State Rep. Hamos Holds House Budget Hearing, Says to Social Service Providers: Get Real, No Money

Audio: Democratic State Reps. Julie Hamos of Evanston and Lisa Dugan of Kankakee appear on WBEZ’s 848 to discuss their budget hearings.

(Chicago, IL) — Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) is organizing 19 regional budget hearings on this year’s state spending plan, and State Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), right, chaired one such hearing in her district on Monday and was struck dumb by the multi-million dollar requests from social service providers despite an empty state treasury.

Hamos and State Rep. Lisa Dugan (D-Kankakee), who also chaired a budget hearing in Kankakee, appeared on WBEZ’s 848 program, hosted by Gabriel Spitzer, to discuss their findings.

During the program, Hamos expressed dismay at providers’ unrealistic budget requests totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, and Dugan expressed annoyance that Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office held a hearing earlier in the day to compete with Dugan’s and later handed out brochures during her hearing to undercut the event.

The lawmakers also poured iced, cold water on the Governor’s billion dollar tax credit initiatives, saying those too are unrealistic when the cupboard is bare.

They conveyed a deep foreboding on a likelihood of a swift budget resolution this year, noting budget talks have yet even to begin. Not pretty.

Ex-Speaker Hastert, SIU President Poshard Launch Capital Projects “Listening Tour” — Why Will Gov. Blunt of Missouri Be Listening?

(Chicago, IL) – Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard, co-chairs of the recently-minted Illinois Works Coalition, today launched a statewide listening tour in Decatur.

Hastert and Poshard were promoting Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s Illinois Works scheme, a $25 billion capital program to build or rebuild the state’s creaking and wheezing infrastructure, a plan which would generate approximately 700,000 jobs, according to Gov. Blagojevich’s office.

“We need to pass Illinois Works without delay. Illinois hasn’t had a capital bill in nine years. We need to capitalize on this opportunity to improve our schools and transportation infrastructure,” said Poshard.

According to Gov. Blagojevich’s administration, the Illinois Works plan includes the following project categories and budgets proposed by Blagojevich, left:

• $14.4 billion for road and bridge programs
• $3.8 billion for school construction
• $2.7 billion for public transit
• $1.1 billion for higher education
• $1.1 billion for environment, energy and technology
• $1.0 billion for economic development, including housing
• $600 million for improved and expanded state facilities
• $500 million for airports and rail

One of the people who likely will be listening to the feedback from the Hastert-Poshard listening fest about bridge money will be Gov. Matt Blunt of Missouri.

Why?

Gov. Blunt will be listening because on February 28, 2008 Blagojevich and Blunt announced an agreement to construct a new four-lane, $640 million bridge across the Mississippi River from East St. Louis to St. Louis.

The $640 million project includes $306 million for the bridge and approaches, $264 million for new roadway connections in Illinois and $70 million for new roadway connections in Missouri. Federal funding will provide $239 million, Missouri will contribute $88 million, and Illinois will pony up $313 million of which $49 million comes from the Illinois Works capital bill. Uh, oh.

Do you remember this announcement? Likely no.

That’s because the agreement between the two chief executives was unveiled The Day After Blagojevich’s $40 million ill-fated promise to Northern Illinois University for the demolition and reconstruction of Cole Hall, the site of the massacre of NIU students earlier in February.

The $40 million NIU pledge itself ignited political controversy. But it also triggered the embarrassing revelation and subsequent kerfuffle that Blagojevich’s $1 million pledge made during his reelection campaign to rebuild the fire-gutted Pilgrim Baptist Church in Chicago had gone unfilled.

And the promised $1 million went astray to a rent-a-school mired in its own controversy, a controversy linked to a gubernatorial criminal pardon of the schools former administrator. Phew. Got that?

And the $40 million NIU pledge seems to have been burnt to a cinder in the ensuing firestorm.

Needless to say, Blunt has to be wondering if politically-pretzel-twisted Illinois will honor Blagojevich’s pledge to cough up the $49 million.

Your Two Cents Less prays Blunt hasn’t begun construction of his part of the bridge. Otherwise, it may dangle half-way over the Mississippi River.

We will all be wondering. And listening to the tour.

(Gov. Matt Blunt, center, William Blunt, left, and Melanie Blunt, right.)

House Budget Committees Ok $91 Million in New Spending

(Springfield, IL) — The Illinois House printing presses are rolling. They are printing money bills. The House’s assorted appropriation committees have approved $91 million in new spending since the start of the year.

The Senate has approved none.

As Your Two Cents Less noted on February 28, House and Senate spending bills were piling up. And today, Capitol Fax’s RICH MILLER noted the long dormant House appropriation committees are now, well, appropriating.

And it’s bipartisan peddle-to-the-meddle spending, too.

House lawmakers are approving a whole range of voter, local community friendly programs. CAREEN GORDON (D-Morris) (right) has the most popular bill among all the spending plans, measured by its 50 legislative co-sponsors. She is looking for $1,719,000 to restore and increase a vetoed plan to fund 4-H youth development educators.

LOU LANG (D-Skokie) has the most expensive–$24,000,000. He wants to provide a one-time expense reimbursement to the state’s long-neglected fosters parents.

WILL DAVIS (D-Harvey), CYNTHIA SOTO (D-Chicago), and JILL TRACY (R-Mt. Sterling) won approval for the least amount–$250,000 each. Davis wants a kidney testing and treatment program, Soto seeks an HIV/AIDS teen-testing pilot project, and Tracy, anhydrous ammonia security grants. Huh?

So what gives?

House Speaker MICHAEL J. MADIGAN ultimately decides where bills go. Appropriation bills would be unable to exit neither the House Rules Committee nor the House appropriation committees without the Speaker’s nod. The Speaker nodded.

Your Two Cents Less thinks Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s denunciations last year of the Speaker as a “Bush Republican” motivate, in large part, the House spending plans. The cash-addled bills are basic Democratic bread-and-butter.

No Bush Republican in those babies. It’s all gravy.

Homemakers Likely to Get Raise, Health Insurance by July 1

(Springfield, IL) — On Wednesday, the Illinois State Senate is set to accept Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s amendatory veto of HB 4144, sponsored by State Rep. ESTHER GOLAR (D-Chicago), that delays a pay raise and health insurance to homemakers until July 1, 2008.

The bill appropriates $64,200,000 to increase their wages and to provide health insurance coverage to them and their kids.

Better late than never. Except if one is a homemaker. Or their kid.

IL Foster Parents Pinched $281 Out-of-Pocket Each Month; Governor Budgets $0 Hike; Rep. Lang Pushes $24 Million

PODCAST: Click Here to Hear Podcast on $24 Million Grant to Foster Parents

(Springfield, IL) — Illinois foster parents, child welfare advocates and lawmakers today appeared at a press conference in Springfield to push legislation, House Bill 5095, to provide a one-time payment this year of $24 million to the state’s 7,500 foster parents.

The plan, sponsored by State Rep. LOU LANG (D-Skokie), aims to help offset surging food and energy prices and the state’s moldy and flinty reimbursement rate for expenses, expenses which force foster parents to dig into their own pockets and pull out, apart from lint balls, $281 per month.

The Illinois House Appropriations Human Services Committee approved Lang’s legislation, co-sponsored by Committee Chair SARA FEIGENHOLTZ (D-Chicago) in a bipartisan vote, 11-Zip.

(State Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie; Margaret Berglind, President & CEO, Child Care Association of Illinois, left; foster parent Michelle Roberts of Charleston, center; and foster parent Gladys Boyd of Richton Park, right, at a Springfield press conference.)

Child Care Association of Illinois President & CEO Margaret Berglind dinged Gov. Rod Blagojevich for failing to budget an increase for foster parents, while pleading during his recent budget speech the need to help Illinois families struggling under nose-bleed high grocery bills.

done

“The Governor’s budget—which is flat out fiction—blatantly ignores that Illinois foster families are facing the fastest-rising food prices in 17 years,” said Berglind. “Rep. Lang’s bill recognizes the reality of foster parent expenses.” Ouch. Double Ouch.

Lang, like most Democratic House legislators, is feuding with Blagojevich. Lang likely liked the dig.

Lang said including the foster parent grant in the final state budget is his priority. We’ll see if his fellow lawmakers follow his lead.

The legislators with kids to feed may well agree. Heck, the Governor, a father himself, may finally agree, too.

PODCAST: Click Here to Hear Podcast on $24 Million Grant to Foster Parents:

Illinois House Lawmakers Aim to Help to HIV/AIDS+, Homeless Adolescents

(Springfield, IL) — Illinois Democratic House lawmakers are advancing multiple pieces of legislation to help high-risk adolescents and are drawing bi-partisan support for their initiatives.

State Rep. SARA FEIGENHOLTZ (D-Chicago) is pushing a measure to repeal a 1987 state mandate that requires state public health officials to notify school principals if a student tests positive for HIV/AIDS.

AIDS advocates say students fear the disclosure of their identifies and avoid HIV testing, which increases the risk of the disease’s spread. The advocates, including The Children’s Place Association President Cathy Krieger, note that the state requires no notification of any other disease, and since 1994 the state has required universal health precautions to prevent infections from all blood-borne diseases.

(Cathy Krieger, left, President, Children’s Place Association, and State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) testify before the IL House Human Services Committee)

In a bi-partisan vote, the committee approved Feigenholtz’s plan 7-1.

(GOP State Reps. PATTI BELLOCK (R-Hinsdale) and ELIZABETH COULSON (R-Glenview) both supported Feigenholtz’s bill)

State Rep. CYNTHIA SOTO (D-Chicago) is also advancing a plan to help HIV/AIDS-infected youth. Soto is seeking a $250,000 grant for an adolescent HIV/AIDS testing pilot project in two regions of the state.

A recent federal government project tested 60 high-risk youth in two Chicago neighborhoods–Jackson Park and Lakeview–and discovered a 16.6% infection rate. This rate is comparable to Haiti or Sub-Saharan Africa.

Currently, Illinois’ HIV/AIDS infection reporting system is passive, requiring teens to present themselves at medical testing facility. Fat chance. Soto’s plan would pro-actively reach out to teens for testing to further gauge the true dimension of HIV/AIDS infection rates in Illinois.

The Chicago-based Children’s Place Association, which is located in Soto’s district, would manage the project.

Soto’s plan is likely to win approval from the House Appropriations Human Services Committee.

Meanwhile, State Rep. GREG HARRIS (D-Chicago) won bi-partisan approval last week from the House Appropriations Human Services Committee, 10-0, for a $7 million initiative to provide shelter, transitional housing, and employment assistance to homeless adolescents.

The fate of these initiatives–and the bipartisanship–before the full House is uncertain.

Judge Amy St. Eve Explains State Budget Mystery

(Chicago, IL) — U.S. District Judge AMY ST. EVE explained the mystery behind Governor ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s lightweight, cut and paste, old and idea-pinched FY 2009 budget.

The Governor’s mind was elsewhere. The Rezko trial.

St. Eve, the presiding judge at the trial of the Governor’s former fund-raiser, revealed today that Blagojevich–previously suspected as being “Public Official A”–was–indeed Public Official A in the federal prosecutors’ earlier filings and the intended beneficiary of the $1.5 million campaign contribution at the heart of the alleged extortion plot allegedly hatched and executed by Tony Rezko. Quelle surprise.

Judge St. Eve drained the remaining drops of political influence Governor Blagojevich possessed. Drip, drop.

The FY 2009 budget?

Speaker MICHAEL MADIGAN (D-Chicago) and Senate President EMIL JONES (D-Chicago) will decide the budget this year. Period.

Blagojevich Budget: PR Master Stroke–for About 5 Hours

(Springfield, IL) — Governor ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s political and public relations team’s decision to forgo the traditional budget briefing to legislators, reporters, lobbyists and spring the budget plan on official Springfield was a pr masterstroke.

Critics were unarmed. Reporters were spun. Everyone was flummoxed.

The Governor’s message–$300 child tax credit, business tax cuts, and capital program dominated dominated the media coverage–for about five hours.

The State Journal-Register’s first online report by BERNIE SCHOENBURG and DOUG FINKE ran:

“Despite a slowing economy, Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed in his State of the State and budget address Wednesday an Illinois version of the federal tax stimulus program. The idea, called “Protecting Illinois Families,” would offer state payments of $300 per child to most taxpayers.”

The Tribune’s RAY LONG and JEFFREY MEITRODT posted this:

“Rod Blagojevich proposed a new budget Wednesday that aims to bolster the state’s economy with a tax credit for many families with children…”

Bingo for the Governor’s message.

However, after some time to kick the budget’s tires, Finke’s final budget story had a gloomier tone:

“Underlying all of the glitz of $300-per-child tax credits for families, a big one-time tax cut for businesses and a massive public works construction program that nearly everyone agrees is badly needed is a basic question: How’s the state going to pay for it?

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in his sixth combination State of the State and budget address, used a rehash of old ideas — leasing the lottery, imposing a payroll tax on some businesses, selling future revenues for a lump-sum payment — to make it all work.

But by doing that, he may already have doomed many of his proposals.”

The Tribune too removed some of the polish after a while in a subsequent report:

“Gov. Rod Blagojevich proposed a $300-per-child tax break for many Illinois families Wednesday in a budget speech long on recycled ideas and short on the explosive rhetoric that has led to bitter disputes with fellow Democrats who control the General Assembly.”

By the end of the day, Decatur’s WAND TV captured the media mood once lawmakers and analysts had their first look at the Blagojevich plan:

“State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are giving a sour reaction to Governor Rod Blagojevich’s new budget plan. The governor is proposing giving tax breaks to families and businesses and making the budget for next year work largely by recycling some revenue ideas he’s tried in the past that lawmakers have rejected.”

The first rule of Web site marketing 101 is: post fresh content. The Governor’s political and pr team violated this rule. They executed a flawless tactical surprise by the total budget embargo. But the “suprise” yielded a pr value that fizzled within hours by posting old budget content.

What gives?

Why did the Governor’s budget office photo copy old revenue ideas and paste the federal child tax credit into the budget? Why?

These are bright people. But the budget has the feel of an undergrad all-nighter.

McCarthy Makes a Stab at Plugging Budget Hole; Others Want to Pry it Open

(Springfield, IL) — State Rep. KEVIN McCARTHY (D-Orland Park) has proposed raising the license plate registration from $78 to $96 in 2009. It would generate $162 million for the Illinois state treasury.

The Illinois Center for Tax and Budget Accountability pegs the overall Illinois budget shortfall next year at $3 billion. Much of that is in 2007 Medicaid bills deferred to 2008.

McCarthy’s plan is a start. A tiny one.

Meanwhile, McCarthy’s colleagues are going in the opposite direction. An appropiration bill pile up is occuring in the House and Senate: lawmakers want to spend $220 million more in new schemes by one count.

Illinois will need a flotilla of new casinos to pay for it all. Or, gulp, an income tax hike.

Hannig Signals House Budget Strategy: Bare Bones

State Rep. GARY HANNIG (D-Litchfield), the House Democrats’ budget negotiator, signaled this week that the House will once again knee-cap big, new spending plans by Governor ROD BLAGOJEVICH.

In an inteview with State Journal Register reporter DOUG FINKE, Hannig said, “If I were asked, I would suggest he put together a budget that reflects the money we have in hand. That means we don’t do any new programs to speak of. We try to get our spending down to the point we can pay the bills we owe.” In other words: bare bones budget.

Will House Speaker MICHAEL MADIGAN be able to persuade rank-and-file Dems to accept a “bare bones” budget without throwing them a bone? No member projects? Two years without legislative goodies? Nada?

Rep. Gary Hannig (D-Litchfield)

State Budget Opens Holes, Bills Go Unpaid, Press Takes Notice, Governor Plans More Spending

(Springfield, IL) — Chicago Tribune reporters Ray Long and David Mendel report Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration on Monday warned that a $750 million hole in this year’s budget has opened and needs to be filled.

Earlier this week Springfield Journal Register state house reporter Doug Finke noted Comptroller Dan Hynes is struggling to pay a $900 million backlog of bills, which Hynes expects to grow.

Meanwhile, the Joint Committe on Administrative Rules meets tomorrow and is expected to clash with the Governor’s administration on the Governor’s effort to expand the state’s Family Care health insurance program Family Care.

Democratic State Reps. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) and John Fritchey (D-Chicago) likely will be taking the lead on behalf of the Committee tomorrow. Lang and Fritchey are two of the sharpest thorns in the administration’s side.

The Committee is expected to reject administration rules to exand the program. In reality, the administration is already expanding the program and spending money, which will likely total $450 million this, $450 million which legislature refused to appropriate.

The state health budget likely is to be exhausted by next month.

The legislature likely is to be exhausted by the next month, too. Ditto the press corps. The staff. The lobbyists. The public.

Bloggers will be exhuberant.