Happy Independence Day!

Have a safe and happy Independence Day everyone. Time to be thankful for the genius of out Founding Fathers and the bravery and sacrifice of the Continental Army…and the French for lending assistance. 

Cancelled Session Days

The House cancelled it's two session days next week (13th and 14th). The Senate followed suit by cancelling Thursday's session. The Senate will still convene on Wednesday. Not a great start to the 2016 spring session with respect to public perception. 

They Said It

From the Northwest Herald:

It may not be until after the March primary election that state lawmakers approve a 2016 budget, McHenry County lawmakers warned. 

They find the idea even more abhorrent than the fact the state has gone almost seven months without a budget, and they pledged to help push for getting a deal done as soon as possible once lawmakers reconvene Jan. 13 for the spring legislative session.

To Democratic Rep. Jack Franks and Republican Rep. Mike Tryon, it’s election-year politics over people, and who can blame whom. The state fiscal year started July 1.
“The governor will be giving his budget address for the next fiscal year, and we don’t even have a budget for this fiscal year. That’s how messed up this is. We are the ultimate freak show,” said Franks, D-Marengo.

From the Chicago Tribune:

When the fall semester began in the early months of the stalemate, many colleges and universities decided to credit students' tuition bills as if the subsidies had already been paid, with the expectation that they'd be reimbursed once the state had a budget. At the time, some schools said they couldn't guarantee they'd have enough reserves to cover spring tuition as well.

"If the university ultimately does not receive MAP funding from the state, we may be required to remove these funds from your university account and you might have to repay the university," Urbana-Champaign interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson wrote last month in an email to grant recipients.

Wilson said the university thinks that is "highly unlikely," but the message left students frustrated.

"If we had known this even back in May or before financial aid letters came out, I could have increased the loan amount I took out from the federal government," said Mitch Dickey, a U. of I. senior and MAP grant recipient. "I think a lot of people probably haven't realized that by the state continuing to drag this out, it's making financial planning very difficult for students."

From a letter to the editor in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Illinois is known as a great exporter of corn and soybeans, but apparently Illinois is now also in the business of exporting lawsuit abuse,

The American Tort Reform Foundation has recently named Missouri the nation’s fourth-worst “Judicial Hellhole” and Madison County, Ill., the nation’s fifth-worst “Judicial Hellhole.” It seems Illinois is indeed exporting lawsuit abuse across the river.

Politico Magazine Covers Illinois Political Standoff

Politico Magazine published an article discussing the deep political differences that have led to Illinois' four month long budget impasse. From the article:

Anyone who understands the “my way or the highway” personalities of the state’s rookie Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, 58, a private equity mogul in his first elective office, and its veteran Democratic Speaker of the House Michael Madigan 73, who has, in effect, been running the state for decades—he won his House seat in 1971 and, has been speaker almost continuously since 1983—knows that Green might be right. “This is a state that doesn’t believe in compromise,” Green says. “It’s in neither combatants’ interest to cave in now.” 

On his side, Rauner insists that enough is enough. He refuses to soften his stance that he will not negotiate on the budget until Democrats agree to his broader business-friendly “turnaround agenda.” Without more fundamental reforms, Rauner argues, Illinois may get a budget, but it will be the same old red-ink mess that has hobbled the state’s growth.

Illinois' Longest Serving Mayor Recognized at IML Annual Conference

There was a very touching moment during a luncheon on September 19 at the Illinois Municipal League's Annual Conference in Chicago. Marion Mayor Bob Butler was presented with a Lifetime of Service Award for the many notable accomplishments achieved during his 52 years of service as mayor. Mayor Butler assumed office in 1963 (during the Kennedy Administration), and is the longest serving mayor in Illinois history.  

Upcoming House Vote on Governor's Role In Negotiating AFSCME Contract Defining Moment in Springfield Political Struggle

This Tribune story covers a very significant issue percolating in the General Assembly, as the Legislative Branch contemplates whether to remove, at least temporarily, what has historically been a prerogative of the Executive Branch. 

The Senate already voted 38-15 (36 votes required) to strip away much of the Governor's negotiating authority over the labor contract with state employee unions. Existing law provides that the Governor can declare an impasse, and at such time the union can accept the State's final offer or elect to strike. 

This process would change if the General Assembly successfully overrides the Governor's veto of SB 1229. The potential change in law would vest an arbitrator with final decision-making authority over the terms of the contract. Illinois arbitration law restricts arbitrators to a choice between the employer's final offer, or the offer put forward by the union. The contract involves billions of dollars in taxpayer money. The House will attempt to override the Governor's Veto during the upcoming week. 

The contest over the scope of the Governor's involvement and authority to negotiate the labor contract is perhaps the most significant political issue that's arisen during the Governor's first few months in office. In some ways, it's more symbolically important than the ongoing budget impasse, which is playing out according to an existing process contemplated within the Illinois Constitution. 

This is not to suggest that the Governor's authority and role in the labor contract negotiation is a constitutional matter, but it is an historical prerogative that is currently threatened by the decision of another branch of government to change long-standing rules that affect the powers of the Executive Branch over a matter involving billions in taxpayer dollars.

$754 Million

Decades of growing financial problems are coming to a head for the City of Chicago. Per the Chicago Tribune:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel must come up with at least $754 million in new revenue and budget cuts to balance the city's books, according to preliminary 2016 budget estimates the administration released Friday.

Almost half of this debt $328 million is owed for pensions.

The inclusion of "at least" with the reference to the dollar amount reflects potentially higher costs that would result if Governor Rauner vetoes SB 777. This legislation would provide some immediate financial relief by tacking on an additional 15 years to the police and firefighter pension amortization schedule. Chicago's obligation to these funds would increase by an estimated $221 without the financial relief from the bill.

The Tribune story also mentions the anticipated budget deficit for the following fiscal year:

The $426 million budget gap projected for next year breaks down into three parts: $233 million for day-to-day city operations, a $93 million increase in payments to all four city pension funds and $100 million to pay down debt instead of push it off into the future at higher cost.

Illinois' political culture has grown accustomed to deferring painful financial reforms and kicking the can down the road. Sometimes a problem can become so large that it becomes impossible to avoid the consequences of difficult solutions. The heat generated from the current budget battle in Springfield are the birth pangs one would expect from a serious attempt to address very serious structural problems.

Laurence Msall of the Civic Federation prescribes a general outline of solutions for Chicago that are also relevant to the State of Illinois:

"What this report is a clear indication of is that the City Council and the administration have to move forward on reduced spending, elimination of unnecessary expenditures, greater efficiencies, but also a reality that they are going to need new tax revenue," he said.

Big financial problems require equally big solutions. Piecemeal reforms are no longer viable options.