence in Joliet, adding a second warehouse that it says will add more than 2,000 full-time jobs to the 1,500 it announced last summer at its first Illinois warehouse.
And the state is rolling out the welcome mat, offering the online retail giant additional tax breaks expected to be worth at least $2 million a year for a decade. […]
Ikea and candy giant Mars also are building new distribution centers in the area, which has become a favorite for national retailers looking to serve the Chicago market, thanks to its transportation links and availability of affordable labor: Joliet in March had an 8.8 percent unemployment rate, well above the statewide average of 6.8 percent, according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security. […]
Increased demand for its same-day Amazon Prime delivery service and competition from other Internet retail operations, including Wal-Mart, are pushing it to expand the number of warehouses it operates. In addition to the Joliet warehouse, it also on Wednesday announced additional distribution centers in California.
Loving the jobs, but a company with a $338.55 billion market cap really needs another million bucks a year from us to open yet another much-needed warehouse near a gigantic profit center?
* The Illinois Policy Institute wasn’t all that fired up, either…
Bribing large corporations with tax breaks, though, isn’t what will revive Illinois’ sluggish economy and generate more jobs growth. In August 2015, when Amazon announced its first new warehouse and the new jobs that would come with it, it was revealed that the state had given the online retail giant tax breaks worth approximately $1 million annually – for 10 years. The Tribune now reports Amazon’s estimated tax breaks for the expanded facilities are worth $2 million annually. While more job opportunities are necessary for Illinois’ growing labor force, strong growth will not happen unless the state embraces reform rather than handouts.
* But, hey, it’s a done deal. So the state trumpeted all those new jobs and development, right? Nope…
Other governors have used such news to trumpet the good things about Illinois. But the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which is part of the governor’s administration, didn’t even issue a news release about the development.
A spokeswoman for the department led me to an Amazon news release. At least Rauner was quoted in that document.
“By expanding its investments and operations in Illinois, Amazon will employ thousands more hardworking residents to grow our economy,” Rauner said. “This expansion is a vote of confidence in the state’s new way of doing economic development in Illinois with the ILBEDC (the public-private Illinois Business and Economic Development Corp. Rauner formed by executive order) working alongside” DCEO.
I asked Rauner about the 2,000-job development for Will County after a roundtable discussion he had about property taxes and reform at Wiley Office Furniture in Springfield.
“Oh, there’s many companies that are trying to come here, or a few have come here, and many are leaving,” Rauner said. “We’ve been treading water. … I don’t want to go down the list today of the companies who are leaving, and who have announced cutbacks this year and last year. We’re treading water, and we’ve got to grow.”
Oy.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Today’s quotable
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bloomberg News…
“It’s the worst situation I can remember in the 50 years I’ve been around state government by far,” said former governor Jim Edgar, a Republican who served two terms in the 1990s. “Every day we go without a budget it gets much worse. It does permanent damage.”
…Adding… More…
*** UPDATE *** More from that Public Radio interview…
On whether voters understand the hardship resulting from the budget standoff
Oh, no, I don’t (think they understand). I think a lot of people haven’t been affected yet. Many have, and many are coming more and more to realize. But if you shut the schools down, you’d have a budget resolved in a matter of days. If you didn’t have any state workers, I think that’d put a lot of pressure on. A lot of state services are still being provided. A lot of people who don’t rely on specific grants from the state, I don’t think yet have felt it. They just think these guys are down there fighting and “why don’t they resolve it?” If you’re in education, particularly higher education; if you’re in social services; if you’re; in any program that relies on state funding, you know it. But there’s a lot of people who haven’t yet felt that.
I think more and more every day are, but still I don’t think there’s enough outcry to get this thing resolved. And that’ll have an impact. If the schools didn’t open … in the middle of August, I think by the end of August you’d have a budget. I think then you would have enough pressure that everybody would have to back off a little bit and find some compromise.
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Museum could re-open in July
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) announced today that the Illinois State Museum will re-launch Saturday, July 2, 2016 pending approval of the administrative rule that will allow the Department to charge an admission fee at the main museum campus.
The administrative rule is on the agenda for the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) meeting to be held June 14. With approval, the museum will be able to open about two weeks later. Initially, the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Dickson Mounds Museum near Lewistown and the Research and Collections Center in Springfield will officially open July 2. The IDNR continues to work with stakeholders in communities where other Illinois State Museum branches are located in hopes of securing partnerships that would allow those branches to open.
“IDNR has been working steadily through the JCAR process to establish the administrative rule to set an admission fee,” said IDNR Director Wayne Rosenthal. “By setting the admission fee, working closely with the Illinois State Museum Board and Illinois State Museum Society, we feel we are setting the Museum on a more sustainable path for the future.”
The administrative rule authorizes the Department to establish an admission fee for the Springfield campus of $5 for adults. Children under 18, seniors and veterans will be admitted free. The admission fee is part of a greater effort to diversify the sources of funding for the museum.
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Rahm kinda walks it back
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* When talking to reporters today about the lack of trust he and others have of Gov. Bruce Rauner, Mayor Rahm Emanuel was asked if he regretted these comments about the governor’s wife last week…
* Emanuel’s response…
* It actually took him a bit to wander into that sentence…
“Well, first of all, Ounce of Prevention did sue. I’ll take ownership if I got hot. But that doesn’t hide the fact that Ounce of Prevention sued, which does tell you, in my view, that the lack of trust and what’s in the breakdown has led to organizations not just Ounce of Prevention, but others. And I should have noted the Ounce of Prevention and not the First Lady. And that I own and I’m responsible for.”
But at least he got there.
* Raw audio…
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* 10:42 am - House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton told reporters after the leaders meeting that they had talked with the governor about his new stopgap budget proposal.
But Madigan said he “made it clear” to Rauner that while the budgeteers would work on the proposal, “this is not something that’s going to happen today.”
Word from inside is that Madigan only wanted to talk about a stopgap for this fiscal year, not next.
* Cullerton said that the governor’s proposal to increase K-12 funding by another $100 million, which would hold CPS harmless, was “inadequate” and would have to be negotiated.
“I expect the news will evolve over the day,” Madigan’s spokesman said as he ended the presser.
This post will be updated.
* 10:57 am - After saying last week that Senate President Cullerton’s idea for a stopgap amounted to “pulling the plug” on negotiations, the two Republican leaders said today that not passing their own stopgap proposal would prevent schools from opening and create a serious crisis.
Leader Radogno said that the Democrats’ refusal to pass a stopgap bill meant they were saying no to “minimal stability to this state.” Leader Durkin said there was plenty of time remaining to pass something, pointing to the hurried approval of the long-ago White Sox stadium bill.
Durkin also pointed out that passing the bill today, rather than waiting until later, would make it “easier” to get it done because it would only require simple majorities.
“They don’t care if the universities close, they don’t care if the schools close… it’s all about politics,” Radogno said of the Democrats.
And Durkin called on rank and file members to “force their leaders” to pass something today.
* Look, they’re not wrong here. An agreed bill is always preferable and there’s plenty of time to do this. It would also be much easier to pass this stopgap bill in the Senate than Madigan’s because rank and file Senate Democrats aren’t happy about Madigan’s proposal.
But, man, their overreaction to Cullerton’s proposal last week is gonna bite them hard. The budget director was trotted out last week to emphatically say he could not support a stopgap, but now he says he wants one and actually created his own. And then they leaked it to the media before handing it to the Democratic leaders. (And, yes, the House Democrats ran their own budget bill last week without talking to the governor first. Not good, either. Two wrongs, however, don’t make a right. Let’s get off the war footing for the rest of the day, shall we?)
* 11:07 am - The Illinois Republican Party is already out with a statement…
The Democrats’ Choice
Democrats’ Decision Today Will Show Whether They are Serious About Keeping Government Running or Intent on Running Illinois into the Ground
Democrats face a critical choice today. Their first option is to support Gov. Rauner’s paid-for budget proposal that ensures schools open in the fall and keeps critical operations, like state prisons, running. The other choice is for Democrats to pass a phony budget that is $7 billion in the hole and forces taxes to record highs.
“The Democrats’ real intentions will be revealed today,” said Illinois Republican Party spokesman Steven Yaffe. “They can either choose a balanced, paid-for budget that keeps schools and prisons open while work continues on critical reforms or they can pass the most unbalanced budget in state history, proving once-and-for-all that all Democrats want to do is crush Illinois under a mountain of debt, push taxes to the highest levels in state history and hold the state hostage to their outrageous anti-taxpayer demands.”
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[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Two nuclear plants in Illinois are on the brink of closing. While some have argued Illinois should do nothing, the costs of inaction would be devastating to the state’s economy, consumers, workers and our environment. What would it mean? According to an independent State of Illinois report, these plants closing will result in:
• Higher Electric Rates – Wholesale energy prices to rise by $439 million to $645 million annually for homes and businesses in the region.
• Major Economic and Job Losses – $1.2 billion annually in lost economic activity in Illinois and more than 4,200 highly skilled, good paying, full-time jobs lost.
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Members of the Illinois General Assembly: Vote YES on the Next Generation Energy Plan by May 31st, before it’s too late.
Learn more: http://www.nextgenerationenergyplan.com/
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Plug pulled on Exelon bill
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Turnaround Agenda and the budget aren’t the only things crashing and burning this year. Exelon’s bill isn’t being called for a vote…
The sponsor of a bill aimed at remaking Illinois’ electric utility landscape and saving the Clinton nuclear power plant said Monday the legislation won’t be passed before today’s deadline set by Exelon Corp.
And Exelon officials said they’d reveal “within the next few days” how the failure to pass the bill would affect the future of the power plant and its 700 employees.
Exelon had warned earlier that it needed the Legislature to act by May 31, or it would begin a lengthy process to shut down the 29-year-old nuclear plant by next summer. The plant about 30 miles west of Champaign makes up about half of the assessed valuation in DeWitt County. […]
The chief sponsor of SB 1585, Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, said groups involved in its negotiations had met as recently as last Friday.
“Time has run out,” said Trotter. “I’m disappointed because I saw and heard, by sitting in those meetings, that there was some movement. It was just one or two entities — and I’m not going to name them — who I think were intentially slowing the process down.
* The Peoria Journal Star’s editorial board doesn’t think that’s a bad thing, and they point to a local employer for proof…
Keystone Steel & Wire, which employs 1,000 here in the Peoria area and is among the last of its kind in the United States, has objected to the $1.1 million cost to its bottom line and the degree to which it imperils its workforce. The bill “threatens to put us at a competitive disadvantage in a fragile economy,” Keystone Vice President Mark Brachbill testified before a legislative committee earlier this month. “These cost increases will not be realized by neighboring states or our international competitors, which will make passing along the increased costs impossible in the current business climate.”
Meanwhile, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office opposes the current legislation, as does the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), the consumer watchdog group. Among the concerns is that there are not enough consumer protections, especially if prices rebound for the utility. Meanwhile, they think there is still time to explore better, perhaps market-based solutions to keep those plants open. Exelon seems to think not, saying “the capacity market alone can’t preserve zero-carbon emitting nuclear plants that are facing the lowest wholesale energy prices in 15 years.” We’d still prefer that all other options be exhausted first.
For its part, CUB acknowledges that the threat of plant closure is real, that this is a better bill than previous efforts — last year’s version would have sent $300 million annually Exelon’s way whether the plants were profitable or not, this year’s about half that — that it’s important to keep this more environmentally friendly, reliable energy source around. Nonetheless, “there is still significant work to be done relating to consumer protections, the role of Ameren, ensuring that there is a full and functional Renewable Portfolio Standard, and giving customers the tools to better manage their energy use … This is a step forward, but we’re not there yet.”
* Related…
* Why is Dynegy idling Illinois coal plants? It’s more complicated than ‘the war on coal’: Every year, MISO, the grid manager for Southern Illinois, Eastern Missouri and parts of 13 other states, holds a so-called “capacity auction” that determines the price paid to power plant operators that agree to be ready to pump electricity into the grid when demand is highest. Downstate Illinois is deregulated, so Ameren Illinois customers can shop for power from different sources. Most of MISO, on the other hand, is made up of regulated utilities such as Ameren Missouri that own both the wires and the power plants. They’re guaranteed a rate of return by state commissions. Dynegy argues that those regulated utilities don’t rely on the capacity auctions to recover costs but can sell their electricity into a deregulated market such as Southern Illinois at low prices that depress rates.
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Medical marijuana bill clears the House
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we’ve already discussed, a bipartisan deal was reached on extending and expanding the medical marijuana program. It advanced a notch yesterday…
The Illinois House has approved a plan to expand the state’s medical marijuana pilot program by two-and-a-half years and add post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illness to the list of allowed conditions.
Lawmakers voted 86-27 on Monday to advance the measure, which Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner supports. It now goes to the Senate, where it’s expected to pass.
Illinois’ four-year pilot program is set to sunset at the end of 2017. Under the bill, it will continue to July 1, 2020.
* Activists are cheering the progress…
“I’m thrilled,” said Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple, a family medicine physician in Glenview who is chairwoman of the advisory board. “We were all concerned that this whole thing was going to go away.”
Anne Berg, a pharmacist and the agent in charge at Professional Dispensaries of Illinois, a suburban Chicago cannabis dispensary, said they hear from many people, particularly veterans suffering from PTSD, who are looking for an alternative to other drugs that either have been ineffective or caused unwanted side effects.
“I think it’s really going to help,” Berg said Saturday. “We’re going to help some people for whom everything else has failed. People who are looking for another, safe option.”
Watch our live session coverage post for rapid updates.
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Dot points on the new GOP school plan
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The governor’s education czar Beth Purvis explains the new Republican-backed school funding plan…
HB6583/SB3434 does the following:
· Increases early childhood education by $75mm dollars. This will help CPS because the majority of new full-day early childhood seats supported by these dollars are in the Chicagoland area.
· Increase the GSA by $55mm, ending proration for the first time since
2009. Like other years, there will be natural variations in funding based on three factors:
o Enrollment
o % of children who live in poverty
o Local available resources
· Adds an additional $105mm to “hold harmless” schools that get less money in FY2017 than they got in FY2016
CPS:
o Over the last few years, CPS has seen a decrease in enrollment, a decrease in percentage of children who qualify for free and reduced lunch and an increase in property values. This resulted in their GSA being reduced by $74mm.
o $74mm of the $105mm will go to CPS to hold them harmless
o Additionally – by not changing the funding formula, the Block Grant stays in place. Every year, this grant has ensured that CPS gets approximately $250mm more for special education services than their proportional share of students with disabilities.
This funding proposal will:
o Hold CPS harmless even though they have fewer students, a lower percentage of children with poverty and higher property wealth than many other districts
o Ensure that CPS continues to get the special education and poverty grant dollars as in other years
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* More on yesterday’s veto override by the AP…
Chicago taxpayers will save $1 billion on police and fire pension costs in the short term under a law the General Assembly approved Monday after some House Republicans bucked their governor, who had railed against it as a ridiculous expansion of the Illinois’ growing pension hole.
The House voted 72-43 to override Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of the savings plan, which trumps state law that required the city to pump $4.62 billion into retirement accounts for police officers and firefighters through 2020.
The huge payments could have forced a $300 million property tax increase, Mayor Rahm Emanuel had warned. But Rauner countered that shorting payments will cost an extra $18.6 billion in interest during the next 40 years.
The House quickly followed the Senate in reversing the first-term governor, a businessman who has pounced on the issue of Illinois’ woeful pension funding — in municipal as well as state accounts — since he was a candidate.
* Tribune…
“I very respectfully disagreed with (Rauner),” said [GOP Rep. David Harris], who voted “present” on the bill last year. “I understand his logic in terms of saying that it’s kicking the can down the road, and it does stretch out the payments, absolutely. But at the same time, I believe the mayor has taken some really significant actions to try to address the problem.”
Harris said he notified House Republican leadership of his plans to override Rauner but emphasized his action was “totally separate and distinct” from the governor’s agenda, focused on pro-business changes and altering collective bargaining and workers’ compensation rules.
McSweeney said he voted for the override to prevent a tax hike in Chicago. “I looked at it and I’m not voting for a property tax increase. I never have, never will,” he said.
But opponents sought to play the regionalism card in arguing Chicago was seeking a special deal.
* Sun-Times…
Shortly after the veto, House Speaker Madigan and Cullerton walked to Rauner’s office for a leaders meeting. After the meeting, Madigan told reporters he thought it was “interesting” the governor “had nothing to stay about the override.”
“I was raised not to cause embarrassment for people so I didn’t raise it,” Madigan said.
* Politico…
Emanuel plans a news briefing this morning at City Hall where he’ll discuss “bipartisan” support for the pension funding bill. He’s expected to again unleash on Rauner.
* Gov. Rauner…
“It’s unfortunate that the legislature voted again to allow the City of Chicago to borrow $843 million at an interest rate of 7.75% from their pensions, putting an additional $18.6 billion on the backs of taxpayers. Clearly, those who supported this measure haven’t recognized what happens when governments fail to promptly fund pension obligations. Instead of kicking the can down the road, local and state governments should instead focus on reforms that will grow our economy, create jobs and enable us live up to the promises we’ve made to police and firefighters.”
* Mayor Emanuel…
“On Memorial Day I particularly want to thank the Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly for putting politics aside and doing the right thing for Chicago taxpayers, and for our first responders. We in the city agreed to step up and finally do our part to and responsibly fund these pensions, and I want to thank Springfield for doing their part as well. I also want to thank all our partners in labor, business groups and everyone else who stood up in support of this bill. I particularly want to thank Senate President Cullerton and Speaker Madigan for their leadership on behalf of the entire city. While for the first time in history our police and fire pensions will be funded appropriately, I will not rest until and Municipal and Laborers pensions are fully secured as well.”
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* Subscribers have lots more details, including the full budget office memo…
* The Tribune also got the GOMB memo…
[Rauner budget director Tim Nuding] called on lawmakers to pass a stand-alone bill to fund elementary and secondary schools, as well as companion legislation that would pay for homeless and domestic violence prevention programs, provide medical services and food for prisoners and veterans homes, ensure schools open on time this fall and pump $600 million into public universities and community colleges.
It would be paid for through a combination of tapping into the state’s “rainy day” fund and other specialized funds, not repaying $450 million the state borrowed last year to plug a different budget hole, and federal dollars.
“This proposal is not designed as a full-year budget. It is designed as a bridge plan that allows schools to open, keeps the lights on, protects public safety and prevents a government shutdown,” Nuding said. “It is fully funded and therefore fiscally responsible, unlike other potential short-term budget proposals that seek to impose piecemeal out-of-balance budgets for months at a time.”
It’s unclear how Democratic leaders will respond to the proposal. Cullerton said Monday he planned to push for a full-year budget backed by House Speaker Michael Madigan, which Nuding now pegs as being $7.5 billion out of balance. Madigan, meanwhile, has been cool to other suggestions for a short-term budget, saying his members are prepared to work throughout the summer.
* Related…
* Legislature sets up dramatic budget showdown with Rauner: Sources with knowledge of Democratic strategy expect the [Madigan] budget bill to pass out of the Democratic-controlled Senate today and to be forwarded to the governor by late June. That’s despite leaders’ talk of progress in working groups on Monday. “It’s over,” said one top strategist who asked not to be named.
* Illinois Democrats poised to defy governor’s budget veto threat: Senate President John Cullerton signaled his chamber could vote on a budget bill passed by the House last week, or on an alternative plan he declined to outline. He also said he was trying to round up votes for the House budget bill.
* Another year without a budget? Sure looking that way: “My view is that if there is no agreement by (Tuesday) night, I would ask the governor to keep his working groups functioning on a regular schedule because the House is going to be in continuous session,” Madigan said. “The House designees consistently report back to me that progress is being made and they want to stay at it.”… “The most important thing for the governor to do is pass the budget and not hold the state hostage,” Cullerton said. “He’s done that for a year and a half. He’s got to back off of these radical demands that he’s made over the last year and a half to finally pass a budget.”
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