Capitol Fax

Rich Miller's commentary on State Government

Can the votes of a handful of Chicago and Cook County residents change Illinois? We are about to find out.

Winning 22 percent of the vote is not usually considered an overwhelming mandate, but winners write the history books. And Democrat Mike Quigley's congressional primary victory last week is already being touted as an occasion worthy of at least a chapter.

Cook County Commissioner Quigley defeated 11 candidates, including two state legislators, to win the 5th Congressional District special primary election last Tuesday with 12,100 votes. His smart, well-managed campaign was vastly outspent by his top two opponents.

Quigley successfully tapped into rising voter anger in the wake of Rod Blagojevich's arrest, Roland Burris' US Senate appointment and, most importantly, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger's tax hikes and innumerable missteps.

This is not rocket science. Freshman Rep. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights) spent several months last year carrying a petition from door to door against Stroger's tax hikes. Stroger and Blagojevich were the objects of attack by both parties last year, quite often with success. And with the economy in freefall, voters are even more sensitive to tax increases than before.

For whatever reason, no other top tier Democratic candidate used these potent issues until it was too late. Quigley went into the race leading in all the polls partly because he was widely seen as a Stroger nemesis and a budget hawk. He sent out early, unanswered and well-done direct mail which burnished his reputation further. His twin newspaper endorsements, based mainly on his independence and anti Stroger and anti tax ways, made it impossible for one of his opponents to tie him to Stroger with a last-minute TV ad.

Last Tuesday was the first time Democratic voters have had an opportunity to express their outrage at the dismal state of their party's affairs. The humiliation many Democrats have suffered after the ecstasy of Barack Obama's win apparently proved too much to bear.

The two candidates most closely affiliated with the regular organization received a combined 29 percent of the vote. Quigley even won some wards that "reformers" normally don't, and finished a close second in several more.

In other words, the vast majority of Democrats told their precinct captains "No." That doesn't happen too often, to say the least. Several people who walked precincts last Tuesday reported witnessing a tangible anger at the doors. Quigley was the only candidate who really expressed any outrage at the current situation, and it worked.

So, is Quigley's win the start of something new or just a fluke? Well, the district does include some of the more liberal areas of Chicago. And, of course, this was a special election, not the "real" thing. But the serious mistakes by those in charge are coinciding with an obvious decline in the regular organization's strength.

Precinct captains are getting older and are less motivated since their jobs and promotions are no longer on the line. This isn't universal. Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan's organization is still strong, as are others.

The far more serious problem is that the Machine has foisted too many candidates on voters - like Stroger and Blagojevich - who have thoroughly repulsed the electorate. The organization is rapidly losing its credibility.

Even if this is not a shift, politicians are sure to take notice, particularly state legislators who are likely to face a tax hike vote within weeks. Quigley brutally attacked two of his state legislator opponents for supporting a small local sales tax hike to bail out public transit agencies.

Gov. Pat Quinn is probably closer to Quigley in populist temperament and ideology than anyone, but he, too, is faced with the uncomfortable task of raising revenues in what appears to be an increasingly hostile environment. Some voters might have ignored Stroger's perceived incompetence if it wasn't for the fact that his incompentence was subsidized by tax hikes.

Maybe voters will calm down by next year. Or not. President Stroger appears set to run for reelection, so he'll be a constant reminder of the Democratic Party's mistakes. Blagojevich's new "tell all" book is expected to arrive on newsstands by then, accompanied by yet another national media tour. And then there are the potential state tax increases which won't help matters much.

That angry fire could spread and burn a while longer.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and thecapitolfaxblog.com.

Senate Week In Review

March 2-6, 2008, A view from the Illinois Senate Republican Press Office

SPRINGFIELD ­ Illinois voters will not be allowed to choose who they want to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama, after a Senate subcommittee this week blocked legislation calling for special elections in April and May, according to State Sen. Tim Bivins (R-Dixon).

On March 6, a Senate subcommittee voted along party lines against Senate Bill 285, which would have allowed for a one-time special election to coincide with the consolidated April 7 election and a special general election in May. It also would have ensured all future U.S. Senate seat vacancies in Illinois would be filled by special election, instead of by gubernatorial appointment.

Senate Republicans have pushed for a special election, noting that the U.S. Constitution and Illinois election law both affirm that the appointment of Roland Burris is temporary. Recently, Attorney General Lisa Madigan issued an opinion affirming that a special election would be constitutional.

On March 4, the first meeting of the Senate Committee on Deficit Reduction revealed a clear divergence in approaches to the Illinois' multi-billion dollar deficit. Democrat members seemingly focused on building a case for more government spending and higher taxes, while Republicans centered on spending reforms and efficiencies.

Sen. Bivins said that three organizations ­ Americans for Prosperity, the Illinois Policy Institute, and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago ­ recommended reforms that could eliminate wasteful spending and save tax dollars, while also improving the quality of Illinois schools.

The Deficit Reduction Committee will next meet March 10 and address healthcare issues. Witnesses are expected to testify on the need for managed care reforms, stricter eligibility requirements and other ways to save money and improve access to healthcare.

A report released March 2 by the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago provides insight into Illinois' fiscal crisis, building upon the dire warnings of a prior 2006 Civic Committee report that cautioned Illinois was heading toward "financial implosion."

According to the 2009 report, the state's budget gap exceeds $8 billion when taking into account revenue shortfalls, unfunded pension obligations and unpaid Medicaid bills. The Civic Committee once again recommended the state cut spending and reform its Medicaid, pension and healthcare programs.

The Civic Committee also noted that the lack of transparency in Illinois' fiscal affairs contributed to the current fiscal mess, and urged the adoption of a process that would provide more timely, consistent and comprehensive updates on the state's finances, something the Senate Republican Caucus has proposed the last several years.Sen. Bivins said that many of the reforms and initiatives that Senate Republicans have been pushing could have helped the state avoid many of the serious economic problems state officials are now forced to address.

Two years ago, the Committee cautioned that state spending far outpaced state revenue gains, and that the state's liabilities also exceeded assets by more than $100 billion. In response, the organization recommended Illinois cut spending and implement reforms of state pension and health care programs, and urged officials not to raise taxes ­ unless the revenues were to be directed to cover existing costs, and not new programs.

Legislation approved by Senate committees this week:

Absentee Ballots (SB 1466): Allows absentee ballots to be counted up to 14 days after Election Day, if postmarked by midnight on the day prior to Election Day.

AEDs (SB 1254):Exempts outdoor facilities owned by municipalities and townships from being required to install automated external defibrillators.

Vehicle titles (SB 1586):Allows individuals to obtain a title for rebuilt vehicles; currently, only salvage companies can obtain titles for rebuilt vehicles.

Children's health (SB 1583):Requires the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services to apply for a federal waiver to fund a Medicaid Pediatric Palliative Care pilot program for community-based care for children with life-limiting illnesses.

Child visitation (SB 1590):Authorizes reasonable visitation by electronic means during the time a child is not visiting in-person with the non-custodial parent.

Child welfare (SB 1430):Establishes a procedure for determining the best interests of a child before terminating a guardianship of minor, which was initially established after the parent(s) was(were) deemed unfit. (SB 1372): Compels state agencies that provide residential services for children in their care to develop certain program requirements and rates. (SB 1404): Requires the Department of Human Services and the Department of Corrections to work together to provide information to families and children with incarcerated parents.

Death certificates (SB 1527): Gives counties the option of using electronic means to report death certificates to the state.

DNR licensing (SB 1526):States that the Department of Natural Resources licensing fees can only be used for DNR programs and initiatives, to prevent fund sweeps.

Gold Star Families (SB 1493): Requires the Court of Claims to establish a program to assist Gold Star Families with claims under the Line of Duty Compensation Act.

Handicapped parking (SB 1541): Allows law enforcement to confiscate handicapped parking decals when a person commits a violation.

Job preservation (SB 257): States that companies that lose 100 or more employees due to outsourcing are ineligible to receive procurement contracts with state or local government, or school districts and can't receive government grants, loans, tax incentives or economic incentives.

Medicaid (SB 1617):Requires ambulatory surgical treatment centers to accept Medicaid patients.

Military training (SB 1333): Requires state, local government or school district employers to pay employees when they are on voluntary military training.

Not-for-profits (SB 1285): Allows not-for-profit organizations to conduct elections for directors, officers or representatives by mail, e-mail or other electronic means.

Paternity disclosures (SB 1274): Requires paternity disclosures to be given to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services in proceedings involving abused, neglected or dependent minors.

Required bidding (SB 1414):Raises the threshold from $20,000 to $50,000 for required bidding in counties, other than Cook County.

Sex offenders (SB 62):Prohibits a registered child sex offender from operating certain types of vehicles for the purpose of meeting a person younger than 18.

Stalking (SB 298):Creates a process for obtaining an order of protection in relation to a stalking offense.

State police (SB 1425): Designates that state police applicants with an honorable military discharge, who served in Afghanistan or Iraq, automatically meet the requirement of two years of law enforcement studies.

STD (SB 212): Authorizes healthcare professionals to prescribe antibiotics to the partner of a patient who has an STD, without an office visit by that partner.

Veterans (SB 1521): Allows school boards to award high school diplomas to honorably discharged veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces during the Vietnam Conflict.

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

It's hectic and intense as we move through the process with so many issues, bills and deadlines. It certainly makes this the most interesting time of the year.

Back at home, the wind energy issue is raging. I raced the deadline to file legislation to help bring wind energy to Stephenson County. House Bill 2665 as introduced would allow the County Clerks of each county to abate the taxes on any wind energy device located within an enterprise zone.

You must understand that the purpose of this bill is to get all taxing bodies on the "same page of music". Those involved in the process know well that such a significant bill will never get through committee without significant amending. Often times, by the time a bill reaches the House floor not one word is as it was when initially filed. That is the process. All concerned will share with me their concerns and suggestions, we will all work to reach a compromise, and hopefully we will ultimately come up with a good bill that satisfies the needs of all.

A bill that caused unbelievable controversy in the House this week was introduced by freshman legislator Darlene Senger (R-Naperville). The young lady's first bill set off a firestorm, and certainly solidified her reputation as a fierce advocate for her constituents.

A local incident involving three 11 year-old children led to Darlene introducing House Bill 1310 to the Juvenile Justice Reform Committee of which I am a member. The bill simply amends the school code to allow a district to transfer students to an alternative school program should an incident off campus involving students have felony consequences. The Naperville incident that sparked the legislation involved two of the 11-year old boys sexually molesting the other, taking pictures, and displaying them at school causing great heartache and anger. Current law prohibits school officials from transferring the offenders because the incident occurred off-campus.

As the bill was called, the committee room at the capitol was packed with families from Naperville demanding and expecting to see justice and members of the media from across the state. The bill failed along party lines which added insult to injury and would allow some to stereotype the entire situation. The four Republicans on the committee voted "yes". The three Democrats voted "no". The bill failed because five votes were needed to advance it to the House floor. The family of the victim and members of the community in the committee room were devastated when one of the Democrats on the committee stated, on the record, words to the effect that this simply was boys being boys.

Its common practice in Springfield that if a bill is controversial, the committee will advance the legislation to the floor allowing the sponsor to continue to work out an acceptable compromise before it comes to a final vote in the House. Representative Senger was denied even this courtesy. She did an excellent job presenting her bill, and the negative push-back she received was very polarizing and made absolutely no sense to me. I know we'll work through it, but it never should have happened.

There were some very controversial bills that have advanced out of committee in the past few weeks that I strongly objected to, including abolition of the death penalty, distributing condoms to prison inmates, and releasing some prisoners who have been sentenced to life if they are at least 50 years old and have served 25 years of their sentence.

Remember, we have more than 6,000 bills to deal with before May 31st.

As always, you can reach me, Sally or Barb at 815/232-0774 or e-mail us at jimsacia@aeroinc.net. You can also visit my website at www.jimsacia.com. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

Prevailing Wage Good For People

At the February Carroll County Board meeting, it was suggested that a resolution be sent to the Illinois legislature opposing HB 63 and SB 43 which, if the bill became law, would extend prevailing wages to TIF Districts and Enterprise Zones. There was a motion to table the request and it will be discussed at the March meeting.

There was some discussion at the board meeting and since then there has been more discussion in the local papers. Most of the people opposing the extension of prevailing wages based their opposition to the bills on emotion and opinion rather than fact.

The first bit of misinformation is that prevailing wage would drive up costs by 40%. This is a mistake. Some studies show that the construction costs would increase by only five percent (Democratic Colorado legislatures debating a similar bill) and up to 17% in Massachusetts (a study by the Beacon Hill Institute, a conservative think tank.). The Prairie Advocate quotes labor unions as saying total construction cost increase would be "small" and opponents saying the increase would be between 25 - 35%. The Prairie Advocate also said that it is difficult to find enough data to draw a conclusion. We have to remember that labor costs are only between 25 and 33% of total construction costs. So construction cost would probably go up some, but not the 40% mentioned in the county board meeting.

Other information that may help: Studies have shown that the higher wages in many cases are offset by 20% greater worker productivity, the use of labor-saving technologies and innovative work practices, use of apprentices where practical and fewer cost-overruns.

Following the apprentice guidelines, which are part of prevailing wage laws, will over time create a better trained work force, something we all agree would be a long term benefit to Carroll County. Also, better trained workers are safer workers and end up in fewer job-related accidents.

Workers who are not covered by a union contract or fall under the protection of prevailing wage often lack health insurance, pension coverage, workman's compensation or unemployment insurance, some don't even receive social security benefits. So what we save as consumers or taxpayers in one area we end up having to pay in another. Hospitals shift part of the cost of uninsured workers who need medical care to us.Medicaid costs go up and the rest of us have to pay.

Another good feature of prevailing wages is that it improves the bidding process. With prevailing wage policies in place, companies will have to rely on their overall cost efficiency, not just cheaper wages. The workers don't have to suffer just so the boss can get the job. Wages become a non-issue in the bidding process. And the more efficient companies that take care of their workers are rewarded with the contracts.

The fight over extending prevailing wages reminds me of the previous battles over child labor laws, minimum wage laws, the forty hour week, overtime and many other labor laws. The naysayers said that each of these laws would lead to economic disaster. Today, we know that in every case the opposite happened.

Carroll County, in the last four years, has spent $280,000 on economic development. We talk about wanting to rebuild our economy; one of the ways to do that is by helping to build a well-trained, well-paid work force. We want companies that do right by their employees to get the contracts. We want well-paid workers who live and shop in Carroll County and who send their kids to our schools. Prevailing Wage laws make good economic development sense. The Carroll County Board should want to send a message to the men and women of Carroll County that as part of economic redevelopment we support their ambitions for a fair wagethe prevailing wage.

When Henry Ford was asked why he paid such good wages, he replied, "So that my workers can afford to buy my cars."

Much of the information in this letter, I found in The Economic Development Benefits of Prevailing Wage, (May 2006) published by the Fiscal Policy Institute. www.fiscalpolicy.org

Chuck Wemstrom
Mount Carroll
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Support the Green Buildings Act

In this day and age, we as responsible citizens are left with no feasible alternative but to take ownership and responsibility for the impact that we have on the surrounding environment. "Going green" is a financially sound and necessary trend that we must all subscribe to. While we all do our own small part in our daily lives, as tax paying voters we must also demand that the managers of our government put forth the same effort. As a resident of Hampton, IL, I am proud to say that my State Representative, Mike Boland (D-71, Moline), is in fact doing his part by introducing the
Green Buildings Act.

The Act would set environmentally friendly, energy efficient building standards on all new state-funded facilities, as well as on renovations of current state-owned facilities. These standards would require that such facilities achieve certification through the Leadership and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, or its equivalent. According to the United States Green Building Council web site, LEED focuses on five specific areas: Sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The adaptation of the Act would ensure the State of Illinois continues to do its part in maintaining the environment, while keeping energy costs to a minimum. I urge you to contact your Illinois State Representative and voice your support for this bill. It is our tax dollars financing the construction and upkeep of these facilities,and it is our right and responsibility to require they be both energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Joe Brown

Hampton, IL

Right of Conscience

President Barack Obama is considering an astonishing proposal that would eliminate the religious freedom and right of conscience for doctors and other medical workers in favor of the so-called "right" to abortion.

Congress has consistently upheld the First Amendment rights of doctors who believe that abortion is murder, for more than 35 years now, thus protecting the right of medical workers to freely exercise their faith. But now, President Obama wants to use the heavy hand of government to make this preeminent American freedom sunsernient to the manufactured and illegitimate "right" that allows a mother to kill her unborn child. If the president rescinds the conscience rule, health care workers could lose their jobs or could have their professional licenses revoked for adhering to their deeply held religious beliefs.

Send a message to the President that he does not have the authority to force someone to so something that violates their religious convictions.

Call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111.

David E. Smith

Executive Director

Illinois Family Institute

Tinley Park, IL

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