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Wasn’t Rauner’s SB1 veto designed to stop a Chicago bailout?

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* Sun-Times on the education funding reform deal…

Declining to offer specifics on the deal “out of respect for leaders in the legislative process,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the state is “finally being fair.”

Asked if the deal in principle would net CPS the same benefits as the original bill Rauner used his amendatory veto on, Emanuel said: “That, and more.”

* Tribune…

Asked if the tentative deal included all the funding increases for CPS that were in the original Democratic bill, Mayor Rahm Emanuel responded, “That and more.”

I’m hearing the same thing through the grapevine.

* So we go through all that turmoil and CPS apparently gets what it wanted anyway?

Tell me why this just happened.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 7:55 pm

Comments

==Tell me why this just happened.==

Rauner caved, but played some three card Monty to make it appear, for one night anyway, that he got a “win”

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 7:58 pm
–So we go through all that turmoil and CPS apparently gets what it wanted anyway?

Tell me why this just happened.–

The governor needs to shut down for a while and get his head on straight. He’s not thinking things through.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:00 pm
The Governor took a win by getting the tax credit thing. We’ve been begging him to do this sort of thing forever so just roll with it.

Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:01 pm
Rauner outsmarted himself.

Like in “Hunt for Red October”… the Russian sub captain sent his torpedo… gets out-maneuvered, then the “fish” comes back at their sub, blows it up.

“You arrogant ‘Governor’, you sunk us”

The lacking by Rauner’s new crew is embarrassingly bad.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:03 pm
Rauner takes perverse delight in the annual stunt layoffs of non tenured CPS teachers (which resets their hiring probation) and was worried that this year several hundred teachers might NOT endure nerve wracking uncertainty right before throwing together lesson plans at the last minute.

Comment by Will Caskey Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:05 pm
You may want to wait to see the deal before you opine. “That and more” from Rahm means little. One report is that this deal forces the city to raise property taxes to come up with more money for CPS. That’s “more” all right.

Comment by Bored Chairman Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:07 pm
The rich guy said throw them what I considers just crumbs and I’ll declare another hollow victory even though I didn’t know diddle about the whole or any of the issues.

Comment by Roscoe Tom Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:08 pm
—
He’s not thinking things through.
—

He’s not smart enough for the job. That’s the problem. Trump’s the same way. He can’t process what’s going on — and he’s making unforced errors.

Comment by Macbeth Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:09 pm
He doesn’t know how to govern, and worse, he isn’t interested in learning.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:10 pm
===this deal forces the city to raise property taxes===

I think the word is “allows.” And Rauner has been against property tax hikes from Day One.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:11 pm
–The Governor took a win by getting the tax credit thing. We’ve been begging him to do this sort of thing forever so just roll with it.–

$75M with a sunset is a very small price to pay to bring an end to more than 2.5 years of destruction and uncertainty.

Now the cleanup can begin.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:14 pm
Well, after going to @danproft through a secondary account he is declaring victory for this b/c of the tax credit scholarships. I think the Gov figured he wasn’t going to do better and he got something for caving to make it look like a win.

Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:14 pm
Come to think of it, he told Amanda Vinicky that he’d accept any changes that the Democrats offered. Anything at all, no preconditions.

He vetoed SB1 because he was mad that he got rolled on the budget. Anger rarely leads to good decisions. He had no plan B, and the BTIA’s brilliant strategy with the A/V was based in a fundamentally flawed premise due to their inexperience and hubris.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:15 pm
– I think the Gov figured he wasn’t going to do better and he got something for caving to make it look like a win.–

It was just never a credible threat to go to the mattresses on school funding in August.

From that deer-in-the-headlight look he got at that press conference, Rauner truly believed that he needed a simple majority to accept his override.

Once it sunk in that any school funding deal at all needed a 3/5ths, his position went from not credible to absurd.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:20 pm
A compromise is a compromise but Rauner did not win again. His agenda dwindles and the ” Illinois is broken ” refrain is getting old even to Fox News . ” Broken” experiment for social Darwinism.,

Comment by Jaxon Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:23 pm
==forces the city to raise property taxes==

So it’s a bailout that creates higher property taxes? So, the taxpayers are getting a worse deal than the bill he vetoed? “up” day for Rauner?

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:28 pm
===Once it sunk in that any school funding deal at all needed a 3/5ths, his position went from not credible to absurd.

And let me be clear, Rauner failed miserably, but he took the win for once even if it wasn’t much of a win. /Obama voice

Comment by ArchPundit Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:28 pm
Agreed. The sheer anxiety Rauner showed learning, from reporters, he needed that 3/5th was a raw moment of Rauner showing fear.

I thought it was comical.

President Cullerton, twice, warned of the 3/5th needed. It was warned before the Presser, it was warned right before the bill was delivered.

Maybe Rauner figured McAuliffe was always going to be “green” and with 59 Dems, enough would stay.

Rauner showed no attempt at learning when Cullerton gave him the “open book” pre-test.

Now? Now Rauner has to claim victory for a deal Rahm feels giddy about?

Yikes.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:33 pm
Q: Why did this happen?

A: Because the Governor genuinely believed his AV could have been sustained with 60 votes.

Comment by Hamlets Ghost Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:49 pm
Leave it to Karen Lewis and the CTU to be the sore winners. Schtick got old a long time ago. Were they anywhere to be found in trying to actually help CPS get more money?

Comment by Sharon Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:49 pm
Because Rauner is now impotent.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 8:57 pm
Face palm.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 9:02 pm
Proft was absolutely smitten by the deal on the news tonight. Seems like big wins for everyone except maybe the CTU (though that too is debatable).

Comment by Lamont Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 9:07 pm
I think Rich is right about the City being “allowed” to raise to property taxes under this deal. But let’s remember, Rauner may be against property taxes for his suburban/downstate base, but if Rahm has to raise them, he’ll say just say “not my problem.” And let’s be honest — Rahm can’t wait to exercise that permissive power.

Comment by Whatever Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 9:23 pm
So, when the tax increase expired Rauner got a $600K bump; now he’s going to have to pay more with the increase - so with this tax deal Rauner can donate $600K; get a tax credit right back on his taxes; lowering his taxable income and maybe get more in return?? There has to be a return for the rich guy or else Rauner wouldn’t have pushed it so hard.

Comment by Paul Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 9:24 pm
Rahm is not going to raise property taxes again. He just raised them for police and fire pensions. He wants to be reelected.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 9:41 pm
The AV of SB1 did distract most of us from the complete failure to get any part of TA in exchange for a large tax increase.

Comment by PragmaticR Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 9:48 pm
‘Tell me why this happened?” My snark answer. Football. But its always about one thing. Politics and elections.

Comment by Blue dog dem Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 10:12 pm
Proft always smitten when he is paid to be smitten…

…follow the money…

Comment by Yikes Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 10:16 pm
Rauner has not been thinking things through because he has outsourced his thinking to his IPI recruits.

Comment by Joe M Thursday, Aug 24, 17 @ 10:19 pm
===Rahm is not going to raise property taxes again. He just raised them for police and fire pensions. He wants to be reelected.===
I live in the city and as I’ve said in the past I don’t have any problem with my taxes going up $3-500 a year again as long as the schools don’t go down the tubes. Decent schools drive property values. If my house value goes down a $100,000 it will take me well past my lifetime to make up that difference.

Comment by Been There=== Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 12:29 am
It wasn’t just about CPS. The scholarship tax credits are a big win for the Governor/the IPI, and Emanuel was on board with these.

Let’s see what they did with hold harmless, inflation, TIFs … wish I could be there with the guys analyzing the details this weekend.

Comment by dbk Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 12:29 am
Where does the state get the money to pay for all this?

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 6:52 am
This all happened because Rauner is petulant and silly, and the only “win” that Illinois Republicans could come up with is tax breaks for wealthy people who want to bail out Chicago Catholic schools.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 7:08 am
The AV was an incredible error.
The staff meltdown was an incredible error.
The cartoon was an incredible error.
He saw the polls.
He felt the heat.
The excuses he gave for wrecking SB1 weren’t believed.
He heard his base angry over his amnesty bill.
Fundraising is off.
His donor base is angry.
He felt like a fool.
He didn’t like his wife attacked.
The blogs were ripping him a new one.

So he grabbed what was left for a “win”

Rauner is a complete failure as a Repubblican governor.
Even as a white male.

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 7:09 am
==Where does the state get the money to pay for all this?==

Oh, I get it.
You think the US’s fifth largest state economy is broke? LOL
Who you’ve been listening to? Rich mopes with overseas accounts?

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 7:12 am
“So we go through all that turmoil and CPS apparently gets what it wanted anyway?”

Ah… now, remember Rauner doesn’t characterize things as “turmoil”

Until the actual writing is done on the compromises, the proposals released, and the debates begun, there well may be more, ahem, turmoil on the horizon. The language in the press releases from the other thread from the Dems says “appears to have reached”, while the Republican seem to present it as a done deal. Once Rauner catches his breath, even if the GA comes to an agreement and has the votes, he may AV again on the new bill. Trust is not Rauner’s forte.

Comment by Anon221 Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 7:53 am
I wager that the governor’s goal all the long was to get public funding for private schools. He won. We (the taxpayers of Illinois) lost.

Comment by PDJT Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:13 am
Vanilla, where does the money come from? Another tax increase?

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:24 am
What’s wrong with Catholic Schools? They do a great job educating kids.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:25 am
Catholic schools also cost a lot less to run than Public Schools

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:26 am
==- PDJT - Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:13 am:

I wager that the governor’s goal all the long was to get public funding for private schools. He won. We (the taxpayers of Illinois) lost.==

It’s highly unlikely the proposal includes public funding of privAte schools. The IL Constitution prohibits that. It likely includes some type of tax credit for those who donate money for scholarships or pay tuition. It should not, in theory, reduce public funds distributed to public schools.

Comment by Tbd Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:30 am
all this for tax breaks for people who probably don’t need them?

Comment by JohnnyPyleDriver Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:36 am
JohnnyPyleDriver - “all this for tax breaks for people who probably don’t need them??

That’s what I’m concerned the horse-trading will include. If it does, that could be a real PR killer for Rauner. I could see the Pritzker crew, especially, jumping all over that.

Comment by Anon221 Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:42 am
It will reduce the public funds available to be distributed to those public schools.

So, for example, a private school contribution like the $3M Mr. & Mrs. Rauner paid to put their name on Rauner College Prep, would be fully deductible, removing $147,000 from state tax revenues. The legislature takes into account how much revenue is available when deciding how much everyone gets. That pool of funds will be smaller.

Comment by PDJT Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:42 am
In my book,
tax credits for donations to private school endowments = public funding of private schools

There will be less revenue for public schools, roads, bridges, hospitals so private religious schools can benefit.

Big win for Bill Brady, who loves giving Illinois tax dollars for the exclusive benefit of his alma mater. See the fiasco of him engineering a $750,000 state park grant to the city of Bloomington so they could buy land to benefit Central Catholic sports teams.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:47 am
“removing $147,000 from state tax revenues”

Maybe the state should cut some spending? Providing scholarships is a good thing.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:49 am
=Catholic schools also cost a lot less to run than Public Schools=

Says who? Their auditor? And at what level of service?

Not that not knowing what you are talking about has ever been a problem for you, but the public school mission and requirements are not comparable to what is expected of private schools.

Maybe you think a Model T will get you to the moon? I mean it is a vehicle right?

BTW- I went to private school and my parents never griped about it. Funny how today’s super wealthy never have enough.

Comment by JS Mill Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:49 am
OMG -yes.
I pay more for everything. Subway no longer sells $4 footlongs. Whoppers used to cost $.99 twenty years ago, now they’re triple that cost. A can of Spam costs a buck more than it did 8 years ago.

It costs more to buy a car, a house, an education, a pair of shoes, a girdle, water, sewer and electricity.

But you expect taxes to remain the same, or go down? Why would you ever believe this? Because every two years you hear some mope promise you that in exchange of your vote, they’ll squeeze out magical savings? Are you a total rube?

Yeah. Taxes will go up.
Everything does.
Save your temper tantrums when DQ raises the price of the senior coffee. Threaten the teen help that the prices reflect their higher wages. Yell at the manager that the old uniforms were good enough.

Let us know how that goes.

Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:51 am
Rauner is as clueless as they come in politics..How did this guy get rich?

Comment by Foster brooks Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:51 am
Rauner needed an out from the disastrous miscalculation of his AV strategy. He and BTIA literally didn’t know what they were doing, as the governor revealed in his humiliating “simple majority” press conference.

The scholarship bill certainly is taxpayer dollars for private schools. But it’s also $75M, a rounding error of a rounding error in state spending.

If that’s the price for Rauner to go to the sidelines until the next budget address — after 2.5 years of running up $10B in unpaid bills while sabotaging social services and higher ed — it’s well worth it.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:52 am
Ron-
Thank you. This is exactly the point I’m making.

Your answer to $147,000 less in funs available, is for public schools to cut funding.

Providing scholarships is a good thing. Not all good things need to have a negative effect on other, publicly funded, good things.

Comment by PDJT Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:54 am
==would be fully deductible, removing $147,000 from state tax revenues.==
As I understand the plan, it would remove more line $2.25 million from state tax revenues as they would get a 75% tax credit off the bottom line. Hope I am wrong.

Comment by Decaf Coffee Party Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:56 am
**like**

Comment by Decaf Coffee Party Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:56 am
But you expect taxes to remain the same, or go down?”

Incomes go up, so do income tax collections. Price of goods goes up, so does sales tax collections. Home values go up, so do real estate tax collections. Tax rates shouldn’t need to continually increase.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:57 am
“Your answer to $147,000 less in funs available, is for public schools to cut funding.”

Cut somewhere else then. It’s not rocket science. The pensions are killing Illinois, thank Edgar and decades of fiscal mismanagement.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:58 am
Dumb question: How would they limit it to say 75M or 100M? Or is this just an estimate of what might happen?

Comment by Birdseed Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:58 am
Illinois has a spending problem. And now a demographic problem as our “leaders” solution to everything is to increase taxes.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 8:59 am
Toni P. is now done with the insane soda tax.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:00 am
- Decaf Coffee Party -
Sorry, we are too far removed from my original hypothetical. The $147,000 come from ‘for example, a private school contribution like the $3M Mr. & Mrs. Rauner paid to put their name on Rauner College Prep.’

You’re right, the actual impact on the budget would be much more.

Comment by PDJT Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:01 am
==I wager that the governor’s goal all the long was to get public funding for private schools. He won.==

Bingo.
Bruce’s white whale is public school/organized labor.

Private schools may not directly divert funding from public schools, but the goal is to lure students away from public schools which are being funded on a per-pupil basis.
Less students= less funding.
Less funding==less students.
Repeat until public schools are gone.

See Gary, IN:

http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2017/08/23/cash-strapped-gary-schools-under-emergency-management

Comment by TinyDancer(FKASue) Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:08 am
Public school teachers should not be unionized. Problem solved.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:10 am
Seems like most commentators have it right- Rauner acted before he knew his brief. The scholarship money is face-saving, and given Proft’s hilariously over-the-top reaction, it appears to have successfully mollified Rauner’s right flank.

Comment by Arsenal Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:12 am
- Ron -

“Take your meds”. You’re starting your drive-by drivel again.

I’m not feeding you. Don’t respond to me.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:13 am
Funny to hear some comments here, pundits like Zorn, and teachers unions bemoaning the tax credit for private education part of this deal. Weren’t these same folks recently harshly condemning Rauner for not taking a deal that was 90% acceptable? It’s called compromise only when both parties engage in give and take. It aint compromise when you get everything and the other side gets nothing.

Comment by phocion Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:15 am
Decaf Coffee Party is correct. These are credits against taxes owed, not deductions from taxable income. If the limit is $75m in total, then that’s $75m less in revenue. Keep in mind that under SB1, the state is still shy $6.5 billion (using FY17 data) in what districts should receive to be truly funded properly v. what is appropriated.

Comment by C Ball Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:15 am
Vanillaman laid it out well at 7:09.

Simply put: The last 38 days have been a miserable beat down for the governor, and he threw in the towel to avoid the knockout.

$75 million in private school scholarships is chump change compared to the hundreds of millions more that will be directed to the neediest public schools around the state.

There are already 280,000 children attending private schools in Illinois, and 10,000 scholarships will not change that or dramatically impact public school enrollment.

In fact, wisely spent the new funds ought to help public schools recruit some of those kids back to the classroom. Most people who send their kids to Catholic school in Cook County aren’t doing it because they are devote Catholics.

Comment by Thomas Paine Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:19 am
==Tell me why this just happened.==

Because the governor needed a power trip to satisfy his white male ego.

Comment by Precinct Captain Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:20 am
Not having seen the details, based on what’s been put out so far this appears to be what is called a compromise that *gasp* includes some things the Governor probably isn’t happy with. He finally learned, apparently, that sometimes 100% isn’t necessary, nor is it rarely achievable. Welcome to governing, Governor.

Comment by Demoralized Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:22 am
-Ron- is to governor Rauner
as
John Miller or John Barron is to Donald Trump.

Rauner, stop hiding behind aliases and own your anti-working class extremism.

Comment by PDJT Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:24 am
@Ron, of course Catholic schools spend less to educate their children. No very expensive services provided for special needs children. And their local school district “gets” to pay for the transportation from the private school to the public school for needed services paid for, not the private school, but the public school.

Comment by Bd of ed Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:33 am
“Tell me why this just happened.”

Rauner has ‘been successful at everything he’s ever done’ because he’s willing to shamelessly declare his success regardless of the outcome.

Proft and his paymasters are trumpeting another such Rauner success.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:35 am
Rauner is the greatest negotiator the State of Illinois has ever seen. He knows how to drive a profit for the taxpayers, teachers, firefighters…

Sorry, couldn’t type it with a straight face.

Comment by Moist von Lipwig Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:36 am
==Public school teachers should not be unionized. Problem solved.==

You do realize that there is beginning to be a problem finding qualified teachers, especially in fields like science and math, right? Not sure how paying teachers less and cutting their benefits actually helps improve public education in our state. Who would want to teach? People who can’t get a better job in the private sector? Of course, the answer is people who are committed to teaching and helping our children. So how did people like that become the enemy?

Comment by Decaf Coffee Party Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 9:47 am
==You do realize that there is beginning to be a problem finding qualified teachers, especially in fields like science and math, right?==

Wage compression across areas of expertise is partially due to union. The typical solution would be to pay workers more in areas with shortages. So, math and science teachers would have higher salaries. The union is not going too let that happen.

Comment by PhD Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:16 am
There is no shortage of teachers in the Chicago area. It’s the opposite.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:33 am
CPS job openings are filled immediately. Tons of applicants.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:34 am
So how did people like that become the enemy?

Teachers are not the enemy. The teacher unions are.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:35 am
I don’t agree at all with Ron’s position on unions and public school teachers. It was effectively what happened in Wisconsin under Governor Walker. But calling for him to take his medication is a little absuvise to say the least.

Comment by Rod Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:36 am
PhD, how about paying good teachers more than bad ones?

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:38 am
Most people who send their kids to Catholic school in Cook County aren’t doing it because they are devote Catholics.”

Absolutely correct. They send them to Catholic school for a better education than the local public school.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:40 am
– The typical solution would be to pay workers more in areas with shortages. So, math and science teachers would have higher salaries. The union is not going too let that happen.–

So every student going to college to become a teacher will specialize in math and science, and soon there will be a shortage in other areas.

The free market isn’t always the best answer.

Comment by PDJT Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:41 am
“The free market isn’t always the best answer.”

It is by far the best answer most of the time though. And teacher compensation is definitely in the most of the category.

Comment by Ron Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 10:43 am
==The free market isn’t always the best answer.==

I agree. Nevertheless, basic economic tendencies still have to be taken into account. For instance, individuals with strong math or science backgrounds can choose between engineering or teaching. If engineers earn 50% more than teachers in general, then those talented in math and science will tend to choose engineering careers rather than teaching careers.

Comment by PhD Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 11:22 am
==CPS job openings are filled immediately. Tons of applicants==

Ron, where, pray tell, are you getting such information? As one who understands CPS, there are open positions that do not go filled from year to year,

And, you understand, of course, that undergrad admissions for teaching programs are down across the board.

Even Right of Center wunderkind Wendy Kopp is having recruitment problems for her highly touted TFA program.

Your assertion is a conclusion in search of a premise.

Comment by Ipso Facto Friday, Aug 25, 17 @ 12:13 pm