Legislative Action                                                             

No one can accuse the 87th General Assembly of slacking off on its final day. Though there were plenty of speeches to hear and parties to attend in honor of retiring legislators, lawmakers took the time January 12 to act on some complicated issues.

Hours of negotiations by legislative leaders and gubernatorial staff over an omnibus pension bill were not wasted. The legislature passed a measure offering early retirement incentives to some public employees and sweetening the pensions of others.

Under the legislation, state police and downstate teachers near retirement age could gain credit for five additional years of service and be treated as five years older than they are when their retirement benefits are figured. Chicago teachers were left out of the package because the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Board of Education couldn't reach agreement on terms.

Public university employees can take advantage of a limited early retirement plan under which the universities would foot the 7 percent penalty normally paid by an employee taking early retirement. Also included in the legislation, which Gov. Jim Edgar is expected to sign, is a provision that would allow some retiring lawmakers to increase their future benefits by adding money now to the pension fund.

Yet even as legislative factions were hammering out the retirement plan's details January 11, Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch reported that the state's five pension systems are increasingly underfunded. The pension systems held assets of more than $17 billion at the end of fiscal 1992, but their liabilities amounted to more than $30 billion. "These obligations will not suddenly go away," Netsch said. "They have to be paid. The governor and legislature have been shirking this quintessential obligation for too long."

On the environmental front, both the House and Senate passed a measure requiring northeast Illinois to work toward reducing the number of cars used by commuters during the morning rush hour. The legislation — worked out between state agencies, public and private employers, environmental groups and labor interests — is aimed at working toward compliance with the federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

If the governor signs the bill (SB 2177) as passed, the employer trip reduction (ETR) program will require any employer with over 100 workers at one site to reduce the number of trips his or her employees make to work in their own vehicles between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Employers would be expected to meet these goals, for example, by implementing flex-time schedules and creating incentives for workers to car-pool or use mass transit.

The counties affected are Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will and portions of Kendall and Grundy. Similar programs are being pushed in other areas of the country that face severe ozone levels.

Illinois missed the November 15, 1992, deadline by which it had been required to submit plans for an ETR program to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Last spring, an impasse between the state's Environmental Protection Agency and a coalition of business interests kept the bill from being passed. And without labor interests on board last fall, it went nowhere during the 1992 veto session.

But for all the delays, it remains doubtful the measure will pass muster with the USEPA. For one thing, it doesn't include a funding mechanism to pay for its annual costs, estimated at $1.7 million to $1.8 million. "This is a half-step," said Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25, Chicago). "It's not a large enough step. It's hard to imagine the USEPA will take [this] seriously." Members of the 88th General Assembly will have to deal with the details of this issue.

Plenty of other matters will occupy lawmakers during the spring session, which has been targeted to end early — May 28 instead of the traditional June 30 adjournment date. The tentative calendar calls for four weeks of committee meetings instead of the usual seven, and it would reduce the time to consider bills on third reading from 16 to 10 days.

In light of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley's contention that building a land-based casino in the city is "not a priority" for him any longer, it's unclear what, if any, type of gambling Daley will seek this spring. There is some speculation of a Mayor Daley-Gov. Jim Edgar compromise allowing riverboats on Lake Michigan — a scenario that surely won't win the hearts of downstate officials with riverboats in their districts. But Daley doesn't seem to be leaning that way.

Without a full-fledged, controversy-filled casino proposal hogging everyone's attention, other issues will be battling for headlines. Legislators have the volatile issue of health care, specifically Medicaid funding. At issue is whether the "sick tax" and "granny tax" will be continued. Though they are extremely unpopular, there aren't too many attractive alternatives that would yield Illinois $735 million, thus allowing the state to continue collecting matching federal funds for Medicaid.

The Medicaid tax generates Illinois' third-largest income source, behind the income and sales taxes and ahead of the lottery. It expires July 1, and a task force on health care reform was expected to recommend changes to the current tax by February 1. Suggested alternate methods of raising the money include an income tax increase, restoration of the state sales tax on some foods and non-prescription medicine, a new tax on services, increased "sin" taxes on alcohol or tobacco, or a premium tax on insurance companies — none of which seems likely to be popular with legislators. Gov. Edgar, however, hasn't altered his position against increased taxes.

As a final note, backers of past "family leave" efforts are expected to watch for cues from the new Congress and the Clinton administration before reviving the issue in Illinois. *

30/February 1993/Illinois Issues