 |
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
The state of the State
Agenda beyond By MICHAEL D. KLEMENS
Gov. Jim Edgar billed his State of the State address as a financial emergency message and told lawmakers and citizens that Illinois faced serious budget problems. That is how the year started; that is how the spring legislative session is likely to go. Financial problems in an election year mean no goodies for lawmakers to distribute and big fights over allocating limited resources. The impending general election will make an even bigger impact on the legislative session. At stake in November is control of the Illinois General Assembly and the future of the Democratic party. For a decade Republicans had chafed in a minority role in the legislature, a position that they blamed on Democratic maps that became effective in 1982. In 1991 Republicans won the luck of the draw and drew the maps that will be used in 1992. Democrats hold a narrow 31-seat to 28-seat majority in the Senate and a wide 72-seat to 46-seat advantage in the House. The GOP must pick up but two seats to win control of the Senate, an eventuality that they are favored to do. To take control of the House, Republicans would have to pick up a lot of seats, a feat that might not be impossible with their maps. Before the Democratic map of 1982 Republicans controlled the House; George H. Ryan was speaker and Michael J. Madigan was minority leader. A 1992 GOP sweep would give them control of both chambers of the General Assembly and of the governor's office. The significance of the legislative races points to a quiet session. Lawmakers will be unwilling to make any votes that might be used against them in the election. Legislative leaders will strive to protect their members from controversial votes. Other factors will force difficult choices on lawmakers. On September 30 the federal government will terminate the Medicaid assessment program that taxes hospitals and nursing homes based on their Medicaid receipts, then returns the tax and a matching amount from the federal government through higher rates. The Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission estimates the program will generate $450 million in federal aid to the state in fiscal year 1992. To continue to get federal funds, lawmakers must revamp the program. After September 30, all hospitals and nursing homes must be taxed, and providers cannot be guaranteed a dollar-for-dollar return of their taxes. That means that there will be winners and losers. Nonbudget issues also await action. The rewrite of the Telecommunications Act, the law that governs telephone companies, was supposed to be done by December 31. Unable to reach agreement, lawmakers extended their deadline for action until May 15. At issue in the deregulated world of telephone service is how to allow phone companies to charge their customers. In the past companies had provided service for a guaranteed rate of return on their investment. Proposals would allow companies to reduce costs and retain some of the money that they save. Also up for more consideration are property tax limitations. Lawmakers capped property tax growth in DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties last spring. Now the pressure is on to extend the caps to Cook County, to downstate counties and to home-rule governments that were not included in the 1991 legislation. Another issue on this spring's agenda is unemployment insurance; the five-year agreement is set to expire. Business and labor expect to be summoned to negotiations by the governor. Labor has watched union members be denied unemployment benefits when locked out of Caterpillar plants. Changes in federal law were the cause of denial, and labor will push to have such benefits restored by the state. Labor also expects to push again for 8/March 1992/Illinois Issues passage of a family leave bill that guarantees workers time off to care for sick children or other family members. The measure has cleared the Democratic General Assembly three years in a row and has been vetoed by the Republican governor each time. Sue Altman, spokesperson for the Illinois State AFL/CIO, says that labor will strive this year to win enough support to override a veto. Welfare cuts are likely to be a hot topic. Sen. Frank Watson (R-55, Greenville) has proposed to eliminate the increase in welfare benefits given a family that has a child while on welfare. Watson said the concept, which was approved by lawmakers in New Jersey, would produce no immediate savings but would cut future costs. Another budget-related possibility would be revision of sentencing laws. Gov. Edgar has named a task force to study growth in the prison populations. One way to reduce the prison population would be to shorten mandatory sentences for certain offenses. Lawmakers will step warily, lest they be accused of being soft on crime. A potential budget buster for the lawmakers' agenda is the report of the Task Force on School Finance. The 37-member body, whose membership includes lawmakers, educators and persons from the private sector, is scheduled to report this spring. A lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois' school funding scheme may force consideration of the issue sometime soon. Likely to delay consideration is the $1 billion price tag for funding equalization at a level guaranteeing that no school district will lose any money. Tight financial times may also force consideration of new fees or fee increases. Gov. Edgar has promised to oppose tax hikes, but has left the door open to fee increases. For example, much-need revenue might come from fees for using state parks or for visiting historic sites. For the same reason, legalization of video poker may come up again. Installation of up to three coin-operated machines in bars across the state could generate as much as $175 million annually, if taxed at 25 percent. The governor opposed the proposal last year, when the new revenue was to go for capital spending. Look for a quiet spring session, dominated by haggling over the budget. Lack of money precludes new programs. The pending electoral campaign precludes bold initiatives.•
Letters
Wetlands and Editor: I read with great interest the story on wetlands in the January edition of Illinois Issues. I commend you for addressing this issue, even going so far as to make it your cover story. I am, however, perplexed as to the bias exhibited in the article by your reporter, Wen Huang. While Mr. Huang did an excellent job of reporting the environmental and bureaucratic side of the issue, he unfortunately missed the side of the issue that lies at the core of the debate. That would be how private property rights enter into the wetlands protection equation. The article takes the Bush administration to task for changing his position on his campaign promise of "no net loss of wetlands." What the article fails to point out is that the president's promise was made concerning protection for true wetlands, such as bogs, marshes, rivers and streams. Mr. Huang also failed to accurately report on the key components of several legislative wetlands protection bills in the Illinois House of Representatives. House Bill 2554, while attempting to protect wetlands also calls for establishing "wetland transition areas" surrounding all wetlands. These areas encompass a 1,150-foot buffer strip around the wetland. This simply means that a 1-acre wetland designated for protection would actually qualify 15 acres for protection. This type of regulation constitutes nothing more than a land grab! The article also does not address the components of the Illinois Farm Bureau-backed Senate Bill 690. Rather, the only comments reported on this bill are derogatory comments made by Virginia Scott of the Illinois Environmental Council. This is hardly objective reporting on the issue. As a staff member of the Ogle County Farm Bureau, I realize that my organization's involvement in promoting a commonsense wetlands protection policy has given me more insight on the issue than the average Illinoisan. Quite possibly I expect too much of Mr. Huang to have immediate access to the points in your article that I find biased. Yet as a reporter it is his job to search for the facts of an issue and report them objectively. It is also your responsibility, as editor, to see that the article includes factual information and that it is written in an objective manner. This wetlands article does not accomplish either of those criteria. I believe your readers deserve the opportunity to base their opinions on facts, not bias. For this reason I ask that Illinois Issues print a follow-up wetlands article in a future edition. I also request that this article accurately report the facts, without partisan views. Your commitment to responsible journalism will warrant my request. Ron Kern, Manager Readers: Wetlands preservation is a complex issue that, as Mr. Huang wrote, pits farmers against environmentalists against developers. His examination of the policy dilemma, we believe, accurately and fairly reported all positions, including the Farm Bureau's. Editor Shawnee National Forest
Editor: I recently read your November 1991 article entitled, "Shawnee National forest: To log or
not to log?" I would like to correct a statement
accredited to me. Camp Hutchins area is not virgin forest, and I have never claimed that it
is. Unfortunately no 2,900-acre tract of virgin
forest exists in the entire state of Illinois. Your
article correctly describes Camp Hutchins'
importance as part of the largest unfragmented
forest in the state, some 20,000 acres of beautiful, rugged Ozark Hills habitat. It would indeed
be a tragedy to log such a valuable biological
resource.
Laurel Toussaint Readers: Your comments on articles and columns are welcome. Please keep letters brief (250 words); we reserve the right to excerpt them so as many as space allows can be published. Send your letter to: Caroline Gherardini, Editor
TV documentary on The People's Senator, Paul Douglas of Illinois is a 30-minute documentary produced by Chicago's WTTW/Channel 11 to be broadcast March 26, the 100th anniversary of Douglas' birthday. Celebrating the life and times of Douglas, economist and professor from the University of Chicago who served three terms in the U.S. Senate (1948-1966), the program is narrated by John Callaway. Douglas was considered a man ahead of his time, spearheading congressional progress on issues such as national health care, women's rights, tax reform, civil rights and ethics in government. WTTW and other public TV stations in Illinois will broadcast the special program on Thursday, March 26. March 1992/Illinois Issues/9 |
|
|
