Therefore, school districts that are subject to PTELL [property tax caps] and school districts that have TIF districts within their borders are more likely to lose out on additional funding the State may provide in FY2018 and future years. School districts not subject to PTELL and that do not have TIF within their borders are more likely to gain some of that additional funding.
* Just one of those two changes made by the governor would cost the Peoria Public Schools a million bucks…
Rauner has said cutting subsidies for tax-caps and TIF districts would end school districts’ tendency to under-report property wealth and, subsequently, their capacity to pay for an adequate education. But TIF districts have long been a bone of contention between municipalities and school districts, with school districts saying TIF districts deprive them of revenues generated by growing property values. Ending the subsidies would be a double-whammy.
PPS officials estimate the district could lose $1 million without a state subsidy for the effects of TIF districts. [Emphasis added.]
A million bucks, just from one change in one school district.
* Now, imagine the ruckus once these other school districts do their own calculations…
A top, top GOP politico tells Sneed Republican state legislators are being indoctrinated with far-right ideology since the state budget limped into passage recently.
• Translation: “They are being called in to meet individually with the staff of the uber-conservative Illinois Policy Institute for questioning and/or indoctrination on its far-right ideology — now that Governor Bruce Rauner has moved many of its staff, including his new chief of staff, Kristina Rasmussen, from the institute’s office into the actual office of the governor,” the source tells Sneed.
I haven’t been able to confirm that story today. I’ve seen Rauner’s new chief at dinner with some members, but nobody’s complained to me about any “indoctrination” effort. That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening, but I still have my doubts.
*** UPDATE *** Sen. Chris Nybo (R-Elmhurst) told me earlier that the Sun-Times story above doesn’t make any sense, so I asked him to send me a quick statement…
It stuns me that people would say Ms. Rasmussen is attempting to ‘indoctrinate’ Republican legislators. Just the opposite. In my meetings with her, I feel she does more listening than talking, and her focus has mostly been on operational (not ideological) issues. In fact, I’ve rarely been so impressed in such a short timeframe with what has been said and how it has been said. She’s a clear, concise, and capable communicator.
For years conservatives have asserted that homosexuals are pursuing children, and for years homo-activists have mocked that claim. Due to either their profound ignorance or their commitment to deception as a tactic for advancing their pernicious goal of normalizing homoeroticism, homo-activists misrepresented what conservatives were claiming.
Homo-activists falsely claimed that conservatives were worried that they would try to “turn children gay,” when, in reality, most conservatives were claiming that homo-activists were feverishly working through every cultural institution to eradicate conservative views on the nature and morality of homosexuality. In other words, homo-activists were pursuing the hearts and minds of other people’s children. […]
Unfortunately for the countless children and teens who attend public schools, the 2017/2018 school year is just around the corner, and like dirty old men in trench coats lying in wait to expose children to sordid things, so too await public school administrators and teachers to do likewise. Unlike perverts who lurk in darkness, however, these government employees have no shame. They do their dirty work of exposing children to wickedness openly and call it “love.”
Ed Yohnka, an ACLU spokesman, said: “When people go to their corners and stop listening … we lose a moment that could be used for education.”
“There is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be transgender … a transgender boy is a boy; a transgender girl is a girl,” Yohnka said.
And Amy Biancheri, a Batavia teacher who commented on behalf of the IEA, described likening public school teachers to “dirty old men” as “ludicrous.”
“LGBT students in general and transgender students in particular are at greater risk of homelessness, suicidal ideation and completion, and harassment from other students — it’s teachers’ job to create a safe space for learning for all students, regardless of race, class or gender identification.”
* Generally it’s believed that when people start complaining about seeing your ads too much, that means the ads are getting through…
Heh.
Not everyone watches TV, so you gotta get ‘em wherever else they are.
* The Question: What online ads are you noticing lately? It’s Friday, so you don’t have to contain your responses to Illinois politics, but you can if you want.
* I shared Sen. Andy Manar’s press release with you yesterday, as well as responses from the GOP leaders and the governor. Manar made several specific points at his press conference yesterday that weren’t covered in the release, so I asked for those bullet points. From the Senate Democrats, with a couple of minor typos corrected…
The seven items Manar mentioned that are in the governor’s AV that bend education spending downward over time and constrain investment in public schools:
· Regionalization factor. The governor changes the regional cost differential in SB1. He drives it down.
· PTELL. For school districts that can’t access property wealth because of the tax cap law, the governor says we shouldn’t recognize that they can’t do that, so they appear wealthier than they actually are.
· Enrollment changes. Gov. Rauner calls for punishing school districts that lose enrollment.
· Minimum funding requirement. The governor changes it. This is the guarantee that future general assemblies and governors of both parties will continue to uphold the commitment to adequately and equitably fund schools in years to come.
· TIF districts. The governor changes how TIF districts are accounted for in the formula. He pits job-creation efforts against school funding.
· Pension cost shift. He removes language protecting an accounting for a potential pension cost shift. Framers put that in SB 1 because they thought it was a good piece of public policy, and they wanted to make sure that if it ever changed in the future that the state would account for it in an adequacy target. The governor removed it out entirely.
· Adequacy calculation. This one completely guts the whole purpose of Senate Bill 1. The governor changes the adequacy calculation so that it will not reflect actual costs in coming years. That’s the most profound difference between Senate Bill 1 and the status quo today. We recognize that costs go up and down in school districts based on many factors. The governor constrains that to divest from public education in future years.
* Remember that July 18-20 Democratic Governors Association poll which found that Gov. Rauner’s job disapproval was 63 percent? Well, I was writing my Crain’s Chicago Business column yesterday and reached out to the DGA to see if they polled President Trump’s job approval rating here as well. Their answer didn’t arrive until after my deadline, so you get them instead. Here are their job approval/disapproval numbers…
Trump – 35%-63%
Rauner – 34%-63%
I thought Trump’s disapproval rating might be higher. Either way, not good for both of those guys.
State Sen. Daniel Biss of Evanston: “Mike Madigan is part of the problem,” he said in a phone interview. “But calling people names is a waste of time and counterproductive. We have a system that doesn’t work and is keeping a lot of people locked out, and making this campaign about replacing one person and not replacing the system is a recipe for failure.”
Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th: “The idea that one person is responsible for the state’s problems ignores how both sides have contributed to them, and it does Bruce Rauner a great favor,” he said in a phone interview. “Leaders of both parties haven’t been willing to raise the money to pay for the services people say they want. They haven’t been willing to tell voters that we live in a very wealthy state with a very regressive tax system.”
Businessman Chris Kennedy: “It’s not my job to defend Mike Madigan,” he said, also in a phone interview. “There’s plenty of blame to go around. Rauner has fabricated the fiction that if it weren’t for Madigan, we’d have a balanced budget, our credit rating would improve and all our problems would be solved. But speakers don’t lead states, governors do. And ours has lacked strong governors with a strong vision.”
Kennedy renewed his charge that Madigan’s role as a prominent property tax appeals lawyer is in conflict with his role as speaker, and he said he expects to be “oppositional” with Madigan during the primary season.
Billionaire investor and entrepreneur J.B. Pritzker, thought to be Madigan’s favored candidate, didn’t respond to my numerous requests for comment.
* I reached out to the Pritzker campaign this morning and asked for a response. Here it is…
“JB is focused on holding Bruce Rauner accountable for the damage he has done across this state and for his failed leadership. As noted yesterday, JB believes the Illinois Democratic Party has improvements to make – and he will lead those efforts as governor.”
State Rep. Scott Drury announced the themes for his nascent campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor Thursday at a Lincoln Park library, delivering a literary comparison by likening House Speaker Michael Madigan to Lord Voldemort.
“I’m a huge Harry Potter fan,” said Drury, a five-year lawmaker from Highwood. “The big thing about Harry Potter was this guy (Lord) Voldemort — that he shouldn’t be named. And when I sit on debates and public forums in this campaign, it’s almost as if there is a Voldemort in the state of Illinois and no one wants to use his name. And if you can’t use his name, how are you going to fix the problem?” […]
“To me and to the public — I’m not an outlier here — it is a Madigan problem, and we have to address it. We have to address it as a party,” he said.
“I’m concerned about the Democratic Party. I’m concerned about the longevity of the Democratic Party. I’m concerned that we are losing younger voters who look at the stale Democratic Party and they won’t want to be a part of it. I’m concerned we’re losing voters who have seen the same old thing year after year, decade after decade, of promises from the Democratic Party that we don’t deliver on,” he said.
* Related…
* Zorn: For my Friday, Aug. 4, 2017 column, I reached out to the leading Democratic gubernatorial candidates to ask for their responses to Democratic state Rep. Scott Drury’s recent blast at veteran Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. I also reached out to House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang of Skokie, who is not a candidate for governor but a top Madigan ally. I didn’t have room in the column for his reponse, which was by far the most robust. Here it is in full
As the Madigan Machine continues to stall, refusing to call Governor Rauner’s amendatory veto of SB1 for a vote, Rauner blitzed editorial boards this week, highlighting how his amendatory veto delivers more money to schools across the state and removes Madigan’s Chicago pension bailout.
The Kankakee Daily Journal: Governor firmly rejects Chicago school bailout
“They stopped paying their pensions,” Rauner said. “Chicago’s teacher pension was basically fully funded 17 years ago. Now, it’s woefully underfunded. Now, [House Speaker Mike] Madigan and Mayor [Rahm] Emmanuel said they have a pension mess. They dumped it on the state by including it in this funding formula. That’s not fair to the taxpayers of Illinois.”
Rauner said his amendatory veto would generate an additional $1 million for Kankakee School District 111.
Northwest Herald: Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on SB1 veto: Make school funding fair for the whole state
Gov. Bruce Rauner accused Democrats in the General Assembly of sitting on Senate Bill 1 twice, risking state funding for Illinois schools to pass the bill in its current form.
Rauner on Tuesday vetoed SB 1, expecting the General Assembly to then discuss an alternate plan, override the veto or accept the changes to the bill that seeks to revamp a 20-year-old school funding formula that many critics call the worst in the nation.
Rauner, who met Thursday morning with the Northwest Herald Editorial Board, said he believes that lawmakers instead are waiting out time until school starts to generate pressure to pass the bill without the amendments, which he said would take billions of dollars from schools around Illinois and give it to Chicago Public Schools.
Dispatch Argus: Rauner: Legislature must act on school bill
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner said he is encouraging Republicans and Democrats to work together on a school funding bill that is a compromise for both sides.
Gov. Rauner issued an amendatory veto to Senate Bill 1 on Tuesday, legislation that would change the way school districts are funded to one based on need.
When asked why he removed language on minimum funding levels from the bill through his amendatory veto, Gov. Rauner denied it would hurt neediest school districts the most.
“I’ve asked for more school funding in my first year — $700 million — and I asked for more this year — $720 million,” Gov. Rauner said. “The Democrats cut school funding four times in the prior 10 years before I became governor. Right now the bill says the state has to put $340 million extra, compounded in the future. Only a handful of districts get all the incremental money. That’s not fair.”
Gov. Rauner said it wasn’t appropriate to have a law mandating minimum funding levels.
“If the General Assembly puts it in, that’s fine,” he said. “But to put it in as law requiring that is completely unfair to taxpayers and the majority of school districts.”
So, it’s OK if the GA puts it in the bill, but not into law? I’m a bit confused here.
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, also opposes SB 1, but is concerned with the overall amount of spending, and not just the funds allocated to CPS.
“It doesn’t have any real reforms. It doesn’t require school districts to cut administrative expenses,” McSweeney said. “It doesn’t require them to look at consolidation and it also doesn’t do anything about property taxes and we’re just sending a lot of money back to the schools, but there’s no requirement to cut property taxes.”
Good points and the governor’s AV doesn’t address those issues, either.
“I am frustrated by the fact that we can’t do anything right now,” said Scott Wakeley, superintendent of Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School District 307. “In that part, I am not a fan of the amendatory veto. At some point, we have to move on.
“At the same time, it’s a shame that kids are being used as a political pawn to help CPS. We all have low-income students. Sometimes, I feel like everything has to be taken care of in Chicago before everyone downstate can be taken care of.”
Kankakee Superintendent Genevra Walters said her district hasn’t even considered how much more they would make through the governor’s veto because of all the numbers that are being used. Throughout the past couple years, the district has cut its way out of what was once a $3.5 million budget crisis.
“I can’t say whether or not we should help CPS, but we cannot abandon any kids in Illinois,” Walters said. “Every change has always benefited our school district. I just want to stop the uncertainty. We need to be able to plan long term. It’s very hard to do that with how state and national politics are going.”
* We’re going to see lots more of these, unless every Republican who voted for the tax hike simply retires (and many will). And while I don’t know much about this specific situation yet, a lot of primary opposition to Republicans who voted for the tax hike will be organic. The dominant wing in the GOP these days hates taxes, no matter how needed they might be. So some just won’t wait for the big anti-tax players (like Dan Proft) to make a decision before they jump in…
Pittsfield businessman Jonas Petty says he looks forward to bringing his conservative values to the Illinois House.
“My values will align with my actions,” he said.
Petty, 38, is running in the Republican primary against state Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer of Jacksonville in the 100th House District. [..]
Davidsmeyer was one of 15 House Republicans who joined Democrats and voted for a budget last month – after the state went two years without one – that was opposed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. After Rauner vetoed the actions, Davidsmeyer later voted against the override, but 10 Republicans did, allowing the budget to take effect.
“I don’t believe you can call yourself a conservative and vote for a tax hike with no reform,” Petty said.
Davidsmeyer responded later that, “To say you’re a conservative and stand by and not pay your bills is not a good thing either.” He had noted when he voted for the budget, including an increase in the income tax on individuals from 3.75 percent to 4.95 percent, that he was worried the state backlog of bills could grow from what was about $15 billion to $25 billion; and he was concerned about a potential state bond-rating downgrade to junk status.
Rep. Davidsmeyer voted against the veto override motion, but that won’t spare him much grief.
Rauner Declines to Hold Trump Accountable on Health Care
Rauner’s Continues to do Nothing While Trump Administration Sabotages Families’ Health Care
Since entering office, President Trump has actively worked to undermine the Affordable Care Act, leading to uncertainty in the markets and causing premiums to rise. This past Wednesday on WGN radio, Governor Bruce Rauner was asked if he blamed the Trump administration for the uncertainty around the health care bill. He passed, and in his tradition, looked to blame the predecessor (audio available here):
Reporter: Governor can I ask you … about health care as well? We’ve seen the headlines lately, about how Obamacare rates in Illinois, the premiums could rise again, the rates could rise again (Rauner: Yes. It’s terrible). They’re pretty tough headlines to look at if you’re relying on that system, but it affects the rest of the system. Federal money coming our way, uncertainty abounds. Do you blame the President for creating that, where do you place blame…
Rauner: Blame which president?
Reporter: President Trump for potentially creating uncertainty in the markets…
Rauner: Look at those insurance rates for the last year, the insurance market under the Affordable Care Act has been breaking down, insurers have been leaving, and the rates have been going through the roof every year.
Reporter: So more importantly, what can you tell the people of Illinois about what to expect?
Rauner: Well what I’ve encouraged…this is a federal issue this is not a state issue. And I’ve encouraged members of congress and this administration please come together to work out what you can. Clearly those exchanges that many people rely on, people I know, personal friends are on those exchanges and they are getting hammered. And it’s not been just this year, this has been going on for four or five years now.
It’s no secret that Governor Bruce Rauner sat out the debate on health care. Rauner could have played a crucial role in the debate, like his Republican peers in other states, but declined to expose himself politically. Had Trumpcare passed (and it may still), the results would have been disastrous for Illinois families.
Sadly, it appears that Rauner is gearing up to sit out another fight.
“Bruce Rauner will not stand up to Donald Trump, and fight for the people of Illinois,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “For months, Bruce Rauner did nothing to stop congressional Republicans from passing Trumpcare, which would have cause premiums to skyrocket and punched a $40 billion hole in the state budget. Now the Trump administration is actively trying to sabotage health insurance markets, a cynical move that will only hurt middle-class families, and Rauner would play politics than hold President Trump accountable for his actions. Bruce Rauner’s failure to lead on health care is enabling President Trump and hurting Illinois families.”
There are really three scenarios. My amendatory veto could be upheld. Which is, hopefully that’s what’s done. They’ve done it. They’ve upheld my amendatory veto on many bills. For example, automatic voter registration. I amendatory veto, they came back, that’s getting done. And they’ve done it on others, public safety ones and others. So this is very doable. Some people have said, ‘Well, he AV’d it so it’s dead, it’s over.’ No. They’ve done it repeatedly. They’ve upheld my amendatory veto in the past. So this is very doable.
OK, first of all, as we just discussed on Tuesday, Gov. Rauer did not issue an AV on the AVR bill. He straight-up vetoed that bill and it died when the General Assembly could not override him. He issued a statement along with his veto saying what he could support, but it was not an amendatory veto. The General Assembly took much of what he wanted and put it in a new bill which he is apparently going to sign.
* An explanation from the governor’s press office…
The governor was making a conceptual point that in the past our veto messages have been adopted by the legislature through another vehicle and passed into law. For instance, after we proposed an outright veto of automatic voter registration legislation and a counter proposal, the lead negotiator, Andy Manar, ultimately turned to compromise towards a unanimous vote.
Ultimately, the governor’s point is that the legislature has several options before them, one of which is to adopt his AV. Otherwise, we stand ready and waiting if Democrats want to come to the table and negotiate in good faith.
OK, but if you watch the video, the governor told the editorial board that there are three scenarios, and accepting his AV was the first such scenario. Rauner then accurately noted the second scenario is an override of SB1. And the third scenario, the governor himself said, is that the Democrats work on a new, bipartisan proposal and get it to his desk.
The fact is the General Assembly has never once accepted any of the governor’s amendatory vetoes.
* From the Senate Democrats…
Looks like three AVs this session. SB 1 — pending. SB 1839 — dead. HB 1811 — overridden. It looks like 32 AVs last session (two year span). Only 2 became law, both by override. HB 1 — that was the opioid bill. SB 440 — Chicago pensions.
So, 35 amendatory vetoes issued so far and not a single one was accepted.
* The Sun-Times is the first mainstream media outlet to take a close look at a proposed $100 million state tax credit program for private school scholarships…
As Democrats continue to push for an override of Rauner’s school funding veto, state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, on Thursday characterized the archdiocesan scholarship program as something the governor is asking of Democrats “in order to continue discussions on Senate Bill 1 and a final compromise.”
The program seeks to create scholarships for low- and middle-income students so they can afford Catholic or other private schools, according to the Catholic Conference of Illinois, the Archdiocese of Chicago’s public policy arm. Corporate and individual donations would be funneled through scholarship-granting organizations.
As initially proposed, donors would get a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit for their contributions. A family of four earning up to $110,000 could qualify for a scholarship for a limitless tuition cost.
Republicans want a $100 million scholarship program paired with a 100 percent tax credit. But there’s now talk of reducing it to 75 cents per dollar, and many want it much lower. Democrats also want a pilot program with a sunset, not a permanent one. […]
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan supports the idea that the program could fund scholarships, but not as initially proposed, said his spokesman Steve Brown.
There’s still the very real question about how this will be funded, however. Nobody seems to have an answer. And that’s important because, as proposed, the plan reportedly contains automatic annual escalators.
In the language you cite, JB states he supports a “federal” single-payer system. The criticism Daniel made of his plan, is that he doesn’t support a state level single payer system. Indeed, the fact that Trump and Republicans control Congress is all the more reason a single-payer system at the state level, as we’ve seen with efforts in CA, is needed. The larger point is, while it’s nice he supports a federal level system, he’s not running to be governor of Congress. He’s running to be governor of Illinois, and his position on single-payer for the state is what Democratic primary voters want to know.
That’s a critical distinction among Dem primary voters and among the candidates in this race. I’d hate for people to get the impression that he supports single-payer, writ large, as your piece implies. Because he doesn’t.
In 2011, Biss voted against a single-payer task force. The Health Care Justice Implementation Task Force never came to fruition, in part, because Biss voted against it. The primary goal of the task force would have been to draw up a blueprint for how to implement a statewide single payer healthcare plan. Big businesses successfully lobbied against the measure through the Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
In the same year, Biss passed on another chance to demonstrate his support for single-payer. Representative Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) filed the Illinois Universal Health Care Act which called for a statewide single payer healthcare plan. Flowers’ bill gained the support of eight co-sponsors, including some of the most prominent members of the House Democratic Caucus. Biss was not one of them.
Last month, Biss told a group in a church on Chicago’s south side, “There’s not been a vote on a single payer issue, a single-payer piece of legislation in Springfield so I don’t have a voting record on it.”
As a member of the General Assembly, Biss has the power to sponsor bills and file them with the legislature. To date, he has not filed a bill calling for statewide single-payer healthcare.
When asked about these specific votes, the Biss campaign dodged.
Instead, spokeswoman Abby Witt responded with a statement saying, “Daniel has supported single-payer for his entire career and continues to now. He’s been clear that not just nationally, but in Illinois, we need a comprehensive plan that includes universal access to health care, and a truly progressive plan to pay for it that isn’t balanced on the backs of the middle class, but instead by asking millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.”
