 Illinois Times investigative reporter Bruce Rushton reviewed up to two years’
worth of campaign spending documents for the state’s 177 legislators and found
some legislators using campaign funds to pay for overseas travel. Republican
state Rep. Jeanne Ives tells WMAY Springfield the law should change to
discontinue or severely limit that practice.
“We are simply state legislators, we are not Congress people,” Ives said. “We
don’t need to go over to Turkey, necessarily.”
GOOD GOVERNMENT GROUPS EVALUATE CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES
Meanwhile a state senator and former state representative turned auditor general
both face hearings about campaign expenditures next month before the Illinois
State Board of Elections. Good government groups say campaign spending should
garner as much attention as campaign donations.
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform Executive Director Sarah Brune says the
group always is concerned about campaign spending.
“We just hope that legislators are really open to clarification to this policy
that make the process more understandable for both legislators and the public,”
Brune said.
Bob Reed with the Better Government Association tells WMAY Springfield that
questionable spending should be addressed.
“You have to really wonder if this isn’t supplementing somebody’s lifestyle as
opposed to helping the political process,” Reed said.
However, Reed says any change in the law could be difficult because it would
have to go through the very legislators who are spending the money.
ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT RULES ON BACK PAY
State employees who expected to receive the raises they have been waiting for
since 2011 will have to wait some more. On Thursday the Illinois Supreme Court
ruled the raises are subject to appropriation.
The high court’s ruling says the 2 percent raise in question was part of a more
than 15 percent raise found in a four-year contract covering employees from 2008
to 2012. The court said because of declining state revenues due to the Great
Recession, agreements were made between the state and union to defer some of the
raises in place of layoffs.
However, the crux of the case came down to the lack of appropriation in fiscal
2012 from the Illinois General Assembly to cover the raises, the court said.
That led to the high court reversing lower court decisions to pay the raises.
AFSCME Council 31 President Roberta Lynch said in a statement the union is
disappointed, and 24,000 state employees from five different agencies are owed
on average $2,500 each. Lynch said the union urges “lawmakers of both parties,
the governor and the comptroller to support an appropriation that pays workers
what they are owed.”
INDEPENDENT MAP AMENDMENT READYING FOR CHALLENGE
Leaders of the group collecting signatures to get a vote on taking politics out
of how Illinois draws its legislative districts say they’re readying for any
challenge.
Jim Bray, spokesman for Independent Map Amendment, says group members haven’t
seen any organized opposition yet, but they’re doing their best to be prepared,
including fundraising.
“If we’re taken to court, we’ll have to raise money. It’ll have to be lawyers
who will have to defend it,” Bray said.
Bray says a previous attempt for a referendum was struck down in the courts, but
that allowed for the group to prepare for a possible challenge this go-round.
“We’ve been able to adjust the language in the amendment and we believe it will
stand the test,” Bray said, “but we will just have to wait for a challenge.”
Last month during a news conference, House Speaker Michael Madigan said a group
opposing the redistricting change is concerned this could reduce minority
representation in some districts.
GROUP URGES PETITIONERS TO SEND SIGNATURES
Meanwhile, as a deadline approaches, the group working to get a referendum in
front of Illinois voters to take politics out of the legislative map-making
process is urging anyone collecting signatures to get them sent in as soon as
possible.
The deadline for the Independent Map Amendment group to turn in petitions to the
State Board of Elections for review is May 8. Bray says signature collectors
across the state shouldn’t wait to turn in their sheets to the group.
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 “Please get those petition pages notarized and mailed into us
because we need to assemble them with all the others and make them
count,” Bray said.
The group needs a little more than 290,000 valid signatures to get
the referendum in front of voters this November. Bray says so far
they have more than 500,000 signatures and plan on gathering more
than 600,000 to send to Springfield, a sight Bray says will be
impressive.
“It’s like a long file cabinet drawer, and by long I do mean
practically the length of a semi trailer truck,” Bray said.
Bray says petitioners can continue to circulate petitions but should
send them into the group no later than April 21.
STATE OFFERS ROSECRANCE ASSISTANCE
The state is offering up some assistance to a behavioral health
triage center in Rockford after funding for the Rosecrance facility
was zeroed out in the current fiscal year.
It was revealed last week in a state Senate committee that the
Rosecrance board was looking at possibly closing its triage unit in
Rockford because of a lack of state dollars. Since then, Phil Eaton,
president and CEO of Rosecrance Health Network, says the state has
offered half a million dollars to help support the facility in the
current fiscal year, but there are still big question marks in the
years ahead. Eaton says people suffering addiction and mental health
issues are not going to go away.
“This truly abandons services and relegates them to the back of
police cars or handcuffed to a gurney in a hospital emergency room,”
Eaton said.
ROSECRANCE TRIAGE FACILITY SAVES TAXPAYERS MONEY
Meanwhile Eaton says using state funds to support a behavioral
health triage unit in Rockford will actually save taxpayers money.
Eaton says it’s beneficial to taxpayers to have the triage center
open in Rockford.
“Keeping individuals out of costly emergency rooms or keeping them
out of the criminal justice system … and having them function in the
community is actually dollar best spent,” Eaton said.
Eaton says the state made a promise to support the Rosecrance triage
unit when it closed the state-run Singer mental health facility in
2012.
DHS Spokesperson Marianne Manko said “DHS will be issuing a
community services agreement for $500,000 for fiscal year 16 to help
serve mentally ill patients at the Rosecrance crisis services
center. Payment will then be made after the General Assembly acts to
pass a balanced budget and enact real reforms.”
ATTORNEY GENERAL TOUTS COLLECTIONS FOR PENSION FUNDS
It’s not quite $1 billion, but the amount of money Illinois’
attorney general says she’s collected in 2015 for the state’s
coffers is close.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says her office brought in
more than $983 million dollars in 2015. Madigan says a lot of the
newer money coming in is from the aftermath of the 2008 mortgage
foreclosure crisis.
“Last year we brought in over $50 million from a settlement with
Standard and Poor’s as well as over $20 million from a settlement
with Morgan Stanley,” Madigan said.
Madigan’s office says that money adds to the $400 million collected
for the state’s pension funds just from mortgage foreclosure crisis
settlements alone.
Attorney general collections goes to general revenue and other funds
In a news release Thursday, Madigan says $320 million is just from
collections.
“That is when state agencies will ask us to go after people who owe
it money,” Madigan said. “So it’s damage to state property, child
support, enforcement, other fines and penalties.”
Some of the collected money goes to the general revenue fund and
other special funds like child support, the tobacco fund and funds
for state property.
Madigan says she has brought in more than $12 billion dollars to the
state’s coffers through settlements and collections since she took
office in 2003.
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