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This week...
Chicago Aldermen Call for New Assessment on Businesses
In an effort to revamp the proposed budget for the City of Chicago, twenty-two aldermen have signed into a $16.4 million plan that would impose a 40 cent-per-square foot assessment on all property located in downtown Chicago. Deemed a "public safety assessment" the plan would require any commercial businesses occupying more than 5,000 square feet of space in downtown Chicago (bounded by Congress, Halsted, Michigan, and the Chicago River) to pay a special fee to help pay for police and fire protection. Projected revenue from the new special assessment would be used to offset a portion of the proposed $83 million property ax increase.
Stepping up in opposition, Mayor Richard M. Daley called the proposal both "dangerous" and a "disaster" for Chicago's thriving downtown. He noted that businesses in the downtown area help generate significant revenue for the city's coffers that pay for public safety services. Further, Daley noted, the tax plan represents "selective taxation" that unfairly penalized one particular demographic sector of the economy.
Fortunately, the City Council Finance committee deferred a possible vote on the "Municipal Police, Fire Rescue, and Disaster Response Assessment" ordinance. The IMA will continue to monitor the tax proposal.
Governor Seeks Unilateral Expansion of Health Care
Still seething over his inability to pass a massive expansion of health care in the General Assembly, Governor Blagojevich is once again seeking to bypass the normal legislative process and implement his expensive universal health care proposal by administrative rule without identifying a way to pay for it.
On Wednesday, Blagojevich filed a $367.5 million plan with the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) that would double eligibility for the Family Care program. Under the proposal plan, a family with a combined income of up to $82,600 - more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level - would qualify to receive state funded assistance. Under current law, families earning less than $38,203, or up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level, are able to access the state program.
Blagojevich filed the rule on Wednesday with no announcement or press release hoping to sneak the proposal past the legislators who have returned to their districts. State Senator Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) called the move "clearly an abuse of the emergency rule process because this is clearly not an emergency - expanding a government program and doing it around the legislative process."
According to a published report, a representative of JCAR indicated that the Governor's proposal would cost taxpayers $367.5 million and would not include a federal match. As a matter of fact, the state stands to lose federal matching money if the Governor moves federal Medicaid money for the program expansion. In addition, the proposal would potentially lead health care providers to stop taking new patients or cut existing patients because of the current problem of getting reimbursed by the state in a timely manner.
This is clearly a blatant political move and abuse of power by the Governor who is seeking to foist a new government mandate on Illinois taxpayers. The state of Illinois already faces a possible huge budget crunch due to slumping tax revenues and this will only exacerbate the problem.
No Progress Reported on Capital, Mass Transit
This week, Mayor Richard M. Daley publicly demanded that the Governor and legislative leaders to come up with a mass transit solution by December 1 so commuters can plan for possible layoffs, route reductions, and fare hikes that would be implemented on January 20 if no resolution is reached. Previous "doomsday" scenarios have twice been prevented by short-term "band-aid" approaches that have delayed the reductions.
Governor Blagojevich and the four legislative leaders have met twice this week in an effort to resolve the mass transit and capital infrastructure issue with little reported success. After initially indicating that they hoped to come to consensus in "7 to 10 days" they are now stating that it will take longer to reach agreement on a gaming expansion that would generate the necessary revenue to fix the mass transit issue and provide financing for state bonds.
Candidate File for Election
According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, 960 candidates filed their nominating petitions by the 5:00 p.m. deadline on Monday, November 5. Candidates filing petitions will be seeking their party's nomination for the respective state or federal offices at the primary election on February 5.
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