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* Illinois Statehouse News has a report on how legislators are trying to keep state facilities open…
Gov. Pat Quinn used his veto pen in an attempt to cut $376 million from the $33.2 billion budget the Legislature sent him this spring, but lawmakers and Quinn already might have found a new way to spend the money. […]
Instead of reversing Quinn’s actions, the idea that seems to be solidifying among lawmakers involves taking a good portion of what Quinn vetoed — between $230 million and $250 million — to fund the seven facilities Quinn has targeted for closure because a lack of money, according to House Republican Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego. […]
Quinn’s office estimates that it will cost $313 million, or about $64 million more than Cross’ number, to keep the facilities open through June 30.
* But even if Cross’ numbers are right, can they really use all that vetoed cash? I’m not sure they can without it hurting the budget elsewhere. Here’s the breakdown…
Quinn’s cuts this summer came in the form of $276 million from Medicaid, $89 million for school transportation and more than $11 million for regional offices of education. Last month, Quinn announced he was shuttering the seven state facilities and laying off about 2,000 workers because the Legislature didn’t budget enough money.
The Medicaid cuts were basically just delayed payments into next fiscal year. Gov. Quinn said he wanted the General Assembly to reduce Medicaid provider rates, but if that didn’t happen then the payments would simply be delayed. Reducing provider rates was already rejected by the GA this year. If they now use all or part of that Medicaid money for something else, then the state would lose a very big federal Medicaid match.
Also, using that vetoed school transportation money won’t be popular at all with most Downstate legislators. This isn’t as easy as it may look.
* And I’ll believe this when I see it…
Quinn’s Office of Management and Budget, or OMB, said it is working with the Legislature to agree on where to spend the money the governor vetoed.
“Gov. Quinn wants to work with the legislative caucuses to determine how best to identify and utilize any additional funds. Beyond the needs of the agencies (that run the seven state facilities), there remains great necessity in the areas of education, health care and public safety,” said Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for OMB.
After asking for gaming negotiations and then quickly reneging, this governor has zero credibility.
*** UPDATE *** Layoffs begin…
Nearly two dozen state workers will get pink slips today, becoming the first casualties in the bruising budget battle between Gov. Pat Quinn and the General Assembly.
The 21 employees, who range from security guards to food safety analysts at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, are among more than 1,900 workers targeted to be laid off in the coming months by Quinn. […]
In September, Quinn said he would close seven facilities because the budget sent to him by lawmakers doesn’t contain enough money to keep a number of agencies operating for the entire fiscal year. […]
Closures and layoffs at agencies like the Illinois Department of Corrections aren’t set to take place until Dec. 31.
*** UPDATE 2 *** HB 3793, which would block more local property tax funding for schools is being opposed by a wide variety of folks, including Stand for Children Illinois. From their roundup…
The Illinois General Assembly is wrongly considering a property tax bill that will handicap local school districts from raising their own revenue and hinder existing streams of revenue from being collected. This will severely impact our schools and we must contact our Representatives and Senators and ask them to vote NO on this detrimental piece of legislation.
The loss to our school districts around the state would be staggering. Here are just a few examples of the impact:
Chicago Public Schools could see $144 million dollars taken away from their budget.
Crete Monee CUSD #201- $500,000 reduction for this year with anticipated loss of $32 million over 10 years.
St. Charles CUSD #303 - $2,600,809 reduction for this year with anticipated loss of $36 million over next 10 years = 52 teaching positions/5.4% of teaching staff.
Naperville CUSD #203 - $4 million reduction = 57 teaching positions. Ultimate impact by 2015 would be $23 million, 11.5% of budget to be reduced, resulting in a cumulative loss of 327 teaching positions.
The bill is here. And here’s a video…
* Roundup…
* Illinois economy down slightly: After reporting a sharp increase in September, the University of Illinois Flash Index fell half a point to 98.3 in October. But, the index remains above the 97.8 level that was in place through much of the summer and is significantly higher than when it was hovering around 90 during the same period in 2009.
* RTA paying its partners’ legal bills in sales tax war with Kankakee-Channahon: The agency confirms it is picking up all the legal costs for 10 municipal co-plaintiffs. That means all communities like Schaumburg have had to do is sign on the dotted line and hope for a legal windfall later.
* Health insurance exchange bill moves forward: “What I think they’re trying to put in place is something that can organize the market and see how it functions and, based on performance, either crank up the involvement of the exchange or if the market responds appropriately, letting it do so,” said John Bouman, president of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, a Chicago-based nonprofit.
* Time critical, questions linger for Illinois health insurance exchange
* Timeline for smart grid-related matters, new ComEd rate process
* New Illinois energy bill includes some solar incentives
* Bankruptcy judge rejects Tribune plans
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 1:19 pm
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
Previous Post: *** UPDATED x1 - Track wants slots, not subsidy *** Quinn: Forget what I said about “sincere negotiations” last week
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How do you think they are going to deal with the $100+ million hole from the CME deal?
If you answered; by sending the bill to the other 98 counties, you are correct.
Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 1:25 pm
Blago was well known at some agencies for costing the state federal funds by making poorly thought out cuts. I suspect the current crop of legislators is about as concerned about the consequences of their cuts as Blago was. At least these cuts would save jobs in communities that would be devistated if state facilities were closed.
Comment by AC Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 1:27 pm
QTS, while a good point about the extra $100 mil, there isn’t enough money in Downstate to cover all of that.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 1:27 pm
{there isn’t enough money in Downstate to cover all of that.}
The bill will be paid through facility closures, employment lay-offs and terminations, and reductions in services.
Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 1:33 pm
I also believe it is inevitable that a Court rules Quinn must pay the raises due to Union members in affected agencies, so you can add another 75 to 80 million owed soon
Comment by Generation X Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 1:53 pm
Right on cue!
Nearly two dozen state workers will get pink slips today, becoming the first casualties in the bruising budget battle between Gov. Pat Quinn and the General Assembly.
The 21 employees, who range from security guards to food safety analysts at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, are among more than 1,900 workers targeted to be laid off in the coming months by Quinn. […]
Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 1:57 pm
If the veto $ get moved to pay for avoiding facility closures, that would be bad for the budget. If the unappropriated revenues get used to pay for avoiding the closures that will be bad for the budget. If the Medicaid veto is upheld that is bad for the budget (more old bills plus lost fed match). If the union contract (raises, no layoffs) gets upheld that will be bad for the budget. If the unappropriated revenues get used to honor the union contracts, that will be bad for the budget.
Anyone seeing a pattern here? Think back to Psych 101 and how avoidance-avoidance conflicts drove the rats to breakdowns. No good choices equal dysfunctional behaviors.
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:01 pm
Schnorf — Your point is well taken. This budget situation has reminded me of those old scifi stories, in which a computer is driven mad by the need to reconcile completely impossible goals.
Comment by soccermom Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:03 pm
I wonder how long the Governor and the GA will ignore the real life impact their political infighting is having on people…For example the 21 employees who are getting laid off today. I realize that even if both sides were negotiating in good faith, lay offs would probably still need to happen. However, the fact that they are all acting like children and not working to solve any of these problems make them seem out of touch with the people they supposedly represent. I mean, I know the Speaker doesn’t care about anyone, but I though maybe some of the legislators might.
Comment by Seriously??? Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:05 pm
{Anyone seeing a pattern here? Think back to Psych 101 and how avoidance-avoidance conflicts drove the rats to breakdowns. No good choices equal dysfunctional behaviors.}
LOL
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein …
Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:14 pm
“I mean, I know the Speaker doesn’t care about anyone…”
Now, be fair. He clearly cares about himself. And his political allies (a little bit).
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:16 pm
The only difference, Steve, is that using the Medicaid cash for something else deprives the state of a large federal match. Using the rest of that money for other purposes does not have that extra impact.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:20 pm
Seriously - The real truth of it is that they really don’t care. I used to get riled up at the unsufferable arrogance and seemingly ignorance of what their actions were doing to real people across the state. How could they not see what impact they were having. Then I began to realize they weren’t that dumb. They just don’t care.
During a discussion with one rep regarding the senate bill on procurement that passed last year and the impact it was having on our operation the rep stated “We voted on that?”
Nuff said
Comment by Irish Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:30 pm
Rich:
I sat in a meeting with OMB where they said point blank that they did not care if cuts caused a loss in federal funding. That is the mindset that we are dealing with in this administration.
Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:31 pm
I thought the first round that were to go today was held off until after the hearing in Randolph County next week?
Comment by Cindy Lou Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:40 pm
Irish - I know you’re right….I just like to hold out a little bit of hope that one of them will grow a spine and actually do their job.
Comment by Seriously??? Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:41 pm
Say GA votes to keep the Seven open and appropriates money. What then stops Quinn from simply making a point by pressing DHS to move residents as fast as possible into community settings and simply cut the existing state facility staff down as census drops by staying within existing staff/resident regulatory ratios? Quinn can easily say he is just following Olmstead and supporting community programs. Same outcome as closure while billings from community programs have FMP as bonus. The ripple effects of how to deal with severely involved behaviors when there is almost no backup is a serious problem, but that does not seem to be part of the planning process right now anyhow. So residents and staff get burned while the Gov and GA can just blame each other.
Comment by zatoichi Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:45 pm
So busy keeping their jobs they forget to do their jobs. Anyone remember an old Nick Nolte movie “Teachers”? He’s talking to (more like yelling at) administrators explaining to them about students, “They’re not here for us, we’re here for them.” Well, I think a lot of people in Springfield have forgotten the the people they represent aren’t here so they can have jobs. They are supposed to be here for us. They just stopped caring.
Comment by Seriously??? Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 2:51 pm
I think we are fast approaching the reality that if we really want to have a GA that does its job, then the slogan for the next election should be: If it is an incumbant, vote for the other guy.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 3:10 pm
When I read of the shifting of funds, I’m reminded of the old carnival “shell game”. We cut this over here and move that over there to cover what we say that we cut, but really it’s funded by the money that never really got cut, just moved under a rug until no one was watching.
And we still end up broke and behind on our bills.
Comment by TimB Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 3:15 pm
==So busy keeping their jobs they forget to do their jobs…They are supposed to be here for us. They just stopped caring. ==
Let’s assume that they are here for us and they do want to keep their jobs and see where it leads. To balance the state budget, they need to increase revenues and/or cut spending. We, the voters, reject both options and will toss someone out on their ear if they raise our taxes or cut our services. Logically, a wise legislator will do exactly what we see them doing right now: shuffle the budget, push as much of the problem as possible off until next year, blame the problems on someone else or outside forces. There is no reason to assume they do not care.
They want to keep their jobs, voters want to keep their services and limit their taxes. They pander to voters by telling us that taxes are too high while also promising us more services. Voters respond uncritically to a welcome message. The cycle continues.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 3:27 pm
So the State hasn’t raised the foundation level in 4 years (I think that’s right, but I could be a year off), is cutting categorical spending, isn’t paying schools they money their owed… and now the State wants to cut revenues on the property tax schools receive.
Really?
Comment by Ahoy Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 3:27 pm
So at the same time they are cutting jobs, the union contract is calling for certain jobs that have long be contractual employees to now be union jobs. So jobs that used to just pay a contractual wage and no benefits, will now pay a union wage with full benefits (higher cost). Great way to run a railroad.
Oh and by the way, I know a couple of people in these jobs and there is no way any full time union employee is going to outwork them.
Comment by Jaded Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 3:54 pm
“Impossible to cut here.” “Impossible to cut there.” “No, not here either.” “We demand cuts.” “Pay off debts.” “No new taxes or borrowing.” “Just balance the budget”.
Legislators who just do most of what their various constituents demand, are called “do-nothings, and panderers.”
Legislators who face reality, use their best judgments to come up with a long-term approaches, and try to actually solve the fiscal problems, are called “uncaring and out of touch.”
Make the hard choices. Stick with the hard choices. Keep looking for better choices.
The State isn’t them, it’s us.
Comment by walkinfool Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 4:07 pm
Rich, the other money can be spent to pay down old bills (good for the budget)if it isn’t spent on anything else (bad for the budget).
Comment by steve schnorf Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 4:35 pm
Schnorf,
Not to sound trite, but keep dreamin’…
Comment by Borealis Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 4:55 pm
are County layoffs starting?
Comment by amalia Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 5:29 pm
~If it is an incumbant, vote for the other guy.~
But you have to *have* another guy running for that to work.
Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 5:41 pm
That Stand for Children video and “fact” sheet is quite misleading.
HB 3793 doesn’t take money away from any of those schools’ budgets. Rather, it provides that they can’t increase their current levy, when property values decline, unless the voters approve an increase. That last point is cleverly left out. Sure, it may be semantics - but one doesn’t equal the other. Getting taxed more and more on less equity if counterintuitive.
Furthermore, the legislation excludes new construction and doesn’t apply to home-rule municipalities.
All that I gathered from a plain text reading of the legislation, so someone tell me if I’m mistaken, but I think there should be a giant asterisk with that post that proports to be factual.
Comment by Apple Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 5:55 pm
Cut education spending. The run up in payroll alone has made Illinois a high tax state.
100s of millions could be cut by gutting the payroll bloat in both administration, support, and teaching.
Here is study showing the uselessness of “class size reduction.” And guess what, it’s from a liberal think tank. (CAP)
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/04/pdf/class_size.pdf
If you aren’t cutting spending across the board in IL local government, you aren’t serious about Illinois financial and economic climate.
Decades of unnecessary run-ups must be reversed, and yes, it will, and should, be painful.
Comment by Bruno Behrend Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 6:04 pm
Bruno: Did you actually read the report? It does not recommend cutting education spending, nor does it say that class size reduction is useless.
The report says that class size reduction is beneficial, but that the money used to reduce class size can often achieve greater benefits if spent elsewhere in the school.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Nov 1, 11 @ 9:01 pm
From the study…
”
There is clearly a need for more rigorous studies of class size, but two important
conclusions emerge from the existing research. First, across-the-board reductions
in class size at the state level are likely to yield disappointing results, as was the case
in California and Florida. Second, CSR policies pursued at the school or district
level may produce larger effects in some circumstances. The Tennessee STAR
reduction of class size in the very early grades produced the largest class-size effects.
But even if reducing class sizes produces benefits this large, is it worth the cost”
I’m sorry if my post above caused you to think that the study recommended cutting education spending.
That was MY recommendation, and it always has been. The entire ‘industry’ is a feather-bedded public jobs program.
With 3.1 million of the 6.3 million employees nationwide being “administration and support,” there is plenty of room to take a meat ax to the non-teaching side of that equation.
No child will be hurt by deep deep cuts in admin, assistant bottle washers, and overstaffed counselors, directors, and coordinators.
The savings can be used to phase out the useless “school district,” increase pay for the best teachers and principals, and lay off the teaching deadwood.
As for the study, let me put my spin on it. If “cost/benefit” shows that the cost outweigh the benefits, then the policy must be taken as a whole, and not by focusing on the benefit side alone.
On balance, class size reduction is “useless,” if the overall costs don’t produce results. After a decade or more of producing virtually NO BENEFITS nationally (flat or lower scores) after billions of dollars spent, it’s time to tell Mrs. Soccer Mom that all she’s doing by supporting class size reductions hurting her own children.
Comment by Bruno Behrend Thursday, Nov 3, 11 @ 7:23 am