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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] |
