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The governor’s AV caught Republicans by surprise

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Illinois

Schools are set to receive payment from the state in just three days, but that can’t happen until the Illinois legislature approves a new “evidence-based” funding model. But last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed large portions of Senate Bill 1 — the only such plan that’s passed both chambers. At the moment he issued his amendatory veto, the governor was missing some vital information: He didn’t know how many votes he would need to enact his changes, he didn’t know how his changes would impact dollars going to each school, nor did he know how long it would take the State Board of Education to do all that complicated math.

He also had not shared his plan with his own party’s longtime point-person on school funding, State Sen. Jason Barickman, of Bloomington.

“Well, you know, I can’t speak for my colleagues, I was not given a chance to see the amendatory veto before it was issued,” Barickman told me on Friday.

At first, I thought I’d misunderstood the senator. At Rauner’s request, Barickman is currently one of four Republican legislators assigned to a bipartisan negotiation squad that’s supposed to be hammering out some sort of compromise. Barickman sponsored the first EBM legislation back in 2015. Furthermore, he’s now the sponsor of Senate Bill 1124 — a version of the “evidence-based model” that has never been voted upon, but is the one Rauner finds more palatable. He was one of the more active members of Rauner’s bipartisan, bicameral School Funding Reform Commission that spent approximately 100 hours meeting during the months of July 2016 through January 2017 in an effort to draft a new school funding bill (despite strong nudging from State Sen. Andy Manar, the best the commission could come up with was a “framework”).

Why would Rauner take veto action without running his plan past Barickman?

“Well, we all have different roles in this,” Barickman says. “I’m a Republican legislator. I’m certainly not the governor.”

* And he might not have liked what he saw had he been given a preview, particularly when it comes to how his schools would lose out under the governor’s proposed TIF “subsidy” changes. This analysis of Barickman’s district is from the Senate Democrats…

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 12:56 pm

Comments

Governor Rauner just gave Barickman the “Radogno treatment.” That has to sting.

Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:02 pm
That Mr. Barickman…

He’s really in the ball for his district.

Then again, Barickman has only one person to please… Bruce Rauner.

Right? Exactly right.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:03 pm
Wow, looks like Barickman’s schools really get the shaft under Rauner’s bill.

Any comments, Representative Barickman?

I mean, I know that you aren’t the governor and all, but as a legislator do you support the governor’s plan to whack your school districts?

Let’s go to Bill Black for insights on guts to Vermillion County schools….

Comment by Free Set of Steak Knives Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:04 pm
I don’t remember - did Rauner actively loe about this? I can’t remember if he actually said he would only AV the “Chicago bailout” or he had been intentionally opaque the whole time.

Either way its highly dishonest and deceitful.

Comment by Fax Machine Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:05 pm
How does that Perfidy taste Sen. Barickman?

Bitter isn’t it.

Remember that taste brother. Get used to it.

You’ll be eating a lot of it.

Comment by Honeybear Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:06 pm
Rauner never learned the basics of team play.

Comment by Last Bull Moose Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:06 pm
So the schools district in his district lose $13.5 million because it gets counted against them? Is it dollar for dollar like that? That’s a hard hit, even if there are 20 districts and its split evenly (pulling those numbers out of air cuz I’m lazy) it would be $675,000 per.

Comment by Perrid Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:07 pm
So is the McCann thing happening or not? Circulation starts day after Labor day - and he’ll need someone willing to be a running mate.

Comment by Fax Machine Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:08 pm
Gov. Thompson took a lot of heat over the number and extent of his AV pen. But one thing he always did was to contact the sponsor first to review.

Comment by Former State Employee Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:08 pm
“Gov. Rauner said there was something in this AV for me. For me…” - Sen. Fredo Barickman.

Oh, there is something in there for Mr. Barickman’s district… less money.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:10 pm
Exhibit A that Rauner still thinks he is CEO of a corporation and can dictate what he wants.

Time for the General Assembly to send him yet another lesson. Let the SB-1 override fail unless Rauner puts all (or most) of the GOP votes on it.

If it fails, then wait until Rauner begs for a school funding bill … and send him a new SB-1 again.

Comment by RNUG Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:10 pm
“Well, we all have different roles in this,” Barickman says. “I’m a Republican legislator. I’m certainly not the governor.”

Let’s see how many “I’m a legislator, not a __________,” blanks we can fill in for you Jason before the next election. OK? Either stand up to Rauner now, or face the voters later.

Comment by Anon221 Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:13 pm
Rich, do you think we’ll see the ISBE numbers today?

Comment by Flynn's Mom Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:13 pm
Why tell the Republican legislators his plan ahead of time? When he wants their opinion, he will give it to them.

Comment by Ole' Nelson Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:14 pm
The legislators covering our district have been, well let’s just call it quiet about the AV. Usually Barickman is holding conference calls with us.

I wonder why he has been so quiet?

Tom Bennett hasn’t said much either.

Comment by JS Mill Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:15 pm
Remember in the not too distant past in Springfield when all you ever had was your word? People respected that, regardless of your stance. Your word was solid. Trust was paramount. The leader of our great nation and leader of our great state have made a mockery of the truth and drug others along who have begun to mimic their very actions.

Comment by dude Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:16 pm
It must be morale-deflating to put your blood, sweat, and tears into crafting bipartisan legislation only to have Rauner show up at the 11th hour with his own plan that no one else is privy to. The sheer number of legislators and staff bolting suggests this is true.

Comment by Cubs in '16 Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:16 pm
RNUG Rauner will just blame Madigan when there is no funding; and the state GOP officals have their campaign bowls in hand as they line up to Rauners money pot… “please sir, can we have some more…”

Now if pritzker were to offer campaign support for thisenwho vote to overturn SB1 that might be interesting

Comment by Ghost Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:18 pm
Great reporting… This story is so damning.

We all must desperately demand tougher reporting and accountability for the governor. As national interest goes up, I primarily hear the Governor’s POV over any opposition. How can we get Sen. Manar in front of those cameras?

During Rauner’s initial confusion over how many votes he needed, he reverted back to his favorite talking point… Why didn’t he get this bill back in June? As it turns out, Rauner may need another two months to figure out what is in his own bill…

Comment by Wow... Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:28 pm
=== Why tell the Republican legislators his plan ahead of time? ===

In earlier times, it was important for a governor to at a minimum work with members of his party on important legislation. Now, Ole’ Nelson is right. Don’t expect Rauner to consult with you when you’re a wholly owned subsidiary. Now the Rauner owned legislators will have to come up with a Trumpian reason for why they will vote against their school districts’ interests.

Comment by Norseman Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:47 pm
The analysis shown is presumably a snapshot of the TIFs in the municipalities in the legislator’s district. The important number is the total incremental EAV and the impact each TIF area would have on the School Code State Aid Formula as it applies individually to each of the affected school districts (not shown), which contain each TIF. I am sure that each of the school districts has figured this number out by now, as they have access to a website which allows them to annually plot out how EAV (both inside and outside of TIF) affects the amount of State Aid it receives based on the current state law, which gives added state aid to districts which have certain characteristics, such as less real estate wealth, higher costs per pupil, and whether EAV is being released from a TIF in the school district, etc. The idea that simply eliminating the reference to TIF from the school state aid formula (which has been a feature of State law which the school districts have relied upon for a very long time) would be helpful shows a distinct lack of knowledge about the intent and application of the school aid formula and the history of TIF and tax caps. The actual dollar number to be deducted and the impact on any given school district is going to be somewhat random, based on the history and activities of local TIFs as it applies to any particular school district.

Comment by atbat Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:53 pm
“Let’s see how many “I’m a legislator, not a __________,” blanks we can fill in” Make it a game like Dr. McCoy on Star Trek, “I’m a Doctor, not a _____”. Except of course it isn’t a game.

Comment by Skeptic Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 1:55 pm
No, it’s not a game, but Barickman really got slammed by the “Rauner Rules”. He needs to choose-Republican or Raunerite. The people in his district are watching to see what team he will “sign” with in the end.

Comment by Anon221 Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 2:16 pm
Hmmm wonder why Jumpin’Jason admitted he was not consulted. Yet he is the guy negotiatin’ with Ds and HouseGOPies for a bill GovJunk will sign.
Sounds like everyone is bein’ jived right now
How many district does ne have that come out losers with GovJunk holdharmless changes. Guessin’ the override chances are improvin’

Comment by Annonin' Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 2:36 pm
Barickman has $141 mil of TIF EAV. That is 1.1% of the state total ($12.4 bil).

Barickman represents 1/59 of the state population, right? That would be 1.7% of state population.

Does that mean that his district is a loser under the status quo TIF subsidy?

Comment by TIF stuff Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 2:37 pm
Judging by Rauner’s stumbles during recent interviews, I think even Rauner was surprised by his own AV.

Comment by A Jack Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 2:37 pm
The reason there was a surprise is because everyone expected a logical decision based upon known facts by our state’s highest office holder.

Instead we once again saw the we have an illogical emotionally unbalanced miscreant dedicated to our state’s destruction, regardless of who he effects.

Brucifer is worse than Blago.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 3:03 pm
Dusty Rhodes is a badass journalist that takes on the bad guys. A Louis L’Amour character.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 3:08 pm
Jason should check his phones. Bruce generally makes a point to “call” after big events. /s

Comment by Jocko Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 3:29 pm
Barickman is not the Senator for half of the schools in Vermilion County on this list. If Manar is going to send this stuff out, at least make an effort at accuracy.

Comment by Truthseeker Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 4:26 pm
Shouldn’t the Republicans be getting tired of being kept out of the loop? What really bothers me most is they get left out, disrespected, ignored, lied to, and threatened, yet they defend this guy. How are we supposed to take any of them seriously? Time to quit going along with this guy, and just do your jobs.

Comment by Retired Educator Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 4:41 pm
So those things Barickman was born with — does the governor occasionally let him visit where he keeps them in a jar on a shelf?

Dude, you werent elected Rauner’s p— boy; you’re actually in a separate branch of government.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 6:27 pm
=== Dude, you werent elected Rauner’s p— boy; you’re actually in a separate branch of government. ===

True, but Barickman and the caucuses took the job when the money was right. So much for self respect or respect for their constituents.

Comment by Norseman Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 7:18 pm
Let Rainer own this

Comment by Facts are stubborn things Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 8:02 pm
Rauner

Comment by Facts are stubborn things Monday, Aug 7, 17 @ 8:03 pm
In Bruce’s defense, it takes a little time to come up with some “alternative facts” in support of his veto of the state’s school funding /s

Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Aug 8, 17 @ 6:53 am