Senate Republican week in review

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[FEB. 27, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- Lawmakers were busy last week attending committees and approving a number of bills, reported state Sen. Larry Bomke, R-Springfield, but the daily legislative routine was interrupted by the auditor general's revelations of drastically embellished job creation numbers and gross misrepresentation in job growth by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

On Feb. 22, Illinois Auditor General William Holland released the DCEO audit, which roundly criticized the manner in which the department reported on job creation numbers in Illinois. According to the auditor general's report, the department altered the way job creation is reported to include the number of people receiving job training as new jobs -- despite the fact that the employees receiving the training were already employed. Additionally, the department used the projected jobs numbers expected to come from grants, rather than the actual jobs those grants created.

Bomke noted that the audit stated DCEO had difficulty providing data to support the number of jobs the agency reported as "created and retained." Disturbingly, for eight of 10 jobs performance measures in the sample, documentation did not agree with the amount reported by DCEO, and most of the other reported performance measures reviewed in the audit did not agree with underlying documentation. According to the report, 73 percent of the figures tested did not agree.

The misinformation and inaccuracy has many lawmakers questioning the validity of other numbers and statements the governor has been using. A prime example would be his $3.2 billion bond proposal, which the governor maintains would create 230,000 good-paying jobs. In light of the recent reports, Senate Republicans are emphasizing the importance of requiring the governor to provide the General Assembly with comprehensive, detailed proposals, pointing to the recent audit as a perfect example of why lawmakers should not be expected to accept the governor's proposals at face value.

Also last week, the Illinois Senate approved Senate Bill 2173, legislation that will create an income tax credit for individual taxpayers who purchase long-term care insurance premiums. The bill seeks to encourage taxpayers who are looking to invest in their future to buy long-term care insurance.

The tax credit would be equal to 25 percent of the premium costs paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year for each qualified long-term care insurance contract; however, the credit may not exceed $100 for each qualified long-term care policy. The credit would apply to taxable years ending on or after Dec. 31, 2006, and ending on or before Dec. 30, 2011.

On Thursday, several suburban and downstate lawmakers called on the attorney general to review the process by which the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority opted to use expensive brick for soundproofing projects, instead of the more cost-effective precast concrete slabs. The legislators protested that it will cost taxpayers two to four times as much to use brick, and several miles of soundproof expressway walls will cost taxpayers $19 million to $35 million on current projects.

Even though Toll Highway Authority officials are justifying the use of the more expensive brick walls based on the premise that brick is more aesthetically pleasing, Senate Republicans say there are more critical transportation projects that need attention, particularly at a time when there are current transportation projects throughout the state awaiting completion. The lawmakers hope that their efforts to spotlight this situation will highlight transportation priorities and result in more accountability to Illinois taxpayers.

Earlier this week, Republican lawmakers from the House and the Senate repeated requests for the governor and Illinois Democrats to end the hypocrisy of raiding Illinois' special dedicated funds as a way to balance the budget and finance new state programs, while claiming a need for additional state borrowing. Once again, Illinois programs are at risk of losing much-needed funding in light of Gov. Blagojevich's plans to raid approximately $145 million from the state's special funds.

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Although lawmakers have yet to see the specific list of funds that the governor plans to raid this year, the total amount is expected to hover around $145 million. Senate Republicans maintain that since 2003, Illinois Democrats have raided over $1.2 billion from special dedicated funds to increase spending for new programs and pork barrel projects for Chicago. Although the governor has spoken at length about the many ways he has helped Illinois families, in a number of instances he has swept money from the very funds intended to help the people of this state.

For example, the governor proposed $10 million in the budget to offer health care services to veterans who otherwise would not qualify; meanwhile, he has raided $2.65 million from accounts that fund services at the state's veterans hospitals. Additionally, he proposed new funding to reduce the state's backlog of DNA cases but until recently was raiding $1.3 million from the State Offender DNA I.D. System Fund and another $500,000 from the State Crime Lab Fund. Also, even though the governor recently attempted to be environmentally friendly by proposing a $500 sales tax credit for consumers who purchase fuel-efficient automobiles, over the last three years he has taken $6 million out of the Energy Efficiency Trust Fund, another $1.3 million from the Alternative Fuels Fund and $9.5 million from the Renewable Energy Resources Trust Fund.

Also this week the Senate approved the following bills:

State contracts (SB 2159) -- Requires the disclosure of information related to any contract issued under the procedures outlined within the Procurement Code.

Alcohol (SB 2505) -- Prohibits the purchase, sale and use of devices that mix alcohol with oxygen for the purpose of inhalation.

DNA (SB 2985) -- Requires all sex offenders to submit a blood, hair or tissue specimen for the purposes of genetic marker analysis and categorization.

Drug court (SB 2272) -- Provides that each county with a drug court may charge a $5 mandatory fee against a defendant for a guilty judgment or a grant of supervision, with the fees to be used for the operation and administration of the drug court.

Identity theft (SB 2554) -- Provides a broader definition of personal identifying information.

Insurance (SB 2173) -- Creates an income tax credit for individual taxpayers for long-term care insurance premiums.

Military (SB 2726) -- Provides that in cases involving members of the armed forces, if no beneficiary is designated or surviving at the time of their death in the line of duty, compensation is to be paid according to the designation made on the most recent version of the armed forces member's Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance Election and Certification.

Nursing (SB 2372) -- Waives certain license requirements for foreign-educated nursing students if they have a certificate from the VisaScreen program.

Police cameras (SB 3076) -- Creates the Law Enforcement Camera Grant Fund to be used for the installation of video cameras in law enforcement vehicles and training of law enforcement officers in the operation of the cameras.

Sex offense (SB 3018) -- Prohibits any employee of a Department of Human Services facility or a DHS-funded facility from engaging in a sexual act with a patient of that facility.

Truancy (SB 2197) -- Authorizes counties and municipalities to create truancy ordinances.

[News release from Illinois Senate Republicans]

           

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