* The Tribune editorial page reacts to today’s pension ruling…
Expect to hear politicians or advocacy groups or finance experts float notions you’ve never heard in Illinois. That to preserve money for pension costs, the state workforce may have to be drastically reduced, that work contracted to private firms that don’t have to provide such benefits. That as the cost of retirement benefits continues to skyrocket, more of the cost must be placed on the workers who will reap those benefits. That’s not to blame the workers; that’s to recognize brutal reality.
You won’t hear these and other dramatic thoughts only about state government: Friday’s ruling vastly complicates life for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and thousands of other local officials. They prayed that the court would uphold state attempts to curtail retiree benefits, or at least explain how future laws might be written to meet constitutional constraints. Friday’s decision offered neither. Maybe Emanuel et al. can offer the court more compelling arguments: Unlike the state, cutting benefits really is our last resort. But after Friday’s ruling, they’re running uphill.
So the huge enterprise of government in Illinois now confronts a challenge unlike any it has known: The new taxation necessary to satisfy all of these state and local pension demands would make this a ghost state.
A ghost state? C’mon, man.
Raising the state income tax back up to close to where it was before January 1st wouldn’t make this a “ghost state,” but it would prevent draconian budget cuts that would devastate this state. The Tribune blindly refuses to admit this because it hates that tax hike so very much.
Sometimes, you gotta find more income to pay your bills.
…Adding… From Wordslinger in comments…
–…a challenge unlike any it has known.–
Yeah, that Civil War, race riots, labor wars, polio, Depression, WWII, segregation, etc., it was all a stone-cold groove compared to today’s insurmountable and unprecedented problem of paying back borrowed money.
Seiously, they’re demented, should not be operating motor vehicles.
…Adding More… Gov. Bruce Rauner’s magical mystery pension reform plan which he adamantly refuses to unveil would allegedly save the state about $2.2 billion next fiscal year. While there is little doubt that we are staring into perhaps the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression as a result of the loss of the income tax hike money and gross Democratic mismanagement, losing out on those pension savings is hardly a crisis outweighing everything in the state’s history. The Tribune editorial board members probably ought to take a nap.
…Adding Still More… From Archpundit in comments…
===They prayed that the court would uphold state attempts to curtail retiree benefits, or at least explain how future laws might be written to meet constitutional constraints. Friday’s decision offered neither.===
Actually I believe Rich highlighted the road map the court gave on just this point. The ed board really is just lazy.
“Detroit offers such a strong example of default and bankruptcy that Chicago ends up being impugned by comparison,” said Matt Fabian, a partner at Municipal Market Analytics.
The broader economic and demographic positions of the two cities are vastly different. Chicago is the third-largest city in the country, with a vibrant economy and large, taxable population. Detroit had been suffering from a population exodus for decades, along with a crippled economy after much of the auto industry moved out.
“A property tax increase could solve Chicago’s problems tomorrow,” Fabian said. “But the city has chosen not to do that, even though it has the potential.” Chicago could raise taxes by 50 percent and still have lower taxes than New Jersey, he said. […]
That option, he said, was not available in Detroit, which is why the city eventually filed for Chapter 9. “It is very hard to see Illinois ever approving Chapter 9,” Fabian said. “Chicago is the heart of the state, and it is in no one’s interest to fall into bankruptcy.”
Detroit, on the other hand, was a drag on the state of Michigan and bore the brunt of much antipathy, said Fabian.
“The Supreme Court’s decision confirms that benefits earned cannot be reduced. That’s fair and right, and why the governor long maintained that SB 1 is unconstitutional. What is now clear is that a Constitutional Amendment clarifying the distinction between currently earned benefits and future benefits not yet earned, which would allow the state to move forward on common-sense pension reforms, should be part of any solution.”
Thoughts?
*** UPDATE *** Perhaps some wishful thinking from Mayor Rahm Emanuel?…
“Since taking office, our goal has been to find a solution to Chicago’s pension crisis that protects taxpayers while ensuring the retirements of our workers are preserved — something we achieved with Chicago’s pension reform for the Municipal and Laborers funds. That reform is not affected by today’s ruling, as we believe our plan fully complies with the State constitution because it fundamentally preserves and protects worker pensions rather than diminishing or impairing them. While the State plan only reduced benefits, the City’s plan substantially increases City funding which will save both funds from certain insolvency within the next ten to fifteen years and ensure they are secured over the long-term. Further, unlike the State plan, the City’s plan was the result of negotiation and partnership with 28 impacted unions to protect the retirements of the 61,000 city workers and retirees in these funds and ensure they will receive the pensions promised to them.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** Eric Madiar, the former legal eagle for Senate President John Cullerton who predicted years ago that this law would fail, reacts…
I feel fully vindicated by today’s Illinois Supreme Court decision and gratified by it. The decision clears the way for using a modified version of Senate President Cullerton’s contractual approach to achieve savings.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Moody’s…
“Moody’s is currently reviewing the Illinois Supreme Court pension reform decision and analyzing its potential impact on the credit condition of the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, public universities, and other Illinois municipalities and school districts. For the state, Moody’s current rating and outlook did not factor in the proposed pension reforms, but the ruling provides additional evidence that pension benefit reductions will not be permitted.”
Newly sworn in as Mayor of Springfield, Jim Langfelder ripped into the Steppenwolf classic [”Born to be Wild”].
Mayor Jim Langfelder joined other citywide officials and the new City Council in taking the oath of office Thursday afternoon at Sangamon Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois Springfield.
According to sources close to the Mayor, Langfelder rehearsed the song with the band After Sunset the week leading up to the performance.
* I always pegged Jim as a bit of a geek, but check out the video taken by a friend…
* The Illinois Supreme Court gave us a sort of road map for what pension reforms would be acceptable. Emphasis added…
The General Assembly may find itself in crisis, but it is a crisis which other public pension systems managed to avoid and, as reflected in the SEC order, it is a crisis for which the General Assembly itself is largely responsible.
Moreover, no possible claim can be made that no less drastic measures were available when balancing pension obligations with other State expenditures became problematic. One alternative, identified at the hearing on Public Act 98-599, would have been to adopt a new schedule for amortizing the unfunded liabilities. The General Assembly could also have sought additional tax revenue. While it did pass a temporary income tax increase, it allowed the increased rate to lapse to a lower rate even as pension funding was being debated and litigated.
That the State did not select the least drastic means of addressing its financial difficulties is reinforced by the legislative history. As noted earlier in this opinion, the chief sponsor of the legislation stated candidly that other alternatives were available. Public Act 98-599 was in no sense a last resort. Rather, it was an expedient to break a political stalemate.
The United States Supreme Court has made clear that the United States Constitution “bar[s] Government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by the public as a whole [citations].” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) United States v. Winstar Corp., 518 U.S. 839, 883 (1996). Through Public Act 98-599, however, the General Assembly addressed the financial challenges facing our State by doing just that. It made no effort to distribute the burdens evenly among Illinoisans. It did not even attempt to distribute the burdens evenly among those with whom it has contractual relationships. Although it is undisputed that many vendors face delays in payment, the terms of their contracts are unchanged, and under the State Prompt Payment Act, vendors are actually entitled to additional compensation in the form of statutory interest if their bills are not paid within specified periods. 30 ILCS 540/3-2 (West 2012). In no sense is this comparable to the situation confronted by members of public retirement systems under Public Act 98-599, which, if allowed to take effect, would actually negate substantive terms of their contractual relationships and reduce the benefits due and payable to them in a real and absolute way. Under all of these circumstances, it is clear that the State could prove no set of circumstances that would satisfy the contracts clause. […]
The State protests that this conclusion is tantamount to holding that the State has surrendered its sovereign authority, something it may not do. The State is incorrect. Article XIII, section 5, is in no sense a surrender of any attribute of sovereignty. Rather, it is a statement by the people of Illinois, made in the clearest possible terms, that the authority of the legislature does not include the power to diminish or impair the benefits of membership in a public retirement system. This is a restriction the people of Illinois had every right to impose.
As the ultimate sovereign, the people can, “within constitutional restrictions imposed by the Federal constitution, delegate the powers of government to whom and as they please. They can withhold or [e]ntrust it, with such limitations as they choose.” … The powers they have reserved are shown in the prohibitions set forth in their state constitutions. Munn v. Illinois, 94 U.S. 113, 124 (1876).
Reamortize the debt, raise taxes, spread out the pain evenly, and/or pass a constitutional amendment that doesn’t violate the Federal constitution’s “contract clause.”
If there is an attempt by the governor at passing a constitutional amendment, I’d bet it would be challenged in federal court. This thing is nowhere near over.
City Hall and the Rauner administration had no immediate reaction to the decision, but it implies bad things for them.
Emanuel last year negotiated reductions in benefits with unions covering about half of city workers and is working with police and firefighters for further changes. But the language of today’s decision appears to allow no exception for “negotiated” reductions in benefits. Rather, the benefits are owed, as in any contract.
Rauner, in turn, has proposed shifting all current workers into a new system with reduced benefits. But the court decision suggests that a worker is entitled to accrue benefits at the old rate until he or she leaves the payroll.
* “Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn smiles during the signing of the pension overhaul legislation bill Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013, in Chicago. Looking on from left are: Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington; Senate GOP leader Sen. Christine Radogno; Rep. Darlene Senger, R-Naperville; Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs; House Speaker Michael Madigan and Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago”…
“A bad bill in Springfield would raise our electricity bills to protect Exelon’s bottom line. The Legislature should either rewrite it significantly or flick the off switch altogether.”
“There is a feeling here of a company trying to socialize the risks while keeping the profits private.”
“Though solar, wind and other generators of low carbon energy would supposedly qualify for the credits, the legislation is written to give a big advantage to Exelon’s nuclear plants. Yes, this legislation would hike your electric bill.”
“…Problem is, Exelon hasn’t provided much evidence that the plants are financial losers and it hasn’t promised to keep the plants open…”
“Good old Exelon. The company has come up with legislation to subsidize its nuclear reactors, get electric users throughout the state to pay for it and claim it’s in the interest of clean energy.”
“State lawmakers need to see this bill for the dirty trick it is and kill it.”
Just say no to the Exelon bailout. Vote no on SB1585/HB3293.
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
* I’ll be updating this as we go along. The first one I’ve received is from Ty Fahner…
“There are no winners today. If there’s any good news, it’s that Chicago and Illinois are resilient, and we’ve responded to great challenges before. The Civic Committee stands ready to work with Governor Rauner and the General Assembly to craft a bipartisan solution to rescue the state from financial collapse and restore Illinois as a compassionate and competitive state.”
Ty Fahner
President
Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago
* Speaker Madigan’s spokesman said his boss will “take it under review” and continue to work on the issue, which he said was of vital importance to the state’s future.
* Senate President John Cullerton…
“From the beginning of our pension reform debates, I expressed concern about the constitutionality of the plan that we ultimately advanced as a test case for the court. Today, the Illinois Supreme Court declared that regardless of political considerations or fiscal circumstances, state leaders cannot renege on pension obligations. This ruling is a victory for retirees, public employees and everyone who respects the plain language of our Constitution.
That victory, however, should be balanced against the grave financial realities we will continue to face without true reforms. If there are to be any lasting savings in pension reform, we must face this reality within the confines of the Pension Clause. I stand ready to work with all parties to advance a real solution that adheres to the Illinois Constitution.”
* From the twitters…
State Sen. Linda Holmes, a union backer: "I really do think we have to start from scratch." http://t.co/qT1YFjYhUG
“Our goal from the beginning of our work on pension reform has been to strike a very careful, very important balance between protecting the hard-earned investments of state workers and retirees and the equally important investments of all taxpayers in education, human and social services, health care and other vital state priorities. In its ruling today, the Supreme Court struck down not only the law but the core of that balance. Now our already dire pension problem will get that much worse and our options in striking that balance are limited. Our path forward from here is now much more difficult, and every direction will be more painful than the balance we struck in Senate Bill 1.”
* Illinois Policy Institute…
Today the Illinois Supreme Court struck down Senate Bill 1, the pension reform law enacted in 2013 by former Gov. Pat Quinn. Illinois Policy Institute CEO John Tillman released the following statement on the state Supreme Court’s ruling:
“Illinois’ political elite have devised a pension scheme that is excessive, bloated, corrupted and was never affordable for Illinois taxpayers. While Senate Bill 1 did not solve the pension crisis, the legislation at least took a first step toward achieving parity between government workers who receive pensions, and the taxpayers who fund them.
“But with today’s ruling, the state’s high court says that state government’s No. 1 financial responsibility is paying the retirement of people who no longer work for state government. Pension costs are first in line, ahead of funding for public safety, education, helping the poor and disadvantaged, and all core services provided by state government.
“The court’s ruling suggested that raising taxes is a way to pay for pensions. Raising taxes will not fix a broken system. The pension system is beyond repair, and there will never be enough money to fund it. Case in point: The 2011 tax increase. That tax increase generated more than $31 billion, and 90 cents out of every $1 collected from the tax increase went to pensions. Yet it still was not enough to make the pension system whole.
“Ultimately, the only way Illinois can break the cycle of siphoning more and more tax dollars and sacrificing more and more state programs to pay for pensions is to follow the lead of the private sector and move new employees to a 401(k)-style system. In the short term, it will not be surprising to see calls to change the state constitution or allow Illinois to file for bankruptcy.”
* We Are One Illinois union coalition…
Illinois AFL-CIO president Michael T. Carrigan issued the following statement on behalf of the We Are One Illinois coalition of unions that represent public employees and retirees:
“We are thankful that the Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the will of the people, overturned this unfair and unconstitutional law, and protected the hard-earned life savings of teachers, police, fire fighters, nurses, caregivers and other public service workers and retirees.
“The Court’s ruling confirms that the Illinois Constitution ensures against the government’s unilateral diminishment or impairment of public pensions.
“Because most public employees aren’t eligible for Social Security, their modest pension—just $32,000 a year on average—is the primary source of retirement income for hundreds of thousands of Illinois families. While workers always paid their share, politicians caused the debt by failing to make adequate contributions to the pension funds.
“Public service workers are helpers and problem solvers by trade. With the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling, we urge lawmakers to join us in developing a fair and constitutional solution to pension funding, and we remain ready to work with anyone of good faith to do so.”
* Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno…
“Illinois has the nation’s worst-funded pension system and the biggest pension deficit of any state. Nearly a quarter of our budget goes directly to pensions or to pay off past loans used to cover short-term pension costs.
I am committed to working with everyone to find a solution that adheres to the Constitution. We must to work together in bipartisan cooperation with Governor Rauner – who has demonstrated his commitment to tackle the most difficult problems facing Illinois.”
* Sen. Gary Forby…
“I made a promise to the thousands of union members in my district that I would not support a pension reform plan that punishes working families,” said Senator Forby, Chairman of the Senate’s Labor Committee. “Now is the time to give labor a seat at the negotiating table so we can strike a fair balance between finding financial solvency and honoring our promises to workers.”
* Sen. Daniel Biss…
“Today the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Senate Bill 1 is unconstitutional. While this is not the opinion the authors of SB1 had hoped for, we must respect the Court and strictly adhere to this ruling. The Pension Clause of the Illinois Constitution provides important protections, and today’s ruling proves the depth of those protections.
The state of Illinois and many of its local governments are still facing serious fiscal problems, including significant pension debt. I look forward to working with all parties to find ways to ensure that adequate resources are available to properly fund our pension systems, in the context of a responsible budget that funds crucial services. Our public employees, our government bodies and our taxpayers deserve nothing less.”
* Twitters…
Rep Nekritz on pension ruling "My overwhelming emotional reaction is I feel very sad for the future of Illinois. I feel very sad about that"
“I respect the Illinois Supreme Court, but disagree with the ruling. I am prepared to continue working on meaningful legislative reforms to save our public pension systems.”
“We are delighted that today’s Supreme Court opinion recognizes and ensures the pension rights of State employees, as required by our Constitution. And we trust that the General Assembly will address the State’s fiscal difficulties, in a manner consistent with the Constitution, and in a way that is fair to all the citizens of Illinois.” — Gino DiVito, attorney who argued state employees’ legal challenge to the Illinois Supreme Court.
* Charles A. Burbridge, executive director of the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund…
“While CTPF members were not directly impacted by the ruling on Senate Bill 1, the Illinois Supreme Court’s landmark decision to strike down this legislation is a welcome development for our members. This ruling clearly establishes that pensions are a promise to be kept, which is important to our members since they do not receive Social Security benefits and depend on CTPF pensions for their retirement security.
“Unfortunately, our Fund has been devastated by decades of underfunding by our employer. As a result, CPS faces significant challenges as it makes up for the impact of its past decisions. We hope that this ruling helps move forward the conversation about fully funding pensions for CTPF members.”
* Sen. Kwame Raoul…
Today, the state’s highest court affirmed that, as in all matters, we are bound by the plain language of the Illinois Constitution on the question of public employee benefits. This is not surprising news, nor is it an unwelcome reminder; constitutional limits protect us all – especially in times of fiscal crisis. The Court effectively illustrated the cyclical nature of economic fortunes, noting that Illinois faced a pension funding emergency at the time our current constitution was drafted. The rule of law remains a guiding constant.
This decision is a call to go back to the negotiating table and get serious about the range of options available to us to repair the state’s finances and meet its obligations in ways consistent with the constitution, sustainable for the future and fair to all concerned.
A number of approaches remain open to us, but the Court has made clear that the constitution’s prohibition on unilateral modifications applies to the lifetime of the contract made at the time of employment, not merely to benefits already accrued.
We return to our task aided by the insights of the Court, fully aware of our constitutional responsibilities as well as the severity of our fiscal condition, in partnership with all affected and open to new ideas.
* Linda Brookhart, Executive Director of the State Universities Annuitants Association…
”SURS member Henry Green introduced the Pension Clause to the 1970 Constitution to ‘guarantee [pension] rights.’ We are grateful that the Supreme Court recognized and affirmed those Constitutional protections.
“This is a victory for retired and current members of the State Universities Retirement System and the other public employee retirement systems. But, it is more than that. It is a victory for anyone to whom the State of Illinois owes a debt. As the Court noted in paragraph 85 ‘today it is nullification of the right to retirement benefits. Tomorrow it could be a renunciation of the duty to repay State obligations.’ Indeed, in oral argument we specifically noted that Illinois’ $50 Billion general revenue bond market could be put in jeopardy. And the court took it a step further ‘If financial markets were rational, this prospect would not buoy our economy, it would ruin it.’
“As the court noted, the underfunding of pension benefits has a long history that goes back well before the pension protection clause was adopted. The clause was intended to apply pressure on the legislature to meet its financial obligations to fund retirement benefits for employees who have spent their lives working for the state. That the State insisted on pursuing its policy of under-funding in the 44 years since the clause was adopted cannot now serve as an excuse for the State to renege on its obligation to pay pensions.
“Our attorney stated in oral argument that this was akin to the Lizzie Borden defense – ‘I killed my parents. Have mercy on me. I’m an orphan,’ a defense which every grade school child recognizes as preposterous. We are grateful that the Supreme Court did not buy into this defense. As a result of this opinion, employees retiring from the State of Illinois should have confidence in their pensions. And our members, members of the State Universities Retirement System can take comfort in knowing that their service to the students of this State did not deprive them of their retirement benefits.
“At SUAA we are committed to protecting the rights of retired and current public university and community college employees and will continue to do so.”
Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat and one of the lead pension-law negotiators in the House, said that those other provisions were an attempt to strike a balance between employee benefits and the overall health of the state.
But the court’s action negates that balance, she said.
Nekritz also pointed to a section of the opinion that said “[a]dherence to constitutional requirements often requires significant sacrifice, but our survival as a society depends on it,” calling it an off-point summary of the circumstances.
“The goal of Senate Bill 1 was to put Illinois on more sound fiscal footing so that we could survive as a society,” she said. “So I found it odd that they made that statement, when what they’re really doing is making it more difficult to fund education, more difficult to fund competing demands … That one hit me pretty hard.”
The solution proposed by the [state Constitution] drafters and ultimately approved by the people of Illinois was to protect the benefits of membership in public pension systems not by dictating specific funding levels, but by safeguarding the benefits themselves… The purpose of the clause and its dual features have never been in dispute
* Clear cut…
The first issue, whether Public Act 98-599’s reduction of retirement annuity benefits violates this State’s pension protection clause, is easily resolved. The pension protection clause clearly states: “[m]embership in any pension or retirement system of the State *** shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.” (Emphasis added.) Ill. Const. 1970, art. XIII, § 5. This clause has been construed by our court on numerous occasions, most recently in Kanerva v. Weems, 2014 IL 115811.We held in that case that the clause means precisely what it says: “if something qualifies as a benefit of the enforceable contractual relationship resulting from membership in one of the State’s pension or retirement systems, it cannot be diminished or impaired.”
This construction of article XIII, section 5, was not a break from prior law. To the contrary, it was a reaffirmation of principles articulated by this court and the appellate court on numerous occasions since the 1970 Constitution took effect. […]
Retirement annuity benefits are unquestionably a “benefit of contractually-enforceable relationship resulting from membership” in the four State-funded retirement systems. Indeed, they are among the most important benefits provided by those systems. If allowed to take effect, Public Act 98-599, would clearly result in a diminishment of the retirement annuities to which Tier 1 members of GRS, SRS, SURS and TRS became entitled when they joined those systems. As described earlier in this opinion, the new legislation directly reduces the value of retirement annuities for those members in no fewer than five different ways. While we presume statutes to be constitutional and must construe enactments by the legislature so as to uphold their validity whenever it is reasonably proper to do so (Wilson v. Department of Revenue, 169 Ill. 2d 306, 310 (1996)), there is simply no way that the annuity reduction provisions in Public Act 98-599 can be reconciled with the rights and protections established by the people of Illinois when they ratified the Illinois Constitution of 1970 and its pension protection clause. Those provisions contravene the clear requirements of article XIII, section 5, as set forth in the provision’s plain and unambiguous language and construed by the legion of cases we have just discussed. In enacting the provisions, the General Assembly overstepped the scope of its legislative power. This court is therefore obligated to declare those provisions invalid.
* Police powers…
That the annuity reduction provisions of Public Act 98-599 violate the pension protection clause’s prohibition against the diminishment of the benefits of membership in a State-funded retirement system is one the State has now all but conceded. After this court reaffirmed in Kanerva v. Weems that the pension protection clause means precisely what it says, the State shifted its focus to an argument it did not raise and we did not consider in Kanerva. The State’s position now rests on its affirmative defense that funding for the pension systems and State finances in general have become so dire that the General Assembly is authorized, even compelled, to invoke the State’s “reserved sovereign powers,” i.e., its police powers, to override the rights and protections afforded by article XIII, section 5, of the Illinois Constitution in the interests of the greater public good. This argument must also fail.
The circumstances presented by this case are not unique. Economic conditions are cyclical and expected, and fiscal difficulties have confronted the State before. […]
While these principles sound expansive, legislation impairing contracts has actually been upheld against contract clause challenges only rarely. George D. Hardin, Inc. v. Village of Mount Prospect, 99 Ill. 2d at 104. When the legislation has been directed at reducing pension benefits of State employees, this court has expressly held that it is “not defensible as a reasonable exercise of the State’s police powers” and declared it invalid under the contracts clause, as well as for other reasons. […]
In addition, because the state’s self-interest is at stake whenever it seeks to modify its own financial obligations, the United States Supreme Court has made clear that it is not appropriate to give the state’s legislature the same deference it would otherwise be afforded with regard to whether the impairment is reasonable and necessary to serve an important public purpose. “A governmental entity can always find a use for extra money,” the Court observed, “especially when taxes do not have to be raised. If a State could reduce its financial obligations whenever it wanted to spend the money for what it regarded as an important public purpose, the Contract Clause would provide no protection at all.” […]
The State protests that this conclusion is tantamount to holding that the State has surrendered its sovereign authority, something it may not do. The State is incorrect. Article XIII, section 5, is in no sense a surrender of any attribute of sovereignty. Rather, it is a statement by the people of Illinois, made in the clearest possible terms, that the authority of the legislature does not include the power to diminish or impair the benefits of membership in a public retirement system. This is a restriction the people of Illinois had every right to impose. […]
Under the State’s reasoning, the only limit on the police power would be the scope of the emergency. The legislature could do whatever it felt it needed to do under the circumstances. And more than that, through its funding decisions, it could create the very emergency conditions used to justify its suspension of the rights conferred and protected by the constitution. If financial markets were rational, this prospect would not buoy our economy, it would ruin it.
* Man, is this ever a strong statement…
The financial challenges facing state and local governments in Illinois are well known and significant. In ruling as we have today, we do not mean to minimize the gravity of the State’s problems or the magnitude of the difficulty facing our elected representatives. It is our obligation, however, just as it is theirs, to ensure that the law is followed. That is true at all times. It is especially important in times of crisis when, as this case demonstrates, even clear principles and long-standing precedent are threatened. Crisis is not an excuse to abandon the rule of law. It is a summons to defend it. How we respond is the measure of our commitment to the principles of justice we are sworn to uphold.
* Severability…
We come, then, to the third and final issue presented by this appeal: are the invalid annuity reduction provisions of Public Act 98-599 severable from the remainder of the statute? […]
Among the 39 sections deemed “inseverable” are some of the specific provisions which impermissibly reduce retirement annuity benefits in violation of the pension protection clause. These include sections 2-119.1(a-1), 14-114(a-1), 15-136(d-1), and 16-133.1(a-1) (40 ILCS 5/2-119.1(a-1), 14-114(a-1), 15-136(d-1), 16-133.1(a-1) (West Supp. 2013)), which adversely affect the value of annual annuity increases. Under the express terms of section 97 of the Act itself, all 39 of the “inseverable” provisions must therefore fall with the provisions we have declared unconstitutional. When one eliminates those 39 provisions along with all the other annuity-reducing portions of the law that are void and enforceable under the pension protection clause, Public Act 98-599 all but evaporates.
Severability principles would doom the statute in any case. Under Illinois law, severability clauses are not conclusive. That is because a court’s authority to eliminate invalid elements of an act and yet sustain its valid provisions derives not from legislative fiat, but from powers inherent in the judiciary. The practice of holding statutory provisions severable from those that are found to be invalid originated in the courts long before severability clauses were adopted by legislatures. Although the use of severability clauses has now become common practice, we have noted that they are regarded as little more than a formality. […]
Applying these principles to the case before us, there can be no serious question that, with invalidation of those provisions of Public Act 98-599 which reduce the retirement annuities Tier 1 members of the GRS, SERS, SURS and TRS are entitled to receive, the entire statute must fall. As noted earlier in this opinion, the legislation’s proponents described its numerous provisions as “all part of an integral bipartisan package.” The overarching purpose of the law was to shore up State finances, improve its credit rating and free up resources for other purposes by reducing, i.e., diminishing, the amount of retirement annuity benefits paid to Tier 1 members of GRS, SERS, SURS, and TRS, particularly annual annuity increases, which the speaker of the House of Representatives himself referred to as the chief cause of the financial problems the Act was intended to address. 98th Ill. Gen. Assem., House Proceedings, Dec. 3, 2013, at 7 (statements of Representative Madigan). The annuity reduction provisions are therefore not merely central to the statute, they are its very reason for being. Without them, the legislature would not have enacted the law at all. To leave those remaining provisions standing once the core sections are stripped away would, under these circumstances, yield a legislation package that no longer reflects the legislature’s intent. The circuit court was therefore correct when it concluded that Public Act 98-599 is void and unenforceable in its entirety
* Nothing yet from the governor’s office. From the Illinois AFL-CIO…
Just received word that the Rauner anti-worker agenda has been pulled from the Adams County Board agenda for May 12. We will keep you posted if it comes back.
Alert for upcoming Rauner anti-worker agenda activity: Saturday, May 9 – Henry County Board Executive Committee, 8 a.m., 307 West Center Street, Cambridge
* Meanwhile, parsing the Speaker’s decision to call the governor’s “right to work” proposal for a vote next week…
“The message may well be that if they want to accomplish anything this session, then Rauner had better get off a couple of things that have almost no chance of passing,” said Mike Lawrence, a longtime statehouse journalist, former aide to Gov. Jim Edgar and retired director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
While cautioning he had no inside scoop, Lawrence said, “I think it will be clear after this vote that right-to-work has virtually no chance of passing. I have a difficult time seeing where anything on the union front is going to happen.”
One by one, Madigan is addressing issues that Rauner has raised, Lawrence said. And by showing the governor where he seriously lacks votes, Madigan might be saying it’s time to shift focus.
Political scientist Chris Mooney said the message from Madigan to Rauner may be one of “who’s for what and who’s not.”
Although enormously accomplished in business, Rauner might also be getting a lesson from the speaker on the legislative process, said Mooney, director of the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Political Affairs.
They’re both right, plus more.
…Adding… I gave a speech last night and I wasn’t able to post House GOP Leader Jim Durkin’s response to Madigan’s right to work vote plan…
“I believe the working groups, particularly the one dealing with this issue, need to continue their work negotiating consensus. That is a better approach to take.”
* And from the University of New Mexico’s Tamara Kay…
The most rigorous research study available–published in 2011 by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute and conducted by Heidi Shierholz (now the chief economist of the US Department of Labor) and Elise Gould–controlled for 42 variables. It found that right-to-work laws result in lower wages and a lower likelihood of health care and pensions for union and non-union workers. It also shows right-to-work laws have no impact on economic growth.
Right-to-work proponents, however, have used “research” reports that control for few if any variables, to suggest that right-to-work states have done better on a variety of growth measures, predicting that their state would similarly benefit by passing a bill.
For example, the Wisconsin Public Research Institute, a member of the free-market-oriented State Policy Network, published such a report before the state passed its law that claimed that adopting right-to-work could increase per-capita income by 6 percentage points. But the study only controlled for eight variables, which isn’t nearly enough to control for all the different factors that affect changes in income.
In other words, the conclusions are meaningless. In the world of medical research, this would be like testing a cancer drug without using a control group that was not given the drug, ensuring that its pure effect could be isolated.
[Password protection removed and comments opened because the press release was finally issued.]
* House Speaker Michael Madigan has scheduled yet another committee of the whole for next Tuesday…
I have a call in to the Speaker’s office about the topic. Watch this post for updates.
Also, keep coming back to the blog today. Some big news is about to hit.
…Adding… I’m hearing the committee of the whole topic is tort reform. Still waiting on a call back.
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
Madigan Asks Full House to Discuss Illinois’ Civil Justice System
CHICAGO – House Speaker Michael J. Madigan on Friday announced the Illinois House will convene in a committee of the whole at noon Tuesday to discuss Illinois’ civil justice system and the protections it provides to victims and their families when killed or injured in accidents caused by severe negligence.
“Our justice system is often the last chance for victims and their families after their lives were torn apart by acts of carelessness,” Madigan said. “Even those who have never set foot in a courtroom are protected by our system because it allows any person to expose shoddy products and reckless actions that make our state less safe.”
As part of a discussion on Illinois’ civil justice system, the committee of the whole will hear from victims of medical malpractice and the family members of individuals killed in accidents or injured by dangerous products.
“When Illinois victims’ protections are discussed, unfortunately the bottom line sometimes is considered more important than what is fair and right. Special interests spend millions in attempts to change our court system to work against regular citizens. But too often it is our neighbors and co-workers – middle-class families – who need the court’s protections the most,” Madigan explained. “We must listen to the victims, their families and others who have seen firsthand how a strong civil justice system provides an avenue for their voices to be heard and fairness to prevail, and how a weak civil justice system leaves victims and their families traumatized several times over.”
Like the committee of the whole convened this week to discuss assistance for injured workers, Madigan cited the importance of the issue and the need for input from all House members as discussions on changes to the civil justice system continue.
* The new governor has meant more subscriptions and more advertising revenues, so this is no surprise…
According to a review of state lobbying records requested by the Quad-City Times Springfield Bureau, 1,733 lobbyists registered with the Illinois Secretary of State’s office from January through April.
The number is up from 1,700 during the same time period last year and up by nearly 100 lobbyists who registered in 2013. […]
The numbers also show a move away from companies having their own, in-house lobbying teams. So far this year, there are 1,973 lobbying entities or organizations, up from 1,763 five years ago.
When it comes to wining and dining lawmakers, the biggest spending lobbying organization so far in 2015 is the Ounce of Prevention Fund, which is headed by First Lady Diana Rauner. Reports show the group, which is a public-private partnership that prepares children for success in school and in life, has spent $132,415 to wine and dine lawmakers this year.
Interesting.
*** UPDATE *** From the Ounce of Prevention Fund’s Megan Meyer…
Hi Rich-
We saw that Capitol Fax picked up the Quad City Times story on increased lobbying activity this year, and wanted to clarify the information reported about the Ounce of Prevention Fund.
The expenditure reports we filed with the state included our annual luncheon at an expense of $130,000 (which includes all costs of the event – meals, on-site materials, etc.), which dramatically inflates the appearance of our spending on lobbying efforts. For 14 years, our It’s Good Business to Invest in Young Children Annual Luncheon has been our premier public education and fundraising event that brings together the business, philanthropic and civic communities in support of early childhood education. Of the more than 850 attendees, only two were affiliated with state government. That event is not a lobbying event.
Our new legislator breakfast that we held in January is typical of our direct lobbying efforts (and was reported on an earlier expenditure report), and we spent $336 on a breakfast for 36 people, including 11 elected officials.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan announced Thursday that he will schedule a vote on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal that would hurt the ability of workers to have an outside party advocate on their behalf. Madigan is urging the governor to file formal legislative language for his measure.
“Taxpayers and their elected representatives need to see the details of Governor Rauner’s plan so they can decide how it will impact Illinois’ middle-class families,” Madigan said. “The financial security of middle-class families and others struggling to make ends meet will be affected by his proposal. We owe it to them to make sure the governor’s idea gets a full hearing.”
Madigan will schedule a House floor vote on the governor’s proposal for Thursday, May 14. Rauner first spoke about his proposal as governor in Decatur on Jan. 27 – 100 days ago. With 24 scheduled days left in the Legislature’s spring session, Madigan encouraged the governor to introduce legislative language for the plan he has campaigned for at stops across the state.
“The governor’s proposal will have a significant impact on middle-class families across Illinois,” Madigan said. “By putting the governor’s proposal to a vote, legislators will have the opportunity to ensure the voices of the middle-class families in their districts are heard.”
*** UPDATE 1 *** Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael T. Carrigan…
“The governor has spent a lot of time and effort attempting to sell right to work in Illinois. The facts are clear and undisputed. Right to work undercuts wages and benefits for all workers. If Gov. Rauner truly believes economic development is achieved by pushing even more people out of the middle class, then it’s time to have a vote on it.
“We urge state representatives to oppose this anti-middle class measure. Then Rauner can, hopefully, move on to acting like a leader and seeking real solutions to our most pressing problems.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** IFT…
Following news that Speaker Madigan has scheduled a vote on Governor Rauner’s so-called “right-to-work” proposal, the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) released the following statement:
“We urge the legislature to follow the lead of the 95% of citizens, represented through their city councils and county boards, who have already rejected Governor Rauner’s misguided proposal,” said Dan Montgomery, President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “The Governor’s push for these so-called reforms don’t make a dime of difference to the state’s fiscal challenges, and holding the budget hostage unless the legislature agrees to injure ordinary families is revolting.
The Governor’s roadshow has been an irresponsible distraction from our state’s real challenges. We hope putting this up for a vote will demonstrate, once and for all, that the overwhelming majority of Illinoisans want Governor Rauner to stop campaigning, and start governing.
In the meantime, we are going to continue doing what we have always done – standing up for working families who don’t have billions of dollars to make their voice heard, or corporate tax loopholes that excuse them from paying their fair share.”
Numerous studies have shown that so-called “right-to-work” laws drive down wages and increase inequality for all workers, not just those represented by a union.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Lance Trover at the governor’s office…
The administration continues to negotiate in good faith over the governor’s turnaround agenda and will remain at the table as long as it takes.
If House Democrats want to walk away from the negotiating table and vote on a proposal before there is bipartisan agreement that the material is ready to be introduced in committee, then they should start with a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on legislators.
Legislation that would make the possession of small amounts of marijuana punishable by a fine has been approved by an Illinois Senate committee.
Officials say Senate criminal law committee members passed the measure in a 9-3 vote on Wednesday. The legislation’s sponsor, State Representative Kelly Cassidy, says it would help prevent discrimination of enforcement based on race. The bill passed the Illinois House last week.
It could, however, simply be a stalking horse to convince the governor to sign the medical marijuana pilot project extension into law.
A suburban lawmaker’s proposal in Springfield could put a halt to the creation of new units of local government in Illinois.
State Sen. Michael Connelly, a Lisle Republican, says the proposal would put a four-year moratorium on the state’s ability to create new layers of local government.
Originally proposed by state Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat, the bill would apply statewide “except a unit created as a result of combining, consolidating or annexing previously existing units of government,” Connelly said.
A state lawmaker wants to undo a portion of Illinois’ concealed-carry law that prevents cities from banning assault weapons.
Sen. Julie Morrison said her legislation is in response to a federal appeals court ruling last month that upheld Highland Park’s ban. The Deerfield Democrat said her measure would allow other cities to prohibit assault weapons.
“This is about local control,” she said.
Illinois’ 2013 concealed-carry law included a provision that gave local governments a 10-day window to enact their own assault weapons bans.
Legislation to provide $63 million in back wages owed to state workers is heading to the Illinois Senate.
The Senate executive committee approved the measure on a voice vote Wednesday. The House passed it last month.
The money is for raises approved for unionized workers in 2011. Former Gov. Pat Quinn later reneged on the raises, saying the Legislature hadn’t appropriated enough money.
* I’m not sure what I think of this. I don’t like government interference in the arts, but when you take the money, I suppose you sometimes have to pay the piper, or however that saying goes…
If movie director Spike Lee insists on maligning Chicago by calling his upcoming movie on black-on-black violence “Chiraq,” he should forfeit the right to a $3 million tax break he wants, a South Side alderman said Wednesday.
Ald. Will Burns (4th) took the municipal angst over Lee’s working title to a whole new level in a way that could run afoul of the First Amendment.
He introduced a resolution at the last City Council meeting before new aldermen are sworn in calling on the Illinois Film Office to reject Lee’s application for a $3 million film production tax credit if he chooses to name the film “Chiraq.”
“There’s nothing anti-First Amendment about it at all. If he wants to name the movie `Chiraq’ and film it in the city of Chicago, he should be able to get the permits for that and he should be able to do it. But we shouldn’t give him money as taxpayers to brand a part of the city as Iraq. That doesn’t make sense,” Burns said.
In deciding to please the barnstormin’ reformin’ Republican governor, did aldermen raise the ire of the powerful Democratic speaker of the House, Mike Madigan? Democrats control both the House and Senate by substantial majorities.
“When you have the speaker upset, that’s never a good thing,” said state Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park.
But is the speaker really angry at Rockford because of the actions of eight aldermen? Here is what Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax had to say about the situation, leading off with, “No casino for you.”
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel has renewed his push for a city-owned casino and Rockford has long been in the mix for its own riverboat if a deal should ever happen. But the Rockford City Council recently passed Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda resolution, calling on the Legislature to give it the power to create local right-to-work zones, among other things. That vote apparently did not go down well with the House speaker, who has long had a soft spot in his heart for Rockford, the home of Madigan’s late political mentor Zeke Giorgi.”
Capitol Fax added, “Some of the towns which passed the resolution were clearly hoping to curry favor with a governor who wants to slash their state revenue sharing in half. But Governor Rauner isn’t the only person who can play hardball at the Statehouse.”
Well, that’s the understatement of the decade. I put my question to Steve Brown, Madigan’s longtime spokesman: Would Madigan really punish the third-largest city in Illinois by denying it a casino license because of eight aldermen?
“I wouldn’t try to take it to that extreme,” Brown said. “In past years, the speaker has generally recused himself form speaking on gaming expansion. Mike Madigan’s general attitude and his record is one of being helpful to Rockford whenever it is possible, and I see no reason why that would change.
“I don’t know that the speaker has an opinion on the actions of the city of Rockford. I know that (Rockford-area) legislators were very disappointed the City Council took that action. So he’s heard that. Most cities around the state have either rejected the (Turnaround Agenda) or voted on modified versions. There hasn’t been widespread support because of the overall negative outlook for cities.”
NO CASINO FOR YOU? In yet another sign that the governor’s anti-union agenda is under siege at the Statehouse, could the City of Rockford possibly be in danger of losing its place at the table if gaming expansion negotiations proceed?
It was a warning, issued privately through back channels, I’m told, not a direct threat. There’s a difference, and I didn’t (and still don’t) know for sure if Rockford will lose out, which is why both the headline and the first graf were written as questions, not declarative statements.
But the fact that Madigan (and Senate President John Cullerton) can also play some hardball is a point that is being lost on some municipalities. So…
* The Question: Should legislative Demcrats take into account local governments’ “right to work” resolution votes when setting Statehouse policy and making budgets, or should they be forgiven? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Also testifying was Chris Armstrong, CEO of Keystone Steel and Wire, which operates a scrap mill on 1,500 acres along the Illinois River near Peoria, Ill.
Armstrong said the Exelon-backed bill would raise electricity costs for the mill and an associated plant in Chicago by $2.2 million a year and put the company at a disadvantage to competitors in neighboring states and overseas.
But the strongest criticism came from the attorney general’s office.
Exelon was happy to embrace risk when wholesale power prices were on the rise and profits from its generation business were flowing, [Cara Hendrickson of the attorney general’s office] said. Only now, in a market where nuclear power is under pressure from relatively inexpensive natural gas and wind, is the company asking for help in the form of a $300-million-a-year subsidy.
“What this bill does is disrupt that market. It puts a thumb on the scales,” she said. “Basically, it’s ‘Heads up, Exelon wins. Tails up, Exelon wins.’ That’s not a free market. It’s a bailout.”
Twenty years ago, Exelon fought for a deregulated energy industry that could offer market-based solutions. It won that battle – but now it doesn’t like what the market has done so it is asking the legislature for a bailout, to be paid for by Illinois consumers. Meanwhile, it refuses to show any financial proof that its nuclear plants are struggling.
It’s hard to fathom that Exelon has a cash flow problem given its $693 million earnings statement for the first quarter of 2015 (as opposed to $90 million for the first quarter of 2014). Exelon’s legislation is nothing more than a government subsidy for a private company — paid for by Illinois consumers who can ill-afford to foot the bill.
As if the Exelon legislation wasn’t enough, ComEd is also back at the trough demanding more money from Illinois ratepayers. ComEd already enjoys the benefits of a unique formula rate law passed in 2011 that mitigates its business risk and guarantees an annual corporate profit of nearly 10 percent. ComEd claims that the cost of the new legislation would be offset by “voltage optimization” provisions. However, that is already a part of the utility’s ongoing legal obligation to provide “safe and adequate service” and cannot be used to justify the unnecessary costs that the ComEd legislation imposes.
And as long as we’re talking about unnecessary costs, let’s take a look at the special projects included in ComEd’s legislation. ComEd wants consumers to foot the bill for a $100 million vehicle charging station pilot program. Really? Is that a necessary project in order for ComEd to do its basic duty of providing safe, adequate and reliable electric service? This is just one example of a “special project” that ComEd wants to pull from the pocketbooks of Illinois consumers.
The bottom line is that these two pieces of legislation are bad for consumers. Illinois lawmakers would be wise to take a hard look at the facts before agreeing to subject their constituents to yet another corporate bailout.
* And the Sun-Times ran an editorial calling for a balanced approach, based on the clean energy bill already in the hopper...
Illinois already has committed itself to using solar, wind and other renewables — as opposed to, say, coal or nuclear energy — for at least 25 percent of its energy by 2025. The new legislation, which has companion versions in the Illinois House and Senate, would raise that to 35 percent by 2030. It’s a reasonable goal. As the New York Times reported Wednesday, Germany in 15 years has already converted 30 percent of its energy sources to solar and wind.
Although renewable energy costs more today than other power sources, the Citizens Utility Board estimates consumers would come out ahead by $1.6 billion by 2030. That would be a $98 annual savings for the average residential ratepayer. CUB says $1.6 billion is its mid-range estimate and that savings could go as high as $2.2 billion. A separate analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists also predicts substantial savings.
We’re not so sure regular homeowners will rush out to buy smart appliances, like programmable dishwashers and dryers, that can save money by shifting energy use to non-peak periods, such as the middle of the night. But because of the complicated way energy pricing works — with peak use driving the rates — CUB says even people who don’t do anything on their own will save money. […]
Another arguable benefit to this legislation is that it would bring jobs to the state, according to a survey released this week by the Clean Energy Trust. The survey found Illinois already has more than 100,000 jobs in the clean energy sector, and has experienced growth of 7.8 percent in the last 15 months. That survey, though, fails to consider that other jobs would be lost as less fossil fuel and nuclear energy is used.
I’d be careful with those job numbers and with the projected savings, but even if they’re ballpark, that’s still pretty decent.
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Members of a broad coalition – including organized labor, business, and nonprofit organizations from around Illinois – led a group of nearly 600 concerned citizens to the Capitol to make their voices heard on legislation to help preserve low carbon energy facilities around the state that are vital to their communities.
The coalition organized a packed rally in the Capitol Rotunda before hundreds of activists broke off to meet with their legislators to discuss the Low Carbon Portfolio Standard (LCPS) bill currently before the General Assembly.
Community, labor and business leaders who spoke out in support of the LCPS included: Reverend Dr. Leon Finney, Jr., Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church in Chicago; Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan; Doug O’Brien, Illinois Clean Energy Coalition; Roderick Hawkins, Chicago Urban League; Omar Duque, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Deanna Mershon, Byron Chamber of Commerce; and the bill’s bipartisan sponsors, Sen. Donne Trotter, Sen. Sue Rezin, and Rep. Larry Walsh.
The group delivered a petition signed by over 10,000 Illinois residents to legislative leaders urging passage of the LCPS before the end of the legislative session.
The supporters are advocating for legislation to preserve existing low carbon energy facilities, including three of the state’s six nuclear energy plants that are economically challenged and in jeopardy of being prematurely shuttered due to outdated energy policies. A recent State of Illinois report found that these closures would result in nearly 8,000 lost jobs, $1.8 billion in lost economic activity per year, and up to $500 million in higher energy costs annually.
A sham, a scam, a fraud, a joke–That’s how House republicans characterized budget bill amendments passed Thursday that restores social service programs being reduced or eliminated in the proposed 2016 fiscal year. House Speaker Michael Madigan originally offered up an amendment to House Bill 4141 that reflected the Governor’s proposed cuts to various social services programs. Republicans were blindsided and ended up largely voting present on the measure. […]
Some representatives in the minority said it’s like deja vu all over again where they’re being left out of the process but democrats said the process is where it needs to be–on the House floor racking up votes. Republican Representative Ed Sullivan said despite promises earlier this year to be open and transparent on budget issues, democrats are continuing the shutout republicans. […]
Sullivan said that the actions have broken the good will and spirit of cooperation between the two parties.
OK, the first round of House votes yesterday were on a bill with language taken directly from the governor’s own proposed budget on legislation sponsored by the House Republican Leader.
I don’t see the harm. Read on.
* The Republicans did have a better case about the other round of votes taken later in the day. Back to the Policy Institute…
Fifteen amendments were then added to the bill for votes, something republicans said circumvented the standard committee-to-floor process. Republican Representative Ron Sandack said this process isn’t open.
“Our time would be better spent in committee fully vetting appropriation bills, frankly, after a revenue number had been set. This isn’t, by the way, zero based budgeting. This isn’t top down budgeting. This isn’t bottom up budgeting. This is sham.” […]
Republicans don’t just have a problem with being left out, they also have a problem with how to pay for the restored cuts. As the amendments were being passed by majority democrats, Republican Sullivan asked Democrat Harris how the measures would be funded.
“We’ll have to cut in other areas, but we need to do it in a responsible way to cause the least harm to families, particularly those in vulnerable situations. And I think we’re gonna have to find new revenue,” Harris said.
“You’re gonna have to find new revenue,” Sullivan fired back. “You couldn’t do it in the fall so you passed a sham budget hoping that your governor would be reelected.”
Sullivan said he anticipates having to bail democrats out at the end of the budget year if they keep passing what republicans characterized as sham budget amendments. Republican Patti Bellock worried the budget amendments, without revenue to cover the bills, would increase the state’s backlog.
“When it comes to the end I don’t know where we’re going to have the funding for this. And again I brought up before about the unpaid bills. They’re not just out there. Those unpaid bills go to the providers, doctors, nursing homes, small business people.”
Even so, the House Dems wanted to send a message that those programs needed to be protected. And with the governor refusing to negotiate on tax hikes or pretty much anything else until he gets his “Turnaround Agenda” passed, the Dems wanted to respond. Again, it’s not a huge deal.
House Republican leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said Madigan was trying to get GOP lawmakers on the record to use the roll call votes in future campaign attack ads. “I do believe that what’s going on right now is form over substance. And it’s unfortunate. This is about mail pieces – trying to string people out,” Durkin said.
Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, countered that the cuts, which Rauner proposed months ago, are well-known and have been discussed at length. Indeed, Democrats spent the early months of spring session holding hearings across the state to publicize the governor’s plans.
“The question always with us is, what bills can get 60 votes in the House, 30 in the Senate,” Harris said. “I understand we have to make cuts somewhere, but we cannot balance the budget by cuts alone. We’re going to have to make some common-sense cuts, and we’re also going to have to agree to find some revenue sources.”
Rauner spokesman Lance Trover called Wednesday’s maneuvering “political theater.”
“This is not the time for political stunts. Gov. Rauner stands ready to work with Democrats to pass real structural changes to our government and enact a balanced budget,” Trover said in an email.
(F)aced with bitter divisions over guns and state pensions, House Speaker Michael Madigan resorted to a rarely-used tactic that does the opposite. He has called weekly sessions to laboriously address each and every proposal on dealing with the two controversial issues, debating and voting on each amendment piece by piece.
The idea was to engage in deeper discussions early on, rebut concerns about a closed-door process and gauge where lawmakers were on even the smallest of aspects. Madigan and others point to success, including some movement on the pension issue.
But critics say the process was directionless, ate up time, and now appears to have evaporated as a strategy without moving Illinois that much closer to solutions. While Democrats say it was aimed at making lawmakers more accountable about where they stand on issues, Republicans fear it was aimed more at forcing them to make uncomfortable votes on sensitive issues, which could haunt them at election time. […]
“We had a good airing of both sides of the issue,” said Steve Brown, Madigan’s spokesman. “All too often people, especially the minority party, will complain, ‘We don’t know this [debate or vote] is going to happen.’ You’ve got two pretty complex, somewhat emotionally charged, issues that seemed to lend itself to this sort of approach.”
But many Republicans, including House Minority Leader Tom Cross, disagree. They point to the lack of progress on the Legislature’s need to comply with a federal judge’s order to legalize the public possession of firearms by early June. Despite the deliberations, two opposing proposals to end the nation’s last ban on “concealed carry” were voted down last week.
In the end, despite all the early GOP screaming, they passed a pension bill and a concealed carry bill. And, as far as I can recall, none of those votes were used against the Republicans in the 2014 election.
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Throughout modern history, women have suffered disproportionately from the effects of dangerous and defective drugs and medical devices. Corporations have consistently rushed products to market with little safety study, or worse, concealed known issues for the sake of profits. Even when the dangers become public knowledge, companies frequently continue to market them and play down the problems, anticipating that any repercussions will be more than justified by a continuing stream of profits.
More than 230,000 women suffered pelvic infections, miscarriages, stillbirths, infertility, and even death due to the Dalkon Shield. Studies found that women have a 29 percent higher risk of metal-on-metal hip implant failure than men. By 2011, the FDA knew of at least 2,874 adverse events caused by surgical mesh implants and warned doctors that complications were “not rare.”
The civil justice system plays an invaluable role in keeping corporations in check when they prove unwilling to protect the health of women. For more information, click here.
* Wordslinger has been calling for this approach for years…
The new manager for the Illinois State Fair [Patrick Buchen] on Wednesday announced his plans to strengthen the event’s finances and agricultural roots. […]
As the new manager settled into his role managing both the Illinois State Fair and Du Quoin State Fair this week, he announced his intention to tap into the state’s vibrant agriculture industry to boost the fairs’ self-sufficiency. Both fairs have lost money in recent years, and Buchen believes calling on industry giants could help stabilize the struggling tradition. […]
Buchen, who most recently served as president and CEO of Adjuvant Expos Inc. in Texas, said he intends to use his experience from the expos in fostering sponsorships to bolster the fair’s revenue. He said he’d like to see a greater presence from companies like Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, John Deere and Pioneer on the fairgrounds. That methodology, he said, also fits with the 2015 fair theme, “Growing Illinois,” which was announced during the news conference.
“It’s going to be a big ship to turn around, but ultimately it’s going to be one of our goals to be more self-sufficient, and that’s going to take a lot of hard work and some time to do that,” Buchen said.
It is most definitely time for these ag companies to step up here. I’d expand that to CME as well, which made out like a bandit with bigtime state tax breaks not long ago.
Chicago has the lowest composite property tax rate (that’s combining all the tax rates within the city) in Cook County. The county clerk’s office, which annually publishes a chart of tax rates, reports that Chicago’s composite property tax rate in 2013 was 6.8 percent.
Ford Heights, one of the poorest suburbs in the nation, had a composite rate for that year of 39.9 percent, Park Forest was at 32 percent and Chicago Heights at 29.9 percent.
Those three suburbs had the highest property tax rates in Cook County, but you can look anywhere outside of Chicago and find higher property tax rates in the county.
The reason is quite simple. For decades, suburban schools have been financed on the backs of homeowners. But Chicago gets piles of money in education grants from state government and has such a large commercial and manufacturing base that it has been able to fund its schools without the eye-popping tax rates the rest of the state has been struggling with. […]
Editorial writers act like a 2 percent tax rate hike for public education in Chicago would result in a massive wave of newly homeless people hitting the streets.
Hey, the property tax system in Illinois is unfair. I’ve been screaming about that for 20 years. But Chicago politicians never seemed to care because the system worked for the city, and the rest of us ended up paying more in property tax than we did on our mortgages.
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Oppose $810 million in proposed FY 2016 hospital Medicaid cuts because:
• Hospitals did take a $27 million hit to address the FY2015 budget gap by paying an additional $27 million in assessments to the State – effectively the same as a cut.
• Hospitals are targeted for MORE THAN HALF – $810 million – of the Governor’s proposed overall Medicaid cut of $1.5 billion – even though they are only about ONE THIRD of the Medicaid budget.
• Drastic hospital cuts will mean:
o The loss of critical health care services like pediatrics, obstetrics, and mental health for everyone, not just Medicaid patients.
o Working families and businesses will have to pay more for health care.
o The loss of more than 12,800 jobs and $1.8 billion in economic activity statewide.
• $1 billion in Illinois hospital Medicaid cuts have been imposed since 2011.
• $1.9 billion in Illinois hospital Medicare cuts have been imposed since 2010.
• As a result, 40% of hospitals across Illinois are operating in the red.
Cutting Medicaid in the FY2016 budget is shortsighted and will result in real harm to people and communities.
* Gov. Bruce Rauner on his “Turnaround Agenda” and the possibility of an overtime session…
One item that’s not on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s so-called “turnaround agenda” is a special session of the legislature if the agenda is not passed by the end of this month. At least not yet, as Rauner says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that state lawmakers can pass bills on workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and local “right-to-work” zones, along with the state budget, all by the scheduled adjournment date of May 31. […]
“If we need more time for some reason, I’ll work closely with Speaker Madigan, President Cullerton, and Leader Durkin and Radogno, to work out how that process should unfold, but again, I’m cautiously optimistic we can get things done by May 31st,” the governor said.
Rauner says he doesn’t have any particular philosophy on special sessions, but prefers to get things done on time, pointing to how he didn’t ask for extra time to deliver his State of the State and budget addresses.
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) invoked the name of former Gov. Jim Edgar, who said the most important thing a governor can do is “get his arms around the budget.” Afterward, a reporter pointed out how Rauner is prioritizing his right-to-work–leaning “Turnaround Agenda” over everything else.
“We can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Durkin retorted. “The (legislative) working groups are working through every one of these issues. The fact is: we can do all that in a short amount of time.”
Short in that the session is scheduled to end May 31; Durkin says lawmakers can hit that mark if they are so inclined.
…Adding… I should’ve also posted this one from Leader Durkin. Emphasis added…
“Spending within our means will be the only way we get out of this mess. It;s going to take some time, we didn’t get here over night, but hang in there folks. We’ve got to stick with our Governor but the fact of the matter is our budget right now is under scrutiny and that is a major focus. That is what’s driving everything in that building right now,” said Minority Leader Jim Durkin.
Coal Valley and Chebanse have passed the resolution.
Thanks!
ck
Coal Valley population: 3,743
Chebanse population: 1,036
* Text message from a union official…
100 in attendance in Coal Valley last night. All speakers opposed to the Rauner resolution which nonetheless passed with one dissenting vote.
* Meanwhile, Kane County removed all reference to the anti-union stuff in its resolution…
A revised draft of a Kane County resolution to support reform in Springfield passed the Executive Committee unanimously Wednesday (May 6, 2015), setting the stage for a full Kane County Board vote on May 12.
Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen set the tone and direction for Wednesday’s discussion by crediting County Board members Deborah Allan and Ron Ford, both Democrats, with language revisions and editing that helped gain the unanimous recommendation.
“We have very diverse opinions,” Lauzen said. “Our purpose today is to find common ground where we can generate a consensus. Not everyone can agree on all the pieces, but what we’ve tried to do is see where the common ground is.” […]
The County Board is comprised of 13 Republicans and 11 Democrats, and committee members from each political party said they made compromises to come to an agreement. District 18 Board member Drew Frasz, a Republican, said he would have preferred the resolution include language supporting lawsuit reform, an “empowerment zone” and several other ideas that are part of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Illinois Turnaround initiative.
“It’s been said that successful negotiation is when both parties are not totally happy,” Frasz said. “But I will vote in favor of this resolution, because this compromise does say Kane County is in support of reform.”
Lauzen wasn’t much of a compromiser when he was in the Illinois Senate, but he appears to have grown considerably at the county level. The full resolution is here. Scroll to the bottom.
Speaking to reporters after Rauner left, Emanuel said he would carry his and the city’s opposition to the governor’s local right-to-work-zone legislation all the way to the Capitol. Workers in the zones would be able to choose not to join unions or pay related dues in workplaces that have been organized, limiting union money and influence.
“I don’t believe in right to work, have not my whole life. I think you’re pulling the rug out from underneath the middle class and people trying to get in the middle class,” said Emanuel, who added, “If the governor can figure out a way to work with people down in Springfield to do that, I’m going to fight that effort.” […]
Ald. Roderick Sawyer, 6th, said he understood the need to work together with Rauner, but not on the right-to-work-zone issue.
“It’s not going to work. He’s not going to get any traction on cutting out unions,” said Sawyer, who added, “To even think about cutting out unions or giving an option of there being a union or not, that’s not going to fly in the city of Chicago. I don’t think it will fly downstate, either.”
In a scathing report being released this morning, the Civic Federation, a Chicago watchdog group largely funded with corporate cash, says the new governor’s $31.5 billion operating budget does not add up and asserts it could leave the state in worse shape than it was under former Gov. Pat Quinn.
Rauner deserves praise for issuing a plan on time that would close a $6.2 billion hole in the budget for the year starting July 1, said federation President Laurence Msall. Much of the gap is caused by allowing a portion of Quinn’s temporary income tax increase to lapse. Rauner proposes to balance the budget entirely with cuts.
“However while the governor’s recommendations may close the budget gap on paper, the Civic Federation cannot support spending reductions that are either unrealistic or inconsistent with reasonable long-term financial goals,” the report says.
In a brief response, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly suggests that Rauner may be willing to go along with some form of tax hike, as the federation clearly wants–but only if Rauner’s “turnaround agenda” makes progress. That agenda includes items such as local right-to-work laws, reduced unemployment insurance and workers compensation payments, and term limits for legislators. “New revenue cannot be discussed until we address the underlying structural issues that have landed us here in the first place,” Kelly said.
Even if Rauner does eventually back revenue increases, the federation report says those hikes will have to be big.
*** UPDATE *** Some of you have been over-analyzing Greg’s paraphrasing of Catherine’s statement in comments. I asked her for her full remarks. Here they are…
Illinois’ fiscal crisis has been years in the making because career politicians were more interested in sweetheart deals with Springfield insiders than helping the taxpayers they were supposed to be working for. The structural reform addressed in the governor’s Turnaround Agenda will help free up resources to tackle our $6 billion deficit. New revenue cannot be discussed until we address the underlying structural issues that have landed us here in the first place.
I don’t see much change in position there, if any.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* From the Civic Federation’s press release…
In a new report released today, the Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability opposes Governor Rauner’s recommended budget for FY2016 because it relies heavily on projected savings that do not appear to be achievable or prudent in light of the State of Illinois’ obligations and long-term policy objectives. The Institute’s full 78-page report is available at www.civicfed.org.
The Governor’s recommended budget relies on $2.2 billion in savings related to a new proposal to reform Illinois’ critically underfunded retirement systems. These savings are assumed to be realized in the fiscal year that begins on July 1, 2015, even though the pension proposal has not been introduced as legislation in the Illinois General Assembly and is likely to face legal challenges. Several other spending reductions in the Governor’s recommendation are seen by the Civic Federation as unlikely to be achieved or potentially harmful to the State’s finances in the long run.
“By issuing his budget on-time and without the use of borrowing, Governor Rauner has appropriately identified the size and pressing nature of the $6.2 billion shortfall in next year’s budget,” said Civic Federation President Laurence Msall. “However, while the Governor’s recommendations may close the budget gap on paper, the Civic Federation cannot support spending reductions that are either unrealistic or inconsistent with reasonable long-term financial goals for the State.”
In addition to pension savings, the proposed FY2016 budget assumes a reduction of $655 million, or more than one third, in the cost of State group health insurance through collective bargaining. Both the magnitude of the projected savings and the short timeframe for reaching agreement with the State’s largest union suggest that the budgeted numbers are unlikely to be realized. Other budgeted savings, particularly in the Medicaid program, depend on changes in State law or require federal approval.
The Governor’s recommended budget cuts local governments’ share of State income taxes by half. This reduction is inadvisable at a time when many municipalities are under severe strain. The State’s fiscal position will suffer if the finances of the City of Chicago – the State’s economic engine – are allowed to deteriorate further. The Civic Federation also opposes proposed cuts to spending on community care for the elderly, disabled and those with mental illness, which is recommended by advocates and saves money in the long-run by avoiding the costs of institutionalization.
“Members of the Illinois General Assembly need to come forward now with their own plans for how to address a revenue shortfall in FY2016 that will be larger and more painful than what we experienced this year,” said Msall. The upcoming fiscal year is the first full budget year since the partial phaseout of temporary income tax rate increases enacted in 2011. As described in the recent State budget roadmap for FY2016, the Federation recommends a combination of spending restraints and new revenues to solve Illinois’ fiscal problems. By limiting spending growth and broadening the revenue base, the State can eliminate the $6.0 billion backlog of unpaid bills over several years while providing more sustainable revenue sources for funding essential government services and ongoing costs over the long-term.
Thursday, May 7, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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When Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed preventing most property tax hikes as part of his State of the State Address in February, the agenda he released said he wanted to “freeze property taxes for two years.”
But the outline of his plans he’s given lawmakers who are meeting privately to try to craft a state budget no longer makes any reference to the two-year timetable, and a spokeswoman says the governor wants voters to decide if taxes should “ever be raised.”
“The governor’s agenda freezes property taxes and empowers voters to decide via referendum if their property taxes should ever be raised,” spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. “Illinois has among the highest property taxes in the country and we need to get them under control by empowering voters.”
The outline says local governments wouldn’t be able to ask for more in taxes than they did in the 2015 taxing year, with some exceptions that provide for new construction or government consolidation.
The outline given to lawmakers makes clear that clamping down on property tax hikes is something that will at least be considered as they try to both make a spending plan and debate Rauner’s agenda before their May 31 deadline to make a budget.
At least somebody else in the media is finally writing about these secret meetings. We need more of this, please.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
After Governor Rauner addressed the Chicago City Council, he was asked, “give me an example of what Chicago wants and what Illinois needs.”
The governor answered in part:
“Well in terms of what Illinois needs, I have been clear for two and a half years. We need local control, voter empowerment, pro-growth regulations and an overhaul of the government, empowering local voters and taxpayers to get more control of government costs, and that’s laid out crystal clear within our turnaround agenda. That’s what we need, and I’ve said that consistently.”
To be clear, the governor’s top priorities are listed below:
· Term limits
· Property tax freeze
· Allow local control of ability to create employee empowerment zones
· Allow local control of contracting and bargaining in schools and local governments
· Allow local control of competitive bidding on taxpayer-funded construction projects
· Pension reform
· Worker’s compensation/tort/unemployment insurance reform
· Ethics reform/end conflicts of interest in government
* Today is my mom’s birthday. Like most moms, she’s sweet and kind. But she also pushed all five of her sons to succeed. We often didn’t measure up to what she knew we could be, but she’s never once let on that she’s been the slightest bit disappointed in us. We are all in our 40s and 50s, but we are forever her boys.
My dad always says that his sons got their brains from my mom and he’s probably right. Her IQ is off the charts high. She graduated college in three years, second in her class with two kids and one on the way. At one point in her career with the Department of Defense, she inspected nuclear weapons.
Her brains are matched by her tenacity. She’s never quit anything in her life. You can only imagine what she went through as a female civilian employee of the United States Army back in the 1970s. It was at times excruciatingly painful for her, but her job allowed her family to live in Europe and that was that. She wasn’t walking away from that sort of opportunity.
I love my mom for so many reasons, including how wonderful she is with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Here she is with a few of those kids…
I respect my mom more than I’ve respected anyone else in my life. She has always set the example which I have tried to follow, with varying degrees of success.
* No question today, but feel free to wish my mom a happy birthday. Thanks.
A bad bill in Springfield would raise our electricity bills to protect Exelon’s bottom line. The Legislature should either rewrite it significantly or flick the off switch altogether.
There is a feeling here of a company trying to socialize the risks while keeping the profits private.
Good old Exelon. The company has come up with legislation to subsidize its nuclear reactors, get electric users throughout the state to pay for it and claim it’s in the interest of clean energy.
State lawmakers need to see this bill for the dirty trick it is and kill it.
Just say no to the Exelon bailout. Vote no on SB1585/HB3293.
BEST Coalition is a 501C4 nonprofit group of dozens of business, consumer and government groups, as well as large and small businesses. Visit www.noexelonbailout.com.
Rauner said that south of Interstate 80, the most common response he gets on how to solve the state’s problems is to “secede from Chicago.” The governor noted that he got 20 percent of the vote in Chicago in the governor’s race last November. The governor said seceding would make his life easier, but Illinois “is one state.”
I saw you’ve had some comments asking if anyone has a tally for the population of the different counties and municipalities that have voted on the Turnaround Agenda… I have been keeping tabs on that.
In my counts, I keep separate columns for tabled and not brought to table, but I calculate them both as tabled. When it comes to the agree/disagree, since the original question is do the local governments agree with the resolution as worded (since changing the wording of the resolution does nothing to change the other 38 pages that they’re actually endorsing), when I figure my percentages, rewrites are added to the “not agree” numbers.
As of this morning, the numbers look like this.
Cities/Townships: (30 that I can find)
POP total yes: 242,608
POP total no: 3,101,085
POP total tabled: 306,908
POP total rewrite: 98,716
POP voted: 3,749,317
% of vote agree: 6.5%
% of vote not agree: 93.5%
Counties: (11 of 102)
POP total yes: 393,740
POP total no: 5,241,000
POP total tabled: 1,041,973
POP total rewrite: 290,666
POP voted: 6,967,379
% of vote agree: 6%
% of vote not agree: 94%
* Municipal entity totals…
Cities/Townships
Yes: 21
Rewrite: 3
No: 18
Tabled: 9
Won’t vote: 2
Counties
Yes: 4
Rewrite: 1
No: 1
Tabled: 4
Won’t vote: 6
So, that’s 25 municipal bodies which have backed the governor and 44 which have either opposed him, rewritten his resolution, delayed a vote (almost always under public pressure) or have refused to vote one way or another.
*** UPDATE 1 *** The reader updated her spreadsheet to reflect the actions I posted earlier today. Numbers in this post have been changed to reflect the updated list Her new spreadsheet is here.
*** UPDATE 2 *** From a labor leader…
The number we use is only 21 municipals out of 1,300. A batting avg of .01%. Which is just a little better than the Cubs World Series Batting Avg for the past 108 years.
Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan presented the proposal Wednesday even though members of his caucus largely oppose the budget plan that would balance the state budget entirely by slashing spending. Medicaid would be cut by $1.5 billion. Mental health and addiction treatment programs would also see cuts.
Madigan says the vote is intended to “facilitate consideration” of the next year’s budget. […]
House Human Services Appropriations Chair Greg Harris says Rauner’s proposal attempts to balance the budget “on the backs of the most vulnerable.”
“Facilitate consideration”?
Hilarious.
*** UPDATE 2 *** None voted yes, Democrats went “No” and Republicans went “Present.” The bill is here.
When the House reconvenes, I will start presenting my 16 amendments undoing the Governor’s proposed budget cuts to homeless youth, autism, childcare, senor services, disabilities, supportive housing, substance abuse, early intervention and many other programs.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (May 6, 2015) – Hundreds of supporters gathered at the Illinois State Capitol to urge the General Assembly to pass the Low Carbon Portfolio Standard (LCPS) (HB 3293 & SB 1585), delivering over 10,000 petition signatures to legislative leaders in support of the bill. A press conference hosted by the Byron Chamber of Commerce preceded the rally and called for passage of the legislation by the full Illinois General Assembly.
“The Low Carbon Portfolio Standard is an all-of-the-above energy strategy that will help preserve our nuclear energy facilities and is critical for our economy,” said Senator Donne Trotter (D-Chicago), a sponsor of the bill. “This legislation will help prevent the loss of up to 8,000 jobs, support zero and low carbon energy sources to maintain our national leadership in low carbon energy, and will help ensure we have the energy we need as a state.”
Well, it has it all except for the name of the corporate entity behind today’s “rally”: Exelon.
Also, the phrase “support zero and low carbon energy sources” should be changed to a single “source”: Nukes. As we’ve discussed before, the bill is written in such a way that Exelon is the only company that would qualify for the massive subsidy.
Also, too, anybody wanna bet me 5 bucks that most of those “petition” signatures are from towns with nuclear power plants?
* Let’s read on…
Six nuclear plants in Illinois generate nearly half of the state’s electricity and 90 percent of its carbon-free power.
And yet Exelon is attempting to blackmail the entire state by threatening to shut down at least some of those power plants.
* Continuing…
Senator Sue Rezin (R-Peru), a chief co-sponsor of the legislation, thanked the broad coalition of supporters gathered in Springfield, and highlighted what’s at stake if some of Illinois’ nuclear plants close, which may occur without legislative action.
“Energy leaders, economists, environmentalists, small business owners, labor unions, community groups and residents from all corners of the state have gathered to send a message of support for Illinois’ nuclear plants,” said Rezin.
Substitute “energy leaders” with “Exelon execs.”
* And environmentalists too? Hmm…
“If any of our nuclear plants close it will impact everyone in Illinois – not just the plant communities – through higher energy rates, the loss of up to $1.8 billion in economic activity every year, 8,000 lost jobs and a less reliable energy grid. The best way to prevent their closure and these costs is to enact the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard.”
The LCPS is technology-neutral, allowing low carbon energy sources – including wind, solar, hydro, clean coal and nuclear – to compete on equal footing. The legislative proposal was one of the market-based policy solutions recommended in a January 2015 report by four Illinois state agencies that studied the economic and environmental benefits of the state’s nuclear energy facilities, and the potential costs of the early closure of the three most at-risk plants.
“We’re talking about almost 8,000 job losses alone if these plants close,” said Michael Carrigan, President of the Illinois AFL-CIO. “Our current energy policies don’t properly value the jobs, the reliability, the energy diversity and the carbon-free power that nuclear energy provides.”
Doug O’Brien, Executive Director of the Illinois Clean Energy Coalition (ICEC), stressed the urgency of the situation and the environmental benefits of nuclear energy for Illinois.
“In addition to the well-documented economic benefits of these plants, we must put a value on nuclear’s environmental benefits,” said O’Brien. “We can never hope to meet our goals for carbon reductions and make progress towards a cleaner environment if we abandon clean nuclear and increase our reliance on fossil fuels.”
As mentioned above, Exelon’s bill shuts out other alt energy producers.
The LCPS proposal includes strong consumer protections, including a consumer price cap that would limit the impact to a 2.015 percent increase, or about $2 per month for the average Illinois residential electricity customer. A separate customer rebate provision would provide a direct bill credit to customers if wholesale electricity prices exceed a specified level.
Hooray! Exelon is pro-consumer! Except the Citizens Utility Board strongly favors an alternate plan.
* Continuing…
“Investing in our nuclear plants is good for our economy, for Illinois businesses and residents,” said Omar Duque, President and CEO of the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Without these nuclear plants, we’ll lose billions of dollars in economic activity across the state. In addition, electric outages could occur more often and their lost generation could send power prices skyrocketing during peak demand. The Low Carbon Portfolio Standard is needed to prevent that possible outcome and encourage investment in Illinois.”
The state agency report found that closing the three at-risk nuclear energy facilities would result in $1.8 billion each year in lost economic activity, 8,000 job losses, and cost as much as $1.1 billion each year due to increases in carbon and other pollutants. According to a PJM analysis in the report, the plant shutdowns would result in up to $500 million annually in higher energy costs statewide. It concluded that, “Illinois’ continued economic success depends on maintaining low and stable electricity prices — and those low and stable prices depend on the continued operation of all nuclear generating stations located in Illinois.”
“The simple fact is, this is not a utility issue, this is a state issue,” said George S. Tolley, President, RCF Economic & Financial Consulting and Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Chicago. “The nuclear plant closings would lead to significant losses in economic activity and jobs. The way our legislators respond will have long-term ramifications for the future of Illinois.”
Roderick Hawkins, Vice President of External Affairs for the Chicago Urban League, highlighted the importance of having a reliable supply of energy in Illinois. “When we need energy the most, especially during extreme weather, our homes and businesses are largely powered by nuclear energy,” said Hawkins. “The grid operator for northern Illinois has said it won’t be as reliable if the plants close. We can’t ignore this issue any longer.”
Minority group leaders are always an integral part of any utility-related PR bonanza. It’s been that way for years.
Also, Exelon is asking for $350 million in subsidies, which isn’t all that much lower than the “up to $500 million annually in higher energy costs” projected from plant closures.
* And, finally…
The negative impacts of closing the three at-risk nuclear plants would be especially pronounced in the local plant communities and regions of our state, according to local officials.
“Nuclear plant closings could be disastrous to the environment and the Illinois economy, but for me it’s even more personal than that - it’s the jobs, the families, the schools, the libraries, our police and firefighters who will be devastated by the closing of plants, including Byron,” said Deanna Mershon, Executive Director of the Byron Chamber of Commerce. “It’s the very fabric of our community that will be forever and irreparably harmed. Combined with the other adverse consequences of failing to act, I can’t imagine that the Illinois Legislature will fail to pass a Low Carbon Portfolio Standard and preserve these plants for all Illinoisans.”
Firefighters?! Nooooo!!!
Actually, Ms. Mershon is probably right. It’s not like Byron has any other major industrial property tax payers on the rolls. A plant closure would devastate that town.
So, instead of all this public blustering, how about everybody sits down and works out a compromise before doomsday hits?
In a story May 3 about legislation to privatize much of the work of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, The Associated Press misattributed a quote criticizing the plan. The quote should have been attributed to Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, not to Ron Baiman, who is no longer with the organization.
Gov. Bruce Rauner says his plan to privatize the state’s economic development agency will improve job creation in Illinois. But similar plans in other states and even in Chicago have sometimes raised concerns about transparency and oversight, with taxpayers not always knowing how their money was being spent. […]
In Chicago, concerns have been raised about a lack of transparency at the publicly funded, not-for-profit World Business Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel chairs the organization.
The Michigan Auditor General in 2013 found that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation significantly overstated job creation, essentially taking companies’ word.
In Ohio, JobsOhio has faced a series of problems. Among them was $5.3 million in state funding given to the agency without the Legislature’s knowledge and criticism of Republican Gov. John Kasich for filling board seats with campaign contributors.
In Indiana, a federal audit last year found that a company contracted by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation improperly funneled almost half million dollars to a business run by the contractor’s chairman. Questions also have been raised about some job-creation numbers reported by the IEDC.
* The Illinois Policy Institute’s news service raises some legit objections…
(A)n Associated Press article compares the not-yet-created board to other public-private economic development agencies in Chicago and other states as not being transparent or providing true follow up on job creation numbers.
Illinois’ measure, however, would require the board’s decisions to be approved by DCEO, all board meeting minutes and copies of final agreements and tax incentives for companies will be publicly posted and subject to the Freedom of Information Act, and operations will be reviewed by the Auditor General every two years. […]
House Bill 574 made it out of the Executive Committee last month and remains in the Rules Committee.
Not including that info in the original story was very odd.
* Yesterday’s House “committee of the whole” dealing with workers’ comp was clearly lopsided in favor of injured workers…
For several hours Tuesday, workers who were hurt on the job told legislators how their injuries and loss of income had turned their lives upside down. Some had lost their homes or their retirement and are permanently disabled.
John Coffell, who was hurt on the job in Oklahoma, had to go on food stamps and send his three kids to live with relatives because Oklahoma had cut workers’ compensation benefits.
“There are people just like me here in Illinois that will pay the price if you choose to go down the same path that my state did,” Coffell said.
Republicans criticized the hearing as unbalanced, saying there wasn’t enough input from the business community. They also said they weren’t even proposing some of the changes Democrats were criticizing, such as cutting the amount of benefits workers with legitimate workplace injuries receive.
That last point is crucial and correct. Yes, it was good to finally hear from actual working men and women, but the Republicans’ argument was well made.
Laurie Summers, a nurse who described being injured at a workplace in Indiana, said she was at the Capitol to explain “why I would never recommend anyone to work in the state of Indiana,” citing its workers’ compensation laws.
Employers who pay into the system were represented only briefly, when a pair of panelists from the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association urged some changes.
Greg Baise, president and CEO of the manufacturers group, said he wants medical costs under workers’ compensation to be lowered, contending that coverage in Illinois pays thousands more for typical procedures like hernia and knee surgery compared with private or government health insurance plans.
“Quite frankly, we may not want to be Indiana when it comes to the value that we place on certain injuries like the loss of a body part,” Baise said. “I would not recommend that. But we do want to be competitive so that the high cost of workers’ compensation does not drive companies out of this state.”
Although Illinois has dropped from third to seventh for states with high workers’ compensation rates after reforms in 2011, it’s still higher than its neighbors, including a rate more than double Indiana’s. He said the higher rates are, the more likely jobs will continue to move out of state.
“Ask the families in Danville, ask the families in Blue Island, Illinois, ask the families in the Quad Cities that lost jobs,” Baise said. “Those companies have moved to other states.”
Even with 2011’s reforms which reduced costs by more than $400 million, Baise said the state has more to do in reducing fees to doctors and hospitals to put them on par with Medicare and private insurers. He said Illinois’ unlimited medical benefits are unsustainable.
“There’s no such limitation in that,” he said. “Chiropractic visits, physical therapy and others, we think there ought to be limitations on those and it would bring down medical costs.”
The other issue facing businesses is when someone aggravates an old injury while working. Right now, workers only need to show a one percent cause of injury from work to sustain a claim.
(I)n this year’s Springfield fighting, changes in workers’ comp are considered the low-hanging fruit, much more achievable than, say, term limits for lawmakers, “right to work” legislation, limits on union political contributions or huge budget cuts, which Rauner also wants.
“Governor Rauner was born near Wrigley Field and loves Chicago. He recognizes that the City of Chicago and State of Illinois both face unprecedented financial and economic challenges. He looks forward to discussing ways he can work together with the city to find solutions that will turn around the city and the state,” the governor’s spokesman, Mike Schrimpf, said in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Right-to-work zones are not the only point of contention with a City Council filled with pro-union Democrats.
So are Rauner’s doomsday budget cuts that would cost the city, the CTA and Chicago Public Schools hundreds of millions of dollars they can’t afford to lose.
And so is the governor’s warning that the Chicago Public Schools could be staring down the barrel of bankruptcy.
I’d venture a guess that most city council members will hear a speech unlike anything they’ve ever heard today.
News of Rauner’s planned speech came after he spoke to about 200 people Tuesday at the Chicago Family Business Council in Little Italy, where he acknowledged the financial problems of Chicago and its public schools but said no bailouts were coming from Springfield.
“The city of Chicago’s in deep, deep yogurt. And they need, the taxpayers of Illinois are not going to bail out the city of Chicago. That’s not happening. Not going to let that happen.” Rauner said. “That said, I can, as the governor, can do a lot of things to be helpful, to help this city get its feet back under it. I look at the numbers for the public school system in Chicago and I don’t see how it can ever fund their pensions and fund their pension deficit.”
Instead, Rauner urged the group to contact local political leaders to support nonbinding resolutions endorsing the governor’s “turnaround agenda.” That’s something Emanuel and the City Council have adamantly opposed, in part because it calls for weakening union power and wages and the creation of so-called local right-to-work zones free from union mandates.
“My view is, the City Council, help us get structural change at the state level,” Rauner said of Chicago aldermen. “I’ll help you get structural change in the city that I can authorize as governor so you can get your house in order and the state can get its house in order and we’ll all be better off.”
Underscoring how difficult it will be to solve the crisis, leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union plan to hold a news conference shortly after the governor speaks.
Chicago Public Schools face a $1.1 billion shortfall, which is more than 16 percent of their entire budget. At the contract bargaining table, CPS apparently asked teachers to pay more into their pension fund.
Union leaders called it a wage reduction in an angry press release, “The Board has demanded a 7 percent pay cut from our members. The CTU is highly insulted.”
This may sound familiar to those who recall the teacher’s strike three years ago. But it may be different this time, because the teachers can’t go on strike if the schools don’t open for lack of money this September.
*** UPDATE *** According to AFSCME, Middletown unanimously approved a pro-union resolution last night. Click here to read it.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Nothing yet from the governor’s office. From the Illinois AFL-CIO…
Yesterday, the Rauner anti-worker resolution failed in a Grundy County Board committee for lack of a second to pass the motion. Thank you working families of Grundy County.
City of Ottawa passes a pro-worker resolution tonight. Another strong message sent to the governor.
Tonight Litchfield rescinds approval of Rauner resolution, then votes it down. Great job by union and community in Montgomery County.
City Council members put a revised version of the “Supporting Local Government Empowerment and Reform” resolution on file for public inspection during their meeting Tuesday.
However, several residents asked the council to consider dropping entirely the resolution, which supports but does not enact parts of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed right-to-work zones.
The council voted to rescind the original document and place the new document on file for public inspection. It’s available on the city’s website under “City Council and BZAP Video and Agendas;” the revised resolution will not be officially voted on for two weeks. […]
The revised resolution removes a paragraph focused on local control of collective bargaining and changes one paragraph concerning the prevailing wage, removing the term “prevailing wage” and replacing it with a statement saying state policies hinder locally owned businesses who employ local residents from bidding on local contracts, thus reducing the bidding pool.
Two proposals in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s Illinois Turnaround plan were opposed by the Ottawa City Council on Tuesday.
Proposals for right-to-work zones and the local repeal of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act “would create a ‘race to the bottom’ that would reduce the pay of our community’s workforce and, therefore, harm the local businesses dependent upon local customers,” according to “A Resolution to Protect the Middle Class,” unanimously passed by the council. […]
Provisions of the Ottawa resolution include:
“Passage of a local ‘right-to-work’ ordinance would undoubtedly generate legal challenge that our government would have to fruitlessly defend at a significant cost to our taxpayers.”
“Prevailing wage laws create a level playing field for local construction contractors by forcing out-of-state contractors to bid on projects based on the skill and efficiency of their workplace, not how far they can drive down wages and benefits.”
“By benefiting local contractors, prevailing wage laws greatly increase the likelihood that construction workers from our community will be employed on the projects that their tax dollars and those of our other taxpayers fund.”
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
When it comes to clean air energy in Illinois, nuclear energy is a true powerhouse. Nuclear energy generates more jobs and more income than any other energy source. For every 1,000 MW generated, nuclear employs 500 people – more than twice as many as any other electricity source – with good-paying, middle class jobs. Nearly 90% of the carbon-free, clean air energy consumed in our state comes from nuclear energy, and the industry supports 28,000 jobs right here in Illinois.
But three of the state’s six nuclear plants are economically challenged and at risk of being shuttered prematurely because of outdated energy policies. According to a recent State of Illinois report, these premature closures would result in the loss of nearly 8,000 jobs.
According to an April 2015 report by the Illinois Power Agency, that is more than 10 times as many permanent jobs as have ever been created by the next leading source of low carbon energy in Illinois.
The permanent good-paying, middle class jobs generated by nuclear energy are the key to sustainable communities. We must act to preserve out state’s nuclear facilities.
Members of the General Assembly, vote yes on the Illinois low carbon portfolio standard (HB 3293 / SB 1585).
Within the past 10 days, Emanuel held three meetings at his fifth-floor City Hall office to pitch the idea of a Chicago casino and discuss the city’s government worker pension challenges, a source familiar with the discussions said. The mayor had a joint meeting with House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, a second meeting with Rauner and a third with Republican legislative leaders, the source said.
Under Emanuel’s vision, the city would own the casino and keep all profits beyond paying an operator to run the facility and whatever taxes it might owe the state. All of the state’s current casinos are privately owned and the cities in which they’re located make money from local taxes based on how much the casinos make.
The governor stated he knows that “Chicago would very much like to have a casino within the City boundaries,” and he said he is “Very open to considering it.” And, while noting that he is not a “fan of gaming,” he said for the second time this morning that he is “open to considering gambling expansion, whether it is for the city of Chicago or other places [in the state].” Moreover, the Governor noted, “A casino certainly can be a job creator and a tax revenue generator, so those are both two good things.” […]
And then, prompted by yet another question on the “Media’s topic du jour,” the Governor said essentially for the third time within a few minutes, “I will be very open minded to working closely with the City [of Chicago] and with communities around the state to discuss this gaming issue and try to come to some resolution fairly promptly.” He did, however, duck an invitation to weigh in on whether, if there is a Chicago casino, he supported it being State owned or Chicago owned.
The Governor concluded his discussion of this topic, in response to yet another gaming question, by noting that his team was “Studying strategically the gaming industry and looking at the revenue and volume of activity.” He said, “You know you can’t just expand gaming to the sky and get the same benefit relative to the cost. So, you’ve got to be thoughtful and we should look at what maximizes the benefit to the people of Illinois– and try to come to that as the solution.”
While Rauner didn’t slam the door shut Monday, he also hinted that gambling legislation could get caught up with his own ambitions to win wide-reaching pro-business changes and scale back union power.
“As part of anything else that we talk about, we want to get our turnaround agenda done,” Rauner said when asked if he would require Emanuel’s support for some portions of his agenda in exchange for a Chicago casino.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
My name is Susan Males. In 2011, I was a healthy, vibrant woman in her mid-40’s. I was experiencing some irregular heartbeats and it was recommended that I have a cardiac catheterization procedure to determine the cause.
I was assured by my referring doctor that this procedure was done by the cardiologist daily. They told me I’d show up to the hospital in the morning, they would do the procedure and I’d be home resting comfortably by lunch time. There was no talk of what could happen, no talk of any risks to this procedure.
I only briefly met the cardiologist who would be doing my procedure. I put my faith in this doctor because he did so many of these “routine” procedures on a daily basis. I trusted him and assumed he knew what he was doing.
As I awoke after the procedure, I was very, very nauseous with an excruciating headache and my vision was very foggy, to the point where I could not see. My “routine” procedure had turned into something much more. I later learned I suffered a stroke after the procedure and it took over 12 hours for someone to recognize the signs. Had the hospital’s staff recognized that my symptoms were consistent with a stroke, my condition could have been treated and I would have returned to my normal self.
Unfortunately, my vision loss is permanent, preventing me from being able to drive and my future earnings potential has been limited.
I turned to the civil justice system to seek recourse. I wanted to hold the doctors and hospital accountable for their lack of response to my stroke symptoms. Using the civil justice system allowed me closure to this difficult time in my life, and has given me the resources to help me live my life the best I can.
Regional Transportation Authority Chairman Kirk Dillard on Monday made the case for a new tax to help pay for mass transit infrastructure, arguing the agency has a more than $30 billion backlog in projects. […]
“Our gas tax has not been raised in Illinois since 1990. Its buying power today is 60 percent of what it [was], it’s not adjusted for inflation. And our infrastructure in Illinois is crumbling,” Dillard said. “My case on behalf of mass transit is we know for every dollar spent on mass transit, there’s a $4 return.” […]
“I’m open for any place to go for the needed infrastructure money. But if Gov. Rauner and the Legislature broadened the sales tax base in Illinois, sales taxes are a major component of RTA funding and it just makes sense that we be part of the broadening of the sales tax,” Dillard said. “I would gladly trade Springfield’s funding for an ability to have a permanent, stable revenue source either through a sales tax or a service tax.” […]
Asked if Rauner would warm to the idea of a tax to benefit mass transit in Illinois, a spokesperson responded: “Gov. Rauner supports investing in the state’s infrastructure but believes government reform is essential before revenue can be discussed,” spokeswoman Catherine Kelly wrote in an email. “Uncompetitive bidding is costing taxpayers millions of dollars every year, and we need to drive value in our capital projects.”
Even though RTA is very cost-efficient compared with its peers, the agency will “get out a pencil” to change things further if need be, he said, mentioning the possibility of establishing public-private partnerships and getting venture capital involved. “Whatever the cut, we have to handle it.”
But the capital situation is truly dire, Dillard continued. Illinois’ 19-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax for transportation needs is barely worth half of what it was when it was established in 1990, he noted, and the federal 18.4-cents-a-gallon levy has lost 39 percent of its buying power since 1993.
“More than 20 states have initiatives pending to increase their gas tax or sales tax on gasoline or in some way fund transportation,” he said. “Even the folks in Iowa—Iowa—approved a (10-cent-a-gallon) fuel tax. And Los Angeles passed a referendum to fund mass transit.”
Dillard said ridership and property values along the CTA’s Brown Line have risen far more than citywide figures since it was rebuilt a decade ago.
* Meanwhile…
As Congress struggles to renew the federal transportation law and Illinois considers revenue options for transportation, a new report from the Illinois Public Interest Research Group and Frontier Group finds that drivers currently pay less than half the total cost of roads, and argues that while increasing gas taxes could fill the shortfall, it would leave other problems unaddressed.
The new report, “Who Pays for Roads? How the ‘Users Pays’ Myth Gets in the Way of Solutions to America’s Transportation Problems” exposes the widening gap between how we think we pay for transportation – through gas taxes and other fees – and how we actually do. […]
The new report pulls back the veil on the “users pay” myth, finding that:
· Gas taxes and other fees paid by drivers now cover less than half of road construction and maintenance costs nationally – down from more than 70 percent in the 1960s – with the balance coming chiefly from income, sales and property taxes and other levies on general taxpayers.
· General taxpayers at all levels of government now subsidize highway construction and maintenance to the tune of $69 billion per year – an amount exceeding the expenditure of general tax funds to support transit, bicycling, walking and passenger rail combined.
· Regardless of how much they drive, the average American household bears an annual financial burden of more than $1,100 in taxes and indirect costs from driving – over and above any gas taxes or other fees they pay that are connected with driving.
“The ‘users pay’ myth is deeply ingrained in U.S. transportation policy, shaping how billions of dollars in transportation funds are raised and spent each year,” said Tony Dutzik, co-author of the report and Senior Analyst at Frontier Group, a non-profit think tank. “More and more, though, all of us are bearing the cost of transportation in our tax bills, regardless of how much we drive.”
Foreign companies considering investment in Illinois are turned off by the state’s high taxes, its aging infrastructure and its lack of vocational training for the next generation of skilled workers, according to a survey of countries released by the state Monday.
The survey focused on 10 nations that are the state’s largest trading partners and was aimed at getting an independent assessment of the state’s competitiveness, according to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office, which conducted the survey. […]
A major concern cited in the survey was the state’s level of corporate and property taxes, and the fear that they could rise given the state’s dire fiscal problems.
“There is persistent budget uncertainty for companies in Illinois,” one nation wrote. “Companies want stability in tax and regulatory framework, especially if they are building a manufacturing site and thus committing to the state for a period of time.”
• “Top Concern: tax issues-too high, property & corporate, worries about further increases due to financial condition of the state”
• “There are large (and growing) perceptions that infrastructure improvements are not keeping up”
• “Foreign firms place a premium on opportunities to “cluster” – to work with concentrations of talent in their sector”
• “The plethora of universities, research institutions & accelerators headquartered in the region constitute a significant positive – firms and entrepreneurs are drawn here by the world-class innovation taking place”
• “Chicago is attractive to college students – which therefore enhances the quality of the workforce pool”
• “Vast difference in perception between Chicago and downstate Illinois. While the former has plenty of positives, the latter is not seen to be competitive with Indiana, Wisconsin, etc.”
• “Costs in particular linked to Unions are high. It’s a problem, especially with Wisconsin and Indiana as neighbors – if there is a legal dispute with workers….Cook County is known for being anti-boss or pro-employee”
• “Right to Work is being used by other states to position them favorably compared to Illinois. This is similar to other labor market regulations and workers compensation, unemployment insurance levels, etc. that put Illinois at a disadvantage compared with other states”
• “The manufacturing workforce is aging and vocational training for the next generation of skilled employees is lacking”
• “Chicago is one of the most expensive trade show locations in the world. Being an expensive/bureaucratic trade show location often carries over to the state being perceived as a high cost/bureaucratic location for investing”
• “Illinois overseas offices are primarily focused on exports not investment attraction, which is two very different tasks”
• “Many states have modernized their structure by founding Economic Development Corporations tasked specifically with pursuing investors”
So, they want a modern, highly educated workforce pool, but think workers are paid too much. Great. They also want better infrastructure, but complain about taxation. Wonderful.
But it is interesting that our overseas offices are too focused on exports and not on attracting investments.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Oppose $810 million in proposed FY 2016 hospital Medicaid cuts because:
• Hospitals did take a $27 million hit to address the FY2015 budget gap by paying an additional $27 million in assessments to the State – effectively the same as a cut.
• Hospitals are targeted for MORE THAN HALF – $810 million – of the Governor’s proposed overall Medicaid cut of $1.5 billion – even though they are only about ONE THIRD of the Medicaid budget.
• Drastic hospital cuts will mean:
o The loss of critical health care services like pediatrics, obstetrics, and mental health for everyone, not just Medicaid patients.
o Working families and businesses will have to pay more for health care.
o The loss of more than 12,800 jobs and $1.8 billion in economic activity statewide.
• $1 billion in Illinois hospital Medicaid cuts have been imposed since 2011.
• $1.9 billion in Illinois hospital Medicare cuts have been imposed since 2010.
• As a result, 40% of hospitals across Illinois are operating in the red.
Cutting Medicaid in the FY2016 budget is shortsighted and will result in real harm to people and communities.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As financial cooperatives, credit unions function as economic democracies. Because of their cooperative structure, earnings are returned to members in the form of lower loan rates, higher interest on deposits, and lower fees. When credit unions – both large and small — exceed expectations, their members share even more in those benefits.
Hershey Robinson, $2.8 million, 500-member employee-based credit union, is one of many that provide extra value. Most recently, the credit union delivered more than $12,000 in gift cards to members as an International Credit Union Week “Thank You”. This was a first-of-its-kind giveaway for this credit union and very well-received by its members – as well as its volunteer board of directors which unanimously approved the initiative.
In Illinois, by most recent estimates credit unions annually provide nearly $205 million in direct financial benefits to almost three million members. Credit unions like Hershey Robinson ECU exemplify how these crucial institutions play a vital role in delivering that value.
Credit unions remain true to one principle - people before profits - and represent a highly valued resource by consumers.
A new report by the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children shows that lawmakers can avoid cutting services for families and communities by choosing to raise revenue.
By allowing income tax rates to roll back in January, lawmakers created an over $6 billion hole in the state budget for next fiscal year. So far, Governor Rauner has maintained deep cuts that hurt children, families, and communities are necessary to balance the budget.
But the Fiscal Policy Center report highlights a broad range of available revenue options, and shows that Governor Rauner and lawmakers have many choices they can make to avoid cutting services for children with epilepsy and autism, police and fire protection, and in-home services for seniors and people with disabilities that help keep them out of expensive nursing homes.
Choosing to invest in children, families, and communities is the best thing we can do to propel our state toward economic prosperity. That’s why lawmakers and the Governor must choose to develop new revenue instead of cutting the services that make Illinois families and communities strong.
After spending nearly 65 million dollars… Governor Bruce Rauner’s campaign has been assessed a penalty by the State Board of Elections.
Director Steve Sandvoss confirms it’s because of a late report filing … but says he can’t give details.
“In light of fairness to the respondent and due fairness principles, we don’t comment publicly on the nature of an ongoing proceeding. But rather, we’ll let the process bear itself out.”
A spokesman for the governor says there was a “snafu.” He says a firm hired to file contributions paperwork prepared a report … but failed to upload it. The mistake was corrected eight hours later.
Senate President John Cullerton said Monday it’s time for Gov. Bruce Rauner to focus on budget talks and spend less time promoting his “turnaround agenda.”
Speaking to The State Journal-Register editorial board, Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, repeated his belief that the spending plan the Republican governor submitted to lawmakers is wildly out of balance and could result in significant cuts to education and human services unless he opens a discussion for bringing in additional state revenue. […]
“It seems ever since the governor proposed his budget, there was an assumption he actually had a budget that was balanced,” Cullerton said. “That’s not even close. There’s his take-it-or-leave it turnaround agenda, which has nothing to do with the state budget. Let’s refocus on the budget.”
* But the governor believes the Turnaround Agenda is an integral part of balancing the budget…
“The governor is committed to reforming the broken structure of state government so taxpayers get value for their money,” Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said Monday. “Absent reform, the governor is prepared to implement a balanced budget without new revenue. Major reforms are essential or whatever balanced budget we craft this year will be undone by special interests and insider deals. The structural reforms outlined in the Turnaround Agenda are absolutely necessary.”
Reneging on the $26 million “Good Friday Massacre” cuts probably undercut the governor’s threat to “implement a balanced budget without new revenue.” If he can’t stand the heat from $26 million, how’s he gonna deal with the massive meltdown caused by a $6 billion cut?
I get a bunch of press releases every day about the governor’s proposed FY 16 budget, which, as Cullerton rightly points out, is full of gimmicks and holes. But, even so, there are some astonishing programmatic slashes…
Advocates and state lawmakers will hold a press conference on Wednesday, May 6, to call on the full legislature to reject Governor Bruce Rauner’s FY 2016 budget plan to eliminate pre-school, medical care, and other specialized services at the Chicago-based Children’s Place Association.
The pre-school, located in Humboldt Park, serves 73 Chicago-area toddlers struggling with HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, autism, spina bifida, and other medical conditions.
Yeah, let’s kick autistic HIV-positive toddlers off the public dole. Why don’t they just “Get a job”?
* Then again, one reason he backed off those cuts is because it was obvious that legislators believed he had broken a deal. He’d damaged his ability to negotiate a FY 16 deal, so it was walked back.
* But, back to the problem described in the headline. Rauner is right that addressing the state’s budget problems involves more than just working out appropriation line items. The state absolutely needs some structural changes. The state and the City of Chicago spend a fortune on workers’ comp, for instance. Some reforms there could most definitely ease their fiscal burdens.
And growth is another issue where Rauner is right. If we want revenues to grow, the state’s economy has to grow at a much faster rate. Again, let’s look at workers’ comp…
In all, the [2011 workers’ comp reform law] saved Illinois employers $315 million during the first few years they were in effect, according to the state workers’ compensation commission. Employers say that’s nowhere close to the minimum $500 million a year in savings billed by then-Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn when he signed the measure into law.
That’s $315 million in total savings versus a promised $2 billion.
* I’ve made no bones about the fact that the governor’s “right to work” idea is stupid and harmful and I told that to the governor’s face (using as many f-bombs as I could muster, btw). And while he may go too far with some of his workers’ comp ideas, he’s not wrong about everything. Our workers’ comp system is a disaster.
From the governor’s office…
Illinois currently has the 7th highest workers’ compensation costs in the country, more than double neighboring Indiana:
* Nothing yet from the governor’s office, but the Edwardsville City Council voted down Gov. Rauner’s “right to work” resolution last night. I didn’t see any news coverage, but this is from a local resident, who is also a commenter here…
About a hundred union members showed up. (The pic was taken about 6:45 and it got so crowded that people filled the hall outside the chamber). Five people were allowed to speak (of which I was one and all five were local people).
At first the Mayor explained that they would discuss the measure then table it. Several of the council members during their discussion advocated voting immediately. They made a motion to table the agenda, but the council voted that down! They then called for a vote with brief discussion (the conservative members grousing about not getting to table the issue. Obviously this was not the plan) They then proceeded to vote the Agenda down. All was civil but you could tell the Mayor Patton was [upset] and embarrassed.
I can honestly say all the union folks I saw there were local and many if not most I recognized. Not a Rauner person in sight, although the three conservatives all mentioned that they had just spoken to the Rauner folks.
Jason Hays, of 712 Dobson St., a member of Evanston Firefighters Local 742, said the governor cried for shared sacrifice, “but left it to workers to do the heavy lifting.”
He said the governor’s proposal for “right to work” legislation would create a “‘right to work’ — for less — less representation, less safety, less protection and less equity.”
Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, calling the governor’s proposal “wrongheaded,” moved that the Rules Committee reject the endorsement resolution and send a copy of the video of public comment at the meeting to the governor.
“We should stand by the people in the audience tonight,” Rainey added.
Her motion was approved on a unanimous roll-call vote.
Union workers rallied Monday outside City Hall to protest the City Council’s support of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda.”
A divided council endorsed Rauner’s plan April 20 in an 8-5 vote on a nonbinding resolution. Workers at the rally want aldermen to reconsider their support of the plan, which includes reforming pensions, eliminating unfunded mandates, creating right-to-work zones and eliminating statewide prevailing wages on government contracts.
It’s the proposed right-to-work zones that earned the ire of ralliers. They say right-to-work laws are bad for the economy because they drive down wages for all workers. Nearly 300 people from several local labor groups attended the rally.