When lawmakers go home this afternoon, they'll have exactly one month left to wrap up the state budget, a new capital plan and any campaign finance, ethics or other government reforms without needing an overtime session to get things done. As I've said before, right now negotiations on all those matters are going on behind closed doors. We probably won't see any significant floor action on any of those issues until the end of May. Though it seems pretty clear Gov. Pat Quinn won't be getting everything he wants, even if there hasn't been much offered in the way of alternatives to his budget plan. Senate President John Cullerton has said there aren't enough votes in the Senate at this point for Quinn's income tax hike. He's suggested before that there might be more support if the tax increase is made temporary. Also, it seems there's some resistance out there to the increased exemptions in Quinn's plan, since they would reduce the revenue brought in from an income tax hike.
Of course, Republicans are still saying they won't support a tax hike without more cuts. But at this point -- at least on the budget and a capital plan -- Republicans are being left out of negotiations. That's pretty typical since Democrats control both chambers. Although I doubt Cullerton or Madigan would let any kind of tax hike pass either chamber without some Republican votes, they don't technically need the GOP to pass a budget. I've got to wonder if them leaving Republicans out of talks so far means they think they can come up with a tax plan they feel voters would be willing to accept. We'll find out in a few weeks.
New cola war on the horizon?
A few years ago, the state awarded an exclusive contract to Pepsi to supply soft drinks for all state facilities. But lawmakers were suspicious of the deal and demanded an audit. Last month, Illinois Auditor General William Holland said that the bidding process for that contract was flawed. The audit found the so many details were lacking about how the state reviewed the competing bids from Pepsi and Coke that it's not clear whether the state got the best deal. Auditors also said that revenue officials failed to follow proper evaluation guidelines for the bids and failed to notify Coke it had been disqualified until Pepsi was officially awarded the contract several months later.
Yesterday, Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), who chairs the House State Government Administration Committee, called in Revenue officials to question them about the audit. The Revenue Department says it's been reviewing the Pepsi contract ever since the audit came out and plans to decide in a couple weeks whether to continue the deal. But they did defend the decision not to notify Coke it had been disqualified. They said they didn't want to give Pepsi too much leverage in contract negotiations since they were the only bidder left. They didn't tell Pepsi that Coke was no longer in the running, so as far as Pepsi knew, they had to worry about losing the contract to Coke. Seems like a reasonable argument to me.
Franks says the state should start the bidding process over. But at least one other lawmaker made a good point on that demand: the state already has a 10-year contract with Pepsi. I doubt they can just cancel the deal because they made some mistakes in the bid process, especially since I haven't heard any indication that Pepsi did anything wrong.
Endangered Historic Places
Landmarks Illinois is out with its annual list of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois. This year's list includes an auditorium in Shelbyville, a hotel in Marshall where Abraham Lincoln used to stay, a century-old train depot in Moline and -- perhaps most prominently -- the Michael Reese Hospital campus in Chicago, which is the proposed site of an Olympic Village if Chicago gets the 2016 Summer Games. Mainly, they want the city to save the main hospital building, which was built in 1907. It's been included a zone marked for demolition to make way for the Olympic Village. But the city insists it plans to save the building and that that the document showing the demolition zone—a request for qualifications, or RFQ—was merely a guide for contractors on the scope of the project. Still, preservationists are not totally convinced that the building will be saved. They also want the city to spare several buildings on the Michael Reese campus that were designed by famed architect Walter Gropius. They think the buildings could be incorporated into an Olympic Village, but the city is planning to demolish them. Whether Landmarks Illinois will be able to drum up enough public support to save the buildings by including the entire Michael Reese campus on its top 10 endangered sites list remains to be seen.
Here's the entire list of sites on their list:
Arcade Building, Riverside Road and Quincy Street, Riverside
Archer House, 717 Archer Ave., Marshall
Aurora Masonic Temple, 104 S. Lincoln Av., Aurora
Chautauqua (shuh TAW kwuh) Auditorium, Shelbyville
Davenport, Rock Island and Northwestern Depot, 2021 River Drive, Moline
Lewis Pharmacy interior, 8 S. Main St., Canton
Michael Reese Hospital Campus, 29th and Ellis, Chicago
Porthole Barns of Greene County
Prentice Women's Hospital, 251 E. Huron St., Chicago
Shawneetown Bank, 280 Washington St., Old Shawneetown
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Historic Sites Reopened
Governor Pat Quinn officially reversed another unpopular move by former Governor Rod Blagojevich yesterday, reopening all 11 state historic sites that had been closed since December. About 100 people showed up at the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield yesterday to celebrate the reopening of the 105-year-old mansion designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. To be honest, considering the uproar over the closure of the historic sites, I was expecting a bigger crowd, especially since the weather was so beautiful.
Photo Courtesy: Jamey Dunn, Illinois Issues
The state did a great job planning the event. A brass quintet started things off with a selection of ragtime music that seemed to set the perfect tone for reopening such a popular building from the early 1900s. The crowd was big enough to add some energy to the moment without being so big that it was overwhelming. And to top it all off, although there were gray skies that looked ready to open up and rain on the whole parade, the skies cleared up and the sun was shining just in time for the celebration to start. I worked up a feature on the reopenings that you can check out here. Fair warning, it's 3-and-a-half minutes long.
The sites that reopened are:
The sites that reopened are:
- Apple River Fort in Elizabeth
- Bishop Hill
- Hauberg Indian Museum at Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island
- Cahokia Courthouse in Cahokia
- Dana-Thomas House in Springfield
- Fort de Chartres in Prairie du Rocher
- Fort Kaskaskia in Ellis Grove
- Pierre Menard Home in Ellis Grove
- Jubilee College in Brimfield
- Lincoln Log Cabin in Lerna
- Carl Sandburg’s birthplace in Galesburg
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Lawmakers Get Back To Work
The General Assembly is back in session this week after their two-week spring break. They're mostly doing committee work, so not a lot of floor action and -- so far -- not much debate on any major bills. It seems like they'll be taking their standard approach and doing all the heavy lifting on this year's big issues close to the end of sesson. Right now, most of the work the budget, the capital plan and ethics reform is going on behind the scenes.
The Illinois Reform Commission -- a panel formed by Gov. Pat Quinn to suggest government reforms -- will issue its final report next week. They've already offered their ideas on two big topics: campaign finance and state contracting. Neither of those ideas has gotten a very warm reception from the people in charge in Springfield. As I've mentioned before, lawmakers aren't too keen on adopting the same campaign finance limits used on the federal level. If they do approve some form of contribution limits, the caps will probably be higher than $2,400 a person.
As far as overhauling the state's contracting rules, the Reform Commission is pitching a plan to create a new Procurement Department that would be shielded from political influence. The head of the department would be appointed in much the same way the state's Auditor General is appointed. The governor would nominate the Executive Procurement Officer and a supermajority of both the House and Senate would have to approve -- meaning the EPO would need bipartisan support. Once appointed, the EPO would serve a five-year term and could only be removed for cause through an impeachment process. The Reform Commission also wants to create an independent contracting monitor to review the procurement process in real-time.
While it's not clear yet what lawmakers think of the proposed changes to the contracting rules, there's definitely resistance from the administration. Current procurement officers say they all have different procedures and priorities in awarding contracts, so merging their offices wouldn't be practical and could delay the process. They also say having an independent contract monitor could delay the process further if the monitor requests changes in the way bidding is handled. But the reform commission insists the monitor wouldn't have the power to block or halt any bids or contracts. The monitor would be tasked with basically being a watchdog -- looking for flaws in the process and pointing them out to those in charge.
Meantime, there was a bit of déjà vu on Wednesday when hundreds of people gathered outside the capitol to protest the governor's budget plan. Only this week's protest was pretty much the exact opposite of last week. While the Republican-led rally last week called on lawmakers to cut taxes and reduce government spending, this week, labor unions and community groups (mostly Democratic-types) said the governor's budget plan cuts too much money for social service programs, puts too much of a burden on state workers, and should have more new money for government programs.
Speaking of the burden that Quinn's budget would put on state workers, we finally got some details this week on exactly what kinds of health care concessions Quinn wants from state employees and retired workers. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability says the governor's plan would mean significant increases in health care premiums for workers who choose the state's preferred provider plan, or PPO, over the HMO plan. Retired workers who haven't reached the age of 65 and therefore don't qualify for Medicare, would get hurt even more. The average retiree without Medicare now pays about $13 a month for health care premiums. That would go up to about $430 a month for retirees on an HMO and about $580 a month for retirees on a PPO. Needless to say, the unions are not happy about this.
A few days before this week's budget protest, advocates for substance abuse treatment programs proposed raising the state's alcohol tax. They say the governor's budget would cut about $13 million from substance abuse programs. Their proposal would add an extra nickel-per-drink in alcohol taxes, which they claim would raise $250 million a year. Lawmakers are already considering a cigarette tax hike to help balance the budget and don't sound too keen on the governor's proposed income tax hike, so don't be surprised if this gets passed so the General Assembly can reduce the income tax hike.
The Illinois Reform Commission -- a panel formed by Gov. Pat Quinn to suggest government reforms -- will issue its final report next week. They've already offered their ideas on two big topics: campaign finance and state contracting. Neither of those ideas has gotten a very warm reception from the people in charge in Springfield. As I've mentioned before, lawmakers aren't too keen on adopting the same campaign finance limits used on the federal level. If they do approve some form of contribution limits, the caps will probably be higher than $2,400 a person.
As far as overhauling the state's contracting rules, the Reform Commission is pitching a plan to create a new Procurement Department that would be shielded from political influence. The head of the department would be appointed in much the same way the state's Auditor General is appointed. The governor would nominate the Executive Procurement Officer and a supermajority of both the House and Senate would have to approve -- meaning the EPO would need bipartisan support. Once appointed, the EPO would serve a five-year term and could only be removed for cause through an impeachment process. The Reform Commission also wants to create an independent contracting monitor to review the procurement process in real-time.
While it's not clear yet what lawmakers think of the proposed changes to the contracting rules, there's definitely resistance from the administration. Current procurement officers say they all have different procedures and priorities in awarding contracts, so merging their offices wouldn't be practical and could delay the process. They also say having an independent contract monitor could delay the process further if the monitor requests changes in the way bidding is handled. But the reform commission insists the monitor wouldn't have the power to block or halt any bids or contracts. The monitor would be tasked with basically being a watchdog -- looking for flaws in the process and pointing them out to those in charge.
Meantime, there was a bit of déjà vu on Wednesday when hundreds of people gathered outside the capitol to protest the governor's budget plan. Only this week's protest was pretty much the exact opposite of last week. While the Republican-led rally last week called on lawmakers to cut taxes and reduce government spending, this week, labor unions and community groups (mostly Democratic-types) said the governor's budget plan cuts too much money for social service programs, puts too much of a burden on state workers, and should have more new money for government programs.
Speaking of the burden that Quinn's budget would put on state workers, we finally got some details this week on exactly what kinds of health care concessions Quinn wants from state employees and retired workers. The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability says the governor's plan would mean significant increases in health care premiums for workers who choose the state's preferred provider plan, or PPO, over the HMO plan. Retired workers who haven't reached the age of 65 and therefore don't qualify for Medicare, would get hurt even more. The average retiree without Medicare now pays about $13 a month for health care premiums. That would go up to about $430 a month for retirees on an HMO and about $580 a month for retirees on a PPO. Needless to say, the unions are not happy about this.
A few days before this week's budget protest, advocates for substance abuse treatment programs proposed raising the state's alcohol tax. They say the governor's budget would cut about $13 million from substance abuse programs. Their proposal would add an extra nickel-per-drink in alcohol taxes, which they claim would raise $250 million a year. Lawmakers are already considering a cigarette tax hike to help balance the budget and don't sound too keen on the governor's proposed income tax hike, so don't be surprised if this gets passed so the General Assembly can reduce the income tax hike.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Taxes, taxes and more taxes
Income tax returns were due this week, so it's no surprise that taxes in general were a popular topic of discussion in Springfield. Governor Pat Quinn's proposal to raise income taxes hasn't been the most popular idea, obviously. At first glance, his suggestion to triple the personal exemption to $6,000 seems like a good way to help low-income taxpayers avoid a huge jump in their taxes. But there has been plenty of talk around the capitol that the proposal doesn't do enough to help taxpayers who need it most. At the same time, it minimizes the benefit the state would get from new tax revenue.
It sounds like some lawmakers would be more apt to raise the income tax on a temporary basis without the higher exemptions to maximize revenue for the state for a couple years until the economy turns around. Of course, the last time lawmakers passed a "temporary" income tax hike, they eventually made it permanent. But one alternative floated this week by a coalition of citizen advocacy groups was to increase the state's Earned Income Tax Credit, rather than raising personal exemptions. The groups said they support an income tax hike considering the state's budget mess, but they say raising the EITC makes more sense than raising personal exemptions. The EITC is targeted specifically at low-income families, so it would ease the tax burden on those who can least afford a tax hike, while not taking nearly as big a bite out of the new revenue the state could bring in. Currently, families of four who earn less than $42,000 a year can get an EITC of about $240. The groups want to quadruple the EITC to nearly $1,000. They say it would cost the state $350 million -- as opposed to the $2 billion they estimate the state would lose from tripling the personal exemption for all taxpayers.
Meantime, hundreds of people turned out on April 15 for Springfield's "Tax Day Tea Party." It was one of scores of gatherings nationwide to protest government spending, mostly focusing on the federal stimulus package and other economic policies brought forth by the Obama administration. Although organizers claimed the events were non-partisan, speakers and protesters in Springfield focused almost entirely on Obama. Oddly, even though organizers said the event was meant to be in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party of 1773, there were far more people carrying signs than tea bags. And not all of the signs focused solely on taxes or the economy. One guy carried a sign that must have been eight feet tall that read "Buy Guns." A few other signs urged lawmakers to oppose House Bill 2234, which would legalize civil unions for same-sex couples in Illinois. Normally, I wouldn't post links to "The Daily Show" here, but I had to in this case. Jon Stewart's take on the "Tea Party" protests was excellent.
There was more bad news on the job front this week. The national unemployment rate continues to rise and Illinois is no exception. The jobless rate was up to 9.1 percent in Illinois in March, with 27,400 more people losing their jobs. The manufacturing sector continues to be the hardest-hit industry in Illinois with 14,200 lost jobs. But there was one small bright spot as far as unemployment goes. Thanks to the federal stimulus plan, Illinois is getting funding to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks. It's good timing too, because many people who have been out of a job for the past year were about to run out of unemployment benefits.
Changing gears a bit, the University of Illinois at Springfield has been dealing with a bit of a controversy inside the athletic department lately. Three coaches resigned last month, including two softball coaches who stepped down after the women's softball team was suddenly called back from a trip to Florida over "serious concerns." The university has refused to elaborate on what happened, citing privacy issues. But many faculty, staff and students have been so upset about what's going on that the Campus Senate was preparing to take a "no confidence" vote in Chancellor Richard Ringeisen and Athletic Director Rodger Jehlicka. They eventually backed off of targeting Jehlicka and have delayed a vote of "no confidence" in Ringeisen for now. But they've approved a resolution organizing an independent investigation of the athletic department. The Campus Senate will wait until a three-member investigative committee issues a report before they vote on the "no confidence" resolution.
The State Journal-Register has been providing some excellent coverage of the situation, including the fact several student athletes are defending how some recent problems have been handled.
It sounds like some lawmakers would be more apt to raise the income tax on a temporary basis without the higher exemptions to maximize revenue for the state for a couple years until the economy turns around. Of course, the last time lawmakers passed a "temporary" income tax hike, they eventually made it permanent. But one alternative floated this week by a coalition of citizen advocacy groups was to increase the state's Earned Income Tax Credit, rather than raising personal exemptions. The groups said they support an income tax hike considering the state's budget mess, but they say raising the EITC makes more sense than raising personal exemptions. The EITC is targeted specifically at low-income families, so it would ease the tax burden on those who can least afford a tax hike, while not taking nearly as big a bite out of the new revenue the state could bring in. Currently, families of four who earn less than $42,000 a year can get an EITC of about $240. The groups want to quadruple the EITC to nearly $1,000. They say it would cost the state $350 million -- as opposed to the $2 billion they estimate the state would lose from tripling the personal exemption for all taxpayers.
Meantime, hundreds of people turned out on April 15 for Springfield's "Tax Day Tea Party." It was one of scores of gatherings nationwide to protest government spending, mostly focusing on the federal stimulus package and other economic policies brought forth by the Obama administration. Although organizers claimed the events were non-partisan, speakers and protesters in Springfield focused almost entirely on Obama. Oddly, even though organizers said the event was meant to be in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party of 1773, there were far more people carrying signs than tea bags. And not all of the signs focused solely on taxes or the economy. One guy carried a sign that must have been eight feet tall that read "Buy Guns." A few other signs urged lawmakers to oppose House Bill 2234, which would legalize civil unions for same-sex couples in Illinois. Normally, I wouldn't post links to "The Daily Show" here, but I had to in this case. Jon Stewart's take on the "Tea Party" protests was excellent.
There was more bad news on the job front this week. The national unemployment rate continues to rise and Illinois is no exception. The jobless rate was up to 9.1 percent in Illinois in March, with 27,400 more people losing their jobs. The manufacturing sector continues to be the hardest-hit industry in Illinois with 14,200 lost jobs. But there was one small bright spot as far as unemployment goes. Thanks to the federal stimulus plan, Illinois is getting funding to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks. It's good timing too, because many people who have been out of a job for the past year were about to run out of unemployment benefits.
Changing gears a bit, the University of Illinois at Springfield has been dealing with a bit of a controversy inside the athletic department lately. Three coaches resigned last month, including two softball coaches who stepped down after the women's softball team was suddenly called back from a trip to Florida over "serious concerns." The university has refused to elaborate on what happened, citing privacy issues. But many faculty, staff and students have been so upset about what's going on that the Campus Senate was preparing to take a "no confidence" vote in Chancellor Richard Ringeisen and Athletic Director Rodger Jehlicka. They eventually backed off of targeting Jehlicka and have delayed a vote of "no confidence" in Ringeisen for now. But they've approved a resolution organizing an independent investigation of the athletic department. The Campus Senate will wait until a three-member investigative committee issues a report before they vote on the "no confidence" resolution.
The State Journal-Register has been providing some excellent coverage of the situation, including the fact several student athletes are defending how some recent problems have been handled.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Springtime in the Springpatch
State lawmakers had a busy week at the end of March before taking a couple weeks off for their spring break. As usual when they're in session, they spent the last week before break passing hundreds of bills out of the House and Senate. On top of that, federal prosecutors added to the craziness in Springfield by announcing an indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and five co-defendants, including his brother Robert. The allegations themselves weren't all that new for anyone who's been following the investigation into Blagojevich's administration, so I won't go into the details. Suffice it to say the big news out of the indictment was that Blagojevich and his pals were apparently scheming to use the governor's office to line their own pockets before the guy even took office. Take a look at the feds' press release here. Or read the full indictment here. As I said, the allegations themselves were no big surprise, certainly not to the lawmakers who kicked him out of office in February. Although, many people expected the former governor's wife would be indicted as well, considering there was plenty of evidence in the indictment that kickbacks for shady deals were funneled to her. Though it sounds like maybe it was a strategic decision by prosecutors to avoid over-reaching.
Somewhat lost in the noise on the day Blagojevich was indicted was the fact lawmakers agreed on something they couldn't agree on the entire six-plus years Blagojevich was in office: a statewide construction program. Granted, it was a pretty small one considering the state's needs -- only about $3 billion -- but lawmakers are still working on a bigger infrastructure plan that they hope to finish up this spring. The problem is, Democrats and Republicans are pretty far apart as far as how to pay for it and this is one area where Democrats can't run the show entirely on their own. The mini capital plan will make plenty of people happy though, starting with motorists. The program includes $150 million for pothole repairs. That won't be nearly enough to fix all the potholes in the state. It probably wouldn't even be enough for Chicago. But it's a good start and there's bound to be more when they come up with the big capital plan. There's also money in there for shuttered historic sites. Unfortunately, it's not enough for all of them, so for now officials will focus on the most popular sites, like the Dana Thomas House in Springfield and the Lincoln Log Cabin near Charleston.
If Gov. Pat Quinn has his way, one of the ways lawmakers will get money for a bigger capital plan will be by hiking fees for driver's licenses and license plates. The state turned to motorists 10 years ago for the last construction program -- Gov. George Ryan's "Illinois First" program. Secretary of State Jesse White got so many complaints about the hike in fees for license plates back then, he started posting signs at motor vehicle facilities letting customers know it wasn't his idea. Well, he's still got those signs and he's ready to use them if lawmakers and the governor hike those fees again.
Speaking of motorists, the Department of Transportation handed out awards to several Illinois high school students for safe driving programs they designed for their schools. It's been just over a year now since the state passed tougher rules for teens to get their driver's licenses and officials say they've seen a huge drop in teen driving deaths -- 40 percent from 2007 to 2008. They say that's partly because teens have been taking an active role in promoting safe driving. Winning students got $2500 college scholarships -- the top winner got $3500. Not bad for an extracurricular activity.
As I said at the start of this post, lawmakers were busy passing plenty of bills before they went home for Easter. Although, considering how much time they spent talking about cleaning up state government after they kicked Blagojevich out of office, they haven't done a lot in terms of reform. Granted, sweeping reforms aren't something you rush into, but I expected a little more by now. The pension reform they pushed through before their break seems like a good start though, especially since the Teachers Retirement System was one of the places where Blagojevich and his pals were so busy grabbing for every dollar they could get their hands on. Getting rid of all of the Blagojevich appointees on every state pension board is exactly the kind of "fumigating" Governor Quinn has been promising since day one, although we haven't seen much of it up until now. And even then, I never thought I'd see them go so far as to get rid of one specific Blagojevich appointee by name: Jon Bauman. Say what you want about the job the guy did running TRS while Blagojevich was running his schemes, firing a guy BY LAW seems a bit extreme considering the guy hasn't been charged with a crime. Of course, Bauman didn't wait to get fired in July as the pension reform law would have done. He resigned last week.
Speaking of reforms, the Illinois Reform Commission -- which Quinn formed while he was still lieutenant governor -- announced its first set of recommendations at the end of March. The highlights? They want campaign contribution caps similar to those in federal elections. They also want to totally overhaul the way state contracts are awarded so that procurement officers are shielded from politics (in other words, so they award contracts to the companies with the lowest bids, not to those who do the best job of greasing the palms in Springfield). I don't see them getting their first wish. Lawmakers might have to do something to limit campaign contributions in Illinois with an election coming up next year, but I doubt they'll agree to cap contributions at $2,400 per person. The contracting reform, though, might have a chance. Of course, the commission has to get someone to sponsor that idea first, since there aren't any lawmakers on the governor's commission. The commission isn't the only one pressing for contracting reforms, though. Auditor General William Holland has a few suggestions for overhauling the procurement process too.
The General Assembly's Joint Committee on Government Reform, on the other hand, hasn't offered up much in the way of actual reform yet. They've heard plenty of testimony, that's for sure. Seven public hearings since February -- most, if not all of them several hours long. But the pension reform that Quinn signed a couple weeks ago is the only bill the committee has offered up so far. As far as the areas of campaign finance reform, state contracting, government transparency or ethics laws? So far, House Speaker Mike Madigan's office will only say legislative staffers are working on proposals. That should make for a really busy April and May if they're serious about working on those issues while they're also going to be dealing with a $12 billion deficit and a $25 billion capital plan.
It's got to make you wonder, though. With Governor Quinn's panel making their first priority campaign contribution limits -- something lawmakers have never been keen on in Springfield -- will the two different reform panels actually get anything done? It sure sounds like they've got different priorities right now, especially since Quinn wants floor votes on every single one of the Illinois Reform Commission's proposals.
Lawmakers did a big favor to Illinois residents who don't have health insurance though. Until now, many hospitals charged uninsured patients a lot more money than patients with either private health coverage, Medicaid or Medicare. A new law this month is aimed at putting an end to that. It seems pretty harsh for hospitals to hit uninsured patients with huge bills they'd never be able to pay, just because they don't have the leverage to negotiate a better price. This law won't change the fact those people can't afford their hospital bill, but at least since they'll owe a lot less now, they should be able to work out some sort of payment plan.
Since he took office, President Barack Obama has been saying he wants to launch a "new era" of science education in the U.S. and bring more specially trained math and science teachers into the classrooms. Sectors such as green technology, health care and engineering are in need of more well-trained workers if the U.S. is going to keep up with China, India and other countries. To help Illinois accomplish that goal, lawmakers are considering a measure that would help recruit new teachers with expertise in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Somewhat lost in the noise on the day Blagojevich was indicted was the fact lawmakers agreed on something they couldn't agree on the entire six-plus years Blagojevich was in office: a statewide construction program. Granted, it was a pretty small one considering the state's needs -- only about $3 billion -- but lawmakers are still working on a bigger infrastructure plan that they hope to finish up this spring. The problem is, Democrats and Republicans are pretty far apart as far as how to pay for it and this is one area where Democrats can't run the show entirely on their own. The mini capital plan will make plenty of people happy though, starting with motorists. The program includes $150 million for pothole repairs. That won't be nearly enough to fix all the potholes in the state. It probably wouldn't even be enough for Chicago. But it's a good start and there's bound to be more when they come up with the big capital plan. There's also money in there for shuttered historic sites. Unfortunately, it's not enough for all of them, so for now officials will focus on the most popular sites, like the Dana Thomas House in Springfield and the Lincoln Log Cabin near Charleston.
If Gov. Pat Quinn has his way, one of the ways lawmakers will get money for a bigger capital plan will be by hiking fees for driver's licenses and license plates. The state turned to motorists 10 years ago for the last construction program -- Gov. George Ryan's "Illinois First" program. Secretary of State Jesse White got so many complaints about the hike in fees for license plates back then, he started posting signs at motor vehicle facilities letting customers know it wasn't his idea. Well, he's still got those signs and he's ready to use them if lawmakers and the governor hike those fees again.
Speaking of motorists, the Department of Transportation handed out awards to several Illinois high school students for safe driving programs they designed for their schools. It's been just over a year now since the state passed tougher rules for teens to get their driver's licenses and officials say they've seen a huge drop in teen driving deaths -- 40 percent from 2007 to 2008. They say that's partly because teens have been taking an active role in promoting safe driving. Winning students got $2500 college scholarships -- the top winner got $3500. Not bad for an extracurricular activity.
As I said at the start of this post, lawmakers were busy passing plenty of bills before they went home for Easter. Although, considering how much time they spent talking about cleaning up state government after they kicked Blagojevich out of office, they haven't done a lot in terms of reform. Granted, sweeping reforms aren't something you rush into, but I expected a little more by now. The pension reform they pushed through before their break seems like a good start though, especially since the Teachers Retirement System was one of the places where Blagojevich and his pals were so busy grabbing for every dollar they could get their hands on. Getting rid of all of the Blagojevich appointees on every state pension board is exactly the kind of "fumigating" Governor Quinn has been promising since day one, although we haven't seen much of it up until now. And even then, I never thought I'd see them go so far as to get rid of one specific Blagojevich appointee by name: Jon Bauman. Say what you want about the job the guy did running TRS while Blagojevich was running his schemes, firing a guy BY LAW seems a bit extreme considering the guy hasn't been charged with a crime. Of course, Bauman didn't wait to get fired in July as the pension reform law would have done. He resigned last week.
Speaking of reforms, the Illinois Reform Commission -- which Quinn formed while he was still lieutenant governor -- announced its first set of recommendations at the end of March. The highlights? They want campaign contribution caps similar to those in federal elections. They also want to totally overhaul the way state contracts are awarded so that procurement officers are shielded from politics (in other words, so they award contracts to the companies with the lowest bids, not to those who do the best job of greasing the palms in Springfield). I don't see them getting their first wish. Lawmakers might have to do something to limit campaign contributions in Illinois with an election coming up next year, but I doubt they'll agree to cap contributions at $2,400 per person. The contracting reform, though, might have a chance. Of course, the commission has to get someone to sponsor that idea first, since there aren't any lawmakers on the governor's commission. The commission isn't the only one pressing for contracting reforms, though. Auditor General William Holland has a few suggestions for overhauling the procurement process too.
The General Assembly's Joint Committee on Government Reform, on the other hand, hasn't offered up much in the way of actual reform yet. They've heard plenty of testimony, that's for sure. Seven public hearings since February -- most, if not all of them several hours long. But the pension reform that Quinn signed a couple weeks ago is the only bill the committee has offered up so far. As far as the areas of campaign finance reform, state contracting, government transparency or ethics laws? So far, House Speaker Mike Madigan's office will only say legislative staffers are working on proposals. That should make for a really busy April and May if they're serious about working on those issues while they're also going to be dealing with a $12 billion deficit and a $25 billion capital plan.
It's got to make you wonder, though. With Governor Quinn's panel making their first priority campaign contribution limits -- something lawmakers have never been keen on in Springfield -- will the two different reform panels actually get anything done? It sure sounds like they've got different priorities right now, especially since Quinn wants floor votes on every single one of the Illinois Reform Commission's proposals.
Lawmakers did a big favor to Illinois residents who don't have health insurance though. Until now, many hospitals charged uninsured patients a lot more money than patients with either private health coverage, Medicaid or Medicare. A new law this month is aimed at putting an end to that. It seems pretty harsh for hospitals to hit uninsured patients with huge bills they'd never be able to pay, just because they don't have the leverage to negotiate a better price. This law won't change the fact those people can't afford their hospital bill, but at least since they'll owe a lot less now, they should be able to work out some sort of payment plan.
Since he took office, President Barack Obama has been saying he wants to launch a "new era" of science education in the U.S. and bring more specially trained math and science teachers into the classrooms. Sectors such as green technology, health care and engineering are in need of more well-trained workers if the U.S. is going to keep up with China, India and other countries. To help Illinois accomplish that goal, lawmakers are considering a measure that would help recruit new teachers with expertise in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
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