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* Daily Herald…
While some towns want state lawmakers to take quick action on a recommendation to combine suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds in an effort to boost returns and cut costs, not all municipalities are on board.
Senate President John Cullerton introduced a bill Tuesday to consolidate the 649 suburban and downstate police and fire pensions. Gov. J.B. Pritzker followed with a statement praising Cullerton’s move in the first half of a six-day fall veto session that ended Wednesday. […]
Barrington Hills is asking lawmakers to take their time and not pass the proposal during the veto session. The session’s second three-day leg runs Nov. 12-14.
In part, Barrington Hills’ resolution says the Pension Consolidation Feasibility Task Force’s recommendation would be a complex financial, economic and operational undertaking requiring “proper and comprehensive analysis and review by all stakeholders” and should not be pursued until the regular legislative session starts next year.
Chicago Teachers Union representatives are asking lawmakers for legislation that would force Chicago Public Schools to direct more of its state funding to services aimed at low-income students, English language learners and students with special needs. This comes amid a strike now stretching into its second week.
Kurt Hilgendorf, a lobbyist for the union, told a legislative committee Monday Illinois’ new Evidence Based Funding formula is designed, in part, to direct more state resources to the neediest districts. But, he said, there is no requirement that districts — Chicago Public Schools in particular — direct resources to the neediest schools in those districts.
“There is no equity provision for funding CPS students in a student-based budgeting model,” he told an elementary and secondary education appropriations panel. “Each student is assigned a base funding regardless of the need of that student.”
House Bill 3917 would require that the funds CPS receives for those high-needs students be distributed among all the schools in the district in proportion to the number of high-needs students they serve. It would apply to only the Chicago district.
* Press release…
State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) introduced a bill [last] week that redefines felony murder charges in Illinois.
The language of current state law allows prosecutors to charge someone with first-degree murder if a death occurs during the commission of another offense when acting alone, or if a third-party individual causes a death when acting within a group. The new legislation would ban prosecutors from being able to do so.
“Incarceration rates are disturbingly high as it is,” Peters said. “These laws do nothing to improve safety in our community and are not an effective way to combat the unforgivable crowding of our jails and prisons. They are quite simply not a reflection of any sort of justice we should strive for as a society.”
The bill is an initiative of Restore Justice and was filed in response to an incident in Lake County where five teens were charged with first-degree murder after a failed home burglary in which the homeowner shot and killed a sixth teen.
Senate Bill 2292 was filed with the secretary of the Senate on Monday. It is currently awaiting assignment to a committee, which likely will not occur until full session resumes in January.
* ProPublica Illinois…
Illinois lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday that would eliminate driver’s license suspensions for unpaid parking tickets, putting an end to a decades-old practice that has hurt tens of thousands of motorists across the state.
The bill now awaits Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature. A spokeswoman for the governor said he looks forward to reviewing “this meaningful legislation.” Rep. Carol Ammons, a Democrat from Urbana-Champaign who co-sponsored the measure, said that the governor has told her he supports the bill’s intent and that she expects him to sign it.
* Other stuff…
* Legislation proposed to ban criminal background checks on public speakers following Tribune stories
* Illinois leaders demand answers about ambulance diversion by hospitals: ‘Something has to be done.’
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 11:13 am
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=House Bill 3917 would require that the funds CPS receives for those high-needs students be distributed among all the schools in the district in proportion to the number of high-needs students they serve. It would apply to only the Chicago district.=
Not sure if this bill is the answer, but proponents have a very valid point. The formula gives the district more money because of things like English language learners, class sizes, facilities, etc. That money is supposed to help those students in need. For most districts, there isn’t that much of a difference between their schools so it’s not a problem. CPS has wide disparity between tons of schools. I’m not sure how you actually figure what dollars go to which school though, it isn’t that easy to figure out in the formula. They would probably need a mini-version of the ebm, that uses the total CPS funding and distributes it where needed most.
Comment by phenom_Anon Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 11:35 am
Take a closer look at SB 616, Pension Consolidation. There is a reason the Fire union is supportive. It only combines the investment aspect of the pensions, not the administration. It also contains some nice pension enhancements for their Tier 2 employees. Higher retirement payouts and higher COLA payments to Tier 2 retirees.
Comment by Municipal CPA Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 11:40 am
“there is no requirement that districts — Chicago Public Schools in particular — direct resources to the neediest schools in those districts.”
Probably because most districts don’t have a student population where one school is in an impoverished area and another is surrounded by mansions.
Comment by City Zen Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 11:41 am
“first-degree murder if a death occurs during the commission of another offense when acting alone, or if a third-party individual causes a death when acting within a group”
How many people are serving sentences for this type of murder charge? I bet the number is small and will not help with prison overcrowding.
Comment by Eyeball Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 12:08 pm
I have finally figured out what ‘Evidence Based’ and ‘Data Driven’ mean.
Comment by Blue Dog Dem Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 1:21 pm
Disallowing prosecutions for felony murder would do next to nothing for the incarceration rate and would eschew accountability for those responsible for the death of others.
Comment by AlfondoGonz Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 2:34 pm
We need to ban ambulance diversion. Massachusetts has already done so and has had no major adverse effects.
Moral of the story is this: if you want to be seen by an ER in Illinois better to walk in personally than to call an ambulance because under federal law, it is illegal to refuse a patient that walks into the ER himself/herself, but perfectly legal to refuse the same patient if he or she is travelling to an ER by ambulance (possibly even by helicopter).
Again, we need to ban ambulance diversion in this state.
Comment by Homer Simpson's Brain Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 2:40 pm
“These laws do nothing to improve safety in our community and are not an effective way to combat the unforgivable crowding of our jails and prisons”
Most laws are made as a deterrent to crime and the specified punishments therein.
Ask the victims(or their survivor’s) of crimes committed by more than 1 person even though only 1 guy had a gun the victim is just as dead. Their perspective might be a little different than worrying about the number of cots at 26th and Cali.
Comment by theCardinal Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 2:54 pm
Banning diversion isn’t the answer, because there may be a) no more bed space in the ER to treat patients (lining them up in the hallways unsupervised is a Third World answer), and/or b) no ER staff available to triage or treat the excess patients. As a former 911 dispatcher in the South Suburbs of Chicago, I heard often enough where more than one hospital went on diversion (”bypass”) but sometimes the medics took them anyway due to patient status…into the above scenario(s).
And how do all these people who drive not be able to pay their parking tickets (or park legally); now they get to keep their licenses? What a joke.
Comment by revvedup Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 3:40 pm
Municipal CPA in his/her bid to muckrake fails to mention that Tier 2 Firefighters and Police Officers will fall below Safe Harbor levels soon. Maybe he/she would like their municipality to pony up the additional 6.25% Social Security to help with that ?
Comment by Pension Board Member Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 3:50 pm
revvedup,
The article Rich posted mentioned two compelling reasons for why hospitals go on bypass: profit motive and inefficient practices that clog up hospital beds.
Surely we can’t expect to fix the problem by continuing business as usual. Banning ambulance diversion will surely be the kick in the pants hospitals need to improve their operations. If Massachusetts pulled it off, why can’t Illinois?
Comment by Homer Simpson's Brain Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 4:03 pm
Kudos to Kam Buckner for his bill banning police background checks on public speakers. I’d like to see AG Kwame Raoul’s staff show up in the audience at a Whiteside county board meeting when chairman James Duffy whips out his gym coach size stopwatch to cut off the speakers he doesn’t like. (Which is anyone who isn’t a county employee or relative of a county employee).
Comment by Buford Monday, Nov 4, 19 @ 8:29 pm