Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

What’s up with her timing?

Posted in:

Illinois

* Except for the governor, few have questioned Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s legal reasoning in her motion to lift a judicial order mandating state employees be paid without a formal appropriation. Instead, the objection has mainly centered around AG Madigan’s timing. Why did she wait so long? From her SJ-R oped…

Consequences of budget inaction have already been catastrophic: As attorney general, my goal is always to allow the executive and legislative branches of government to do their jobs without legal intervention. While the “stopgap” budget was in place through the end of 2016, it was my hope that the governor and the legislature would work to enact a budget that funded state operations for the remainder of this fiscal year.

But the “stopgap” budget expired, and Illinois now has no spending plan in place. As a result, the governor and the legislature face the urgent need to enact a budget. To abide by the Supreme Court’s decision and the state Constitution, I have asked the court to make clear that any spending plan must provide explicit authority to pay state employee salaries.

I recognize the difficulties the governor and the legislature have faced in enacting a budget. I do not want state employees to be harmed by this crisis. This is why I recommended that the court provide additional time to put the budget in place to avoid undeserved hardship to state employees. The governor and legislature can resolve this situation at any time, and they have had a year and a half to do that.

To be sure, there have been signs of progress, but there also have been repeated setbacks. This court filing should give the budget process the momentum it needs.

By asking the court to uphold the Constitution, we will finally solve this destructive crisis - not create one.

Do you buy it?

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:22 am

Comments

AG Madigan is giving the gov & GA a Get Out of Jail Free Card. I sure hope they use it.

Comment by non Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:28 am
She should have done it in 2015.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:31 am
It hangs together but doesn’t mention one other factor; before now, the Comptroller in R hands was less likely to agree.

So the pieces really weren’t all there until January …

Comment by RNUG Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:32 am
Yep!

Comment by Rufus Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:32 am
Oddly enough, I do buy it. I think she has the best interest of the people of Illinois at heart way way way more than her father or governor. And if I’m wrong and she is colluding with her dad, I can’t figure out how this benefits either of them.

Comment by Ducky LaMoore Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:34 am
== AG Madigan is giving the gov & GA a Get Out of Jail Free Card. ==

I agree. It also may save AFSCME from a disastrous strike.

Comment by RNUG Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:34 am
“She should have done it in 2015.”

Fully agree. Done it, and to heck with the massive blowback. The governor should not have been allowed the cover of the court order.

Comment by Nick Name Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:34 am
“It also may save AFSCME from a disastrous strike.”

Fully agree with this too. I hope AFSCME is smart enough to wait and see how this plays out.

Comment by Nick Name Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:35 am
I agree with her and the timing makes sense to me. There was a temporary budget in place through the end of December, so no need to push this for June through December. Perhaps there could have been a pre-June reason to push the issue. But she probably would have had to take the same heat had she done it earlier.

Comment by A Jack Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:39 am
Rauner put us in a trick box before after the ILRB issued a verbal but not written ruling. Rauner pummeled us till we forced the written with the TRO. The chaos of a shutdown is Rauners next chance at putting us in a box. We will get the strike authorization to force a total shutdown. Otherwise Rauners Admin will order folks to work or be fired. The civil war was supposed to solve that but Rauner is a case study in unfair labor practices. He’ll pull stunts unless we get the authorization. Count on it.

Everyone who is for a shutdown should pull for a YES to strike authorization

Comment by Honeybear Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:44 am
Yes, I buy it. Finally, a couple of elected officials are trying to get this “budget thing” moving. BVR sure has had plenty of time to follow his constitutional duty of proposing a REAL balanced budget, with specifics.

Comment by Big Joe Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:46 am
I agree with points previously made regarding the change in Comptroller and AFSCME. The one thing I hope someone can explain for me is; if this action puts pressure on Rauner and could possibly avert a strike why did Dems craft a bill that would appropriate the money for State employees to continue being paid?

Comment by Cubs in '16 Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:47 am
No, not at all, she has a conflict of interest in this because of who her father is and what he is trying to do. Pretending otherwise would be naive.

Comment by Ahoy! Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:47 am
I don’t buy it. It’s nothing personal against AG Madigan herself. This is Illinois. Everything is political and calculated. I hate being cynical but them’s the breaks.

Comment by Curl of the Burl Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:47 am
I totally buy it!

Comment by Coach Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:50 am
–No, not at all, she has a conflict of interest in this because of who her father is and what he is trying to do.–

LOL, you mean that father who she blamed, publicly and by name, for derailing her gubernatorial ambitions? She’s carrying his water?

Still some Krazy Kass Konspiracy Kabalists out there.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:55 am
If a bill is passed for an appropriation just for state worker salaries, then the governor still can’t appropriate money for replacement workers or temps and he’d still need a budget to regain leverage over the union? Correct?

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:56 am
Hook, line and sinker!

I’ve been askin’ myself “WWJD”?
- What Would Judy Do -

Comment by WhoKnew Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:56 am
Politics is always a gentle balance of What is Said, When It Is Said, and Who Says It… Doesn’t mean she is right or wrong, in Springfield, it’s always about Politics…

Comment by Springfield Since '77 Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:57 am
Whether Madigan prevails or not, I don’t see a shutdown. Workers will get paid eventually. If they don’t work, their paychecks, when they get paid, will be pretty small. We have gone into new fiscal years before without a budget and nothing shutdown and workers got paid when the approps were signed. Why is the current threat of no approp/no pay any different?

Comment by My New Handle Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:58 am
==Do you buy it?==

I’m not sure I do. But…I am willing to put it on Lay Away for a short time and see what happens.

Comment by A guy Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:00 pm
== why did Dems craft a bill that would appropriate the money for State employees to continue being paid? ==

Multiple paths and possibly even uncoordinated actions / actors.

Comment by RNUG Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:00 pm
@RNUG

Thanks!

Comment by Cubs in '16 Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:06 pm
I buy it. And I applaud her for doing it.

Comment by illinoised Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:12 pm
As a state employee, I welcomed this move by Madigan. Rauner intends to do to Afscme what Regan did to the air traffic controllers. Rauner will call any strike illegal weather it is or not. He will then fire and replace the employees. Thats his plan. Madigans action took the pressure off of Afscme by providing them an undisputable leagle reason to strike. Now Rauner wants employees paid, not because he wants the state to keep functioning, but because he wants Afscme to seem responsible for the strike and can call it illegal.

Comment by Generic Drone Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:16 pm
No one mentions the actually timing, a day after the Gov’s State of State address..all this time and she announces the day after. I would buy it more if you perhaps she used one of the other 11 months and 30 days to take the issue to court.

Comment by Mod Dem Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:18 pm
Are any of the third parties that have been contracted to deliver services for the state (CMS vendors that are handling insurance for example) being paid? If so, by what authority? If they are not being paid, and no approp is forthcoming, what keeps them working on the state’s behalf?

Comment by My New Handle Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:32 pm
I understand her timing and legal reasoning. But if she is sincere, she should file suit to stop ALL action creating obligations until there is a budget. That is what the Constitution prohibits. So there should be no paper or office supplies being ordered. No travel for anyone (GA and Officers included). There are hundreds of copiers under leases that are “subject to appropriation” for which there is none. Cancel them. In other words, if there is to be a shut down of workers, there should be a total shut down of supplies and services as well until a budget passes with priorities for what we can afford and what we cannot. Shut it ALL down, not just the employee portion. Then we would get a real budget.

Comment by Politically Incorrect Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:38 pm
if this was 2015 yes, but now no I don’t buy it.

Comment by Oneman Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:47 pm
The timing is suspect, but I’m for whatever actions help bring the lack of a budget closer to a resolution.

Comment by Chicagonk Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:55 pm
I agree with Politically Incorrect…shut down travel, and only “necessary” purchases to run essential operations. Perfect timing to run the course, feel the impact and hopefully make progress.

Comment by PerfectTiming Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:00 pm
Not sure I buy it, but it is a colorable argument and she is our elected AG.

Pass the popcorn.

Comment by Harry Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:16 pm
I don’t care about the motive or the timing.
It needs done. I doubt the Judge deciding the case, cares when it was filed. Just that it was.

Comment by Bruce (no not him) Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:37 pm
The Supreme Court ruling was pretty clear: no appropriation, no payment. That was issued months ago. She waited for the stop-gap to expire. It expired. She did her job.

How long was she supposed to wait? Unlike the Governor, she takes her Constitutional duties seriously. Anytime he wants to step up and do his job, fine by me.

Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:49 pm
===Krazy Kass===

Isn’t that redundant?

Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:50 pm
Not a chance. Her term in office all about politics. 1) Not one significant public corruption prosecution in her tenure as AG of arguably one of the most corrupt states in the country; 2) little to no action on the gang/murder problem in the City of Chicago. She is chief law enforcement officer. Where has she been?

Comment by 19th ward guy Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:57 pm
–Not a chance. Her term in office all about politics. 1) Not one significant public corruption prosecution in her tenure as AG of arguably one of the most corrupt states in the country; 2) little to no action on the gang/murder problem in the City of Chicago. She is chief law enforcement officer. Where has she been?–

Actually, the chief law enforcement officer of the state is the governor. The AG is the chief legal officer. Those aren’t the same thing. See Article V of the Constitution.

Surprisingly enough, Illinois governors and General Assemblies haven’t been all that enthusiastic over the years about providing the Illinois Attorney General’s office with the authority or resources to prosecute public corruption. What a mystery.

Prosecution of anything by that office is rather limited, by design. Here’s a history.

http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/about/history.html

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 2:14 pm
sorry wordsligner. Nonsense. She’s the only one besides the U.S. Attorney who can empanel grand juries statewide. Tomato, Tomato, as Chief legal office people are being executed every day in Chicago. How is dealing with that not in her job description. Maybe more than 2 hours a day in the office and she could get to some of this.

Comment by 19th ward guy Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 2:49 pm
–She’s the only one besides the U.S. Attorney who can empanel grand juries statewide. Tomato, Tomato, as Chief legal office people are being executed every day in Chicago. How is dealing with that not in her job description.–

Well, I provided a link you chose not to read.

–While the Attorney General has prosecutorial powers under the common law, he generally lacks the power to take exclusive charge of the prosecution of cases over which a State’s Attorney shares authority, unless exclusive or independent authority is given by statute. (See, People v. Massarella (1978), 73 Ill. 2d 531, and People v. Buffalo Confectionery Co. (1980), 78 Ill. 2d 447.) The powers of the Attorney General provide that he is to assist State’s Attorneys in prosecutions “when, in his judgment, the interest of the people of the State requires it.” (15 ILCS 205/ 4.) Prosecution assistance has been a major function, particularly necessary when serious cases have arisen in smaller counties with limited resources. Criminal activity on a multicounty basis has led to statutory power to convene a statewide grand jury with powers crossing jurisdictional lines for investigation of specified drug and streetgang related offenses. (725 ILCS 215/1 et seq.) In specialized areas, and particularly in areas pertaining to environmental protection, the General Assembly has given the Attorney General independent power to prosecute. As was provided in the office’s earliest days, the Attorney General retains the prerogative to “appear for and represent the people of the state before the supreme court in all cases [civil or criminal] in which the state or the people of the state are interested.” (15 ILCS 205/4.) Thus, most serious criminal matters, and particularly capital cases, eventually fall within the Attorney General’s purview.–

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 2:54 pm
=The Supreme Court ruling was pretty clear: no appropriation, no payment. That was issued months ago. She waited for the stop-gap to expire. It expired. She did her job.=

Were all employee salaries part of the stopgap?

Comment by m Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 3:43 pm
RNUNG & AA, please weigh in on this one. Thanks

==- Anonymous - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 11:56 am: “If a bill is passed for an appropriation just for state worker salaries, then the governor still can’t appropriate money for replacement workers or temps and he’d still need a budget to regain leverage over the union?” Correct?”

Comment by Mama Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 5:55 pm