* As I told subscribers earlier today, the Senate wasn’t consulted beforehand and won’t be back to town until after legislators receive their first paychecks with the COLA increases in them, which means there are some constitutional issues…
The Illinois House on Tuesday voted to repeal the annual cost-of-living increase that bumped up lawmakers’ salaries as Democrats who control the chamber tried to blunt Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s contention that legislators should not get raises while the state budget goes unresolved. […]
But a spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton said his office would have to review the constitutionality of the pay raise legislation. That’s because a Cook County court previously has ruled it would violate the state constitution for legislative salaries to be changed in the middle of a term. That court decision followed an effort in 2013 by then-Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn to hold up lawmaker pay as he tried to get them to send him a cost-cutting pension bill.
“It’s something that the court ruled, that, because of separation of powers, you can’t have a situation where the executive branch, like Gov. Quinn, holds up people’s salaries in order to force them to vote for a bill,” Cullerton said last week.
“Unfortunately, it’s the state constitution. And I think you would understand that if we didn’t like some judicial decision, we said, ‘Oh, Supreme Court, you’re working for $1 now,’ that would obviously not be a part of the separation of powers. It’s the same principle.”
A member shall receive a salary and allowances as provided by law, but changes in the salary of a member shall not take effect during the term for which he has been elected.
The salary changes were approved in the previous term. Once they start getting paychecks, it’s probably not legal to lower those salaries.
The big question is, though, would anybody have the, um, temerity to sue? Probably not.
* React from the governor’s office…
“Governor Rauner appreciates today’s action in the House and thanks all those members who showed leadership on this issue. We encourage President Cullerton to swiftly move this legislation to the governor’s desk for his signature. Governor Rauner is ready to work with Speaker Madigan, Leader Durkin and all members of the General Assembly to pass true structural reforms and a balanced budget.”
“The governor has staked out a position. He has said, ‘I want my diversionary issues, I want my non-budget issues and then, and then, I’ll talk about new money for a budget.’ That’s the governor’s position.
“We in the House have attempted to meet the governor half way.
“The governor has talked about workers’ compensation. The House has passed a bill that would do changes in workers’ compensation. That bill is in the Senate. That bill could be amended. There could be more changes done to the workers’ compensation system. I acknowledge that, people on our side of the aisle acknowledge that.
“But… But… We are not going to use the government to force people, injured workers, to welfare or to the emergency room. Let me repeat that. We are not going to use the government to force people, injured workers, to welfare or to the emergency room.
“The governor requested a change in the method of operation in the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity… The House, at the request of the governor, passed that bill.
The governor has talked in terms about the absolute necessity to freeze property taxes. There have been eleven opportunities in the House of Representatives to pass a bill that would freeze property taxes. You (pointing at the Republicans) have declined to participate in the passage of the bill.
“And today, again, at the governor’s request, in an effort to meet the governor half way as we have in the three prior instances, we’re going to call this bill. This bill is going to pass. At the request of the governor, we’re going to repeal, we’re going to suspend, the COLA adjustment for the salary for people in the Legislature for the current budget year.
“So, in four separate instances we’ve made a good faith effort to meet the governor half way.
“We ask the governor, ‘How do you respond?’ His response: ‘I have to have my agenda. As is. No change. If I get it, I’ll talk.’
“The best promise you get is, ‘I’ll talk.’
“So, we are at an impasse. We are involved in an historic struggle.
“And I repeat again, this bill is just another effort to meet the governor half way.”
“Governor Rauner’s directive to suspend the expenditure of state funds under the Supplemental Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is dangerous and prohibited under Illinois law – the Governor does not have the authority to take this measure, and it endangers the lives of vulnerable Illinoisans, including individuals over age 65, people with disabilities or who have chronic medical conditions, and children under the age of five.
LIHEAP funds help individuals survive extreme summer and winter temperatures–they prevent deaths and excessive emergency room hospitalizations and other public health costs often associated with heat-related illnesses. The Governor’s action will not save the state any money and could, in fact, significantly increase preventable public health costs.
Over 171,000 Illinois households rely on LIHEAP to provide them with adequate levels of heating and cooling. On average, there are over 600 heat-related deaths each year in the United States, with the highest percentage of deaths occurring among those older than 65 years. Cook County saw 18 deaths as recently as 2012.
Illinois’ Emergency Assistance Act requires the moneys from this fund to pay for electric or gas services on behalf of consumers (i.e. low-income individuals over age 65, people with disabilities and children under age 5) eligible for this program. The Act does not allow for any other use of the funds - which are collected by electric and gas public utilities from their ratepayers or through allowable donations outlined in the Act.
Before endangering the lives and well-being of our most vulnerable citizens during the extremes of Illinois’ summer and winter weather we strongly advise the Governor to reconsider the moral and legal ramifications of his decision.”
Another $75 million was borrowed from the Supplemental Low Income Energy Assistance Fund. The fund uses money from a state surcharge on utility bills to supplement federal funding that provides help to low-income families in paying their utility bills.
Rauner previously announced the supplemental LIHEAP program was being suspended July 1 because no balanced budget had been passed by the General Assembly. He said it was one of a series of steps he had to take to manage state finances in the absence of a budget.
However, if the budget is resolved, the fact the money was borrowed means less will be available for assistance if and when aid is resumed, said Dalitso Sulamoyo, of the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies.
“It’s great to join your listeners, and before we start I hope we can talk about it, it’s going to be blistering hot. It’s supposed to be 92 here in Springfield today. And remind all your listeners to work to stay cool. Help your neighbors, look out for folks, we’ve got to help people stay cool on these hot days.”
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has filed legislation that would block a controversial pay raise for lawmakers and one of his co-sponsors expects an almost-immediate vote.
Rep. David McSweeney said Tuesday that the legislation would block the 2 percent cost-of-living increase that lawmakers are due. McSweeney is Republican from Cary and a co-sponsor of the Democratic speaker’s legislation. McSweeney said he believes the full House will vote later Tuesday.
On Twitter Tuesday, Rep. Ron Sandack, R- Downers Grove, said: “House Reps tried for TWO weeks to advance our bill to suspend the Dems’ COLA raise. My, how things change, yes? #Duh”
And Rauner’s spokesman, Lance Trover, said in a statement, “As we approach the end of the month, Speaker Madigan and the politicians he controls have one final chance to side with Republicans and make a clean up or down vote on stopping themselves from getting an automatic pay increase.”
Madigan previously would not comment on the raises. But last week he told reporters the pay raise wasn’t in his spending plan.
“We did not appropriate for the pay raise or the COLA adjustment,” Madigan said.
The Illinois House today approved legislation to repeal the automatic cost-of-living adjustment that lawmakers recently received according to State Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills), one of the lead co-sponsors of the legislation. Legislators recently received a two percent automatic cost-of-living adjustment, which amounts to about an additional $1,563 annually. HB 576 eliminates the automatic COLA. The Senate must now pass the bill.
“Repealing the automatic pay increase is the right thing to do,” McSweeney said. “Giving legislators a pay increase when we have not passed a permanent budget is unconscionable. Now that we have rejected the pay increase, let’s finish doing our job and pass a permanent budget without raising taxes.”
Legislators are required by law to accept the COLA, which began on July 1st. McSweeney has already donated the full yearly amount of the COLA to charity. He donated $781.50 to the McHenry County Pioneer Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and disabled people achieve their full potential as individuals. He also donated an additional $781.50 to the Night Ministry, a non-profit group that helps homeless children and adults.
McSweeney has voluntarily cut his own pay and district office budget by 10%. He’s also not going to accept his paychecks until the state budget crisis is solved. Earlier this year, McSweeney introduced House Bill 1313 which eliminates COLA’s for legislators and forces them to take furlough days.
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Below is a map of stories from across Illinois of people and organizations that are feeling the pain of the current Illinois government shutdown. Click on the individual map marker to learn more about the impact this state government shutdown has had on an organization or Illinoisan.
* You can also click the navigation icon in the upper left for a list of stories. The map…
Madigan said he keeps the mass card from the funeral of [the late Mayor Richard J. Daley’s] late wife, Eleanor “Sis” Daley, bearing a photo of the couple, mounted on his desks in Springfield and his Chicago law office.
“So, when I’m sitting there and trying to make a tough decision, I’ll look over at him and just ask myself, ‘What would he do?’ It’s very helpful,” Madigan said.
Asked by Remini if Richard J. Daley was a “boss,” Madigan said:
“Absolutely, he was a boss. He should be. He had to be a boss. Everywhere in life, everywhere in the world, there has to be bosses,” said Madigan, whose own strong but deft ruling style long ago earned him the nickname the Velvet Hammer.
* Amanda Vinicky reports that the Illinois attorney general’s office has filed a request to extend the August 6th deadline to appeal the state Supreme Court’s pension ruling to the top court in the land…
[AG Madigan’s] office on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an extension, so it’ll have until Sept. 10 to [file an appeal].
John Fitzgerald, an attorney for retired public school teachers, says they’ll fight it.
“This is entirely a matter of Illinois State Law. There is no basis for the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.”
The Attorney General’s petition says the pension case “raises important questions” about states’ rights to use police powers to modify contracts, like public pensions.
“The principal questions presented are (1) whether the reserved powers doctrine prevents a State from abdicating its police powers authority to modify its own contractual obligations in extreme circumstances that imperil the general welfare and (2) if not, whether the Illinois Supreme Court identified the correct standard by which the validity of a State’s exercise of its police power is judged.”
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** From the AG’s office…
We have asked for an extension of the deadline to file a cert petition, which is a fairly routine request. With the decision in the City of Chicago’s pension case late last week, we are continuing to consider all of the arguments and the best next step.
Doesn’t sound like any final decisions have been made.
* That AFSCME memo last week which talked about the possible use of the Illinois National Guard in case of a strike caught the attention of Kurt Erickson…
“The Illinois National Guard will not comment about our internal planning, particularly in regards to speculation of what the Governor might or might not order the National Guard to do in a scenario that may or may not happen,” Lt. Col. Brad Leighton said in an email.
Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly did not deny that a National Guard deployment is under consideration.
* But a former Illinois Guard top commander is opposed…
State Rep. David Harris, an Arlington Heights Republican who served as adjutant general from 1999 to 2003, said he would advise Gov. Bruce Rauner against such a move.
“It’s a terribly impractical and, in my opinion, inadvisable idea,” Harris said Monday. “You’re going to replace paper-pushers — with all due respect to bureaucrats — with people who carry M-16s and .45 pistols?”
Time Running Out to Stop Legislator Pay Raise
– Legislators have until Friday to stop pay hike –
– Pantagraph Newspaper: “Legislator Pay Hike Another Insult to Taxpayers” –
As Illinois legislators head back to Springfield, tomorrow will mark House members’ last chance to stop a pay raise worth more than $1350 before they get paid Friday, July 31.
House Bill 4225 would stop the pay raises, but Speaker Madigan and the legislators he controls refuse to vote on it.
I also happen to think that legislators shouldn’t have authorized a cost of living hike this year. But the structure of that press release is very similar to hundreds I’ve seen from campaigns over the years.
I mean, really, this is the same guy who structures a deal to give his education superintendent a Tier 1 pension.
* Even so, this particular campaign attack might actually work. People understand it and they absolutely hate this stuff…
1978: A lame-duck Legislature votes to raise its $20,000 pay by 40 percent over two years, setting off a protest organized by then-activist and former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. It culminated in a 1980 ballot measure to reduce the size of the House of Representatives by one-third, to 118 members.
So, if the Rauner folks are trying to drive a wedge between politically vulnerable Democratic legislators and Speaker Madigan, this is their best bet.
And if Madigan does go along with those members’ wishes, then everybody else is gonna be upset because they’re not getting pay raises.
It’s a winning issue for the governor.
I still highly doubt this will get us to a deal, however. The pay raise stuff won’t lead to blatantly anti-union laws or whatever.
Mitsubishi Motors North America announced July 24 that it will close down the company’s production facilities in Normal, Illinois, jeopardizing the jobs of 918 workers who are represented by the United Automobile Workers union, or UAW.
“We do not have a statement at this time, however, as an organization, we continuously assess our supply chain to ensure we remain competitive and best positioned to serve our customers,” Mitsubishi North America spokesman Dan Irvin told the Journal Star.
Of all the Japanese-owned auto factories in the U.S., the Normal plant is the only one where hourly workers are represented by the UAW, according to the Pantagraph.
The fact of the matter is that manufacturers in Illinois cannot remain competitive given the state’s absurd regulatory and business climate. And it’s no mystery why businesses leave. […]
Notably, Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan has failed to acknowledge these realities. In refusing to speak about policy errors affecting the state’s middle class, Madigan has offered no thoughts on the causes of Illinois’ manufacturing exodus nor solutions for how to fix the problem.
Mitsubishi, once a bastion of low-priced, sporty models, has struggled in the U.S. for a long time… While a recent sales uptick has helped Mitsubishi claim success, that’s only because the numbers have been so low. The company’s 49,544 units last year weren’t even a quarter of the company’s 2002 peak, when more than 345,000 Mitsus flew out the door… Cars like the awesome 3000GT are no more (with the Lancer Evolution soon to follow), and dealers have little competitive product until the refreshed 2016 Outlander plug-in, next Lancer, and Mirage sedan reach our shores.
“This difficult decision follows years of challenge to remain viable, and was compelled by the combination of insufficient U.S. sales and low production capacity utilization,” Hiroshi Harunari, executive vice president in charge of overseas operations for Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said in the statement. “We greatly value the work of all of our employees in Normal and want to stress that our motivation to exit from this facility is unrelated to labor costs or our relationship with the UAW.
“Our partnership over the years has been both respectful and mutually beneficial. Our primary focus right now is to work together to identify a strategic buyer for the plant in order to transit into next phase.”
[Normal Mayor Chris Koos] said company officials told him the reason for the decision was tied to a decline in Russian sales of the Outlander Sport, which has been built at the plant since 2012.
All that being said, finding a manufacturer to move into that building ain’t gonna be easy, considering our high costs of doing business here.
And it is true that Speaker Madigan has not proposed anything major this year to help our manufacturing base.
The CTA, Metra and Pace would lose almost $130 million in state funding under the 2016 budget plan that Gov. Bruce Rauner presented Wednesday, potentially threatening transit services provided to disabled riders and opening the door to deep service cuts and fare increases for daily commuters on trains and buses, transit officials said. […]
Meanwhile, paratransit services, which are provided through Pace under the Americans with Disabilities Act, would lose about 15 percent of the state funds, or $8.5 million, according to the RTA.
Customers pay $3 per ride, while the cost to provide the federally mandated ADA service is roughly $40 per ride, officials said. The service’s projected annual cost is $172 million, while revenue from fares totals about $14 million, Pace spokesman Patrick Wilmot said. […]
Federal law prohibits transit agencies from discriminating against people with disabilities because transportation is a civil right.
The CTA issued this response: “Eliminating or reducing the $28 million reimbursement for a free and reduced fare rides for seniors and riders with disabilities would place a further burden on a state-mandated program that is already woefully underfunded.”
More than 50,000 people are currently using paratransit to get around at a cost of more than $2800 a year per person – a price tag that cuts deep into an agency that stands to lose millions in funding.
* From this past weekend…
25 years ago, President Bush signed the historic Americans with Disabilities Act, ensuring equal opportunities for all Americans.
* Illinois’ prison population is decreasing. Part of that is because of an early release program for good behavior. Part of it is upstream…
In 2009, for example, the [Department of Corrections] processed 27,400 inmates into the prison system. In the most recent fiscal year, statistics show that number has fallen to 19,600. […]
A review of statistics compiled by IDOC shows that in all but 21 of Illinois 102 counties — most of them smaller, more rural jurisdictions — the number of inmates heading to state correctional facilities has dropped.
In 2009, for example, Cook County sent 13,406 inmates into the system. In the most recent fiscal year, that number dropped to 10,268.
Similar decreases took place through the state, with McLean County’s numbers dropping from 462 inmates in 2009 to 274 in the most recent fiscal year.
Part of the reason for that is the state’s drug courts, which have reduced the number of people being sent to prison.
There’s a word that’s emerged prominently in the coverage surrounding the traffic stop, arrest and subsequent jailhouse death of Sandra Bland that’s worth study.
* Natasha talks to Sen. Kwame Raoul about his “body cam” bill, which does so much more…
In Illinois, Raoul has co-sponsored sweeping law enforcement reform legislation that awaits Gov. Bruce Rauner’s signature. Raoul said elements of the legislation go directly toward addressing the kinds of things that went wrong after Bland’s police encounter.
It’s a traffic stop, recall, that is happening in a post-Ferguson and post-Baltimore era, where racially-charged, police incidents in those cities have heightened tensions across the nation. […]
Those incidents helped drive the legislation in Illinois, SB1304, which sets out clear procedures for the use of body cameras and dashcam cameras. The bill bans Illinois police officers to use chokeholds, unless the use of deadly force is warranted. It requires police to fill out “receipts” for those individuals — including pedestrians — who are “frisked” or patted down but not arrested. Police would have to detail the reason for stopping the person, detailing that person’s race and logging any contraband or other personal items taken from the person.
The provisions work to place additional checks on police authority while also providing police officers evidence if they later face misconduct allegations.
While the words “escalation” or “de-escalation” do not appear in the text of the 174-page bill, the legislation includes clauses requiring additional police training every three years on “constitutional and proper use of law enforcement authority, procedural justice, civil rights, human rights and cultural competency.”
A key component to that training, Raoul says, is practicing scenarios like the one that confronted Encinia that day.
In a video posted to YouTube, dozens of community members could be seen visibly upset that Chicago Police had removed the car from the crime scene with the bodies of Thomas and Wallace still inside. The video is titled: “So damn disrespectful, this is just not right . . .”
The crowd can be seen shouting, swearing and aggressively approaching police, prompting one officer to ready his baton and hold it in the air.
The video, by user “Jay Hustle,” has garnered more than 700,000 views on various social media sites, including Facebook.
“They tow the car with a body hanging out of the window,” Hustle can be heard saying. “When did it become procedure to tow a car with a deceased body hanging out of a window with a repo truck? Only in Chicago.” […]
“From time to time, depending on the unique circumstances of the death, bodies may be left in vehicles and removed in private area at the ME’S office [CPD responded]. This would be done to protect the integrity of the crime scene (the car) while at the same time preserving the dignity of the deceased by handling their bodies in a private area rather than on the street in full view of onlookers.
But if you watch the video, which contains quite a bit of profanity, you’ll notice how calm the CPD officers are and how they patiently de-escalate the situation, despite being vastly outnumbered.
I dunno about the car towing thing, but those coppers are top notch.
* There is some chatter behind the scenes, but it doesn’t mean anything as long as Sen. Kirk is moving forward with his campaign. And he’s definitely doing that…
Pssst!
Sneed hears rumbles top Republican Party stalwarts are worried U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., who suffered a massive stroke in 2012, may not have the energy to win re-election.
“The last race for the U.S. Senate seat between Kirk and Dem senatorial hopeful Alexi Giannoulias was a bruiser, and the next race will be heavily funded by the Democratic Party,” said a top GOP source. (U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. and attorney/former Urban League President Andrea Zopp have entered the Dem primary fray.)
Kirk, who had to learn how to walk again and has struggled with speech issues, has dealt recently with verbal gaffes, one of which required him to offer a one-line apology recently after he was caught on a hot microphone referring to U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a bachelor, as a “bro with no ho.”
More recently, Kirk’s performance while questioning Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray at a Senate Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Committee hearing was described as “disastrous” by a top Republican insider who asked not to be identified.
* From the Kirk campaign…
The Kirk For Senate campaign launched a new ad, titled “Headed to Trial”, in response to Rep. Duckworth’s second negative ad in just the last two months. The new video highlights Rep. Duckworth’s upcoming trial as the motive behind her torrent of negative advertising aimed at Senator Kirk.
“Next month, Rep. Duckworth and her taxpayer-paid legal team are scheduled to be in court facing charges that Duckworth violated the state ethics act by attempting to silence whistleblowers during her time as Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Kevin Artl, campaign manager for Kirk for Senate. “The launch of the negative ad by Rep. Duckworth is meant to distract the public from her own mounting legal troubles as yet another member of the Blagojevich administration is headed to trial.”
Background on the upcoming Duckworth Trial:
In 2009, two employees of the Anna Veterans Home sued Tammy Duckworth as an individual in Union County Circuit Court for violations of the State of Illinois Officials and Employees’ Ethics Act. Duckworth is accused of silencing a whistleblower, wrongful termination, humiliating an employee and approving inaccurate performance reviews that rendered the plaintiffs ineligible for bonuses or raises. The first pre-trial hearing of this case is set for August 4, 2015.
“Words have ceased to have meaning now that Mark Kirk has called another campaign ‘desperate.’ Let’s consider just the past week: in response to his over-the-top reaction to the Iran nuclear agreement, Kirk was called the ‘love child of Ted Cruz and Michele Bachman’ in one editorial and ‘a political loose cannon’ in another; a second prominent political handicapper moved the race to ‘Lean Democratic’ from ‘Toss-up;” and Republicans are now talking openly about his ‘disastrous’ campaign. I could go back further to his sexist and racially insensitive comments about a ‘bro with no ho’ and people ‘driving faster through’ African American neighborhoods, but you get the point. Senator Kirk’s campaign is in free fall, and no amount of misdirection can change the fact that Illinois families are tired of his reckless and obnoxious rhetoric.” — Matt McGrath, Democratic Party of Illinois spokesman
* When the Democratic leaders say all they heard at the latest meeting with the governor was talking points, this is what they mean…
Cullerton said he’s willing to meet with Rauner anytime the governor asks.
But, Cullerton was asked, why wait on the governor? Why not set up his own meeting with Rauner and the leaders? Cullerton replied that it was possible but probably not fruitful.
“If it’s like the other meetings, we sit there and the guy reads off a sheet of paper and nothing changes,” Cullerton said.
I asked a prominent state lawmaker the other day when he thought the state budget stalemate might end.
“August,” he replied, before Illinois becomes even more of a national laughingstock than it is today. “Or December,” so voters can have the holiday “gift” of a fiscal 2016 spending plan while much of fiscal 2016 actually remains. “But I really don’t know.”
Governor Bruce Rauner’s attorneys say the governor’s schedules are private, and that revealing the identity of people he’s meeting with could be used to “determine the substance and direction of his judgment and mental processes.”
* The SJ-R follows up on a story here about how the Rauner administration is attempting to recruit retirees to take over for state workers in case of a strike…
Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly didn’t deny that the calls are being made.
“We are actively pursuing all options to continue important services in the event that AFSCME chooses to strike, rather than agree to proposals similar to those recently ratified by the Teamsters,” Kelly said.
A Teamsters local representing about 350 workers in Cook County recently agreed to a new contract that included a four-year wage freeze, but incentive bonuses.
AFSCME said the fact the administration is contacting retirees about returning to work “is the smoking gun that shows Gov. Rauner is seeking to cause a crisis.”
“It echoes his repeated threats on the campaign trail to shut down state government and the public services it provides in order to strip the rights of public service workers and drive down their middle-class standards of living,” said AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall. “Our union has never had a strike in state government. State employees don’t want to be forced to strike.”
Last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner declared to reporters that if it wasn’t for House Speaker Michael Madigan, the budget impasse would’ve been resolved.
And perhaps if the sky was green, then grass might be blue.
For starters, what the governor said was highly doubtful. It’s not like in the absence of Madigan that Senate President John Cullerton and his liberal Democratic caucus would’ve eagerly gone along with the harshly anti-union aspects of Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” in exchange for a budget deal and tax hike, as the governor is demanding.
Cullerton confirmed that fact just a day after Rauner made his remarks.
“This is a supermajority of Democrats and a bunch of pro-union Republicans in this state,” Cullerton told reporters. “This isn’t, you know, Oklahoma or Kansas. And so he’s got to understand, he ran for governor of Illinois,” he said of Rauner.
The governor is demanding things that Democrats just won’t ever go along with, like all but eliminating collective bargaining rights for unions at the local government level, killing off the prevailing wage for construction workers, and doing away with the mostly “no fault” aspect of the workers’ compensation system.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is more conservative than Cullerton, and he’d like to see some changes to the workers’ comp system, but he has taken the side of unions in this ideological war as well.
Plus, let’s get real here. There is no “absence” of Mike Madigan. He is, love him or hate him (and, if the polls are right, most people hate him), a fact of Statehouse life.
It’s true that Madigan hasn’t been cooperative during the long overtime legislative session. He even intervened in the Senate to prevent Cullerton from passing a compromise bill on property taxes this month.
Cullerton’s proposal attempted to address one of Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” demands of a two-year property tax freeze while making sure Chicago schools and other struggling school districts around the state weren’t harmed.
The bill was opposed by the Chicago Teachers Union, which nonetheless called it “well-intentioned.” The Chicago Teachers Pension Fund also opposed the bill because it changed the pension payment “ramp” schedule for the city’s school system. The Republicans, of course, were also opposed, because the governor wants to get rid of most collective bargaining rights for teachers unions as part of his proposal.
For all of those reasons, plus one, Cullerton’s measure received 32 “yes” votes—four short of the three-fifths majority needed during an overtime session.
The “plus one” angle is that Speaker Madigan was also opposed. If you check the roll call, Sen. Martin Sandoval, who is Madigan’s senator, didn’t vote even though he was in the chamber during the roll call. Sen. Steve Landek, whom Madigan appointed to the Senate four years ago, voted “present.”
The Senate Democrats were aware that Madigan was working against the bill, but Cullerton went ahead with the roll call anyway. Cullerton believes he has the votes to pass the legislation when his chamber returns to town in August.
Look, I won’t excuse any of his actions, but others have found a way to make a deal with Madigan. Heck, even Rod Blagojevich did, and he did so after he accused the chairman of the Democratic Party of being a Republican.
So, enough with the excuses and the eliminationist fantasies. If the governor wants an agreement, then he has to step away from his far-right economic agenda and find some practical solutions to this mess or we will never even get to talking about a budget.
Democrats (and a whole lot of Republicans) are simply not going to vote to eviscerate labor unions. Period. This isn’t so much a personality clash with one stubborn House speaker as it is an ideological war with more than half the state.
Successful governors have always found a way to bridge the oftentimes yawning gaps between the various interests and power centers.
I don’t disagree at all with the governor that we need some economic reforms to spur some much-needed growth. But if this governor was serious about breaking the logjam, he’d find a way to do that in concert with a Democratic supermajority.
