By Jamey Dunn
The House approved more than $1 billion in capital construction spending, the bulk of which would be spent by the Illinois Department of Transportation on “shovel ready” projects.
House Bill 3794 calls for $1.1 billion in construction spending, $1 billion of which would go to road and bridge projects included in IDOT’s 5-year plan. The bill does not list the projects because they would be determined by IDOT, but sponsor Rep. Luis Arroyo said that the department plans to prioritize projects that are ready to go during the summer construction season. The remaining $100 million would go to local street repair projects.
The money for construction would come from funding sources approved as part of the 1999 Illinois First capital program. Borrowing for the plan has been paid off, but the increased fees and taxes remain. “Some of that debt has been retired. It’s been paid off, and the revenue stream that was used to support it is now available,” said House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The plan passed with bipartisan support. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin said that after the particularly harsh winter, the state’s roads need work. “Illinois roads were clobbered.” He said that while Republicans opposed other construction projects passed in the House yesterday, this pared-down plan is “responsible” because the spending will be decided by IDOT instead of legislators. “It’s a smaller bill, but this is going to get us through the end of the year.”
But some lawmakers questioned spending money that could otherwise go into the general revenue fund on a rushed capital bill that does not include anything other than road and bridge projects. “I think this is the wrong time to do this, and I think this is the wrong approach,” said Northbrook Democrat Rep. Elaine Nekritz. and
Proponents argued that this plan can be accomplished now to get people to work in the coming months, and the issue of a larger capital plan could be revisited later. “Bottom line, this is going to put people to work. Those people will pay taxes, and some of those taxes will come to the state of Illinois,” said Madigan.
Showing posts with label capital plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label capital plan. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2014
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
House votes to restore Medicaid cuts, pay old bills and fund construction projects
By Jamey Dunn
The Illinois House voted Wednesday to restore several cuts to Medicaid and to tack more than $1 billion in spending onto the current fiscal year’s budget.
Senate Bill 741 would rollback several Medicaid program reductions that were cut under sweeping Medicaid reforms approved in 2012. The bill would restore podiatry services and preventative dental care for adults. It would lift the four-prescription limit for people with “severe mental illness.” It would also remove the limit on the number of physical therapy sessions patients can access. The bill allows for more funding for programs that care for children with extensive medical needs, such as those on ventilators. “We are restoring this simply because we have found out from experience that these cuts actually did not save us money. They cost the people of the state of Illinois more money, and they brought suffering and hardship to families. They brought overutilization to our emergency departments and interfered with the delivery of health care to other patients in need,” said Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris, who sponsored the bill. The restorations would cost $221 million upfront. However, the spending would bring in federal matching funds, so Harris said the net cost would be about $125 million in general revenue funding.
Opponents questioned rolling back changes to Medicaid that were put in place to ensure that the system remained sustainable at a time when the state was pushing billions of Medicaid bills from one fiscal year into the next. The reforms now bar the state from shoveling Medicaid bills into future fiscal years. “How are we going to pay for that, and how are we going to sustain the system for the people who need it most?” Rep. Patricia Bellock asked on the House floor.
Those who have advocated to restore the cuts argue that they do not save the state money in the long run because Medicaid patients are forced to skip preventative care but later call on the system once their health deteriorates into an emergency situation. Chicago Democratic Rep. Mary Flowers said that a lack of dental care means missed wages when Medicaid patients stay home from work with tooth pain and missed opportunities when dental problems, such as missing teeth, keep them from making a good first impression at job interviews. “Access to dental services—like filling, cavities, root canals, dentures—means that the most vulnerable in our state will not need to suffer from unnecessary pain,” she said.
Harris also sponsored House Bill 6060, which would add $1.8 billion in spending during the current fiscal year. Around $1 billion would go toward paying down old bills, and $600 million of that would go to Medicaid, triggering federal matching funds. The backlog stands at about $4.7 billion now. The money comes from new revenue that came in this year above projections for Fiscal Year 2014.
The House also reapproved ongoing capital construction projects for next fiscal year and tacked some new spending on, while they were at it. The new spending includes:
Chicago Democratic Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, who sponsored HB 3793, said that the money for the additional spending would come from revised revenue estimates for Fiscal Year 2015 and funds left from the sale of the state’s 10th casino license.
The measure did not have a standard committee hearing and came to the floor just hours after the amendment that contains the spending was filed. “We need to pass this bill if we want to make good on the commitments and promises we have earlier made,” Currie said of the spending that was part of the ongoing capital program. Republicans called the vote on the more than 1,000-page-bill rushed and argued that they did not have time to know what the legislation contained “We’re making a substantive vote with very little time to vet this vote,” said Downers Grove Republican Rep. Ron Sandack. “We seem to continue to do the wrong thing the wrong way, so I guess that’s consistency if nothing else.”
House Speaker Mike Madigan also released his hold on the House budget bills approved yesterday, and they have been read into the record in the Senate. That means that the Senate could technically pass the budget and—as many in the Statehouse have been speculating—the spring session could adjourn a day early on Friday. However, such rumors always run rampant at this time of year. And so far, that possibility falls into the rumor category.
The Illinois House voted Wednesday to restore several cuts to Medicaid and to tack more than $1 billion in spending onto the current fiscal year’s budget.
Senate Bill 741 would rollback several Medicaid program reductions that were cut under sweeping Medicaid reforms approved in 2012. The bill would restore podiatry services and preventative dental care for adults. It would lift the four-prescription limit for people with “severe mental illness.” It would also remove the limit on the number of physical therapy sessions patients can access. The bill allows for more funding for programs that care for children with extensive medical needs, such as those on ventilators. “We are restoring this simply because we have found out from experience that these cuts actually did not save us money. They cost the people of the state of Illinois more money, and they brought suffering and hardship to families. They brought overutilization to our emergency departments and interfered with the delivery of health care to other patients in need,” said Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris, who sponsored the bill. The restorations would cost $221 million upfront. However, the spending would bring in federal matching funds, so Harris said the net cost would be about $125 million in general revenue funding.
Opponents questioned rolling back changes to Medicaid that were put in place to ensure that the system remained sustainable at a time when the state was pushing billions of Medicaid bills from one fiscal year into the next. The reforms now bar the state from shoveling Medicaid bills into future fiscal years. “How are we going to pay for that, and how are we going to sustain the system for the people who need it most?” Rep. Patricia Bellock asked on the House floor.
Those who have advocated to restore the cuts argue that they do not save the state money in the long run because Medicaid patients are forced to skip preventative care but later call on the system once their health deteriorates into an emergency situation. Chicago Democratic Rep. Mary Flowers said that a lack of dental care means missed wages when Medicaid patients stay home from work with tooth pain and missed opportunities when dental problems, such as missing teeth, keep them from making a good first impression at job interviews. “Access to dental services—like filling, cavities, root canals, dentures—means that the most vulnerable in our state will not need to suffer from unnecessary pain,” she said.
Harris also sponsored House Bill 6060, which would add $1.8 billion in spending during the current fiscal year. Around $1 billion would go toward paying down old bills, and $600 million of that would go to Medicaid, triggering federal matching funds. The backlog stands at about $4.7 billion now. The money comes from new revenue that came in this year above projections for Fiscal Year 2014.
The House also reapproved ongoing capital construction projects for next fiscal year and tacked some new spending on, while they were at it. The new spending includes:
- $13 million for sewage treatment and water projects.
- $10 million grant to the Uptown Theatre in Chicago.
- $40 million for school construction projects outside of Chicago.
- $35 million to Chicago Public Schools for school construction projects.
- $50 million for back pay to state employees in the departments of Public Health, Human Services, Corrections, Juvenile Justice and Natural Resources. The money would cover about half the cost of deferred raises that the state owes employees.
- $50 million for the Chicago teachers pension fund.
Chicago Democratic Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, who sponsored HB 3793, said that the money for the additional spending would come from revised revenue estimates for Fiscal Year 2015 and funds left from the sale of the state’s 10th casino license.
The measure did not have a standard committee hearing and came to the floor just hours after the amendment that contains the spending was filed. “We need to pass this bill if we want to make good on the commitments and promises we have earlier made,” Currie said of the spending that was part of the ongoing capital program. Republicans called the vote on the more than 1,000-page-bill rushed and argued that they did not have time to know what the legislation contained “We’re making a substantive vote with very little time to vet this vote,” said Downers Grove Republican Rep. Ron Sandack. “We seem to continue to do the wrong thing the wrong way, so I guess that’s consistency if nothing else.”
House Speaker Mike Madigan also released his hold on the House budget bills approved yesterday, and they have been read into the record in the Senate. That means that the Senate could technically pass the budget and—as many in the Statehouse have been speculating—the spring session could adjourn a day early on Friday. However, such rumors always run rampant at this time of year. And so far, that possibility falls into the rumor category.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Several factors at play in tax vote
By Jamey Dunn
The House plans to vote for spending before it takes up the issue of revenue, but a vote on extending the current income tax rate is just part of the budget picture.
House Speaker Michael Madigan said today that he hopes to first pass the spending portion of the budget, which would presume an extension of the temporary income tax. He said that the move is needed to help lobby lawmakers to approve tax rates needed to fund the budget. “Our purposes in advancing the budget first is to set the bar against which we will work to convince people to vote for the revenue.” House committees approved budget bills today that are based largely on Gov. Pat Quinn’s recommended budget.
Republicans say that the move “puts the cart before the horse.” Elmhurst Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti said that businesses and families do not make their budgets by first deciding what they would like to buy and then figuring out how to pay for it. “We know what our income is. We make decisions based off of that. We don’t assume that we can buy a new house because we hope to have more money, but not have the additional revenue to pay for it.” Many Republicans argued today that a vote on a budget that spends more than the state expects to take in under current law would be unconstitutional. “It is on its face blatantly unconstitutional,” said Catlin Republican Rep. Chad Hays. “Who on planet earth budgets in this fashion? This is simply not done anywhere by anybody.”
But Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris, who is chairman of the House human services budgeting committee, said that moving spending bills along is all part of the process and that the order in which it happens is not as important as getting the whole job done. “There are a lot of pieces of the budget which we have to pass,” said Harris. “I think we have until midnight on the 31st of May to reconcile all of this.” He said that if lawmakers can determine what services they think the state should deliver, then when it comes time to make revenue decisions, they can avoid asking for more than is needed. Harris was clear that he does not think that the state can get by on the current revenue projections that allow the income tax to begin stepping down in the second half of Fiscal Year 2015. Harris called the step down “a terrible financial cliff that we would drive the families of Illinois right off of.”
Republicans argue that Democrats are making the budget scenario under the current rates look muckh worse than it would need to be. “We on our side of the aisle feel very strongly that we can craft a workable budget without devastating extreme irresponsible cuts or reductions. We can craft a responsible budget without having the continuation of the tax,” Rep. David Harris, a Republican from Arlington Heights.
The House is expected to start taking votes on spending bills tomorrow. As Democratic leadership in the chamber works to get the support to stop the income tax rates from stepping down, other issues will likely come into play.
Rep. David Harris said that he expects that a comprehensive business tax reform package will emerge before the end of the month. Harris serves on a House committee that has held hearings over the last year on the business tax climate in the state. (House Speaker Michael Madigan presented a bill with changed to the EDGE tax credit to that committee today. See this blog post for the details.) Madigan said to the committee this morning that he would be willing to allow the corporate income tax rates to roll back if the proposal was tied to other changes. “I’m prepared to advance that bill, but as part of a balanced package,” Madigan told the committee.
Business friendly tax breaks tied to an extension of the income tax rates, or possibly just the individual income tax rate, would serve several political purposes. They could provide cover for Democrats who vote for a tax increase as part of an overall “tax reform” package. They could possibly be used to lure Republican votes on the income tax extension. More likely, Republican “no” votes on business friendly concepts could be used for negative campaign advertising and mailers before the November general election.
But Rep. David Harris says that he believes that the business tax plan will be separate from an income tax vote. He says that he thinks that the package would address such issues, as the franchise tax, incorporation fees and tax credits for manufacturers when the buy equipment. “I think it will be separate from the tax rate bill,” he said. Harris said that if it is tied to extending income tax rates, he does not think any Republicans would vote for it. “I think if it’s a business related package, they’re going to want some Republicans on the package,” Harris says. “I don’t consider an extension of the income tax [to be] tax reform.” He said that any business tax tweaks would likely be revenue neutral. So if some tax cuts are made larger or some taxes eliminated, other tax breaks may be scrapped or reduced. Some would call it closing tax loopholes. Harris, however, would not call it that. “Let’s not call them loopholes. Let’s call them, perhaps, exemptions or credits that we now give that may no longer be beneficial or helpful, or they don’t achieve the public policy that we initially intended them to achieve.”
Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said that he thinks that the work on a business tax package is a mix of policy and politics. “I think it’s a combination of both. I think there’s some legitimate changes being made.” Denzler said that he has not seen a plan yet. “We’ll just see how things play out. We’ll have to look at a final package. ... I think that there can be some positives for the business community.” But he said that coupling an extension of the tax rates with some tax sweeteners for businesses would fall short of being a game-changing move when it comes to the state’s fiscal policy. “Ultimately, we think we need comprehensive tax reform. Making the income tax increase permanent and adding a few tax incentives is a little bit more of a Band-Aid quite frankly to the whole problem that Illinois faces.”
A few more tax issues could also end up in the mix. In his budget address, Quinn called for property tax relief and an incremental doubling of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Both of these options could be used to soften the blow of a tax rate extension and potentially pull some reluctant votes on to it. Under Quinn’s plan, homeowners would lose their current property tax credit and it would be replaced with a flat $500 refund for each owner occupied property. Quinn’s budget office estimates that such tax relief would cost $1.3 billion annually. The current credit costs about $600 million. While some homeowners currently get a tax credit that is larger than $500, Quinn’s staff said that 92 percent homeowners would be better off under his proposal. Quinn’s plan would also increase the EITC from 10 percent of the federal credit to 20 percent at a rate of 2.5 percentage points per year. The increase would cost more than $200 million annually once it reaches 20 percent. At the time of the address, Quinn and his staff were aggressively packaging his pitch to make the tax increase permanent as a reform of the state’s tax system. His proposal also included a five-year budget “blueprint” that calls for spending caps, a rainy day fund and cutting the state’s bill payment cycle down to 30 days.
When all else fails, pork spending—I mean, local construction projects—may also be an option to get votes on a tax rate extension. Democrats acknowledged today that they are also working on a capital construction bill. Quinn has been calling for a capital bill because the current plan, which was the first in 10 years, is about to run out. While Statehouse observers are always (justifiably) skeptical of the way that capital projects appear to be leveraged for votes, nobody can deny that work on Illinois roads and bridges is necessary and that many state facilities are in dire need of maintenance. What the funding stream for a capital bill would be is unclear at this point. Republicans warned today that it could come with more taxation. “There may be additional taxes out there to accommodate some of our other unmet needs,” said Hinckley Republican Rep. Robert Pritchard.
Madigan told reporters this morning that he is working the roll call for an extension of the tax rates. He said that he is not trying to strong-arm lawmakers. “We’re not in the business of issuing threats. ...We don’t engage in tactics like that. We try to work with people, persuade people, cajole people,” Madigan said. “We talk in terms of their view of where the sate should be, what the state should be doing for its citizens.” Madigan said.
When asked how many voted he still needed, he said that he was not to the point of knowing exactly how many members he still needs to persuade. While Senate President John Cullerton has predicted that session could adjourn early this year, Madigan indicated today that might not be the case. “There’s two and a half weeks left in the session. And we’ll be here. We’ll be on our job,” he said.
The House plans to vote for spending before it takes up the issue of revenue, but a vote on extending the current income tax rate is just part of the budget picture.
House Speaker Michael Madigan said today that he hopes to first pass the spending portion of the budget, which would presume an extension of the temporary income tax. He said that the move is needed to help lobby lawmakers to approve tax rates needed to fund the budget. “Our purposes in advancing the budget first is to set the bar against which we will work to convince people to vote for the revenue.” House committees approved budget bills today that are based largely on Gov. Pat Quinn’s recommended budget.
Republicans say that the move “puts the cart before the horse.” Elmhurst Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti said that businesses and families do not make their budgets by first deciding what they would like to buy and then figuring out how to pay for it. “We know what our income is. We make decisions based off of that. We don’t assume that we can buy a new house because we hope to have more money, but not have the additional revenue to pay for it.” Many Republicans argued today that a vote on a budget that spends more than the state expects to take in under current law would be unconstitutional. “It is on its face blatantly unconstitutional,” said Catlin Republican Rep. Chad Hays. “Who on planet earth budgets in this fashion? This is simply not done anywhere by anybody.”
But Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris, who is chairman of the House human services budgeting committee, said that moving spending bills along is all part of the process and that the order in which it happens is not as important as getting the whole job done. “There are a lot of pieces of the budget which we have to pass,” said Harris. “I think we have until midnight on the 31st of May to reconcile all of this.” He said that if lawmakers can determine what services they think the state should deliver, then when it comes time to make revenue decisions, they can avoid asking for more than is needed. Harris was clear that he does not think that the state can get by on the current revenue projections that allow the income tax to begin stepping down in the second half of Fiscal Year 2015. Harris called the step down “a terrible financial cliff that we would drive the families of Illinois right off of.”
Republicans argue that Democrats are making the budget scenario under the current rates look muckh worse than it would need to be. “We on our side of the aisle feel very strongly that we can craft a workable budget without devastating extreme irresponsible cuts or reductions. We can craft a responsible budget without having the continuation of the tax,” Rep. David Harris, a Republican from Arlington Heights.
The House is expected to start taking votes on spending bills tomorrow. As Democratic leadership in the chamber works to get the support to stop the income tax rates from stepping down, other issues will likely come into play.
Rep. David Harris said that he expects that a comprehensive business tax reform package will emerge before the end of the month. Harris serves on a House committee that has held hearings over the last year on the business tax climate in the state. (House Speaker Michael Madigan presented a bill with changed to the EDGE tax credit to that committee today. See this blog post for the details.) Madigan said to the committee this morning that he would be willing to allow the corporate income tax rates to roll back if the proposal was tied to other changes. “I’m prepared to advance that bill, but as part of a balanced package,” Madigan told the committee.
Business friendly tax breaks tied to an extension of the income tax rates, or possibly just the individual income tax rate, would serve several political purposes. They could provide cover for Democrats who vote for a tax increase as part of an overall “tax reform” package. They could possibly be used to lure Republican votes on the income tax extension. More likely, Republican “no” votes on business friendly concepts could be used for negative campaign advertising and mailers before the November general election.
But Rep. David Harris says that he believes that the business tax plan will be separate from an income tax vote. He says that he thinks that the package would address such issues, as the franchise tax, incorporation fees and tax credits for manufacturers when the buy equipment. “I think it will be separate from the tax rate bill,” he said. Harris said that if it is tied to extending income tax rates, he does not think any Republicans would vote for it. “I think if it’s a business related package, they’re going to want some Republicans on the package,” Harris says. “I don’t consider an extension of the income tax [to be] tax reform.” He said that any business tax tweaks would likely be revenue neutral. So if some tax cuts are made larger or some taxes eliminated, other tax breaks may be scrapped or reduced. Some would call it closing tax loopholes. Harris, however, would not call it that. “Let’s not call them loopholes. Let’s call them, perhaps, exemptions or credits that we now give that may no longer be beneficial or helpful, or they don’t achieve the public policy that we initially intended them to achieve.”
Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, said that he thinks that the work on a business tax package is a mix of policy and politics. “I think it’s a combination of both. I think there’s some legitimate changes being made.” Denzler said that he has not seen a plan yet. “We’ll just see how things play out. We’ll have to look at a final package. ... I think that there can be some positives for the business community.” But he said that coupling an extension of the tax rates with some tax sweeteners for businesses would fall short of being a game-changing move when it comes to the state’s fiscal policy. “Ultimately, we think we need comprehensive tax reform. Making the income tax increase permanent and adding a few tax incentives is a little bit more of a Band-Aid quite frankly to the whole problem that Illinois faces.”
A few more tax issues could also end up in the mix. In his budget address, Quinn called for property tax relief and an incremental doubling of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Both of these options could be used to soften the blow of a tax rate extension and potentially pull some reluctant votes on to it. Under Quinn’s plan, homeowners would lose their current property tax credit and it would be replaced with a flat $500 refund for each owner occupied property. Quinn’s budget office estimates that such tax relief would cost $1.3 billion annually. The current credit costs about $600 million. While some homeowners currently get a tax credit that is larger than $500, Quinn’s staff said that 92 percent homeowners would be better off under his proposal. Quinn’s plan would also increase the EITC from 10 percent of the federal credit to 20 percent at a rate of 2.5 percentage points per year. The increase would cost more than $200 million annually once it reaches 20 percent. At the time of the address, Quinn and his staff were aggressively packaging his pitch to make the tax increase permanent as a reform of the state’s tax system. His proposal also included a five-year budget “blueprint” that calls for spending caps, a rainy day fund and cutting the state’s bill payment cycle down to 30 days.
When all else fails, pork spending—I mean, local construction projects—may also be an option to get votes on a tax rate extension. Democrats acknowledged today that they are also working on a capital construction bill. Quinn has been calling for a capital bill because the current plan, which was the first in 10 years, is about to run out. While Statehouse observers are always (justifiably) skeptical of the way that capital projects appear to be leveraged for votes, nobody can deny that work on Illinois roads and bridges is necessary and that many state facilities are in dire need of maintenance. What the funding stream for a capital bill would be is unclear at this point. Republicans warned today that it could come with more taxation. “There may be additional taxes out there to accommodate some of our other unmet needs,” said Hinckley Republican Rep. Robert Pritchard.
Madigan told reporters this morning that he is working the roll call for an extension of the tax rates. He said that he is not trying to strong-arm lawmakers. “We’re not in the business of issuing threats. ...We don’t engage in tactics like that. We try to work with people, persuade people, cajole people,” Madigan said. “We talk in terms of their view of where the sate should be, what the state should be doing for its citizens.” Madigan said.
When asked how many voted he still needed, he said that he was not to the point of knowing exactly how many members he still needs to persuade. While Senate President John Cullerton has predicted that session could adjourn early this year, Madigan indicated today that might not be the case. “There’s two and a half weeks left in the session. And we’ll be here. We’ll be on our job,” he said.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
House committee approves funding for Obama's presidential library, again
By Caitlin Rydinsky
A House committee today once again approved $100 million in capital funding for President Barack Obama’s future presidential library and museum after questions were raised ethics surrounding a previous vote.
The proposal passed at a hearing earlier this month with a 9 to 0 vote, with no Republicans present. The Democratic chairman of the committee used a procedural move to have a vote without the full committee present. After the details came to light, Republicans demanded another vote on House Bill 6010, which is sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Today the bill was approved with no Republican support. Republicans questioned using state funding for the presidential library when the construction of previous libraries was funded by private donations. For example, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum raised $200 million in private funds and the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum raised $250 million through private donations. “I’m just curious about what precedence this sets,” said Rep. Joe Sosnowski, a Republican from Rockford. He said that the state should wait to see how much private funding would be received before pledging a specific amount.
“This is a big building. It would be located in the state of Illinois. It would be an international tourist attraction and would be named after the son of Illinois, who became president ... of the United States,” said Madigan. “We are all here to support this. We did it for Abraham Lincoln here in Springfield. We can do it for Barack Obama in Chicago.”
The Obama Presidential Library opened up competition between states to bid and seek the library. Geographic touchstones from the president’s life, such Chicago, where he lived with his family before moving to Washington, D.C., Hawaii, where he was born, and New York, where he attended Columbia University, are considered top contenders. Universities in Chicago, such as the University of Illinois Chicago, University of Chicago and Chicago State University, are all interested in housing the library.
Madigan did not have an estimate of the potential revenue that would be generated by the library, but he said it would be an educational opportunity for children and bring national and international tourism to the state. Estimates from the city of Chicago indicate that the library could bring 55 million visitors by 2020. The projections are based on attendance at the Lincoln presidential library.
Madigan said the funding for an Obama library is no different than the $120 million in state funds offered for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Republicans argued that it is not a fair comparison because the Lincoln Library is run by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, where all other presidential libraries fall under the National Archives and Records of Administration.
When asked if the money for the library would take away from other projects already appropriated with capital funding, Madigan said, “If I were a Republican, I would say new growth, but I am not a Republican, so I would have an open mind.” Madigan said he plans to work with both chambers in to gain votes to have the legislation pass and is “prepared to work to find money.”
A House committee today once again approved $100 million in capital funding for President Barack Obama’s future presidential library and museum after questions were raised ethics surrounding a previous vote.
The proposal passed at a hearing earlier this month with a 9 to 0 vote, with no Republicans present. The Democratic chairman of the committee used a procedural move to have a vote without the full committee present. After the details came to light, Republicans demanded another vote on House Bill 6010, which is sponsored by House Speaker Michael Madigan.
Today the bill was approved with no Republican support. Republicans questioned using state funding for the presidential library when the construction of previous libraries was funded by private donations. For example, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum raised $200 million in private funds and the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum raised $250 million through private donations. “I’m just curious about what precedence this sets,” said Rep. Joe Sosnowski, a Republican from Rockford. He said that the state should wait to see how much private funding would be received before pledging a specific amount.
“This is a big building. It would be located in the state of Illinois. It would be an international tourist attraction and would be named after the son of Illinois, who became president ... of the United States,” said Madigan. “We are all here to support this. We did it for Abraham Lincoln here in Springfield. We can do it for Barack Obama in Chicago.”
The Obama Presidential Library opened up competition between states to bid and seek the library. Geographic touchstones from the president’s life, such Chicago, where he lived with his family before moving to Washington, D.C., Hawaii, where he was born, and New York, where he attended Columbia University, are considered top contenders. Universities in Chicago, such as the University of Illinois Chicago, University of Chicago and Chicago State University, are all interested in housing the library.
Madigan did not have an estimate of the potential revenue that would be generated by the library, but he said it would be an educational opportunity for children and bring national and international tourism to the state. Estimates from the city of Chicago indicate that the library could bring 55 million visitors by 2020. The projections are based on attendance at the Lincoln presidential library.
Madigan said the funding for an Obama library is no different than the $120 million in state funds offered for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Republicans argued that it is not a fair comparison because the Lincoln Library is run by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, where all other presidential libraries fall under the National Archives and Records of Administration.
When asked if the money for the library would take away from other projects already appropriated with capital funding, Madigan said, “If I were a Republican, I would say new growth, but I am not a Republican, so I would have an open mind.” Madigan said he plans to work with both chambers in to gain votes to have the legislation pass and is “prepared to work to find money.”
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Quinn looks to lawmakers for new capital plan
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn said today that he plans ask legislators to provide ideas for a new state capital construction plan.
Quinn said that he intends to ask the four legislative leaders to put together a special committee that would try to tackle the capital issue. He said he envisions a group of about 10 people. He said that the committee would operate much like the conference committee, which helped to break a stalemate on pension reform last year. The current five-year capital plan, which was approved in 2009, is nearing an end. The plan is funded through revenues generated by video poker machines in bars, truck stops and restaurants throughout the state and various increased fees and taxes. A new plan would likely require new revenues. “It is important to realize that the funding from the five-year [capital] plan that we adopted is, through this year, very strong, but in the future we’ve got to enhance it,” Quinn said in Springfield today.
Quinn would not point to any potential funding sources today. “We’ll engage with them very quickly,” he said of the committee. “There’s a lot of ideas. I think we need to explore each and every one.” But he said that he would not back any proposal to increase the tax on gasoline. “I think that’s a depleting resource. I think that using the gas tax to fund our future would not be a wise idea. I’m not for that.” At this point, the governor is not pushing for a bill to be approved by the end of the spring session. A member of his staff said lawmakers would likely be working on the issue throughout the year. However, the governor does want something in place to avoid a gap between the current capital bill and the next.
Quinn’s comments came at a news conference to unveil the Illinois Department of Transportation’s annual six-year plan. The $8.6 billion construction plan is focused on maintenance of the state’s existing infrastructure. IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider said that almost three-fourths of the spending would go toward maintenance. “This is a fiscally responsible program. We are not putting something out that the Department of Transportation and the state of Illinois cannot afford,” she said. The plan will be funded with almost $7 billion in federal money and $1.16 billion in existing state funds. The rest of the money will come from local sources and the last of the funds allocated for roads and bridges in the existing capital plan, dubbed Illinois Jobs Now! by Quinn. Go to IDOT’s website for a partial list of the projects covered by the six-year plan.
Gov. Pat Quinn said today that he plans ask legislators to provide ideas for a new state capital construction plan.
Quinn said that he intends to ask the four legislative leaders to put together a special committee that would try to tackle the capital issue. He said he envisions a group of about 10 people. He said that the committee would operate much like the conference committee, which helped to break a stalemate on pension reform last year. The current five-year capital plan, which was approved in 2009, is nearing an end. The plan is funded through revenues generated by video poker machines in bars, truck stops and restaurants throughout the state and various increased fees and taxes. A new plan would likely require new revenues. “It is important to realize that the funding from the five-year [capital] plan that we adopted is, through this year, very strong, but in the future we’ve got to enhance it,” Quinn said in Springfield today.
Quinn would not point to any potential funding sources today. “We’ll engage with them very quickly,” he said of the committee. “There’s a lot of ideas. I think we need to explore each and every one.” But he said that he would not back any proposal to increase the tax on gasoline. “I think that’s a depleting resource. I think that using the gas tax to fund our future would not be a wise idea. I’m not for that.” At this point, the governor is not pushing for a bill to be approved by the end of the spring session. A member of his staff said lawmakers would likely be working on the issue throughout the year. However, the governor does want something in place to avoid a gap between the current capital bill and the next.
Quinn’s comments came at a news conference to unveil the Illinois Department of Transportation’s annual six-year plan. The $8.6 billion construction plan is focused on maintenance of the state’s existing infrastructure. IDOT Secretary Ann Schneider said that almost three-fourths of the spending would go toward maintenance. “This is a fiscally responsible program. We are not putting something out that the Department of Transportation and the state of Illinois cannot afford,” she said. The plan will be funded with almost $7 billion in federal money and $1.16 billion in existing state funds. The rest of the money will come from local sources and the last of the funds allocated for roads and bridges in the existing capital plan, dubbed Illinois Jobs Now! by Quinn. Go to IDOT’s website for a partial list of the projects covered by the six-year plan.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Quinn says he will freeze funds for Capitol renovation
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn said today that he is cutting off the funding for any future renovation to the state Capitol building.
Quinn told reporters in Chicago that he wants the spending decisions on the renovations reviewed. This comes in the wake extensive media coverage of some of the pricier components in the revamp of the west wing of the building, including copper-plated doors that came with a $670,000 price tag. “The bottom line is, I instructed our budget director to hold up the appropriation for any further renovation work on the state Capitol,” Quinn said today. “There’s some things there that needed to be done — life and safety issues, removing asbestos, making sure that it’s accessible to people who needed an opportunity to come to the Capitol. But the bottom line is, I’ve said right from the start that this was excessive. We don’t need to have the palace of Versailles at our state Capitol.” Quinn said he had no control over the spending decisions made as part of the renovation. However, he did sign off on $250 million for Statehouse renovations as part of the capital construction bill that lawmakers approved in 2009. Quinn touts that plan as one of the major accomplishments during his time in office.
A commission appointed by the legislative leaders oversees the nuts and bolts of the renovation. Quinn laid the blame at the feet of Capitol Architect Richard Alsop III, saying he needs to be “reined by the legislative commission that he reports to.” Alsop did not respond to a request for comment. The west wing renovation, which cost $50 million, is all but completed. The plan was to move on to the north wing of the building next, but Quinn said that he does not plan to make money for that available until the work that has already been completed can be assessed.
As public outrage over the shiny doors at the west entrance of the building has grown, many lawmakers have rushed to denounce the spending. Former Gov. Jim Thompson has been one of the few vocal supporters of the renovation in recent weeks. “Where were they supposed to buy the doors and maidens [statues] and chandeliers?” he asked in an interview with Chicago magazine. “Walmart, Lowe’s?” He noted that the money is part of the capital budget and cannot be spent on other needs, such as education and human services. Thompson said the Statehouse is the most important building in the state and that the attention of leaders would be better focused on pension reform.
Still, many — including Quinn’s political opponents — say they find the expense tough to swallow at a time when the state has been slashing human services and education spending and is billions of dollars behind on its payments to vendors. “Under Governor Quinn, thousands of teachers have been laid off, health care has been cut, yet he somehow approves over $1 million for fancy chandeliers and doors and wastes $5 million a day failing to fix the pension mess,” Bill Daley, Quinn’s challenger in the Democratic primary for governor, said in a prepared statement. Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kirk Dillard called for an audit of the renovation project. “In light of published reports that $700,000 was spent on three pairs of Capitol doors, and nearly $500,000 was spent on four chandeliers and two sculptures, we need to find out whether there's any more excessive spending and try to stop it,” he said in a prepared statement. Dillard voted in favor of the funding for the renovation in 2009 when the capital bill passed.
Dave Blanchette, a spokesman for Quinn and a former spokesman for the Capitol Development Board, said that because the architect only reports to a panel appointed by the legislative leaders on such decisions, there were no red flags to alert Quinn to some of the more extravagant spending choices. “There’s very little that can sound alarm bells about something like this.” He said Quinn has not yet commented on how he might have preferred to see the funds used, only saying that he did not agree with the “excessive flourishes.” He added that not all the money had to spent on the renovation. Blanchette, who has also served as the deputy director of the Abraham Presidential Library and Museum, said the library and museum saved some of its budgeted funds for any contingencies that might pop up after the project was finished. He said the money came in handy when the climate control system did not function properly and had to be replaced.
Gov. Pat Quinn said today that he is cutting off the funding for any future renovation to the state Capitol building.
Quinn told reporters in Chicago that he wants the spending decisions on the renovations reviewed. This comes in the wake extensive media coverage of some of the pricier components in the revamp of the west wing of the building, including copper-plated doors that came with a $670,000 price tag. “The bottom line is, I instructed our budget director to hold up the appropriation for any further renovation work on the state Capitol,” Quinn said today. “There’s some things there that needed to be done — life and safety issues, removing asbestos, making sure that it’s accessible to people who needed an opportunity to come to the Capitol. But the bottom line is, I’ve said right from the start that this was excessive. We don’t need to have the palace of Versailles at our state Capitol.” Quinn said he had no control over the spending decisions made as part of the renovation. However, he did sign off on $250 million for Statehouse renovations as part of the capital construction bill that lawmakers approved in 2009. Quinn touts that plan as one of the major accomplishments during his time in office.
A commission appointed by the legislative leaders oversees the nuts and bolts of the renovation. Quinn laid the blame at the feet of Capitol Architect Richard Alsop III, saying he needs to be “reined by the legislative commission that he reports to.” Alsop did not respond to a request for comment. The west wing renovation, which cost $50 million, is all but completed. The plan was to move on to the north wing of the building next, but Quinn said that he does not plan to make money for that available until the work that has already been completed can be assessed.
As public outrage over the shiny doors at the west entrance of the building has grown, many lawmakers have rushed to denounce the spending. Former Gov. Jim Thompson has been one of the few vocal supporters of the renovation in recent weeks. “Where were they supposed to buy the doors and maidens [statues] and chandeliers?” he asked in an interview with Chicago magazine. “Walmart, Lowe’s?” He noted that the money is part of the capital budget and cannot be spent on other needs, such as education and human services. Thompson said the Statehouse is the most important building in the state and that the attention of leaders would be better focused on pension reform.
Still, many — including Quinn’s political opponents — say they find the expense tough to swallow at a time when the state has been slashing human services and education spending and is billions of dollars behind on its payments to vendors. “Under Governor Quinn, thousands of teachers have been laid off, health care has been cut, yet he somehow approves over $1 million for fancy chandeliers and doors and wastes $5 million a day failing to fix the pension mess,” Bill Daley, Quinn’s challenger in the Democratic primary for governor, said in a prepared statement. Republican gubernatorial hopeful Kirk Dillard called for an audit of the renovation project. “In light of published reports that $700,000 was spent on three pairs of Capitol doors, and nearly $500,000 was spent on four chandeliers and two sculptures, we need to find out whether there's any more excessive spending and try to stop it,” he said in a prepared statement. Dillard voted in favor of the funding for the renovation in 2009 when the capital bill passed.
Dave Blanchette, a spokesman for Quinn and a former spokesman for the Capitol Development Board, said that because the architect only reports to a panel appointed by the legislative leaders on such decisions, there were no red flags to alert Quinn to some of the more extravagant spending choices. “There’s very little that can sound alarm bells about something like this.” He said Quinn has not yet commented on how he might have preferred to see the funds used, only saying that he did not agree with the “excessive flourishes.” He added that not all the money had to spent on the renovation. Blanchette, who has also served as the deputy director of the Abraham Presidential Library and Museum, said the library and museum saved some of its budgeted funds for any contingencies that might pop up after the project was finished. He said the money came in handy when the climate control system did not function properly and had to be replaced.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Final state budget bills sent to governor
By Meredith Colias and Jamey Dunn
The Illinois Senate today approved the last two budget bills that the House sent over. Republicans echoed the same compliant they have had about the other pieces of the budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which was crafted by Democrats from both chambers.
House Bill 214 is general services spending, the General Assembly’s budget and the constitutional officers' budgets. HB 215 is public safety and transportation spending, Illinois Department of Corrections budget, capital construction spending for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' budget. “It’s a responsible budget. We live within our means; we fund key programs; we’re paying down our bills,” said Park Ridge Democratic Sen. Dan Kotowski.
Sen. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, called the budget incomplete because it does not contain funds earmarked to pay back wages owed to state workers. “There’s a $140 million hole in this budget out of the gate,” he said.
“We’ll have to come back in the fall for a supplemental” spending bill to cover the back pay,” said Lake Barrington Republican Sen. Dan Duffy. “We should stay down here as long as we have to — all night and all summer if we have to — to come up with a balanced budget to pay down our bills.”
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 2555 and SB 2556, which contain the funding for K-12 and higher education, passed the House on the final day of the spring session and now go to the governor. K-12 education funding has been cut severely since 2009, and Homewood Democratic Rep. William Davis said that he was pleased that unexpected tax revenues allowed general state aid to be held flat for the next fiscal year because the state has an obligation to fund education. “We have to put our money where our mouths are,” said Davis, who chairs the House education budgeting committee.
Even though the K-12 education budget for Fiscal Year 2014 includes more than $6.6 billion in funding, school districts will still have to make due with an 89 percent proration for general state aid and a 64 percent proration for transportation. Funding for bilingual education and early childhood education will remain flat. Republicans criticized smaller parts of the more than $1.9 billion higher education budget, such as $600,000 for a Quad Cities manufacturing center at Western Illinois University. “If you are going to vote for this budget, I get it. But I am not going to support a budget that is a sham,” Macomb Republican Rep. Norine Hammond said.
The dismal state of funding for universities has forced many to delay maintenance, institute hiring freezes and look for other ways to supplement their budgets, including raising tuition. Rep. Chad Hays, a Republican from Catlin, said he is concerned that tuition increases are pricing Illinois schools out of range for average people. “Public education is getting elbowed off the table,” Hays said. “We are pricing the average family out of the higher education arena. The state can't be everything to everyone. We have to figure out where our priorities are.”
The Illinois Senate today approved the last two budget bills that the House sent over. Republicans echoed the same compliant they have had about the other pieces of the budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which was crafted by Democrats from both chambers.
House Bill 214 is general services spending, the General Assembly’s budget and the constitutional officers' budgets. HB 215 is public safety and transportation spending, Illinois Department of Corrections budget, capital construction spending for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' budget. “It’s a responsible budget. We live within our means; we fund key programs; we’re paying down our bills,” said Park Ridge Democratic Sen. Dan Kotowski.
Sen. Chapin Rose, a Mahomet Republican, called the budget incomplete because it does not contain funds earmarked to pay back wages owed to state workers. “There’s a $140 million hole in this budget out of the gate,” he said.
“We’ll have to come back in the fall for a supplemental” spending bill to cover the back pay,” said Lake Barrington Republican Sen. Dan Duffy. “We should stay down here as long as we have to — all night and all summer if we have to — to come up with a balanced budget to pay down our bills.”
Meanwhile, Senate Bill 2555 and SB 2556, which contain the funding for K-12 and higher education, passed the House on the final day of the spring session and now go to the governor. K-12 education funding has been cut severely since 2009, and Homewood Democratic Rep. William Davis said that he was pleased that unexpected tax revenues allowed general state aid to be held flat for the next fiscal year because the state has an obligation to fund education. “We have to put our money where our mouths are,” said Davis, who chairs the House education budgeting committee.
Even though the K-12 education budget for Fiscal Year 2014 includes more than $6.6 billion in funding, school districts will still have to make due with an 89 percent proration for general state aid and a 64 percent proration for transportation. Funding for bilingual education and early childhood education will remain flat. Republicans criticized smaller parts of the more than $1.9 billion higher education budget, such as $600,000 for a Quad Cities manufacturing center at Western Illinois University. “If you are going to vote for this budget, I get it. But I am not going to support a budget that is a sham,” Macomb Republican Rep. Norine Hammond said.
The dismal state of funding for universities has forced many to delay maintenance, institute hiring freezes and look for other ways to supplement their budgets, including raising tuition. Rep. Chad Hays, a Republican from Catlin, said he is concerned that tuition increases are pricing Illinois schools out of range for average people. “Public education is getting elbowed off the table,” Hays said. “We are pricing the average family out of the higher education arena. The state can't be everything to everyone. We have to figure out where our priorities are.”
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Quinn looks to lawmakers for construction borrowing
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing lawmakers to approve more borrowing for capital construction projects before the legislative session is scheduled to end next month.
Quinn hopes to roll out a $12.62 billion capital construction program over the next six years. “We’ve got to make sure we invest in these important assets that we have. We have major railroads criss-crossing Illinois, major highways, and we also have local roads that are very very important to our commerce and to the people of Illinois to get to school, to shop, to go on vacation. We want to make sure we have a 21st century transportation program,” Quinn said. Projects include revamping the Circle Interchange in Chicago, repairs to I-74 in eastern Illinois and two new bridges over the Mississippi River — one from East St. Louis to St. Louis and one to connect the Illinois Quad Cities with Iowa. The proposal also calls for construction on the Illiana Expressway connecting northern Illinois and northern Indiana. The plan would also make upgrades to mass transit across the state and includes projects to help unsnarl congested freight traffic.
According to IDOT, $9.5 billion would be spent on highways over the next six years. More than 70 percent of that would go toward maintenance work on existing infrastructure “That’s important because our system is aging. We built the system in the late '50s early '60s for the most part. Some of it’s even older than that,” said Anne Schneider, secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Schneider said more than $2 billion would be spent next fiscal year under the plan.
While some of the projects will be administered on a pay-as-you-go basis, Quinn also needs the General Assembly to sign off on some borrowing. For the plan to move forward, legislators must authorize $2.7 billion in bonding. Quinn is looking for lawmakers to approve borrowing for projects associated with the capital plan known as Illinois Jobs Now, which was originally approved in 2009, but he also wants to add new projects. “We need to get the legislature to approve the final segment of our Illinois Jobs Now program that covers our transportation,” Quinn said. It would be the last round of borrowing associated with the capital bill, but Quinn said he would like to see more construction in the future. “I’ve talked to our legislature leaders and I think they understand how important it is that we complete that. But we also, I think, need to have a debate between now and the end of May about more capital, more investment in capital, more opportunity to issue bonds to continue the program. We’d like to have more financing so that we can do this program and more like it.”
But Quinn cautioned that lawmakers should first approve changes to the state’s pension systems to try to address the more than $90 billion unfunded liability. “Pension reform is paramount. This is the issue that we must address and resolve between now and May 31, and we can,” he said. “I think we can get this done and done in a way that resolves it so that we can address ... gaming or more capital in order to build more jobs. Those are things that need to be done as well. But we’ve got to do pensions first.”
Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing lawmakers to approve more borrowing for capital construction projects before the legislative session is scheduled to end next month.
Quinn hopes to roll out a $12.62 billion capital construction program over the next six years. “We’ve got to make sure we invest in these important assets that we have. We have major railroads criss-crossing Illinois, major highways, and we also have local roads that are very very important to our commerce and to the people of Illinois to get to school, to shop, to go on vacation. We want to make sure we have a 21st century transportation program,” Quinn said. Projects include revamping the Circle Interchange in Chicago, repairs to I-74 in eastern Illinois and two new bridges over the Mississippi River — one from East St. Louis to St. Louis and one to connect the Illinois Quad Cities with Iowa. The proposal also calls for construction on the Illiana Expressway connecting northern Illinois and northern Indiana. The plan would also make upgrades to mass transit across the state and includes projects to help unsnarl congested freight traffic.
According to IDOT, $9.5 billion would be spent on highways over the next six years. More than 70 percent of that would go toward maintenance work on existing infrastructure “That’s important because our system is aging. We built the system in the late '50s early '60s for the most part. Some of it’s even older than that,” said Anne Schneider, secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Schneider said more than $2 billion would be spent next fiscal year under the plan.
While some of the projects will be administered on a pay-as-you-go basis, Quinn also needs the General Assembly to sign off on some borrowing. For the plan to move forward, legislators must authorize $2.7 billion in bonding. Quinn is looking for lawmakers to approve borrowing for projects associated with the capital plan known as Illinois Jobs Now, which was originally approved in 2009, but he also wants to add new projects. “We need to get the legislature to approve the final segment of our Illinois Jobs Now program that covers our transportation,” Quinn said. It would be the last round of borrowing associated with the capital bill, but Quinn said he would like to see more construction in the future. “I’ve talked to our legislature leaders and I think they understand how important it is that we complete that. But we also, I think, need to have a debate between now and the end of May about more capital, more investment in capital, more opportunity to issue bonds to continue the program. We’d like to have more financing so that we can do this program and more like it.”
But Quinn cautioned that lawmakers should first approve changes to the state’s pension systems to try to address the more than $90 billion unfunded liability. “Pension reform is paramount. This is the issue that we must address and resolve between now and May 31, and we can,” he said. “I think we can get this done and done in a way that resolves it so that we can address ... gaming or more capital in order to build more jobs. Those are things that need to be done as well. But we’ve got to do pensions first.”
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Audits find mistakes in awarding lottery and video poker contracts
By Jamey Dunn
Two audits released today found problems with the way state government awarded contracts associated with two pivotal funding sources for the state's embattled capital construction plan.
An audit of the Illinois Department of Revenue took issue with the process used to choose Northstar Group as the new manager of the Illinois lottery. Northstar Group represents gaming vendors that have previously contracted with Illinois — Rhode-Island-based GTECH Corp. and New-York-based Scientific Games Inc., along with marketing partner Chicago-based Energy BBDO. Lawmakers approved a turnover of lottery management to a private firm as part of the capital bill with the hopes that a company could bring in greater profits for the state. The two other bidding finalists, Intralot S.A. and The Camelot Group, protested the state’s choice of Northstar, claiming the process was unfair. The state denied both protests.
Auditor General William Holland’s report found that some of the scores from members of the evaluation team were not certified by the department and some were not officially submitted until after the state had publicly announced its choice of Northstar as the manager.
However, Sue Hofer, spokesperson for the Department of Revenue, said the department had electronic copies of the evaluation team’s scores before a choice was made, and these copies were used to make a decision. “They provided their assessment twice, once electronically and once in a signed affidavit that said they had no conflict of interest,” she said. Hofer said the scores were valid whether submitted electronically or on paper, and the department provided Holland with the electronic copies of the scores.
But the auditor disagreed that the scores came in on time, whatever the delivery method. “The department’s response appears to want it both ways. They say auditors relied on the hard-copy evaluations, which we note were not timely. This is factual. Then the department wants us to utilize emails, which we also considered. However, as we note in the finding, these too showed the electronic submissions were not timely. The only constant was that all the discrepancies noted in the finding are from department documentation, whether hard copy or electronic,” the report said.
The audit also found that Oliver Wyman, a contracted consulting firm that helped the department with the bidding process, started work before it signed a contract with the state. Wyman sought and collected the names of firms interested on managing the lottery before the firm had a state contract. The audit also found that once Wyman was under contract, the firm failed to meet some of its deadlines, potentially shorting those considering bids time for a review process. “Failure to meet deliverable deadlines may have contributed to state evaluators having less than one week to evaluate the Request For Proposal responses in Step 1 of the process, a process that eventually would turn over a $2 billion state asset for private management,” the audit said.
“Those people were on a contract where they would get paid for product delivered. They were not getting paid by the hour,” Hofer said. “They started several days before the contract was officially signed, and that was at their own risk.”
Holland found that Kroll, a subcontractor hired by Wyman to provide investigative and consulting services as well as ensure that the bidding process was fair and open, had previous connections with Northstar. The report said two members of Scientific Games’ board of directors were previously Kroll board members and that a former incarnation of Scientific Games retained Kroll’s services in 2002. However the audit notes that the relationships ended three years prior to the work Kroll did on the lottery contract, so Wyman was not required to disclose them. The report also said Kroll was “very qualified” to do the work it was contracted for, and the auditor general’s office found no problems with reports submitted by Wyman and Kroll.
Overall, Holland’s report said: “The department should protect state interests and not allow vendors to work without an executed contract in place. Additionally, the department should enforce contract milestones or amend the contract to reflect updated priorities and time frames. Further, the department should ensure that all subcontractors disclose any relationships that may, even if only in appearance, impair the integrity of the procurement process.”
An audit of the Illinois Gaming Board also shed light on what went wrong with the bidding process for a central computer system needed to implement legalized video poker in bars and restaurants throughout the state. The revenue from video gaming is supposed to pay off borrowing for the state’s construction plan.
The board awarded the contract to Scientific Games, one of the companies in the Northstar Group, only to rescind the deal after it was found that the board had done its math wrong. “Lack of review for the scoring of pricing in the evaluation process of the Central Communications System (CCS) procurement resulted in the award to a vendor that was not the highest ranked,” the audit said. The report says only “one set of eyes” reviewed the pricing information that companies submitted with their bids. The audit also found that the board got different information from bidders, so it was not comparing apples to apples when it came to cost estimates, and it never followed up with the bidders to get like information. The board employee whose one set of eyes reviewed the cost estimates told auditors that the board was under pressure to make a choice, and any holdups would be “‘frowned upon.’”
Gene O’Shea, spokesperson for the gaming board, said that any pressure felt by the board or its employees is self-imposed. “There is no person or outside agency that is exerting any kind of pressure on the gaming board to get things done before they should be done.”
He added: “There’s just a lot of work to be done and few people to do it. … There’s people that are on the staff here that are working a tremendous amount of overtime to get the job done.”
The board has scrapped the original bid for the computer system and is in the process of a new bid.
The implementation of legal video poker in some bars and restaurants in the state has been put on hold until the Illinois Supreme Court rules on a constitutional challenge to the capital plan. However, state agencies are continuing work on the issue in anticipation of a positive verdict or the approval of a new plan by the legislature.
Two audits released today found problems with the way state government awarded contracts associated with two pivotal funding sources for the state's embattled capital construction plan.
An audit of the Illinois Department of Revenue took issue with the process used to choose Northstar Group as the new manager of the Illinois lottery. Northstar Group represents gaming vendors that have previously contracted with Illinois — Rhode-Island-based GTECH Corp. and New-York-based Scientific Games Inc., along with marketing partner Chicago-based Energy BBDO. Lawmakers approved a turnover of lottery management to a private firm as part of the capital bill with the hopes that a company could bring in greater profits for the state. The two other bidding finalists, Intralot S.A. and The Camelot Group, protested the state’s choice of Northstar, claiming the process was unfair. The state denied both protests.
Auditor General William Holland’s report found that some of the scores from members of the evaluation team were not certified by the department and some were not officially submitted until after the state had publicly announced its choice of Northstar as the manager.
However, Sue Hofer, spokesperson for the Department of Revenue, said the department had electronic copies of the evaluation team’s scores before a choice was made, and these copies were used to make a decision. “They provided their assessment twice, once electronically and once in a signed affidavit that said they had no conflict of interest,” she said. Hofer said the scores were valid whether submitted electronically or on paper, and the department provided Holland with the electronic copies of the scores.
But the auditor disagreed that the scores came in on time, whatever the delivery method. “The department’s response appears to want it both ways. They say auditors relied on the hard-copy evaluations, which we note were not timely. This is factual. Then the department wants us to utilize emails, which we also considered. However, as we note in the finding, these too showed the electronic submissions were not timely. The only constant was that all the discrepancies noted in the finding are from department documentation, whether hard copy or electronic,” the report said.
The audit also found that Oliver Wyman, a contracted consulting firm that helped the department with the bidding process, started work before it signed a contract with the state. Wyman sought and collected the names of firms interested on managing the lottery before the firm had a state contract. The audit also found that once Wyman was under contract, the firm failed to meet some of its deadlines, potentially shorting those considering bids time for a review process. “Failure to meet deliverable deadlines may have contributed to state evaluators having less than one week to evaluate the Request For Proposal responses in Step 1 of the process, a process that eventually would turn over a $2 billion state asset for private management,” the audit said.
“Those people were on a contract where they would get paid for product delivered. They were not getting paid by the hour,” Hofer said. “They started several days before the contract was officially signed, and that was at their own risk.”
Holland found that Kroll, a subcontractor hired by Wyman to provide investigative and consulting services as well as ensure that the bidding process was fair and open, had previous connections with Northstar. The report said two members of Scientific Games’ board of directors were previously Kroll board members and that a former incarnation of Scientific Games retained Kroll’s services in 2002. However the audit notes that the relationships ended three years prior to the work Kroll did on the lottery contract, so Wyman was not required to disclose them. The report also said Kroll was “very qualified” to do the work it was contracted for, and the auditor general’s office found no problems with reports submitted by Wyman and Kroll.
Overall, Holland’s report said: “The department should protect state interests and not allow vendors to work without an executed contract in place. Additionally, the department should enforce contract milestones or amend the contract to reflect updated priorities and time frames. Further, the department should ensure that all subcontractors disclose any relationships that may, even if only in appearance, impair the integrity of the procurement process.”
An audit of the Illinois Gaming Board also shed light on what went wrong with the bidding process for a central computer system needed to implement legalized video poker in bars and restaurants throughout the state. The revenue from video gaming is supposed to pay off borrowing for the state’s construction plan.
The board awarded the contract to Scientific Games, one of the companies in the Northstar Group, only to rescind the deal after it was found that the board had done its math wrong. “Lack of review for the scoring of pricing in the evaluation process of the Central Communications System (CCS) procurement resulted in the award to a vendor that was not the highest ranked,” the audit said. The report says only “one set of eyes” reviewed the pricing information that companies submitted with their bids. The audit also found that the board got different information from bidders, so it was not comparing apples to apples when it came to cost estimates, and it never followed up with the bidders to get like information. The board employee whose one set of eyes reviewed the cost estimates told auditors that the board was under pressure to make a choice, and any holdups would be “‘frowned upon.’”
Gene O’Shea, spokesperson for the gaming board, said that any pressure felt by the board or its employees is self-imposed. “There is no person or outside agency that is exerting any kind of pressure on the gaming board to get things done before they should be done.”
He added: “There’s just a lot of work to be done and few people to do it. … There’s people that are on the staff here that are working a tremendous amount of overtime to get the job done.”
The board has scrapped the original bid for the computer system and is in the process of a new bid.
The implementation of legal video poker in some bars and restaurants in the state has been put on hold until the Illinois Supreme Court rules on a constitutional challenge to the capital plan. However, state agencies are continuing work on the issue in anticipation of a positive verdict or the approval of a new plan by the legislature.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Construction funds approved as lawmakers end one-day session
By Jamey Dunn
Illinois lawmakers voted today to ensure that construction projects continue as planned throughout the state, but one legislative leader says budget work is not complete.
Senate Bill 2414, (House Amendment 2), which contains the construction spending, passed through both chambers in a matter of hours and was clearly the priority of the one-day summer session. Senate Democrats agreed to back off the $430 million of spending for education and human services that they tacked on to the capital funding, causing gridlock over its approval. But Senate President John Cullerton said that debate on the budget isn’t over.
“There’s a number of problems with the House budget that the House is aware of, that we’re aware of, where there are under-appropriations of things that need to be appropriated,” Cullerton said. He said the House approved less money in areas such as state aid for schools and Medicaid without making other needed tweaks such as rate changes. So the state will keep doling out the money as if the cuts have not been made, and the funds will not last all fiscal year, he believes. “What will happen is, they’ll get paid the same amount of money that they would normally get paid because the formula didn’t get changed. And then sometime late in the fiscal year … they would then run out of money,” Cullerton said.
He said the Senate would likely consider additional funding in the fall veto session, or more likely in January, when Democrats could approve it with a simple majority and no Republican votes. “We’ll have half a year of income, and we’ll see what the income is. And see how much of the old bills we’ve paid down to make an evaluation then as to what we should do.”
Gov. Pat Quinn called on lawmakers to approve the spending for construction without any additional operational funding. Quinn has said he supports more spending on education and human services but said that he did not want to jeopardize the job-creating capital construction bill. “The General Assembly took action today to keep the state’s biggest economic recovery program going, ensuring that thousands of workers stay on the job. Today’s session was about jobs and capital, and I thank the legislative leaders and members of the General Assembly for passing a 12-month capital appropriations bill, as I had asked of them,” Quinn said in a prepared statement. “A capital construction program was one of the first priorities of my administration, and it is a key component of my plan to bring jobs and economic recovery to Illinois. The plan is Illinois’ first capital program in more than a decade, and it is expected to create more than 439,000 jobs over six years.”
House Minority Leader Tom Cross said the House budget does not need fixing. “What I’ve heard about over the last few weeks is — from a variety of angles — that our budget in the House either didn’t spend enough, didn’t cut enough, cut too much [and] was not a good budget.”
He said a bipartisan effort in his chamber produced a budget that accounts for making the state’s pension payments, does not spend more than the state will bring in next fiscal year and will probably result in extra revenue that can be used to pay some of the state’s overdue bills. “It’s a pretty good budget. Is it a perfect budget? No. Is it a budget that could have had more reforms? Yes. Perhaps more cuts? Yes. But it’s a very good starting point,” Cross said on the House floor. “If we continue down this road in the years to come, we can climb out of this hole. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s going to continue to require us to work together.”
Cross took a swipe at his Republican counterparts in the Senate, many of whom have said the approved budget does not have enough cuts. He joined the chorus of Senate Democrats who have chided the Republicans in that chamber for refusing to draft their proposed cuts into legislation. “I would invite them to belly up to the bar and in real bill form put their cuts on the table. You can talk in theory all you want. You can make suggestions, you can have menus, but when it comes down to the real deal and sitting at the table and making cuts, this chamber did it. And it wasn’t easy.” He called on House members not to back away from their budget plan.
However, Palatine Republican Sen. Matt Murphy, a budget point man for his party in the Senate, disagrees. “The budget that they voted for and passed has issues. It isn’t a good budget. We had an alternative that we thought was a better budget, but that’s the budget that the majority chose to pass.”
Murphy said the House budget did not cut enough and that changes to areas such as the school funding formula needed to be made to avoid trouble down the road.
“If you’re serious about this tax increase being temporary, if you want to pay your bills without borrowing, you’re going to have to cut spending significantly. You’re going to have to reform programs like the Senate president’s talking about — from pensions to Medicaid, educational formulas all down the line — no sacred cows. There has been an insufficient willingness and appetite to do that. And until we do, you’re going to have budget problems,” Murphy said. He said one good that came of today’s session was a plan to divert money from the state’s “rainy day” fund to be used to make Medicaid payments and capture up to $100 million in federal matching funds. Once the money comes in from the feds, the “rainy day” dollars will go back into the fund.
“It didn’t involve the selling of any bonds or taking on more state and taxpayer debt,” Murphy said. “It confirms once again that we didn’t need to borrow nearly $9 billion to get the federal match.” Quinn had pitched several borrowing plans that would help the state get federal matching dollars. Murphy is referring to what Quinn calls a debt-restructuring plan to pay down all of the state’s backlog of overdue bills, not just Medicaid bills.
Then Senate also approved a plan today to extend reductions to the per diem payments lawmakers get for session days, as well as a cut to their travel reimbursement rates. If Quinn signs the bill, lawmakers would have to take 12 furlough days next fiscal year and forgo a cost-of-living salary increase.
The Senate did not take a vote on Senate Bill 1556, which would exclude from union membership state workers who are managers or who do work that primarily deals with policy issues. Cullerton said there was not enough support to pass the bill and that some members think that certain parts of it may need rewriting. The Senate also failed to act on the appointments of Gary Chico, former head of Chicago Public Schools and Quinn’s choice to chair the Illinois State Board of Education, and former Canton Democratic Rep. Michael Smith’s appointment to the Educational Labor Relations Board. Senate Republicans said they want Chico to appear before the appointments committee, and they voiced concern over whether Smith met all the legal requirements for the job.
Illinois lawmakers voted today to ensure that construction projects continue as planned throughout the state, but one legislative leader says budget work is not complete.
Senate Bill 2414, (House Amendment 2), which contains the construction spending, passed through both chambers in a matter of hours and was clearly the priority of the one-day summer session. Senate Democrats agreed to back off the $430 million of spending for education and human services that they tacked on to the capital funding, causing gridlock over its approval. But Senate President John Cullerton said that debate on the budget isn’t over.
“There’s a number of problems with the House budget that the House is aware of, that we’re aware of, where there are under-appropriations of things that need to be appropriated,” Cullerton said. He said the House approved less money in areas such as state aid for schools and Medicaid without making other needed tweaks such as rate changes. So the state will keep doling out the money as if the cuts have not been made, and the funds will not last all fiscal year, he believes. “What will happen is, they’ll get paid the same amount of money that they would normally get paid because the formula didn’t get changed. And then sometime late in the fiscal year … they would then run out of money,” Cullerton said.
He said the Senate would likely consider additional funding in the fall veto session, or more likely in January, when Democrats could approve it with a simple majority and no Republican votes. “We’ll have half a year of income, and we’ll see what the income is. And see how much of the old bills we’ve paid down to make an evaluation then as to what we should do.”
Gov. Pat Quinn called on lawmakers to approve the spending for construction without any additional operational funding. Quinn has said he supports more spending on education and human services but said that he did not want to jeopardize the job-creating capital construction bill. “The General Assembly took action today to keep the state’s biggest economic recovery program going, ensuring that thousands of workers stay on the job. Today’s session was about jobs and capital, and I thank the legislative leaders and members of the General Assembly for passing a 12-month capital appropriations bill, as I had asked of them,” Quinn said in a prepared statement. “A capital construction program was one of the first priorities of my administration, and it is a key component of my plan to bring jobs and economic recovery to Illinois. The plan is Illinois’ first capital program in more than a decade, and it is expected to create more than 439,000 jobs over six years.”
House Minority Leader Tom Cross said the House budget does not need fixing. “What I’ve heard about over the last few weeks is — from a variety of angles — that our budget in the House either didn’t spend enough, didn’t cut enough, cut too much [and] was not a good budget.”
He said a bipartisan effort in his chamber produced a budget that accounts for making the state’s pension payments, does not spend more than the state will bring in next fiscal year and will probably result in extra revenue that can be used to pay some of the state’s overdue bills. “It’s a pretty good budget. Is it a perfect budget? No. Is it a budget that could have had more reforms? Yes. Perhaps more cuts? Yes. But it’s a very good starting point,” Cross said on the House floor. “If we continue down this road in the years to come, we can climb out of this hole. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it’s going to continue to require us to work together.”
Cross took a swipe at his Republican counterparts in the Senate, many of whom have said the approved budget does not have enough cuts. He joined the chorus of Senate Democrats who have chided the Republicans in that chamber for refusing to draft their proposed cuts into legislation. “I would invite them to belly up to the bar and in real bill form put their cuts on the table. You can talk in theory all you want. You can make suggestions, you can have menus, but when it comes down to the real deal and sitting at the table and making cuts, this chamber did it. And it wasn’t easy.” He called on House members not to back away from their budget plan.
However, Palatine Republican Sen. Matt Murphy, a budget point man for his party in the Senate, disagrees. “The budget that they voted for and passed has issues. It isn’t a good budget. We had an alternative that we thought was a better budget, but that’s the budget that the majority chose to pass.”
Murphy said the House budget did not cut enough and that changes to areas such as the school funding formula needed to be made to avoid trouble down the road.
“If you’re serious about this tax increase being temporary, if you want to pay your bills without borrowing, you’re going to have to cut spending significantly. You’re going to have to reform programs like the Senate president’s talking about — from pensions to Medicaid, educational formulas all down the line — no sacred cows. There has been an insufficient willingness and appetite to do that. And until we do, you’re going to have budget problems,” Murphy said. He said one good that came of today’s session was a plan to divert money from the state’s “rainy day” fund to be used to make Medicaid payments and capture up to $100 million in federal matching funds. Once the money comes in from the feds, the “rainy day” dollars will go back into the fund.
“It didn’t involve the selling of any bonds or taking on more state and taxpayer debt,” Murphy said. “It confirms once again that we didn’t need to borrow nearly $9 billion to get the federal match.” Quinn had pitched several borrowing plans that would help the state get federal matching dollars. Murphy is referring to what Quinn calls a debt-restructuring plan to pay down all of the state’s backlog of overdue bills, not just Medicaid bills.
Then Senate also approved a plan today to extend reductions to the per diem payments lawmakers get for session days, as well as a cut to their travel reimbursement rates. If Quinn signs the bill, lawmakers would have to take 12 furlough days next fiscal year and forgo a cost-of-living salary increase.
The Senate did not take a vote on Senate Bill 1556, which would exclude from union membership state workers who are managers or who do work that primarily deals with policy issues. Cullerton said there was not enough support to pass the bill and that some members think that certain parts of it may need rewriting. The Senate also failed to act on the appointments of Gary Chico, former head of Chicago Public Schools and Quinn’s choice to chair the Illinois State Board of Education, and former Canton Democratic Rep. Michael Smith’s appointment to the Educational Labor Relations Board. Senate Republicans said they want Chico to appear before the appointments committee, and they voiced concern over whether Smith met all the legal requirements for the job.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Lawmakers likely won't be back for long
By Jamey Dunn
As lawmakers return to the Statehouse tomorrow, approving funding for capital construction is the top priority but not the only issue up for consideration.
“The No. 1 thing that we have to do on Wednesday is make sure our building program in Illinois continues,” Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters this week.
Fiscal Year 2012 funding for the state’s capital construction plan became a bargaining chip after Senate Democrats attached about $430 million in spending to the bill in the closing days of the regular spring session in an attempt to push the House to tack more funding onto its approved budget. Once Senate Democrats realized they stood alone — after Quinn sided with Republicans in calling for a 12-month “clean” capital bill with no added appropriations — Senate President John Cullerton backed away from the added spending last week.
“We laid out what the realities are. We have to continue to build and construct important buildings and roads and bridges and water systems and rail systems in Illinois. … We can’t have any delays, and I think all the members of the legislature agree with that,” Quinn said at a Chicago news conference. “I look forward to being there on Wednesday in Springfield, and we’ll get the final reauthorization of this public works plan that puts people to work.”
Cullerton warned that the budget has “structural deficiencies” that will become evident as the fiscal year, which begins July 1, unfolds. Quinn said that while lawmakers are back in session, they will review budget options that could be revisited in the fall veto session. But after calling for about $1 billion more in spending than the House’s budget plan, Quinn now says that spending cannot exceed the chamber’s self-imposed cap. “I think that the amount of money, $33.2 billion, which [is] lot of money, that’s the limit. That’s all that the budget’s going to permit in this fiscal year. What we can do within that limit though, is make sure that we invest in education and health care, public safety, these are the core priorities.”
However, he has not said that he will sign off on the approved budget plan itself. He said that shifts in the budget might be needed to direct money toward priorities such as early childhood education and violence prevention programs.Quinn said he could use his line item or reduction veto to alter the budge,t but he would need the backing of three-fifths of the legislature to approve increased funding in any area. He added that any potential spending must be “within the limit.”
Quinn says all four legislative leaders have agreed to put votes on the construction spending tomorrow. Leadership in both chambers tentatively plan to hold session for one day. “We are confident that a capital bill will pass both chambers that will allow our state to continue with the historic construction bill we passed a couple of years ago. This action, with the governor’s signature, will keep tens of thousands of people working and at the same time improving our infrastructure,” Sara Wojcicki, spokesperson for House Minority Leader Tom Cross, said in a prepared statement.
“The capital bill’s the big issue [for Wednesday,]” said John Patterson, a spokesperson for Cullerton. Patterson said the Senate also plans to vote on a plan to forgo cost-of-living wage increases for legislators, as well continuing a previous reduction in the per diem costs they are paid for session days and travel costs. The House has already approved the bill, which also calls for lawmakers to take 12 furlough days next fiscal year.
The Senate Executive Appointments Committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning, and Quinn’s choice to chair the Illinois State Board of Education, Gary Chico, former head of Chicago Public Schools, is on the docket. Former Canton Democratic Rep. Michael Smith’s appointment to the Educational Labor Relations Board is also on the schedule.
Patterson said Senate Democrats would discuss Senate Bill 1556, which the House approved on the last day of regular scheduled session in May. The measure would bar state workers who primarily handle policy decisions or work as managers from joining a union.
Quinn’s administration is backing the controversial bill— a version of which passed in the House in January. The Senate did not vote on the legislation. “Our state has more [workers] belonging to a union than any other state in the union. I believe in the right to collectively bargain, but you also have to have some people in management,” Quinn said.
As lawmakers return to the Statehouse tomorrow, approving funding for capital construction is the top priority but not the only issue up for consideration.
“The No. 1 thing that we have to do on Wednesday is make sure our building program in Illinois continues,” Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters this week.
Fiscal Year 2012 funding for the state’s capital construction plan became a bargaining chip after Senate Democrats attached about $430 million in spending to the bill in the closing days of the regular spring session in an attempt to push the House to tack more funding onto its approved budget. Once Senate Democrats realized they stood alone — after Quinn sided with Republicans in calling for a 12-month “clean” capital bill with no added appropriations — Senate President John Cullerton backed away from the added spending last week.
“We laid out what the realities are. We have to continue to build and construct important buildings and roads and bridges and water systems and rail systems in Illinois. … We can’t have any delays, and I think all the members of the legislature agree with that,” Quinn said at a Chicago news conference. “I look forward to being there on Wednesday in Springfield, and we’ll get the final reauthorization of this public works plan that puts people to work.”
Cullerton warned that the budget has “structural deficiencies” that will become evident as the fiscal year, which begins July 1, unfolds. Quinn said that while lawmakers are back in session, they will review budget options that could be revisited in the fall veto session. But after calling for about $1 billion more in spending than the House’s budget plan, Quinn now says that spending cannot exceed the chamber’s self-imposed cap. “I think that the amount of money, $33.2 billion, which [is] lot of money, that’s the limit. That’s all that the budget’s going to permit in this fiscal year. What we can do within that limit though, is make sure that we invest in education and health care, public safety, these are the core priorities.”
However, he has not said that he will sign off on the approved budget plan itself. He said that shifts in the budget might be needed to direct money toward priorities such as early childhood education and violence prevention programs.Quinn said he could use his line item or reduction veto to alter the budge,t but he would need the backing of three-fifths of the legislature to approve increased funding in any area. He added that any potential spending must be “within the limit.”
Quinn says all four legislative leaders have agreed to put votes on the construction spending tomorrow. Leadership in both chambers tentatively plan to hold session for one day. “We are confident that a capital bill will pass both chambers that will allow our state to continue with the historic construction bill we passed a couple of years ago. This action, with the governor’s signature, will keep tens of thousands of people working and at the same time improving our infrastructure,” Sara Wojcicki, spokesperson for House Minority Leader Tom Cross, said in a prepared statement.
“The capital bill’s the big issue [for Wednesday,]” said John Patterson, a spokesperson for Cullerton. Patterson said the Senate also plans to vote on a plan to forgo cost-of-living wage increases for legislators, as well continuing a previous reduction in the per diem costs they are paid for session days and travel costs. The House has already approved the bill, which also calls for lawmakers to take 12 furlough days next fiscal year.
The Senate Executive Appointments Committee is scheduled to meet tomorrow morning, and Quinn’s choice to chair the Illinois State Board of Education, Gary Chico, former head of Chicago Public Schools, is on the docket. Former Canton Democratic Rep. Michael Smith’s appointment to the Educational Labor Relations Board is also on the schedule.
Patterson said Senate Democrats would discuss Senate Bill 1556, which the House approved on the last day of regular scheduled session in May. The measure would bar state workers who primarily handle policy decisions or work as managers from joining a union.
Quinn’s administration is backing the controversial bill— a version of which passed in the House in January. The Senate did not vote on the legislation. “Our state has more [workers] belonging to a union than any other state in the union. I believe in the right to collectively bargain, but you also have to have some people in management,” Quinn said.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Budget deal reached to keep construction going
By Jamey Dunn
Lawmakers have reached a deal in an impasse over spending that threatened to stall construction projects throughout Illinois.
Last month, in the closing days of the legislative session, the Senate approved the House’s budget proposal, which was based on a revenue estimate for Fiscal Year 2012 that was about $1 billion less than the Senate’s projection. However, Senate Democrats tacked on additional spending, primarily for human services and education, to the FY 2012 spending bill for the capital plan. The House did not vote on the bill, and Gov. Pat Quinn warned that lawmakers must approve the construction spending or projects could begin to shut down as early as tomorrow. Lawmakers are scheduled to hold legislative session to take up the issue next Wednesday. FY 2012 begins July 1.
Senate Democrats have backed off the extra funding for now. "The state's construction program should continue uninterrupted. The Senate intends to return to the Capitol on Wednesday to fully fund the construction program for the full 12-month period,” Senate President John Cullerton said in a prepared statement.
However, they maintain that the budget is incomplete and say something will have to be done down the road, presumable during the fall veto session. “There are still major structural deficiencies in the House budget that will become clear in the months ahead. I look forward to having the opportunity to address issues such as the underfunding of education and social service commitments,” Cullerton said.
While the $430 million in spending that some Senate Democrats want is not much when put up against the House’s overall $33.2 billion plan, those in human services and education say it would have gone a long way. Meanwhile, Republicans say no amount of money is worth tying up job-creating construction projects in a political battle and any more spending is irresponsible. “It’s unconscionable to put thousands of jobs and projects in jeopardy over a political issue,” said Patty Schuh, spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno. Quinn also called for lawmakers to approve a “clean” capital spending bill with no additional appropriations.
“It’s a very delicate balance I think that we have to achieve. Just like people do at home and at work, when you make a decision about what are the most priority items to fund when you are looking at difficult times,” said Park Ridge Democratic Sen. Dan Kotowski, who sponsored the additional spending. Kotowski said the spending would have restored aid to some of the most vulnerable residents of the state. He said that some of the cuts in the House budget could open the state up for legal challenges because it is required by law to fund certain programs. Adding that some of the House cuts “not only present us with legal problems federally, [they’re] also morally unconscionable.”
Don Moss, coordinator for the Illinois Human Services Coalition, broke down what was at stake for human services:
The bulk of the restoration, $212 million, would have gone to fully fund general state aid to K-12 schools, which is paid on a per pupil basis. “[The cut in the House budget] will have the greatest impact on the least wealthy districts as far as property tax base and districts that have the highest concentration on low-income students,” Larry Joseph, director of budget and tax policy initiative for Voices for Illinois Children, said of the potential cut. “It won’t be an impact that is spread evenly across school districts and among students.” He said if the House's cut is approved by Quinn as is, general state aid would be the lowest it has been since 2007. Joseph said the general state aid reduction has gotten the most attention. “But it’s not the only thing, and it’s important to understand that.”
He said if Quinn signs the approved budget, grants for early childhood education will be slashed by $17 million, leaving 4,000 children without preschool. He added that the grants have been cut in recent years, leaving an estimated 8,000 children without preschool. He cited a recent study commissioned by child advocacy groups Voices for Illinois Children and The Ounce of Prevention Fund, from the research arm of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit health and human services organization. The report concluded that investments in early childhood education are cost-effective and save the state spending in other areas, such as corrections and social services. “At the very time that this comes out that the investment is well worth it … we’re making these cuts in preschool. It doesn’t make sense," he said. The day after regular session adjourned, Quinn chastised lawmakers for cutting early childhood programs as well as MAP grants.
Joseph said some smaller programs, such as a new teacher mentoring program that would be eliminated, will join other less costly programs, such as summer offerings for struggling students, that have been eliminated in recent years. “These are relative small programs, but obviously, it has a big impact if you eliminate it because whatever it is it was doing it is not doing at all anymore.”
Joseph said while the additional spending may not seem like much compared with the entire budget, “for education and human services both, there’s a lot at stake.”
Schuh said when it comes to the budget, Republicans are willing to negotiate, but the capital bill should not come into play. Republicans backed a $5 billion to $6 billion spending cut from Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget plan to ensure that the recent income tax increase remains temporary, as it is written. The House budget represents a less than $3 billion reduction from the governor’s proposal. Senate Democrats have argued that shifts could be made to accommodate their requests without increasing the total spending for FY 2012.
However, Schuh called such plans “smokescreen” and said any additional funds that are found should go to pay down the state’s billions of dollars in late bills. Republican votes will be needed to approve any new legislation for the rest of this calendar year. It appears that on this issue, Republicans used their newfound leverage to get what they wanted. Before the Senate Democrats conceded today, Schuh said: “It’s simply not in the cards. It’s irresponsible. … We are absolutely dug in. It’s not going to happen.”
Lawmakers have reached a deal in an impasse over spending that threatened to stall construction projects throughout Illinois.
Last month, in the closing days of the legislative session, the Senate approved the House’s budget proposal, which was based on a revenue estimate for Fiscal Year 2012 that was about $1 billion less than the Senate’s projection. However, Senate Democrats tacked on additional spending, primarily for human services and education, to the FY 2012 spending bill for the capital plan. The House did not vote on the bill, and Gov. Pat Quinn warned that lawmakers must approve the construction spending or projects could begin to shut down as early as tomorrow. Lawmakers are scheduled to hold legislative session to take up the issue next Wednesday. FY 2012 begins July 1.
Senate Democrats have backed off the extra funding for now. "The state's construction program should continue uninterrupted. The Senate intends to return to the Capitol on Wednesday to fully fund the construction program for the full 12-month period,” Senate President John Cullerton said in a prepared statement.
However, they maintain that the budget is incomplete and say something will have to be done down the road, presumable during the fall veto session. “There are still major structural deficiencies in the House budget that will become clear in the months ahead. I look forward to having the opportunity to address issues such as the underfunding of education and social service commitments,” Cullerton said.
While the $430 million in spending that some Senate Democrats want is not much when put up against the House’s overall $33.2 billion plan, those in human services and education say it would have gone a long way. Meanwhile, Republicans say no amount of money is worth tying up job-creating construction projects in a political battle and any more spending is irresponsible. “It’s unconscionable to put thousands of jobs and projects in jeopardy over a political issue,” said Patty Schuh, spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno. Quinn also called for lawmakers to approve a “clean” capital spending bill with no additional appropriations.
“It’s a very delicate balance I think that we have to achieve. Just like people do at home and at work, when you make a decision about what are the most priority items to fund when you are looking at difficult times,” said Park Ridge Democratic Sen. Dan Kotowski, who sponsored the additional spending. Kotowski said the spending would have restored aid to some of the most vulnerable residents of the state. He said that some of the cuts in the House budget could open the state up for legal challenges because it is required by law to fund certain programs. Adding that some of the House cuts “not only present us with legal problems federally, [they’re] also morally unconscionable.”
Don Moss, coordinator for the Illinois Human Services Coalition, broke down what was at stake for human services:
- $1.2 million for epilepsy programs.
- $19.9 for state operated mental health facilities.
- $2.9 in grants for community care for mental health patients.
- $4.2 million for children’s mental health in-home care.
- $1.5 for addiction treatment.
The bulk of the restoration, $212 million, would have gone to fully fund general state aid to K-12 schools, which is paid on a per pupil basis. “[The cut in the House budget] will have the greatest impact on the least wealthy districts as far as property tax base and districts that have the highest concentration on low-income students,” Larry Joseph, director of budget and tax policy initiative for Voices for Illinois Children, said of the potential cut. “It won’t be an impact that is spread evenly across school districts and among students.” He said if the House's cut is approved by Quinn as is, general state aid would be the lowest it has been since 2007. Joseph said the general state aid reduction has gotten the most attention. “But it’s not the only thing, and it’s important to understand that.”
He said if Quinn signs the approved budget, grants for early childhood education will be slashed by $17 million, leaving 4,000 children without preschool. He added that the grants have been cut in recent years, leaving an estimated 8,000 children without preschool. He cited a recent study commissioned by child advocacy groups Voices for Illinois Children and The Ounce of Prevention Fund, from the research arm of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit health and human services organization. The report concluded that investments in early childhood education are cost-effective and save the state spending in other areas, such as corrections and social services. “At the very time that this comes out that the investment is well worth it … we’re making these cuts in preschool. It doesn’t make sense," he said. The day after regular session adjourned, Quinn chastised lawmakers for cutting early childhood programs as well as MAP grants.
Joseph said some smaller programs, such as a new teacher mentoring program that would be eliminated, will join other less costly programs, such as summer offerings for struggling students, that have been eliminated in recent years. “These are relative small programs, but obviously, it has a big impact if you eliminate it because whatever it is it was doing it is not doing at all anymore.”
Joseph said while the additional spending may not seem like much compared with the entire budget, “for education and human services both, there’s a lot at stake.”
Schuh said when it comes to the budget, Republicans are willing to negotiate, but the capital bill should not come into play. Republicans backed a $5 billion to $6 billion spending cut from Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget plan to ensure that the recent income tax increase remains temporary, as it is written. The House budget represents a less than $3 billion reduction from the governor’s proposal. Senate Democrats have argued that shifts could be made to accommodate their requests without increasing the total spending for FY 2012.
However, Schuh called such plans “smokescreen” and said any additional funds that are found should go to pay down the state’s billions of dollars in late bills. Republican votes will be needed to approve any new legislation for the rest of this calendar year. It appears that on this issue, Republicans used their newfound leverage to get what they wanted. Before the Senate Democrats conceded today, Schuh said: “It’s simply not in the cards. It’s irresponsible. … We are absolutely dug in. It’s not going to happen.”
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Plans for session, but no agreement
By Jamey Dunn
Illinois lawmakers will return to the Statehouse next week in hopes of hashing out a plan to keep the state’s capital construction projects rolling. However, some Democrats still want to see additional spending added to the budget approved last month.
Senate Democrats tacked on to the House's budget $430 million in spending, which would go primarily to fund social services and education, by tying it to the funding for construction projects for the next fiscal year. The House did not take up the Senate’s changes to the bill, and Gov. Pat Quinn warned that projects could start grinding to a halt as early as Friday if the funding is not approved.
Leaders of both legislative chambers agreed to call members back next Wednesday, so they say there will be no need to call a costlier special session. Lawmakers could also take up other legislation and would not be restricted by the special session requirement that they stick to the topic they were called back to address.
However, after a meeting today among the four legislative leaders and the governor, a compromise to address budget issues does not appear close at hand. “At this point [House] Speaker [Michael Madigan] remains willing and anxious to work cooperatively with the governor and the Senate,” said Steve Brown, Madigan's spokesman. “I don’t think there are any specifics from our side that have come out as a result of the meeting today.”
Park Ridge Democratic Sen. Dan Kotowski, who led one of the Senate’s two budgeting committees, said before today’s meeting that the leaders would discuss approving construction spending for six months with the understanding that other budget issues would be up for consideration when the capital spending ran out. Don Moss, coordinator for the Illinois Human Services Coalition, said he would support such a plan because he believes lawmakers will likely discover as they begin to see revenue come in next fiscal year that the House estimate the budget was based on was low. “My feeling is that the House underestimated the potential revenue for the new fiscal year,” Moss said. “Once these cuts go into place, it’s difficult to get them back, so whatever works.”
It appears that Senate President John Cullerton floated the idea, only to have it shot down. “The Senate president went into today's meeting with an alternative to address all the leaders' concerns and ensure that the construction program continues for the next six months. That option was rejected. He intends to consult with his members to find consensus on how Senate Democrats plan to proceed,” said John Patterson, a spokesman for Cullerton.
A Quinn spokeswoman told reporters after the meeting in Chicago that the governor wants lawmakers to approve a “clean” capital bill with no additonal spending. She said Quinn wants to address the budget again when lawmakers return for veto session in the fall. Quinn called the budget “incomplete” the day after lawmakers adjourned the spring session, saying education was not properly funded. A written statement issued by the governor’s office said: “In a meeting today with the legislative leaders, the governor pushed for a 12-month capital appropriations bill with no conditions. He emphasized that without agreement on a capital bill, we will lose 52,000 jobs and irreparably damage our economic recovery. The governor proposed to have a sincere conversation with the legislative leaders in the fall to discuss reallocation of funding within the $33.2 billion state budget, based on the Senate Democrats' priorities. The legislative leaders will present these proposals to their respective caucuses, and the governor has asked them to come to agreement before Friday.”
Kotowski said there are options to add in the $430 million in spending without breaking the House’s revenue estimates. One example he gave was Senate proposals, not yet approved by the House, that would cut government operations, such as the budgets for constitutional officers. He says the cuts would represent $74 million that could be spent elsewhere. “We could hit that number. … We could get the money that we need without increasing spending whatsoever,” Kotowski said. “I would hope to see more willingness on the House side to see more cuts … in order to fund these people who don’t have a voice in government.”
According to Larry Joseph, director of budget and tax policy initiative for Voices for Illinois Children, the budget implementation bill did not include $297 million in transfers from the General Revenue fund to other state funds that the House originally planned for. “That constitutes a spending cut,” he said.
Joseph added that the process of automatically transferring money to funds needs more transparency because some funds, such as the Local Government Distributive Fund — which will not see a reduction in the approved budget — do not have other revenue sources, but other funds get money elsewhere and may not need as much from the operating budget. “The whole area of statutory transfers is very murky,” Joseph said. “A lot of them are just never scrutinized. They’re on automatic pilot.”
Whatever lawmakers decide to do in the end, be it passing capital spending for six month or a year with no additional General Revenue Fund spending, restoring some amount of the proposed spending from Senate Democrats possibly by shifting around money to fund some of the costs, or another as-of yet-unforeseen solution, Republicans will have a seat at the table because the General Assembly has exceeded the May 31 deadline to pass the budget with a simple majority. Anything passed now will require a three-fifths majority and Republican votes in both chambers. Inquiries to both Republican leaders’ spokespersons for comment were not returned.
Illinois lawmakers will return to the Statehouse next week in hopes of hashing out a plan to keep the state’s capital construction projects rolling. However, some Democrats still want to see additional spending added to the budget approved last month.
Senate Democrats tacked on to the House's budget $430 million in spending, which would go primarily to fund social services and education, by tying it to the funding for construction projects for the next fiscal year. The House did not take up the Senate’s changes to the bill, and Gov. Pat Quinn warned that projects could start grinding to a halt as early as Friday if the funding is not approved.
Leaders of both legislative chambers agreed to call members back next Wednesday, so they say there will be no need to call a costlier special session. Lawmakers could also take up other legislation and would not be restricted by the special session requirement that they stick to the topic they were called back to address.
However, after a meeting today among the four legislative leaders and the governor, a compromise to address budget issues does not appear close at hand. “At this point [House] Speaker [Michael Madigan] remains willing and anxious to work cooperatively with the governor and the Senate,” said Steve Brown, Madigan's spokesman. “I don’t think there are any specifics from our side that have come out as a result of the meeting today.”
Park Ridge Democratic Sen. Dan Kotowski, who led one of the Senate’s two budgeting committees, said before today’s meeting that the leaders would discuss approving construction spending for six months with the understanding that other budget issues would be up for consideration when the capital spending ran out. Don Moss, coordinator for the Illinois Human Services Coalition, said he would support such a plan because he believes lawmakers will likely discover as they begin to see revenue come in next fiscal year that the House estimate the budget was based on was low. “My feeling is that the House underestimated the potential revenue for the new fiscal year,” Moss said. “Once these cuts go into place, it’s difficult to get them back, so whatever works.”
It appears that Senate President John Cullerton floated the idea, only to have it shot down. “The Senate president went into today's meeting with an alternative to address all the leaders' concerns and ensure that the construction program continues for the next six months. That option was rejected. He intends to consult with his members to find consensus on how Senate Democrats plan to proceed,” said John Patterson, a spokesman for Cullerton.
A Quinn spokeswoman told reporters after the meeting in Chicago that the governor wants lawmakers to approve a “clean” capital bill with no additonal spending. She said Quinn wants to address the budget again when lawmakers return for veto session in the fall. Quinn called the budget “incomplete” the day after lawmakers adjourned the spring session, saying education was not properly funded. A written statement issued by the governor’s office said: “In a meeting today with the legislative leaders, the governor pushed for a 12-month capital appropriations bill with no conditions. He emphasized that without agreement on a capital bill, we will lose 52,000 jobs and irreparably damage our economic recovery. The governor proposed to have a sincere conversation with the legislative leaders in the fall to discuss reallocation of funding within the $33.2 billion state budget, based on the Senate Democrats' priorities. The legislative leaders will present these proposals to their respective caucuses, and the governor has asked them to come to agreement before Friday.”
Kotowski said there are options to add in the $430 million in spending without breaking the House’s revenue estimates. One example he gave was Senate proposals, not yet approved by the House, that would cut government operations, such as the budgets for constitutional officers. He says the cuts would represent $74 million that could be spent elsewhere. “We could hit that number. … We could get the money that we need without increasing spending whatsoever,” Kotowski said. “I would hope to see more willingness on the House side to see more cuts … in order to fund these people who don’t have a voice in government.”
According to Larry Joseph, director of budget and tax policy initiative for Voices for Illinois Children, the budget implementation bill did not include $297 million in transfers from the General Revenue fund to other state funds that the House originally planned for. “That constitutes a spending cut,” he said.
Joseph added that the process of automatically transferring money to funds needs more transparency because some funds, such as the Local Government Distributive Fund — which will not see a reduction in the approved budget — do not have other revenue sources, but other funds get money elsewhere and may not need as much from the operating budget. “The whole area of statutory transfers is very murky,” Joseph said. “A lot of them are just never scrutinized. They’re on automatic pilot.”
Whatever lawmakers decide to do in the end, be it passing capital spending for six month or a year with no additional General Revenue Fund spending, restoring some amount of the proposed spending from Senate Democrats possibly by shifting around money to fund some of the costs, or another as-of yet-unforeseen solution, Republicans will have a seat at the table because the General Assembly has exceeded the May 31 deadline to pass the budget with a simple majority. Anything passed now will require a three-fifths majority and Republican votes in both chambers. Inquiries to both Republican leaders’ spokespersons for comment were not returned.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Quinn calls for special session to keep projects rolling
By Jamey Dunn
Calling for a special legislative session, Gov. Pat Quinn said today that lawmakers must approve spending for capital projects or construction could begin to shut down as early as next week.
“[The capital bill] was the largest investment in the history of Illinois in our roads, our highways, our bridges, our schools, our water systems, our rail systems, our broadband deployment. It was a huge public works agenda and project, and it’s the law of Illinois,” Quinn said as a Chicago news conference today. “Unfortunately the legislature went home last week without passing legislation to fund this year — this coming [fiscal] year beginning July 1 — the money necessary to pay for these projects.”
Lawmakers adjourned the regular legislative session last week without passing a bill that would approve the spending for construction projects for the next fiscal year. Senate Democrats tried to force a vote on about $430 million in spending that they wanted to tack onto the House’s budget proposal. Instead of voting on the measure, House Speaker Michael Madigan called for the creation of a conference committee, a group of members from both chambers and both parties tasked to hash out differences when the Senate and House cannot agree on a piece of legislation. Senate President John Cullerton did not follow suit, and the Senate wrapped up regular the spring session without putting its own members on a conference committee.
Now Quinn says lawmakers failed to get the job done, and he plans to meet with the four legislative leaders to “promptly” schedule a specially session to avoid what he called a “job crisis.” Quinn said that if the funding is not approved, he would have to start the process of shutting down construction projects on June 17. “This is something that has to be done. This is not a matter that’s optional. This is mandatory. These men [working on construction projects], they have to work. And they don’t want to be told on the 17th of this month that Springfield didn’t work for them and, ‘You’re off the job.’”
According to the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, a full shutdown would put 31,000 people out of work and cost the state about $30 million initially and $3 million a day for as long as work is called off.
Some House members say there is no need for the construction projects to be shut down so quickly. They maintain that an extension of the state’s lapse period, the time the state has after the close of the fiscal year to continue paying off bills from that fiscal year, would allow ongoing construction projects to continue. “We’ve sold bonds and the money is there. … The bond proceeds are there. The projects will continue,” Spring Valley Democratic Rep. Frank Mautino, a House Democratic budgeting point man, said on the last day of regular session.
He added that the extension of the lapse period from August through December would allow contractors on existing projects to continue submitting bills past the end of this fiscal year, and the state can continue paying for ongoing work. “So now, all those projects that are ongoing can just continue without a re-appropriation. … So we don’t need to do that bill.”
Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, echoed Mautino’s take on the issue. “The lapse period would allow the state to continue to pay bills and beyond that, we will continue to cooperate with the governor.” When asked if he thought lawmakers would return to the Statehouse next week, he repeated, “We’re cooperating with the governor.”
However, Kent Redfield, an emeritus political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, said that the House’s attempt to use lapse period spending to keep the capital projects going won’t fly. “You appropriate money for a certain period of time, and that’s the authorization to spend, and once that’s up that’s up. … You can’t engage in new spending after July 1 because it’s a new fiscal year, and you don’t have any statutory authority.”
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said she has asked her legal counsel to review the issue and determine how long she can continue to pay bills for capital projects. “My office will continue to pay state contractors for as long as legally possible, but ultimately, this question must be addressed by the General Assembly and governor. If that means calling an immediate special session, so be it. One thing is certain: Our families and businesses are already struggling and paying more than ever before to state government; they deserve better than to be subjected to a high-priced game of legislative chicken over the capital bill,” Topinka said in a written statement.
None of the legislative leaders would give specifics on when they might return for a special session. “It is our understanding that there is a bill in the Senate that would give the governor the authority to continue the capital program for the next fiscal year. We encourage the senators to pass that bill as soon as possible. Unfortunately, at the end of session last week, Senate Democrats tried to tack on an extra $400 million of extra spending, which was unacceptable in the House. We are always willing to discuss our options, but the clearest one at this point is for the Senate to pass [House Bill] 2189, without additional spending amendments, to the governor. This bill appropriates funds for the FY12 capital and road programs immediately. This important jobs creation bill should not be held hostage by additional requests for more spending in the budget,” Sarah Wojcicki, spokesperson for House Minority Leader Tom Cross, said in a written statement.
But Quinn today continued to back the Senate Democrats’ call for additional spending. “I think the General Assembly gets an incomplete when it comes to their budget. I don’t think they properly invested in important things like schools and other things that matter to everyday people.”
Redfield said, “[The issue at hand ] is obviously not the capital bill. It’s about the Senate Democrats and the governor wanting to appropriate additional dollars for education and human services.”
But adding more spending seems even less likely in a special session, when Republican votes would be needed to pass the appropriations for the capital bill. “They’ve already taken the tough votes. They’ve already voted to cut this stuff,” Redfield said.
He predicts there may be minor concessions on both sides, but that the dispute will instead likely be pushed off into the fall veto session, when there will likely be a clearer picture of how much money lawmakers have to work with. “This is a lot easier to play out in the fall, where you know where you are on gaming, and you know where you are in revenue.”
Quinn has yet to act on a large gaming package passed in the last days of the session that could potentially bring in billions of dollars in new revenue. While he supports a casino in Chicago, he has said that he thinks the bill, which calls for five new casinos and slots at horse racing tracks, may be too large of an expansion.
Quinn also lost a large potential bargaining chip when he signed off on the new legislative districts for state lawmakers last Friday. When asked about the move today, he told reporters, “This isn’t a matter to bargain.”
Redfield said the short time frame Quinn is giving could make it very hard for lawmakers to do more than pass a bill that extends capital spending into the fall and possibly take up the issue later. He said Quinn’s oft-repeated tactic of threatening to cut off a popular state program or service to spur the legislature to action does not have a track record of success. “That’s just a recipe for disaster. Either because you’re always kind of wimping out, or you’re going to blow something up with horrendous consequences because this time you’re really serious and nobody thinks you are.”
He added, “We’ve got a mess that they are going to have to clean up somehow.”
Calling for a special legislative session, Gov. Pat Quinn said today that lawmakers must approve spending for capital projects or construction could begin to shut down as early as next week.
“[The capital bill] was the largest investment in the history of Illinois in our roads, our highways, our bridges, our schools, our water systems, our rail systems, our broadband deployment. It was a huge public works agenda and project, and it’s the law of Illinois,” Quinn said as a Chicago news conference today. “Unfortunately the legislature went home last week without passing legislation to fund this year — this coming [fiscal] year beginning July 1 — the money necessary to pay for these projects.”
Lawmakers adjourned the regular legislative session last week without passing a bill that would approve the spending for construction projects for the next fiscal year. Senate Democrats tried to force a vote on about $430 million in spending that they wanted to tack onto the House’s budget proposal. Instead of voting on the measure, House Speaker Michael Madigan called for the creation of a conference committee, a group of members from both chambers and both parties tasked to hash out differences when the Senate and House cannot agree on a piece of legislation. Senate President John Cullerton did not follow suit, and the Senate wrapped up regular the spring session without putting its own members on a conference committee.
Now Quinn says lawmakers failed to get the job done, and he plans to meet with the four legislative leaders to “promptly” schedule a specially session to avoid what he called a “job crisis.” Quinn said that if the funding is not approved, he would have to start the process of shutting down construction projects on June 17. “This is something that has to be done. This is not a matter that’s optional. This is mandatory. These men [working on construction projects], they have to work. And they don’t want to be told on the 17th of this month that Springfield didn’t work for them and, ‘You’re off the job.’”
According to the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, a full shutdown would put 31,000 people out of work and cost the state about $30 million initially and $3 million a day for as long as work is called off.
Some House members say there is no need for the construction projects to be shut down so quickly. They maintain that an extension of the state’s lapse period, the time the state has after the close of the fiscal year to continue paying off bills from that fiscal year, would allow ongoing construction projects to continue. “We’ve sold bonds and the money is there. … The bond proceeds are there. The projects will continue,” Spring Valley Democratic Rep. Frank Mautino, a House Democratic budgeting point man, said on the last day of regular session.
He added that the extension of the lapse period from August through December would allow contractors on existing projects to continue submitting bills past the end of this fiscal year, and the state can continue paying for ongoing work. “So now, all those projects that are ongoing can just continue without a re-appropriation. … So we don’t need to do that bill.”
Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, echoed Mautino’s take on the issue. “The lapse period would allow the state to continue to pay bills and beyond that, we will continue to cooperate with the governor.” When asked if he thought lawmakers would return to the Statehouse next week, he repeated, “We’re cooperating with the governor.”
However, Kent Redfield, an emeritus political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, said that the House’s attempt to use lapse period spending to keep the capital projects going won’t fly. “You appropriate money for a certain period of time, and that’s the authorization to spend, and once that’s up that’s up. … You can’t engage in new spending after July 1 because it’s a new fiscal year, and you don’t have any statutory authority.”
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka said she has asked her legal counsel to review the issue and determine how long she can continue to pay bills for capital projects. “My office will continue to pay state contractors for as long as legally possible, but ultimately, this question must be addressed by the General Assembly and governor. If that means calling an immediate special session, so be it. One thing is certain: Our families and businesses are already struggling and paying more than ever before to state government; they deserve better than to be subjected to a high-priced game of legislative chicken over the capital bill,” Topinka said in a written statement.
None of the legislative leaders would give specifics on when they might return for a special session. “It is our understanding that there is a bill in the Senate that would give the governor the authority to continue the capital program for the next fiscal year. We encourage the senators to pass that bill as soon as possible. Unfortunately, at the end of session last week, Senate Democrats tried to tack on an extra $400 million of extra spending, which was unacceptable in the House. We are always willing to discuss our options, but the clearest one at this point is for the Senate to pass [House Bill] 2189, without additional spending amendments, to the governor. This bill appropriates funds for the FY12 capital and road programs immediately. This important jobs creation bill should not be held hostage by additional requests for more spending in the budget,” Sarah Wojcicki, spokesperson for House Minority Leader Tom Cross, said in a written statement.
But Quinn today continued to back the Senate Democrats’ call for additional spending. “I think the General Assembly gets an incomplete when it comes to their budget. I don’t think they properly invested in important things like schools and other things that matter to everyday people.”
Redfield said, “[The issue at hand ] is obviously not the capital bill. It’s about the Senate Democrats and the governor wanting to appropriate additional dollars for education and human services.”
But adding more spending seems even less likely in a special session, when Republican votes would be needed to pass the appropriations for the capital bill. “They’ve already taken the tough votes. They’ve already voted to cut this stuff,” Redfield said.
He predicts there may be minor concessions on both sides, but that the dispute will instead likely be pushed off into the fall veto session, when there will likely be a clearer picture of how much money lawmakers have to work with. “This is a lot easier to play out in the fall, where you know where you are on gaming, and you know where you are in revenue.”
Quinn has yet to act on a large gaming package passed in the last days of the session that could potentially bring in billions of dollars in new revenue. While he supports a casino in Chicago, he has said that he thinks the bill, which calls for five new casinos and slots at horse racing tracks, may be too large of an expansion.
Quinn also lost a large potential bargaining chip when he signed off on the new legislative districts for state lawmakers last Friday. When asked about the move today, he told reporters, “This isn’t a matter to bargain.”
Redfield said the short time frame Quinn is giving could make it very hard for lawmakers to do more than pass a bill that extends capital spending into the fall and possibly take up the issue later. He said Quinn’s oft-repeated tactic of threatening to cut off a popular state program or service to spur the legislature to action does not have a track record of success. “That’s just a recipe for disaster. Either because you’re always kind of wimping out, or you’re going to blow something up with horrendous consequences because this time you’re really serious and nobody thinks you are.”
He added, “We’ve got a mess that they are going to have to clean up somehow.”
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Lawmakers pass gaming expansion
By Lauren N. Johnson
Illinois may be getting five more casinos, and horse racing tracks in the state could soon begin installing slot machines under a proposal that lawmakers sent to the governor this evening.
Senate Bill 744 (amendments 1 through 7), sponsored by Democratic Sen. Terry Link of Waukegan and Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie, which passed with a narrow vote of 30-27 in the Senate, would allow new casinos in Chicago, Park City, Rockford, Danville and an unnamed south suburb of Chicago, along with video gaming at seven Illinois racetracks and additional gaming stations at existing casinos.
Private companies would own the five new casinos, with an exception for one in Chicago, which would be owned by the city of Chicago but operated by a private company. The Chicago casino would have 4,000 gaming positions, and the other four new casinos would start off with 1,600 gaming positions each.
“We need help for our horsemen, we need to help to save the industry of the horsemen, we need to help to save the racetracks. This legislation is going to do it,” Link yelled during floor debate in the Senate.
New and existing riverboats would be allowed to increase their gaming positions up to 1,600 and up to 2,000 after January 2013 and would also receive some tax breaks. If the legislation is signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, both sponsors hope the casinos will begin operating this year.
Link said the bill would raise at least $1.6 billion in “up-front” revenue from licensing fees, which would go toward tackling the state’s unpaid bills owed to vendors, service providers and schools. He said he expects additional tax revenues from the casinos to be $760 million to $1 billion annually for at least the next five years. “There may be a casino or a racino in one, or somebody’s area, but we all will benefit from it,” he said. Along with paying down overdue bills, the revenue would be spent on capital construction projects. Link said $32 million in initial revenue would be dedicated for foreclosure prevention, compulsive gambling programs, soil and water conservation, park districts, local and county fairs and agricultural interests downstate.
Although Link called the revenue estimates “conservative,” Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, called the $1.6 billion figure “unrealistic” and said that tax incentives for newer casinos could cause existing casinos to lose revenue. He said new casinos would cost the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin 28 percent to 35 percent of it current revenues. He said the casino made $428 million in profits in 2007, but they dropped to $275 million in 2010.
Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago said the proposed locations for the new casinos outside of Chicago are close enough to Illinois' borders that they will draw gamblers in from other states instead of taking profits from Illinois' existing casinos. “It will keep people from going to other states to gamble. And it will bring and attract people from other states into our state to do what people want to do,” Cullerton said.
Robert Molaro, a former Illinois House member and current lobbyist for the horse racing industry and specifically the Hawthorne Racecourse in Cicero, said, “The tax breaks…will allow our existing river boats to market where they may not be able to market.” He said with additional revenue, riverboats would be able to gain and manage up to 2,000 positions. “The revenue estimates are definitely there,” Molaro said.
Members of the horse racing industry say that casino owners and operators need tax incentives to afford additional gaming positions at their establishments. “The owners of these boats are the ones taking the risks,” Molaro said.
Anita Bedell, executive director of Illinois Action Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems, said increased gaming positions and casinos would increase addiction among Illinois residents. “Anytime you open it up and you make gambling more available and you make it more acceptable, then people who would not ordinarily go to those casinos will.”
In the past week, Quinn said he would not sign legislation that he found to be “top-heavy.” “We can’t have a top-heavy proposal in Illinois on gambling that’s going to make us the Las Vegas of the Midwest. …Gambling sounds good if you say it fast. There are a lot of proposals out there that when you look at them, you wonder how much money indeed they are going to raise.”
However, today, the last day of the spring legislative session, a spokesperson for the governor said Quinn, who also previously opposed slot machines at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, remains open to proposals that could raise revenue, create jobs and protect funding for education.
Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang, who sponsored the bill in the House, said he does not think he will have to personally lobby Quinn to sign the bill. “Thousands of people are going to be faxing, and emailing, and calling to tell him it’s the right thing to do, and he ought to sign this bill. I am certain the mayor of the city of Chicago, [Rahm Emanuel,] will be calling.”
Illinois may be getting five more casinos, and horse racing tracks in the state could soon begin installing slot machines under a proposal that lawmakers sent to the governor this evening.
Senate Bill 744 (amendments 1 through 7), sponsored by Democratic Sen. Terry Link of Waukegan and Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie, which passed with a narrow vote of 30-27 in the Senate, would allow new casinos in Chicago, Park City, Rockford, Danville and an unnamed south suburb of Chicago, along with video gaming at seven Illinois racetracks and additional gaming stations at existing casinos.
Private companies would own the five new casinos, with an exception for one in Chicago, which would be owned by the city of Chicago but operated by a private company. The Chicago casino would have 4,000 gaming positions, and the other four new casinos would start off with 1,600 gaming positions each.
“We need help for our horsemen, we need to help to save the industry of the horsemen, we need to help to save the racetracks. This legislation is going to do it,” Link yelled during floor debate in the Senate.
New and existing riverboats would be allowed to increase their gaming positions up to 1,600 and up to 2,000 after January 2013 and would also receive some tax breaks. If the legislation is signed by Gov. Pat Quinn, both sponsors hope the casinos will begin operating this year.
Link said the bill would raise at least $1.6 billion in “up-front” revenue from licensing fees, which would go toward tackling the state’s unpaid bills owed to vendors, service providers and schools. He said he expects additional tax revenues from the casinos to be $760 million to $1 billion annually for at least the next five years. “There may be a casino or a racino in one, or somebody’s area, but we all will benefit from it,” he said. Along with paying down overdue bills, the revenue would be spent on capital construction projects. Link said $32 million in initial revenue would be dedicated for foreclosure prevention, compulsive gambling programs, soil and water conservation, park districts, local and county fairs and agricultural interests downstate.
Although Link called the revenue estimates “conservative,” Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, called the $1.6 billion figure “unrealistic” and said that tax incentives for newer casinos could cause existing casinos to lose revenue. He said new casinos would cost the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin 28 percent to 35 percent of it current revenues. He said the casino made $428 million in profits in 2007, but they dropped to $275 million in 2010.
Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago said the proposed locations for the new casinos outside of Chicago are close enough to Illinois' borders that they will draw gamblers in from other states instead of taking profits from Illinois' existing casinos. “It will keep people from going to other states to gamble. And it will bring and attract people from other states into our state to do what people want to do,” Cullerton said.
Robert Molaro, a former Illinois House member and current lobbyist for the horse racing industry and specifically the Hawthorne Racecourse in Cicero, said, “The tax breaks…will allow our existing river boats to market where they may not be able to market.” He said with additional revenue, riverboats would be able to gain and manage up to 2,000 positions. “The revenue estimates are definitely there,” Molaro said.
Members of the horse racing industry say that casino owners and operators need tax incentives to afford additional gaming positions at their establishments. “The owners of these boats are the ones taking the risks,” Molaro said.
Anita Bedell, executive director of Illinois Action Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems, said increased gaming positions and casinos would increase addiction among Illinois residents. “Anytime you open it up and you make gambling more available and you make it more acceptable, then people who would not ordinarily go to those casinos will.”
In the past week, Quinn said he would not sign legislation that he found to be “top-heavy.” “We can’t have a top-heavy proposal in Illinois on gambling that’s going to make us the Las Vegas of the Midwest. …Gambling sounds good if you say it fast. There are a lot of proposals out there that when you look at them, you wonder how much money indeed they are going to raise.”
However, today, the last day of the spring legislative session, a spokesperson for the governor said Quinn, who also previously opposed slot machines at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, remains open to proposals that could raise revenue, create jobs and protect funding for education.
Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang, who sponsored the bill in the House, said he does not think he will have to personally lobby Quinn to sign the bill. “Thousands of people are going to be faxing, and emailing, and calling to tell him it’s the right thing to do, and he ought to sign this bill. I am certain the mayor of the city of Chicago, [Rahm Emanuel,] will be calling.”
Monday, May 30, 2011
Budget headed to Quinn
By Jamey Dunn
Senate Democrats approved the House’s budget proposal today along with a plan to try to push House members to tack additional spending onto the budget bills they have already approved.
The House budget plan that the Senate sent to Gov. Pat Quinn today would cut about $2 billion from the governor's proposed spending levels, according to one of its sponsors, Sen. Dan Kotowski.
However, the Senate also approved $431 million in additional state spending that now awaits a vote in the other chamber. House Bill 2189 (Senate Amendment 1) would restore some education cuts the House made by directing an additional $212 million to the State Board of Education. Kotowski said the bulk of the money, about $151 million, would go to general state aid for K-12 schools, which would be reduced by about 4 percent under the House’s proposal. Kotowski said schools would also see some funding restored for a program to reduce class size and for free and reduced-cost lunches for children. Money also would go back to intervention programs for failing schools. The Houses plan already restored Quinn’s controversial cuts to transportation funding for schools.
The Senate proposal would also funnel some money to human services and Monetary Award Program grants, which Kotowski said the state has already promised many college students. He said the human service programs that would see some funding restored have been proven effective or are vital to the state. Those programs include: addiction treatment and prevention services; meal delivery programs for the elderly; programs to address homelessness; and after school programs. He also said some money had to be returned to implement court-ordered actions. “We’re putting items back in that are truly essential,” said Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat. “We’re going to have a balanced budget. It’s going to be fiscally stable, but it’s also going to take care of core services.”
In a strategic move to try to pull House support onto the increased spending, the “restorations” are included in the same bill that lawmakers must approve to continue spending for capital construction projects next fiscal year.
Republicans accused Senate Democrats of holding the construction projects — which are often popular with voters and create jobs throughout the state — hostage to get more spending passed.
“The one thing you did about jobs in the last five years is the capital bill, and you’re jeopardizing funding going forward on that because you can’t say no to more spending,” said Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican. He added that the spending levels in the Senate Democrats’ plan would lead to lawmakers voting to make temporary income tax increase permanent in the future.
“Capital [construction] is just as important as addressing the fundamental needs of people when it comes to education and health care and human services.” Kotowski said. “What’s the point of building a building if people can’t go in there and get education? … There is no point.”
So far, Quinn is being coy about whether he will approve the plan. He could also choose to make further cuts with his veto pen. “We continue to review the budget bills passed by the House and Senate. Our focus remains on enacting the most complete and well-planned budget for everyone in our state. We look forward to continued work with the General Assembly to address the serious challenges of stabilizing our budget and creating jobs. The governor has been clear since he proposed the budget in February that while we put our fiscal house in order, we must continue to protect core priorities that will benefit the state now and in the future,” Kelly Kraft, spokesperson for Quinn’s budgeting office, said in a written statement.
One plan that some lawmakers hoped would find the state substantial savings in the future is off the table for now. House leaders announced today that a proposal to reduce pension benefits for current state employees needs more work and will not come up for a vote before the fall veto session.
“We are absolutely committed to reforming Illinois’ public pension system for current employees. It must be done to stabilize our systems and address long-term financial issues for both the public employee pension systems and state government. We believe passage of legislation addressing this issue is essential to the state’s well being. … We will convene meetings over the summer to address the issues and concerns that have been raised and work toward a solution in this year’s Fall Veto Session,” said a joint statement issued by House Minority Leader Tom Cross, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Tyrone Fahner, president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, which created the plan on which Cross’ proposal was based.
The House budget bills that the Senate approved are:
Senate Democrats approved the House’s budget proposal today along with a plan to try to push House members to tack additional spending onto the budget bills they have already approved.
The House budget plan that the Senate sent to Gov. Pat Quinn today would cut about $2 billion from the governor's proposed spending levels, according to one of its sponsors, Sen. Dan Kotowski.
However, the Senate also approved $431 million in additional state spending that now awaits a vote in the other chamber. House Bill 2189 (Senate Amendment 1) would restore some education cuts the House made by directing an additional $212 million to the State Board of Education. Kotowski said the bulk of the money, about $151 million, would go to general state aid for K-12 schools, which would be reduced by about 4 percent under the House’s proposal. Kotowski said schools would also see some funding restored for a program to reduce class size and for free and reduced-cost lunches for children. Money also would go back to intervention programs for failing schools. The Houses plan already restored Quinn’s controversial cuts to transportation funding for schools.
The Senate proposal would also funnel some money to human services and Monetary Award Program grants, which Kotowski said the state has already promised many college students. He said the human service programs that would see some funding restored have been proven effective or are vital to the state. Those programs include: addiction treatment and prevention services; meal delivery programs for the elderly; programs to address homelessness; and after school programs. He also said some money had to be returned to implement court-ordered actions. “We’re putting items back in that are truly essential,” said Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat. “We’re going to have a balanced budget. It’s going to be fiscally stable, but it’s also going to take care of core services.”
In a strategic move to try to pull House support onto the increased spending, the “restorations” are included in the same bill that lawmakers must approve to continue spending for capital construction projects next fiscal year.
Republicans accused Senate Democrats of holding the construction projects — which are often popular with voters and create jobs throughout the state — hostage to get more spending passed.
“The one thing you did about jobs in the last five years is the capital bill, and you’re jeopardizing funding going forward on that because you can’t say no to more spending,” said Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican. He added that the spending levels in the Senate Democrats’ plan would lead to lawmakers voting to make temporary income tax increase permanent in the future.
“Capital [construction] is just as important as addressing the fundamental needs of people when it comes to education and health care and human services.” Kotowski said. “What’s the point of building a building if people can’t go in there and get education? … There is no point.”
So far, Quinn is being coy about whether he will approve the plan. He could also choose to make further cuts with his veto pen. “We continue to review the budget bills passed by the House and Senate. Our focus remains on enacting the most complete and well-planned budget for everyone in our state. We look forward to continued work with the General Assembly to address the serious challenges of stabilizing our budget and creating jobs. The governor has been clear since he proposed the budget in February that while we put our fiscal house in order, we must continue to protect core priorities that will benefit the state now and in the future,” Kelly Kraft, spokesperson for Quinn’s budgeting office, said in a written statement.
One plan that some lawmakers hoped would find the state substantial savings in the future is off the table for now. House leaders announced today that a proposal to reduce pension benefits for current state employees needs more work and will not come up for a vote before the fall veto session.
“We are absolutely committed to reforming Illinois’ public pension system for current employees. It must be done to stabilize our systems and address long-term financial issues for both the public employee pension systems and state government. We believe passage of legislation addressing this issue is essential to the state’s well being. … We will convene meetings over the summer to address the issues and concerns that have been raised and work toward a solution in this year’s Fall Veto Session,” said a joint statement issued by House Minority Leader Tom Cross, House Speaker Michael Madigan and Tyrone Fahner, president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, which created the plan on which Cross’ proposal was based.
The House budget bills that the Senate approved are:
Thursday, April 07, 2011
IDOT unveils fix-it road plan
By Jamey Dunn
The Illinois Department of Transportation’s six-year construction plan focuses on maintenance and repair of the state’s existing bridges and roads.
According to IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig, two-thirds of the $11.5 billion “fix-it” plan will be spent on maintaining the state’s existing roads and bridges. The other third will be spent on relieving traffic congestion and new projects. “We will deal with congestion. We will deal with safety concerns. We will also work to preserve and maintain the existing highway footprint,” Hannig said at a Chicago news conference.
The state plans to improve 3,248 miles between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2017 and revamp or replace 611 bridges. Almost 500 miles of road and more than 100 bridges will see construction in the next fiscal year. According to Hannig, Illinois has already worked on about 4,800 miles of road and about 500 bridges in the last two years.
Federal dollars will fund $7.2 billion of the plan, with Illinois putting up the rest of the money. Illinois' part willl include $2 billion from the state's embattled capital construction program, which was ruled unconstitutional by an appellate court. The state is moving ahead with construction while the Illinois Supreme Court considers the future of the program. Hannig said he was not concerned about the funding. “We’re moving forward with the program full speed ahead. It’s our belief that the court will rule in our favor.”
Hannig said IDOT took a conservative approach when estimating future federal funding levels by assuming that they would stay flat.
The plan will stick to the traditional spending levels of 45 percent going toward the Chicago area and 55 percent being spent downstate. A total of $8.3 billion will be spent on state highways, and $3.2 billion will be spent on local roads. “These major projects that have been on the drawing board, sometimes for years and years, we finally have a chance to get them done statewide—city, suburbs downstate, every part of Illinois,” Quinn said.
The road work is expected to create an estimated 155,000 construction jobs.
Quinn also said Illinois has received the “go ahead” to build an airport in the south suburb of Peotone, a project called for in the capital plan. He said the state has started buying land for the site.
IDOT has posted the six-year plan to its website, along with an interactive map.
The Illinois Department of Transportation’s six-year construction plan focuses on maintenance and repair of the state’s existing bridges and roads.
According to IDOT Secretary Gary Hannig, two-thirds of the $11.5 billion “fix-it” plan will be spent on maintaining the state’s existing roads and bridges. The other third will be spent on relieving traffic congestion and new projects. “We will deal with congestion. We will deal with safety concerns. We will also work to preserve and maintain the existing highway footprint,” Hannig said at a Chicago news conference.
The state plans to improve 3,248 miles between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2017 and revamp or replace 611 bridges. Almost 500 miles of road and more than 100 bridges will see construction in the next fiscal year. According to Hannig, Illinois has already worked on about 4,800 miles of road and about 500 bridges in the last two years.
Federal dollars will fund $7.2 billion of the plan, with Illinois putting up the rest of the money. Illinois' part willl include $2 billion from the state's embattled capital construction program, which was ruled unconstitutional by an appellate court. The state is moving ahead with construction while the Illinois Supreme Court considers the future of the program. Hannig said he was not concerned about the funding. “We’re moving forward with the program full speed ahead. It’s our belief that the court will rule in our favor.”
Hannig said IDOT took a conservative approach when estimating future federal funding levels by assuming that they would stay flat.
The plan will stick to the traditional spending levels of 45 percent going toward the Chicago area and 55 percent being spent downstate. A total of $8.3 billion will be spent on state highways, and $3.2 billion will be spent on local roads. “These major projects that have been on the drawing board, sometimes for years and years, we finally have a chance to get them done statewide—city, suburbs downstate, every part of Illinois,” Quinn said.
The road work is expected to create an estimated 155,000 construction jobs.
Quinn also said Illinois has received the “go ahead” to build an airport in the south suburb of Peotone, a project called for in the capital plan. He said the state has started buying land for the site.
IDOT has posted the six-year plan to its website, along with an interactive map.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Senate to consider new funding for construction plan
By Jamey Dunn and Lauren N. Johnson
The Illinois Senate will likely consider a cigarette tax increase this week as part of a new version of the capital construction plan, while the House looks at doling out the money it estimates the state will bring in next fiscal year.
Senate President John Cullerton told reporters today that he plans to push for a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase to help pay for construction projects because the state’s capital plan is tied up in a lawsuit. Cullerton said the increase would be used to replace the most controversial funding source of the plan: the legalization of video gaming in bars and restaurants across the state, which has yet to be implemented.
“We’re not going to deal with video gaming. We’re going to let the courts deal with that issue. We’re going to reenact the other taxes except for video gaming. We’ll let the courts decide on whether or not they want to keep that or not,” Cullerton said.
Rocky Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, as well as Wirtz Beverage, a liquor distribution company, sued the state, calling the capital bill unconstitutional because it contained provisions on multiple topics. The Illinois Constitution requires lawmakers to stick to one subject for each piece of legislation, so they cannot force votes onto an unpopular measure by attaching it to a popular one. An appellate court sided with Wirtz, and the Illinois Supreme Court is now considering the case.
Wirtz's suit also claimed that the original measure unfairly raised taxes on wine and spirits much more than the increase on beer. Cullerton said he plans to make the increase for all types of alcohol equal in the new legislation. He said all the other original funding mechanisms, including sales tax increases on some candy and hygiene products and fee increases, would be included in the reworked plan.
When asked whether he thought it would be difficult to pass a cigarette tax increase so soon after an income tax increase, Cullerton said lawmakers must do something or the bonds already sold to fund projects would be “in jeopardy.” He said the new revenue proposal would bring in about $300 million.
“There’s a challenge to the capital bill in the Supreme Court. If they overturn it, we won't have any funding for the bonds that we’ve sold or the bonds we want to sell, so we are responding to the concerns raised by the lawsuit,” Cullerton said.
When asked if he thought the new plan could get enough votes in the House, Cullerton said it would need bipartisan support. “I don’t have an agreement [with the House leaders], but I have hopes that we will have enough votes in the House.” He said he plans to call a cigarette-tax-hike bill for a committee vote this week.
Since it became clear that video gaming would be highly controversial and difficult to implement, lawmakers have been quietly searching for a way to replace it as a revenue source for the capital plan. The cigarette tax has lacked the needed backing to make it through the House, and so have large gaming expansion bills, which have been pitched as another option. However, the chance to replace video poker, or at least a reason to put pressure on lawmakers to consider other options, may be a blessing in disguise for those who would like to see the plan backed by a different funding source.
Meanwhile, a House committee plans this week to take up the task of distributing funds for next fiscal year’s budget to different areas of state government. The House settled on a revenue estimate last week, and now those expected funds will be split up among appropriations committees, such as elementary and secondary education, higher education, human services and public safety, so they can start planning the House’s budget proposal.
Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat and chairman of the House committee dealing with House Resolution 156, the measure that will be used to distribute the money, said he is in talks with legislators on the funding each area. The controversy that is bound to arise around doling out the money, however, may be heightened because some describe the House’s general revenue estimate of $33.2 billion as “conservative” and claim that the low number is the product of a politically driven desire to cut the budget.
“I think that they’re being conservative. The expectation is that revenues would be somewhat higher,” said Fred Giertz, an economics professor with the University of Illinois who testified before the committee earlier this month. He said that a $34.8 billion estimate from the legislature’s Committee On Government Forecasting and Accountability is probably the most realistic projection of revenues for the next fiscal year.
The Illinois Senate will likely consider a cigarette tax increase this week as part of a new version of the capital construction plan, while the House looks at doling out the money it estimates the state will bring in next fiscal year.
Senate President John Cullerton told reporters today that he plans to push for a $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase to help pay for construction projects because the state’s capital plan is tied up in a lawsuit. Cullerton said the increase would be used to replace the most controversial funding source of the plan: the legalization of video gaming in bars and restaurants across the state, which has yet to be implemented.
“We’re not going to deal with video gaming. We’re going to let the courts deal with that issue. We’re going to reenact the other taxes except for video gaming. We’ll let the courts decide on whether or not they want to keep that or not,” Cullerton said.
Rocky Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, as well as Wirtz Beverage, a liquor distribution company, sued the state, calling the capital bill unconstitutional because it contained provisions on multiple topics. The Illinois Constitution requires lawmakers to stick to one subject for each piece of legislation, so they cannot force votes onto an unpopular measure by attaching it to a popular one. An appellate court sided with Wirtz, and the Illinois Supreme Court is now considering the case.
Wirtz's suit also claimed that the original measure unfairly raised taxes on wine and spirits much more than the increase on beer. Cullerton said he plans to make the increase for all types of alcohol equal in the new legislation. He said all the other original funding mechanisms, including sales tax increases on some candy and hygiene products and fee increases, would be included in the reworked plan.
When asked whether he thought it would be difficult to pass a cigarette tax increase so soon after an income tax increase, Cullerton said lawmakers must do something or the bonds already sold to fund projects would be “in jeopardy.” He said the new revenue proposal would bring in about $300 million.
“There’s a challenge to the capital bill in the Supreme Court. If they overturn it, we won't have any funding for the bonds that we’ve sold or the bonds we want to sell, so we are responding to the concerns raised by the lawsuit,” Cullerton said.
When asked if he thought the new plan could get enough votes in the House, Cullerton said it would need bipartisan support. “I don’t have an agreement [with the House leaders], but I have hopes that we will have enough votes in the House.” He said he plans to call a cigarette-tax-hike bill for a committee vote this week.
Since it became clear that video gaming would be highly controversial and difficult to implement, lawmakers have been quietly searching for a way to replace it as a revenue source for the capital plan. The cigarette tax has lacked the needed backing to make it through the House, and so have large gaming expansion bills, which have been pitched as another option. However, the chance to replace video poker, or at least a reason to put pressure on lawmakers to consider other options, may be a blessing in disguise for those who would like to see the plan backed by a different funding source.
Meanwhile, a House committee plans this week to take up the task of distributing funds for next fiscal year’s budget to different areas of state government. The House settled on a revenue estimate last week, and now those expected funds will be split up among appropriations committees, such as elementary and secondary education, higher education, human services and public safety, so they can start planning the House’s budget proposal.
Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat and chairman of the House committee dealing with House Resolution 156, the measure that will be used to distribute the money, said he is in talks with legislators on the funding each area. The controversy that is bound to arise around doling out the money, however, may be heightened because some describe the House’s general revenue estimate of $33.2 billion as “conservative” and claim that the low number is the product of a politically driven desire to cut the budget.
“I think that they’re being conservative. The expectation is that revenues would be somewhat higher,” said Fred Giertz, an economics professor with the University of Illinois who testified before the committee earlier this month. He said that a $34.8 billion estimate from the legislature’s Committee On Government Forecasting and Accountability is probably the most realistic projection of revenues for the next fiscal year.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Universities wait on payments as they consider next year's budgets
By Jamey Dunn
As the presidents of Illinois’ universities face the possibility of flat budgets for the next fiscal year as a best-case scenario, some look to raise tuition, but others say they have reached a ceiling on what they can charge students.
William Perry, president of Eastern Illinois University, said if the school receives the same level of funding next fiscal year as it did during the current one, it could have to raise tuition. However, he said an increase would be a last resort. “We have to take a longer view. There’s the next fiscal year view, but we have to look longer term at the economy. We know that the issues of affordability and access are paramount in the minds of citizens [and] the parents of students,” he said.
Perry told a Senate budgeting committee that Eastern has cut operating costs by 25 percent in the last year and realized $1.6 million in savings. He said that like other universities in the state, the school has a hiring freeze, and he must approve all new hires. Perry said the freeze has resulted in about a reduction in faculty and staff of about 60 employees and saved the school more than $3 million. However, he said, since the university is a large economic driver in its area, the school is working to avoid layoffs, and he does not anticipate any in the near future. The state owes Eastern about $35 million in general revenue funds for the current fiscal year.
“Higher education is in an era of tremendous change and uncertainty. … The public university model of the 20th century no longer fits, so we have to make fundamental changes,” said John Peters, president of Northern Illinois University. Peters said if his school continues to increase tuition, it could price itself out of the market for higher education. He said asking students to pay more could block access to college educations for many young people from “working-class and middle-class” families, as well as those returning to school seeking training to reenter the workforce. Peters asked legislators to stop placing mandates on universities and start paying schools on time. Illinois currently owes Northern about $65 million. Peters said if the university does not get a payment, it will run out of money by April 15.
Al Goldfarb, president of Western Illinois University, agreed that mandates on universities and the state’s late payments have put pressure on his school.
“The biggest thing the state can do [to help universities plan their budgets] is predictability of state support,” he said. Illinois owes Western $50 million for the current fiscal year. He said the school has had to spend on maintenance with no help from the state because of last year’s cuts, which including deferring maintenance across all areas of state government. Gov. Pat Quinn called for increased capital spending in his fiscal year 2012 budget so the state can catch up on some of the repairs it has put off. Goldfarb said his school has also cut 25 percent from operating costs and has held off on hiring for about 60 jobs.
Goldfarb said Western asked for an increase in funding — as did many other schools. While he said he does not expect the school will get the money, he said it is important that legislatures recognize the needs of higher education. For instance, he said Western has seen an increased interest in the areas of nursing and engineering, so expansions are needed to meet that demand.
Al Bowman, president of Illinois State University, said his school also faces increased demand on its nursing programs and the high cost of upkeep. He said ISU asked for a more than 9 percent increase in funding for next fiscal year. “We understand that the state is not in a position to provide those kind of new resources, but we wanted to document what the real need was.” Without more state funding, Bowman predicted across-the-board tuition increases at state universities. “Unless the state begins to reinvest in higher education, we are going to be faced with — year in and year out — raising tuition to not only cover cost increases but to cover a greater proportion of the state’s share.”
For information on budget hearings for University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University, see Illinois Issues blog March 2.
As the presidents of Illinois’ universities face the possibility of flat budgets for the next fiscal year as a best-case scenario, some look to raise tuition, but others say they have reached a ceiling on what they can charge students.
William Perry, president of Eastern Illinois University, said if the school receives the same level of funding next fiscal year as it did during the current one, it could have to raise tuition. However, he said an increase would be a last resort. “We have to take a longer view. There’s the next fiscal year view, but we have to look longer term at the economy. We know that the issues of affordability and access are paramount in the minds of citizens [and] the parents of students,” he said.
Perry told a Senate budgeting committee that Eastern has cut operating costs by 25 percent in the last year and realized $1.6 million in savings. He said that like other universities in the state, the school has a hiring freeze, and he must approve all new hires. Perry said the freeze has resulted in about a reduction in faculty and staff of about 60 employees and saved the school more than $3 million. However, he said, since the university is a large economic driver in its area, the school is working to avoid layoffs, and he does not anticipate any in the near future. The state owes Eastern about $35 million in general revenue funds for the current fiscal year.
“Higher education is in an era of tremendous change and uncertainty. … The public university model of the 20th century no longer fits, so we have to make fundamental changes,” said John Peters, president of Northern Illinois University. Peters said if his school continues to increase tuition, it could price itself out of the market for higher education. He said asking students to pay more could block access to college educations for many young people from “working-class and middle-class” families, as well as those returning to school seeking training to reenter the workforce. Peters asked legislators to stop placing mandates on universities and start paying schools on time. Illinois currently owes Northern about $65 million. Peters said if the university does not get a payment, it will run out of money by April 15.
Al Goldfarb, president of Western Illinois University, agreed that mandates on universities and the state’s late payments have put pressure on his school.
“The biggest thing the state can do [to help universities plan their budgets] is predictability of state support,” he said. Illinois owes Western $50 million for the current fiscal year. He said the school has had to spend on maintenance with no help from the state because of last year’s cuts, which including deferring maintenance across all areas of state government. Gov. Pat Quinn called for increased capital spending in his fiscal year 2012 budget so the state can catch up on some of the repairs it has put off. Goldfarb said his school has also cut 25 percent from operating costs and has held off on hiring for about 60 jobs.
Goldfarb said Western asked for an increase in funding — as did many other schools. While he said he does not expect the school will get the money, he said it is important that legislatures recognize the needs of higher education. For instance, he said Western has seen an increased interest in the areas of nursing and engineering, so expansions are needed to meet that demand.
Al Bowman, president of Illinois State University, said his school also faces increased demand on its nursing programs and the high cost of upkeep. He said ISU asked for a more than 9 percent increase in funding for next fiscal year. “We understand that the state is not in a position to provide those kind of new resources, but we wanted to document what the real need was.” Without more state funding, Bowman predicted across-the-board tuition increases at state universities. “Unless the state begins to reinvest in higher education, we are going to be faced with — year in and year out — raising tuition to not only cover cost increases but to cover a greater proportion of the state’s share.”
For information on budget hearings for University of Illinois and Southern Illinois University, see Illinois Issues blog March 2.
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