 Committee blocks governor's efforts to circumvent lawmakers
The governor's efforts to circumvent the legislative process came up
short last week when a legislative oversight committee
overwhelmingly rejected his attempts to immediately expand income
limits for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance.
The new limits proposed by the governor would have allowed people
earning 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, or more than
$80,000 a year, to qualify for the subsidized insurance.
On Nov. 13, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules voted 9-2
against the governor's issuance of an emergency order expanding
publicly funded health care coverage.
JCAR, a bipartisan panel of the General Assembly, is able to
review and set aside emergency rules they believe skirt the
statutory authority granted to state agencies, boards and
commissions. For most of the panel's members, the emergency rule was
simply an attempt to circumvent the legislative process after the
governor's health plan failed to pass earlier this year.
Teen safe driving program expanding to other communities
After a successful start in Tazewell County, the Operation Teen
Safe Driving program is now being expanded to other communities in
Illinois
Applications are being sent to all Illinois high schools, asking
them to submit ideas for developing and implementing effective
measures to reduce teen driving fatalities and injuries. The 105
high schools that are judged to have submitted the best ideas will
be awarded highway safety grant funds to implement their programs.
For more information, call Michael Stout at the Illinois
Department of Transportation at 217-782-4972 or check at
www.buckleupillinois.org.
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 No progress in capital plan, transit funding talks
Senate leaders met with their House counterparts, the governor
and the Chicago mayor Nov. 14 to discuss a state construction
program, funding for public transportation and a major expansion of
legalized gambling.
The talks in Chicago were supposed to resume the next day, but
the meeting was later canceled. Media reports indicated that the
presence of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley apparently did little to
reduce the tensions between the governor, House speaker and Senate
president that have characterized this year's overtime legislative
session.
The city of Chicago wants a taxpayer bailout for its mass transit
agency, the Chicago Transit Authority. However, many lawmakers have
been critical of the way the financially troubled CTA has been run
and are trying to ensure that any transportation funding also
includes money for downstate roads and bridges. The gambling
component is the apparent funding mechanism of choice, although
there is disagreement about the specifics of the plan.
Governor has not yet approved extra school funding
At week's end, Illinois schools were still waiting to hear when
they will start receiving extra state funding. Lawmakers approved
legislation Nov. 2 needed to implement parts of the state budget
that allocate $550 million to the more than 700 school districts in
Illinois. The governor had not signed the legislation as of early
Friday afternoon.
The education funding increase was initially approved during the
summer overtime session; however, infighting among Democratic
legislative leaders delayed legislative action that would have
released the money to the school districts.
The legislation increases by $400 the state's general state aid
foundation level, to a total of $5,734 per pupil, and fully funds
categorical grants for special education, low-income lunches and
transportation.
[Text from file received from
Sen.
Bill Brady] |
