Budget – Stopgap
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House Democrats advance irresponsible
stopgap spending plan. It is disappointing, but not
surprising, that Democrats once again rammed another stopgap spending plan through the House – it’s precisely
why Democrats have been unwilling to negotiate with House Republicans on a
full, balanced budget.
We
have said all along that it was the plan of the Speaker and the majority party
to only pass stopgap spending plans and allow our state to simply limp along to
get to the next election – and their most recent actions prove that.
Unfortunately,
we’ve seen all of this before. Typically, right before a break or deadline, the
majority party decides it’s best to play politics and passes a spending plan
that never balances or fails to address the real issues of our state so that
they can go home and pretend that they’ve done their job.
Our
students, community colleges and universities and social services providers
deserve long-term certainty. The House
Democrat plan does nothing to address their long term problems and concerns and
simply strings them along.
The funding
that Democrats are proposing isn’t even close to what vital programs need. For
example, their spending plan includes only 36% of the funding for domestic
violence shelters, only 36% for infant mortality programs and only 38% for the
senior meals program.
To
make matters worse, their plan would spend $1.5 million on a program in Chicago
that has already been disbanded and employees laid off and more than $500,000
on two programs that are currently ineligible to receive funds due to
noncompliance issues with reporting of how state funds were previously spent.
Instead
of stop gaps and governing through piecemeal “solutions”, we need to make those
who depend on assistance from the State whole. That can only be done through a
balanced budget.
So
let’s call this what it is. House Democrats do not intend to get a budget done
before 2019. That is unacceptable.
Republicans
have said over and over again that we are ready and willing to work with our colleagues on the other side
of the aisle to find an agreement on a budget that balances and fixes the long
term issues facing our state while respecting the priorities of both
Republicans and Democrats. But so far Democrats have refused to even begin
those discussions.
Republicans
have been very clear about our priorities in a budget:
o
A
budget that actually balances
o
Property
tax relief for families and businesses
o
Political
reform (term limits and fair maps) to restore accountability and trust to
government
o
Pension
reform to save the state billions of dollars
o
And
other reforms (workers’ comp) to make Illinois competitive, grow our economy
and most importantly create jobs
So we
hope that instead of being the party of “No”, House Democrats will return to
Springfield and will be ready to work with us on a balanced budget. Work with
us to bring certainty to our state and fix the problems that we all know must
be addressed to put Illinois back on the right track.
Budget – Moody’s Warning
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Moody’s Investors Service labels
current Illinois budget situation “unsustainable.”
The globally-followed credit-rating firm, which has downgraded debt
securities issued by the State of Illinois and its affiliates in the recent
past, has issued another warning.
In the most recent caution issued to Springfield, Moody’s indicated that
if the State does not enact a budget by May 31, Illinois will be on a pathway
to “unsustainable fiscal challenges.”
Creating special concerns for credit analysts is the growing
possibility that Illinois’ fiscal situation could threaten its ability to
maintain an investment-quality credit rating.
Only two additional credit reductions would reduce Illinois’ credit
rating to non-investment-grade level.
Moody’s analysts warned that the consequence of this loss of
investment-grade quality could expand the cuts that are now being inflicted on
individual social service offices and individual departments within
institutions of higher education. Under
threat could be the long-term survival of entire public universities and
swathes of community services across complete regions of Illinois.
“Illinois is at a critical juncture,” stated Moody’s vice
president and senior credit officer. The
credit-rating official pointed out that Illinois already has the lowest debt
rating (BBB/Baa2) of any state in the U.S.
The developing budget situation has already helped to create a
significant pension underfunding situation, which has exacerbated the overall
picture of Illinois’ debt-to-assets ratio.
The Moody’s report was released on Thursday, March 30.
Budget – Workers’ Compensation Costs
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Illinois’ dysfunctional workers’
compensation system blamed for swollen public-sector operating costs. A new study, backed by the Illinois Policy
Institute, suggests that the cost of workers’ compensation to Illinois
taxpayers is at least $1 billion a year.
The total includes at least $727 million/year attributable to local
governments and school districts, and an estimated $255 million/year for the
State of Illinois. The study was
released on Wednesday, April 5.
Workers’ compensation costs are paid by taxpayers as the employers
of the thousands of Illinois public sector personnel, including school and
university personnel. Under existing law,
most employers must cover their employees with workers’ compensation insurance
to reflect the actuarial future costs of the employment-related health
challenges they may face in the future while employed.
The Illinois workers’ compensation system costs more, per
employee, than the systems operated in most other U.S. states. Republicans this year are redoubling their
call for overall workers’ compensation reform to move Illinois’ system closer
to nationwide standards. Reforms include
changes to fees and awards, caps on wage reimbursement rates, work-duty changes
to reduce the time that a workers’ comp patient has to wait before going back
to work, and changes in workers’ comp pharmaceutical practice to discourage the
workers’ comp patients from being prescribed opiate painkillers. Implementing a family of reforms of this type
could reduce the cost of workers’ comp to Illinois taxpayers by as much as $300
million/year.
The current Illinois workers’ comp system is set up in complex
ways to ensure what are thought to be adequate compensation levels for injured
workers, the medical care providers who provide care to persons injured on the
job, advocacy personnel (including lawyers) who represent parties in workers’
compensation claim disputes, and the insurance firms that sell workers’
compensation insurance. Opponents of
workers’ comp reform tend to blame one or more of these four compensated
parties, rather than advocating reforms to the whole system.
Environment – Adopt-a-Trail
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Spain bill allows volunteer work at
State Parks. State Rep. Ryan Spain passed his first bill on Wednesday, a bipartisan measure to
allow volunteer work to be performed at Illinois State Parks.
“This
is common-sense legislation that allows volunteers to create an Adopt-a-Trail
program as well as allow volunteer work at State Parks and trails.
Included in permissible activities are spring cleanups, accessibility projects,
special events, trail maintenance, enhancement, or realignment, public information
and assistance, or training," said State Rep. Ryan Spain.
This
legislation attempts to resolve a long-standing problem at many State Parks and
facilities where volunteers are being told they are not permitted to help keep
trails clean and maintained. Currently, those individuals are able to
assist with removal of trash and litter. Spain continued, “My intention
here is not to take away work historically done by State employees, but rather
to allow supplemental efforts to help keep our state natural resources in even
better shape for future generations.”
Representative
Spain sponsored House Bill 3455, a measure suggested to him by trail
riders at Jubilee State Park in rural Brimfield and negotiated with the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources and other stakeholders, and passed the
legislation on Wednesday in the Illinois House by a vote of 113-0. The
legislation attracted bipartisan support and co-sponsorship from House
legislators throughout Illinois. Testifying in support of the bill were
the Illinois Department of Natural Resources as well as the Horsemen’s Council
of Illinois.
Jobs – Chicago Tourism
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Millennium Park becomes top tourist
attraction in U.S. Midwest. A visitor count carried out during the final
six months of calendar year 2016 showed 12.9 million visitors setting foot in
Chicago’s iconic park, making Millennium Park the most popular single site in the
central region of the United States. The
park centers around sculptor Anish Kapoor’s internationally recognized abstract
stainless-steel sculpture “Cloud Gate.”
Millennium Park topped the Midwest’s second-most-visited tourist attraction,
Chicago’s Navy Pier.
Outmigration – Indiana
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Census finds increasing numbers of
former Illinoisans have moved to Indiana. The counts carried out by
the American Community Survey include movements of former Illinoisans through
calendar years 2015. In 2015, 34,220 former Illinois residents moved to the Hoosier State.
Indiana currently possesses features that increase its attractions
relative to Illinois. Features of
Indiana policy include a working state budget, a statewide property tax
limitation law, a “triple-AAA” credit rating, and a job-friendly business
climate. More Illinois residents are
expected to move to Indiana as these policy factors continue to
operate.
State Government – Historic Preservation
·
Governor begins consolidation of IHPA
into IDNR. In an executive order, Gov. Bruce Rauner took
steps this week to trigger the elimination of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA). The Agency operates more than 50 historic and
cultural-heritage sites throughout Illinois.
Sites controlled by IHPA include the Hotel Florence, an architectural
keystone of the Pullman National Monument in Chicago; Lincoln’s Tomb and
Lincoln’s New Salem in Central Illinois; and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of
Cahokia Mounds, east of St. Louis. IHPA
was separated out from its former parent, the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources (then called the Department of Conservation) in 1985.
Under the terms of Rauner’s Executive Order, most of IHPA will be returned to
what is now the Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). The consolidation of the two agencies is
expected to generate significant administrative savings. A key entity within IHPA, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
and Museum, will be granted
its own Board of Trustees and autonomy directly under the Office of the
Governor.
The consolidation of most of the IHPA and granting of autonomy to
the Lincoln Presidential Library will take effect 60 days after issuance of the
Executive Order, unless the implementation of the Order is blocked by joint
resolution of the Illinois General Assembly.
The Executive Order was released on Friday, March 31, setting the stage
for this administrative change to be implemented at the end of May, 2017.
Transportation – Tollway Speed Limits
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House Republican bill “nudges”
Illinois tollways into increasing speed limits.
The maximum speed limit on non-congested divided-highway freeways has
been increased from 65 mph to 70 mph.
The faster speed limits are enjoyed by Illinoisans who take millions of
driving trips annually on Illinois’ free interstate highways. However, Illinois toll roads continue to
maintain a maximum speed limit of 65 mph, including speed limits on rural
sections of toll road highway west of Aurora and Elgin. The toll roads are operated by the Illinois
Toll Highway Authority (ITHA), an independent panel that has so far maintained
the older, slower speed limit.
Representative Peter Breen’s HB 2938 is aimed at nudging the Authority to
raise the speed limit on stretches of highway where it is safe to do so. The bill provides that 12 months after the
effective date of the bill, the effective Illinois toll road maximum speed
limit will be 70 mph for highways other than the Tri-State Tollway. The bill authorizes the Authority to have
control over the timing and process by which the speed limit will be
increased. Breen presented his bill to
the Illinois House on Wednesday, April 5.
After a favorable roll call of 109-5-0, the bill was sent to the Senate
for further discussion and debate.
Spring in Illinois – Buffalo Rock
State Park
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Crews clean up February tornado damage.
Major damage was inflicted upon Buffalo Rock State Park by the February 28 tornado that hit
the Ottawa area. Since the storm, the
park has been closed to the public as Illinois Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR) crews try to clean up debris left behind by the storm. A brick pavilion where families hold reunions
and picnics was badly damaged by a falling tree. A nearby open-air White Oak, sometimes called
the ‘wedding tree,’ was maimed by the storm and will likely need to be removed. The River Bluff Trail, where parkgoers hike
and enjoy the Illinois River, has been made impassable by fallen trees. The State Park has not yet set a timetable to
reopen the park.
Week in Review
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