* I’ve been getting some “complaints” lately that I haven’t posted any Oscar the Puppy pics. So, here he is being cool with his shades and shaking hands…
* And if you don’t like this one, well I can’t ever help you. Here’s Taj Mahal rehearsing back stage with the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Jerry Douglas…
Chief Justice Rita B. Garman and the Illinois Supreme Court have scheduled a special evening session of oral argument on Tuesday, March 17, and have invited Gov. Bruce Rauner and the entire Illinois legislature to observe the Court in session.
It is uncertain when an evening session was last held in the Illinois Supreme Court Building, but it is believed to have been more than a century ago.
The Court will hear oral arguments in a case involving an amendment passed by the legislature to the Illinois Juvenile Court Act. A portion of the amendment was ruled unconstitutional by a Circuit Court and the case is on direct appeal to the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Garman explained that the special evening session is an opportunity for members of the General Assembly to observe first-hand the interaction of the functions of the three branches of government and the operation of the checks and balances essential to our system.
“The case involves an amendment that was debated and passed by the legislature, signed by the Governor, applied by the State in an individual case, challenged by a defendant, and declared un- constitutional by the Circuit Court,” said Chief Justice Garman. “It affords a window into how our constitutional system operates and the balance among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.”
The case is People v. Richardson. It involves a defendant who was 17 years old when he allegedly committed the offenses charged. At the time, the Juvenile Court Act applied only to minors under the age of 17, making him ineligible for juvenile court. After the crimes were committed, but before Richardson was to be tried, the legislature amended the Act to raise the age limit for juvenile felony proceedings to 18. The amendment expressly provides that it is to be applied only to offenses committed on or after its effective date. The Circuit Court of DuPage County ruled that it would violate the constitutional guarantee of equal protection if the defendant were not given the benefit of the amendment.
“The State will be represented by an attorney from the Office of the Attorney General, and the defendant will be represented by the Office of the State Appellate Defender,” Chief Justice Garman noted in her letter to the governor, legislative leaders, and members of the Senate and House. “Thus, you will have the opportunity not only to see the Court at work, but also to observe these valuable public employees performing their vital functions on behalf of the people of the State of Illinois.”
I’m not sure how many legislators are gonna show. The Sullivan Caucus and the Black Caucus both have huge events that night. And Gov. Rauner has committed to attending the Sullivan Caucus event.
* The Question: Should the Democrats wait for Gov. Rauner to propose a revenue increase, or should they do it themselves, or should they work with him behind the scenes and make a joint announcement, or should they forget about new revenues entirely?
Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner fired the first shot across the bow last month against the public sector labor unions by ordering an end to a requirement that workers pay dues even if they decide not to join a union.
“These forced union dues are a critical cog in the corrupt bargaining that is crushing taxpayers,” Rauner said, adding that forcing non-union employees to pay union dues requires them to fund political activity they don’t agree with.”
But local union reaction suggests the executive order may have the opposite effect. […]
“We had approximately 8 to 12 fair-share members that this would have affected,” [local AFSCME Steward Bryon Steadman] said. “Ironically, after these members saw what the governor was attempting to do they decided to become full-share members. Our local now has 100 percent full membership, something I’ve never seen before at our facility.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan arrived at a South Side elementary school Thursday morning for an event — but his driver took a wrong turn down a dead-end alley, and Duncan was forced to walk half a block to the school amid protesters who’d been waiting for him to complain about standardized testing.
About 50 parents and children stood outside Ariel Community Academy so they could deliver their message to him about their opposition to the PARCC test. They chased his black SUV when it turned short of the school into an alley.
Why is his U.S. Department of Education forcing a controversial standardized test — one many parents don’t want and that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has argued is “not ready” for prime time — down the throats Chicago Public Schools?
“I’m not,” Duncan said. “The state works it out without Chicago. . . . That’s the state’s decision.”
But isn’t the mandate being dictated by the federal government? Isn’t that what’s behind the threat to withhold $1 billion in funding that forced Chicago’s hand?
“No. You’re wrong. . . . You’re making stuff up. You don’t have your facts straight,” Duncan said.
* From a letter written by an Assistant Secretary of the US Department of Education to the the State Board of Education inquiring about its options in dealing with Chicago’s refusal…
Dear Superintendent Koch:
This letter is in response to your November 25, 2014 letter to Secretary Arne Duncan, regarding various inquiries that have arisen in Illinois about the requirements for State assessments under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) and, concomitantly, ESEA flexibility. Your letter was referred to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and I am pleased to respond on behalf of Secretary Duncan. […]
Below, I have responded to each of the questions for which you have asked ED to confirm the Illinois State Board of Education’s ( ISBE’s) interpretation of certain provisions of Section 1111(b)(3), providing the statutory and regulatory citations, as applicable, and noting any differences between the statutory and regulatory requirements of the ESEA and ESEA flexibility.
1. Please confirm that, under the ESEA, a local educational agency (LEA) is not allowed to “take a year off” from assessing students.
The ISBE’s interpretation is correct. […]
2. Please confirm that it would be inconsistent with ESEA requirements for a State to offer “a menu of assessments” from which local school districts could select to administer to students.
Patrick and Megan Esselman are thriving now. They’re two of Kerry Esselman’s three children who’ve taken part in the state’s Early Intervention program, which screens children under the age of the 3 for many developmental delays and then provides therapy. […]
Patrick is proof, [her mom] says. As a toddler, he couldn’t sit up and he was non-verbal, Kerry Esselman says.
More than 20,000 Illinois one- and two-year-olds were helped by the program last year alone. But now Rauner wants to change requirements, making it more difficult for toddlers with lesser delays to get help.
Advocates say the change would also cut 10,000 children, like Megan, from the program now.
A Rauner spokesperson says the governor had to make some difficult decisions to close a $6 billion budget hole. “Eligibility will be adjusted to prioritize the most vulnerable children,” the spokesperson said.
Friday, Mar 13, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Recently, ads on Capitol Fax have distorted the facts about the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard (LCPS) (HB 3293/SB 1585). Let’s set the record straight.
Myth: “This is just a bailout for Exelon.” Fact: The opposite is true. The LCPS is a technology-neutral policy that rewards all low carbon resources equally within a competitive market framework. The LCPS is one of the market-based solutions identified in the HR 1146 Report issued by the State of Illinois to position Illinois to meet future energy and environmental goals, which includes preventing the early retirement of certain Illinois nuclear plants that would result in much greater costs and risks to Illinois.
Myth: “This LCPS will cost consumers $1.5 billion. Just let the nuclear plants close.” Fact: The LCPS includes consumer protections that limit the consumer impact to about $2 per month for the average Illinois residential electricity customer (the consumer protections apply to all customers). The cost to Illinois of allowing nuclear plants to prematurely retire are as much as 12 times greater than the actual cost of the LCPS, when fully considering increased wholesale power prices, transmission costs, adverse economic impacts, and adverse environmental impacts. (Source: HR 1146 Agency Report)
Myth: “The LCPS does not benefit Illinois in any way.” Fact: The LCPS will protect thousands of Illinois jobs, prevent economic destruction of Illinois communities, and make the state an environmental leader.
Members of the General Assembly: Support the Illinois Low Carbon Portfolio Standard and Include Zero Carbon, Reliable Nuclear Energy In Illinois’ Energy Future.
* From Rahn Emanuel campaign spokesman Steve Mayberry…
“After four months of studying for the final exam, Chuy Garcia is telling Chicago voters he will hand in his homework after graduation. Today’s stonewalling says zero about what Chuy would do to fund pensions and the budget, or where he would find new revenue. Chicagoans demand an honest framework to balance budgets and secure our workers’ pensions, not an empty promise to appoint a commission on April 8. Chicagoans want a mayor who leads through us through tough times, not a politician who promises $1.9 billion in big spending and big borrowing but hides how will sock it to taxpayers later.”
* The Emanuel campaign also sent this today…
Mayor Emanuel Lays Out Fiscal Framework
Rahm’s plan follows the reform and revenue roadmap that helped balance last four city budgets and led to three landmark pension deals
Chicago – As the public waits anxiously for Chuy Garcia’s much-hyped plan to pay for more than $1.5 billion in new spending promises while balancing the budget’s $350 million deficit, Mayor Rahm Emanuel today outlined his framework to continue on the progress of the last four years.
“Chicago has come a far way in four short years, and now is not the time to risk that progress on empty promises. My budget and pension framework builds on our accomplishments of the last four years – four balanced budgets and three pension agreements with organized labor,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “Chicagoans have a clear choice: our honest budget that couples reform with revenue and creates a strong climate for job growth, or Chuy’s promise to take us backward with $2 billion in promises that would wreck our finances, hike property taxes or force drastic cuts.”
But go check out the actual “plan.” It’s almost laughable. There are a few small doable things, but for the most part it’s a bunch of pie in the sky stuff or “stay the course” rhetoric.
State utility regulators moved today to open a new investigation into Peoples Gas’ massive and troubled gas-main replacement program in Chicago. […]
A pair of letters to the ICC last month from anonymous whistleblowers alleged that Peoples is badly mismanaging the program. That prompted the commission to open the special probe.
“We’re pleased they’re ordering the investigation,” said David Kolata, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board in Chicago. “These are very serious allegations. We are concerned that perhaps a dual track has been set (to consider the merger and conduct the investigation separately). We think they are inextricably tied.” […]
[Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s] office has estimated that the average Chicago household’s base gas rates will double over the coming decade if Peoples’ program continues on its present course.
A decade ago, Peoples Gas stood accused of ripping off Chicagoans under an arrangement with Enron to profit on cheap natural gas in storage that ratepayers had previously financed.
At the center of that scandal—which ended up costing the utility $100 million in customer rebates under a settlement with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and others—was an executive named Bill Morrow.
Morrow, then a vice president with Peoples, negotiated Peoples’ arrangement with Enron, the Illinois Commerce Commission determined. Enron, the Houston-based energy trading giant, later collapsed in disgrace following revelations of deceptive accounting and manipulation of energy markets that helped cause extensive power blackouts in California. The mishandling of Enron’s accounting eventually led to the fall of its auditor, Chicago-based Arthur Andersen, and sent Enron’s CEO, Jeffrey Skilling, to prison in 2006.
At its heart, Peoples’ deal with Enron in the early 2000s was a “shell game” that allowed Peoples’ parent company at the time to profit “at consumers’ expense,” the commission found in its final order in March 2006.
Fast forward to today. Peoples Gas again is under fire, this time for its management of a massive program to replace 2,000 miles of aging underground gas mains in Chicago. A project that Peoples parent Integrys Energy Group said in 2009 would cost $2.2 billion over 20 years now is estimated to cost $4.6 billion, according to the Attorney General’s interpretation of information provided by Peoples. […]
And the man who’s been in charge of the gas-main program since its inception in 2009? Bill Morrow.
A bill that would have taken legal notices out of the newspaper will not be making its way to the House floor.
Rep. Joe Sosnowski’s House Bill 261 would eliminate the requirement for local governments to post public notices in local newspapers. Instead, it would require governments to post notices only on their websites.
The bill failed in committee Thursday by a 5-6 vote. […]
“This was an initial litmus test at the committee level,” he said. “I think, generally, the committee was open to the legislation. We’ve just got some fine-tuning to do.”
All legislators have community newspapers in their districts. And all Downstate and suburban legislators have local newspapers which publish these required notices for a hefty fee. And pretty much all community newspapers have been struggling financially for years. Every dollar helps. And, not all, but just about all those newspapers are generally friendly toward their legislators, regularly publishing their press releases, having them over for lunch with the publisher, etc.
Dinging those papers could very well be the right fiscal move in trying times, but it’s dangerous politics…
Rep. Don Moffitt, R-Gilson, said some of his constituents do not have access to the Web and rely on printed newspapers for their information. He voted for the bill on the condition that Sosnowski work with the Illinois Press Association and others to reach a compromise on how to reach individuals without computers or Internet access.
Heading into an expensive re-election campaign, Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., is cranking up his fundraising, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned, with Gov. Bruce Rauner ready to unleash his network of super wealthy donors to help Kirk win a second term.
“Got to make sure you are long and you are strong,” Kirk told me on Thursday. He said his next fundraising report will show contributions of $612,000 in the last few months for his 2016 race.
* The Illinois Policy Institute’s Kristina Rasmussen has an SJ-R op-ed…
To hear critics of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget proposal, you’d think he wants women to die from cancer, kids to wander in the streets and the poor to freeze in their homes. […]
Despite the claims of the so-called “Responsible Budget Coalition” – which tweeted Feb. 27 that “Rauner child care budget cuts mean 6-year-olds will have to take are of themselves” – the budget called for a current-year supplemental appropriation of $278 million for child care services to make up for the deliberate underfunding enacted by former Gov. Pat Quinn and the General Assembly last spring.
But instead, we see headlines such as “Rauner wants to seize utility funds for the poor to help balance budget.” Never mind that 263,000 Illinois households are still in line to receive heating assistance in the coming year.
Yes, the governor is taking the heat for eliminating numerous programs, but the reality is many of these initiatives had been funded last year by Quinn at a perfunctory amount of $1. It doesn’t compute that the guy who funded “homeless education” at $1 somehow is a saint, but the man who moves it to $0 is an ogre. […]
Contrary to the impression left by doomsayers, most core government services will be more than adequately funded under Rauner’s budget proposal. The lights will not go off at the Stratton Building. People still will get help. Pension checks still will be cut. Even the politicians at the Statehouse would have a hard time spending $31.5 billion without covering the basics.
Yes, poor people. Look on the bright side. Rauner’s budget would, indeed, eliminate all future child care assistance for any child 6 and over, but let’s brush right past that cold, hard fact and look at the child care that he still wants to fund! All is well! Facts are sooooo inconvenient!
And while heating assistance - paid for with a surcharge on every Illinois residents’ utility bills - is being cut in half, the federal government is still picking up the other half. Bright side, people! Bright side! And if you’re a motorcycle rider, your education funding - like LIHEAP, paid for by motorcycle riders - is actually being increased! So, buy a Harley Davidson, poor people! Pull yourself up by your Durango boot straps, already! Maybe the governor will even let you ride with him. Ever think of that? Then you can talk to him about cutting your 6-year-old off of childcare assistance. Brilliant!
And, yes, Pat Quinn is most definitely a “saint.” Yep. Everyone agrees on that, which is why he won reelection last year, right?
State grants that aren’t eligible for federal matching dollars through the Medicaid program have been especially vulnerable to potential cuts in recent years as Illinois struggled through a recession and bumpy recovery, said Tony Paulauski, executive director of the Frankfort-based Arc of Illinois.
A $482,000 state grant on the chopping block in Rauner’s budget is the sole source of funding for the Arc’s unique Lifespan program. Lifespan provides free information, counseling and advocacy to people with disabilities and their families. […]
The elimination of state general revenue fund support for The Autism Program would be the second-largest cut among the non-Medicaid grant programs. The largest single cut — $8.9 million — would remove funding for respite services throughout the state.
Respite is provided to families of children with intellectual disabilities. Trained workers care for children for hours at a time while family members take care of chores outside the home or simply get a break to preserve marriages and the health of caregivers, said Greg O’Connor, chief executive director of Springfield-based Sparc. .
* But, she does have a point. Rod Blagojevich and Quinn both tried to cut those two programs mentioned directly above. And both did cut back this one over time…
Rauner has proposed eliminating a $390,000 Illinois Department of Human Services grant to the Humboldt Park-based Children’s Place Association, which provides specialized preschool to about 65 toddlers of low-income Latino and African-American families who earn, on average, $5,000 per year. Approximately 50 percent of the kids are from HIV/AIDS-affected families. The others suffer from a broad range of medical disabilities.
They didn’t, however, eliminate it.
* Look, this isn’t about a few cuts that were also proposed earlier. It’s about the width and breadth of the governor’s proposed cuts. And that’s clearly newsworthy and should be debated, not breezed past.
Bruce Rauner has the big chair now. He most certainly helped create this problem by demanding that the General Assembly allow the income tax hike to expire on January 1st. They bowed to his demands. If the tax hike hadn’t expired, we wouldn’t be in this fiscal mess. The current situation is what it is. Deal with it.
Schock’s business career began early. In high school, he bought 107 acres of farmland near Peoria - property he sold to the local sewage district two years later for more than $100,000 in profit. As a college student, he bought three rental properties across the street from Bradley University, selling them to the school a few years later for a profit of more than $120,000. […]
In 2007, Peoria businessman Samuel Hoerr obtained permits to build a home on a Schock-owned vacant lot in the luxury golf course development called Augusta Estates. Schock and Hoerr - himself a financial contributor - have been both listed as owners in varying local real estate records. Sam Hoerr did not respond to a telephone message left at his business. Members of the Hoerr family - a prominent Peoria family with interests in real estate and construction - have donated nearly $80,000 to Schock’s campaign and supporting political committees since 2007. Schock’s sister and campaign manager, Tania Hoerr, married into the family. […]
His financial records show that Schock also earns between $50,000 and $100,000 each year in rental income from a Peoria apartment complex, once owned by an advocacy group that supports many conservative causes like opposing gay marriage. The National Christian Foundation received the stake in the apartments as a donation from a Schock contributor, then sold the investment to Schock and Hoerr family investments in 2007, according to tax filings reviewed by the AP. The foundation declined to comment on its role in the transaction.
Schock emerged from the deal with a 16 percent stake in the apartments, his share valued at $684,000 based on the purchase price. Financial disclosures show he borrowed more than $500,000 to pay for the apartment investments. Schock then switched that loan to Backlund’s bank as well.
The survey had Emanuel at 51 percent to 37 percent for Garcia with less than four weeks before the April 7 runoff election. Both candidates have gained around 5 percentage points since the first round of voting last month. Another 11 percent of voters remained undecided in the poll, which was conducted March 6 through Wednesday. […]
(T)he poll shows Emanuel’s support rebounding among black voters, a group viewed by both campaigns as a major key to winning next month. Among African-American voters, 52 percent backed the mayor, 31 percent supported Garcia and 15 percent were undecided. […]
Among black voters, 50 percent have a favorable view of the mayor, up from 44 percent last month. But for Garcia, the percentage of black voters with a favorable view grew only slightly since last month, to 31 percent from 28 percent, while those who viewed him unfavorably more than doubled to 22 percent from 9 percent. […]
Overall, a third of the city’s voters have no impression of Garcia, while 40 percent view him favorably and 24 percent look at him in an unfavorable light… Emanuel is now viewed favorably by 50 percent of all voters, while 32 percent have an unfavorable impression of the mayor.
[Congressman Aaron Schock] appears to have improperly accepted money from an outside group to cover travel expenses for a companion on a trip to India and failed to disclose it in a possible violation of House rules, according to a National Journal review of public records.
Schock traveled to India on official business in August 2014, a trip during which he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Global Poverty Project, an advocacy organization that seeks to alleviate extreme poverty internationally, footed the bill, according to a spokesman for the group.
But Schock’s photographer and videographer, Jonathon Link, traveled with him on the trip, which was well-documented on Schock’s Instagram account. The organization offered to pay for the costs of one staffer to accompany Schock as long as the staffer flew economy class, according to the spokesman. Another aide was originally going to come, but the organization noted they were looking for a photographer, and Schock suggested Link, with whom he has worked in the past, the spokesman said. The photos Link took were made available to both Schock and the Global Poverty Project.
The problem is House rules allow a member to accept private money for a companion’s travel expenses only if the companion is a staffer, spouse or child. Link was none of those; he didn’t appear on Schock’s official or campaign payroll until September 2014.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) announced today that Illinois’ unemployment rate in January decreased 0.1 percentage points to 6.1 percent. The state’s unemployment rate is slightly higher than the national unemployment rate reported for January at 5.7 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment, however, shed -7,100 jobs, based on preliminary data released by the Department and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate identifies those individuals who are out of work and seeking employment. A person who exhausts or is ineligible for benefits will still be reflected in the unemployment rate if they actively seek work.
In January, three industry sectors posted large gains in employment: Leisure and Hospitality (+3,300); Educational and Health Services (+2,300); and Trade, Transportation and Utilities (+1,600). Four industry sectors reported large declines in employment: Professional and Business Services (-5,500); Government (-2,700); Construction (-2,500); and Manufacturing (-2,100).
“While a month-to-month decrease in nonfarm payrolls is not unusual, it’s clear Illinois has more work to do to catch up with other states,” said Director Jeffrey Mays. “Our economy is simply not yet firing on all cylinders.”
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased by +65,000 jobs with the largest gains in Professional and Business Services (+16,700); Educational and Health Services (+15,200); and Construction (+11,100). One sector posted a decline in January over the prior year: Financial Activities (-1,400).
The continuing manufacturing losses are worrisome. The government sector losses could increase if state funding starts drying up.
* Check out this part of the Illinois Policy Institute’s react…
Some economic sectors such as education and hospitality added jobs in January, however, the business-services, construction and manufacturing sectors saw job losses. […]
These sectors lost jobs from December 2014 to January 2015:
Professional and business services: lost 5,500 jobs
Construction: lost 2,500 jobs
Manufacturing: lost 2,100 jobs
Notice something missing? Government job loss totals, even though they were the second highest on the list. But admitting that fact would screw up the meme.
Time is running out for lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner to find a budget fix that will allow the state to keep paying for court reporters across the suburbs.
The money for their salaries runs out at the end of the month, raising big questions about how courts will continue to operate without reporters tapping away during hearings the law requires them to attend.[…]
[Kane County Chief Judge Judith Brawka] says she remains hopeful Rauner and top Democrats will cut a deal before funding runs out. Deadlines, she says, and the “impending sense of doom” that come with them, tend to motivate deal-making.
“At a crisis point, they find a solution,” Brawka said.
That’s very true. Usually.
I think they’ll probably get there, too. It just hasn’t been very pretty, but it never is.
The Rev. Willie T. Barrow, a direct link to some of the greatest civil rights leaders and protests, died Thursday at age 90.
She had been in the intensive care unit of Jackson Park Hospital, getting treatment for a blood clot in her lung.
“She was small in stature but she was a giant in character,” said the Rev. Michael L. Pfleger of St. Sabina Church. “She was a person who was rooted in faith and who was a warrior for justice. The best way we can honor her is to live like her.”
* From the President…
Reverend Willie T. Barrow was a Civil Rights icon and a Chicago institution, a “Little Warrior” in pursuit of justice for all God’s children. In 1936, when she was just 12 years old, Reverend Barrow demanded to be let on to her all-white school bus in Texas, and the fight for equality she joined that day would become the cause of her life. She marched with Dr. King on Washington and in Selma. She stood up for labor rights and women’s rights. She made one of the first pieces of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and proudly welcomed LGBT brothers and sisters to the movement she helped lead.
Nowhere was Reverend Barrow’s impact felt more than in our hometown of Chicago. Through Operation Breadbasket, the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, and her beloved Vernon Park Church, she never stopped doing all she could to make her community a better place. To Michelle and me, she was a constant inspiration, a lifelong mentor, and a very dear friend. I was proud to count myself among the more than 100 men and women she called her “Godchildren,” and worked hard to live up to her example. I still do.
Michelle and I are deeply saddened by Reverend Barrow’s passing, but we take comfort in the knowledge that our world is a far better place because she was a part of it. Our thoughts and prayers are with Reverend Barrow’s family, and with all those who loved her as we did.
* From Mayor Emanuel…
“Today all Chicagoans mourn the passing of Reverend Willie T. Barrow.
“From a teenager who demonstrated for equality in the segregated south to a revered Chicago icon who helped to found Operation Breadbasket, Reverend Barrow spent her life on the front lines in the fight for justice. She marched in Selma and played a pivotal role in persuading Dr. King to take his fight for equality to Chicago.
“Known as ‘The Little Warrior,’ Rev. Barrow was small in frame but her voice was powerful, and contributed immeasurably to the cause of fairness, justice and opportunity in our community and the nation. We mourn her loss but give thanks for the impactful life she lived.
“I have ordered flags at all city facilities lowered in Rev. Barrow’s memory, and offer our thoughts and prayers to her family and many friends.”
* Attorney General Madigan…
“Reverend Barrow was a tremendous person, with a strong spirit and an unrelenting passion in seeking justice for all. While small in stature, this ‘Little Warrior’ never shied from a fight worth fighting. She was a true public servant in every sense. We have all benefited from her courageous work, and I am proud to have known her and learned from her example. I will miss her love and leadership.”
* Congresswoman Robin Kelly…
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the Reverend Dr. Willie Barrow. Rev. Barrow’s passionate pursuit of social justice and unwavering commitment to equality for African Americans, women and gay Americans will continue to inspire for generations. I am proud to have had such an esteemed icon of the civil rights movement as a fellow Sigma Gamma Rho Soror. After a lifetime of answering the call to justice, it seems somewhat poetic that she herself be called home only days after the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Selma March. In her honor, we must follow her courageous example and continue the pursuit of justice and equality for all.”
…Adding… Joint Black Caucus Chairwoman, Assistant Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford…
“Although the Reverend Dr. Willie T. Barrow was small in stature, she was mighty in her lifelong dedication to racial equality and social justice. We the members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus are deeply saddened at the loss of one of the mothers of the movement. I will personally miss her encouragement, kind words and fierce advocacy. We all stand on her shoulders as sons and daughters of the movement.”
Not so long ago, Exelon…was extolling the merits of an open market for power as its profits rolled in. Now, with power prices plunging, Exelon has lost enthusiasm for the open markets it championed in the 1990s and wants the Legislature to devise a new formula that will protect its profits, quite likely driving up utility bills for homeowners and businesses.
If Exelon is hard up, they can show us. The company should open its books to show how its nuclear fleet is performing.
What’s good for Exelon doesn’t much matter if it’s bad for the rest of Illinois.
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.
* From the SJ-R’s coverage of yesterday’s massive Statehouse protest over Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget cuts…
The governor did make a brief appearance in the Capitol while the rally was beginning but did not actually attend. As he walked through the protesters on the first level, he said it looked like they were “having fun on a beautiful day.”
They did not take kindly to the governor’s description.
“That’s incredibly condescending and irresponsible to say,” Johnson said. “We’re here on a mission. We are family, and so, yes, we’re talking to each other, but that’s how you build power.”
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
The civil justice system give families of patients who have died or been injured by medical negligence an avenue to seek accountability. It also drives the development of patient safety systems that help prevent injuries before they occur. Hospitals, health systems, and even entire medical fields have reformed dangerous practices because of the civil justice system.
The civil justice system not only provides injured patients the ability to hold those responsible for their injuries accountable, but also encourages the adoption of patient safety systems that help prevent injuries before they happen. Specialties like anesthesiology have drastically improved patient outcomes by identifying system failures and implementing comprehensive practice changes. Individual hospital systems have also reduced errors after undergoing comprehensive safety studies. The civil justice system has served as a valuable deterrent to malpractice and a powerful motivator for patient safety.
Better patient safety is the key to lower health care costs. For more information, click here.
While declining to comment on some of the reports, Schock’s PR team has taken issue with the accuracy of others, like a Politico story on Monday that said Schock had reported on federal campaign finance documents that he spent more than $3,000 on software when in fact the money was part of the cost of a flight in a software executive’s private plane to a Chicago Bears game and his district.
Oh, yeah, that’s so much better. And, by the way, the rest of that cost was picked up by the taxpayers. Sheesh.
Congressman Schock is paying big bucks for a new PR firm and that’s what they come up with? It was for a private jet flight to a Bears game?
I think he should demand a refund.
* Even so, if you click that link above, you can watch video of CNN’s reporter asking a ton of blatantly loaded questions and then whining after Schock refuses to respond: “I’ve been polite to you.”
DC reporters must have a different definition of the word “polite.”
* Meanwhile, you may have heard that a couple of national right-wing bloggers have called on Schock to resign. Schock’s response was on-point…
He said he wasn’t taking seriously calls for his resignation coming from right-leaning outlets online. […]
“I would simply say these are the same groups who have called on (House Speaker) John Boehner and (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell to step down,” the Peoria Republican said. “So they’re people who fundamentally have never supported me and probably won’t ever support me — and, unfortunately for them, I’m not going anywhere.”
He implied that opponents to his political right were using the stories to make political hay at his expense.
Thursday, Mar 12, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Locally-owned credit unions return their earnings as a benefit to their members through services like free ATMs, better rates and lower fees. When credit unions exceed expectations, their members – including Illinois working-class families – share even more in those benefits.
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Based on reports by members only, the Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (IARF) estimates 51,447 children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and/or serious mental illnesses will experience limited access to, or lose access to, community-based services and supports under the Department of Human Services’ proposed fiscal year 2016 budget.
“We find these conservative impact estimates on individuals with disabilities and mental illnesses and their families disturbing,” said Janet Stover, IARF President & CEO. “Even with the Department making efforts to preserve core and essential services, every proposed cut will cut bone, and these estimates make that clear,” continued Stover.
The Department’s proposed budget cuts $193 million in funding from community-based services and supports for children and adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and mental illnesses in the critical areas of residential services for individuals with high medical/behavioral support needs (ICFDD), psychiatry, housing supports, early intervention, respite, autism, dental and epilepsy services.
• 16,533 individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI) will lose access to psychiatry, care coordination, evidence-based mental health services and housing supports – which will lead to increased hospitalizations and incarcerations;
• 808 adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities will lose residential and developmental services and supports in ICFDD settings – which will lead to increased utilization of state-operated developmental centers (SODCs);
• 1,798 individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities and their families will lose access to respite services – which will lead families to seek out-of-home services, higher cost services and supports;
• 11,208 children ages 0-3 will lose access to early intervention services – which will lead to higher long term costs in special education;
• 21,100 individuals with epilepsy will lose access to case coordination, case management and outreach services;
“Again, these are estimates based on responses from IARF members. Given the number of service providers, individuals and families that would be impacted statewide, as well as statements made by the Department on proposed cuts in previous budget years, our estimates are only thumbnail sketches of the statewide impact,” said Stover.
National and state studies, including data prepared previously by the Department of Human Services, show the efficacy, cost savings and preference of community care by individuals and families. The average cost of a nursing home placement in Illinois is $31,400; one year incarceration in a Department of Corrections facility is $38,268. Compare that to the average annual cost to serve an individual with a serious mental illness in the community, which ranges from $2,329 to $19,443 (intensive treatment and rental housing supports).
By cutting rates and eliminating grant-supported programs, individuals will be required to seek services in higher cost settings, such as state-operated developmental centers (SODCs), hospital emergency rooms, nursing homes and jails.
Further compounding the damage the budget would do to individuals and families, an estimated 1,539 would lose jobs under the proposal, removing tax dollars from state coffers and likely causing many to rely on public assistance themselves.
“Nearly 90 cents of every state dollar invested in community services is spent on the staff supporting individuals in programs,” said Stover. “Providers are already challenged to hire and maintain quality staff with the wages they pay now due to years of lack of investment by the state in rates and reimbursements. Studies show the need for these staff positions in the community will continue to grow. We simply can’t absorb the job loss, nor can Illinois,” continued Stover.
“There will be no savings as a result of this proposed budget for community services…cutting these services will actually increase the state’s costs almost immediately,” said Stover. “Fifteen years ago, we launched an advocacy campaign with the message ‘Don’t Be Penny Wise and Pound Foolish’ and here we are again. Fiscally, it makes no sense to allow these cuts - not to mention the emotional anguish of this vulnerable population having to regress to service settings that we have been working to modernize for the last ten years,” she said.
* Meanwhile, I told subscribers about this yesterday…
In what state park district officials called an “unprecedented” decision, Gov. Bruce Rauner Wednesday indefinitely suspended all state grants for park district construction projects. […]
“These suspensions even cover construction projects that are currently in progress,” noted a memo from the Illinois Association of Park Districts. “With construction season upon us, this decision could not come at a worse time. The suspension not only threatens jobs that are helping to grow Illinois’ economy, it creates exposure to local taxpayers for existing contractual obligations and project costs.”
* Mayor Emanuel weighed in this morning…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel today called on Governor Bruce Rauner to immediately reverse his decision to suspend Chicago park improvements that are planned or in progress after learning late yesterday that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) instructed the Chicago Park District to immediately freeze state grants awarded for park improvements.
“The Chicago Park District and I have worked to enhance the quality of life in Chicago by providing safe and inviting parks and facilities; and to create a park system that prioritizes the needs of children and families,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Governor Rauner’s decision to suspend grants for new parks across Chicago and the rest of the state will hurt every child who wants to swing on a swing set or play on the monkey bars, and a slight to every parent who wants their child to have a safe, community-oriented place to enjoy.”
A total of 27 Chicago projects at 25 parks across Chicago stand to lose $28 million for improvements if this funding is not restored.
The impact of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget cuts on the CTA is even worse than the $105 million hit that the transit agency originally projected, CTA President Forrest Claypool said Wednesday. […]
The RTA initially calculated that the cuts to the Chicago-area mass transit system — the CTA, Metra and Pace — would total almost $130 million. In turn, CTA officials said a preliminary analysis of their agency’s share of the cut came out to $105 million, which is roughly 7 percent of the CTA’s operating budget.
Illinois’ deepening budget problems could begin affecting the paychecks of nearly 5,000 prison workers starting in the coming weeks, an analysis of state payroll information shows.
According to records at the Illinois Comptroller’s Office, at least five of the state’s fleet of more than two dozen prisons do not appear to have enough money to meet payroll through the end of the state’s fiscal year June 30.
The analysis by the Herald & Review Springfield Bureau shows prisons that will run short of cash include facilities in Vandalia, Taylorville, Mount Sterling, Sumner and Jacksonville.
* And, finally, Western Illinois University’s president weighed in on the governor’s proposed budget cuts today…
WIU's anticipated cuts are "on the backs of our students" Thomas says. Would mean 65% tuition bump, resulting in less access, more debt.
Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, sponsored the pension reform bill in the Senate, even though he did not agree with all of its provisions. He attended the oral arguments Wednesday and didn’t sound optimistic afterward.
“I think the indications are there won’t be a remand (to the circuit court) and we’ll be back to the negotiating table,” Raoul said.
What is probably back on the table plus some previous ideas:
Normal cost shift for TRS
‘Tier 3′ aka 401K type plan for new hires
Voluntary / optional 401K type plan for the systems that don’t currently offer it. Devil will be in the details.
Voluntary higher contribution rate in exchange for an early retirement option (rule of 75 but at least 10 - 15 years of higher payments first?) for SERS
Voluntary trade of the 3% AAI for a straight CPI
A lot of other small items I can’t remember at the moment.
Not saying any of these are necessarily good ideas or would even save any money but they would probably be legal.
In [the Illinois Supreme Court’s] July 2014 ruling in a case that said Illinois couldn’t reduce retiree health benefits, the court majority offered a sentence that now looms over these proceedings — and over that chronic failure of Illinois pols: “(W)e have concluded that the provision was aimed at protecting the right to receive the promised retirement benefits, not the adequacy of the funding to pay for them.”
The state has a much stronger argument in this pension case, in part because today’s emergency — the enormity of the pension shortfall and its strangulation of spending on other state priorities — is more extensive and more dire than were the stakes in the health benefits case.
We hope the justices appreciate the distinctions between the two cases. They likely will rule this spring. When they do, they’ll speak volumes about the future of a struggling state — and about the likelihood that its pension system will run insolvent.
Justice Robert Thomas, a Republican from Wheaton, noted the state’s pension problems were “arguably” created by the state itself. He asked Shapiro whether a ruling to uphold the law would allow the state to create a financial emergency, then attempt to resolve it by invoking its police powers to change pension benefits.
Thomas also asked Shapiro if it was “incongruous” for the state to allow the Illinois income tax rate to roll back 25 percent on Jan. 1, costing the treasury more than $4 billion a year, while at the same time claiming a financial emergency.
That’s really hard to argue with. Not to mention this. And this. Etc.
He questioned whether the state could simply shortchange other areas of state spending and then walk away by claiming police powers.
“If the court holds that the state can invoke its police powers to violate core constitutional guarantees to respond to an emergency that at least arguably the state itself created, then aren’t we giving the state the power to modify its contractual obligations whenever it wants?” Thomas asked.
Chief Justice Rita Garman to plaintiffs’ lawyer Gino DiVito: “Does the police power ever allow [the state] to impair these pensions under any circumstances?”
DiVito: “Your honor, certainly not under these circumstances. Certainly not. It is absolutely clear that the intent of the drafters, when the General Assembly invoked fiscal problems, fiscal difficulties, not having enough money, it was absolutely clear that that was not a basis that could be relied upon.”
…
Justice Lloyd Karmeier to Solicitor General Carolyn Shapiro: “If sovereign power resides in the people, and the people adopt a constitution which specifically provided for a pension clause having different wording than the contract clause . . . does that not indicate what the people, the sovereign, has given to the Legislature to act within?”
Shapiro: “The constitution restricts the state’s ability to act. [But] it cannot give away certain absolutely core and fundamental attributes of sovereignty, and the ability to protect the public welfare in extreme situations is one of those.”
OK, but how “extreme” is this situation? It’s not like the state can’t raise more revenues. Then again, here’s the state’s response……
“it’s fair to say that the budget situation in our state is not yet fully resolved.”
“Raising taxes alone can’t always be the answer to a fiscal crisis when the state might otherwise want to use its police powers,” Shapiro added later.
“I hesitate to say the Lizzie Borden defense, but I’ve killed my parents. Have mercy on me. I’m an orphan. This is a situation of the state’s making,” said union attorney Aaron Madugg.
Justice Thomas asked what the Court should do, then, with the clear evidence in the Constitutional debates that the delegates intended that there be no benefit cuts in trying times – wasn’t reducing future benefits problematic then? Counsel [for the state] concluded by once again arguing that if the delegates to the Constitutional Convention intended that the clause be absolute in its protection for employee pensions, then the clause violated the Federal constitution.
The sharpest questioning of Shapiro came from Thomas. At one point, he asked her why the state claimed it wanted an expedited hearing so that the court could rule before lawmakers’ scheduled May 31 adjournment deadline, then asked for the case to be sent back to Belz where it would face months of hearings and another likely appeal.
The four Democratic members of the court, who form a controlling majority, said not one word during the 50-minute oral argument. Not a peep, which isn’t necessarily a sign of anything either. Maybe the cat had their tongues. […]
In a signal of how important the case is, not only to the state but to all Illinois municipalities, Chicago Corporation Counsel Stephen Patton sat front and center in the Supreme Court chambers. […]
All that really matters, though, is what those four silent Democrats — Anne Burke, Charles Freeman, Thomas Kilbride and Mary Jane Theis — were thinking.
Three of those justices are from Chicago. An adverse ruling could easily drop Chicago’s bond rating into junk status.
Quick! Somebody call a doctor! We’re losing him! Oh, the humanity!!!
The actual story is pretty good, but we’ll have more on the pension arguments in a bit. I just thought you might get a chuckle out of that screen grab.
* As you already know, the Illinois Supreme Court will hear oral arguments today in the pension reform case. Mike Riopell has a pretty good piece about what could happen, so click here to read it.
Our friends at BlueRoomStream.com will have a live video stream. Click here for that. There’s plenty of background material at the Supreme Court’s website, including, apparently, high-rez video, so click here for that. Also, keep an eye on our live coverage post for updates on this topic.
The question to Rep. Aaron Schock was simple: Do you think you’ve broken any rules or federal laws? But the scandal-plagued congressman did not have a definitive answer. […]
During the interview, Schock seemed frustrated with the persistent questions in recent weeks about his lavish lifestyle and seemingly lax accounting of his spending of taxpayer and campaign dollars. He was, at turns, testy, reflective and willing to play the victim. He declined repeatedly to answer whether he ever accepted an improper gift as a member of Congress. […]
In a comment sure to enrage his Capitol Hill colleagues, he argued that if the media spent time digging into the spending of other lawmakers — like they have his — reporters would “find a story to write about any member of Congress.” […]
“Well, I would say I take my compliance obligations seriously,” he said when asked whether he accepted improper gifts. “So, to your point, you know, obviously there’s things that we’re going through and if there need to be amendments to my reports, there will be.”
Asked again if he thinks he has accepted anything for free and not disclosed it, Schock said, “I have not, uh,” and then paused. “I would just leave it at that.”
He was equally evasive about whether he had broken House ethics rules or federal campaign laws.
“Well, I certainly hope not,” he first said. Pressed again whether he could say confidently he has not, Schock replied, “Well, I’m not an attorney.” […]
Asked whether he feels singled out, Schock said, “I’m just simply saying that I think it’s gotten to the point where folks are,” he paused for six seconds, “I’ll leave it at that.”
That’s quite a slanted story, but if Schock didn’t want to answer questions, he shouldn’t have taken any.
In 2010, on the Bravo reality TV series Top Chef he certainly gave the impression that he understood, almost authoritatively, Congressional ethics rules. Season 7, filmed in Washington, D.C., like many seasons of Top Chef, held challenges thematically based on the season’s location. During that one, he was invited to guest judge a challenge inspired by — yes, seriously — ethics rules dictating what members of Congress can and cannot accept as gifts.
In this case, the “gift” was food: an ethics rule passed in 2008 dictated what sorts of food and meals members of Congress could and couldn’t accept. Food at receptions, for example, as long as it could fit on a toothpick and could be eaten while standing up, were kosher. The argument went that lobbyists could buy undue influence by treating members of Congress and their staffers to free steak dinners and the like — but not just by serving a steak on stick. (Citizen.org has a thorough breakdown of the meal restrictions on members of Congress.)
So when host Padma Lakshmi announced that the challenge was to create a gourmet dish that could fit on a toothpick, she tapped Rep. Schock, then the youngest member of Congress. In what now appears to be a completely forgotten and likely regrettable memory, he provided a quick lesson on Congressional ethics rules:
When you become a new member of Congress and win an election, the first day is spent on ethics. Believe it or not, a good portion of that discussion is about food. Basically, the Ethics committee wants to make sure that there’s not too much undue influence between the elected officials and the paid lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
* Usually, I’m not a big fan of organized Statehouse protests. They’ve been done to death and usually make no difference.
But a group called Action Now is holding a big protest today against the new governor’s proposed budget plan. Rep. Greg Harris claims “thousands” are present and posted this pic on Facebook…
Also, if you’re monitoring our live session coverage post, you already know that the group disrupted House proceedings from the gallery and security had to remove them.
* Even though I’m no fan of these sorts of things, this one might be different in that it’s the first really big Statehouse protest of our new governor. To date, most media coverage has focused on Democratic lawmakers’ opposition to the governor’s proposed budget cuts, but this protest might possibly add a new dimension to the way this issue is perceived, both inside and outside the Statehouse.
Or not.
It’s probably too early to gauge the impact, particularly since things are a bit fluid at the moment. So…
* The Question: What do you think of organized Statehouse protests in general? Explain, please. And feel free to also opine on today’s event if you want.
I have to do some inescapable errands/meetings today (nothing bad, don’t worry), so I won’t be able to update until later this afternoon. Keep an eye on our live session coverage post for updates on the protest.
* The Tribune has a pretty good front page story today on state revenue options (bottom line: there are no “good” options). You should read the whole thing, but I thought we’d discuss this one quote…
Democrats are grappling with what blend of proposals would bring in money more quickly and be politically palatable enough for legislators to support. While Democrats hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers, there’s little guarantee members of the party will stand united to push something through and then override a possible Rauner veto. Beyond that, in recent years Democratic leaders have sought Republican votes on more controversial proposals so that blame can be shared by both parties.
“We can’t raise taxes unilaterally … everything’s going to have to be bipartisan,” said Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, after a speech Monday.
I listened to the audio earlier this week, and from what I remember, Cullerton was inferring that both chambers couldn’t override a tax hike veto on a strictly partisan basis. He might possibly be able to do it (although he does have quite a few targets up for reelection in 2016), but Madigan could not. For one, Jack Franks ain’t voting for a tax hike of any kind. No way. And if MJM loses just one vote, a partisan override dies.
So, there has to be an agreement with the governor (of whichever party, but especially now). And if there’s an agreement with the governor, then the governor will have to put Republican votes on the thing. Ergo “everything’s going to have to be bipartisan.”
In a speech Tuesday, Rauner used the backdrop of a convention of road builders to again call for a massive effort to upgrade highways and create construction jobs.
“We are going to put more money in our infrastructure in the next four years than ever been done in Illinois,” Rauner said, garnering applause from members of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association. […]
But, the only hint of a plan to pay for billions of dollars in highway upgrades came during a recitation of his pro-business platform.
Rauner, a former venture capitalist, suggested that the state could free up money for more road building projects if he and lawmakers can fix the state’s under-funded pension systems, lower prevailing wage costs and reduce participation in unions at a local level.
“It’s going to free up huge resources,” Rauner said.
As subscribers know, that’s not what he intended to say about capital funding.
* But here’s the thing about groups like the Asphalt Pavers. They may not love unions, but they’re smart enough to know that they need the active participation of the construction trade unions to pass capital bills. They also know that project labor agreements keep labor peace. And prevailing wage laws mean that their playing field is level with out of state contractors. They may grumble about it, rightly believing that lower employee wages would mean more money in their pockets, but there’s also a fairness issue here.
So, check out this raw audio of the governor’s speech. When Rauner praised “right to work” zones and trashed PLAs and prevailing wage laws and repeatedly asked the Pavers to help him pass his legislative agenda, not a single attendee applauded…
* The Illinois Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 2:30 this afternoon on the state’s pension reform law. We’ll have live coverage at the blog later today, but some folks lined up for the room’s “extremely limited” seats early this morning…
The founder of CeaseFire Illinois warned Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday of the possibility of a flare-up of shootings in Chicago unless state funding for the antiviolence program is restored.
CeaseFire, whose efforts to prevent retaliatory shootings received international attention in the documentary “The Interrupters,” was notified on March 4 that its state grant was suspended as part of Rauner’s budget cuts.
On Tuesday, CeaseFire founder Dr. Gary Slutkin wrote to Rauner that the $4.5 million grant represents most of the funding for CeaseFire Illinois, which he said serves 18 communities in Chicago and six outside of the city. […]
“People’s health and safety should not be relegated to ‘non-essential’ service status and treated like property leases, office space and energy consumption savings measures,” he said.
There’s much debate over whether CeaseFire prevents the violence it claims, but ironically enough, Gov. Rauner gave Dr. Slutkin the state’s highest honor last month, the Order of Lincoln Award…
As Illinois celebrates the 206th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, Governor Bruce Rauner today announced this year’s recipients of the Order of Lincoln, which is the state’s highest honor for professional achievement and public service.
“This year’s recipients of the Order of Lincoln have helped make Illinois and the world a better place,” Gov. Rauner said. “The work they have accomplished is admirable, and it is our privilege to honor them. Mr. Lincoln would be proud.” […]
Gary Slutkin, Founder and Executive Director of Cure Violence
Dr. Slutkin’s innovative program has worked to reduce shootings and killings, and Cure Violence now has 52 program sites in 23 U.S. cities and eight nations of the world. He is a professor of epidemiology and international health at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, where he seeks to treat violence as he would seek to reverse epidemic disease outbreaks.
The official ceremony is in May.
The governor doesn’t actually choose the winners, but it’s still ironic.
The state of Illinois will have about $1.9 billion less revenue to work with in the next budget than it had this year, the General Assembly’s fiscal forecasting arm said Tuesday. […]
Although there have been times of significant differences between revenue estimates from COGFA and the governor’s office, that isn’t the case so far. COGFA said its estimate is only about $90 million higher than the governor’s office, a difference it called “quite minimal.”
COGFA revenue manager Jim Muschinske warned that could change since Rauner’s budget may overestimate the amount of federal assistance coming into the state.
“That may prove to be too optimistic,” Muschinske said of the governor’s office estimate.
* If you have a bit of money in your pocket and you stupidly commit a petty crime, it’s relatively easy to bail yourself out of jail. But if people without any financial means stupidly commit the very same petty crime, they can’t bail themselves out of jail and they rot behind bars for months. And while they’re sitting there, they learn from hardened types about how to be a real criminal.
Our justice system is just way out of whack. Sheriff Tom Dart is sick of it…
At a Tuesday news conference at the county jail, Dart told reporters the system is “not set up to care” about detainees in jail on minor offenses, who sometimes wait for months before for their cases are concluded.
One man spent 114 days in jail, which the sheriff’s office runs, allegedly for stealing packs of Snickers bars—at a cost to taxpayers of more than $16,000, according to Dart, who used the case as one example of “the outrageous amounts of money we spend incarcerating the wrong people.” […]
Beginning next week and continuing weekly, county officials will identify five to ten cases “where we feel people [should] not be there,” Dart said, and meet with public defenders and county prosecutors to brainstorm ways to fast-track those cases. […]
“We need to save our venom, our resources, for violent people,” he said.
The sheriff said Cook County Jail isn’t just coping with housing the mentally ill, “we also lock up low-level offenders where you cannot find a reason for them to be here.”
“Are we protecting society? No. Are we rehabilitating them? No,” he added.
One woman at the jail has been incarcerated since last summer, awaiting trial for stealing about $4 worth of plums and candy. She was pregnant at the time, and Dart said her incarceration has cost the county $20,000. […]
Dart also wants a new state law requiring cases of retail theft and trespassing to be adjudicated quickly, or suspects should be freed on recognizance bonds or home monitoring, pending the outcome of their case.
He also wants a “rocket docket” for minor drug offenses.
* Look, I’m not saying that everybody who commits a minor crime ought to walk free right away. But they actually locked up a pregnant woman for well over half a year for a $4 theft?
Are you freaking kidding me???
To his everlasting credit, Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he wants sentencing reforms. Let’s hope something substantial is accomplished on this front.
State Rep. Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, announced Monday he is receiving treatment for recently diagnosed esophageal cancer.
“During a routine physical in late January, my doctor found a mass. Following a biopsy in February, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. My family and I are thankful for the skilled physicians working with me. My prognosis is good, and I expect to make a full recovery.
“I am currently receiving chemotherapy treatment, which will be followed by several weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatment and surgery.
“While my activity in the district may be limited while I receive treatment, I have adjusted my treatment schedule so I can continue representing local residents, both in my district and in the State Capitol.
“My family and I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers at this time.”
In a phone interview Monday, Mautino said the cancer was “caught early” and that doctors have told him it was 97 percent curable.
Not so long ago, Exelon…was extolling the merits of an open market for power as its profits rolled in. Now, with power prices plunging, Exelon has lost enthusiasm for the open markets it championed in the 1990s and wants the Legislature to devise a new formula that will protect its profits, quite likely driving up utility bills for homeowners and businesses.
If Exelon is hard up, they can show us. The company should open its books to show how its nuclear fleet is performing.
What’s good for Exelon doesn’t much matter if it’s bad for the rest of Illinois.
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.
* Keep in mind that a whole lot of mayors (including Chicago’s former mayor) opposed the income tax hike. And now that the hike has mostly expired, the mayors are screaming bloody murder because the governor has proposed cutting their revenue sharing money in half. Well, he’s gotta go somewhere, and you go where the money is…
Suburban mayors testified before an Illinois Senate hearing Monday that a proposed reduction to their share of state income taxes could mean drastic cuts to public services like police and fire protection, or an increase in local property taxes.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed cutting half the money municipalities receive every year from income taxes as one part of a budget proposal aimed at addressing the state’s troubled finances. He’s argued many towns have healthy reserve funds that can be used to cover the loss of income tax revenues.
Municipalities across the state currently share in a pool of 8 percent of income taxes. Rauner’s proposal would set that at 4 percent starting July 1.
Mayors from across the suburbs filled a senate appropriations committee hearing room in downtown Chicago to express their opposition to Rauner’s plan.
The City of Quincy formally adopted a resolution at Monday night’s City Council meeting urging Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly to fully fund the Local Government Distributive Fund. The fund provides the city some $4,000,000 annually, and the Republican governor wants to cut the fund by some 50%.
According to Quincy Mayor Kyle Moore, “those are funds that our citizens earn and then go back to their local government bodies to provide essential services like police, fire and infrastructure. The Governor is proposing reducing that in half, which is a $2,000,000 cut, or a 6% decrease in our overall budget, and that would be devastating for the city of Quincy.”
Compounding the problem for the city is the fact that the city’s fiscal year starts May 1st, and the General Assembly will likely not adopt a final state budget until a date close to July 1st. Moore says the city will not pass a temporary budget for 2-3 months, to wait and see what the state does. “We have to prepare for a worst-case scenario, and every indication out of Springfield is that cities and counties will take some hit in next year’s budget, so we have to prepare for a reduction in our revenue”.
* I could go on forever because there are tons of related stories online that were published just in the past three days. Bing/Google “Rauner” and “Mayor” to see them all.
It’s the opinion of quite a lot of people I know that this particular proposed cut will put huge pressure on lawmakers in both parties to increase state taxes. Mayors have a lot of sway over legislators, and quite a few legislators were local government officials in previous lives.
* But Lake County has come up with a few interesting ideas for getting itself out from under some state mandates. Now, not all of these ideas are great, but some are worth a look. From a press release…
As Governor Bruce Rauner forms a special task force to examine unfunded mandates imposed on local governments, Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor sent a list of more than a dozen specific items for the group to consider that would save Lake County taxpayers millions. The list is a result of a comprehensive analysis of the hundreds of state mandates imposed on county governments.
Governor Rauner issued an executive order in February creating the Local Government and Consolidation and Unfunded Mandate Task Force, which is chaired by Lt. Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti and includes representatives of units of local government, school districts, and State representatives.
Lake County’s list covers mandates that could be reconsidered, as well as opportunities for consolidation and other efficiencies. The immediate cost savings identified in the report add up to $2.1 million, and millions more in ongoing savings related to restructuring compensation packages and workers’ compensation reform. In addition, the State requires certain notices be published in the newspaper and requires local governments to store hard copies of records rather than electronic copies – requirements that are antiquated, inefficient, and costly. Also, recent election law changes now require voter registration in every polling place on Election Day, grace period registration, and early voting at a cost of $1 million to Lake County.
The County is required to retain various paper records, which have to be stored and managed (at a cost). For example, Accounts Payable paid invoices are scanned into our financial system prior to payment, but also are required to be kept in the paper form for seven years.
The County is required to place certain records on microfilm or microfiche. There are much more efficient technologies available today which are just as effective at indexing and organizing in a more economical fashion. Changing this mandate could save the County approximately $185,000 annually. […]
Revenues generated at the jail commissary are deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund. This fund has a large, and growing, fund balance, but the State mandates that these funds can only be used for the benefit and welfare of inmates, and not on the basic costs of incarceration.
Currently, the County spends in excess of $2 million annually on the medical care of inmates and is unable to access inmate welfare funds to offset these costs. Allowing the use of inmate welfare funds for the cost of basic medical care would help defray the cost of inmate care and reduce the use of tax dollars.
Tuesday, Mar 10, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
Our names are Eric and Evilyn Ramirez. We were excited for the birth of our first child; instead it turned into a nightmare. Our daughter, Dahlia, needed surgery a month after she was born. A surgery we were told was routine.
However, something went terribly wrong when the surgeons made the first cut. A preventable operating room “flash fire” set Dahlia’s body on fire. It burned our baby over 37 percent of her body with 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Her face was burned, and she lost part of her nose, fingertips and thumbs. Dahlia was without oxygen for at least 15 minutes, which triggered a cardiac emergency that left her brain-damaged and resulted in Dahlia suffering from cerebral palsy today.
If it weren’t for the civil justice system, we would not have had the resources to pay for Dahlia’s everyday care, therapies, specialized education and future surgeries that she needs to overcome her injuries as best she can. It will allow us to give Dahlia all the things she will need to live as close to a normal life as possible.
The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association fights to ensure all citizens get equal footing in the courtroom. To learn more about Dahlia, click here.
“Change has to happen in Illinois in the next four months,” [Gov. Bruce Rauner] said [last Friday in Elmhurst].
He also said he plans to drive that directive with six floor bills to be drafted in the next three weeks.
Rauner expressed confidence that his legislation would get through the Illinois General Assembly, saying 600 bills go through the legislature every year.
“We can pass six,” he said, then repeating, “we can pass six.”
But Rauner didn’t say what those bills would be, and a spokesperson also declined to provide details.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think there’s some sort of quota system that says governors are allowed 1 percent of all bills passed by the General Assembly.
And if I were a cynic I’d write some wisecrack about how the governor knows all about that 1 percent number. But I’m not, so I’ll let that one pass.
Also, since there’s no quote attached I can’t be sure if the reporting is accurate, but there’s no such thing as a “floor bill.” Perhaps he meant or even said “floor amendments.”
* I talked about this story in the subscriber section today, so I’ll let the rest of the story be, except for one thing.
The governor, you’ll recall, told Republican Senators that he wanted their votes on ten bills. He told a Decatur audience this last month…
“We get six hundred bills in an average year. We can pass eight bills,” he said.
But now it’s 6.
* The Question: Anybody wanna guess the governor’s final passage count? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
“People are saying, ‘Oh Bruce, you’re just anti-union,’” Rauner told a crowd of about 200. “Let me be clear: I am not anti-union. I do believe you should be able to join a union or not join a union. You should have the freedom to choose.”
“An employee who is forced to pay unfair share dues is being forced to fund political activity with which they disagree. That is a clear violation of First Amendment rights –- and something that, as governor, I am duty-bound to correct.”
Yep. He’s all about worker rights and worker freedom.
“Illinois, we’re the heart of the Midwest, we’re the economic muscle of the Midwest, and we’re sitting here with closed-shop restrictions,” he says. “If DuPage County wants to have closed shop in their county, keep it—terrific, no problem. But why should DuPage force Effingham County to be closed shop? If Effingham wants to compete with Indiana for a new business, and be on the list where companies will look for employment flexibility, why shouldn’t they be able to choose to do that?”
It’ll come as no surprise to just about anyone that the “worker rights” argument is nowhere near to the core of what he wants to do here. This is all about driving down wages and benefits in both the public and private sectors. I mean, why would potential employers care if Illinois is “protecting” workers’ First Amendment rights if it doesn’t put money into their pockets?
Gov. Bruce Rauner contended Friday that public employee unions are behind the political decisions that drive how Illinois’ largest city is governed and said until that factor is eliminated, “Chicago is lost.” […]
“The Chicago machine is a government union machine at its core. … Until we deal with that, Chicago is lost,” Rauner said, contending union influence should be part of the mayoral race discussion.
Again, this all just states (and re-states) the obvious, but the governor’s crocodile tears for working people schtick is starting to wear on me. What he really means is working people make too much money and business owners don’t make enough.
* US Sen. Mark Kirk is basically freely admitting that he’ll extract as much 2016 campaign advantage out of his recovery from a massive stroke as he can. AP…
When U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk suffered a debilitating stroke in 2012, he faced a grueling recovery and serious questions about how he could continue his political career.
Now the Illinois Republican, who won the Senate seat Barack Obama vacated to run for president, is one of the Democrats’ top targets as they try to recapture control of the chamber. But far from downplaying his disability, which requires him to rely on a cane or wheelchair at times, Kirk believes it gives him a unique advantage.
Kirk says the setback has raised his public profile, noting that more people now stop to greet and encourage him. He believes it will help steel him against attacks by Democrats lining up to paint him as too extreme for a state that, before he took office, had only elected one GOP candidate to the Senate since 1968.
“Now I’m definitely a disabled American with a wheelchair,” Kirk said in an interview. “That makes me not quite the demonizable Republican candidate that you would think.”
I can see where he’s trying to go with this, but, wow, does that last sentence ever sound way too cynically calculated.
“I can hopefully be a powerful example for people who have gone through this,” Kirk said recently in an interview in his Senate office.
Yet any physical lapse by the senator, who is often escorted around the Capitol in a wheelchair by aides and uses a cane to walk, could also signal to skeptical voters that he’s not up to the rigors of a grueling job. […]
“A lot of my verbal skills kicked in one night, when I was at a fundraiser, over a glass of pinot grigio. So I’ve been insisting on pinot grigio everywhere,” he quipped.
Yet Kirk is frequently tired. He takes periodic naps on a couch in his office. His physical stamina is bound to be put to the test during a long, high-stakes campaign. […]
“I would say probably the chief limitation that I suffer from for my political future is fatigue,” Kirk said. “Most times people who suffer strokes want to sleep for about a year. In my case, you are always kind of a little bit tired.”
The office records of Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) show an anomaly that may have allowed the embattled congressman to skirt wage cap rules by paying a windfall bonus of $30,000 to his chief of staff. […]
For the first three quarters of 2014, Schock’s Chief of Staff Mark Roman made $30,000 a quarter, or $120,000 annually. Records for the fourth quarter of 2014, however, reported that his salary payment had doubled to $60,000.
December bonuses are not unusual on Capitol Hill. Bonuses, however, must comply with the salary caps defined in House rules. The Members’ Handbook says a staffer may not receive any more than the $168,411 annual cap, and also specifies the staffer may not receive more than 1/12th that amount - or $14,034 - in any one month.
That cap would allow Roman to receive only about $4,000 a month additional in bonus above his $10,000 monthly salary.
If the $30,000 additional payment came in December, his total compensation that month would be $26,000 above the limit. Even if the $30,000 additional payment was spread over three months, it would be too high by $18,000.
Schock managed to avoid the monthly salary cap by reporting that the $60,000 was salary Roman earned from March 1-Dec. 31, even though he had already reported Roman’s salary from March 1-Sept. 30. No other salary payment in Schock’s office showed similar backdating.
Since congressional office allowances do not roll over to the next year, the additional $30,000 paid to Roman otherwise would have been forfeited to the U.S. Treasury at the end of the year.
Oy.
* The highly partisan Blue Nation Review has more data…
* Anthony DeThomas was a paid intern who started on August 7, 2014, earning approximately $1,000 a month. Then he became a “temporary employee” and was paid $18,000 from October through December. The former intern’s paycheck exceeded most of the members of Schock’s staff – even accounting for the big bonuses and pay raises they collected. Oddly, DeThomas was also paid or reimbursed $50 and $100 for “Utilities.”
* Jonathon Link, Schock’s full time personal photographer, started September 1 and was paid $4,166 for that month, which translates to an annual salary of about $50,000. In the final three months of the year, he was paid $17,500, which translates to an annual salary of about $70,000. In addition to his congressional salary, Link’s photography studio was paid more than $29,000 during the final three months of the year for “Web Dev Hst, Email and Rltd Serv.” Schock’s office also paid “Web Dev Hst, Email and Rltd Serv” through Fireside21—a company that charges just a few hundred dollars per month and actually specializes in web development, hosting, email, and related services for Congressional offices. Was Link double-dipping? […]
* Matthew Chambers, a staff assistant, was paid $8,888 from July through September but received $13,000 from October through December.
* Genevieve Dejean, a constituent services representative, earned $7,516 from July through September, but received $10,500 from October through December.
* Michael Gilmore, a military/veteran specialist, was paid $9,999 from July to September and then $13,999 from October through December.Kelli Ripp, a legislative assistant, received $11,250 from July to September and $16,250 from October through December.
* Sarah Rogers, executive assistant, received $16,250 from July to September and $26,250 from October through December.
* Mark Roman, deputy chief of staff, was being paid approximately $10,000 a month for the first nine months of the year, but was paid $20,000 per month during the fourth quarter of 2014. The disbursement records are unclear; the fourth-quarter 2014 report lists $60,000 in salary for Roman, but then perhaps erroneously lists the time period as March 1 to December 31 instead of October 1 to December 31.
* Bryan Rudolph, district office manager, was paid $15,000 from July to September and $20,000 from October through December.
Schock’s payroll skyrocketed from $172,000 in the third quarter of 2014 to over $300,000 during the fourth.
Tuesday, Mar 10, 2015 - Posted by Advertising Department
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