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The old canard

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Illinois

* There it is again…

Illinois could lose billions of dollars in federal road construction money if the state legislature doesn’t get on the ball and pass a capital bill, said House Minority Leader Tom Cross Monday. […]

“If we happen to lose $9 billion in capital money, that would be criminal,” Rep. Cross said. […]

Federal road funds are set to expire in the next few months and into next year

Nobody has yet been able to prove to me that this “We’re gonna lose $9 billion” statement is a fact. Yet, it is contantly passed along by reporters as if it is true.

* And I’ve heard this before…

Although [Cross] said Republicans have been burned as badly as anyone by the governor’s saying one thing and doing another, “We’re willing to take a chance,” he said. “We’re not picking sides. We’ll do what’s best for Illinois.”

Except when the governor vetoed out the “pork” from last year’s budget, he left House Republican projects intact.

* Meanwhile, my old buddy Steve Huntley has an idea for Illinois voters: Vote Republican…

But voters don’t have to wait until 2010 to voice their dissatisfaction with that. They can vent in the balloting for the seats in the Illinois General Assembly at stake in the November elections.

Their watchword should be: Just say no to one-party rule.

That means voting Republican.

* But his conclusion doesn’t match up with the current debate…

[Electing Republicans] also might boost impeachment prospects.

Maybe in the Senate, but the House GOP has gone out of its way to dismiss and downplay impeachment talk.

Discuss.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 10:20 am

Comments

While the Dems have Blago, the GOP has it’s own Cross to bear.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 10:50 am
It’s a shame Dems didn’t swallow their pride and vote for JBT in 2006. Yes, she was of the opposite party and didn’t share all of their ideals, but she would have been a better pull for them than Blago.

There’s a good swath of Republicans who realize how badly the GOP mismanaged the country from 2001-2007, and this disillusionment has led to the term “Obamacan”. If staunch Republicans can vote for a liberal U.S. Senator for president, hopefully Chicago Dems will see a realization of hoe badly Illinois has been run over the past 5 1/2 years and vote for a viable Republican candidate.

Comment by Team Sleep Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 10:53 am
Show me evidence in support of your claim, Mr. Cross. Otherwise, please tone down the fear-mongering rhetoric.

Huntley’s proposal is very far-fetched. One could argue that Dems have been more fervent with the impeachment blather. Blagojevich has managed to unite both side of the aisle on this issue, quite a feat considering the atmosphere in Springfield these days.

Comment by The Doc Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 10:53 am
Yesterday when the Governor announced 10.9 billion dollar transportation program for FY 09 through FY 14. This is a massive plan, that is needed. IDOT Secretary Milton Sees later said that the extra infrastructure from Illinois works capital plan is needed or the five year transportation will be shelved.

Is this transportation plan being held hostage, so that the Illinois works program goes through. It is my understanding that the two revenue streams for Illinois works is the expansion of gambling and the sale or lease of the lottery. Both of these are unpopular usually with Republicans. Personally I am not for either one going through. But will the Republicans cave? Will they take the Tom Cross attitude and say, “We need to do what is right for Illinois?”

I hope the House GOP thinks this over. After all a big government program is funded with big money….taxpayer money. I had heard that the federal government is holding 6 billion dollars of road and bridge money and will release it if Illinois comes up with the 1.5 billion dollar match. Frankly I don’t know if that match money is in the Illinois Works program. It should be in the FY 09 budget.

Also think about gambling expansion and the lottery lease or sale. Was this on the Governor’s plate all along? If so….then the Illinois Works program is a far gone conclusion.

Comment by mike bertelsen IL 36 senate GOP candidate Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 10:54 am
Not sure on the figures, but we do lose money by not having our funds available. For years, IL has been first to get the cash because we always set money aside. Items to consider.

1. Why would unions continue to support democrats who have hosed them out of Billions of dollars of work? Are they really this ignorant?

2. Next to Blago and Madigan, Andy McKenna is to blam for this mess. It is difficult to be hard on your enemies when you have no viable alternative. As much as I am disgusted with the Dems, I have seen no headway made by the Repubs.

Comment by the Patriot Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 10:54 am
=== Next to Blago and Madigan, Andy McKenna is to blam for this mess. ===

McKenna? How, pray tell?

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 10:56 am
I don’t think that most people in Illinois see the Republicans as the solution to the Democrat problem. I think that they’re looking for something new, so long as they can believe it’s possible.

Comment by Squideshi Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 11:10 am
Rich-

You are correct that federal funding does not usually “disappear” when the federal transportation bill expires. It usually gets rolled over into the next bill. These bills have a nominal 6-year period, although the last one was nearly 2 years late and had to be patched together with extensions, etc. And you have a point that politicians should be truthful when discussing the ramifications of action or inaction on a particular piece of legislation.

However, here are 3 ways IL will lose if the state fails to match the federal funds in a timely manner:

1. Construction inflation is about double the rate of inflation in the general economy, partly due to demand for steel and cement from outside the U, and the use of petroleum in asphalt and fuel for construction equipment. Every year that the money is not used, it loses some of its purchasing power in today’s economy.

2. In the next federal transportation bill, savvy states are going to be negotiating for their piece of the pie. IL’s inaction in expending the ample funds provided in the current bill will put IL in a very weak bargaining position.

3. If some funds lie unused for an extended period of time (such as the expiration of the next federal transportation bill), they will be questioned and indeed may be switched to other uses. Think “fund sweep” on the federal level.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 11:22 am
Six, all true. I agree. I just wish this fabrication wasn’t repeated as if it were holy writ.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 11:25 am
Rich, we are losing federal dollars.

The money was earmarked in the last federal transportation bill. Illinois projects, especially for new transit projects, are being put on hold for want of a state match. It is a competitive process. Historically, the Illinois delegation in Washington was always able to say it spoke with one bipartisan voice with regard to capital requests from Illinois. Since we don’t have our act together now, we are losing our place in line and losing those federal matching dollars.

Kirk and Bean have been sounding this alarm for months now. It is the best example of the consequence of dysfunction from the June: Sangamon County family. The federal dollars that Illinois taxpayers send to Washington are going to flow to other states.

Maybe Nevada or San Francisco will get some new roads and trains. In the meantime, pretend driving around the potholes are like a video game.

Comment by dcfromrpg Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 11:26 am
dcfromrpg, that’s different than saying the entire pot will disappear.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 11:32 am
Truth is always the first casualty of war! But we’ll have better odds playing powerball than we will be getting federal dollars at the rate we are going.

Comment by dcfromrpg Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 12:11 pm
Most federal funding expires within a certain time period, and usually in the month of September, at the end of the federal fiscal year.

What federal fund are these monies coming from? Let’s look at the funding guidelines.

Another serious issue is that when IL doesn’t spend money it’s awarded, not only does it go somewhere else, but makes it even more difficult in the future to convince the feds that we actually need and can be trusted to effectively apply the funding we receive.

It absolutely would be criminal to lose these hard fought, sorely needed federal dollars.

Comment by Lurker Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 12:14 pm
This isn’t a fiscal year appropriation, so that’s another red herring.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 12:19 pm
What is it? Where did it come from?

Comment by Lurker Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 12:28 pm
It’s essentially funded bonding authority.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 12:34 pm
Rich, the people who would know positively what Federal road money, if any, will disappear would be either the Division Administrator or the Regional Administrator for the Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Division Office for Illinois is in Springfield. The Regional Office for about 6 states is located in Homewood, Il. Either office will have the stats, if they will release that information to you. I don’t know if you have to do a FOI request or not but I’m betting the Feds would not be as slow with a request as the State is.

Comment by Little Egypt Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 12:35 pm
The money does not disappear. Inflation erodes it, the lack of action on Illinois’ part hurts the state in the next round of funding, but this money doesn’t disappear.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 12:37 pm
It’s semantics. The result is the same. If you don’t use the funding, its usefulness diminishes.

Comment by Lurker Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 1:05 pm
Rich-

From what I understand, and it’s not much, there is in SAFETEA-LU a different ending provision than in the previous two highway authorization bills.

What’s not entirely clear about SAFETEA-LU is that it’s up for rescission at the end of the authorization. SAFTEA-LU authorized a list of projects in excess of what it appropriated from the coffers, so to make the bill work there is the neat little trick, which may or may not leave funding available. Additionally, the DOT has been asking for record rescissions over the life of the current program to help balance the books.

Finally, the trust is running out money as well, so that’s working against Illinois as well. I guess you’d have to be an expert to understand the nuances of the bill and then be a handsomely rewarded t-bill lobbyist so I defer to Former Speaker Hastert and other leaders like Durbin, if they believe the money may not be there, why not listen to their advice?

Finally, the amounts available each year for reimbursement by the Federal DOT is outlined in SEC 1102 of the authorization law. Illinois has to compete against projects over the life of the authorization, in FY 08 the pot is $39,585,075,404.

That’s all this commenter can contribute to the discussion, hope it helped.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 1:15 pm
It is time Malcontent Mike and the Deadweight Democrats do something and impeach Blagoof. I don’t know why Madigan is waiting. He is just sitting their watching the state crumble. Excellent job Speaker, the longer you wait the worse off the state is. I think the only thing that can describe Mike’s effort is “leadership”.

Comment by teddy the greek Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 2:41 pm
Thanks, Rich, for calling inaccurate scare tactics what they are.

Comment by Reformer Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 3:10 pm
scare tactics - lol I, for one, see nothing wrong with pressuring our “leaders” to get it together and put these dollars to work. This is OUR money, not some tool to be used for political gain.

Comment by Lurker Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 3:15 pm
Rich Miller wrote, “Maybe in the Senate, but the House GOP has gone out of its way to dismiss and downplay impeachment talk.”

Why is the House GOP so eager to downplay impeachment talk? What do they stand to gain?

Comment by Squideshi Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 3:50 pm
Congress should eliminate spending to state and local governments. That would save about $350 billion, per year, which is about 10% of the federal budget. If they make they cut, the federal government would need less money, so they would pass an across-the-board 10% income tax cut.

Comment by PhilCollins Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 4:32 pm
Why would House Republicans want to allow every Democrat member and candidate the option to support impeachment? Seriously…the best thing they have going for them is to link HDems with Blago. An impeachment ruins that

Comment by Easy Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 4:43 pm
if madigan was so serious about impeachment, why doesn’t he just call for it? The answer–hes not serious. All this is is posturing for lisa (oops, I said her name)

Comment by the dude Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 5:11 pm
Madigan isn’t serious about impeachment, the only thing he is serious about is getting Lisa elected. Maybe he will be able to double dip his pension if his daughter is gov.

Comment by gilbert Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 5:23 pm
the dude wrote, “if madigan was so serious about impeachment, why doesn’t he just call for it? The answer–hes not serious.”

There is a reason that Madigan is known in Springfield as “The Velvet Hammer.”

Comment by Squideshi Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 5:53 pm
What Tom Cross really means is, Skip Saviano told me I have to get the new casinos passed.

One should really substitute in the word “casinos” every time Cross says “capital.” Capital is an accounting term and I doubt if Cross has the first clue what it really means.

Comment by GOP'er Tuesday, Jun 17, 08 @ 6:40 pm
[…] “Save them” from what is unclear, since the money doesn’t ever appear to have really been at risk as political journalist Rich Miller and others have frequently reported. […]

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