* I doubt it’ll happen, but considering how closely Team Rauner and the Tribune editorial board have tracked each other this year, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if this ended up being policy…
Illinois is about to wrap up its third month without a state budget. The impact of operating without a budget has been limited: The state is still paying its workforce and sending money to many vendors. But a number of social service agencies say they’re running into trouble.
Our suggestion to the governor: Set a deadline for an agreement on a budget and reform and declare that, after that date, your offer of higher taxes comes off the table.
If there’s no deal by a date certain — how about Nov. 1? — then set the rest of your agenda aside for another day, another year. But make it clear to Democrats that their failure to reach a deal with you by that date locks in how much money Illinois will have to spend.
That will not be easy. Illinois is addicted to spending beyond its means. Even without a budget, the state is spending at a higher rate than tax revenues would permit. Matching spending to current tax revenues would put an enormous squeeze on state operations and services. It would be painful. Rauner would have to cut the state payroll while trying to protect essential services. But something has to move Democratic leaders.
* The problem, of course, is that Rauner himself wasn’t able to come up with a balanced budget that didn’t rely on new revenues. He took the easy way out by doing things like banking billions in magical pension savings.
And if he did set this deadline, he’d have to actually make steep cuts to everything not currently covered by court decrees - and that pile is getting smaller almost by the day. No deal would pretty much guarantee no state university funding, for instance. Yes, he could also do some layoffs (notice how that’s the only cut pondered by the paper’s great minds), but many of those could wind up in the courts, too.
* I think most of us can agree that this statement from the school which had that Muslim kid arrested and suspended for bringing a home-made clock to class is pretty darned goofy…
“Even though that particular item did not pose an immediately dangerous situation to the school, we cannot allow items on campus that can be perceived to pose a threat.”
They’ll never, ever be able to publish a list of banned items because this policy, such as it is, is based completely on perception. Somebody gets a bad feeling, no matter if it’s based on racism or other prejudices or just plain ignorance, and here come the coppers with the handcuffs.
At least three government administrators began working on hiring employees for Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration last winter while on the comptroller’s office payroll, using taxpayer dollars from a separate constitutional office before Rauner had even taken the state’s reins.
Rauner, a Republican who promised to clean up clout-laced government hiring, relied on comptroller’s employees to get his administration running, including recommending candidates for politically affiliated jobs, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. Two went on to become senior Rauner managers, including one who oversees hiring for the governor’s office.
Rauner aides say the practice was an appropriate and efficient way to get the new administration up and running, and that the comptroller’s independent inspector general gave approval in advance. But political experts and reform advocates say the practice was improper and breached divisions between constitutional offices.
* How was this “improper”? Well, the “experts” don’t really say. And despite the article’s contention that transition costs are typically paid with private funds, that’s not true. Some transition costs have been appropriated in the past. They weren’t this time (likely because the Democrats wanted to make Rauner beg for it if he won and would appropriate the money if Quinn won) so the Rauner folks had to find another way.
Also, as mentioned in the story, the inspector General signed off on the move. So, again, what’s the beef here?
State ethics law prohibits political activity on state time, but the emails indicate that, in many cases, McAnarney and Magalis were discussing positions that are exempt from hiring rules — meaning the governor may fill the posts based on political considerations.
Are you freaking kidding me?
So, now staff members are supposed to go off the state clock to discuss hiring exempt employees because that discussion might involve politics?
That’s just so ridiculous.
* The biggest problem with the “perception is reality” argument is that people have different perceptions of reality. He may see a clock, she may see a possible bomb because the maker is a Muslim. She may see routine hiring of exempt employees that is within legal parameters, he may see a potential scandal.
I prefer reality. The kid made a clock. Patronage hiring is legal in certain cases.
* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s news service…
State employee unions have returned to court in an effort to lock in continued pay for the fiscal year, get medical claims paid, stop layoffs and retain step pay raises and semi-automatic promotions despite lack of a contract. […]
“The administration has received a copy of the complaint and is currently reviewing it,” Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said earlier this week. […]
“This possibility will inevitably deprive many participants of the insurance provided by their labor agreements and employment contracts,” according to [union] pleadings.
The unions seek relief by way of two strategies, the first being an impairment of contract argument and the other a request for an injunction to aid in arbitration of pending grievances.
The unions argue state employees shouldn’t be caught in the middle when elected leaders can’t agree.
State “employees are now pawns in the political dispute over the state budget,” the complaint said. “They and their families deserve better.”
* From AFSCME last week…
As you may have heard, late last week the state Department of Central Management Services (CMS) posted on its website a memo to group health insurance participants claiming that, due to the budget impasse, the state has neither the funds nor the legal authority to continue to pay medical claims incurred by participants in the self-funded medical and dental plans. The memo further stated that once the FY 16 budget is in place and funds have been appropriated, payment of medical and dental claims will resume.
While the memo mentioned only the self-funded insurance plans, the union subsequently learned that the Rauner Administration has halted premium payments to the HMO plans as well.
AFSCME received no prior notification of this sweeping change, but since the news became public, the union has been seeking to gather all of the relevant information. CMS has told the union that it is working with the health plans to mitigate the impact of this payment freeze on plan participants. It is our understanding that, for the time being, the HMO plans have agreed to continue to operate as normal without disruption, and that plan participants will be provided with medical treatment based on the usual schedule of co-payments.
The self-funded plans are also working with CMS to try to ensure uninterrupted medical care, but questions remain as to how individual doctors, hospitals and other medical providers in those plans will react to the state’s announcement. The group health plan is already many months in arrears in paying these providers and some say they simply cannot afford to continue to provide care without being paid.
We are very concerned that medical providers in the self-funded plans will begin to demand that employees or retirees pay the full cost of a service at the time of the treatment—especially as there is no sign that the budget impasse will be resolved in the near future.
If your physician or other medical or dental care provider insists on payment at the time of treatment, CMS recommends that you contact your health plan and ask for assistance in dealing with that provider. If the health plan cannot facilitate treatment, please send this information to AFSCME Council 31. E-mail the name of the medical provider and the date on which you were required to pay in full for medical or dental care to mperez@afscme31.org so that the union is able to document all problems that arise.
While it is not yet clear what the full implications of the Administration’s payment freeze will be on health plan participants, AFSCME is taking proactive legal action to seek to ensure that health coverage is not in any way interrupted or compromised. AFSCME and other unions have filed suit in circuit court seeking a court order that would require the state to pay claims from health care providers in the group insurance plan.
This health insurance crisis is but the latest harmful consequence of Governor Rauner’s failure to work constructively toward developing and enacting a FY 16 budget and the revenue measures needed to fund it. The governor continues to insist that unless state legislators enact measures to strip Illinois workers of their union rights, he will not make any effort to remedy our state’s steady slide toward fiscal disaster.
That’s the height of irresponsibility—jeopardizing the vital services that state government funds or provides, threatening the jobs of public-service workers, and now casting a cloud of uncertainty over the health coverage of state and university employees, retirees and our families—all in the name of creating leverage for the governor’s extreme political agenda.
But we’re not going to stand aside and let it happen. You can be confident in the knowledge that your union is doing everything possible to protect your health care, just as we have in ensuring that state employee paychecks are uninterrupted, and in working to combat closures and layoff threats. When the call goes out, be ready to do your part, too.
Admittedly, I’m new to Chicago, but I grew up in the Midwest and feel very much at home here due to the welcome and the advice I have received. One piece of advice I got early on was: “Archbishop, you’ve got to learn the Chicago way.” Something told me he wasn’t talking about deep dish pizza. He then added: “Here, it’s business, government and Labor together. We all come to the table and seek to find ways so that things can work out for everybody involved.” In the Church, we call that solidarity, a word I know is very familiar to union members. Simply put, solidarity means that we are in this life together, that we are connected to one another, and that we can never operate as if we were isolated and self-sufficient agents. Pope Francis who knows something about solidarity put it this way:
“I would like to make an appeal to those in possession of greater resources, to public authorities and to all people of good will…: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity! …Everybody, according to his or her particular opportunities and responsibilities, should be able to make a personal contribution to putting an end to so many social injustices…Solidarity means seeing others not as rivals or statistics, but brothers and sisters. And we are all brothers and sisters!”
He said this when he was in Brazil in July 2013, but I hope and expect he will bring this same powerful message to our country next week. My central message today is that I want the Church to become an even more committed partner in this civic solidarity, joining with business, government, and Labor in promoting the common good, especially in protecting the lives and dignity of those who are too often left behind in our city, nation and world.
* Yes, it’s most certainly true that Cupich firmly sided with the forces of labor during his address…
Unions are important not simply for helping workers get more, but helping workers be more, to have a voice, a place to make a contribution to the good of the whole enterprise, to fellow workers and the whole of society.
But that part about business, labor and government working together is just as important, if not more so, and ought to be considered by the governor when he wonders why he’s facing such a brick wall of opposition.
The best solutions tend to be compromises by all sides.
It is with great sadness to tell you that my colleague and friend Representative Esther Golar, who represented the 6th District in Chicago, has passed away. She was a wonderful person and will be missed by so many people.
Rep. Golar was dedicated to her job, her district and her state. She had to check out of the hospital to travel to Springfield for session earlier this month. She was a trouper. She was also a very kind soul.
State Sen. Dan Kotowski plans to step down from his seat in three weeks to take a job with a nonprofit organization focused on helping at-risk children and families.
The Park Ridge Democrat tells the Daily Herald he has accepted a post as president and CEO of ChildServ, based in Chicago.
His departure will open the door for local Democratic Party officials to select a replacement.
Kotowski said his move allows him to better serve the state’s most vulnerable residents as well as spend more time at home with his two sons, Nate and Cooper, and his wife, Anne.
“The fact is,” Kotowski wrote in a statement, “that there are many paths to choose. … Whether it’s as a state senator, the leader of a nonprofit or as a citizen advocate, I have many ways to make a direct and even more meaningful impact on the lives of others.”
* Full statement…
After nine years representing the good people of the 28th District, I’ll be stepping down from my position as state senator on October 5th to pursue another, exciting avenue of public service. I am grateful to the residents of our community for the chance to serve and make a meaningful difference.
I have accepted an offer to be the President and CEO of ChildServ, a nonprofit organization with a 121-year history that helps 3,100 at-risk children and families lead better lives. I am honored to take the helm of this respected organization and look forward to ensuring that ChildServ be a catalyst for change as it makes even more of a difference in the lives of children.
It has been an honor and a dream come true to be an elected official in our state. Since entering the Illinois Senate in 2007, I have made it my mission to represent my constituents by stopping the waste, mismanagement and corruption that stood in the way of solving problems that matter most to working families. During my service, my goal was to do all I could to end that culture and improve the quality of life for people in our state.
I’m very proud of my record in affecting that change. Working with my colleagues from both sides of the aisle, I passed bills that were signed into law that heightened transparency, accountability and reform of government spending. In particular, I am proud of my laws that eliminated outdated and costly mandates, that compelled much-needed scrutiny of billions in grant dollars and that required funding of state programs to be based, for the first time ever, on their performance.
These laws were designed to fix a broken system and restore faith in your government. Their passage gave me the opportunity to pass other bills that became law that increased investment in education; that promoted safety in our schools and neighborhoods; and that supported economic development for small businesses. All of these actions taken together have enabled me to be a strong and independent voice for those who work hard, play by the rules and do their best to make a better life for their children and families.
As rewarding as this work has been, there are many paths to choose in confronting our state’s challenges, and I have a new opportunity to serve people in a very direct and meaningful way. Whether it’s as a state senator or the leader of a nonprofit, I can, as President Harry Truman once said, “…help the human family achieve the decent, satisfying life that is the right of all people.”
I want to thank Senate President Cullerton for his leadership and his trust in my ability to help lead the budget process in the Senate. I will miss him and the rest of my colleagues greatly.
I also want to thank my district and Springfield office, and the Senate budget, policy and communications staff for their tireless efforts, dedication and competence in helping me serve the people of the 28th District and working families throughout Illinois.
Most important, I want to recognize my incredible family: my parents, siblings and, especially, my wife Anne and our two boys, Nate and Cooper. Without their love, support and belief, being a state senator would not have been possible and certainly not worth it.
Again, my heartfelt gratitude to the residents of the 28th District and to anyone – friend, family or neighbor – who ever worked with or volunteered for me. I will always walk tall with my head held high because of your trust, confidence and faith in me.
I look forward to seeing and working with you in my new role. Together, we will continue to make a difference.
As Illinois approaches its 11th week without a state budget, Gov. Bruce Rauner has threatened to take the unprecedented step of stopping all payments to doctors, hospitals and others providing health care to the almost 363,000 state workers, university employees, retirees and others covered by the state’s group insurance plan.
“All health care services will continue to be paid as long as possible,” said Meredith Krantz, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Central Management Services.
“However, in the near future, we will no longer have the legal authority to continue to pay health care vendors for their services,” she wrote in an email Friday to The State Journal-Register. […]
“The state has never said, ‘We’re not playing claims,’ before,” said Anders Lindall, spokesman for Chicago-based Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Lindall called the new information from the state “very disturbing.”
The governor isn’t “threatening” to do anything. Gov. Rauner vetoed the health insurance payment appropriations bill weeks and weeks ago, so the state simply has no legal appropriations authority to pay providers.
I’ve explained this several times before. Click here for an August 4th post which shows what Fiscal Year 2016 payments were and weren’t being made at the time.
The state was so far behind on its Fiscal Year 2015 group insurance payments that it is apparently only now catching up. Once all those payments are made, there’s nothing anybody can do unless a new bill is passed and then signed into law or a court orders action.
* And, even then, where’s the money gonna come from? Just because there’s an appropriation or a judicial decree doesn’t mean the state has any available tax revenues to make those payments. As I wrote in this week’s syndicated newspaper column…
It’s kinda like thinking you have money in your bank account because you still have plenty of checks.
So, now what? Well, a federal judge might be our only hope. Click here for my Crain’s Chicago Business column.
Friday, Sep 11, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The final results are in and as many analysts have noted, “Exelon was the big winner in this year’s [PJM grid capacity} auction.” Here are the highlights:
$1.7 BILLION RATE INCREASE FOR EXELON – Exelon engineered the new rules to increase their profits. Their $1.7 BILLION reward will be paid for by struggling Illinois ratepayers.
Byron and Quad Cities Both Cleared the Auction and are Obligated to Run Well into the Future
Exelon’s Low Carbon Portfolio Standard would have raised $1.6 billion over 5 ½ years for Exelon. The Capacity markets, under Exelon-pushed rules, earned Exelon $1.7 billion over only three years.
Illinois doesn’t have a balanced budget, service providers are being decimated and real people across Illinois are hurting. It’s time for Exelon to take their HUGE $1.7 BILLION WINDFALL and stop asking legislators to keep padding their profits.
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Fed up with mass shootings and the recent violence against law enforcement officers, state Sen. Bill Haine, D-Alton, announced Thursday he would file legislation to restore the death penalty in extremely violent cases.
“As a former state’s attorney, I understand the complexities of seeking the death penalty for individuals who have committed heinous crimes,” said Haine. “I have been shocked and appalled by the recent killings we have seen in churches and of police officers. The reality is there are some crimes in which the death penalty should be an option for a jury of our citizens to consider.”
He added, “Those who take the life of officers, or engage in mass killings, need to face the appropriate consequences.”
The legislation would restore the death penalty as a sentence option for those convicted of serial killings, heinous murders of a child, of an elderly person or of a person with a disability, murders of crime witnesses, correctional officers and law enforcement officials, the statement said.
* The Question: Do you support a limited restoration of the death penalty? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
* Video of State Rep. Litesa Wallace’s floor speech last week defending the state’s child care assistance program has gone truly viral, with over 2.7 million views on Facebook and more than 129,000 shares.
* GOP Congressman Bob Dold won during two off-year elections and lost during a presidential election. He recently told the Daily Herald why he will win in the upcoming presidential year…
For one, Illinoisan Barack Obama won’t be at the top of the ticket next year to draw local Democratic voters, and U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is set to be in a spirited re-election race that might draw Republicans to the polls, Dold said.
Kirk formerly held Dold’s congressional seat and is “obviously extremely popular in the 10th District,” Dold said.
Plus, he says, the state GOP is stronger now after Gov. Bruce Rauner’s victory last year.
“The Illinois Republican Party in 2012 was basically nonexistent,” Dold told the Daily Herald editorial board during a visit Thursday.
Michele Miller, executive director of Northwestern Illinois Center for Independent Living, warned in July that the agency’s contingency plan was to close temporarily, then cut down on staff and limp by on reserves when it returned to operation this month.
NICIL shuttered its doors at 412 Locust St. in Sterling for the first time in 30 years as the best route to conserve money, Miller said.
It recently reopened, and business has been limited so far – she’s brought back two people, but because of the budget struggle, some NICIL workers have quit to take other jobs, she said.
That’s one of the least noticed aspects of this impasse. Good people, well-trained people just can’t deal with the financial stress and leave to find other jobs or don’t wait around to be re-hired. And it’s expensive and time consuming to replace them.
We really are destroying our not-for-profit infrastructure one group at a time.
[Sara Pasley of Dixon, an early intervention developmental therapist] carries a caseload of 25 children. She works with the state, but isn’t a contractor. In fact, the government considers her more of a vendor, and she is paid according to an agreement.
But the state is asking such providers to continue working, although the paychecks have stopped going out. Pasley last was paid in June, she said, and the sudden death last year of her husband Mike, a popular social studies teacher in Amboy, left her as the family’s lone income.
And her cash savings will run out in October.
How we expect these folks - who perform jobs that most of us wouldn’t ever go near - to operate under such conditions is literally beyond me.
* Related…
* Op-Ed: Stop waging political battles on the backs of our youngest children
“First and foremost, I want to thank the voters of the 18th Congressional District for entrusting me to serve them in Washington. I’d also like to thank my opponent for a hard fought campaign and my wife, Kristen, and our three boys for standing by my side every step of the way over the last six months.
“Throughout this campaign, our volunteers and supporters worked tirelessly to spread our message of getting our economy back on track, reigning in government overspending, and fighting for term limits by knocking on more than 80,000 doors and making over 90,000 phone calls. For that, I cannot thank them enough.
“Six months ago I decided to run for Congress because of my three boys. I want to ensure that they have the same opportunities that I had. I’m going to go to Washington to fight for a better future for the kids and grandchildren of Central and West Central Illinois. Its time for reform in Washington. We must resolve our $18 trillion debt, create openness and transparency in government, fight for term limits, and repeal and replace ObamaCare.
“As I prepare to head to Washington, I am humbled and honored for the opportunity to serve the families of Central and West Central Illinois. I am excited to get to work and make sure that conservative common sense has a place in Washington.”
The state senator led Democrat Rob Mellon by a tally of 34,907 to 15,840, according to final results compiled by The Associated Press. That’s a margin of 69 percent to 31 percent.
* National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Greg Walden…
“I’d like to congratulate Darin LaHood for his well-earned victory this evening. Darin will undoubtedly be an effective voice for 18th District families from his first day in Congress, and will continue to fight to bring good paying jobs back to central Illinois, balance the budget, and strengthen our national defense. I look forward to having Darin join our historic majority as we continue driving to strengthen America.”
* IL GOP Chairman Tim Schneider…
“I would like to congratulate Congressman-elect Darin LaHood on his victory in the special election for the 18th Congressional District. Darin will stand up for taxpayers in Central & West Central Illinois by fighting to create jobs, balance the budget, and ensure transparency in government. Darin has a proven record of reform in Springfield, and he will use that experience to push for conservative reforms in Washington, D.C.”
(T)he outcome was better than hoped. Subsequent tests showed no trace of cancer. They had gotten it all. Mautino had been braced for a final, post-operative bout of chemotherapy to zap any lingering malignant cells; now, doctors decided there was no need.
Frank Mautino received a get-well voicemail from Gov. Bruce Rauner the same day a Rauner-sponsored “hit piece” came in the mail demonizing him and his fellow Democrats.
Mautino pondered the governor’s encouraging message and then marveled at the not-so-nice mailer that arrived almost simultaneously. Such is life in Illinois politics: The sick don’t get a break from partisan sniping.
“I called the governor and I said, ‘Hey Bruce. I want to thank you for your voice mail. I also got your robo-calls and your flier,’” Mautino said, smiling. “He laughed. That’s the line of work I’m in.”
“It’s a difficult situation for me to describe in detail, which leader, and which issue, which members of the General Assembly are for reform, which aren’t. It would be, it would hurt the process for me to publicly discuss the personal positions.”
None of the state’s top leaders in Springfield are using marijuana, as far as we know. But they do seem to inhabit alternate realities.
Top Democrats claim there hasn’t been any serious bargaining over a new state budget since May. The old one expired in June. [..]
“What we need right now is leadership from the governor. What we need now is a focus on math in order to resolve our issues,” [Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesperson Rikeesha Phelon said].
She said there’s been no serious negotiation since Rauner vetoed the Democrats’ unbalanced budget, and the state Government has operated without one for 10 weeks.
So, not only has there been no significant progress, there’s been no progress at all.
But that’s by far the best lede I’ve seen all summer, so we have that going for us.
Friday, Sep 11, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As part of their commitment to community service, the credit union movement as a whole supports countless local charitable activities as evidenced by their fundamental philosophy of “People Helping People.” For credit unions in Illinois, this mantra is not just part of their culture - it’s a lifestyle.
As an example, the $12 million Danville Bell Credit Union for the past two years has lived out a local campaign of paying it forward. This initiative has included performing numerous random acts of kindness, such as paying for groceries, shoes for school kids whose families could not otherwise afford, meals, and renewing a gym membership for an area firefighter.
This generosity has spread tremendous goodwill throughout the community, helped people through temporary financial difficulties, and also inspired other credit unions and members to return the favor for others. In one touching interaction, the credit union filled the gas tank for a college student who, as it turned out, happened to be down to her last $20.
Illinois credit unions are not just employees - they’re your neighbors, they raise their families here, they’re your trusted financial partner. To them, kindness is not only a guiding principle, its woven into their DNA.
Thomas reported that other Black Caucus members he talked with yesterday said they were angry at Dunkin for staying in New York rather than coming back to the Statehouse and doing his job. Nonetheless, Thomas led his story with this line: “Illinois Democrats are worried that state Rep. Ken Dunkin’s independence could be contagious, especially among African-American lawmakers.”
Thomas also quoted Chicago consultant and Dunkin ally Maze Jackson as saying “When one guy breaks off the plantation, it’s gotta make a lot of people in Springfield nervous, real nervous.”
Dunkin, for his part, told Thomas that he was looking for ways to find common ground with Gov. Rauner. “If this governor wants to work with me, I’m working with him,” Dunkin said. And the governor told Thomas that he and Dunkin “share a passion around economic empowerment, especially in the black community.”
“Today is the time that we have to take charge of our own destiny here,” Dunkin told Thomas about black legislators.
* By the way, Rep. Dunkin did not take listener questions when he appeared on WVON Radio earlier this week, but after he left the air some folks called in to vent their displeasure with the Democrat for working with Rauner.
Yes, Speaker Madigan is unpopular in that district (as he is pretty much everywhere), but Rauner scored less than 20 percent of the vote in Dunkin’s district during last year’s general election, and he is not a popular guy in Chicago and likely not with black, Democratic primary voters, either - hence the attempt to make this about Dunkin’s rejection of “plantation politics.”
