Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Aren’t we forgetting something?

Posted in:

Illinois

* From the dot points on Gov. Rauner’s south suburban speech yesterday that were sent by Team Rauner…

· As you know, we have entered an unprecedented fourth month without a balanced budget.

· Despite this, state agency directors in our administration have done a tremendous job in managing their departments without a budget.

· We have begun transforming state government, and we’re implementing reforms that will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

· Our efforts are making government less expensive, more effective and more efficient.

o Just last month we saved taxpayers $22 million by ending a bad deal with the Lottery and have now put a new, competitive Lottery contract out to bid.

o At the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, our Administration has taken cost-saving steps that will save taxpayers more than $70 million in the current fiscal year.

o At the Department of Central Management Services, we renegotiated contracts and reduced the state air fleet, netting an additional $15 million to the State through a combination of cost reduction and optimization efforts.

o The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has a license process that’s still done through paper records. By modernizing the system, we are reducing process time by 50% and can save millions of dollars as a result.

o The Department of Employment Security has taken new steps to save millions in unemployment insurance overpayments; we’ve automated the employer tax payment system, reducing process time from 6 weeks down to 1 week; and we’re putting in an automated, real-time Power of Attorney system that will take this process from 4 weeks to one day.

· Faster service, lower cost – that’s what we are striving for everywhere in our administration, to shake up the old, inefficient way of doing things and move Illinois towards becoming a 21st century government.

· But while we do everything in our power to improve government, many of the biggest opportunities to save money require action from the legislature.

Notice anything missing?

How about the cuts to the child care program? That’s saving a whole lot of money. Well, at least it’s saving money in the short term. Not so much when single moms have to quit their jobs or take part-time work.

* Mark Brown…

What happens now is that a young mother, needing financial assistance to put her child in day care while she goes to work or school, applies to a program.

Under Rauner’s rules, she gets turned down, most likely because she makes too much money, which now includes anyone earning minimum wage.

So she goes away.

The child doesn’t go away. The mom’s need for child care doesn’t go away. Her need to earn a living to support her child doesn’t go away.

But the mom moves along to make the tough decisions about what to do next: Child care or stay home? Go on welfare or switch the kid to the unlicensed day care down the street? Pay the child care or the rent?

* Progress Illinois…

Alejandra Corral, an Aurora resident and single mother of two, was among dozens of parents and providers who spoke at the hearing.

Corral was deemed ineligible for CCAP in mid-July because her monthly income of about $2,000 was too high. She would have qualified if her monthly income was $838 or less.

Corral, 23, currently pays $100 per month for child care, but that’s only because she works for an Aurora daycare that is giving her a temporary discount.

“If they weren’t doing this, I would have to pay over $2,100 for daycare. I don’t even make enough,” she stressed. “All of us here today are not asking for handouts, we’re asking for assistance. We want to be able to work. If this somehow doesn’t get fixed, I won’t be able to afford daycare for my kids, and I don’t want to be on any more public aid than” CCAP.

OK, maybe I can see why the governor didn’t mention it as an accomplishment, even though he has been pushing to slash this very program since his February budget address.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:38 am

Comments

We are Bruce Rauner’s Wal-Mart:
Always low prices
Always low wages
Always low expectations

Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:43 am
This is what happens when people know the cost of everything, but can’t (or won’t) see the value of anything. Shortsighted? Yep.

Comment by Democrat Grrrl Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:45 am
Everyone knows its’ Bruce Rauner’s fault that woman who can’t afford to have children , have them. Why is Bruce Rauner such a meany.

Comment by Steve Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:48 am
The savings for CMS and the airfleet, how much of that is one time savings? Didn’t he sell some of the fleet?

And the savings from IDES, definitely good changes. But that will result in lower UI taxes to employers. Which again is good. But it is no help to the budget. It doesn’t reduce a line item to IDES. (IDES is federally funded anyways.)

Comment by My button is broke... Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:48 am
Has anybody actually seen the lottery deal? How does it save taxpayers $22 million? Does the $22 million cover the lost profits from lost sales because the lottery isn’t paying out prizes?

Comment by Henry Moon Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:51 am
This reminds me of the time many GOP members opposed the expansion of the EITC. Yep, that’s right the “boot strap” party opposed the Reagan created measure for the working poor that could keep them working instead of quitting and relying more on the public dole.

I will never understand opposition to “freebies” when those “freebies” are cheaper and better for society and the individual. Not to mention they encourage the very thing the GOP says its for. Independence.

Comment by Abe the Babe Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:53 am
How many of these are one time savings?

Cant count day care cuts as savings, bec they will be a net loss. Welfare to work is supposed to be an ideal for repubs, but they are shamefully silent.

Comment by Langhorne Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:53 am
@ Steve 9:48 am –

“… so let her eat cake.” There. Fixed it for you.

Comment by olddog Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:54 am
Um, yes the contract with Northstar was terminated but it still runs through December 2016 so no “savings” are incurred until 2017. A technical point as well-there is no competitive contract out to bid yet. Lottery folks are scrambling to draft it but no where near ready yet.

Comment by Thinking Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:54 am
It costs $245,000 to raise a child. By that measure - only people making 1-percenter salaries can afford to have children, Steve.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/18/pf/child-cost/index.html

And whether or not they can afford to have the child, the child is still here. Even if your implication is correct, what do we do? Nothing? Let them starve or get into crime to pay the bills? Hard to be a productive citizen when it seems that the only way to get ahead is by breaking the law.

Comment by Name Withheld Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:54 am
By thw way, dont tell me about “successes” and “transformation” when we dont have a budget, and serious red flags are all over the place.

Job one: budget
Grade: Fail

Comment by Langhorne Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:56 am
== The child doesn’t go away. The mom’s need for child care doesn’t go away. Her need to earn a living to support her child doesn’t go away.==

I am literally ill after reading this.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:57 am
@ Steve 9:48 am –

Please stay out of women’s uteruses.

Comment by Ugh Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:59 am
Hey Rich,

If they passed the bill to legalize marijuana like Colorado. Would that revenue be great enough to boost the economy and benefit the governments issues such as the budget?

Comment by Babygirl113 Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:00 am
==Everyone knows its’ Bruce Rauner’s fault that woman who can’t afford to have children , have them. ==

And to get back at them we’ll deny them child care assistance so they can’t work. That’ll show them. That kind of brilliant thinking is exactly what we need. Not.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:00 am
Where is Diana in all this? I thought she was supposed to be a moderating force in Bruce’s obvious nonsense.

Comment by PMcP Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:03 am
@ Steve 9:48am-

Good to know life always works out like a Leave It To Beaver episode–at least it does in alot of conservatives’ minds anyway.

Comment by train111 Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:05 am
@ Steve

So the party that demands women have the children once pregnant now opposes measures that would allow that mother to be a working mom?

You cant make this stuff up.

Seriously, you guys are running on a perfect platform for the 19th century.

Comment by Abe the Babe Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:05 am
I don’t see any bragging in there about the savings from the closure of the museum either.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:06 am
Excuse me if I don’t blindly accept the entirety of the savings Rauner touts. As noted in this post, the real savings is at the cost of a lot of needy people.

P.S. How is DFPR paying for this miraculous modernization with no budget? Perhaps, the modernization began before Rauner took office.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:09 am
Remember how Bruce ran against the union bosses in the primary, then stopped talkin about unions in the general? It is what drives him constantly, and fundin good programs that allow women to work while their children are cared for isn’t goin to stop him from bustin those unions!

Comment by Anon Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:11 am
Seems a bit vague-the savings, I mean. If they are savings. To be fair, cuts in social spending could be restored when the bipartisan income tax increase goes thru, so can they fairly be called cuts at this point.

But Rauner has shown only modest interest in cuts that could actually benefit society, such as reductions in the number of those imprisoned for non-violent offenses, reductions in overall sentencing, reduction in the state foster care population. With such reforms, would come commensurate reduction in the number of state bureaucrats we have to pay to manage these antiquated correctional and child welfare systems, where racial disproportionality reigns.
All reform doesn’t have to cost more.

And how about reductions in state govt patronage, cronyism, nepotism, favoritism, fluffy contracts to favorites, and the like. Not much change there, I imagine. It’s business as usual in one of the country’s most corrupt states. Seems to be our bipartisan fate to continue that way. And pay more for the privilege.

Comment by Cassandra Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:12 am
“Everyone knows its’ Bruce Rauner’s fault that woman who can’t afford to have children , have them. Why is Bruce Rauner such a meany.”

The ignorance and misogyny around here lately has grown tiresome.

Comment by Politix Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:13 am
Steve - You should know that it is not correct to make anyone accountable.

Comment by Hickory Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:17 am
==- olddog - Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:54 am:
@ Steve 9:48 am –
“… so let her eat cake.”==
olddog, she can not afford to eat cake.

Comment by Mama Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:18 am
The list also fails to mention all the “savings” from not paying vendors and local governments.

Comment by Dance Band on the Titanic Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:19 am
==You should know that it is not correct to make anyone accountable.==

By making it difficult for them to get or keep a job? Way to hold them accountable.

Another genius in the crowd.

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:20 am
The women in these stories are setting good examples for their kids. They are trying to work. As Mark Brown says, if the help is taken away from them, it negatively impacts their families and can bring about the self-fulfilling prophesy of more welfare, not to mention more hardship.

The woman who has children but is struggling to support them is truly needy. Can the same be said for wealthy corporations that get tax breaks? Wealthy defense contractors and construction companies got borrowed money shoveled to them by the billions for a war based on lies.

I understand those who are upset that their taxes are spent on people who they think live irresponsibly, but what really gets me as that I rarely hear a peep from these people about trillions of dollars spent that benefit people who are wealthy and don’t need government handouts.

Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:23 am
The Raunerites’ triangulation strategy with African-American legislators made sense strategically, but the execution has been horrible.

Getting Meeks and a few other ministers in the fold was wise and trying to exploit the tension between the black community and the trade unions made sense too. But linking up with perhaps the GA’s least respected African American member has been an unmitigated disaster and the child care cuts effectively end any chance of trianglation succeeding.

Comment by The Middle Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:23 am
++- Abe the Babe - Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:05 am:
++ Good one!
Women can’t win for losing.

Comment by Mama Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:24 am
What happened to the $500mm in savings Rauner said was at CMS during his campaign?

Comment by Former state employee Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:27 am
No worries.

GOP GA members can go out in their districts and take “Steve’s” thoughtful “keep your legs crossed” policy analysis’ to defend their rejection of the historic welfare-to-work initiative that was the GOP’s greatest domestic policy victory in a generation.

Suburban women, especially, will love it.

Comment by Wordslinger Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:32 am
Heck of a job there Gov. Brownback.

Comment by vole Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:32 am
“you guys are running on a perfect platform for the 19th century.”

Actually, I don’t think the Victorians would have embraced these ideas. They were, after all, the ones who started the process of building some kind of social “safety net” (albeit very imperfectly, and not with the kind of structure and knowledge we have today) by establishing orphanages, settlement houses, Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, outreaches to women who had been forced into prostitution, etc. No, the platform we’re talking about is actually a 20th-century radical libertarian/Objectivist (Ayn Rand’s philosophy) platform, IMO.

Comment by Secret Square Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:37 am
Rich- Thanks for keeping the issue of subsidized child care alive. The Gov. is making many horrendous decisions which negatively impact residents lives, and the lack of subsidized child care is a major one.

Steve- You are quick to make judgements about things you know nothing about. Let’s hope that if you or anyone you love every needs help, that they receive more compassion than you now demonstrate.

Comment by Former Hoosier Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:46 am
===Notice anything missing?===

Why wouldn’t the Governor tout the roughly $1.3 billion in savings from his veto of the higher education budget? That’s a lot of dough, I’d have put that accomplishment front and center if I was him.

Heck of a job, Raunie.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 10:47 am
Subsidized child care is an excellent investment for the state. It is a “hand up” not a “hand out”. It is also more about the kids, in many ways, than it is about parents. Kids do not choose to be born into poverty, if we can make sure they are safe and well cared for during the day we all benefit, but most importantly innocent kids benefit.

I also know that my wife and I did not conduct a fiscal analysis before having children. I am sure some do I just don’t know anyone who did and our income level puts us in the “upper middle class” ranks as are most of our friends. I guess we are all irresponsible.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 11:07 am
== I don’t see any bragging in there about the savings from the closure of the museum either. ==

Or the shooting range.

Or the public aid office in Cairo.

Comment by Cheswick Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 11:14 am
OK
Took a while to stop laughing. TeamBungle hypes the no news speech, ducks the media and THEN rolls out the backgrounder that ledes with the Lottery — the Comedy Central centerpiece. BTW don’t think you really count the $22 million until some judge ok’s the court order saying it was o.k. to breech the contract. Unless there is some chump out there willing to give you 22 million in cash….U.S. ….. dollars

Comment by Anonin' Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 11:30 am
==new regulations that deny child care benefits to 90 percent of new applicants who would have previously been eligible==

This change is for ==new applicants== only?

Not current participants?

Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 11:56 am
Yesterday it sounded like this must involve current participants as well as new applicants.

==Dawn Meyer, owner of 17 Rogy’s Learning Centers in central Illinois and the Chicago area, said she allowed 163 children who previously used the subsidy to stay enrolled even though her company is no longer receiving money for the subsidy from the state.==

Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 12:05 pm
“This change is for new applicants only?”

Yes — but note that anyone who experiences an interruption of 30 days or more in their child’s enrollment or eligibility will be considered a “new applicant” when they reapply. For example, a parent who is a full-time student or works in a school system may disenroll their children during the summer vacation period and reenroll them when school starts. Parents who do that this year are finding that they are not eligible under the new rules.

Comment by Secret Square Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 12:07 pm
@ Mama 10:18 am

Here’s some background on the quote:

http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/did-marie-antoinette-really-say-let-them-eat-cake

Comment by olddog Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 12:54 pm
I bet these mom’s wish they had a provision in the Illinois Constitution like me and mine do protecting us. Maybe it would read something like this:
Participation in any childcare benefit system of the State, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.

Comment by Bob the Slob with a Cushy State Job Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 2:27 pm
Would someone give Steve the link to the Rockford’s rep’s impassioned speech about childcare and what it meant to her.

Comment by Former State Employee Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 2:41 pm
@Secret Square - thanks very much.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 3:19 pm
Willing to hope, and to grant that Rauner’s new team has found some better ways to manage in some spots. Have heard some good things from mid-level folks about their new bosses in a couple of agencies.

Unfortunately, the general harm done, and unnecessary financial costs already blown, because of the Turnaround Agenda impasse, far outweigh any gains.

Comment by walker Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 3:30 pm
From adamant on disbanding CMS, to singing its administrative praises.

Comment by Anon Thursday, Oct 8, 15 @ 9:42 pm