Gov. Bruce Rauner prepares closures, spending cuts - News - Journal Standard - Freeport, IL

 

• SPRINGFIELD -- Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration said Tuesday it is looking at raising co-payments for subsidized day care, closing youth prisons and state museums and grounding state airplanes if a balanced budget isn’t approved.

  The actions outlined in a news release from the administration late Tuesday afternoon are just the first of “many additional steps” it said it will be taking to deal with a state spending plan the administration said is nearly $4 billion out of balance.

  The Republican administration referred to the spending plan as the “Madigan-Cullerton budget” after House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, both Chicago Democrats.

  The administration said the deficit contained in the Democrats' spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is more than double the hole that lawmakers had to plug in the current state budget. They approved fund sweeps and other measures this spring to fill that gap.

  “With the upcoming Madigan-Cullerton budget deficit more than double that of last year, a midyear solution is not possible at this time,” the administration said in its statement. “The administration must immediately begin taking steps to managing state spending.”

  Although lawmakers in both the House and Senate approved the spending plan for fiscal 2016, the bills have never been formally conveyed to the governor for his action. Rauner previously said he would not sign the budget because it is out of balance.

  Madigan and Cullerton have both said they want to continue working with Rauner to produce a balanced budget. Both have said the state needs to find additional revenue rather than balance the budget through cuts alone.

  Rauner, though, said lawmakers have to approve components of his "Turnaround Agenda" before he will talk about revenue increases. The agenda includes items like workers' compensation reform, a property tax freeze and term limits for lawmakers and state officials.

  Legal move?

  Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said Democrats are willing to work with Rauner if he wants to work with them.

  “The plan passed by the General Assembly is a statement of our priorities to provide vital services and invest in the middle class,” Phelon said in a statement. “If the governor shares that goal, then he is invited to work with us to develop a full plan to fund our shared priorities in education, public safety and community services. Unfortunately, today’s actions signal that the governor would rather slash child care, services for troubled youth and senior care rather than work on a bipartisan budget solution.”

  SEIU Healthcare Illinois issued a statement saying the eligibility restrictions the administration wants to impose on the Department on Aging’s Community Care program “likely contradict Illinois law.”

  Page 2 of 3 - The administration said it will file emergency rules to enact means testing for the program. It said no income eligibility currently exists.

  Among the other spending cuts, the administration wants to end the state portion of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program on July 1. About $170 million in federal money will continue to be distributed.

  “This will definitely affect hundreds of thousands of families across the state,” said Dalitso Sulamayo, president and CEO of the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies. “We are looking at about 171,000 households that will be affected.”

  Museums affected

  At the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, one of five state museums the administration said it will "begin the process to suspend operations and close," all questions were referred to the Department of Natural Resources.

  DNR spokesman Chris Young said “the exact date operations will be suspended has not been established yet. Additional details are still being worked out.”

  He said 68 people would be laid off if the five museums closed. In addition to the museum in Springfield, DNR operates the Dickson Mounds site in Lewiston and sites in Lockport, Chicago and Rend Lake.

  Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

  Immediate suspension of all future incentive offers to companies for business attraction and retention. This includes EDGE Tax Credits, Large Business Attraction Grants, Employer Training Investment Program Incentive Grants and Prime Sites Grants.

  Will defer application approvals for film tax credits and High Impact Business designations. All commitments previously made in any of these programs will be honored.

Department of Juvenile Justice

Begin the process of identifying one or two juvenile correctional facilities for closure. Juvenile system has a surplus of capacity. Capacity at approximately 1,200 beds, with less than 700 occupied.

Department of Corrections

Begin the process of closing the Hardin County Work Camp. Approximately 180 inmates will be moved. Approximately 60 Work Camp staff affected.

Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Implement an audit review of nursing home reimbursements to ensure payments comply with recently implemented new rate structure.

Recover overpayments to nursing homes and implement financial penalties for improper billings.

Department of Human Services

DHS will pursue cost control strategies through emergency rules to the Childcare Program, including increasing copays for parents using the program and freezing intake and creating waiting lists.

DHS will also begin background checks for relatives providing child care. Background checks are currently required for child care licensed centers, group homes and non-relatives who provide care.

Page 3 of 3 -

Department of Natural Resources

The Department will not award Open Space Land Acquisition Development Grants in FY16.

The Department will begin the process to suspend operations and close the five state museums to visitors. The state will continue to maintain and secure the museums to protect the artifacts and exhibits.

 

By Doug Finke
and Seth Richardson
GateHouse Media Illinois

Journal Standard

 

From:  Gov. Bruce Rauner prepares closures, spending cuts - News - Journal Standard - Freeport, IL

IL Governor Rauner's Pal Made $625,000 Per Hour Last Year and Then Gave $10 Million to Rauner Campaign to Attack Unions and Cut Worker Pay | Robert Creamer

Unfortunately for Rauner and Griffin, ordinary Illinois voters are not so stupid. A recent poll published by Public Policy Polling found that:

• Only 33 percent of voters in the state agree with Governor Rauner's agenda on "right to work", compared to 55 percent who think everyone represented by a union should have to pay something toward negotiating and administering its contracts.
• By 81 percent to 15 percent, voters oppose Rauner's attempts to gut the state's Workers' Compensation system.
• 68 percent of voters in the state think that the wage standard should continue to be set locally with a prevailing wage, while only 23 percent think the state should be able to pay below the local prevailing wage.
• Voters just generally disagree with Governor Rauner's philosophy toward unions.
• Only 42 percent think unions have too much power, compared to 56 percent who think they're necessary to fight for the middle class.

There is another big difference between Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the Rauner/Griffin team. Walker was an agent of the 1 percent. Rauner and Griffin are the 1 percent. In fact they are the top .01 percent.

It's not so easy for people who make as much every minute and a half as a minimum wage worker takes home all year long to convince voters that it's a good idea to cut the pay of working people. It's not so easy for people like Rauner and Griffin to literally propose taking food from the mouths of hungry children by cutting the Illinois nutrition program in order to allow the state to cut taxes for the wealthy.

Appearances are not so good. And to top it off, Griffin has a massive personal interest in eliminating the rights of workers -- particularly public employees. Griffin's firm owns Service Master, a company that makes part of its money by privatizing public services.

But Rauner's monomaniacal obsession with eliminating the rights of ordinary people to engage in collective bargaining over their wages and working conditions comes from something deeper than simple desire to put even more money into the pockets of people like himself and his friend Griffin.

They believe that the rich should have the right to call the shots in society -- it's as simple as that. In fact, Griffin said he believed that wealthy elites have "insufficient influence" over democratic politics -- and politics in general.

Griffin and Rauner believe that America should be a plutocracy.

And they deeply believe that if they can buy a company, they should have the unfettered right to pay people whatever the "market will bear." In effect, they think people should be treated like soybeans and corn. Whatever the market price, that's what they should have to pay.

Fortunately ordinary people in America disagree. Most Americans believe that we are the point of the economy -- not just some "input of production." The goal of the economy is not to make a few people fabulously wealthy, it is to produce widely-shared prosperity for everyone who is willing to work hard.

And history has shown us that is only possible if everyone has the right to collective bargaining over their wages and working conditions, to demand a fair share of the fruits of their own increasing productivity.

In the last 35 years, Gross Domestic Product per person in America has grown 77 percent. That should have meant that everyone is 77 percent better off, but instead, the wages of most Americans have been stagnant. That's because the rules of the game have been rigged by people like Bruce Rauner and Ken Griffin to assure that virtually all of that increased wealth went to the top 1 percent.

Now they have the audacity to demand that ordinary people who work in public employment and make modest middle class incomes shouldn't be allowed to combine their political contributions to influence the outcome of elections. But they are happy to allow the super-rich like themselves to control politics with more and more $10 million contributions.

Rauner, Griffin, and their whole Koch Brothers-inspired crowd must be stopped now.

America is still the wealthiest country in the world. We have the technology, the natural resources and the hard-working, trained work force to create the most prosperous society in human history where anyone who works hard can have a fulfilling life.

But elections have consequences. And 2016 could be a pivotal, historic year -- a turning point year. Imagine what will happen to America if someone who shares Bruce Rauner's values becomes President and the House and Senate continue to be controlled by Republicans. Imagine what it would mean if people who share Griffin's and Rauner's views completely control the Supreme Court for a generation.

In 2016 we will have a chance to stop the plutocrats like Rauner and Griffin from snatching away that future and returning us to the plutocracy of the Gilded Age. Time for Progressives to saddle up. Failure is simply not an option.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  IL Governor Rauner's Pal Made $625,000 Per Hour Last Year and Then Gave $10 Million to Rauner Campaign to Attack Unions and Cut Worker Pay | Robert Creamer

CA State Senate OKs health coverage for many immigrants here illegally

The California state Senate on Tuesday approved a hotly debated measure that would allow many immigrants in the state illegally to sign up for special healthcare programs that would offer the same benefits as Medi-Cal.

 

The action comes just days after lawmakers significantly scaled back the plan, which originally would have offered state-subsidized Medi-Cal to people in the country without authorization.
State Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) said his proposal provides “what we can realistically achieve now” for the estimated 2 million people in the state illegally.

 

The bill would allow up to 240,000 minors to sign up for Medi-Cal and allow some low-income adults to sign up for a separate program that provides the same services. Higher-income people would be able to buy non-subsidized coverage through Covered California if the federal government provides permission for them to do so.
As the son of parents who were immigrants formerly in the country illegally, Lara said many people spend long hours in emergency rooms waiting for treatment.
“Many often forgo medical care because of the fear of medical debt,” Lara said in support of SB 4.
The vote was 28-11, with most but not all Republicans opposed to the legislation, which next goes to the Assembly for consideration.

Read more by clicking on the following:  http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-california-senate-approves-health-coverage-for-some-immigrants-here-illegally-20150602-story.html

Rauner order hamstrings lobbyists—especially the Democratic kind

Forget about the budget, forget about Gov. Bruce Rauner's "turnaround agenda," forget about the almost unprecedented animosity during the spring legislative session between Democrats and Republicans.
The most talked-about issue under the Illinois Statehouse dome last week was a directive from one of the governor's top staffers to all state agency directors.
The agency directors received an order from the Rauner administration on May 27 demanding that they and their staffs not meet or talk with any lobbyists unless the governor's Policy Office had first OK'd the communications. The directors also were told to inform agency "stakeholders" that they didn't really need to hire lobbyists anyway.

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The governor's press office refused several entreaties to comment on the ban.
"We have continued concern about outside interests' attempts to influence the use of state resources and state policy," Deputy Gov. Trey Childress wrote last week.
"As an extension of our efforts to curb the influence of these interests, we want to send a message loud and clear that constituents and stakeholders need not employ a lobbyist to voice their concerns or needs directly," he continued.
"Until further notice, please coordinate with your department's contact on the Governor's policy team in advance of any meeting between your senior team members and registered lobbyists."
When most people think of lobbyists, they think of them lobbying elected officials, particularly legislators.
But quite a few lobbyists have built careers exclusively lobbying state agencies. And many, many others regularly reach out to agencies on behalf of their clients or association members occasionally or even regularly.
Agencies write rules that affect pretty much every business and every group in Illinois. So most of them hire lobbyists to make sure their voices are heard and they aren't harmed.
Also, some groups and businesses receive state grants for things like job training or for providing human or other services, or they rely on other state money. No government ever runs smoothly all the time, so glitches can happen. And when they do, people often turn to their Springfield associations to help fix the problems.
TURNING THE TABLES
So adding a layer to this age-old process has the potential to really muck things up. It will add time and hassle.
And most folks don't have the ability or the time to deal with our vast government bureaucracy. That's why they hired lobbyists and/or joined statewide associations in the first place.
But there's another angle here.
The Democratic Party controlled both legislative chambers and the governor's office for 12 straight years.
That meant many Republican lobbyists were out of luck as Democratic staff, campaign operatives and even legislators decided to take up the lobbying business and existing Democratic lobbyists greatly expanded their businesses.
And after Rauner won his election last November, several Democratic state agency honchos left to lobby the folks they used to work with.
Rauner's people obviously don't want Democrats having contacts with their agency folks without their knowing about it. Controlling the bureaucracy is a very difficult task. Rauner is running the most top-down controlling governor's office I've ever seen. So this is at least partly designed to prevent surprises down below.
But it also will mean that the governor's office, which is thickly populated by former Republican campaign workers, will be able to lock out any Democrats it wants.
So those who employ Democratic lobbyists—or even Republicans who don't show sufficient subservience and tribute to the governor—soon may very well ask why they're paying those folks when they can't get anything done.
Most lobbyists were shocked at the governor's order, but some almost immediately came up with a plan to get around it.
Instead of contacting the agencies directly, they'll ask their favorite legislators to make the calls. But that obviously won't work for those who don't lobby the General Assembly.
The Democrats fully exploited "the spoils of war" when they were running everything. The Republican governor now is doing the same, but in a particularly Raunerish way. Legislative Republicans are already bending over backward whenever he commands. He's now extending his power over much of the rest of the Statehouse crowd.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.

Above is from:  http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150601/NEWS02/150609990/rauner-tells-state-agency-heads-to-avoid-lobbyists

 

Exelon to decide fate of Quad Cities nuclear power plant in September: CEO

Louisville, Kentucky (Platts)--29May2015/526 pm EDT/2126 GMT

Exelon CEO Christopher Crane said the nation's largest nuclear generator will decide in September whether to close its money-losing, 1,824-MW Quad Cities merchant nuclear plant in Illinois.

Time is running out for Exelon to craft an economic solution for three Illinois nuclear plants -- Byron and Clinton are the others, totaling about 5,000 MW of generation -- Crane said in comments webcast Thursday from the Sanford Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York.

The Chicago-based company had hoped the Illinois General Assembly would pass Exelon-backed legislation creating a low-carbon portfolio standard to provide the nuclear plants with an estimated $300 million/year in economic support before its 2015 regular session adjourns late next week.

That appears unlikely, although lawmakers still could consider the legislation during a two-week fall veto session in November.

Read more by clicking on the following:  http://www.platts.com/latest-news/electric-power/louisville-kentucky/exelon-to-decide-fate-of-quad-cities-nuclear-21526498

Madigan says House will be in 'continuous' summer session

Posted May 31, 2015 at 1:37 PM

Illinois' House Speaker says his chamber plans to be in "continuous session" throughout the summer.

Chicago Democrat Michael Madigan made the announcement Sunday, the last regularly scheduled day of the spring session.

The chambers plan to finish business without consensus on a 2016 budget approved by Democrats that is more than $3 billion out of balance. GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner says he won't sign the plan until Democrats pass some of his priorities.

Madigan says the next scheduled session day will be Thursday. He's warned the chamber's 118 members that they won't be receiving either mileage reimbursements or per diem pay.

Madigan says members could be called back to Springfield with as little as 48 hours' notice.

Obamacare: 44% of Californians say it's difficult to pay their monthly premiums

By Chad Terhune contact the reporter

• This article is available at:   http://www.latimes.com/business/healthcare/la-fi-obamcare-california-survey-20150529-story.html

     

A new survey shows that 44% of Covered California policyholders find it difficult paying their monthly premiums for Obamacare coverage.

And a similar percentage of uninsured Californians say the high cost of coverage is the main reason they go without health insurance.
The issue of just how much people can afford will loom large as the state exchange prepares to negotiate with health insurers over next year's rates.

 

 

Many analysts are predicting bigger premium increases for 2016 in California and across the country. Insurers have more details on the medical costs of enrollees, and some federal programs that help protect health plans from unpredictable claims will be winding down.
This latest pulse on consumer attitudes is drawn from a Kaiser Family Foundation survey of 4,555 Californians from September to December 2014. It examined the experiences of people in Covered California, Medi-Cal, other private coverage and the uninsured.

Forty-four percent of exchange policyholders surveyed said it's somewhat or very difficult to afford their premiums. That's compared with 25% of adults who had employer-based or other private health insurance.
Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, acknowledged that many Californians find it hard to fit health insurance premiums into their household budget, even when they qualify for generous federal subsidies.
"If you are making $25,000 a year that $70 premium is still a struggle," Lee said. "The Affordable Care Act is providing nobody with a free lunch. This issue of making healthcare affordable is not easy."

 

Anthem Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente and other health insurers have submitted their proposed 2016 rates for individual policies to Covered California, and negotiations are expected to begin next month.
The final statewide rates should be announced in July, Lee said. For 2015, the average rate increase was 4.2%.
The consumer survey also delved into patient satisfaction with their health insurer and access to care.
Among Covered California members, 74% rated their coverage as excellent or good. It was 88% among people with other private coverage.
Ninety-one percent of exchange customers said it was easy to get to their usual source of medical care, matching the response among people with other types of private coverage.
And 59% of Covered California enrollees had a checkup or preventive care visit by the fall of 2014. But 18% of exchange policyholders said a medical provider would not accept them as a new patient.
Many consumers have complained about a shortage of participating doctors in narrower Covered California networks and problems getting accurate information from insurers' provider directories.