[Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield] also said the measure appeared to give Democratic districts more money than Republican districts. He said everybody pays the same taxes and the infrastructure money should be distributed evenly.
“I would encourage the Democrats to reevaluate that as we roll through this,” Butler said. “This is a six-year plan. We have the opportunity to correct that and I think that’s something that we should do.”
Prtizker dismissed concerns that a disproportionate amount of capital dollars would be distributed to Democratic districts. He said Republican districts are getting billions in infrastructure spending.
First of all, what Rep. Butler is referring to are member initiatives, not the broader capital plan itself. The article doesn’t differentiate. As we’ve discussed before, Democrats did get more money than Republicans for member initiatives, but we’re talking about a difference of a few million bucks each in the context of a $45 billion capital plan.
* And, as noted above, the governor addressed this today when asked by the same reporter.
The fact is that a majority of the money from the infrastructure bill goes to Downstate Illinois. As you know, the many roads, the miles of roads all across the state, the bridges, the significant investment necessary, it’s in mostly Downstate Illinois.
Although there are Democrats in this area and across Downstate Illinois, most of that is represented by Republican Representatives and Senators. And I’m very much in favor of fairness here. I want to make sure we’re making the investments that are necessary.
Universities around the state are mostly, almost entirely in districts represented by Republicans. And that’s where hundreds of millions of dollars, in fact billions when you add it all up, are going. So, the money is getting distributed I think very fairly across the state.
* Looks like the governor got lucky with his timing. The Motor Fuel Tax will increase by 19 cents a gallon on Monday…
Lower gas prices are contributing to record travel. With today’s national average of $2.61, gas prices are 23 cents lower than last summer. AAA does not expect the increased gas tax in Illinois, set to take effect on July 1, to have an impact on holiday travel volumes.
“Gas prices are, on average, 20 cents cheaper than Memorial Day weekend,” said Nick Jarmusz with AAA. “More so, summer gas prices are poised to continue dropping even lower in the coming weeks.”
* But, as is usual with these things, person in the street interviews abound right now on TV stations everywhere. WSIL…
Lucy Rushing manages the 4-Way Quik Shop in DeSoto.
She said this tax increase is going to make it hard to keep their gas prices competitive.
“I have people who will literally stand up here (the counter) and count pennies to pay for gas, so it’s going got impact everybody,” Rushing said.
Pritzker expects this increase to generate around $1.2 billion in revenue, but Rushing is worried about her bottom line.
“People who get gas are more likely to come into the store and buy other things,” Rushing said. […]
Rushing said tobacco is one of their best sellers.
Loss of tobacco sales is probably not a great argument, but I get where she’s coming from.
Some people who say they are furious that lawmakers are once again imposing more taxes that they say they just can’t afford.
“They are just taxing the people of Illinois to death,” says Illinois resident Sandra Higgins. […]
“I don’t like it, I don’t like any of the tax increases that our state is doing, ” says Kate Ackerman. […]
“The gas tax sounds like a money making business but I don’t think it will help the families in Illinois. They’re already taxed to the max,” says Amanda McCoy.
Residents said they will have to change their daily routine just to stay ahead, especially rideshare drivers that have to fill up daily for their jobs.
“It’s going to hurt, you’re looking at an extra 100 dollars a month basically if you round it out,” said rideshare driver Mahalia Evans.
“My profits are going to end up slashed, so, the way I’m gonna combat it is just like I said, head out to Indiana where it’s a lot more reasonable and more workable. I’m just going to do that,” said rideshare driver Patrick Vital.
Illinois residents routinely cross borders for cheaper gas and cigarettes already, [Bill Fleischli, executive vice president of the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association] said. In May, the Illinois Department of Transportation closed the Bayview Bridge over the Mississippi River near Quincy due to flooding.
“Sales volumes on the Illinois side went up 100% while the bridge was closed, then went back down when the bridge reopened,” he said. “There is evidence all over the state” of consumers near the border seeking better deals in neighboring states, Fleischli said.
How often do we as a group of citizens complain about nothing being accomplished at upper governmental levels? Here, finally, is an example of a problem being identified and a solution presented.
We can’t spend our time yelling “do something about these issues” and then when a solution is found, yell “wait, not that.” Likewise, we can’t avoid doing something because of previous discretions from previous promises.
One, raising the gas tax 19 cents a gallon will provide the needed money to fix our infrastructure, including roads and bridges. Without these resources we would not have the needed money.
Two, the bill also provides millions of dollars to fix our deteriorating facilities around Central Illinois and the State of Illinois. This will include facilities at Illinois Central College, Bradley University, some Peoria Public Schools facilities to name a few.
Third, the incredible number of jobs for engineers, architects, building contractors, road contractors and building trades workers will be substantial for many, many years.
Fourth, the economic development opportunities for our communities all across Illinois through the rehabilitation of roads, bridges and facilities will increase economic development and growth, new businesses and new jobs.
The gas tax increase and $45 billion infrastructure plan drew bipartisan support in both houses, including from Republican state Rep. Margo McDermed of Mokena.
“The capital plan does contain additional sources of revenue, but it is necessary long-term sustainable funding that will help us avoid the peaks and valleys of intermittent funding, which leads to starts and stops on projects our communities are counting on,” McDermed said in a news release. “Further, people who drive on our roads every day are paying for it, they just don’t realize it.”
Surrounded by lawmakers of both parties and representatives from the business community and labor movement, Governor JB Pritzker signed Rebuild Illinois into law, the most robust capital plan in Illinois history and the first in nearly a decade.
The historic plan was passed with vast bipartisan supermajorities and will make $45 billion worth of investments in roads, bridges, railways, universities, early childhood centers and state facilities like the crime lab and veterans’ homes over the next six years, creating and supporting an estimated 540,000 jobs over the life of the plan and revitalizing local economies across the state.
“With this historic $45 billion capital plan, we’re fixing decades-long problems, creating good jobs, improving communities for the next generation – and doing it together, across party lines,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “The Rebuild Illinois plan transforms our state’s approach to transportation infrastructure, finally treating our roads, bridges, and railways like 21st century investments and not relics of the past. We’re also making critical investments in our higher education institutions, our crime lab and veterans’ homes, early childhood centers, and expanding broadband access to communities across Illinois. With these investments, we’re creating and supporting hundreds of thousands of new jobs in our state. This is more than an infrastructure plan. This is a job creation plan the likes of which our state has never seen.”
* Illinois Manufacturers Association…
Manufacturers need a modern infrastructure system to compete in today’s global economy and this capital infrastructure program builds a bridge to the future. We applaud Gov. JB Pritzker and lawmakers for making this game-changing investment in our infrastructure that improves Illinois’ economic competitiveness,” said Mark Denzler, president & CEO of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Infrastructure creates jobs and allows for safer families, faster commutes and the efficient movement of people and products around the world. Rebuild Illinois also funds important career and technical education programs to help address the skills gap and workforce challenge facing manufacturers across Illinois.
* Deets…
House Bill 62
Rebuild Illinois makes critical investments in infrastructure across the following areas, many of which will be subject to a rigorous process for determining projects and providing grants:
Transportation: $33.2 billion
Over $14 billion for new roads in bridges:
$10.4 billion for state roads and bridges
$3.9 billion for local governments to rebuild their roads and bridges
Nearly $11 billion for IDOT’s Multi-Year Plan for roads and bridges
$4.7 billion for mass transit, including the RTA (CTA, Metra and Pace)
$1 billion for passenger rail, including Amtrak and other inter-city rail projects
$558 million for aeronautics
$492 million for the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE)
$312 million for grade crossing protection
$150 million for ports
$679 million for other transportation projects
Education: $3.5 billion
$2.9 billion for higher education, including deferred maintenance and new projects at public universities, private universities and community colleges
$415 million for preK-12 school maintenance
$111 million for early childhood education
State Facilities: $4.4 billion
$4 billion for deferred maintenance and new projects at state facilities, such as the decrepit state crime lab
$350 million for the State Capitol
Environment/Conservation: $1 billion
$867 million for environmental, conservation and recreation projects, including:
$290 million for hazardous waste
$110 million for water revolving fund
$100 million for unsewered communities
$92 million for ecosystem restoration
$75 million for park and recreational facility construction
$40 million for well plugging
$35 million for land acquisition
$31 million for flood mitigation
$29 million for Illinois green infrastructure grants
$23 million for Open Space Land Acquisition and Development
$22 million for dam and waterway projects
$20 million for conservation reserve enhancement
$140 million for renewable energy projects, including solar and energy efficiency upgrades at state facilities and transportation electrification in low-income communities
Broadband Deployment: $420 million
$400 million for statewide broadband expansion
$20 million for Illinois Century Network
Healthcare and Human Services: $465 million
$200 million for affordable housing
$200 million for hospital and healthcare transformation
$50 million for community health centers
$15 million for human services grant program
Economic and Community Development: $1.8 billion
$594 million for community development
$425 million for economic development
$401 million for public infrastructure
$112 million for education and scientific facilities
$75 million for economically depressed areas
$51 million for museums
$50 million for libraries
$50 million for emerging technology enterprises
$50 million for the arts
$25 million for an apprenticeship program
$15 million for Minority Owned Business Program
Senate Bill 1939
SB 1939 provides revenues to fund the horizontal projects in the Rebuild Illinois capital plan.
Increases the motor fuel tax, which is sent to lockbox that exclusively funds critical transportation projects across the state:
Raises the motor fuel tax per gallon from 19 cents to 38 cents on July 1, 2019 and indexes it to the Consumer Price Index. If the motor fuel tax had been indexed to inflation the last time it was raised, it would be 38 cents – another indication of Illinois’ long failure to invest in needed maintenance of roads and bridges.
Increases the special fuels tax (on diesel fuel, liquefied natural gas, or propane) by 5 cents per gallon. The current tax is 2.5 cents per gallon, in addition to the regular motor fuel tax. This increase will generate $78 million in new annual state revenue, which is dedicated to the Road Fund.
Creates the Transportation Renewal Fund to receive the increased motor fuel taxes.
The revenue realized from the 19-cent increase in the motor fuel tax in SB1939 will be split between three purposes: 48 percent will go to the State Construction Account Fund for use on state roads and bridges, 32 percent will go to units of local government through the motor fuel tax formula, and 20 percent will go to local transit districts.
Allows Cook County municipalities to impose an additional 3 cent local motor fuel tax.
Allows Lake and Will counties the same authority as DuPage, Kane and McHenry counties to impose a county motor fuel tax to be between 4 cents and 8 cents and indexes it to CPI.
This increase will result in an additional $400 million per year to local governments (municipalities and local road districts) for local roads and bridges, $250 million to transit districts, and $590 million to the state in FY20.
Title fees: Increases the title registration fee from $95 to $150 for regular title fees and $95 to $250 for mobile homes. Decreases the duplicate title fee from $95 to $50. Increases the salvage certificate fee from $4 to $20. Creates a new title fee for junk vehicles at $10. These increases are effective July 1, 2019 and will generate $146 million in new annual state revenue.
Vehicle registration fees: Increases the annual vehicle registration fee from $101 to $151 beginning with 2021 registrations and the electric vehicle registration fee from $34 every other year to match the registration fee for regular vehicles, plus $100 per year in lieu of motor fuel tax payment, effective January 1, 2020. Increases truck registration fees by $50 for vehicles 8,000 pounds and under and $100 for vehicles 8,001 pounds and over. Combined, these increases will result in $529 million in new annual state revenue.
Commercial distribution fee: Repeals the commercial distribution fee on July 1, 2020.
Sales tax shift: Beginning in FY22, one-fifth of the net 5% state sales tax on motor fuel purchases will shift per year from deposit into the General Funds to the Road Fund, with the full amount deposited into the Road Fund by FY26. This will result in $600 million annually at full implementation (shift of revenue only, not an increase).
Pedestrian and bicycle facilities: Sets aside $50 million in funding for pedestrian and bicycle facilities and the conversion of abandoned railroad corridors to trails.
Transportation Funding Protection Act: Creates this act, which requires local governments to use transportation revenues and fees for transportation purposes only.
House Bill 142
HB 142 provides $22.6 billion in additional bonding authority, which will allow the state to fund much needed improvements in infrastructure in every region of the state. HB 142 increases that authority to $60.8 billion.
HB 142 creates the Multi-modal Transportation Bond Fund, Transportation Renewal Fund, Regional Transportation Authority Capital Improvement Fund, Downstate Mass Transportation Capital Improvement Fund, and Rebuild Illinois Projects Fund.
GAMING EXPANSION OVERVIEW
Gaming expansion will lead to thousands of new jobs in communities across Illinois and greater economic opportunity for Chicago and northern, central and southern Illinois. It will provide the state and local governments with hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue that will be dedicated to critical investments in infrastructure across the state, including affordable housing, hospitals, universities, and state facilities.
Through gaming expansion, Illinois will join 14 other states in legalizing sports betting while expanding other new opportunities for gaming, including the authorization of six new casinos that will create thousands of construction jobs and full-time, permanent jobs for Illinoisans and encourage project labor agreements. Gaming expansion will ensure Illinois remains competitive among Midwest states.
Senate Bill 690
SB 690 legalizes sports wagering, expands gaming, and provides for the vertical revenues in the Rebuild Illinois Capital plan.
Legalization of sports wagering: Illinois is joining 14 other states, including Indiana and Iowa, in legalizing sports betting, allowing all casinos, racetracks, and sports venues that hold 17,000 people or more a brick-and-mortar license to operate a sportsbook. All licensees will be allowed to go online immediately upon being licensed by the Illinois Gaming Board. For the first 18 months after the first licensee is operating, all accounts must be set up at a licensed gaming facility. Within 540 days of the first license being awarded, the Gaming Board can accept applications for one of three online sports wagering operator licenses. Official league data will be allowed, betting on Illinois college teams will be banned, and a lottery sports wagering pilot program will be created. SB 690 also imposes a 15% tax on adjusted sports wagering receipts for each month, with an additional 2% tax for wagers in Cook County.
The Illinois Lottery will be granted a master license that will allow lottery sports betting terminals in 2,500 retail locations in the first year and 2,500 in the second year across the state. This license is for 4 years and must be competitively selected.
Sports betting is estimated to generate approximately $58-102 million annually, which will be dedicated to much-needed infrastructure projects across the state, including universities, affordable housing, and hospitals.
Sports Wagering Disparity Study and Supplier Diversity: The Illinois Gaming Board must conduct a study of the online sports wagering industry and market to determine whether to implement additional measures aimed at promoting diversity. The Board will evaluate race and gender-neutral programs or other methods that may be used to address the needs of minority and women applicants and minority-owned and women-owned businesses seeking to participate in the sports wagering industry. The study must be conducted by December 31, 2019 and published by March 1, 2020.
To ensure supplier diversity efforts are made, the bill requires all licenses under the Sports Wagering act to submit an annual report beginning April 15, 2020 on all procurement goals and actual spending for female-owned, minority-owned, veteran-owned, and small business enterprises in the in the previous calendar year to the Gaming Board. The Gaming board and all licensees must hold an annual, public workshop starting in 2020 on the state of supplier diversity.
Authorization of licenses for land-based casinos: SB 690 authorizes licenses for six new casinos – in Chicago, Waukegan, Rockford, the South Suburbs, Williamson County (Walker’s Bluff), and Danville – and authorizes revenue-sharing with local municipalities. New casinos will be allowed up to 2,000 positions immediately, except for Walker’s Bluff, which is capped at 1,200, and the City of Chicago, which will be allowed up to 4,000 positions, including slots at Midway and O’Hare Airports. Horse tracks will be allowed 1,200 positions, and Fairmount 900 positions. Each of these casinos will be privately owned, and the Illinois Gaming Board will have oversight. SB 690 also implements a new tax structure for table games.
City of Chicago’s share of casino proceeds includes an additional privilege tax of 33% of AGR and will be dedicated to their police and fire pension funds, which are among the pressures driving escalating property taxes in Illinois. SB 690 also requires a feasibility study to be conducted by the Illinois Gaming Board.
Municipalities will play a significant role in shaping the establishment of new casinos across the state. In order to secure a license, the corporate authority of the municipality or the county board in which the riverboat or casino will be located must certify that the applicant negotiated in good faith and that mutual agreement was reached on the permanent location of the riverboat or casino, the temporary location of the riverboat or casino, the percentage of revenues that will be shared with the municipality or county, if any, and on any zoning, licensing, public health , or other issues that are within the jurisdiction of the municipality or county. Applicants must also submit documents, resolutions or ordinances, and letters of support from the governing body of the municipality or county where the licensee will be located.
Casinos will create thousands of construction jobs and full-time, permanent jobs, including an estimated 4,000 jobs in Chicago, over 1,500 in Rockford, nearly 2,000 in Walker’s Bluff, and 1,000 in Danville.
Expansion of video gaming terminals (VGTs): This proposal protects small businesses and enables the state and local municipalities to gain much-needed capital revenue by raising the VGT tax by 3 percentage points, from 30% to 33%, in the first year and to 34% in the second year and beyond. The legislation also allows establishments to have up to six video gaming terminals, increases the maximum wager from $2 to $4, elevates the maximum cash award from $500 to $1,199, and authorizes an in-location progressive jackpot up to $10,000. Video gaming will be allowed on the Fairgrounds only during the Illinois State Fair and will be capped at 50 machines.
Expansion of gambling at horse tracks: SB 690 provides needed support to the Illinois horse racing industry, which will create jobs and keep the industry competitive. Fairmount will be able to increase their live racing dates to 100, up from 40.
Ethics: SB 690 makes administrative changes to the Illinois Gaming Board and Racing Board, including strengthening the ethics laws on members of the General Assembly, state employees, and members of the Gaming and Racing Boards, implementing a surcharge on the exchange of any gaming or racing licenses until 2027, and sourcing any non-resident gaming or racing winnings to Illinois if they are required to notify the IRS.
Parking garages: Introduces a 6% tax on daily and hourly garage parking and a 9% tax on monthly and annual garage parking. Parking garages are not currently taxed at the state level. This tax will generate $60 million in new annual state revenue.
Traded-in property exemption: Introduces a $10,000 cap per trade-in transaction on first division vehicles. Currently, traded-in property provides a sales tax exemption on the purchase of property up to the value of the property traded in. This cap will generate $40 million in new annual state revenue. Raises the documentary fee from $150 to $300 and indexes it to CPI, which may be imposed on buyers for the handling of closing documents of a sale of a motor vehicle.
Cigarettes: SB690 increases the per-pack cigarette tax by $1, from $1.98 to $2.98, effective July 1, 2019. This increase will generate $160 million in new annual state revenue.
Casino Gaming, Video Gaming, and Sports Wagering: Ongoing revenues from the gaming expansions included in SB 690 are estimated to total at least $350 million annually at full implementation and will support expected vertical capital debt service. Upfront revenues from license fees are scheduled to support pay-go capital costs.
Sales tax parity: SB690 includes mechanisms to increase compliance for “remote” online retailers collecting state sales tax beginning July 1, 2020. Annual estimates for increased state sales tax collections are $200 million.
Data Centers: SB 690 allows an exemption from sales and electricity taxes for data centers who have or plan to make a $250 million investment in Illinois. If a data center is seeking an exemption for the construction or rehabilitation of its structure, the data center must require all contractors and subcontractors to comply with the responsible bidder sections of the Illinois Procurement Code. SB 690 also creates 20% income tax credit against wages if the investment by the data center is in an underserved area. The bill requires an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the tax credit’s outcome and effectiveness.
Capital diversity provisions: SB 690 creates the Illinois Works Jobs Program Act, which includes the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program and the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative.
The goal of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program is to create a network of community-based organizations throughout the State that will recruit, prescreen, and provide preapprenticeship skills training to create a qualified, diverse pipeline of workers who are prepared for careers in the construction and building trades. The Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program will be funded by a $25 million transfer from the Rebuild Illinois Projects Fund.
For public works projects, the goal of the Illinois Works Apprenticeship Initiative is that apprentices will perform either 10% of the total labor hours actually worked in each prevailing wage classification or 10% of the estimated labor hours in each prevailing wage classification, whichever is less.
DCEO will create and administer the Illinois Works Bid Credit Program that will provide economic incentives, through bid credits, to encourage contractors and subcontractors to provide contracting and employment opportunities to historically underrepresented populations in the construction industry.
The Illinois Works Review Panel, which shall consist of members appointed by the Governor and General Assembly leaders, shall make recommendations to DCEO regarding its identification and evaluation of community-based organizations and annually report its evaluation of the Illinois Works Preapprenticeship Program and the Illinois Works Apprenticeship initiative.
* I went to Gov. Pritzker’s press conference today to ask him about this story in Crain’s Chicago Business…
According to knowledgeable sources in Chicago and Springfield, after weeks of preliminary maneuvering [Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot] is pitching nothing less than a state takeover of the city’s cash-short pension funds, which under current law will require upward of $1 billion in new city tax hikes over the next three years to reach a path to full actuarial funding. Her proposal would consolidate city pension money with smaller downstate and suburban pension funds in a new statewide system. In some cases, those non-Chicago funds are even worse off than the city’s.
Insiders say Chicago might be willing to forgo some revenue it now gets from the state in exchange for relinquishing responsibility for the funds, which now are about $28 billion short of the assets they’ll eventually need to pay promised benefits. To pay the cost, Lightfoot reportedly supports state legislation to tax retirement income of better-off seniors—taxing income above $100,000 a year would net roughly $1 billion annually, according to the Civic Federation—or extending the sales tax to cover high-end services such as accounting and legal advice.
Some of the money also could come from proceeds of the governor’s proposed new graduated income tax. Gov. J.B. Pritzker estimated it will pull in an additional $3.4 billion a year and so far has allotted only $200 million to state pensions but nothing to local pensions.
It’s far from clear that Lightfoot’s proposal will fly with Pritzker. But Chicago’s new mayor has some strong arguments, including the fact that, without state help, Chicago will be forced to impose property tax hikes so large they could cripple the city’s and state’s economy.
Lightfoot also will be able to argue that, if she has to implement huge property tax increases, Chicagoans may not be wild about backing Pritzker’s vaunted graduated income tax proposal in a referendum in November 2020. The measure is favored to pass, but it’s no slam dunk, requiring 60 percent voter approval.
* I asked the governor about this today and he pointed out that he’s always been opposed to a tax on retirement income and remains so.
Regarding the state taking over the city’s pension liabilities, Pritzker said he hadn’t heard of that before and stressed that he wanted to improve the state’s credit rating “and so we’ve got to be careful about what we did in that regard, so that’s challenging,” which is a polite way of saying “No.”
The governor did say that he was interested in working with all cities on their financial issues.
Pritzker also said he did not hear the proposals from Lightfoot herself, but noted that they had talked several times and said he looked forward to working with her on various issues.
The governor didn’t mention this, but the state doesn’t subsidize any municipal retirement funds, so making an exception for Chicago would be a major first. The state did step in to help Chicago Public Schools with its pension payments in 2017, but the state has historically picked up almost the full pension tab for Downstate and suburban school districts, so that had precedent.
Also, as I told subscribers today, obliquely threatening the governor’s Fair Tax probably won’t go over too well.
I asked the mayor’s press office today if Lightfoot still supports the “Fair Tax,” but never heard back.
* According to the article, the mayor also apparently wants to renegotiate the gaming bill to give the city a bigger share of the revenue pie beyond the one-third that the city is getting as well as lowering the overall taxation on the casino.
That would would be a big hit to the state’s infrastructure plan and I asked Sen. Terry Link (the Senate gaming sponsor) today what his reaction was. Link said the mayor had jumped the gun and should wait for the state-mandated study of the casino’s prospects. If the city would get shortchanged, then perhaps it could be addressed.
* I also asked the four legislative leaders for a response. Here’s Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesperson…
We have not had an opportunity to review it.
No briefing before the story surfaced? Not so good.
Speaker Madigan’s spokesman said his boss is prepared to work with the city on pension issues, but they’re looking for information on this plan before proceeding. In other words, Madigan wasn’t briefed, either.
* Senate GOP Leader Bill Brady’s spokesperson…
Leader Brady recognizes Chicago has a pension problem; but taxing retirement income will just drive taxpayers out of Illinois.
Expected.
* House Republican Leader Jim Durkin is a personal friend of the mayor’s, and here’s his response…
We all know the pension issues facing taxpayers in Illinois. I appreciate the mayor’s willingness to discuss the problem and look forward to working with her in an effort to find a solution that benefits all Illinoisans.
* React from Sen. Andy Manar, who was at today’s presser…
Let me be clear, I am a vocal supporter of the Fair Tax to make sure the wealthy will finally pay their fair share. The Fair Tax will provide record funding for our schools and propriety tax relief for working families across Illinois. Any effort that deviates in a major way from these core principles will jeopardize our ability to achieve lasting reforms.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot tomorrow will hold their first lengthy sit-down since Lightfoot took office, and you can bet that at the top of the list is the mayor’s evolving campaign to get the state to help the city deal with its staggering pension problems.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Emily Bittner at the governor’s office…
Earlier this week, the Governor reached out to the Mayor to invite her to sit down together at the Thompson Center. They are meeting this weekend.
Some carefully chosen words there. Not hard to read between those lines.
*** UPDATE 3 *** So, is this meeting about the mayor’s pension proposal? Not necessarily, says Bittner…
The governor asked for the meeting earlier this week. The mayor is welcome to bring up any proposal she would like, but that is not why the governor requested the meeting.
…Adding… Props to AARP’s PR department…
As @GovPritzker and @chicagosmayor prepare to meet, we thank Gov. Pritzker for understanding that taxing retirement income is not the way to solve the state's fiscal crisis. Not the way to fix Chicago's money problems, either. #twill (link: https://t.co/HT9jzYodog)
* I’m heading to Gov. Pritzker’s Springfield capital bill signing event to ask him about an unrelated topic that we’ll discuss later this morning. So, keep it Illinois-centric and please be polite to each other. Thanks!
* Tim Timoney is a former Sangamon County Democratic Party Chairman and, aside from his local law practice and part ownership of a restaurant, he’s also Logan County’s chief public defender. Timoney is hoping to be appointed to a Sangamon County associate judgeship.
In August 2017, [Timoney] posted a story [on Facebook] about an off-duty Chicago fire lieutenant fatally shooting a teenage carjacker.
“I guess that punk learned his lesson,” Timoney wrote. “Concealed Carry: Reducing crime, one punk at a time.”
In December 2018, he posted a story about groups of youths, identified as mobs, attacking people on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, with four people injured and one arrested.
“Sounds more like animals let out of their cages,” Timoney wrote. “We need to bring back law and order.”
When I contacted him about his Facebook posts, Timoney told me he was “offended by my opinions being criticized. I’m not a sitting judge.” He said people are entitled to their opinions, and his posts “just express the frustrations that many people have in today’s world.” […]
In a 2018 post about a few downstate lawmakers calling for Chicago to be the 51st state, Timoney posted thumbs-up and praying-hands emojis.
This is a free country. You are free to post whatever pops into your precious little head on Facebook, but people are also free to hold you account for your actions.
Lake County officials are moving ahead with plans to prohibit the expansion of video gambling in unincorporated areas.
The financial and administrative committee on Thursday recommended the full board ban new video gambling terminals at bars, restaurants and other gathering spots in the areas it oversees. […]
“I’m not anti-gambling, but … I think it’s appropriate to put a pause on new licenses at this moment in time,” said county board member Paul Frank, a Highland Park Democrat who leads the committee. […]
The Lake County Board initially banned the machines in unincorporated areas, but it reversed course in 2013. As of May 31, nearly 300 video gambling machines operated at 63 locations in unincorporated areas.
Last year, gamblers put nearly $181 million at risk in machines in unincorporated areas of the county, according to Illinois Gaming Board data. Those bets generated $43.2 million for Illinois and $14.6 million for the county.
Could be a lot of things going on there. Existing video gaming companies would always love to stop more competition from coming in. Sometimes an area can become saturated with gambling establishments. And Lake County is getting a new casino, which probably won’t want competition.
As a purist/CPA/accountant wonk, it seems reasonable that any elected official should be required to use state resources when conducting state business including state travel, security, etc. If the official(s) wants to reimburse the state by making contributions to the GRF - that’s great. Otherwise, this commingling of private/public money is not appropriate.
* Hannah Meisel at the Daily Line interviewed Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who sponsored several major pieces of legislation this year, including cannabis legalization and the Reproductive Health Act. The whole thing is definitely worth a read, but here’s an excerpt…
The last week of the General Assembly’s spring legislative session included many lengthy floor debates on legislation ranging from Cassidy’s two signature bills, to a change in firearm identification cards for gun owners, to a measure that will allow the question of a constitutional amendment for a graduated income tax on the November 2020 ballot.
By the time the House reached an overtime agreement on a package of budget, revenue, gaming and infrastructure bills late on Friday and Saturday, lawmakers kept saying how remarkable it was that those issues were so non-controversial in comparison.
Cassidy said it was a strange phenomenon that so much going on in the Capitol during the waning days of session seemed to come back to her and her cosponsors’ work on those two blockbuster bills. […]
For those moments, Cassidy says she hearkens back to the advice of Dave Sullivan, a former Republican senator and current statehouse lobbyist.
“He has a phrase that he uses that has become a bit of a mantra for me: ‘Watch the rollercoaster, don’t ride it,’” Cassidy said. “That’s a really important principle to keep in mind in May, because if you get on the rollercoaster, you’re not driving it.”
Gov. Pritzker has promised not to be partisan in the upcoming remap, and a reform group, Change Illinois, today called on him to honor that pledge, saying in a statement that “we deserve competitive elections and an equitable democracy in Illinois.”
But if you really think Pritzker, who may have national political ambitions, is going to throw away the Democratic edge here while Republicans in states such as Indiana work to screw Democrats, you don’t know politics. I’m not sure how he’ll wiggle out of this one. But wiggle he will.
* This is the question I asked Pritzker and the other gubernatorial candidates before the primary…
Will you pledge as governor to veto any state legislative redistricting map proposal that is in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies? The exception, of course, would be the final official draft by LRB.
Yes, I will pledge to veto. We should amend the constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps, but in the meantime, I would urge Democrats and Republicans to agree to an independent commission to handle creating a new legislative map. That designated body should reflect the gender, racial, and geographic diversity of the state and look to preserve the Voting Rights Act decisions to ensure racial and language minorities are fully represented in the electoral process.
* The Question: Do you agree with Greg that Pritzker will wiggle out of his commitment to veto a state legislative district remap that isn’t independently drawn? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please…
The governor believes it is important that all communities are represented in government and that truly competitive elections are essential for our democracy. The governor has pledged he will veto an unfair map.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker will sign the gambling expansion and capital construction bills during a ceremony in Springfield Friday.
The signings will be part of a three-day trip around the state for the governor to promote both bills.
Pritzker will sign the legislation Friday morning at the Lincoln Depot historic site, on Monroe Street near the 10th Street railroad tracks.
The gambling bill authorizes a massive expansion of gambling in Illinois, including five new casinos, slot machines at horse racing tracks, sports betting and the addition of video gaming terminals at the Illinois State Fair.
The bill also increases a number of taxes that are part of the state’s financial plan, including a $1-per-pack increase in the state cigarette tax. The plan also places a tax on the wholesale price of e-cigarettes.
East St. Louis is slated to be the start of a tour for the governor on Friday when he touts a massive state infrastructure program.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday plans to sign the state’s $45 billion Rebuild Illinois Capital plan, a six-year program aimed at fixing roads and state facilities, among other things, according to sources with knowledge of the governor’s tentative schedule.
The governor’s office has yet to confirm the East St. Louis stop, but said it is planning events across the state.
The sources said an event is tentatively planned to take place in East St. Louis, which is slated to receive millions of dollars from the capital bill. Among the appropriations are $1 million for capital improvements in the East Side Health District in East St. Louis for urban farming and clinic services, and $2 million for East St. Louis for demolition of derelict buildings and abandoned properties.
* Background is here if you need it. Susan Garrett at the Center for Illinois Politics…
Capitol Fax’s Rich Miller did us all a favor when he highlighted part of an NBC Chicago clip covering Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s trips to Washington, D.C. and other political destinations funded by his campaign committee.
No laws were broken here. I readily acknowledge that, but also noted in the clip that “It’s never been done before in Illinois.”
I want to put that statement into further context, as some might be scratching their heads over the fact that Pritzker’s predecessor frequently made headlines for using his own personal wealth to supplement political activities.
But Pritzker takes things a step further. I was speaking to the record-breaking $170 million that he contributed to his own campaign, and more on top of that to supplement the salaries of his top lieutenants. Add in the private jet travel, and it’s fair to say that we are watching the governor continue to keep his campaign fund flush with personal cash and use it to subsidize executive branch expenses.
But as his personal funds seep into areas of government operations, we should ask whether private wealth has a role in funding public service?
Ultra wealthy governors using private funds has become a new reality in Illinois, as predecessor Bruce Rauner also used his own money in some similar ways. But Pritzker’s practice amplifies the trend - as the use of personal funds continues to grow to higher and higher levels with more money and more ways to spend it within our state government.
Some say that subsidizing the Governor’s office with personal funds is great because taxpayers are not footing the bill for these expenses. That brings us to the question: Is there a point where we draw the line on the amount of personal wealth the state’s highest elected official uses to cover state employee salaries, luxury travel and standard operations that have, in the past, always been paid for by the taxpayers of the state?
The Center for Illinois Politics is a nonpartisan, nonprofit data-driven organization that I recently founded with former state Sen. John Millner. We are interested in taking the public debate a step further and, as indicated by the responses to the Capitol Fax blog, there are differing and strong views on this topic. We would like to take this opportunity to openly discuss this important topic by hosting a public forum in the coming weeks.
Sterigenics, a leading provider of mission-critical sterilization services, today announced that it has applied for permits with the Illinois EPA (IL EPA) to install additional control measures at its Willowbrook facility. The control measures are consistent with upgrades proposed by Sterigenics to the IL EPA over the past several months and prior to the Seal Order which shut down operations at the facility. These upgrades would also allow the facility to comply with the new Illinois legislation for ethylene oxide (EO) emissions and would establish the Willowbrook facility as the highest emissions control environment for EO sterilization facilities in the United States.
The application seeks permits to install new equipment which would establish a permanent total enclosure through the use of negative pressure, increase the number of emission control stages, and combine existing emissions stacks into one common stack at the facility. Based on preliminary modeling, the installation of new emissions controls will further reduce the 0.1% of remaining emissions at the Willowbrook facility to minimal levels.
“By implementing these new controls, our Willowbrook facility will outperform the requirements in the recent Illinois EO law. Additionally, Willowbrook will operate with the highest control level for EO emissions in Illinois and in the country, once again demonstrating our commitment to go beyond regulatory requirements,” said Sterigenics President, Philip Macnabb. “Our focus is on acting in the best interest of the community, our employees, our customers and the patients and hospitals we serve every day. We are taking these additional steps to reassure the public while moving toward a solution which enables us to resume the critical work of sterilizing vital medical products and devices in Willowbrook for patients in Illinois and beyond.”
Sterigenics remains in compliance with legal obligations and is taking all appropriate legal actions to resume operations at Willowbrook.
* Joint statement from House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, Rep. Deanne Mazzochi and Senator John Curran…
Our legislation created the toughest restrictions and regulations on ethylene oxide emissions in the nation. Sterigenics’ poor past performance should guarantee no future permit. We do not see how Sterigenics can comply with the new law’s strict requirements to ever open its Willowbrook doors again.
The Illinois State Police today announced public safety, training, and enforcement efforts, as well as implementation of expungement and regulation requirements of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. “Whether it’s misconduct regarding alcohol or cannabis, public safety and the enforcement of the law will always remain our top priorities,” stated ISP Acting Director Brendan F. Kelly. “As the laws of the state of Illinois change, the ISP will ensure our officers, forensic scientists, telecommunicators, and support staff have the necessary training and tools needed to continue to enforce the laws in place and perform their respective duties,” he concluded. Under the Act, the ISP will chair the DUI Cannabis Task Force, which is being created to improve enforcement and education regarding driving under the influence of cannabis. The DUI Cannabis Task Force will be made up of public safety partners, subject matter experts, and stakeholders, and all parties will work together to study and address concerns surrounding driving under the influence of cannabis and make recommendations to policy makers to protect public safety.
TRAINING
Illinois State Police Academy Cadets and Recruits receive training in Criminal Law, Illinois Vehicle Code (IVC), Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST), and Drug Enforcement and Identification, which includes scenario based training. Incoming Fast Track Cadets will also be provided with Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) training.
A large number of state police personnel are currently ARIDE certified; the ISP will work towards increasing the number of ARIDE certified and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) certified sworn employees currently on patrol. Sworn employees will also receive additional training regarding oral fluid testing and case law when this becomes a testing mechanism utilized by the ISP.
ENFORCEMENT
The aforementioned ARIDE and DRE training courses will equip sworn patrol officers with additional tools to assist them in identifying impaired drivers who are under the influence of any drug or alcohol.
The ISP is currently researching oral fluid (saliva based) testing. The ISP is gathering and reviewing feedback from other states that have legalized the adult use of recreational cannabis and are currently conducting oral fluid testing. Several states have implemented technology that has shown promise and could be effective here in Illinois. The Act provides for similar penalties for drivers refusing to submit to such tests as in the case of a driver refusing to submit to an alcohol breathalyzer. The ISP is working to implement this technology to identify driving under the influence of all drugs including opioids as soon as possible.
The ISP Forensic Laboratory System has acquired instrumentation and validated procedures to quantify blood THC levels in support of efforts to enforce DUI-Cannabis laws. This service is currently provided at the Springfield Forensic Science Laboratory. The ISP is in the process of procuring instrumentation to expand this service to the Forensic Science Center at Chicago.
EXPUNGEMENT OF ELIGIBLE RECORDS
The ISP Bureau of Identification (BOI) is currently evaluating the official state criminal history repository to identify the minor cannabis offense records that are subject to automatic expungement, or further analysis by the Prisoner Review Board. Once these records are identified, the ISP will comply with the processing and notification requirements of the Act.
ISP’s REGULATORY ROLE
The Illinois State Police currently has a Medical Marijuana Unit (MMU) which oversees and regulates the Medical Cannabis program, and was originally designed as a pilot program. The MMU will now assume the ISP’s regulatory duties for all of the cannabis programs, combining both the medical and the adult recreational use programs. The adult recreational use program will maintain the strict regulatory elements that have made the medical program a success.
The ISP provides regulatory guidance to both cannabis cultivation centers and dispensaries by inspecting all 21 cultivation centers and 55 dispensaries currently in existence on a monthly basis. Further, the ISP also inspects the transportation of medical cannabis products between cultivation centers and dispensaries on a random basis. In addition, the ISP helps safeguard the medical cannabis program by providing criminal investigation of diversion and other allegations of crimes. The legalization of the adult use of recreational cannabis will result in an expansion of duties with the addition of more cultivation centers and dispensaries, the new categories of craft growers, independent transportation providers, cannabis infusion centers (cannabis infused edibles among other items), and community college horticulture programs.
With the new law going into effect immediately, the ISP will expand the MMU to provide the same level of quality and regulation that has made the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program (MCPP) successful thus far. The ISP will develop inspection regulations for the new entities in the program and provide personnel with additional training on physical security in order to provide the proper oversight for the new cannabis entities. The ISP will also provide personnel with analytical support for the large expansion of the program, to ensure the safety and welfare of not only the patients and users of the program, but also, the citizens of Illinois and guests traveling to or through Illinois.
The Supreme Court says federal courts have no role to play in policing political districts drawn for partisan gain. The decision could embolden political line-drawing for partisan gain when state lawmakers undertake the next round of redistricting following the 2020 census.
The justices said by a 5-4 vote on Thursday that claims of partisan gerrymandering do not belong in federal court. The court’s conservative, Republican-appointed majority says that voters and elected officials should be the arbiters of what is a political dispute.
The court rejected challenges to Republican-drawn congressional districts in North Carolina and a Democratic district in Maryland. […]
Chief Justice John Roberts said for the majority that the districting plans “are highly partisan by any measure.” But he said courts are the wrong place to settle these disputes.
The drafters of the Constitution, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority, understood that politics would play a role in drawing election districts when they gave the task to state legislatures. Judges, the chief justice said, are not entitled to second-guess lawmakers’ judgments.
Justice Elena Kagan dissented for the court’s liberals. “For the first time ever, this court refuses to remedy a constitutional violation because it thinks the task beyond judicial capabilities,” she wrote.
Kagan underscored her disagreement by reading a lengthy excerpt of her dissent from the bench.
While the Supreme Court regularly scrutinizes electoral districts for racial gerrymandering, the justices have never found a state’s redistricting map so infected with politics that it violates the Constitution. Such a decision would have marked a dramatic change for how the nation’s political maps are drawn.
Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, in his 2018 campaign pledged to veto a gerrymandered map if he received one from the Democratic-controlled legislature. He also cited his support for an independent map process and even donated $50,000 to a citizens’ initiative movement in 2014.
But with veto-proof supermajorities of Democrats in the Illinois House and Senate, Republicans were skeptical about potential action by the majority party following the high court’s ruling Thursday.
State Rep. Tom Demmer of Dixon, the House deputy GOP leader, issued a tweet that said, “Only ‘big decision’ here is whether the House and Senate Democrats will override Gov. Pritzker’s veto of a partisan gerrymandered map — which he publicly pledged to veto.”
CHANGE Illinois, which had been a leading proponent of the citizens’ initiative remap effort, issued a statement calling the court’s decision “disheartening” and looked to Pritzker to “live up” to his pledge for fair representation.
I was asked at my City Club speech last December how long I expected the honeymoon to last between Gov. Pritzker and Speaker Madigan. If I recall correctly, I said that Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown told me he figured it would last until it was time to draw the new maps.
* As the owner of a putt-putt pontoon boat, speeding boaters is one of my pet peeves…
Earlier this month, Gov. J.B. Pritzker received a warning for speeding during a weekend boating trip on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin, according to his press secretary.
On the evening of June 7, Pritzker was in a boat on Williams Bay, “enjoying a weekend at the lake with his family,” said Jordan Abudayyeh in an email response to questions.
It was still light out, she wrote, and the governor was traveling at 41 mph. At 8:30 p.m., Pritzker was given a warning for his speed, she wrote, but she did not include any other details about the stop. […]
However, during weekends, which begin Friday at noon, boats are prohibited from operating on Geneva Lake at speeds higher than 35 mph during the day, according to the Village of Williams Bay boating regulations. Additionally, boats must not operate at speeds higher than 15 mph from sunset to sunrise.
* As you probably know, appointed Rep. Mark Kalish (D-Chicago) had pledged to be pro-choice when he took retired Rep. Lou Lang’s place. Kalish said he was planning to vote for the Reproductive Health Act and even helped organize on its behalf, only to flip-flop and vote “Present” when the bill hit the floor. Rep. Kalish held a town hall meeting this week and addressed his change of heart…
“The bill contains lots of good, in terms of what the law will do for health care providers, medical professionals, insurance companies and, of course, the women in need,” Kalish said, adding that he had worked with sponsors to correct unspecified issues with the bill.
“But as the legislation was developed, it became clear to me that my Orthodox Jewish values and beliefs were not aligned with some core components of the legislation, I had to make a personal decision based on my conscience,” said Kalish, the first rabbi in the Illinois state legislature.
When asked his position on what’s likely to be the next abortion rights issue, elimination of the requirement that girls under 18 must inform a parent or a judge they seek an abortion, he said he expected to support such a bill.
“I’m in favor of the right of the teenager,” Kalish said.
“And we can trust this?” he was asked.
“You’ll see. I don’t know,” he said.
I’m thinking that last bit isn’t gonna go over too well.
Federal agents have raided the Far South Side home of Kevin Quinn, a former top political operative for House Speaker Michael Madigan and brother of the 13th Ward alderman, the Tribune has learned.
The FBI executed a search warrant in mid-May at Quinn’s home in the 10300 block of South California Avenue in the West Beverly neighborhood, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.
It’s unclear what information the agents were seeking or whether the raid stemmed from Quinn’s past work with Madigan’s powerful political organization. One source, however, told the Tribune federal agents had shown interest in computers and electronic equipment.
No charges have been filed against Quinn, 43, who could not be reached Wednesday. Messages left for Madigan’s spokesman and lawyer were not returned.
* We talked the other day about the advice various folks gave new Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot via the Center for Illinois Politics. They were also asked about their own personal “mantras” while they were serving in public office. Here’s DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin’s mantra…
I try to figure out how we can advance a cause every day, and so I try to put aside the politics and the pettiness and the personalities which can be very hard. I try to keep my eye on the ball and make sure we’re moving down the field.
He emphasized that the law provides for automatic expungement of arrests for marijuana possession under 30 grams, and that he will pardon those with convictions for possession up to 30 grams.
Individuals and prosecutors may go to court to seek expungement of cases involving up to 500 grams.
“Today we are giving hundreds of thousands of people the chance at a better life,” Pritzker said.
The governor noted that no one with a violent crime conviction will be eligible for expungement or pardon.
Expungements and pardons will available under the new law for approximately 700,000 arrest and conviction records belonging to approximately 315,000 people. […]
In the next 180 days, the state police will identify all eligible convictions based on criminal history records within the state police’s database and provide the convictions to the Prisoner Review Board, which will review the records for eligibility to ensure that the convictions in the dataset are indeed eligible for pardon and not associated with a violent crime.
After that, the board will notify local state’s attorneys of felony convictions being considered for clemency, and those county prosecutors will get 60 days to file a written objection to a pardon based on evidence that the conviction record is ineligible for clemency. The board will then provide the group of convictions eligible for clemency to the governor, who will then be able to pardon them all at once.
From there, Attorney General Kwame Raoul will file petitions with each individual circuit court around the state to expunge the records of those who were pardoned.
“We wrote in the law an expedited process,” [Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell] said of the Prison Review Board’s role in expungement. “I’m circumspect to give you a date now because I just don’t know. This is a new thing, it’s a rather large-scale thing. It’s going to take time, but it’s going to take much less time than it was otherwise.”
The Prison Review Board, a 15-member board responsible for hearing the pleas fromr incarcerated people to get out of prison earlier than their sentence dictates either on parole or for good behavior, usually takes time with their decisions. Mitchell compared that intensive fact-finding mission with the board’s responsibility in marijuana clemency, and said board’s role here will take much less time.
* Background…
Also: * 60% of IL pot busts were in Cook County * In 2009 & 2010, at the height of the arrests in Chicago, African-Americans were 78% of those arrested, 89 % of those prosecuted, & 92% of those convicted for misdemeanor possession * Background: https://t.co/JTJ4xjuOqd
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made four out-of-state trips for official business since taking office in January. Each time, he has traveled on private chartered jets but he has not charged taxpayers, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
On Feb. 21, Pritzker, a Democrat, headed to the National Governor’s conference and a black-tie dinner at the White House. At Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling, he and his wife M.K. boarded a private jet en route to Washington’s Dulles Airport. Four staffers plus a member of the governor’s security detail also boarded a G200 private jet along with a three person flight crew for the two-and-a-half hour flight, according to travel documents obtained in a public records request.
In all, Pritzker has made three official trips to Washington and one to New York.
The governor’s office in a written response noted “The Governor does not charge his travel expenses to the state of Illinois” and said personal and campaign funds were used to rent the jets. […]
When asked about the privately funded trips, Susan Garrett, a co-founder of the Center for Illinois Politics, said “it’s never been done before in Illinois.”
A former Democratic state senator, Garrett acknowledges the unusual move saves taxpayers money, but she said, “There’s something to be said for public servants who have to work within budgets and rules and guidelines.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner used a helicopter, apparently owned by a campaign donor, to get him to a public event on Friday.
“He covered the cost personally, so it would not be at the taxpayers’ expense,” said Rauner spokeswoman Laurel Patrick.
The helicopter landed at Aurora University so Rauner could go to an assessment of flood damaged areas in nearby Lake County. Federal and state emergency management agencies and the Small Business Administration were involved.
That took all of three seconds to find on Google.
…Adding… As noted by commenters, using campaign money to pay governmental and public policy travel is perfectly legal in this state…
10 ILCS 5/9-8.10)
Sec. 9-8.10. Use of political committee and other reporting organization funds.
(a) A political committee shall not make expenditures:
(6) For the travel expenses of any person unless the travel is necessary for fulfillment of political, governmental, or public policy duties, activities, or purposes.
That was done to help cut down on governmental travel expenditures. It was, in other words, a reform.
*** UPDATE *** Back in 2003, then Sen. Susan Garrett was the chief sponsor of a bill that, in part, did this…
Nothing in this Section prohibits the expenditure of funds of (i) a political committee controlled by an officeholder or by a candidate or (ii) an organization subject to Section 9-7.5 to defray the ordinary and necessary expenses of an officeholder in connection with the performance of governmental duties.
Illinois is the only state in America that has yet to release its official report from fiscal year 2018 and state officials don’t yet know when it will be released.
Every state, most cities, and other forms of government must have a comprehensive annual financial report, or CAFR, done as a way for not only citizens to better understand their local government finances, but also to give officials a better idea on the baseline costs for upcoming budgets.
Illinois is often one of the last states to finish its report and this year, state officials have yet to do it, making it the latest since 2011 when Comptroller-turned Deputy Gov. Dan Hynes released it on June 30, 2012, a full year after the fiscal year ended. […]
A 2011 report from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, which dictates best practices for many functions in public governance, found the average amount of time it took for a state to release a CAFR was less than 7 months.
In surveys, GASB found that the information released via these reports “diminishes quickly” in value after six months. Bondholders often use the information found in CAFRs to gauge the creditworthiness of a unit of government before bidding on an offering, which Illinois plans to do soon.
According to the Auditor General’s office, the latest a CAFR was ever released was August 24, 2006, for the previous fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005. The CAFR for fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010 were all issued in July of the following years. So, as mentioned above, this isn’t new.
* Comptroller Mendoza…
State Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza Wednesday declared her continued displeasure with the pace of release of the State’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). Monday marks the beginning of a new fiscal year, and we are still without the fiscal year 2018 CAFR.
The Illinois Office of Comptroller compiles the CAFR from reports submitted to the Office from individual state agencies that are required to be audited by the Illinois Auditor General. If any of those audits are not complete, the Comptroller cannot publish the CAFR.
The timeliness of the issuance of the CAFR has been an issue that spans back since fiscal year 1999, marking the last time the report met its reporting date. In six of the last 12 years, the CAFR has come out in June or later, a year after the end of the fiscal year. In 2009, it came out in July. The state appears on-track to match or beat that dubious record this year.
The lateness this year does not fall on the Comptroller’s Office, the Auditor General or the current leadership of the state agencies. It appears there are issues from this audit period dating from the previous administration’s management. The current administration and leadership of those agencies are working to resolve them and account for them in their reports to the Auditor General.
The Comptroller’s Office stands ready, as it has been since December, to publish the CAFR as soon as the remaining audits are completed.
“My first year in office, we got the CAFR out in February. Last year, the CAFR was issued in early March,” Mendoza said. “I am highly concerned and disappointed that this process is taking so long. My hands are tied until we get the final audited reports from the Auditor General.” [Emphasis added.]
CAFRs are hugely important, but Illinois, as usual, is so backwards that we lag behind the rest of the country. We are the only state that doesn’t have a single financial reporting system. And despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent on new systems, way too many agency systems are one-offs that can’t communicate with anyone else.
The auditor general has to put together an audited financial report by going through each individual agency, and if some big agencies are found not to be in compliance, that can really mess things up.
Auditor General Frank Mautino told me today that these problems are especially acute “when you have dysfunctional government, dysfunctional agencies.” He couldn’t be more specific because the audit process is confidential.
Many public-sector workers in Illinois have indicated they don’t want to continue paying dues. In fact, more than 8,000 public employees stopped sending money to AFSCME Council 31 – that’s at least 12 percent of employees represented by AFSCME, the largest and most powerful government union in the state.
Each of those 8,000 workers had their own reasons for choosing to stop paying the union. Maybe they wanted to keep more of their hard-earned money to spend on their family. Maybe they didn’t like the union’s demands on taxpayers. Or maybe they didn’t like the union’s politics.
Notice that clever use of the phrase “stopped sending money to AFSCME Council 31.” He didn’t claim that 8,000 union members had dropped out. What he’s mainly talking about here are former fair share fee payers who are no longer required to pay their, um, fair share.
The union suspects Tillman’s 8,000 figure was derived from a January federal filing about December union membership which was incomplete due to a paperwork snafu with one of its largest employers. That filing made its membership look about 3,000 smaller than it actually was at the time. AFSCME says it had about 5,000 fair share fee payers at the time of the Janus ruling.
“Despite IPI’s direct-mail and paid advertising campaigns, only a relative handful of former members has dropped out,” a union official said.
And, according to AFSCME, the union has added 1,100 members since the Janus ruling and another 800 new signups are in the pipeline.
Keep in mind that former Gov. Bruce Rauner believed union members would leave AFSCME in droves after Janus. That apparently hasn’t happened even though the Policy Institute has been mailing members urging them to drop out of the union.
I asked the Policy Institute for a response an hour ago and didn’t hear back.
*** UPDATE *** From the Institute…
The number is based on the 2018 and 2017 LM-2s (comparing membership numbers between the two years). The 2018 LM-2 covers the preceding fiscal year (which runs Jan 1 - Dec 31 for AFSCME Council 31) and was filed with the federal government on April 1, 2019. That was the second filing for 2018 (AFSCME also filed one on March 27, then re-filed this on on April 1 with the same membership numbers).
I can’t speak to the ’snafu’, but AFSCME didn’t correct it in its April 1 re-filing of its LM-2 (attached).
The 2017 LM-2 showed AFSCME had 57,995 members. The latest 2018 form showed 57,000 members.
The U. S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a petition from Illinois home health workers seeking to recover “fair share fees” they once paid to cover the costs of collective bargaining. That leaves in place a Seventh Circuit decision not to certify the proposed class of more than 80,000 health workers who want the roughly $32 million they’ve paid in fair share fees to the Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois & Indiana since 2008 to be repaid in full.
* Tom Schuba takes a look at the future of cannabis legalization here. As the sponsors noted yesterday, the General Assembly has passed new laws related to alcohol just about every year since Prohibition ended and cannabis will likely be the same…
Anyone over the age of 21 can already order up pot products for delivery in California, Nevada and Oregon, according to O’Keefe.
Deliveries of recreational marijuana will also kick off when sales start next year in Michigan, the first state in the midwest to legalize recreational pot, as well as the following year in Colorado, O’Keefe said. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission delayed voting last month on regulations related to the delivery and social consumption of weed, according to The Republican.
While home cannabis deliveries came up during Illinois’ last legislative session, Cassidy said she and fellow lawmakers wanted to wait until the initial legalization bill had passed to address those types of sales.
“That opens up a layer of issues that I don’t think we were prepared to address,” said Cassidy, who was deterred by reports of medical marijuana delivery drivers being robbed in Michigan. “That’s something that is likely another bill for another time.”
Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, echoed some of Cassidy’s safety concerns but also noted that the delivery business would likely be easier to crack into than other aspects of the legal pot industry that require hefty, non-refundable application fees and other barriers to entry.
They have smart phone apps for weed delivery service in California. You can be sitting at an outdoor cafe sipping on a pink lemonade and, poof, just like that, the delivery person arrives with your order.
…Adding… I somehow forgot to include this…
Jagger says Lightfoot and Pritzker are here. Then says Pritzker today “just legalized cannabis” starting in January. “Some of you may have jumped the gun.” pic.twitter.com/4LJe3cJFBL
* Pot to be legal here in 2020: On Tuesday, Rep. David Welter, a Morris Republican, applauded legalization. “Today is an affirmation of individual liberty. Adult use of cannabis should be a personal choice,” he said. “Beyond that, I am proud of our commitment that 20 percent of the revenue generated by legalization will go toward funding for mental health and substance-abuse services in Illinois. An additional 10 percent will go to pay down the state’s backlog of unpaid bills, which directly benefits hospitals, health care, and social-service providers in every community across the state.”
Nearly three months after a blowout loss to Lori Lightfoot in the April mayoral election, Preckwinkle on Tuesday kicked wide open the door to seeking another term as Cook County Board president.
“Yes, she’s running again,” Scott Kastrup, Preckwinkle’s political director, said at a fundraiser held at the Chicago Cultural Center. “We’re pleased to be doing this [fundraiser] again, and she’s definitely running for re-election for the County Board.”
Tuesday’s event left little doubt that that was the plan.
A jazz band played tunes such as Dave Brubeck’s classic “Take Five” as supporters filed into the room. At the sign-in tables, donors were encouraged to take buttons emblazoned with Preckwinkle’s face.
The messaging was simple: Re-elect Toni Preckwinkle President of Cook County Board.”
Preckwinkle, who is chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, previously said this would be her last term.
But she backed off the idea in an April interview with the Tribune, saying she was thinking about running for re-election in 2022.
“I think there’s a lot to do,” she said at the time, “and in particular, frankly, we’ve got to do something about what’s happening in the south suburbs.”
The Illinois State Fair on Monday announced it has added a free concert to its Grandstand lineup. It’ll be another two weeks before we know for sure who is performing, however.
The concert will happen on Thursday, Aug. 8, after the Twilight Parade, a night when the Grandstand is normally dark.
Fair officials did not reveal the name of the performer(s) — other than to say it is a “big-name act that everyone will recognize” — and instead set up a contest for people to guess the artist in an effort to win backstage passes to meet the performer.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed into law a bill that will legalize marijuana in Illinois next year, marking a momentous shift in how the state treats drug use.
The bill will allow the licensed growth, sales, possession and consumption of cannabis for adults 21 and older.
The signing ceremony, attended by several lawmakers, officeholders and marijuana supporters, took place at the Sankofa Cultural Arts & Business Center in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
Pritzker called the legislation a “sea change” for Illinois, saying that the war on drugs has destroyed families and disproportionately affected minorities.
“Illinoisans have had enough,” he said. “… The time for change has long since passed.”
“Studies have shown time and time again that black and white people tend to use cannabis at the same rates, but black people are far more likely to be arrested for possession,” [Pritzker] said. “Criminalization offers nothing but pain, disruption, and injustice. The legislators and activists standing with me today have heard you.”
In addition to providing criminal-record scrubbing for past low-level offenders, the law gives preference to would-be marijuana vendors in areas of high poverty and records of large numbers of convictions. And portions of tax proceeds must be reinvested in impoverished communities.
In addition to standard state and local taxes, the state would impose a 10% tax on all marijuana products with up to 35% THC, the chemical that gets marijuana users high. Marijuana products with THC concentrations of more than 35% would be taxed at 25%. Cannabis-infused products like edibles would be taxed at 20%.
Counties can add up to 3.75% for unincoprated areas and municipalities can add special taxes up to 3%.
The legislation also will effectively wipe clean previous small-time marijuana convictions.
The governor also will pardon all misdemeanor marijuana convictions involving less than 30 grams. Prosecutors or convicts could seek court orders to pardon and expunge records of convictions involving up to 500 grams.
“Change is hard, but an essential tenet of good governance is recognizing the need to change the laws that have failed,” Pritzker said before signing the bill at the Sankofa Cultural Arts and Business Center on the West Side. “In the past 50 years, the war on cannabis has destroyed families, filled prisons with nonviolent offenders and disproportionately disrupted black and brown communities.” […]
New conflict of interest provisions were also added, which ban lawmakers and their family members, as well as state employees, from being able to get a cannabis business license for two years. New changes also included strengthening language to ensure employers can maintain a zero tolerance drug policy.
Designed to address concerns about impaired driving, the bill also includes the addition of a DUI Task Force led by Illinois State Police to examine best practices. That includes examining emergency technology and roadside testing.
The equity measures direct 25 percent of legalization revenues to a newly-established Restore, Reinvest and Renew Grant Program to “address the impact of economic disinvestment, violence, and the historical overuse of the criminal justice system,” according to a press release.
Legalization is expected to generate $57 million in the upcoming fiscal year and as much as $500 million a year when the industry is fully mature.
* I’m heading to a bill-signing, so you’re on your own for a while. Please keep it Illinois-centric and be nice to each other. I’m not quite sure when I’ll be back, so keep an eye on our live coverage post for updates.
* We’ve had a spate of legislative retirements, so this is worth a look…
According to Ballotpedia, Illinois is one of just four states — along with Indiana, North Dakota and Colorado — in which party officials fill legislative vacancies. In seven other states, county boards fill those jobs. In 10 states, it’s the governor’s responsibility to make an appointment. And in three states, a hybrid system is used.
One state, Ohio, allows a vote by the legislative chamber to make appointments. But a full 25 states hold special elections when a vacancy occurs.
In Connecticut, the governor must call for a special election within 10 days of a vacancy occurring and the balloting must take place within the next 46 days. If a vacancy occurs with fewer than 125 days before the next general election, then the special election coincides with that general election.
In Cook County, ward and township committeemen fill legislative vacancies. Outside Cook, party chairs play that role.
Low-income college students in Illinois got some good news [yesterday]. The state’s Monetary Award Program — which provides MAP grants to help pay for tuition — will be able to give more grants with more money, thanks to the largest appropriation in the fund’s history.
Lynne Baker, with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, says the agency approved a new formula that will boost grants by an average of $220 and cover at least 6,700 more students.
For the past few years, while the state suffered through a budget impasse, her job has entailed delivering a steady stream of bad news to students, community colleges and universities schools that depend on MAP funds. But the new state budget includes $451.3 million for MAP. […]
To figure out exactly how to apportion the pie, ISAC gets advice from the Illinois Association of Financial Aid Administrators. The final formula was approved Monday. The average grant for a community college student will be $1,048 (an increase of $23); the average award for a student attending a public four-year university will be $4,394 (an increase of $375); and the average award for a student attending a private non-profit university will be $4,527 (an increase of $393). The maximum award will increase from $4,968 to $5,340.
Just two weeks ago, two teenagers were left with no choice but to sleep on the floor of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services office building in the South Loop.
That’s according to a letter written by the Cook County Public Guardian to a federal judge overseeing a consent decree.
“Our worst fears have been realized,” wrote public guardian Charles Golbert. “DCFS has to resort to forcing children to sleep on the hard cold floors of its offices because it doesn’t even have an adequate number of shelter beds.”
In an interview with WGN, Golbert said: “It’s a violation of the children’s civil rights. It’s a violation of their rights under a federal consent decree that governs DCFS and it’s a violation of basic human dignity for the children.”
Golbert said the kids were 16 and 17 years old. After spending the night on the floor, he said one of them ran away from DCFS and, at last word, had not been found.
Illinois’ home health care workers will finally get their back pay this week.
“These frontline workers enrich the lives of Illinois’ elderly and save taxpayers money by keeping them in their homes instead of costlier nursing homes,” Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza said. “They have long since earned the raise they won years ago.”
Back in 2017 the Illinois General Assembly approved a 48-cent-an-hour raise for some 49,053 workers who have visited Illinois’ elderly, providing home health care.
Former Gov. Bruce Rauner illegally refused to pay it, even as courts ordered him to follow the law. That pushed some of those elderly Illinoisans into nursing homes at far higher costs to taxpayers. The new administration had to comb through Rauner-era records to determine how much was owed to each worker.
“Despite former Gov. Rauner’s resistance, I safeguarded these back wages in a special account since April, 2018, for home health care workers who were entitled to the 48-cent-an-hour raise promised to them,” Mendoza said. “Given that these funds were safeguarded, my office is able to process these payments immediately without any further delay to hard-working current and former workers.”
These payments are separate from some $300 million in backpay for employees of other departments who were due raises former Gov. Rauner refused to pay. The Illinois Office of Comptroller is working with the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget and state agencies on the process for those back wages owed to state employees in other departments. Once those vouchers arrive, my office will begin processing such payments.
The $30.7 million in back wages for the home health care workers will be released this week to the Department of Human Services with an issuance date of Friday, June 28, 2019.
The state budget for the 2018 fiscal year included 48-cent per hour raises for roughly 28,000 personal assistants employed under the Department of Human Services’ Home Services Program, who provide services to individuals with severe disabilities so they can remain in their own homes. The total cost of the wage raise was estimated at $12.7 million annually.
But Rauner’s administration refused to pay the raises, arguing that they were improper as they are usually part of collectively bargained-for contracts with public sector unions. Those personal assistants are represented by SEIU Healthcare Illinois. The union filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of its members, who earned $13 per hour before the 48-cent per hour raise.
After a months-long legal battle, a Cook County judge sided with SEIU in early 2018. Rauner appealed, but as part of the appeal, his administration started setting aside money for the raises in an escrow account, which has netted $32 million, according to the comptroller’s website. A First District Appellate Court panel affirmed the judge’s ruling earlier this year.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s office announced in March that the personal assistants would begin to receive the 48-cent per hour raise in their paychecks starting in April. The administration also began paying out raises provided for in the budget for the 2019 fiscal year to 14,000 child care workers represented by SEIU.
The back pay owed to the personal assistants will be going out to more than the 28,000 workers the raise had initially affected, as turnover in those jobs is high.
