Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Belvidere School District Superintendent Michael Houselog to retire and join Rockford University - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

By Chris Green
Rockford Register Star

Posted Jul. 13, 2015 at 10:00 PM
Updated at 7:16 AM

BELVIDERE — Belvidere Superintendent Michael Houselog will retire Aug. 14, according to a Belvidere School Board memo to the Belvidere Education Association.
The board president has been directed to engage firms to begin the search for an interim superintendent.
Houselog, 63, is leaving to become Rockford University's director of graduate programs; he starts Aug. 17.
"I will be working with all the graduate programs, recruitment and developing new graduate program," he said.
The Dubuque, Iowa, native had been pursuing jobs in Iowa for the past three years. Earlier this year, he was denied for the fourth time since 2012 to become superintendent of the Marion,  Dubuque, Johnston and Southeast Polk districts.
More than 8,600 students are enrolled in Belvidere's six elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools.
Houselog has been Belvidere superintendent for eight years. Before that, he worked for four years in the North Boone School District in Poplar Grove.
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

Belvidere School District Superintendent Michael Houselog to retire and join Rockford University - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

Rauner Uses Deep Pockets to Erode Illinois Democrats’ Advantage - Bloomberg Business

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Bruce Rauner spent more than $25 million of his own fortune to get elected governor of Illinois. While the state is running out of cash and thousands of state employees might not get paid because of a budget dispute, the Republican chief executive isn’t done spending yet.

As Illinois’s gridlocked government stumbles toward a shutdown, the independently wealthy Rauner remains in campaign mode. He sends cash to his party’s lawmakers and bankrolls statewide TV ads vilifying Democratic legislative leaders who oppose his agenda.

“All they want is higher taxes. Again,” says one ad, seeking to promote Rauner as a reform-minded, can’t-be-bought businessman fighting for the taxpayers of a state saddled with debt, bad credit and corruption.

In Illinois, one of the nation’s Democratic strongholds and home state of President Barack Obama, Rauner’s money makes him an unrivaled counterweight. The 59-year-old former equity capital executive had income of $61 million in 2013, according to tax returns. And he’s willing to spend it -- along with dollars from a few like-minded supporters -- to promote his agenda of tax cuts and less business regulation.

Rauner, the state’s first Republican governor in 12 years, has revived the spirits and the treasury of his party.

“He is unique. We’ve never had a governor like this,” said Pat Brady, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. Rauner’s money is shaping the policy debate and eroding the advantage Democrats have long enjoyed from union workers helping their campaigns.

“In an era when patronage is supposed to be dead, you have to have money to put out the get-out-the-vote programs,” Brady said. “Now we’ll be able to match the Democrats.”

Flush Governor

Rauner is as flush as the state is not. Its pile of unpaid bills exceeds $5 billion. Pension liabilities top $111 billion. Chicago and its public schools, burdened by unpaid retirement obligations, have seen their credit plummet. This year’s budget is $6.2 billion in the hole, and the failure to reach a spending deal means tens of thousands of state employees might not be paid next week.

In contrast, the governor’s campaign committee has $20 million. Rauner provided $10 million of that amount, Citadel LLC Chief Executive Officer Ken Griffin gave $8 million and Richard Uihlein, chief executive of Wisconsin-based Uline Inc., $2 million, according to state records. The committee distributed $400,000 to Republican lawmakers as the legislature considered Democratic budget bills that Rauner opposed.

A separate independent committee called Turnaround Illinois is funded by Rauner and Sam Zell, chairman of Chicago-based Equity Group Investments.

“He’s able to exercise influence far beyond what an individual wealthy donor or governor could do because he’s a combination of the two,” said Kent Redfield, a political-science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield.

A spokeswoman for Rauner said there was “nothing out of the ordinary” about his contributions to Republican lawmakers or other spending to push his agenda.

“Advertisements are merely a tool in the governor’s toolbox to get his message to the people of Illinois,” his press secretary, Catherine Kelly, said in an e-mailed statement.

Former California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger used his wealth and that of others to promote ballot proposals intended to change the operation of that state’s government. While the initiatives were rejected by voters, the effort fueled the practice of mixing campaigning with governing.

‘Arms Race’

Rauner’s post-election spending takes it even further, said David Melton, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a Chicago-based watchdog group.

“This represents a significant upping of the arms race,” Melton said. “And it opens the door to a form of plutocracy,” with wealthy donors and politicians dictating the public agenda.

Rauner, a first-time officeholder, built part of his successful election campaign attacking Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has led that chamber for 30 of the last 32 years. Democrats hold veto-proof majorities in the Illinois General Assembly.

Soon after the election campaign officially ended in November, Rauner began a new one -- blaming Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton for many of the state’s fiscal woes. Cullerton has been in the legislature since 1979.

“This is about good government taking on bad government,” Rauner said in a May 31 press conference. Madigan, he said, “pulls the strings” of lawmakers, like a puppeteer.

A month later, Madigan, 73, accused the governor of “functioning in the extreme” by promoting a political agenda over balancing the budget.

The outcome of Illinois’s solvency-threatening budget impasse could hinge on the money shaping the debate. Redfield said it has the potential of further perverting politics in Illinois.

“Replacing a legislator who’s a wholly owned subsidiary of the speaker with one who’s a wholly owned subsidiary of the governor does not advance the democratic process,” Redfield said.

Bruce Rauner spent more than $25 million of his own fortune to get elected governor of Illinois. While the state is running out of cash and thousands of state employees might not get paid because of a budget dispute, the Republican chief executive isn’t done spending yet.

As Illinois’s gridlocked government stumbles toward a shutdown, the independently wealthy Rauner remains in campaign mode. He sends cash to his party’s lawmakers and bankrolls statewide TV ads vilifying Democratic legislative leaders who oppose his agenda.

“All they want is higher taxes. Again,” says one ad, seeking to promote Rauner as a reform-minded, can’t-be-bought businessman fighting for the taxpayers of a state saddled with debt, bad credit and corruption.

In Illinois, one of the nation’s Democratic strongholds and home state of President Barack Obama, Rauner’s money makes him an unrivaled counterweight. The 59-year-old former equity capital executive had income of $61 million in 2013, according to tax returns. And he’s willing to spend it -- along with dollars from a few like-minded supporters -- to promote his agenda of tax cuts and less business regulation.

Rauner, the state’s first Republican governor in 12 years, has revived the spirits and the treasury of his party.

“He is unique. We’ve never had a governor like this,” said Pat Brady, former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. Rauner’s money is shaping the policy debate and eroding the advantage Democrats have long enjoyed from union workers helping their campaigns.

“In an era when patronage is supposed to be dead, you have to have money to put out the get-out-the-vote programs,” Brady said. “Now we’ll be able to match the Democrats.”

Flush Governor

Rauner is as flush as the state is not. Its pile of unpaid bills exceeds $5 billion. Pension liabilities top $111 billion. Chicago and its public schools, burdened by unpaid retirement obligations, have seen their credit plummet. This year’s budget is $6.2 billion in the hole, and the failure to reach a spending deal means tens of thousands of state employees might not be paid next week.

In contrast, the governor’s campaign committee has $20 million. Rauner provided $10 million of that amount, Citadel LLC Chief Executive Officer Ken Griffin gave $8 million and Richard Uihlein, chief executive of Wisconsin-based Uline Inc., $2 million, according to state records. The committee distributed $400,000 to Republican lawmakers as the legislature considered Democratic budget bills that Rauner opposed.

A separate independent committee called Turnaround Illinois is funded by Rauner and Sam Zell, chairman of Chicago-based Equity Group Investments.

“He’s able to exercise influence far beyond what an individual wealthy donor or governor could do because he’s a combination of the two,” said Kent Redfield, a political-science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield.

A spokeswoman for Rauner said there was “nothing out of the ordinary” about his contributions to Republican lawmakers or other spending to push his agenda.

“Advertisements are merely a tool in the governor’s toolbox to get his message to the people of Illinois,” his press secretary, Catherine Kelly, said in an e-mailed statement.

Former California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger used his wealth and that of others to promote ballot proposals intended to change the operation of that state’s government. While the initiatives were rejected by voters, the effort fueled the practice of mixing campaigning with governing.

‘Arms Race’

Rauner’s post-election spending takes it even further, said David Melton, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, a Chicago-based watchdog group.

“This represents a significant upping of the arms race,” Melton said. “And it opens the door to a form of plutocracy,” with wealthy donors and politicians dictating the public agenda.

Rauner, a first-time officeholder, built part of his successful election campaign attacking Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, who has led that chamber for 30 of the last 32 years. Democrats hold veto-proof majorities in the Illinois General Assembly.

Soon after the election campaign officially ended in November, Rauner began a new one -- blaming Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton for many of the state’s fiscal woes. Cullerton has been in the legislature since 1979.

“This is about good government taking on bad government,” Rauner said in a May 31 press conference. Madigan, he said, “pulls the strings” of lawmakers, like a puppeteer.

A month later, Madigan, 73, accused the governor of “functioning in the extreme” by promoting a political agenda over balancing the budget.

The outcome of Illinois’s solvency-threatening budget impasse could hinge on the money shaping the debate. Redfield said it has the potential of further perverting politics in Illinois.

“Replacing a legislator who’s a wholly owned subsidiary of the speaker with one who’s a wholly owned subsidiary of the governor does not advance the democratic process,” Redfield said.

Rauner Uses Deep Pockets to Erode Illinois Democrats’ Advantage - Bloomberg Business

Dems highlight positive workers' comp report

 

SPRINGFIELD — Seeking to blunt Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s push for an overhaul of the state’s workers' compensation laws, Democrats in the Illinois House say a new report shows that changes enacted in 2011 are saving the state money.

The report, compiled by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, shows benefit payments to injured workers have dropped by 19 percent since the changes went into effect — the largest decrease in the nation.

The report also found Illinois’ average medical payment per case fell 16 percent from 2010 to 2012, moving it from the highest cost state to near the median.

Discussion of the report at a hearing last week came as Rauner continues to push for  business-friendly changes to workers' compensation laws before he will sign off on a tax increase to avoid drastic cuts to state programs.

Rauner wants to increase the standards workers must meet to prove their injury occurred at the workplace, reduce reimbursement rates for medical providers who treat workers and adjust rules for workers who are injured while traveling to their job.

Last week,  Rauner outlined a series of tweaks to a workers' compensation overhaul, including several changes he says are supported by Democrats.

Among those is the creation of a workers' compensation ombudsman who could assist injured workers.

Democrats who control the House and the Senate have resisted the governor’s proposals, saying they would hurt middle class workers. And, during the hearing Wednesday, they suggested that the 2011 changes are already proving to be beneficial for businesses.

"If you read the report, it is filled with good news," said state Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville.

Hoffman, who chairs House Labor Committee, accused the Rauner administation of blocking the author of the annual report from attending the hearing. In a letter to Hoffman, Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission Chairmwoman Joann Fratianni said she was too busy  to attend the hearing.

"To say I am disappointed, that is truly an understatement," Hoffman said.

A Rauner spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, also bemoaned the absence of Fratianni, who was appointed to the position by Rauner. He said she might have helped lawmakers understand the effects of the 2011 changes.

Bradley said more than two million Illinoisans were represented by lawmakers attending the hearing.

"I don't think I would just disregard that," Bradley said.

But Republican lawmakers businesses haven’t seen the estimated $500 million that was supposed to be saved by the 2011 overhaul.

"There is still lots more room for improvement," said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington

Dems highlight positive workers' comp report