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* Tribune…
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday signed into law a $38.5 billion spending plan for state government, approving a full budget on time for the first time since he took office in 2015.
Flanked by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Rauner touted the legislation as the product of “a great team effort, a great bipartisan effort.” […]
Rauner also noted that lawmakers had found $1.5 billion in spending cuts as well.
“It’s not easy to make cuts, but the reductions in spending were made and I’d like to thank everyone for the discipline to achieve that,” Rauner said.
* From the governor’s press release…
· Blocked New Spending. Rauner and the Republican leaders staved off $1 billion in spending increases by aggressively managing agency budgets and tabling $500 million in spending increase proposals. That’s a billion and a half dollars in much-needed spending restraint.
Managing agency budgets is the governor’s top job. Good for him. But rejecting $500 million in spending increase requests is not a cut.
* Back to the governor’s release…
Education Funding. The budget fully funds the new evidence-based formula the administration introduced in 2015 and signed into law last summer. There’s $350 million in new K-12 dollars, which is up $1.4 billion since 2015, and $50 million for Early Childhood Education, which is up $200 million since 2015. AIM HIGH scholarships get $50 million to encourage Illinois high grads to attend Illinois universities. The MAP grant program is funded for four years. Colleges get $25 million of new money and the tuition tax credit program stays intact.
Guaranteeing MAP grants for four years, instead of just one, is perhaps the greatest single accomplishment of this budget. Bar none.
* Back to the release…
Pension Reform. The legislature addressed pension costs by making some modest reforms that will reduce long-term liabilities and save $445 million this year.
They’re spending long-term savings in just one year, which is not a good idea.
* Again, to the release…
· Adoption Tax Credit. Rauner said he was “particularly proud” of the work on his measure to create tax credits to encourage more adoptions by Illinois parents. Parents who can provide stable, loving homes for needy children can qualify for tax credits up to $5000 per child.
· Illinois Innovation Network. The budget gives the University of Illinois System $500 million to fund the Governor’s signature economic development program. The initial step is to get the Discovery Partners Institute up and running. DPI envisions a research and business public-private partnership that involves the entire Illinois university system and business innovators. U of I System estimates that the effort could spark $4 billion in annual invested capital for Illinois and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Quincy Veterans’ Home. There is $53 million in FY19 budget to get underway with the administration’s plan to construct a new veteran’s home in Quincy.
The Discovery Partners Institute could easily wind up being Rauner’s greatest positive legacy if he only serves one term.
* From Senate President John Cullerton’s press release last week…
A more than $1 billion budget hole wiped out through savings, reforms and utilizing other available revenues.
The state is authorized to tap into up to $800 million sitting available in various state accounts. This allows the state to utilize that money now to fund programs and services and pay it back over the next two years.
So, that’ll create a $400+ million hole in each of the next two fiscal years.
* There are some other holes that have been overlooked…
Illinois state workers represented by the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, currently do not have a contract with the state. The last contract expired on June 30, 2015. Gov. Bruce Rauner and AFSCME have not been able to agree on a number of costly requests the union is making.
Despite being without a contract, courts have ordered the Rauner administration to pay the raises union workers would have received under the last contract. According to Wirepoints, this could cost as much as $400 million.
The state did not account for these costs in its recent spending plan. That means the state has as much as a $400 million liability, that it should be fully aware it needs to pay, not accounted for in the budget.
…Adding… Anders Lindall at AFSCME Council 31 disputes some of the Illinois Policy Institute’s story…
In the first sentence, it’s wrong that there’s no contract. The previous contract remains in effect.
In the third sentence, it’s wrong that the parties “have not been able to agree on a number of costly requests the union is making”. We proposed zero wage increase and higher employee health costs. Rauner walked away and refused to negotiate. A case is now in the courts.
In the fourth sentence, again, there is a contract. And it’s not that Rauner was ordered to pay raises under the previous contract. It’s that he was ordered to continue the progression of recent hires through the pay plan (which exists in statute, not the contract).
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 11:27 am
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On the bright side…
Doesn’t this years budget have money for the 2011 Step raises?
Comment by WhoKnew Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 11:34 am
===The MAP grant program is funded for four years.===
That’s great, but the 6-year graduation rate for Illinois public universities is 62%, which means even with a four-year MAP commitment, a lot of students still won’t cross the finish line, even after six years.
Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 11:44 am
–Flanked by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Rauner touted the legislation as the product of “a great team effort, a great bipartisan effort.” […]–
So the system isn’t corrupt and broken?
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 11:48 am
The funniest part of the GovJunk performance was his comments about higher revenue from the Trump Tax Cut and not the state tax hike he is spending for the 2nd year. Wait til Capt Fax gets a response to his FOI on Quincy and learns how GovJunk nearly blow it.
Comment by Annonin' Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 11:49 am
===On the bright side…
Doesn’t this years budget have money for the 2011 Step raises?===
No. It has the money for the rest of the back pay owed from when Quinn cancelled raises in 2011.
Comment by Nick Name Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 12:01 pm
@Word: not today, it’s not. But tomorrow may be a other matter.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 12:11 pm
Here we go again.From the school board to the GA, tentative budget has 10% more spending, later reduced by 5%, everyone spins we cut the budget by 5%. No, you increased spending by 5%.
Comment by Nitemayor Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 12:21 pm
At least they raised the chocolate ration! Double-plus good!
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 12:36 pm
Headline:”V-R Day! Rauner Surrenders!”
“Gov. Rauner signed the Budget of Surrender today, ending 3 1/2 years of war against the middle class, unions, and the poor….”
Comment by revvedup Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 12:53 pm
Rauner could have remained at the bargaining table with AFSCME and got a contract with concessions that don’t humiliate state workers. Work with people and find savings. Show good faith. But Rauner got no non-budget demands from the GA and no contract with the largest state employee union. Again, clever by half in his arrogance.
State workers are supposed to take big cuts while Rauner, whose income tripled in 2015 and was still much higher in 2016, convulsively refuses a progressive income tax and paying more himself? Are people nuts?
Comment by Grandson of Man Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 12:56 pm
=Are people nuts?=
The short answer is yes. The same folks complaining about worker pay are OK with the ginormous amount of waste and abuse by the Rauner administration. From outrageous interest costs, to unseemly real estate deals, to rip-off pinstripe patronage, to rejection of federal reimbursements…. All adds up to about a year of the entire state payroll, but that somehow doesn’t much trouble people.
Because Rauner is worth it. People are nuts.
Comment by Deadbeat Conservative (blocked?) Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 1:08 pm
AFSCME doesn’t appear to be disputing anything, just using their own preferred language to say the same thing.
Comment by Phil King Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 1:38 pm
Thanks afscme for correcting the policy institute propaganda
Comment by Ok Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 1:44 pm
So there is a contract with AFSCME? Because of litigation? In spite of litigation? The union officials interviewed by Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Union Times seem to feel a little differently.
Comment by Louis G Atsaves Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 2:01 pm
===On the bright side…
Doesn’t this years budget have money for the 2011 Step raises?===
Step raises were always paid on time until July of 2015. After that, Rauner violated the Tolling Agreement he signed (continuing the terms of the prior contract) by not paying the employees (that were not yet already “topped out” on Step8) their yearly step raises.
Comment by Me Again Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 2:14 pm
===So there is a contract with AFSCME? Because of litigation? In spite of litigation? The union officials interviewed by Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Union Times seem to feel a little differently.===
Because of the tolling agreement signed by both Gov. Rauner and AFSCME, the terms of the contract that expired in 2015 are in effect until the state and AFSCME agree to a new contract.
Comment by Nick Name Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 3:19 pm
MAP is not guaranteed for 4 years - ISAC sent a statement about this today.
Comment by Jess G Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 5:37 pm
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Comment by Ivans Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 7:50 pm
“· Blocked New Spending. Rauner and the Republican leaders staved off $1 billion in spending increases by aggressively managing agency budgets and tabling $500 million in spending increase proposals. That’s a billion and a half dollars in much-needed spending restraint.”
Does that mean there is no money for the backpay?
Comment by Mama Monday, Jun 4, 18 @ 7:57 pm