Rauner would get to establish a private Illinois Business & Economic Development Corp. that would pick up many of the key functions of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, a state government agency. For instance, the corporation would have the power to negotiate tax incentive deals with companies, subject to final approval by DCEO. The idea is similar to proposals Rauner made during his race for governor.
Madigan, in turn, would get something he’s pushed for: the creation of an independent, free-standing agency to run the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. That responsibility would be taken away from the state’s Historic Preservation Agency, which would be dissolved and its remaining functions assumed by the DCEO, according to the proposal.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown confirmed that the speaker agreed to put both the DCEO and Lincoln library clauses in the same bill. But he said Madigan only has agreed to “consider” privatizing some of DCEO’s responsibilities. “The speaker wants to look at it and see the ramifications,” Brown said.
But Mike Schrimpf, Rauner’s deputy chief of staff, said the measure should receive a committee hearing within a day or so and “could move through the House by the end of the week.”
* Last week, the state Senate held a hearing in Edwardsville about the governor’s budget cuts. According to the Senate Democrats, while SIUE officials were testifying about the possibility of big tuition increases and layoffs, some people assembled at the back of the room with pro-Rauner signs. Sen. Bill Haine, who was hosting the hearing since he represents the area, interrupted the SIU officials to note the Rauner supporters and ask if they’d like to testify.
They quickly lowered their signs and left. It’s today’s must-watch video…
State Representative David McSweeney’s (R-Barrington Hills) bill banning red light cameras will advance to the House Floor after the House Cities and Villages Committee approved the measure yesterday by a vote of 4-3. House Bill 173 would remove the authority of non-home-rule municipalities to operate red light cameras after January 1, 2017.
“Studies continue to confirm that red light cameras do not enhance safety,” Rep. McSweeney said. “In many cases, these cameras create unsafe conditions because drivers will slam on the brakes at a yellow light to avoid getting a ticket. Many Illinois residents rightly perceive these cameras as more about increasing revenue for local governments than actually keeping motorists safe.”
The bill is a response to investigations into the implementation and effectiveness of red light cameras. The implementation of such systems has been rife with abuse and is seen by many as more of a money making endeavor for local governments than a measure to promote safety.
“It’s become clear that these systems are ineffective, the benefits minimal, and the negative consequences on citizens unwarranted” stated McSweeney. “My legislation takes a significant step forward in dramatically reducing red light cameras in Illinois.”
Currently the Illinois Vehicle Code provides the authority to use red light automated traffic law enforcement systems at intersections in which cameras are used to photograph or video record a motor vehicle’s failure to stop and yield as required by traffic control signals. Eight counties in Illinois currently have that authority. The bill would take effect January 1, 2017.
* License plate enthusiasts may not like this bill, though…
The Illinois House Monday took a first step toward possibly ending the dizzying proliferation of specialty license plates in the state.
By a 108-1 vote, the House approved a bill that calls for creation of a universal specialty plate that can then be sold to support a variety of charitable causes.
If the bill eventually becomes law, the state would no longer issue new plate designs for charitable causes approved by the legislature.
“It’s hard for police officers to keep up with every plate on the street,” said Rep. John D’Amico, D-Chicago, sponsor of House Bill 1081. “It seems like we constantly have more and more plates coming before us. This would stop these plates from growing out of control.”
Oberweis says at first he thought his proposal would be championed by the car dealers, but quickly found out that wasn’t the case and there were lobbying groups in support of the Sunday sales ban. David Sloan of the Chicago Auto Trade Association says the bill, advocated by car dealer associations 32 years ago, helps car dealers in the marketplace where the competition is already heavy.
“They are working their tails off to compete and this is something that helps them.”
But, Oberweis says it is still fundamentally wrong for government to tell a business they can’t be open on a particular day.
“It’s wrong for government to do that. It’s wrong for government to do that even if the dealers want it. And it’s almost even arguably more wrong when the dealers are using this to prevent competition, to squash competition in the marketplace.”
Oberweis says a recent poll conducted by We Ask America found that by 2 to 1 consumers favor having the option of buying a car on Sunday. Illinois is one of 15 states that regulate car sales on Sunday with an outright ban from the practice. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission came out in support of lifting the ban saying the law limits choice for the consumer and unfairly stifles competition
* Illinois Review has a list of conservatives who are endorsing state Sen. Darin LaHood for Congress…
Rev. Bob Vanden Bosch, Concerned Christians of America
Paul Caprio, Director, Family PAC
Denise Cattoni, Founder, Illinois Tea Party*
State Senator Sam McCann (R-50)
State Senator Kyle McCarter (R-54)
State Representative Tom Morrison (R-54)
State Senator Jim Oberweis (R- 25)
Dan Proft, conservative radio talk show host
Penny Pullen, former Illinois State Representative & President, Eagle Forum of Illinois
Ralph Rivera, Chairman, Illinois Citizens for Life Federal PAC
Bobby Schilling, former Congressman (IL-17)
Paul Schimpf, former Illinois Attorney General candidate
David Smith, Executive Director, Illinois Family Institute
Joe Walsh, former Congressman (IL-8)
*title for identification purposes only
Anybody who says LaHood isn’t a tea partier is out of their freaking minds.
Monday [was] the final day to file nominating papers for the July 7 primary. Donald Reints of Benson and Mike Flynn of Quincy have filed paperwork to challenge Darin LaHood in the Republican primary. Adam Lopez of Springfield and Rob Mellon of Quincy have filed to run as Democrats.
Everybody I know who has met with Mike Flynn in recent weeks has come away impressed. Despite his hardcore reputation, he’s apparently a nice guy. We’ll see if he gathered enough petitions.
* I’m not sure what a minority party congressman can do about this problem because others from the majority party have tried and failed in the past and we have a President who is from here and it still hasn’t gotten much better, but Foster’s office asked that I pass this along, so…
* House Speaker Michael Madigan’s special oversight committee designed to get to the bottom of what happened after the Fiscal Year 2015 fix was approved met this morning. The governor’s budget director Tim Nuding is testifying as I write this. Follow along with a ScribbleLive roundup…
Governor Bruce Rauner [yesterday] met with Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti, State Senator Martin Sandoval, State Representative Luis Arroyo, Department of Labor Director Hugo Chaviano, Jovita Carranza, Lazaro Lopez and Manny Sanchez at the first Latino Working Group meeting.
This working group is being convened to create a forum for the governor and lieutenant governor to work with Latino members of the General Assembly and Latino members in the administration to focus on issues of concern to Latino families and businesses.
“The goal of this working group is to drive the Turnaround Agenda and make positive short-term and long-term differences to benefit the Latino community throughout Illinois,” Rauner said. “We need to empower Latinos and give them the tools and every opportunity to succeed.”
“Governor Rauner sent a powerful message to the Latino community when he selected me as his lieutenant governor,” Sanguinetti said. “I will continue to work hard to ensure the Latino community thrives here in Illinois.”
That’s a really good idea. Sandoval is Speaker Madigan’s Senator, so that doesn’t hurt, either.
* Building personal relationships is a vital first step, and as this story about the controversial FY 15 budget deal shows, it can soothe some wounds as well…
“Trust is a big thing and it is very difficult to continue negotiations with someone that you don’t believe is working in full faith,” said Rep. Pamela Reaves-Harris, a Chicago Democrat, when asked whether trust is broken.
She says the budget fix was a hard vote in the first place because it cut state services. She was taken aback when Rauner went ahead and unexpectedly cut more. […]
Despite the misunderstanding, Reaves-Harris says she’s willing to give Rauner a break. For one, Rauner has made a point to meet with legislators and reached out to Reaves-Harris and other members of the black caucus to try to smooth things over. Plus, like Rauner, she’s new to state government.
“So I’m learning as I go along. This process is very difficult,” she said. “You always have opposites sides, two sides of the story. And so when you’re trying to come to a compromise, that can be very difficult.”
* Meanwhile, from IDOT…
– The Illinois Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the Illinois Capital Development Board, announced today the start of a series of listening sessions over the next month to discuss the state’s infrastructure needs and the steps required to make sure the right investments are being made to keep Illinois competitive in a 21st century global economy. The meetings will be held in multiple communities throughout the state, with a goal of presenting Governor Rauner’s office with a comprehensive package of recommendations for consideration this spring.
“With a world-class system of roads, transit systems, airports and railroads, Illinois is rich in transportation infrastructure, but we are at a crossroads. This asset makes us stand out, but it is beginning to deteriorate and in need of reinvestment,” said Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn. “These meetings with the Capital Development Board are a listening tour to help us rebuild and craft a plan going forward that allows Illinois to continue to serve as the transportation hub of North America and build top-notch state facilities so we can grow our economy and improve our quality of life”
The initial meetings will be announced in the coming days. Future dates and locations will be updated regularly at www.idot.illinois.gov.
At each stop, the objective will be to engage residents, businesses, local leaders and various stakeholders in identifying the infrastructure challenges we face and setting the priorities for investing now and for future generations. Among the topics that will be addressed are establishing needs and priorities, improving deteriorating roads, bridges and transit systems, providing better access across multiple transportation modes and reinvesting in state facilities, such as schools and state parks.
“I look forward to hearing the views and thoughts on transportation from the broad spectrum of people who make up our great state,” Blankenhorn said. “The time to rethink our transportation goals and priorities is now. Inaction is no longer an option.”
Nothing helps, um, pave the way for legislative cooperation quite like capital projects. Kind of a late start, though. Tick tock.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday sought to distance himself and a private education group he helps fund from the growing scandal over a $20.5 million no-bid contract at Chicago Public Schools that is under federal investigation.
The governor’s comments were the first since it was disclosed that federal investigators have demanded Chicago Public Schools records related to the Chicago Public Education Fund, a nonprofit education group closely aligned with the education initiatives of both Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Rauner.
The scandal has focused on CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who once worked for the Wilmette-based SUPES Academy company that received the no-bid contract to train school principals. The district announced Friday that she is taking a leave of absence.
The SUPES training program was launched with seed money from the nonprofit education fund. CPS took over and expanded the program after the first year.
First, Rauner mistakenly argued that the Chicago Public Education Fund had no connection to the firm at the center of the scandal. Then he characterized himself as occasionally “frustrated” by the organization’s lack of independence from City Hall. […]
“Let’s back up. Illinois and Chicago have a long, long sordid history of insider dealing and corruption and conflict of interest. . . . That particular group, I don’t know anything about, was brought in by I believe by this CEO of schools,” Rauner said. “It wasn’t brought in by the fund, by the foundation.”
Rauner was corrected by a reporter who asked the question from the audience, saying it was the Fund that Rauner was once part of that in fact brought in SUPES.
Rauner replied: “I believe that Barbara had worked there before? Had worked for that group? Anyway, but let me finish the point. I believe in public-private partnerships. I believe that there can be private capital brought to assist government in turning itself around, think that’s a good thing.
“My experience with the education fund has been mostly good although I will say this: The fund didn’t make many of its own decisions as much as it was a facilitator for the mayor or the schools leaders. It was really more of a support group rather than a truly independent group. That was a source of frustration to me at the time. The investigation, I hope the potential wrongdoing that I read about didn’t occur, I don’t know.”
Throwing the mayor under the bus likely wasn’t a good idea, either.
* Yes, Rauner once chaired the Chicago Public Education Fund. He has lots of ties to the group, as do a whole lot of other Chicago elites. And the CPEF released this statement yesterday…
The Chicago Public Education Fund is a nonprofit organization that has made more than $50 million in grants over the past 15 years, primarily to organizations working with teachers and principals in Chicago’s public schools. In 2011, our organization made a $380,000 grant to SUPES Academy for a one-year pilot program to train CPS network chiefs and their deputies. Network chiefs are the CPS employees who supervise and manage school principals.
In 2012, following the completion of that pilot program, we declined a request by CPS leadership to provide a second year of funding for SUPES Academy training of principals. The Chicago Public Education Fund, its directors, and its staff have had no involvement with SUPES Academy since 2012.
We have been advised that our participation in the recent investigation regarding CPS and SUPES Academy is solely as a witness. We continue to cooperate in the ongoing federal investigation. Throughout this process, we remain focused on our commitment to the education of all of Chicago’s students and to the educators in our schools.
They withdrew funding and have been told by the feds that they’re merely a “witness.” I kinda think this Rauner angle is a bit overblown.
A divided City Council voted to support Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda,” his plan for fixing what ails Illinois.
The vote was 8-5 on a resolution that dominated discussion Monday, even though it was a nonbinding measure that will be sent to Springfield in support of Rauner. Winnebago County endorsed the measure April 9. […]
“I’m a Democrat, but I like 90 percent of what’s on here,” said Ald. Venita Hervey, D-5.
Hervey voted with the majority, which included Republicans Tim Durkee, Jamie Getchius, Kevin Frost, Frank Beach, John Beck and Joseph Chiarelli, and independent Teena Newburg. Democrats Tom McNamara, Marcus Hill, Jeanne Oddo, Karen Elyea and Linda McNeely voted against the measure.
Beach said the state has money problems that it has to deal with, and this was a way to start a discussion. Durkee said the government needs reforming.
“I’ve diagnosed Springfield as insane,” said Durkee, a physician.
Recent developments in Illinois and New Jersey are lessening the chances of state intervention that could result in better outcomes for bondholders than allowing distress to lead to bankruptcy, Fitch Ratings says. We believe efforts to resolve looming budget deficits and ensure the affordability of long-term obligations would be more productive than focusing on easing laws or practices to allow bankruptcy.
Illinois governor Bruce Rauner recently proposed granting the authority to local governments to file a Chapter 9 petition. The proposal is similar to a law introduced by a state representative last fall. It supports Fitch’s view that the needs of a distressed municipality are a better indication of the possibility of bankruptcy than whether current state law allows it. Current Illinois law bars local governments with populations over 25,000 from filing a Chapter 9 petition.
Further fueling concerns about the credit quality of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), Governor Rauner said this week that he fears the district may need bankruptcy as a solution to its large budget imbalance. According to CPS analysis, their reserves will likely be fully depleted by the end of fiscal 2016.
In New Jersey, the recent appointment of corporate restructuring experts to assist Atlantic City in resolving the city’s fiscal crisis appears at odds with the state’s strong history of aiding local governments to prevent the type of stress that could lead to bankruptcy. Of US states, New Jersey has historically provided among the strongest levels of early intervention to local governments with financial strain.
Fiscal intervention mechanisms vary by state. Most focus on helping local governments recover from distress, rather than preventing it. Many can approve or reject financial plans, budgets, and certain government contracts under state control. Their powers, however, are constrained by laws governing labor contracts, benefits including pension obligations, and service provision. Fitch believes this limits their ability to remediate financial distress.
* Illinois Department of Corrections chief Donald Stolworthy wrote a recent memo to Gov. Rauner outlining some problems with union work rules…
Back in February, more than 1,000 state prison workers decided they’d rather spend their Sunday night watching Russell Wilson and Tom Brady play football.
Using rules outlined in their collective bargaining agreement, the employees told their bosses they wouldn’t be working their shifts that day, triggering a Super Bowl shuffle for overtime that officials say ended up costing Illinois taxpayers an additional $325,000 in wages.
* OK, let’s stop right there. The Super Bowl was February 1st. Do you know what else happened that day? A gigantic freaking blizzard…
A slow-moving winter storm blanketed a large swath of the Plains and Midwest in snow Sunday, forcing the cancellation of thousands of flights, making roads treacherous and forcing some people to rethink their plans to attend Super Bowl parties. […]
Forecasters also said the storm was moving unusually slowly, meaning accumulations of between 10 to 16 inches of snow are possible for parts of northern Illinois, Indiana and northwest Ohio. Similar amounts of snow are expected for the Northeast later Sunday and throughout Monday.
“It’s not wise to travel, unless you have an emergency,” said David Beachler a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Chicago area.
Along with the Super Bowl example, the state’s master contract allows overtime to be assigned by seniority.
“More expensive workers get more work,” the document notes.
The memo also says corrections officers are paid overtime for the 15-minute roll call that occurs at the beginning of their shifts. The administration said the price tag for that alone was $22 million last year.
* AFSCME’s response…
AFSCME has worked for years to address IDOC’s overtime problem caused by a chronic understaffing: The department has fewer than 11,000 employees where a decade ago it had 17,000, while the prison population has actually increased. The union has long urged IDOC to hire adequate staff to improve safety and reduce overtime costs, and to work together with the union to improve operations.
We are always willing to discuss ways to operate correctional facilities better and more safely, but we believe that prison employees who put themselves at risk to keep all citizens safe earn their pay and deserve to be fairly compensated.
When looking at overtime, taking any single day out of context misses the point that the department is systematically short-staffed. Poor management exacerbates this systemic problem. If the department anticipates staffing challenges on a specific date, for example, it can run a ‘holiday’ schedule whereby it seeks volunteers to work the time well in advance.
Specifically with respect to Feb. 1, much of the state was hit by a significant blizzard on that date which made roads impassable in many cases. A foot of snow had been forecast; the Chicago region was socked with more than 19 inches, the rest of northern Illinois 12 inches and central Illinois 8 inches, plus 45 mph winds. Such conditions are just one factor – some foreseeable, some not – that can lead to overtime but could be largely mitigated by (1) having adequate staff on hand to begin with and (2) better management.
Regarding seniority, the department’s statements are misleading. Overtime is first offered to employees in descending order of seniority to ensure that factors such as favoritism are not improperly wielded by management. Then, the union contract actually provides for a system that bases overtime distribution on who has worked the least amount of overtime, regardless of seniority. This method helps to foster workplace safety by minimizing the risk of employees working two straight shifts or working 20 or more hours of overtime in the same week. Finally, if there is no other option, mandatory overtime can be compelled in *reverse* seniority order, meaning that the lowest-cost employee ends up working the time.
Finally, on roll call, it is voluntary and takes place outside employees’ scheduled hours. And there is no requirement in the union contract that management hold roll call. Yet it is critically important to safety, because it provides an opportunity for the committed, professional staff of DOC to get vital information and training essential to their dangerous work. Employees should be fairly paid for their participation.
Nominations are needed for the 7th annual Illinoisan of the Day program. The Illinois State Fair Museum Foundation is seeking individuals to spotlight during the 2015 Illinois State Fair. The Illinoisan of the Day program looks to honor individuals who exemplify the qualities and characteristics associated with the Land of Lincoln: integrity, dependability, sense of community, and strong ethics.
Illinoisan of the Day nominees must be a resident of Illinois and at least 25 years old. Nominees should be involved in service activities, educational projects, and /or youth programs, and have an affiliation with state and/or county fairs in Illinois. Nominees must also have shown their true Illinois spirit through continued volunteerism and community service.
Illinoisan of the Daywinners will receive honors on their special day during this year’s Illinois State Fair, which takes place August 13 - 23.
Tony Smith, 48, a RiverForest resident and executive director of the Oak Park-based W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundation, has been appointed as the state’s new state school superintendent.
Smith replaces outgoing superintendent Christopher Koch, who served in the position for eight years. With more than two million students, Illinois’s K-12 school system is among the largest in the nation.
The Illinois Board of Education voted unanimously to approve Smith’s contract, which will take effect on May 1. He will be paid a starting salary of $225,000, according to a Chicago Tribune report. Smith has ties with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. Last year, he was appointed to Rauner’s transition committee for education policy. […]
But the unanimous vote and laudatory statements from [State Board of Education Chairman James Meeks] doesn’t necessarily translate into the state board’s complete equanimity with the decision. Board member Steven Gilford told the Tribune that he was “very disappointed that Dr. Koch is going to leave the agency” and that “I don’t think it’s really the right decision for this agency.”
A key member of the Illinois State Board of Education has formally resigned over concerns about the way new state Superintendent Tony Smith was hired.
The Chicago Tribune reported that resigning board member James Baumann said there was no national search and only one candidate for the state’s top schools position.
Smith was appointed by the board of education last week and takes over May 1. He is the former head of Oakland, California, schools and has ties to Gov. Bruce Rauner.
He also was Rauner’s recommendation to the board. The Republican governor recently appointed five new board members to the nine-person board.
A law aimed at curbing late-career pay raises for educators continues to sting some suburban school districts with six-figure costs.
And now a new proposal from Gov. Bruce Rauner raises the prospect of more penalty costs to school districts if pay for teachers or administrators nearing retirement rises above the rate of inflation.
Under a law approved last decade, school districts have to pay the additional pension costs that result from giving teachers or administrators end-of-career pay raises of more than 6 percent a year. The law is aimed at preventing big pay bumps that drive up pension costs for the state. Pension benefits are based in part on employees’ salaries in the final years of their careers. […]
Rauner, a Winnetka Republican, proposes abandoning the 6 percent threshold. Instead, the governor wants school districts to pay for pension costs generated by teacher pay raises that are higher than the Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation.
For 2014, the index was at about 1.5 percent, and it’s hovered around there in recent years, peaking at 3.2 percent in 2011, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
* Related…
* ADDED: IFT Press Release: Governor Rauner to give keynote on “economics of education” after slashing crucial programs, threatening 32% cut to higher education
* Hopes dim for school funding formula overhaul’s passage: Despite a revamp to ease partisan and regional opposition, Illinois lawmakers now see little chance of passing legislation this session that would overhaul the state’s outdated school funding formula for the first time in two decades.
* Rauner’s dangerous talk of Chicago schools bankruptcy: Does he understand that scaring unions to the table may be good and effective theater, but actually pushing CPS or other governmental units into bankruptcy might blow up with lots of collateral damage? No one seems to know. One source familiar with Rauner’s ways likens him to the “Animal House” character who has a devil perched on one shoulder and an angel on the other, each urging him to take different steps. Rauner’s dislike of unions is so deep he may have lost objectivity.
Gov. Bruce Rauner says bills are ready. “We will introduce those when the leaders say we should introduce ‘em,” he said at a recent editorial board appearance.
But it’s unclear who — or when — the bills will get the go-ahead.
Senate President John Cullerton, a Democrat, says “we haven’t seen any language. We haven’t seen any bills of any of his other Turnaround proposals.”
It’s the same for other leaders, according to sources and spokespeople.
It may seem like a technicality, or inside baseball, and Rauner supporters say even without legislation, the leaders can negotiate with the governor on the broad terms of his agenda. But without actual bills, the legislature can’t take any action. And Rauner says he won’t contemplate a tax hike, or reverse course on his proposed budget cuts, until his Turnaround package is passed.
* The governor said the same thing to Fox Chicago’s Mike Flannery last week. Flannery caught up to House Speaker Michael Madigan shortly afterward…
FLANNERY: Are there any parts of his agenda that you could support?
MJM: Well, again, we need to know the details of what he’s talking about. I know he’s talked a lot about generalities. I know that, and that’s fine.
FLANNERY: But he’s said that he’s already drafted six bills that have his agenda there and he says, and I said ‘Well, could I have the bills?’ and he said ‘As soon as the General Assembly says it’s OK.’
MJM [looking puzzled]: Those bills haven’t been filed. So, I don’t, you don’t know what you’re, you’re, I’m not being nasty, but nobody knows what he’s talking about until we see the bills as filed.
FLANNERY: He says he’s already drafted the language.
MJM: But they haven’t been, they haven’t been given to us and they haven’t been filed.
FLANNERY: So you can’t really talk about it until you see specific bills?
MJM: Right, yeah, yeah. […]
FLANNERY [in studio]: The governor, though, appears determined not to introduce those bills any time soon. It would, of course, give the Democratic super-majorities who control both chambers in the General Assembly a chance to very quickly vote down Rauner’s proposals. His reluctance to get into the, take things onto the floor of the General Assembly certainly does increase the odds that this spring session will miss the May 31st deadline and go into overtime. And that means any eventual deal on the 2016 budget and the governor’s agenda will require a super majority to pass it in June or July or December.
* Some commenters were flabbergasted when Makanda’s village board unanimously passed Gov. Bruce Rauner’s “Turnaround Agenda” resolution earlier this month. The tiny village is a very liberal town and the former residence of US Sen. Paul Simon.
Makanda’s village president said the board did not mean to endorse Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed local right-to-work zones where he seeks to allow voters to decide whether to disband closed union shops in the communities where they live.
Village President Tina Shingleton said board members thought they were simply signaling the village’s desire for more local control and autonomy from the state when it passed a two-page resolution supporting Rauner’s so-called “Turnaround Agenda.”
She said the board had no intention of making a political statement about collective bargaining when the April 6 vote made Makanda one of 19 local governments to have endorsed the resolution. It is the first community to sign off on the resolution in heavily unionized Southern Illinois, where even many conservatives are proud union members of, for example, the coal mines, steel mills, state prisons and public schools. […]
“None of us are anti-union and we don’t want to see jobs taken away from anybody,” she said, noting that she is currently in the process of determining whether a vote to revoke support of the resolution in whole or part is in order.
But how could they miss this language?…
Whereas voters in our community should be allowed to decide via referendum whether or not employees should be forced to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment…
Sheesh. And some believe state legislators are lazy.
Effingham County (Effingham)
Monday, April 20 at 4:00 p.m.
101 North 4th Street
Mt. Zion (Macon County)
From Mayor Robinson: Gov. Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda has been removed from the Village Board’s agenda for this Monday (4/20/15) and will not be discussed.
Naperville (DuPage County)
Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m.
400 S. Eagle St.
Campton Hills (Kane County)
Tuesday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m.
5N082 Old LaFox Roedl
Vernon Hills (Lake County)
Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m.
290 Evergreen Drive, Vernon Hills
Wauconda (Lake County)
Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m.
101 N. Main Street, Wauconda
*** UPDATE *** I asked the Northwest Municipal Conference if they’d taken a position on the governor’s draft resolution…
Rich:
The topic of the turnaround agenda was placed on the Northwest Municipal Conference Board’s April 8 agenda for discussion. There was no call from our members to advance a supporting resolution.
Larry Bury
Deputy Director
Northwest Municipal Conference
Not what the governor’s office wanted to hear, I imagine.
We live in a state of extremes, from brutal summer days to wicked winters. Luckily, Illinois’ nuclear energy plants keep the lights on and the power flowing, day in and day out, with no carbon emissions. Now, some of these plants may have to shut down because of outdated energy policies. Costing up to 8,000 lost Illinois jobs. $1.8 billion in lost economic activity every year. $500 million a year in higher energy costs statewide. And a lot less clean air. If we lose these plants, things could get really uncomfortable. around here. Members of the Illinois General Assembly: Vote YES on House Bill 3293 and Senate Bill 1585 to keep our nuclear plants open.
* But before you rate it, you might wanna check out this recent poll taken by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates and Public Opinion Strategies for the NRDC…
You’ll recall that the Exelon bill would freeze out alternative energy providers from tapping into the $300 million the company wants for its nuke plants.
Seven in ten strongly favor increased energy efficiency as a way to meet Illinois’s future needs, and majorities back increased use of a number of renewable sources, including solar and wind.
In contrast, fewer than one in five strongly back increasing the use of coal and nuclear power.
* Finally, Alvarez stops acting like a conviction-hungry prosecutor and starts behaving more like a state’s attorney…
People busted repeatedly with minor amounts of marijuana could face treatment rather than prosecution under a set of “sweeping” reforms Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez is set to announce on Monday.
The county’s top prosecutor will announce the “first of its kind alternative prosecution program” during a press conference at her office Monday morning, according to a news release.
The program is designed for nonviolent individuals charged with Class 4 felony drug possession and intends to link repeat offenders with social service agencies “for treatment rather than pursuing criminal penalties,” according to the release. Its goal is to begin addressing chronic drug use as a public health issue. […]
Alvarez spokeswoman Sally Daly said the state’s attorney intends, in most cases, not to prosecute misdemeanor marijuana charges brought against people with no significant history of violence. Individuals with three or more arrests or citations for misdemeanor marijuana possession will instead be referred to drug school, she added.
Alvarez’ office says Class 4 felony drug possession cases accounted for 25 percent of all felony cases in Cook County last year. On top of that, there were 15,000 misdemeanor cases for possession of small amounts of cannabis.
*** UPDATE 1 *** Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey…
“While today’s announcement by Cook County States Attorney Anita Alvarez is a welcome departure from past practices in her office, more needs to be done at the local and state level to address the inequities of our criminal justice system.
I appreciate that States Attorney Alvarez is finally moving in the right direction by reforming low-level drug possession laws that have not made practical or economic sense for decades. But seven years in office is a long time to finally recognize that our criminal justice system operates unjustly and without accomplishing its stated goals. That is why I have been arguing for, and obtaining, changes in our law for several years.
During her tenure in office, tens of thousands of Cook County residents, disproportionately minorities, have been victim to our outdated drug laws, subjecting them to unnecessary arrest records while costing County taxpayers countless millions of dollars for charges that were ultimately dismissed.”
*** UPDATE 2 *** From Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle…
I am pleased to see that the State’s Attorney has finally recognized what many of us have been saying for years – that our failed drug policies are resulting in the unnecessary detention and incarceration of thousands of people, primarily young men of color, who are accused of non-violent low-level drug offenses each year.
That’s why I have spent the last four years leading a collaborative effort with all of the public safety stakeholders in Cook County, as well as the Illinois Supreme Court, to lower the population of the Cook County Jail by implementing systemic reform throughout our system. Today, as a result of our hard work, the population of the jail is just over 7,800 – the lowest it’s been for more than two decades.
While I hope that the State’s Attorney’s policy changes will result in fewer people in our jail and courts, the fact is that we cannot rely on policies that are subject to change based on public pressure or who is in office. Instead we must change our laws to ensure that reforms are permanent and not subject to the discretion of one actor in a complicated system.
I will continue to work with all of our partners at the state level to change drug laws and policies so that we treat addiction as a public health issue rather than a public safety issue by keeping non-violent addicts out of our jails and prisons and placing them into community-based programs. I hope the State’s Attorney will join me in supporting these legislative efforts in the Illinois General Assembly.
These are not “Rauner’s cuts.” They are called “consequences.” The hostility aimed at Rauner seems to suggest his budget cuts are motive driven. They’re not. They’re math driven.
Cuts to a program for autistic children are the consequence of an underfunded budget that the Democrats deliberately approved last year. They knowingly left Springfield with the state’s checkbook in the red. State agencies, including those that deal with vulnerable populations, would not have enough money to get through the fiscal year. Rather than staying in Springfield beyond their May 31 adjournment to figure out how to pass a balanced budget, lawmakers hit the campaign trail last year. They spent the summer and fall at political fundraisers and golf outings and receptions.
When Rauner won in November, they knew exactly what he would be facing.
And sure enough, Rauner is portrayed as the cruel Ebenezer Scrooge, picking on disabled children.
She’s right about the Democrats screwing up this fiscal year’s budget. It was a disaster.
However, the FY 15 deal with Rauner to close the budget gap fully funded programs like autism. He made the choice to cut them. Those cuts are now on him.
Rauner now says he wants to sweep more money from special funds in order to stave off at least some of the recent cuts — an option he says Democrats weren’t open to when they negotiated the original budget fix last month.
“We in our administration had actually advocated more sweeping and fewer cuts, and we said to them if they would consider looking at the sweeps again,” Rauner said Friday during a stop in tornado-ravaged Fairdale. “Some of those (special funds) could be swept and potentially some of the cuts could be restored, or some of the necessary cuts could be reduced in size.”
* But let’s get back to the Democratic budget that was passed last year. Remember when Fox Chicago’s Mike Flannery righteously slammed the Dems?…
“I can’t recall seeing as irresponsible budget as was just approved… You’d think that the whole General Assembly was on medical marijuana when they were passing this thing. It’s grotesquely out of balance… They emptied their whole dirty bag of tricks to make it look balanced.”
As we all know, the Democrats deliberately underfunded the budget to the tune of $1.6 billion. The governor’s proposed FY 16 budget, however, has a much bigger hole in it, including a $2.2 billion savings from pension reform even though there’s almost no way that the governor’s legislation will clear the courts during the upcoming fiscal year.
“We are recommending doing a constitutional referendum. So, we’ll change the language so we’re not in court for years. We’ll make it clear in the Constitution what we can and can’t change.
(a) Amendments to this Constitution may be initiated in either house of the General Assembly. Amendments shall be read in full on three different days in each house and reproduced before the vote is taken on final passage. Amendments approved by the vote of three-fifths of the members elected to each house shall be submitted to the electors at the general election next occurring at least six months after such legislative approval
Now, perhaps the governor could also call for a special general election this fall to take up the matter, but I’m not sure if the attorney general and the courts would agree with that. I’ve asked the AG’s people for their thoughts on this particular matter, and I’ll let you know what they say.
Obviously, if they wait until the next regularly scheduled general election, they can’t possibly draw down any savings this fiscal year. And even if they attempt to push through a special election, the courts could still hold up the pension reform law, meaning no savings this fiscal year.
Many moons ago, the Daily Southtown moved my weekly newspaper column to Sundays. I was pleased with the development because it meant more readers, but House Speaker Michael Madigan registered a mild complaint.
Madigan said Sunday was his “family day.” He didn’t read newspapers on Sundays because he focused on his wife and children during a traditional day of rest. Now he would have to read a Sunday paper.
I have to admit feeling a little flattered by that revelation. But I also remember being puzzled why Madigan avoided Sunday newspapers. Back in those days, just about every informed person read the Sunday papers. How could he not read them?
And then I met Bruce Rauner.
From the first time I met him in 2014, Rauner has bragged that he…
Gov. Bruce Rauner devised a new way to reward his friends and punish his enemies on April 16th when he created a campaign committee called “Illinois Turnaround.”
Illinois Turnaround is an independent expenditure committee, meaning contributions to it and by it are not capped by law. The committee’s officially stated purpose is to “support state legislative candidates who support Gov. Rauner’s bold and needed reforms, and to oppose those who stand in the way.”
According to Rauner insiders, the new committee will be given $4-5 million within days of its founding. That’s in addition to the $20 million the governor has in his own personal campaign account, which won’t be touched for this particular effort.
Spending on advertising is expected to begin soon after the money comes in.
The governor’s campaign also released a polling memo which purports to show that the public backs his agenda. While his job approval rating is just 38 percent, his disapproval rating is five points below at 33 percent and his favorable rating is 42 percent, versus 34 who view him unfavorably.
By contrast, the General Assembly’s job approval rating is a mere 20 percent, with 57 percent disapproving. House Speaker Michael Madigan’s favorables are just 24 percent, with 51 percent viewing him unfavorably.
The poll also found that 57 percent agree with: “Bruce Rauner is trying to shake things up in Springfield, but the career politicians are standing in his way,” and 56 percent agree that the governor is “working to find bipartisan solutions that will help fix Illinois’s budget mess and improve the struggling state economy.”
“Every time they attack us,” a Rauner insider said about the Democrats, “they are reinforcing that they are insiders and the governor is the outsider - he’s the one trying to change things.”
The issue questions are interesting because they provide a roadmap of how the money will be spent and what the governor intends to do at the Statehouse in the coming weeks.
For instance, “Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for a State Representative who voted to raise the Illinois income tax rate without any property tax freeze and without any significant economic or budget reforms to help our economy grow?” 56 percent said they’d be “less likely” to vote for that legislator, while just 15 percent said “more likely.” The governor is obviously preparing to “go to the mattresses.”
Another question asked whether voters supported higher taxes, without which “major budget cuts… will hurt education, health care, and other state services,” or if they backed lower spending, “even if that means major spending cuts will be required.”
53 percent said they wanted lower spending while 39 percent said they backed higher taxes. The Rauner folks have extrapolated from this question that voters back the governor’s spending cuts. We’ll see.
And they claim that the state Senate hearings around the state which are focusing on the governor’s recent and proposed cuts are doing the Democrats no good. “The bottom line is if the legislature chooses to ignore his reforms and we are forced to go the austere budget - politically - the governor will be fine and the legislature will be in even worse shape,” a Rauner insider e-mailed me.
The “austere budget” is being talked up by Rauner insiders as a way of forcing Democrats to cave on things like local “right to work” zones. They firmly believe that if they refuse to back any additional revenues for next fiscal year, Democrats will eventually have to recognize reality and give the governor what he wants.
The issue questions are clearly loaded. For instance, check out part of the “right to work” question: “Under current Illinois law, workers are often required to join a labor union and pay union dues as a condition of their employment. In other words, the worker cannot take a job unless he or she joins the union.”
Not mentioned is that Rauner wants to allow employees who receive all the benefits of union membership to not have to pay for those valuable union services. It’s like passing a law that lets newspaper advertisers off the hook for paying for their ads.
But when you essentially have unlimited resources and the other side doesn’t, as is the case with Rauner versus the Democrats, you can frame an advocacy campaign pretty much any way you want.
We’ve entered an entirely new world, campers.
* And the AP takes a look at Rauner’s longed-for mega-deal, which would be based on the threat of an “austere budget”…
Seizing on Illinois’ budget crisis as a political opportunity, Republican businessman-turned-governor Bruce Rauner is trying to broker a master deal to advance his pro-business priorities through the Legislature in exchange for new revenue to save programs near and dear to the Democrats.
Democratic leaders who control the General Assembly say they’re willing to negotiate, and talks with Republicans could begin in the next week. But they caution that some of Rauner’s proposals are non-starters. […]
“Crisis creates opportunity for change, and we have a crisis. … We’ve got to take advantage of that,” Rauner told attendees at an Illinois Chamber of Commerce event. “A lot people are saying ‘Bruce, just balance the budget and worry about other stuff later. We’ll talk to you later about reform.’ No, no, no. … If we do only that, they’ll never talk about reform. It’ll never happen.” […]
But [Rikeesha Phelon, a spokeswoman for Democratic Senate President John Cullerton] said the Senate will not consider Rauner’s proposal to create right to work zones, which unions strongly oppose and she says wouldn’t make Illinois more competitive. She said Senate Democrats also have differences of opinion with Rauner on what changes are needed to programs like workers’ compensation.
1 p.m. Holy Name Cathedral Doors Open
2 p.m. Rite of Reception (Open to the Public)
2:30 to 6:30 p.m. Visitation (Open to the Public)
7:30 p.m. Prayer Vigil for Priests and Seminarians (Attendance by Ticket Only)
9 to 11 p.m. Visitation (Open to the Public)
11 p.m. Holy Name Cathedral Doors Close
Wednesday, April 22
7 to 9:30 a.m. Visitation (Open to the Public)
10:30 a.m. Interfaith Service (Open to the Public)
11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Visitation (Open to the Public)
7:30 p.m. Prayer Vigil for Women and Men Religious, Deacons and their Wives (Attendance by Ticket Only)
9 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 until 7:30 a.m. Thursday, April 23
Visitation and All Night Vigil Conducted by Lay Ecclesial Movements (Open to the Public)
Thursday, April 23
7:30 a.m. Prayer Service (Open to the Public)
8 a.m. Holy Name Cathedral Closed for Funeral Mass Preparation
11 a.m. Holy Name Cathedral Doors Open for Funeral Mass (Attendance by Ticket Only)
12 p.m. Funeral Mass (Attendance by Ticket Only)
Immediately following the funeral Mass, the Committal Service will take place at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines. Per the Cardinal’s wishes, he will be buried in the George family plot. (Open to the Public)
High heels at the Statehouse can be hazardous, not to mention what walking in those heels on marble floors all day can do to your back, ankles, legs, whatever.
But it’s not just high heels. A buddy of mine was telling me yesterday how the marble just kills his feet. He’s tried all sorts of different shoes and nothing works.
* The Question: Your own advice for surviving the more mundane aspects of Statehouse life?
One of the three Illinois nuclear plants that Exelon is threatening to close because they’re losing money will receive a windfall worth tens of millions beginning in June, courtesy of ratepayers downstate.
Energy prices are set to spike starting this summer for many Illinoisans outside of Commonwealth Edison’s territory in northern Illinois. The cost that consumers pay to generators to ensure that power plants are available to deliver electricity on the highest-demand days of the year will increase nearly ninefold in the year beginning June 1.
Those “capacity” charges—set according to an auction run by the independent grid operator that manages wholesale markets in downstate Illinois and all or parts of 14 other states—are embedded in the overall energy prices customers pay and are in addition to the cost of the juice itself. […]
The main beneficiaries include Chicago-based Exelon, which operates six nuclear plants in Illinois, including the Clinton plant downstate that will get the cash infusion. Also benefiting is Houston-based Dynegy, the second largest power generator in Illinois after Exelon and operator of a fleet of coal-fired plants downstate.
Another generator, Exelon Corp., acknowledged that its 1,100 MW Clinton nuclear plant cleared the auction at $150, which analysts estimated could yield $40 million to $50 million in additional revenue for the 2015-2016 year.
Chicago-based Exelon has said for more than a year that three of its nuclear plants, including Clinton and two plants in PJM, are losing money because of competitive pressures from natural gas-fired generation and wind. The company is pushing legislation in Springfield that would create a low-carbon resource standard in Illinois that it says would level the playing field for its nuclear fleet and other non-carbon fuels like wind and solar energy (EnergyWire, Feb. 25).
In a research note, analysts at UBS Securities say the auction results “certainly help Clinton but could reduce the urgency for legislative reform in Illinois.”
An Exelon spokesman wouldn’t disclose how much additional revenue it might realize from the MISO auction, but said only that it wouldn’t be enough to materially improve the plant’s financial profile.
It wouldn’t be enough? Really? Exelon’s bill as currently written would net its nuclear fleet $300 million a year. The Citizens Utility Board estimates the Exelon bill - as written - would net the Clinton nuke plant somewhere between $27 million and $30 million a year. That’s significantly less than the plant made this week with that surprise auction result. And there’s no way that Exelon can pass its bill as written because it essentially locks out alternative energy suppliers. Add those suppliers to the mix and Clinton would receive a whole lot less money via passable state legislation.
Plus, by participating in that auction, didn’t Exelon just commit to providing power from that Clinton plant for the next year? Why yes, it did, according to the Citizens Utility Board. And yet it’s gotta have its bill passed right now?
The capacity auction is administered by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, which runs the grid in parts of 15 states in the central United States. The auction determines what energy providers pay to power plant owners over the coming year to make sure they’re available to deliver power when demand is highest. Results were announced this week.
The huge jump came while prices for capacity in many other MISO states fell. In Missouri, for instance, prices fell from $16.75 to $3.48 a megawatt day. In fact, $3.48 was the highest capacity price in all the other states within MISO’s footprint, making Illinois’ $150 per megawatt day a glaring outlier.
That’s more than an outlier, it’s insane. I mean, for crying out loud Illinois is a net electricity exporter. What the heck was going on there?
It’s hard to know how many Ameren Illinois customers buy power under agreements that expose them to swings in the electricity market. About 500,000 customers buy power through Homefield Energy, the retail unit of Dynegy Inc. Dynegy operates nine downstate Illinois coal plants, including those formerly owned by Ameren. It committed 1,864 megawatts in the auction.
Spokesman Micah Hirschfield said all Dynegy’s Homefield retail customers are on fixed contracts.
However, some cities have contracts that expire soon.
Ameren Illinois, in a statement, said it was “extremely concerned and upset” about the capacity auction results and that it would work “to resolve this inequity to our customers.”
CUB created three cost-benefit models for the Illinois Clean Jobs bill, based on electricity rates, past performance of efficiency programs and prudent assumptions about yearly increases in energy usage, key market costs and inflation. The consumer watchdog’s analysis compared those models with a “business as usual” scenario—if efficiency standards stayed at current levels. Estimated customer savings through the legislation ranged from about $1.1 billion to $2.2 billion. The “base case” model, based on mid-range assumptions, projected the following statewide benefits by 2030, if the bill were fully implemented:
* Total cumulative residential savings: $1.61 billion
* Average electric-bill reduction: 7.86 percent annually
* Average residential savings: $98.38 a year
The Illinois Clean Jobs bill stands out as the most consumer-friendly among the major energy proposals in the General Assembly’s spring session. Most notably, Exelon Corp., ComEd’s parent company, is pushing for special legislation that could cost ComEd and Ameren customers an estimated $300 million a year—to boost revenue at its fleet of nuclear power plants.
* After that crazy MISO auction, which appears to have provided far more to Clinton than Exelon was asking from the state, and after CUB’s endorsement of the Harmon bill, maybe legislators ought to just hold off a bit and wait for the upcoming PJM auctions (the other grid in Illinois) for the rest of Exelon’s nuclear fleet before rushing in with yet another corporate bailout that raises rates for consumers.
Those nuclear plants are supremely important to the state’s economy. But is the federal government just gonna allow all that electricity to be taken off the grid right away? It seems doubtful, particularly after this week’s MISO auction. There’s time to think and do it right.
And in the meantime, the attorney general needs to follow up on her pledge she made elsewhere this week to look into what just happened with that bizarre MISO auction.
Data WBEZ obtained from the the state show startling increases in Chicago. From 2009 to 2013, 37 percent more patients were discharged from emergency rooms for psychiatric treatment. The biggest jump came in 2012, the same year the city closed half of its mental health clinics. […]
[Sheri Richardt, the manager of Crisis and Behavioral Health at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center] saw the same patients rotate in again and again. So she pulled one patient’s files and found that woman had visited the Illinois Masonic Emergency Room 750 times over the course of about 10 years.
Richardt said the patient was picked up by an ambulance or police officer almost daily. Sometimes the emergency department would discharge her, only to have her appear back a few hours later.
“The cost of that for us was two and a half million dollars. Medicaid dollars,” said Richardt. “And that’s only at our hospital. This an individual who went between multiple hospitals and so we don’t have the true cost.”
And it’s not just emergency rooms. Perhaps the largest mental illness residential center in the state is Cook County Jail.
Friday, Apr 17, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, credit unions exist to help people, not make a profit. With a goal to serve all members well - including those of modest means - every member counts. The movement’s “People Helping People” philosophy causes credit unions and their employees to volunteer in community charitable activities and worthwhile causes.
For example, Rock Valley Credit Union in Rockford rises to the occasion when it becomes aware of new needs in the community and will also involve their members in area outreach. The credit union’s devotion and extraordinary effort to the community in the past year has included donating backpacks to the HOPE Domestic Violence Shelter, hosting food drives to support a local food pantry that lost nearly its entire supply of food for the previous holiday season, and creating the “Gifts of Love” project to fulfill gift requests for the Walter Lawson Children’s Home, a local residence for severely handicapped children.
Rock Valley chooses to give back to the community because that is what credit unions are all about. And their members love that they are part of something different. People before profits – the one principle that remains constant for credit unions – and highly valued by their members throughout Illinois.
This year’s first big confrontation between the GOP establishment and the party’s restless grassroots will be held this summer in an Illinois special-election primary. The smart money is betting on the establishment’s choice, but dissatisfaction with attempts to force-feed that choice on voters, together with the performance of the new GOP Congress in fighting President Obama, could give an insurgent a real shot. […]
LaHood is about as establishment a choice as one could imagine. He is the son of Representative Ray LaHood, the very moderate Republican who represented about half of the current district in Congress until 2009. He then left office to become President Obama’s Transportation Secretary, where he promoted pork-barrel spending and dubious high-speed-rail projects. His son’s supporters say his politics are distinct from those of his father, but clearly the LaHood name will be a mixed blessing in a primary. On the one hand, it brings strong name identification for Darin LaHood. But on the other, it leaves many of the district’s conservatives looking for a fresh, non–status quo alternative.
Mike Flynn plans to be that alternative. A 47-year-old political activist, he played a major role in exposing the scandals that brought down the leftist group ACORN and went on to edit the Big Government website founded by the late Andrew Breitbart. The site has been a go-to source of stories exposing the politically correct obsessions of liberals and the non-confrontational habits of Republican leaders.
C’mon, man.
* Except for the stuff about wanting to kick out the US House Speaker, Darin LaHood is every bit as “tea party” as Flynn. I did a quick Google search of “Darin LaHood” and “tea party” and here are just a few of the results…
* Peoria Patriots: Darin was great! He talked to us like he is one of us. He was eager to answer any and all of our questions. Illinois could sure use more like him. I hope he will be able to bring change to this corrupt state, but he will need our help in educating the voters to the issues so they can vote wisely and elect more like Darin.
* Area tea party calls out detractors: “Friends, I think it is time for us to return to being a godly nation. We should not be ashamed of ‘One Nation Under God,’” [Rick Welty, president of Galesburg District 205 Board of Education] said. “This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principals and we have been pushed away from those and I think it is time we return to them.” Welty introduced State Sen. Darin LaHood. “Our state is in a real mess. We just put the largest tax increase in our history,” LaHood said. “We have $8 billion in debt. Companies like Caterpillar are thinking about leaving the state, and four of last eight governors are convicted felons. That’s our state. It is not heading in the right direction.
* Tea Party members rally in Galesburg: Ill. State Senator Darin LaHood, one of the event speakers, proposed some ways to fix the government, with encouraging cheers from the audience.
* And, maybe I’m wrong, but I think it’ll be tough finding anything in Sen. LaHood’s voting record to make him out to be a hated moderate. The only thing they really have is LaHood’s dad. They have to turn the younger LaHood into a “legacy” candidate and an “insider”…
“People don’t think politics should be a family business, handing over seats like an inheritance,” [Flynn] told me. “Darin LaHood lost a state’s attorney race, was appointed to a safe state senate seat, and has been just waiting to run for Congress. Conservatives can do better and send someone who has already proven they want to challenge Washington’s ways.”
First, Flynn has to get on the ballot. Then, he has to raise a bunch of cash. The jury is still out on both counts.
Speaker Madigan Forms Panel to Review Governor’s Budget Decisions
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – To help legislators craft the state’s next budget that begins July 1, House Speaker Michael J. Madigan on Friday announced the creation of a special House budget oversight panel to closely examine recent budget decisions made by Gov. Bruce Rauner.
“Governor Rauner has talked about cutting non-essential state spending for a number of months. In light of recent budget actions, and as we prepare to craft the next state budget, it’s important to have an in-depth discussion about what the governor believes is non-essential,” Madigan said. “While I believe that a budget solution should include a balance of spending cuts and additional revenue, as a state it’s also our duty to protect our most vulnerable citizens, including children with autism, persons with developmental disabilities and lower-income women in need of breast cancer screenings.”
Madigan said the budget review panel will be led by House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, and Assistant Majority Leader John Bradley, D-Marion, and include the chairmen of the five House appropriations committees. Madigan has invited House Republicans to name members to the panel.
“The Legislature has a monumental task ahead in crafting a responsible and realistic budget, and it’s imperative we have a clear understanding of the governor’s methods and his math,” Currie said. “For instance, in his budget proposal for the next fiscal year, the governor is claiming more than $2 billion in pension savings from a bill that has not even been debated, let alone passed into law, and $700 million in health care savings that has been neither debated nor approved. We can’t draft a budget with magic money that does not exist.”
“As we work through the budget plan for the next fiscal year, House Democrats are committed to protecting middle-class families and our most vulnerable citizens, protecting funding for schools, and creating jobs and rebuilding our roads, bridges and mass transit through a new infrastructure program,” Madigan said. “The budget we support will reflect those values and I’m optimistic the governor will show us how his plan accomplishes that.”
During remarks at the House’s inauguration in January, Madigan cited the state’s finances as the most important issue facing Illinois. Madigan said addressing the deficit and passing a spending plan will require bipartisan cooperation with Rauner and legislative Republicans – cooperation Madigan hopes will begin in earnest with the budget review committee.
“As I have pledged since he was elected, I plan to work with Governor Rauner professionally and cooperatively,” Madigan said. “That’s why I worked with the governor to address the current fiscal year’s budget. Now that decisions continue being made that impact a number of residents and families throughout the state, it’s important that the governor fully disclose how he reached those decisions.”
The budget review panel will hold its first meeting at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 21 in Room 114 of the Capitol.
That mention of autism is no accident. Madigan thought he had a deal.
*** UPDATE *** From the governor’s office…
“One month ago, child care in Illinois had run out of money, court reporters were being sent home and prison guards were on the verge of missing payroll. Thanks to bipartisan legislation approved by the General Assembly in conjunction with continued fiscal management steps taken by the administration, millions of people around Illinois continue to be served by core state services. Governor Rauner remains committed to fixing Illinois’ fiscal crisis through the Turnaround Agenda and restructuring state government. He looks forward to working with the legislature to find a bipartisan solution that puts Illinois on the road to becoming the most competitive state in the country.”
Layoffs have begun for the Springfield branch of The Autism Program after Gov. Bruce Rauner cut its funding.
The governor announced the freeze of $26 million in state grants in a letter to social service agencies April 3. The move is part of an attempt to plug a $1.6 billion budget hole for the current fiscal year.
Russell Bonanno, the state director of the TAP Network, said Thursday that five professionals have already been let go by the program. Another two are facing cuts in both hours and salary, he said.
The Springfield branch has already eliminated nonclinical services, such as training and consultation for parents. The organization also is reviewing clinical services to decide if any need to be ended.
Bonanno said without money right now, it’s unlikely TAP will be able to reinstate its services in the near future.
Imagine your everyday with no limits. Daring to face each challenge with excitement and vigor. Refusing to be your own stumbling block. Never ending your day with “done.” Always pushing the finish line forward.
What then would our world be like? Sounds like it would be a super human kind of world wouldn’t it?
I think about this often. Not only for the challenges I’ve chosen to face in my life. But more so when I consider the challenges my son and others with disabilities have to face every day to achieve the same level of “normal” we take for granted. It’s easy to overlook the strength of will and effort he and others have had to exert. Especially when their efforts have been successful.
Most know this..but for those who don’t, my son has autism. It’s mild. He is high functioning. And his diagnoses has evolved over the years. But he has been in therapies since he was three. His vocabulary was significantly limited. He didn’t “mimic.” He didn’t make eye contact. He had melt downs. He couldn’t tolerate loud noises, tastes, textures, even a hug at times. But he could create intricate patterns, recognize shapes, line up objects etc.
We started out with at home speech therapy, occupational therapy and a family/social therapists to help me and him interact in a way that wouldn’t result in a melt down. He stayed with various therapists as he progressed and his needs changed. He was in small-early childhood classes with other kids with disabilities. He rode “the short bus” to school. I cringe when I hear the use of that term in a derogatory way. I loved that short bus. It meant my son was going to see people who could help him in ways I could not. It meant I could hope for a better future for him.
After a while he was able to be integrated with other kids without disabilities. He has had an IEP, Individual Educational Plan, all through the school years. I’ve had to fight almost every year to keep it and to enforce it. Budget cuts are always threatening the programs that help. He is a number. A figure in a budget. And his disabilities are not as understood as others that are more physically apparent. And also because these therapies and interventions have worked! He IS a success story! Most people who have met him can’t perceive anything different about him than any other kid. He has an IQ in the “very superior” range. But he has had to work very hard to reach his potential and to get to this point in his social skills where he can be accepted by peers and even society as “normal.” It does not come naturally to him.
So everyday he faces challenges. He had to be taught that words are not always literal. He had to be taught socially acceptable behavior. He had to be taught to interpret facial and body language. He had to be taught that people lie. All these things and more he has had to learn through repetition and therapies. And he continues to draw upon those therapies to be able to function in a world that is foreign for him.
As he gets older there are new challenges he must face. We all do. But it’s different for him and others with these disabilities. They aren’t cured. It’s still there. They have just learned to cope. They’ve learned to act against what their natural inclination is.
Literally, they are facing each day tearing down their limits. Daring to face each challenge. Refusing to be their own stumbling block. Never ending their day with “done” because their disability will never go away. Their finish line will always be pushed forward. Kind of like a super human don’t you think?
I’m lucky. My son is 16 and is already a super human He has been through all those programs that made it possible for him to overcome. And his disability is relatively mild in comparison to what others have to work through. Yet right now the programs that have made all this possible are being cut.
It’s not just a number. It’s not just a figure. It’s hope. The programs that are being cut are what make it possible for these kids to thrive. These kids are already facing huge challenges. They are already working each day to overcome obstacles that most of us never have to face. And the programs that help them do this, that give them the tools they need to function in our world, are being taken away.
We hear about the cuts to programs but we don’t really understand what it means. For people with disabilities, and specifically autism, it means imagining everyday always pushing the finish line forward but with even more stumbling blocks in the way, more challenges to hinder, limits without hope to overcome and a future that won’t be realized.
Another big union turnout (350-500 people) and another local government postpones consideration of Rauner’s turnaround agenda, this time in Livingston Co. Rauner got 66% of the vote in Livingston in November.
A pic…
* From the governor’s office…
Hi, Rich –
I have attached the Westville resolution as promised.
And you can add Winthrop Harbor and Fayette County to the list of communities that have passed the resolution.
Thanks,
ck
Westville passed an unedited Rauner resolution.
Winthrop Harbor, pop. 6,742.
Fayette County, pop. 22,140.
*** UPDATE *** No “Hi Rich” this afternoon?…
Village of Thomson passed the resolution. It’s attached.
I cringe when I hear the use of that term in a derogatory way. I loved that short bus. It meant my son was going to see people who could help him in ways I could not. It meant I could hope for a better future for him. 
Kind of like a super human don’t you think? 
