Boone County Watchdog: 03/14/15

Saturday, March 14, 2015

League of Women Voters IL - Home

On Wednesday, December 3rd, the Illinois General Assembly passed legislation containing a number of voting reforms, and sent it to the governor for his signature. These reforms include::

Making Election Day Registration (also known as same-day registration) available at early voting sites as well as at polling places on Election Day;

Extending early voting to the Monday before an election (current system allows it through the Friday before);

Joining the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a non-profit organization with the sole mission of assisting states to improve the accuracy of America’s voter rolls and increase access to voter registration for all eligible citizens. ERIC is governed and managed by states who choose to join, and was formed in 2012 with assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

For more info on ERIC:
http://www.ericstates.org/
This milestone legislation was the subject of a piece appearing on the Brennan Center website. The Tribune Star reported on the issue as well.

LWVIL - Home

Court reporters may face furloughs | News-Gazette.com

Rep. Chad Hays, R-Catlin, suggested the funding shortfall for court reporters, prison employees and daycare providers could be solved by this time next week.

"I think it's possible you will see a vote on this measure by the end of next week," said Hays, an assistant Republican leader, on Friday. "You can't let the child care system shut down. You can't let the court system shut down."

To say the court system would shut down is a bit of a stretch, but the lack of reporters would certainly slow the wheels of justice considerably.

State law mandates verbatim records prepared by human reporters of almost all felony proceedings and child custody, mental health, juvenile and parentage cases. Four of the six counties in the Sixth Circuit have digital recording systems. Douglas and Moultrie counties do not.

"Where court reporters are not absolutely required by statute, we'll use the recordation system, but we won't have anyone in the room monitoring (for glitches)," Difanis said of Champaign County. "We'll turn the system on at 8 a.m. and turn it off at 5."

The furloughs would affect 23 employees circuit-wide.

Champaign County has seven court reporters and two specialists who monitor the digital recordings in a room not accessible to the public. Macon County has 10 reporters. And each of the four smaller counties — DeWitt, Douglas, Moultrie and Piatt — has one full-time reporter paid by the state and a second reporter who works two days a week who is paid by their county.

Flannell said the "good news" in his "very preliminary plan" is that the part-time county-paid reporters would be asked to do more, with the counties pitching in extra funds to pay them, so he could spread out the state-paid reporters to help in the courthouses in Urbana and Decatur, which have far more business than the other four.

"Where necessary, we're being encouraged by the Supreme Court to bundle cases together into one physical courtroom. As in every crisis, you get some definition of things you don't normally look at. We'll take a re-look of that which we're required to do. Some of this is done just for the efficiency of the court but if we're short-handed, we will do only what is absolutely required by the Constitution or state statute," Flannell said.

Court reporters may face furloughs | News-Gazette.com

Letter: Rauner is taking state in the wrong direction | News-Gazette.com

In his budget address, Gov. Bruce Rauner presented proposals he claimed would make our economy grow and consider the needs of the next generation. It's difficult to imagine a package of proposals more damaging to children and families.

The Voices for Illinois Children's Kids Count 2015 Report details the struggles facing children and families today. In 2013, 21 percent of Illinois children lived in households with incomes below poverty, compared to 17 percent in 2007. Children from low-income families now constitute more than half of our state's public school enrollment. Median income for families with children has dropped by 13 percent since 1999 (when adjusted for inflation). Substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect (which often rise during economic difficulties) have increased by 27 percent statewide since 2006.

Rauner's budget plan for "a better tomorrow for our children" includes cuts to child care assistance for families, after-school programs, child protection services, public health and public transportation.

These cuts directly harm children and families. They will also slow down our economy by eliminating the jobs impacted by the service cuts and the support families need such as child care and public transportation.

Contrary to financial experts' advice that we need revenue enhancements as well as budget cuts to restore our state's fiscal health, Rauner calls for deep cuts only while decreasing revenue by lowering the income tax rate on which the current year's budget was based. He is taking Illinois in the wrong direction.

PEGGY PATTEN

Urbana

Letter: Rauner is taking state in the wrong direction | News-Gazette.com

A history of close business dealings between Rep. Aaron Schock and campaign donors

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock has built much of his personal wealth over a decade through real estate investments with political donors, an Associated Press review found.

The Peoria Republican’s relationships with other contributors, which afforded him flights on private planes and other expenses, already are under scrutiny.

Donors built, financed and later purchased a house Schock owned as an investment in Dunlap. Schock owns a stake in a Peoria apartment complex involving other contributors. And he pushed for a federal appropriation that might have benefited a donor’s development project, an AP review found.

Schock, a 33-year-old rising star named last year to a mid-level leadership role in the House, has disclosed personal wealth in a range centered on $1.4 million. He’s made precocious business acumen a part of his appeal since joining Congress in 2009, sometimes calling himself a real estate developer.

Financial reports indicate Schock may have more than doubled his wealth since he was elected to Congress, although it is impossible to determine his gains precisely because values of his assets and liabilities are only reported in wide ranges.

Amid ethics complaints concerning his taxpayer-funded expenses and flights aboard donors’ aircraft, Schock’s business entanglements with contributors in several projects raise questions about the overlap between his personal finances and their political interests. Politicians can do business deals with donors as long as the terms are commercially reasonable.

Schock declined through a spokesman to discuss his finances with the AP. But he told the Journal Star on Friday evening that his investments are part of his business history going back for a decade and a half.

“I began working at a very early age, opening my IRA at 14, started investing in real estate at age 18 and continue to do so today,” he said. “Furthermore, when running for public office, my family, friends and business associates who know me best are naturally some of my best supporters.”

He’s previously also told the paper that his real estate investments were above board.

A watchdog group has called for an ethics investigation amid revelations he used congressional money to redesign his office in the style of the TV show “Downton Abbey.” He also billed taxpayers or his campaigns tens of thousands of dollars in private air travel on donors’ planes. His office said he repaid some of those charges and is reviewing others.

Schock’s business career began early and helped to feed a real estate career that began in his late teens. He started doing online trading and database management in middle school and later worked as a ticket agent for a licensed broker called VIP Tours.

Read the entire story: http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150313/NEWS/150319628/11669/NEWS/?Start=1