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Monday, February 10, 2014
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Republicans seek to end lame-duck sessions Longshot seeks to avoid repeat of 2011 tax-hike vote
By KEVIN CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
and DEBBIE BEHRENDS dbehrends@shawmedia.com Illinois lawmakers have a politically enviable tradition when it comes to unpopular decisions – make them in the lame-duck session after the November election. That’s how lawmakers three years ago raised the income tax 67 percent on individuals and 46 percent on corporations, with the help of 12 outgoing Democratic lawmakers who provided the bare minimum number of votes needed. Six of them subsequently ended up receiving high-paying government jobs and the lucrative pensions that come with them. With the tax increases set to expire Jan. 1, 2015, and worries that cash-strapped state lawmakers
might go back on their word and make it permanent, House Republicans are taking a largely symbolic shot at ending lame-duck sessions. Lawmakers led State Rep. by House Minori- Tom Demmer ty Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, last week filed House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 43, a bill to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would move the start of session from January to December, and would forbid the General Assembly from convening between the November election and the start of session without unanimous consent from the gover-
On the Net You can read the text of House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 43 and House Resolution 805 at www.ilga.gov. nor and the assembly’s four legislative leaders. It is one of two measures, albeit unlikely to go anywhere in a Democratic-dominated state government, that Republican lawmakers unveiled. “In the past we have seen lawmakers take positions on bills during the lame duck that they might not have taken if they had to answer to the voters,” Durkin said at a news conference. “The bills we have filed
will eliminate lameduck sessions and tough votes will have to be taken before an election – not afterwards.” Rep. Tom DemState Rep. mer, R-Dixon, beBob Pritchard lieves elimination of lame-duck sessions will make legislators more accountable. “You cannot have responsibility without accountability,” Demmer said. “This loophole has to be reformed to restore accountability in the voting process.” Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, believes two-year terms are sufficient to complete the process. “The two-year legislative session
allows more than enough time to thoroughly vet and move legislation through appropriate channels while simultaneously holding lawmakers responsible for their legislative action,” Pritchard said. State lawmakers have increasingly exploited a loophole in the Illinois Constitution to pass controversial legislation that otherwise would have a hard time. A simple majority – 61 votes in the House and 30 in the Senate – is needed to pass legislation during spring session, which now runs from the second Wednesday in January to the end of May. From June 1 until the end of the year, the threshold increases to three-fifths – 71 votes in the House and 36 in the Senate – for legislation to take effect immediately, rather than the following June.
See REPUBLICANS, page A3
Economy as good as it will get?
Some say increase would help improve standard of living
By JOSH BOAK The Associated Press
minimum-wage hike. Carl Campbell, an associate professor of economics at NIU, said many studies have been conducted on minimum wage. Some of those studies have found that raising the minimum wage would increase unemployment because it would be more expensive to hire new workers. Campbell offered a different solution to help low-wage workers: Expand the earned income tax credit, a benefit people receive based on their income and number of children. “People earning low wages would get higher subsidies from the government, helping them maintain a decent standard of living,” he said. Norman Walzer, an NIU research associate in the Center of Governmental Studies, said studies have found raising the minimum wage would cause low-skill workers to lose their jobs when employers opt to purchase a machine that would do the same job. “It might be more likely people with the lowest end of the job system would end up being hurt by this,” Walzer said. “Others may come into the market and take jobs.”
WASHINGTON – In the 4½ years since the Great Recession ended, millions of Americans who have gone without jobs or raises have found themselves wondering something about the economic recovery: Is this as good as it gets? It increasingly looks that way. Two straight weak job reports have raised doubts about economists’ predictions of breakout growth in 2014. The global economy is showing signs of slowing – again. Manufacturing has slumped. Fewer people are signing contracts to buy homes. Global stock markets have sunk as anxiety has gripped developing nations. Some long-term trends are equally dispiriting. The Congressional Budget Office foresees growth picking up through 2016, only to weaken starting in 2017. By the CBO’s reckoning, the economy will soon slam into a demographic wall: The vast baby boom generation will retire. Their exodus will shrink the share of Americans who are working, which will hamper the economy’s ability to accelerate. At the same time, the government may have to borrow more, raise taxes or cut spending to support Social Security and Medicare for those retirees. Only a few weeks ago, at least the short-term view looked brighter. Entering 2014, many economists predicted growth would top 3 percent for the first time since 2005. That pace would bring the U.S. economy near its average post-World War II annual growth rate. Some of the expected improvement would come from the government exerting less drag on the economy this year after having slashed spending and raised taxes in 2013. In addition, steady job gains dating back to 2010 should unleash more consumer spending. Each of the 7.8 million jobs that have been added provided income to someone who previously had little or none. It amounts to “adrenaline” for the economy, said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist for Northern Trust. And since 70 percent of the economy flows from consumers, their increased spending would be expected to drive stronger hiring and growth.
See MINIMUM WAGE, page A4
See ECONOMY, page A8
Monica Maschak – mmaschak@shawmedia.com
Karlie Becker wraps a sandwich for a customer Monday at Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches in DeKalb. By ANDREA AZZO aazzo@shawmedia.com
D
eKALB – Abdallah Sheikh regularly walks in the cold to his part-time job at The Huddle Restaurant in DeKalb. Sheikh, a Northern Illinois University student, makes minimum wage, which is $8.25 an hour in Illinois. He carpools when he can, buys few groceries and sometimes skips on buying textbooks he can’t afford. “I’ve got to live at the bare minimum,” Sheikh said. “I’ve got to make it enough [money].” The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour for most workers, and some politicians are calling for it to be raised for the first time since 2009. President Barack Obama called for legislators to “give America a raise” and increase the minimum wage to $10.10 during his State of the Union speech Jan. 28. Gov. Pat Quinn said during his State of the State speech that he wants to raise the minimum wage in the State of Illinois to at least $10 an hour. Backers of an increase say it would help low-wage workers improve their standard of
Pro and con Most research indicates raising the minimum wage will improve the earnings of employed workers who earn the minimum wage. However, it may reduce employment among some groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanics and teenagers, who are more likely to be earning the minimum wage and have less work experience.
Source: Virginia Wilcox-Gök, NIU economics chair
Voice your opinion Should the federal minimum wage be increased? Vote online at Daily-Chronicle.com. living and also inject more money into Main Street economies. They point to studies such as one done in 2011 by the Chicago Federal Reserve, which found that the households of minimum-wage workers spend $2,800 more a year for each dollar the minimum is increased. Opponents say increasing the minimum is political populism that kills jobs. Experts at Northern Illinois University say there are both positives and negatives to a
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