Illinois News Network Radio

Restaurant owner doesn’t trust lawmakers with more money A Springfield restaurant owner says the state should live within its means instead of proposing a progressive income tax. Charlie Parker’s Diner Owner/Operator Mike Murphy understands the state needs money but wants to ensure any tax increase goes to fix Illinois’ mounting problems, not fund new programs. “They’re going to find new and creative ways to spend it that will not take care of our current situation and then they’ll be asking for more money down the road,” Murphy said. Murphy said he doesn’t trust lawmakers to do the right thing. Murphy also says there would be no incentive to grow in Illinois if the state’s Constitution is changed to allow for progressive tax rates to be determined by law year to year. “Well, it wouldn’t excite me a whole lot as far as expanding, and things like that, if they’re just going to take my money away from me,” Murphy said. Murphy has been in business since 1992. He employs 23 people in Springfield. The Illinois Chamber of Commerce says a progressive income tax punishes success. Northeastern Illinois Democratic state Sen. Don Harmon said that’s just angry rhetoric. Harmon said the proposal, to tax income of up to $100,000 at 3.5 percent, is a tax cut for most small businesses. “If you’re earning more than $750,000 at the end of the year, putting it into your pocket, as the owner of a small business, perhaps you’re not so small anymore,” Harmon said. Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch said that kind of thinking takes away the incentive for success and job creation. “I think that is a terrible thing for the state of Illinois to do, to tax successful small businesses that create the vast majority of new jobs in our state and in the nation,” Maisch said. The proposal would tax anyone making between $500,000 and $1 million a year at 8.75 percent, with income over $1 million taxed at 9.75 percent. That includes businesses that file as individuals. The tax is expected to generate $1.9 billion in new revenue. Comptroller to lawmakers: Get in line State lawmakers and constitutional officers should expect to wait a couple of months for their next paycheck. The fiscal year began in July but the state still doesn’t have a budget. Comptroller Leslie Munger announced Sunday that she will start putting the paychecks for state elected officials, including her own, in line with all the other bills that are backlogged. It could be June before they get their next paycheck, she said. Munger said she has the legal authority and necessary vouchers, but she does not have the money. She said giving priority to the state’s $1.3 million monthly payroll has pushed off payment of other bills. “It means we cannot make a payment to a social service organization waiting for payment. It means we are slower in making payments to vendors who we can legally pay who provide services to the state,” Munger said. Munger said the change isn’t meant to be punitive, it’s meant to be fair. “And frankly if this action helps bring all sides together to focus on the most urgent and important task at hand, that of passing a balanced budget so that we can end this unnecessary and devastating hardship on our state, then that will be an added benefit,” Munger said. Munger said state employees will continue to get paid on time. COGFA: New capital plan needed The Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, or COGFA, says it’s time for a new public works program – and a new way to pay for it. COGFA Executive Director Dan Long says a 2010 capital program is out of money, and a new plan should include a revenue stream to pay for future projects. “Normally when they pass one of these capital plans you have some kind of increase, maybe in the license plate fees or things of that nature,” Long said. Long said the new revenue would help pay for bond debt to fund projects. Cato Institute economist Chris Edwards said governments should steer clear of selling bonds. “Going into debt just pushes the cost onto future generations, and it’s completely unnecessary,” Edwards said. “Many states fund much of their capital improvements with current revenues.” Edwards said states with high amounts of debt such as Illinois should cut other areas of the budget to pay for infrastructure improvements. COGFA said Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed fiscal year 2017 plan for construction projects would be funded by $3.3 billion in state funds. Nearly $1 billion would come from bond funds. Federal funds would cover only $145 million, or 3 percent of the overall plan. U.S. Congressman Bill Foster said the federal formula that distributes federal highway funding favors less-populated states. Foster said because Illinois is among the largest states, it gets back only $85 per person for roads. “If you’re in a state like Wyoming you get about $400 per person, per year, in federal highway funding. In Alaska they get $600,” Foster said. Foster said he attempted to fix the formula in the recently passed federal highway bill, but his proposal was dropped by the U.S. Senate. The photo above is of Charlie Parker’s Diner Owner/Operator Mike Murphy.  The post Restaurant owner doesn’t trust lawmakers with more money; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Lawmakers talk taxes during forum, ideas range from progressive tax to lower burden altogether Just what kind of new taxes could be in Illinois taxpayers’ future? Several state lawmakers outlined their ideas for tax increases during a forum on Monday. Democratic state Senator Heather Steans said Illinois needs a progressive income tax similar to how the federal government taxes income. She also said Illinois needs spending cuts alongside more revenue. “This is not rocket science here in actually solving the budget,” Steans said. “We need some spending cuts and we need some revenue. We’ve got to do both.” Democratic state Rep. Greg Harris proposed ending corporate tax loopholes, broadening sales taxes to include financial transactions, pulling money from special funds, “potentially rolling back some of the cuts in the income tax (and) moving to progressive taxation in the state.” Republican state Rep. Tom Morrison said lawmakers should steer clear of taxing a specific group of people. “The 3,000 millionaires who left Chicago, as it was reported last week, just saying we’re going to tax them more is not going to bring them back,” Morrison said. “It’s going to increase that number.” Morrison said if increasing taxes alone were the fix, it would have been done already. He insisted on economic reforms the governor has said will help grow the economy and the tax base. Republican state Rep. Patti Bellock said increasing taxes on a shrinking tax base is the wrong way to go, especially with high property taxes in the mix. “And so the thing that we have to do is try to reduce the overall tax burden on the people in our state,” Bellock said. Senator Matt Murphy said he doesn’t like the idea of tax increases but said Republicans, including the governor, will support them if they are part of a good deal on economic reforms to grow the economy. The forum was sponsored by Truth In Accounting and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. House approves decriminalizing loose cigarette sales A measure to lessen the penalty for selling loose cigarettes is moving to the Illinois Senate, something supporters said will save taxpayers money. In July 2014, Eric Garner died after being taken down by police officers in Staten Island, New York. Garner was accused of selling loose cigarettes, commonly referred to “loosies.” That prompted an Illinois lawmaker to propose a bill to make selling loosies a finable, rather than criminal, offense. Democratic state Rep. La Shawn Ford said House Bill 4212 would decriminalize the selling of loosies. “We don’t want to incriminate people for a petty act of selling loose cigarettes in Illinois,” Ford said. “We want them to pay the cost for their act.” Ford said the perpetrator would be fined $50 instead of being arrested and going through the court system, something Ford noted costs taxpayers. Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives agreed. “You’re basically saving the individual court time, taxpayers’ court time,” Ives said. Opponents included some county health departments, the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association. The measure passed the House 60-52 and now heads to the Illinois Senate. Last year Illinois outlawed the use of chokeholds by police, something else prompted by Garner’s death. Congressman Davis: Rural families will subsidize urban transportation if taxed per mile Charging drivers a tax per mile would force rural families to subsidize urban transportation, a Central Illinois congressman said. Illinois Senate Bill 3279 would have Illinois drivers paying road taxes in one of three ways beginning July 2025: Pay a flat rate based on 30,000 miles a year, report miles by reading an odometer or use an electronic location device to track miles. Central Illinois Republican Congressman Rodney Davis told WMAY Springfield that taxing mileage will affect families in his district more than families in urban areas. “My single mom in rural America will be subsidizing those mass transit opportunities for all the others in the urban areas,” Davis said. “I think it’s wrong.” However, Davis said ultimately it’s up to state governments. Democratic Congressman Bill Foster of Naperville said in an email: “This type of legislation would be unnecessary if the federal government altered the unfair funding formulas … that return $89 per Illinoisan each year when each Alaskan gets $609.” Meanwhile, a longtime electric vehicle driver said taxing drivers per mile shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. Ted Lowe, the former president of the Fox Valley Electric Auto Association, said he understands that people driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrids or electric cars need to pay their fair share for the roads. But Lowe said taxing people by the number of miles they drive isn’t fair because some vehicles are heavier than others. “A bicycle can go 10 miles and an SUV can go 10 miles.” Lowe said. “Which one is hurting the road more?” Lowe said whatever plan lawmakers come up with should be as fair as possible but, “there’s no equitable way to share the earth, right?” SB 3279 remains in the Senate Executive Committee. Do Illinois Supreme Court justices make too much? Are Illinois Supreme Court justices overpaid? That’s the question one state senator had for the Illinois Supreme Court during an Appropriations Committee hearing. State Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-North Aurora, said a recent report from the National Center for State Courts indicates Illinois’ Supreme Court justices are the second-highest paid in the country with a salary of nearly $221,000. “In looking out a few years, in another 15 to 20 years, Illinois Supreme Court justices could be making more than United States Supreme Court justices,” Oberweis said. Michael Tardy, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, said that because Illinois is the fifth-most populous state, he believes compensation levels for justices are appropriate. “These people have the highest level of legal degrees,” Tardy said. “They have doctorates. They come to the court with years of experience in the bar and years of experience on the bench.” Oberweis asked Tardy whether justices, as state employees, have a conflict of interest when they rule on issues regarding state employee pay and benefits. Tardy said he wasn’t qualified to comment on that matter. Meanwhile, an effort to create regional courts to tackle mental health and drug abuse problems is underway. During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing last week, Tardy said there’s an effort to address the lack of problem-solving courts in some rural areas. “We’re looking, certainly, at consolidation of multiple county problem-solving courts,” Tardy said. “You can also have a problem-solving docket.” State Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Champaign, said he’s been trying for years to have multicounty problem-solving courts for the rural areas that lack them, but found resistance. “So I’m glad to see that a decade later we’re going to make some progress,” Rose said. Problem-solving courts are credited with helping offenders who have substance abuse and mental health issues stay out of Illinois correctional facilities. The post Lawmakers talk taxes during forum, ideas range from progressive tax to lower burden altogether; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Governor says K-12 education funding shouldn’t be held hostage by formula reform effort Expect there to be heated debate in Springfield about whether K-12 education should be funded before or after the state’s decades-old funding formula is reformed. Democratic state Sen. Andy Manar plans to file an amendment to Senate Bill 231 he said will address the state’s school funding formula, which Gov. Bruce Rauner and leading Republicans and Democrats have all said needs to be changed. Manar said the proposal gets rid of the Chicago block grant, brings pension parity for the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund and drives state resources to high-need, high-poverty districts. One thing the bill doesn’t include is time for more study. “There is no monopoly in ideas, but I do reject the idea that this should be studied longer,” Manar said. Gov. Bruce Rauner said changing the formula will be hard and any reform shouldn’t be a precursor to fully funding school districts for the coming fiscal year. When asked about school funding Tuesday, Rauner said that Senate President John Cullerton plans to hold up K-12 education funding until the funding formula is changed. “That’s wrong,” Rauner said. “We should not hold school funding hostage to this issue.” John Patterson, spokesman for Cullerton, said in an email response, “The Senate president has said a fair school funding system is his top priority. Everyone, including the governor, agrees the current system is broken. Why not fix it?” Asked if school funding for the coming fiscal year would be tied to the proposed formula reform, Patterson wrote, “Ultimately, a final budget would be a product of the Senate, House and hopefully the governor.” Measure repealing state’s ability to go after prison inmates for reimbursement passes Senate It’s on to the Illinois House of Representatives with a measure that would remove the ability of the Department of Corrections and attorney general to recoup housing costs from prison inmates. Senate Bill 2465 passed the Illinois Senate on Tuesday 32-19. Standing in opposition, state Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Champaign, said the state should be able to go after white-collar criminals. “If you’ve got a white-collar criminal with a million-dollar bank account, he ought to reimburse taxpayers for the cost,” Rose said. The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Daniel Biss, D-Skokie, responded that there are already financial penalties associated with violating laws. State Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said the state should maintain its ability to seek reimbursement from some inmates. “This is a blanket taking away of discretion that I think hurts – potentially – the taxpayers of Illinois,” Murphy said. Biss said working to recoup the money costs taxpayers by not only having to use resources in the courts but also by limiting individuals’ opportunities outside of prison, which in turn could result in their ending up on government assistance or reoffending and returning to prison. “Those costs would be significantly in excess of the half a million dollars recouped over a long period of time,” Biss said. Biss said the proposed bill reflects the values of Illinois when it comes to criminal justice: “That we believe in rehabilitation.” The measure has been referred to the House Rules Committee. The post Governor says K-12 education funding shouldn’t be held hostage by formula reform effort; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Governor creates task force to root out health care fraud With $19 billion a year spent on taxpayer-funded Medicaid programs and state-employee health insurance plans, Illinois’ governor hopes to root out waste, fraud and abuse. Gov. Bruce Rauner said the Health Care Fraud Elimination Task Force he created through executive order Tuesday will work over the next year and a half to investigate where taxpayer savings can be found. Rauner said the state has a moral obligation to find savings. “Frankly every dollar that we can save in wasteful spending or fraudulent spending in health care is a dollar that we can put into our education system to fund our schools or into our human services to fund our most vulnerable families,” Rauner said. Rauner said rooting out waste and fraud will help “keep the quality (of health care) high, and in fact, hopefully increase the quality of service while making sure that abuse in the system, fraud in the system, is eliminated so we can save that money and put it into more effective use for the people of Illinois.” The governor said the task force will study and adopt best practices of state agency fraud-prevention units, federal government and other state governments’ efforts, and measures used in the private sector to root out fraud, waste and abuse. The 12-person task force is composed of various members of the administration. The governor couldn’t say specifically how much fraud there could be but put the figure in the hundreds of millions of dollars per year. However, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a recent audit removed thousands of individuals listed as dependents from the state-employee group insurance plan, saving taxpayers an estimated $32 million. Measure requiring labor contracts be posted before approval remains in committee Ever get angry that a labor contract for your school district was approved before it was made available for review by you, the taxpayer? A measure that could be heard in committee this week would change that. House Bill 4583 from Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Naperville would require public-sector labor agreements to be published on a public body’s website before being approved. Ives said she’s heard from taxpayers who are upset they can’t review the documents before they’re ultimately approved. “The public should know, and they have the right to know what they’re paying for,” Ives said. “These are public contracts.” Ives said she attempted similar legislation in the past but was told by opponents it was too narrow, so she broadened the scope to include any compensation agreement for one employee that exceeds $150,000. The bill is scheduled to be heard Tuesday afternoon in the House Labor and Commerce Committee, but Ives is pessimistic it will get a fair hearing. “That’s a highly partisan committee,” Ives said. “It’s all about labor and nothing about commerce.” Even though she thinks the bill will fail to get out of committee, Ives said she still wants to air her concerns and show she’s amenable to including other provisions. Group wants professional midwives certified Soon-to-be parents wanting to give birth at home shouldn’t be forced into black-market maternity care because the state doesn’t certified midwives who don’t have nursing degrees, according to a group supporting state certification of community, or professional, midwives. Current Illinois law does not recognize professional midwives. The state certifies nurse midwives, but Becky Coolidge with the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery tells WMAY Springfield there aren’t enough, especially in rural areas. “We like certified midwives. We wish there were more of them, but the reality is there is way more demand for home birth providers than those six can supply,” Coolidge said. Coolidge also said parents who want to have a safe home birth are left to finding a noncertified midwife through other means, which doesn’t allow for accountability. Barbara Belcore, also with the Coalition for Illinois Midwifery, said one big problem with professional midwives not being certified is the lack of communication with other medical professionals, especially if problems arise. “If the home care provider is unregulated and unlicensed, then she cannot communicate with a hospital provider without facing the fear of prosecution,” Belcore said. Belcore said House Bill 4364, known as the Home Birth Safety Act, would allow for certification of professional midwives and would open up that line of communication for the best outcomes. However, opponents of the bill include the American Academy of Pediatrics, which wants more collaboration with other medical professionals. Other opponents say their concerns include who would be held liable for any medical problems that arise during a home birth. A sponsor of the measure, Democratic state Rep. Robyn Gabel, says a future amendment to the proposal will address opponents’ concerns. The bill remains in committee. Gun owners to lobby lawmakers in Springfield Illinois gun owners plan to take to the streets in Springfield Wednesday arguing for more places to carry concealed firearms and opposing taxes on firearms and ammunition. Valinda Rowe, an organizer for the annual Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day, or I-GOLD, said even though Illinois gun owners won the right through the courts and through legislation to carry concealed firearms with a permit, there are still nearly two dozen areas where they cannot carry legally permitted weapons. Those places include public transportation, something Rowe tells WMAY Springfield hurts the economically disadvantaged the most. “They do have a right to carry outside their homes to protect themselves and mass transportation, that is one of those areas that is most dangerous,” Rowe said. Rowe said concealed carry permit holders also should be allowed to carry firearms at government-run rest stops along highways. Meanwhile gun owners are expected to oppose extra taxes on firearms and ammunition. Rowe said Cook County has already passed an extra tax on ammunition and firearms and there’s legislation she supports to reverse that while also prohibiting the tax elsewhere throughout the state. “The law-abiding gun owners who go through the process of legally purchasing their firearms and purchasing their ammunition shouldn’t be penalized because of the criminal element out there,” Rowe said. Cook County has a $25 tax for every firearm purchased. Beginning June 1 each cartridge purchased in the county will have an extra tax ranging from a penny to a nickel per cartridge, which would increase a standard case of 50 rounds by up to $2.50. Gun owners plan to meet at the Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield at noon Wednesday, where they will then march to the Capitol to lobby lawmakers. In 2014 Illinois became the last state in the country to allow for citizens to carry firearms outside the home. Charter school network has concerns about unionization While a charter school in Chicago is forming a union, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools wants to ensure other unions don’t impose. Illinois law does not force a charter school to create a union, but does allow for the option among members. The Illinois Federation of Teachers touts the recent vote approving a union for the Passages Charter School in the city’s West Edgewater neighborhood. Workers voted to join the Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff Local 4343. However, Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, has some concerns. Broy said there could be problems if the Chicago Teachers Union takes an interest in bargaining on behalf of charter school unions, noting, “I think they will likely make it more of a political statement than it will be a collaboration between teachers and management, and that does worry us long term.” Broy said unions representing teachers at charter schools should work to retain flexibility to be innovative and to think about different staffing structures. Broy added, “To the extent that a union contract will prioritize a one-size-fits-all approach, that is counter to the charter model.” Broy also said charter schools should not work against their best interests if a union is formed at a charter school. “Provided that there’s an agreement to do it and the management and labor can work together to maintain charter autonomy, then it can work quite well,” Broy said. Of the charters in Chicago, Broy said the majority have chosen to remain independent of unions and only two of the 15 charters outside of Chicago have a union. Meanwhile Broy says 700 parents from across the state will be in Springfield Wednesday to lobby lawmakers in support of more charter school options. The post Governor creates task force to root out health care fraud; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Congressman Foster: Illinois is getting “rooked” on share of federal dollars A consumer research group says Illinois is less reliant on federal tax dollars than most other states, and an Illinois congressman says Illinois taxpayers are getting cheated. Consumer research group WalletHub says Illinois ranks 45th among all the states when it comes to federal funds going back to states, something spokeswoman Jill Gonzales says means the Land of Lincoln is less reliant on federal dollars. “One would be the most dependent, 50th the least dependent, so Illinois is pretty independent on it’s own,” Gonzales said. However, Bill Foster, Democratic U.S. representative for the 11th District, said Illinois taxpayers aren’t getting their money’s worth when it comes to federal funding for things like education, infrastructure and social services. “This forces us to eventually increase state taxes, which causes industrial flight,” Foster said. Gonzales said the amount of a state’s gross domestic product plays a role. “A low dependency on the federal government usually means a high GDP, and Illinois is definitely up there,” Gonzales said. However, Foster said the reason Illinois gets fewer tax dollars from the federal government is because it’s among the larger states, which typically get less. “The federal government should not be in the business of massive redistribution of wealth between the states,” Foster said. Foster said one major problem is the lack of federal reimbursement for natural disasters to a state like Illinois, which saw flooding in the southern part of the state at the end of last year but no federal funds were awarded for cleanup efforts. The WalletHub study can be found at this link: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-most-least-dependent-on-the-federal-government/2700/ Charter school network has concerns about charter unionization While a charter school in Chicago is forming a union, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools wants to ensure other unions don’t impose. Illinois law does not force a charter school to create a union, but does allow for the option among members. The Illinois Federation of Teachers touts the recent vote approving a union for the Passages Charter School in the city’s West Edgewater neighborhood. Workers voted to join the Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff Local 4343. However, Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, has some concerns. Broy said there could be problems if the Chicago Teachers Union takes an interest in bargaining on behalf of charter school unions, noting, “I think they will likely make it more of a political statement than it will be a collaboration between teachers and management, and that does worry us long term.” Broy said unions representing teachers at charter schools should work to retain flexibility to be innovative and to think about different staffing structures. Broy added, “To the extent that a union contract will prioritize a one-size-fits-all approach, that is counter to the charter model.” Broy also said charter schools should not work against their best interests if a union is formed at a charter school. “Provided that there’s an agreement to do it and the management and labor can work together to maintain charter autonomy, then it can work quite well,” Broy said. Of the charters in Chicago, Broy said the majority have chosen to remain independent of unions and only two of the 15 charters outside of Chicago have a union. Meanwhile Broy says 700 parents from across the state will be in Springfield Wednesday to lobby lawmakers in support of more charter school options. Third parties in uphill ballot access battle; miss out on media coverage during primary Last week was the first week that political parties other than Republicans and Democrats were able to circulate petitions to get on the November ballot in Illinois, and candidates are pointing out the large disparities in the process. Libertarian candidate for state comptroller Claire Ball told WMAY Springfield she has to get at least five times more signatures than her Republican and Democrat opponents, which is 25,000 signatures — a big undertaking. “We’re going to be out there every single day hitting up every train station, every event, every festival, just gathering signatures,” Ball said. Meanwhile Rich Whitney, who ran as the Green Party candidate for governor in 2006 and 2010, said the process for new parties is like the Greek myth of Sisyphus. “It’s like rolling that boulder up the hill and then it rolls back down over you and you have to start over again,” Whitney said. As the Green Party candidate for governor Whitney, was able to get more than 10 percent of the vote in 2006, securing the Green Party as an established party. But in 2010 the party got below the threshold, which removed the party’s established classification. Meanwhile new-party candidates say the problem isn’t just the disproportionate number of signatures they have to collect to get on the ballot, it’s also the months of missed political media coverage. Per Illinois election law, new party candidates were allowed to circulate petitions beginning March 29. That’s two weeks after the March primary and nearly four months after Republicans and Democrats could begin collecting signatures and generating media coverage. Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate Kent McMillen said that missed media time is detrimental to fully informing voters. “They only focus on who is the most well-known or who makes the most outrageous statements,” McMillen said. “I believe that’s a disservice to the voters.” Meanwhile Whitney said Illinois’ system is extremely unfair for parties other than Democrats and the GOP. “It’s a tilted playing field,” Whitney said. “That’s what we have in the American political system today and nowhere is it more tilted than in Illinois.” The post Congressman Foster: Illinois is getting “rooked” on share of federal dollars; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Observers don’t expect much resolution to budget impasse Political observers don’t foresee lawmakers accomplishing anything substantive on a plan to manage tax dollars this spring. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are scheduled back in Springfield next week. Though the primaries are over, the upcoming general election in November will foster continued political posturing rather than resolution of structural deficiencies, University of Illinois-Springfield Professor Emeritus Kent Redfield said. “To have to get religion in a very short period of time, all the time having the fall elections hanging over your head, that would be obviously much more interesting and hopefully ultimately more productive than sitting around posturing,” Redfield said. Chris Mooney, director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at U of I, also said it’s likely there won’t be a budget until after the November election while battles over changing Republican seats to Democrat seats, and visa versa, play out. Both Mooney and Redfield said lawmakers have potential routes for coming to terms with the governor on a budget this spring, but the options aren’t likely. One thing that could force a budget, Mooney said, is court action based on the recent Illinois Supreme Court case about back pay not being allowed unless there’s an appropriation. Mooney said the high court could use that ruling in a potential case resulting in non-critical state employees not getting paid until there’s a spending plan. “That might be a huge crisis — the kind of huge crisis that it’s going to take to bring all the parties to the table here and make the hard decisions and get this done,” Mooney said. The Supreme Court decided back in July not to take up cases on direct appeal dealing with state employee pay absent a budget, but Mooney said that could change. Another option, according to both Mooney and Redfield, is for the governor and House speaker to come to terms on revenue and reforms, though the November election could hinder any compromise. By the time the General Assembly gavels in for session next week, Illinois will be a full nine months into the fiscal year without a budget, and is the last state in the union without a budget for the current year. As backlog of state employee health bills grows, state finds savings in plans Illinois’ backlog of unpaid bills to cover state employee medical claims is nearing $3 billion, according to the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Commission Executive Director Jim Long said because there’s no appropriation, the state can’t pay medical claims. Many payments are more than a year overdue, Long said, which puts pressure on medical providers. “A lot of providers are starting to ask for some payment up front,” Long said. Long said more than 360,000 members in the state’s various health plans are being affected. Those affected are a broad group, including “the executive branch of government, the legislative, judicial and all of the universities,” he said. Once an appropriation is made, the state can start paying on the claims and employees, their dependents and state retirees would then get reimbursed, Long said. Illinois State Medical Society President Dr. Scott Cooper cited the lack of state payments to medical providers as one of the issues that makes it difficult to recruit new medical professionals. Despite the tremendous backlog of unpaid medical bills, however, the state was able to find some savings in health plans. Long said a recent audit program weeded out thousands of people who weren’t supposed to be included in the state’s group insurance plan, resulting in significant savings. “In total there’s close to 7,500 dependents that were taken off the rolls simply because they were no longer eligible,” Long said. “The estimated savings on that is about $32 million.” Additionally, the state was able to find an estimated $250 million in savings over several years by switching all state retirees to the Medicare Advantage Program, Long said. NGA decides against Illinois Did the Show Me State show more? With the military’s geospatial-intelligence operation choosing St. Louis for its next western headquarters, it was unclear whether Illinois still will devote millions of dollars in infrastructure improvements to the proposed site in Southwestern Illinois. In a post to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency website Thursday, the military information outfit’s Director Robert Cardillo wrote that the “St. Louis city site is the agency’s preferred alternative.” That beats out the 182-acre site on the Illinois side that St. Clair County offered. Cardillo said Missouri site offers “the most technological, academic and professional environment for the agency to solve the hardest intelligence and national security problems entrusted to (the agency) by the American people.” Public property and tax dollars were at stake on both sides of the Mississippi River. But of four sites, three were in Missouri, including the winning site in St. Louis City. St. Louis offered nearly 100 acres of land reportedly worth $7 million at no cost to the NGA but upped the offer to match the 182 acres of free land offered by St. Clair County in Southwestern Illinois. The existing headquarters is in St. Louis, and this month St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay touted the decades-long relationship between the NGA and the city. A spokeswoman for Gov. Bruce Rauner said in a statement that the governor’s office plans to respond to the agency during the comment period prior to the NGA’s decision being finalized. As of late Thursday she did not know whether Illinois would still offer $115 million for infrastructure near the St. Clair County site. The federal government is expected to spend nearly $2 billion on the new location. The final environmental impact statement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was released Friday. The NGA’s final decision is expected in the next two months. Group works to get in front of any attempt to require prescriptions for pseudoephedrine Battling pressure in your sinuses shouldn’t mean putting more pressure on your family doctor to write prescriptions for cold and sinus medicine with pseudoephedrine, according to the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. Rob Karr with the Retail Merchants Association said in an effort to battle the illegal production of methamphetamine, there are already provisions to keep people from getting too much product, including putting the medicine behind the pharmacy counter. “You have to go show an ID, you have to sign for it and there’s specific limits on what you can buy, so there’s already hurdles that consumers have to cross to get this cold and allergy medicine,” Karr said. Oregon and Mississippi have laws requiring a doctor’s prescription for consumers to get pseudoephedrine and Karr said there have been similar unsuccessful attempts in Illinois. Requiring a prescription from a doctor would put not only more burden and cost on the consumer seeking relief, but also on doctors, Karr said. “The kind of doctors that you would likely be impacting here, which are general practice or family physicians, I haven’t met one that thinks they’re underworked,” Karr said. “This would certainly increase the flow of work to their office.” A poll from the Consumer Healthcare Products Association released this week says 62 percent of Illinois voters polled don’t like the idea of having to get a doctor’s prescription for the over-the-counter medicine. Currently only people who have been convicted of violating methamphetamine laws are required to get a prescription for pseudoephedrine in Illinois. The post Observers don’t expect much resolution to budget impasse; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Political campaign expenditures scrutinized A state representative says campaign finance laws should change to limit what kinds of trips politicians can purchase with their campaign funds, but the change could be difficult. Illinois Times investigative reporter Bruce Rushton reviewed up to two years’ worth of campaign spending documents for the state’s 177 legislators and found some legislators using campaign funds to pay for overseas travel. Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives tells WMAY Springfield the law should change to discontinue or severely limit that practice. “We are simply state legislators, we are not Congress people,” Ives said. “We don’t need to go over to Turkey, necessarily.” Good government groups evaluate campaign expenditures Meanwhile a state senator and former state representative turned auditor general both face hearings about campaign expenditures next month before the Illinois State Board of Elections. Good government groups say campaign spending should garner as much attention as campaign donations. Illinois Campaign for Political Reform Executive Director Sarah Brune says the group always is concerned about campaign spending. “We just hope that legislators are really open to clarification to this policy that make the process more understandable for both legislators and the public,” Brune said. Bob Reed with the Better Government Association tells WMAY Springfield that questionable spending should be addressed. “You have to really wonder if this isn’t supplementing somebody’s lifestyle as opposed to helping the political process,” Reed said. However, Reed says any change in the law could be difficult because it would have to go through the very legislators who are spending the money. Illinois Supreme Court rules on back pay State employees who expected to receive the raises they have been waiting for since 2011 will have to wait some more. On Thursday the Illinois Supreme Court ruled the raises are subject to appropriation. The high court’s ruling says the 2 percent raise in question was part of a more than 15 percent raise found in a four-year contract covering employees from 2008 to 2012. The court said because of declining state revenues due to the Great Recession, agreements were made between the state and union to defer some of the raises in place of layoffs. However, the crux of the case came down to the lack of appropriation in fiscal 2012 from the Illinois General Assembly to cover the raises, the court said. That led to the high court reversing lower court decisions to pay the raises. AFSCME Council 31 President Roberta Lynch said in a statement the union is disappointed, and 24,000 state employees from five different agencies are owed on average $2,500 each. Lynch said the union urges “lawmakers of both parties, the governor and the comptroller to support an appropriation that pays workers what they are owed.” Independent Map Amendment readying for challenge Leaders of the group collecting signatures to get a vote on taking politics out of how Illinois draws its legislative districts say they’re readying for any challenge. Jim Bray, spokesman for Independent Map Amendment, says group members haven’t seen any organized opposition yet, but they’re doing their best to be prepared, including fundraising. “If we’re taken to court, we’ll have to raise money. It’ll have to be lawyers who will have to defend it,” Bray said. Bray says a previous attempt for a referendum was struck down in the courts, but that allowed for the group to prepare for a possible challenge this go-round. “We’ve been able to adjust the language in the amendment and we believe it will stand the test,” Bray said, “but we will just have to wait for a challenge.” Last month during a news conference, House Speaker Michael Madigan said a group opposing the redistricting change is concerned this could reduce minority representation in some districts. Group urges petitioners to send signatures Meanwhile, as a deadline approaches, the group working to get a referendum in front of Illinois voters to take politics out of the legislative map-making process is urging anyone collecting signatures to get them sent in as soon as possible. The deadline for the Independent Map Amendment group to turn in petitions to the State Board of Elections for review is May 8. Bray says signature collectors across the state shouldn’t wait to turn in their sheets to the group. “Please get those petition pages notarized and mailed into us because we need to assemble them with all the others and make them count,” Bray said. The group needs a little more than 290,000 valid signatures to get the referendum in front of voters this November. Bray says so far they have more than 500,000 signatures and plan on gathering more than 600,000 to send to Springfield, a sight Bray says will be impressive. “It’s like a long file cabinet drawer, and by long I do mean practically the length of a semi trailer truck,” Bray said. Bray says petitioners can continue to circulate petitions but should send them into the group no later than April 21. State offers Rosecrance assistance The state is offering up some assistance to a behavioral health triage center in Rockford after funding for the Rosecrance facility was zeroed out in the current fiscal year. It was revealed last week in a state Senate committee that the Rosecrance board was looking at possibly closing its triage unit in Rockford because of a lack of state dollars. Since then, Phil Eaton, president and CEO of Rosecrance Health Network, says the state has offered half a million dollars to help support the facility in the current fiscal year, but there are still big question marks in the years ahead. Eaton says people suffering addiction and mental health issues are not going to go away. “This truly abandons services and relegates them to the back of police cars or handcuffed to a gurney in a hospital emergency room,” Eaton said. Rosecrance triage facility saves taxpayers money Meanwhile Eaton says using state funds to support a behavioral health triage unit in Rockford will actually save taxpayers money. Eaton says it’s beneficial to taxpayers to have the triage center open in Rockford. “Keeping individuals out of costly emergency rooms or keeping them out of the criminal justice system … and having them function in the community is actually dollar best spent,” Eaton said. Eaton says the state made a promise to support the Rosecrance triage unit when it closed the state-run Singer mental health facility in 2012. DHS Spokesperson Marianne Manko said “DHS will be issuing a community services agreement for $500,000 for fiscal year 16 to help serve mentally ill patients at the Rosecrance crisis services center. Payment will then be made after the General Assembly acts to pass a balanced budget and enact real reforms.” Attorney general touts collections for pension funds It’s not quite $1 billion, but the amount of money Illinois’ attorney general says she’s collected in 2015 for the state’s coffers is close. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says her office brought in more than $983 million dollars in 2015. Madigan says a lot of the newer money coming in is from the aftermath of the 2008 mortgage foreclosure crisis. “Last year we brought in over $50 million from a settlement with Standard and Poor’s as well as over $20 million from a settlement with Morgan Stanley,” Madigan said. Madigan’s office says that money adds to the $400 million collected for the state’s pension funds just from mortgage foreclosure crisis settlements alone. Attorney general collections goes to general revenue and other funds In a news release Thursday, Madigan says $320 million is just from collections. “That is when state agencies will ask us to go after people who owe it money,” Madigan said. “So it’s damage to state property, child support, enforcement, other fines and penalties.” Some of the collected money goes to the general revenue fund and other special funds like child support, the tobacco fund and funds for state property. Madigan says she has brought in more than $12 billion dollars to the state’s coffers through settlements and collections since she took office in 2003. The post Political campaign expenditures scrutinized; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Group of representatives demand clarification on campaign spending A group of Republican state representatives awaits clarification about political campaign spending from a former state representative turned auditor general. The first of two letters sent from the representatives says there are “concerns regarding the proper and ethical use” of the campaign fund that Auditor General Frank Mautino used when he was a Democratic state representative. One of the signers, Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives, tells WMAY Springfield a lack of specifics about the campaign spending since the initial letter was sent in early February means it’s time for Mautino to step down. “None of this makes sense and we want answers. He has failed to give answers,” Ives said. “He has lawyered up and he has shut up and at this point he needs to resign.” Republican state Rep. Grant Wehrli, who sent letters to Mautino on behalf of himself and 11 other representatives including Ives, says he’s not willing to go that far yet. “I do hope that Auditor General Mautino can step forward and clear this entire matter up,” Wehrli said. Rep. Wehrli: Increased doubts as more time goes by Meanwhile Wehrli says the lack of clarification about campaign spending raises questions about the integrity of the office. “How are we to take at high professional value documents coming out of the Office of the Auditor General when he can’t even respond to simple questions about his own personal campaign finance account?” Wehrli said. In a letter provided to Illinois Radio Network that is dated Feb. 25, Mautino tells lawmakers that he has retained a lawyer and is working diligently to clear the matter up quickly. Lottery still assessing damage from impasse Illinois Lottery officials say they are still feeling the aftereffects from when payouts to winners were in limbo last year. Before an appropriation allowed for lottery winnings to be paid out, lottery winners waited months for their checks. Illinois Lottery Acting Director B.R. Lane told a Senate appropriations committee earlier this month they have yet to fully recover from the decline in sales. “We’re off 12 percent year over year,” Lane said. “We were greatly helped by the Powerball mania.” However, Lane says what’s more difficult to judge is how the Illinois Lottery brand was damaged during that time. “As we look to move this organization forward, one of the things that we have to focus on is re-establishing trust and credibility with our players.” Meanwhile, Lane says the Lottery is still in the process of finding a new private manager to replace Northstar Lottery Group, which remains in place until a new manager takes charge. Online lottery ticket sales to end soon Illinois needs to reauthorize online lottery sales and this time make it permanent, according to the acting director of the Illinois Lottery. Lane said the state made more than $50 million on Internet sales as a pilot program and the state should pass House Bill 4346 to make the soon-to-expire pilot program permanent. “And that, I would say, is one of the greatest opportunity areas for growth and development and innovation in the lottery,” Lane said. However, Anita Bedell with Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems opposes the bill and says people could find themselves in over their heads fast playing online lottery. “People can gamble and lose money so quickly, and you only have to be 18 to gamble online with the lottery,” Bedell said. Online sales are expected to expire March 25. Lawmakers are not scheduled to be back in Springfield until the second week of April. Springfield mayor wants to annex state fairgrounds The mayor of Springfield wants to annex the Illinois State Fairgrounds as a way to save state taxpayers money and bring in more sales tax revenue to the capital city. During a Springfield City Council meeting Tuesday, Mayor Jim Langfelder said the city should work with the state to annex the more than 300 acres of the state fairgrounds into the city limits. That would give the city a new revenue stream. “What’s best for the city is to get additional revenues from the sales tax revenues generated throughout the year at the state fairgrounds,” Langfelder said. Langfelder said annexation also would save the state more than $109,000 a year by not having to pay a fire protection service contract. “We have firefighters at a firehouse that’s not in the city,” Langfelder said. Springfield mayor: Annexation would benefit city and state Langfelder said although the fairgrounds are close to Springfield, residents are mistaken if they think the land is within city limits. “I think if you survey a lot of city residents, most of them would have thought that the fairgrounds is the city, but it’s not,” Langfelder said. Two previous mayoral administrations also sought annexation, according to Langfelder. Gov. Bruce Rauner Press Secretary Catherine Kelly says, “The administration will carefully review any proposal made by the city of Springfield.” The post Group of representatives demand clarification on campaign spending; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Rauner: Fairgrounds foundation could alleviate taxpayer funded upkeep Having a foundation generate private donations for Illinois’ two fairgrounds would help cover some of the maintenance costs, something Gov. Bruce Rauner says would help direct tax dollars to other areas like education and social services. With more than $180 million in deferred maintenance at the fairgrounds in Springfield and DuQuoin, Illinois Department of Agriculture Acting Director Raymond Poe says facilities aren’t as safe as they should be. “A lot of buildings (have) yellow tape around them so that we keep people away from them,” Poe said. Rauner says passing a measure to allow for a state fairgrounds foundation to collect private donations would help cover much-needed maintenance costs and alleviate some of that taxpayer burden. “Free up money to put into human services, free up money to put into our schools and we can rely to a greater degree on the business community that would like to step up and be generous,” Rauner said. Bills would allow private donations for fairground upkeep Bills in the House and Senate would create such a foundation. Republican state Rep. Sara Wojcicki Jimenez says she’s been going to the fairgrounds since she was a child, and that she hasn’t witnessed much upkeep since then. Poe also commented on the poor upkeep over the years. “Sara said some of these buildings haven’t been worked on since she was a kid. Well, I think some of them haven’t been since I was a kid,” Poe said, “and that adds a lot more years to it.” Rauner says the state needs to authorize a foundation to solicit private donations as neighboring states have done. “There’s no vehicle for businesses, agriculture businesses, to donate to here in Illinois,” Rauner said. “We’ve got to change that.” Rauner pushed for lawmakers to take up House Bill 4990 and Senate Bill 2903, which would create a fairgrounds foundation. Department of Agriculture taking applications for specialty crop grants Illinois farmers who want to get a share of more than $520,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture should submit their proposals to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. The state agriculture department announced on Monday that it is now accepting proposals for the Specialty Crop Block Grant program. Communication Manager Rebecca Clark says specialty crops could range from horseradish to pumpkins and more. “Illinois grapes are a specialty crop,” Clark said. “It’s a very booming industry for the state of Illinois. You’ve also got lima beans, sweet corn, peas, cantaloupe.” Special projects also eligible for agriculture grants Clark says also candidates are farmers with projects that could boost the agriculture industry by “looking at ways to make that crop more sustainable to drought or floods or other things that Mother Nature can throw our way,” Clark said. Clark says since the grants come from the federal government and don’t require state matching funds, Illinois’ lingering budget impasse will not affect the awards. Applications on specialty crops and projects are being accepted at the Illinois Department of Agriculture until May 13, with awards expected after the start of the federal fiscal year in October. The post Rauner: Fairgrounds foundation could alleviate taxpayer funded upkeep; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Gov. Rauner: End political one-upsmanship; resolve budget impasse Now that the primaries are over, Gov. Bruce Rauner says lawmakers need to get back to work. However, the governor says politics may still be getting in the way. During a news conference in Chicago Monday, Rauner said the characterization that he’s frustrated at the nearly 9-month-old budget impasse is putting it mildly. “It seems to me that the crisis is being extended for political gain and messaging,” Rauner said, “and that’s wrong.” Responding to the governor’s comments, Senate President John Cullerton’s spokesman John Patterson said, “The governor created this impasse back in June.” That’s when the governor vetoed most of the spending bills Democrats sent, saying they were unbalanced. Patterson said Cullerton continues to hope that both sides can work toward productive solutions that, quote, “give the governor the ability to honor his administration’s commitments and turn our state around with a common-sense budget agreement.” Rauner asks for one-on-one meeting with Speaker Madigan Meanwhile Gov. Rauner said he reached out to get a one-on-one meeting with House Speaker Michael Madigan to talk about a path out of the nearly 9-month-old budget impasse. “No commitments came back, no position on when those discussion might take place,” Rauner said. Madigan Spokesman Steve Brown said he is working to confirm whether the governor called and will provide an update soon. Meanwhile, Rauner said he’s apprehensive to call for meetings with all four legislative leaders because attempts last summer and fall produced zero results. The governor said bipartisan measures on procurement reform and pension reform could help provide savings to pay for things like higher education and social services, but legislators need to bring the bills out of committee and vote on them. Secretary of State hopes for no more facility closures Don’t expect any more drivers service facility closures beyond one reported this month, at least that’s the hope of the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. Henry Haupt, deputy press secretary for Secretary of State Jesse White, says the office used some of a recent $10 million appropriation to pay landlords for rent from July to December, some utilities for the various facilities, and vendors who maintain the office’s cyber security. “That’s a high priority of ours to ensure that the data that we maintain is protected,” Haupt said. Haupt also says of the $10 million appropriation, the office has set aside $4 million for critical needs like continued payments on leases, utilities and unexpected emergencies. “All of these things we do with an eye on our facilities and our ability to keep them open,” Haupt said. But despite the office having a top priority of keeping drivers facilities open, Haupt says one landlord in Wheaton did decide to discontinue a lease. That facility is closing March 24. Secretary of State continues belt tightening Though there’s still no full budget for the current fiscal year, the Secretary of State’s office continues to spend — sparingly. Outside of the highly publicized suspension of mailing out license plate renewal notices, Haupt says the office is taking other belt-tightening steps to save money during the impasse. “A lot of other areas that the public may not see, anything that would require overtime we pretty much have scrapped that,” Haupt said. “We have greatly limited travel.” Meanwhile Haupt says the security company Garda resumed services last month to pick up and deliver cash from drivers services facilities after having ended a previous agreement earlier this year because of lack of payment. DHS owes 820 agencies $168 million More than 820 agencies and providers are waiting on a total of $168 million in payments from the state’s Department of Human Services. When proposing a budget of more than $4 billion for the coming fiscal year, acting DHS Secretary James Dimas told a Senate committee that the department has more than 1,000 community service agreement contracts with 826 agencies and providers. Democratic state Sen. Daniel Biss questioned the fairness of the agreements. “Those providers are being screwed over and many of them are in terrible trouble,” Biss said. Dimas said the agreements include an upfront understanding vendors won’t get paid until a budget for the current fiscal year is passed. “That’s not a situation that we can resolve and I think you know that,” Dimas said, “and I think you know who can resolve that.” Dimas said he hopes lawmakers will help him keep his promise to make the agencies whole by passing a budget for the current fiscal year. DHS could offer help to Rockford rehab center Help could be on the way for a facility a state senator says is on the verge of closing, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services. Democratic state Sen. Steve Stadelman expressed concern about the status of Rosecrance, a Rockford substance abuse rehab center. “I’m told that the Rosecrance board will meet next week to vote on possible closure,” Stadelman said. Stadelman said Rosecrance helps to keep jail populations lower, reduces the number of police calls for people with mental health issues and affects other community issues. Dimas said services like those Rosecrance provides are vital on a local level. “The only way that we are going to be able to draw down on investment in deep-end care like our state’s psychiatric hospitals is to have more community-based crisis intervention services,” Dimas said. Dimas said he plans to talk with the Rosecrance board this week about ways to assist the entity until there’s a budget resolution. Social media and elected officials When it comes to a social media presence for the leading state senators and representatives, it’s hit or miss. Caucuses from both parties in both chambers of the General Assembly have social media platforms, but neither the Senate president nor the House speaker are on social media. Carl Palmer, associate professor of politics and government at Illinois State University, says for someone like House Speaker Michael Madigan, the platforms aren’t necessary. “Madigan has the name recognition, he has the power and influence,” Palmer said. Palmer also notes that some older politicians may not see the importance of social media at all. “There are older political actors, older political figures, that are just more resistant to adapting and changing,” Palmer said. Madigan spokesman Steve Brown says he hasn’t examined the issue of social media and didn’t want to comment. Vicki Crawford, spokeswoman for leading Republican Rep. Jim Durkin, says the House GOP caucus makes vibrant use of various social media platforms. Pros and cons of social media There are upsides and downsides to statehouse politicians using social media. Palmer says one positive for statehouse politicians using social media is putting constituents in closer contact with their lawmakers. Another positive is including younger generations in the mix. “They’re much more apt to use Facebook or Twitter or Snapchat to communicate,” Palmer said of millennials and their even younger peers, “so this is a way to bring them into politics.” Palmer says one big disadvantage of politicians using social media is that controversial posts won’t disappear. “It’s very easy to say something that is inappropriate, and once it’s out there you can’t take it back,” Palmer said. Regardless, Palmer says older politicians may avoid social media for a couple of reasons: either they already have name recognition or they are slow to adapt to new technology. Correction:  The Senate President is on Facebook under the page “Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton.” The post Gov. Rauner: End political one-upsmanship, resolve budget impasse; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.

Revenue: $40 million in federal funds could be ‘recaptured’ Tens of millions of dollars in federal funding for public housing programs in Illinois are in jeopardy because of a missed appropriation. Earlier this month the Department of Revenue presented its budget to a Senate appropriations committee. Charlotte Flickinger, legislative affairs director for the Illinois Housing Development Authority, said because the state hasn’t appropriated its share of funds, up to $40 million dollars in federal funds may have to be returned to the federal government in the next couple of months. That lack of federal pass-through money will make things more challenging than they already are. “We’re very concerned that some of these projects will never be built and some of the organizations that we have worked with over the years may go out of business,” Flickinger said, “not to mention that people may not be housed.” Democratic state Sen. Heather Steans acknowledged that because of a glitch, the funding wasn’t included in a recent bill to appropriate matching federal funds. Flickinger said her agency is working with the Rauner administration to produce a standalone bill to fix the problem. Department of Revenue pushing for legislative proposals Meanwhile the Illinois Department of Revenue is looking at two legislative measures it hopes will assist the department and taxpayers in the coming year. The first, Director Connie Beard said, would allow the Department of Revenue to charge local governments a 2 percent administrative fee for 11 different local taxes they administer. “Without this reimbursement the department is forced to utilize its (General Revenue Fund) tax administration appropriation to perform these tasks for local governments,” Beard said. Beard also said the department hopes to create a sales and excise tax refund pool to deposit less than two-tenths of a percent of tax receipts to pay sales and excise tax overpayments. “It should not negatively affect General Revenue Funds in the long term because this is money that the state does owe to the taxpayers,” Beard said. Beard said the fund would be limited to hardship cases while other, less severe cases would be given credits for overpayments. Gaming Board: Gaming saturation close Illinois may be getting close to gambling saturation, according to the administrator for the Illinois Gaming Board. During testimony last week on the proposed fiscal year 2017 budget for the Illinois Gaming Board, Administrator Mark Ostrowski said that in addition to the 10 licensed casinos, there are more than 5,320 locations operating 22,620 video gaming terminals. Ostrowski said all the video gaming terminals combined make Illinois the largest video gaming jurisdiction in the world. “We are bigger than the state of Nevada, we are bigger than any other countries in the world,” Ostrowski said. Meanwhile Ostrowski said with the equivalent of 29 casinos operating in Illinois, the state is getting closer to a saturation point. “I think you tend to potentially just spread revenue around versus actually increase or generate more revenue,” Ostrowski said. Recent analysis from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability showed an overall increase of video gaming revenue from the previous year with video gaming machines eating into riverboat activity. Proposed budget for Illinois Gaming Board includes full staffing Despite a proposed budget that’s nearly $7 million less than the current fiscal year proposed budget, the Illinois Gaming Board expects to be fully staffed in fiscal 2017. The Illinois Gaming Board is responsible for reviewing casino, riverboat and video gaming licenses, investigating wrongdoing and issuing disciplinary action to gambling outlets. Ostrowski said last week that the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year is about $154 million, a decrease of nearly $7 million — or 4.3 percent down — from the request levels for FY16. Ostrowski said with 10 casinos that operate around the clock and more than 5,300 video gaming locations, it’s crucial to be fully staffed “It is a tall task, to say the least, for us to be able to get to all of these locations and try to provide proper law enforcement oversight,” Ostrowski said. Ostrowski said the proposed budget allows for full staffing. BGA: Legislative leaders claim exemption from open records laws The Illinois Attorney General says a new report about requests for public records is meant to foster transparency in government, but one area that could be added to the report is the lack of transparency for the state’s legislative leaders. Attorney General Lisa Madigan released the Public Access Bureau’s annual report detailing more than 4,700 disputes media and members of the public have had with governments allegedly not complying with Freedom of Information Act requests. The Better Government Association’s Andy Shaw tells WMAY Springfield one area where more transparency is needed is with legislative leaders. “You have a number of legislative leaders essentially saying they do not have to turn over data about their calendars and their activities and their emails to news media or watchdogs who ask for that because they claim immunity,” Shaw said. Shaw says the issue will be difficult to address because it requires either court action or that lawmakers take steps permitting increased public scrutiny of their own leadership. “FOIA compliance may have to be resolved in court because if legislative leaders believe they are immune, then the same leaders are not going to change the laws,” Shaw said. This week is Sunshine Week, a time the American Society of News Editors and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sets aside to promote government transparency. The post Revenue: $40 million in federal funds could be ‘recaptured’; and more from INN Radio appeared first on Illinois News Network.