THE ILLINOIZE: If it's a good idea and you can't afford it, is it still a good idea?...Has casino approval delay doomed Rockford?...Rabine in...State trooper killed
March 26, 2021
Good morning.
The Senate has vacated Springfield and the legislature won’t return until April 13, after a two week “spring break.”
But there’s stuff to talk about, to be sure.
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Let’s get to it.
WHERE’S THE MONEY?
As the House debated a Black Caucus led bill to reform health care and access last week and the Senate debated it yesterday, there was a lot of agreement, even from GOP members, on what was in the bill.
Then there was the price tag.
Republican estimates show the bill would cost between 5 and $12 billion each year. That represents about a quarter of Governor JB Pritzker’s proposed FY2022 budget.
“We cannot not afford it,” said Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago): “How do you put a price tag on somebody’s life? We must do everything we can to protect the life of every mother and their child.”
“We just can’t afford it. That’s really what it comes down to,” said Sen. Steve McClure (R-Springfield) on the Senate floor Thursday.
Rep. Lilly suggested the state can use a portion of $7.5 billion of federal stimulus dollars to pay for a portion of the project.
“We do have a start as to where revenues are coming from,” she said. “I really believe that the revenue will be prioritized so that we have better health outcomes.”
But Spain says there isn’t enough stimulus money, or general fund money, to go around. :
“I get very concerned that this bill is subject to appropriation to the tune of billions and billions of dollars and that we’re already thinking, as a legislative body, how we may expand our spending beyond the obligations that we already have,” Spain said. “I remind everyone [that $7.5 billion] is a one time infusion. If we begin to take special one-time federal money and apply it to new spending like this, we’re doing a terrible disservice to the taxpayers of Illinois and to the people that require health care improvements in all of those communities.”
Governor JB Pritzker praised the legislation in a statement Thursday, but his staff did not respond to our questions about the cost or funding source for the bill.
CASINO DELAYS COSTING ROCKFORD?
Governor JB Pritzker signed the state’s gaming expansion bill into law in June, 2019 authorizing six new casinos around the state.
None of those are constructed yet, and, in fact, none have been approved by the Illinois Game Board. The law gave the Board 12 months to approve the licenses.
In Rockford, local officials are feeling the heat after the Wisconsin governor approved a casino this week in Beloit, just across the border.
“[It] will have a potentially devastating impact because the Indian casinos don’t pay taxes so they can afford to pay larger purses and subsidize their hotels,” Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) said. “I wanted us to be able to be at least first out there so we could be the first one open.”
The News-Gazette in Champaign reported in January that the Gaming Board didn’t really have any answers for what’s taking them so long.
Illinois Gaming Board Administrator Marcus Fruchter said in October that the coronavirus pandemic had delayed many of the steps that are part of the application process.
“COVID-19 made certain routine IGB activities — such as applicant and key person interviews, site visits, fingerprint analysis, and obtaining official tax documents and other records from state, local and federal agencies — difficult and at times impossible,” he said.
The gaming board is supposed to approve licenses within a year or provide a written explanation for why it hasn’t.
“The IGB does not comment on pending investigations of new casino applicants,” spokesman Gene O’Shea said. “Additionally, the board does not speculate on timelines associated with any licensing decision.”
A spokesman from the Gaming Board didn’t return our message yesterday.
Here’s our story from this morning.
DROPBOXES, CURBSIDE VOTING TO BE PERMANENT
Just 11 days before the April 6 local elections (Mayors, school boards, township officials, etc.) the General Assembly has made voter accessibility tools like drop boxes permanent.
HB1871 was cleared by the Senate Thursday to reinstate some of the voter accessibility, most notably drop boxes, which appeared in counties around the state last November.
The talented Sarah Mansur from Capitol News Illinois reported yesterday that some counties continued to use the drop boxes this year.
Sangamon County, which did not have a February primary, is using one drop box that is located on the premises of the county building for the April election. The second drop box in Sangamon County that was available during 2020 outside of the county Regional Office of Education is not being used for the upcoming election.
Matt Dietrich, spokesperson for the state Board of Elections, said the Election Code is silent on drop boxes, as it is currently written. He said drop boxes were specifically authorized in the election bill for the 2020 general election.
“When that law expired on Jan. 1, there was no specific prohibition on their use nor was there any authorization for their use,” Dietrich said in an email.
Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said his office is treating the single drop box outside the county building as an extension of the election office. The state’s election code allows voters to return their mail-in ballots to the election authority office, which is the county election office in Sangamon County.
“I can't stress enough how universally popular and successful this resource was in the November general election,” Gray said in a phone interview.
Gray is a Republican, by the way.
While its not clear when Governor JB Pritzker will sign the bill, it’s hard to imagine every election authority across the state pulling the bins out of storage before April 6. But you can imagine we’ll see them used statewide in 2022.
RABINE IN, GOP GOV CANDIDATES MEET TONIGHT
Suburban businessman Gary Rabine’s campaign announced yesterday he will finally launch his long-discussed campaign for Governor next Tuesday.
Rabine, of Bull Valley in McHenry County, runs a large paving, roofing, and snow removal company, has already put around $110,000 of his own money into his new campaign. He raised money for the Trump campaign last year, and, I’m told, has a history of some “questionable statements.” That may help you win a pro-Trump primary, but makes it a lot harder to win a General in this state.
Both announced candidates, Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) and former Sen. Paul Schimpf, as well as Rabine, are all scheduled to speak at a McHenry County GOP event tonight. Illinois’ Republican National Committeeman, Richard Porter, who is also considering a run for the state’s top job, I’m told, will be there but isn’t scheduled to speak.
SYMPATHIES AND PRAYERS
Our prayers to the families of Illinois State Police Trooper Todd Hanneken and Coles County Sheriff’s Deputy Brett Kastl, who died in separate incidents.
Hanneken, 45, of Decatur, was killed in a car crash while on patrol outside of Champaign yesterday afternoon. Hanneken was honored in 2018 after he pulled a man out of a burning vehicle.
Kastl, who would have been 51 yesterday, was from Lerna. The sheriff's office indicated on Thursday that the cause of Kastl's death was medically related.
A Chicago Police officer was also wounded yesterday in a shootout with a man who shot a security guard after he robbed a Home Depot. The officer, who hasn’t been identified, was released from the hospital last night. He’s the fourth Chicago officer to be wounded in the last two weeks.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Former State Representative and former State Ag Director Ray Poe turns 77 today. Former State Representative and current Department of Revenue Director David Harris turns 73. I saw Director Harris in January and he still looks like he could lead a platoon. (He was Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard from 1999 to 2003).
Former State Representatives Carol Ronen and Marlow Colvin celebrate Sunday.
BEFORE WE GO…
A few of you made fun of my political ad obsession the other day. But a few of you said you enjoyed the blast from the past. Here’s one from 1978 Democratic candidate for Governor Michael Bakalis. In this spot, he ran to the right of Republican Governor Jim Thompson on abortion.
Imagine that in 2021.
By the way, Big Jim won that race 59%-40%.
Check it out, and let me know what you think.
Have a great weekend.