March 6, 2017
Chicago Tribune
It’s do-over duty in Springfield: Rauner and the GOP must repair or replace the broken compromise
On Tuesday, members of the Illinois Senate will get a chance, yet again, to reassemble a compromise budget package that spun off course like a mis-thrown Olympics discus last week. This time, it will be up to Gov. Bruce Rauner and Republican senators who opposed the deal to repair or replace it.
We look forward to reading drafts of their legislation - the package they rejected included 12 bills - that address their concerns, and quickly. The state digs itself deeper into debt by roughly $11 million a day.
What will Rauner and the GOP members of the Senate propose that will hit the sweet spot of satisfying recalcitrant Republicans and bringing Democrats back to the table? Because try as some in the GOP might, they cannot solve the budget impasse, or any of the state’s severe problems, without Democratic support.
Republicans derailed the package last week. This is theirs to fix.
A recap: The fragile budget compromise in the Senate, which includes a dozen bills strung together and an income tax hike, collapsed when Republican senators backed away. They abandoned their leader, Sen. Christine Radogno, who had negotiated the compromise with Senate President John Cullerton.
Rauner, along with the right-leaning Illinois Policy Institute and its allies who want more pro-business, pro-growth reforms in the deal, began pressing to stall it. Senate Republicans who supported the compromise were threatened with potential primary opponents in 2018, a strong-arm tactic not unlike those employed by House Speaker Michael Madigan. Republicans routinely accuse Madigan of using his clout and war chest to leverage cooperation from incumbents. Cross him and there’s a price to pay.
It’s the circular dysfunction of a small-D democratic government in Illinois: The self-serving calculus of re-election always seems to eclipse attempts at problem-solving. This time, it was Republicans playing on clout, threats and leverage.
So let’s get one thing straight about this compromise package: There are lawmakers on both sides who have no intention of moving it forward. There are Democrats who will not work with the governor and will not vote for any of his agenda items. There are Republicans who will not work with the Democrats and will not support a tax hike under any circumstances. Those committed to voting “no” are free to stand their ground. But it behooves them to get out of the way. Senators: If you’re firmly opposed and just can’t vote yes, then grab some bench. Don’t obstruct the efforts of your colleagues who are trying to end the impasse.
For those willing to keep working to find the sweet spot, don’t give up. Senators: Don’t let personalities get in the way of moving the state forward. Continue refining the bills that have been introduced, and be willing to take heat from some voters.
It’s this approach or, as we have said previously, wait for Madigan to send his plans and budget to the Senate on May 31 - the scheduled last night of the session.
We’ve seen how that works out: Not well for the citizens of Illinois.
____
March 5, 2017
The (Springfield) State Journal-Register
Illinois senators, please don’t give up
If it were up to us, we probably would not have called the “grand bargain” introduced in the Illinois Senate “grand” or a “bargain,” because frankly, it is neither majestic nor one heck of a deal. We would have opted for a descriptor along the lines of “an urgent understanding.”
Regardless of what it’s called, the intent behind the 12 interlocking bills was noble - and desperately needed. These measures are the product of the determination, true bipartisanship leadership and sheer guts shown by Senate President John Cullerton and Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno.
Cullerton, a Democrat from Chicago, and Radogno, a Republican from Lemont, provided a rare demonstration of cooperation in the Statehouse. Exhausted by the bickering and meetings with top leaders that went nowhere, and frustrated that Illinoisans continued to suffer due to the absence of a state budget for a year and a half, the Senate’s leaders changed the playbook.
They focused on just their chamber and showed despite their differences, they could compromise. They purposely left Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan out of the discussion as they started to craft a spending plan where no one would get everything they wanted, as is the nature of politics, but everyone would get something they could use to demonstrate to constituents they cared.
The plan would include a cornucopia of items: school funding reform, expansion of gambling, changes to procurement, borrowing to pay off the more than $11 billion in unpaid bills, an increase in the income tax rate, a temporary property tax freeze, workers’ compensation reform and more.
The January announcement of the plan provided the start of the new General Assembly with much-needed positive energy, especially as the stopgap budget had just ended and universities, businesses and social service agencies were back to not being paid. After votes were put off several times, the Senate on Tuesday passed five of the measures.
And then came Wednesday, when it appeared to fall apart.
Radogno told Cullerton there would be “very little if any Republican support other than herself” for the remaining measures. Cullerton said Republican support had dissipated because Rauner “decided to interject himself in this process.” Cullerton saw no point in calling the bills, which he described as tough votes that needed support from both parties, just to see them defeated. Rauner’s office said progress had been made in the Senate but more work was “needed to achieve a good deal for taxpayers.”
Not surprisingly, Senate Democrats were furious. It would be understandable, but predictable, if they are unwilling to work again with Republicans on a compromise after last week’s events fractured trust.
On behalf of Illinois’ taxpayers, we implore Cullerton and Radogno to not give up. No one else has been willing to work on the difficult task of compromise. While most politicians under the dome view compromise as defeat, Cullerton and Radogno embraced it as a path toward fiscal stability and hope for the state.
___
March 3, 2017
The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan
Let the people have their say
“Where is Mike Bost?”
That’s the question many 12th District voters have been asking after Rep. Bost did not schedule an in-person town hall meeting during the time he was back in the district last week.
The general premise behind the campaign, which gained traction on Facebook, brought protesters to Bost’s Carbondale and Belleville offices, and inspired many Letters to the Editor, is that constituents want to have an honest conversation with Bost and the rest of the community.
Most of the conversation surrounds the Affordable Care Act and what is going to happen now that GOP lawmakers - with a cooperative Republican president - are moving to repeal and replace it. It’s an important topic for our community, and it means a lot to a lot of people in Southern Illinois.
Bost needs to have this conversation in a public setting.
The Murphysboro Republican did host a tele-town hall meeting in mid-February, but that’s insufficient for a subject as important as this one. Some constituents are claiming they were not given sufficient notice of the event.
Raucous town hall meetings all over the country, including in Arkansas, Louisiana and New Jersey, last week saw rowdy crowds that have shouted down senators and congressmen over the impending promised repeal of the ACA.
A statement last week from Bost’s office said town halls “have been derailed across the country in an effort to disrupt the honest conversation that representatives need to have with their constituents.”
And then in a meeting last week with The Southern’s editorial board, Bost said, “The in-person ones going on around the United States right now are out of control, which means you don’t actually get to talk to people and listen, and we’re looking for ways to do that.”
Rep. Bost, the people of your district elected you to lead. There are going to be tough times, precisely like this. The people of your district want to have their voices heard, and doing it over the phone or the internet just won’t do.
Will it be tough? Yes. Will there be some difficult back-and-forth? Yes, absolutely. Is the best thing to do right now for the constituents of the district? Yes, most definitely.
But it has to happen. The people of the district deserve a chance to vent.
“The amount of time that I have at home is minimal, I need to make sure that it’s productive,” Bost said Friday. “You know the cleansing that the Orientals used to do where you’d put one person out in front and 900 people yell at them? That’s not what we need. We need to have meetings with people that are productive.”
We agree that Bost’s time should be used in a productive manner. That’s fair to him, as well as fair to the people of Illinois’ 12th District.
However, it is part of his job description to, from time to time, take the heat. A leader should not be reluctant to meet with his constituents personally.
We appreciate that Bost used his week in Southern Illinois to talk to hospitals and health care providers to get a better understanding of what needs to be done. We really do.
But, his constituents need him, too. Bost was elected to represent the people, not just institutions.
And this goes out to all the GOP lawmakers out there avoiding the town halls - listen. Then, look for answers for your constituents.
“I’m not going to have the public town hall meetings, in that respect, because I am busy trying to work on the issue,” Bost said. “If all you want to do is stand and yell at me … we’re not going back and forth.”
Well, there’s very little back and forth going on anyway, especially in a tele-town hall meeting.
Rep. Bost, let the people of the district have their say - good or bad. You will gain the respect of your constituents.
And, bottom line, representing their interests is the job you were elected you to do.
___
March 1, 2017
Belleville News-Democrat
Taking a pot shot at lawmakers over repealing gun owner IDs
In 1968 Illinois started forcing gun owners to register the fact that they owned firearms. Illinois state Rep. Jerry Costello II wants to put the old law out of our misery.
Trouble is, there’s really no misery. The “burden” he describes is $10 every decade - $1 a year - to obtain a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card.
Yup, you need to wait at least a month for your first card to arrive. Yup, you need to have it with you to buy a gun or ammo in Illinois. Nope, Missouri requires nothing to buy or conceal a firearm.
But Illinois’ FOID is a device that screens for 22 possible reasons a person should not have a gun. No, it doesn’t stop criminals from getting guns, but it helps create a network that helps keep at least some of the angry people from irrevocable actions on impulse.
If they were just now asking to put the ID cards in place, there would be strong arguments against it. But because we’ve lived with it for nearly 50 years, we’d like to see some stronger arguments for eliminating it than it is a “burden” and it is Costello’s responsibility to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
Maybe Costello and his 176 colleagues in the Illinois House and Senate could find some more pressing business? But, no, it seems they need a gun to their head before they’ll accept their responsibility to uphold the Illinois Constitution and pass a balanced budget.
____
Please read our comment policy before commenting.