The administration is withdrawing the nominations of Julie Hamos and Michael Geldner to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board in order to appoint members who more closely share the governor’s vision for hospitals around the state. We appreciate their willingness to serve. The governor’s priority is to work with communities to ensure their health care needs are met.
* As you’ll recall, Hamos and Geldner both voted against delaying the closure of Westlake Hospital last week until the lawsuits that were filed to keep the hospital open could be adjudicated. After that motion to delay failed, the full board voted to allow the hospital to close…
Board member Julie Hamos said Tuesday that losing hospitals is tough for communities, but she expects to see more hospitals closing in coming years as advances in medicine make inpatient care less necessary.
“We are really on the cusp of a very significant change in our health care system,” said Hamos, who was recently appointed to the board by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and is a former lawmaker. She said deferring the application would simply have shifted a decision on the matter to the courts.
* Hamos and Geldner had been appointed by Gov. Pritzker to the Health Facilities and Services Review Board not long before the vote and their action prompted an immediate denunciation from Rep. Chris Welch, who is a staunch Speaker Madigan ally and chairs the powerful House Executive Committee…
Following the decision, Democratic state Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch of Westchester, who is also a member of Westlake’s board of trustees, said: “Gov. Pritzker let us down. We went to bat for him, and his appointees went to bat for billionaires from California.”
The vote took place on the first day lawmakers returned to town from a two-week break, so it was a particularly inauspicious beginning to the session’s home stretch.
* Rep. Welch’s response…
It’s a good start. He never should have appointed them in the first place. Now he needs to do more to ensure our community continues to have access to healthcare.
* Meanwhile, Rep. Welch, Rep. Kathleen Willis and Melrose Park Mayor Ronald Serpico have penned an op-ed calling on AG Raoul to step in. Excerpt…
Westlake is the only hospital in the area with a major behavioral and addictions mental health wing. Chicago’s near west suburbs are ground zero for the opium epidemic. With 50 beds in a dedicated psychiatric wing, Westlake Hospital is the main organization on the front lines of this crisis.
Newly elected Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is in a unique position.
The Village of Melrose Park has filed for a temporary restraining order that would prevent Westlake Hospital from closing. In violation of Illinois law, the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board voted last week not to defer Pipeline’s application to shut the hospital down due to pending legislation.
Melrose Park is currently suing Pipeline for fraudulently purchasing Westlake Hospital.
Raoul was elected on a platform of access to healthcare. He now has the opportunity to stop an out of state investment company from stripping healthcare access away from 40,000 low income, minority people.
The order to stay the HFSRB decision will be heard in court Tuesday.
We’re calling on Raoul to stand up for the healthcare rights of the vulnerable people who elected him to his current office.
(H)ere’s a scenario for an overtime session laid out by a lawmaker recently.
This is not an endorsement of the theory, just relating one person’s thoughts about something that could happen.
It goes like this: Until the end of May, most bills can pass with regular majorities in the House and Senate. After that date, it takes a super majority to pass bills if they take effect immediately, like the budget.
There are things that take a super majority no matter when they are passed. That includes proposed amendments to the state Constitution (like the graduated income tax) and bonds that that would be issued for a capital program. Ergo, if things get backed up as crunch time approaches, there are issues that could be pushed to June without changing how many votes are needed to pass them.
* The Question: Do you think the spring session will go into overtime? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
* We’ve been expecting a message from on high for a while now and it looks like we got two today…
In his visit with the Public Affairs Reporting program class at the University of Illinois Springfield, Madigan (D-Chicago) said legislative committees in control of budget appropriations have taken Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed levels of spending in next year’s budget and “ratcheted them down” in case measures supporting that spending do not pass.
Those measures include legalizing recreational marijuana and sports betting, which Madigan said are “not guaranteed today.”
And while he supports Pritzker’s attempts to change the state’s income tax structure from a flat to a graduated rate, Madigan said the Senate moved too quickly on the issue, and should have “given it more time.” The Senate on Wednesday, May 1, approved a bill and resolution that would put an amendment question on the 2020 ballot about instituting tax rates based on income.
Madigan’s comments indicate a slower-than-expected pace of passing new legislation with Democrats in control of the Legislature and governor’s office.
“Have you ever worked with Democrats?” he joked.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown claims the House Speaker was responding to a question about the length of the Senate’s surprisingly short seven-minute debate, not that the Senate had moved too quickly on the issue itself.
And while he fully supports Pritzker’s attempts to change the state’s income tax structure from a flat to a graduated rate, Madigan said the Senate moved too quickly when it debated for only 7 minutes Wednesday, May 1, before passing a bill and resolution that would put an amendment question on the 2020 ballot.
“It should not have gone that quick in the Senate,” he said, adding that the chamber should have given the debate “more time.”
“It’s not just a statute — it’s an amendment to the constitution,” Madigan said. “It goes right to the heart of how you finance state government…clearly something like that deserved more attention than it got.”
Nevertheless, he said he was “optimistic” the graduated tax measures will pass in the House.
Urges lawmakers to slow the process of legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois, so that lawmakers, stakeholders, and experts alike have the chance to consider the societal impact of legalization and examine all the data from other states that have passed similar legislation.
* Moylan is no longer arguing for a go-slow approach. He said today he wants to kill it…
He admitted he wasn’t sure a coalition of 60 of his House colleagues who signed a resolution urging more time to debate legalization issues would hold together.
“There may be some [who] are going to leave, but we’ll get more in,” said Moylan, who added he’d be against any effort to legalize recreational marijuana.
* Moylan announced his shift in a recent Tribune op-ed…
The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board rightly advised lawmakers to slow down on marijuana (“Should Illinois legalize marijuana? Not so fast,” April 14). As the sponsor of a bipartisan House resolution (H.R. 157) advising lawmakers to slow down on their push for legal weed, I couldn’t agree more. Both the editorial board and I also agree it’s imperative that policymakers learn from other states. But I would argue it’s been a failed experiment in every other state that has made the move to legalize marijuana — and for those reasons, we must not bring legal recreational marijuana to Illinois too.
He went on to cite statistics from some thoroughly debunked sources that I’m not going over again because I’ve done this more than once now and I’m just bored with it. Instead, here are a few posts from the past…
* You’ll recall last week when Speaker Madigan signed on to a letter requesting $150 million out of the capital bill for the proposed third airport near Peotone. Mayor Emanuel responded over the weekend via press release…
The significant modernization programs underway at O’Hare and Midway will keep passengers connected and fuel new economic opportunities for the region for years to come. In fact, when the O’Hare expansion is complete, it will be the equivalent of adding a third airport to the area. O’Hare is already number one and our modernization will secure it and the Chicago area’s aviation future. If the state has an extra $150 million to spend, schools, mass transit, libraries and parks could wisely use those resources
Gov. Pritzker was asked about the back and forth while attending a media event with the mayor today. He mostly dodged the question, saying that economic development is “critically important” to the south suburbs, where communities are often “left out or left behind.” He said the airport was one of several economic opportunities and claimed the capital bill will “certainly take into account where we can be of help in the south suburbs.”
“The governor has to look out for the state of Illinois, I’ve got to look out for Chicago,” Emanuel then said when asked by reporters.
The one thing that you should not lose sight before we get to Peotone or a third airport, the fact that people are now talking confidently after 25 years about a capital bill in the state of Illinois. And I want to compliment the governor for actually driving this issue where others have talked about it for over 25 years, that was the last time we actually had a true capital bill. … In the past it was ‘Can we get this done?’ now it’s ‘How do you spend the resources?’ That’s a marked difference.
They’re not quite to that spending conversation yet because they haven’t yet settled on how to pay for it.
“Midway is an incredible economic force for the Chicago’s Southwest Side. Its growth has been a major driver for development of the area and the city’s tourism industry. I am committed to supporting economic development that transforms neighborhoods, but we must also protect the existing institutions which have been spearheading so much current investment and growth,” Lightfoot said in a statement to the Sun-Times.
“If and when the time comes, I will be actively engaged in the conversation about an additional airport while ensuring that our investments in Midway continue to provide economic development.”
Democrat Marie Newman, in a second primary bid to oust Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., is being endorsed by six leading progressive organizations, with the groups jumping in the race months earlier than they did for her in 2018.
The Monday joint endorsement of Newman from EMILY’s List, MoveOn, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America sends a strong signal to progressives in the 3rd Congressional District.
Democracy for America earlier announced its support for Newman.
“Just getting started earlier is the big thing because that just expands the universe of voters that we can have ongoing conversations with,” Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the March 2018 primary, Lipinski, from Western Springs, defeated Newman, who lives in LaGrange, by only 2,145 votes, or 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. The district includes parts of Southwest Side Chicago and takes in south and western suburban turf.
“I’m honored to receive support from EMILY’s List, MoveOn, NARAL, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, and the PCCC,” said Marie Newman, candidate for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. “Illinois working families need a real Democrat with real plans to make everybody’s everyday lives better. I’ll never stop fighting to create an economy and society that works for everyone.”
Rep. Lipinski, the current representative for Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District, has made a name for himself siding with anti-choice activists and supporting a bigoted agenda instead of standing up for the real values of his constituents in a solidly progressive district. He has consistently attacked reproductive freedom and a woman’s right to make her own decisions about if, when, and how to start a family. He has refused to sign onto the Equality Act to guarantee equal protection to LGBTQ Americans. And he has repeatedly sided with Donald Trump and his racist and extreme agenda. He is out of touch with his voters and his party, and is not the representative the people of Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District deserve.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced earlier this year that it would not deal with vendors who work for candidates challenging Democratic incumbents in primaries. Newman told Politico last month that four consultants had left her campaign as a result of that policy.
*** UPDATE *** Dan Lipinski…
These endorsements make clear that Marie Newman is again running a “tea party of the left” campaign at the behest of national interest groups rather than focusing on taking care of the everyday concerns of people in the district as I have a track record of doing. This type of campaign, along with Ms. Newman’s hateful, Trump-like rhetoric, her penchant for spreading falsehoods - which she was called out for recently by an independent fact-checker, and the #metoo issues in her 2018 campaign she has still yet to address, will once again be rejected by voters. I continue to be focused on working with my Democratic colleagues in the House to deliver relief for middle class families with better job opportunities, improved infrastructure, more affordable health care and college education, safer gun laws, and lower taxes.
Moody’s has written a new report on the current discussion regarding the State of Illinois’ (rated Baa3/stable outlook) potentially replacing its flat income tax system with a tiered, or “progressive” income tax for additional revenue. The report states that if Illinois makes the replacement, it would likely gain increased revenue-raising flexibility to tackle a growing pension burden and unbalanced budget, but in order to change to a progressive tax system voters must pass a state constitutional amendment, a politically difficult process.
“A positive outcome for the state’s credit standing would require that the new system yield substantial net new revenue, without material damage to the economy, and the new revenue be largely allocated to addressing the state’s retirement benefit liabilities on a recurring basis,” said Ted Hampton, Vice President & Senior Credit Officer
While the new flexibility to impose higher tax rates on wealthier residents offers the potential to help the state address its increasingly onerous pension funding burden, it would also leave the state more vulnerable to the volatility inherent in financial market performance and other sources of revenue that drive high-income tax payments. Illinois already relies on income taxes for about 44% of revenue, which could increase to more than 50% with progressive tax rates, depending on the tax rates ultimately adopted.
The report’s highlights include:
The scale and use of incremental revenue would determine credit effects. If the constitutional amendment ultimately passes, its impact would depend on the degree to which the state derives new resources and uses them to address core credit challenges, most prominently pension obligations.
Economic and revenue strength provides capacity for higher income tax rates. Industrial diversity and high wealth levels give Illinois the ability to support a higher tax burden, even though it already ranks above the 50-state average in terms of state and local government tax revenue as a share of GDP.
Flexibility to set multiple income tax rates would help Illinois, but not without risks. Increasing reliance on income tax revenues and on higher-earning taxpayers would expose the state to greater revenue volatility.
* The report takes note of the opponents’ claim that the progressive tax will drive people out of state…
However, while rising state tax burdens would likely have some impact, migration between states is more likely to reflect demographic or employment factors.
But that point about revenue volatility is important. Large fortunes rise and fall with the markets. Some money needs to be set aside to deal with this prospect.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is evaluating a developer’s request for state help to fund construction of a $3.8 billion transit center as part of a megadevelopment along Lake Shore Drive across from Soldier Field.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh said administration officials, including Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes, the governor’s budget point man, “have met with the developers to understand their proposal.”
“The administration is reviewing the plan and we look forward to continuing discussions,” Abudayyeh wrote in an email.
Lawmakers in the Illinois House will be briefed on the developer’s proposal — which would have the state assume ownership of the transit center after construction costs are paid off — at a hearing scheduled for Thursday in Springfield. Legislation that would make the arrangement possible has not been filed.
Pritzker has wisely stopped short of endorsing the proposal or Dunn’s specific request to pass legislation this year to allow his company to be reimbursed for the cost of building the transit center from new state tax revenue that the overall development would create. The final figures are not available. Taxpayers need to know a lot more about the risks involved in this arrangement before getting aboard this particular train. This city may be good at making real estate out of nothing, but until it finds a way to make money out of nothing, its elected leaders—whether in Chicago or Springfield—should proceed on this idea with caution.
* Press release…
The Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus released the following statement urging the passage of legislation that would ensure greater representation of Latinos, African Americans and women on corporate boards:
“As elected officials of one of the most diverse states in our country, it is on us to ensure that the communities we represent have a seat at the table. Communities of color and women have and are still underrepresented in positions of power, and that is unacceptable.
“Members of all of our communities have had tireless leaders who have fought not only in securing their own rights and access to economic, social, and political opportunity, but to create a fairer and more just society for all Americans. Ensuring women and people of color are represented on corporate boards will build on that progress, ensuring that we live up to our ideals of inclusion.
“We urge our colleagues in the Senate to move swiftly and ensure that all residents in Illinois have a say when decisions are being made.”
Diversity in the boardrooms of Chicago’s biggest public companies is improving, but the gains aren’t spread evenly.
Women are far better represented today than they were five years ago. There are 103 women serving on boards of the 40 largest corporations on Crain’s list of public companies. Five years ago, there were 74, according to a review of proxy statements for each of those companies.
Minorities—defined as African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans—today number 72 on those boards compared with 59 five years ago.
Corporate Chicago’s percentages are generally in line with similarly sized public companies throughout the country. Female directors make up 24 percent of the board members of Chicago’s top 40. The national average also was 24 percent at companies last year in the S&P 500, according to recruitment firm Spencer Stuart, which tracks boardroom trends annually.
Minorities make up 16 percent of directors locally. That’s just shy of 17 percent nationally last year for the top 200 companies by revenue in the S&P 500. At the 20 largest Chicago corporations—which would correspond more closely to the top 200 in the S&P 500—the percentage of minorities also is 17 percent.
And then there was a visit with Carlinville High School seniors Andrew DeNeve, Tyler Behme, Travis Osborn, Tristen Burns, and Tucker Green.
As part of their requirements for civics class, they had to put together a Civics Action Plan that makes the case to their elected official as to why daylight saving time should be eliminated. Andrew DeNeve called my district office to ask for a meeting for them to make their case to me directly–so we met today.
After their presentation and me peppering them with numerous questions, I committed to them that I would introduce legislation next week in the Illinois Senate to abolish daylight saving time in Illinois. I was impressed with the very strong case they presented and that deserves a debate in Springfield. One catch–when our legislation is called for a hearing in a Senate Committee, they agreed to come to a Senate Committee and present their research.
A dark money group opposing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s “fair tax” plans to launch a lengthy TV ad attack Monday that calls the tax shift “unfair” and dubs the billionaire governor untrustworthy in light of a reported federal investigation into his own property tax savings.
With just three weeks to go before the Illinois General Assembly adjourns, Ideas Illinois fired off a six-figure media blitz — with a TV ad to run in Springfield on broadcast and cable TV until the end of the legislative session — to try to thwart the Illinois House from passing Pritzker’s preferred graduated income tax plan. The buy also includes digital ads in Chicago, and more mailers and digital ads in six targeted districts.
ANNC: JB Pritzker says his tax plan is all about fairness:
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 1: “A fair tax…”
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 2: “Fair tax…”
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 3: “I choose fairness.”
ANNC: Can we trust him? The feds don’t:
ABC7’s CRAIG WALL: “The FBI is investigating Governor Pritzker…
“Pritzker got $331,000 in tax breaks… by having the toilets ripped out, claiming the home was uninhabitable.”
ANNC: That’s not “fair” – that’s fraudulent. Maybe even criminal.
PRITZKER NEWS CLIP 4: “The wealthy aren’t paying their fair share.”
ANNC: But you will if Pritzker gets his way.
Tell legislators: Don’t let him cheat us again. Say no to his unfair jobs tax.
No Madigan? /s
* Meanwhile, the Center for Illinois Politics took a look at the spending so far. This doesn’t include what’s purported to be the new six-figure buy from Ideas Illinois…
Our analysis has found that nearly $4 million has been spent since March 18 on commercials in five media markets throughout the state - Champaign, Chicago, Rockford, Peoria and St. Louis. […]
The Chicago media market - the state’s largest media market where about two-thirds of the state’s voters live, goes up to the Wisconsin border, as far west as Dekalb and LaSalle counties and as far south as Kankakee County. There, a track of spending from broadcast and cable stations within the market shows Think Big has spent $2.8 million on broadcast and cable advertising over the last several weeks on three commercials - all 15 second spots. Illinois Policy Action has spent $43,236 on anti-tax ads, while the Coalition [Ideas Illinois] has spent $292,976 on anti-tax ads. […]
The next biggest market, Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, covers 8 percent of the state’s population and includes Springfield, where lawmakers may be watching television before, after (or even during) session. Here, Think Big has spent $177,009 on broadcast and cable ads. Illinois Policy Action has spent $23,840 on broadcast and cable ads opposing the tax. […]
In Rockford, Thing Big has spent $66,111 on ads. The anti-tax groups haven’t spent any money in the market at all.
In the Peoria-Bloomington media market, Think Big has spent a total of $110,187 on cable and broadcast ads, while neither anti-tax group has spent money in that market.
In St. Louis, Think Big has spent $139,126, while the Coalition has spent $80,664 - an indication that this is a market where they think they can make a dent by spending a bit more.
* Politifact took a look at a claim by Sen. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon) about the minimum wage…
Righter said, “The last time Illinois raised the minimum wage in 2006, the very next year this state lost 50,000 jobs” and that “the prediction this time is, we’ll lose 90,000 jobs.”
Federal employment data show Righter had his facts backwards: Job numbers for 2007 rose nearly 50,000 higher than they were in 2006.
A spokeswoman said Righter was actually referring to unemployment, which did increase that year. But experts noted that spike was likely due to broader economic forces at play as the nation headed into the Great Recession. What’s more, Illinois saw unemployment decline following wage hikes that took effect in 2004 and 2005.
Righter’s prediction that Illinois’ upcoming wage increase will result in more job loss holds up no better. We traced it back to an analysis of a different minimum wage bill produced by a group that has historically opposed minimum wage hikes.
We rate Righter’s claim False.
It all depends on how you look at the numbers, I suppose. Illinois ended 2006 with 5,821,022 jobs and ended 2007 with 5,869,157 jobs, which is an increase of 48,135 jobs.
The number of unemployed Illinoisans at the end of 2006 was 293,920 and the number at the end of 2007 was 364,530, an increase of 70,610.
The unemployment rate went from 5.3 percent at the end of 2005, to 4.4 at the end of 2006, back up to 5.4 in 2007 and then up to 7.8 in 2008 and peaked at 11.3 at the end of 2009.
PolitiFact is right that the country was slipping into recession at the time, so it’s impossible to say that one specific law caused anything. And this is particularly so because the minimum wage was only increased by 25 cents an hour in 2007.
* The Illinois News Network’s publisher and general manager has penned a column entitled “Objectivity lost when the media omits the news.” I kid you not. He goes through a long meandering introduction about his world travels and then finally gets to the point…
I have watched with curiosity how media in Illinois has covered the recent stories of two state representatives who have been charged with driving under the influence, each within a short distance from the statehouse, on what was essentially a work night. Kam Buckner, a Democrat from Chicago, was arrested on March 29 a few blocks from the capitol. Steven Reick, a Republican from Woodstock, was arrested Thursday (May 2).
Each man was arrested early in the morning during session in Springfield. […]
INN published stories about Buckner on April 3 and April 5. INN published the video, which we received via a Freedom of Information Act request, on April 29. The video was aired by WGN-TV, CBS 2 Chicago, and NBC 5 Chicago within 24 hours of moving through our news wire.
All information is neutral. If you provide facts and adhere to the journalistic standards of objectivity, as a reporter you are providing the truth.
Buckner’s DUI wasn’t covered in any way by the Springfield Journal-Register, until it was packaged at the bottom of columnist/reporter Bernard Schoenberg’s news story on Reick’s arrest, which was published on Thursday (May 2) – an hour or more after Illinois News Network broke the story. The arrest occurred less than a mile from Springfield Journal-Register’s office. […]
Politico’s Illinois Playbook, a daily email newsletter roundup of Chicago, state and federal news with implications for Illinoisans, is written and aggregated by Shia Kapos. She included a link to a story about Reick’s DUI on Friday (May 3), but still hasn’t reported on Buckner’s DUI.
That is so rich. “They’re not reporting on my publication’s stories so they are biased! Biased, I say! Biased!”
This from the same news organization which used to be owned by the Illinois Policy Institute and is now the group’s office mate in Chicago. It regularly publishes columns written by Institute employees and its stories often overlap with the Institute’s own coverage.
Amid a nationwide measles outbreak, the Illinois Department of Public Health is taking steps to increase vaccination rates to prevent measles cases here.
“The Illinois Department of Public Health is proactively working to increase vaccination rates and educate the public on the importance of vaccines to prevent the spread of measles,” said Jenny Winkler, director of quality, safety and health policy at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 704 cases of measles in 22 states. Seven measles cases have been identified in Illinois, Winkler said.
So, why aren’t they reporting on Bailey?! Biased, I say! Biased! /s
…Adding… A good point in comments…
Last week when news hit about the threatening letter concerning public pensions sent to legislators, IRN ran a story, multiple times, regarding a public school janitor suing over union dues.
Illinois is trying to do something no other state has accomplished, legalizing recreational marijuana by statute instead of coming up with a program on the fly after a ballot initiative.
That’s one of many reasons it’s taking so long. Legislators, led by Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, have been working on the bill for months, with the effort intensifying over the past several weeks. “No state has gone to tax-and-regulate by legislation vs. ballot referendum,” Cassidy, who started laying the groundwork for the bill with Steans more than two years ago, said recently. “That’s why it’s taken more time than other bigger bills.”
And it’s good that they’re taking some time because they’re able to see what has worked and what has failed in other states.
The Legislature is split along party lines with this issue, and although Democrats control both chambers, a few of them are on the fence and mirror the views of those in law enforcement and religious communities who worry about illegal sales and any addictive nature of marijuana.
Lawmakers have made an unusual step of introducing the bill first in the Senate, rather than presenting companion bills in both chambers. That’s likely because the Senate has been the friendlier venue for marijuana legislation then the House, which is expected to be a bigger hurdle.
Um, the issue has GOP support in both chambers. It doesn’t command a majority of the Republican super-minority, but the support is significant enough to say it’s bipartisan. As subscribers know, there is a big question about whether Republicans will support this particular proposal, but the governor said Saturday that he expects changes will be made.
Also, introducing one bill in one chamber is not unusual at all. Identical bills are occasionally introduced in both chambers because, for instance: 1) Sponsors have ego issues; 2) The General Assembly is preparing for ramming speed so that one chamber can have a hearing while the other chamber takes up an identical bill on the floor.
But this particular proposal does, indeed, have a better chance in the Senate partly because the Senate Democrats have 40 members, which would be equal to 80 House members. The House has 74 members.
One of the more colorful stories about Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s relationship with the Illinois General Assembly involves his 2011 threat to burn down a legislator’s house.
The newly inaugurated mayor was trying to pass a pension reform bill, and the House Democrats weren’t all that excited about it. Emanuel, the story goes, became so angry with Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris for refusing to support his bill that he threatened to burn down Harris’ house if he didn’t comply.
Classic Rahm—the same guy who once infamously sent a dead fish to a pollster.
But the house-burning story was an outlier. Emanuel’s relationship with legislators was mostly cordial over the past eight years, particularly with legislative leaders in both parties.
His predecessor, Mayor Richard M. Daley, had his Springfield crew insert themselves into all sorts of Statehouse battles, even going so far as to help the city’s corporate interests pass or defeat bills.
Emanuel mainly limited his Springfield involvement to major asks, like when he needed the General Assembly to help him offer lakefront property to George Lucas for his poorly received “museum,” or when he wanted infrastructure money for the area around former President Barack Obama’s planned presidential center. Both zoomed through the two chambers with lightning speed.
The notoriously tax-averse Daley (to the point of driving his city to the verge of default) was furious about the 2011 temporary state income tax hike. Daley’s negative public comments ahead of the vote contributed to the General Assembly’s decision to nix the traditional cut the municipalities would have expected to receive from the tax increase.
The Chicago Police Department reported last week that the number of people murdered in the city fell ten percent during the first four months of 2019 compared to last year during the same period.
While that’s good news and part of a two-year downward trend, lost in much of the coverage was a worrisome murder spike in the month of April.
The Chicago Sun-Times counted 62 Chicago homicides in April, up from 37 in April of last year and 48 in April of 2017.
It’s too early to tell whether this is an aberration or a trend. Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot has been busily meeting with law enforcement officials over the past several days in an attempt to develop a plan before she takes office on May 20 and before summer starts, when street violence tends to increase as the weather warms.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker spent over a year on the campaign trail talking about his strong belief that violence is a public health issue. I happen to agree with him on this. We cannot police ourselves completely out of this problem. Violence often spreads like a disease and research has shown that when it’s treated as such, the contagion can be slowed or even halted.
As an integral part of treating violence as a public health issue, Pritzker touted his support for violence interruption programs, which do things like mediate conflicts between rival individuals and groups and try to prevent retaliations from spiraling out of control.
After then-Gov. Bruce Rauner blamed the city’s crime problem on the lack of jobs and even illegal immigrants, Pritzker countered during a debate last October by laying at least some of the blame at Rauner’s feet.
“Gun violence across the state of Illinois has gone up in the very same period that Gov. Rauner refused to compromise on a budget,” Pritzker said during the debate. “So many of the violence interruption services, human services that people have as their last vestige of connection with civilization, have gone away.”
Indeed, the General Assembly had appropriated $4.7 million for violence interruption programs in Fiscal Year 2015, Rauner’s first year in office. But Rauner stopped spending that money and then nothing was appropriated for the following fiscal year, which began July 1. Shootings spiked almost immediately.
In all of 2014, before Rauner took office, 415 people were murdered in Chicago. Rauner, who didn’t recognize the connection between violence and public health, was inaugurated in January of 2015 and the number of murders rose to 468.
The city saw another huge increase in violence in 2016, with murders soaring to 750.
But violence-prevention funding was mostly restored after taxes were raised over Rauner’s July 2017 veto. The murder rate began to decline, dropping to 650.
Not all of this trend can be attributed to violence interruption services, of course. But the one Chicago community which managed to secure non-state violence interruption funding in 2015 was the only one spared from that year’s bloody surge in killings.
On his first full day in office this past January, Pritzker told reporters he wanted to expand violence interruption programs.
“Those programs have been decimated across the state,” he said. “And so we should be focusing on interrupting violence as much as possible.”
And as he approached his first 100 days in office, Pritzker told ABC 7’s Craig Wall: “The fact is violence interruption programs addressing the issues that prevent violence before it occurs, that’s the most effective thing that we can do.”
Pritzker also touted an increase in anti-violence funding during his February budget address. “This budget adds funds for community-based violence interruption,” he told lawmakers.
The governor never actually said how much he was proposing to add to the program, but it turns out his requested increase is a mere $2 million.
Every little bit helps, obviously, and nobody is complaining yet, but the money doesn’t appear to match the governor’s soaring rhetoric.
When I asked the administration why more wasn’t appropriated, I was told there just isn’t enough available state money to go around to fund all of the things the governor wants to do, ergo his push for a graduated income tax.
Pritzker is right that these programs work, and Chicago isn’t the only Illinois city that has benefited from them over the years. Somehow, we need to find a way to do more.
Governor JB Pritzker and key lawmakers announced a bill Saturday that would allow adults over the age of 21 to legally purchase cannabis from licensed dispensaries in Illinois on January 1, 2020.
According to the Governor’s Office, the measure will be introduced Monday as an amendment to Senate Bill 7.
“Years of work by stakeholders across Illinois means that today we are putting forward a framework for the General Assembly to move forward this session to legalize adult use cannabis, and we welcome additional feedback and insight during this debate,” Pritzker said.
The full press release is here. A detailed summary is here. The actual legislative language is here.
“This legislation puts social justice first by acknowledging the damages to overpoliced communities during prohibition,” said Senator Toi Hutchinson. “The expungement program is the most ambitious and comprehensive in the nation, creating a mechanism for erasing hundreds of thousands of offenses. It creates investment in the overpoliced communities through the ROC [Restoring Our Communities] program, and it creates a low-interest loan program as well as a social equity applicant status, so that communities of color can reap the benefits of legalization.” […]
“For decades, our cannabis laws have been unfairly applied against minorities, distorting the populations in our jails and prisons,” said Representative Celina Villanueva. “And as a practical matter, cannabis prohibition has been just as ineffective, inefficient and problematic as alcohol prohibition was. It is time to bring a measure of fairness to our laws, revenue to our state to fund important programs, and justice to our communities. This bill will help us get there.” […]
“The Illinois State Police will be a responsible partner in enforcing the law and ensuring any and all provisions of adult use legislation are strictly and efficiently complied with,” said the ISP Acting Director Brendan Kelly. “We are committed to ensuring the safety of the residents of Illinois.”
Gov. Pritzker is committed to adopting the most equitable system in the country, and this measure proposes several first-in-the-nation ideas to achieve a more equitable outcome for diverse communities.
$20 Million Low Interest Loan Program
The bill establishes a $20 million low interest loan program through the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for qualified applicants to help defray the start-up costs associated with entering the licensed cannabis industry. The loan program will be paid for with existing funds from the current medical cannabis program, along with fees from licenses for existing dispensaries and cultivators that are approved in the first round of applications.
Social Equity Applicants
The framework establishes licenses for “social equity applicants,” who will receive points during the application scoring process. Eligibility criteria for social equity applicants includes a number of factors, such as majority ownership by residents of disproportionately impacted communities, majority ownership by those who have arrests or convictions eligible for expungement and those who have a majority of employees who have been disproportionately impacted.
During the licensing process, “social equity applicants” will receive 25 points out of the 200 points. Bonus points will be awarded for several categories, including for Illinois-based applicants and applicants with a labor peace agreement.
Limitations on Ownership
In order to foster more diverse ownership, the framework proposes ownership restrictions to prevent the consolidation of ownership in a small group and allow a more business owners to participate in this new market. Among the requirements: no person or entity can hold an interest in more than three cultivation centers or in more than 10 dispensing organizations.
Licenses will also be approved in waves, beginning with current medical cannabis license holders, followed by additional licenses being granted in 2020 and 2021. This timeline also ensures that new entrants into the market can develop successful applications.
Restoring Our Communities Grants
The proposal creates a new grant, Restoring Our Communities, which will receive 25 percent of the revenue that comes from the sale of adult use cannabis. A 22-member board would oversee grant distribution to communities across the state that have suffered the most from discriminatory drug policies.
Expungement
The governor is committed to expunging criminal histories of minor violations of the Cannabis Control Act. The legislation establishes a process for automatic expungement that includes review from relevant law enforcement agencies, including State Police and States Attorney offices.
The automatic expungement process does not apply to individuals whose charges were accompanied by other charges. The attached summary includes a full description of the charges eligible for automatic expungement, along with the detailed process.
Once all vetting has occurred, the law requires that the conviction must be expunged.
Personal Use Parameters
Adults under 21 are prohibited from consuming cannabis, and cannabis cannot be consumed in any place where smoking is prohibited under the Smoke Free Illinois Act. Employers can discipline an employee or terminate employment if the employer’s employment policies or workplace drug policy is violated. Employers can adopt reasonable policies concerning drug testing, smoking, consumption, storage or use of cannabis in the workplace.
Possession limit for Illinois residents:
* 30 grams of cannabis flower
* 5 grams of cannabis concentrate
* 500 milligrams of THS contained in a cannabis-infused product, or
* >30 grams of raw cannabis grown by an eligible resident
Possession limit for non-Illinois residents:
* 15 grams of cannabis flower
* 2.5 grams of cannabis concentrate
* 250 milligrams of THS contained in a cannabis-infused product
Home Grow
The measure allows Illinois households to grow up to five cannabis plants if the grower is an adult 21 or older, is in a household that owns the residence, receives permission from the landlord, keeps the cannabis in a separately locked room to keep the cannabis away from members of the household who are under 21 and is not grown in public view.
Taxation and Costs
At the point of sale, products will be taxed at various rates, depending on the amount of THC. The cannabis purchaser excise tax is proposed at the following levels:
* 10% of the purchase price – cannabis with THC level at or below 35%
* 20% of the purchase price – all cannabis-infused products
* 25% of the purchase price – cannabis with THC level above 35%
Those who cultivate cannabis will be required to pay a 7% tax on their gross receipts from the sale of cannabis. This includes cultivators, craft growers and processors to a dispensing organization.
Preliminary estimates of the costs to administer the new law are roughly $20 million annually. Cost estimates will be finalized over the coming days.
Health and Safety
In order to raise awareness about the potential risks of using cannabis, the Department of Public Health will develop and disseminate educational materials for consumers and oversee the newly created Adult Use Cannabis Public Health Advisory Committee. The proposal also contains restrictions on advertising, packaging and label requirements, and warning requirements that must be posted in each dispensary.
In order to support substance abuse and mental health, 20% of the revenue generated by the sale of adult use cannabis will support efforts in those two areas.
Again, click here if you want to see a more detailed summary. The Illinois Department of Revenue will have a revenue estimate in the coming days.
• Municipalities may pass ordinances prohibiting the establishments of dispensaries in their jurisdiction.
o Local units of government must adopt ‘opt out’ ordinances within one year of the effective date of the statute or they are limited to adopting ‘opt out’ provisions via local referendum.
A unit of local government, including a home rule unit or any non-home rule county within the unincorporated territory of the county, may not regulate the activities described in paragraph (1) [home-grow], (2) [time, place, manner, and number of cannabis establishment operations], or (3) [consumption] in a manner more restrictive than the regulation of those activities by the State under this Act.
…Adding… Raw audio from the press conference is here.
* Left to right: Former Chicago Bulls star and NBA World Champion Horace Grant, Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady, former Chicago White Sox player and White Sox World Series manager Ozzie Guillen and Chicago Bulls and White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf…
If the State continues funding according to Public Act 88-0593, the projected accrued liabilities of the State retirement systems will increase from $229.3 billion at the end of FY 2019 to $331.0 billion at the end of FY 2045. At the same time, the projected actuarial value of assets is projected to increase from $92.5 billion to $297.9 billion. Consequently, the projected unfunded liabilities are projected to decrease from $136.8 billion at the end of FY 2019 to $33.1 billion at the end of FY 2045, and the projected funded ratio is expected to increase from 40.3% in FY 2019 to 90.0% by the end of FY 2045. All of the projected figures in this paragraph come from the various systems’ actuaries and are predicated upon the State making the necessary contributions as required by law.
Remember that last sentence.
* This is based on current statutory requirements…
The governor has proposed lowering that FY20 payment by almost $900 million, but Amanda Kass puts the actual figure at about $1.1 billion. And this is every year for seven years.
* According to COGFA, the pension funds currently have assets totaling $89.8 billion. But…
Over the last 24 years [since fiscal year 1995], the State of Illinois has appropriated $91.8 billion to the five retirement systems
So, the pension funds currently have $2 billion less than the state has put in, and we most definitely didn’t start at zero in 1995.
Ugh.
* And while the unfunded liability percentage dropped a tiny bit over the past fiscal year, the dollar amount increased…
Despite a roaring stock market, combined unfunded liabilities in the state’s five pension funds rose again and hit a record $133.5 billion in the year ended June 30. […]
According to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, the difference between what the state has set aside for retirement benefits and what it has committed to pay (the unfunded liability) rose $4.8 billion in fiscal 2018, up 3.7 percent from the prior year. […]
There are some small bits of good news in the report.
One is that the funded ratio of the funds actually ticked up from 39.8 percent to 40.2 percent. But it’s still below what it was in 2011, with huge gains in the equity markets since then.
Another dollop of good news is that the amount being paid out by funds in benefits seems to be leveling off. But it’s not clear whether that will continue.
John Coli Sr., the former Chicago-area union boss who was influential in Democratic politics and was an early backer of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, is scheduled to change his not guilty plea in his federal corruption case, according to new court records.
Coli’s change of plea hearing in his extortion and tax fraud case is scheduled for June 4 in front of Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer.
It’s not yet clear what the terms of a possible plea deal could be. Neither Coli’s lawyers nor a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago immediately responded to WBEZ’s requests for comment.
Federal prosecutors allege Coli used his former leadership position at Teamsters Joint Council 25 to get $350,000 in kickbacks from two firms. One was the Chicago film studio Cinespace, a one-time state grant recipient where a series of network television programs are filmed, including NBC’s Chicago Fire and Fox’s Empire. The government accused Coli of threatening work stoppages and labor unrest at the studio, which employs Teamsters members, unless Cinespace paid him off.
Prosecutors accuse Coli of then lying on his income taxes and on labor documents to cover up the scheme.
State Rep. Steven Reick was charged Wednesday with driving under the influence of alcohol in Sangamon County, online court records show.
Reick was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.08%, according to Sangamon County online court records.
The charges were filed by Illinois State Police, who would not immediately provide further details Thursday evening on Reick’s arrest.
A representative with the Sangamon County Jail said Reick was released about 2:15 a.m. Thursday with a notice to appear in court later this month.
State Police also issued tickets alleging that Reick was traveling 15 to 20 mph above the speed limit, and committed a turn-signal violation.
State Police could not immediately be reached for details, but WCIA-TV reported Reick was arrested at the intersection of South Grand Avenue and Eastdale Drive about midnight. […]
Reick issued a one-sentence statement Thursday evening via a spokeswoman: “I made a stupid and regrettable decision last night and accept full responsibility for my actions.”
* The problem with stories like this (and we see these sorts of stories all the time) is that the quoted “critics” will never be in favor of the legislation no matter what changes are made. They’re not critics who can be swayed or even who want to be swayed.
And while it is important to hear the perspective of “Heck No” votes and addressing some of their concerns could help convince members who haven’t yet come to a conclusion, Rep. Flowers has already made up her own mind about this bill…
The chief sponsor of a Senate bill to tax and regulate adult use of recreational cannabis is answering some of the concerns raised by critics. […]
State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, said she has concerns for her community.
“I don’t see where the community is going to benefit and quite frankly I don’t see where the state is going to benefit,” Flowers said. […]
Flowers said she’s worried about the possible social costs.
State Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said Flowers’ concerns are legitimate. However, she said legalization isn’t an endorsement.
“What it does do is say ‘we know that people are getting a safe product and you know that they’re now going to card people or to make sure that they’re not under 21 [years old], so you’re really limiting it,” Steans said.
Illinois gardeners, growers and landscapers are ready for spring.
With the “last frost” date approaching for most of the state, planning, building, tilling and planting will soon be in full swing.
But hold on …
You got a license for that?
A bill passed out of the Illinois Senate would create a new hedge maze for anyone with a green thumb. It’s an unfortunate example of just how confusing and unnecessary new licensing regimes can be. And unsurprisingly, it’s being pushed by a special interest group looking to grow its own bottom line.
Senate Bill 1899 says that anyone working in the field of landscape architecture must obtain a special license from the state. That means passing an exam, and you’ll need to jump through some high hoops just to take it.
* Related…
* Coal, nuclear interests spar at Senate committee hearing: “Illinois ratepayers will be compelled to buy what amounts to be the most expensive megawatt hours under the guise of a clean energy market that isn’t a market at all,” she said, adding that FERC has not yet officially made the capacity market changes Exelon has written the bill to address.
U.S. Representative Robin Kelly, along with Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan and 52 south suburban officials, sent a letter to Governor JB Pritzker requesting his support for the South Suburban Airport (SSA) and surrounding infrastructure.
“The time has come to finally build the South Suburban Airport. We know it will create thousands of good-paying jobs, boost our economy and allow Illinois to reclaim its aviation pre-eminence,” said Congresswoman Kelly
The lawmakers wrote: “Just as Midway and O’Hare spearheaded Illinois’ growth for the past century, SSA will be a cornerstone for prosperity in the 21st Century…As proposed, it will create an economic engine south of Chicago that would generate tens of thousands of jobs, hundreds of millions in annual tax revenues, and billions in new economic activity for Illinois.”
They continued, “Chicago is the largest US market without three airports;” adding that New York, Washington, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco each have three major airports.
Acknowledging that airports take decades to plan and rarely happen, officials wrote: “Thanks to the bipartisan efforts by five governors over decades, Illinois has secured the key components – land assemblage, legislative authority, and broad business, labor and political support.”
The FAA first urged Chicago to build a third airport in 1985. Due to capacity constraints, the city has been losing cargo and passenger market-share to places like Denver and Dallas for 20 years.
Kelly and lawmakers also urge the Governor to “apportion $150 million in the 2020 capital bill for initial off-site improvements—a new interchange on I-57, local road upgrades, and connectivity to utilities.” The actual airport, near Monee, will be financed with private dollars.
The letter was signed by three members of Congress; 14 state legislators, including Speaker Madigan; 29 mayors; four Chicago aldermen; two Cook County commissioners and two mayors-elect who represent Cook, Will and Kankakee counties.
How can we ask Illinois families to trust us with their hard-earned money when Democrats in Springfield didn't even wait two months before raising the proposed graduated tax rates? #twillhttps://t.co/iQ5uwvhrDk
OK, that’s just silly, mainly because no rate bill had ever passed in the first place. It was just numbers on a piece of paper and the package was always up for negotiation before passage. Also, the Senate only raised the rates on the highest brackets.
Even so, the Senate Dems walked right into that simplistic rhetorical punch.
* And now this…
The following statement was issued Thursday by Illinois House Progressive Caucus Reps. Ammons (co-chair), Guzzardi (co-chair), Mah (co-chair), Villanueva (treasurer), Ramirez (secretary), Cassidy, Gabel, Harris, Mason, Moeller, Ortiz, Robinson, Stava-Murray, and West.
“We strongly disagree with the passage of SB 689.
“Our state is finally trying to fix its deeply unfair tax policy. We are finally asking the wealthy to pay their fair share in funding the basic operations of government. A $300 million tax cut to the estates of the super-rich is a move in precisely the opposite direction.
“We urge our colleagues to join us in opposing this giveaway to the wealthy few.”
Senate Democrats said the estate tax “has increasingly been an issue in agriculture communities across Illinois.” Yet economists, such as Thomas Piketty in his book “Capital in the 21st Century,” have argued that it’s one of the most effective methods of addressing income inequality and leveling the economic playing field between rich and poor. […]
[Representatives in the Progressive Caucus who signed the statement opposing SB689] might well ask whom the compromise is meant to appease. Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady of Bloomington voted against SB689, as did Sen. Chuck Weaver of North Peoria.
Just last month, Weaver joined in a debate with Guzzardi and Sims on the “fair tax” at the City Club of Chicago, and when Guzzardi argued that the rich weren’t fleeing the state because of taxes, and that the state was actually encouraging seniors to move here by not taxing retirement income, Weaver countered that they were leaving Illinois because of its estate tax.
* I’m not totally sure what the “smart money” is saying right now, but here’s the Tribune’s take…
The smart money says that if Illinois lawmakers are going to legalize sports betting this spring, it’s going to be part of a larger gambling expansion deal that also includes new casino licenses and expanded betting options at horse tracks.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker did not want to squander the opportunity to bring in new state revenue through legalized sports betting, made possible by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year, by tying the issue to the parochial gambling debates that have failed to produce an agreement for the better part of a decade. The governor is counting on more than $200 million in sports betting revenue in his spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1.
But with their scheduled May 31 adjournment approaching, lawmakers are faced with the reality that winning broad support for a sports betting bill likely will require resolving issues they’ve been kicking around since then-Gov. Pat Quinn in 2013 vetoed the last gambling expansion bill passed by the General Assembly. Because Pritzker has placed such a high priority on sports betting, all sides see it as leverage to achieve their long-sought goals.
* The speculation kicked into high gear yesterday when Mayor Emanuel’s people weighed in. Here’s the take from Tony Arnold at WBEZ…
At a House committee hearing Thursday, a lobbyist for the mayor’s office testified that the city would support Pritzker’s call for legalized sports gambling as part of a bill that would allow for a Chicago-run casino.
“The city of Chicago supports sports wagering and the legalization of it within a comprehensive amendment that provides for a publicly-owned Chicago casino license,” said Derek Blaida, a lobbyist for the city of Chicago.
The city’s request is in line with a controversial speech Emanuel gave in December about solving the city’s underfunded pension crisis. He urged state lawmakers to approve a Chicago casino to help prop up City Hall’s massively underfunded retirement systems. Per state law, any revenue from a Chicago casino is supposed to go toward the police and fire pensions. […]
Pritzker warned against this exact approach less than three months ago in his budget address to lawmakers. Saying previous attempts to expand gambling in Illinois failed because they would “get bogged down in regional disputes and a Christmas tree approach,” Pritzker called sports betting “different” since it was only recently legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court.
It’s unclear if tying a Chicago casino to Pritzker’s legalized sports gambling push has the blessing of Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, who takes office May 20. A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to WBEZ’s request for comment. Lightfoot voiced support for a city-run casino during the campaign.
To put this in context, the House and Senate have nine scheduled session days between now and the day Lightfoot is sworn into office at noon on May 20th. And one of those days is a Friday without an official deadline, which are often canceled. There are, on the other hand, 12 session days scheduled starting on May 20th.
In other words, Rahm’s ability to influence the process is waning fast. This deal likely won’t be cut until he’s out of office.
I reached out to Lightfoot’s transition team this morning and haven’t yet heard back.
* But Chicago isn’t the only city pushing for a casino. Rockford and Danville, along with towns in the counties of Lake, Williamson and south suburban Cook all want licenses.
“Racing will only succeed in those areas where income through gaming coincides with commissions on horse racing,” said Mike Campbell, president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which represents the labor side of horse racing.
Such revenues could come from a measure proposed in last year’s gambling bill that would have allowed video gambling and table games at racetracks, turning them into racinos. […]
Tony Petrillo, president of Arlington Park, said he’d like to see lawmakers focus on passing sports betting legislation first, because trying to incorporate too many interests in a comprehensive gambling bill might leave racetracks with the same outcome as last year – nothing.
“While [sports betting] is not the answer to our overall problems, we feel it can reach and expand our customer base until those big gaming issues are worked out,” Petrillo said.
“We were surprised at the level of participation,” said Tim Blair, executive director of the State Employees Retirement System that covers state workers. “We thought it would be somewhat lower because we thought the 3 percent compounded COLA was a very attractive part of the benefit package that people would want to keep that.”
Under the COLA buyout plan, participants in the pension fund can agree to give up the 3 percent compounded annual raises they get in their pension benefits. Those people would still receive an increase in their pension benefits, but it would only be 1.5 percent annually and not compounded.
In exchange, those people would be eligible for a cash payment that would be made to them now. The state would calculate the difference in benefits a person would receive with the 3 percent annual increase and the 1.5 percent increase and a person could get 70 percent of that amount placed in an alternative retirement vehicle.
Blair said that since the plan went into effect at SERS Dec. 1, there were 1,700 people who retired. Of those, 402 opted to take the buyout program. The payouts average $100,000 per person, Blair said, although the range ran the gamut from a couple of thousand dollars to $400,000.
The payouts will cost the pension system $37.7 million, although the systems are expected to save money in the long run by paying smaller annual raises. Studies have shown the annual 3 percent compounded raises are the biggest reason for ongoing increases in pension costs. Money for the payments will come from bonds the state is issuing, although not all of the bonds have been issued yet.
“We offer two buyouts,” state Rep. Robert Martwick, D-Chicago, said. “One is what’s called vested and active and that’s someone who’s worked for a while and just left government service and they just buy out their whole pension. So that’s No. 1. No. 2 is the [cost of living allocation or] COLA buyout where they can sell their three percent compounded COLA for a one and a half percent simple COLA and a lump sum payout.” […]
Martwick said there are plans for an annuity buyout.
“So they could sell a portion of their annuity, so any amount of their annuity which exceeds the maximum Social Security benefit and still keep their compounding COLA so it’s an easier calculation, it would be easier to administer and probably easier to understand for the retiree,” Martwick said. “And it creates an option so they can say, ‘should I keep my annuity and sell a portion of my COLA or keep my COLA and sell a portion of my annuity,’ and again more options means greater participation.”
* Gov. Bruce Rauner deliberately slow-walked this process, but the Pritzker administration is in charge now…
As of March 15, more than 112,000 Illinois Medicaid applications remained unprocessed beyond the 45-day limit the federal government puts on those eligibility determinations.
The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has warned state officials that Illinois is out of compliance with regulations on timely determinations of eligibility for the federally funded program to provide health coverage for low-income people and asked how they plan to fix that, records show.
If a case is delayed past the federal time limit, Illinois Medicaid applicants are supposed to be able to get cards granting them temporary medical benefits. But those also are backlogged. The state’s Medicaid application-processing delays and failure to issue temporary medical benefits have left some of Illinois’ poorest residents without access to health care, in some cases for more than a year.
Illinois provided no temporary medical benefits at all between June 2016 and September 2017, state Department of Human Services records filed in federal court show. […]
Charlotte Brown, who works for Christopher Rural Health in southern Illinois, said most Medicaid applications in her part of the state are processed within two weeks but that it often takes months to get newborns added to their mothers’ Medicaid cases.
That’s just ridiculous. How would a newborn not qualify if their moms already did?
Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, said: “It is unacceptable that people across the state are waiting for healthcare coverage, and he has directed the administration to take immediate steps to address this problem from the previous administration.”
In a written statement, the heads of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the Department of Human Services said: “Our departments are working together closely to bring on more workers to process applications and redeterminations, as well as training and technical experts to support front-line staff.”
*** UPDATE *** From Meghan Powers at the Illinois Department of Human Services…
We’ve made a lot of progress in the last two months and newborns are now being added to their mothers’ cases in a timely manner. We have eliminated the backlog of more than 26,500 newborn applications.
First, it would only happen if voters ratify that proposed graduated-rate income tax amendment to the Illinois Constitution. And, it would only take effect if the state shouldered more of the overall funding for education in Illinois — including funding special education, transportation, free and reduced meal programs and other mandated categorical programs. The state also would have to meet its decadelong commitment to boost funding for the new general state aid formula by $350 million a year.
That means a state price tag of at least $650 million for the state budget that takes effect July 1, 2021. If the state doesn’t meet recommended funding levels, as lawmakers and administrations have failed to do repeatedly over the years, the freeze melts. […]
But a March study by the progressive-leaning Center for Tax and Budget Accountability showed the process of the state assuming a much larger share of funding for schools is still far away, even after enacting a new general state aid funding formula and making the first $350 million deposit last year. The center did not factor in potential new dollars from a graduated-rate tax.
The center cited the State Board of Education in saying the $7.89 billion state appropriation to public schools for the 2018-19 school year was $7.35 billion short of the legislature’s adopted Evidence-Based Funding for Student Success Act. Evidence-based funding is considered the best practice in school funding because it ties the dollar amount taxpayers invest in schools to educational practices that research shows enhance student achievement over time, the center said.
While the new statute commits the state to fully funding the formula by June 30, 2027, the center said the promised $350 million in additional school funding each year will not be enough to meet the full-funding goal.
Categoricals have not been fully funded since… I don’t know when.
