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Governor's special sessions expensive, yield little action
State lawmakers returned to Springfield earlier than planned as Gov.
Rod Blagojevich called a special legislative session on July 5 to
consider selling the lottery system to address the state's mounting
pension debt.
The cost for special session is estimated at $42,000 per day.
Lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives heard
testimony on the proposed lottery sale and on the governor's desire
to once again reduce the state's obligation to fund teacher and
public employee retirement systems.
In 1995, under then-Gov. Jim Edgar, lawmakers adopted a
bipartisan plan to bring the state's pension obligations up to full
funding over a 50-year period. In 2005, Blagojevich pushed through
changes to the 1995 plan and diverted pension payments to cover
general government operations. Although, at the time, the governor
claimed his changes would result in a more stable retirement system,
this year he has floated the idea of selling the state lottery to
help fund pensions and avoid having to meet the payment obligations
he made in 2005.
By Monday morning, the state of Illinois was still without a
budget for fiscal 2008.
One-month budget signed into law
As anticipated, the governor signed into law a one-month budget
to keep essential state services operating through the end of July (House
Bill 3920, Public Act 95-0011). The bill allows Illinois to
avoid a complete government shutdown by authorizing the state to pay
its bills. It does not initiate or expand any state programs, and it
sunsets on July 31.
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 New law could boost cable TV competition
Cable television customers could benefit from more competition
after the governor signed the Cable and Video Competition Act of
2007 (Senate
Bill 678, Public Act 95-0009). The new law allows
telecommunications companies to use their existing technological
capabilities to enter into the cable television business.
Proponents of the new law call it a victory for consumers, as
cable companies will no longer have the exclusive right to provide
service in a municipality. This forced cable subscribers to remain
with the single-provider system, or to rely on traditional antennas
or a satellite system. The new law will allow Internet providers and
others to enter into the municipalities in an effort to increase
competition.
The law also provides several consumer protection provisions that
were endorsed by the Citizens Utility Board.
Protecting children
Children being placed in the care of a foster or adoptive parent
will receive some additional protections under
Senate Bill 1379 (Public Act 094-0010). The new law requires the
Department of Children and Family Services to conduct a criminal
records background check of the prospective foster or adoptive
parent, including fingerprint-based checks of national crime
information databases.
DCFS will not be allowed to grant an approval for placement if
the record check reveals a conviction for child abuse or neglect,
for spousal abuse, for a crime against children, or other similar
crimes.
[Text from file received from
Sen.
Bill Brady] |
