 Senate Bill 318, supported by Senate Democrats including President John
Cullerton, passed on a vote of 37 to 1, with 18 members voting present.
The bill does several things, including:
Establishes a two-year local property tax freeze (2016 and 2017 outside of Cook
County, 2017 and 2018 in Cook County).
Has the state pick up a roughly $200 million pension payment for the Chicago
Public Schools system.
Changes the pension payment schedule or “ramp” for Chicago Public Schools.
Ends the state’s general aid formula for schools by June 1, 2017. It would be
replaced by a new one still to come.
The GOP, led by Gov. Bruce Rauner, does not support the bill as presented, as it
lacks what Rauner calls cost-reduction controls for local units of government.
Those include local-government options for reductions in items that may be
collectively bargained, as well as opt-outs from the Prevailing Wage Act for
local bodies.
Democrats have fought those measures, calling them detrimental to the
middle-class and public employees.
Sen. Republican Leader Christine Radogno of Lemont said while she appreciated
the Senate president’s efforts to work with Gov. Rauner and Chicago officials,
“I don’t think this is soup yet. I would certainly urge everyone to vote
‘present’ on this bill until we get a more comprehensive agreement.”
A companion measure, Senate Bill 2039, would provide an additional $74 million
for needy school districts. It passed on a vote of 49-7, with several
Republicans joining Democrats in support.
The measures now go to the House, where it might have a difficult time. House
Democrats, to date, have shown only mixed support for similar proposals.
Workers comp
Senate Democrats also passed Senate Bill 162, sponsored by State Sen. Kwame
Raoul, D-Chicago, and which would make changes to the state’s workers
compensation system.
Raoul said the legislation strengthens reforms put in place in 2011, takes into
account several items suggested by Gov. Rauner, and makes changes to modernize
the systems reporting and record keeping.
Republicans said the bill was not truly a compromise and amounted to “a list of
nothings” that wouldn’t lower workers comp premiums for employers.
Raoul fired back, saying, “A lot of this proposals come, quite frankly, from the
governor,” and he suggested Republicans, “Go tell him.”
The bill passed on a vote of 36-19.
State museums
On a largely partisan vote, the senators also passed Senate Bill 317, a measure
by Democratic Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill that seeks to pressure the Rauner
administration to keep the state museum system open.
[to top of second column] |
Manar said the bill says the state “shall” operate the museum
system, and he compared its contents to the language that says the
state will operate state fairs in Springfield and Du Quoin.
The measure applies to the state’s flagship museum in Springfield,
as well as museums, cultural centers and galleries at Dickson
Mounds, Rend Lake, Lockport and Chicago.
The bill passed on a vote of 40-9 with five senators voting present.
It now proceeds to the House.
The governor’s office says the bill doesn’t provide funding for the
museums and wouldn’t change plans for the closures.
The closures were among about $820 million in projected cost-savings
measures announced by the governor’s office in light of the lack of
a budget agreement for the current fiscal year.
A hearing on the museum closures, as well as the closure of the
Hardin County Work Camp, is scheduled for Wednesday morning before
the Commission on Government Accountability and Forecasting.
Layoffs
Also because of the lack of a state budget, Illinois state agencies
have begun issuing layoff notices.
The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees on
Tuesday announced it had received notices involving 94 state
employees in the following departments. The departments and number
of positions listed were: Natural Resources, 54; Commerce
Commission, 24: Commerce and Economic Opportunity, 9; and Emergency
Management Agency, 7.
More than a month into the new fiscal year, Illinois still lacks a
budget as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative Democrats
remain at a philosophical and political impasse.
Rauner and the GOP say the Democrats’ $36 billion spending plan,
about $3 billion to $4 billion short on revenue, proves Democrats
want to raise taxes and continue a tax-and-spend habit that has put
the state in perpetual financial crisis.
Democrats say they’re willing to discuss the numbers further, but
Rauner is holding the annual budget hostage for what they consider
non-budgetary demands and an imbalanced business-friendly agenda
they argue will hurt working Illinoisans.
Federal funding
The state Senate on Tuesday also passed a measure to release nearly
$5 billion in federal funds that would have been tied up without
specific action given the budget impasse. The governor’s office
supports that bill.
Click here to respond to the editor about this article
|
