Thank you for supporting a stopgap for #highered in SB2047! @RepThapedi @Repevans33 @ElgieSims @repalriley @WillGuzzardi @AndradeRep40
In an effort to provide deserving students with the resources they need to pursue higher education, the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF) is hosting its annual Scholarship Golf Outing July 19.
This year, the foundation—which is committed to ensuring future generations have the opportunity to strive and become future leaders—will be giving out $60,000 in scholarships to students across Illinois. Since the foundation’s first golf outing in 2002, the ILBCF has given over $430,000 in scholarships.
According to Larry luster, ILBCF’s executive director, awardees are determined on need, achievement and completion of the application. “I want to note that one of our application requirements is for students to be registered to vote,” Luster said. “So not only are we giving scholarships away, we were also able to successfully register 340 students to vote.”
In addition, Luster also noted that it is the foundation’s responsibility to give back with Illinois’ current budget crisis.
“When our governor goes out of his way to intentionally hamper our children’s career goals, we can’t count on anyone but ourselves to pick up the slack,” he said. “We may not be able to pick up all the slack, but we will be doing our part to create future leaders. We must lift as we climb. We have a tool to help create the next generation of leaders and it’s our responsibly to foster that growth.”
The event will take place at the Harborside International Golf Center located at 11001 South Doty Avenue East. Registration begins at 7:00 a.m. and tee off is at 9:00 a.m. Those participating in the golf outing—which includes lunch, 18 holes of golf, a cart and beverages during golf and lunch—will also be able to participate in ILBCF’s silent auction. The prizes range from golf apparel to Beyonce concert tickets. Corporate and individual golfer packages are available, too.
For more information, interested golfers can visit http://ift.tt/29ruDI3 for more details.
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Gov. Bruce Rauner has been touring Illinois to talk about his new "messaging." He’s quite excited about his "messaging" plans, telling one reporter that if he could do anything differently about his tenure so far it would be to improve the way he gets his message out to voters. Yep. That’s really what he said.
One of the things that the governor was apparently counting on during his downstate tour is few, if any follow-up questions from reporters. For instance, after he completely dodged a question from a Peoria TV reporter about whether he deserves any blame for a year without a budget, the subject was changed and the governor was let off the hook.
Despite this, Rauner actually complained in Champaign last week about how "There’s no substance in the reporting," before saying he was in the process of creating his own communication platforms to push his messaging directly to Illinoisans.
He’s not wrong about the lack of substance in the media’s coverage. A recent survey of social service providers by the highly respected United Way of Illinois was almost completely ignored by media outlets, despite an eye-grabbing finding that about a million Illinoisans had lost services during the impasse.
And the governor’s contention that he himself had cut $800 million in "wasteful spending" from the budget made it into print and on the air without a single question being asked about what those cuts were.
As it turns out, there are multiple problems with the governor’s list of cuts, which I asked to see (you can read the list below). Some of the saved money is due to action by his predecessor, a chunk of the cash is from special state funds with their own dedicated revenue sources, a bunch of the spending was put into the six-month stopgap budget that Rauner signed into law on June 30th and Rauner himself requested some of the “cut” items be appropriated in his own budget proposal last spring.
Let’s start at the very top of the governor’s list: "Medicaid Eligibility Redeterminations," which he claims saved $53 million. OK, but that was initiated in 2012 with Medicaid reforms signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn. Rauner’s budget office says Quinn may have signed it, but he fully implemented it.
Rauner’s touted savings from cutting $21 million subsidies for disabled mass transit users is illusory because that money comes from the state’s Road Fund, which is funded with motor fuel taxes, license fees, etc. The same goes for his $4 million cut to Amtrak.
Several other programs on the governor’s list also get their money from Other State Funds (OSF), including tourism ($13 million claimed cut), recycling ($6 million), renewable and energy efficiency programs ($8 million), ICC vacancies and transfers ($6 million) and coal programs ($15 million).
The governor’s budget office claims that saving OSF money can help patch holes in the rest of the budget. But these funds (like the Road Fund, which was swept last year for a fortune) are set up and funded for particular purposes.
The governor claims in his list that he cut "Assorted DHS Programs not covered by Court Orders or Consent Decrees" for a total of $91 million. But several of those programs are funded in the stopgap budget that the governor signed into law on June 30th, including The Autism Program, ARC of Illinois, Teen Reach, homeless prevention, addiction prevention, the Emergency Food Program, funeral and burial expenses, immigrant integration services, welcoming centers, epilepsy services, etc.
Rauner also claims reductions to Criminal Justice Information Authority programs including CeaseFire, but that’s in the stopgap as well.
And despite claiming credit for making cuts, the governor actually requested spending for the programs in his own budget proposal from earlier this year, including paratransit and Amtrak. His budget also increased funding for tourism programs.
The governor also claimed $100 million in savings for not constructing the Illiana Expressway, which was in doubt anyway. And his touted $145 million cut to child care programs was reversed when Rauner cut a deal with the Democrats.
And then there’s the claimed savings of $4 million due to a delay in the opening of a veterans home in Chicago. But that delay actually ended up increasing the cost of the project and no money was appropriated by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly last fiscal year anyway, so it’s not really a Rauner savings.
Also, is a veterans home really "wasteful" spending? I doubt many politicians would make that claim. Much the same could be said of several other programs on the list.
How’s that for “substance,” governor?
Copy of Budget Management Action Savings
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax, a daily political newsletter, and CapitolFax.com.
Read more: Chicago Business News http://ift.tt/1MPpaeR
July 7, 2016
State Rep. Sam Yingling
Facebook/RepSamYingling
GRAYSLAKE, Ill. – State Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, met with representatives of the Respiratory Health Association and Grayslake Resident Catherine Horine on Wednesday to discuss the importance of supporting policies that promote clean air and healthy life styles.
The group also used the opportunity to thank Yingling for his support of The Clean Jobs Bill.
Three suspects in custody, fourth in standoff with tactical officers. Police chief says others could be involved.
“I thank Catherine and the Respiratory Health Association for taking the time to meet with me in my district office to discuss the ways we can continue working together to help enact policies that protect Illinoisans’ health,” Yingling said. “It was also an honor to have been recognized by them for my continued efforts on The Clean Jobs Bill, and I look forward to strengthening our partnership.”
Pictured above: Brian Urbaszewski; of the Respiratory Health Association, Grayslake Resident Catherine Horine, State Rep. Yingling & Matt Maloney; also with Respiratory Health Association pose with a banner signed by dozens of residents who support clean jobs.
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Read more: Grayslake Patch http://ift.tt/1rkuoaL
Illinois –
WSIL – Lawmakers met with interested parties of power generating facilities while in Springfield last week to discuss the company’s wish to close some southern Illinois sites.
Dynegy Inc. has several locations throughout Illinois and in other states. In May, the company announced they will be closing three sites beginning later this year, two in Baldwin and one in Newton.
State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, said the bi-partisan Coal Caucus spoke with the company and they are making some progress.
“It’s moving forward,” Bradley said about legislation he has proposed.
Bradley’s measure has been in the Rules Committee since May and so far he is the only sponsor, but it is still being worked on. The bill aims to create the Clean Coal Technology Development and Utilization Fund to purchase scrubbers and other clean technologies for coal. Another target of the bill is to get rid of some of the disadvantages companies have by using Illinois coal.
“Coal is really a solution for Dynegy to keep their plants open and there by be able to put together a comprehensive Illinois energy policy which is, all of the above, which provides for, the nuclears in northern Illinois, the coal in southern Illinois as well as renewables,” Bradley said.
Bradley said 85 percent of Illinois coal is exported.
A Dynegy spokesman would not comment about the meeting with lawmakers that took place last week but did say there is a lot of talk regarding Illinois energy right now.
The first site is scheduled to close in September.
The legislation is House Bill 6576.
Read more: Legislation could keep coal fired power plants in southern Illinois http://ift.tt/29lLlbo
The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association is advising all Illinois county residents of a current phone campaign fraudulently using the name of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association in their solicitation. The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association never solicits by …
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RT @AAAFGCDems: All #politics are #local. Meet #Illinois state Rep @CarolAmmons4IL and Dem nominee @ChicagoTM next Tuesday, 7/12! https://t…
Vendors owned money from the 2015 Illinois State Fair should finally get paid as a result of a short-term budget approved by state lawmakers, though just how soon the money will arrive remains uncertain.A six-month spending plan approved on Thursday, the final day of the state fiscal year, authorizes nearly $1.6 million for overdue vendor payments, as well as $6.4 million for operating the 2016 fair, Illinois Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Rebecca Clark said Tuesday."We […]
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I posted 13 photos on Facebook in the album "Taylorville July 4th Parade: 7/4/16" fb.me/2VnpY2nc8
Working for Illinois Caucus 