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* Democratic Party of Illinois e-mail blast to party members…
Illinois is on the verge of making history by supporting hard-working people and their families with an increased minimum wage of $15 an hour.
Governor Pritzker is determined to pass this critical legislation by the end of the month. It’s an aggressive but achievable goal with your help. Please reach out to your legislators and ask them to support SB1, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford and State Representative Will Guzzardi.
I know you agree that Illinoisans deserve a raise. Supporting higher wages means building a stronger Illinois with better-paying jobs, increased consumer spending and a growing economy.
Consider these facts from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute*:
* Studies find that minimum wage hikes boost worker earnings while having little to no negative impact on employment. In addition, there is evidence that worker turnover falls following a minimum wage hike, reducing employer costs.
* A $15 minimum wage could mean a $6,000 raise for more than 1.4 million Illinois workers, lifting more than 200,000 workers out of poverty and generating $380 million annually in state income and sales taxes.
* A $15 minimum wage would have the largest impacts on communities outside of the Chicago area. While a $15 minimum wage would boost earnings by about $5,000 for directly affected workers in the Chicago area, it would raise annual incomes for low-wage workers by more than $8,000 in the Springfield area, more than $7,000 in the Rockford area, and more than $6,000 in the St. Louis area.
Despite strong support across all regions of the state, Illinois has not increased the minimum wage since July 2010. Now is the time to stand up for working men and women in Illinois.
Join the effort to increase the minimum wage at Raise the Wage. Together we can fight for Illinois families and build a stronger future for Illinois.
With kindest personal regards, I remain
Sincerely yours,
Michael J. Madigan
Chairman
The “Raise the Wage” link takes you to DPI’s website.
* This pitch is pretty rich in irony for more than one reason. Tribune editorial…
Mind you, Democrats could have passed and gotten signed into law a statewide minimum wage hike years ago. It has been stuck at $8.25 since 2010. Former Gov. Pat Quinn, with a Democrat-led legislature from 2009 to 2014, begged lawmakers to send him a bill.
The Senate tried to send him a minimum wage hike, but Speaker Madigan wouldn’t forward anything to the governor’s desk.
* Also, Madigan said this earlier in the week…
“This is a governor’s initiative. This is a request by the governor. It’s Gov. Pritzker that wants to raise the minimum wage.”
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* You will recall that Gov. Pritzker and Attorney General Raoul announced a meeting between the Illinois EPA, the US EPA and Sterigenics yesterday.
I followed up today to see what happened. From the governor’s office…
While there were several issues discussed Thursday with representatives from the U.S. EPA, Sterigenics and the Illinois EPA, this administration must see more immediate, concrete steps taken to secure residents’ health and safety. In the absence of concrete steps, we will work with the Office of the Attorney General to exercise all available legal authority to protect the community.
Sounds like nothing much happened.
*** UPDATE *** From the AG’s office…
Representatives from the Attorney General’s Office participated in a meeting yesterday with representatives from the Illinois EPA, the U.S. EPA and Sterigenics. We continue to urge the U.S. EPA to act immediately and decisively to protect the health and safety of families living near the Willowbrook facility, and we will work with Governor Pritzker’s administration to exercise all available legal authority if necessary. Due to the urgency of this situation, the Attorney General’s Office, along with DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin’s Office, will file a brief this afternoon urging the federal court to remand the ongoing lawsuit back to state court as quickly as possible.
Not sure what that’ll do, but OK.
* Related…
* Local Elected Officials Call on EPA to Shut Down Willowbrook Sterigenics: Congressman Dan Lipinski and Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, along with other elected officials, are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to “immediately shut down Sterigenics in Willowbrook.” Joining Willowbrook Mayor Frank Trilla and other elected leaders, the group plans to host a press conference outside the EPA Region 5 building in downtown Chicago.
* Burr Ridge Calls For Immediate Shutdown Of Sterigenics
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Question of the day
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From the governor’s transition report…
Pensions and debt management
Illinois must take significant steps to make substantial progress in confronting its unfunded pension liabilities. Concentrating on one area will not be sufficient. Instead, a portfolio of initiatives across different levers will likely be required.
Increase funding to the pension system
Opportunities exist to find unique and new ways to increase funding. The state could apply a direct revenue stream to help pay down the pension debt. These revenue streams could have provisions to ensure they are only used for payment of pension debt and benefits. Asset transfers could also be used as a means to add value to pension systems. For example, if the state were to move an asset to a pension fund, it could be used to reduce the unfunded liabilities for the pension system and increase the funding ratio, leading to potentially reduced interest costs on pension debt.
Improve the investment engine
The returns that Illinois currently achieves on its pension funds could also be increased by improving the investment engine. To generate higher returns and with the added benefit of enhanced efficiency, Illinois could work with local constituencies to consolidate pension funds for similar systems within verticals (e.g., fire, public safety). This move would help smaller funds not only achieve higher returns but also reduce the cost of fund administration and give managers greater visibility into investment decisions and trade-offs.
Re-shape the pension payment curve
To put the pension funds on a more sustainable path, the committee discussed whether the state could consider re-shaping the pension payment curve. For instance, the state could create a sustainable amortization schedule combined with other changes to improve the system which could meet short term budget needs while improving the funded ratio in the long term. The goal here is to find a rational payment plan that increases the funded ratio each year while still meeting the cost of paying benefits to current and future retirees. Such action would need to be taken in conjunction with changes that increase funding, improve investments, and/or increase stability such that debt markets see that Illinois is serious about comprehensively solving the pension funding deficiency.
Modernize Bonded Debt Provisions
Illinois should also explore ways to improve its existing bonded indebtedness provisions to provide government officials with more flexibility in managing debt. The state should consider changes including but not limited to: maturity limitations, current statutory refunding and/or restructuring requirements within constitutional limitations, and available security. This could help the state create innovative financial vehicles to manage all of its debt including the pension debt while also strengthening Illinois’ creditworthiness.
* The Question: What do you think about the highlighted idea of moving state assets into the pension funds?
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Step brothers
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* Greg Hinz…
Chicago and Illinois may be getting back into the race to attract Amazon’s prized HQ2—at least the half that was supposed to go to New York City.
A source close to Gov. J.B. Pritzker says he already has been on the phone to the company in light of a story earlier today in the Washington Post that the company is reconsidering locating half of its second headquarters in New York City, where a proposed location in the Long Island City section of Queens has drawn intense local opposition.
“Gov. Pritzker immediately called Amazon earlier this morning to make a full-throated pitch to attract these good-paying jobs to Illinois and assure them that they would have a strong partner in the governor’s office,” said a high-ranking administration source, speaking on background.
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Mayoral candidate Toni Preckwinkle supports Governor JB Pritzker’s efforts encouraging Amazon to reconsider Chicago including South Side locations for its HQ2 site.
“Chicago was initially considered for Amazon’s new headquarters and the economic opportunity is certainly welcome here,” said Toni, who was a part of the original Amazon pitch team last year. “Structured in the right way, this type of development would bring tens of thousands of good-paying jobs to the South Side and provide an influx of new economic activity into some of Chicago’s most disinvested neighborhoods.”
The HQ2 would bring an estimated 25,000 jobs to the City. Recently, Toni has pushed her plan to implement a $15 minimum wage in Chicago by 2021, which attracts the workforce needed for this kind of high-paying employer.
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Rep. Guzzardi rips Ald. Moreno for mailer
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Ald. Moreno mailer…
* Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago)…
Alderman Joe Moreno recently sent campaign literature that included my name and likeness. The alderman did not receive, nor did he request, my consent to appear in this mailer. And while the statement made in the piece is factually correct — he did support my campaign in 2014 — I believe the mailer makes a misleading implication. I have not endorsed Alderman Moreno’s re-election campaign. I have been increasingly troubled in recent years by both his personal and his professional conduct. I urge voters in the First Ward not to confuse my appearance in Moreno’s literature with my support for his candidacy.
Moreno, of course, has a few other problems to deal with.
…Adding… Press release…
Today, in response to State Representative Will Guzzardi’s statement indicating Joe Moreno had not received his endorsement for reelection or even permission to use his likeness in a mailer sent to 1st Ward voters, 1st Ward Aldermanic candidate Daniel La Spata, released the following statement:
“Joe Moreno continues to make news this week for all the wrong reasons. It’s shameful that he’s trying to mislead 1st Ward voters and distract from his record of selling out our ward by engaging in the machine-style politics that have held this city back. But he’s not fooling anyone.
“1st Ward voters see right through his misdirection and excuses. They know Moreno’s failed record and they’ve seen his character, especially over the last week. That’s why in 18 days they’re going to throw him out of office and support my campaign. Our ward needs an alderman focused on making housing affordable and improving our schools, not one constantly distracted by personal problems and controversies.”
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Unclear on the concept
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Will County Patch…
The Will County Sheriff’s Office continues to step up its efforts to eradicate marijuana from Will County. Last week, 25-year-old Princeton resident Zachary Sterling and 27-year-old Spring Valley resident William Wightman were taken away in handcuffs. Both have been charged at the Will County Courthouse with a Class 3 felony, unlawful possession of marijuana.
The complaint states that their arrests occurred during the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 26. The two out of town co-defendants “knowingly and unlawfully possessed more than 500 grams of any substance containing marijuana.” […]
Wightman’s bail was set at $40,000. Sterling’s bail was set at $50,000. Both men posted the necessary 10 percent to bond out of jail several hours after their arrest. They did not stay overnight at the Will County Jail. Wightman’s mugshot is at the top of this article.
Anyway, if you figured the election of J.B. Pritzker as the new governor of Illinois would suddenly mean the end of the state’s criminal laws prohibiting marijuana use, that has yet to happen.
I can’t decide which is worse: The use of junk science and hysteria by opponents (including Sen. Dick Durbin) or the impatience and bizarre ignorance of some proponents.
Elections don’t decide issues in Illinois. The General Assembly does. That takes a bit of time.
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Minimum wage odds and ends
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* I told subscribers about this earlier in the week…
Now the [minimum wage] bill is set to go to the House, where Speaker Michael Madigan told his caucus he will call and vote for it.
* Tribune…
Illinois’ minimum wage of $8.25 has stood since 2010, even as Chicago and Cook County have raised theirs. Now the bill to raise the statewide wage moves to the House, where Democrats led by Speaker Michael Madigan could change the proposal before it lands on Pritzker’s desk. But top Democrats including the new governor said Thursday that they do not believe changes are needed. […]
“I anticipate the speaker will support the bill,” Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said after the Senate vote.
This sure looks like a go.
* WSIL TV…
“I have a lot of people in small towns in my district that are worried that jobs are going to go to Missouri,” [Sen. Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo] said.
The minimum wage in Missouri is currently higher than it is in Illinois, $8.60 vs. $8.25 per hour. If this current bill becomes law, Illinois’ minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour on January 1st of next year, but Missouri’s will rise to $9.35. Illinois, however, will surpass Missouri over the next 12 months, when this state’s minimum wage will rise by $1.75 an hour and Missouri’s will only go up by 75 cents.
* Capitol News Illinois…
Although no Republicans voted for the bill – and several spoke against it on the floor, citing concerns about businesses leaving the state, unforeseen costs on schools and universities and the potential for job loss for low-wage employees – Pritzker said conservative voices helped shape the legislation.
“I talked personally with several senators to make sure their ideas were incorporated. I talked with many of the interest groups that represent businesses, and Republican interests, to incorporate those into the bill,” Pritzker said during a news conference in his office at which no elected Republicans were present.
He did talk to a lot of legislators and business groups, but this is basically the same bill that passed in 2017, except for I think the gratuities credit, which was kept in place at the behest of the restaurants. They are essentially the fig leaf providing political cover here. Not saying that’s a bad or good thing, just saying what it is.
* Public Radio…
Republicans like state Sen. Dan McConchie from Hawthorn Woods argued there should be smaller increases downstate, where the cost of living is lower.
“A one size fits all approach is exactly the wrong solution for an aggressive measure of this sort,” McConchie said.
Sponsoring Sen. Kimberly Lightford, a Democrat from Maywood, said working class people across the state are struggling to exceed the poverty level.
“How do you tell your constituents that—that they don’t deserve to be paid fair wages because of the part of the state they live in?” she asked the Republican senators.
That’s basically the heart of the disagreement over regionalizing the wage.
* Pantagraph…
Illinois State University President Larry Dietz said Thursday that increasing the minimum wage from $8.25 to $9.25 an hour — the first-phase increase in the legislation — “would cost us about $600,000.”
“The cost would be $7.5 million once the concept is fully implemented,” he said, referring to the $15 rate that would take effect in 2025.
* There was also talk yesterday during debate about the cost to Southern Illinois University Carbondale. So, I reached out to the campus spokesperson for the annual breakdown…
Hi Rich. The annual cost grows as the rate increases, culminating in $6.96 million annually in 2025. Increases are tied to the dates in the proposed legislation. Rounded, it looks like this:
Jan 1. 2020: $664,000
July 1, 2020: $585,000 (cumulative $1.25 million)
Jan 1: 2021: $817,000 ($2.07 million)
Jan 1, 2022: $912,000 ($2.98 million)
Jan. 1, 2023: $1.05 million ($4.03 million)
Jan. 1, 2024: $1.31 million ($5.35 million)
Jan. 1, 2025: $1.61 million ($6.96 million)
* SJ-R…
Before the Senate vote, Pritzker met with Senate Democrats for nearly 30 minutes to solidify support for the bill. Lightford said Democrats were given “reassurance from the governor that we will continue to work on budget concerns.”
Those concerns stem from schools, human services organizations and others who rely on state financing, but also must comply with the higher minimum wage.
“My administration will propose a balanced budget taking into account the effect of the new minimum wage,” Pritzker said. “Human services and social service organizations are going to have the resources they need to pay workers more.”
Where he gets that money is anyone’s guess.
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It’s just a bill
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* “Unlikely to pass” is correct. This bill has zero co-sponsors even though it was introduced two weeks ago. It really is just a bill…
A Democratic state lawmaker has filed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in Illinois that likely goes further than other legislators prefer, but it has officially started the debate over complex legislation that will need to serve many interests.
The bill, introduced Jan. 25 by Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana, would allow licensed businesses to grow and sell pot, and residents to grow up to 24 plants at home.
The measure is unlikely to pass because lawmakers are expected to act on a more restrictive proposal that’s been in the works for more than a year.
* Another one…
A proposal to automatically admit students to any public college or university in Illinois if they meet certain standards is running into opposition, primarily from the University of Illinois system.
Rep. André Thapedi (D-Chicago), who was unsuccessful in pushing through similar legislation in 2018, is sponsoring a revised proposal this year to guarantee that any student who graduates from an accredited high school in Illinois and who meets certain academic standards would be guaranteed admission to any of the state’s public higher education institutions.
Thapedi told a House committee Thursday that the primary aim of the bill is “to keep our best and our brightest students here in Illinois,” many of whom, he said, leave Illinois to attend college elsewhere.
But he also said it’s intended as a form of affirmative action for minority students and other under-represented groups on Illinois college campuses. He specifically pointed to U of I’s Urbana-Champaign campus as a source of concern because of its small proportion of minority student enrollment — 5.2 percent African-American and 9.3 percent Hispanic.
* And one more…
Illinois lawmakers are once again want to require the state’s public schools to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of the nation and the state of Illinois.
The thinking on the LGBT history requirement for Illinois public schools goes like this: Illinois kids already learn about the contributions of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. Adding LGBT Americans to that list is no big deal. Or so says Democratic state Rep. Anna Moeller.
“Humans, especially young people, need to feel belonged and valued,” Moeller said. “By deliberately excluding or even inadvertently leaving out the history of LGBT contributions, our schools and our teachers send the message that LGBT students don’t belong and aren’t valued.”
Moeller said it is important for LGBT students to know that they are valued.
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* The Chicago Teachers Union is supporting 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn. The union sent out this letter the other day about his opponent…
Dear 13th Ward Resident:
My name is Jan Muir. I am a middle school teacher, a member of the Chicago Teachers Union, and a victim of cyberstalking and cyberbullying by Aldermanic candidate David Krupa. Despite my desire to put this incident behind me, I’m writing today to share my story to inform others of his behavior.
Mr. Krupa harassed and bullied me through breaching a school computer system and posting disturbing language and images that shocked me and my students. In order to protect my students’ privacy, I will not share any additional information about the incident.
My sense of personal safety and security were violated, and this letter is part of my effort to hold him accountable for his behavior.
Through his actions, Mr. Krupa demonstrates complete disregard for women and a pattern of judgment that disqualifies him from holding public office. I respectfully request that you do not vote for Mr. Krupa in the upcoming municipal election.
I also hope that you will join me in speaking out about the dangers of cyberstalking and speak with your children about how to spot and prevent cyberbullying. More information is available at: https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/prevention/index.html.
Thank you for reading my story and sharing it with your family and neighbors.
Best regards,
Jan Muir
Krupa has previously been accused by another woman of abuse. That, too, was denied.
* Response…
“It’s a baseless, slanderous, scurrilous hit piece,” said attorney Tony Peraica. “David denies it, denies knowing this person, denies doing anything of the kind. He was never investigated, interviewed or charged.” Peraica added that he would seek legal action against the teacher and CTU, which did not respond to a request for comment.
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Digging out
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* More from the Pritzker administration’s new financial report…
Furthermore, as this new administration continues to unearth the true costs taxpayers now face, another clear finding is that the previous administration failed to perform other strikingly basic tasks of government, including:
• Allowing massive project delays and cost overruns for IT systems that still fail to function properly, putting vulnerable citizens at risk for losing healthcare services;
• Permitting staffing levels to atrophy at critical executive branch agencies, including reducing the numbers of State Troopers and understaffing caseworkers at human services field offices;
• Ignoring audit findings, leading to costly consent decrees;
• Failing to process revenue receipts in a timely way;
• Defaulting on rent payments – for instance, on the administration’s federal office in Washington DC;
• Failing to follow federal OSHA and Illinois Department of Labor staffing enforcement plans. This
lack of adequate staffing put state, local and private sector workers at greater risk of on-the-job injuries. Failure to comply also resulted in the loss of nearly $3.2 million in federal funding – almost 50 percent of federal OSHA funding in FY17 and FY18.
The governor’s chief of staff was in DC to visit the office and was told by the landlord that the state was something like a year behind in rent.
* More…
In addition to the financial damage done to the state over the last four years and its resulting impact on Illinois’ most vulnerable residents, one of the most tragic events came in the form of the Rauner administration’s handling of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Quincy Veterans’ Home. By September 2015, 54 people from the home tested positive for Legionnaire’s disease, 12 of whom died due to the illness. Following this event, Legionnaire’s has been found in surrounding areas; further highlighting the critical need for meaningful infrastructure investment by the state. Rebuilding the Quincy Veterans’ Home is estimated to cost the state in excess of $100 million along with a larger match from the federal government.
Other state-run facilities continue to struggle to provide adequate care. Insufficient medical care for inmates at the state’s correctional facilities led to the Lippert consent decree in December 2018, as the state is still grappling with the costs associated with meeting the requirements under the Rasho settlement for mental health treatment from 2016. In FY20 alone, this will lead to cost increases for medical and other care at Correctional facilities in the tens of millions of dollars range and implementation of an electronic medical records system that will cost millions of dollars.
Other continuing financial pressures that will require State investment going forward include:
• Increasing funding for the Illinois State Police to help rebuild their ranks after the suspension of cadet classes in FY16 and FY17 led to a decline in state troopers. It will cost Illinoisans over $8 million in FY20 for two cadet classes to help build their ranks.
• Requirements for Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to put into place a federally compliant child welfare information system.
• Reversing the damage done when a new Integrated Eligibility System (IES) failed to achieve its desired outcome. The IES was intended to make the Long-Term Care application process more efficient but actually did the opposite, resulting in increased delays in processing applications and admissions under the previous administration.
Oy.
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* Press release…
In a report detailing the toll that former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s ideological warfare inflicted on Illinois, the Pritzker administration released a new report today detailing a budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year of $3.2 billion, 16 percent more than the Rauner administration estimated in November.
Digging Out: The Rauner Wreckage Report builds on and extends the work of the Illinois Comptroller’s Office, identifying even worse damage than previously known – particularly the true magnitude of the budget deficit and the backlog of bills – triple the amount of when Governor Rauner’s impasse began. Late payment interest penalties related to Rauner’s impasse have exceeded $1.25 billion, and interest on the refinancing of Rauner’s bill backlog will surpass $2 billion.
“Illinois will need years to dig out of the fiscal mess this administration inherited, and the road to recovery will begin with Governor Pritzker,” said report author Deputy Governor Dan Hynes, who oversees budget and economic issues for the administration. “The Pritzker administration will be honest and transparent about the challenges we face and put forward long-term plans and investments that will get our state on firm financial footing. Despite these challenges, we will propose a balanced budget that invests in education and human services that were decimated under the previous administration.”
The report goes on to detail the human and fiscal consequences of the historic budget crisis, a failed and prolonged dispute with AFSCME, the continued backsliding on pensions and chronic mismanagement of state government. With new revelations of failure coming nearly every week, the report also details previously unreported failures, such as failing to pay the rent for the Governor’s Washington, D.C. office and forfeiting millions in federal reimbursements for OSHA.
Among the countless missed opportunities in the report, the state’s late payment penalties have crowded out other investments. Namely:
* Last year alone, the State paid out more than $700 million in late payment penalties – about what the state spends on the Department of Children and Family Services, or enough to hire at least 7,000 new teachers across the state.
* Illinois’ general obligation bond ratings are the lowest among the states, costing more than $75 million a year in additional interest costs on bonds issued since 2017. That is the equivalent of an additional 25,000 MAP recipients per year since 2017 – or enough for MAP grants for every undergraduate student at SIU-Carbondale and Illinois State every year.
While a generation of future Illinoisans will be forced to deal with Gov. Rauner’s fiscal wreckage, the new administration will use its first budget to light a multi-year path forward to fiscal stability and a new prosperity for Illinois.
Additional details are available in the report.
* From the report…
1. If left unaddressed, the State of Illinois’ general funds budget deficit for FY20 would be approximately $3.2 billion, roughly 16 percent higher than the Rauner administration officially estimated just three months ago.
2. The state’s debt associated with unpaid bills is nearly $15 billion: $7.9 billion in unpaid bills, $5.5 billion in backlog borrowing, $650 million in interfund borrowing and $500 million in estimated backpay for state workers. This is almost triple the amount outstanding before Governor Rauner’s impasse began.
3. Rauner’s failed and prolonged dispute with AFSCME over step increase wages has resulted in a court finding that he improperly withheld wages from state employees. The cost of his anti- union battle may total more than $500 million with the impact of compounded interest penalties.
4. The State’s projected unpaid bill backlog at the end of FY19 is likely to be $500 million more than previously stated, creating longer delays in vendor payment cycles and additional pressure on the provider community – and, most critically, the vulnerable Illinoisans they serve.
5. Interest alone on additional general obligation bonds attributable to the refinancing of Rauner’s bill backlog will exceed $2 billion.
6. Late Payment Interest Penalties that built up during the impasse exceeded $1.25 billion. Continued interest payments will likely exceed $60 million in FY19 in part because this year’s budget maintains a structural deficit that went unaddressed during Rauner’s term.
7. The State’s management and administrative infrastructure has deteriorated significantly, with major fiscal, legal and other critical positions unfilled for years. Reductions in staffing have affected public safety and social service programs.
8. The mismanagement of state contracts has allowed increased costs and lengthy project delays, resulting in, for example, information technology systems that don’t function effectively. This mismanagement severely impacts the administration and delivery of vital services, including healthcare. In some cases, it threatens the flow of federal reimbursement funds. The mismanagement extends to basic government functions like processing revenues and paying rent.
9. Tens of millions of dollars have been and will continue to be allocated to comply with court orders and consent decrees due to management failures to address the state’s most serious challenges.
…Adding… Good point…
Link is here.
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Because… Chicago!
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From GOP Reps. Brad Halbrook, Chris Miller and Darren Bailey…
Urges the United States Congress to declare the City of Chicago the 51st state of the United States of America and separate it from the rest of Illinois.
The most hilarious part of this proposal is that these southerners think the suburbs will give them a better deal without Chicago in the picture. That seems doubtful. Downstate hoovers up tax money that the suburbanites pay. Chicago is basically tax neutral. Without the city fighting for social programs and state education spending, Downstate would be in a far worse situation.
* They even completely ignore the suburban region in the resolution. From the beginning…
WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is often regarded as having two distinct regions, the City of Chicago and downstate Illinois
C’mon, people. Grow up.
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* Amanda Vinicky…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker wasted little time after his Nov. 6 election (when he was still the state’s governor-elect) to start getting down to business.
Just two days later he and running mate Juliana Stratton traveled to Springfield to announce the first of what would eventually be 11 transition committees – working groups comprised of industry leaders who would serve as volunteer advisors on fields ranging from agriculture to education, criminal justice to the environment.
“Juliana and I have said throughout the campaign we wanted to hit the ground running,” Pritzker said at the Nov. 8 press conference.
The working groups’ input would serve as “guideposts” for his administration, Pritzker said, and he wanted that done at least in time for his Jan. 14 inauguration. And while the meetings wouldn’t be public, Pritzker promised the completed transition report would be.
Except the transition committee report has yet to be released. Amanda says we can expect it today, finally. I’ve been hearing the same thing.
For what it’s worth, Gov. Rauner released his transition report four years ago on January 9th.
*** UPDATE *** And it’s now out. Click here.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** Weirdest argument ever
Friday, Feb 8, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* He was using this as an argument against raising the minimum wage. I kid you not…
Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said the bigger paychecks earned by minimum wage employees will make them ineligible for certain benefit programs.
I like Righter. I’ve often attended Senate Executive Committee hearings just to watch him spar with former Chairman Don Harmon. I didn’t care what the bills were, I wanted to see the show.
But that floor speech was weird, man. And I agree with Sen. Kimberly Lightford’s response, which was basically I’ve never heard a Republican argue for keeping people on public assistance programs like TANF and foodstamps.
*** UPDATE *** Sen. Lightford’s response…
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* Tribune…
Ford Motor Company said Thursday that it will invest $1 billion in its Chicago-area manufacturing operations to expand production of its Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator sport utility vehicles.
The announcement, made at the Chicago Auto Show, will add 500 jobs to two manufacturing facilities, the assembly plant and stamping plant, said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of global operations. The expansion will bring the total number of workers at its Chicago-area facilities to 5,800.
The overhaul of the plant is expected to begin in March and be completed in the spring.
Included will be a new body shop and paint shop at Chicago Assembly, and new stamping lines that will make the 2020 Ford Explorer, Police Interceptor Utility and Lincoln Aviator.
* CNBC…
It’s also spending $40 million to upgrade the facilities for employees, including new LED lighting and cafeteria updates, new break areas as well as parking lot security upgrades.
In addition to the Explorer and Aviator, the plants make Ford’s Police Interceptor, an SUV modeled on the Explorer.
Ford is undergoing an $11 billion restructuring that will shrink its salaried workforce of 70,000. It is also cutting thousands of jobs in Europe, where Ford has struggled to maintain solid footing.
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* This new lawsuit sounds interesting…
According to the Centers for Disease Control, construction workers have the highest rate of opioid-related overdoses compared to any other occupation in the country. The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters lost two of its members in the last couple months. [Gary Perinar], who heads the union, said the problems are also costing their union health fund millions of dollars as more and more carpenters struggle with opioid addictions.
“It affects their ability to perform on a job site, it hurts our contractors with respect to productivity, it’s a downward spiral in moving forward in a carpentry career,” he said.
The carpenters union teamed up with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 to file a groundbreaking lawsuit in hopes of holding drug manufacturers, distributors and doctors accountable. They are the first unions in Illinois to take legal action against several pharmaceutical companies, and others.
“The suit accuses the drug companies of fraud, unjust enrichment and conspiracy for the way they falsified research and misled people into believing their opioids were not addictive,” said Ari Scharg, attorney with Edelson PC.
Union attorneys said they are not looking for a settlement. They would rather have the case go to trial to force companies to release information about their drugs.
*** UPDATE *** The complaint is here.
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Question of the day
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Should the House amend the Senate-approved minimum wage bill? If so, how?
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Illinois’ best political cartoons in your inbox
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Advertising Department
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Sometimes Springfield can seem stranger than fiction. Let one of the nation’s top political cartoonists set the scene in your inbox every week. Click on Rich to subscribe to Eric Allie’s cartoons today.
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It’s just a bill
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Stand for Children Illinois, a non-partisan, equity-focused education advocacy non-profit, announced the filing of legislation with the intent of reversing Illinois’ brain drain and boosting opportunities for high school students. The legislation is the outgrowth of recommendations from the organization’s recent report, “STOP ILLINOIS BRAIN DRAIN: Building Pathways to Prosperity for High School Students.” Together, the bills aim to improve opportunities in the areas of course equity, career and technical education, freshman-on-track early warning systems, and other high school success budget priorities.
“Strengthening Illinois high schools and offering more avenues to college and career have been guiding principles for our work, especially in the wake of our Stop Illinois Brain Drain report. The bills we announced today go a long way to improving the opportunities available to high school students and stopping Illinois’ terrible brain drain problem,” said Mimi Rodman, Executive Director of Stand for Children Illinois. “Our state faces two kinds of brain drain: one, with our high school graduates leaving for out-of-state colleges, and the other by how our state badly under-taps the potential of the graduates who remain in Illinois.”
The bills announced today include:
* The Course Equity Act of 2019, SB 1212 (Lightford), would improve access to advanced coursework by making courses more affordable for low-income schools and students, allowing students to opt-in to courses that are recommended for college admission but not offered in their home district, and opening doors to dual credit and transitional math opportunities.
* HB 2093 (Crespo/Bertino-Tarrant) would align CTE courses with job trends. The bill requires the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to rework its process for funding CTE courses to provide higher reimbursement rates for completion of high-demand, high-wage career area courses. It would also differentiate reimbursement rates by course sequence. Finally, the bill would establish a grants program to support local partnerships that can facilitate the creation of locally relevant pathway endorsements and programs of study.
* Freshman-on-Track Early Warning System Grants, SB 1303 (Manar). Students who are “on-track” to graduate after freshman year are three times more likely to graduate high school. Dedicated freshman-on-track grants will jumpstart systems in high schools with low rates to focus on intervention before freshmen fall behind. Grant funding could be used to hire dedicated staff to support freshman year students, provide professional development to current staff to integrate practices that boost freshman attendance, increase tutoring and other supports for ninth graders who are failing core courses, providing in-school mentoring opportunities to freshmen, and other practices likely to lead to improved success.
* Stand budget priorities include $450 million in new Evidence-Based Formula funding; a $100 million increase for Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants; $12.6 million increase for career and technical education, an allocation that has largely been flat since 2004; a new $5 million appropriation for freshman success grants; and, a new $1.2 million appropriation for CTE infrastructure that can go a long way to ensuring all regions have the support they need to create and maintain critical regional partnerships.
“Illinois high school students cannot wait any longer for more equitable access to opportunities for prosperity,” said Rodman. “We are proud to partner with Reps. Crespo and Batinick and Sens. Lightford, Bertino-Tarrant, and Weaver, and we urge all legislators to support these bills. Illinois students should be immersed in career possibilities and supported to understand how to achieve their career goals, and these bills help them do just that,” said Rodman.
* WTTW…
A Chicago-area legislator plans to introduce a bill this week that aims to help Illinois expand its capacity of wind and solar energy, with an eventual goal of procuring 100 percent of the state’s energy from renewable sources.
State Rep. Will Davis, D-Hazel Crest, announced Wednesday his intention to file the Path to 100 Act, which he says will expand the state’s share of renewable energy to 40 percent of total energy sources by 2030. Current requirements under Illinois’ Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS, established a requirement of 25 percent renewable energy sources by 2025.
Davis said the legislation would help Illinois build on progress made as a result of the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act, which has been hailed as one of the most significant pieces of state energy legislation passed in the U.S. in decades.
* SJ-R…
Pharmacies in Illinois would have less time to report dispensing opioid medications and other controlled substances under a bill making its way through the General Assembly.
The House Human Services Committee on Wednesday advanced a bill that would require pharmacies to file those reports by the end of the business day on which controlled substances are dispensed. Current law gives them until the end of the following business day.
“It ensures that medical providers have a complete picture of what their patients are taking so that they’re not over-prescribing opioids to patients who misuse or, actually, frequently then sell the fraudulent medication,” Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee during testimony.
* Other bills…
* Rent Control Measures Move Forward In Uncertain Political Environment: The first bill, sponsored by state Rep. Will Guzzardi, a Chicago Democrat, is just one line of text that repeals the 1997 Rent Control Preemption Act, a law that bans municipalities from imposing restrictions on rental rates. It was first introduced a year ago and sent back to the rules committee, but he just reintroduced the measure, now known as House Bill 255, and is seeking co-sponsors.
* Jim Dey: Who signs bill? Legislative maneuver raises question: The Illinois Constitution requires that bills passed by the General Assembly be sent to the governor within 30 days of passing. The procedural hold — known formally as a motion to reconsider — is a mechanism designed to evade the 30-day mandate. But can it skip time constraints to the extent of jumping from one governor to the next? It’s happened before. In 2015, Rauner signed utility legislation that was passed by the previous General Assembly after legislative leaders put a hold on it until after former Gov. Pat Quinn left office.
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J.B. vs. JB
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* This isn’t a major story or anything, but I never noticed before that JB Pritzker changed the way he punctuated his name when he ran for governor. From Vince Gerasole…
When Pritzker introduced himself to voters ahead of the 2018 election, he invited them to call him by name. He even spelled it out in campaign materials, and on social media accounts, as JB; forget the Jay Robert, and the periods. […]
But check out the other worlds JB Pritzker inhabited before getting to know voters. From his venture capital firm to his charitable foundation, his was a presence where J.B. was punctuated by periods. […]
A spokesperson for the governor said they “don’t think there was any specific reason, it’s just easier” to spell JB without the punctuation.
There’s also historical precedent, such as presidents known as JFK and LBJ. […]
Illinois’ first lady also goes by her initials, M.K. Pritzker, periods included.
The Pritzker Group spelling is here, the family foundation is here, the governor’s state website is here.
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* Press release…
Yesterday, the Legislative Ethics Commission (LEC) held its monthly meeting and took the final steps to recommend the appointment of Judge Carol Pope to the position of Legislative Inspector General (LIG), effective March 1, 2019. Following the selection of Judge Pope in December, Acting Legislative Inspector General Porter, Judge Pope and the LEC agreed on an extension of current LIG Porter’s term by two months to allow time for her to complete open cases. This also allows for an important transition period.
Following the Commission’s meeting, Senate Joint Resolution 17 was filed. This resolution must be adopted by both chambers to appoint Judge Pope to the position. As members of the LEC, we look forward to working for the passage of this resolution to fill the position of LIG. Currently, LIG Porter retains the ability to hear complaints and launch any investigation she deems necessary.
That monthly meeting was scheduled in January, according to a spokesperson for Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Raymond). The Senate’s joint resolution couldn’t be filed until after the Ethics Commission took that final step yesterday.
* But that didn’t stop Denise Rotheimer from claiming credit for the timing. Here’s Hannah Meisel…
Even so, victims’ rights advocate Denise Rotheimer appeared in Springfield Wednesday, telling reporters at a Capitol press conference that she didn’t believe the new system was transparent enough.
“I would rather [the LIG] be chosen by the voice of the people of the state of Illinois,” she said. […]
Rotheimer told reporters that she couldn’t understand why a joint resolution to appoint Pope had not yet been filed. But when told that State Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan) had filed SJR 17 — the resolution to officially appoint Pope — on Wednesday, Rotheimer claimed credit.
“Well that’s because I’m here,” she said. “Isn’t that so ironic?”
Rotheimer told reporters that Wednesday would be her last time coming to Springfield, and presented her bill for expanding victims’ rights when a victim accuses a lawmaker of unethical behavior.
SJR17 was adopted by the Senate at about 11:30 this morning. It now goes to the House.
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* Pantagraph…
The Dwight Planning Commission will consider an annexation agreement later this month that could be the first step in bringing a federal detention center for illegal immigrants to the Livingston County village. […]
Immigration Centers of America, headquartered in Richmond, Va., has contacted village officials about an 88-acre parcel of land near Interstate 55 and Illinois 17 for a federal center to house 1,200 men awaiting immigration hearings.
The facility would be managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). […]
If the detention center is built, Anderson said, the estimated $20 million facility would employ about 280 people.
* I asked the governor’s press secretary Jordan Abudayyeh for a response…
Governor Pritzker strongly opposes any action that would allow President Trump to advance his anti-immigrant agenda. The administration will closely monitor and oppose this effort going forward.
*** UPDATE *** From Fred Tsao at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights…
The for-profit immigration prison being proposed in Dwight has already been rejected throughout northern Illinois and Indiana, from Crete, Joliet, and Hopkins Park in Illinois to Hobart, Gary, Roselawn, and Elkhart County in Indiana. Several of these communities could use an economic boost. Yet the people and elected leaders in these communities recognized that these prisons are wrong on so many levels, including economically and morally. They realize that private prisons leave a trail of devastation as the promises of economic benefit do not materialize. They realize that private prison companies are only interested in making profits, and are all too eager to cut corners to do so, even if it hurts their host community. And they realize that the facility would be used for jailing people torn from their families, workplaces, and communities, people who have no business being locked away, especially for someone else’s profit. We hope that the leaders of Dwight will come to the same realization and reject this proposal.
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Sterigenics meeting today
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
Governor JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following joint statement about ongoing efforts to address the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook, Illinois.
“Recent media reports of alleged improper handling of dangerous chemicals at the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook and reports of elevated EtO levels within the Willowbrook community are deeply disturbing, and we urge the U.S. EPA to take swift and effective action to protect the health and safety of families living near the facility. The Illinois EPA will meet with the U.S. EPA and Sterigenics today. After this meeting, we will evaluate any outcomes and exercise all available legal authority to protect the community from this exposure.”
An opinion I’m hearing more and more is that the state ought to just shut the place down and let the courts sort it out.
Your own thoughts?
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Pro-biz groups split on state budget
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* And neither one of them is in favor with the governing party…
Two policy groups are putting forth solutions to solve the state’s money woes ahead of Gov. Pritzker’s first budget address.
Pritzker is due to present his budget on Feb. 20. He faces a $2.8 billion budget deficit, nearly $8 billion in backlogged bills and upward of $130 billion in underfunded pension and health care costs.
With more than a quarter of the state’s budget going to pension costs, the Illinois Policy Institute and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago’s proposals would address that burden in different ways.
In the policy institute’s proposal, state lawmakers would set in motion a change to the state constitution to allow for a restructuring of future pensions of current workers, consolidate school districts, switch out automatic pay raises for state workers with merit-based pay hikes, and other pro-growth reforms.
State workers would still be some of the best paid in the country after the proposed changes, IPI Research Director Adam Schuster said.
“Government worker health insurance and pension benefits are growing far faster than everything else in the budget,” he said. “Those are the cost drivers, so we should let the math speak for itself and tell us where we need to look for savings.”
In previous budget solution proposals, the Illinois Policy Institute has advocated for a reduction in the Local Government Distributive Fund. The measure was criticized for potentially pushing property taxes higher. Illinois has among the highest property taxes in the nation. Schuster said the new proposal doesn’t include that shift, but does include a proposed shift of future pension obligations to the local governments, something that was supported by former Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan alike.
In all, the policy institute predicts that its proposal would lead to a $2 billion budget surplus in five years. Schuster said that could either be invested in a rainy-day fund or given back to taxpayers in the form of a tax cut.
In contrast, the Civic Committee’s “2+2” pension funding proposal cuts $2 billion in costs and then raises personal and corporate income taxes to 6 percent and 8 percent, respectively. It also calls for taxing retirement income and expanding the sales tax to include some services. The Civic Committee predicts those changes would raise $6 billion.
“Illinois possesses great assets, including a diversified economy, an educated workforce, outstanding educational and research institutions, natural resources, and a great transportation infrastructure, but the uncertainty surrounding the fiscal health of our State has held Illinois back for too long,” said Kelly Welsh, president of the Civic Committee. “We are confident that implementation of the framework will build a foundation for growth and job creation.”
Taxing retirement income is seen as somewhat of a third rail of state taxation because retirees make up a large portion of the voting bloc. Even talk of treating pension and retirement dividends as income has resulted in resolutions opposing it.
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*** UPDATED x4 *** Minimum wage roundup
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
*** UPDATE 1 *** Gov. Pritzker met with the Senate Democrats earlier today and I’m hearing it went well. The Senate Democrats’ spokesman just told reporters he believes the minimum wge bill, SB1, will be run on the floor shortly. Looks like the holdouts weren’t able to stop a roll call. Click here for an analysis of the bill.
…Adding… The bill, as amended in committee yesterday, is now up for debate. Click here to watch.
*** UPDATE 2 *** The bill passed with 39 votes. For some odd reason, the Senate President did not vote.
…Adding… I’m told President Cullerton was “watching the roll call” and didn’t vote. Oops. He’s filing a letter now to reflect his intention to vote “Yes.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** IRMA…
“We are disappointed the Senate did not take the time to address ways to lessen the impact of an unprecedented wage hike, particularly on suburban and downstate employers. We will continue to seek a compromise in the House, and we urge legislators to not rush this issue as they consider the implications this will have on employers and employees in their communities,” said Rob Karr, president & CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association.
*** UPDATE 4 *** ILGOP…
Did Governor Pritzker have any intention to return to the ‘agreed-bill’ process? On his first major legislative initiative, that answer is a hard no. This is the same failed form of governing that put Illinois in the poor fiscal condition it’s in. Pritzker is ignoring the concerns of Republican lawmakers and business leaders as he attempts to ram through legislation that would nearly double the state’s minimum wage just so he can chalk up a ‘win’ before his budget address, but at what cost?
Pritzker’s minimum wage hike will crush small businesses and will cost taxpayers at least a billion dollars a year once the plan is fully implemented, and that’s not even a complete estimate. Pritzker’s administration has not disclosed the full amount of increased spending his wage hike would require. Pritzker’s reckless budgeting will cost taxpayers and small businesses dearly. It is yet another Pritzker proposal that will bankrupt Illinois.
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* Last night on Illinois Public Radio…
llinois lawmakers may be slowing the process to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. The proposal was expected to be called for a vote and passed out of the Senate as soon as Thursday.
State Sen. Kim Lightford (D-Maywood), sponsor of the plan, said Gov. J.B. Pritzker wanted the bill approved in time for his budget address on Feb. 20. […]
For that to happen, the Senate would need to approve the plan before they leave Springfield this week. With ongoing negotiations, Lightford is not sure that will happen.
“I think anything can still happen around here,” said Lightford. “I think there is some conversations that are definitely going to happen this evening. I don’t know if they’ll yield returns enough for me to move this bill forward tomorrow.”
* Capital News Illinois…
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has said he would like the minimum wage bill, his first major policy push, approved by the time he gives his budget address on Feb. 20. But Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, a Maywood Democrat and the bill’s lead sponsor, exhibited a more cautious tone after a near two-hour private caucus of Senate Democrats which preceded the Executive Committee hearing.
“If we move the needle (in negotiations) tonight and it’s something that we can take back to the caucus and have a conversation and caucus is comfortable with it, then possibly (it could be voted on Thursday),” Lightford said. […]
The Illinois Restaurant Association, which represents 27,000 restaurants employing 577,000 people across the state according to its president Sam Toia, testified as a proponent of the bill while noting it’s a “tough pill to swallow.”
Toia said the inclusion of a tip credit, which requires employers to pay only 60 percent of the minimum wage to tipped workers, allowed the IRA to support the wage increase.
Subscribers know more.
* IRMA…
“[Yesterday’s Senate Executive Committee] vote was carried out without the concerns of the business community in mind, particularly retailers in downstate and suburban communities who are less able to absorb such a dramatic increase in labor costs compared to their counterparts in the city of Chicago. As we try to strike a balance that will benefit workers and employers across the state, the business community has proposed a regional plan to increase the state’s minimum wage based on the economic realities in different parts of the state. We urge lawmakers to pause and think about the local employers in their districts while working toward a solution that will benefit everyone,” said Rob Karr, president & CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association.
* IMA…
“Increasing the minimum wage for Illinois businesses by 82 percent will have a detrimental impact on employers across the state,” said Mark Denzler, president and CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “The IMA and the business community have offered real alternatives to help mitigate the negative impact on job creators in Illinois. This includes a minimum wage based on geography, because the cost of living in downstate Illinois is significantly less than it is in the city of Chicago. We’ve also asked for a longer implementation of the minimum wage increase and more robust tax credits for small employers. Lawmakers should give serious consideration to these ideas instead of rushing through legislation that makes it harder for manufacturers to operate.”
* One Illinois…
A statewide hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour would have the greatest impact on earnings outside Chicago, according to a new study released Tuesday.
In some ways, that’s not surprising, as Chicago has already moved to raise its minimum wage to $13 over a five-year span set to be completed this summer. But according to “The Regional Impacts of a $15 Minimum Wage in Illinois,” released Tuesday by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, a $15 minimum wage would still raise annual earnings by $5,000 for low-income workers in the Chicago area, and would have an even greater impact on other metropolitan areas including central Illinois, Rockford, and the so-called Metro East area near St. Louis.
The study projects that a $15 minimum wage would hike annual earnings $8,000 in central Illinois around Springfield, and $7,000 in east-central Illinois including Champaign-Urbana and around Rockford. Wages would rise $6,000 in Metro East.
The study suggests: “These higher incomes … would boost consumer spending at local retail stores, restaurants, and small businesses — offsetting any initial drop in employment or hours.”
It cites how four states have already adopted a $15-an-hour minimum wage, including New Jersey just last week, while 19 states overall moved to increase their minimum wages in some way with the new year. Illinois residents already voted in a 2014 advisory referendum to support a hike in the minimum wage, with 83 of the state’s 102 counties voting in favor.
“Working-class families in Illinois are falling behind their peers in other states,” said study co-author and ILEPI Policy Director Frank Manzo IV. “A $15 minimum wage would boost earnings for more than 1.4 million adult workers across Illinois.
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Mendoza turns sights on MCOs
Thursday, Feb 7, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Pantagraph…
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is backing legislation that would require insurance companies that manage much of the state’s Medicaid program to publish more information about how promptly they are reimbursing claims.
The insurance companies, known as managed care organizations, or MCOs, contract with the state to manage the care of individuals enrolled in Medicaid. Among other things, that involves working with patients to make sure they receive routine exams and preventive care, and coordinating services provided by their primary physicians and other specialists.
The goal of a managed care system is to reduce costs and improve health outcomes by preventing the need for many emergency room visits and the complications that can result when patients don’t receive follow-up care.
Last year, Illinois greatly expanded the managed care system to make it available in all counties. But in a statement Wednesday, Mendoza said it is difficult for her office to know what happens to the roughly $63 billion a year the state now spends on managed care after the money is handed over to the MCOs.
…Adding… The article is in error. That $63 billion is the total number from the procurement. The annual spending is far lower.
…Adding… The comptroller’s office says current fiscal year is roughly $14 billion all funds for MCOs.
* From Mendoza’s press release…
“South Shore Hospital has been devastated by delayed and denied payments from the MCOs, and it threatens our ability to keep the doors open,” South Shore Hospital Chief Executive Officer Tim Caveney said. “South Shore cares for the state’s most vulnerable patients. MCOs, as for-profit companies, deny and delay payments to maximize their profits. Today, we are still owed millions by the MCOs and seeing more than 20 percent of our cases denied by the MCOs, for no legitimate reasons. This cannot continue.”
Caveney said he commends Comptroller Mendoza and the sponsors of this legislation for working to bring transparency to the process. “It is only through the good work of Comptroller Mendoza and other policymakers that we can advocate for Illinois’ most vulnerable residents and protect the fragile health care safety net that is the only option for so many,” he said.
House Bill 2117 /Senate Bill 1238 would require MCOs to publish provider payment information on their websites every quarter. The information posted would include:
* Total number of claims received by the MCO for that quarter
* The number and amounts paid to providers
* When the payments were made
* When the claims for those payments were received
* When the service the payment is for was rendered
“The Medicaid program represents a massive area of state spending. This basic level of transparency is needed to protect taxpayer dollars and to ensure MCOs are paying what is owed to providers who serve Medicaid patients,” Representative McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, said.
“Providers offering care to sick children and others in need are struggling because of payment delays, and they have no reliable way of knowing when their next payment is coming.” Senator Fine, D-Glenview, said. “As more and more state dollars are filtering through MCOs, it just makes sense to require transparency and give some predictability to our health care providers.”
The MCO Transparency Act is a natural outgrowth of Comptroller Mendoza’s Debt Transparency Act that opened the windows on unpaid bills held by state agencies and her other transparency reforms that shed light on the off-shoring of the Governor’s staff; the Vendor Payment Program and the state’s obligations to pay Late Payment Interest Penalties.
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Vaccinate your kids!
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Sheesh…
A second case of measles has been reported in Champaign-Urbana. Like the first case announced in January, this second case involves a member of the University of Illinois campus community.
“What we have right now are two college-age unvaccinated persons, who are infected with measles,” said Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator Julie Pryde. “And we know that right now that it’s not into the school-age population, the K-through-12 or the younger children.”
Measles is more likely to result in potentially life-threatening complications among children under 5 and adults over 20, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Complications can include pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).
Campus Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Andreas Cangellaris says the university is working with its own McKinley Health Center and the Public Health District to try to identify and warn anyone susceptible to measles about the local presence of the highly infectious disease. That includes anyone who has never had measles and who has never been vaccinated for it.
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Minimum wage bill surfaces in Senate
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The minimum wage bill has popped in the Senate and will be heard during an Executive Committee committee meeting at 2 o’clock this afternoon. Click here to read the bill. The Trib has some deets…
Lightford’s bill also proposes a tax credit that would help employers with 50 or fewer full-time employees offset some of the cost of raising wages. Employers would be able to deduct 25 percent of the cost in 2020, and the credit would then scale back annually until hitting 5 percent in 2025. It would phase out entirely for employers with more than five employees in 2028.
The credits wouldn’t be available to franchise owners whose businesses belong to chains with more than 50 workers.
Employers would be able to continue paying a lower wage to workers under 18 if they work fewer than 650 hours in a year.
The minimum wage for younger employees — currently $7.75 per hour — would increase to $8 on Jan. 1 and peak at $13 per hour in 2025.
…Adding… As a commenter points out, the Trib’s language is a bit sloppy. This isn’t a tax deduction. It’s a tax credit on wages paid above the current minimum wage.
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Question of the day
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* If you could ask a freshman Illinois state legislator a question right now, what would it be? Explain. And no snark, please.
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It’s just a bill
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
Illinois lawmakers have renewed bipartisan efforts to address the Chicago Public Schools sexual abuse scandal, filing bills designed to protect students by making sweeping changes to state laws.
Legislators last year proposed 12 bills that would allow state officials to swiftly revoke the licenses of educators found to have sexually abused children, lift the intense secrecy around disciplined teachers and make it a crime for a school employee to have sexual contact with a student regardless of age, among other fixes.
None of those proposals, which were filed late in the legislative session, made it to a floor vote last year. But state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, D-Villa Park, said he now plans “to move forward as fast as possible” with twin bills he crafted with Barrington Hills Republican Rep. David McSweeney.
“It is up to us to get some accountability here,” Cullerton said. “You can’t just leave this on the shelf. It is too important for our kids.”
* Madison County Record…
An Illinois lawmaker has made some tweaks to his “parental bullying” legislation, but an opponent says it still goes too far.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat, in December filed House Bill 181, which would have created the offense of parental bullying. The bill’s synopsis stated that a parent or legal guardian of a child would commit the petty offense, punishable by a fine, “when he or she knowingly and with the intent to discipline, embarrass, or alter the behavior of the minor, transmits any verbal or visual message that the parent or legal guardian reasonably believes would coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to the minor.”
The bill also stated that, if convicted, “a portion of any fine imposed, as determined by the court, be placed in escrow for the purchase of a certificate of deposit for use by the victim when he or she attains 18 years of age.”
More than 70 people filled out witness slips with the House’s Judiciary Committee, in opposition to the bill. […]
“We don’t like government getting in between parents and raising their children,” said Ralph Rivera, a lobbyist for the [Illinois Family Institute]. “Obviously, abuse and neglect are a different matter. But we have to be careful when we infringe on the rights of parents to discipline and raise their children.”
* The Southern…
Legislation that would raise the minimum age to purchase cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vapes, chewing tobacco and other products in Illinois to 21 made it past its first legislative hurdle Tuesday.
The Senate bill sponsored by Julie Morrison, a Democrat from Deerfield, won the approval of the chamber’s Public Health Committee along party lines, by a vote of 8 to 4.
But the Republican members did not focus on the main issues the tobacco 21 initiative faced in previous legislative sessions. Instead, they took issue with the removal of language from current state law establishing penalties for minors in possession of tobacco. […]
Morrison said her bill removes that language in an effort to “refocus the responsibility” onto the retailers who sell the tobacco product, as opposed to placing it on the minors who purchase the product.
* Illinois News Network…
The Senate will take another crack at raising the minimum pay for Illinois teachers. Senate Bill 10 from state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hills, is similar to the bill that passed last year, but was vetoed by Gov. Bruce Rauner. Rauner said pay practices should be left to locally elected school boards.
“[That] approach to teacher compensation both limits a school district’s local control and imposes a significant unfunded mandate on school districts,” Rauner wrote in his veto message last year.
With a new governor and Democratic supermajorities in both chambers, Manar got his bill through the Senate education committee Tuesday. He said it won’t increase how much the state gives school districts under the recently passed school funding formula, but it will have a local impact with the initial year of the five-year phase into $40,000 being just over $32,000.
“[The first year is] $32,076,” Manar said. “And I don’t hide behind that. This has a budgetary impact on local school districts.”
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* As we’ve discussed before, the Belleville News-Democrat has been shedding experienced staff over the past several months. The BN-D is owned by McClatchy.
From the Columbia Journalism Review….
On Friday morning, McClatchy President and CEO Craig Forman emailed employees to let them know 450 staffers across the enterprise, all aged 55 and over, would be offered early retirement.
In his email on Friday, Forman attributed this latest reduction in staff to “the culmination of the enormous progress McClatchy has already made in our transition to a digital future,” but the response among reporters didn’t match his optimism. “McClatchy laid off a bunch of folks including me back in 2018,” reporter Christian Boschult tweeted as the news broke. “Hopefully the folks who don’t take buyouts aren’t let go.” […]
In 2017, Forman’s take-home pay from McClatchy was $1.7 million, excluding restricted stock. His newest contract with the company, dated January 25, 2019, includes a base pay of $1 million, a bonus of $1 million, and an additional $35,000 monthly stipend. According to Segal, this stipend will be used to pay for Forman’s travel, housing, office, and security expenses. This monthly stipend alone, which is up from $5,000 in his previous contract, could fund several reporters’ salaries every year.
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Today’s quotable
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SJ-R…
It’s unclear whether Monday’s statement by the state’s six Roman Catholic bishops opposing recreational use of marijuana will make it harder to pass legislation allowing the practice in Illinois, a key lawmaker advocating legalization says.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said it was no shock that the six bishops — including Thomas John Paprocki of the Springfield Diocese, Daniel Jenky of the Peoria Diocese and David Malloy of the Rockford Diocese — oppose legalization. […]
“Prohibitionists are going to prohibit,” she said. “It just doesn’t surprise me that they want to cling to the old ways. I don’t know that anybody’s going to be surprised by this.”
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Hey, governor! Remember Sterigenics?
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* WGN…
New data from the EPA released Tuesday reveals higher levels of the cancer-causing agent ethylene oxide near Sterigenics’ facility in suburban Willowbrook than earlier studies, prompting calls for its closure from officials and residents who feel the plant is responsible for a litany of medical problems in the community.
A protest outside Gower West School Tuesday is the latest involving residents of this community against Sterigenics, which has been operating in the area since 1984. These folks say the data is irrefutable: the levels of emissions is to a point that people have been getting sick - and some dying - for years.
Sterigenics produces ethylene oxide, which is odorless and is used to make other chemicals like anti-freeze, adhesives, detergents, pesticides and sterilizers for medical equipment.
* Tribune…
William Wehrum, the administration’s top air official, said the EPA is sticking to its plan to re-evaluate cancer risks in the Willowbrook area after collecting more air samples during the next month and combining the results with computer modeling of pollution emitted by Sterigenics.
Samples analyzed so far suggest that on some days the air monitors are registering other, unknown sources of ethylene oxide, Wehrum said, meaning the agency needs more time to assess the dangers, determine the extent Sterigenics is responsible and figure out how to limit future emissions.
“Does this somehow exonerate Sterigenics? The answer is no,” Wehrum said on a conference call dominated by residents urging the EPA to shut down the facility and questioning if the Trump administration is backing away from promises made before the November elections. “We think it’s really important to gather enough information so we can make valid and supportable decisions.” […]
Based on wind patterns during days when the EPA collected air samples in late November and December, there is no doubt Sterigenics is exposing residents to higher-than-normal levels of ethylene oxide, Wehrum and other agency officials said.
The Sterigenics response is here.
Press release…
Attorney General Kwame Raoul and DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin today issued the following statement regarding the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook.
“We are very deeply troubled by recent media reports showing improper operations at the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook. We have also since learned just this afternoon from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that 12 more days of EtO sampling results from November and December 2018 show a clear link between EtO emissions from the Sterigenics facilities and elevated EtO levels within the Willowbrook community. The citizens of DuPage County should not have to endure this exposure to a known human carcinogen. We are coordinating our review of the data released this afternoon with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Willowbrook EtO Task Force, which includes retained environmental professionals, including toxicologists. We will exercise all available legal authority to protect the community from this exposure.”
And…
State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) today released the following statement on the latest allegations made against the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook:
“The latest allegations against Sterigenics are beyond troubling and once again call into question their commitment to the safety of our communities and their employees. I am not convinced, nor are many of the families that I represent, that Sterigenics is willing to make the changes necessary to ensure our health and safety. So I am calling on Sterigenics to immediately shut their doors and leave our community.”
* Meanwhile…
Former workers, who do not want to be identified, accused the company of improperly dumping ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol.
One former Sterigenics worker said the chemical would be washed directly into the factory drains.
“The people in the back would call it chamber scum,” said one former worker. “It was really nasty. They would have us scrub it out, hose it down and squeegee it right into the drainage pits.”
Workers say plant supervisors would dump ethylene oxide’s byproduct– ethylene glycol–down the public sewer drains to avoid the cost of shutting down operations. Ethylene glycol is found in anti-freeze.
To avoid plant shutdowns, former workers say, the company manipulated alarm systems meant to warn workers when they were over-exposed to chemicals.
* From the campaign…
Well, governor? Whatcha gonna do?
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“People and Planet First Agenda” announced
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
House Majority Leader Greg Harris, Chair of the Appropriations I Committee State Senator Heather Steans, State Representative Will Guzzardi and Latino Caucus Chair State Senator Omar Aquino joined leaders with Fair Economy Illinois in Springfield to announce a People and Planet First Agenda for the new legislative session. A trio of bills will bring transparency in use of fracking chemicals and raise $433 million in new revenue by closing corporate tax loopholes.
“Today we are focused on bringing adequate revenue to fund education, human services, capital investment and good public safety across the state,” said Majority Leader Greg Harris. “While we are all working towards a fair tax along with Governor JB Pritzker, the needs in education, public safety, new roads and bridges, support for seniors and childcare are immediate and they need funding now.”
“Although there is a new landscape in Springfield, Illinois is still in crisis. The social service sector, public education and environmental enforcement need urgent attention and investment in this legislative session,” says Bea Westrate, a leader with Fair Economy Illinois and a resident in Harris’ district. “Passage of these environmental and revenue bills would be an important downpayment on the governor’s promise to make our state safer and our tax system fairer.” […]
HB282 is a transparency bill giving Illinois residents the right to know whether an oil or gas well transects their property, possibly polluting drinking water. State Senator David Koehler (46) and State Rep. Robyn Gabel (18) are the primary sponsors in their respective chambers.
HB2085/SB1115 reigns in offshore tax sheltering and would generate $318 million annually in revenue for the Illinois General Fund. Majority Leader Rep. Greg Harris (13) and State Senator Heather Steans (7) are the primary sponsors in their respective chambers.
HB2079/SB1132 amends the “Retailers’ Discount” tax break, to claw back $115 million in consumer-paid sales taxes kept by big corporations. Corporate giant Walmart keeps over $8 million each year through this tax break. State Rep. Will Guzzardi (39) and State Senator Omar Aquino (2) are the primary sponsors in their respective chambers.
Discuss.
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We’re all gonna die!
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* The Tribune with its usual schtick…
Illinois residents are fleeing for more economically hospitable states. They go to Texas, Florida and other Sun Belt states because job prospects are better, tax burdens are lower and the weather is more temperate. The Exodus is real. It’s damaging Illinois. And it may be getting worse.
The warning comes from a fellow sufferer, otherwise known as the governor of New York. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo reports that New York state income tax revenue last year came up short by a projected $2.3 billion. Cuomo partially blames the departure of wealthy residents from his high-tax state in the wake of federal tax reform, which put a limit on the amount of state and local taxes that can be deducted on federal income tax forms.
When New York, already expensive, put an even higher tax burden on residents, some New Yorkers who could afford to leave did so. In Cuomo’s memorable phrase on Monday: “Tax the rich. Tax the rich. Tax the rich. We did that. God forbid the rich leave.”
As of Tuesday we hadn’t seen an estimated 2018 tax revenue figure from Springfield, but a trend’s a trend. There’s reason to anticipate that some affluent, mobile residents of Illinois will reach the same conclusions as their brethren from New York that they’d be better off financially in a different locale. The Wall Street Journal reports that growing numbers of wealthy tax refugees from New York, New Jersey and Illinois are showing up in Miami to buy condos.
* Crain’s New York Business talked to the NY budget office…
In expectation of the [federal tax] change, an untold number of New York taxpayers accelerated income and deductions in the final days of 2017, paying more taxes than the state anticipated so that they could pay less in 2018. Absent that timing-related shift, personal income tax revenue would have risen 4.3% rather than declined, a state budget spokesman said. That suggests the state economy grew stronger last year.
Emphasis added.
Gov. Cuomo was basically just making a political argument against the Republican tax plan and everyone focused on that, rather than what actually happened.
…Adding… The Tribune claims “As of Tuesday we hadn’t seen an estimated 2018 tax revenue figure from Springfield.” The editorial board should’ve pulled up the latest monthly revenue briefing from COGFA. Here it is…
In January, base monthly receipts decreased $379 million. Regular readers of the Commission’s monthly briefing will recall that last January net income tax revenues spiked $925 million not only due to higher income tax rates, but also to taxpayer behavior related to the federal tax reform package. In essence, taxpayers were incentivized to pay their tax liabilities within tax year 2017 to take advantage of the last year of the SALT deductions—prior to new federal limitations. The timing of those accelerated payments caused a jump in estimated payments collected in January. As a consequence, the comparative decline in this month’s income tax performance is not surprising and was quite solid when viewed through the proper lens. This month had the same number of receipting days as the same prior year period.
While monthly gross personal income taxes fell $393 million, or $340 million on a net basis, that decline needs to be put in context given last year’s record January levels.
* From the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability…
In Illinois, each of the income categories we examined saw net domestic out-migration, meaning more people left Illinois for elsewhere in the US than arrived here from other states. On its own, that’s not surprising: Illinois has had negative overall net domestic migration for nearly a century, even when its population was booming, as we explained in our previous post. (One big reason is that Illinois has long relied on international immigration and new births for its population growth.)
But Illinois’ greatest losses aren’t among those making over $100,000 — not even close. From 2012 to 2016, on average, for every 1,000 people making six figures or more, Illinois lost 4.6 of them to domestic migration each year. In contrast, that figure was more than doubled for people making under $25,000, at 10.6 per 1,000, and hit a substantially higher 9.1 per 1,000 for people making between $25,000 and $50,000.
Indeed, Illinois’ migration losses are least severe in what we might think of as the “middle class” categories, between $50,000 and $100,000.
In other words, most people generally leave when they can’t afford to stay.
* And where have the wealthy Illinoisans been moving to? Well, New York, for one…
The top destination for households making over $100,000 is actually the New York City metropolitan area — hardly a low-tax oasis. Houston is second, with the top six rounded out by Los Angeles (where the top state income tax bracket is 13.3 percent, versus 4.95 percent in Illinois); Minneapolis-St. Paul (where it’s 9.85 percent); Denver (4.63 percent) and Washington, DC (8.95 percent). Only then do we reach northwest Indiana, in seventh place.
Overall, high-income Illinoisans’ top out-of-state destinations are a mix of low-tax usual suspects in the Sun Belt (Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Nashville) and places you’d probably steer clear of if you were moving to find low taxes (four metropolitan areas in California, New York, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Washington). This makes sense: As we wrote in our last post, migration experts generally say that taxes rank low on the list of reasons that people move, far below things like job opportunities, being close to friends and family, or overall cost of living, which is often more affected by housing costs than state and local taxes.
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* Illinois Municipal League press release…
As local pension costs continue to skyrocket across Illinois, mayors are pursuing legislation to reform and consolidate the state’s more than 650 public safety pension funds. Consolidating these funds could streamline investments and benefit decisions and eliminate unnecessary, redundant administrative costs, ensuring more money is available to fund pension benefits without reducing benefits.
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced by Sen. Steven Landek, a Democrat who currently serves as the mayor of Bridgeview, and Rep. Ryan Spain, a Republican who previously served as a member of the Peoria City Council. The package of legislation proposes varying degrees of reform and consolidation for local public safety pension funds in order to deliver on promises made to those who have dedicated their lives to serving their communities.
The Illinois Municipal League’s (IML) Pension Reform Working Group made the recommendation to consolidate the individual public safety funds after examining the best ways to stabilize pension benefits for hardworking public servants. Smaller local pension funds have experienced lower returns on investments than larger consolidated funds. As a result, many communities across Illinois are forced to choose between funding basic municipal services, including police and fire services, or making pension contributions. […]
“Consolidating smaller pension funds into larger funds has been shown to generate greater investment returns. Additionally, consolidation will relieve some of the burden placed on taxpayers. This is a win-win for both retirees and our communities as a whole,” said Michael J. Inman, mayor of the City of Macomb and president of the IML Board of Directors.
One proposal recommends a single downstate fund modeled on the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), which remains the second largest and best-funded pension system in the state. Consolidating funds would enact efficiencies and streamline services to ensure financial contributions from both taxpayers and employees go towards pensions, and not unnecessary overhead or administrative expenses.
* The bill list…
SB 1106/HB 1566: Consolidation into IMRF, with IMRF Formula for New Hires
Consolidates all downstate public safety pension funds into the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) and requires the regular IMRF pension formula to apply to all newly hired public safety employees after a certain date. Local pension boards would be abolished following consolidation.
SB 1107/HB 1567: Consolidation into IMRF, with Retained Police and Firefighter Formulas
Consolidates all downstate public safety pension funds into IMRF. This proposal would allow the benefit characteristics of these funds to stay the same, but be under the management and administration of IMRF. Local pension boards would be abolished following consolidation.
SB 1108/HB 1568: Consolidation with IMRF, for Investment Funds Only
Consolidates the investments (only) of all local pension funds by the transfer of assets and investment authority into IMRF and maintains local pension boards for each fund to administer pension determinations.
SB 1109/HB 1569: Consolidation Creating a Single Downstate Police Pension Fund
Consolidates all downstate police pension funds into a single downstate police pension fund. The fund would have one statewide board that would carry out all aspects of the fund’s management, thereby eliminating the local pension boards.
SB 1110/HB 1570: Consolidation Creating a Single Downstate Firefighter Pension Fund
Consolidates all downstate firefighters pension funds into a single downstate firefighter pension fund. The fund would have one statewide board that would carry out all aspects of the fund’s management, thereby eliminating the local pension boards.
SB 1111/HB 1571: Consolidation with IMRF, for Investment Funds Only, By City Council Action, Maintaining Local Pension Boards
Allows municipal officials to direct the local pension fund board to transfer and consolidate its investment funds into a single statewide fund. Allows local pension boards to maintain all other authority, such as pension awards and disability determinations. Participating communities would see their property tax levies for pensions be exempted from the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL).
SB 1112/HB 1572: Extend the Amortization Period and Reduce the Funded Ratio Target
Maintains all characteristics of each local pension fund (i.e., no consolidation), extends the amortization period from 2040 to 2050 and reduces the required funding ratio target from 90% to 80%, and directs a comprehensive study be done to examine the costs and benefits of full consolidation.
Thoughts?
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* Daily Herald…
Several council members and public speakers in Naperville rose in defense of their hometown Tuesday after state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray described Naperville as a city with a “history of white supremacist policies.”
Council member Kevin Coyne called for Stava-Murray to step down from her seat representing the 81st District, which includes parts of Naperville, saying she “has a fundamental misunderstanding of both the Naperville community and what it means to represent a constituency.” […]
These public statements came more than a month after Stava-Murray, a 32-year-old Democrat, responded to a woman’s post on Facebook with a message that said she is working to change what she sees as the city’s “history of white supremacist policies.”
She later pointed to what she calls racial profiling during traffic stops, questionable police hiring, discrimination in housing and home showings, largely white teacher populations, high rates of black student suspensions and low rates of black student enrollment in advanced placement courses as evidence of “white ignorance” in Naperville policies.
Stava-Murray said she has no plans to step down after what she described as Coyne’s attempt to cause further division by revisiting her comments. She said he “has no genuine intention” behind “his continued escalation of the situation.”
* Naperville Sun…
City Councilman Benny White, the first African-American resident elected to the Naperville council, also rebuked Stava-Murray’s comments. […]
“As a parent of black children, when my kids became of age, like many other black parents, we actually had to sit down with our kids and tell them what to do and what not to do if they’re stopped by the police,” White said. “It’s just a different perspective that many of us probably just don’t get or quite understand.
“I have a story and my wife has a story and sadly our kids have a story since moving here,” White said. “Our kids both felt the sting of racism in schools in Naperville.” […]
“To be clear, I do not believe Naperville is a community with white supremacist policies,” White said. “However, that does not mean Naperville is immune to the ills and bias of discrimination. To believe so would be a fallacy.”
Elected officials need to understand their voices are louder than most, and that their words matter, White said.
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* Illinois Public Radio…
Robert Bruno, a professor at the UIUC School of Labor and Employment Relations and director of the Project for Middle Class Renewal, said 10 states have already legalized sports gambling in the last year, but none are in the Midwest. “There is some advantage to be the first mover, so Illinois may want to be out of the box first. Obviously that incentivizes taking action,” he said.
But there is still debate on how it could impact gambling addiction.
Frank Manzo, policy director for the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, said sports betting already exists in the black market, and regulating it could help with those concerns. “People are doing it anyway, and legalizing sports betting, which is an economic activity that has been approved by the U.S. Supreme Court, would bring those bettors into a safe and regulated marketplace.”
Bruno said their analysis estimates up to $100 million annually in state tax revenue, which could not only go toward infrastructure or public education, but also toward funding gambling addiction programs. […]
According to the report, legalization could also help create up to 2,500 jobs.
The Illinois Economic Policy Institute’s full report is here.
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Durbin falls for junk science
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Bernie…
U.S. Sen. DICK DURBIN, D-Illinois, says he doesn’t think Illinois should rush into making recreational use of marijuana legal.
Durbin, of Springfield, was asked about the issue when appearing on another topic last week at the Memorial Center for Learning and Innovation.
“I can remember the worst times, when it came to marijuana, and when I was a lawyer in this town, and somebody with a 17-year-old son would come in and say, ‘My kid just got busted for smoking pot,’” Durbin said. “They wanted to know … whether or not there was any way to spare their son from the embarrassment and possibly life-changing results of being prosecuted for smoking a joint.” […]
Durbin said he recommends a recent article by MALCOLM GLADWELL in The New Yorker. The headline of the online version is: “Is Marijuana as Safe as We Think?”
He said it discusses “the impact of legalizing marijuana in many states … and what they have seen as a result of it: the increase in traffic accidents; certain mental health conditions seem to be more prevalent in those states. These are all legitimate clinical questions that should be asked and tested.”
* From that thoroughly debunked article, which is based on an even worse book…
Berenson looks, too, at the early results from the state of Washington, which, in 2014, became the first U.S. jurisdiction to legalize recreational marijuana. Between 2013 and 2017, the state’s murder and aggravated-assault rates rose forty per cent—twice the national homicide increase and four times the national aggravated-assault increase. We don’t know that an increase in cannabis use was responsible for that surge in violence. Berenson, though, finds it strange that, at a time when Washington may have exposed its population to higher levels of what is widely assumed to be a calming substance, its citizens began turning on one another with increased aggression.
* James Hamblin in the Atlantic…
We don’t know—that’s true. Science can’t prove a negative. But this is innuendo, the public-intellectual equivalent of just sayin’. Innumerable factors go into homicide rates. One of the strongest predictors is income inequality, for example, which was increasing in Washington during that period; the state now has the 10th-biggest gap in the country. If marijuana legalization accounted for increased murder rates, Amsterdam would be a much deadlier place to live. As it is, the homicide rate in the Netherlands is one-fifth as high as it is in the United States.
* Also…
It’s not a presentation of evidence as much as a dire hypothetical that ignores literally all other possible factors for a fluctuation in assault and homicide rates.
* And…
When it comes to violence, Beatriz Carlini, a senior research scientist at the University of Washington’s Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, notes Gladwell says there was an increase in violent crime after marijuana legalization began in Washington. But what he fails to note, according to Carlini, is there was a decrease in violence the two years prior, and therefore crime levels have simply reached the point they were at in the years before legalization. And Benjamin Hansen, an economics professor at the University of Oregon, who showed that crime rates in Washington and Colorado have actually decreased since legalization.
Another thing Gladwell focuses on is a report by the National Academy of Medicine that showed a link between schizophrenia and marijuana use. But Ziva Cooper, a research director at UCLA’s Cannabis Research Initiative and one of the authors of the report cited by Gladwell, came out and publicly affirmed that the report does not mean that marijuana use causes schizophrenia.
You got had, Dick.
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* Gov. Pritzker’s office reacts to the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club’s plan unveiled yesterday to raise the income tax rate, expand the tax to retirement income and tax some services…
Despite what the Civic Committee folks say, Gov. Pritzker does not seem enamored of the plan.
The official response: “We appreciate the recommendations the Civic Committee is making as we begin this journey, and we will continue to listen to and work with all stakeholders as we move forward.”
The unofficial background response from an administration source: “The governor ruled out some of these recommendations during the campaign, including taxing retirement income. He opposes an increase in the flat tax and believes that a graduated income tax is the appropriate path forward for income taxes, so that the vast majority of Illinois families receive a tax break while the wealthiest pay more.”
The only way this plan looks even a little viable (aside from the retirement income tax, which is almost undoubtedly out of the question) is if the progressive tax proposal fails to pass.
Kennedy summed it up…
* There’s also this aspect…
At the same time, the [Civic Committee] plan calls for elimination of the estate tax and the franchise tax at a cost of about $500 million. The organization said it would make Illinois more competitive and combat its “outlier status.”
Yeah, I’m thinking the Democrats are in zero mood to eliminate the estate tax these days.
* Illinois Policy Institute…
“The people of Illinois pay among the highest state-and-local tax burdens in the nation, and yet Illinois has been in a perpetual budget crisis for years,” it says. “Taxes are the No. 1 reason people consider leaving Illinois, as residents face constant uncertainty about future tax rates. We support some of the reforms the Civic Committee includes in its proposal, including rightsizing government-worker health insurance costs so they more closely match what their peers in the private sector pay. But a $6 billion tax hike with little reform or shared sacrifice is likely to make our problems worse and would require Gov. J.B. Pritzker to break his promise not to raise taxes for his first two budget years.”
* Meanwhile…
Also on Tuesday, bond ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service in a report pointed to many of the same issues the Civic Committee highlights: “massive unfunded pension liabilities, chronic budget deficits causing bill payment delays, and subpar economic and demographic trends.” It also says new money likely will be required to balance the budget.
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