Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Brinksmanship over operations

Posted in:

Illinois

* As we’ve discussed before, the governor is accusing Speaker Madigan of creating a crisis in order to leverage a budget deal (and a resulting tax hike). Madigan’s path to this crisis is withholding approval of any appropriations to fund government operations. So, when Team Rauner claimed that the human services stop gap bill had “drafting errors” because the legislation didn’t appropriate any money to administer programs, the HDems countered by saying they had done it deliberately.

The bill overwhelmingly passed both chambers and Madigan wants Gov. Rauner to sign it…

Madigan said of a bill that is sitting on Rauner’s desk and would provide a stopgap measure to fund social services. “He refuses to sign that bill because he continues seeking a state of crisis in Illinois.”

Rauner on Wednesday defended his decision not to sign that bill, saying it doesn’t have “essential services in it.”

“That bill is designed to still create a government crisis,” Rauner said.

The measure, approved by both the Illinois House and Senate would have authorized spending about $450 million from a human services fund, and another $250 million from special funds to be spent on items such as foreclosure prevention, and affordable housing.

* Along those lines, Illinois Department of Corrections Director John Baldwin recently penned an op-ed about his agency’s rapidly approaching crisis…

Without a budget, the Corrections Department will be hard pressed to continue with critical reforms that improve operations and outcomes, increase safety, and enhance programs aimed at helping offenders be successful once they return to communities across this state. Furthermore, we will be severely challenged to meet our legal obligation to provide constitutionally adequate care to the men and women in our custody who have been diagnosed with mental illness.

Lack of a balanced budget or stopgap budget will impact the department’s ability to feed offenders, keep the lights on, run water and fulfill other day-to-day duties. Our vendors, including many mom-and-pop businesses, that provide food supplies, fire equipment examination services, building repair parts and maintenance services, depend on our payments. These local businesses will continue to suffer without payment and will eventually have to pull their services. That could cripple the department in a matter of days.

As subscribers know, the Rauner administration has been trying to pry loose a stopgap for DOC and some other agencies since April. No luck so far.

I figure a federal judge will probably have to step in if DOC can’t feed its prisoners, or if water, sewer or lights are shut off.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 10:55 am

Comments

Did Director Baldwin pen a similar letter to the governor when he vetoed the DOC operating budget last year?

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:00 am
I as a state employee hate being used by either side as a pawn or as fodder. I would remind folks that Madigan used to be enemy no.1 before our interests temporarily aligned against Rauner. Makes me so angry at both sides. It’s frankly another reason why I am no longer a Democrat.

Comment by Honeybear Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:03 am
Rauner needs to learn that at some point pulling the football away one time too often is going to make “Charlie Brown” take it away and go home.

Comment by Anon221 Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:06 am
Rauner is going to have to a) sign the bill, b) not touch it and let it go active on its own- although I’m not sure how June 30th may play into this, or c) veto it and then we’ll have to see if those that supported the original bill will still stand up for their constituents. If my analysis is wrong, I welcome corrections.

Comment by Anon221 Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:09 am
I know I’m repeating myself (or, at least, rhyming), but the 8th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

I think federal intervention is a pretty safe bet.

Comment by SAP Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:11 am
I continue to be baffled about the inability of these ideologues to compartmentalize the issues.

Can Rauner really think there is equivalency in burning down the agencies, including Corrections, and his weak and shady reforms for growth?

Can Madigan really justify to himself his participation in this game of chicken?

Find common ground people. We live in a globalized economy and you two are arguing like a couple of old hens. Figure out how to pay these bills and get in position for what is happening globally that could affect Illinois.

(btw, global growth is in a meltdown and German bonds are about to go negative. Good for Illinois June 16 bond offering, but bad for King Rauner’s strange and tangled path to growing the Illinois economy.)

Comment by cdog Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:17 am
Find. Another. Way. (before the Feds get involved; that would only make this mess messier)

Comment by Mattman Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:38 am
Rauner = Leverage social services. Madigan = Leverage ops. See what you hath wrought.

Comment by Norseman Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:47 am
Seems “extreme” to not pass some funding for DOC.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:48 am
==- Michelle Flaherty - Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:00 am:==

Baldwin wasn’t named Acting Director until August, so no. Rauner ran his original pick right out of town.

Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:48 am
Honeybear -???
So you’re a Republican??? Or an Independent that will vote for Democrats?

Comment by Triple fat Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 11:58 am
Hostage-taking and “leveraging” is a very dangerous game when it comes to government, and should not be played at all.

People lose their jobs, citizens go without critical services, and as Emily Miller said, “people are dying.”

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 12:06 pm
I have puzzled about this the entire way through. I thought we had 3 branches of government to make sure something like this could not continue. When the Executive and Legislative branch both “go rogue”, is it not the duty of the Judicial branch to force government to work? Courts HAVE TO step in and be the grown-ups…

Comment by Wonderful World Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 12:13 pm
Seems to me the ILGA is going to remain a solid Democrat institution after the election. What’s the Govnuh going to do then? He’s basically made himself a premature Lame Duck governor. So what if he signs a budget he doesn’t like? There’s always another battle waiting…

Comment by Baruch Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 12:16 pm
So far it looks like there are demands for this stop-gap temporary budget to have:

- full year’s funding for K-12
- money for government state agency operations
- separate money for DOC operations
- money for social programs
- money for higher ed
- money for transportation projects so we don’t loose fed transportation dollars and 25,000 jobs
- and the FY16 money for all of the above that got skipped.

Is there that much money available without increasing revenues?

Comment by Joe M Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 12:30 pm
== Courts HAVE TO step in and be the grown-ups… ==

The courts will only step in when asked / forced to. They see what a (banned word) this is and want no part of it. Expect the courts to say the other two branches have the tools to resolve whatever ends up in front of them.

I’m beginning to think the end game is to let things keep failing until the federal court ordered expenditures exceed available tax revenue and then either (a) sue the Feds for all the money since they ordered the spending or (b) finally raise taxes and make sure the judical branch gets all the blame.

Comment by RNUG Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 12:43 pm
“The Rauner administration has been trying to pry loose a stopgap for DOC and some other agencies since April.”

I’m sure we’ll see movement now that Richard Goldberg is on board. /s

Comment by Politix Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 12:43 pm
Triple Fat, although not a political party, I became a Democratic Socialist. I was a Neo-Conservative Republican from 1997-2006 or so. Then my life went to pieces and I had a Damascus Road experience about my privilege and my contribution to the maintenance of oppressive systems. Between 2008 and 2012 we nearly lost everything and teetered on the edge. The past three years we have steadily climbed out of the hole. Now it is threatened by Rauner and Madigan. Thus I’ve traveled throughout the political spectrum.

Comment by Honeybear Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 1:02 pm
Honeybear - this becomes a real conundrum many of us face, and maybe for some different reasons. Although I never covered the political spectrum the way you have I do find myself becoming more disenchanted with the traditional Democrat “establishment”, both at the State as well as the National level.

Guessing we were both Feeling the Bern.

Comment by illini Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 1:13 pm
Honeybear -
You had me scared for awhile! I’m with Bernie too… I just believe myself to be in the Democratic Socialist wing of the Democratic Party.

Comment by Triple fat Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 1:27 pm
And I thank you for your service, Honeybear.

Comment by Triple fat Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 1:28 pm
Madigan seems to be trying to eliminate Rauner’s practice of picking and choosing which hostages to release to emphasize the need for a complete budget. I don’t like the game but Rauner isn’t your typical opponent.

Comment by Cubs in '16 Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 1:34 pm
If Emily Miller is accurate that “people are dying,” can the Governor or his minions explain why the TA is more important than saving lives?

Comment by anon Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 1:43 pm
If the federal courts are forced to intervene because of a lack of funding for the Department of Corrections, don’t assume that the feds will simply order spending as they did with DCFS. While that is a likely outcome, they could instead order the state to release inmates.

Comment by cover Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 1:48 pm
This is grotesque. These people are wards of the state. Madigan wants to let them starve?

Comment by Hostages R Us Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 2:35 pm
Rauner wants to ease his pressure points, while maintaining Madigan’s. Sorry, this has to be about releasing all hostages.

Comment by Norseman Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 2:46 pm
remember when the attorney seized the east st louis municipal bldg fro an unpaid judgment? I suppose vendors could seize the prisons…. we could transfer the east stlouis oversight panel to oversee doc operations…. and maybe get the 500 million in waste the gov promised from fixing cms

Comment by Ghost Friday, Jun 10, 16 @ 3:20 pm