The Capitol Fax Blog

Monday, May 19, 2008

* Today’s Tribune editorial is partly right…

Illinois FIRST expired in 2004, and the state hasn’t had a capital plan since. It’s not because Illinois has all the infrastructure it needs and certainly not because of a dwindling demand for band uniforms and bocce courts. It’s because lawmakers are afraid—with good reason—that Gov. Rod Blagojevich will hijack the money, axing the goodies meant for lawmakers’ pals and passing out prizes to his own friends instead.

It’s not just that they fear the governor will whack their pork, the bigger fear is that the governor will refuse to release money for much-needed projects in their districts. The solution that the Tribune gets behind won’t assuage their fears…

The Metropolitan Planning Council has a good answer. Alarmed that Illinois has fallen behind other states in its transportation investments, the council proposes a new system for evaluating and ranking capital projects using objective criteria.

Just because something is ranked high doesn’t mean that the governor will release the funding. This is a truly huge problem of the governor’s own making. He simply cannot be trusted on anything.

* Meanwhile, like I told you earlier, I’ve been telling subscribers about these budget developments for the past ten days or so, and reported Friday about this particular point…

Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, told a group of budget negotiators Thursday that the Senate Democrats intend to pass a “limited growth” state budget and adjourn by May 31. Rep. Gary Hannig, D-Litchfield, the House Democrats’ representative at the negotiations, confirmed the statement.

The House, meanwhile, is putting together its own budget, which will start working its way through House committees next week.

* Actually, there’s more to it than that. A noon budget briefing on Friday revealed that the House has more than one plan. The Daily Herald gives us a brief look…

House Democrats say they’re looking at approving different versions covering a bare-bones maintenance budget to keep the state running once the current budget expires on June 30, and then offering expanded versions as agreement can be found.

The bare-bones version would likely offer no funding increases except where required by law, legislators said. It’s unlikely to please those calling for increased education spending, and advocates of the poor and disabled who say the state isn’t meeting its responsibilities in key areas.

That may not be the budget which surfaces this week. Things have a way of changing. Stay tuned.

* Related…

* State aid could be delayed for Illinois schools

* Estimated proceeds from casino license too high?

* EDITORIAL: Lawmakers must overcome lack of trust

* Veterans Home staff to march against mandatory overtime

* Lawmakers’ odds on adjournment

* Legislature hopes to avoid overtime

* Editorial: They want to . . . pimp us‘

* Kids still face unsafe roads as state holds U.S. funds

* Everything Blagojevich touches does not turn to gold

* Complete study, plan needed before closing prisons

* Legislators push halt to prison closures

* We need new jobs, not a shell game

* If you build it…

* The costs of delay

- posted by Rich Miller

16 Comments

- Wild Bill - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 10:36 am:
Actually the biggest fear is once lawmakers vote for the taxes and/or gambling to pay for the projects they will be repeatedly forced to vote for Blagoof next screwy idea to get $ released, engineers hired, etc., etc…..
Those fears are well founded just ask the kinfolk caucus how the firing threats go out.

- Ghost - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 10:54 am:
Can they pass statutes directing the treasurer and comptroler to release the funds?

If so they could just pass complex spending with statutory directives to by pass the gov.

- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 11:04 am:
If a true benefit/cost ranking were used for “new” transportation projects, the lion’s share of the capital money will go to NE IL. That’s where the needs are, and that’s where the people are, even though 4/5ths of the state’s transportation physical plant lies outside NE IL. Downstate might never get a new road expansion, airport or transit project unless they could find a way to really hold costs down.

- the Patriot - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 11:22 am:
First of all Six degrees discounts the things call, “interstates.” While most of our population is in NE IL, a lot of people travel our roads not in IL. This is why we get federal matching money to build interstates.

Second, I heard the Governor has hijacekd in excess of 4 Billion dollars from the motor fuel fund which is IDOT money. Does anyone have confirmation of how much he has stollen.

Third, why would traditional union democrats support this clown when he is taking the food out of their mouths. I would think they would be all over the Madigans to indict or impeach.

- Ghost - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 11:43 am:
Cost benefit is meaningless anyway if the money is doled out as bribes for votes for the Gov’s projects and witheld as penalty for failure to support the gov.

- wordslinger - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 12:14 pm:
There’s no money anyway; pass the bare bones, go home and impeach the governor in November. Start over with Quinn in January.

- Anonymous45 - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 12:52 pm:
Wordslinger has slung it…I concur…

- VanillaMan - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 12:56 pm:
It seems that Blagojevich has reformed our government to the point where JCAR is no longer the final word regarding administrative rules and a capital plan can no longer be entrusted by a governor to oversee.

These changes have caused the General Assembly to write administrative rules into bill pending passage, and now causing the General Assembly to consider prioritizing capital projects and perhaps mandating that these project receive their appropriated funding.

These are just a couple of instances where a blistering lack of trust has undermined our ability to perform the people’s work within it’s government. Other US states are not similarly hamstrung, as we were not previously. This hurts our competativeness. Future governors will find these safeguards restrictive and slow state performance.

However, when the Top Dog cannot heel or stay in the yard, and bites those it was intended to protect, new fences need to be built around the dog. As Blagojevich digs holes beneath older fences to strut his political freedoms in public, his neighbors are not enjoying the large messes he is leaving behind. We are only seeing Old Man Madigan shaking his fist from his front porch and calling for help. Jones and Halvorson are hiding behind locked doors because they let Blagojevich loose and hope he doesn’t stop by for a treat.

Illinois will be hurt for years because of how the governor’s office was abused by Mr. Blagojevich. Poor governors are not just political liabilities, they hurt many more because of the responsibilities that are poorly handled.

- Cassandra - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 1:07 pm:
I’d be more in favor of encouraging the guv to seek other employment options…whether via plausible efforts at recall or a call from Obama or whatever…if I had any faith in the potential newbies in the guv’s office. After all, we can’t get rid of most of the General Assembly–Illinois legislator is a lifetime job. But, for example, is there any hope of replacing the upper echelons in the many badly run state agencies…directors and their executives….or will a new crop of Dem leaders simply pat them on the back and give them a raise.
We really need a clean sweep in agencies like DHS, DCFS and Public Health, all performing abominably, all major pork farms, yet there is no guarantee that a new Dem governor would make more than cosmetic changes.

And of course huge chunks of any capital bill funds would go to businesspersons who have made the appropriate contributions to Democrats. That’s how it goes in Illinois, Don Harmon’s feeble little ethics bill notwithstanding (and even it’s in trouble, I hear).

So far, the devil we know looks, well, cheaper.
Without Blago, Madigan and Emil would have raised income taxes….big time–on the middle class.
Rich as they are (and rich as our rank and file legislators are becoming) an income tax increase seems like a no pain solution to a legislature sans Blago in the guv’s chair.

- the Patriot - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 1:42 pm:
I find two errors int he last post. First, “the appropriate contributions to Democrats.” The biggest problem Madigan has with Blago is he is not rewarding traditional Democrat donors and loyalists. He is paying off those who donate to his campaign. This has dealt non traditional democrats a slice of action they would not be entitled to if this was a party run scam.

Second, Blago has raised our taxes in two ways. 1st, by increasing our fees accross the board in every department he has raised taxes. Second, his spending and debt has made a tax raise by the next governor inevitable. Now the next governor will have no opposition to a tax hike, because there is just not going to be another way out.

- fed up - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 2:13 pm:
Blago cant be trusted so the GA wont pass any new spending plans this state is quickly becoming a JOKE.

- Anonymous45 - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 3:10 pm:
hey Rich, I guess Cassie gets to diss whomever she wishes, but a tart reply back at her isn’t allowed…if yer gonna diss(dish)it out, you have to be able to take it as well…

- Cassandra - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 3:21 pm:
Actually, I live a latte and massage-free life of
(middle class) toil.

The high level of corruption in Illinois goverment should not dictate the range of our attempts to reform it. The proposed legislation, as I understand it, is far from comprehensive. I doubt that Harmon and backers are claiming that it is.
But they are setting the bar way too low, which says more about Illinois than it does about them.

- Irish - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 4:28 pm:
The wheels are about to come off the wagon and when they do the result will be catastrophic and much much more costly than can be imagined. What is being reported about IDOT, Veteran’s Affairs, IDOC, etc. is happening at all Agencies state wide. The canary has died and the poison is everywhere. And our arrogant leaders continue with their positioning and gamesmanshipm completely oblivious to the impending doom.

If this bunch were on the Titanic they would have argued that there really wasn’t an iceberg. It had to be something the media or the people across the aisle made up to make them look bad. They would continue to argue until they choked on the seawater. Emil Jones would be in the galley looking for some free lunch, and our illustrious Gov would be blow drying his hair getting ready for a big evening with photo ops, while trying to stand on the slanting deck.

- Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 4:38 pm:
While most of our population is in NE IL, a lot of people travel our roads not in IL. This is why we get federal matching money to build interstates.

You are referring to Interstate Maintenance funding from the Highway Trust Fund, which is expected to have a zero balance within 12 months, and of which 3c per gallon is taken off the top of the 18c per gallon for the federal transit account (read: NE IL). Things do not look good for downstate transportation funding in the short term, Interstate or not.

- In the Sticks - Monday, May 19, 08 @ 9:49 pm:
Without the interstates and other transportation arteries throughout the state - there would be fewer goods and jobs in NE Illinois. Not everything arrives by sea or train. Trucks are still important, and they need roads.

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