With President Trump primed to go after vulnerable Democratic senators in red states, it’s clear the country’s future hinges on the credibility of what political scientists call the Rich Miller Theorem.
Actually, I may be the only person who calls it that. But I’m hoping the name catches on, if only because I could use the royalties.
Exciting day! Just cut the ribbon on the new Northwest Macomb Bypass. It brings much needed traffic relief, connects western Illinois to our national transportation system, opens a path to fresh economic opportunities. pic.twitter.com/dq7snOXP9E
* I didn’t know about the national corridor connection. It seemed pretty cool at first glance. From last October…
Construction on the six-mile, $36.1 million bypass began in June 2015… The bypass will open as a two-lane highway linking Ill. 336 west of Macomb to U.S. 67 on the north… Funds for the first two lanes of the bypass were approved in the Jobs Now capital bill that the Legislature approved in 2009. IDOT officials have pledged to complete the other two lanes on the bypass when construction dollars become available. […]
The bypass will be part of the 537-mile Chicago-Kansas City Expressway that has been marketed as a national corridor. The CKC, first proposed 60 years ago, has a common route designation number. Signs bearing the Route 110 and CKC logo are in place from downtown Chicago to downtown Kansas City, Mo. Route 110 avoids three of the most congested and overcrowded highway segments in the Midwest: Interstate 55 from Chicago to Joliet, I-80 from Joliet to the Kansas border, and I-70 from St. Louis to Kansas City.
* I couldn’t get Google Maps to use the national corridor’s route, so I went to the expressway’s Wikipedia page and entered in all the highway changes up to Quincy, which is on our western border. The search result (click here) shows it would take 5 hours and 54 minutes to drive it at 2:29 pm today.
However, allow Google Maps to choose a Chicago to Quincy route and its fastest choice (click here) would take 5 hours and 2 minutes if you started at 2:29 pm.
That’s a 52-minute difference. The new Macomb bypass will save drivers between 4 and 9 minutes. But it’ll still be much faster to use Google Map’s preferred route.
Man, I killed way too much time on this post. I coulda just driven to Kansas City instead.
Gosh, do you suppose the RNC & ILGOP are excited about the prospect of an ex-con Democrat former governor running around the state on a “rewrite history & professional victim” tour? I think so. The GOP will certainly need the waters muddied to have a chance for election success this next go-around.
If Rod praises Pritzker… ouch. If Rod tells some negative stories about Pritzker because Pritzker has said he ought to serve out the rest of his term… ouch.
I can see this going either way if RRB gets out, or both ways at once at times. Dude is just so unpredictable and both campaigns are pretty wily. But, I’m not gonna let you cop out like I just did.
* The Question: Option one or option two? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.
A bill that would give Illinois taxpayers a way to work around the new $10,000-a-year federal cap on state and local tax deductions has been put on hold, caught in a dispute between Senate and House sponsors about how to deal with Internal Revenue Service concerns about the measure. […]
In a phone interview, Carroll said he was not backing off his original plan but did “not want to set up taxpayers for a bad situation” if the IRS ruled against such plan. Carroll said he’d discussed his new plan with Morrison and she “totally understands what we’re trying to do.”
But Morrison said she is not fine and in fact is “disappointed that the House has chosen not to move forward” with a bill that was carefully negotiated with both Democratic and Republican senators. She said her preference would be to enact such a bill here, following the lead of states such as New Jersey and Connecticut, and see what happens with IRS and in court. […]
Meanwhile, the General Assembly adopted a bill pushed by Enterprise and other car rental firms that is somewhat like the battle between conventional hotel operators and Airbnb. Specifically, it requires companies that are paid to connect private car owners and renters via a phone app to follow the same regulations as traditional car rental companies. The measure drew furious last-minute lobbying on both sides, and ended up clearing the Senate by a less-than-veto-proof 34-7-7 margin.
Meanwhile, that revised carjacking bill that I told you about the other day passed the House yesterday with 78 votes and will be sent to the governor.
Legislation that would mandate a 72-hour “cooling” period following the purchase of any gun heads to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk after clearing the Illinois Senate Thursday evening.
The vote was 40-10. Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, voted for it, while Sens. Sam McCann, R-Plainview, and Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, voted “no.”
This will be the second attempt to enact this type of legislation in the past few months. The first, which called for a 72-hour waiting period following the purchase of an assault weapon, was bottled up by Rauner a few weeks ago.
Using his amendatory veto powers, Rauner essentially rewrote that bill, using it as a vehicle to propose a comprehensive package of public safety proposals.
For much of the spring, critics have called for a major overhaul of how ethics complaints are handled in the Capitol, saying lawmakers can’t be trusted to conduct honest and transparent investigations of themselves.
Legislators took some first steps toward that goal Thursday, overwhelmingly approving a bill that would give the inspector general the freedom to investigate complaints of sexual harassment without first having to get approval from the Legislative Ethics Commission, whose members are appointed by the four House and Senate leaders.
The bill, which cleared the Senate 54-0 and the House 110-0, was a last-minute victory for women lawmakers who had said earlier this week that they were resisting an attempt by the men who run the legislative caucuses to water down the measure.
The proposed new rules would create a four-person committee of former judges and prosecutors to search for a full-time inspector general to replace the temporary watchdog who was installed in the office last year. Under the current system, it’s up to legislative leaders to recommend an inspector general, who then must be approved by the ethics commission. Before Rotheimer’s complaint, the leaders couldn’t agree on an appointee, so the post was allowed to sit empty and complaints went unanswered as a result.
Such a prolonged vacancy would be prohibited under the new legislation, which would task the Illinois auditor general’s watchdog with taking up complaints if the legislative inspector general post is vacant for more than six months.
When students summoned the courage to disclose abuse, teachers and principals failed to alert child welfare investigators or police despite the state’s mandated reporter law.
Even in cases where school employees acted swiftly, they subjected young victims to repeated interrogations, inflicting more psychological pain and defying basic principles intended to preserve the integrity of an investigation.
Ineffective background checks exposed students to educators with criminal convictions and arrests for sex crimes against children. And CPS failed to disclose to other districts that past employees had resigned after investigators found credible evidence of abuse and harassment. […]
The exact number of cases in which school workers sexually assaulted students remains elusive, in part because CPS does so little to understand and tackle the problem. The district acknowledges that it does not track child abuse by its employees in a consistent or formal manner. […]
In other districts across the state and country, school employees have been imprisoned for failing to report abuse. But the Tribune found no evidence that Chicago school employees who kept quiet about allegations were charged criminally.
Go read the whole thing. The data is horrible, but the individual stories are at once disgusting and heartbreaking.
Illinois also does not require the state board to collect data about sexual abuse of students, even though school districts must by law report the rare instances in which a student sexually assaults a school employee.
That is appalling.
…Adding… From CPS…
CPS CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson Statement:
“As CEO and a CPS parent, I will not be satisfied until I am confident that the district is doing everything possible to ensure that our hiring practices, background checks, training, and handling of sexual assault and misconduct allegations are the best policies and practices to protect our students. Period.
“As a first step, we have identified a series of significant actions – including bringing in an independent evaluator to conduct a top-to-bottom review of district processes and policies – that will be implemented going forward to help ensure the best possible supports are in place to protect students.
“Nothing is more important to Chicago Public Schools than student safety – particularly with the adults who are supposed to serve them, and we are taking significant actions to ensure our students have safest possible learning environments.”
BACKGROUND:
For a comprehensive list of actions the district is taking to further protect our students, please read Protecting Chicago’s Children: CPS Plan of Action in its entirety at bit.ly/cpsplanofaction.
There were chants and songs from the legislative galleries. A group of women supporters held a hunger fast for weeks, leading to some being hospitalized. The group that staged the sit-in previously chained itself to the gold railing outside the Senate chamber. The same group later splattered animal blood on the marble floor outside the 2nd floor governor’s office when the amendment failed.
“What they want is publicity and that’s what you give them,” then-state Sen. James “Pate” Philip of Elmhurst chided reporters at the time.
The chamber’s Republican leader and future Senate president went on: “Starving themselves, chaining themselves then disrupting the Senate — if anything they’re turning the senators off.”
Opposing the amendment at the state and national level was Illinois’ own, the late Phyllis Schlafly of Alton. The head of the conservative Eagle Forum joined with her red-dressed backers who carried small hand-held stop sign-shaped cards saying, “STOP ERA.”
The Illinois General Assembly passed the FY19 budget this week and Governor Rauner has called the plan a step in the right direction and has promised swift action. The bipartisan budget includes no new tax increases, funding for the Quincy Veterans Home, savings for local governments, and funding for early childhood, K-12 and higher education, as well as the Discovery Partners Institute.
Associated Press: Rauner Promises Swift Action on Budget
“We worked together to provide a budget to the people of Illinois that can be balanced with hard work and continued bipartisan effort to deliver on the promises it makes,” Rauner said in a statement in which he promised quick action to enact the plan for the year that begins July 1… The Senate voted 56-2 Wednesday night on the plan that increases elementary and secondary education by $350 million and fully funds the state’s pension obligations and $4 billion for state employee group health insurance.
Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Realistic’ budget heads to Gov. Rauner’s desk after bipartisan ‘love fest’
With the words “trust” and “bipartisanship” uttered repeatedly on the Illinois House floor, lawmakers on Thursday quickly approved a $38.5 billion budget that Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner says he’ll sign. … To address students fleeing Illinois, the budget also includes a new $25 million tuition grant which will provide additional tuition assistance.
Chicago Tribune: Illinois House passes state budget; Rauner says he’ll approve it
Illinois House passes state budget; Rauner says he’ll approve it. … The House agreed to the $38.5 billion proposal by a 97-18 vote, following a landslide 54-2 tally in the Senate on Wednesday night. Rauner said in a statement he plans to approve it. … Lawmakers also approved $2.2 billion in spending on an infrastructure program Rauner announced earlier in the week. They granted him $53 million to cover the first-year costs of constructing a new veterans home in Quincy to address a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that dates to 2015 — the handling of which has been a matter of controversy for the governor. And they set aside $500 million for an innovation center in the South Loop that’s being led by the University of Illinois and has been heavily touted by Rauner.
Reuters: Illinois budget speeds through legislature, heads to governor
The Republican governor praised the bipartisan effort and compromise and said he will be taking action soon to enact the spending plan, which the Senate overwhelmingly passed on Wednesday. … The budget adds $350 million to a new K-12 school funding formula enacted last year, increases higher education spending by 2 percent, reduces cuts in state aid to local governments, and appropriates $1.3 billion to pay previously incurred expenses. It also includes a voluntary buyout of certain pension benefits expected to save the state about $423 million in fiscal 2019.
WGLT: Illinois House Sends $38 Billion Budget To Rauner
“The Fiscal Year 2019 budget is the result of bipartisan effort and compromise,” Rauner added. “We worked together to provide a budget to the people of Illinois that can be balanced, with hard work and continued bipartisan effort to deliver on the promises it makes. I’ll be taking action quickly to enact the Fiscal Year 2019 budget into law.” … The budget creates a $50 million scholarship fund to keep Illinois students from leaving the state for college. It also provides includes $400 million of K-12 funding for early childhood education, and it maintains the new funding formula passed last year.
Isn’t it amazing what can be done after a tax hike is passed and the governor isn’t demanding a bunch of his non-budget demands be satisfied before he’ll agree to a budget?
Also, he’s spending every dime of the tax increase he vetoed - plus maybe a billion dollars more, when you include the gimmicks like booking pension savings in advance and sweeping funds. It would be nice if he finally admitted that we did indeed need that tax hike, but it would also be nice if I could take the rest of June off. Neither is gonna happen.
What absolutely needs to happen, however, is Pritzker and/or the media must get him on record with a vow to never hold a budget hostage again for his non-budget demands.
It’s not often that Rod Blagojevich, sexual harassment allegations, and an extraordinary political detente converge on Illinois politics in a single day.
But Thursday was that day.
Lawmakers approved a state budget for the next year on the final day of their legislative session, President Donald Trump said he’s considering commuting the sentence of Illinois’ most recently imprisoned ex-governor, and a longtime Illinois House member resigned his position in the Democratic leadership after a medical marijuana advocate accused him of harassment.
And then the House stayed in session until nightfall passing tons of bills.
Today, the Pritzker campaign released a new digital ad “You’re Out!” highlighting how bush league Bruce Rauner compares his failed leadership to the World Series champion Chicago Cubs.
While Rauner claimed to find “similarities” between himself and the Cubs, the new video shows how he’s struck out as governor. Year after year, Rauner made a swing and a miss at introducing balanced budgets. He ran up the score on Illinois’ credit rating, setting records for the worst in the nation. And, on primary day, Rauner lost 48% of the Republican vote.
“While baseball season ends in October, it’s clear that after three years of constant crisis and failed leadership, Bruce Rauner will lose his governorship this November,” said Pritzker campaign communications director Galia Slayen.
* Boy what a day. In case you are not plugged into this world, here are the basics: on Tuesday it was reported that a woman would come forward on Thursday to accuse a “leading lawmaker” of harassment. This morning the woman went on Dan Proft’s radio show only identifying herself as “M,” and then at a 1 p.m. press conference in the Capitol, she identified herself as a medical marijuana advocate named Maryann Loncar.
Loncar accused top Madigan ally Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) of years of harassment. But when pressed by reporters during the press conference, Loncar revealed that the reason for the abuse was because she claims she was privy to knowledge of an alleged $170 million “bribe” offered to Lang and two other Democrats by someone in the medical marijuana industry. However, the person she heard this from disputes this claim, as Rich reported earlier.
Lang then held his own press conference, where he was flanked by female supporters — lawmakers and lobbyists — who spoke to Lang’s leadership and even mentorship of women.
Democratic Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie announced he was stepping down as House deputy majority leader in a statement released as advocate Maryann Loncar was taking questions from reporters at the Capitol.
Loncar accused Lang of years of verbal abuse after they initially worked together to pass the state’s 2013 law that legalized medical marijuana. Loncar said that several years ago, Lang made her uncomfortable by putting his hand on her lower back and asking if her husband knew how lucky he was.
Loncar said that on another occasion, Lang called her at night as she was out at dinner, saying he would have come to meet her if she were alone.
Lang’s announcement came less than 24 hours after he won approval of the federal Equal Rights Amendment, which seeks to guarantee that rights can’t be denied because of a person’s sex.
Loncar said she became “privy” to information she shouldn’t have when she witnessed Lang being offered a $170 million bribe, and that’s when Lang retaliated, with behavior such as telling her ex-husband: “I can help you bury her if you want.”
She says she never contacted police or other authorities in part out of distrust and fear of further retaliation, but that she came forward Thursday despite fearing for her life, hoping that other women will speak out against Lang and others in power. […]
Lang also denied any suggestion of a bribe.
“If I have $170 million somewhere, help me find it,” he said.
Loncar said her experience was similar to allegations brought forth by other people who have come forward, including state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who alleged retaliation from House Speaker Michael Madigan after she spoke out questioning his office’s handling of harassment claims.
“It’s what everybody else is talking about,” Loncar said Thursday morning. “It’s Representative Cassidy and other people that stand up and say if you don’t conform and go along with everything they tell you, regardless of your own morals, your own mindset, you will be blackballed and that you will be treated unfairly and you will be harassed and you will be singled out. And no matter how many times you go through a video for 15 minutes and answer questions on sexual harassment, that’s not enough. That’s not enough.”
Loncar also claimed Lang killed a hemp farming bill she had been advocating for, a claim many organizations are disputing.
Jen Walling, executive director and lobbyist on behalf of the Illinois Environmental Council, said the initial hemp farming bill “wasn’t killed because of Lou Lang.”
“That is absolutely not true,” Walling said, adding that the measure failed because an agreement couldn’t be reached with the Medical Cannabis Association. A revamped Industrial Hemp Bill was sent to the governor on Wednesday after being passed by the state Senate.
Walling called Loncar a “citizen advocate,” who was not involved in negotiations or in any meetings regarding the initial hemp bill.
“I’m not belittling her other claims but I’m absolutely sure that Lou did not kill this bill,” Walling said.
“Rep. Lang’s press conference today was a perfect example of why victims don’t come forward. To see so many Democratic women standing with and singing the praises of a powerful man, just hours after he was accused of harassment, in an effort to undermine his accuser, was truly disheartening. To the women who stood with Rep. Lang today–think about what message you sent to all of us who have been victimized by men in power in Springfield.”
–Alaina Hampton
* She’s referring to these folks…
Rep. Lou Lang holds press conference, surrounded by Democratic Representatives including Fran Hurley, Sara Feigenholtz, Natalie Manley, Linda Chapa LaVia and Kathleen Willis, as well as a couple women lobbyists. pic.twitter.com/CVM5BPz9kq
Gov. Bruce Rauner today offered the following comment on the passage of the Fiscal Year 2019 budget:
“We started this year’s budget process with the common-sense goals of a full-year balanced budget and no new taxes. With this budget, we can come as close as any General Assembly and Governor in Illinois have in a very long time. It’s a step in the right direction, though it does not include much-needed debt paydown and reforms that would reduce taxes, grow our economy, create jobs and raise family incomes. The Fiscal Year 2019 budget is the result of bipartisan effort and compromise. We worked together to provide a budget to the people of Illinois that can be balanced, with hard work and continued bipartisan effort to deliver on the promises it makes. I’ll be taking action quickly to enact the Fiscal Year 19 budget into law.”
*** UPDATE *** Speaker Madigan…
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Thursday after passing a bipartisan, balanced budget:
“For the second time in as many years, House Democrats have worked alongside our Republican colleagues in the Legislature to pass a bipartisan, balanced budget. As House Democrats have said throughout the past four years, when we can work together in good faith we can accomplish great things.
“Our budget holds the line on taxes and spending, and creates a $15 million surplus that will be used to pay down old bills. We cut government bureaucracy like high-paid consultants and duplicative IT systems at state agencies to invest our finite resources in critical services, provide $350 million in new funding for public schools, and reverse the governor’s cuts to education programs, health care, child care and senior services.
“While there is more work to be done, this compromise budget shows yet again that when extreme demands are not preconditions to negotiation, Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature can work together to move Illinois forward.”
During questioning from media members, [Maryann Loncar] also said that [Rep. Lou Lang] was retaliating against her because she witnessed an attempted bribe involving Lang. She said having that knowledge made her fear for her life. When asked why she hadn’t gone to the authorities about the potential crime, she said she was waiting for the right time but had the details journaled. She said others were also privy to the bribe offer.
* Hannah Meisel transcribed this part of Loncar’s press conference…
Bernie: And you learned the bad information about him when?
Loncar: Probably about five years ago. The real, yeah this isn’t right.
Bernie: Does this it involve money?
Loncar, Yes of course it involves money. This is Illinois.
Bernie: How so? Somebody giving somebody something?
Loncar: Yes.
Bernie: Like what? Like a bribe or something?
Loncar: Yes.
Bernie: Who was offering that? Was it taken?
Loncar: No, because we stopped it. We were the meddling kids who stopped it.
Reporter: You’re saying the bribe was offered to Lou Lang?
Loncar: Um, y- It was offered — it was spoken to to him and two other senators. Democrats.
Amanda: You’re saying two other senators?
Loncar: Yeah. There were three of them.
Bernie: By a grower? Or developer?
Loncar: Down those lines yes.
Bernie: You wanna say who as long as we’re going this far?
Loncar: Um *long pause*
Rotheimer: It’s your call.
Ives: Maryann, if you don’t want to —
Loncar: You’re dealing with a lot of people who have a lot of money. The truth is you all know the truth.
Hannah: How much money are we talking about?
Loncar: We’re talking about at least 170-something million dollars. Is that enough for everybody to know?
Hannah: That sounds more like —
Reporter: A contractual bribe?
Loncar: No, it doesn’t. We have many people over the years that have written about this. Many.
Bishop: So you said earlier you wanted the cannabis title program to be non-profit. So it’s in this context that this bribe —
Loncar: Yes, the people who had the choice of writing HB1.
Reporter: You’re not talking about contractual arrangements, you’re talking about a bribe to three people of $170 million?
Loncar: Yeah, I’m talking about a meeting at the Capitol. That we weren’t supposed to be privy to, that we weren’t supposed to know about.
Reporter: And they didn’t accept the bribe?
Loncar: This is Illinois. Do I have to bring it back to that we’re the most corrupt state of all of the states?
Tina: But did they accept the bribe?
Loncar: We didn’t give them the chance to accept it.
Hannah: When you’re saying you meddled, what did you specifically do?
Loncar: We went to the news. I went to Andy Shaw specifically and sent him all the information I had on it and he wrote something about it.
…
Loncar: “I have written all of this down and I have documentation.” “Eventually I will release it…I’d like to be able to show all this to
Bernie: And the illegality is often in offering the bribe. If he didn’t take it, then it’s not illegal. If you offer it, it’s illegal. So you’re saying it’s not Lou Lang but somebody else who was illegal.
Loncar: Um, no. I’m saying all of these people were culpable of going that direction. And as advocates when we found out about it we stopped that direction. And this is why I am being targeted. Make no mistake about it.
Bishop: Do you fear for your life?
Loncar: Yes, yes every day.
—
Tina: How did you end up at that meeting?
Loncar: Mike Graham was at the meeting with another individual. I was at a hotel waiting for them to be done.
……
Bernie: And is the person who offered the money for this —
Loncar: They didn’t get a license and they sued.
Bernie: Okay and they’re not in operation now?
Loncar: Nope, they sued because they thought they had worked this legislation. Their lawyer basically said that they earned it.
Bernie: Are they in Chicago?
Loncar: They are up north near Lake County.
Hannah: Do you know if they sued in federal court or county court?
Loncar: They sued downtown. They sued saying that they should have gotten a license and they put a lot into it.
*** UPDATE *** Mike Graham and I have talked before on Facebook, so this afternoon I reached out to him about Loncar’s claim that he was a witness to an attempted $170 million bribery scheme. His response…
Maryann misspoke on the “bribe” was not an accurate description. I believe it was 12/4/12 stakeholders meeting. (As written before)Medponics owners entered the meeting and said “we can just give you $170M and we will take all operations”, at which time the room erupted with no’s–Lang was never directly offered or demanded anything! Maryann was just overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation
He added that he believed the $170 million was intended as a payment to the state for all of the operating licenses.
* Again, many thanks to the folks at BlueRoomStream.com for access to this press conference which is scheduled to begin at 3 o’clock. Rep. Lang’s press release did not deny any of the allegations made against him, so I’m sure he’ll be asked about them at his event…
House Speaker Michael J. Madigan issued the following statement Thursday:
“I appreciate the courage it takes for individuals to come forward to share their experiences, and in doing so urge us all to do better.
“Representative Lang has already requested that the legislative inspector general immediately conduct a full investigation of these allegations and I’m hopeful she will conduct this investigation quickly and thoroughly. After consultation with me, Representative Lang has submitted his resignation from House leadership, as well as from the Legislative Ethics Commission and the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules.”
That kind of implies that Lang’s been forced out of leadership, etc.
The following statement can be attributed to Illinois House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang (D-Skokie):
“Let me say this. My original sponsorship of medical marijuana legislation in 2013 was focused on the patients who came to my office, some in wheel chairs. Some were too ill to come. The sick children, the ill men and women were my priority. And the patients remain my priority with each new iteration of the law.
My priority was not helping those seeking to profit off medical marijuana, like, Ms. Loncar, who wanted a cannabis dispensary license for her company, Patient’s Health Center, but, apparently failed at her money-making effort to secure a dispensary license. Because I refused to let the medical marijuana profiteers trump the interests of patients, I made some people mad. So be it.
Therefore, I have submitted a formal request to the Special Legislative Inspector General to begin an immediate investigation. Additionally, after consultation with Speaker Madigan, I have decided, in order to maintain the integrity of the Legislative Ethics Commission and the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules as well as to avoid distraction from the agenda of the House Democratic Caucus, to submit my resignation from the Commission, JCAR, and from my post as House Deputy Majority Leader.”
Lang’s letter to the IG is here. His letter to Madigan is here.
* Many, many thanks to the folks at BlueRoomStream.com for this access to today’s press conference. I’m hearing there may also be a follow-up presser by the accused legislator. The first presser is scheduled to start at 1 o’clock…
And if you can’t watch videos at work, click here to follow along with our live coverage post.
*** UPDATE *** The worst-kept Statehouse secret of the week is now public. House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang is the alleged abuser. He also sits on the Legislative Ethics Commission. Here’s the press release…
Thursday, May 31, 2018 - Posted by Advertising Department
[The following is a paid advertisement.]
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* As I’ve already told subscribers, Dan Proft scored a big scoop this morning. The woman who plans to hold a press conference at one o’clock this afternoon with Rep. Jeanne Ives and Denise Rotheimer appeared on his WIND radio show today. From Proft…
EXCLUSIVE: Springfield Sexual Harassment Victim Speaks Out
“It’s a certified terrible frat house,” is the way a sexual harassment victim coming forward today describes Springfield.
The woman, who will only identify herself as “M,” joined Dan Proft and Amy for an exclusive interview detailing the sexual harassment allegations she will make against a leading state legislator. “This has gone on probably for the last four to five years where I’ve been harassed and blackballed and threatened” she shared.
* The biggest single problem with this agreed budget, which is the same big problem as Gov. Rauner’s introduced budget, is that it doesn’t appropriate money to pay off overdue bills except for what’s been included for unappropriated spending during the impasse. The current bill backlog is $6.6 billion, but that’s expected to rise.
Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) said last night that the unaddressed backlog issue is her chief regret about the new budget. I’ve yet to see any reporting on this topic.
* I asked Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s spokesperson about this budgetary short-coming…
This consensus budget provides stability. It gives us the tools to manage debt responsibly going forward. Our Debt Transparency Act gave legislators and taxpayers the numbers they needed to craft this budget with a clear picture of the state’s backlog of bills. That backlog as of today stands at $6.6 billion. It will take a long time to reduce that. But a consensus budget like this certainly beats the chaos of the budget impasse in previous years.
* Capital project spending is included in the overall budget bill, HB109. As noted yesterday, $53,775,000 will go to the Quincy Veterans’ Home for capital improvements like piping replacement, and “water quality improvement projects.” It’s not the $245 million the Rauner administration asked for earlier this month, but until a new home can be built, the pipes need replacing at the very least.
We hear Quincy money was a bit of a trade for the $172 million included in the budget for improvements necessary to build the Obama Presidential Library in Jackson Park. Some of that money will go to various improvements, but a bulk will go toward building a new Metra station at 59th Street.
* What else?
- $400 million in deferred maintenance. Sen. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) told me last night that there had to be an increase in deferred maintenance “…because we’ve had no capital for so long in a budget impasse,” she said. “There’s a lot of built-up emergency needs.”
- Speaking of emergencies, there’s also $100 million for statewide emergency spending.
- $75 million for higher education facilities and emergency projects.
- $30 million for improvements on the coliseum on the State Fairgrounds in Springfield. You may recall that a few years ago it closed because some of the beams inside were threatening to fall.
- HB109 also reinstates appropriation authority for all DCEO community grants, which have not had any appropriation authority since 2015.
- $29 million increase in OSLAD grant funding.
IDOT:
- The bill also contains $8.8 billion in IDOT capital re-appropriations for projects put on hold during the budget impasse.
- $2.9 billion in IDOT pay-as-you-go capital, including $2.2 billion for IDOT’s FY2019 road program.
- $50 million for high-speed rail projects and maintenance.
* Oh, and the Thompson Center? The budget does rely on $270 million in savings from a potential sale of the building. The $270 million figure comes from an early estimation of the land’s worth. Other estimations have been lower, but the budgeteers say it’s actually a conservative estimate, given recent upticks in value of real estate around that area.
Sen. Steans couldn’t tell reporters when Gov. Rauner would receive the bill for selling the Thompson Center, but did say Rauner probably won’t be waiting all the way until November.
Of course, there are still major snags that would need to be worked out, like the Blue Line stop underneath the Thompson Center and other zoning. When reporter Brian Mackey pointed that out a few days ago, Steans and other Democrats said that savings which won’t actually be realized wouldn’t be included in the budget. “That’s why I think it will be [real] because we’re going to send him the bill.”
As for the issues that need to be resolved: “We believe it needs to go through the regular city of Chicago process,” Steans said.
Via pool aboard AF1: Trump said he is strongly considering a commutation of the rest of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s sentence. Bragging about getting something back for a Senate appointment, Trump said, was “a stupid thing to say—but 18 years?” He was sentenced to 14 years.
As the President considers commuting Blago's sentence, read the BGA's fact check on his claims that's he was merely "practicing politics" https://t.co/7w4UibRhs2
.@StateRepLouLang and Majority Leader @repcurrie watch the roll call verification as the Illinois House passes the #ERA.
Rep. Currie is one of a handful of legislators who was serving when the ERA was first an issue in Illinois. She’s retiring at the end of this term. pic.twitter.com/i0cpnYIAqW
Flipping through my camera roll and spotted this emotional bipartisan embrace between @StateRepLouLang and @Andersson4Rep moments after vote. They’re the democrat and republican who led the #ERA charge in the House. pic.twitter.com/wcv1sRg2ju
* The proponents regrouped after they came up short Tuesday and worked extremely hard to flip the votes. Man, did they ever scurry. It was quite something to behold. Senate President John Cullerton, who has been an anti-tobacco advocate for decades, also personally lobbied House members. Speaker Madigan did not vote either way on the bill the first time around, but he voted “Yes” yesterday and that seemed to help as well…
The Illinois House has voted to bar tobacco sales to those under age 21 a day after the legislation fell four votes short.
Chicago Democratic Rep. Camille Lilly’s plan would prohibit sales of tobacco products to minors. The ban would include e-cigarettes and vaping materials.
It was approved 61-49 and goes to the governor for action.
This comes more than a decade after state lawmakers banned smoking in most public places. Since then, cigarette prices have risen and public opinion on smoking has gone from bad to worse. Health advocates and even the military lobbied to raise the smoking age, arguing generations of teens have developed bad habits. In doing so, they say, those teens are now under-prepared for careers in the military.
While many Republicans rejected the move, Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) broke ranks.
“This is a vote I’m making on my own personal beliefs,” he told the House chamber during debate. “If we can take steps to make a healthier Illinois, I think we should do it.”
The Illinois Chamber of Commerce says Illinois could stand to lose millions of dollars in tax revenue. Other opponents echoed those sentiments, arguing a higher minimum age would send buyers — and their sales tax money — to surrounding states.
When fiscal 2019 begins on July 1, the State of Illinois (Baa3 negative) faces a sharp jump in its budgetary fixed costs for debt service, retiree healthcare, and pension contributions, part of a trend that may intensify in future years, Moody’s Investors Service says in a new report. A failure to adopt mitigating strategies soon will greatly increase the state’s risk that these rising costs will become unaffordable without severe public services cuts.
Without any revenue increases or legislation to reduce the state’s retirement benefit burden, Illinois’ total fixed costs will reach or exceed 30% of state-source revenue next year, with pensions accounting for more than half of the costs. Debt service, reflecting the state’s issuance of $6 billion of bonds in November 2017 to help reduce a backlog of unpaid bills, is scheduled to increase by 17%.
“Given their magnitude and growth trajectory, the state’s unfunded pension liabilities will likely require more than a single response,” said Moody’s analysts Ted Hampton and Tom Aaron, co-authors of the report. Illinois could raise revenue, shift some of the funding responsibility to local governments and public universities, or seek to reduce benefits. All of these approaches face potential political or even legal impediments, but the risks of inaction are significant for the state’s credit quality.
“Under some scenarios, Illinois could eventually find the burden of paying for retirement benefits becomes extremely difficult to manage,” Hampton said. “Part of the problem is that state officials always face the temptation of making the ultimate reckoning worse by pushing costs to the future, and they’ve used that approach many times in the past.”
In 2017, Illinois managed to keep the impact of its fixed costs from exceeding 30% of own-source revenues – approximately triple the median level for US states — by increasing income tax rates to boost revenues and passing legislation requiring that recent actuarial assumption changes be phased in over five years.
However, the growth of Illinois’ projected pension funding requirements will outpace its organic growth of tax revenues and the state’s economy. Moody’s says it anticipates that the state’s economy will continue to lag national trends as in recent years.
Severely unfunded pension liabilities leave Illinois far more exposed to adverse events such as a recession. Illinois’ pension funding needs will remain elevated even under favorable circumstances, but if the coming years include a recession and stock market downturn, the state’s funding burden could quickly become unsustainable without painful corrective actions.
“Illinois does have some ability to keep pushing costs to future years, in view of its plans’ assets on hand, but a decision to reduce current pension contributions would cast doubt on the state’s long-term ability to afford both accumulated liabilities and current services,” Aaron says. “Easing funding in favor of fiscal relief could erode the state’s credit.”
*** UPDATE *** I asked David Jacobson, Moody’s VP for communications, if the ratings firm was aware of the pension changes in the BIMP. His e-mailed response…
We are, but don’t comment on pending legislation. Should this become official we will analyze the credit implications.
* Click the pic for a larger image of these internal legislative dot points…
I’m told the savings were calculated by the pension funds’ actuaries.
*** UPDATE *** From Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield)….
There are a lot of misconceptions about the pension buyouts. Let me clarify a few things:
Is the only savings the “haircut” annuitants take to get the lump sum?
No. Depending on the system, we have an expected rate of return of 7-7.25%. Therefore the unfunded portion of the shortfall grows at that amount each year. By bonding to buy people out of the system we are saving interest costs because we can sell bonds at less than 7% right now. The spread between 7-7.25% and whatever we sell the bonds for is additional long term savings.
Will anyone take the buyout?
When I introduced HB4427 in Jan 2016, buyouts had only been done in the private sector. But since then, Missouri passed a bill very simliar to the HB315 I filed last Jan. That bill is for vested inctives. In Missouri there was a 22% take-up rate. That is the take-up rate that is being used.
What is done with the money?
It does need to be rolled into a qualified retirement account. It will not be immediately taxed by the Feds. But, once it is in the account the annuitant can do with it whatever it wants to do.
What about negative-selection?
The reason there is a “time-window” for these buyouts is to limit negative selection. People have to decide quickly. Plus, at a haircut of 30%-40% we would have to have a whole bunch of sick people in the state to have to plan lose money.
* From Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady last night after the Senate passed the budget with only two “No” votes, both from his caucus…
“The budget we passed contains no tax increase and is born of bipartisan compromise. As we move forward, it is vital we continue to work together to ensure this balanced budget is accomplished,” said Brady. “This budget came about because we built trust and I believe we’ve got the start of something special here.”
* From Senate President John Cullerton last night…
The Illinois Senate approved a bipartisan budget deal that invests in public education at all levels and balances through targeted savings, reforms and utilizing existing state revenues.
“This is an important step forward. This budget helps restore stability to Illinois, which is what we need. There remains more work to do, but this is a bipartisan accomplishment that we can hopefully build upon,” said Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton.
The budget was negotiated by bipartisan working groups, finalized by legislative leaders and then approved in a bipartisan vote that signifies, at least for now, an end to years of partisan budget fights that decimated universities, human service providers and ballooned the state’s debt.
The state’s operating budget totals $38.5 billion, which is a $600 million increase over the current budget. That increase is largely due to education funding increases and making required pension payments.
The proposal won Senate approval 56-2. It now goes to the Illinois House.
Highlights include …
Education:
$350 million increase in K-12 education to honor the commitments made when lawmakers overhauled how the state funds public schools last year. The new funding formula ensures every school district will see an increase.
$50 million increase for early childhood programs.
The budget deal does not include shifting millions in state pension costs onto local school districts.
State support for the retired teacher health insurance program (TRIP) is maintained.
Higher Education:
Higher education sees a 2 percent increase after years of budget cuts. That translates into a $25 million increase for public universities and community colleges.
In addition, the state creates a $25 million scholarship fund to be matched by public universities and community colleges. The goal of this new tuition assistance program is to keep Illinois students in Illinois attending Illinois schools.
The budget deal does not include shifting millions in state pension costs to universities and colleges.
Human Services:
The budget includes and funds a 50-cent wage increase for caregivers who work primarily with developmentally disabled individuals.
Numerous human service programs including those addressing epilepsy, autism, youth employment, addiction treatment and community mental health had been cut if not zeroed out in the governor’s budget. They are funded in this budget deal.
Local Government:
Local governments would see a nearly $120 million increase over the current budget.
A 10 percent cut in the Local Government Distributive Fund in the current budget is reduced to a 5 percent cut. That results in a nearly $100 million increase for local governments.
The existing budget also implemented a 2 percent administrative fee for the state processing sales tax revenue for local governments. That fee is reduced to 1.5 percent in the FY19 budget. The result is an increase of nearly $20 million going to local governments.
Financial details:
A more than $1 billion budget hole wiped out through savings, reforms and utilizing other available revenues.
The state is authorized to tap into up to $800 million sitting available in various state accounts. This allows the state to utilize that money now to fund programs and services and pay it back over the next two years.
A series of voluntary pension reforms are projected to bring in $445 million in budget savings.
Those reforms include:
Inactive buyout: Former public sector workers vested in the program and owed an annuity when they reach the qualifying retirement age would gain the option of cashing out now for 60 percent of the value. Savings estimated at $41 million
COLA buyout: Tier 1 employees owed a compounding 3 percent COLA in retirement would get the option of having the state buyout the compounded COLA for 70 percent of the value. Savings estimated at $382 million.
Pension spiking: End of career raises would be limited to 3 percent, currently 6 percent. This means if school districts award end of career raises in excess of 3 percent, the retirement system charges them to cover the increased expense to state taxpayers. Savings estimated at $22 million.
