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Senate narrowly backs Quinn on facility closures - Chamber backs Quinn pension reforms

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Illinois

* The most interesting thing about this roll call is not that the bill lost. It was always destined to lose. It’s that Sen. Gary Forby decided not to fight another day by pulling the bill out of the record. This was theater designed for the folks back home, not much more…

An effort to give lawmakers the power to block Gov. Pat Quinn from closing large state facilities fell one vote short of passage in the Senate on Wednesday.

State Sen. Gary Forby, whose district includes Tamms Correctional Center, which Quinn wants to shutter as part of a budget-cutting plan, had sought to give the General Assembly a say in whether closures can go forward.

But, the measure received just 29 of the 30 votes needed to move to the House for further deliberations.

Quinn wants to close adult prisons in Tamms and Dwight, youth prisons in Joliet and Murphysboro, a center for developmentally disabled residents in Centralia and numerous other state facilities. At stake are more than 2,000 jobs.

* That vote gave Gov. Pat Quinn a big boost in his attempt to cut the budget and force AFSCME and other unions to the bargaining table on pensions. Quinn also got some backing for his pension plan from the Illinois Chamber…

Illinois and Springfield Chamber of Commerce officials endorsed Gov. Pat Quinn’s ideas to restructure the state’s ailing pension systems on Wednesday, while expressing reservations about his idea to shift pension costs from the state to local school districts, community colleges and universities.

“These funds are literally looking at insolvency if we don’t make changes,” Illinois Chamber President Doug Whitley said of the pension systems.

But Whitley acknowledged that local chamber officials, including those in Springfield, are concerned about Quinn’s desire to gradually make local officials responsible for paying their workers’ pension payments.

Erich Bloxdorf, interim president of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, said cost-shifting should not occur until other changes are passed, “and only if local governments can control their pension benefits.”

* And in a somewhat surprising move, the Chamber also believes Quinn’s proposal to shift employer pension costs to school boards and universities has some merit. From a press release…

Although sensitive to the cost shift this provision will have on local governments and property owners, the Illinois Chamber believes this policy change has merit and should be pursued provided that local districts and public universities are assured a sufficient number of years to phase in the costs and assume the management responsibilities. Beside the fact that “the devil is always in the details” and we are still waiting for a bill to emerge, this proposal is sufficiently complicated and controversial for local communities it likely to be left for another day.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 11:18 am

Comments

No comments? Really? Weird.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 1:29 pm
Another good week for the Governor. Maybe that’s why there are no comments, Rich.

Comment by chitownHV Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 2:04 pm
Facility closures directly effect the counties the facilities they are in and suppliers of whatever the facility uses. If you are not directly effected by the closure it easily becomes ‘at least its not here’. The bigger closure issue becomes ‘why is it happening at all?’. State’s broke. That hits statewide and gets into your town regardless of who you are. DHS just announced they have run out of money for some CILA residential programs. It is just one more item in the no money for pensions, no free health insurance, day cares, Medicaid coverage of medicines, fees at state parks. Now comes the realizations that something really has to be unfunded through unpleasant decisions and the GA falls into protect my turf mode negotiations. At one of the JDC COFGA hearings in Springfield, a rep from the Tinley Park area clearly said the ‘closures may happen but step two is unemployed people or indivduals who lost services in my office screaming’. That becomes the issue: What are the funding priorities and who loses.

Comment by zatoichi Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 2:31 pm
The Senate vote on the Forby bill was a breath of fresh air, but watch for House Bill 1157 to be amended to include it all over again, and on a faster track. Hopefully the Black Caucus will keep the House from concurring.

Comment by gathersno Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 3:06 pm
I’m not that shocked by the Chamber.

Whitley’s been pretty consistent in his support for budgeting with hard constraints (ending cost-shifting) and broadening the tax base to reduce overall tax rates.

I hope we some of the latter this session.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 4:51 pm
Since no one else has, I will go ahead and express surprise that so many people would vote for a bill that prevents the governor from closing facilities, even if it is for show. Call me naive.

Comment by state worker Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 6:52 pm
Gathersno is correct about 1157 etc. The issue is not over.

The entire issue of whether the General Assembly gets to vote and approve an Administrative decision treads into the dangerous area of separation of powers. Really? Good for the Black Caucus which is getting everyone’s house in order, finally. I like seeing their leadership muscle.

Comment by Quill Thursday, May 10, 12 @ 7:33 pm
I live,sweat, and bleed Joliet. Since we(Joliet), have been put on the block. I haven’t had a good night sleep. We are family there. Iyc-Joliet is, so other facilities can be safe. Without us there is no consequences for youth extreme actions. I started when I was 20, I’ve seen huge changes. Good and bad, trust me crime is going no where! So, I will continue to pray to God that we stay open. Hopefully, the Govenor will see the Light!

Comment by Save Iyc-Joliet! Friday, May 11, 12 @ 2:30 pm