Statewide Update—Jan. 11, 2011

• State Journal-Register—Quinn sworn in as governor amid budget crisis, “In a 30-minute inaugural speech, Quinn said he would fix the state’s broken finances, improve education and revive the state’s economy during his term.”

• Chicago Tribune—Lawmakers vote to roll back free transit rides for seniors, “A household of two senior citizens with an income of less than $34,000 a year still would be eligible for free rides, said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago.”

• State Journal-Register—House OKs bill to limit unionization of some state workers, “The Illinois House pushed through a bill on Monday that would limit certain state workers’ rights to join a collective bargaining unit.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Opinion: Taxing businesses out of Illinois, “In a time when we need to encourage investment and attract jobs to Illinois, current tax proposals threaten to do just the opposite.”

• Daily Herald—District 300 looks to trim budget by $8.3 million, “With the state lagging millions of dollars behind in payments, and contract negotiations under way with the teachers union and other employment groups, Community Unit District 300 school administrators presented a plan to ensure the ‘economic survivability of the school district.’”

• Champaign News-Gazette—Vermillion agency to cut some services to seniors, “The changes are roughly the same as last year at this time and for the same reason: The state owes the agency $436,144, which dates back to July.”

• Daily Herald/BGA—Oak Brook mayor, wife collect $142k from 4 pensions, “Oak Brook Village President John Craig portrays himself as a fiscal conservative who favors privatizing more of the fire department and laying off firefighters to scale back costs for salaries and for pensions ”we just can’t afford.”

• Southtown Star—Some Oak Lawn officials question referendum drive, “A group of Oak Lawn officials is working to remove from the April ballot a binding referendum that asks voters if the village should change its form of government.”

Statewide Update—Jan. 10, 2011

• Rockford Register Star—Area legislators to continue public appearances despite Arizona shooting, “Six people were killed and 14 wounded when a gunman opened fire Saturday morning outside a Safeway grocery store in Tucson as Giffords met with constituents.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—State tax-hike plan fails to win over Dems, “…House members also moved to scale back the Blagojevich-era program that lets all senior citizens ride for free on public trains and buses.”

• State Journal-Register—No vote yet on taxes; bill would limit workers’ bargaining rights, “Taking aim at the increasing number of state workers joining unions, an Illinois House committee approved legislation Sunday designed to strip collective bargaining rights from certain workers and stop others from getting them.”

• The Southern—State budget crisis fueled Medicaid reform efforts, “A long-awaited state Medicaid reform proposal, approved Friday in the Illinois Legislature with a House vote of 111-4, was likely fueled by the state’s financial crisis, said a local state lawmaker.”

• Southtown Star—Rich Miller: Illinois Democrats get chance to draw own district maps, “The new maps probably are the least interesting aspect of politics to voters, but incumbents and wannabes watch this as close as they can for obvious reasons. So, you should, too.”

• Chicago Sun-Times—The Watchdogs: Convicted but still on city payroll, “Nine former city employees were paid a total of $383,205 after they pleaded guilty or were found guilty in corruption cases, records show.”

• Peoria Journal Star—Word on the Street: Very little opposition to new TIF proposal, “A public hearing on the East Village Growth Cell is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.”

Chicagoland Transit Agencies on Track for Gov’t-Approved Watchdog

Amid the confusion and chaos of this week’s legislative session in Springfield, the House and Senate passed a groundbreaking bill targeting the fraud, waste and corruption that plagues the Chicago area’s mass transit systems.

The bill’s supporters expect the Governor to approve the measure.

The Better Government Association has been working with Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest), good-government advocates and the RTA to craft legislation that creates an independent inspector general for the transit agency that oversees the RTA, Metra, PACE and CTA.

The resulting bill, Senate Bill 3964, was co-sponsored by Sen. Garret and Rep. Jack Franks (D-Woodstock), and creates an independent inspector general to oversee the boards and employees at RTA, Metra, PACE, and CTA.

The inspector general will be housed in the Office of the Executive Inspector General, which already oversees the activities of the Governor’s office and its agencies.

Sen. Garrett has been working on the legislation with leaders at the transit agencies since last spring when news reports emerged detailing how Metra’s Executive Director Phil Pagano gave himself unapproved payouts on future vacation time. The unauthorized payout of $56,000 came on top of his salary of more than $250,000.

Ultimately, questions surrounding Pagano’s actions lead to his suspension. In May 2010, Pagano, 60, was found dead of an apparent suicide.

The BGA is committed to eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse of public resources. This legislation is an important step toward making the Chicago area’s mass transit systems more open and accountable.

Statewide Update—Jan. 6, 2011

• Chicago Sun-Times—Better Government Association sues Chicago Police Department, “The BGA, a not-for-profit corporation, claims the Chicago police refuses to release documents about the protection and transportation of Burke (14th) as requested in an Aug. 24, 2010, Freedom of Information Act request, according to the complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court.”

• State Journal-Register—2 percentage point income tax hike on table for state leaders, “Legislative leaders and Gov. Pat Quinn will meet today to discuss boosting Illinois’ income tax rate from the current 3 percent to 5 percent as part of a package that also could include pension borrowing, a moratorium on new state programs, no new spending and property tax relief.”

• Bloomington Pantagraph—Illinois Senate approves Medicaid reform, “With the clock ticking on the lame-duck legislative session, the Illinois Senate unanimously approved a plan Wednesday to overhaul the state’s Medicaid program.”

• State Journal-Register—Tenaska bill falls short in Senate, “A bill authorizing construction of a $3.5 billion clean coal technology plant in Taylorville failed in a vote in the Illinois Senate Wednesday.”

• Belleville News Democrat—Insurance fraud investigators begin probe into workers’ comp claims at Menard, “State insurance fraud investigators have opened an official probe of the Menard Correctional Center, where hundreds of guards and others have filed for or received taxpayer-funded settlements for “repetitive trauma” they say was mainly caused by operating heavy cell locking mechanisms.”

• Southtown Star—U.S. House welcomes five from Illinois, “The Illinois congressional delegation has the biggest freshman class in more than a decade — five new House members and U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk were sworn in to full terms on Wednesday, all Republicans.”

• Daily Herald, Editorial—Kane County ethics laws, for the most part, require a do-over, “An opinion on the county’s ethics law from former State’s Attorney John Barsanti before he left office to become a circuit judge Dec. 1 deems several sections of the law unclear, not applicable and unenforceable.”

• Southtown Star, Editorial—Unfair election process taints suburban hearings, “Whenever suburban elections approach, dozens of poor slobs find themselves caught up in a process designed to stop outsiders from threatening the people in power.”

• Chicago Tribune, Editorial: Reform—or eyewash? “Springfield is buzzing with reform talk in the final frantic days of this brief, few-days conclusion to a 2010 legislative session.”

Statewide Update—Dec. 21, 2010

• Daily Herald—Buffalo Grove delays vote on destroying e-mails: “…The proposed ordinance restricts access to public information currently accessible under the Freedom of Information Act.”

• Naperville Sun—District 203 board approves tax levy: “Zager said the $3.5 million increase in property taxes will not be borne by current taxpayers, but is a redirection of the taxes already paid in that area. What used to go to the TIF district will now come to the school district.”

• Southtown Star—Chicago Heights seeks tax levy of $18.2 million: “The city council Monday night unanimously approved raising the city’s tax levy by 8.7 percent to $18.2 million.”

• Rockford Register Star—Two Rockford municipal unions OK new labor deals: “The one-year contract allows the departments to maintain services and current work force levels.”

• Daily Herald—Aurora to vote on budget Tuesday: “Aldermen on the city council’s finance committee have reviewed the budget at four public meetings since receiving the more than 1,000-page document the week of Nov. 29.”
  

Statewide Update—Dec. 20, 2010

**SPECIAL EXTENDED POST-WEEKEND EDITION**

Editor’s Note: The BGA Think Tank’s “Statewide Update” is a daily summary of policy and government news from around the state. Each morning we scan news outlets from Rockford to Belleville and bring you the headlines that influence policy makers across the state.

Editorials

State Journal Register—School reform shouldn’t be quick process: “The haste with which this committee was formed and last week’s hearings were arranged, coupled with the contentious atmosphere that seems to have built quickly around both, make us wonder if this is the correct path to these measures.”

Bloomington Pantagraph—Airport liquor license decision makes no sense: “The decision was also yet another example of the apparent confusion or differences in interpretation of Bloomington’s liquor code among members of the liquor commission and city council.”

Peoria Journal Star—No more delays fixing All Kids program flaws: “Earlier this year, we wrote about a state audit that uncovered some pretty deep and expensive flaws in Illinois’ expanded All Kids health insurance program… After all this time, the lack of action is beyond embarrassing, even in a state that seems capable of goofing up the simplest things.”

Rockford Register Star—Rockford police union provides budget help to city: “Rockford residents should thank police union members for giving up pay and benefits in their current contract to help the city close its budget deficit.”

State and Local Budgets

(AP) State Journal-Register—Western Illinois University awaits state payments: “The state of Illinois allocated $53 million for WIU in its current budget, and $37 million of that should already be in the university officials’ hands.”

State Journal-Register—Market study says Springfield resisted the recession: “Springfield held up in the Great Recession better than the state of Illinois and the nation — and better than other Illinois communities with the exception of Bloomington-Normal — according to a just-completed analysis of the local economy and demographics.”

Bloomington Pantagraph—Normal to consider capital investment plan: “…town staff suggests budgeted money be used for maintenance work, including replacing lighting, fencing and playground equipment.”

Education

Southtown Star—Schools take on residency cheaters: “District 135 officials allege that Gutierrez lied about where he lived and that his ex-girlfriend fudged a condominium lease so Gutierrez’s daughter could attend eighth grade at Orland Junior High School during the 2009-10 school year.”

Politics

Peoria Journal Star—Committee picks show party bias? “At least two Peoria County Board members are grumbling about committee assignments handed down last week by board chairman Tom O’Neill. Though the board consists of 10 Democrats and eight Republicans, only one of the eight board committees will be chaired by a Republican.”

The Southern—Many vie for public offices in Du Quoin, Pinckneyville:  “Fourteen candidates have filed to run for mayor or commissioner in Pinckneyville, while seven have filed in Du Quoin. The deadline for candidates to file a petition in both towns is 5 p.m. Monday.”

‘Supreme’ awards ceremony a vital step in the BGA’s new journey

By Andy Shaw, BGA President & CEO

Justice Stevens speaks to a rapt crowd of 850 (photo courtesy Peter Holderness)

What a difference 16 months makes.

During that short span, the Better Government Association has embarked on an ambitious journey to become a more powerful force for reform and good government throughout Illinois.

It may not always be an easy trip but it can be especially fun and rewarding when you travel with friends.

So it’s encouraging that nearly 850 people joined us at yesterday’s BGA Annual Award Luncheon. This year’s attendees came to honor our guest, retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, while also showing their support for the re-energized BGA.

On behalf of the BGA, I want to again thank Justice Stevens for attending the awards luncheon. Throughout his visit, Justice Stevens showed the charm, wit and intelligence that made him a High Court legend and a hometown favorite.

What’s more, Justice Stevens surely connected with many long-suffering Chicago Cub fans in the audience by deftly chronicling his lifelong, but always bittersweet, love for the North Side ball club. I am a die-hard White Sox fan but I truly hope Justice Stevens will soon get to see his beloved Cubbies in the World Series.

It was also an honor to hear Judge Ann Williams of the U.S. Court of Appeals introduce her longtime friend Justice Stevens and publicly thank him for fighting for the advancement of women and minorities within the legal profession.

During the event, the BGA also told its story and shared its plans for the future.

Among the highlights was a wonderfully produced video showcasing the recent innovations, changes and improvements at the BGA. These efforts include:

• launching a dynamic new website;
• expanding our watchdog training program;
• increasing civic and community outreach efforts;
• adding government and policy initiatives; and
• bulking up the investigations unit.

The awards luncheon was a great event. My thanks to everyone who helped make it a success.

Yes, the BGA has made great strides in a short time.

But the journey has only begun.