* With thanks to Tony Sanders, the CEO of Elgin School District U-46, here’s a side-by-side comparison of SB1 and the governor’s amendatory veto. This was put together by proponents of SB1, so keep that in mind. If you need a better copy, click here or on the pic…
FITCH: ILLINOIS VETO JEOPARDIZES SCHOOL FUNDING AND RATINGS
Fitch Ratings-New York-02 August 2017: Illinois Governor Rauner’s veto of Senate Bill 1 (SB1) creates uncertainty as to whether or not Illinois school districts will receive state aid prior to opening for the new school year. Should there be an extended impasse, ratings for the Chicago Board of Education (Issuer Default Rating ‘B+’/Negative Outlook) and other Illinois school districts with limited financial flexibility could be at risk, according to Fitch Ratings. The state budget for fiscal 2018, which was enacted through override of the governor’s veto, made school funding contingent upon legislative passage of a new evidence-based formula for distributing school aid. SB1, which meets that requirement, will now return to the legislature for further consideration. Among other adjustments, the governor’s changes limit the increase in funding to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) by removing from the formula a $250 million block grant that the district has historically received and also cutting CPS pension considerations. The governor’s action would include putting monies required to fund CPS’s normal pension cost in statute instead. Any other aid would require additional legislation, perhaps making it vulnerable to separate budget appropriation this year and in the future.
Although the dispute between the legislature and governor is focused on funding to CPS, the veto threatens the timeliness of the first distribution of general state aid to all K-12 school districts, which is set in statute for Aug. 10. Following a veto, the bill must be read again into the record in the state senate the next time it is in session. The legislature then has 15 days during which it faces three options. First, the house and senate can both agree to the governor’s changes; this seems unlikely given the rancour of the debate. Second, the legislature can override the governor’s veto with a super-majority vote. This also seems unlikely despite the override of the governor’s veto of the fiscal 2018 budget. The budget crisis brought bipartisan agreement to a solution in a way that the school funding formula may not. The third option is to allow the bill to lapse and begin again, likely extending past the first distribution date on Aug. 10.
Resistance among key stakeholders and an absence of consensus create a political environment that remains a negative consideration for the state. A return to political gridlock specifically related to school funding puts at risk the ability of school districts to open all of their schools with a full complement of services. This is a notable difference from the state’s fiscal behaviour during its extended budget impasse, during which it consistently appropriated funds for schools and prioritized those payments in its cash flow management. Nevertheless, delayed distribution of school funds would not have a near-term negative effect on the state’s ‘BBB’ Issuer Default Rating. The current Negative Outlook is unrelated to school funding and instead reflects uncertainties related to achieving the revenue and spending assumptions in the fiscal 2018 budget. Delayed distribution may, however, have a negative impact on school district ratings. Some districts should be able to weather a state aid delay by relying on reserves or by short-term borrowing, but others, notably CPS, have much more limited flexibility. Fitch will closely monitor the potential impact an extended impasse may have on Illinois school district credit quality and will take action on a case by case basis as necessary.
Though Gov. Bruce Rauner says his amendatory veto of a state school aid bill is designed to keep Chicago Public Schools from grabbing money that should go to other districts, his rewrite actually potentially dings hundreds of other communities statewide and would shift resources away from the neediest. Downstate schools could be particularly hurt.
That’s the bottom line of a preliminary analysis of Rauner’s action by Illinois Senate Democratic staff, which also concludes that the veto would poke a $221 million hole in the just-approved state budget. The analysis was distributed to Democratic senators a bit ago, and a copy passed on to me.
Overall, the document suggests the governor didn’t just amend a measure revamping the formula used to give more than $5 billion a year to local grade and high schools, but effectively rewrote it in a complex fashion that will take some time to unravel.
In a statement, Rauner’s spokeswoman denied that the amendatory veto creates a budget hole or that it will cut funding for any district in fiscal 2018 compared to fiscal 2017.
• SB 1 holds all districts harmless, using FY 17 as a base year. The governor’s amendatory veto provides only a 3-year district level hold harmless. Beginning with the 2020-2021 school year, any district that loses enrollment would lose funding. 222 districts lost enrollment from FY 15 to FY 16.
• SB 1 includes a Minimum Funding Level that is intended to distribute funds more progressively to districts furthest from adequacy in the case of appropriation lower than the MFL. In SB 1, the MFL was $350 million. The governor’s amendatory veto r emoves the Minimum Funding Level (MFL) entirely.
• SB 1 includes a Regionalization Factor to account for the varying costs of education students in different parts of the state. The governor’s amendatory veto places a cap on the Regionalization Factor of 1.04. SB 1 only contained a floor of 0.9 and did not have a cap. A regionalization cap would reduce the adequacy target for 313 districts. This includes every district in Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.
• SB 1 includes a number of provisions to account for the rising cost of education for districts. The governor’s amendatory veto removes these escalators (teachers, school support personnel, and adult basic education) for the adequacy target. Without inflationary measures, the adequacy target will fail to reflect the true cost of education, which is the purpose of the evidence based model.
• The governor’s amendatory veto also makes the following changes regarding TIF and PTELL:
• Counts TIF EAV as formula EAV. This would penalize districts because typically revenue from TIF EAVs is not accessible to districts.
• Removes adjustments for PTELL EAV. PTELL limitations would no longer be considered. This would have an impact on 70 districts throughout the state
CPS
• SB 1 provides CPS funding within district’s Base Funding Minimum to cover CPS’ normal pension costs. In FY 18, this is $221.3 million. The governor’s amendatory veto would no longe r include CPS’ normal cost in the base funding minimum. Instead, the governor is adding language to the pension code that provides a contribution of $221.3 million for CPS’ normal cost in FY 18 and establishes a continuing appropriation Chicago teacher normal pension costs in future years.
• SB 1 reduces CPS’ Local Capacity Target by the amount of the district’s unfunded liability in a given year. The governor’s amendatory veto removes this language entirely.
• SB 1 increases CPS’ Adequacy Target by the amount of the district’s normal pension cost in a given year. The governor’s amendatory veto does not remove this provision. However, it does remove language that would apply this language to other school districts if a statewide pension cost shift were to occur and local districts became responsible for paying that cost.
• SB 1 sunsets the Chicago block grant for line items not included in evidence based funding, but holds CPS harmless for the $203 million impact to the district as a result of the sunset. In the future CPS would submit claims for reimbursement like all other districts. The governor’s amendatory veto repeals the block grant and does not hold CPS harmless for line items not consolidated into the new formula. This would drive an additional $203 million through the tiers of the EBM.
EFFECT ON ENACTED FY 18 BUDGET
Absent any change to the enacted FY 18 budget, the amendatory veto will (i) drive an additional $424.3 million through the EBM distribution formula (above the $350 million anticipated), and (ii) increase overall state spending by $221.3 million
* Says the guy who once sent a pollster a dead fish…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday accused Gov. Bruce Rauner of “governing through anger” and predicted that Republicans and Democrats alike would chose “loyalty to kids over loyalty to the governor” by overriding Rauner’s veto of a school funding bill.
One day after Rauner followed through on his threat to veto the bill, Emanuel accused his old friend of making a “fundamental mistake” and blowing a “historic opportunity” to rewrite a formula that “fundamentally harms poor kids and kids of color.”
“Re-writing the school formula was a product of the governor’s commission, which is why the governor agrees with 90 percent of it. You can’t then just want to veto it because of a pique of anger,” the mayor told reporters.
“There’s only one way to explain what the governor did. Vetoing a bill that he agrees with 90 percent that almost every school superintendent across the state and almost every paper across the state….agree that he should sign. He is governing through anger.”
But, this does further the theme, pounded home by Senate President Cullerton, that the governor may have some anger issues. And videos like this certainly don’t help…
Today, Chicago Foundation for Women, Voices for Illinois Children, and Loyola University’s Center for Urban Research and Learning released a new report detailing how Bruce Rauner’s 736-day budget crisis hurt women and children across the state.
Here are some of the ramifications of Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership:
* 7,800 victims of domestic violence were left without shelter.
* The state racked up bills forcing social service providers to wait an average of eight months for payments.
* Social service providers had to lay off workers and reduce services.
* The number of women receiving lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings dropped by 34 percent.
* 90 percent of homeless shelters had to reduce services or cut staff.
* 30,000 children no longer qualify for child care assistance.
“Bruce Rauner decimated the services that help women and children build better lives, and it’s clear that the damage is done,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Families were forced to suffer because Rauner treats people like numbers on a spreadsheet and families as pawns in his political games. Women and families deserve a leader that will fight for them, not for a political win.”
Education leaders and editorial boards across the state are rebuking Bruce Rauner’s reckless veto of Senate Bill 1. From the Quad Cities to Belleville, Peoria, Rockford, Bloomington, and Springfield, Rauner is getting blasted for his recently debunked claim that SB 1 is a Chicago bailout and for vetoing a bill that ensures all Illinois schools open on time with the funding that they need.
Here’s what Illinoisans are reading across the state about Rauner’s school funding veto:
“SB1 is the closest we’ve ever come to fixing that formula to more fairly serve and support all students.” — Elgin School District U46 CEO Tony Sanders
“Nobody knows when we’re going to get money now.” — East Aurora School District 131 Assistant Superintendent for Finance Mike Prombo
“We’ll be on fumes heading toward September.” — West Aurora School District 129 Superintendent Jeff Craig
“It’s just not what should be on the minds of parents and folks who serve kids through schools.” — Belleville District 118 Superintendent Matt Klosterman
“It’s just another thing that’s going to derail us, going through how we will have to do business differently until they get their act together.” — Triad District 2 Superintendent Leigh Lewis
“We’ve been watching and hoping that everything would work itself out, but I’ve been prepping the board for the worst-case scenario.” — Collinsville Unit 10 Superintendent Robert Green
“We have health insurance, power bills and other things that have to be paid and can’t be put off.” — Triad District 2 Superintendent Leigh Lewis
Bloomington District 87 Superintendent Barry Reilly wants the state to “get an evidence-based funding model in place, which is required in the state budget. Anything short of that is problematic for us all.”
So, is SB1 really a Chicago “bailout”? Just because a politician says something does not make it so, which applies to the governor like anybody else.
PolitiFact Illinois, in partnership with the non-partisan Better Government Association, rates Rauner’s “bailout” claim an unequivocal “false.” Meanwhile, a Chicago Tribune opinion page as pro-Rauner as any in the state has written that “the bill is not a CPS bailout. Repeat: It is not a CPS bailout” while calling SB1 “the best chance in more than 20 years to begin shortening the bridge between what wealthy school districts can spend and what low-income school districts can offer.”
If Democrats are not sinless in this unnecessary standoff, neither should Rauner get off the hook for fueling a very unhealthy Chicago-vs-the-rest-of-us balkanization that is too often knee-jerk and ignorant, from all sides. Last time we checked, Chicago is still within the boundaries of Illinois. Is a poor child there less deserving of an adequate and equitable education than one in Peoria?
“All of our children deserve to be treated fairly and be given the best education possible.”
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s tweet should have added “unless those kids live in the city of Chicago.” […]
SB1 is an evidenced-based model for how schools should be financed. There are adequacy targets and accountability measures that are meant to ensure that resources go to the schoolchildren who need them most. Staying true to the model helps drive student achievement, a goal we should all embrace. Some states have embraced the model, yet deviated from it, which has stalled student progress.
The governor’s amendatory veto disrupts the model and probably would derail student progress.
As promised, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday morning issued an amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, a measure that would drastically change the way K-12 education funding is distributed in Illinois.
There’s no doubt reform is needed: The state has the most inequitable K-12 funding in the country. There is agreement on key aspects of what is needed in a new formula, including that it be evidenced-based and that new dollars dedicated to education go first to the neediest districts. SB 1 proposed doing both.
Not that Rauner was about to oblige them, or any of the other dozens of editorial boards, school superintendents and civic groups — up and down Illinois — urging him to sign Senate Bill 1. On Tuesday, as expected, he issued an amendatory veto of the bill, throwing education funding up for grabs weeks before schools are scheduled to open.
To our thinking — and we really are speaking for ourselves now — it’s a cryin’ shame. Illinois has had its fill of foolish stand-offs between the governor and the Legislature, and SB 1 is better than just a bill worth signing. It’s a historic chance to reform education funding, easing decades of financial inequities between rich and poor school districts.
“As Bruce Rauner continues to attack Chicago schoolchildren and mislead about SB 1, school districts and editorials across the state are blasting the failed governor,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “No school district loses with SB 1, but all school districts lose with a governor creating lasting damage and leveraging schoolchildren to force his agenda.”
“As Bruce Rauner continues to attack Chicago schoolchildren and mislead about SB 1, school districts and editorials across the state are blasting the failed governor,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “No school district loses with SB 1, but all school districts lose with a governor creating lasting damage and leveraging schoolchildren to force his agenda.”
A school district superintendent in southeast Champaign County supports Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s amendatory veto of Senate Bill 1, the school funding bill. But Andy Larson with Unit Seven said he was frustrated that the issue has turned into a political game.
“It’s gets really frustrating when we are used as the biggest political pawn out there for everybody to get their own agendas taken care of,” he said.
And there are a bunch of stories that quote Republican legislators approving of the governor’s move (although, curiously enough, there was no roundup from the ILGOP today). Some outlets, like the SJ-R, ran headlines that focused on how Chicago got dinged, which probably goes over well with its readership.
Rauner was right to strip the CPS bailout and other bad elements from SB 1, but lawmakers should go even further and scrap SB 1 entirely. Beyond the CPS bailout, the “evidence-based” funding model within SB 1 will be an expensive failure.
Well, actually that paragraph has been deleted from the Institute’s website…
* There is no indication on the original story that it has been altered, so I e-mailed Ted Dabrowski, one of the authors, and asked why that paragraph no longer appears on his website. I haven’t heard back, but he tweeted this out ten minutes or so after I sent him my query…
SB1/No SB1 is a false choice. Lawmakers should keep the existing formula until an agreement can be reached. Don't use kids as pawns. #twill
Chris Kennedy spoke at the Mom+Baby governors candidate meet and greet yesterday. I didn’t see anything on his Twitter page about it, but I’m told about 30 moms and 10 kids had to wait at least half an hour for him to arrive. And it went downhill from there.
* Well, Mark Maxwell at WCIA TV interviewed some of those moms the other day…
“We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.” A group of moms is setting out to change the political landscape in Illinois. We met them this week on Capitol Connection.
* In case you can’t watch video where you work, here’s a transcript of one of the moms describing the Kennedy meet and greet…
REPORTER: Rebecca Abraham is backing state Sen. Daniel Biss for governor after a meeting with Chris Kennedy left her with a bad impression.
REBECCA: And then he was very defensive when corrected. So it was kind of disrespectful that he wasn’t prepared and I wonder if he had met with a group of men who also were an activist group, I bet he would’ve came a lot more prepared. But because we’re called Mom + Baby and we’re a bunch of women with our children, he blew us off. So I don’t think he would’ve had the same behavior with a group of men.
Ouch.
* Meanwhile…
Chris Kennedy will attend the first annual Kankakee County John F. Kennedy Dinner as the keynote speaker. In his remarks, Kennedy will address his personal history of public service, his family’s legacy and his vision for the future of our state.
If one aspires to become a politician in Illinois, there’s one tried and tested route.
Attend private elementary and high schools.
Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes the Sangamon Sun, researched the K-12 school choices of Illinois’ top elected officials– present and past– and found a clear, unmistakable trend.
They may politically support Illinois’ public schools, but an increasing number of elected officials are opting out of using them personally.
The LGIS report comes as Governor Bruce Rauner and Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich are pushing a measure that would give a state tax deduction to philanthropists who underwrite private school scholarships for low-income and middle class students.
Many opponents of the measure attended private schools themselves.
As we discussed yesterday, private schools are pushing for a 100 percent state income tax credit on donations to scholarship funds for low-income students. So, if somebody gives $20K to a scholarship fund, that person’s state income tax bill will be lowered by a corresponding $20K. At the moment, the governor and other proponents want a $100 million program.
This new tax credit will not allow parents to receive a 100 percent tax credit for their own kids’ private school tuition. You will only get that credit by donating to a private school’s scholarship program.
As far as I can tell, nobody has yet come up with a way to pay for this $100 million program, which is problematic, if you ask me.
* Proft’s paper published a list of legislators who attended private schools. Note the number of Catholic schools on this list. The Catholic Conference of Illinois and the Chicago Archdiocese have been pushing hard for this new $100 million tax credit program and it hasn’t been covered at all by the media…
Rep. Dan Beiser - Alton Marquette Catholic
Sen. Bill Haine - Alton Marquette Catholic
Sen. Neil Anderson - Assumption Catholic (Davenport, IA)
Rep. Jerry Costello, II - Assumption H.S. (East St. Louis)
Rep. Dan Brady - Bloomington Central Catholic
Sen. Bill Brady - Bloomington Central Catholic
Sen. John F. Curran - Brother Rice
Rep. Kelly Cassidy - N/A (Elementary/Bradenton, FL)
Rep. Barbara Wheeler - Carmel Catholic (Mundelein)
Rep. Sam Yingling - Carmel Catholic (Mundelein)
Rep. Emil Jones, III - Chicago Christian (Palos Heights)
Rep. Thomas Morrison - Christian Liberty Academy (Arlington Heights)
Sen. Chris Nybo Fenwick - (Oak Park)
Rep. Jaime M. Andrade - Gordon Tech (Chicago)
Rep. Michael P. McAuliffe - Holy Cross (Chicago)
Rep. Sara Feigenholtz - Ida Crown Jewish Academy
Sen. Toi Hutchinson - Infant Jesus of Prague (Elementary/Flossmoor)
Rep. Larry Walsh, Jr. - Joliet Catholic Academy
Sen. Pat McGuire - Joliet Catholic Academy
Rep. Silviana Tabares - Lourdes (Chicago)
Rep. Robert Martwick - Loyola Academy (Wilmette)
Sen. Thomas Cullerton - Loyola Academy (Wilmette)
Sen. Jim Oberweis - Marmion Military Academy
Rep. Frances Ann Hurley - Mother McAuley (Chicago)
Sen. Bill Cunningham - Mt. Carmel (Chicago)
Sen. Heather Steans - Phillips Exeter Academy (NH)
Rep. Daniel J. Burke - Quigley South (Chicago)
Sen. Antonio Munoz - Quigley South (Chicago)
Sen. Martin Sandoval - Quigley South (Chicago)
Sen. Jacqueline Collins - St. Carthage (Elementary/Chicago)
Sen. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant - St. Francis (Joliet)
Sen. John J. Cullerton - St. Francis (Wheaton)
Rep. Andre Thapedi - St. Ignatius (Chicago)
Rep. Elgie R. Sims, Jr. - St. Ignatius (Chicago)
Rep. Kelly M. Burke - St. Ignatius (Chicago)
Rep. Michael J. Madigan - St. Ignatius (Chicago)
Sen. Don Harmon - St. Ignatius (Chicago)
Rep. Christian Mitchell - St. Joseph’s (Westchester)
Sen. Mike Connelly - St. Joseph’s (Westchester)
Rep. Arthur Turner - St. Mel (Chicago)
Rep. John Mulroe - St. Patrick (Chicago)
Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst - St. Paul’s Lutheran School (Elementary/Kankakee)
Rep. Marty Moylan - St. Philip (Chicago)
Rep. Cynthia Soto - St. Procopius (Chicago)
Rep. Mike Zalewski - St. Rita (Chicago)
Rep. Sue Scherer - St. Teresa (Decatur)
Rep. Patty Bellock - Trinity (River Forest)
Rep. Barbara Flynn-Currie - University of Chicago Lab School
Rep. Justin Slaughter - University of Chicago Lab School
Sen. Kwame Raoul - University of Chicago Lab School
Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez - Ursuline Academy (Springfield)
Rep. John C. D’Amico - Weber Catholic (Chicago)
Rep. La Shawn K. Ford - Weber Catholic (Chicago)
According to the paper, the current attorney general and four of the seven Illinois Supreme Court justices attended private schools.
* Back to the story, which seems designed to shame legislators into supporting the new bill…
For thee, but not for me
State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) and State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) are two of Chicago’s most vociferous advocates for raising property and income taxes to spend more money on Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
Neither have said how much CPS would have to spend to convince them to send their own kids there, however.
Raoul has a daughter at University of Chicago Lab School, his own alma mater. His son graduated from Chicago Lab last year and attends Lake Forest College.
Cassidy’s three children attend Francis Parker, an elite private school in Lincoln Park.
Both Chicago elected officials argue their constituents should choose Chicago Public Schools, while simultaneously avoiding the schools themselves. And they’re in good company.
* Background is here. From the Illinois Republican Party…
“J.B. Pritzker’s new television ad is a deceptive attempt to cover up his family’s history of attacking the labor movement. Pritzker personally profits by exploiting union labor - just listen to what union protesters have to say about the billionaire family. Just like Mike Madigan, J.B. Pritzker is a politician with zero credibility who says one thing and does another.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe
In response to J.B. Pritzker’s new television ad lauding his insider endorsement of Madigan-backed labor groups, the Illinois Republican Party today released a digital video highlighting Pritzker’s true record on labor.
Pretty well done. The quote from the IFT’s leader is particularly impressive…
I want to thank the Pritzker family for uniting us all here today. It’s not enough for them to go after the workers in their hotels, they have to go after teachers.
*** UPDATE 1 *** From the IFT’s Dan Montgomery, who is featured in the above video…
“IFT members know that the Illinois Republican Party has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bruce Rauner, who has been leading the charge to rob workers and deny them a voice in the workplace. This six-year-old video clip is an attempt to distract attention from the Governor’s abysmal record and unpopular political demands that nearly drove Illinois off a fiscal cliff had members of his own party not stepped up to do the right thing. Rauner should focus less on campaigning and more on doing his job.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Chicago Federation of Labor President Jorge Ramirez…
“It’s clear that Bruce Rauner is leading the Illinois GOP and this attack on JB. For Rauner to pursue this line of attack after we’ve seen the way he treats public-sector workers across Illinois is hypocritical and laughable. He and his special-interest friends have tried to destroy our state’s labor movement and the public services that so many residents of Illinois rely on every day. Everything we care about is under assault by Bruce Rauner. There is no greater priority for us than defeating him in November and sending a leader like JB Pritzker to Springfield.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan…
“If it wasn’t so pathetic, it would be laughable that the Illinois Republicans levy an attack concerning union member and worker rights. Many Republican Party politicians in Illinois have followed blindly down Bruce Rauner’s path of destruction. His refusal to compromise on a budget hurt so many – all driven by his obsession to subvert wages, destroy unions and weaken protections for middle class Illinois families. If the Republican Party would like to take a stand with unions and working families of this state, they should start by standing up to their leader and chief benefactor.”
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* And the accompanying oppo dump…
During the recession, the Pritzker family faced mass protests from its workers over mistreatment and attempts to prevent unionization.
As Crain’s Chicago Business notes, “Hyatt fought efforts by Unite Here union to organize and secure raises for Hyatt workers.”
In one infamous incident, the Pritzkers turned heat lamps on picketing workers during a heat wave.
J.B. Pritzker personally profits from the family business, owning nearly 2% of Hyatt and acting as a key member of the majority voting block that controls the company. One of Pritzker’s cousins chairs the board of directors.
Pritzker even agreed to align his share’s vote with his cousins’, making him a critical part of their voting block and an enabler to all of their controversial decisions regarding employee mistreatment.
Pritzker even bragged about his role in Hyatt on his website – describing himself as a “principal owner”.
JB Pritzker Has Enabled And Supported Hyatt’s Management
JB Pritzker Currently Controls 1.9% Of The Total Voting Power For Hyatt Hotels Corporation. (Form SC 13D, Charles E. Dobrusin, SEC Accession No. 0001144204-17-001664, 1/10/2017)
When The Pritzkers Took Hyatt Public, The Family Controlled 80 Percent Of The Class B Shares, Which Have 10 Times The Voting Power Of Class A Shares. “Hyatt Hotels Corp. announced recently that the shares will be priced at $23 to $26. The offering is structured so the Pritzker family would own 80 percent of Hyatt’s Class B common stock, each share of which has 10 times the voting power of a Class A common share. The company’s initial public offering of 38 million Class A shares would raise between $874 million and $988 million.” (Julie Wernau, “Hyatt IPO Plan Draws Fire,” Chicago Tribune, 10/29/2009)
This “Super-Voting” Stock Allowed The Pritzkers To Maintain Control Over Hyatt Even If Their Ownership Of The Company’s Outstanding Shares Fell Below 50%. “Hyatt Hotels Corp. is likely to see “outsized profit growth” over the next decade, but the Pritzker family’s tightfisted control over the underachieving hotel chain should make investors wary of its initial public offering, a prominent real estate stock research firm said Wednesday. The proposed IPO could raise about $1 billion for Chicago-based Hyatt, the crown jewel of the billionaire family. Pritzker family trusts plan to sell 38 million shares for as much as $26 apiece, according to a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But the family plans to retain its grip on the company through so-called “super-voting” stock, which would allow the Pritzkers to outvote other common shareholders even if the family’s stake falls to nearly 15%.” (Thomas Corfman, “Hyatt’s Corporate Structure Criticized In Report,” Crain’s Chicago Business, 10/29/2009)
JB Pritzker Agreed To Vote His Super Shares In Line With The Recommendations Of Hyatt’s Board Of Directors. “Until the later to occur of (i) January 1, 2015 and (ii) that date upon which more than 75% of the FD Stock is owned by Persons other than Pritzkers and Foreign Pritzkers, all Pritzkers (and their successors in interest, if applicable), but not the transferees by sale (other than Pritzkers or Foreign Pritzkers who purchase directly from other Pritzkers or Foreign Pritzkers) or by, or following, foreclosures as aforesaid, will vote all of their voting securities of Hyatt (and successor Companies) consistent with the recommendations of the board of directors of Hyatt with respect to all matters (assuming agreement as to any such matter by a majority of a minimum of three Independent directors or, in the case of transactions involving Hyatt and an Affiliate thereof, assuming agreement of all of such minimum of three Independent directors). All Pritzkers will cast and submit by proxy to Hyatt their votes in a manner consistent with this Section 3.1(c) at least five business days prior to the scheduled date of the Annual or Special Meeting of stockholders of Hyatt, as applicable.” (“Amended and Restated Global Hyatt Agreement,” Hyatt Hotels Corporation, 10/1/2009)
JB Pritzker’s Cousin, Thomas J. Pritzker, Is The Executive Chairman Of Hyatt’s Board Of Directors. (Board of Directors, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Accessed 1/17/2017)
Jason Pritzker, Thomas Pritzker’s Son, Is Also On Hyatt’s Board Of Directors. (Board of Directors, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Accessed 1/17/2017)
Penny Pritzker, JB Pritzker’s Sister, Served On Hyatt’s Board Of Directors Until She Was Appointed Commerce Secretary In 2013. “Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker intends to resign from corporate boards, including that of Hyatt Hotels Corp., and reported that she received nearly $54 million in consulting fees last year from an offshore Bahamian trust, the Commerce Department secretary nominee said in documents released Wednesday.” (Melissa Harris and Katherine Skiba, “Pritzker Opens The Books On Finances,” Chicago Tribune, 5/16/2013)
* Before it quietly updated with a new story, the Illinois Policy Institute, like Gov. Rauner, was claiming a vote to accept Rauner’s SB1 amendatory veto only required a simple majority…
* Now, let’s look again at the brutal video of Gov. Rauner being informed that it’ll require a three-fifths majority to accept his amendatory veto and not the simple majority that Rauner claimed…
Watch how the governor physically leans into his answer. People often do that when they’re trying to emphasize a point.
Transcript…
REPORTER: What makes you think that three-fifths of the House and three-fifths of the Senate will agree on any particular thing here?
RAUNER: Well, upholding — Dave, it’s a great question — upholding my, uh, amendatory veto and passing it in concurrence requires a simple majority. Upholding my amendatory veto, supporting the changes I’ve recommended just, just…
REPORTER: Democrats say otherwise because of the immediate effect, because it needs to take effect immediately.
RAUNER: So, okay, so, upholding it can be a simple majority
“Great question,” he says, as if he’s actually been prepared for this very query. And then he says twice that it only requires a simple majority and tries to say it yet another time, but is cut off by a pesky reporter with an annoying fact.
* So, why is this important? Well, because it would’ve been a really good message: Hey, it just takes a simple majority to accept my changes while it will take a three-fifths super-majority to override my AV, so let’s just accept it and move on. Easy peasy.
Indeed, Rep. Avery Bourne, a close Rauner ally and one of just eight education funding reform negotiators, used that very same messaging on Facebook recently…
* And the Champaign News-Gazette, which has been a staunch Rauner supporter, published this editorial on July 27th…
Rauner wants the bill now so he can use his amendatory veto power to excise the Chicago-friendly provisions.
Then the General Assembly has three options
It can do nothing, effectively killing the bill. It can override the veto by a three-fifths majority of each chamber. Or it can agree with the recommendations made by the governor by a simple majority vote in each of the chambers.
Gov. Rauner is hoping his planned action will be sustained in the Legislature, most particularly the House, where Speaker Madigan lost his super-majority in the last election. Madigan will be looking for four Republicans he can buy off to be able to overturn Rauner’s amendatory veto, the tactic he used to pass his version of the state budget/tax hike plan over the governor’s veto.
It sure looks to me as if the Best Team in America™ had a plan in place, but it was based on an erroneous assumption.
* Back to the press conference transcript…
REPORTER: Wouldn’t that be something though that your staff would have found out before you did this? Are you concerned at all that there’s a big difference between a simple majority and three-fifths and this could all blow up?
So, it may not just be a foiled messaging plan, it could also be a foiled legislative strategy that could do real harm.
* Perhaps the governor should’ve taken a meeting with Senate President John Cullerton before issuing his veto. Cullerton wanted to explain what the veto would mean, but Rauner called that suggestion “outrageous”. And the Chicago Tribune editorial board slammed Cullerton’s request for talks as an unconscionable delay tactic…
Rauner’s changes include eliminating a $250 million block grant Chicago schools have received for years that critics said the city would not get if the money was distributed through existing school aid formulas.
Rauner’s changes would still give Chicago schools $215 million to help with its teacher pensions. Chicago is the only school district in the state not covered by the state-funded Teachers Retirement System.
However, Rauner’s change would make the Chicago pension payment part of state pension law rather than the state’s school code. The seemingly innocuous change will require a follow-up budget bill to implement, Manar said.
* This is so weird. The governor moved the $215 million for pension money into another state statute after spending weeks “messaging” against the Chicago teacher pension money, and after vetoing that same $215 million in December of 2016…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill that would have eased Chicago Public Schools’ massive pension burden threatened to blow a $215 million hole into a budget that has been criticized by bankers and civic groups for its reliance on uncertain state assistance.
In reality, the CPS block grant has no formal relationship to pensions. All districts receive state reimbursement for seven “categoricals” above what they receive in General State Aid. Every district except Chicago has to submit vouchers to get reimbursed for these categoricals. But since 1995, Chicago has been reimbursed via a block grant, based, at least in part, on the reality that submitting claims for thousands of different students was burdensome. Over the years, as CPS enrollment has declined, the block grant resulted in the district receiving $250 million more than it would if it had to submit vouchers for reimbursement.
Rauner’s education czar Beth Purvis has said those extra funds have been audited, and aren’t being misspent. “There’s no implication that CPS is misusing those funds in any way, shape or form,” she told me in May. “We believe that they’re using them for the educational costs of educating those children.”
* So, the governor cut classroom money for CPS and kept the pension money in place (albeit in another statute) - the exact opposite of what he said he actually did…
“What the amendatory veto prevents is a diversion, an unfair diversion, removal of money, from the classroom to fund a broken pension system that deserves to be reformed and that deserves to be treated the same way all teachers pensions are treated,” Rauner said.
The governor also made some technical changes to the bill, including creating a per-pupil “hold harmless” provision in 2021 and beyond – rather than a district-level “hold harmless” provision, which was included in the original bill
Rauner would keep that so-called “hold harmless” provision in place until the 2020-21 school year, then switch the way funding is calculated from a per-district basis to a per-pupil basis. The upshot is that CPS and some Downstate districts that have seen declining enrollments stand to lose money.
For example, changing a provision in 2020 from holding each district harmless overall to holding it harmless on a per-pupil rate would affect the hundreds of Illinois districts losing students, and that’s problematic, Ostro said, because the state’s funding already is too low.
“Under the SB 1 model no district loses money year over year — it’s about how new dollars are distributed,” she said. “That’s important when districts are already inadequately funded.”
But how many is it?
* The House Democrats have a spreadsheet which claims 222 school districts lost enrollment between F& 2015 and FY 2016, or just shy of a quarter of all districts. Click here for the list. Some of those lost just a few pupils, but if that continues and the governor has his way, those districts are still going to be hurt.
Of those 222 districts which lost population, 156 were in House Republican districts, mostly Downstate. Click here for that info. Rep. Avery Bourne, a Republican school funding negotiator, has six school districts which lost population, according to the HDem spreadsheet.
Needless to say, the districts which are gaining lots of students are generally in areas that are economically thriving. So a per pupil-based hold harmless would benefit those well-off districts at the expense of those which are struggling.
* What’s needed is a compromise. Allow many of the growing districts to receive more money to help with their expanding needs, but allow districts with declining student populations to hold onto their money.
Just because a district loses students doesn’t mean its fixed costs decrease by the same percentage, after all.
Today, the JB Pritzker for Governor campaign released a new TV ad, “Enough.” The ad features working Illinoisans who are passionate about electing JB Pritzker and defeating Bruce Rauner next fall.
“Enough” highlights union members discussing Bruce Rauner’s attacks on working families and JB’s commitment to fighting for them in Springfield. The ad comes as labor support for JB continues to grow across the state, with recent endorsements coming from Illinois Painters District Councils, United Steelworkers, and the Illinois AFL-CIO. In total, JB has been endorsed by 17 individual unions so far.
“Working families across this state are ready for a real leader who fights for them in Springfield and that’s exactly what I’ll do as governor,” said JB Pritzker. “Together, we will defeat Bruce Rauner and end his attacks on the labor movement and working families. When I’m governor, the labor movement will once again have a seat at the table as we grow the economy, create jobs, and protect the rights that help workers thrive. I am grateful to have support from the labor movement across the state and I will always stand with working families as governor.”
JB will stand up for working families. And he’s focused on creating jobs.
JB’s the one we trust to beat Bruce Rauner.
To beat Bruce Rauner.
To get Illinois — to get Illinois back on track.
…Adding… Some of y’all in comments are a bit unclear on the concept. This is a TV ad for a Democratic primary. And unions are more popular overall than some of you realize. From a, October, 2016 Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll…
Among the 1,000 Illinois registered voters surveyed, more than half (57 percent) say they have at least a somewhat favorable view of labor unions, more than 20 points ahead of the 36 percent who have an unfavorable view. […]
Self-described liberals (75 percent), Democrats (73 percent), and members of union households (75 percent) were most likely to have favorable views of unions. Only among conservatives and Republicans (37 percent each group) did fewer than half hold a favorable view.
Historically marginalized groups tend to desire that unions have more influence than they do today. Notably, 49 percent of African Americans want unions to have more influence compared to only 26 percent of whites.
Similarly, 40 percent of people with household incomes below $50,000 would like to see unions have more influence compared to only 24 percent of those with incomes over $100,000.
.@GovRauner's team has apparently taken down the site link to their ed funding spreadsheet as they wait for ISBE final score to publish. https://t.co/4t44GdCfmP
State legislators who simultaneously serve as state party chairs are exceedingly rare. Among the 100 current Republican and Democratic State Party chairs in the nation, only nine also currently serve as state legislators. Of the nine, only two also serve in their party’s legislative leadership. This includes Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D), who has served as the Illinois Democratic Party’s Chair since 1998, totaling 19 years in the position.
Michael John Gray (D), outgoing Minority Leader for the Arkansas House of Representatives, also served as Chair of the Arkansas Democratic Party for about two months while completing his term as Minority Leader earlier this year. After the close of the state legislative session in May, the Arkansas House Democratic Caucus elected a new minority leader because of Rep. Gray’s March election as party chair.
Speaker Madigan is the only state party chair that also currently serves as the Speaker or President of his or her chamber. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider also serves as a Cook County Commissioner in the 15th District. It is not common for state party chairs to also maintain an active role as a public elected official, although it is not unheard of, with at least 13 other state party chairs currently holding public elected office in the U.S.
State party chairs serve as the representative of their party in that state, and are generally responsible for setting the party’s message and strategy, engaging with the media on behalf of the party, and organizing the party’s rank and file members. State Senate Presidents and House Speakers are responsible for representing and governing their respective legislative chamber. They may be tasked with keeping order, setting the agenda, moving bills along, and acting as spokesman for their chamber.
While a party chair is able to keep their focus on party interests, a legislative leader must also serve another role that transcends politics. ICPR Executive Director Sarah Brune explained, “It’s an age-old issue of separating politics and governance. A legislative leader is still a public servant, and has to keep the well-being of all Illinois residents in mind. Trying to manage politics and governance in this partisan environment is no easy task, and can present challenges if one person has to represent both interests.”
Outside of Illinois, it is very uncommon for an official to serve as both the party chair and the top chamber leader - and possibly with good reason. It may be difficult for officials to juggle what could be seen as conflicting responsibilities. In the case of Arkansas’ recent leadership changes, House Democrats were quick to put new leadership in place after Michael John Gray’s election as chair of the state party.
* The Question: Should legislators be barred from serving as state party chairs? Click here to take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* The list is getting really long and it’s going to get longer…
State Representative Patti Bellock (R-Hinsdale) announced today that she will not seek re-election to the Illinois General Assembly in 2018. She will continue to focus on serving her constituents and continuing her work on improving access to quality health care for every Illinois family and strengthening the safety net for the state’s most vulnerable residents until the completion of her current term in January 2019.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve my community in the Illinois General Assembly,” Rep. Bellock said. “I would like to thank my family, friends and the residents of my district for their support over the years and to all those who suggested ideas for legislation that we were able to enact into public policy together. Making a positive difference in the lives of others has been the greatest reward in this job. Next year will be time to give someone else the opportunity to serve our community in the Illinois House of Representatives. Until then, I look forward to continuing to work with my constituents and my colleagues to make progress on many important issues until the end of my term in January 2019.”
Representative Bellock became the first woman in Illinois history to serve as Deputy Leader of a legislative caucus when she was appointed Deputy House Minority Leader in 2013, a position she continues to hold.
Her landmark legislation –the SMART Act reforming the Illinois Medicaid system and bills requiring mental health parity, MRSA infection control, grant transparency and reform, improving the Amber Alert system and strengthening child support in Illinois have been recognized on a national level. Currently Bellock serves as a budget negotiator for the House Republicans, Minority spokeswoman for the House Human Service and House Human Service Appropriations Committees, as well as being the co-chair of the Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force. She has been a strong advocate and voice for people with disabilities throughout Illinois.
Bellock has received state and national awards for her role in numerous community projects and serves on several local boards for groups addressing the issues of Taxes, Substance Abuse, Alzheimer’s, Autism, Human Services, Mental Health, Child Welfare, Domestic Violence and the Arts. The Illinois Manufacturer’s Association rated Bellock among the top five legislators because of her consistency on business issues. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce also recognized Representative Bellock’s support of state and local business by naming her a Champion of Free Enterprise for several years. In addition she has been named Legislator of the Year by over 20 associations. Her focus on women’s issues earned her the honor of “Illinois Women Making a Difference” from the State Treasurer’s office.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) released the following statement today on the retirement announcement of Deputy Leader Patti Bellock (R-Hinsdale):
“I have been privileged to serve alongside Patti Bellock since she first came to the Illinois General Assembly in 1999. Patti has brought the common-sense approach of a mother and grandmother to her public role, combining a keen understanding of how the law impacts people’s lives with a depth of knowledge and expertise in key policy areas unequaled among her peers. Patti’s unparalleled work ethic has been a tremendous asset to our caucus, particularly over the past four years in her role as our Deputy Leader, the first woman in Illinois history to serve in that post. Patti will long be remembered as an extraordinary leader and a tireless advocate for Illinois families; particularly on health care, disability and budget issues. Patti and I have been personal friends for many years, so I wish her and her family all the best as she looks forward to the next chapter in her life at the completion of her term.”
Leader Durkin appointed Representative Bellock to the position of Deputy House Republican Leader in October 2013. Leader Bellock also currently serves as a budget negotiator for the House Republican Caucus, Minority Spokeswoman for the House Human Services and Human Services Appropriations Committees, respectively, as well as being the co-chair of the Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force. She has been a member of the Illinois House of Representatives since 1999.
The Democrats insist that’s not true. After May 31st, upholding an amendatory veto on a bill that has an immediate effective date requires a three-fifths super-majority, just like any other piece of legislation with immediate effective dates. Click here and scroll to page 9.
So, where did he get that info? It’s a common mistake. Heck, I’ve made it, too. But the governor’s legal counsel certainly knew that answer. Maybe the governor was listening to someone else?
The General Assembly can agree with the recommendations made by the governor by a simple majority vote in each of the chambers. The bill then becomes law, as amended by the governor. However, should the governor issue the amendatory veto after May 31 and the changes have an immediate effective date, the recommendations require a three-fifths majority vote in both chambers in order to pass. If the effective date is the next fiscal year, the changes only require a simple majority to pass.
* So, now what happens? Well, the Senate has to return to session and then enter the veto into its journal. The Senate will likely hold a perfunctory session this afternoon at 2 o’clock to get that done, I’m told. Once the bill is “journalized,” the chamber has 15 calendar days to act or the bill dies.
…Adding… The governor’s office is now admitting that accepting the AV requires a three-fifths vote.
*** UPDATE 1 *** DGA…
“Today Bruce Rauner soared to new heights of irresponsibility,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner vetoed a school funding bill for political reasons without even fully understanding the repercussions of his actions. Illinois families were just dragged through a two-year budget crisis exacerbated by Rauner’s veto of the state’s first budget in two years - a crisis was only resolved when Republicans and Democrats joined together to override his veto. Now Bruce Rauner’s failed leadership is putting Illinois schools at risk.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Pritzker campaign…
“Bruce Rauner doesn’t understand his own school funding plan, can’t say where his numbers come from, and now doesn’t even know how many votes he needs to pass it,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “This is what happens when a failed governor clings to crisis and surrounds himself with a team of radicals. Illinois schoolchildren should not have to pay the price for this embarrassment in Springfield.”
I propose a public health insurance option that would allow every Illinois resident the chance to buy low-cost health insurance. I will work with legislators and the health care community to design this public option to provide another choice in the health insurance marketplace, to lower the cost of premiums and mitigate market uncertainty – at no cost to taxpayers.
If the Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains the law of the land, my plan would provide an important avenue to expand access to affordable healthcare in Illinois. But if Republicans in Washington are successful in repealing ACA, IllinoisCares would become even more necessary and could give Illinois a path to expanded innovative healthcare coverage at the state level.
IllinoisCares would allow Illinois residents to buy into the state’s Medicaid system:
* Because Medicaid is individually administered by states, the program offers a unique opportunity for states to function as laboratories and lead in the creation of progressive healthcare policy.
* With the creation of IllinoisCares, Illinois would be the first state in the nation to expand Medicaid in this manner.
* Medicaid is a lower-cost option than private insurance, giving Illinoisans another choice when faced with rising premiums. It can be offered in every county, as opposed to the dwindling number of plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges in many counties.
* Illinois currently spends about $3,350 per year per adult and $2,108 per child for Medicaid coverage.[1]While an actuarial analysis will have to be completed to set premiums and cost-sharing rates for the program, it is clear that IllinoisCares offers a lower cost option for families compared to those being offered in the private insurance market.
* As a Medicaid buy-in option, IllinoisCares would require Illinoisans who do not receive federal healthcare subsidies to pay premiums to cover the full cost of Medicaid coverage. As a result, there should be no additional cost to taxpayers for this program.
* Participants who qualify for ACA tax credits could use those to help pay for their premiums.
* IllinoisCares would be designed to encourage healthy young adults as well as older Americans who are not yet eligible for Medicare to participate and would help ensure a robust patient mix.
* IllinoisCares could allow for affordable deductibles and copays as well as open enrollment and special enrollment periods, which are all standard features that keep plans affordable and stable in the private insurance market.
In the event of full repeal of the ACA, I will work to make sure IllinoisCares gives all Illinoisans affordable health insurance, and will enact patient protections so that Illinoisans with pre-existing conditions will not be discriminated against in healthcare coverage.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Pawar campaign…
Ameya Pawar, 47th Ward alderman and Democratic candidate for Illinois governor, released the following statement after J.B. Pritzker suggested a policy proposal that would limit Illinoisans to a public option healthcare model:
“A public healthcare option for Illinois doesn’t go far enough to provide quality healthcare for everyone while lessening the burdens put on working families and small businesses. Illinois needs a single-payer healthcare system, and as Governor, I will take the steps to get us there.
“For far too long, government has perpetuated a culture of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving.’ Healthcare is a human right and single payer healthcare will deliver quality affordable care to every Illinoisan. Single-payer is about making our society a better place. It’s about putting people over profits. Single-payer is about doing the right thing.
“We need to elect more leaders who will advocate for a system that guarantees health care for all people, helps working families get the care they need while saving small businesses money that otherwise would be paid to big insurance companies.”
A single-payer system would allow healthcare providers to operate with far greater efficiency, meaning that more money is being spent on actual care than our current system allows. Medicare has a 2 percent overhead rate - that’s a remarkably efficient program, allowing significant savings that private insurance companies would be making in profit instead of passing along to the people. The total cost savings for Illinois under a single-payer system would amount to $17 billion annually, nearly two-thirds of our health care spending as a state, by eliminating private insurance providers and their administrative costs.
This issue has driven activism from a wide array of organizations, including social justice advocates, unions, physicians, health associations and religious institutions. But despite these efforts, the bills that lawmakers introduced in Springfield never made it out of committee.
Pawar’s campaign website has been mostly silent on this issue, however. Click here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Sen. Daniel Biss…
“Health care is a human right, and I’m disappointed that J.B. considers it an option. We need a single-payer health care system in Illinois that covers everyone. I call on J.B. to put aside half-measures like optional care and embrace health care for everyone.”
Except, Pritzker does support a single-payer health care system. From part of Pritzker’s press release that I didn’t post…
I hope there continues to be conversation about how we can expand healthcare coverage across our country, including the consideration of a federal single payer system, which I support. But with Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in control of the House and Senate, it’s now up to the states to innovate. That’s why I’m proposing a public option for Illinois, which would be the first in the nation leading in this way. [Emphasis added.]
…Adding… From the Biss campaign…
In the language you cite, JB states he supports a “federal” single-payer system. The criticism Daniel made of his plan, is that he doesn’t support a state level single payer system. Indeed, the fact that Trump and Republicans control Congress is all the more reason a single-payer system at the state level, as we’ve seen with efforts in CA, is needed. The larger point is, while it’s nice he supports a federal level system, he’s not running to be governor of Congress. He’s running to be governor of Illinois, and his position on single-payer for the state is what Democratic primary voters want to know.
That’s a critical distinction among Dem primary voters and among the candidates in this race. I’d hate for people to get the impression that he supports single-payer, writ large, as your piece implies. Because he doesn’t.
* I told subscribers this morning about the governor’s hope to pass a $100 million private school “scholarship” tax credit bill, which is backed by the Chicago Archdiocese, among others.
Gov. Rauner said today he’s “excited and hopeful that as part of a compromise… that that would include tuition tax credits.” He didn’t answer a question about whether he would require those credits as part of a final deal. (The proposal that’s currently on the table does not allow federal tax deductions on top of the state tax credits, I’m told.) Background on that potentially controversial issue is here.
…Adding… From the Catholic Conference of Illinois…
The Scholarship Tax Credit is an initiative that seeks to create scholarships for low- and middle-income students so they can attend Catholic and other private schools. The grants would be created from corporate and individual donations to scholarship-granting organizations. To encourage these donations, corporations and individuals would receive a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit for their contributions.
So, if you donate $20,000, your state income tax would be lowered by $20,000. That seems a bit much.
* One of the things I’ve been telling subscribers is that the Democrats really wanted to avoid reopening the budget talks. Gov. Rauner confirmed to reporters today that his amendatory veto of SB1 would require “a new appropriation line” for Chicago pensions. That means a new approp bill, which would give him an avenue to reopen the budget if the AV was accepted, and it almost undoubtedly won’t be.
Several sources tell NBC 5 that Gov. Bruce Rauner had planned to sign the new Automatic Voter Registration bill last week during the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Convention, but at the last minute the event was cancelled.
The bill allows voters to automatically be registered to vote through an electronic process when applying for a driver’s license or state ID, unless they opt out.
Repeated questions to the governor’s communications team have not been answered, but those who support the bill expect him to sign it.
* Asked to address the possibility that lawmakers may not address his amendatory veto changes to SB1, Gov. Rauner told reporters this morning that he’s AV’d a number of pieces of legislation and the GA simply redrafted the bills to reflect his changes and re-passed them.
Gov. Rauner then pointed specifically to the automatic voter registration bill as an example of where this process has worked. Rauner, of course, hasn’t yet signed AVR, so that’s the best indication yet that he’ll go ahead and approve that piece of legislation.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Here’s the relevant excerpt from the AV…
*** UPDATE 3 *** Gov. Rauner told reporters today that the Senate and House could accept his amendatory veto with a “simple majority.” Not true, says the Senate. Since we’re past the May 31st deadline for simple majorities, an acceptance motion would require three-fifths in each chamber. The governor seemed surprised about this and dodged a follow-up question from a reporter who asked whether his staff should have known such a thing. Oops.
…Adding… The governor’s office is now admitting that accepting the AV requires a three-fifths vote.
*** UPDATE 4 *** Most react will be on the live coverage post. But this is from the Pritzker campaign…
In response to Bruce Rauner issuing an amendatory veto on Senate Bill 1, a bill that funds schools and ensures they open on time, JB Pritzker released the following statement:
“Apparently 736 days worth of damage done by Bruce Rauner wasn’t enough. Now he is holding school funding for Illinois children and families hostage and pitting communities against each other again by vetoing Senate Bill 1,” said JB Pritzker. “Bruce Rauner is so blinded by his crusade against Chicago’s children and families that he seems incapable of understanding a very simple fact: every child and every school district benefits under SB 1. Even though he supports 90% of the bill, Rauner and his new team of radicals once again chose to use our kids, parents, and teachers as leverage to try and score a political win.”
*** UPDATE 5 *** Kennedy campaign…
This is a stunning low point in the history of our state. SB1 is a product of the governor’s own School Funding Reform Commission and his characterization of the bill as a bailout for Chicago has been debunked by the BGA and Politifact. Yet, Bruce Rauner chose political games over our children.
We need fundamental change in Springfield, including ending our reliance on a property tax system that inadequately funds our public schools. Today’s veto proves that Springfield is broken and Rauner will not lead Illinois toward real change.
*** UPDATE 6 *** Press release…
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Tuesday:
“Governor Rauner’s decision to pit one child against another is disappointing, especially as Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate continue to meet and negotiate. The governor has yet again chosen crisis over compromise, but Democrats will continue to work with legislative Republicans in order to enact education funding that is fair to every student, every school and every community.”
Today, Gov. Bruce Rauner issued an amendatory veto to Senate Bill 1, the school funding bill. The matter now heads to the Illinois General Assembly, where the governor has respectfully requested that lawmakers uphold his changes. If these changes are upheld, Illinois will achieve historic education funding reform.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from or who your family is. With a great education, you can go anywhere in life and be whomever you want to be. You can grow up, get a good job and provide for your family. That’s why the changes I have made to the education funding bill are so important,” Gov. Rauner said. “With my changes, our state ensures that enough resources flow to children in the poorest and most disadvantaged school districts across the entire state. And my changes ensure that the education funding system in our state is fair and equitable to all students in Illinois.”
More than a year ago, Gov. Rauner established the Illinois School Funding Reform Commission. This group came together on a bipartisan basis to study the way Illinois funds its public schools, and to chart a path to a fairer and more equitable system.
“These changes included in my amendatory veto reflect years of hard work by our education reform commission and our ability to overcome our political differences for the good of our young people’s futures,” Gov. Rauner said. “I urge the General Assembly to act quickly to accept these changes and let our students start school on time.”
The governor’s amendatory veto makes the following changes to ensure an adequate and equitable school funding formula:
• Maintains a per-district hold harmless until the 2020-2021 school year, and then moves to a per-pupil hold harmless based on a three-year rolling average of enrollment.
• Removes the minimum funding requirement. While the governor is committed to ensuring that the legislature satisfies its duty to fund schools, the proposed trigger of one percent of the overall adequacy target plus $93 million artificially inflates the minimum funding number and jeopardizes Tier II funding.
• Removes the Chicago block grant from the funding formula.
• Removes both Chicago Public Schools pension considerations from the formula: the normal cost pick-up and the unfunded liability deduction.
• Reintegrates the normal cost pick-up for Chicago Public Schools into the Pension Code where it belongs, and finally begins to treat Chicago like all other districts with regards to the State’s relationship with its teachers’ pensions.
• Eliminates the PTELL and TIF equalized assessed value subsidies that allow districts to continue under-reporting property wealth.
• Removes the escalators throughout the bill that automatically increase costs.
• Retains the floor for the regionalization factor, for the purposes of equity, and adds a cap, for the purposes of adequacy.
The amendatory veto also removes the accounting for future pension cost shifts to districts in the Adequacy Target. This prevents districts from ever fully taking responsibility for the normal costs of their teachers’ pensions.
Speaker Madigan said last week that there was a “good possibility of an override” in his chamber, noting the willingness in early July of some House Republicans to break ranks with Rauner on an income tax increase and budget.
But House Republican Leader Jim Durkin said Monday that his members were united on this front.
“They don’t have the support in the House,” Durkin said of an override attempt. “Our caucus is pretty strong on this. If someone believes it will be a repeat of what happened with the budget, they are sorely mistaken.”
I think that is very true today for a few reasons. Come October? Maybe not. But, for crying out loud, let’s all hope it doesn’t come to that. For once, cooler heads need to prevail before real damage is done once again to this state’s economy, its people and its already shattered reputation.
* Related…
* Mark Brown: School funding crisis needn’t become another standoff
* Politifact looks at the governor’s contention that SB 1 is a Chicago “bailout”. Go read the whole thing, but here’s the conclusion…
Attempting to parse a political buzzword like “bailout” might be impossible if not for the clear direction provided by Rauner’s own Illinois Education Funding Reform Commission. It called for an “evidence-based” school funding formula but also recommended a “hold harmless” provision that would ensure no district received less this year than last.
By that dictate alone, CPS should not be in line this year for a cut in the size of its block grant. What’s more, SB1 does do away with the CPS block grant starting with the 2018-19 school year, poking a major hole in Rauner’s “bailout” claim.
The bill’s Chicago pension component can’t be called a “bailout” or even a perk because it only gives CPS what every other school district already has. And Rauner clearly had sought previously to bargain CPS pension help for other, statewide pension reforms. He got a major one in the budget lawmakers enacted July 6.
Numbers are sure to fly fast and furious as Rauner and lawmakers duke this out in Springfield in the days ahead, but we find Rauner’s generalization that SB 1 is a “bailout” for Chicago schools to be False.
Although we question the pension portion for Chicago, it’s not enough of a concern to diminish our support for the bill. Also, we’re a bit tired of Chicago, a world-class city that still attracts corporate headquarters, being cast as an evil entity. We want Chicago schoolchildren to succeed as much as we want students in other areas of the state to succeed and we think a new funding formula can help make that happen.
SB1 is the best shot Illinois has at reworking a financing system that has created huge disparities among school districts and does not help educate children. It’s a bill that has been revised several times since Sen. Andy Manar first proposed it a few years ago.
A study by The Education Trust in 2015 showed that Illinois school districts with the greatest number of students living in poverty received nearly 20 percent less state and local money than affluent districts. Your ZIP code should not determine the quality of education your child receives.
SB1 would give state money to the students and schools who need it most. That’s how schools should be funded.
The governor went on to point out that Springfield “loses half a million dollars” under the Democratic plan compared to his. Decatur, he said, “loses $1.6 million.” He called SB1 a “diversion of money” from the rest of the state to Chicago and even said his AV was “an improvement” for CPS school children.
Later, he referred back to the Politifact issue and called it “false spin,” and repeated himself. “That’s false,” he said. “We need the truth to be told to the people of Illinois, not political spin.”
As Senate Bill 1 heads to Governor Rauner’s desk, Do Your Job, Inc. is asking him to get a grip, do his job and sign the bill.
After decades of talks around reforming the state’s education formula, Senate Bill 1 is the only bill to have passed the legislature. The bill is endorsed by editorial boards, community partners, school districts and school superintendents across the state. By vetoing the bill, Governor Rauner will put the funding of our schools in jeopardy.
In the past, Governor Rauner has recognized the need for a more equitable education funding formula.
According the Illinois Policy Institute, Governor Rauner said the following in his 2017 State of the State Address:
For years, Illinois has provided the lowest percentage of education financial support from any state in the country. And we have the largest gap between funding for high income schools and low income schools in the country, both across the state and within the city of Chicago.
This June, the SJ-R ran a piece entitled “Purvis: Rauner likes 90% of school funding reform bill but will veto” where the lede was:
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s education adviser, Beth Purvis, said the governor supports 90 percent of the education funding reform bill that was passed by the legislature this spring, but would still veto it because it is too generous to Chicago Public Schools.
On July 17th, Governor Rauner reiterated the value of SB 1 on his twitter page:
Lawmakers should send education funding bill SB1 to my desk immediately. This helps public schools in IL get equitable and adequate funding.
But Governor Rauner’s actions have gotten even more bizarre during the Governor’s not-so-special session.
He hasn’t disclosed legislative language for the Illinois General Assembly to act on.
He’s refused to meet with Senate President Cullerton or Senate Bill 1’s sponsors in the House and Senate. In fact, he’s called the Senate President’s desire to negotiate an “outrageous” demand. (After all, Governor Rauner is on the record saying: Nobody tells me what my policies are, nobody.)
And a day later, in a move which we can only assume can be attributed to Rauner’s “unhealthy obsession with media and messaging” as a Sun-Times source called it, Rauner created a working group which has yet to produce a legislative alternative which can pass the General Assembly.
The ad, entitled “Lost It” will run on digital platforms and can be viewed here and contains the following narration:
Serious people are questioning whether Governor Rauner has lost it.
After a three-year budget crisis, Rauner alone wanted to take the state over the cliff.
Republicans and Democrats worked together to solve the problem without him.
Then, Rauner fired his professional staff and replaced them with some questionable characters.
And now he’s stoking a school crisis, threatening to veto a new funding formula educators support, and his own education secretary said has 90 percent of what Rauner likes.
Governor Rauner, get a grip. Do your job.
Do Your Job, Inc. is led by IL Sen. Mike E. Hastings of South Suburban Cook County, IL Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie and Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan.
Vetoes and special session proclamations have to be sent to the Secretary of State’s Index Division and it closed at 4:30 this afternoon. The office will almost always stay open if they get a request from the governor’s office, but no request was reportedly received.
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Monday:
“House Democrats will continue to reach across the aisle and work with legislative Republicans in order to enact bipartisan education funding reform. Every child in Illinois deserves a great education, but too many are being held back by one of the most unfair funding formulas in the country, and the reform we need is being held back by a governor who is determined to pit one child against another for political gain.
“Democrats know that many legislative Republicans share our commitment to fair funding for all schools. We will work together on behalf of our children, our schools and our communities, even if the governor continues to choose chaos over compromise.”
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
A comprehensive overhaul of Illinois’ worst-in-the-nation school funding system was delivered to Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday. The legislation (Senate Bill 1) is the product of years of work and months of intense negotiations. No school in Illinois loses funding under this plan.
Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton issued the following statement.
“By merely signing his name the governor can deliver on his promise to overhaul the worst school funding system in the nation. This reform has been 20 years in the making. I encourage Governor Rauner to make it law. Students, parents, teachers and taxpayers have waited long enough. This is a chance to make a huge, meaningful change for Illinois. This is an opportunity to make Illinois more competitive and more compassionate. I hope the governor will seize the opportunity. Do the right thing, Mr. Governor, sign the bill.”
One of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s first acts after a major shakeup of his staff was to call a special session to try to force action on an education funding bill on which he’s at odds with the legislature.
The first three days featured little movement, with more time spent in dueling press conferences. Lawmakers are meeting this weekend to try to negotiate before Rauner’s promised veto of the bill, which the Senate is supposed to send to him on Monday.
Opinions differ on whether it was wise for Rauner to call the special session, and on how his new top staff members might be affecting his administration.
“I don’t know if this new staff … knows what special sessions are,” said former Gov. Jim Edgar. “I mean, they’re completely from outside of state government.”
The former governor isn’t around much and the “Institute” has been a thorn in his side for a few years, so he may be forgiven for apparently not realizing that Rauner’s new chief of staff, Kristina Rasmussen, has been a Statehouse lobbyist for the Illinois Policy Institute for several years. So, I think she probably knows what a special session is.
And, while almost none of the other new Rauner hires has any real government experience, almost all they did at the “Institute” was follow every twist and turn of state government. That doesn’t make them experts at governing, by any means, but they do at least know the topic.
* From the Illinois Constitution with emphasis added by me…
The General Assembly by law shall make appropriations for all expenditures of public funds by the State. Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year..
* The House Republicans have been complaining for months that the House Democrats hadn’t released an official revenue estimate, which they’ve done in the past. And they want Attorney General Lisa Madigan to step in. From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
Did the Illinois General Assembly pass an illegal budget? House Republicans are asking Attorney General Lisa Madigan to weigh in on whether lawmakers skipped a vital step in the process.
For nearly two years, state Rep. Keith Wheeler, R-Oswego, has been pleading with House leadership to adopt a revenue estimate in its budget-making process, which he believes state law requires.
In May, Wheeler and many others asked Madigan to give her opinion as to whether lawmakers need to officially adopt an expectation of how much they’ll bring in before they can pass a budget. He did not receive a response, although Madigan was not required to provide one.
The attorney general is, however, required to respond to Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, who sent her the same request in May. There are very few exceptions to state law regarding official opinions that would allow her to ignore his request. State law says that the attorney general will “give written opinions, when requested by either branch of the General Assembly, or any committee thereof, upon constitutional or legal questions.” But the official opinion guidelines say “all guidelines are subject to exception where special circumstances can be shown to warrant an exception.”
“I don’t make these requests lightly,” Durkin said Thursday. “I’m simply asking for the attorney general to officially memorialize what she said informally in 2014.”
Durkin said that, three years ago, Madigan informally said the revenue estimate was necessary.
“It’s been more than two months since my request, and her silence on an issue as important as this is extremely concerning,” Durkin said.
I’m not sure why resending a new opinion on the exact same topic from 2014 would do any good. Like Durkin says, he’s “simply asking for the attorney general to officially memorialize what she said informally in 2014.” It seems like much ado about nothing.
You can click here to see the 2014 opinion. Whether official or unofficial, her opinion isn’t binding and so can’t change anything. Also, I really doubt anyone could convince the judicial branch to start micromanaging the legislative appropriations process.
* The Senate has released the parliamentary hold on SB1. As I write this, however, it has not yet been officially sent to the governor. [ADDING: The bill has now been transmitted.]
[Sen. Andy Manar] asked whether the Republican negotiators would be willing to attend a meeting this afternoon where the Democrats would make an offer. He said that that offer would be a generous offer. And that it would be an offer that reflects the Democrats’ attempts to accommodate Republican priorities that help us bring an end to this impasse… When we attended that meeting, no offer was made. In fact, we spent nearly an hour doing nothing more than listening to the Democrats shuffle their papers and seemingly try to buy time so that they could continue this crisis that they have unnecessarily created. […]
The Democrats are notorious for claiming that there’s progress, when in fact in the actually negotiations they express no interest in actually moving the ball forward and coming to an agreement.
Sen. Manar said he wouldn’t even respond to that.
*** UPDATE 2 *** So, I bated Sen. Manar a little bit and he finally gave his side of the story, saying he wanted to be careful not to completely derail the talks.
Manar’s version is vastly different than Barickman’s. According to Manar, the Democrats have been moving toward one of the Republicans’ chief demands and the Democrats left the meeting promising language within a few hours designed to address the demands. Manar says he thought there’d be another meeting later today.
Instead, Barickman held a press conference to say the Democrats failed to make good on a promise to have language at the first afternoon meeting. Manar sounded stunned at this turn of events.
* After reading innumerable horror stories about how some schools might not be able to reopen after summer break if the school funding formula issue isn’t resolved soon, I tried to find out if there were actually any such cases. As I told subscribers this morning, I couldn’t find a single school that planned on staying closed.
The following is an e-mail I received from the Illinois State Board of Education this afternoon after a communications mixup on Friday. Note the last line…
Rich,
I have attached a list of all school districts’ days cash on hand, according to the fiscal year 2017 School District Budget Plans submitted to ISBE in the fall of 2016. The budget plans indicated that at the end of fiscal year 2017, 401 districts would have fewer than 180 days cash on hand, and 144 districts would have fewer than 90 days cash on hand. (The budget plans do not reflect the current actual days cash on hand and may or may not have contemplated state payment delays.)
As of July 24, 2017, no school districts had submitted requests to amend their calendars to delay the start of the school year.
And then they updated…
I checked again, and as of today, no school districts have submitted requests to amend their calendars to delay the start of the 2017-18 school year.
None of this fear mongering would even be necessary had the big brains at the top of the food chain worked out a deal. And, if you’ve been monitoring the live coverage post (and read this morning’s subscriber edition), you know something could be afoot. We’ll see.
* This is from Dr. Jennifer Garrison, the Sandoval C.U.S.D. Superintendent, about her own district’s situation…
We are doing a cash flow analysis each week at a minimum to determine how long Sandoval C.U.S.D. 501 can stay open without FY18 general state aid. The projection as of this morning making payroll and paying only essential bills based on our cash on hand is September 1st. It is important to note that I have implemented a purchasing freeze and only essential items to open our doors to start school are being approved.
Once our local tax revenue comes in, we can operate another month. If our local tax revenue comes in before August 31st, that puts us to October 1st. This is the best case scenario without any unforeseen costs.
* From Rep. Pritchard’s press release, which he intended to send out tomorrow, but was instead leaked…
As the 2018 election cycle approaches, State Representative Bob Pritchard announces he will not seek re-election. “I have appreciated the opportunity to represent the residents of the 70th district over the past 14 years but feel the time has come for another to voice the interests of this district,” he said.
“Like our founding fathers, I do not believe serving in the legislature should be a career but rather long enough to learn the process, make contributions and then return to other activities,” Pritchard stated. He will serve out his term which ends in January of 2019 and continue to be activity engaged in the issues and events of the district. He looks forward to spending more time in the family farming operations, with his grandchildren and in various organizations.
Pritchard said some of the challenges facing our state are a result of representatives serving too long, being unwilling to compromise on difficult issues, and losing the perspective of the impact government has upon private citizens and businesses. “I think we have a better system of government when more citizens take time from their careers to run for public office, and experience the challenges of making public policy for their communities or for a state as diverse as Illinois,” the legislator added.
“I have enjoyed the opportunity to make new friends, listen to the ideas and concerns of residents, and participate in the life of each community in the district,” Pritchard added. “I have tried to keep people informed of the complex issues facing the legislature and our state, and encourage their participation in the process of creating public policies. My efforts would not have been possible without the able assistance of district director Jesse Sheehan, assistant Shelley Ziola, staff in Springfield, and numerous supporters. I deeply appreciate their efforts.”
Pritchard has served on numerous House committees and sponsored legislation on many important issues during his time in the legislature involving agriculture, education, veterans affairs, human services, healthcare, the environment and government operations. He is currently Republican spokesperson on several committees including education and state government administration, plus Co-Chair of the General Assembly Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.
Pritchard voted for the budget and tax hike but missed the override vote.
…Adding… This doesn’t include a few legislators who are running for other offices, like Sen. Daniel Biss, Rep. Scott Drury (both running for governor, at least for now), Rep. Laura Fine (running for Biss’ Senate seat) and Rep. Cynthia Soto (MWRD)…
By our count, 5 state reps and 2 state senators have resigned/announced they won’t run for re-election since the start of the 100th GA pic.twitter.com/ubPWfzZqFa
— IL Working Together (@IllinoisWorking) July 31, 2017
More to come.
…Adding More… Sen. McCarter is also not running again due to a self-imposed term limit.
He strongly criticized what he said is a “massive disinvestment in education” resulting in “creation of an education underclass.” […]
We asked how the formula should be changed.
Kennedy proposes “a basket of taxes including a graduated, progressive income tax.” He does not think the school property tax should be eliminated completely, however.
That change has not happened, Kennedy charged, “because of a handful of (legislators) who make their money as property tax appeals lawyers.”
Kennedy didn’t name names, but he left nothing to the imagination about whom he meant: The most important property tax appeals lawyer in the legislature is House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Democrat who controls the fate of all legislation. Kennedy proposed a law to ban lawmakers from being involved in a business that benefits from legislative action or inaction.
* I was told at about 11 this morning that in twenty minutes or so paperwork would be filed to remove the parliamentary hold from Senate Bill 1, the education funding reform bill. That hasn’t happened yet. Gov. Rauner has said he will immediately issue an amendatory veto once it gets to his desk, but I’m informed that negotiations took place this morning. I’m not sure when exactly that hold will be removed, so stay tuned and keep an eye on the live coverage post for updates.
There was little movement last week in the first three days of a special session, though late in the week both parties tapped a handful of lawmakers to negotiate over the weekend.
Sen. Andy Manar, a Bunker Hill Democrat who sponsored the initial bill, said legislators spoke for two days, but declined to elaborate on the details of their discussions until Monday’s session day.
“It was productive,” he said of the talks. “It was time well spent.”
* Zorn: The politics of education funding in Illinois is truly deranged: Rauner is clearly suffering from an advanced case of Madigan Derangement Syndrome — the belief that veteran Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan is the cause of all of the state’s economic woes and the primary obstacle to recovery.
This special session is such an important moment in Illinois. It provides an opportunity to chart a different course for how the state tackles the challenge of providing all students with access to high-quality education. And it begins with using this debate over education funding to enact a tax credit scholarship program that allows individuals and corporations to allocate a portion of their owed state taxes to private, nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations that issue scholarships to low-income students.
By signing a bill with this language into law, the governor would propel Illinois to the forefront of the crucial battle to truly change education in America. Illinois could join the growing list of states that realize there is no one-size fits all system that works for our children, particularly our most vulnerable children.
To take advantage of this special moment in time a conversation is not enough; concrete action is needed. Given the stakes, the policymakers must right now do what’s best for kids.
Fortunately, a bipartisan school-funding-reform commission has been working to come up with a replacement for the byzantine system that has controlled funding for state schools for years. While Democrats and Republicans agree on much of the bill, in its current form it amounts to a taxpayer bailout of the Chicago Public Schools system, which has skipped most payments into its teacher pension funds for more than a decade and failed to deliver even an adequate education to most of its students for decades.
However, Governor Rauner has an opportunity to craft a compromise solution that provides the key to better education for all kids and ensures that schools open on time. The grand bargain would be simple: He agrees to Democrats’ demands if they include a tax-credit scholarship program in the education-funding-formula legislation.
I am arguably one of the most conservative state reps in Illinois- my ACU rating for the past two years is 100%, lifetime 98%. Every year I have filed every year a school choice bill of some type, in some years more than one. In full disclosure my children attend both Catholic school AND public school - so I have an educated and unhypocritcal opinion on the matter. I believe in parental choice as do a number of public school teachers who also send their children to private school even as their unions rally against parental choice. Stick with me here on this lengthy discussion…
This year I not only filed a school choice bill, I also got a hearing on it in committee - primarily because the Democrats wanted to embarrass me even though the Democrat Chairperson, sends his kids to private school. Well, my bill failed in committee- it was a re-write of former Democratic State Senator (African-American) bill - didn’t matter, killed anyway and Republicans voted against it too - they like the teacher union money as much as Democrats.
Back to the article and my point, even I, as someone who favors school choice, would not make a deal to pass SB1 and bailout Chicago for a tax credit for scholarships.
SB1, and its Republican version that does not include the obvious Chicago bailout, would still be a terrible bill for education and taxpayers in Illinois.
The author here has no idea what the deal would mean for the children, families, and taxpayers I represent. Visit jeanneives.org to learn more. Oh, and I sit on the pension committee- the author has no idea how badly underfunded they really are.
I’m working on a project and wondering if I might ask you for some assistance. I’m a student research assistant working with Peter Ubertaccio, PhD, a professor of politics at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. Prof. Ubertaccio may have already reached out to you several weeks ago, but we wanted to send our request along again in case that initial email got lost in the shuffle. The project is at the intersection of political and food culture. At the moment, we are putting together a comprehensive list of the “must go-to” food establishments and events for politicians in each state.
I wonder if you have any thoughts on the food establishments (restaurants/diners) or events (annual dinners/festivals/fairs) that a candidate for political office in Illinois must attend? Not a place to just be seen, but an authentic stop for both good regional cuisine and to meet ordinary voters.
Any thoughts or advice will be greatly appreciated.
Three restaurants spring immediately to mind. 17th Street Barbecue in southern Illinois, which was called “Illinois’ true barbecue mecca” by the Tribune, is a regular stop for campaigners. In Chicago, Manny’s Deli is a must-visit. The restaurant is celebrating its 75th anniversary. I also think Valois, on the city’s South Side, should be included.
There are almost too many festivals, fairs and annual dinners to even count.
* The Question: What are some food establishments (restaurants/diners) or events (annual dinners/festivals/fairs) that a candidate for political office in Illinois must attend?
Keep in mind this question is not about the best restaurant to find local political insiders. And please explain your choices and identify the locations.
* Click here for the SJ-R’s web of connections involving Gov. Rauner, the Illinois Policy Institute, Dan Proft, etc. One thing they missed was Leslie Munger’s ties to the “right to work” folks.
In politics and government, just like business, it takes more than good ideas and adequate financing to succeed. A CEO needs the right team around him or her, and all parties have to trust each other, to believe that those with whom they work will have their back out there in the jungle. There’s a word for that: loyalty. And the recent tribulations of President Donald Trump and Gov. Bruce Rauner underline the perils of forgoing that trait.
In Trump’s case, the clearest example is the trial and informal impeachment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, though the just-concluded cage match between top staffers Reince Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci was rooted in the same phenomenon. […]
Then there’s Rauner, now two weeks into his big purge and retreat to the comforting cocoon of ideological soul mates. If the governor wanted to change his staff, if he thought some of them weren’t performing, he had every right to bring in new lieutenants. But frog-marching loyal staff out the door without trying to find them other posts is just mean. No one who works for this governor now can know how long they’ll last.
That’s not just inside baseball, voters. It’s an indication of what this governor does when he’s cornered: He doesn’t grow and look for compromise; he calls in people who will tell him he’s right.
Both have used divisiveness. Rauner has repeatedly attempted to divide the state between Chicagoans and the “hard-working” people everywhere else. Trump points to illegal immigrants and Muslims as the root of our nation’s alleged decline.
Rauner’s policy vagueness during his campaign was legendary, and he still doesn’t like to get too deep into the weeds of substantive issues. Trump’s only specific proposals involve a “great wall” on the Mexican border and a ban on immigration from terrorist-prone countries. Otherwise, he’s not so keen on the details.
They’ve both promised miracles. Rauner claims his economic reforms will result in a dramatic turnaround for Illinois without offering much evidence. In his convention speech, Trump said, “Beginning on Jan. 20, 2017, safety will be restored.”
They both have their bogeymen. For Rauner, it’s always about Madigan, but he’s also referred to Illinois Supreme Court justices and Illinois Senate President John Cullerton as “corrupt.” For Trump, it’s Hillary Clinton—and anyone else who crosses him. […]
But like former Republican New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at the Democratic convention, in Illinois we need a “problem solver, not a bomb thrower,” who can bring people together to “get things done.”
On that, and on that alone, the two men are far too similar for my taste.
Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez is joining Illinois gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker at Trump Tower in downtown Chicago to give a speech that, no surprise, links the Republican president to the Republican incumbent Bruce Rauner. Get there at 10:30 a.m. if you want to hear it live. But if not, here are some highlights:
On Trump: “Donald Trump’s legislative agenda threatens to wreak havoc on the lives of Illinois families. Trump is actively working to dismantle health care in the United States, stripping millions of families of their coverage and targeting those who need it most. He is waging war on science in his refusal to acknowledge climate change and his rejection of the policies that will preserve our future. Trump’s attacks on public education, immigrant families, and people of color are tearing communities apart, and undermining the principles that make this country strong. Every day, Trump is exploiting divisions and peddling hate.”
On Rauner: “Rauner is silent in the face of Trump’s attacks and refuses to put in place policies that will protect Illinois families. Worse, Rauner is actively working to force a special interest agenda on Illinois that will amplify Donald Trump’s destruction. After a 736-day budget crisis, with a state economy in turmoil, and with public schools at risk, Illinois simply can’t afford Trump’s agenda and Rauner’s failed leadership.”
A bit of a campaign reset, perhaps? We’ll see what his new TV ads say.
*** UPDATE *** Pritzker has released a “five-point plan to resist Trump”…
PROTECTING HEALTH CARE: JB will work to expand access to care, increase patient choice, and keep costs down by providing a public option health insurance plan. JB will also sign HB 40 into law and defend women’s health and the right to choose.
FUNDING EDUCATION: JB will invest in a public education system — from early childhood through higher education — that improves the well-being of every child and prepares them for the jobs of tomorrow. He will also oppose school vouchers and charter school expansion.
RESTORING OUR ENVIRONMENT: JB will ensure Illinois upholds the Paris Climate Agreement, expand clean energy production, and invest in green jobs. JB will also fully fund Illinois conservation programs and fight to maintain full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
FIGHTING FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM: JB will enhance funding for immigrant and refugee services, increase health care options for undocumented adults, improve the U-Visa certification process for victims of violent crimes, provide access to financial aid for undocumented students, and oppose a federal registry program based on race, religion, and country of origin. He will also sign the Illinois Trust Act.
STANDING UP TO INTOLERANCE: JB will expand access to capital for small business job growth in underserved communities, fully fund after-school and anti-violence programs, and declare that transgender individuals are welcome to serve their state as state troopers. He will also stand against LGBT bullying and intolerance in our schools.
“MADIGAN IS ILLINOIS’ OWN DR. FRANKENSTEIN,” SAYS DRURY – “HE CREATED GOVERNOR RAUNER”
HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS – Scott Drury, Democratic candidate for Governor, released the following statement today:
“As the finger-pointing continues over who is responsible for the lack of an education-funding bill, overshadowed is why this is an issue at all in 2017. Without question, Bruce Rauner’s ascension to power was the direct result of Mike Madigan’s failed policies and leadership. When Democrats had total control of Illinois, instead of promoting progressive ideas that helped the working class, Madigan promoted structural deficits, unfunded pension liabilities and education inequity, while Illinois’ reputation as one of the most corrupt states in modern history flourished. Against, this backdrop, Democrats lost the 2014 gubernatorial election, as voters searched for anything but more of the same.”
“Madigan is Illinois’ own Dr. Frankenstein – the man responsible for creating a monster he cannot control. If Illinois is to prosper, we not only have to reject Bruce Rauner, we have to elect a leader who understands and rejects the failed policies and leadership of Madigan that put him into power. The failure to do this will lead to four more years of Madigan’s creation – Bruce Rauner.”
* The QC Times is one of the most reliable editorial voices against House Speaker Michael Madigan, but it is turning on Gov. Rauner in a big way over SB1…
Rauner is scrambling and his agenda is a shambles. And his acts of desperation are making him more difficult to support and defend by the day.
This month’s veto override that ended a two-year budget impasse was a significant loss for Illinois’ Republican governor. The standoff accomplished nothing of value. That bipartisan rebuke of Rauner’s veto, in many ways, left Illinois back where it started prior to Rauner taking office. […]
There’s no doubt that much of Rauner’s consternation is about playing to his base. It’s easy to bang around downstate Illinois blasting Chicago fat cats. Parochialism is good politics in a state like Illinois. But it’s also an explosive chemical compound.
Divisive populist regionalism will never fix Illinois’ failing pension system. It’s a pointless attack on the symptom that does nothing to cure the disease.
More than two years of brinkmanship accomplished precisely zilch for Illinois. But, politically desperate, it appears Rauner is going all in as his 2018 re-election bid nears. After the budget defeat, he sacked his most senior staff. He replaced it with right-wing partisans from the Illinois Policy Institute. And now, he’s banging around the state scapegoating his state’s one major market.
Rauner’s rightward leap risks not only his political fortunes but the well-being of his state.
Indeed, the language leaping out of sleepy Sangamon County has been uncommonly colorful. A Republican governor who promised to veto part of SB1 should Democrats ever get around to sending it to him finds the latter’s behavior “unconscionable,” their stalling tactics “evil,” the minority’s efforts to take back control nothing short of a coming “revolution,” according to various reports. The Democrat Senate president, meanwhile, questions the governor’s “mental state” while inviting him to negotiate something more to his/their liking.
This a clearly furious governor finds “outrageous!” while continuing to demand that Democrats put SB1 “on my desk!” so that he can have his way with it. Curiously, this governor from Chicago has declared war on his Chicago — granted, no Republican gets much love from Chicago — characterizing this as a “bailout” for the city’s school pension system. He calls a special session, to which many legislators hardly pay attention, judging by the no-shows.
Gov. Bruce Rauner continues to berate House Speaker Michael Madigan as public enemy number one, even though it’s the Senate’s John Cullerton who’s sitting on the bill. Apparently he’s decided it’s more politically advantageous to have the monster that is state government wear Madigan’s face. Meantime, the governor doesn’t do his own cause many favors when he can’t quite say how he arrived at the numbers he insists make downstate schools big winners, or explain how the savings necessary to do that seem to be coming out of Chicago’s block grant rather than pensions, or be more specific about his promised veto. […]
But on which party will parents take out their wrath? That’s the gamble, isn’t it? We’re in a pox-on-all-their-houses sort of mood. They argue ad nauseam, but nothing gets done. Illinois on school funding reform, meet Congress on health care reform.
For Illinois households with school-age children, August is not simply a month on the calendar. It is closure and reset. Sleepovers taper off. Bedtimes get earlier. School shoes displace flip-flops. Wet bathing suits yield to pleated pants.
The sweet back-to-school ritual is unfolding across Illinois, even as lawmakers in Springfield jockey over legislation — a fight that could jam a shiv into the August calendar. Without agreement on an education funding bill, schools might not be able to open on time. Yes, parents, while you’ve been preoccupied with lemonade stands and summer camps, Democrats in Springfield have been jeopardizing the timely opening of schools.
Democrats and a handful of Republicans supported a budget in early July that tied money for schools to a controversial rewrite of the school funding formula, which they had approved May 31. On top of that gamble, the Senate refused to send the rewrite package to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk. Two months have passed with no action, only dueling press conferences and noisy insults.
Just when you think Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan couldn’t be more scheming, they prove you wrong. In this case, they’re jeopardizing the start of the school year. Brinkmanship at its worst. A game of chicken with school families trapped midfield.
*** UPDATE *** The ILGOP finds other supporting editorials…
Editorial boards this weekend slammed Mike Madigan, John Cullerton, and Democrats in Springfield for holding school funding hostage to their Chicago bailout demands.
The Chicago Tribune: Dear Illinois parents: You’re being played by Democrats in Springfield
Yes, parents, while you’ve been preoccupied with lemonade stands and summer camps, Democrats in Springfield have been jeopardizing the timely opening of schools.
… Just when you think Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan couldn’t be more scheming, they prove you wrong. In this case, they’re jeopardizing the start of the school year. Brinkmanship at its worst. A game of chicken with school families trapped midfield.
To emphasize, parents: August is here and your legislature has not agreed on how to send your state tax money to your schools. You’re being played. You’re supposed to panic and blame a governor who’s, yes, still waiting for that May 31 funding bill to arrive.
The Belleville News-Democrat: Illinois lawmakers set time bomb to get Rauner, hit students instead
Lawmakers couldn’t pass a budget for more than two years and were willing to owe other people $15 billion, but they sure got their paychecks on time. The rest of us don’t get paid if we don’t work.
So could it be that they realize the optics are bad on that issue? They fear facing voters in 2018 looking like a bunch of self-serving, ineffective louts? Do they think limiting the per diems would give them the ability to say, “See, we aren’t all about us”?
They got a chance to earn another $111 a day plus mileage this past week, when Rauner called lawmakers back into session to advance Senate Bill 1, the education funding bill. They failed to do so because Rauner promised an amendatory veto to remove a Chicago Public School pension bail-out. Big surprise, because they are likely doing all this to force an August showdown to get that Chicago money and hand Rauner another fanny-whoooping — at the cost of our students.
Herald & Review: Our view: We’re back where we started with Springfield
What’s the better solution? Remove the Chicago pension funding proviso from the legislation.
That would meet Rauner’s satisfaction while preserving the core mission to fix the backwards funding formula.
It’s easy for us to say, but Chicago pensions shouldn’t break this legislation. We must think of students statewide.
Remove the pension rule.
Sign the bill.
Chicago Public Schools’ latest long-term borrowing deal will buy the district a bit of financial breathing room through 2019 but comes at an immense cost to future generations.
By the time the $500 million loan is paid off, children now entering kindergarten will be in their mid-30s and the school district will have spent $850 million in interest costs alone — making the total expense of the bond issue a whopping $1.35 billion.
And only a small fraction of the money from the long-term bonds issued in July will be used for school construction or classroom improvements, which budget experts say should be the primary use for long-term debt. CPS is using the biggest chunk of the loan to reimburse itself for failed bond market deals the district previously covered with cash. Another large portion will be used to shave a few hundred million dollars off old debts — even as it extends those debts as much as 25 years.
In addition, the deal commits an enormous sum of state aid to bondholders through 2046, even as state funding remains at the center of an ongoing battle in Springfield. If state aid is ever not enough to cover bond payments, CPS has pledged to turn to property taxes to pay for the loan.
During the lead-up to the recent special legislative session over the state budget and a tax hike, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s staff studied whether their boss had the power to force legislators to attend the sessions.
A court ruled during the Rod Blagojevich era that the General Assembly must convene at the date and time ordered by the governor, but Rauner’s staff found nothing in state statutes that gives the governor the power to, for instance, deploy the Illinois State Police to haul legislators to Springfield. You may recall 2011, when several Wisconsin and Indiana Democratic legislators attempted to deny their General Assemblies a quorum by fleeing to Illinois, outside the jurisdiction of their respective state police forces. But, as we’ve seen time and time again, for better or for worse, we aren’t Wisconsin or Indiana.
The battle plan to kill the Democrats’ education funding reform bill (Senate Bill 1) that was plotted before Gov. Rauner’s infamous staff purge in early July, and which still appears to be mostly operative, actually anticipated low special session turnout since there likely wouldn’t be much of anything to vote on. They figured that the Democrats would wait a while before lifting the parliamentary brick off the education funding reform bill - the better to foment a crisis atmosphere as the clock ticks down to schools reopening after summer break.
So, legislators not showing up for session will likely only amplify the governor’s contention that the majority party isn’t interested in preventing a crisis and funding schools. The cops aren’t needed.
Overall, the plan devised a while back is pretty good, even though it relies heavily on stoking the flames of regionalism with an unspoken but still clear racial element. Rauner’s “Chicago bailout” card is about the easiest one to throw in this state, and it has been played longer than anyone reading this has been alive.
Despite the fact that Downstate pays far less in state taxes than it receives in state benefits, people who live there think Chicago is the place that gets all the taxpayer goodies. It’s actually suburbanites who pay the bills on net, and with their high local property taxes and a recent income tax hike, those folks are probably (and understandably) not thrilled with the idea of bailing out the city’s notorious school system.
The bill’s supporters have lined up an impressive list of Downstate and suburban school superintendents in strong support of SB 1. Education groups like Stand for Children (which was, ironically enough, brought to Illinois by then-private citizen Bruce Rauner) have been advertising locally to back the plan.
But school superintendents are often resented by local taxpayers for their high salaries. And at least one has already been singled out by conservative political activist Dan Proft’s newspaper empire. Proft’s outfit published a snarky article last week about Harrisburg Superintendent Mike Gauch, a prominent SB 1 supporter who is often cited by proponents. The piece noted that Gauch and his wife, a Carbondale public school teacher, make a combined $220,000 per year, plus benefits.
“The Gauches represent a new reality in Southern Illinois,” the article claimed, “a public employee power couple whose income ranks them among the wealthiest families in Saline County.
Aside from the class warfare angle, the superintendents don’t have a vote in the General Assembly. So, while they can credibly claim all they want that SB 1 isn’t a Chicago bailout, the governor simply counters with his own numbers (which he won’t verify) that Downstate and suburban schools would do much better with his plan (which he refused to disclose for weeks).
The idea of using the superintendents was not just to encourage Republican legislators to support SB 1, but to give them ample political cover if they decided to cross the governor and override his veto. But since the governor has concocted his own proposal with his own numbers (which show that schools outside the city will get lots more money than they would under SB 1), that encouragement now means little and the cover is blown.
Downstate and suburban Democrats who vote to override his veto are also put in a bind because the governor can claim that those Democrats voted against their districts and for Chicago.
Preventing a veto override is the governor’s main effort here, but passing a bill into law that reforms school funding is a whole different matter. Without such a law on the books, billions of dollars of state education formula money can’t be distributed. And as I write this, that solution doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s horizon.
* Today is the day that the Senate plans to send SB1 to Gov. Rauner’s desk following a weekend of legislative negotiations. Follow all the twists and turns with ScribbleLive…
[This post has been bumped up from Friday to Monday for easier display and comments are now open.]
* Mostly true…
Democrats withdrawing from 2017 state fair. Madigan spokesman says "Focus will be on Chairmen's brunch" so "families can enjoy the fair." https://t.co/25oMhcRiva
* Democrat Day itself has not been canceled. Party members will still get their free tickets to the fair just like Republicans will on Governor’s Day. But the traditional noontime rally has been canceled.
Steve Brown told me part of the problem with Democrat Day over the years was that the same people make pretty much the same speeches at both the county party chairman’s brunch and then at the state fairgrounds rally a couple of hours or so later. It gets boring and repetitive and kinda pointless. It can be a real drag sitting in the hot sun listening to the same speech you just heard at brunch.
So, it looks like this could be the end of a very long era. I don’t know how far back the tradition goes, but it’s a very long time. Back in the day, the first Mayor Daley would send trainloads of people to the fair. It used to be a huge deal, but the rally crowds for both parties have seemed to taper off in recent years and I don’t think that Speaker Madigan likes doing it, either. Maybe it’ll restart if the Democrats elect a governor again, whenever that might be, because then Madigan won’t have to be in charge.
The Illinois State Fair’s “Director’s Lawn” is a tree-lined venue far from the corn dogs, grandstand concerts and beer tents.
The lawn spreads out in front of a rather dingy house used by the state’s director of agriculture, off a road marred by potholes and best accessed via a special gate that often is closed during the fair because there’s so little public parking. A million or so people attend the fair each year.
The grass on the lawn is trampled flat. But no events ever are as crowded as the annual Governor’s Day and the accompanying rally for the party out of power.
Even in this era of high-tech campaigns, the twin events unofficially kick off the governor’s race, despite the fairgrounds’ somewhat rundown appearance. Politicians high and low attend. The more important ones give speeches, the less important mill about and try to interest others in shaking their hands. Every major media outlet sends reporters.
There usually are four crowds. There’s the “true believers,” young men and women who work or volunteer for the candidates. They wear matching T-shirts, carry signs and fire up the crowds by cheering or shouting slogans on command.
Then there are the “older believers,” folks who aren’t nearly as youthful or fired up but still strongly support their candidates. They sit in the front section with a clear view of the stage.
The “space-fillers” mostly are bused in to increase the crowd. They sit where they can’t see the speakers, either behind the stands for the news media or off to the side under a canvas tent. They chat among themselves and enjoy the free food.
The fourth group is the “hacks in the back.” These are the political professionals, high-level campaign operatives, lobbyists and legislators. They’ve heard enough speeches, so they gossip at the rear of the lawn near the free beer.
No more free beer and hot dogs and politicking on the Director’s Lawn this year, at least for the Democrats.
As written, SB 1 is a bailout for the decades of financial mismanagement at CPS. The bill directs millions of dollars to CPS and away from other deserving districts. Under SB 1, as compared to the Governor’s plan, the other 851 school districts in Illinois will receive less of the FY18 budget money while CPS receives credit for a $506 million historical pension payment. The CPS hold harmless includes both the $250 million block grant credit and $221 million for normal pension costs and retiree health care credit.
Part of that is misleading. For instance, in saying “will receive less,” Durkin implies some districts will get less aid than they get now, which is not true. One of the main points of the Democratic plan is a “hold harmless” for every district, spending truly new money on additional state aid without taking away any current money.
But Durkin is right about the $506 million—to a point.
Though Democrats in their comments have almost completely focused on the $221 million for CPS pensions, that only covers current, or “normal costs.” It doesn’t include another $506 million that city taxpayers are having to pony up this year to pay for old, unfunded, “legacy” pension costs. That’s money that doesn’t go to the classroom, and it reduces CPS’ available cash for classroom expenses.
Under the pending bill, as per Durkin’s note, some of that burden would begin to be shifted to the state. According to CPS, it would get up to $25 million or so in additional funds in fiscal 2018 because of that clause, a figure that chief bill sponsor Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, confirms.
Now, $25 million is real money. But it’s not the $506 million that by Durkin’s version CPS “would get credit for.”
That $25 million figure will rise with time. But CPS won’t get the full $506 million until and unless the new formula is fully funded statewide, something that would take $3.5 billion to $6 billion a year. That kind of money won’t be available in the strapped state budget for a decade, and possibly much longer.
An early favorite has emerged to replace outgoing 9th District State Senator Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) as 17th District State Rep. Laura Fine (D-Glenview) announced her candidacy and several early endorsements Friday. Fine, a former teacher and advocate for taking on the insurance industry, followed Biss — currently seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination — into her current seat and hopes to succeed him a second time in the state senate.
After her husband Michael lost his arm at the shoulder when a cement truck plowed into his car head on, Fine’s family faced bankruptcy when their insurance company refused to pay medical bills for multiple surgeries and attempted to drop her husband’s coverage. With close to $600,000 in medical bills, Fine fought tirelessly with both the auto and health insurance companies for the quality care her husband needed to recover.
“I ran for the legislature in 2012 to take on the powerful insurance industry and became an advocate for leveling the playing field for all Illinois families against special interests who put their profits above people,” Fine said. “In the State Senate, I will continue to be a voice for our families when they are treated unfairly, and I will not hesitate to do the hard things to make sure people are treated right.” […]
State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) said. “Laura Fine is the exact kind of leader our community needs. Someone who works tirelessly on behalf of others and who is not afraid to stand up for what is right. I have had the privilege of working with her both on the local and the state level and I have seen firsthand her commitment to her constituents and I am proud to support her and her candidacy for state Senate.”
Metropolitan Water Commissioner Debra Shore (D-Evanston) added, “I am enthusiastically supporting Laura Fine for IL Senate because I know her to be a woman of experience, integrity, thoughtful approaches to legislation, and deep compassion. Frankly, we need more collaboration and less egos in the General Assembly. Laura is eminently qualified.”
Cook County Judge Daniel Kubasiak cleared the path Friday for Cook County’s penny-per-ounce soda tax to take effect.
Kubasiak initially sided with opponents of the tax because of hardships placed on consumers seeking refunds if the law was found to be unconstitutional. He granted a restraining order June 30 to prevent implementation of the tax.
He said Friday, however, that there’s nothing constitutionally that prevents implementation of the tax and the exercise of the county’s home rule powers. He said the tax “provides a person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to understand what is required” and is “sufficiently detailed and specific to preclude arbitrary enforcement.” […]
County officials had projected the tax would raise about $200 million over the next 12 months, and expected $67.5 million in the remainder of the fiscal year to help cover costs. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle ordered staff reductions and other budget cuts in the wake of the judge’s order, since the county was relying on revenue from the tax to cover those costs. The county laid off about 300 workers and the sheriff’s office laid off more than 110 recruits and trainees, according to officials.
Last week, county lawyers argued Illinois law permits differential taxation, which refers to the fact that the tax applies to some beverages and not others. The tax, they also argued, is needed to address concerns surrounding public health.
“Drinks that are widely available pose a greater risk to public health,” said county attorney Kent Ray. “We don’t believe there can be any rebuttal to the position that ready-made beverages and custom-made beverages are different from a public health perspective.”
Attorneys representing the merchants argued there was no substantial difference in how sweetened beverages are classified, making the tax unfairly vague for consumers and distributors.
“The [differences between the] sweetened beverages that are taxed and the sweetened beverages that are not taxed are not real substantial differences,” David Ruskin, an attorney for the retailers, said.
* From the the Illinois Public Health Institute and the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity…
We are gratified that the judge rejected the unfounded arguments for a delay in implementing this optional tax that will benefit our county’s fiscal health and our communities’ physical well-being. The sooner people stop drinking sweetened beverages, the sooner we expect to see a decline in the chronic diseases caused by too much sugar.
…Adding… IRMA…
The Illinois Retail Merchants Association, on behalf of Cook County retailers, has issued the following statement regarding the Circuit Court of Cook County’s decision to grant the county’s motion to dismiss the retailers’ lawsuit against the sweetened beverage tax.
“We are disappointed with today’s ruling. We are exploring all legal options,” said Rob Karr, president and CEO of IRMA.
…Adding More… Preckwinkle…
Statement from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on Judge Kubasiak’s Ruling Dismissing the Sweetened Beverage Tax Lawsuit
We applaud today’s decision by Judge Kubasiak granting our motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s lawsuit challenging the sweetened beverage tax. We believed all along that our ordinance was carefully drafted and met pertinent constitutional tests. The delay in implementing the tax caused by the merchants’ lawsuit forced us to put into motion cost-saving measures to cope with this revenue loss, which currently is at least $17 million. Until we are able to fully implement and collect revenues from this tax, we will continue to review our financial position and make adjustments accordingly. The ordinance was approved last November and all retailers and distributors should have been prepared to collect the tax on July 1. The tax should be collected at the consumer level beginning on Aug 2. We are especially grateful to our legal team and the attorneys from the State’s Attorney’s office for the hard work that led to this decision.
Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Friday:
“First and foremost, it is the sincere belief of House Democrats that Governor Rauner should sign the education funding reform bill currently on his desk. Should he continue to create chaos and attempt to pit one student against another by vetoing reform, we expect to move forward with an override.
“In the spirit of ongoing cooperation, Representatives Will Davis and Barbara Flynn Currie will continue to work with legislative Republicans, as they have been doing for some time now.
“At this juncture, doing what’s right and providing stability and certainty to all Illinois schools is more important than any arbitrary deadline put forward by a governor who continues seeking chaos over compromise. House Democrats are committed to passing school funding reform and we will continue working across the aisle to ensure our schools are able to open on time, despite the governor’s political games.”
…Adding… As several commenters have pointed out, SB 1 is most definitely not “currently on [Rauner’s] desk.” If it was on his desk, we wouldn’t be waiting around right now.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Still waiting on Cullerton…
A statement from Senate Republican Leader-Designee Bill Brady and House Republican Leader Jim Durkin.
“At the Governor’s request, we have asked Sens. Jason Barickman and Dan McConchie and Reps. Avery Bourne and Bob Pritchard to reach out to their Democrat colleagues on a school funding reform plan that treats all school districts in Illinois fairly and equitably.
Our schools cannot wait any longer, we must act now.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Press release…
REPUBLICAN NEGOTIATORS PUSH FOR QUICK NEGOTIATIONS
Statement from Sen. Jason Barickman, Sen. Dan McConchie, Rep. Avery Bourne and Rep. Bob Pritchard.
“This afternoon, at the request of the Governor and our respective legislative leaders, we have reached out to convene a meeting with Rep. Barbra Flynn Currie, Rep. Will Davis, Sen. Kimberly Lightford and Sen. Andy Manar as soon as possible on school funding reform. We have cleared our calendars in order to facilitate these discussions today and over the weekend. We are hopeful our Democrat colleagues realize the urgency as well.
With sincere bipartisan discussions, a solution can be negotiated and presented for review before the scheduled transmittal to the Governor of Senate Bill 1 on Monday. Absent that, the Governor has made it clear he will use his Amendatory Veto authority.
We need to act quickly to ensure funding will be released in time for schoolhouse doors to open next month.”
*** UPDATE 3 *** Press release…
Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton has asked Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford and State Senator Andy Manar, the sponsor of Senate Bill 1, to join renewed talks regarding school funding reform.
“This is the kind of meeting we’ve been trying to arrange for weeks. Hopefully we can now learn what the governor has in mind with his threatened veto and see if there is a path forward, together,” Cullerton said.
Lightford is a Maywood Democrat.
Manar is a Bunker Hill Democrat.
The Senate President has been trying to meet with the governor about his threatened veto prior to sending him a historic school funding overhaul on Monday, July 31. In addition to explaining the legislation, the Senate President wants to make sure the governor understands what his threatened veto would mean.
Rauner has said he would file an amendatory veto to rewrite Senate Bill 1.
An amendatory veto is a veto. It rejects the proposal but offers specific legislative changes that are supposed to be consistent with the initial theme and scope of the proposal. The constitution and court cases limit the governor’s ability to make changes.
Once that veto is filed with the Senate, the Senate has 15 calendar days to act or else the entire proposal is declared dead. The Senate’s options are to vote to accept the changes or try to override and enact the plan as originally written.
Overriding the governor’s veto requires support from 3/5ths of the members in each chamber. That’s 36 votes in the Senate and 71 votes in the House.
But so too does accepting any changes. That’s because those changes amount to new laws with immediate effective dates since it would be passed after May 31. The Illinois Constitution sets a May 31 deadline for action and anything after requires more votes to become law.
Again, if efforts to override the governor or accept his alternations fail, the entire school funding overhaul fails and lawmakers would need to start over with new legislation.
Q: One of the provisions of the budget package for Fiscal Year 2018 is an increase in the state’s personal income tax rate from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent, while the corporate rate is boosted from 5.25 percent to 7 percent. Is this enough to generate the revenue the state needs?
Ralph Martire, executive director of the Chicago-based Center for Tax and Budget Accountability: One thing that my organization does is that we project whether or not the state’s current revenues will be able to maintain current expenditures into the future, if law doesn’t change. So if no programs or services are added or expanded, does your current revenue make, generate enough growth over time to sustain current level services, and pay off the debt you’ve already incurred at the state level?
So before the tax increase passed and the net tax increase was roughly about $5 billion a year, we projected the state really needed about $7.5 billion in new revenue to be able to maintain current expenditures. And that — if and only if —the state also dealt with its pension debt problem in a rational way because the other main pressure on state finances is the repayment plan for the money that was borrowed from the five state public employee pension system over the last few decades.
A former lobbyist for an Illinois teachers union has lost his battle to retain an enhanced pension benefit obtained through a 2007 law that allowed him to count past years as a union employee toward a teacher pension.
Sangamon County Judge Ryan Cadagin this week determined the provision in the law that benefited retired Illinois Federation of Teachers lobbyist David Piccioli represented “unconstitutional special legislation.”
The legislation allowed union officials to get into the teacher pension fund and count previous years as union workers if they obtained teaching certificates. They had to do classroom work before the legislation was signed into law. Piccioli substitute taught for one day.
Cadagin noted the law contained a cutoff date that only allowed the benefit window to union employees who had become certified and done teaching service before the 2007 law took effect.
A retired Springfield lobbyist for the Illinois Federation of Teachers said Thursday he may appeal a Sangamon County Circuit Court ruling that struck down a 2007 law that allowed him to purchase back credit in the teachers’ pension system for his union work if he was a substitute teacher for at least a day.
“I joined the system legally,” said David Piccioli, 67, who retired at the end of 2012. “I obeyed all the laws. I had no hand in passing any of these laws. … I paid all the contributions.”
Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin ruled this week that the 2007 law was unconstitutional special legislation, because it contained a cut-off date that only allowed the benefit window to union employees who had become certified and done teaching service before the 2007 law took effect. Piccioli said he did get certified and taught for a day, probably in early 2007. […]
“It’s unconstitutional for the General Assembly to take away vested pension benefits,” said Springfield attorney Carl Draper, who represents Piccioli. “What we are disappointed in,” he said, is that Cadagin “never even ruled on the underlying claim” about taking away a benefit that had been granted. […]
Draper said legal options are to ask Cadagin to reconsider his ruling, or appeal directly to the Illinois Supreme Court because the case involves a law being found unconstitutional.
Day two of the Special Session in Springfield has Gov. Bruce Rauner Rauner meeting with his Republican caucus Thursday urging them to stick together in opposing the school funding bill.
Senate Bill One is not yet on Rauner’s desk, but, with schools opening in the next few weeks, many districts are anxiously awaiting the state’s financial aid.
So what happened at Thursday’s closed door caucus meeting?
Sources tell NBC 5 Rauner said a “revolution” is coming.
He also told Republicans SB1 is evil and a Chicago bailout.
I’ve talked with a half dozen or so Republicans I trust this morning who were at the meeting (none of whom are Rauner rah-rah types) and not one of them can remember hearing the word “evil.” One said he might have used it to describe what Madigan and Cullerton were doing by holding on to the bill, but he couldn’t be sure. That doesn’t mean the report is wrong, just that I can’t confirm it.
The governor regularly calls SB 1 a Chicago bailout, so that’s assured. And “revolution” is a term often used by Republican tea party types, so I can definitely believe he said it, particularly in relation to Speaker Madigan.
…Adding… From a Senate GOP source…
He said “evil” in describing them holding the bill and putting schools at risk of not opening, not the bill itself.
*** UPDATE *** Chris Kennedy…
The only revolution that needs to happen is for the people of Illinois to rise up in the next election and remove Bruce Rauner from office. His irresponsible, neglectful, self-serving leadership is holding back our state. That he would use children as political pawns and threaten not to open public schools in a few weeks is a new low in the history of Illinois. We need fundamental change to fix our public schools and provide all children with a quality education that prepares them for college, career and life. It is far past time that our state elects leaders in Springfield who will commit themselves to serving families throughout the state.
ILGOP Releases Digital Video – “Get Back to Work”
Madigan and Cullerton Holding Schoolchildren Hostage
Mike Madigan and John Cullerton are holding school funding hostage by refusing to send Governor Rauner the education funding bill they passed two months ago.
It’s a perversion of the democratic process in order to force through their $500 million Chicago bailout.
Today, the Illinois Republican Party is releasing a digital video highlighting the Madigan machine’s refusal to honor the Illinois Constitution and send the education funding bill to the Governor’s desk.
“Speaker Madigan and President Cullerton continue to delay putting the education funding legislation on my desk. Until then, I am unable to change the legislation so that it’s fair and equitable for all schoolchildren in Illinois and the taxpayers who foot the bill.
“Our schools cannot wait.
“If the Democrat majority won’t send me the bill, I’m hopeful they’re willing to negotiate with their colleagues to achieve the same result by July 31.
“I have asked key Republican lawmakers to reach out to their Democrat colleagues to negotiate in good faith so an alternative can be presented by July 31.
“If a reasonable compromise that is in the best interest of our children isn’t reached, I will move forward with my amendatory veto on Monday as planned.”
— IL Working Together (@IllinoisWorking) July 28, 2017
*** UPDATE *** Pritzker campaign…
Two days ago, Bruce Rauner was asked if he was willing to meet and negotiate Senate Bill 1, and his response was just as baffling as you’d expect: “Don’t you see how outrageous that is?” He then one upped that comment by telling Republican legislators yesterday that a “revolution” is coming.
However, the failed governor changed gears and today is suddenly calling on “key” legislators to negotiate the school funding bill for him. It appears that neither Rauner nor his new extremist staff will take part in those negotiations. All the while, schools across the state face the possibility of not opening this fall.
“While Bruce Rauner fantasizes about his ‘revolution,’ Illinois parents and children want to know that their schools will open in a few weeks,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Instead of signing SB 1, all we’re getting from Rauner is a staunch refusal to negotiate and a renewed promise to veto school funding. Don’t you see how outrageous that is?”
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) announced on Thursday that State Representative Peter Breen (R-Lombard) will join the Republican Leadership Team as the House Republican Caucus’ Floor Leader.
As Floor Leader, Breen will be the House Republican Caucus’ primary bill debater as legislation comes to the floor of the House for consideration. “Representative Breen’s critical thinking skills will prove to be a benefit to the Caucus, particularly as the chief advocate for House Republican viewpoints on legislative matters,” said Durkin, after making the announcement to the 51-member House Republican Caucus.
Breen, a constitutional attorney specializing in defense of free speech, said he is honored to take on the role of floor leader during such a pivotal time in the state’s history. “As the General Assembly works to bring fairness and equity to our school funding formula, it will be a privilege to be our caucus’ leading voice during this important debate,” said Breen. “It is an honor to serve in this role, and I appreciate the trust and confidence placed in me by Leader Durkin.”
Breen was elected to the General Assembly in November of 2014, after serving as a Village Trustee and Acting Village President for the Village of Lombard. He is the only member of the General Assembly to hold an electrical engineering degree, which he earned in three years from Vanderbilt University. Breen also holds a law degree from the University of Notre Dame.
“I look forward to voicing our caucus’ priorities and goals as we continue with reform efforts to move our State from the brink of collapse to substantial recovery,” Breen said. “The leadership team is dedicated to restoring people’s confidence in the State of Illinois and I am pleased to be taking a larger role in sharing our message.”
Breen will take his seat as Floor Leader immediately.
* The Pritzker campaign is not happy…
Rep. Peter Breen is reportedly taking over as House Republican floor leader, a move that solidifies Illinois Republicans’ dramatic shift to the right under failed Governor Bruce Rauner. Breen will replace moderate Rep. Steven Andersson who was exiled following his leadership in overriding Bruce Rauner’s reckless budget veto.
The new floor leader will have the opportunity to make his radical social conservative views priorities for House Republicans. Here are just a few of the extreme right-wing stances that Breen has taken recently:
* Defended a new Rauner hire that compared abortion to Nazi eugenics.
* Fought against a bill strengthening the Illinois’ Equal Pay Act, calling it “the stupidest bill we’ve considered.”
* Lied about the potential risk Illinois women face in maintaining access to reproductive healthcare.
* Opposed marriage equality.
“Peter Breen’s ascension to House leadership is another sign of the radical right-wing takeover led by Rauner and his team of ’superstars’ who are desperate for a political win,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “The damage he’s done to Illinois so far is unconscionable. Bruce Rauner continues to line his administration with ideologues eager to help him hold children and families hostage to his political agenda—a move that means more damage is coming.”
President Donald Trump’s voting commission, given a judge’s approval to resume seeking voter data, has issued another request asking states for information and vowing to keep the details confidential.
The voting panel has come under intense scrutiny and faced a wave of lawsuits since making a sweeping request last month for reams of “publicly-available voter roll data,” including names, addresses, dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers.
State leaders from both parties have expressed privacy concerns about potentially revealing personal information, while some officials and voting experts also have pushed back against the commission, which was formed by Trump after he repeatedly claimed - without evidence - that widespread voter fraud cost him the popular vote in last year’s presidential election. (Studies and state officials have found no evidence of widespread voting fraud.)
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, R, the commission’s vice chair, wrote in letters Wednesday that the voting panel prioritizes “the privacy and security of any non-public voter information.” Kobach vowed not to release “personally identifiable information from voter registration records” submitted to the group.
Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity Request - Update
Date: 7/27/2017
Description: The Illinois State Board of Elections has received the revised request from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity for Illinois voter data. The request will be on the Board’s agenda at the August 22, 2017 meeting, and no voter information will be released without Board approval and advance notice to the public. If you have any comment regarding this request, please submit them in writing to webmaster@elections.il.gov.
