Legislative Action

Few people expect the second year of an Illinois legislative session to focus solely on what it's intended to: approving a budget and considering emergency legislation only. Other kinds of legislation are supposed to be considered in the first year, but the second year has generally been seen as open season for bill-passing as well.

For a variety of reasons, the scenario changed a little this year. For one thing, Senate President James "Pate" Philip (R- 23, Wood Dale) does not believe in an activist approach to government. He doesn't want lots of new laws enacted. For another, partisan squabbling in the House kept many measures from being considered in time to move to the Senate. In the end, plenty of issues had been given lots of lip service — riverboat gambling, a ban on assault weapons, truth-in-sentencing measures, for example — but many of the most-publicized issues never got passed (see sidebar on next page).

MEDICAID
Most significant among the legislation passed by the General Assembly was the approval of a new way to provide health care for many of the state's poor people. Pending acceptance by the federal government, 1.1 million of the state's Medicaid clients are scheduled to be moved into a managed care system by April 1 — a daunting task and timetable. Each of these clients would be assigned to a health maintenance organization (HMO), a clinic. a doctors' group or a hospital network. Providers would be paid on a per-patient basis, and would oversee all medical services.

The plan is designed to stem rising costs and cut abuse of the Medicaid system, which has been plagued by overuse of emergency rooms and prescription drug services, among other things. For instance, photo-ID or electronic "swipe" benefit cards will be issued to help physicians and pharmacists keep track of services provided to patients and avoid unnecessary duplication. In addition, pending federal approval, co-payments for patient care will be instituted, ranging from 50 cents for a prescription to $10 for an emergency room visit that turns out to be a non-emergency. But recipients would not be denied service if they could not afford the co-payment.

Democrats had balked at including co- payments in the plan, but Republicans insisted they were needed to help stop overuse of health care facilities. The measure also includes an inspector general who would report directly to the governor.

SENIORS
Property tax relief: The General Assembly sent to the governor House Bill 410, which would provide property tax relief for people over age 65. As of late July it awaited his signature. Under the measure, people over 65 with incomes less than $35,000 would see their property's assessed valuation frozen at the 1994 level for as long as they own their homes. As people reach 65, their property's values would be frozen at that year's level.

Seniors' property taxes still could rise under the measure if rates are increased by local taxing bodies. But assessments could only be increased if home improvements are done. The measure's detractors contend that other property owners would end up picking up the tab for this tax relief, since assessments on their properties would continue to increase.

Nursing home residents' refund: A bill that arrived on the governor's desk as part of a conference committee report would refund up to $500 to nursing home residents who weren't reimbursed for the state's old "granny tax." Low-income, private-pay residents would be eligible for the refunds. Residents who entered nursing homes after June 30, 1992, paid the $6.30-a-day "granny tax" for a year. Nursing homes paid $1 a day for each occupied bed to help offset the cost to low-income residents, but the state did not earmark enough money to provide refunds to all nursing home residents who qualified for them.

CRIME
Identity of juveniles: Gov. Jim Edgar signed into law a measure that makes public the names of juveniles convicted of felony drug offenses, weapons charges and gang activity. Effective January 1, the law allows Illinois to share these names with other states. The names of juveniles convicted of less serious offenses will still not become public information.

Fingerprinting of bus drivers: Prospective school bus drivers would have to be fingerprinted if the governor signs SB 1733, which is aimed at keeping people with criminal backgrounds from driving school buses. The measure is geared toward new applicants for the driver positions. Fingerprints run through state police and FBI files would help weed out applicants who are using assumed names to hide criminal histories. The tests, which cost about $35 each, would be paid for by applicants, who would then be reimbursed if they take a job with private bus companies.

Teens who drink and drive: Lawmakers sent Gov. Edgar legislation that would suspend driving privileges of minors caught operating a car while they have even a trace of alcohol in their blood (SB 1730). Exemptions are provided for minors who imbibed alcohol during a religious ceremony or took medication containing alcohol. A first violation would result in a three-month suspension; subsequent violations would yield one-year suspensions. Refusal to take a test to determine blood alcohol content would mean a two-year suspension for minors with prior violations.

Republican Secretary of State George Ryan and his Democratic opponent in the November election. State Treasurer Patrick Quinn, each pushed competing plans targeting underage drivers who drink alcohol. Passage of Ryan's version over Quinn's, even in the Democrat-controlled House, was assessed by pundits as an indication of animosity between the state treasurer and politicians of both parties — a scenario that may not win Quinn many legislative victories but could win him friends among voters.

CHILDREN
"Baby Richard" legislation: The sad, highly publicized "Baby Richard" adoption

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case, in which the Illinois Supreme Court ordered a three-year-old boy living with his adoptive parents be returned to his biological father, gave lawmakers a chance to change a law they felt was deficient — and also provided fodder for politicos wanting to look children-friendly. Gov. Edgar asked the justices to reconsider their decision in the case; the court declined to do so. And the General Assembly sent the governor a measure intended to prevent similar cases in the future, which he signed into law (Public Act 88-0550).

The law requires men who believe they may have fathered a child to register with the state's Department of Children and Family Services within 30 days of a child's birth if they hope to secure parental rights. If they can prove they were unable to register in time through no fault of their own, they would then have 10 days to register. The law also requires court hearings to consider the best interests of an adopted child in custody disputes when an adoption is denied or revoked on appeal. It calls for the courts to give priority to adoption proceedings and challenges over other civil cases. Under the law, biological parents have one year to challenge court rulings that place children with adoptive parents; previously, they had two.

Senate President James "Pate" Philip has been holding out support for Chicago riverboats until Democrats agree to pro-business reforms, such as changes in the worker's compensation system and civil liability laws. Daley finally offered a proposal that dangled a carrot of sorts for Illinois business interests: a phaseout of the 5 percent utilities tax for manufacturers. The tax, which raises $139 million per year, would have been replaced by riverboat gambling revenues. Daley's plan also called for using riverboat gambling revenues to fund a $1 billion bond program for school districts all over the state. The money, which school districts could spend at their discretion on capital improvements, would have been distributed based on enrollment.

Not good enough. Republicans decided. With nothing to lose, they're holding out for more compromises from Chicago Democrats, such as tort reform and measures to address noise problems at O'Hare International Airport. So for now, there will be no increase in the state's riverboat casino fleet.

Purchasing reforms: Despite continued media exposes on "pinstripe patronage" — the awarding of lucrative state contracts to those with friends in high political places — the legislature failed to send Gov. Edgar a plan to reform the state's purchasing system.

Both chambers of the legislature approved separate reforms designed to increase competitive bidding for state contracts, but could not agree to each other's plans. Among other things, the reforms would have required bids for many state purchases of goods and services worth $10,000 or more. State agencies now can make purchases up to $25,000 without soliciting bids.

Conservation 2000: Gov. Edgar's plan to increase the amount of protected lands in Illinois did not pass the General Assembly and therefore was not funded. The six-year, $100 million program was designed to protect and develop the state's natural resources. For example, $2.5 million would have gone toward planning the development of recreational facilities at Site M, the 15,574-acre Cass County property the state purchased last year.

Abortion clinic blockades: A bill aimed at fighting blockades at abortion clinics failed to move out of the Senate after winning House approval 73-37. SB 33 mirrored a federal law that prohibits demonstrators from blocking access to abortion clinics in Illinois, but would have allowed local prosecutors to enforce it, said Rep. Jeff Schoenberg; only federal prosecutors now can enforce it. The fatal flaw of the measure, which had at least some bipartisan support, may have been its specific exemption of blockades resulting from labor disputes.

Domestic abuse: Even before the murder of O.J. Simpson's ex-wife brought the subject of domestic abuse into the national media spotlight, the issue was under some scrutiny in Illinois. Gov. Edgar in May granted clemency to four women who had been convicted of killing their husbands and boyfriends, all of whom said they were driven to murder by the abuse they suffered at their partners' hands. The General Assembly was considering House Bill 3615, which would have made it illegal for anyone convicted of beating a spouse or violating a court order of protection to own a gun. In addition, the measure provided that an order of protection may include a requirement that the alleged perpetrator turn over his or her firearms to local police for up to two years. The bill passed the House 112-0 but never was called for a Senate vote.

Charter schools: Proposals to experiment with charter schools around the state were unsuccessful. Among a handful of measures that would have allowed charter schools to be set up in local districts, Senate Bill 1716 went farthest, passing the Senate 31-21 but failing in a House committee. Such schools would have been free from state regulations and could have set up their own operating structures, including longer school hours or an extended school year.

Trash burning for energy: A bill that passed the Senate but failed in the House would have removed tax incentives for utilities that buy trash-generated power at inflated prices. The bill's backers contended that burning trash to create energy may have harmful environmental consequences. Opponents said the technology provides power, creates jobs and helps solve the question of what to do with garbage.

Jennifer Halperin

28/August 1994/Illmois Issues

Legislative Action

Education for homeless children: Under the Education for Homeless Children Act (HB 3244), which Gov. Edgar is expected to sign, homeless children have a choice between attending the school closest to their temporary shelter or continuing to attend their neighborhood school. It requires school districts to provide transportation for the children if the travel time is an hour or less each way; federal funds will reimburse the state for the travel costs. The bill, which had bipartisan sponsorship, passed both houses unanimously.

Neglectful parents: Another measure that passed both houses unanimously and now awaits the governor's signature (HB 2809) would prevent parents who have abandoned or neglected to support their children from collecting their estates if those children die. The legislation requires that petitions alleging parental neglect must be filed within six months of a child's death. It also would allow a neglectful parent to collect a portion of the estate if ordered by the court.

PENSIONS
The General Assembly passed a pension funding bill that would ease the state's pension debt over 50 years. Money to pay off this debt would be considered "off budget," and so would not be subject to the whims of lawmakers — who in the past have ignored laws that set up funding schedules for easing the debt but didn't automatically set aside money to pay for them. The state's pension funds — which cover lawmakers, judges, state workers, downstate teachers and university employees — have estimated unfunded liabilities of $14.1 billion. Under the bipartisan funding agreement, the systems would be 90 percent funded by the year 2045.

MISCELLANEOUS
Pay raises: Among the more headline- generating of the General Assembly's actions was a vote to give a nine percent pay hike, phased in over two years, to lawmakers and other top state government officials. Judges' pay was increased 6 percent July 1 and will jump another 6 percent next July 1. The raises come on top of an automatic annual cost-of-living adjustment, set at 2.6 percent this year. Those receiving the raise include the governor, other state constitutional officers and several appointed officials. Elected officials, including lawmakers, must be elected to another term before collecting the increases.

The issue of pay raises spurred debates among politicos about whether Illinois lawmakers are paid well and whether the method for granting legislative salary raises should be revamped. Before the raises were approved, Illinois lawmakers' base pay was among the highest in the nation, at $39,420. Illinois legislators also receive stipends ranging from $6,000 to $16,000 for committee assignments and leadership posts, plus $81 for each day they are in session, and mileage reimbursement. As it stands now, the state's Compensation Review Board every two years proposes specific pay increases, which take effect unless both houses of the General Assembly vote against them. This year, the House voted the raises down. But not enough senators voted against the raises to defeat them.

Lawmakers also approved a bill that would give state's attorneys their first pay increase in six years. State's attorneys' salaries are dependent on the population of the county they serve. The Cook County state's attorney, who received a salary boost of $15,000 in 1990, will receive a $12,124 increase to $112,124; state's attorneys in counties with populations between 30,000 and 3 million will get a $16,837 increase to $96,837, and those in counties with less than 30,000 population will receive a $10,000 increase to $71,500. The raises will cost the state $ 1.4 million this year.

Tax subsidy for coal use: Lawmakers sent Gov. Edgar a measure that would extend for 10 years a tax subsidy aimed at increasing the use of Illinois coal. The federal Clean Air Act puts economic pressure on companies to use cleaner-burning coal, which makes high-sulfur Illinois coal less attractive. The tax subsidies are aimed at increasing Illinois coal's ability to compete with other states' cleaner coal. Companies that donate to a coal research center at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale can get a 20 percent credit, while companies that install equipment that scrubs the coal can get a 5 percent credit.

A sense of relief blanketed the Capitol in mid-July once the state's $33.37 billion budget finally was approved and signed. Lawmakers and observers were grateful for a break from long days spent keeping up with complicated negotiations, and were anxious to begin summer plans.

Now all they have to do is wait and see how well the projections hold together. The budget is based on the concept that fewer people will need social services like welfare and child care, and that more money than originally anticipated will fill state tax coffers. The increased revenue estimate wasn't based on much science; basically, the parties split the difference between the respective revenue estimates they were following.

Though some guestimating like that is to be expected to a certain extent, the state isn't operating with the greatest track record on such matters. Just last December, the state's Medicaid fund was judged $760 million in the hole based on projections.

The last few weeks of the legislative session involved a flurry of budgetary give-and-take that in the end produced a document with a bottom line that came within 1 percent of Gov. Edgar's March budget proposal. After the dust settled, some of the things provided for included:

•An increase of $277 million for elementary and secondary education. The State Board of Education received a $4.736 billion appropriation in all — an increase of $364.7 million over last year's appropriation. Specific increases included $41.6 million in special education categoricals, $865,200 for free lunch programs and $5 million for preschool education.

•Three percent raises for state employees, as called for in the AFSCME contract.

•$687 million to pay off old Medicaid bills.

•A $ 1.12 billion appropriation for the Department of Children and Family Services, which includes money to pay old foster care bills, seven new hires at the Inspector General's office, children's

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Legislative Action

advocacy centers in DuPage County, money to hire 165 caseworkers to main- tain the caseworker-client ratio called for in the B.H. consent decree, and $602,800 for special counsel Anne Burke' s office, with 11 new staff under her supervision.

•The Department of Public Aid's allotment for Aid to Families with Dependent Children was reduced by $40 million, and the amount designated for Transitional Assistance was reduced by $4.8 million to reflect expected lower caseloads. $200,000 was added for more bed space in shelters for victims of domestic abuse, $250,000 was added for development of a Medicaid verification system, and $60,000 added for dental services for disabled and elderly people.

•The Department of Corrections' $755.37 million appropriation includes money for 2,200 new prison beds to be opened and 416 prison guards to be phased in during the new fiscal year — 25 guards at juvenile facilities, 16 in special facilities, 64 at minimum-security facili- ties, 201 for medium-security prisons and 110 at maximum-security prisons.

•$477 million for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which is a $40.3 million increase over last year's appropriation and includes $1.7 million in increased funding for Illinois Veterans' grants (although a $2 to $5 million shortfall is anticipated).

•The University of Illinois' $785 million appropriation, which includes $250,000 specifically for improvement in undergraduate education efforts at the Urbana-Champaign campus, including more course offerings and smaller classes.

•A $256 million appropriation for the secretary of state's office that includes money for grants to the Chicago Library System and for costs associated with a regional library.

•A $155 million Energy and Natural Resources appropriation that adds $325,000 for mosquito research and abatement, as well as money to establish a Hazardous Waste Research Center in northern Illinois aimed at helping small businesses prevent pollution.

•A $542.48 million appropriation to the Environmental Protection Agency that includes money for environmental cleanup at two dump sites in Chicago.

•Nearly $233 million for the state police, part of which will pay for additional overtime, a new cadet class and full funding of the Chicago Crime Lab.

APPROVED STATE BUDGET, FY 1995 (Selected categories)
Agency, office or board	Spending bill	Amount
	as introduced	approved
Public Aid	$6.81 billion	$7.493 billion
Children and Family Services	$1.05 billion	$1.118 billion
Mental Health &	$1.07 billion	$1.08 billion
Developmental Disabilities
Transportation:
New appropriations	$2.95 billion	$2.969 billion
Re-appropriation	$2.86 billion	$2.857 billion
State Board of Education	$5.34 billion	$4.737 billion
Board of Higher Education	$85.42 million	$85.37 million
Illinois Community College Board.	$251 million	$252 million
111. Student Assistance Commission	$474.8 million	$477 million
University of Illinois	$784.42 million	$785.38 million
Board of Governors	$240.34 million	$242.29 million
Southern Illinois University.	$252.8 million	$253.1 million
Board of Regents	$263.17 million	$265.26 million
General Assembly operations,	$32.97 million	$33.01 million
including district offices
Auditor General	$13.14 million	$13.14 million
State Treasurer	$635.5 million	$635.5 million
Secretary of State	$254.6 million	$256.2 million
State Comptroller	$46.07 million	$45.16 million
Attorney General	$36.66 million	$36.71 million
Governor	$7.59 million	$7.59 million
Lt. Governor	$5.83 million	$5.83 million
Corrections	$747.35 million	$755.37 million
Conservation	$213.83 million	$210.38 million
Energy and Natural Resources	$105.06 million	$155.6 million
Environmental Protection Agency	$542.84 million	$542.48 million
State Police	$233 million	$232.56 million
Aging	$172.96 million	$176.77 million
Alcoholism & Substance Abuse	$242.97 million	$226.22 million
Public Health	$455.52 million	$456.03 million
Veterans' Affairs	$47.8 million	$47.81 million
Agriculture	$60.46 million	$59.85 million
Commerce and Community Affairs	$688.4 million	$730.41 million
Subtotal: these categories listed		$27.24 billion
Other*		$6.13 billion
TOTAL BUDGET TOTAL		$33.37 billion
*Includes other 64 offices, agencies	and boards receiving	state appropriations

30/August ] 994/Illinois Issues

Legislative Action

•A $5 million allocation for the State Board of Elections, down from the $5.67 million introduced, which won't make life easier for people hoping to examine campaign finance documents. Funding for part of the salary of a full-time position in the public inspection area was cut, as was funding for a microfiche machine and other computer equipment.

•Nearly $3 billion in new appropriations for the state's transportation department, including $9 million for rehabilitative work on state highways necessitated by flooding. Federal reimbursement is available through September 30.

•A $172.96 Department of Aging appropriation, which includes rate increases for community care providers in the following areas: elder abuse, adult day care and homemaker/chore housekeepers. The appropriation also includes $18,000 for the purchase of a senior transport bus for the Oak Lawn Senior Center.

•$226 million for the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, down from the $243 million originally requested for the agency. Prevention services in 10 counties and 10 Chicago communities were cut. Also cut was a planned expansion of the "Parenting Partnership" program, designed to teach parents how to talk to their children about drugs.

Also cut were six pilot sites (in Chicago's Cabrini Green housing project, DuPage County, East St. Louis, Rock- ford, Joliet and Peoria) for the Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention Initiative.

The sites, identified because of their high incidence of violence and gang problems, were to be used to develop community- based models to help families deal with substance abuse and violence. The appropriation does include a $6.7 million increase for a drug treatment program targeting wards of parents in need of substance abuse treatment.

•$456 million for the Department of Public Health. A $125,000 physical fitness initiative proposed to help achieve health objectives by the year 2000 was cut. It would have included physical fitness-related programs and would have set up a health and physical fitness council. Another $250,000 was cut that would have gone toward putting 6.5 million original copies of birth records on microfilm. The records date back to 1916, and are subject to deterioration because they exist in paper form only. Grants for research into Alzheimer's disease will increase $250,000, as will grants for breast and cervical cancer research. 

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