Rauner signs first full year budget

By

SARA BURNETT

The Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday signed a full-year state budget for the first time since he took office, forgoing the pro-business changes and tax cuts he demanded throughout a years-long budget impasse for an election-year plan he said “moves the state forward.”

The Republican, who’s seeking his second term this fall, was joined by legislators from both parties at a bill signing ceremony where they lauded the $38.5 billion spending plan as balanced and bipartisan.

Rauner acknowledged he was not able to persuade the Democratic-controlled Legislature to repeal the tax increase he’s railed against since legislators passed it last year. But he said the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 includes other items he wanted, such as a pension buyout plan lawmakers say could save Illinois more than $400 million.

“This is a bipartisan compromise … None of us got everything we were looking for,” Rauner said. “Today is a very good step forward.”

• 
  

A spokeswoman for Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker said the governor’s approval “won’t change the massive amounts of damage” Rauner did with the budget stalemate, while the Democratic Governors Association said his signature was “three years too late.”

Rauner deadlocked with majority Democrats after taking office in 2015 over his so-called “turnaround agenda,” which included reducing regulations on business and weakening labor unions. That prompted a more than two-year state budget impasse and massive cuts to social services, higher education and other areas. The state’s already dismal credit rating dropped further, and debt piled up by the billions.

“Rauner’s decision to wait for an election year before finally signing a budget is just one more insult to the people of this state,” said DGA spokesman Sam Salustro. “Bruce Rauner forced Illinois to endure three years of budget crises and voters want to know, what was the point?”

Rauner is considered one of the most vulnerable GOP governors seeking re-election this fall. The contest between the wealthy former private equity investor and Pritzker, an entrepreneur and heir to the Hyatt hotels fortune, already has broken spending records for an Illinois governor’s race.

Pritzker on Saturday reported giving his campaign an additional $25 million, bringing his total contributions to more than $100 million. Rauner has topped $75 million.

Sen. Bill Brady, the Republican leader in the Senate, said Monday that Rauner realized months ago that “Illinois needed a win.” He said Rauner instructed GOP lawmakers to come up with a balanced budget that didn’t rely on additional tax increases.

Rauner said the state is benefiting from higher-than-expected income tax revenue, which he attributed to the Republican tax plan passed by Congress. He didn’t mention the billions in additional revenue from the state income tax increase Democrats and some Republicans passed over his veto last year as part of a deal to end the budget stalemate.

The new budget includes several items lawmakers will be able to tout on the campaign trail.

They include an expanded tuition grant program aimed at keeping Illinois high school graduates from leaving the state for college, an increase in funding for K-12 education and money for improvements at the Quincy Veterans’ Home, where 13 residents have died from Legionnaires’ disease.

___

Follow Sara Burnett at https://twitter.com/sara_burnett

SARA BURNETT

Above is from:  https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/rauner-signs-1st-full-year-state-budget-as-illinois-governor/

Dems respond to Rauner signing budget

Monday, Jun 4, 2018

* Before Gov. Rauner signed the budget this morning…

Three Years Later, Rauner Sidelined to Get the Job Done

Chicago, IL – As Bruce Rauner sits down to sign the first budget of his governorship, let’s take a look back at the crisis-drive agenda, stubborn demands, and failed leadership that brought us to this point:

2015: A CRISIS-DRIVEN AGENDA

Rauner makes his motives abundantly clear with the now infamous, “Crisis creates opportunity. Crisis creates leverage to change … and we’ve got to use that leverage of the crisis to force structural change.” He proceeds to veto a budget passed by the General Assembly while presenting no realistic alternative.

2016: CHANGING DEMANDS, DELAYED NEGOTIATIONS

After waiting six months into the budget crisis to meet with Democrats in 2015, Rauner waits four months into 2016 to sit down with legislative leaders. The failed governor brings to the table an ever-growing and ever-changing list of demands with columnists saying, “Rauner has made one politically unrealistic demand after another” and “Gov. Bruce Rauner is holding up critical state budget negotiations over his desire for term limits? Unbelievably, yes.”

2017: THE BIPARTISAN OVERRIDE

Bruce Rauner drives the state into a 736-day budget crisis, decimating the state economy, forcing social services to cut programs or close their doors, and jeopardizing public education across the state. After Rauner derails one budget and vetoes another, bipartisan legislators come together to override the failed governor’s veto and finally bringing Rauner’s crisis to an end.

2018: RAUNER SIDELINED

Having learned their lesson, leaders in the General Assembly sidelined Bruce Rauner from the budget process, ignoring the unbalanced budget he presented. The Chicago Tribune writes, “Rauner’s top priorities sidelined in final budget talks of his first term.” With the General Assembly getting the job done as Bruce Rauner faces re-election this year, the failed governor will sign a budget for his first time in office.

“Bruce Rauner finally agreeing to sign his name on a budget crafted by the General Assembly, three years into his time in office, won’t change the massive amounts of damage this failed governor has done to this state,” said Pritzker campaign communications director Galia Slayen. “It shouldn’t take legislative leaders sidelining the governor and the threat of re-election to get a budget done. It’s abundantly clear Illinois can’t afford another four years of Bruce Rauner.”

* During today’s presser…

* After he signed the budget…

After Three Years of Rauner Budget Chaos, What Changed?

Illinois Working Together Campaign Director Jake Lewis released the following statement in response to Gov. Bruce Rauner’s approval of the state budget:

“For three years, Gov. Bruce Rauner has refused to sign a state budget unless it included his own personal agenda. The governor spent much of that time holding the budget hostage while the students, seniors, and economy of the Illinois suffered catastrophic damage.

“Now it seems like the governor has had a radical change of heart, signing the Fiscal Year 2019 budget that includes none of his personal agenda and none of his own major budget proposals. So the question must be asked: what changed? And why did the students, seniors, and economy have to suffer for years before Rauner’s sudden shift?

“Bruce Rauner put the people of Illinois through crisis after crisis in pursuit of his own personal agenda. Today we find out that all of that chaos, all of the devastation was for nothing. So, governor, what changed? The people of Illinois deserve answers.”

* DGA…

What Was the Point of Rauner’s Three Year Budget Crisis?

The Democratic Governors Association releases the following statement through spokesperson Sam Salustro regarding news that Governor Bruce Rauner signed the first budget of his term after forcing the state to endure three years of crises:

“Bruce Rauner’s budget signature is three years too late. Thanks to Rauner’s failed leadership, Illinois’ debt soared, credit rating dropped, and services were slashed while jobs and people continued to leave the state. Rauner failed the people of Illinois and the state is worse off because of it.

“Rauner’s decision to wait for an election year before finally signing a budget is just one more insult to the people of this state.

*

* Pritzker campaign…

A Moment Three and a Half Years in the Making

Chicago, IL – It’s a moment three and a half years in the making: Bruce Rauner finally learned how to pick up a pen and sign his name.

Bruce Rauner forced Illinois to endure three years of budget crises and voters want to know, what was the point?”

Above is from:  https://capitolfax.com/2018/06/04/dems-respond-to-rauner-signing-budget/

China's Renewable Energy Growth Isn't as Good as It Seems

China's Renewable Energy Growth Isn't as Good as It Seems

The country has a lot of installed capacity of wind and solar, but it's not producing very much electricity. Here's why that matters to energy investors.

Maxx Chatsko

(TMFBlacknGold)

Jun 4, 2018 at 8:01AM

You've probably read at least a few headlines in recent years that gush over China's incredible investments in renewable energy. In 2017, the nation added 50 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity and ended the year with 289 GW of installed wind and solar capacity. The United States owns just 121 GW combined, including only 33 GW of solar. These numbers seem to suggest the country is dominating the United States in the energy industries of the future. But China's renewable energy growth isn't what it seems. 

That's because most headlines and articles focus on installed capacity (power), as I did above, where the only metric that really matters is the amount of electricity generated (energy). So although China had 139% more installed wind and solar capacity than the United States last year, it only produced 38% more electricity from the renewable pair.

In fact, China is one of the least-efficient renewable energy generators in the world. That might often get overlooked, but that detail matters greatly for climate goals and to energy investors interested in both renewable energy and the country's energy future.

Image source: Getty Images.

China isn't getting a good bang for its buck

It's true that in 2017, China boasted 164 GW of installed wind power. But those assets generated just 305,700 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity. By comparison, last year the United States had just 88 GW of wind capacity -- just over half China's number -- but those turbines spun their way to generating 254,254 GWh of electricity, or more than 80% of what China produced. The production efficiency numbers are even worse for solar.  

So, what's going on? It all comes down to something called capacity factor, which is a measure of how often installed power sources operate at their rated capacities. Higher values indicate more electricity is being generated from a given amount of power. Consider how capacity factors in the United States and China stack up from last year:  

Data sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, National Bureau of Statistics of China 2017 Report, and National Energy Administration preliminary data. *Note: Last year available is 2015.

China is simply not very efficient at generating electricity from its renewable assets (or any power sources, for that matter) compared to the United States. Why not?

A combination of factors are at play. That includes the inferiority of Chinese wind turbines and solar panels, poor site selection or geography (wind turbines being installed in locations with weak winds), a lack of adequate transmission lines, and the distance electricity has to be transmitted to population centers. Some factors can be solved for existing assets (better grid connectivity), while others are locked in once steel is in the ground (inferior tech or poor site selection).

While improving technology and grid connectivity will boost electricity output from renewable assets for both countries (the latest wind farms in America can achieve capacity factors approaching 50%), China is expected to remain a global laggard in capacity factors for the foreseeable future and may never match the United States, which benefits from better geography for wind and solar installations.

It has major implications for China's ability to replace coal-fired capacity with renewables in the near term. For instance, replacing the electricity generated from 1 GW of coal power in China would require 2.3 GW of wind capacity or 4.5 GW of solar capacity, based on last year's data. The United States needed just 1.4 GW of wind capacity or 2 GW of solar capacity to do the same.

Unfortunately, climate policies won't bear the burden alone. China's inability to turn its renewable power into renewable electricity also has major implications, both good and bad, for energy investors.

How does this affect investors?

There are two areas in particular that concern investors: technology providers and renewable asset owners. For instance, there could be opportunities in superior technology designed by American (and non-Chinese) companies. While it might prove difficult to crack the fast-growing Chinese market with much success, as it favors home-grown wind and solar products, there could be advantages internationally.

In wind power, 39% of all onshore turbines sold globally last year came from Vestas, Siemens, and General Electric (NYSE:GE). While not the pioneer in offshore, the latter has found some success in China as the country explores the potential to develop ocean-faring wind farms. GE recently installed three enormous 6 MW offshore turbines in a demonstration project involving three different suppliers. If successful, then the industrial conglomerate could gain access to even larger contracts in the future -- in China or elsewhere. It could prove to be an important testing ground for other markets, especially the United States, which is just beginning to warm up to offshore wind power.

Similarly, more efficient solar modules from the likes of SunPower and First Solar could eventually gain an edge in winning global utility-scale installations over less efficient Chinese counterparts. The former boasts a world-leading 24.1% efficiency for its X-series lineup, while the latter offers the most efficient and economical thin films in the industry. That advantage hasn't translated to more business just yet, as Chinese panels, though less efficient, are generally cheaper. But that could change as the American solar leaders boost manufacturing capacity to boost volumes and lower prices, especially if solar farm developers continue prioritizing efficiency. After all, a panel with 21% efficiency will generate 50% more electricity than a panel of the same size that has 14% efficiency.

Image source: Getty Images.

While more efficient American tech could become a opportunity for investors, there's the potential for a fast-growing Chinese market to pose risks as well. For instance, provider of solar power optimizers and inverters SolarEdge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG) owns a 42.5% market share and boasts gross margin of 37.9% today, but that has caught the attention of others in the industry, particularly Chinese competitors. Whether or not they match the quality of existing products or meet the strict standards of American and European markets remains to be seen, but more competition could bring the company's profit margin and growth rates crashing down in the next several years.

There may be more direct risks to renewable asset owners, especially as they begin investing in China's wind and solar farms. That's because these companies generate profits and cash flow based on the total electricity generated and sold to the grid. As demonstrated above, Chinese renewable power isn't as efficient at generating renewable electricity as the North American assets investors may be used to these companies owning.

For instance, Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) has been keen to gain a foothold in China for some time, and recently announced 50-50 joint venture to deploy rooftop solar with the country's largest warehouse owner. The initial rollout will include 300 MW of solar, with the potential to expand up to 1,000 MW. But whether or not that comes close to matching the electricity generation of an equivalent deployment of solar in the United States depends on a host of factors. All data available today hint unitholders may be sorely disappointed with the returns on that investment. Perhaps the companies should order some American-designed X-series panels from SunPower.

Above is from:  https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/06/04/chinas-renewable-energy-growth-isnt-as-good-as-it.aspx

Letter of Editor regarding Rep Kinzinger

LETTER: Kinzinger most concerned with self-promotion

June 3, 2018

To The Editor:

You have published a number of letters extolling the virtues of Adam Kinzinger and how he should be reelected. Those letters talk about his stance on opioid addiction and human trafficking. These are not controversial issues; they are both bad. It is therefore easy to take a position against them. Big deal. What about our local issues: the other things that really affect his broader constituency like health care, taxation or global warming?

I wonder if we are suffering from myopia or short-term memory loss. When Mr. Kinzinger was first elected, he defeated the incumbent in part by attacking her for not holding town hall meetings. After election, he didn't hold them either until he finally yielded to editorial pressure from "The Times," among others. Attempting to excuse this hypocrisy, he said that he was concerned about disruption from the "radical left." I think that's a lame excuse for not listening to his constituents.

Being a U.S. Congressman is a demanding job, so I understand that time spent in his district is limited. Yet, he always seems to have time to make the rounds on the Sunday talk shows while largely neglecting the people he is supposed to represent. It is apparent, to me at least, that Mr. Kinzinger is more concerned with self-promotion and reelection than actually representing us.

Rob Newton,

Marseilles

Above is from:  http://www.mywebtimes.com/2018/05/31/letter-kinzinger-most-concerned-with-self-promotion/ad6bzz/

President Reagan’s daughter gives opinion on Trump

Opinions

Mourning America: What my father, Ronald Reagan, would say today

President Ronald Reagan hugs first lady Nancy Reagan at a Republican Party luncheon in 1988 in New Orleans. (Mike Sargent/AFP/Getty Images)

By Patti Davis June 3 at 7:11 PM

Patti Davis is an author and the daughter of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.

My father used to talk about a recurring dream he had in which he was walking into a beautiful white building with grand columns, knowing that it was his new home. When he was elected president, he said the image finally made sense to him. Once in the White House, he never had the dream again.

He had a reverence and a love for America that burned in his eyes when he looked at the flag, that bled into his words when he spoke to the country. Selfishly, I used to feel slighted by that love. I referred sometimes to my “sibling rivalry” with America. My strident protests against some of my father’s policies definitely got his attention, which was what I intended — but they also wounded him, which was not my intention. In his last years of life, when Alzheimer’s disease had stolen many things but not love, I was able to sit with him and tell him my regrets. I miss my father in deeply personal ways. I also miss the dignity that he brought to the task of leading this country, the deep respect he had for our democracy, and now, after so much time has passed, I miss how much he loved America.

People often ask me what he would say if he were here now. Sometimes I’m a bit glib in response, pointing out that he’d be 107 years old. Other times, I simply say he’d be pretty horrified at where we’ve come to. But as the June 5 anniversary of his death has drawn near, I’ve let myself imagine what he would say to the country he loved so much.

I think he would remind us that America began as a dream in the minds of men who dared to envision a land that was free of tyranny, with a government designed and structured so that no one branch of government could dominate the others. It was a bold and brave dream. But, he would caution, no government is infallible. Our democracy, because it is founded on the authority of “We the people,” puts the burden of vigilance on all American citizens.

Countries can be splintered from within, he would say. It’s a sinister form of destruction that can happen gradually if people don’t realize that our Constitution will protect us only if the principles of that document are adhered to and defended. He would be appalled and heartbroken at a Congress that refuses to stand up to a president who not only seems ignorant of the Constitution but who also attempts at every turn to dismantle and mock our system of checks and balances.

He would plead with Americans to recognize that the caustic, destructive language emanating from our current president is sullying the dream that America once was. And in a time of increased tensions in the world, playing verbal Russian roulette is not leadership, it’s madness. He would point to one of the pillars of our freedom — a free press — which sets us apart from dictatorships and countries ruled by despots. He didn’t always like the press — no president does — but the idea of relentlessly attacking the media as the enemy would never have occurred to him. And if someone else had done so, he wouldn’t have tolerated it.

He would ask us to think about the Statue of Liberty and the light she holds for immigrants coming to America for a better life. Immigrants like his ancestors, who persevered despite prejudice and signs that read “No Irish or dogs allowed.” There is a difference between immigration laws and cruelty. He believed in laws; he hated cruelty.

1

The politicization of U.S. intelligence agencies is harmful to the people serving in them, and to U.S. relations with foreign countries, says David Ignatius. (The Washington Post)

Despite my father’s innate humility, he would ask the people of this country to reflect on his own words from his famous speech, “A Time for Choosing,” delivered in 1964: “You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We’ll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we’ll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.

Above is from:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mourning-america-what-my-father-ronald-reagan-would-say-today/2018/06/03/a0fe1cfe-65be-11e8-a69c-b944de66d9e7_story.html?utm_term=.00db3b18f508