Roger Eddy Article Week of December 17, 2007
I would have never dreamed that I would be providing constituents a legislative
update a week before Christmas. However, the on-going impasse that has become
state government in Illinois continues and legislative session days are scheduled
for the week of December 17th. I wanted to provide an update as to what this
unusual December gathering was about.
The “spring” Session of the Illinois General Assembly is normally scheduled to adjourn by the end of May. This year, the budget process was not completed by the end of May and we went into an overtime session which lasted all summer until an appropriations budget was passed by the House and Senate in mid-August. The Governor used his amendatory veto powers to change some items in that budget and after a failed attempt to override his vetoes, the appropriations budget finally became law in late August. The appropriations budget must be accompanied by legislation which authorizes the “implementation” of those appropriations if there are new programs or if the appropriation for a line item changes. For example, if the per-pupil foundation level and reimbursement levels for education budget line items increase, then implementation legislation must also pass both Houses and be signed by the Governor in order for those appropriations to be made at the increased levels. On November 2nd, the budget implementation bill was finally passed. The Governor has not yet signed that legislation (over a month later) and schools still have not received the funding levels that were appropriated in the FY08 budget. The Governor actually has 60 days to act on that implementation bill once it is sent to him by the General Assembly. So, he has until January 5th in this case to sign or veto the budget implementation bill.
While the budget fiasco has caused additional session dates, there are other important issues that have still not been resolved. First of all, there has not been a capitol bill passed in over five years. A capitol bill would provide funds for necessary infrastructure needs such as roads and bridges, school construction, water projects, sewer projects and other major costs associated with health and public safety. Some of the capitol programs would receive federal matching funds if Illinois provides our share of the funds through a bond program. A good example is federal matching funds for roads, bridges and mass transit. Without matching capitol funding at the state level, Illinois stands to lose out on hundreds of millions of federal matching dollars. Illinois desperately needs to pass a capitol bill for many reasons not the least of which is to support hundreds of those employed in the construction trades in Illinois.
In order to pass a capitol bill, a funding source is necessary. At this time,
the only funding source that is being considered is a fairly large expansion
of gaming in Illinois. That expansion would include the following: A new land
based casino to be located in the city of Chicago, two additional riverboat
licenses, allowing additional gaming positions at existing riverboats and slot
machines and video poker machines at horse racing tracks. This expansion of
gaming would likely bring in a minimum of around $1 billion per year to the
state. Many people believe that it will be much more than that once the expansion
is in full swing. There are many details regarding the ownership of the Chicago
Casino, the placement of the new riverboat casinos, the placement of the new
positions at existing boats and the number of slots/video poker machines at
horse racing tracks that space does not allow me to go into. Some of the details,
quite frankly, disturb me. Actually, the fact that we are facing gaming expansion
as the only possible way to provide funding for a capitol bill also disturbs
me.
The projected $1 billion in new revenue that this expansion would produce will
be split between capitol and education. Seventy percent (around $700 million)
would go to funding a capitol program and thirty percent (around $300 million)
would go to education. Of the thirty percent that would go to education, twenty
percent would go directly to Chicago and the remainder would be split among
property poor downstate schools and fund a new block grant program which would
also benefit downstate schools. The funds that this would produce to support
the capitol spending would theoretically bring millions of dollars to road,
bridge, school, water, sewer and other infrastructure projects all over the
state….that is if we can trust the governor to release these projects.
So far, this governor has not established himself as someone that can be trusted.
So, unless some type of provisions could be added to the capitol bill that
would guarantee the distribution of the project money, there is some risk.
Few people even trust the “memos of understanding” that have become
commonplace with this administration. It would take more than those memos to
satisfy my concerns at this point.
The final current “issue” is the looming “crisis” facing the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). According to officials in Chicago, if there is not some type of state funding bailout for the CTA, fare increases and other cuts would have to be made in January. There have been two proposals to provide funding to help with this problem. One proposal would allow for a regional sales tax to be applied to those using the system. The other proposal would divert statewide gas sales tax to the system. I am firmly convinced that unless those using the system pay more and there are reforms to the bloated system, we should not bail them out in any fashion. Why is bailing out the CTA a statewide problem anyway? After all, it is the CHICAGO Transit Authority that is mismanaged and in financial trouble. People in rural Illinois have been paying more for transportation for months in the form of higher gas prices and I don’t see any legislation being proposed to help them.
One good thing about writing a legislative session and column in December, it gives me a chance to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I do need to hear your opinions regarding these issues that are bringing us back to Springfield for the holidays. E-mail me (reddyunit1@aol.com) or call us at either 618-563-4128 or 217-558-1040. More details are available at www.ilga.gov
Many things will be decided in the next few days. I will report on as many as I can.
As important issues arise during the overtime session, I will keep you as up to date as possible. Let me know what you are thinking, E-mail me (reddyunit1@aol.com) or call us at either 618-563-4128 or 217-558-1040. You can also keep up with important issues at my web site (now with audio clips) www.peopleforeddy.com
E-mail me at (reddyunit1@aol.com); write
to me at Box 125, Hutsonville, IL 62433 or call us at 618-563-4128. You
can also keep up with important issues at my web site (now with audio clips)
- www.peopleforeddy.com