44th District update         

From Sen. Bill Brady

[MARCH 14, 2005] 

Prohibits no-bid contracts to contributors

State officeholders will not be allowed to receive campaign contributions from individuals or companies holding no-bid state contracts, under legislation I am proud to sponsor.

The news has been full of stories about state contracts and campaign contributions. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley took the high road and announced that he would not accept political money from anyone who does business with that city. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, on the other hand, has not taken any such action. Accepting political money from state contract holders is not illegal right now, but the whole concept is wrong. It is hard for anyone to believe that a political contribution does not influence who gets a contract.

Senate Bill 1976 prohibits state officials from entering into "no-bid" contracts with contractors who have made a political contribution to that official within the past four years. It also prohibits state officials from accepting contributions from contractors to whom an official already has given a no-bid contract.

The legislation applies to contracts awarded by the governor and other constitutional officers (comptroller, treasurer, secretary of state and attorney general), legislators, state agencies and offices under any of those officials.

The legislation covers campaign contributions made not just by a contract holder itself, but also campaign contributions made by businesses and people related to the contractor, including parent corporations and subsidiaries of the contractor, owners of more than 5 percent of the contractor, key officers of the contractor, the contractor's lobbyists, and spouses and children of all these related businesses and people.

Contracts are considered "no-bid" if they do not follow competitive bidding procedures.

By not allowing campaign contributions to be associated with contracts, my legislation eliminates the appearance of buying access to state business. Many of these state contracts are quite lucrative, and we must make sure we are getting the best deal for taxpayer dollars.

Brady addresses landfill problems like those in Pekin

Preventing pollution from improperly closed landfills and restoring environmental funding that was raided by the governor for the state budget is the aim of legislation I am sponsoring.

Senate Bill 1480 requires the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to monitor the status of performance bonds or other security that landfill owners must have to operate a solid waste disposal site.

A Pekin landfill is having pollution problems because it was not properly closed by the owner. The owner's security bond is bad because the financial company has been delisted from the U.S. Department of Treasury. And it appears the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency cannot address the problem because Gov. Rod Blagojevich has raided the state's Post-Closure Landfill Fund -- as well as several other environmental funds -- to try to balance the state budget.

The legislation states that if a bond or other security is determined to be insufficient to ensure the closure and post-closure care of a landfill, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency must notify the operator of the site and require the operator to obtain additional security.

The legislation also protects the solvency of the state's Landfill Closure and Post-Closure Fund.

If a landfill owner does not have a sufficient bond to properly close the site, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is to use any unencumbered moneys in the Landfill Closure and Post-Closure Fund for bringing the landfill into compliance.

There was no money to help pay for the proper closing of the Pekin landfill because that fund was raided by the governor to prop up the state budget. With this legislation, if the fund has no unencumbered moneys, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency must ask the General Assembly for the amount needed to bring the landfill into compliance.

Local museums showcased at Capitol

Representatives from two central Illinois museums represented our region well on March 9, as part of Illinois Museum Day activities in the Capitol. Thanks to Linda Olson and Scott Callan of the McLean County Museum of History and Fran Romne and Norm Wingler of the Prairie Aviation Museum for showing lawmakers and visitors two more reasons why our part of the state is such a great place to live and work.

Illinois Channel interview

The Illinois Channel interviewed me about a number of issues on March 10. Check www.illinoischannel.org to find out when the program will air.

In January 2003, the Illinois Channel began operations as an independent, nonprofit organization. Public affairs programming on the Illinois Channel includes unedited coverage of legislative committee hearings, unedited coverage of the executive and judicial branches of state government, press conferences, public policy events taking place across Illinois, and Illinois issues and congressional delegation in our nation's capital.

Governor's numbers don't add up

On Feb. 24, the legislature's bipartisan financial forecasting arm punched a hole in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's budget for fiscal 2006.

On Feb. 16, in his annual budget address, the governor estimated $819.4 million in projected savings next year, based on a potential for changes in the state's pension systems -- a number that I said was not accurate.

Just eight days later, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability revealed that the governor has indeed overestimated future savings, is basing his entire budget on reforms that may or may not materialize, and is touting a proposal that lacks the nuts and bolts for a full funding plan.

According to the commission, of the supposed $819.4 million in savings, only $80.9 million can be attributed to the governor's proposed benefit changes. It is important to note that those changes must first be passed by the General Assembly and withstand any court challenges.

I think is a good idea to consider recommendations for cost savings, but I am wary of changes that tread on constitutionally guaranteed pensions systems for current public employees. Illinois ranks last in the nation for funding pensions, with approximately $40 billion more in liabilities than assets. The governor laments this problem but is always quick to return to this source when he needs to come up with some quick cash.

[From Sen. Bill Brady]

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