Springfield News
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Statehouse rhetoric on the enactment of school funding legislation has centered on an early August deadline, so that funds can be transferred to school districts before their school years start. But information from the State Board of Education as well as the Comptroller’s office suggest that the early August deadline is arbitrary, and that the vast majority of school districts will have plenty of wiggle room if an agreement is not forged in the Statehouse over the next two weeks.
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JUL 27, 2017
Special Session started with a thunderclap but ended in dry lightning, as Governor Bruce Rauner demanded education reform bill SB1 be sent to his desk immediately by Senate President John Cullerton, who then spent part of the day explaining why he won’t do so. The delay is likely to last until Monday, when Cullerton says he’ll send Rauner the bill after giving him until Friday to consider a private meeting instead. In an afternoon press conference he offered the following reasons for withholding the bill and not following standard legislative procedure. -
Continuing our budget breakdown series, the following are the fast facts about Medicaid provisions found in the state’s new budget for FY2018.
$9.507 billion has been allocated to Medicaid funding for FY2018, including federal matching funds and intergovernmental transfers, in the recently-passed SB6 budget. The Hospital Provider Fund and County Provider Trust provide $3.1 billion and $2.5 billion of that total, although the Drug Rebate Fund also brought in $2.4 billion this year. -
JUL 26, 2017
A press release from a pair of Chicago Democratic Representatives Tuesday afternoon set off a flurry of chatter that Chicago-area House Democrats may not attend the special session beginning at noon today to protest Republican attempts to eliminate Chicago Public Schools funding. But a spot check of Chicago-area Democrats found that most will be in Springfield this afternoon.
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While the the FY2018 Illinois budget finally appropriated a significant sum to pension payments, over $6.6 billion to the state’s five employee pension funds, it still falls short on the $7.87 billion appropriation need projected by COGFA for this year, and does not address the $129.5 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
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JUL 25, 2017
After Senate President John Cullerton declined to send education funding reform bill SB1 to Governor Bruce Rauner’s desk on Monday, Gov. Rauner called a special session of the General Assembly, convening Wednesday at noon. (Read Official Proclamation) As legislators head back to Springfield, here are the main points you need to know:
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JUL 24, 2017
Updated: July 26, 2017
An Illinois Gaming Board rule limiting property ownership to video terminal operators– companies that operate video gambling machines– seems to disproportionately affect one company and individual, Rick Heidner, in particular. The Gaming Board’s motivation to change the rules are unclear, as Heidner mounts a high-intensity lobbying effort to change the rules to his advantage. -
JUL 21, 2017
The latest gaming bill effort, one that would legalize fantasy sports, seems doomed to die in the House this year, as the bill’s sponsors express little faith it will move. In addition, sponsors and lobbyists connected to the bill, HB479, believe House Speaker Mike Madigan is reluctant to call up gaming bills for a vote.
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JUL 20, 2017
As the dust settles in Springfield after the SB6 showdown, outposts of higher education across the state are checking their mailboxes for the $7.945 billion allotted to them by the new law. Some portions of the money will come faster than others, with $3.2 billion headed toward university employee pension funds. Until then, SB6 provisions for FY17 afford higher education $1,836 billion. Combined with federal dollars and past-due FY17 funding, the sector is slated to receive $4.125 billion for FY18 overall.
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JUL 19, 2017
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules sped through its agenda in less than twenty minutes, pausing to defer rules from the Illinois Gaming Board and to question a Board of Education representative about the appropriateness of an emergency rule. One rule regarding payments to Medicaid providers, that had been expected to draw attention, was passed without any questions.
