Legislative Action_________________________________________________________________________

DIANE ROSS

PREDICTABLY, appropriations were the No. 1 issue in the fall session with the main focus on the governor's veto of $25.5 million in social services and on his veto of a nursing home reimbursement bill which he said would cost S20 million annually in state spending. Both issues were resolved by compromise.

Substantive issues simply played second fiddle this fall. The General Assembly failed to override any vetoed substantive bills of real consequence. Only t\vo attempts consistently generated statewide headlines. One was emotional: whether day care centers operated by churches should be exempt from licensing by the state. The other was political: whether Thompson would be forced to accept the "enterprise zone" proposal made by Sen. Donald Totten (R., Schaumburg), who is running against House Speaker George Ryan, Thompson's hand-picked running mate for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.

Although the fall session generally centers on vetoed bills, some "new" legislation is usually considered. Two new measures reached passage stage, but were never called for a final vote and remain alive: One would raise judges pay, the other would expand the homestead exemption.

Two other new bills were introduced in reaction to Chicago newspaper reports. One bill resulted from an article in the Chicago Sun-Times which revealed that Gov. James R. Thompson had paid his former Chicago law firm, Winston and Strawn, some $272,000 to produce the ill-fated package of bills to refinance transportation via a gross receipts tax on oil companies. Rep. Alan Greiman (D., Skokie) introduced H.B. 2003 to require that any state agency that contracts for legal services publish the details in the Illinois Register (published by the Secretary of State) 30 days before the contract takes effect.

Other new bills resulted from reports in the Chicago Tribune which linked legalized bingo to organized crime. Rep. Ellis Levin (D., Chicago) introduced H.B. 2006 to limit bingo to twice a week except in small towns. It didn't come to a vote; however, the House approved a resolution calling for the Illinois Legislative Investigating Commission to examine alleged abuse of legalized bingo.

And the governor delivered yet another bill on the Regional Transportation Authority. It would reform the board, not refinance the system. But following a mini-summit at the Executive Mansion, Thompson acceded to the wishes of the Suburban Council of Mayors and agreed to shelve the bill, at least until the General Assembly reconvenes.

Governor's threats

Thompson always pressures the General Assembly not to override appropriations vetoes lest the budget become unbalanced. But this fiscal year, he said, was the worst of his administration. Revenue and spending projections completed in October (the end of the first quarter) indicated that the balance in the general revenue funds could drop below $100 million by July (the end of the fiscal year). Thompson threatened he would take am or all of the following actions if the General Assembly overrode his appro-priations vetoes:

•  call the legislature back for a special balance-the-budget session;

•  order cabinet agencies under his jurisdiction not to spend the appro-priations, even if the vetoes were over-riden;

•  lay off or fire state workers by eli-minating positions; and

•   freeze all construction projects. Thompson also said that if the dismal revenue and spending trends continue, he may be forced to take such action anyway.

Compromise negotiated

The Democrats, evidently not intimi-dated (this is an election year), fought the veto in social services. They argued that the $25.5 million cut (out of the total $435 million vetoed) was for the most part from discretionary federal funds, not the general revenue funds An override of $21 million was recom-mended by the task force that House Minority Leader Michael Madigan formed to study the effects of the social services vetoes.

The pressure to override, however came mainly from the local public and private agencies with which the state contracts to provide social service These providers had formed the State wide Coalition on the Fiscal 1982 Human Services Veto Reductions at the end of the spring session (see "The stateof the State," December 1981) and had been negotiating with the Thomp-son administration all summer. The coalition wanted two major conces-sions: restoration of enough funds to allow the local agencies to operate dur-ing the second half of the fiscal year, and an assurance that the funds, once restored, would be spent for their in-tended purpose.

Negotiations were on again, of again, during the fall. For awhile it ap-peared $12.9 million would be restored, but the final outcome was a compromise at lower level, agree! by the governor.

At the eleventh hour, the coalition and the administration reached a settlement

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•  $1.3 million of the $4.0 million vetoed for day care; and

•  $3.3 million of the $7.9 million vetoed for local initiative matching grants.

It was the same story, to a lesser degree, with the nursing home bill, which would have increased maximum state reimbursement for nonnursing services for Medicaid patients from a rate equal to the average cost at 50 percent of the homes in the same geographical area, to a rate equal to the average cost of 70 percent, effective January 1, 1982. The bill, S.B. 181, was sponsored by Sen. John Maitland (R., Bloomington).

Nursing home providers argued that reimbursement for Medicaid patients had lagged so far behind actual costs hat they were forced to charge non-Medicaid patients more to make up the difference. The Senate overrode Thompson's veto with three votes to pare, 39-16, on October 15. The House was poised to override on October 29, when Thompson again compro-mised, agreeing to a formula that in-creased the reimbursement, but at a lesser rate and thereby at less cost to the state — approximately $10 million instead of $20 million annually.

Emotion enters in

Fundamentalist religious groups staged the sessions's only demonstration. They wanted day care center "programs operated as an integral part of a local church ministry or a religious nonprofit elementary school" to be exempt from state day care licensing. The exemption was granted under S.B. 524, sponsored by Rep. Timothy Simms (R., Rockford), but Thompson vetoed it because, he said, parochial groups should be subject to the same regulations as secular groups if they provide a public service like day care. The Senate over-rode Thompson's veto 38-15 on October 15, but after an emotionaldebate, the override in the House failed by nine votes.

Political moves

Urban renewal — Reagan style — via private not public capital was the issue in theory in the so-called enterprise zone bill, S.B. 819, sponsored by Totten. The bill was designed to lure industry back to the inner city by using tax breaks and relaxation of local regulations from building codes to wage controls.

Thompson said he liked the idea but didn't think Totten's plan would work; he said he wanted to wait to see Reagan's plan, which is expected to appear in Congress soon. Totten, however, said Thompson had promised to sign the bill but reneged only because Totten had announced he was running against House Speaker Ryan for lieutenant governor. Besides, Totten argued, Reagan is modeling his plan after Totten's.

The Senate overrode Thompson's veto 45-10 October 15; but in the House, the override failed 95-72 despite Ryan's support — a shrewd move on the speaker's part. It was the Democrats, including some in Chicago and East St. Louis, who helped kill it; they argued, for one thing, that the tax breaks would cost more than local government could afford to lose in revenue.

Legislators didn't raise judicial salaries or expand the homestead exemption, but those measures are still alive to be considered this spring.

Pay for the state's 700 judges would rise from 29 to 33 percent effective July 1, 1982, under S.B. 1242, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Berman (D., Chicago). These raises were introduced (two years after the last raises took effect in December 1978) at the request of the Illinois State and Chicago bar associations. Both groups contend that judges' salaries are too low — about half what Illinois lawyers earn in private practice.

Under the bill, the salaries of Supreme Court justices would increase from $58,000 annually to $75,000, appellate court judges from $53,000 to $70,000, circuit court judges from $50,500 to $65,500, and associate circuit judges from $45,000 to $60,000. A provision for an annual cost of living increase was deleted.

Homeowners would get another property tax break under H.B. 1047, sponsored by Sen. Jeremiah Joyce (D., Chicago), and other newly introduced bills. The bills would expand the homestead exemption from $3,000 to $4,500. The last expansion was in January 1979 when the exemption was set at $3,000, double the original. Action was postponed mainly because arguments from the Illinois Municipal League, with help from the Urban Counties Council. They argued that expansion to $4,500 would mean $90 million in lost revenue to local government which cannot afford the loss.

Barring any unforeseen special session, the General Assembly has completed its action for 1981 and is scheduled to reconvene for 1982 on January 13. Summaries of significant bills passed during 1981 are below (others were reported in previous months). □

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