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Ja nua r y 8, 2016 • $1.0 0
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Election board to rule on petitions
CHANGES COMING TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Objections raised to candidacy of Steven Reick, Casey Urlacher By KEVIN P. CRAVER kcraver@shawmedia.com
Illustration by R. Scott Helmchen – shelmchen@shawmedia.com
SYSTEM REVAMP Change broadens reasons to deny jobless compensation By EMILY K. COLEMAN
“It wasn’t all for employees, and it wasn’t all for employers. It really was a good public policy decision.”
ecoleman@shawmedia.com A revamp of the state’s unemployment system will mean changes for the businesses that pay into it and the workers who successfully and unsuccessfully try to use it. The changes, signed into law last month by Gov. Bruce Rauner, were part of a deal designed to prevent a $470 million tax hike from hitting businesses this month and another $300 million reduction for people currently receiving benefits, state Sen. Pam Althoff said. “It wasn’t all for employees, and it wasn’t all for employers,” the McHenry Republican said in an interview. “It really was a good public policy decision.” Althoff sent out a letter to McHenry County area Chambers of Commerce asking them to inform their members that the changes are something they’ll need to be aware of and to make adjustments for. In order to reach those savings, the Legislature changed the definition, moving
State Sen. Pam Althoff, on the eventual deal revamping the state’s unemployment system
Voice your opinion Have you applied for unemployment benefits in the past year? Vote online at NWHerald.com.
away from a relatively restrictive definition of the misconduct necessary to not receive benefits from a “deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy” when that violation actually harmed the
business or other employees or has occurred repeatedly despite warnings. The new version includes a list of eight actions, including lying on a job application, failing to keep licenses or certifications up to date, being impaired on the job, grossly negligent conduct that damages property or could hurt others, and repeatedly violating the company’s attendance policy. It’s the last example of misconduct that gives Rick McHugh, a senior staff attorney with the pro-worker National Employment Law Project, some pause. Unemployment benefit systems were designed to protect workers who were “involuntary unemployed,” he said. Workers could be considered voluntary unemployed when they quit or they behave in such a way that one can reach the conclusion that they don’t really want to work. But some policies can make that distinction more gray – such as attendance
See UNEMPLOYMENT, page A6
Objections to the petitions of two local Republican candidates running for state office in the March 15 primary will go before the Illinois State Board of Elections for a final decision later this month. The objection to 63rd House District candidate Steven Reick, who is challenging longtime D e m o cratic incumbent state Rep. Jack Franks, and the two objections to the candidacy of Casey Urlacher for the 26th Senate District seat currently held by Republican state Sen. Dan Duffy, are set to be decided Jan. 20. Reick’s appearance before a state hearing officer is set for Tuesday, while Urlacher’s hearings already have taken place. Hearing officers submit their recommendations to the election board, which will vote on whether to disqualify the candidate. Petitions for candidates usually are struck down by the election board because enough
signatures are rejected to bring the candidate below the minimum threshold, either because of mistakes made by the signers themselves or because of negligence on the part of the petition circulators. But the election board also can reject a candidate based on evidence of fraudulent conduct in the signature gathering process. Woodstock resident Ronald Eck filed the objection against Reick, of Harvard, alleging that a significant number of Reick’s signatures are invalid because they either did not come from registered voters or came from voters outside of the 63rd District, which covers much of western and northern McHenry County. Urlacher, who is mayor of Mettawa and brother of Chicago Bears legend Brian Urlacher, faces petition challenges from Daniel Krucek of Deer Park and David Stieper of Barrington Hills. Krucek alleges that Urlacher’s petition signatures don’t match names on voter files, and that some of the signatures were not collected by the petition circulators who must
See PETITIONS, page A6
Ruling throws Illinois hospitals’ tax exemptions in question By CARLA K. JOHNSON and DAVID MERCER The Associated Press CHICAGO – An Illinois appeals court decision has reopened a statewide dispute over whether hospitals should be exempt from paying millions of dollars in income taxes and property taxes to local governments. The Illinois 4th District Appellate Court ruled Tuesday that part
of a 2012 law that allows hospitals to avoid taxes is unconstitutional. The issue, which brewed for years before a legislative compromise defined how hospitals could qualify for tax breaks, is likely headed to the Illinois Supreme Court, as well as lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner, according to Laurence Msall of the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan government research group. “The Legislature could wait [until
STATE
the Supreme Court rules], but issues will continue to mount,” Msall said. “The Illinois Department of Revenue needs some direction from both the Legislature and the [Rauner] administration on how to handle pending applications.” Five hospitals have applications for tax exemptions before the revenue department: Peoria-based Methodist Services Inc. (two applications), NorthShore University
Health System in Lake Forest, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago and Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago. This week’s ruling involves a case against the city of Urbana and other local taxing districts brought by Carle Foundation Hospital, which was seeking relief from taxes in 2004 to 2011. A lower court sided with the hospital, but the appeals court reversed
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that decision, saying the Illinois Constitution allows lawmakers to exempt only property “used exclusively” for “charitable purposes.” “An unconstitutional statute is unenforceable from the moment of its enactment,” the ruling states. Urbana Mayor Laurel Prussing anticipates the hospital, which had been the largest taxpayer in the
See RULING, page A6
Thank You! For 37 Happy Years in Crystal Lake And 35 Happy Years in McHenry “G r ea t p la c e t o b e! ”
Government consolidation Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti discusses the task force’s recent report at an event in the city of DeKalb / A7
Defense presents challenge Columnist Hub Arkush says Bears’ defense needs work in the offseason / C1
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