Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives
Previous Post: Morning Shorts
Next Post: Will Quinn sign the death penalty abolition bill this week?
Posted in:
* From the Champaign News-Gazette…
Indeed, Illinois residents would gladly trade positions with the people of Wisconsin.
Yeah. OK. And pay higher income taxes, live in a cultural desert and endure massive social unrest and a Republican governor who makes Bill Brady look like Dawn Clark Netsch? Gotcha. Right. Check. That’ll go over extremely well. [/Snark]
* The reason the News-Gazette claims we’d all like to trade positions with the Cheeseheads is that our state has a bigger budget deficit than they do.
But what I’d really like to know from the paper is what major state spending they’d like to see reduced in their own area. What U of I schools should be shuttered? What community college campuses should be closed? How much should class sizes grow in area K-12 schools? Which local families should lose their Medicaid, and which doctors, hospitals and nursing homes should be paid less? Which Champaign-Urbana domestic violence shelters, substance abuse centers and childcare programs should be closed? What newspaper industry tax breaks - on everything from ink, to newsprint to machinery - will the News-Gazette give up?
* This is the sort of empty rhetoric we see all the time from newspaper editorial boards. But none ever offers to sacrifice themselves. In fact, there’s a huge push on right now to block a bill in the General Assembly that would kill off a sacred government subsidy. From the Illinois Press Association…
Industry must rally against Public Notice bill
The introduction of HB 1869 in the Illinois House of Representatives has created a rumble through the Illinois newspaper industry that could be equated to kicking a hornet’s nest. The subsequent response from Illinois publishers to the IPA’s “call to action” has been tremendous and it appears certain that response will not calm down until this bill is defeated.
In short, HB 1869 would remove full-text publication of public notices from newspapers and allow government entities to post them on their own websites. The coalition behind this bill —eight groups comprised of elected officials from townships, school boards, county officials, etc. — are claiming this is a cost-cutting move necessitated by their tight operating budgets. They also claim circulation has decreased so significantly to the point of newspapers being obsolete and, also, that the Internet is now the better and preferred place for public notices.
Several newspapers have published editorials blasting the proposal since the IPA cranked up the opposition. But state and local governments spend a ton of cash on these notices, and few papers put the notices online. Since fewer and fewer people are reading dead tree editions, they won’t see the public notices.
It’s the same old story. “Cuts for thee, but not for me.”
* Related…
* Wis. Gov Scott Walker warns time is running out
* Police block access to Wisconsin Capitol
* Gov. Quinn: Walker Waging War on Workers
* Capitol Chaos: Democrats Likely to Remain in Illinois
* Indiana lawmakers not ready for compromise
* Daniels radio ad calls Dems home
…Adding… Roundup….
* Pension Funds Strained, States Look at 401(k) Plans
* Senate president weighs in on consolidation
* Top Democrat: School consolidation shouldn’t be forced
* District 128 officials oppose Gov. Quinn’s proposal to consolidate schools
* Quinn’s school proposals raise concerns
* Mayor: School mergers can be costly - Durflinger tells Washington districts that consolidation study will shed light on issue
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 9:47 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: Morning Shorts
Next Post: Will Quinn sign the death penalty abolition bill this week?
WordPress Mobile Edition available at alexking.org.
powered by WordPress.
I would trade budget deficit totals and governors, however I would not trade anything else.
Comment by Living in Oklahoma Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 9:52 am
The N-G article isn’t focused on budget cuts, so I’m not sure why we’re calling out the Editorial Board for stating, accurately, that our fiscal problems are worse than Wisconsin’s. The N-G article’s point, which I believe to be fairly made, is that while our situation is much worse than the situation in WI, we have a Governor that won’t (at least any time in the foreseeable future) even consider any reform measures that would jeopardize his relationship to the public employee unions that helped get him elected.
Comment by lawyerlady Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:03 am
The N-G article isn’t focused on budget cuts - there is a single mention of the fact that the Governor’s proposed budget increases spending - so I’m not sure why we’re calling out the Editorial Board. They’re stating, accurately, that our fiscal problems are worse than Wisconsin’s. The N-G article’s main point, which I believe to be fairly made, is that while our situation is much worse than the situation in WI, we have a Governor that won’t (at least any time in the foreseeable future) even consider any reform measures that would jeopardize his relationship to the public employee unions that helped get him elected.
Comment by lawyerlady Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:05 am
Our municipality spends approximately $50,000 per year to publish notices in printed newspapers. Much of this cost is passed on to developers and homeowners who are appplying for variances, rezonings, or development approvals. Allowing governments to post notices on line would reduce development costs. When taxpayers demand that government operate more efficiently, why shouldn’t this new practice be allowed?
Comment by One of the 35 Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:08 am
Excellent points.
On a related note, why hasn’t anyone asked Bill Brady what he thinks about the Wisconsin mess? Does he support what Gov. Walker is doing?
It’s amazing to me the obvious coverage that goes uncovered here.
Comment by just sayin' Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:09 am
I mean in this state, not this blog, which does an excellent job.
Comment by just sayin' Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:09 am
State worker pension reform was passed in Illinois, and more may be coming. From my standpoint as a state worker, I echo the sentiments of many unionized Wisconsin state workers–and even the majority of Americans in national polls so far–that we need to help out with the budget deficit by taking cuts and paying more, but that collective bargaining is sacred and worth fighting for.
Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:12 am
The City Colleges of Chicago is undergoing a publicized “Reinvention” due to an overall graduation rate of less than ten percent ( from its two year associates degree programs).
Maybe that would be a place to consider budget cuts or closings except for the fact that, unlike all other community college districts, the system is run by appointees of the Chicago mayor and it has become a patronage plantation. The new chancellor, a non-academic, has directed six of the seven college presidents to reapply for their jobs as if they were first time applicants.
Something is wrong in this college district.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:13 am
The Southern Illinoisan recently ran an editorial in opposition to H.B. 1869.
Most. Self-serving. Editorial. Ever.
Comment by Deep South Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:18 am
Speaking of cuts, we haven’t heard much lately about those cuts AFCME was going to make here in Illinois in exchange for that very expensive no-layoff agreement which extends through June of next year.
Is there any independent verification that they happened or are happening. How much? Where? When?
Wisconsin is going to do what it’s gonna do, but let’s not let it distract us from Democratic pols’
(aided by exceptionally weak and dithery Republican pols’) assaults on our wallets here at home.
Comment by cassandra Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:22 am
- I would trade budget deficit totals and governors, however I would not trade anything else. -
Way to prove Rich’s point.
Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:24 am
when school district spend the amount of $6-10k on their annual useless report of finances that is unreadable I think we could all find better use for the funds.
As an old newspaper man once told me, The business of newspapers is not to report the news, it’s to sell ad space. Lest we all forget that simple fact
Comment by frustrated GOP Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:24 am
Cuts are great, as long as it’s someone else bearing the brunt of them. Everything that benefits me is a ‘necessity’.
Comment by How Ironic Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:25 am
Perfect example was the water/sewer tax in Springfield. Nobody read it. Nobody attended the meeting including the State Journal Register! Only when it was implemented, did the @$# hit the fan.
The internet has a wider and more diverse audience. Computers are publicly available at the library and other locations. Newspapers are only concerned about losing their guaranteed money. It’s a sham.
Comment by 4 percent Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:31 am
Illinois also doesn’t tax sales of newspapers and magazines. It might be time to rethink that sweet little tax break.
Cue the editorial outrage in 3-2-1…
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:35 am
I was at a Congresscritter’s townhall meeting recently. After the CC described the depth of the deficit and the need for shared sacrifice to the nods of the audience, he opened up the floor for questions. Folks then started to complain about the proposed and real cuts to various and sundry programs. Is anyone listening?
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:46 am
@ Lawyerlady -
If the NG editorial isn’t a rally cry for cuts, we must be reading different newspapers.
Illinois’ state debt is $15 billion as the editorial states.
Did they call for bonding out that debt to pay the state’s backlog of unpaid bills? Nope.
Did they advocate for raising revenues even further? Nope.
What they did hint is that we should pave the way for cutting retirement benefits and perhaps even salaries for state workers by repealing their collective bargaining rights.
Rich is right. There are three solutions to our budget plight: borrow, increase revenue, or cut spending.
The NG’s position is more than just a little hypocritical because if it weren’t for massive government spending on an annual basis, Champaign County wouldn’t be enjoying an unemployment rate that was a full 1-2 % below the state average on an annual basis.
And I’ll go Rich one better: Let’s hear the News Gazette back Sen. Brady’s plan to cut college financial aid by 10%. I’m sure 5000 fewer college students spending in downtown Champaign will have no impact whatsoever on their ad sales.
As for the Illinois Timber Association…er, IL Advertisers Association…I mean Illinois Press Association: your editorial boards have been calling for shared sacrifice for three years, yet when the collection plate gets to you, you never seem to be able to reach your pockets. You enjoy tax subsidies on printers ink and printing presses…you get a steady line of government welfare in the form of legal requirements that few people care about be posted as paid advertising on dead trees that no one reads.
Capitolfax probably has a higher average weekly circulation than a good third of the papers in this state.
And let’s not kid ourselves: the Chicago Tribune as the state’s largest paper is the 800 lb. gorilla in the IPA.
Yet you think that the state should be slashing child care that’s helping get moms off of welfare, substance abuse treatment that’s saving tremendous ER costs and getting people off the streets and back to work, juvenile crime interdiction programs that turn teens away from gangs, guns, drugs and prison and toward being taxpaying members of society? And then cut even more??
Chicago Tribune: Shared. Sacrifice. Means. You.
Comment by Number Cruncher Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:50 am
And when are we going to consider levying sales taxes on the sale of periodicals like newspapers?
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:52 am
==- I would trade budget deficit totals and governors==
Their deficit is lower because their taxes are so much higher not because of anything that goof Walker has done. In fact their budget was balanced before he gave big tax breaks to big business. Kind of like Greorge W. did during his first term.
Comment by Bill Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:53 am
(as 47th Ward suggested earlier…)
Comment by MrJM Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:54 am
The “Show Me What To Cut and Where To Cut” arguments in response to these types of editorials and opinions has grown real old with me.
A little voice in the back of my head keeps saying “but it’s the job of the governor and our legislators to figure out where to cut.” I mean, that’s what they were elected for. In good times they cut ribbons for new projects and programs. In bad times they cut out what we can’t afford and hopefully can do without.
What is getting pretty scary for me is that those little voices in my head are actually starting to sound sensible!
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 10:54 am
**A little voice in the back of my head keeps saying “but it’s the job of the governor and our legislators to figure out where to cut.”**
BS. You can’t call for them to cut, and complain about them raising taxes, but then say that it is their job to figure out what to cut.
Isn’t also then their job to decide to raise taxes? Or borrow?
You can’t have it both ways.
Comment by dave Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:05 am
–The N-G article’s main point, which I believe to be fairly made, is that while our situation is much worse than the situation in WI, we have a Governor that won’t (at least any time in the foreseeable future) even consider any reform measures that would jeopardize his relationship to the public employee unions that helped get him elected.–
The public employee unions weren’t exactly jumping up and down about the reforms passed last March, which even Sen. Radogno praised as “signficant” from the Senate floor.
I doubt it they’re thrilled about school district consolidation or furlough days, either. Or more efforts that are surely coming, including attempts to reduce benefits for current employees and to eliminate the right for teachers to strike.
Unlike Wisconsin, Illinois doesn’t have a governor who sends armed troopers to bang on opposition legislator doors in the wee hours of the morning, or contemplate, with sinister Park Avenue right-wing billionaires, the selfish benefits of planting “troublemakers” to cause a “ruckus” among his own citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.
You can say a lot of things about Quinn, and I have, but he is no Scott Walker. He’s a decent, well-meaning citizen.
Quinn doesn’t consider Illinoisans an enemy unworthy of dialogue that needs to be crushed to fulfill some narcissistic fever dream of grandeur. And in these very interesting times in which we live, we can take some pride in that.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:13 am
Rich, Wisconsin is not a cultural desert — it is a great state with a lot to offer.
Comment by Just Observing Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:22 am
Hands off.
I am in direct contact assisting those served by Kasich Walker, Jr. at least twice a month.
Comment by Kasich Walker, Jr.'s Assistant Program Director & Compliance Officer Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:23 am
The whole premise is insane. Can’t trade part without trading the entire thing. I’ll trade the low murder rate for the lower tax rate. I will also trade the traffic for the lower cost of living.
Comment by Wumpus Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:29 am
“Yeah. OK. And pay higher income taxes, live in a cultural desert and endure massive social unrest and a Republican governor who makes Bill Brady look like Dawn Clark Netsch? Gotcha. Right. Check. That’ll go over extremely well.”
I wasn’t aware that Wisconsin was a cultural desert. Seems like a pretty nice state to me.
And what’s wrong with a few demonstrations. We have them in Illinois from time to time, like the time the teachers showed up in masse at the state capital to chant “raise our taxes.”
As for Scott Walker, what’s wrong with putting a controversial issue before the legislature and demanding an up-or-down vote. Isn’t that what democracy is all about. It’s a certainty that if Walker didn’t have public support for his proposal there would not be a majority of legislators prepared to vote for it.
Rich’s point that it’s somehow illegitimate to compare Illinois’ problems to those in Wisconsin or the size of their debt to ours can’t fly.
Wisconsin is trying to avoid having a debt the size of Illinois, which is more than our elected officials have been doing for the past eight years.
One more thing, what’s all this talk about Sen. Brady? He lost the election. Quinn won. Now he’s supposed to do what election winners do — lead. He’s failing miserably and in way over his head.
He’s good at feigning moral outrage at press conference and bad at governing. I’m surprised Rich can’t see that. I’m even more surprised that Rich’s position is that Illinois must keep scoring more money, even if it doesn’t have the money.
Comment by Jim Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:32 am
Jim, did you not see that “Snark” notice?
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:38 am
Republican governor who makes Bill Brady look like Dawn Clark Netsch?
A more accurate description of Brady, and frankly the ILL GOP, has not yet been penned.
Your comment re: the WI income tax is also worthy of note. Our debts and unfunded liabilities will have to be paid, either by federal bailout, massive tax increases, or spending cuts.
Do a random poll of 20 or 30 businesses looking to locate in the Midwest. Maybe a “tax premium”, paid for by the existing tax base will lure them here. Hold things equal, and Wisconsin looks more stable, and moving in the right direction.
My cuts?
1. Cap property taxes (repeal any exceptions) so that municipalities can’t hike them beyond inflation. Then end revenue sharing. That’s about a billion.
2. Get rid of the DCEO, and curtail all but the most necessary infrastructure projects. It’s not that big a boost to the general fund, but it’s a start.
3. Cut all payments to rich school districts (per pupil spending above the state average. As for Chicago, cut school subsidy by 1/3 or 1/4 and send the money directly to the school’s principal, bypassing CPS bureaucracy.
4. Freeze all programs, no budget item get increase except for mandated programs.
____
The ideological bias on this site is pretty strong. The implication that Walker isn’t a “decent human being” simply because he’s out to curtail union power is absurd.
I could just as easily question the “decency” of the numerous school board members, dissembling superintendents, and teacher union hacks who feel that their “right” to endless and increasing public payments to their pay and benefits was written in the 10 commandments.
Here’s to hoping Walker tips the first domino.
Comment by Bruno Behrend Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:46 am
By the way, sorry I messed up screening calls last week. I’m not counting that as an instance of public contact.
@Jim: Sure, Quinn won, but when did he say anything about taking away collective bargaining for public workers? Until speaking to a real Koch, I didn’t even know Scott was going for it.
Comment by Kasich Walker, Jr.'s Assistant Program Director & Compliance Officer Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:47 am
Here is another ourtage from the deadtreemedia. Gatehouse is charging for obits in its small town papers. 35 dollars. This is just the final slap in the face I am taking from them. This has long been a small town service. There is no reason for us to spend tax dollars subsidizing them anymore
Comment by western illinois Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:47 am
Somebody’s gonna lose out here, Rich. Have hearings to determine who loses what or cut across the board - take your pick. We hear all the time that the tax increase isn’t enough - that cuts are necessary. From where? If not from Illinois programs such as you say should be spared (complete with compelling sob stories attached) - then where? Are there any programs that are so obviously useless that can be easily dropped without their beneficiaries protesting on the steps of the captitol? Could we get the name of these useless programs that, by their defunding, will solve the MASSIVE deficit in Illinois?
Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 11:59 am
I have been a fan of this blog for a long time, but have never written. I have been inspired by the union effort in Wisconsin, though. Collective bargaining, for years, has provided working professionals a way to earn a decent living. If you would like to see how effective Illinois teacher unions have been you can go to a website that contains many districts CBA’s. Collective bargaining works.
http://www.publicschoolspending/collective-
bargaining-agreements/illinois/
Comment by Flaming Liberal Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 12:04 pm
I went to City College to get the math and science prerequisites I needed to get my civil engineering degree. The classes I took were excellent — the chemistry class I had at Truman College in particular stood out as one of my best classroom experiences. And at about $400 PER CLASS they were an incredible bargain. I was able to pay for them out of my checkbook and entered UIC with the equivalent of 2 years of school under my belt and no student loans.
I did not, however, get any type of degree from City Colleges, so does that make me part of the 90% who “failed?”
In one of the articles about the City Colleges restructuring they had a figure of only 5% of students going on to get four year degrees, and after the article there were lots of comments blasting that number. But I wonder if that figure included the fact that lots of City Colleges classes are simple certification courses not geared towards a degree? Those classes are very important! They also offer a lot of classes geared simply towards community enrichment — language classes, art classes, physical fitness classes, etc. Again these don’t lead to degrees but are a great resources for people who wish to be life-long learners.
Frankly, without Chicago City Colleges it is doubtful I would have the professional career I have today.
Comment by Lakefront Liberal Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 12:20 pm
Dave asks: “Isn’t also then their job to decide to raise taxes? Or borrow?”
My response is: Yes it is. They ran for these positions. It’s their responsibility.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 12:34 pm
Louis, those who constantly demand cuts have a responsibility to say what they’re willing to give up for their region. Period. You won’t ever change my mind on that.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 12:38 pm
But those who demand we pay for every social cause under the sun do not need to say how they will pay? Or how much they are willing to take out of the economy to pay for them?
Comment by Dwight Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 12:49 pm
Dwight, were you in another country last month? That’s already been decided.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 12:53 pm
===The implication that Walker isn’t a “decent human being” simply because he’s out to curtail union power is absurd.===
I don’t know if he’s a decent human being or not. But Walker has said he needs concessions from union workers to balance the budget. The union workers have agreed to the concesssions. But Walker won’t accept that unless collective bargaining is curtailed.
So what up wid dat?
Why not take what you can get at this point, and work for the rest down the road? You just don’t jerk all that out in one fell swoop. So now a solvable budget problem is a major political crisis with no end in sight.
There’s a whole lot more to this than balancing the budget. The U.S. Supreme Court says corporations can donate to political campaigns. The GOP now wants to deny unions the same right. I can understand the decency question.
Comment by Deep South Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 1:07 pm
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 12:38 pm:
Louis, those who constantly demand cuts have a responsibility to say what they’re willing to give up for their region. Period. You won’t ever change my mind on that.
*********************************
Rich, I respectfully disagree. Newspaper editorial boards of course have the right to print proposed lists of cuts for their regions every single day until the budget is passed. However, they’re not in power. That’s not their job. The idea that a lay person or an editorial board cannot say the budget needs to be cut without naming particular cuts doesn’t make sense. The fact that the budget needs to be cut seems obvious to nearly everyone, and people and papers have a right to state the obvious. To what end would you demand that they propose cuts? Do you honestly think the legislature will listen?
As an employee in the private sector, I don’t receive a gov’t salary, nor will I receive a pension. I don’t receive any gov’t subsidies of any sort or utilize government health care. I even attended private school, so I haven’t benefited from the public school system. What do I cut? I’m not getting anything.
As for the N-G, okay, they could cry out for U of I budget slashes, or demand that the state contribute less to Champaign and Urbana municipal governments but what does that accomplish? The legislature isn’t going to look to that for guidance. And it’s not like the N-G Ed. Board represents (or should represent) the people of Champaign County - - they are individuals with opinions. Legislators are supposed to represent the people. Not newspapers. Newspapers print news and opinion, nothing more. They aren’t getting paid to make the tough decisions for our state; legislators and our brave leader in the Governor’s mansion are.
Not to mention, naming cuts in your own backyard seems meaningless. Some regions/counties likely receive, as a net, much more in government funding than others. Some have tighter budgets than others. Requiring that any proposed cuts named by anyone must affect them personlly or be limited to cuts in their own backyard is way too similar to Brady’s 10% across the board plan. You can’t ‘one-size-fits-all’ budget cuts by a region any more than you can by a percentage. Cuts have to be strategic based on a complete analysis of the budget as a whole.
Comment by lawyerlady Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 1:17 pm
===naming cuts in your own backyard seems meaningless. ===
That’s silly. It’s far too easy to propose a cut for something that has nothing to do with you. If these editorial boards want cuts, and they all do, then they ought to name the cuts in their own back yards that they could live with.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 1:26 pm
Also, keep in mind that I’m not talking about average citizens here. I’ve aimed this question at individual legislators and at editorial boards. Both groups should have more than enough basic understanding of state spending in their areas to suggest what should be cut.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 1:32 pm
The Rockford Register Star editorial decrying the public notice bill must be one of the most disgustingly self-serving pieces of trash ever published in a newspaper. I read the entire editorial just to see if it might disclose, if only in the slightest way, the newspaper’s own hugely vested financial interest in the outcome of that legislation. But no - no such disclosure. Instead, they cooked up some maddening lunacy about seniors and people of color (more than implying that the proponents of the legislation might be racist). And when they did mention the financial implications of the bill, they had the gall to turn the truth on its head by pointing instead to the relatively small cost - on the part of local governments - of placing such public notices in dying newspapers. LGC really outdid herself on that one.
Comment by Coach Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 1:41 pm
I’ve been known to take art classes at my local community college. I already have a 4 year degree. It’s in Math & Comp Sci, not art, which is good because I’d be horrified at any college that awarded me an art degree with my substantial lack of artistic skill or talent. I take the courses as a way to relax and make new acquaintances. I guess I’m part of Morton’s failure rate too.
Comment by cermak_rd Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 1:47 pm
Deep South,
The way I understand the issue in Wisconsin, Gov Walker certainly accepts the concessions that the public emp union members signed onto. The issue with the collective bargaining situation relates to the need to address structural issues. The concessions relate to short term issues. I have read here in this blog the fact that structural problems are a huge problem here in Illinois as well. Passing a tax increase addresses a short term crisis, in our recent case, while the structural issues (pensions, retirees free health care insurance, overwhelming high costs of medicaid, etc) still need to be addressed. It is the collective bargaining agreement that constitutes an ongoing budgetary pressure in the state budget, in WI as elsewhere.
BTW, state employees in WI don’t lose all their “rights” as some have claimed. Civil service protections remain untouched - some of the most employee favored in the nation in WI.
Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 2:21 pm
Get to deal with government legal publications all the time. If the newspapers were even technically qualified to do the job, it would be one thing. But many of the biggest newspaper complainers are hopelessly technically challenged.
Try pushing out a 4 to 5 Mb. digital text file to them. You want to either FTP it to them, or put it on your website and send them a link where they can download the information. We’ll keep it simple - no login and password required, just pick up the data.
First few times, just sent the newspapers an email. Learned to also make a phone call to make sure. So when I give them the details on the phone, referencing the email, and ask them about formats, and details so we can push the data to them digitally, I tend to get “Huh?”.
IMO, the newspapers are a bunch of technological Cro-Mags….
If they had half a brain, they’d take a small price cut (even up to 20%) on the terms that they would have sole source capability for putting all local government information on their website, turn their website into their local information portal (before Google or somebody else does it first), and ‘own’ the ground. You think that somebody (cough, cough - Micro$oft) might not want to ante up a few $$$ to make these sites a MS Bing site?
But that’s way, way too many bridges too far for the newsies to think about….
Comment by Judgment Day Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 2:36 pm
Where is Tom Cross and his GOP Pension Reform proposal? This is a story right under the nose of reporters and no one is following up.
Comment by Is He Hiding Under the Desk? Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 3:11 pm
Rich I still disagree, including your added proviso of specifying cuts in one’s back yard.
Legislators do not vote for a series of regional budgets or district budgets. They vote on a state-wide budget.
That’s their job. They determine what goes in and what comes out of each budget they pass.
I don’t have any State prisons in my back yard. So I have no opinion on how much to spend on state prisons? That does not make any sense to me. We have a couple of SOS offices in my county. Those counties without SOS offices have no say so on the SOS budget? And I do?
Rahm said it best. “Shared Pain.” And those determining how the pain is shared are legislators and the governor. That includes “cuts” and that includes tax levies.
That’s what they were elected to do. Their jobs. I can’t raise taxes or cut line items out of a budget. They can!
We are all in the same boat, captained and steered by those we elected for that purpose.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 3:19 pm
“Unlike Wisconsin, Illinois doesn’t have a governor who sends armed troopers to bang on opposition legislator doors in the wee hours of the morning, or contemplate, with sinister Park Avenue right-wing billionaires, the selfish benefits of planting “troublemakers” to cause a “ruckus” among his own citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.”
wordslinger,
I heard parts of the prank call once (except for the troublemakers part, which has been aired repeatedly) in which pseudoKoch said something about a baseball bat, and Walker said something like he’s got a baseball bat in his office with his signature on it.
This also sounds nasty, if I heard it correctly. I would like to hear it again, for context. I may have misheard it, as no one has mentioned it since. If violence is implied in this, someone needs to revisit this part of the phone conversation.
Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 3:20 pm
Grandson, here’s a transcript of the conversation.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/article_531276b6-3f6a-11e0-b288-001cc4c002e0.html
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 3:34 pm
Thanks, word.
The baseball bat part was about bringing it to legislative negotiations.
Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 4:19 pm
I love Chicago’s continued arrogance that Illinois is still better than all the surrounding states by divine right.
Comment by T.J. Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 4:42 pm
More cuts?
Go with Rita’s district abolition bill. Add a capped structure the limits the amount of administrative positions in the new county districts, and send the state money directly to the schools on per student basis.
Public ed in IL is massively overfunded, with way too much going to an essentially useless class of administrators that don’t connect a single neuron in a child’s head.
Living in River Forest, I’d be glad to volunteer our administrators go first, as I don’t suffer from the delusion that the money is “staying in our district” or that it’s “for River Forest kids.”
The faux parochialism of “our district” artifice is one of the most enduring myths of education dogma. That money is as local as the profits of your basic McDonald’s franchise.
Comment by Bruno Behrend Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 5:34 pm
Bruno, it (almost) warms my heart to see that you haven’t given up on abolishing school districts completely
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 8:35 pm
Steve,
Five years ago, you (and others) called me crazy. Now Democrats are starting to file bills consolidating districts.
I challenge anyone here to make a case that a “school district” has any benefit at all for a child in need of an education.
They are spending engines that serve no real educational purpose. Their administrative functions could be consolidated or devolved with massive cuts in wasteful payroll.
Their boundaries, when not arbitrary, are specifically designed to create educational apartheid.
Illinois (and the US) will eventually adopt reforms close to what I propose, or continue its slide into financial and educational oblivion.
Given the opportunity to have cushy government job at a needless entity living off the taxpayer, or being right about education reform, I’m happy to be right.
Comment by Bruno Behrend Tuesday, Mar 1, 11 @ 8:58 pm