 |
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO |
Staff |
Links |
Legislative Action
Springtime in Springfield
By JENNIFER HALPERIN
Campaign rhetoric shapes agenda
With elections in store for Illinoisans during March and November, the spring legislative session probably will double as a forum for campaigning by those whose names will appear on ballots. Expect an extra helping of rhetoric to be served up during coming months under the state Capitol dome.
Crime control efforts are popular to push during election years and should be especially prevalent in Springfield this session, given the attention that's been generated nationwide about people's growing fears in and of our violent society. From a California kidnapping to a Long Island commuter train massacre to the double-digit murders of children catalogued last year in the metropolitan Chicago area, violent crimes are being followed and analyzed and publicized every day.
These circumstances, combined with the fact that last year prison reforms were addressed, probably will make for the introduction of several mandatory minimum sentencing bills. Though such measures may not get too far, due to the usual reasons of lack of jail and prison space and money to create new cells, candidates on many different levels probably will still be unable to resist tying their names to the publicity-generating efforts.
With primary battles brewing in both parties in the attorney general's race, crime-fighting packages probably will be announced early in the session. The Republican contenders — Jim Ryan, DuPage County state's attorney, and Jeff Ladd, a McHenry County attorney who heads the METRA commuter train service in Chicagoland — likely will focus their efforts on fighting drug- and gang-related crimes. The Democratic contenders are attorney Al Hofeld and former Chicago Alderman Martin Oberman.
Tightened gun-control measures also probably will be resurrected despite the perennial lukewarm response they've received in the legislature. Cook County Board President Richard J. Phelan, a candidate for governor in the Democratic primary, may have claimed this issue as his own by calling in November for a statewide ban on the purchase and possession of assault guns. In a series of press conferences held during a "fly-around" to tout the ban, he took a political shot at Gov. Jim Edgar by calling on him to reverse his opposition to such a move as a way to "get these deadly weapons off the street."
Phelan successfully pushed measures through the Cook County Board in October banning the sale and possession of assault weapons in Cook County and requiring gun dealers to buy a $500 license. He shouldn't have too tough a time finding sponsors, especially considering that Sen. Penny Severns (D-51, Decatur) is his running mate for lieutenant governor.
And state Rep. Rod Blagojevich (D-33.. Chicago), who has filed a petition to run in the Democratic primary for the 5th congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, issued a press release in November 1993 announcing his place in the gun-control world. He is sponsoring legislation that would place on the ballot for either the March primary or the November general election a statewide advisory referendum asking voters to decide if the manufacturing, sale, purchase and possession of assault weapons should be banned in Illinois.
A push for riverboat gambling in Chicago remains a potential issue that could provide plenty of political fodder both for those who support implementing it and those who oppose it. Those against it will be painted as anti-Chicago, while supporters could be portrayed as willing to depend on the uncertain (and some say immoral) revenues of gambling to help fund critical services like education.
Ethics-related measures that address the way Illinois purchases goods and services already are on the agenda of some lawmakers as well as of state Comptroller Dawn dark Netsch, also a candidate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. An auditor general committee spent much time last year examining the state's purchasing policies and came up with a list of recommendations to reform the system. Among the recommendations Netsch endorses are: requiring that all purchases over $10,000 be awarded through a competitive, sealed bidding process and establishing a policy board to oversee state purchases. State Sen. Judy Baar Topinka (R-22, North Riverside), candidate for state treasurer, and Severns were on this committee and likely also will support its recommendations in the legislature.
|
Netsch also will be renewing her push for unsexy but bipartisan-supported budget reforms that have failed in the past. The budget reform package she has announced revisits four previous proposals: Creating a bipartisan committee to produce a general revenue estimate each fiscal year that the governor and legislature would have to follow when appropriating funds; establishing a "rainy day" fund for use during economic hardship, which couldn't be tapped until 1999; requiring state agencies to provide budgeting accountability report cards; and establish a Truth in Budgeting Note Act to provide reasonable and reliable estimates of probable changes in state revenues or expenses. |
|
Two environmental measures will have to be addressed, as the state already is set to lose federal road funds for not dealing with them sooner. One involves the expansion of vehicle emissions tests in the Chicago and Metro East St. Louis areas. The other involves revisiting the so-called "employer trip reduction" measure. Lawmakers likely will have to agree on a new formula when it comes to figuring out how many trips by car must be trimmed from Chicagoland highways. An already agreed-upon formula is in the
26/January 1994/Illinois Issues
throes of debate between officials of the state and federal environmental protection agencies.
In a year when the legislature will be attempting to adopt a hold-the-line budget at the same time that the state must come up with its share, however small, of flood relief dollars, Illinois can't well afford to lose out on federal aid.
And though an election year may not be the time in lawmakers' minds to tackle hefty issues, there are several that await their days in the sun. For instance, and perhaps most intimidating for politicians to discuss, the state's method of funding education is widely felt to be overly reliant on the property tax — a tax that does not reflect a person's economic experience for a certain year. Switching the bulk of school funding to the income tax, a tax that is more reflective of a person's financial capability, is seen by many as a logical move. But discussion of such a switch would involve discussion of an increase in the state income tax — and that's a discussion few politicians want to engage in before voters step into the voting booth.
Social services also have posed great challenges for Illinois, to put it mildly. The state's departments providing child welfare and mental health services both have been embroiled in federal lawsuits, while the state has struggled to find an acceptable way to pay enormous health care bills for needy residents. Last year, the Medicaid hot potato was passed from nursing home residents to tobacco users. A more certain, steady source of funds for all these necessary services eventually will have to be addressed.
But these crucial issues may well have to wait for another, non-election-driven session.
In terms of what actually will get through the legislature, last year can be looked upon as a model for how tension between a Republican-dominated Senate and Democrat-dominated House can stop measures that sped through one chamber dead in their tracks. What could make for an interesting change this year is the addition of many people's personal agendas, which they'll advocate loudly in hopes of reclaiming their current offices or climbing on to higher ones. It should make for a virtual bubbling cauldron of ideas and arguments — fueled, of course, by plenty of hot air.
Month 1994/lllinois Issues/27
|
|