Senate still far from an agreement on pensions

By Jamey Dunn 

An Illinois Senate panel today approved two pension reform plans while the House continued to debate gun control issues. The constitutionality of both pension bills was argued from all sides during the hearing, which lasted more than three hours. But as the debate continued, one thing became clear: Supporters of pension changes are still a long way from having a plan that can pass in both chambers.

Sen. Daniel Biss, an Evanston Democrat, presented Senate Bill 35, which is the Senate version of a bill that was introduced with bipartisan support in the House last month. The legislation would:

•  Increase public employee contributions by 2 percent of their salaries. The increase would phase in over two years.
• Allow cost of living adjustments (COLAs) on only the first $25,000 of a retiree’s pension, or on only $20,000 for those who receive Social Security benefits. COLAs would not kick in until a retiree turns 67 or five years after retirement, whichever comes first.
•  Increase the retirement age for employees younger than age 46. Employees from 40 to 45 would see a one-year increase, employees 35 to 39 would see a three-year increase, and employees 34 and younger would see a five-year increase.
• Limit the amount of pensionable income to the Social Security wage base, which will be $113,700 in 2013, or the employee's current salary, whichever is greater.
• Guarantee that the state make required annual payments to the pension systems.

The measure has the backing of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan think tank in Chicago. “We believe it is a comprehensive and bipartisan pension reform proposal that would help the state of Illinois greatly. By any reasonable assessment, the state of Illinois is in an extraordinary financial crisis. The primary driver of this crisis is the state’s inability to pay for its huge and growing pensions cost,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation.

Supporters of the bill say that the dire state of Illinois pensions systems, which are about 40 percent funded, justifies a move the reduce current workers' benefits to stabilize the system. The state Constitution protects the benefits from being “diminished or impaired.” They argued that the alternative to reducing benefits would be insolvency and an inability of the state to pay out future benefits.

Mark Rosen, a professor at Chicago Kent School of Law, said that for the argument to hold up, the state would have to prove that “there is a sufficiently important reason to justify” reducing benefits and that the reductions only go as far as needed to address the problem. “It doesn’t mean all of a sudden, it’s ordinary politics and that pension matters are just subject to ordinary horse trading. There has to be a very careful balancing of the Constitution promise ... against the very substantial problem that is being remedied.”

Senate President John Cullerton disagrees with this argument. He has his own proposal, SB 1, which the committee also approved. Cullerton believes that some consideration must be given to workers for any reduction in their benefits. SB 1 contains similar language to Biss’ bill. But it also has a proposal that passed in the Senate would have asked employees to choose between their compounded-interest cost-of-living adjustments or access to a retiree health care plan. Cullerton calls this second piece a Plan B to be considered by the Supreme Court if it finds the first portion unconstitutional. Cullerton has pitched the idea as a way to avoid having to revisit the issue at a later date. “We’re trying to pass the bill. But with the possibility that Part A would [be] declared unconstitutional, we have the backup already passed and already in front of the court. If we were to just pass Part A, or if Sen. Biss’ bill passes and it’s challenged as it undoubtedly will [be], and a year later the court throws it out, then we have to come back to the legislature, try to fashion another remedy, pass that bill if we could. That would be challenged, and we’d have another year in court.”

But opponents say SB 1 would not create enough savings and that the cost of employee health care is too much of an unknown. Cullerton said the measure would not guarantee that the state would pay future health care costs; the option being offered to workers is merely guaranteed access to the state’s group health insurance plan. Supporters of SB 35 say that SB 1 would muddy the legal argument behind their proposal. “We can’t let politics dictate this. We have to solve a problem but only go as far as necessary to solve the problem, and when you put them both in the same bill and one saves $28 billion off the unfunded liability and the other one saves $11 [billion], I would say under that construct that Plan A can’t survive because on its face, it looks like we’ve gone further than we need to," said Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz. She is sponsoring the House plan that is the same as Biss' bill. She plans to present the proposal to a House committee tomorrow.

Union officials believe that both plans are unconstitutional. “What we have are questions of funding. The state takes in money. It spends money. What we’re witnessing is a change in fundamental priorities in how the state spends its money, ”said John Stevens, a lawyer advising the We Are One Coalition. He said that the pension clause was added to the 1970 Illinois Constitution to protect benefits at a time when they system was funded at level similar to what it is now. “Under Illinois law, it is not appropriate to diminish benefits” without engaging in bargaining with public employee unions. Stevens said the consideration in Cullerton’s bill is a false choice that does not offer workers something in exchange for a reduction in retirement benefits. “In either case, you’re giving up something on both sides of the equation. You do not get something for something,” he said.

More Republicans on the committee voted in favor of SB 35. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno was the only Republican to vote in favor of SB 1. But she cautioned that she did not know whether she would support the bill if it were called for a floor vote. Several senators on both sides of the aisle said that they also did not yet know how they would vote on either bill if faced with the decisions on the floor. “Clearly, there’s a lot of disagreement. I learned a lot today. Some things that I didn’t know,” Radogno said. “It makes sense to me to advance both of these measures so that we can get further input. This is not the final action, but this kind of discussion starts to narrow the field of what we’re talking about.”

 Biss said that there is still work to do. “It’s a hugely difficult, hugely complicated — ethically complicated, legal, complicated, mathematically complicated, economically complicated problem. So there’s different views, and we’re just going to work through it until we can all get to a bill” that can pass in the legislature, be signed by Gov. Pat Quinn and upheld by the courts. He said he is not expecting a floor vote on either proposal when the Senate is back in session Thursday. “It’s unclear at this point. My guess ... is they will not [be called for a floor vote tomorrow.] But a lot of discussion still has to happen."

Meanwhile, the House continued its long slog of taking test votes on gun control proposals. The House rejected a proposal that would have required Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card applicants to get a psychiatric evaluation as part of the application process. An amendment that contains a proposal that would require gun owners to report lost or stolen guns was approved. However, no legislation was passed out of the chamber.

The House has been taking these test votes on pension provisions and gun control proposals for the last few weeks under a process dubbed “Weekly Order of Business” . Republicans have refused to vote on several of the amendments, calling the process a game. “Five hundred adults last year killed in the city of Chicago, and we just spent three weeks, every Tuesday of the last three weeks, playing some political game, I guess, with no direction of solving any of the problems associated with that. I don’t know if it’s politics. I don’t know what it is,” House Minority Leader Tom Cross said during today’s debate on the House floor. “But I would argue, and I think most people in this chamber would agree, that 500 people being killed may be one of the biggest issues facing the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois that we have.”

Cross said Democrats refuse to consider Republican ideas. “They’re not all 'get tough on crime.' Some of them are -- some issues dealing with mental health; some legislation dealing with how to deal with conflict; social, emotional learning; funding; some comprehensive well-thought-out approaches.”

ISBE: School districts struggling to keep their doors open

By Jamey Dunn

 Some Illinois schools are considering moving to four-day weeks to cope with budget cuts, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Only one school district, Meridian CUSD 101 in Mounds, has taken the steps to officially pursue a waiver to move to a four-day school week. But state officials say that the idea and other seemingly drastic options are on the table in many districts that are struggling with recent cuts and trying to plan for possible future ones. Christopher Koch, state superintendent, said that suburban districts have been calling the Illinois State Board of Education and inquiring about shortening their school weeks. “I think the problem is they’re without options, and they’re looking at what can [they] do to keep the doors open. And how quickly can they do it. These are real discussions that districts and boards are having across the state. ... It’s astonishing to be getting these requests, but that’s demonstrating what’s happening now,” said Koch. “It’s not only four-day school weeks, it’s high class size ratios, so you have a lot more students per teacher. You have all kinds of personnel being laid off across the state. [School] board after [school] board are approving that. It’s a number of things that are occurring that are no doubt going to erode the quality of instruction taking place.”

In its Fiscal Year 2014 proposed budget, the state board is requesting an increase of $874 million from the current fiscal year. According to the ISBE, pre-K through 12 education has been cut by $861 million since FY 2009. The board says general state aid to schools has been reduced by 7 percent, more than $320 million, since FY 2009.

Under Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget proposal for next fiscal year, K-12 education would be cut by more than $275 million from current fiscal year levels. Quinn has called for early childhood education to be spared from cuts. Quinn says the reductions are needed because of the growing costs associated with the state’s underfunded pension system. The state’s required pension contribution this year was nearly $6 billion. “Skyrocketing pension obligations leave our state with no choice but to continue reductions to our core priorities,” Quinn said in his budget speech last week.

Gery Chico, chair of the ISBE, said leaders in the state “have got to challenge the premise” that education must be cut under the next state budget. “That’s not the discussion. That shouldn’t be the discussion. That’s not what a great state’s about,” he said. “There’s not just one way to raise additional money, through pension [benefits] reduction. There’s other ways to raise money. And we need to have all those things on the table so that we don’t talk about four-day school weeks, we don’t talk about 40-plus-kid class sizes or more, we don’t talk about eliminating fundamental programs in schools.”

Fracking opponents call for ban

By Jamey Dunn

A coalition of Illinois groups opposed to horizontal hydraulic fracturing is pushing for a ban on the practice in the state.

Hydraulic fracturing, which is commonly referred to as fracking, is achieved by pumping water mixed with sand and chemicals through a well into rock that holds a carbon fuel, such as oil or natural gas. The water creates pressure, which fractures the rock or opens up pre-existing cracks. The sand holds the cracks open so the gas and/or oil can be extracted. It has been done since the 1930s. But recently, fracking has been coupled with horizontal drilling, which allows gas and oil companies to drill down into the Earth and then permeate rock along a horizontal line, which is sometimes miles long. The marrying of the two technologies has allowed for projects that are much larger in scale. (For more on fracking, see Illinois Issues May 2012.)

Lawmakers, regulators and many environmentalists agree that it is coming to Illinois. Oil and gas companies and have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars leasing mineral rights in southern Illinois. House Bill 2615 seeks to regulate the practice and has a broad group of supporters.

“There’s kind of a gold rush mentality surrounding all of this isn’t there? But what happened after the gold rush? Ghost towns,” said Rich Whitney, who is on the legal committee for Southern Illinoisans Against Fracturing Our Environment (SAFE). A group of anti-fracking activists that rallied at the Capitol today say they reject the prevailing belief that fracking in Illinois is inevitable, and they are calling for a two-year moratorium on the practice. “Fracking is not inevitable, and it is offensive to suggest that is inevitable without hearing from the people first and hearing what their concerns are. They’re very legitimate concerns,” said Whitney. Senate Bill 1418 and HB 3086 both call for a two-year ban on fracking and the creation of a task force to study the issue.

Whitley, who ran as the Green Party candidate for governor in 2006 and 2010, took Gov. Pat Quinn to task for highlighting fracking in his budget address. "Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, is coming to Illinois, with the strongest environmental regulations in the nation,” Quinn said. “This legislation has the potential to create thousands of jobs in downstate Illinois. It will also ensure that our natural resources are protected for future generations.” Quinn encouraged lawmakers to approve HB 2615 this year.

“Gov. Quinn is wrong when he said. ...that this bill will be the strictest regulations in the country. No. New York has a moratorium. That’s the strictest regulation in the country. And what’s good enough for New York, we think is good enough for Illinois. We think that they had the wisdom. We need the wisdom,” Whitley said. Fracking opponents said that the process for appealing drilling permits in HB2615 would be overly burdensome on residents. They argue the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which has seen deep cuts in recent years, is not prepared to properly regulate fracking. “Nobody listened to the people of southern Illinois” before HB2615 was introduced said Annette McMichael, a SAFE spokesperson. “I assure you southern Illinois was not represented in the closed door sessions [to negotiate the bill]. We are going to continue to educate our legislators that southern Illinois is not a playground for the oil and gas industry.”

Several environmental groups support HB 2615. However, the say they would also be open to a moratorium. Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, said most groups just want to make sure that if fracking comes to Illinois, there is a regulatory plan in place. “In the environmental community, we have a lot of concerns about what fracking is going to bring to Illinois, and when we look at some of the controversies that have happened in other parts of the country, there’s a real need for us to prepare for that,” Darin said.

 However, Environment Illinois, which describes itself as a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization, has joined the call for a moratorium. Bruce Ratain, state policy associate for Environment Illinois, called fracking a “rolling environmental disaster” across the country. Ratain pointed to incidents that occurred in the last two months. A fracking well operator in Ohio was accused of illegally dumping thousands of gallons of chemical-laced wastewater and contaminating the Mahoning River. A broken well-head near the northern Colorado town of Windsor spilled an estimated 84,000 gallons of contaminated water. In a rural northeastern area of West Virginia, a worker was killed by an explosion on a drilling site. 

Lawmakers in support of HB 2615 say that potential environmental dangers are part of the reason they believe the bill is needed. “It does concern me — there’s no doubt about it — but now with these rules and regulations in this legislation,I think it’s going to help things. ... Some rules and regulations are better than none,” said Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat. He said he does not think groups like the Sierra Club would support the bill if they thought it would be bad for his region of the state. “I just can’t for the life of me not vote for this knowing that there are companies that want to come to Illinois and spend millions of dollars, and in my area especially, where unemployment is high because we’ve had some layoffs in coal mines and things shut down, like the prisons. This is going to be a huge economic boon in my area.”

Quinn signs fee increase for doctors

By Meredith Colias

Doctors will have to pay more in fees so a state agency can continue to investigate and license them.

Senate Bill 622 passed on a 65-49 vote today, with two voting present. The legislation has already been approved by the Senate, and Gov. Pat Quinn plans to sign it. UPDATED FRIDAY MARCH 8: Gov. Quinn has signed the bill. The law and new fee took effect upon the governor's signature.

Because it was low on funds, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation recently transferred 18 of the 26 staffers responsible for licensing physicians. Lower staffing levels created a backlog of applications and left fewer investigators to look into malpractice claims. If the licensing process remained funded at current levels, delays in processing were expected to be problematic for incoming medical students starting their residencies in July. “Right now, they are hard-pressed to do anything in the arena because there are not resources in the department,”said the House bill’s sponsor, Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat. She said without a fee increase, the wait time for licenses could be up to a year.

SB 622 would borrow $6.6 million from the Local Government Tax Fund to cover immediate costs. The money would be repaid by 2018. Currently. doctors pay $300 every three years to be licensed in the state. The measure raises fees to $700 paid every three years through 2018 to allow the department to rehire cut staff and be able to repay borrowed funds. At that time, fees would drop to $500 every three years. The increase would be the first time fees have been changed since 1987.

Currie cautioned that the plan might not be a long-term fix. She previously proposed increasing the fees to $750. Under her earlier plan, the fees would not have been reduced in 2018. “This will not be a long-term solution to the problem. It will certainly get us over the immediate crisis,” she said. “It is not the long-term solution that the department has requested of us.”

The fund that the fees go into has been swept to bolster previous state budgets. Rep Jack Franks, a Woodstock Democrat, said protections should be built into the bill to protect it from more sweeps. He said doctors would be punished having to pay higher fees to fund an agency where the same issue could reoccur. “There’s nothing protecting where these same monies won’t be swept again. …What we have here amounts to double taxation.”

Susan Hofer, spokeswoman for the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, said the agency was “relieved” it would be able to start speeding up the application process.

In a prepared statement, the Illinois Medical Society said the legislation is shortsighted. “Better solutions were left on the table.” The group has acknowledged that a fee increase is needed but also wants the money from the sweeps paid back.

House takes first affirmative vote on pension change

By Jamey Dunn

The Illinois House voted today in favor of a cap on the amount of salary that can be used to determine benefits for public employee pensions.

The chamber approved the measure as an amendment to a bill but did not take a floor vote on the underlying legislation. The move came as part of a series of test votes on pension changes and is the first proposal that has won the approval of the majority of the chamber under the process, which is referred to as a “Weekly Order of Business.”

The proposal would cap the amount of salary that benefits are based on at the level of salary on which Social Security benefits are based. That number is tied to a federal measure of inflation. This year, it is $113,700. Employees who currently make more than that would see their pensionable salary capped at its current level. Supporters estimate the change could save $1 billion.

Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who has been spearheading pension reform efforts in the chamber, said she was “thrilled” at the approval of the proposal, which is a component of legislation she is sponsoring. House Bill 3411, which Nekrtiz co-sponsors with House Minority Leader Tom Cross, would also require employees to contribute 2 percent more of their salaries toward their retirement, and cap the amount of pension benefits on which cost of living adjustments (COLAs) would be applied. Nekritz and Cross intend to present the bill in a House committee next week.

“I think it demonstrates that the process that we’re going through — we don’t have to be so cynical about it — it can get us to a solution,” Nekrtiz said of today's vote.

The House soundly rejected two other measures today. One would have frozen the cost of living adjustments for retirees for 10 years. It got two “yes” votes. Eleven House members voted in favor of the other proposal, which would have required employees to contribute 4 percent more of their salaries toward their retirement costs. House Republicans generally refused to participate in the process. All but two did not cast votes on any of the pension amendments considered today. They took the same approach last week when Democrats ran several other proposed pension changes through the same process. “We feel that this issue is far too important to try to piecemeal a bill together,” said Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, a spokeswoman for Cross. She said Republicans instead prefer moving HB 3411 through the traditional legislative process.

House Speaker Michael Madigan accused Republicans of shirking their responsibilities by refusing to cast votes. “The Republicans, I think, made a mistake. So they’re elected, and their electors tell them to come here and to vote. They don’t tell them to come here and not participate,” Madigan told Jak Tichenor, host of public television’s Illinois Lawmakers.

Madigan explained the reason for the test votes: “To better educate the members of the House and the Senate, if they’re watching what we’re doing. Because my sense is — of the attitude of the members of the legislature — is that they’re not yet ready to take this difficult step. And so ... presenting these propositions on the floor where there’s a requirement that people vote will help them understand how grave the situation is [and] the difficulty of the proposed changes. And so, we’ll continue that process over the next several weeks.”

 Nekrtiz said she thinks the process is helping her colleagues understand the individual components that may eventually make up a plan to change pensions. “I think it’s working. I really do,” she said.

Quinn pushes pension changes in somber budget speech

By Jamey Dunn

Gov. Pat Quinn laid out some concepts for changes to the state's underfunded pension systems in a budget that he says is the “most difficult” he has presented to lawmakers. However, the House has already decided that when a final budget is enacted, it will contain less spending than Quinn’s plan.

“This is the most difficult budget that I have ever submitted to you,” Quinn said in his budget address today. “But this is also an honest budget that reflects our fiscal challenges, pays down the backlog of bills and addresses funds that have been under-appropriated for too long, There are no gimmicks or fake numbers in this budget,”  He said the difficulty was a product of the legislature’s “inaction on pension reform.”

Pension Changes
Quinn took a stern tone when calling on lawmakers to pass a pension proposal that would change benefits for state workers, teachers outside of Chicago and university and community college employees. “Today, our budget is being squeezed more than ever, and that will continue until we put a stop to it. The most important thing we can do to repair Illinois finances right now is to reform our public pension systems,” Quinn said. “ We all know that we must reform the Illinois public pension systems. So, members of the General Assembly, what are you waiting for?”

Quinn said he was willing to work with lawmakers, but he emphasized that there is only so much he can do. “I stand ready to sign comprehensive pension reform immediately. Today. But I cannot sign what I do not have on my desk. The people of Illinois need your immediate action.”

“I thought he was pretty firm in his tone,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross. He likened Quinn’s address to a parent giving a lecture. “His tone was fairly strong, and I think he focused on where he need to on the need to reform the pensions system. It is the issue of the day. ... I think he was right in making that the focus of his speech. I agree with him.” Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno said that she “agreed with the governor” that it is “time to vote” on changes to the pension system. However, she said it was unfair of Quinn to lay the blame on lawmakers. “Most of the work that has been done on pensions has come out of the General Assembly, and not out of the governor’s office,” she said.

Union leaders said that creating an impression that the only choices out there are deep education cuts or reductions to retiree benefits is dishonest. “It is unfair for Gov. Quinn to present this false choice between pensions or pencils. Springfield lawmakers created the massive pension debt by skipping payments and borrowing more. To call that debt an education expense is not only a gimmick, but an insult to teachers everywhere. We are not to blame, and our students shouldn't suffer,” Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery said in a prepared statement.

Quinn laid out some concepts that he said should be part of a pension reform plan. He said he wants a funding guarantee that would require the state to make the annual contribution to the pension systems. He also wants money that is currently being used to pay off pension bonds, which were issued to make past payments, to go toward the unfunded liability once the bonds have been paid off. Such a move would direct almost $1 billion annually to the liability once the bonds expire in 2020. He said the plan should include an increased pension contribution from employees, but he did not give a specific figure on the increase. He also called for a freeze on cost of living adjustments for “those with higher pensions.” He called the current 3 percent compounded COLAs “unsustainable for taxpayers.”

Quinn also said lawmakers should “consider additional solutions to break the gridlock.” He said he would support a gaming bill with “tough ethical standards” and a ban on campaign contributions from casino operators. He has vetoed two gaming bills that he said did not have strong enough protections against corruption. Quinn has demanded for some time now that any money from gambling expansion be spent on education, but for the first time, today he brought up the idea of using gaming revenues on pension costs. “Any enhancement that we enact to gaming revenues this year should be dedicated to education, which could include teachers' pensions.”

Senate President John Cullerton said he plans to push members of his chamber to present pension reform proposals. “This reality reinforces why pension reform remains my top priority this session. For that reason. I have notified all pension reform Senate sponsors to present their bills before the Senate Executive Committee within a week,” Cullerton said in a prepared statement. “I am also working to identify new revenue sources for education and priority programs. I believe that a gaming plan that is structured to address the ethical and regulatory concerns of Governor Quinn can be part of a new revenue mix. I look forward to working with each caucus to advance more solutions for our funding shortfall.” A Senate committee approved a gaming bill after Quinn’s speech. According estimates from Senate Democrats, the proposal could bring in $200 million to $400 million in revenue for schools, more than $50 million each year for pension costs and almost more than $300 million in upfront licensing fees that could be spent on overdue bills. The plan calls for a ban on campaign contributions from gaming licensees. The proposal is also a massive expansion that would create five new casinos, allow slot machines at horse racing tracks and airports and create an online gambling system under the Illinois Lottery. Under the so-called i-gaming proposal, residents could bet online. In the past, Quinn has recoiled at large expansions. A spokesperson said that he is “reviewing” the proposal.

Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz, who has been spearheading the pension issue in her chamber, said: “There’s a lot of finger pointing and blame game going on in this whole discussion, and we just need to stop all that and just get about the business of solving it.” She said she thinks that has happened in the House, where she and Cross have presented legislation. She noted that the changes Quinn said he would like to see in the pensions systems are in that plan. “Those are the pieces that are in the Cross-Nekritz bill. By no means are they in every proposal out there. I was very pleased to see that.”

Cuts
Quinn is proposing a $400 million cut to education, which includes K-12 and higher education. Under the proposal, K-12 spending would be cut by more than $275 million. The bulk of the reduction would fall on general state aid to schools, which would be reduced by $150 million. General aid was cut by $161 million under the current state budget. Higher education would take an $83 million hit. In his speech, Quinn did not focus on the details of what the reductions would mean for schools.

Children’s advocates were disappointed with the proposal. “Gov. Quinn’s budget proposal demonstrates that Illinois’ fiscal crisis is far from over and that children, families and communities continue to pay the price for a history of unwise fiscal decisions made by our elected officials. Nearly every area of the budget that impacts children has been subject to deep cuts over the past few years,” Gaylord Gieseke, president of Voices for Illinois Children, said in a prepared statement.

Quinn's plan would not cut early childhood education or Monetary Assistance Program (MAP) grants for low-income college students.

But the cuts may be even deeper in the plan that is ultimately approved by lawmakers because Quinn and the House started their budget planning from two different points. The governor’s budget office estimated the state would have $35.6 billion to spend, but the House yesterday approved a resolution intended to cap spending at $35.08 billion. Quinn’s plan also calls for lawmakers to reassess automatic transfers out of the General Revenue Fund “Our revenue estimates are based on real numbers. ... They’re based on facts. They’re based on evidence. They’re cautious numbers. They take a pragmatic and reasonable approach, and I don’t know where the governor’s numbers come from,” said Marion Democratic Rep. John Bradley, who chairs the committee that produced the House’s estimate.

Quinn’s budget staff said he plans to call on lawmakers to scrutinize money that is automatically transferred out of the General Revenue Fund before the budgeting battle begins. The largest transfer distributes income-tax revenues to local governments. Other transfers are spent on mass transit or are the result of budget deals made in past years. “We haven’t even considered that,” Bradley said. “When you talk about the transfers out, what you’re really talking about is the local government distributive fund. Fifty percent of the transfers out go to local governments, and the other [large] percentage of that goes to mass transit, both upstate and downstate. So that’s going to be a fight between him and the city of Chicago, and Cook County and all the local municipalities throughout the state.”

The idea has been floated in the past by Senate Democrats, and some support it again this year. “Nobody wants to see a $400 million reduction in education. ... We can’t let that happen,” said Park Ridge Democratic Sen. Dan Kotowski, who chairs a Senate budgeting committee. “People come to our state for a number of reasons, not just because we have good roads, because we have great schools. No business in their right mind will want to come to the state of Illinois if we don’t fund education at the level it should be funded. If we were to tell people out there in the general public that there’s $1 billion that’s out there that’s automatically spent, and it's not reviewed, and it doesn’t face the same kind of scrutiny as education, health care, human services and public safety, people would say, ‘That’s crazy.’ Well it is. And it needs to be fixed. It’s wrong. It’s broken.”

Quinn: Close tax loopholes to pay old bills

By Meredith Colias

Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed state budget would continue to chip away at Illinois' overdue bills, but he hopes lawmakers will agree to eliminate corporate tax breaks and use the proceeds to pay down some of the state’s current backlog.

Quinn said that under his plan, $2 billion in late bills would be paid down during the current fiscal year and the next. His budget projections estimate that the backlog, which is now more than $8 billion, would be $6.8 billion by the end of Fiscal Year 2014. He proposed further measures to make a larger dent in the backlog.

Quinn called on lawmakers to close corporate loopholes, which he estimated would bring the state $455 million per year in revenue, and place the money into a special fund to be used only to pay past obligations. “Suspending corporate loopholes like these until the bills are paid will be good for our vendors and good for our economy,” he said in his budget address. “Why should we give costly, ineffective loopholes to some of the biggest and most profitable corporations on Earth when he have bills to pay?”

Doug Whitley, of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, opposes Quinn’s proposal. “I find it troubling that on one hand, the governor wants to improve the business climate ... [and then tells business], ‘Oh, and by the way, how about turning around and kicking in [more taxes],’” he said.

Members of the House seemed equally unreceptive. Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat who chairs the House Revenue Committee, said it would be a nonstarter in the chamber. Those working on the budget in the House hope to pay down a portion of the bills in the same gradual way they have over the last two years. “We dedicated about $1.5 billion toward old bills last year, and we’re prepared and anticipate trying to do something similar to that this year. And we have to make that one of our spending priorities. But we’re living within reality.”

Republican leaders said they support making cuts and using the savings to chip away at the backlog over several years. “The only way to do this is to spend less money then we have coming in and begin to pay the bills off,” said Sen. Christine Radogno, a Lemont Republican and Senate minority leader . As far as closing loopholes, House Minority Leader Rep. Tom Cross, an Oswego Republican, said, “That’s not going to be on our table, but other ways to pay it, we’re clearly open to that.”

Rep. Ester Golar, a Chicago Democrat, said the focus should be on those who are waiting on payments from the state. “We have to pay the individuals who have not been paid,” she said. Golar said she plans to introduce a bill calling for the state to borrow money to pay down the backlog. She proposed $4 billion in borrowing at the end of the last legislative session. Quinn has backed such plans in the past but has since moved away from them after they failed to gain traction with lawmakers.

Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka’s office manages payments to vendors, and documents in quarterly financial reports how the backlog is being paid. “It’s our office’s job to patch. We use baling wire and bubblegum to hold the whole place together, and I’m now looking at the possibility of Silly Putty,” she said. Topinka said the bills needed to be prioritized. “Legally we can’t declare bankruptcy, so we’ve got to make something happen. As long as this goes on, we’re going to keep taking bad credit ratings, the costs [of borrowing] are going to go up. It has to get done now.”

 Topinka said another Quinn proposal to cut 5 percent from the budget of the General Assembly and constitutional officers and redirect it to the backlog is not feasible. “We’ve already cut 10 [percent] out of our [office]. We’re at 1997 operations in our office. So it can’t be done. It can’t be done.”

Medical marijuana moves forward

By Meredith Colias 

Chronically ill residents would have another option to relieve long-term pain under a plan to legalize medical marijuana, which an Illinois House committee approved today.

The committee approved House Bill 1 on a 11-4 vote. The legislation’s sponsor, Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat, cited the18 other states, plus Washington, D.C., that already legalize marijuana for medical use in some form. “We can help sick people have a quality of life,” he said. Lang said it was important that there were specific restrictions to the measure to limit participation to those with an actual medical need with “continual pain, nausea and discomfort.” Patients older than 18 afflicted with chronic or terminal ailments specifically listed in the bill, such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and HIV/AIDS, would qualify to apply for a medical cannabis card issued by the Department of Public Health. Patients issued permits would be limited to possessing 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

Opponents said the measure would set a bad example for children. “The law’s a teacher,” Ralph Rivera of the Illinois Family Institute said. He cited a study showing marijuana usage for those 25 and younger increased in states such as Colorado that previously legalized medicinal usage. If the measure becomes law, “the students, the children [will] think it’s OK.” Colorado voters recently approved a measure to legalize the possession of marijuana for recreational use.

Limey Nargelenas, a lobbyist with the Illinois Association of Police, said he was concerned that those who would be approved to use medical marijuana would be allowed to drive under the influence, giving them a “back door to get out of the situation.”

 But Lang said the law was not meant to open the door for those who smoke marijuana recreationally, who he says will smoke regardless of the law. “We know teenagers are going to smoke marijuana whether we pass this bill or not,” he said.

Lang said patients would also have to pass background checks, verify they are ill and demonstrate that other possible medical solutions had been tried. Licensed patients would have to prove that they are regularly seeing the doctor who prescribed medical marijuana. Caregivers and state employees overseeing growing and dispensary operations also would be required to pass a background test. Lang said the law would not spare legally impaired drivers: If caught, “the legal system will take its course.” He said that he thinks the committee’s approval of the legislation will help him as he lobbies for votes to pass the bill out of the House. Lang called bills to legalize medical marijuana for three floor votes in the House in 2011. All three times, the measures failed. “I think it will be easier to find the votes on the floor once it’s out of committee. Many members of the floor will say, let me know when it’s out of committee, and then I’ll commit to you,” Lang said before today’s committee vote.

Quinn to propose education cuts and pension changes

By Jamey Dunn with Meredith Colias contributing

In his budget proposal tomorrow, Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to lay out substantial cuts to education and press lawmakers for changes to public employee pensions.

“This is a difficult budget. It holds the line on spending and reflects the state’s fiscal challenges. This budget doesn’t propose any new taxes fees or programs. It’s an honest budget that’s based on actual costs, and continues to eliminate gimmicks. This budget is a direct result of the inaction on stabilizing the pensions,” Jack Lavin, Quinn’s chief of staff, said at a briefing for reporters this evening. Quinn plans to propose a nearly $400 million cut education. CORRECTION: Quinn's budget staff gave this figure as a cut to K-12. They later revised that statement to cover all education, including higher ed.)  General State Aid to schools would be reduced by $150 million. Quinn also plans to call for cuts to transportation funding. Funding for higher education would be reduced by almost 5 percent. Early childhood education and Monetary Awards Program (MAP) grants for low-income college students would be safe from cuts. “Here we have a series of reductions that the governor does not want to do. These are outside of his vision of where we ought to be as a society. These reductions are a direct result of no action on pension reform,” said Jerry Stermer, director of Quinn’s budget office.

Quinn’s general revenue estimate of $35.6 billion comes in higher than the $35.08 billion that the House approved today. The House's number is based on analysis from the bipartisan legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Quinn's budget calls for a total of $62.4 billion, including federal revenue and spending from other funds, but the bulk of the appropriation process focuses on general revenue. Quinn’s budget is predicated on the idea that lawmakers would get on board with taking some money that is typically automatically transferred out of the General Revenue Fund (GRF) before the budget battle each year and instead toss it into the appropriations process. Quinn’s representatives at a budget briefing this evening said he does not intend to make specific suggestions about which transfers to tap into but will instead call upon lawmakers to assess all of the transfers out on an annual basis. “It is an autopilot kind of an appropriation. It just goes by itself without an annual review by the General Assembly. … It just goes out the door,” Stermer said. “All of those dollars in FY 13 are on autopilot, according to existing statutes. The only way you can make a change is to change the statute.”

The largest transfer, more than $1 billion, is of income tax revenues that are funneled to local governments based on their populations. In 2011, Quinn proposed delaying payments to local governments as part of a plan to cut some of the backlog of unpaid bills. That plan was met with vocal opposition and lobbying from local mayors and was quickly dropped. A budget plan that Senate Republicans proposed that same year called for a $300 million cut to revenues shared with local governments.

 Stermer said one fund at the Department of Revenue has a surplus that will be automatically dumped into the GRF at the start of the next fiscal year. “So that’s $150 million that COGFA did not account for.”

The budget calls for reducing the backlog by $2 billion over the current fiscal year and Fiscal Year 2014. The governor’s budget projection estimates the backlog, which is now more than $8 billion, will be $6.8 billion by the end of FY 14.
Quinn spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said the governor does not plan to propose billions in borrowing to pay down the backlog, an idea he has advocated in the past. However, she said, “He will propose a way to pay down the bills faster,” although she declined to share details. “We’ll leave that” for tomorrow’s budget address, she said. 

House takes test votes on assault weapons ban

By Jamey Dunn

The Illinois House took several votes on assault weapons bans today but did not approve a bill to send to the Senate.

The votes were held as part of a "Weekly Order of Business" on gun safety. Steven Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, described the process last week, after the House took similar votes on pension reform: “The strategy is to test the gambit of ideas. ... Test every idea that’s out there. You’ve heard people complain over the years about not being able to vote. Well, here’s a chance to vote.”

The House approved four amendments today that call for the ban of the sales of several types of so-called assault weapons, including guns used in recent mass shootings in Connecticut and Arizona. Another amendment that passed would ban the possession or sale of high-capacity magazines, which hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Opponents called the measures extreme, saying that they would severely limit residents’ access to guns. “What we have here today is just a full out attempt to ban every gun in this state,” said Harrisburg Republican Rep. Brandon Phelps. “This bans every rifle in this state.” They accused supporters of playing politics and trying to back them into controversial votes. “At the end of the day this is no about public safety this is all about politics,” said Elmhurst Republican Rep. Dennis Reboletti. “This is nothing but a political exercise to have that gotcha moment.”

But those in favor said that the weapons the amendments would ban are dangerous and should not be available to the general public. “This is not a game. We’re talking about human lives, innocent lives, and this need to be addressed first and foremost. Keep our communities safe,” said Chicago Democratic Rep. Luis Arroyo.

House preempts Quinn and approves a spending cap the day before his budget speech

By Jamey Dunn

The Illinois House kicked off its budgeting process a day before Gov. Pat Quinn is scheduled to present his budget plan.

The House approved a spending cap of $35.08 billion today, preempting the estimate that will presumably be a part of Quinn’s plan. “It ... means that if the governor walks into this chamber tomorrow, walks up to that podium and proposed to spend more than $35.081 billion, then he puts himself at odds immediately with this chamber,” said Arlington Heights Rep. David Harris, the ranking Republican on the House Revenue and Finance Committee, which produced the estimate. Rep. John Bradley, who chairs the committee, said it moved ahead because Quinn’s budget office was “all over the place” with its revenue estimates. “If the House adopts this number today, the House will have already spoken,” he said before the floor vote.

The revenue estimates approved in the last two years have been the basis for the budgets that lawmakers ultimately sent to Quinn. Those estimates were approved, however, after Quinn presented his plan. “It’s the same process we’ve used for the last two years ... and it’s the first and most crucial step in beginning the budget process,” said Bradley, a Marion Democrat. The projection means lawmakers will have more to work with than last year, when the estimate was $33.7 billion. “The revenues are expected to be stronger this year than last year, and we have significant spending pressures that we’re going to have to deal with,” Bradley said. “I think we’re going to have close to $2 billion of additional pressures this year, and that’s not including whatever may or may not have happened with regards to the contract announcement.” He said that the committee was still working to estimate the cost of the new contract for state workers. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees is in the process of ratifying the proposed three-year contract, which includes pay raises and requires employees to contribute more to their health care costs in retirement. He said the estimate also takes into account federal across-the-board budget cuts, known as the sequester, that went into effect on Friday.

The revenue committee’s estimate was created by the bipartisan legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. “We drove down into the numbers of the COGFA report, and we determined that the COGFA numbers, unlike in previous years, we believed were accurate,” Bradley said. He said he thinks the estimate will be lower than Quinn’s projection. “I anticipate and I predict we’ll be below the governor’s number tomorrow.” Quinn’s office did not respond to questions about the House’s projection.

 Harris said that several issues before the legislature could bring in more revenue next fiscal year. “There certainly are unknowns out there, and maybe those unknowns will be favorable. Depending on what we do with hydraulic fracturing and gaming and telecommunications, maybe the revenue will be higher.” But he cautioned his colleagues not to expect new spending. “While the number is big, I believe that it’s reasonable, but let’s not plan to go out and spend it right away. Because my friends, we can’t spend it on education, or health care, or assistance to the developmentally disabled, or roads or any other needed service because our pensions payment alone goes up by $1 billion. So unless we make reforms to the pension system, this $1 billion increase in revenue goes to one place, and that’s for pensions.”

The next step in the House budgeting process will be to take fixed costs, such as debt service and the pension payments, off of the top of the estimate and then dole out spending numbers to the various appropriations committees. Members of those committees then make spending decisions in their specific areas of state government, such as education. “This was the first step of a long journey we have ahead of us this year,” Bradley said.

Former comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch dies at 86

by Maureen Foertsch McKinney

Dawn Clark Netsch, the first woman to hold constitutional office in Illinois and the Democrats’ 1994 straight-shooting gubernatorial candidate, died early Tuesday. She was 86.

The former state comptroller was also a long-time state senator and champion of such diverse causes as tax reform, good government, gay and lesbian rights and the Chicago White Sox. In January, the professor of law emerita at Northwestern University announced that she had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She spoke out about having ALS, hoping her disclosure might spread information about the disease.

Her biographer, Cynthia Grant Bowman, a Cornell University professor of law who worked with the former comptroller in the law school at Northwestern, described Netsch as a “warm and charming woman of many contradictions — a schoolmarm who drinks and smokes, a powerful woman who has never learned to drive, a feminist who thought of herself as one of the boys, a well-to-do woman who is frugal to a fault. As a woman in the legal profession, legal academy and politics, she has also been a pioneer.”

Cindi Canary is former executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, which Netsch helped establish. Canary says of Netsch, with whom she served on the Illinois Issues advisory board: “She worked to build a generation that would pay it forward. I never met someone who was so generous with their wisdom and their time and their support. I think she helped so many – middle-aged now — young men and women, and she continued to help and guide and advise anyone who asked her. “So many people know she had a brilliant policy mind but she also loved her life. She loved her White Sox and she loved her opera and she loved her friends. She was a person who lived life to the fullest and relished it. She loved the city and the state and just loved every minute of her life. That’s a good remembrance for all of us.”

She was praised for being outspoken. 
 “Long before it was the politically safe thing to do, there was Dawn Clark Netsch fighting for LGBT rights and giving voice to those who would be silenced. She was never quiet when she felt her voice could make a difference,” Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, said in a prepared statement.

Several prominent Illinois political figures issued statements about the loss of Netsch. “More than any other person in our state’s history, Dawn Clark Netsch created the modern era of women in Illinois political leadership. As always, those who open the doors of opportunity must be extraordinarily gifted, determined and patient. Dawn was all of these and more,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan: “Dawn Clark Netsch set the standard for integrity in public service. She led by example with relentless honesty, fierce independence and a passionate belief in civil liberty for all. Her unwavering dedication to the people of Illinois will be missed. She blazed a trail for women and worked hard to make sure so many of us could follow her.”

Current comptroller Judy Baar Topinka: “Illinois lost a true legend and trailblazer today with the passing of Dawn Clark Netsch. Dawn faithfully served Illinois and its residents for more than four decades, fighting for good, honest government that rises above politics. In fact, one of the highlights of my legislative career was partnering with her to co-sponsor the state's Open Meetings Act. She continued her work as state comptroller, establishing the office as an honest broker and credible source of information when it comes to state finances. And she continued her crusade into retirement, regularly speaking out on the need for government reform and accountability. Dawn always remembered that government exists to serve taxpayers, not the other way around. She was a leader who was ahead of her time and our state is better for her service. More than that, she was a consummate professional and a class act. It was my honor to call her a colleague and friend.”

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon called Netsch a “hero of mine since the early 1980s and a friend and mentor ever since. We served on the board of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform together and collaborated on reform issues for many years. She was straight forward, a straight shooter and great at explaining state issues. She was not just a public servant, but a teacher.”

State Sen. President John Cullerton noted that in 1991, he was appointed to the Illinois Senate to fulfill Netsch's term representing the sixth legislative district: “Dawn Clark Netsch has been a mentor throughout my career. As the first woman to run for governor, she has been a motivator for an entire generation of public servants. That is her lasting legacy.”

Durbin stated: “Her ill-fated run for governor lacked the political polish of many winning campaigns, but her thoughtfulness, candor and blunt honesty about the challenges we faced will be remembered. “The Illinois political scene will not be the same without that pool-shooting Sox Fan with a cigarette holder, but generations of Illinois women can thank the indomitable force of Dawn Clark Netsch for blazing their path.”

Gov. Pat Quinn stated: “As an elected delegate to the Illinois constitutional convention in 1970, she spearheaded the movement to modernize our Constitution. I witnessed firsthand her dedication to honest government when we served together as state treasurer and comptroller. “Most importantly, Dawn was a straight shooter, and not just at playing pool. [Campaign ads for Netsch in her losing race against former Gov. Jim Edgar showed Netsch shooting pool.] She always told the people of Illinois what they needed to know. Throughout her life, Dawn Clark Netsch taught us all about the right way to move forward in our democracy. We are all better off because of her purposeful life.”

Despite vetoes, gaming supporters still hope for compromise

By Jamey Dunn

As expected, Gov. Pat Quinn today vetoed a gaming expansion bill that was sent to his desk more than a year and a half after the measure passed.

The Senate approved Senate Bill 744 on the last day of the spring legislative session in 2011. The proposal called for five new casino licenses, along with slot machines at horse racing tracks and the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Senate President John Cullerton put a procedural hold on the bill because Quinn had made his distaste for the plan public, calling it "top heavy." Quinn voiced a particular disdain for allowing slot machines at the fairgrounds. Cullerton and supporters of the plan had hoped to work out a compromise with the governor. But Quinn called for them to send the bill and let him rewrite it with his veto power. Instead, proponents of a gaming expansion backed away from SB 744 and threw support behind another bill that they viewed as a compromise. Legislators approved SB 1849 on the last day of the regular spring session of 2012. Quinn vetoed that bill, and lawmakers did not take a vote to override his veto.

“Everybody, including us, knew that he was going to veto [SB 744]. It was just when he was going to veto it,” said Waukegan Democratic Sen. Terry Link, who sponsored both bills. Quinn’s complaints about SB 744 and SB 1849 are similar. Quinn said in today’s veto message that he would not sign off on any gaming plan without “strong ethical standards, comprehensive oversight and dedicated resources for education.” According to the message, Quinn liked SB 744 even less than the gaming plan he previously vetoed. “Senate Bill 744 is even more significantly flawed than SB 1849. Senate Bill 744’s most glaring deficiency is the total absence of comprehensive ethical standards and regulatory oversight. The bill also lacks a ban on campaign contributions by gaming licensees and casino managers, which is essential to keeping corruption out of the gaming industry.”

Link said he plans to propose new legislation that he believes will meet Quinn’s requirements. “We will be introducing a bill that we feel that answers most of the governor’s requests or desires.” However, Link said he and other supporters have been trying all along to get a plan approved that Quinn could accept. “When the goal line keeps moving every time, it’s kind of hard to get to the goal line.”

SB 744 was kicked to Quinn when the 97th General Assembly ended in January. Because the two-year legislative session of the 97th General Assembly is over, lawmakers have no opportunity to try to override today’s veto.

Sequester would make Illinois' bad budget situation worse

By Jamey Dunn

Days before Gov. Pat Quinn is scheduled to present his budget plan for the next fiscal year, the reality is setting in that federal spending will be cut across the board.

A plan, referred to as the sequester, to cut $85 billion from the federal budget is expected to kick in. The cuts were meant to force a compromise on deficit reduction measures that would have averted the draconian and widely unpopular reductions, but Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration were unable to work out a deal before today’s deadline. Obama today called the cuts “arbitrary” and “dumb.” The president told reporters in Washington D.C.: “Now, what’s important to understand is that not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away. The pain, though, will be real. Beginning this week, many middle-class families will have their lives disrupted in significant ways.”

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said at a Washington, D.C,. news conference today that “there are smarter ways to cut spending.” However, he said that his chamber had done its part to avert the cuts. “The House has laid out a plan to avoid the sequester. I would hope that the Senate would act.” He added that “discussion about revenue .. .is over.”

Boehner said he would move next week to ensure that the government does not shut down when current spending authority is scheduled to end on March 27. “I did lay out that the House is going to move a continuing resolution next week to fund the government past March 27,” Boehner said today after a meeting with the Obama administration produced no solution to stop the sequester. “And I’m hopeful that we won’t have to deal with the threat of a government shutdown while we’re dealing with the sequester at the same time. The House will act next week, and I hope the Senate will follow suit.” Many hoping for a sequester deal had looked to the March 27 deadline as a potential opportunity for a compromise to avert the cuts.

If a deal is reached soon, much of the brunt of the cuts could still be avoided. However, if the sequester remains in place, Illinois would lose:

• $33.4 million for primary and secondary education.
• $24.7 million for educating children with disabilities.
• $6.4 million in funds for environmental protection.
• $3.5 million for substance abuse treatment.
• $1.4 million for job placement programs.
• $764,000 in food assistance for seniors.
• $587,000 in law enforcement and public safety grants.
• $357,000 for children’s vaccinations.
•  $273,000 programs that serve victims of domestic violence.

According to the Obama administration, cuts to the Head Start program would mean that more than 2,700 children in Illinois could lose access to preschool. Education cuts would put more than 700 educator’s jobs at risk. The state will also be subject to national reductions in military spending. If federal layoffs kick in as scheduled in April, travelers at airports, such as Chicago’s O’Hare, could see long wait times. (For more information on Illinois and a comparison of all the states, see this handy breakdown from The Washington Post.)

 But Illinois will not be hit as hard as some states. According to an analysis from the Pew Center on the States, the cuts would be equal to of 2.5 percent of Illinois’ Gross Domestic Product. That compares with states such as Virginia, where the cuts would equal almost 20 percent of GDP. States such as Virginia, with high levels of defense spending, will be especially hurt by the $43 billion in defense cuts called for under the sequester. (For more information, see this analysis from Pew.)

While the federal cuts in Illinois may not be as dire as in some other states, Illinois is heading into an especially difficult budgeting year. Growing pension costs are putting pressure on other areas of spending. The pensions contribution for Fiscal Year 2014 would be more than $6 billion, and the state is projected to have more than $8 billion in unpaid bills by at the end of the current fiscal year. Quinn’s budget office did not return a request for comment on the sequester. Quinn is scheduled to give his budget address on Wednesday.

House votes to ban hand-held cell phones while driving

By Jamey Dunn

The Illinois House today approved a ban on the use of hand-held cellphones while driving.

House Bill 1247 prohibits the hand-held use of a cell phone while driving. The bill would allow drivers to talk on the phone if they use a speakerphone setting or a device that allows them to chat hands-free. The measure also has an exception for emergency situations. The legislation would allow police to pull over drivers they saw using cell phones.

The House passed a similar ban last year, but it was not called for a floor vote in the Senate. However, Senate President John Cullerton also said last year that he thought a ban on all cell phone use while driving “might be inevitable” in Illinois. “There’s no question it’s a distraction from driving,” Cullerton said at the time. “There’s not a big difference between whether you’re holding a phone or whether you’re not holding a phone. It’s the distraction in talking to someone that’s not in the car with you. It’s not what’s in your hand; it’s what’s in your head.” He said such a ban would probably come incrementally. The state has already banned texting while driving, as well as talking on cell phones in construction zones and school zones. In Illinois, drivers under 18 are prohibited from talking on cell phones while driving. There is also a national ban on drivers of large trucks and buses using phones while on the road.

Opponents of the ban passed today said that they think the end goal of supporters is a complete ban on cell phone use while driving. HB 1247 sponsor Rep. John D’Amico, a Chicago Democrat, said that he is not pushing for a full ban. “That is not where I intend to go,” he said. Some Republicans called the bill an overreach of government into people’s lives. “This kind of stuff is the ultimate, ultimate in Big Brother,” said Rep. Mike Bost, a Murphysboro Republican. He said drivers engage in many other activities behind the wheel, such as applying makeup disciplining children or eating, that can be distracting and dangerous. “I know it is dangerous, but there’s a lot of things that we do every day while driving in our cars that become dangerous. ... Where do we stop [on bans]?”

 Rep. David Harris, an Arlington Heights Republican, said “I readily admit” that the legislation has “elements of Big Brother.”

“This is the government telling you what you can and cannot do within the confines of your car while driving.” But Harris said that the intrusion is justified by the public safety benefits. He noted that technology would eventually reach the point where all drivers would use their phones hands-free. “Until that time comes, our job is to try to make the roadways as safe as possible.”

D’Amico said that more than 70 local governments in Illinois already ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, and it makes sense to put a consistent statewide policy in place. “People are dying every day, and if we can do something about it, we need to stop it.” The legislation passed on a 64-46 vote and now heads to the Senate.

Senate approves federal Medicaid expansion

By Meredith Colias 

The Illinois Senate approved a measure to expand Medicaid coverage beyond mothers and children to low-income single adults as part of the federal health care reform law.

Senate Bill 26 would expand Medicaid eligibility to an estimated 350,000 adults who do not currently qualify for Medicaid. Adults from 19 to 64 earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level would now qualify. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act calls for coverage to be extended for those making 133 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the feds are allowing states some wiggle room, so in practice, the coverage will be extended to those making 138 percent, which was $31,809 for a family of four and $15,415 for a single person in 2012.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat, said the expansion would be better for providers such as hospitals, local townships and health care clinics that currently are not reimbursed for providing health care services for uninsured adults. She said it would shift individuals now without health insurance away from using hospital emergency rooms as a costlier last resort for injury and illness. “We can get them up front into care coordinated programs…make sure they are getting the preventative health care they need to stay healthier, which is a much better system when you actually get people care they need,” she said.

Sen. Jacqueline Collins, a Chicago Democrat, said the expansion is important for vulnerable citizens of the state, such as those who “were asked to bear the brunt” of the Medicaid cuts last year. The federal government will pay 100 percent of the costs of the Affordable Care Act for the first three years. Afterward, the state will be responsible for 10 percent of the total cost per year. The bill has specific language allowing Illinois to opt out of the expansion if the share of the federal government's payment falls below 90 percent, and the state has to pick up more than 10 percent of the total cost.

No Republican voted in favor of the legislation. They said they were concerned it was a commitment the state could not afford, and would force newly eligible participants to choose Medicaid over other options, such as buying insurance in the online marketplace that is another component of the Affordable Care Act. "At some time, we have to understand that we have to take responsibility" for its cost when the federal government stops footing the full bill, said Sen. Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican.

Minority Leader Christine Radogno said that Illinois should do more to negotiate the terms of the expansions with federal officials before agreeing to sign on. Arkansas recently struck a deal with the United States Department of Health and Human Services that will allow that state to spend some of its Medicaid dollars to buy Medicaid-eligible residents insurance in the online exchange. “What I think we lose by getting on more quickly than we need to is any leverage to work with the federal government to make the program fit better for Illinois,” Radogno said.

Steans said she was confident that proper safeguards were built into the law to avoid a risk to the state budget. “We are going to have control over this program as we want,” she said. She said it is more important to change how the current costs are paid and said governors throughout the country are also embracing the expansion. “We pick it up in [the budget now], it doesn’t get any federal matching dollars … Folks are coming in and getting this care [anyway],” Steans said.

 She added, “It just makes total economic sense, as well as it’s the right thing to get people more health care coverage.” The measure now heads to the House.

For more on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, see Illinois Issues September 2012.

More test votes coming on pensions and guns

By Jamey Dunn

Votes to gauge lawmakers’ sentiments on several pension proposals today produced little information, as Republicans refused to take part in a process that they called a political game.

Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who has sponsored several pension reform proposals recently, presented four amendments put forward by House Speaker Michael Madigan, and the House resoundingly rejected them all. The amendment that received the most support, five “yes” votes, would prohibit cost of living adjustments [COLAs] for retirees if the pensions systems were less than 80 percent funded. The systems are currently funded at 39 percent. The least popular amendment, which would have moved the retirement age to 67, received only one favorable vote, and that came from Madigan, himself. The other two amendments would have eliminated COLAs entirely and would have required employees to contribute an additional 5 percent of their salaries toward pension costs. There was little debate on any of the amendments. However, House Minority Leader Tom Cross rose to give a lengthy speech explaining why Republicans refused to engage or vote on the amendments. “Today, we’re going to go through the charade of acting like we are going to do something about it, and it’s nothing but a joke,” he said on the House floor. “It’s like this is the dysfunctional family with the alcoholic, and we think if we ignore it, it will go away, while he or she wrecks the car, destroys the family finances, causes problems at home. And we think, well it will just go away. We’re not even addressing the problem today. And somewhere, someday, somehow, we’ve got to accept the fact that we have a challenge on our hands. And we have to do [something about] it in a comprehensive way.”

Cross praised Nekritz for her separate efforts to craft a comprehensive bill. “She’s a leader. She stood up, taking on and fighting folks that have been natural allies of hers, and she’s to be commended for what she’s done and what she’s doing and what she wants to do.” Cross and Nekritz sponsor House Bill 3411, which they unveiled yesterday. Cross said the measure, which has bipartisan support in both chambers, should be a starting point for negotiating a bill that can pass. “We need to sit down — the four [legislative] leaders with the governor — quit the B.S. and get a bill with 60 votes, 30 in the Senate and 60 here, and send it to the governor’s desk.”

Nekritz said she preferred her and Cross’ proposal to the amendments offered by Madigan, which were generally harsher on state employees and retirees. But she said that today’s votes did illustrate the levels to which lawmakers are not willing to go when it comes to reducing COLAs, hiking employee contributions and increasing the retirement age. “We don’t have 60 votes on [HB3411] yet. And we have to engage in a process that will get us there. And maybe this isn’t exactly what we would all want, but we needed to shake things up. We needed to do something a little different than we’ve been doing because, as Leader Cross said, we’ve been working for three years to get to a point where we have a bill that can get 60 votes here,” Nekritz said on the House floor. “We all need to find something we’re for, and if this is a process that can get us to something that we’re for, then let’s go ahead with it. If it’s some other process, I’m open to that, too. But we have to get to something that we’re for, and each of you has to engage in that process of getting to yes.”

Marengo Democratic Rep. Jack Franks called on the party leaders to convene a "committee of the whole," which consists of all members of the House, and put all other issues aside until the chamber approves a bill with changes to the pension system. “I would ask that instead of being a pawn in the process, that instead, we take back the process. And I know this is unprecedented, but we’ve never faced this type of problem before.”

Cross said he would agree to such a move, but the idea did not go over well with Madigan. “The last thing I think the House of Representatives needs is another hearing. How many hearings have we had? How many bills have we offered? How many times have people withdrawn bills and ducked and bobbed and weaved? So a committee of the whole is really the craziest idea,” said Madigan spokesman Steve Brown.

Despite the unenthusiastic response to today’s exercise, which was similar to the treatment that concealed carry amendments got on Tuesday, Brown said lawmakers should expect the process, dubbed Weekly Order of Business, to continue. He said that there will likely be more of them on both pensions and “gun safety issues.” Under such orders, lawmakers are asked to take roll call votes to adopt various amendments, which each contain a single provision. However, no final action is called on the bill after amendments are adopted or rejected. “The strategy is to test the gambit of ideas. ... Test every idea that’s out there. You’ve heard people complain over the years about not being able to vote. Well, here’s a chance to vote.”

He also said the language in Cross and Nekritz’s bill could be moved straight to the floor, skipping over a committee hearing. “I think there’s some interest in maybe just discharging that bill and sending it to the floor and see who wants to vote on it,” Brown said. “Don’t rule anything out.”

State and union leaders reach deal on new contract

Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration and the state’s largest public employee union have reached a tentative deal on a new contract for state workers.

Negotiations over a new contract stretched on for more than 15 months. The state’s contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 expired last June. The contract was extended until November, when Quinn refused to extend it further. Employees have been working without a contract since then.

The union and Quinn’s administration announced the deal for three-year contract today, but AFSCME said it does not plan to make the details public until the union’s members have a chance to review the agreement. “At a time when the state is facing unprecedented financial challenges, this agreement is fair to both hard-working state employees and all taxpayers of Illinois,” Quinn said in a prepared statement. “I want to thank the women and men who have stayed at the table for more than a year for their commitment to reaching an agreement.”

Union members still have to approve the new contract. According to a news release from AFSCME, the ratification process will start at work sites next week. “AFSCME is very pleased that we were able to reach an agreement that protects our members’ standard of living, and is fair to them and all Illinois citizens, even in these very challenging economic times,” AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer said in a prepared statement.

Supporters hopeful about new bipartisan pension bill

By Jamey Dunn

Lawmakers who have been spearheading recent pension reform efforts have introduced yet another plan they say could garner strong support from Republicans and Democrats.

The changes to benefits for current employees in House Bill 3411 are identical to a bill Northbrook Democratic Rep. Elaine Nekrtiz and Sen. Daniel Biss introduced in December. Biss, an Evanston Democrat, was serving in the House at the time. “Everyone was working in good faith. Everyone was pulling in the same direction, but fundamentally, we were never able to get a bill that a critical mass of both Democrats and Republicans could support,” Biss said at a news conference to unveil the legislation today. “We had a bill that had a lot of Democrats and a few brave, or maybe foolhardy, Republicans, and then we had a bill that had a lot of Republicans and a few brave, or maybe foolhardy, Democrats. And we all knew that there was a way of meeting in the middle that could put together both coalitions at once, and I think today we’ve found it.” Biss introduced identical language to HB 3411 in his chamber as Senate Bill 35. The legislation would:

• Increase employee contributions by 2 percent of their salaries. The increase would phase in over two years. 
• Allow cost of living adjustments [COLAs] on only the first $25,000 of a retiree’s pension, or on only $20,000 for those who receive Social Security benefits. COLAs would not kick in until a retiree turns 67 or five years after retirement, whichever comes first. 
• Increase the retirement age for employees younger than age 46. Employees from age 40 to 45 would see a one-year increase, employees 35 to 39 would see a three-year increase and employees 34 and younger would see a five-year increase. 
• Limit the amount of pensionable income to the Social Security wage base, which will be $113,700 in 2013, or the employee's current salary, whichever is greater. 
• Guarantee that the state make required annual payments to the pension systems. 

Biss estimated that if the measure were approved and upheld by the courts to go into effect by July, it could shave $2 billion off the state’s pension payment for the next fiscal year. It would reduce the unfunded liability by an estimated $28 billion and fully fund the systems by 2043.

A new component of the proposal would place all employees of schools outside of Chicago, university and community college employees hired after January 1, 2014, into a so-called hybrid plan that has a defined benefits component and a defined contribution component. Schools, colleges and universities would be responsible for the cost of these plans and could offer an optional employer match of 3 percent to 10 percent of an employee’s pay for the 401(k)-like component of the hybrid plan. It is the hybrid plan for new workers that proponents point to as the compromise that will help them build support. Schools and colleges will take over the cost of retirement benefits for future employees, but the measure does not contain the cost shift of future benefits for all employees, which was strongly opposed by many Republicans. “So at the end of the day, the state, for these two systems, is out of the pensions business,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross. “We think that is the wave of the future. It’s the way that many other states have gone and obviously the private sector. And it’s the only way we think as a state we can sustain a pension system and take care of our employees at the same time.”

A statement from union leaders called the plan “a step backwards” in the debate over pension reform. “Like the previous approach, HB 3411 continues to focus on unfair, unconstitutional benefit cuts that erode the value of retirees’ pensions. Now, it also creates a hybrid 401(k) plan that would harm retirement security for a new generation, even though this feature does not substantially address the state’s unfunded liability. Employees like teachers, state university personnel, and police officers already do not receive Social Security, and more than half of their retirement would be at market risk under a hybrid proposal like HB 3411,” The We Are One Coalition said in a news release. “Traditional defined-benefit pensions simply work better than defined-contribution plans — even hybrid plans. Defined-benefit plans are more efficient at providing retirement income. They generate better returns, and they diversify holdings and spread risk more effectively. Moreover, ongoing costs for defined-contribution plans exceed those of defined-benefit plans.”

The bill comes the day before the House is expected to consider several pension amendments from House Speaker Michael Madigan. Amendments filed by Madigan would:

• Eliminate COLAs.
• Freeze COLAs until the system is 80 percent funded.
• Require employees to contribute an additional 5 percent of their pay toward retirement benefits.
• Increase the retirement age for full benefits to 67.

However, the House is not expected to take a final vote on any of these proposals. Tomorrow’s session will likely be similar to Tuesday’s session that focused on concealed carry, when House members voted on several amendments but did not pass a bill.

Lobbying battle over same sex marriage heats up in the House

By Meredith Colias

An Illinois House committee advanced a same-sex marriage proposal late this evening, but its sponsor said he would not call the bill for a floor vote this week.

The House Executive Committee approved Senate Bill 10 on a 6-5 vote.

Chicago Democratic Rep. Greg Harris, the bill’s sponsor, said he was upbeat about its chances for passage, even though the bill may face a tougher challenge than it did in the Senate. “I think it will look very good on the full floor,” he said. Bernard Cherkasov, chief executive officer of Equality Illinois, said he was optimistic and he thinks growing public opinion for same-sex marriage statewide would play an important role in pushing the final vote. "Every day that goes by, there's more and more support for this issue,” he said. “If they vote against the freedom to marry, they are going to be on the wrong side of history." Public opinion for support on same-sex marriage has been growing steadily in the state. A poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute between taken between January 27 and February 8 showed 45.5 percent of Illinoisans favored legalizing same-sex marriage, up from 33.6 three years prior.

Opponents testifying, however, took a notably sharper tone than they did during Senate debates, citing religious objections and the possible detrimental effects on children with same-sex parents. Ralph Rivera of the Illinois Family Institute said before the hearing that members of both parties opposed the bill, and he was confident the measure did not have enough support to reach that point. “I don't see the votes. ... The numbers aren't there for them,” he said.

No Republican committee members voted in favor of the bill. East St. Louis Democratic Rep. Eddie Lee Jackson Sr. voted against it, and Rep. Luis Arroyo, a Chicago Democrat, said he may not vote in favor of the proposal when Harris calls it in the House because of his religious objections and feedback from his district. The measure needs a minimum of 60 votes to pass the House. Senate Bill 10 passed the Senate on Valentine’s Day, 34-21, but with only one Republican vote. Democratic Governor Pat Quinn has said he would sign the measure into law if it passes the General Assembly.

House feels out concealed carry proposals

By Jamey Dunn

Over the course of seven hours today, Illinois House members went on the record on various provisions that could make up a final plan to allow concealed carry of firearms. Pension changes may get the same treatment later this week.

In December, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state’s ban on carrying firearms in public is unconstitutional. The court gave The General Assembly 180 days to pass a law to regulate carry. The court’s opinion said the state could set reasonable restrictions on carry, such as training requirements for licenses and banning guns in certain places.

Now, the House is trying to wade through the potential components of a plan. Lawmakers were faced with 31 amendments to House Bill 1155 today dealing with various components of concealed carry, including where guns would be allowed and what kind of licensing system that state might have. Debate lasted for about seven hours, and lawmakers voted in favor of 10 amendments. Amendments that were approved would:

• Prohibit concealed carry in schools, libraries, government buildings and on public mass transit. 
• Bar guns from child care facilities, hospitals and mental health facilities. 
• Ban carry in gaming facilities, at amusement parks and sporting events. 

Lawmakers rejected amendments that would have banned guns at places that dispense alcohol, public gatherings, such as fairs, and on university and community college campuses. Rep. Brandon Phelps, who has sponsored several concealed carry bills in recent years, said that the amendment that dealt with universities did not adhere to a previous compromise made with the universities. “We had a deal. A deal is a deal, especially in this General Assembly.”

Republicans complained about the unorthodox process, which called on the full House to vote on complex and controversial amendments. Typically, such amendments are first vetted and approved by a committee before reaching the floor. However, none of the votes cast today were  final action, and HB 1155 might not be the final concealed carry bill. Republicans accused Democrats of trying to push them into votes that could later be used against them in future elections. “I don’t think this is going anywhere. I really don’t. We’re playing games,” said Rep. Mike Bost, a Murphysboro Republican. But others said they saw today’s events as a kickoff to the debate over carry. “People are going to get excited about some of these amendments, but I believe this is the beginning of a process. And I hope everybody understands that,” said Rep. Jim Durkin, a Western Springs Republican.

House members approved an amendment that contains concealed carry legislation similar to HB 997, which Phelps introduced earlier this year. His proposal would require applicants to have training and a shooting test to obtain a license. The application fee for a license would be $85, and the Illinois State Police would be required to issue licenses to those applicants who were eligible. The proposal would ban guns from several locations, including schools and bars. It would also allow universities and community colleges to prohibit guns on campus. “We believe we have a reasonable bill that complies with the court’s decision and directions. We should have one standard for our state.”

Phelps said language that would allow the state police to use discretion when issuing licenses could lead to cases of discrimination. “We believe that a bureaucrat should not dictate who gets a permit or [does] not get a permit.” Phelps warned that if lawmakers cannot get concealed carry legislation passed, there would be no restrictions after the court’s deadline is up in June.

Democratic Rep. Michael Zalewski of Riverside said that today’s session was useful for getting members to grasp the complexity of the issue and getting a feel for where their preferences lie. “I think we needed this particular day to ensure that people were aware of the issues that we face on this. Everyone assumes that we can just pass a bill and this will all figure itself out, but there’s so many ... factors that go into this and how we balance protecting public safety with the constitutional right to carry a weapon, so we needed this for people to start thinking about the issue.” He said the votes on the amendments banning guns were instructive about what proposals could receive support in a final bill. “We may not be able to put a restriction on what people do in a public way. We may only be able to regulate schools and mass transit and parks and things. So that’s my takeaway.”

As the hours ticked by, several amendments were passed over without a vote. Zalewski sponsored an amendment that would have allowed the police to use discretion when issuing licenses but did not call the provision for a vote. He said the arguments over more rigid language that the state “shall issue” concealed carry permits and his more permissive “may issue” language came up during debate over Phelps’ amendment. Phelps and other concealed carry supporters believe that “may issue” language would not meet the requirements in the federal court’s ruling. Zalewski disagrees. He said that just because 67 House members voted in favor of Phelps’ plan does not mean it will be the final language. “I think that it’s important to note that that bill didn’t get 71 votes. We’ve always operated under the assumption that we’re going to preempt home rule here. And if that’s the case, then it needs a 71 [to] 36 majority.”

During the debate, Republicans complained that Democratic leaders plan to address proposed changes to the pension systems for state employees in a similar way this week. Zalewski said he thinks the process could be even more useful for addressing pension reform. “Thursday, we’re doing the same thing on pensions so that will be instructive,” he said. “On pensions, everyone talks a really nice game, but no one’s actually had to vote for something [on the floor] yet. So we will find out if people are really wiling to raise contributions, and we will find out if people are really willing to limit [cost-of-living adjustments]. ... Forcing people to the table and forcing them to take hard votes, I think it’s helpful. We were bogged down, so we need to move the ball a little bit.”

Corrections begins awarding 'good time' off inmates' sentences

By Jamey Dunn

The Illinois Department of Corrections has begun awarding inmates time off of their sentences under a good-time credit law approved last year.

“After careful review, the department has begun to provisionally award supplemental sentence credit to approximately 12 eligible inmates. These provisional awards will become final awards of sentence credit near an inmate’s parole date. The department continues to review inmate files and will award credit to eligible low-level inmates as appropriate after careful and thoughtful review,” said a written statement from the DoC. So far, no inmates have been released early under the program.

 In 2009, the Department of Corrections instituted a policy dubbed MGT Push, which waived the a longstanding waiting period and allowed inmates to apply their credit immediately. This decision was made behind closed doors and was not publicized. After the Associated Press reported on the program, the fallout plagued Gov. Pat Quinn as he was running for the governor’s office in 2010. Quinn pulled together a group of staff members and experts who released a report in 2010 suggesting reforms that should take place before early release was reinstated. However, Quinn dropped the issue, and the program remained suspended for years while the state’s prisons faced overcrowding.

But after the General Assembly approved legislation creating a new program for awarding non-violent prisoners time off their sentences for good behavior, Quinn signed the bill last summer. “We worked it out with the legislature. It was long in coming. A judge did a study of the whole system and recommended a number of reforms. The legislature took that study, put it into law. I signed it into law, and we’re carrying it out,” Quinn said earlier this week. “We’ve got to follow the blueprint that is outlined in the law, and I think we will do very well if we go forward right with that.”

The department is referring to the time off, as “supplemental sentence credit (SSC).” The credit can shave up to 180 days off a sentence. Inmates must serve 60 days before becoming eligible for program. According to a news release from DoC: “The file review includes a comprehensive examination of an offender’s current holding offense(s) as well as any criminal history and disciplinary record. Programming, educational courses, assignments and any other supporting evidence that could show an offender’s progression towards rehabilitation will also be reviewed.” After credit is awarded, the department can revoke it if an inmate has disciplinary problems.

Requirements for the program are listed on the department’s website. However, awarding of the credit is at the discretion of DoC. “It is important to note that even if an offender is potentially eligible for an award of SSC, the offender should not and does not have an outright expectation to receive an award,” the website states. DoC says it will not be able to project who will receive credit under the program, and it will not respond to inquires about potential eligibility. “Because of the many factors the department intends to consider for each potentially eligible offender, it is impossible for the department to project whether or when any specific offender will receive an award of SSC credit. It is also not possible for the department to respond to inquiries concerning an offender’s likelihood of receiving an award of SSC due to the department’s policy that prevents the disclosure of confidential master record file information and criminal history.” However, DoC says it will notify inmates who get credit, and the credit will be reflected on their profiles on the DoC’s website. The department is also required to notify local law enforcement at least two weeks before the parole date of any inmate who receives time off his or her sentence under the program.