Daily Egyptian MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2016
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Rauner, Democrats try to avoid budget blame as elections approach RICK PEARSON AND MONIQUE GARCIA AND KIM GEIGER Chicago Tribune
At the heart of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner’s budget address was a request for special authority to make spending cuts. It was an easy ask, since Democrats who control the legislature aren’t going to grant him such powers out of fear he might actually use them. Instead, Democrats say the Illinois Constitution already is set up to give the first-term governor much of what he wants: All he needs to do is take out his veto pen and go line by line to make reductions to the budget bills they send him. Those arguments are politically convenient for both parties, even if they don’t get state government any closer to solving its intractable problems. No one wants the blame for either a tax increase or massive budget cuts. And political cover is the order of the day ahead of the November general election, when Democrats will try to preserve supermajorities in the House and Senate and Rauner is trying to pick off as many of them as he can to increase his leverage and win approval of his pro-business, unionweakening agenda. The spring session is expected to be a repeat of last year’s stalemate, and Rauner acknowledged as much in his speech. “As elected officials, you have to deal with political realities,” said Rauner, who has three years left in his term while most lawmakers are up for re-election this fall. “Primary elections. Special interests. Campaign supporters.” Rauner is asking for the extra authority because the budget blueprint he submitted Wednesday is $3.5 billion in the red. (Democrats say it’s likely to be $5 billion short because several cost-saving measures the governor proposed are likely to run into political or legal difficulties.) Dubbed the “unbalanced budget response act” by the administration, the proposal would give the governor unprecedented authority to cut spending in all state agencies, including the legislative branch and constitutional offices. He would be able to limit automatic yearly spending known as continuing appropriations, which set aside pots of money for things including lawmaker salaries, pension payments, tax revenue normally doled out to local governments and health insurance for retired teachers. The powers also would allow him to cut health care costs and reduce the number of people who qualify for various human service programs by giving him authority to adjust payment rates for providers and limit
eligibility requirements. The only things Rauner’s office has said would be off-limits are debt payments, money for early childhood education and funding for school districts. Democrats, not wanting to risk money for public employee pensions and local governments including Chicago, point to the governor’s existing ability to reduce or zero out line items in the spending plan. “If we pass a budget that the governor thinks is out of whack, he can amendatory veto the budget – he can reduce the line items,” Democratic Senate President John Cullerton said. “It’s in the constitution. He has the authority to do it. He should have done it last year.” Administration officials contend that so much spending is written into state law that Rauner was limited in what he could cut through his veto powers. As it is, Republicans acknowledge he doesn’t want to be forced to make the cuts on his own this time around, either. “He doesn’t want to have to make drastic cuts all by himself,” said Senate GOP leader Christine Radogno of Lemont. “But if there’s no alternative, we owe it to the taxpayers of this state to stop the bleeding, and that’s what this does.” By proposing a budget that’s at least $3.5 billion short, Rauner may have undercut one of the main arguments he has used against Democrats: Last year they sent him a budget that was at least $4 billion in the red, leaving him no choice but to veto all of it except for spending on elementary and secondary education. The governor has now done the same thing. Government worker pension payments remain a big part of state spending. Last year, Rauner counted on $2 billion in savings from a proposed change in public pensions that likely was unconstitutional and ultimately went nowhere. This year he says he’ll back Cullerton’s plan to overhaul retirement benefits, though specific language has yet to materialize. In the meantime, the governor has proposed saving an estimated $750 million by ending late-career salary spikes, requiring schools and universities to pick up employee pension costs above a $180,000 yearly salary, and changing how payroll is counted toward pension payments. Democrats say that last one would only backload the pension payment schedule. As Illinois’ budget problems grow exponentially, so do the political difficulties of resolving them, with election-year politics creating huge partisan divides in which each side tries to avoid being blamed for the mess. Please see RAUNER | 2
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Walker congratulates his championship team
Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms Coach Rick Walker tears up while expressing the immense pride he feels in the women’s swim and dive team Sunday after their championship-winning performance at the Missouri Valley Conference meet in Edward J. Shea Natatorium. Going into the final relay, the Salukis knew they had to win. “You could cut the tension in the air with, not even a knife, but a plastic spoon,” Walker said. “There have been just so many years we haven’t been able to get it. We found a way to win it.” The Salukis broke Missouri State’s eight-year reign as Missouri Valley Conference champions by half a point.
Rep. Bryant, Illinois House Republican Leader Durkin announce ‘Molly’s Law’ BILL LUKITSCH | @Bill_LukitschDE
An Illinois lawmaker, in response to the controversial death of Molly Young, has drafted a twofold bill aimed at
heightening transparency in state government and changing the timeframe during which wrongful death claims can be filed. Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, introduced the legislation last week
Bill Lukisch | @Bill_Lukitsch_DE Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, and Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin announce “Molly’s Law” on Saturday at the Carbondale Civic Center alongside about 20 members of the Justice for Molly advocacy group. The proposed law would change the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases and amend the state’s Freedom of Information Act. “We have to bring closure to families like the Youngs, who have endured the worst that any family should ever endure in society,” Durkin said.
to amend the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and toll the statute of limitations for wrongful death claims. The bill is named “Molly’s Law” for its ties to the Young case, which has sparked criticisms of the Carbondale Police Department and Illinois State Police by the community. “Today I am proud to stand beside Larry Young, Molly Young’s father, who has been fighting since the death of his daughter in 2012 to gain information on the investigation into her death,” Bryant said in a statement given before a press conference Saturday. Under the proposed law public bodies that fail to disclose information deemed accessible by a circuit court would face a maximum fine of $10,000. The statute of limitations for wrongful death claims would be changed to two years after a claimant’s discovery of evidence. Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin traveled to Carbondale from his Chicagoarea home to join Bryant in announcing the bill. Please see MOLLY | 3