By Jamey Dunn
A new proposal for state employee pensions would make the temporary income tax increase permanent to cover pension costs.
Skokie Rep. Lou Lang, a member of House Democratic leadership, pitched House Bill 2375 today. He said that all the other pension plans that have been up for consideration violate the constitutional protection of state workers’ retirement benefits. “I am not going to vote for a pension bill that I think is unconstitutional. This is the very first proposal on the table in all this time that is constitutional,” Lang said. “I think this debate has to start with a constitutional piece of legislation. Can we negotiate things? Of course we can. Can we talk things through? Certainly we will. But this is a good start to putting something on the table that will resolve the problem of the pension system.”
Lang’s bill would make permanent the temporary personal income tax increase, which was passed in 2011, and dedicate the revenues to paying down the state’s almost $100 billion in unfunded pension liability. The tax increase is scheduled to start phasing out in 2015. Lang's proposal would guarantee annual pension payments from the state and restructure the so-called ramp, the state’s plan for paying off the unfunded liability. Lang said that under his plan, pensions would be 80 percent funded after 50 years.
The measure would also increase the retirement age to 67 and phase in over six years employees' contribution of an additional 3 percent of salary. Any money from the tax increase that is not needed for the annual contribution would be refunded to taxpayers. Lang does not yet have actuarial numbers for his plan. But he says estimates that starting in 2020, there would be at least $1 billion in funds for rebates. “There was an expectation by some taxpayers that we would be ending the additional 2 percent income tax increase. This is my way to say to them, ‘I’m sorry you’re going to have to share some sacrifice with us for a little longer, but I’m going to do my best to get as much money back to you as I can.’”
The bill calls for money currently being used to pay off pension bonds, which were issued when lawmakers and governors opted to borrow instead of making the annual pension contributions, to pay down the unfunded liability once the bonds are paid off.
The idea comes from a proposal by West Chicago Republican Rep. Mike Fortner. HB 2365, which Fortner introduced yesterday, calls for the pension bond revenue to shift to the liability once the bonds have matured. It also would require employees to contribute 8 percent of their salaries, which is the amount participants in the State University Retirement System currently pay. The proposal would also cap pensionable salary and offer an optional self-managed defined benefit plan. Such a plan is currently offered to university employees. “It draws a certain percentage of people who for various family reasons and fiscal reasons in their household find that it works better for them to do that. It’s purely a choice. That’s constitutional,” Fortner said of the self-managed plan. “It’s not as aggressive of some of the other ones, but I am confident it’s constitutional because we have a long history of doing it.”
Fortner says his bill would “bring the rate of growth of the pension payments to a level that matches the rate of our natural revenue growth without a tax hike.” He says his plan would fully fund the pension systems by 2045. Both Lang’s proposal and Fortner’s proposal would include judges' pension systems. Previous proposals up for consideration did not. Sponsors of other plans have said that they did not want to create a conflict of interest for judges who might rule on the constitutionality of any pension changes that became law.
Lawmakers also have a union-backed proposal before them for the first time in the form of legislation. Senate Bill 2404 would require employees to pay an additional 2 percent of salary, phased in over two years, and guarantee that the state makes its required annual contribution. “The [union] coalition considers the introduction of SB 2404 to be the beginning of a discussion that the unions intend to see end with an agreement on a fair and constitutional bill that, when passed, will help Illinois get back on solid financial footing and ensure the participants on the state pension systems receive the pensions they have been promised,” said a statement from the Illinois Education Association.
But House Minority Leader Tom Cross does not support either Lang’s plan of the union-backed bill. “Leader Cross is not in favor of Rep. Lang’s proposal. He doesn’t believe that hardworking taxpayers in Illinois would be in favor of keeping their income taxes at a high level to pour that money into a broken pension system. We do not believe that this bill fixes our pension problem, which is the goal,” Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, a Cross spokeswoman, said in a prepared statement. “He also does not favor SB 2404. Leader Cross, [Northbrook Democratic] Rep. [Elaine] Nekritz and others are continuing to work on a comprehensive plan that will fix our pension problem — those details will be coming in the near future.”
Nekritz, who has tried to shepherd several versions of pension reform through the House, said she is continuing to negotiate pension legislation and is meeting with new legislators to educate them on the pension problem. She said negotiations are also ongoing. “While they knew it was bad, maybe they didn’t know it was this bad. And so the solutions, while they seem really difficult, are in fact the solutions that are needed to solve that big a problem. And I think we’re getting them to understand that.” Nekritz has her own bill, HB 98. Her plan would fully fund the system by 2043.
“I think there are a number of ideas that are out there that are interesting to look at,” Gov. Pat Quinn said today. However, he is generally sticking by his preference of Senate Bill 1. Senate President John Cullerton proposed SB1 as a compromise. It contains a proposal that was previously sponsored by Nekritz and being considered in the House during the lame duck session. That provision would temporarily freeze cost-of-living increases, require higher contributions from employees, put a cap pensionable salary and include a guarantee that the state makes its annual required contribution to the pension systems. The bill also tacks on a proposal that Cullerton says is constitutional He believes that to pass constitutional muster, some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. Legislation that passed in the Senate last year would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or state-subsidized retiree health care. If the Supreme Court were to rule the House plan constitutional, it would become the law. But if the court rejected the House proposal, the Senate version could then be considered.
“I think that’s the right vehicle,” he said. “I think SB 1 understands that there are different concepts, but you can put them in one bill that can get the job done. ... There may be refinements, that’s part of the legislative process in both the House and the Senate, and people may have a new idea or two that could be useful, and if that’s the case, we put it in.”
Quinn said of Lang’s proposal to extend the tax increase to pay off pension costs: “I really don’t feel that solving the pension problem is ... a revenue issue. I think we have to deal with it on a comprehensive basis, so it’s not just about revenue. It’s a lot more than that.”
But Lang said that even if a pension plan is signed into law and survives a court challenge, it is likely that the state would not be able to afford employee retirement costs without continuing the tax increase. “Even if one of the current reform plans on the table can reduce our annual pension payment from $6.5 billion to, let’s say, $4 billion, the inconvenient truth is without the income tax increase, we don’t have the $4 billion,” Lang said. “To pretend that Illinois can pay for even a reformed pension system without a portion of the current tax increase money is to whistle past reality.”
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Jesse Jackson Jr., Sandi Jackson plead guilty to federal crimes
By Maureen McKinney
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife pleaded guilty today in federal court in what prosecutors said was a scheme to use $750,000 in campaign cash for such personal expenses as a $43,350 gold-plated Rolex watch, flat-screen TVs, a cruise and more than $60,000 at restaurants, nightclubs and lounges.
Jackson, 47, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and false statements, while his wife, Sandi, a 49-year-old former Chicago alderwoman, pleaded guilty to one count of willingly filing a false tax return, according to news reports. Between 2005 and 2012, Jackson spent almost $584,000 on about 3,100 purchases made with a campaign credit card, according to federal prosecutors.
The Jacksons used campaign cash to pay down personal credit cards and for more than $30,000 in personal airfare expenses. Jackson Jr. spent $17,163.36 at tobacco shops and collected elk heads from Montana and memorabilia from Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, Jimi Hendrix and Martin Luther King Jr. One of the expenses cited was $466 dinner for two. Federal prosecutors contend that Jackson Jr. directed that false and misleading reports be sent to to the Federal Elections Commission from August 2005 to July 2012.
The former congressman from Illinois' 2nd District will be sentenced on June 28 and faces a maximum of five years in prison. A 17-year veteran in Congress, Jackson resigned shortly after his victory in the November election, citing health issues and the ongoing federal investigation. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he had been on leave since June of 2012.
“For years, I lived off my campaign. I used money that should have been for campaign purposes for personal purposes,” Jackson said in court, according to news reports. In explaining his decision to plead guilty, Jackson said, “I have no interest in wasting the taxpayers’ time or their money.
“I’m guilty, your honor,” Jackson said.“Tell everybody back home I’m sorry I let them down, OK?” he said outside the courtroom, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
According to the newspaper, “Jackson’s attorney, Reid Weingarten, told the judge he expected to make a substantial presentation at sentencing regarding the serious medical conditions that Jackson faces that could be mitigating factors.”
“That’s not an excuse; that’s just a fact,” Weingarten said outside the courtroom, speaking about Jackson’s mental health.
According to the Chicago Tribune: “Washington defense attorney Stan Brand, the former general counsel of the House of Representatives, said … that Jackson Jr.’s case involved the largest sum of money he’s seen in a case involving personal use of campaign money.”
Brand told the newspaper, “Historically, there have been members of Congress who either inadvertently or maybe purposefully, but not to this magnitude, used campaign funds inappropriately.”
“A reliable liberal, Jackson voted with the Democratic caucus 97 percent of the time,” according to the Washington Post. “He joined House Democrats in pushing for the impeachment of George W. Bush over his handling of the Iraq war, opposed the 2008 financial industry bailout and fought to abolish the Electoral College and for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing high-quality public education for all U.S. citizens.”
Sandi Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced on July 1.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Hearing raises questions about concealed carry deadline
By Jamey Dunn
An Illinois House hearing on concealed carry of firearms today stirred up uncertainty over the need for lawmakers to pass legislation by the summer.
UPDATE: Gov. Pat Quinn said lawmakers should observe the federal appeals court's ruling and approve concealed carry legislation before the June deadline. “A federal court order is a serious matter. I take it seriously. I think we need to comply with it,” Quinn said.
A 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that the state’s ban on carrying firearms in public is unconstitutional. In the opinion, the court gave the legislature 180 days to “craft a new gun law that will impose reasonable limitations, consistent with the public safety and the Second Amendment as interpreted in this opinion, on the carrying of guns in public” before it declares the current law unconstitutional. Attorney General Lisa Madigan has requested that the full court reconsider the case. However, since that December ruling, lawmakers have been negotiating under the assumption that if they did nothing, the state would become a concealed carry free-for-all after that deadline in early June. “What you essentially will have is that you will have very few restrictions on where you can go. If you have a [Firearm Owners Identification] card in your pocket, you will not be required to have training. You’re not going to be limited to a handgun. ... I think a lot of things happen, and I don’t think a lot of those things are necessarily good,” said NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde. He said that is why he and supporters of concealed carry have been trying to negotiate a bill.
But Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s doesn’t see things that way. “After 180 days, anyone who decided, for example, to walk down Michigan Avenue in Chicago carrying an AK-15 would be subject to arrest and prosecution for violating the [Unlawful Use of Weapons Act,]” said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Paul Castiglione. He said the Cook County state’s attorney’s office intends to enforce the Illinois Unlawful Use of Weapons statute, which outlaws carrying guns in public, after the deadline, unless lawmakers change it or the Illinois Supreme Court finds it unconstitutional. “The lower federal courts, either the district courts or the courts of appeal, cannot tell the Illinois Supreme court how to rule or whether or not that law is constitutional. The only court that can resolve that split is the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The Illinois Supreme Court is currently reviewing another carry case, People v. Aguilar. “The real trigger for when this committee and this legislature has to act, I submit, is if and when the Illinois Supreme Court ever decides that the [Unlawful Use of Weapons] statute is unconstitutional.”
But backers of concealed carry disagree. “We don’t have 180 days from today; that was 180 days from December, should the ruling stand. This isn’t like pensions that you can kick the can down the road forever. ... When the clock runs out, if the legislature has not done anything, then those statutes are deemed unconstitutional,” Vandermyde said.
Elmhurst Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti, a former prosecutor, said he does not agree with Castiglione’s take on the appeals court ruling. “My view of it would be that your office would not have to right to process Unlawful Use of a Weapon cases [after the deadline.]” But Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz, who chairs the committee holding hearings on concealed carry, said that the Cook County state’s attorney’s office could be correct. “I do feel like there is some question as to that now. There has been some legal research done that would indicate that Mr. Castiglione is right. I think we need to do a little bit more checking into that and get a definitive answer.” She said the committee will continue forward with its efforts. The next hearing is scheduled to be held in Chicago on Friday. However, Nekritz added, “It certainly is something that will be critical to informing the debate.”
An Illinois House hearing on concealed carry of firearms today stirred up uncertainty over the need for lawmakers to pass legislation by the summer.
UPDATE: Gov. Pat Quinn said lawmakers should observe the federal appeals court's ruling and approve concealed carry legislation before the June deadline. “A federal court order is a serious matter. I take it seriously. I think we need to comply with it,” Quinn said.
A 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled that the state’s ban on carrying firearms in public is unconstitutional. In the opinion, the court gave the legislature 180 days to “craft a new gun law that will impose reasonable limitations, consistent with the public safety and the Second Amendment as interpreted in this opinion, on the carrying of guns in public” before it declares the current law unconstitutional. Attorney General Lisa Madigan has requested that the full court reconsider the case. However, since that December ruling, lawmakers have been negotiating under the assumption that if they did nothing, the state would become a concealed carry free-for-all after that deadline in early June. “What you essentially will have is that you will have very few restrictions on where you can go. If you have a [Firearm Owners Identification] card in your pocket, you will not be required to have training. You’re not going to be limited to a handgun. ... I think a lot of things happen, and I don’t think a lot of those things are necessarily good,” said NRA lobbyist Todd Vandermyde. He said that is why he and supporters of concealed carry have been trying to negotiate a bill.
But Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s doesn’t see things that way. “After 180 days, anyone who decided, for example, to walk down Michigan Avenue in Chicago carrying an AK-15 would be subject to arrest and prosecution for violating the [Unlawful Use of Weapons Act,]” said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Paul Castiglione. He said the Cook County state’s attorney’s office intends to enforce the Illinois Unlawful Use of Weapons statute, which outlaws carrying guns in public, after the deadline, unless lawmakers change it or the Illinois Supreme Court finds it unconstitutional. “The lower federal courts, either the district courts or the courts of appeal, cannot tell the Illinois Supreme court how to rule or whether or not that law is constitutional. The only court that can resolve that split is the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The Illinois Supreme Court is currently reviewing another carry case, People v. Aguilar. “The real trigger for when this committee and this legislature has to act, I submit, is if and when the Illinois Supreme Court ever decides that the [Unlawful Use of Weapons] statute is unconstitutional.”
But backers of concealed carry disagree. “We don’t have 180 days from today; that was 180 days from December, should the ruling stand. This isn’t like pensions that you can kick the can down the road forever. ... When the clock runs out, if the legislature has not done anything, then those statutes are deemed unconstitutional,” Vandermyde said.
Elmhurst Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti, a former prosecutor, said he does not agree with Castiglione’s take on the appeals court ruling. “My view of it would be that your office would not have to right to process Unlawful Use of a Weapon cases [after the deadline.]” But Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz, who chairs the committee holding hearings on concealed carry, said that the Cook County state’s attorney’s office could be correct. “I do feel like there is some question as to that now. There has been some legal research done that would indicate that Mr. Castiglione is right. I think we need to do a little bit more checking into that and get a definitive answer.” She said the committee will continue forward with its efforts. The next hearing is scheduled to be held in Chicago on Friday. However, Nekritz added, “It certainly is something that will be critical to informing the debate.”
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Same-sex marriage legislation heads to the House
By Meredith Colias
The Illinois Senate gave same-sex marriage proponents something else to celebrate on Valentine’s Day, approving a measure to legalize gay marriage.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat, said, “The freedom to marry for all same-sex couples is a fundamental right.” Senate Bill 10 passed with 34 senators voting yes, 21 voting no and 2 voting present. Two senators did not cast votes.
Opponents argued the measure would not do enough to protect religious institutions if it is signed into law. The prior version of the bill already exempted religious institutions such as churches, mosques, synagogues and non-denominational ministries from being required to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. In an effort to address their complaints, Steans added an amendment today that said that “sanctuaries, parish halls, fellowship halls and similar facilities” also would not be required to open their doors to same-sex marriage ceremonies or celebrations, such as receptions. The bill still requires businesses, health care facilities, educational organizations and social service agencies to follow the state’s existing anti-discrimination laws. Steans said that under such laws, private parochial schools and private clubs have “total control” over their own property. She called arguments that churches may still somehow be forced to participate in same-sex marriage a “red herring.”
Sen. Dale Righter, a Mattoon Republican, voted against the measure, saying the bill was too confusing for religious institutions to know how they would be exempt from its requirements, especially for facilities used for multiple purposes. He said religious leaders would ask the questions that Steans called a “red herring.” “Fear of what may happen will cause churches to one degree or another to pull back” from community outreach, Righter said.
Other critics centered their opposition directly on the issue of granting marriage rights to same-sex couples. “They don’t have the right to redefine marriage for all of us,” said Sen. Kyle McCarter, a Lebanon Republican. Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat, noted how he “personally evolved” on gay marriage, saying the sky would not fall with passage of the measure. “We are going to go about our ways in the same way we are now,” he said.
Opponents also called the bill a distraction from the state’s continuing pension crisis. “You have spent months [considering this] while the ship is sinking,” said Sen. Tim Bivins, a Dixon Republican. Steans responded to critics, saying the General Assembly was capable at looking at both issues.
One Republican voted for the measure. Sen. Jason Barickman, a Champaign Republican, said he voted for the measure once he was satisfied it adequately protected religious organizations. “What I was concerned about was doing the right thing,” he said.
Opponents said they were not surprised by today’s vote, but they see the House as the real battleground. “We had expectations it could pass the Senate. The House is always our stronger suit, and we are going to work on that,” said Ralph Rivera, legislative liaison for the Illinois Family Institute. Steans said today’s vote “sends hopefully a lot of momentum over to the House.” The House bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat, said the successful Senate vote was a sign there would be support for passage in the House. “Now is the time to get it done,” he said. The legislation will need at least 60 votes to pass the House.
Gov. Pat Quinn praised its passage in a prepared statement and urged a successful vote in the House. “Full equality for all people is right for Illinois,” he said.
The Illinois Senate gave same-sex marriage proponents something else to celebrate on Valentine’s Day, approving a measure to legalize gay marriage.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat, said, “The freedom to marry for all same-sex couples is a fundamental right.” Senate Bill 10 passed with 34 senators voting yes, 21 voting no and 2 voting present. Two senators did not cast votes.
Opponents argued the measure would not do enough to protect religious institutions if it is signed into law. The prior version of the bill already exempted religious institutions such as churches, mosques, synagogues and non-denominational ministries from being required to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. In an effort to address their complaints, Steans added an amendment today that said that “sanctuaries, parish halls, fellowship halls and similar facilities” also would not be required to open their doors to same-sex marriage ceremonies or celebrations, such as receptions. The bill still requires businesses, health care facilities, educational organizations and social service agencies to follow the state’s existing anti-discrimination laws. Steans said that under such laws, private parochial schools and private clubs have “total control” over their own property. She called arguments that churches may still somehow be forced to participate in same-sex marriage a “red herring.”
Sen. Dale Righter, a Mattoon Republican, voted against the measure, saying the bill was too confusing for religious institutions to know how they would be exempt from its requirements, especially for facilities used for multiple purposes. He said religious leaders would ask the questions that Steans called a “red herring.” “Fear of what may happen will cause churches to one degree or another to pull back” from community outreach, Righter said.
Other critics centered their opposition directly on the issue of granting marriage rights to same-sex couples. “They don’t have the right to redefine marriage for all of us,” said Sen. Kyle McCarter, a Lebanon Republican. Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat, noted how he “personally evolved” on gay marriage, saying the sky would not fall with passage of the measure. “We are going to go about our ways in the same way we are now,” he said.
Opponents also called the bill a distraction from the state’s continuing pension crisis. “You have spent months [considering this] while the ship is sinking,” said Sen. Tim Bivins, a Dixon Republican. Steans responded to critics, saying the General Assembly was capable at looking at both issues.
One Republican voted for the measure. Sen. Jason Barickman, a Champaign Republican, said he voted for the measure once he was satisfied it adequately protected religious organizations. “What I was concerned about was doing the right thing,” he said.
Opponents said they were not surprised by today’s vote, but they see the House as the real battleground. “We had expectations it could pass the Senate. The House is always our stronger suit, and we are going to work on that,” said Ralph Rivera, legislative liaison for the Illinois Family Institute. Steans said today’s vote “sends hopefully a lot of momentum over to the House.” The House bill’s main sponsor, Rep. Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat, said the successful Senate vote was a sign there would be support for passage in the House. “Now is the time to get it done,” he said. The legislation will need at least 60 votes to pass the House.
Gov. Pat Quinn praised its passage in a prepared statement and urged a successful vote in the House. “Full equality for all people is right for Illinois,” he said.
Senate approves fee increase for doctors
By Jamey Dunn
Illinois doctors would pay more for their licenses under legislation passed in the state Senate today. Supporters of the increase say the entity responsible for licensing and disciplining doctors in the state is dangerously underfunded.
Under Senate Bill 622, the license fees paid by doctors would increase from $300 every three years to $700 every three years. The last time the fee was increased was in 1987. According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the fund has been operating with a structural deficit in recent years. The department has cut staff responsible for administering licenses from 26 employees down to eight. “This measure will provide the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation medical disciplinary unit the necessary funding that it needs to be able to provide the consumers of the state of Illinois the protection to help maintain the integrity of the medical profession and also to allow the agency to process licensing as fast as we can.” James Tierney of the Illinois State Medical Society said that doctors are open to a fee increase to $500 every three years. But because part of the of the fund depletion can be traced to millions in fund sweeps under previous budgets, he said the money that was swept should be put back, and doctors should not have to pay for it. “The medical profession stands ready to pay a fee that is sufficient to fund the licensure and discipline process,” he said. “In our view, it is the sweeps that have caused the current depletion in the fund that demands ... immediate attention.” For more on the issue and a broader look at fund sweeps, see Illinois Issues April 2012.
SB 622 calls for a $6 million transfer from the Local Government Tax Fund to the Illinois State Medical Disciplinary Fund, which is running low. Starting in 2014, the money would be paid back out of the licensing fund. When all the money is replaced in 2018, the fee would go down to $500 every three years. Senate President John Cullerton said that the transfer from the local government fund is not expected to cause a delay in revenue for municipalities.
“There’s a real crisis in the state of Illinois,” said A.J. Wilhelmi, senior vice president of government affairs with the Illinois Hospital Association. He said that medical students across the country must decide by Wednesday where they will go to complete their residency training. He said some are holding off on choosing Illinois because they are worried about the state’s ability to license them.
Cullerton said he understands why the Medical Society is frustrated over the fund sweeps, but he said that their fund was not the only one hit under past budgets. “So we’re talking about ... a $200 difference for a three-year period, which is a relatively small amount of money each year, less than $70. That’s what we’re fighting over. It’s the principle. I get it.” But he said something must be done to ensure that the IDFPR can license doctors and take disciplinary action when there is wrongdoing. He called the bill “a reasonable compromise.”
The House is considering House Bill 193, which would increase fees to $750 for three years. A House committee approved the plan last week, but Cullerton said the issue cannot wait. “I have no idea what’s going to happen over in the House, but in the meantime, we can’t just sit by here in the Senate and not do anything.”
Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, sponsor of HB 193, said she is willing to negotiate, but she is concerned that the increases in Cullerton’s bill may not be enough to ensure that the IDFPR can properly license and monitor doctors. “I think it’s going to leave the department without the ability to do the job we have asked it to do.”
The Senate today also quietly approved HB 156, which allows Gov. Pat Quinn to present his budget address on March 6 instead of February 20, when the Senate will not be in session. The legislation passed with no floor debate and only two votes in opposition. The House passed the bill last week, and Quinn is expected to sign it.
Illinois doctors would pay more for their licenses under legislation passed in the state Senate today. Supporters of the increase say the entity responsible for licensing and disciplining doctors in the state is dangerously underfunded.
Under Senate Bill 622, the license fees paid by doctors would increase from $300 every three years to $700 every three years. The last time the fee was increased was in 1987. According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the fund has been operating with a structural deficit in recent years. The department has cut staff responsible for administering licenses from 26 employees down to eight. “This measure will provide the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation medical disciplinary unit the necessary funding that it needs to be able to provide the consumers of the state of Illinois the protection to help maintain the integrity of the medical profession and also to allow the agency to process licensing as fast as we can.” James Tierney of the Illinois State Medical Society said that doctors are open to a fee increase to $500 every three years. But because part of the of the fund depletion can be traced to millions in fund sweeps under previous budgets, he said the money that was swept should be put back, and doctors should not have to pay for it. “The medical profession stands ready to pay a fee that is sufficient to fund the licensure and discipline process,” he said. “In our view, it is the sweeps that have caused the current depletion in the fund that demands ... immediate attention.” For more on the issue and a broader look at fund sweeps, see Illinois Issues April 2012.
SB 622 calls for a $6 million transfer from the Local Government Tax Fund to the Illinois State Medical Disciplinary Fund, which is running low. Starting in 2014, the money would be paid back out of the licensing fund. When all the money is replaced in 2018, the fee would go down to $500 every three years. Senate President John Cullerton said that the transfer from the local government fund is not expected to cause a delay in revenue for municipalities.
“There’s a real crisis in the state of Illinois,” said A.J. Wilhelmi, senior vice president of government affairs with the Illinois Hospital Association. He said that medical students across the country must decide by Wednesday where they will go to complete their residency training. He said some are holding off on choosing Illinois because they are worried about the state’s ability to license them.
Cullerton said he understands why the Medical Society is frustrated over the fund sweeps, but he said that their fund was not the only one hit under past budgets. “So we’re talking about ... a $200 difference for a three-year period, which is a relatively small amount of money each year, less than $70. That’s what we’re fighting over. It’s the principle. I get it.” But he said something must be done to ensure that the IDFPR can license doctors and take disciplinary action when there is wrongdoing. He called the bill “a reasonable compromise.”
The House is considering House Bill 193, which would increase fees to $750 for three years. A House committee approved the plan last week, but Cullerton said the issue cannot wait. “I have no idea what’s going to happen over in the House, but in the meantime, we can’t just sit by here in the Senate and not do anything.”
Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, sponsor of HB 193, said she is willing to negotiate, but she is concerned that the increases in Cullerton’s bill may not be enough to ensure that the IDFPR can properly license and monitor doctors. “I think it’s going to leave the department without the ability to do the job we have asked it to do.”
The Senate today also quietly approved HB 156, which allows Gov. Pat Quinn to present his budget address on March 6 instead of February 20, when the Senate will not be in session. The legislation passed with no floor debate and only two votes in opposition. The House passed the bill last week, and Quinn is expected to sign it.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Utilities look to lawmakers to settle regulation dispute
By Jamey Dunn
Utility customers across Illinois could see a spike in their bills if a measure that a Senate committee approved today becomes law.
Senate Bill 9 would essentially override a ruling from the Illinois Commerce Commission because lawmakers say that the commission misunderstood some of the details in the smart grid legislation, which became law in 2011 when the legislature overrode Gov. Pat Quinn's veto. “It was felt by many in the General Assembly that we had a clear piece of legislation, and yet the ICC misinterpreted it,” said Senate President John Cullerton, who sponsored the bill. “It’s just reenacting the bill that we intended to enact in the first place.” The ICC ruling could cost Commonwealth Edison an estimated $100 million annually, and Ameren was ordered to reduce its rates by just under $50 million. The utilities want the money back, plus interest. And they say that they would have to downsize their plans to invest in the state’s power infrastructure without it. “We find ourselves at a point where we need some clarification in order to continue on,” said Anne Pramaggiore, chief operating officer of ComEd.
Ameren and ComEd are committed to investing more than $3 billion in the grid over 10 years as part of the smart grid plan. Under the law, ComEd is required to create 2,000 new jobs, and Ameren is required to create 450 jobs over the same time period. Pramaggiore said that ComEd has already created 700 new jobs under the plan. The utility has also installed 500 “smart switches” that help to prevent power outages and completed 500 projects to strengthen the grid against storm damage. But she says the money that the ICC denied the utility would hurt its efforts to upgrade the power system. “Without it, we are stalled in these programs. We can’t proceed forward and continue on and ramp them up as we intended.”
Richard Mark, president and chief executive officer of Ameren, agreed. He said that Ameren has reduced its capital spending by $30 million and has put off hiring 100 additional workers.
‘‘In this instance, the commission went forward with some decisions that apparently were not what the General Assembly intended for that language to say. And today they are taking action to begin to correct that and to make modifications to get that implementation down to what they had originally intended,” said ICC Executive Director Jonathan Feipel. He said the ICC’s role is to interpret the law as it is sent to the commission. “The commission in deciding these cases went through literally thousands and thousands of pages of evidence and legal briefs, and interpreting very complex statute is what the commission does. So these commission orders were then absolutely based on record evidence and legal briefs and the state of the law at the time.”
Proponents of SB 9 say it will allow the utilities to make upgrades, which are intended to create savings for customers in the long run. But opponents say those savings are an unknown, and the immediate result would be higher bills with no real benefits for customers.
“The people on the line to pick up the cost of this drafting error is the Illinois consumers. What were looking at is both a retroactive rate increase... and it applies interest, as well,” said David Vinkler, associate state director for AARP Illinois. He said that if the bill is approved, the cost to consumers may not be that great, but he said it adds up when considered along with other rising utility costs, especially for seniors on fixed incomes. “It may not end up being a whole lot per bill. You may be talking $2 to $5 per bill. The problem is that there are people that $2 to $5 is too much. You’ve got this sort of death by a thousand cuts.” Vinkler said that the Ameren and ComEd’s appeal to lawmakers undermines the regulatory role of the ICC. “We have a Commerce Commission for a reason. They’re doing their job. [Ameren and ComEd] keep on running back the to General Assembly because it’s a better venue for them.”
For more on smart grid, see Illinois Issues July/August 2011.
Utility customers across Illinois could see a spike in their bills if a measure that a Senate committee approved today becomes law.
Senate Bill 9 would essentially override a ruling from the Illinois Commerce Commission because lawmakers say that the commission misunderstood some of the details in the smart grid legislation, which became law in 2011 when the legislature overrode Gov. Pat Quinn's veto. “It was felt by many in the General Assembly that we had a clear piece of legislation, and yet the ICC misinterpreted it,” said Senate President John Cullerton, who sponsored the bill. “It’s just reenacting the bill that we intended to enact in the first place.” The ICC ruling could cost Commonwealth Edison an estimated $100 million annually, and Ameren was ordered to reduce its rates by just under $50 million. The utilities want the money back, plus interest. And they say that they would have to downsize their plans to invest in the state’s power infrastructure without it. “We find ourselves at a point where we need some clarification in order to continue on,” said Anne Pramaggiore, chief operating officer of ComEd.
Ameren and ComEd are committed to investing more than $3 billion in the grid over 10 years as part of the smart grid plan. Under the law, ComEd is required to create 2,000 new jobs, and Ameren is required to create 450 jobs over the same time period. Pramaggiore said that ComEd has already created 700 new jobs under the plan. The utility has also installed 500 “smart switches” that help to prevent power outages and completed 500 projects to strengthen the grid against storm damage. But she says the money that the ICC denied the utility would hurt its efforts to upgrade the power system. “Without it, we are stalled in these programs. We can’t proceed forward and continue on and ramp them up as we intended.”
Richard Mark, president and chief executive officer of Ameren, agreed. He said that Ameren has reduced its capital spending by $30 million and has put off hiring 100 additional workers.
‘‘In this instance, the commission went forward with some decisions that apparently were not what the General Assembly intended for that language to say. And today they are taking action to begin to correct that and to make modifications to get that implementation down to what they had originally intended,” said ICC Executive Director Jonathan Feipel. He said the ICC’s role is to interpret the law as it is sent to the commission. “The commission in deciding these cases went through literally thousands and thousands of pages of evidence and legal briefs, and interpreting very complex statute is what the commission does. So these commission orders were then absolutely based on record evidence and legal briefs and the state of the law at the time.”
Proponents of SB 9 say it will allow the utilities to make upgrades, which are intended to create savings for customers in the long run. But opponents say those savings are an unknown, and the immediate result would be higher bills with no real benefits for customers.
“The people on the line to pick up the cost of this drafting error is the Illinois consumers. What were looking at is both a retroactive rate increase... and it applies interest, as well,” said David Vinkler, associate state director for AARP Illinois. He said that if the bill is approved, the cost to consumers may not be that great, but he said it adds up when considered along with other rising utility costs, especially for seniors on fixed incomes. “It may not end up being a whole lot per bill. You may be talking $2 to $5 per bill. The problem is that there are people that $2 to $5 is too much. You’ve got this sort of death by a thousand cuts.” Vinkler said that the Ameren and ComEd’s appeal to lawmakers undermines the regulatory role of the ICC. “We have a Commerce Commission for a reason. They’re doing their job. [Ameren and ComEd] keep on running back the to General Assembly because it’s a better venue for them.”
For more on smart grid, see Illinois Issues July/August 2011.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Simon pitches plan to increase college graduation rates
By Jamey Dunn
A new policy paper from Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon focuses on making college more affordable and taking steps to increase graduation rates.
The state has adopted a goal set by President Barack Obama of 60 percent of working-age adult residents earning a college degree by 2020. In 2012, 41 percent of working age adults — those between the ages of 25 and 65 — held a degree. “For the ‘60 x 2025’ goal to become a reality, students must be ready for advanced study, must have access to high-quality post-secondary programs, must be able to afford college costs, and must persist through those programs to completion and credential attainment,” says the paper from Simon, who toured the state’s 12 public universities last fall.
“We need to make sure that our high school students are ready for college and complete certificates and degrees on time and with less debt,” said Simon, whom Gov. Pat Quinn has dubbed his “point person” on education reform. “The return on educational investment is proven for graduates seeking living-wage jobs and a state seeking high-quality employers. College is worth it.” Graduation rates at Illinois’ public four-year universities vary greatly. According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign had an 83 percent graduation rate between 2009 and 2010 for first-time, full-time students who attended for no more than six years. Illinois State University in Normal had the second best performance, with a 69 percent graduation rate. Meanwhile, Northeastern Illinois University had a rate of 20 percent, and the lowest performing school for graduation rates, Chicago State University, saw just 14 percent of students in that category graduate in 2009 and 2010.
Simon focused on the cuts to state funding for higher education and the tuition increases that followed. According to data from the Illinois Board of Higher Education cited in the report, state support of universities decreased by 27.6 percent between 1998 and 2013, and support of community colleges declined by 24 .9 percent during the same time frame. In the current fiscal year’s budget, funding for higher education was the lowest it has been in 10 years. In her white paper, Simon calls for Illinois to make higher education and financial aid to students funding priorities, “even in light of current financial constraints.”
She advocated dual-degree programs, which allow students to lock in tuition costs at a four-year university while they earn an associate's degree at a partnering community college. The degree would then transfer to the university, and under the state’s Truth in Tuition law, the student would pay the same tuition rates a freshmen at the university paid when he or she started in community college. The plan also calls for limiting most bachelor’s degrees to 120 credit hours and allowing students a chance to earn credit while taking remedial courses, which typically do not count toward their degrees. The paper calls for campuses to adopt “one stop shops” for student services, a single location where students can access assistance, such as academic counseling, financial aid advisement and health care. The plan also outlines less sweeping measures, such as offering textbook rentals and online options for classroom materials and installment payment plans for tuition and fees.
A new policy paper from Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon focuses on making college more affordable and taking steps to increase graduation rates.
The state has adopted a goal set by President Barack Obama of 60 percent of working-age adult residents earning a college degree by 2020. In 2012, 41 percent of working age adults — those between the ages of 25 and 65 — held a degree. “For the ‘60 x 2025’ goal to become a reality, students must be ready for advanced study, must have access to high-quality post-secondary programs, must be able to afford college costs, and must persist through those programs to completion and credential attainment,” says the paper from Simon, who toured the state’s 12 public universities last fall.
“We need to make sure that our high school students are ready for college and complete certificates and degrees on time and with less debt,” said Simon, whom Gov. Pat Quinn has dubbed his “point person” on education reform. “The return on educational investment is proven for graduates seeking living-wage jobs and a state seeking high-quality employers. College is worth it.” Graduation rates at Illinois’ public four-year universities vary greatly. According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign had an 83 percent graduation rate between 2009 and 2010 for first-time, full-time students who attended for no more than six years. Illinois State University in Normal had the second best performance, with a 69 percent graduation rate. Meanwhile, Northeastern Illinois University had a rate of 20 percent, and the lowest performing school for graduation rates, Chicago State University, saw just 14 percent of students in that category graduate in 2009 and 2010.
Simon focused on the cuts to state funding for higher education and the tuition increases that followed. According to data from the Illinois Board of Higher Education cited in the report, state support of universities decreased by 27.6 percent between 1998 and 2013, and support of community colleges declined by 24 .9 percent during the same time frame. In the current fiscal year’s budget, funding for higher education was the lowest it has been in 10 years. In her white paper, Simon calls for Illinois to make higher education and financial aid to students funding priorities, “even in light of current financial constraints.”
She advocated dual-degree programs, which allow students to lock in tuition costs at a four-year university while they earn an associate's degree at a partnering community college. The degree would then transfer to the university, and under the state’s Truth in Tuition law, the student would pay the same tuition rates a freshmen at the university paid when he or she started in community college. The plan also calls for limiting most bachelor’s degrees to 120 credit hours and allowing students a chance to earn credit while taking remedial courses, which typically do not count toward their degrees. The paper calls for campuses to adopt “one stop shops” for student services, a single location where students can access assistance, such as academic counseling, financial aid advisement and health care. The plan also outlines less sweeping measures, such as offering textbook rentals and online options for classroom materials and installment payment plans for tuition and fees.
Thursday, February 07, 2013
Quinn signs spending bill
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a spending bill today that will avert layoffs in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and restore funding to mental health providers. But opponents said it is too costly and was rushed through the legislative process.
The Senate approved House Bill 190 today. The measure contains about $1.5 billion in spending. The Department of Children and Family Services will get $25 million. Without the money, DCFS says it would have to lay off two-thirds of its staff. The measure also restores $12 million that lawmakers said was supposed to go to mental health services but did not because of a budgeting error. “As a result of today’s action, hard-working employees at the Department of Children and Family Services will continue their critical work of protecting vulnerable children who have been abused and neglected,” Gov. Pat Quinn said in a prepared statement.
The law also calls for more than $700 million in capital construction funds for roads, bridges schools and other projects. Republicans were critical of some of that spending, calling it “pork.” They said that Democrats moved the bill through both legislative chambers too quickly. The House approved the measure on Tuesday. “One of the things we see around here on occasions is, when we rush ourselves, mistakes get made, and I think this is a classic example of that occurring. There are some pieces in here in this package that I think everybody in this chamber can support. But when we rush through ... we see mistakes made,” said Palatine Republican Sen. Matt Murphy. Republicans were also upset that money was taken from the Road Fund for costs other than construction, such as employee health insurance.
But sponsor Sen. Dan Kotowski, an Oak Park Democrat, said some of the funding, such as the money for DCFS, could not wait. He said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been meeting about the issue. “These discussions have been ongoing for the past few months.” He pointed out that the bill is not new spending and instead draws from the governor’s budget vetoes, previously budgeted construction projects and money in various state funds. Kotowski pointed to a fiscal analysis, known as a note, on the legislation, which says: “The bill provides for no new revenue sources, nor does the bill require any additional state spending. This bill does not directly have any significant fiscal impact. The supplemental appropriation to the Department of Central Management Services for group insurance was expected to be included in the Fiscal Year 2013. Therefore the fiscal impact to the General Revenue Fund is negligible. Supplemental appropriations provided from other state and federal funds are provided on the basis of the availability of moneys in those funds.”
Gov. Pat Quinn signed a spending bill today that will avert layoffs in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and restore funding to mental health providers. But opponents said it is too costly and was rushed through the legislative process.
The Senate approved House Bill 190 today. The measure contains about $1.5 billion in spending. The Department of Children and Family Services will get $25 million. Without the money, DCFS says it would have to lay off two-thirds of its staff. The measure also restores $12 million that lawmakers said was supposed to go to mental health services but did not because of a budgeting error. “As a result of today’s action, hard-working employees at the Department of Children and Family Services will continue their critical work of protecting vulnerable children who have been abused and neglected,” Gov. Pat Quinn said in a prepared statement.
The law also calls for more than $700 million in capital construction funds for roads, bridges schools and other projects. Republicans were critical of some of that spending, calling it “pork.” They said that Democrats moved the bill through both legislative chambers too quickly. The House approved the measure on Tuesday. “One of the things we see around here on occasions is, when we rush ourselves, mistakes get made, and I think this is a classic example of that occurring. There are some pieces in here in this package that I think everybody in this chamber can support. But when we rush through ... we see mistakes made,” said Palatine Republican Sen. Matt Murphy. Republicans were also upset that money was taken from the Road Fund for costs other than construction, such as employee health insurance.
But sponsor Sen. Dan Kotowski, an Oak Park Democrat, said some of the funding, such as the money for DCFS, could not wait. He said lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been meeting about the issue. “These discussions have been ongoing for the past few months.” He pointed out that the bill is not new spending and instead draws from the governor’s budget vetoes, previously budgeted construction projects and money in various state funds. Kotowski pointed to a fiscal analysis, known as a note, on the legislation, which says: “The bill provides for no new revenue sources, nor does the bill require any additional state spending. This bill does not directly have any significant fiscal impact. The supplemental appropriation to the Department of Central Management Services for group insurance was expected to be included in the Fiscal Year 2013. Therefore the fiscal impact to the General Revenue Fund is negligible. Supplemental appropriations provided from other state and federal funds are provided on the basis of the availability of moneys in those funds.”
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Quinn lays out challenging legislative agenda in State of the State address
By Jamey Dunn and Meredith Colias
Illinois lawmakers hope to tackle a number of complicated and controversial issues in the new legislative session. In today’s State of the State address, Gov. Pat Quinn weighed in on several of the topics on their agenda.
Gun issues
Quinn renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. “Today, we all weep over the senseless violence in our communities. But as elected officials, we’re in a position to do something about it. We have life-saving work to do. We cannot wait for another tragedy to happen before we take action,” he said. While the governor did not describe all the provisions he would like to see in a concealed-carry bill, he did make it clear that he wants limits on where residents carry guns. “We must ensure that guns are kept out of everyday public places because guns don’t belong in our schools, shopping malls or sports stadiums. And we must make Illinois safer by strengthening background checks and requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen guns.”
In December, a federal court gave Illinois 180 days to approve concealed-carry legislation. Attorney General Lisa Madigan appealed the ruling, but for now the deadline looms. “He does want a limited bill. But he needs to start getting specific because the clock is still ticking on the 180 days,” Rep. Brandon Phelps said of Quinn. Phelps introduced House Bill 997 last week. His legislation would bar guns from certain places, such as government buildings and schools. But he said Quinn’s limitations go to far. “I just don’t see us agreeing to just a sidewalk-carry bill as he wants. I just don’t see that.”
Quinn called on counties to submit mental health records to the Illinois State Police for Firearm Owner Identification Card background checks. “For years, counties across our state have not been reporting their mental health records to the Illinois State Police. This year, we need every county to step up and do its part to ensure mental health records are updated in real time.” A recent audit found that the state police were struggling with issuing FOID cards in a timely manner. Phelps said that the FOID system must be repaired to properly administer concealed-carry in the state. “They need to get that corrected, and we need to help with that.” Under his bill, those wishing to carry would apply for a permit that would cost $25. However, he said the permit fee may increase to help cover the costs of the permitting system. “We started somewhere because we didn’t want anybody not to be able to afford it because of their Second Amendment right to carry. but we can negotiate that. I think it will be moved up. I really do.”
Phelps is working with Chicago Democratic Sen. Kwame Raoul to try to negotiate a concealed-carry proposal that can pass through both legislative chambers. “We’ve agreed to gather parties in the room and have a discussion where we can have a respect for the Second Amendment as it has been interpreted by the [U.S.] Supreme Court and other courts below it, and at the same time recognize that we have a problem with gun violence,” Raoul said. “I think the two things are not inconsistent: wanting to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, who mean no harm to anybody [and] who want to participate in sportsmen activities or own a weapon for self protection, and trying to stop a flow of guns to people who we all know will do harm with them.” Raoul said that polarizing rhetoric has stood in the way of compromise on gun issues in the past, but he said that he and Phelps hope to “start the discussion without vilifying anybody on either side of the debate.”
Chicago Democratic Rep. Edward Acevedo, who sponsors a ban on assault weapons, said that he hopes to link concealed carry and an assault weapons ban into an overarching approach to gun control. But both Phelps and Raoul said they are not interested in taking that approach. “Those are two separate issues, and that’s what we want to treat them like,” Phelps said. Quinn and Acevedo share similar views on assault weapons. “Of course, we must abide with the Second Amendment. But there is no place in our state for military-style assault weapons designed for rapid fire at human targets at close range,” Quinn said in his speech today. “It’s not about hurting the average sportsman or hunter, or its not about trying to take away the Second Amendment; it’s an issue of public safety,” Acevedo said. “These are weapons that are made for war.”
Minimum wage increase
Quinn urged lawmakers to increase the minimum wage from the current $8.25 hourly rate to $10 an hour over the next four years. Maywood Democratic Sen. Kimberly Lightford, who sponsored a bill last session to increase the minimum wage, said she has been in talks with supporters and opponents since last spring. She said she hopes to bring a bill to a Senate committee next month. “We have a lot of new members, so I’ll be sitting down talking to my colleagues and finding out what they can support,” she said.
Lightford said she is glad that Quinn highlighted the issue in his address. “It’s wonderful to have the governor’s support. Hopefully, that can also help our efforts.” But business groups are adamantly opposed to the increase and vow to rally a strong opposition effort. “We think it’s just a disastrous proposal,” said Todd Maisch, vice president of government relations for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. He said that a minimum wage increase could hurt job growth in the state. “They’re two issues that are really related. Employers simply don’t have stashes of cash that they have got in the back of a vault somewhere that they’re ready to hand out to people. This is more money that goes to wages for employees they now have and make[s] it that much harder to add any more employees or reinvest in the business and create more jobs on down the road.”
Both Quinn and Lightford argued that those working full-time jobs should make enough to support themselves. “We need this because we need families to thrive. We need to not have people work 40 hours a week and still live in poverty,” Lightford said.
Same-sex marriage
“Today, civil unions are the law of our state. And nearly 5,200 couples across 94 counties have joined in a civil union. Now, it’s time to take that next step in achieving full equality. Marriage equality is coming to Illinois,” Quinn said.
Of all the issues the governor mentioned in his speech, this one has the most momentum. A Senate Committee approved same-sex marriage Tuesday, and supporters hope to pass it in the chamber by Valentine's Day. “The time for marriage is now,” said Bernard Cherkasov, chief executive officer of Equality Illinois.
Pension costs
Quinn called pension reform the “toughest of issues” and called on lawmakers to pass pension changes to keep the costs from cutting into other areas of spending, such as education. “The pension squeeze is draining our ability to teach our students. Our children are being shortchanged. And in the end, that shortchanges our economy, too.” Union leaders said Quinn was presenting a false choice between pension costs and other state services. They argue that there are other options for addressing the state’s unfunded liability than the current plans up for debate, which they believe are unconstitutional. “The governor's claim that the choice is pensions-or-pencils is deeply unfair. We must work together to adequately fund public education and solve the state’s funding crisis. Teachers and other education professionals share no fault in the problem but are willing to share in the sacrifice, and to simply balance the budget on their backs is wrong. Finding a fair and constitutional solution will take courage from everyone involved, including the governor,” said Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
Quinn again threw his support behind Senate Bill 1, which is sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton. “I urge all of you to be part of the solution. And while refinements may come, Senate Bill 1 is the best vehicle to get the job done. Hard is not impossible,” Quinn said. Cullerton believes that some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. A plan that passed in the Senate would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or state-subsidized retiree health care. SB 1 contains a version of a pension reform plan that was up for consideration in the House during the lame-duck session at the end of the last General Assembly and the measure that passed in the Senate. Cullerton has said he wants the Senate plan tacked on in case the Illinois Supreme Court rejects the House proposal, which he believes is unconstitutional. If that happened, the court could instead consider the Senate proposal.
House members on both sides of the aisle voiced concerns about the SB 1. Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz, who has sponsored several pension reform bills in the House, said that the savings are uncertain under that proposal, which allows employees a choice, because there is no way to know which they will pick. “The pension problem is driven by math and by numbers, and a solution has to also be driven by math or by numbers,” she said. Nekritz called for an actuarial analysis of the potential savings under the measure. “I think members deserve that before they would vote on something.” House Republican Leader Tom Cross brushed off Quinn’s backing of SB 1. “He’s endorsed, I think, just about every pension bill that’s been out there. He’s been pretty outspoken on the need to do pension reform. ... The fact that he’s talking about that [bill] doesn’t mean that other ideas are not on the table because he’s embraced a bunch of different ideas.” Cross is working with Nekritz to try to find a compromise that can pass in the House. He said it is the job of lawmakers to pass the plan they think is best instead of sending multiple options to the courts. “[Our] first obligation ought to be: Pass a bill that [we] think solves the problem, and then the courts will decide.”
Some lawmakers said they were not impressed with Quinn’s speech. They said it lacked details and did not place enough emphasis on the state’s budget problems. “He didn’t even hardly mention the budget. He needs to get focused. We’re in a fiscal crisis,” said Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat. “I don’t think his speech was very well-received, but we’ll see.” A House committee chaired by Bradley has already begun the process of creating revenue estimates. The House has based its budget on those types of estimates in recent years. “We’re not talking about it. We’re actually doing it. So we’re going to continue down that process. To the extent that to the governor’s office wants to take part in our bipartisan efforts to do that, then we welcome the help. But we’re moving forward.” Several legislators accused Quinn of using the State of the State as an informal launch for a 2014 reelection bid. “You can tell he’s running for governor again because that was nothing but a political speech,” Phelps said.
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno agreed. “By and large, I think it was more of a campaign kick-off speech than anything else.” But in a news conference after the address, Cross and Radogno demurred on several issues, including gun control and same-sex marriage. “There are going to be some things in here you like; there are going to be some things you don’t like,” Cross said of Quinn’s speech. “I think we need to focus on the big issues like the pensions so we have a vibrant — someday — a vibrant economy and businesses that want to stay here and come here and expand here. The elephant in the room, the only issue that matters right now -- everything flows from it -- is the pension debate.”
Other legislators said Quinn did well, giving what is basically a ceremonial speech meant to set the tone for the session, but they hope he will provide more decisive leadership in the coming months. “I thought the governor spoke well and from the heart about a lot of issues that are on his mind,” said Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang. “I’m not sure I heard a lot of specifics. I’m not sure we heard a lot of specific plans on how he proposes to move Illinois forward in these areas. And I am not sure that he provided the leadership in this speech that I hope he will later provide. I do know this: He’s and honest man. His heart is in the right place. He wants to succeed. But he’s going to have to grab on a little stronger to the reins of government if he wants to lead this General Assembly to where he wants us to go.”
Illinois lawmakers hope to tackle a number of complicated and controversial issues in the new legislative session. In today’s State of the State address, Gov. Pat Quinn weighed in on several of the topics on their agenda.
Gun issues
Quinn renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. “Today, we all weep over the senseless violence in our communities. But as elected officials, we’re in a position to do something about it. We have life-saving work to do. We cannot wait for another tragedy to happen before we take action,” he said. While the governor did not describe all the provisions he would like to see in a concealed-carry bill, he did make it clear that he wants limits on where residents carry guns. “We must ensure that guns are kept out of everyday public places because guns don’t belong in our schools, shopping malls or sports stadiums. And we must make Illinois safer by strengthening background checks and requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen guns.”
In December, a federal court gave Illinois 180 days to approve concealed-carry legislation. Attorney General Lisa Madigan appealed the ruling, but for now the deadline looms. “He does want a limited bill. But he needs to start getting specific because the clock is still ticking on the 180 days,” Rep. Brandon Phelps said of Quinn. Phelps introduced House Bill 997 last week. His legislation would bar guns from certain places, such as government buildings and schools. But he said Quinn’s limitations go to far. “I just don’t see us agreeing to just a sidewalk-carry bill as he wants. I just don’t see that.”
Quinn called on counties to submit mental health records to the Illinois State Police for Firearm Owner Identification Card background checks. “For years, counties across our state have not been reporting their mental health records to the Illinois State Police. This year, we need every county to step up and do its part to ensure mental health records are updated in real time.” A recent audit found that the state police were struggling with issuing FOID cards in a timely manner. Phelps said that the FOID system must be repaired to properly administer concealed-carry in the state. “They need to get that corrected, and we need to help with that.” Under his bill, those wishing to carry would apply for a permit that would cost $25. However, he said the permit fee may increase to help cover the costs of the permitting system. “We started somewhere because we didn’t want anybody not to be able to afford it because of their Second Amendment right to carry. but we can negotiate that. I think it will be moved up. I really do.”
Phelps is working with Chicago Democratic Sen. Kwame Raoul to try to negotiate a concealed-carry proposal that can pass through both legislative chambers. “We’ve agreed to gather parties in the room and have a discussion where we can have a respect for the Second Amendment as it has been interpreted by the [U.S.] Supreme Court and other courts below it, and at the same time recognize that we have a problem with gun violence,” Raoul said. “I think the two things are not inconsistent: wanting to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, who mean no harm to anybody [and] who want to participate in sportsmen activities or own a weapon for self protection, and trying to stop a flow of guns to people who we all know will do harm with them.” Raoul said that polarizing rhetoric has stood in the way of compromise on gun issues in the past, but he said that he and Phelps hope to “start the discussion without vilifying anybody on either side of the debate.”
Chicago Democratic Rep. Edward Acevedo, who sponsors a ban on assault weapons, said that he hopes to link concealed carry and an assault weapons ban into an overarching approach to gun control. But both Phelps and Raoul said they are not interested in taking that approach. “Those are two separate issues, and that’s what we want to treat them like,” Phelps said. Quinn and Acevedo share similar views on assault weapons. “Of course, we must abide with the Second Amendment. But there is no place in our state for military-style assault weapons designed for rapid fire at human targets at close range,” Quinn said in his speech today. “It’s not about hurting the average sportsman or hunter, or its not about trying to take away the Second Amendment; it’s an issue of public safety,” Acevedo said. “These are weapons that are made for war.”
Minimum wage increase
Quinn urged lawmakers to increase the minimum wage from the current $8.25 hourly rate to $10 an hour over the next four years. Maywood Democratic Sen. Kimberly Lightford, who sponsored a bill last session to increase the minimum wage, said she has been in talks with supporters and opponents since last spring. She said she hopes to bring a bill to a Senate committee next month. “We have a lot of new members, so I’ll be sitting down talking to my colleagues and finding out what they can support,” she said.
Lightford said she is glad that Quinn highlighted the issue in his address. “It’s wonderful to have the governor’s support. Hopefully, that can also help our efforts.” But business groups are adamantly opposed to the increase and vow to rally a strong opposition effort. “We think it’s just a disastrous proposal,” said Todd Maisch, vice president of government relations for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. He said that a minimum wage increase could hurt job growth in the state. “They’re two issues that are really related. Employers simply don’t have stashes of cash that they have got in the back of a vault somewhere that they’re ready to hand out to people. This is more money that goes to wages for employees they now have and make[s] it that much harder to add any more employees or reinvest in the business and create more jobs on down the road.”
Both Quinn and Lightford argued that those working full-time jobs should make enough to support themselves. “We need this because we need families to thrive. We need to not have people work 40 hours a week and still live in poverty,” Lightford said.
Same-sex marriage
“Today, civil unions are the law of our state. And nearly 5,200 couples across 94 counties have joined in a civil union. Now, it’s time to take that next step in achieving full equality. Marriage equality is coming to Illinois,” Quinn said.
Of all the issues the governor mentioned in his speech, this one has the most momentum. A Senate Committee approved same-sex marriage Tuesday, and supporters hope to pass it in the chamber by Valentine's Day. “The time for marriage is now,” said Bernard Cherkasov, chief executive officer of Equality Illinois.
Pension costs
Quinn called pension reform the “toughest of issues” and called on lawmakers to pass pension changes to keep the costs from cutting into other areas of spending, such as education. “The pension squeeze is draining our ability to teach our students. Our children are being shortchanged. And in the end, that shortchanges our economy, too.” Union leaders said Quinn was presenting a false choice between pension costs and other state services. They argue that there are other options for addressing the state’s unfunded liability than the current plans up for debate, which they believe are unconstitutional. “The governor's claim that the choice is pensions-or-pencils is deeply unfair. We must work together to adequately fund public education and solve the state’s funding crisis. Teachers and other education professionals share no fault in the problem but are willing to share in the sacrifice, and to simply balance the budget on their backs is wrong. Finding a fair and constitutional solution will take courage from everyone involved, including the governor,” said Dan Montgomery, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
Quinn again threw his support behind Senate Bill 1, which is sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton. “I urge all of you to be part of the solution. And while refinements may come, Senate Bill 1 is the best vehicle to get the job done. Hard is not impossible,” Quinn said. Cullerton believes that some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. A plan that passed in the Senate would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or state-subsidized retiree health care. SB 1 contains a version of a pension reform plan that was up for consideration in the House during the lame-duck session at the end of the last General Assembly and the measure that passed in the Senate. Cullerton has said he wants the Senate plan tacked on in case the Illinois Supreme Court rejects the House proposal, which he believes is unconstitutional. If that happened, the court could instead consider the Senate proposal.
House members on both sides of the aisle voiced concerns about the SB 1. Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz, who has sponsored several pension reform bills in the House, said that the savings are uncertain under that proposal, which allows employees a choice, because there is no way to know which they will pick. “The pension problem is driven by math and by numbers, and a solution has to also be driven by math or by numbers,” she said. Nekritz called for an actuarial analysis of the potential savings under the measure. “I think members deserve that before they would vote on something.” House Republican Leader Tom Cross brushed off Quinn’s backing of SB 1. “He’s endorsed, I think, just about every pension bill that’s been out there. He’s been pretty outspoken on the need to do pension reform. ... The fact that he’s talking about that [bill] doesn’t mean that other ideas are not on the table because he’s embraced a bunch of different ideas.” Cross is working with Nekritz to try to find a compromise that can pass in the House. He said it is the job of lawmakers to pass the plan they think is best instead of sending multiple options to the courts. “[Our] first obligation ought to be: Pass a bill that [we] think solves the problem, and then the courts will decide.”
Some lawmakers said they were not impressed with Quinn’s speech. They said it lacked details and did not place enough emphasis on the state’s budget problems. “He didn’t even hardly mention the budget. He needs to get focused. We’re in a fiscal crisis,” said Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat. “I don’t think his speech was very well-received, but we’ll see.” A House committee chaired by Bradley has already begun the process of creating revenue estimates. The House has based its budget on those types of estimates in recent years. “We’re not talking about it. We’re actually doing it. So we’re going to continue down that process. To the extent that to the governor’s office wants to take part in our bipartisan efforts to do that, then we welcome the help. But we’re moving forward.” Several legislators accused Quinn of using the State of the State as an informal launch for a 2014 reelection bid. “You can tell he’s running for governor again because that was nothing but a political speech,” Phelps said.
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno agreed. “By and large, I think it was more of a campaign kick-off speech than anything else.” But in a news conference after the address, Cross and Radogno demurred on several issues, including gun control and same-sex marriage. “There are going to be some things in here you like; there are going to be some things you don’t like,” Cross said of Quinn’s speech. “I think we need to focus on the big issues like the pensions so we have a vibrant — someday — a vibrant economy and businesses that want to stay here and come here and expand here. The elephant in the room, the only issue that matters right now -- everything flows from it -- is the pension debate.”
Other legislators said Quinn did well, giving what is basically a ceremonial speech meant to set the tone for the session, but they hope he will provide more decisive leadership in the coming months. “I thought the governor spoke well and from the heart about a lot of issues that are on his mind,” said Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang. “I’m not sure I heard a lot of specifics. I’m not sure we heard a lot of specific plans on how he proposes to move Illinois forward in these areas. And I am not sure that he provided the leadership in this speech that I hope he will later provide. I do know this: He’s and honest man. His heart is in the right place. He wants to succeed. But he’s going to have to grab on a little stronger to the reins of government if he wants to lead this General Assembly to where he wants us to go.”
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Senate takes another shot at same-sex marriage
By Meredith Colias
Supporters of gay marriage are a step closer to bringing legislation to a Senate floor vote by February 14.
A Senate committee voted 9-5 today to approve Senate Bill 10, which would legalize gay marriage. The same committee approved a similar measure during the lame-duck session of the last General Assembly, but it lacked support to pass the full Senate. Senate President John Cullerton told the Chicago Sun-Times last week that he wants the Senate to pass a bill by Valentine’s Day.
Rev. Susan Anderson-Hurdle, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, testified in support of the measure. She told the committee, “Those of us who do believe in marriage equality should have the right to perform marriage ceremonies.” Hurdle said it is important for the state to protect religious freedoms without discriminating against same-sex couples “based on the religious beliefs of others.”
Critics said the bill did not do enough to protect some churches’ religious rights. Pastor Keith Williams of the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church in Country Club Hills said he opposes the measure as a “morality issue.” He told the committee, “We have to draw a line…to what the [Bible] says.”
Sponsor Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat, said the measure does not require religious institutions to perform same-sex marriages. Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat, said churches have been living under civil unions without facing widespread legal challenges from gay couples. “The sky is not falling with this measure,” he said.
Steans, who sponsored the bill that failed in January, says she is “cautiously optimistic” that she has enough support for its passage and hopes to call the bill in the Senate sometime next week. “You never know until you are actually pushing those buttons,” she said.
Supporters of gay marriage are a step closer to bringing legislation to a Senate floor vote by February 14.
A Senate committee voted 9-5 today to approve Senate Bill 10, which would legalize gay marriage. The same committee approved a similar measure during the lame-duck session of the last General Assembly, but it lacked support to pass the full Senate. Senate President John Cullerton told the Chicago Sun-Times last week that he wants the Senate to pass a bill by Valentine’s Day.
Rev. Susan Anderson-Hurdle, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, testified in support of the measure. She told the committee, “Those of us who do believe in marriage equality should have the right to perform marriage ceremonies.” Hurdle said it is important for the state to protect religious freedoms without discriminating against same-sex couples “based on the religious beliefs of others.”
Critics said the bill did not do enough to protect some churches’ religious rights. Pastor Keith Williams of the Cornerstone Christian Fellowship Church in Country Club Hills said he opposes the measure as a “morality issue.” He told the committee, “We have to draw a line…to what the [Bible] says.”
Sponsor Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat, said the measure does not require religious institutions to perform same-sex marriages. Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat, said churches have been living under civil unions without facing widespread legal challenges from gay couples. “The sky is not falling with this measure,” he said.
Steans, who sponsored the bill that failed in January, says she is “cautiously optimistic” that she has enough support for its passage and hopes to call the bill in the Senate sometime next week. “You never know until you are actually pushing those buttons,” she said.
House OK's funds for DCFS, mental health, construction
By Jamey Dunn
The Illinois House approved new spending for the current fiscal year that would avert layoffs in the Department of Children and Family Services and restore funding to mental health providers.
House Bill 190 calls for about $53 million in spending from the General Revenue Fund. Sponsor Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat, said the money would come from Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget vetoes and revenues that exceeded estimates in the budget that lawmakers passed in the spring. Currie estimated about $58 million is available from those sources. DCFS would get $25 million, which would allow the agency to defer layoffs. Without the money, DCFS has claimed it would have to eliminate to two-thirds of its staff. The legislation also contains $12 million that lawmakers who worked on the human services budget say was accidentally cut from mental health funding.
“There’s nothing new, unusual, strange or odd about this bill. Those of you who care about mental health funding in the community, this is your chance to say, 'Yes, here is the $12 million we thought we already gave you.’ Those of you who want to see to it that there is staff in the Department of Children and Family Services to answer the hotline, $25 million goes into this budget for staff at DCFS,” Currie said. The bill also contains more than $700 million in capital construction funding, including money for bridges, roads and museums.
Some Republicans argued that unnecessary spending was attached to sympathetic causes, such as DCFS, in order to push it through. “I am so tired of the other side of this aisle telling me I don’t care about anything. I’m sick of it,” said Elmhurst Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti. “What I care about are the people of the state of Illinois, and funding the things that we need to fund and prioritizing them. ... Just because I don’t vote for this bill doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
Hinsdale Republican Rep. Patti Bellock said she wanted to support the funding for DCFS and mental health. “A lot of us have concerns, especially about the mental health funding, because we realize that that was a mistake in the original budget process. A lot of us have concerns about DFCS because we don’t want to see children hurt by the programs that might be deleted.” But Bellock said she was worried that supporters of the plan may have overestimated what is available and that other costs might spring up as Quinn continues to close state facilities. “There are a lot of concerns that the numbers are not correct, even in the major portion of the bill in the general revenue fund.”
The Illinois House approved new spending for the current fiscal year that would avert layoffs in the Department of Children and Family Services and restore funding to mental health providers.
House Bill 190 calls for about $53 million in spending from the General Revenue Fund. Sponsor Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat, said the money would come from Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget vetoes and revenues that exceeded estimates in the budget that lawmakers passed in the spring. Currie estimated about $58 million is available from those sources. DCFS would get $25 million, which would allow the agency to defer layoffs. Without the money, DCFS has claimed it would have to eliminate to two-thirds of its staff. The legislation also contains $12 million that lawmakers who worked on the human services budget say was accidentally cut from mental health funding.
“There’s nothing new, unusual, strange or odd about this bill. Those of you who care about mental health funding in the community, this is your chance to say, 'Yes, here is the $12 million we thought we already gave you.’ Those of you who want to see to it that there is staff in the Department of Children and Family Services to answer the hotline, $25 million goes into this budget for staff at DCFS,” Currie said. The bill also contains more than $700 million in capital construction funding, including money for bridges, roads and museums.
Some Republicans argued that unnecessary spending was attached to sympathetic causes, such as DCFS, in order to push it through. “I am so tired of the other side of this aisle telling me I don’t care about anything. I’m sick of it,” said Elmhurst Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti. “What I care about are the people of the state of Illinois, and funding the things that we need to fund and prioritizing them. ... Just because I don’t vote for this bill doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
Hinsdale Republican Rep. Patti Bellock said she wanted to support the funding for DCFS and mental health. “A lot of us have concerns, especially about the mental health funding, because we realize that that was a mistake in the original budget process. A lot of us have concerns about DFCS because we don’t want to see children hurt by the programs that might be deleted.” But Bellock said she was worried that supporters of the plan may have overestimated what is available and that other costs might spring up as Quinn continues to close state facilities. “There are a lot of concerns that the numbers are not correct, even in the major portion of the bill in the general revenue fund.”
Monday, February 04, 2013
House panel approves new spending for current fiscal year
Jamey Dunn
Layoffs at the Department of Children and Family Services and cuts to mental health providers would be avoided if a measure approved by a House committee today makes it to the governor’s desk.
House Bill 190 would spend about $53 million in general revenue funds during the current fiscal year. The money would come from Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget vetoes and revenues that exceeded estimates used to plan the budget lawmakers passed in the spring. “There may be as much as $58 million [in additional funds],” said Chicago Democratic Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, who sponsors the bill.
The proposal contains $25 million for the Department of Children and Family Services. The money would help take the sting out of a $90 million cut that lawmakers approved in the spring and would allow DCFS to avoid laying off thousands of workers. When Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed money for correctional facilities that his administration has since closed or is in the process of closing, he called on lawmakers to redirect the money into DCFS. Quinn supports HB 190. The measure also contains $12 million for mental health care providers. Legislators who worked on the human services budget in the spring say they intended for providers to get the money, but the funds were not available because of a budgeting error. “We’re strongly committed to this appropriation amount,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, the former chair of the human services budgeting committee in the House.
HB 190 also includes $675 million for capital construction projects. Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider said the state got more federal money than expected, and revenues were higher than IDOT projected when planning its budget. “We normally put that financial plan for our highway program together about 18 months in advance, and so revenues in Fiscal Year '12 came in higher than what we programmed on.” Rep. Louis Arroyo, chairman of the public safety budgeting committee in the House, said he was unhappy that money would be pulled from the road fund. “When we sit down in my committee, nobody wants to touch the road fund, nobody wants to talk about the road fund. It’s like a sacred cow. ... So now you’re saying there’s extra money there. I didn’t know there was extra money there. There a lot of avenues that I would like to spend that road fund money on or move it over to different avenues rather than take it for this project.” He said he was uncertain about the “last minute ... funding resources that are popping up somewhere” to support the supplemental appropriation.
The measure also contains $620 million for the group health program for state employees. Currie said that in the spring, lawmakers had only appropriated for half of the cost of the program because they hoped Quinn’s administration could achieve savings through negotiations with union leaders over a new contract for state workers. But an agreement has not been reached on a contract, and Currie said it is time to put the rest of the money into health care coverage so payments to providers are not further delayed. She said that health care providers are currently waiting up to a year to be paid for treating state workers. “That really is about half of what we expected to spend. We held it back because we were hopeful that there might be savings in the group health program. They haven’t materialized. We think it’s important to go ahead and pay the bill.”
Layoffs at the Department of Children and Family Services and cuts to mental health providers would be avoided if a measure approved by a House committee today makes it to the governor’s desk.
House Bill 190 would spend about $53 million in general revenue funds during the current fiscal year. The money would come from Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget vetoes and revenues that exceeded estimates used to plan the budget lawmakers passed in the spring. “There may be as much as $58 million [in additional funds],” said Chicago Democratic Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, who sponsors the bill.
The proposal contains $25 million for the Department of Children and Family Services. The money would help take the sting out of a $90 million cut that lawmakers approved in the spring and would allow DCFS to avoid laying off thousands of workers. When Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed money for correctional facilities that his administration has since closed or is in the process of closing, he called on lawmakers to redirect the money into DCFS. Quinn supports HB 190. The measure also contains $12 million for mental health care providers. Legislators who worked on the human services budget in the spring say they intended for providers to get the money, but the funds were not available because of a budgeting error. “We’re strongly committed to this appropriation amount,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, the former chair of the human services budgeting committee in the House.
HB 190 also includes $675 million for capital construction projects. Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Ann Schneider said the state got more federal money than expected, and revenues were higher than IDOT projected when planning its budget. “We normally put that financial plan for our highway program together about 18 months in advance, and so revenues in Fiscal Year '12 came in higher than what we programmed on.” Rep. Louis Arroyo, chairman of the public safety budgeting committee in the House, said he was unhappy that money would be pulled from the road fund. “When we sit down in my committee, nobody wants to touch the road fund, nobody wants to talk about the road fund. It’s like a sacred cow. ... So now you’re saying there’s extra money there. I didn’t know there was extra money there. There a lot of avenues that I would like to spend that road fund money on or move it over to different avenues rather than take it for this project.” He said he was uncertain about the “last minute ... funding resources that are popping up somewhere” to support the supplemental appropriation.
The measure also contains $620 million for the group health program for state employees. Currie said that in the spring, lawmakers had only appropriated for half of the cost of the program because they hoped Quinn’s administration could achieve savings through negotiations with union leaders over a new contract for state workers. But an agreement has not been reached on a contract, and Currie said it is time to put the rest of the money into health care coverage so payments to providers are not further delayed. She said that health care providers are currently waiting up to a year to be paid for treating state workers. “That really is about half of what we expected to spend. We held it back because we were hopeful that there might be savings in the group health program. They haven’t materialized. We think it’s important to go ahead and pay the bill.”
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Concealed-carry bill introduced in the House
By Jamey Dunn
Rep. Brandon Phelps introduced a concealed-carry bill today and says he hopes to pass legislation before a court-imposed deadline requires the state to allow residents to carry firearms in public.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in December ruled the state’s ban on concealed-carry unconstitutional and gave the General Assembly 180 days to pass carry legislation. The court’s opinion said lawmakers have the right to put restrictions on carry, such as requiring training for a license and limiting the places that guns are allowed. The decision came from a panel of three judges, but Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the full court, 10 judges, to reconsider the case. So far, however, the 180-day deadline continues to stand. Phelps and others believe that if legislators do not get something passed by that deadline, there will be no restrictions on carrying firearms in the state. “Here’s the deal: The clock is still ticking,” Phelps said. “If I was an anti-gun group, I would want to hurry up and get something passed.”
Phelps, who has sponsored several versions of a concealed-carry bill throughout the years, said he introduced a bill this session because he wants to negotiate in good faith. “We filed a bill to show people that we do mean what we say about working on this issue.” Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat, said his new legislation, House Bill 997, is similar to House Bill 48, which failed to get the needed support to pass in the House in the spring of 2011. “Now’s not the time to reinvent the wheel,” he said.
Under the new proposal, applicants must be 21 years old and hold a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. They would be required to undergo four hours of training on topics including: “basic principles of marksmanship, care and cleaning of handguns and laws relating to the justifiable use of force.” They would also have to pass a live fire exercise with a certified instructor. A database of applicant information would be accessible to law enforcement officials. Statistical information about licenses issued by demographics, such as race, age gender or geographic location, would be available to the public. However, information about specific applicants would be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
If an applicant met all the requirements in the bill, the legislation requires that the Illinois State Police issue a license within 30 days of receiving his or her application. The state police would be able to consider objections from local law enforcement when processing applications. Those applicants who were granted licenses would be able to carry a loaded or unloaded handgun either concealed or openly in public and while in a vehicle. The measure prohibits guns in certain areas, such as state and federal buildings, and bars firearms at college campuses and schools. Some of those places, such as schools and campuses, could opt to allow concealed-carry if approved by school authorities. Business owners could choose not to allow guns inside their establishments.
The bill would preempt home rule, so it would apply across the state, including in Chicago. The proposal would bar home rule units of government from limiting the number of guns a concealed-carry permit owner could have or requiring that they register the guns they own.
Meanwhile, a group of freshman lawmakers joined Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon today to announce a new working group that will focus on guns. “Issues about firearms often have regional rather than partisan splits, and your perspective as to where you come from in the state often has an influence on how you look at these issues, so that’s one of the reasons that I wanted to convene this group of folks from across the state to be able to learn what those regional perspectives are, to be able to be fully informed,” Simon said at a Chicago news conference.
Simon said the group plans to meet with mental health professionals, law enforcement officials, teachers, school administrators, victims of gun violence, gun rights activists and gun control supporters. Members of the group will also learn how to use a firearm at the Sparta World Shooting Complex and get a lesson on gun safety from the state police. She said the panel does not plan to produce legislation but to help create an informed dialogue on the issue. She said the group would especially focus on the subject of concealed carry. “It’s something that this group will likely have to vote on, and I think as a group we’ve decided that we want to contribute to a fully informed conversation on this issue. This is an issue where people often get driven into one side or another, and we miss some opportunity where we all have common interest,” Simon said. “We’re not targeting putting out a report. We’re not targeting putting out a bill. We’re targeting making the legislative process an effective one. We’re targeting making sure that people from different perspectives understand those other perspectives.”
Lawmakers from throughout the state have joined the diverse group. The panel includes a former federal prosecutor, former school board members, a veteran of the Iraq War, a former Illinois Department of Corrections employee, a conservationist and a mayor. Orland Hills Democrat Rep. Michael Hastings, who served in the United States Army and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said he has a FOID card and is a gun owner. “I know the detrimental effects that weapons can have when used improperly, and I want to ensure that the legislation that we pass provides for guidelines and rules for gun owners that provide for safe and effective use of firearms if and when conceal and carry is passed.”
Hillside Democratic Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who earlier this week stepped down as school board president for Proviso Township High School District 209, said he opposed concealed carry during his campaign for the General Assembly. “Being from Cook County, this is a very serious issue for us. The city of Chicago had over 500 murders last year. So I’m here willing to listen, but I’m also here willing to offer some ideas on how we can address some serious statistics that we are dealing with in the city of Chicago.”
Simon said she is targeting new lawmakers in part because they have yet to act on any legislation related to gun control. “I think you’re the perfect group to be working on this. None of you have cast a vote in the General Assembly on any kind of gun issue, and it’s a great opportunity to do that bipartisan work and to really be leaders.”
Phelps said he is interested to hear what Simon’s group has to offer on concealed carry, but he also said they should listen to lawmakers like him who have been trying to reach a compromise on the topic for years. “I just think they would want to hear from people like us who have been working on this bill for a long, long time,” he said. “We’ve had our own working groups for a long time. And we’ve got one now, but it’s not hers.”
For more on concealed carry, See Illinois Issues March 2012.
Rep. Brandon Phelps introduced a concealed-carry bill today and says he hopes to pass legislation before a court-imposed deadline requires the state to allow residents to carry firearms in public.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in December ruled the state’s ban on concealed-carry unconstitutional and gave the General Assembly 180 days to pass carry legislation. The court’s opinion said lawmakers have the right to put restrictions on carry, such as requiring training for a license and limiting the places that guns are allowed. The decision came from a panel of three judges, but Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the full court, 10 judges, to reconsider the case. So far, however, the 180-day deadline continues to stand. Phelps and others believe that if legislators do not get something passed by that deadline, there will be no restrictions on carrying firearms in the state. “Here’s the deal: The clock is still ticking,” Phelps said. “If I was an anti-gun group, I would want to hurry up and get something passed.”
Phelps, who has sponsored several versions of a concealed-carry bill throughout the years, said he introduced a bill this session because he wants to negotiate in good faith. “We filed a bill to show people that we do mean what we say about working on this issue.” Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat, said his new legislation, House Bill 997, is similar to House Bill 48, which failed to get the needed support to pass in the House in the spring of 2011. “Now’s not the time to reinvent the wheel,” he said.
Under the new proposal, applicants must be 21 years old and hold a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card. They would be required to undergo four hours of training on topics including: “basic principles of marksmanship, care and cleaning of handguns and laws relating to the justifiable use of force.” They would also have to pass a live fire exercise with a certified instructor. A database of applicant information would be accessible to law enforcement officials. Statistical information about licenses issued by demographics, such as race, age gender or geographic location, would be available to the public. However, information about specific applicants would be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
If an applicant met all the requirements in the bill, the legislation requires that the Illinois State Police issue a license within 30 days of receiving his or her application. The state police would be able to consider objections from local law enforcement when processing applications. Those applicants who were granted licenses would be able to carry a loaded or unloaded handgun either concealed or openly in public and while in a vehicle. The measure prohibits guns in certain areas, such as state and federal buildings, and bars firearms at college campuses and schools. Some of those places, such as schools and campuses, could opt to allow concealed-carry if approved by school authorities. Business owners could choose not to allow guns inside their establishments.
The bill would preempt home rule, so it would apply across the state, including in Chicago. The proposal would bar home rule units of government from limiting the number of guns a concealed-carry permit owner could have or requiring that they register the guns they own.
Meanwhile, a group of freshman lawmakers joined Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon today to announce a new working group that will focus on guns. “Issues about firearms often have regional rather than partisan splits, and your perspective as to where you come from in the state often has an influence on how you look at these issues, so that’s one of the reasons that I wanted to convene this group of folks from across the state to be able to learn what those regional perspectives are, to be able to be fully informed,” Simon said at a Chicago news conference.
Simon said the group plans to meet with mental health professionals, law enforcement officials, teachers, school administrators, victims of gun violence, gun rights activists and gun control supporters. Members of the group will also learn how to use a firearm at the Sparta World Shooting Complex and get a lesson on gun safety from the state police. She said the panel does not plan to produce legislation but to help create an informed dialogue on the issue. She said the group would especially focus on the subject of concealed carry. “It’s something that this group will likely have to vote on, and I think as a group we’ve decided that we want to contribute to a fully informed conversation on this issue. This is an issue where people often get driven into one side or another, and we miss some opportunity where we all have common interest,” Simon said. “We’re not targeting putting out a report. We’re not targeting putting out a bill. We’re targeting making the legislative process an effective one. We’re targeting making sure that people from different perspectives understand those other perspectives.”
Lawmakers from throughout the state have joined the diverse group. The panel includes a former federal prosecutor, former school board members, a veteran of the Iraq War, a former Illinois Department of Corrections employee, a conservationist and a mayor. Orland Hills Democrat Rep. Michael Hastings, who served in the United States Army and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, said he has a FOID card and is a gun owner. “I know the detrimental effects that weapons can have when used improperly, and I want to ensure that the legislation that we pass provides for guidelines and rules for gun owners that provide for safe and effective use of firearms if and when conceal and carry is passed.”
Hillside Democratic Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who earlier this week stepped down as school board president for Proviso Township High School District 209, said he opposed concealed carry during his campaign for the General Assembly. “Being from Cook County, this is a very serious issue for us. The city of Chicago had over 500 murders last year. So I’m here willing to listen, but I’m also here willing to offer some ideas on how we can address some serious statistics that we are dealing with in the city of Chicago.”
Simon said she is targeting new lawmakers in part because they have yet to act on any legislation related to gun control. “I think you’re the perfect group to be working on this. None of you have cast a vote in the General Assembly on any kind of gun issue, and it’s a great opportunity to do that bipartisan work and to really be leaders.”
Phelps said he is interested to hear what Simon’s group has to offer on concealed carry, but he also said they should listen to lawmakers like him who have been trying to reach a compromise on the topic for years. “I just think they would want to hear from people like us who have been working on this bill for a long, long time,” he said. “We’ve had our own working groups for a long time. And we’ve got one now, but it’s not hers.”
For more on concealed carry, See Illinois Issues March 2012.
Monday, January 28, 2013
While Congress eyes immigration policy, Illinois has set its own agenda
By Jamey Dunn
As President Barack Obama and members of Congress begin a push toward federal immigration reform, Illinois has begun taking steps to address the practical matters associated with the state’s large population of undocumented immigrants.
As expected, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law yesterday that will allow immigrants who are living in the country illegally access to temporary driver’s licenses. Those applying for the licenses must provide proof that they have lived in the state for one year. Proponents say this requirement will prevent immigrants in other states from coming to Illinois to get licenses. The licenses available to undocumented immigrants will be temporary and have a different appearance than the state’s standard driver’s licenses. They will not be valid as a form of identification for other purposes, such as boarding a plane or buying a firearm.
Proponents frame the new law as a public safety initiative. “This law will make the roads of Illinois safer for all of us. It requires that you pass a vision test, the written test and the road test,” Secretary of State Jesse White said at a Chicago event yesterday. White said his office would make efforts in the coming months to educate the public about how to obtain the licenses. He said that he plans to start issuing the licenses in October. “I look forward to issuing the first driver’s license on October 1 of this year.”
When the measure was up for debate in the legislature, opponents argued that the requirements for the licenses were licenses were too slack, opening up the potential for fraud. Many said that applicants should have to be fingerprinted in order to get a license. They also argued that it is not up to states to address immigration policy. “We are ... engaging in activities the U.S. government should be taking [on] themselves,” Rep. Dwight Kay, a Republican from Glen Carbon, said when the bill was debated on the House floor. Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican, said the state should not “provide privileges for people who are not citizens here.”
A push for immigration reform is kicking off this week at the national level. A bipartisan group of senators plans to unveil a proposal today. Obama is scheduled to give a speech on the topic tomorrow in Las Vegas. The Senate plan reportedly will include increased efforts to secure the border and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain are both part of the group that came up with the proposal, and both took to the Sunday morning political talk shows yesterday to discuss it. “We are committed to a comprehensive approach to immigration that we can live with,” Durbin told Fox News Sunday. McCain was blunt about the political incentives for Republicans. “Look at the last election,” McCain said Sunday morning on ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos. “We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours.”
McCain also said, “We can’t go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status.”
Quinn pointed to the bill he signed yesterday and the Illinois Dream Act, a bill he signed in 2011 that allows undocumented students access to privately funded scholarships, as steps that could become models for national policy. “Comprehensive immigration reform, here we come in the United States of America,” he said. Chicago Democratic Rep. Edward Acevedo, who sponsored both pieces of legislation, said that access to driver’s licenses is a step, but more needs to be done to address immigration. “This achievement — while wonderful — it is just another mile marker in the journey to securing the American dream for all people,” Acevedo said. “This bill is not just about driver’s licenses, it’s about equality for all.”
Some Republicans crossed the aisle to support both the Illinois Dream Act and the new law that will allow access to driver’s licenses. Republican Senate Leader Christine Radogno said that the lawmakers on the federal level could look to the negotiations on the driver’s license bill as an example of how to achieve broad support on immigration legislation. “We had the opponents and the proponents all come together. Everybody gave a little bit,” she said. “I hope that we can take this model on this bill in this state and apply it nationally to get something done that so desperately need to be done.”
As President Barack Obama and members of Congress begin a push toward federal immigration reform, Illinois has begun taking steps to address the practical matters associated with the state’s large population of undocumented immigrants.
As expected, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill into law yesterday that will allow immigrants who are living in the country illegally access to temporary driver’s licenses. Those applying for the licenses must provide proof that they have lived in the state for one year. Proponents say this requirement will prevent immigrants in other states from coming to Illinois to get licenses. The licenses available to undocumented immigrants will be temporary and have a different appearance than the state’s standard driver’s licenses. They will not be valid as a form of identification for other purposes, such as boarding a plane or buying a firearm.
Proponents frame the new law as a public safety initiative. “This law will make the roads of Illinois safer for all of us. It requires that you pass a vision test, the written test and the road test,” Secretary of State Jesse White said at a Chicago event yesterday. White said his office would make efforts in the coming months to educate the public about how to obtain the licenses. He said that he plans to start issuing the licenses in October. “I look forward to issuing the first driver’s license on October 1 of this year.”
When the measure was up for debate in the legislature, opponents argued that the requirements for the licenses were licenses were too slack, opening up the potential for fraud. Many said that applicants should have to be fingerprinted in order to get a license. They also argued that it is not up to states to address immigration policy. “We are ... engaging in activities the U.S. government should be taking [on] themselves,” Rep. Dwight Kay, a Republican from Glen Carbon, said when the bill was debated on the House floor. Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican, said the state should not “provide privileges for people who are not citizens here.”
A push for immigration reform is kicking off this week at the national level. A bipartisan group of senators plans to unveil a proposal today. Obama is scheduled to give a speech on the topic tomorrow in Las Vegas. The Senate plan reportedly will include increased efforts to secure the border and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain are both part of the group that came up with the proposal, and both took to the Sunday morning political talk shows yesterday to discuss it. “We are committed to a comprehensive approach to immigration that we can live with,” Durbin told Fox News Sunday. McCain was blunt about the political incentives for Republicans. “Look at the last election,” McCain said Sunday morning on ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos. “We are losing dramatically the Hispanic vote, which we think should be ours.”
McCain also said, “We can’t go on forever with 11 million people living in this country in the shadows in an illegal status.”
Quinn pointed to the bill he signed yesterday and the Illinois Dream Act, a bill he signed in 2011 that allows undocumented students access to privately funded scholarships, as steps that could become models for national policy. “Comprehensive immigration reform, here we come in the United States of America,” he said. Chicago Democratic Rep. Edward Acevedo, who sponsored both pieces of legislation, said that access to driver’s licenses is a step, but more needs to be done to address immigration. “This achievement — while wonderful — it is just another mile marker in the journey to securing the American dream for all people,” Acevedo said. “This bill is not just about driver’s licenses, it’s about equality for all.”
Some Republicans crossed the aisle to support both the Illinois Dream Act and the new law that will allow access to driver’s licenses. Republican Senate Leader Christine Radogno said that the lawmakers on the federal level could look to the negotiations on the driver’s license bill as an example of how to achieve broad support on immigration legislation. “We had the opponents and the proponents all come together. Everybody gave a little bit,” she said. “I hope that we can take this model on this bill in this state and apply it nationally to get something done that so desperately need to be done.”
Friday, January 25, 2013
Quinn pushes pension 'compromise' as state's bond rating is downgraded
By Jamey Dunn
As the state’s credit rating takes another hit, Gov. Pat Quinn has thrown his weight behind a pension reform proposal backed by Senate President John Cullerton.
Standard & Poors downgraded the state's bond rating from an A to an A-, which means Illinois could pay more interest on the $500 million in general obligation bonds it plans to sell next week. S&P also gave Illinois a “negative” outlook for the future.
“The downgrade reflects what we view as the state's weakened pension funded ratios and lack of action on reform measures intended to improve funding levels and diminish cost pressures associated with annual contributions,” S&P credit analyst Robin Prunty said in a written statement.
The report from S&P said the state could face a further downgrade if there is no progress on pension reform. “While it is unusual for a state rating to fall into the 'BBB' category, lack of action on pension reform and upcoming budget challenges could result in further credit deterioration, particularly if it translates into weaker liquidity.” The report said that the outlook could move to stable if lawmakers address the underfunding of the pension system, reduce the backlog of unpaid bills and address structural budget issues. However, the analysts at S&P appear doubtful that all of that can be accomplished. “We believe there is limited upside potential for the rating in the next two years, given the size of the accumulated deficit and the liability challenges Illinois faces, but will evaluate the state's progress in addressing key budget and pension challenges.”
After having no luck trying to get pension changes through the House during the lame-duck session earlier this month, Quinn today called on lawmakers to support Senate Bill 1. “We’re concerned obviously at all times about our credit rating,” Quinn told reporters in Chicago. “The credit rating agencies aren’t going to give us better marks until the legislature deals with Senate Bill 1 and gets the job done. And that’s really — I think — the message that the credit rating agencies are screaming at the top of their voice[s]. I’ve heard, and I think members of the legislature need to pay attention, as well.”
Cullerton opposed legislation under consideration in the House during the lame-duck session because he said it is unconstitutional. “The Constitution says you can’t unilaterally pass a law taking away people’s pension benefits. You have to ask them to do it contractually,” Cullerton said on the last day of the lame-duck session. He believes that to pass constitutional muster, some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. Legislation that passed in the Senate last year would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or state-subsidized retiree health care. “Their bill unilaterally takes away people’s rights in exchange for nothing. That’s why it’s unconstitutional.”
Cullerton has pitched SB1 as a compromise. It contains the proposal that was being considered in the House. That provision would temporarily freeze cost-of-living increases, require higher contributions from employees, put a cap pensionable salary and include a guarantee that the state makes its annual required contribution to the pension systems. The bill also tacks on the proposal that Cullerton believes is constitutional. If the Supreme Court were to rule the House plan constitutional, it would become the law. But if the court rejected the House proposal, the Senate version could then be considered.
Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who spearheads the issue in the House, said she is open to the idea of a bill that combines both concepts, but she thinks SB1 is not quite there yet. “I’m all for compromise and for finding a way to work this out,” she said. “The challenge is making them work together in a way that we can present a fair case to the Illinois Supreme Court on both.”
Even if a compromise that combines the plans can be reached, there is no guarantee that the court would rule either plan constitutional. The S&P report today took a pessimistic tone about Illinois realizing any pension savings in the near future. “While legislative action on pension reform could occur during the current legislative session and various bills have been filed, we believe that legislative consensus on reform will be difficult to achieve given the poor track record in the past two years. If there is meaningful legislative action on reform, we believe that there could be implementation risk based on the potential for legal challenges, and it could be several years before reform translates into improved funded ratios and budget relief.” Nekritz said of today’s credit downgrade: “We had to think if we didn’t take action, that this would happen. It’s distressing to me.”
As the state’s credit rating takes another hit, Gov. Pat Quinn has thrown his weight behind a pension reform proposal backed by Senate President John Cullerton.
Standard & Poors downgraded the state's bond rating from an A to an A-, which means Illinois could pay more interest on the $500 million in general obligation bonds it plans to sell next week. S&P also gave Illinois a “negative” outlook for the future.
“The downgrade reflects what we view as the state's weakened pension funded ratios and lack of action on reform measures intended to improve funding levels and diminish cost pressures associated with annual contributions,” S&P credit analyst Robin Prunty said in a written statement.
The report from S&P said the state could face a further downgrade if there is no progress on pension reform. “While it is unusual for a state rating to fall into the 'BBB' category, lack of action on pension reform and upcoming budget challenges could result in further credit deterioration, particularly if it translates into weaker liquidity.” The report said that the outlook could move to stable if lawmakers address the underfunding of the pension system, reduce the backlog of unpaid bills and address structural budget issues. However, the analysts at S&P appear doubtful that all of that can be accomplished. “We believe there is limited upside potential for the rating in the next two years, given the size of the accumulated deficit and the liability challenges Illinois faces, but will evaluate the state's progress in addressing key budget and pension challenges.”
After having no luck trying to get pension changes through the House during the lame-duck session earlier this month, Quinn today called on lawmakers to support Senate Bill 1. “We’re concerned obviously at all times about our credit rating,” Quinn told reporters in Chicago. “The credit rating agencies aren’t going to give us better marks until the legislature deals with Senate Bill 1 and gets the job done. And that’s really — I think — the message that the credit rating agencies are screaming at the top of their voice[s]. I’ve heard, and I think members of the legislature need to pay attention, as well.”
Cullerton opposed legislation under consideration in the House during the lame-duck session because he said it is unconstitutional. “The Constitution says you can’t unilaterally pass a law taking away people’s pension benefits. You have to ask them to do it contractually,” Cullerton said on the last day of the lame-duck session. He believes that to pass constitutional muster, some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. Legislation that passed in the Senate last year would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or state-subsidized retiree health care. “Their bill unilaterally takes away people’s rights in exchange for nothing. That’s why it’s unconstitutional.”
Cullerton has pitched SB1 as a compromise. It contains the proposal that was being considered in the House. That provision would temporarily freeze cost-of-living increases, require higher contributions from employees, put a cap pensionable salary and include a guarantee that the state makes its annual required contribution to the pension systems. The bill also tacks on the proposal that Cullerton believes is constitutional. If the Supreme Court were to rule the House plan constitutional, it would become the law. But if the court rejected the House proposal, the Senate version could then be considered.
Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who spearheads the issue in the House, said she is open to the idea of a bill that combines both concepts, but she thinks SB1 is not quite there yet. “I’m all for compromise and for finding a way to work this out,” she said. “The challenge is making them work together in a way that we can present a fair case to the Illinois Supreme Court on both.”
Even if a compromise that combines the plans can be reached, there is no guarantee that the court would rule either plan constitutional. The S&P report today took a pessimistic tone about Illinois realizing any pension savings in the near future. “While legislative action on pension reform could occur during the current legislative session and various bills have been filed, we believe that legislative consensus on reform will be difficult to achieve given the poor track record in the past two years. If there is meaningful legislative action on reform, we believe that there could be implementation risk based on the potential for legal challenges, and it could be several years before reform translates into improved funded ratios and budget relief.” Nekritz said of today’s credit downgrade: “We had to think if we didn’t take action, that this would happen. It’s distressing to me.”
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Legislator seeks to limit lame-duck sessions
By Jamey Dunn
While supporters of controversial legislation dealing with gun control, pension reform and same sex marriage had little luck during the recent lame-duck session, one legislator is pushing to make it more difficult to get bills passed in the weeks before a new General Assembly is sworn in.
Sponsors of legislation have until March 31 each year to pass bills with a simple majority. After that date, they must find a three-fifths majority in each chamber if they want their bill to go into effect within a year. Bills that pass with a simple majority cannot take effect until June 1 of the next year. However, legislative leaders often call lawmakers into session for a few days or weeks before a new General Assembly is to be seated. Because that happens in January, the clock has been reset, but the new legislative session has not yet started. That allows legislators who are not returning in the new General Assembly, known as lame ducks, and lawmakers who have just won reelection and have a few years until they face another election to vote on proposals that are often controversial. That legislation also does not have to wait a year before taking effect. The time is informally called the lame-duck session.
This year’s lame-duck session was not particularly productive. But in January 2011, the General Assembly voted to increase income taxes on individuals and businesses and end the death penalty in Illinois. “Every two years there seems to be more activity in a short amount of time in the first week of January than there is in the true session,” said Rep. Jim Durkin, who filed House Bill 195 today. The proposal would require a three-fifths majority for bills passed in January before a new legislature is sworn in. Durkin said the measure closes a “loophole” that has been used by for years to ram bills through the process at the end of the two-year legislative session. Durkin, a Western Springs Republican, said that the problem with the lame-duck session is that lawmakers leaving office might be less influenced by the desires of their constituents. They also might be concerned about their future employment after they are no longer serving in the legislature. Many lawmakers go on to lobby their former colleagues on behalf of influential interests and industries such as utility companies and charitable organizations. “These two factors, a lower standard [for the passage of bills] and decreased constituent accountability, play into the appeal of using the lame-duck session as a way to move otherwise highly controversial legislation,” Durkin said. “Are there things I would like to see pass? Of course; however, I feel strongly that these proposals should be properly vetted through the legislative process.”
Durkin said he thinks the lame-duck session also adds to the temptation to put off difficult votes. “It’s the summer, and people are saying, ‘We will take care of [that] in the lame-duck session.’”
Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, said the practice of looking to the lame-duck session to as a time to pass big bills is a relatively new one. He said it started when the legislature's fall veto session began to expand to include more than just the governor’s vetoes. “When they wrote the 1970 Constitution, they assumed that we’d come back for a couple weeks and do some vetoes and go home. They couldn’t imagine the fall legislative session, which it has morphed into,” he said. “It was exceedingly rare in the '70s and '80s to do anything in veto session other than vetoes. I mean it happened, but generally the legislature came back a day ahead of time [before the swearing in of new lawmakers] and might clean up a little bit of ceremonial stuff in January.” Redfield said legislative action from the veto session started to spill over into January, and now the lame-duck session, which usually takes place over several days in January every two years, has become a fixture.
Redfield said now that legislative leaders have the lame-duck session as an option, it would be hard to turn back the clock. “It’s been way too useful a mechanism in previous General Assemblies. We’ve gotten pretty used to that possibility sitting there,” he said. “I think strategically, you don’t give anything away when you are in the majority.”
Durkin noted that Republicans have taken advantage of the lame-duck session when they held majorities, too. Durkin, who took office in 1995, said that after then-House Speaker Lee Daniels lost his Republican majority, he used the lame-duck session to pass bills before the new Democratic majority was seated. “And I’m sure I voted for a few of those things,” Durkin said. However, he said that Illinois now faces a public opinion crisis along with its fiscal one. “The public’s perception of legislative process is horrible, and at some point we need to be honest with ourselves and our constituents about what we are doing.”
While supporters of controversial legislation dealing with gun control, pension reform and same sex marriage had little luck during the recent lame-duck session, one legislator is pushing to make it more difficult to get bills passed in the weeks before a new General Assembly is sworn in.
Sponsors of legislation have until March 31 each year to pass bills with a simple majority. After that date, they must find a three-fifths majority in each chamber if they want their bill to go into effect within a year. Bills that pass with a simple majority cannot take effect until June 1 of the next year. However, legislative leaders often call lawmakers into session for a few days or weeks before a new General Assembly is to be seated. Because that happens in January, the clock has been reset, but the new legislative session has not yet started. That allows legislators who are not returning in the new General Assembly, known as lame ducks, and lawmakers who have just won reelection and have a few years until they face another election to vote on proposals that are often controversial. That legislation also does not have to wait a year before taking effect. The time is informally called the lame-duck session.
This year’s lame-duck session was not particularly productive. But in January 2011, the General Assembly voted to increase income taxes on individuals and businesses and end the death penalty in Illinois. “Every two years there seems to be more activity in a short amount of time in the first week of January than there is in the true session,” said Rep. Jim Durkin, who filed House Bill 195 today. The proposal would require a three-fifths majority for bills passed in January before a new legislature is sworn in. Durkin said the measure closes a “loophole” that has been used by for years to ram bills through the process at the end of the two-year legislative session. Durkin, a Western Springs Republican, said that the problem with the lame-duck session is that lawmakers leaving office might be less influenced by the desires of their constituents. They also might be concerned about their future employment after they are no longer serving in the legislature. Many lawmakers go on to lobby their former colleagues on behalf of influential interests and industries such as utility companies and charitable organizations. “These two factors, a lower standard [for the passage of bills] and decreased constituent accountability, play into the appeal of using the lame-duck session as a way to move otherwise highly controversial legislation,” Durkin said. “Are there things I would like to see pass? Of course; however, I feel strongly that these proposals should be properly vetted through the legislative process.”
Durkin said he thinks the lame-duck session also adds to the temptation to put off difficult votes. “It’s the summer, and people are saying, ‘We will take care of [that] in the lame-duck session.’”
Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Illinois Springfield, said the practice of looking to the lame-duck session to as a time to pass big bills is a relatively new one. He said it started when the legislature's fall veto session began to expand to include more than just the governor’s vetoes. “When they wrote the 1970 Constitution, they assumed that we’d come back for a couple weeks and do some vetoes and go home. They couldn’t imagine the fall legislative session, which it has morphed into,” he said. “It was exceedingly rare in the '70s and '80s to do anything in veto session other than vetoes. I mean it happened, but generally the legislature came back a day ahead of time [before the swearing in of new lawmakers] and might clean up a little bit of ceremonial stuff in January.” Redfield said legislative action from the veto session started to spill over into January, and now the lame-duck session, which usually takes place over several days in January every two years, has become a fixture.
Redfield said now that legislative leaders have the lame-duck session as an option, it would be hard to turn back the clock. “It’s been way too useful a mechanism in previous General Assemblies. We’ve gotten pretty used to that possibility sitting there,” he said. “I think strategically, you don’t give anything away when you are in the majority.”
Durkin noted that Republicans have taken advantage of the lame-duck session when they held majorities, too. Durkin, who took office in 1995, said that after then-House Speaker Lee Daniels lost his Republican majority, he used the lame-duck session to pass bills before the new Democratic majority was seated. “And I’m sure I voted for a few of those things,” Durkin said. However, he said that Illinois now faces a public opinion crisis along with its fiscal one. “The public’s perception of legislative process is horrible, and at some point we need to be honest with ourselves and our constituents about what we are doing.”
Friday, January 18, 2013
DCFS faces massive layoffs if additional funding is not approved
By Jamey Dunn
Lawmakers hope to get additional funding approved for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, but if they fail, the department will lay off two-thirds of its staff in a few months.
When Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed money for prisons and other state corrections facilities from the budget approved by the General Assembly, he called on lawmakers to put that money into DCFS to prevent hundreds of layoffs. The same budget cut nearly $90 million from DCFS. Legislation to put some of that money back never made it to a floor vote during the January lame-duck session. The measure up for consideration contained other budget items that met opposition. However, Chicago Democratic Sen. Heather Steans, who sponsored the bill, said she thinks there is support for passing an additional $25 million for the agency early in the new legislative session. “I do think there’s general agreement on the DCFS funding,” she said. Chicago Democratic Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, the former chair of the House Human Services Budgeting Committee, agreed. “I think that there is a relatively strong commitment to do this.”
If the money does not come through, DCFS plans to lay off nearly 2,000 employees this spring. “The answer to the what-if questions is that if the budget cuts are not restored, that sometime in March or thereafter we will have to lay off about two-thirds of our staff statewide,” said Dave Clarkin, a spokesman for DCFS.
DCFS currently has about 600 investigators; Clarkin said the agency hopes to avoid laying off any of them. “It’s a primary responsibility of the department. It is something that by statute can’t be outsourced or done by anybody else,” he said of the investigators’ work. The department is restructuring its staff in an effort to put more than 100 additional investigators on the front line.
The possibility of mass layoffs comes after a year when DCFS saw in increase in abuse- and neglect-related deaths, and a spike in the number of downstate abuse cases. According to DCFS, neglect or abuse played a factor in 90 deaths last year. The department is still investigating 60 other cases. “Once those investigations are closed, we will have seen the highest number of deaths we have seen in Illinois in 32 years,” Clarkin said. “Child abuse generally and sex abuse in particular are both on the rise.” From July 2012 to October 2012, the department's abuse hotline received 25,348 reports of suspected abuse, compared with 24,053 during the same period in 2011. Last year, 35 downstate counties had abuse and neglect rates of more than double the statewide average. Cook County had rates just below the state average.
Suffocation by neglect was the leading cause of death in cases the department investigated in 2012. The second leading cause was abuse, and the third was inadequate supervision. “Most deaths occurred when parents, ignoring the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and safety experts, slept with a newborn or infant in their bed, rolling over on the child in the night and smothering her or him. In other instances, parents ignored safety warnings and allowed a newborn or infant to sleep with a blanket, on an adult mattress or couch, or on their stomachs, suffocating the child,” a prepared statement from DCFS said. Clarkin said the department is making efforts to educate the public on the proper sleeping conditions for newborns, as well as ways to prevent child abuse and neglect in their communities.
Lawmakers hope to get additional funding approved for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, but if they fail, the department will lay off two-thirds of its staff in a few months.
When Gov. Pat Quinn vetoed money for prisons and other state corrections facilities from the budget approved by the General Assembly, he called on lawmakers to put that money into DCFS to prevent hundreds of layoffs. The same budget cut nearly $90 million from DCFS. Legislation to put some of that money back never made it to a floor vote during the January lame-duck session. The measure up for consideration contained other budget items that met opposition. However, Chicago Democratic Sen. Heather Steans, who sponsored the bill, said she thinks there is support for passing an additional $25 million for the agency early in the new legislative session. “I do think there’s general agreement on the DCFS funding,” she said. Chicago Democratic Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, the former chair of the House Human Services Budgeting Committee, agreed. “I think that there is a relatively strong commitment to do this.”
If the money does not come through, DCFS plans to lay off nearly 2,000 employees this spring. “The answer to the what-if questions is that if the budget cuts are not restored, that sometime in March or thereafter we will have to lay off about two-thirds of our staff statewide,” said Dave Clarkin, a spokesman for DCFS.
DCFS currently has about 600 investigators; Clarkin said the agency hopes to avoid laying off any of them. “It’s a primary responsibility of the department. It is something that by statute can’t be outsourced or done by anybody else,” he said of the investigators’ work. The department is restructuring its staff in an effort to put more than 100 additional investigators on the front line.
The possibility of mass layoffs comes after a year when DCFS saw in increase in abuse- and neglect-related deaths, and a spike in the number of downstate abuse cases. According to DCFS, neglect or abuse played a factor in 90 deaths last year. The department is still investigating 60 other cases. “Once those investigations are closed, we will have seen the highest number of deaths we have seen in Illinois in 32 years,” Clarkin said. “Child abuse generally and sex abuse in particular are both on the rise.” From July 2012 to October 2012, the department's abuse hotline received 25,348 reports of suspected abuse, compared with 24,053 during the same period in 2011. Last year, 35 downstate counties had abuse and neglect rates of more than double the statewide average. Cook County had rates just below the state average.
Suffocation by neglect was the leading cause of death in cases the department investigated in 2012. The second leading cause was abuse, and the third was inadequate supervision. “Most deaths occurred when parents, ignoring the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and safety experts, slept with a newborn or infant in their bed, rolling over on the child in the night and smothering her or him. In other instances, parents ignored safety warnings and allowed a newborn or infant to sleep with a blanket, on an adult mattress or couch, or on their stomachs, suffocating the child,” a prepared statement from DCFS said. Clarkin said the department is making efforts to educate the public on the proper sleeping conditions for newborns, as well as ways to prevent child abuse and neglect in their communities.
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
New General Assembly, same old issues
By Jamey Dunn and Meredith Colias
As the 98th General Assembly was sworn in today, legislative leaders reminded members new and old that they have difficult work ahead.
“It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. It’s a new life for me,” sang Molly Durand, Senate President’s John Cullerton’s niece, at the end of the inaugural ceremony in the Senate. It may be a new day and a new General Assembly, but lawmakers face familiar issues such as pension changes, same-sex marriage and proposals regarding guns. “As we move forward in good faith and good comradeship, the issues haven’t changed that much. The nature of the issues hasn’t changed that much. They remain terribly contentious and terribly divisive,” House Speaker Michael Madigan told new House members.
Cullerton introduced Senate Bill 1 today, which he has dubbed as his compromise with the House on pensions. Cullerton believes recent proposals put forward by Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz and more than a dozen other House members are unconstitutional. Those in the House backing pension changes were unable to find the support needed to pass a bill during the lame-duck session. Cullerton says he is willing to call the House proposal for a vote as long as lawmakers also approve a plan that he believes is constitutional. His plan would be a backup option if the Illinois Supreme Court were to shoot down the Nekritz bill. SB 1 contains both proposals. Nekritz plans to introduce the House plan again in the new legislative session, and Evanston Democratic Sen. Daniel Biss, who until recently was a House member working on pension reform with Nekritz, said he plans to introduce the House proposal in the Senate. “The people of Illinois have put great trust in us and are counting on us to be bold while facing significant challenges ahead,” Nekritz said. “That work is never easy. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it falls short. Trust me, I know. Just look at House session yesterday.”
Gov. Pat Quinn said today of the failure to pass pension reform in the General Assembly's lame-duck session: “It was disappointing, but you know, in high school I ran long distance. So this is a long distance run to get pension reform, and you've just got to keep running until you get to the finish line.” He said is “optimistic” that Cullerton’s bill can pass in the Senate. “Then, we’ll get it over to the House, where we have obviously a lot of work still to do, but I think we made some progress in establishing good relationships, and ultimately there’ll have to be some compromises in the House in order to get a bill passed there.”
House Speaker Michael Madigan called the pension problem “the most serious problem facing the state of Illinois today.” He said in a speech today: “It’s an extremely difficult issue because in order to achieve some improvement .. .part of the solution would be to tell people that there will be a change in the promised benefit that they will receive in their pension.” Madigan said those who are serious about solving the pension problem must find a solution to what he described as the “free lunch” of the state paying most of the employer costs of pensions for schools outside of Chicago, public universities and community colleges. The cost-shift, which would eventually require downstate schools to pick up the full employer costs of retiree benefits, became a point of gridlock in previous negotiations among the legislative leaders. Madigan had said he would temporarily back off the issue during the lame-duck session to try to get a bill passed .
House Minority Leader Cross, who opposes the cost shift, also emphasized the need for pension changes when he addressed the House. “We need to understand and accept that if we do nothing, a variety of not-so-good things happen.” All four legislative leaders said they hope to address similar issues, such as getting the state's budget in order and paying bills in a timely manner.
Many other issues that were the focus of the recent lame-duck session also will likely become the key debates during the new session. Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris and Chicago Democratic Sen. Heather Steans, who unsuccessfully pushed for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, plan to introduce new legislation and continue their efforts in the new session. Quinn also renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons. “I’m optimistic that very quickly, we can address marriage equality with the new legislature. I think we have to address the assault weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, I think that’s imperative, and I think pension reform. Those are three issues that I think right away the new legislature is going to have to come together and focus on,” Quinn said.
While the Democrats will have veto-proof majorities in both chambers, that does not mean they will be able to easily pass any legislation leadership wants. “We may all call ourselves Democrats on this side of the chamber, but we hold a wide array of opinions and represent very different districts,” said Chicago Democratic Sen. Kwame Raoul in his speech to nominate Cullerton for another term as Senate president.
“We represent 4 million people collectively on this side of the aisle. We have ideas. We have principles, and we have microphones. And if microphones don’t work, we have soap boxes,” Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said of her 19-member Republican caucus.
Cullerton warned Democrats that just because they have large numbers does not mean they can avoid casting difficult votes. “My advice is to enjoy today and celebrate with your families, but you must know tough decisions and votes await us in the weeks and months ahead.”
As the 98th General Assembly was sworn in today, legislative leaders reminded members new and old that they have difficult work ahead.
“It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. It’s a new life for me,” sang Molly Durand, Senate President’s John Cullerton’s niece, at the end of the inaugural ceremony in the Senate. It may be a new day and a new General Assembly, but lawmakers face familiar issues such as pension changes, same-sex marriage and proposals regarding guns. “As we move forward in good faith and good comradeship, the issues haven’t changed that much. The nature of the issues hasn’t changed that much. They remain terribly contentious and terribly divisive,” House Speaker Michael Madigan told new House members.
Cullerton introduced Senate Bill 1 today, which he has dubbed as his compromise with the House on pensions. Cullerton believes recent proposals put forward by Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz and more than a dozen other House members are unconstitutional. Those in the House backing pension changes were unable to find the support needed to pass a bill during the lame-duck session. Cullerton says he is willing to call the House proposal for a vote as long as lawmakers also approve a plan that he believes is constitutional. His plan would be a backup option if the Illinois Supreme Court were to shoot down the Nekritz bill. SB 1 contains both proposals. Nekritz plans to introduce the House plan again in the new legislative session, and Evanston Democratic Sen. Daniel Biss, who until recently was a House member working on pension reform with Nekritz, said he plans to introduce the House proposal in the Senate. “The people of Illinois have put great trust in us and are counting on us to be bold while facing significant challenges ahead,” Nekritz said. “That work is never easy. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it falls short. Trust me, I know. Just look at House session yesterday.”
Gov. Pat Quinn said today of the failure to pass pension reform in the General Assembly's lame-duck session: “It was disappointing, but you know, in high school I ran long distance. So this is a long distance run to get pension reform, and you've just got to keep running until you get to the finish line.” He said is “optimistic” that Cullerton’s bill can pass in the Senate. “Then, we’ll get it over to the House, where we have obviously a lot of work still to do, but I think we made some progress in establishing good relationships, and ultimately there’ll have to be some compromises in the House in order to get a bill passed there.”
House Speaker Michael Madigan called the pension problem “the most serious problem facing the state of Illinois today.” He said in a speech today: “It’s an extremely difficult issue because in order to achieve some improvement .. .part of the solution would be to tell people that there will be a change in the promised benefit that they will receive in their pension.” Madigan said those who are serious about solving the pension problem must find a solution to what he described as the “free lunch” of the state paying most of the employer costs of pensions for schools outside of Chicago, public universities and community colleges. The cost-shift, which would eventually require downstate schools to pick up the full employer costs of retiree benefits, became a point of gridlock in previous negotiations among the legislative leaders. Madigan had said he would temporarily back off the issue during the lame-duck session to try to get a bill passed .
House Minority Leader Cross, who opposes the cost shift, also emphasized the need for pension changes when he addressed the House. “We need to understand and accept that if we do nothing, a variety of not-so-good things happen.” All four legislative leaders said they hope to address similar issues, such as getting the state's budget in order and paying bills in a timely manner.
Many other issues that were the focus of the recent lame-duck session also will likely become the key debates during the new session. Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris and Chicago Democratic Sen. Heather Steans, who unsuccessfully pushed for a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, plan to introduce new legislation and continue their efforts in the new session. Quinn also renewed his call for a ban on assault weapons. “I’m optimistic that very quickly, we can address marriage equality with the new legislature. I think we have to address the assault weapons ban and a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines, I think that’s imperative, and I think pension reform. Those are three issues that I think right away the new legislature is going to have to come together and focus on,” Quinn said.
While the Democrats will have veto-proof majorities in both chambers, that does not mean they will be able to easily pass any legislation leadership wants. “We may all call ourselves Democrats on this side of the chamber, but we hold a wide array of opinions and represent very different districts,” said Chicago Democratic Sen. Kwame Raoul in his speech to nominate Cullerton for another term as Senate president.
“We represent 4 million people collectively on this side of the aisle. We have ideas. We have principles, and we have microphones. And if microphones don’t work, we have soap boxes,” Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said of her 19-member Republican caucus.
Cullerton warned Democrats that just because they have large numbers does not mean they can avoid casting difficult votes. “My advice is to enjoy today and celebrate with your families, but you must know tough decisions and votes await us in the weeks and months ahead.”
Tuesday, January 08, 2013
No pension reform for the 97th General Assembly
By Jamey Dunn
The Illinois House and Senate adjourned their two-year legislative sessions today without approving a pension reform measure, dashing the hopes of those who were striving to get legislation approved during the General Assembly's lame-duck session.
“We didn’t quite get there, so we are going to regroup and start up again,” said Northbrook Democrat Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who sponsored a pension reform proposal a committee approved yesterday but that was not called for a floor vote. She said there is no single component of reform that is holding it up. “It remains a range of issues that members are concerned about. Look, when you’re impacting people’s retirement security, it’s a tough vote, and people have a lot of different concerns about it. It would be great if we could have one thing we could focus on and get it corrected, but that’s not the way this works.”
In what many described as a Hail Mary attempt to get something done on pension reform, Gov. Pat Quinn pushed the idea of creating a special pension commission with the power to create a plan that would become law unless the General Assembly intervened. Under a proposed amendment to Senate Bill 1673, a special commission appointed by the legislative leaders would be required to present a plan by April 30 that would ensure that the pension systems were 100 percent funded by 2045. The proposal from the commission would become law unless both chambers voted to reject it.
“We have to take extraordinary action to help break the gridlock,” Quinn said when he testified in favor of the plan before a House committee today. Quinn said that failure to act would eventually result in the state’s bond rating being downgraded yet again. “We have to understand that this is an emergency.” Quinn compared the idea to the federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission, a federal entity that was created to recommend military bases for closure after it become clear that regional interests were making it all but impossible for Congress to approve closures. If the bill would have passed, Quinn said he would have signed it and then no longer would have been a part of the process. The bill would not have required that the governor sign off on the commission’s proposal.
But detractors questioned the constitutionality of such a plan, and it was not called for a vote in the House. “I myself thought that his late proposal was perhaps not the very best public policy pronouncement. I think there are constitutional questions about it,” Chicago Democratic Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie said after the House adjourned. Nekritz said she sponsored the measure, which Quinn brought to her, because she thought it deserved consideration. “Clearly, some dynamic needs to change. We have been working at this a very long time, and it’s been challenging to get the necessary votes on the bill, obviously. An idea to sort of shake that up, I think we had to look at that,” she said.
Currie said that those who have been working on pension reform should not take the days events as a failure. “It’s not as if any of this is new. This is very very tough. And I think there’s going to be no matter what we do if we do something there will be constitutional challenges,” she said. “I’m not embarrassed that we didn’t get it done today. I am embarrassed we haven’t done anything so far, but I am encouraged that we, as of yesterday, seemed really to have a renewed focus renewed energy renewed effort on the whole issue of pensions.”
Nekritz and newly sworn in Sen. Daniel Biss, an Evanston Democrat, said they each plan to introduce a pension reform plan in their respective chambers when the new legislative session starts tomorrow. “It’s not at all back to the drawing board,” Biss said. “We feel like we had tremendous momentum yesterday. We still have tremendous momentum today, and we want to carry that forward.” He said the legislation they plan to file would be nearly identical to a proposal, House Bill 6258, which more than a dozen House members brought forward in December. The plan a House committee approved Monday was based on that proposal. But Biss said he and Nekritz want to return to the initial legislation because he said it is a “good negotiation platform.” He and Nekritz both emphasized that they are open to changes to the legislation, and no ideas are off the table. “This issue is tough and complicated, and different people have different challenges with it, and so it’s really a matter of cobbling that majority together one vote at a time. And we’ll learn as we work with these new members one at a time what those issues are. And we hope it will be easier, and we know it won’t be very easy. But we know it can be done,” Biss said.
Senate President John Cullerton believes that the framework for HB 6258 is unconstitutional. “The Constitution says you can’t unilaterally pass a law taking away people’s pension benefits. You have to ask them to do it contractually,” Cullerton said. He maintains that some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. A plan that passed in the Senate would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or state subsidized retiree health care. “Their bill unilaterally takes away people’s rights in exchange for nothing. That’s why it’s unconstitutional.”
However, Cullerton said he would be willing to call a bill that he believes is unconstitutional as long as it is approved in tandem with a plan that he thinks is constitutional. “I said that I would support that bill and work to pass it in the Senate as long as they had a backup.” Cullerton called on the House to pass a fail-safe proposal that was approved by the Senate. He said if the Supreme Court were to rule the House plan constitutional, it would become the law. But if the court rejected the House proposal, the Senate version could then be considered. He said he plans to introduce a new Senate bill tomorrow that covers all the pension systems except judges. He said that bill would not include a controversial cost shift of the entire employer portion of pension benefits to downstate schools, public universities and community colleges. “For us to pass a bill which is unconstitutional and to pretend like we did some kind of reform with no backup, only to have it thrown out a year later — a year of lost time of trying to fix the pension system — to me is cynical.”
The 98th General Assembly will be sworn in tomorrow.
The Illinois House and Senate adjourned their two-year legislative sessions today without approving a pension reform measure, dashing the hopes of those who were striving to get legislation approved during the General Assembly's lame-duck session.
“We didn’t quite get there, so we are going to regroup and start up again,” said Northbrook Democrat Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who sponsored a pension reform proposal a committee approved yesterday but that was not called for a floor vote. She said there is no single component of reform that is holding it up. “It remains a range of issues that members are concerned about. Look, when you’re impacting people’s retirement security, it’s a tough vote, and people have a lot of different concerns about it. It would be great if we could have one thing we could focus on and get it corrected, but that’s not the way this works.”
In what many described as a Hail Mary attempt to get something done on pension reform, Gov. Pat Quinn pushed the idea of creating a special pension commission with the power to create a plan that would become law unless the General Assembly intervened. Under a proposed amendment to Senate Bill 1673, a special commission appointed by the legislative leaders would be required to present a plan by April 30 that would ensure that the pension systems were 100 percent funded by 2045. The proposal from the commission would become law unless both chambers voted to reject it.
“We have to take extraordinary action to help break the gridlock,” Quinn said when he testified in favor of the plan before a House committee today. Quinn said that failure to act would eventually result in the state’s bond rating being downgraded yet again. “We have to understand that this is an emergency.” Quinn compared the idea to the federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission, a federal entity that was created to recommend military bases for closure after it become clear that regional interests were making it all but impossible for Congress to approve closures. If the bill would have passed, Quinn said he would have signed it and then no longer would have been a part of the process. The bill would not have required that the governor sign off on the commission’s proposal.
But detractors questioned the constitutionality of such a plan, and it was not called for a vote in the House. “I myself thought that his late proposal was perhaps not the very best public policy pronouncement. I think there are constitutional questions about it,” Chicago Democratic Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie said after the House adjourned. Nekritz said she sponsored the measure, which Quinn brought to her, because she thought it deserved consideration. “Clearly, some dynamic needs to change. We have been working at this a very long time, and it’s been challenging to get the necessary votes on the bill, obviously. An idea to sort of shake that up, I think we had to look at that,” she said.
Currie said that those who have been working on pension reform should not take the days events as a failure. “It’s not as if any of this is new. This is very very tough. And I think there’s going to be no matter what we do if we do something there will be constitutional challenges,” she said. “I’m not embarrassed that we didn’t get it done today. I am embarrassed we haven’t done anything so far, but I am encouraged that we, as of yesterday, seemed really to have a renewed focus renewed energy renewed effort on the whole issue of pensions.”
Nekritz and newly sworn in Sen. Daniel Biss, an Evanston Democrat, said they each plan to introduce a pension reform plan in their respective chambers when the new legislative session starts tomorrow. “It’s not at all back to the drawing board,” Biss said. “We feel like we had tremendous momentum yesterday. We still have tremendous momentum today, and we want to carry that forward.” He said the legislation they plan to file would be nearly identical to a proposal, House Bill 6258, which more than a dozen House members brought forward in December. The plan a House committee approved Monday was based on that proposal. But Biss said he and Nekritz want to return to the initial legislation because he said it is a “good negotiation platform.” He and Nekritz both emphasized that they are open to changes to the legislation, and no ideas are off the table. “This issue is tough and complicated, and different people have different challenges with it, and so it’s really a matter of cobbling that majority together one vote at a time. And we’ll learn as we work with these new members one at a time what those issues are. And we hope it will be easier, and we know it won’t be very easy. But we know it can be done,” Biss said.
Senate President John Cullerton believes that the framework for HB 6258 is unconstitutional. “The Constitution says you can’t unilaterally pass a law taking away people’s pension benefits. You have to ask them to do it contractually,” Cullerton said. He maintains that some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. A plan that passed in the Senate would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or state subsidized retiree health care. “Their bill unilaterally takes away people’s rights in exchange for nothing. That’s why it’s unconstitutional.”
However, Cullerton said he would be willing to call a bill that he believes is unconstitutional as long as it is approved in tandem with a plan that he thinks is constitutional. “I said that I would support that bill and work to pass it in the Senate as long as they had a backup.” Cullerton called on the House to pass a fail-safe proposal that was approved by the Senate. He said if the Supreme Court were to rule the House plan constitutional, it would become the law. But if the court rejected the House proposal, the Senate version could then be considered. He said he plans to introduce a new Senate bill tomorrow that covers all the pension systems except judges. He said that bill would not include a controversial cost shift of the entire employer portion of pension benefits to downstate schools, public universities and community colleges. “For us to pass a bill which is unconstitutional and to pretend like we did some kind of reform with no backup, only to have it thrown out a year later — a year of lost time of trying to fix the pension system — to me is cynical.”
The 98th General Assembly will be sworn in tomorrow.
Quinn to sign bill allowing undocumented immigrants access to driver's licenses
By Meredith Colias
Gov. Pat Quinn has indicated he will sign a bill into law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain temporary driver's licenses.
The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Edward Acevedo, a Democrat from Chicago, framed the measure as a matter of public safety. “It’s a commonsense bill that seeks to improve the safety of our roads and ensure that all motorists can be trained, tested, licensed and insured,” he said.
Senate Bill 957, which passed the House today, 65-46, and the Senate in December, would allow an estimated 250,000 undocumented immigrants without Social Security numbers living in Illinois to obtain temporary driver’s licenses valid for three years. Applicants would be required to take vision and driving tests and carry valid car insurance. Drivers caught without insurance would have their licenses revoked. To obtain a temporary license, an applicant would need to show a passport or consular identification documents and provide proof that they have lived in the state for at least one year. Opponents said the measure does not contain enough safeguards against fraud because it would not require applicants to be fingerprinted or provide a tax identification number to obtain the license and would reward those already breaking immigration laws. Acevedo acknowledged the fingerprinting concerns and said he would be willing to work with opponents on future legislation.
Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican, was concerned that undocumented immigrants from outside the state would find a way to falsify documents and skirt the residency requirement. That is something he said has happened in New Mexico, a state that currently offers licenses to immigrants who are in the country illegally. “We have no idea how long they’ve lived here,” he said of potential applicants in Illinois.
Supporters said that they think the residency requirement is stringent enough to keep residents of other states from getting Illinois licenses. However, Nathan Maddox, senior legal advisor for Secretary of State Jesse White, acknowledged the office would not be able to determine at the time of application if an undocumented driver had previously committed an offense, like a DUI, out of state. Applicants who have already been suspended from driving in Illinois would have to start serving their suspension once they obtained a license regardless of when they committed the violation.
Others argued that the state should not address immigration, which is a federal issue. “We are ... engaging in activities the U.S. government should be taking [on] themselves,” said Rep. Dwight Kay, a Republican from Glen Carbon. Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican, said the state should not “provide privileges for people who are not citizens here.”
While the bill had several Republican detractors, it did receive bipartisan support. House Minority Leader Tom Cross said he believed technical issues cited were not sufficient to oppose the bill. “We have a number of folks in this state ... that are here illegally, and we need to address it,” he said. Rep. Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican, said he thought the bill was imperfect but voted in favor of the measure. “What I focus on is public safety. … The reality is it’s a start,” he said.
"People come to this country for the American dream. We can offer them that today,” Acevedo said on the House floor. The bill will take effect 10 months after receiving Quinn’s signature. “Illinois roads will be safer if we ensure every driver learns the rules of the road and is trained to drive safely,” he said in a prepared statement.
Gov. Pat Quinn has indicated he will sign a bill into law allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain temporary driver's licenses.
The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Edward Acevedo, a Democrat from Chicago, framed the measure as a matter of public safety. “It’s a commonsense bill that seeks to improve the safety of our roads and ensure that all motorists can be trained, tested, licensed and insured,” he said.
Senate Bill 957, which passed the House today, 65-46, and the Senate in December, would allow an estimated 250,000 undocumented immigrants without Social Security numbers living in Illinois to obtain temporary driver’s licenses valid for three years. Applicants would be required to take vision and driving tests and carry valid car insurance. Drivers caught without insurance would have their licenses revoked. To obtain a temporary license, an applicant would need to show a passport or consular identification documents and provide proof that they have lived in the state for at least one year. Opponents said the measure does not contain enough safeguards against fraud because it would not require applicants to be fingerprinted or provide a tax identification number to obtain the license and would reward those already breaking immigration laws. Acevedo acknowledged the fingerprinting concerns and said he would be willing to work with opponents on future legislation.
Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican, was concerned that undocumented immigrants from outside the state would find a way to falsify documents and skirt the residency requirement. That is something he said has happened in New Mexico, a state that currently offers licenses to immigrants who are in the country illegally. “We have no idea how long they’ve lived here,” he said of potential applicants in Illinois.
Supporters said that they think the residency requirement is stringent enough to keep residents of other states from getting Illinois licenses. However, Nathan Maddox, senior legal advisor for Secretary of State Jesse White, acknowledged the office would not be able to determine at the time of application if an undocumented driver had previously committed an offense, like a DUI, out of state. Applicants who have already been suspended from driving in Illinois would have to start serving their suspension once they obtained a license regardless of when they committed the violation.
Others argued that the state should not address immigration, which is a federal issue. “We are ... engaging in activities the U.S. government should be taking [on] themselves,” said Rep. Dwight Kay, a Republican from Glen Carbon. Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican, said the state should not “provide privileges for people who are not citizens here.”
While the bill had several Republican detractors, it did receive bipartisan support. House Minority Leader Tom Cross said he believed technical issues cited were not sufficient to oppose the bill. “We have a number of folks in this state ... that are here illegally, and we need to address it,” he said. Rep. Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican, said he thought the bill was imperfect but voted in favor of the measure. “What I focus on is public safety. … The reality is it’s a start,” he said.
"People come to this country for the American dream. We can offer them that today,” Acevedo said on the House floor. The bill will take effect 10 months after receiving Quinn’s signature. “Illinois roads will be safer if we ensure every driver learns the rules of the road and is trained to drive safely,” he said in a prepared statement.
Quinn calls for more compromise to get pension reform done today
By Jamey Dunn
With the prospects for passing pension reform in the next 24 hours dwindling, Gov. Pat Quinn called on lawmakers to work out a plan that can make it through both chambers before the new General Assembly is seated tomorrow.
“We’re trying to get to a bill that we can enact that will make things better for the people of Illinois,” Quinn said this morning. While Quinn would not say the votes aren’t there for any of the bills currently being considered, including a plan approved by a House committee yesterday, he did say more compromise is needed. “I feel, when you talk to members of both houses, that more compromises are necessary before we get to a solution that can move us forward.”
Quinn did not throw his support behind any specific proposal as his preferred plan. “People of good faith have different ideas, different concepts, different structures, and I respect all of those,” he said. “I really feel that it is important to have a vote on some sort of structure that moves us forward.”
Nor was he willing to concede defeat. “I’m going to work all day with all the members of the House, and then the Senate is coming in later. I think we owe it to the people to work all day on coming up with a structure that moves us forward. We cannot run in place.” A spokesperson for Senate President John Cullerton said senators continue to be on “standby” awaiting House action.
Quinn warned that inaction on pension reform would damage the state’s economy and lead to a downgrade in the state’s bond rating. “We cannot allow our state economy, the Illinois, economy, to be held hostage by political timidity. We have to be bold. We have to do things that are difficult. We have to take on the challenge of our time and meet that challenge.”
With the prospects for passing pension reform in the next 24 hours dwindling, Gov. Pat Quinn called on lawmakers to work out a plan that can make it through both chambers before the new General Assembly is seated tomorrow.
“We’re trying to get to a bill that we can enact that will make things better for the people of Illinois,” Quinn said this morning. While Quinn would not say the votes aren’t there for any of the bills currently being considered, including a plan approved by a House committee yesterday, he did say more compromise is needed. “I feel, when you talk to members of both houses, that more compromises are necessary before we get to a solution that can move us forward.”
Quinn did not throw his support behind any specific proposal as his preferred plan. “People of good faith have different ideas, different concepts, different structures, and I respect all of those,” he said. “I really feel that it is important to have a vote on some sort of structure that moves us forward.”
Nor was he willing to concede defeat. “I’m going to work all day with all the members of the House, and then the Senate is coming in later. I think we owe it to the people to work all day on coming up with a structure that moves us forward. We cannot run in place.” A spokesperson for Senate President John Cullerton said senators continue to be on “standby” awaiting House action.
Quinn warned that inaction on pension reform would damage the state’s economy and lead to a downgrade in the state’s bond rating. “We cannot allow our state economy, the Illinois, economy, to be held hostage by political timidity. We have to be bold. We have to do things that are difficult. We have to take on the challenge of our time and meet that challenge.”
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