THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...Governor signs budget...Judge throws out slating law...The concerns of homeschooling
June 6, 2024
Good morning, Illinois.
Today marks 80 years since the allied invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944, known as D-Day. Every book I’ve read and story I’ve heard is best summed up as “hell on earth.” I always find myself watching the opening clip of Saving Private Ryan. (Note: its graphic.)
They truly were the greatest generation.
We’ll have a podcast tomorrow for subscribers that will go out to everyone on Saturday.
No legislature until the fall. There’s nothing on the Governor’s public schedule.
Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
(note: we’re not responsible for paywalls and restrictions from other news outlets, because good journalism isn’t free)
Budget balancing act? Pritzker signs $53.1 billion spending plan, dismisses Democratic discord (Chicago Sun-Times)
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday downplayed Democratic divisions as he signed a sweeping $53.1 billion budget that relies on $1.1 billion in revenue and includes a child tax credit.
The signing of the spending plan in the West Loop’s State of Illinois building featured no fanfare — unlike Pritzker’s last two budgets, in which he stood flanked by cheering rank-and-file Democratic lawmakers.
But Pritzker swept away the notion that the low-key event was due to any intraparty feuds, saying he is backed by House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, who stood alongside him, in addition to House Speaker Pro Tempore Jehan Gordon-Booth, D-Peoria, state Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.
The signing came a week after the Illinois House barely cleared a revenue measure with a 60-45 vote. Some lawmakers were upset about the taxes it contained, and that the governor’s office didn’t want to reduce overall spending in the budget. But Democratic leaders were able to scrounge enough support for the plan.
“There was a lot of agreement, and these are folks who are leaders of their caucuses, leaders in the General Assembly,” Pritzker said of Welch and Harmon. “So when they’re here, they’re representing the vast majority of their caucuses, if not their entire caucus.”
The Democratic-led supermajorities in the House and Senate last week approved the budget, which included a $200 million tax hike on sportsbooks; capping the discount that retailers receive for collecting sales tax at $1,000 per month; and extending limits on the amount of operating losses corporations can write off on their income taxes — a maneuver estimated to generate another $526 million for the state.
This year’s budget was no easy feat, and next year’s is expected to be even more challenging as the state nears a looming fiscal cliff. Transit agencies in northeastern Illinois will face an expected budget deficit of $730 million in 2026, as ridership remains below pandemic levels and as federal funds expire.
Republicans have repeatedly derided the budget, saying Democrats are adding new programs that the state can’t afford, instead of making meaningful cuts that will ultimately help taxpayers. They also feel left out of the process, with the supermajority — and Pritzker’s office — taking control of budget priorities.
There were also partisan potshots. In both the House and Senate debates, Republicans cited the budget’s inclusion of $182 million in funding for migrants and $440 million in health care costs for undocumented people as proof that the budget prioritizes noncitizens.. Illinois Republican leader John Curran, Downers Grove, on Wednesday accused Pritzker of raising taxes on “Illinois families and businesses to pay for the migrant crisis.”
“In six short years, Gov. Pritzker has raised the cost of state government by over 30% and expanded noncitizen spending from a few million dollars per year to nearly a billion dollars per year today,” Curran said. “It is grossly unfair for Gov. Pritzker to raise taxes on Illinois families and businesses to pay for the migrant crisis he created.”
Related: Democrats declare ‘Illinois is on the right track’ as Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs $53.1 billion budget (Chicago Tribune)
Pritzker signs $53.1B Illinois budget, defends spending with ‘sustainable long-term growth’ (Associated Press)
Brushing off concerns of overspending, Pritzker signs $53.1 billion state budget (Capitol News Illinois)
Pritzker signs $53.1B budget, touts investments in education, economic development (State Journal-Register)
Judge rules unconstitutional Gov. J.B. Pritzker-backed election law that aided Democrats in November (Chicago Tribune)
A judge in Springfield on Wednesday ruled unconstitutional a new Democrat-passed law that would have prevented Republicans from slating legislative candidates for the November general election in contests where they had not fielded a contender in the March primary.
Sangamon County Circuit Judge Gail Noll said the legislation, quickly passed by the Democratic-led legislature and signed into law May 3 by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker was unconstitutional because it “impermissibly burdens” candidates who had been following the previous law from “their right to vote and to have their names placed on the November ballot.”
Before Democrats moved to change the law, local partisan committees in either political party could fill legislative spots on the general election ballot in races where no candidates from that party had run in the primary. The candidate slated by the political party was still required to obtain candidacy petition signatures in order to appear on the general election ballot.
When he signed the legislation into law, Pritzker said it forced candidates to run in the primary and prevented “backroom deals” where “some small group of people in a smoke-filled room” decided who would run in the general election.
But the attempt to block slating was viewed by many, especially Republicans, as an effort to give the Democrats a boost in the Nov. 5 elections before a vote was even cast. Democrats already hold sizable supermajorities in the House and Senate and the GOP’s inability to slate opponents for late general election challenges would only help Democrats keep their advantage.
“Changing the rules relating to ballot access in the midst of an election cycle removes certainty from the election process and is not necessary to achieve the legislation’s proffered goal,” the judge said, noting that lawmakers could have made the change effective for the 2026 legislative elections.
Related: Judge blocks law that would have banned newly slated candidates from ballot (Capitol News Illinois)
Judge tosses out Illinois ban on drafting legislative candidates as ‘restriction on right to vote’ (Associated Press)
“No Schoolers”: How Illinois’ hands-off approach to homeschooling leaves children at risk (Capitol News Illinois)
It was on L.J.’s 11th birthday, in December 2022, that child welfare workers finally took him away. They arrived at his central Illinois home to investigate an abuse allegation and decided on the spot to remove the boy along with his baby brother and sister — the “Irish twins,” as their parents called them.
His mother begged to keep the children while her boyfriend told child welfare workers and the police called to the scene that they could take L.J.: “You wanna take someone? Take that little motherf—ker down there or wherever the f—k he is at. I’ve been trying to get him out of here for a long time.”
By that time, L.J. told authorities he hadn’t been in a classroom for years, according to police records. First came COVID-19. Then, in August 2021 when he was going to have to repeat the third grade, his mother and her boyfriend decided that L.J. would be homeschooled and that they would be his teachers. In an instant, his world shrank to the confines of a one-bedroom apartment in the small Illinois college town of Charleston — no teachers, counselors or classmates.
In that apartment, L.J. would later tell police, he was beaten and denied food: Getting leftovers from the refrigerator was punishable by a whipping with a belt; sass was met with a slap in the face.
L.J. told police he got no lessons or schoolwork at home. Asked if he had learned much, L.J. replied, “Not really.”
While each state has different regulations for homeschooling — and most of them are relatively weak — Illinois is among a small minority that places virtually no rules on parents who homeschool their children: The parents aren’t required to register with any governmental agency, and no tests are required. Under Illinois law, they must provide an education equivalent to what is offered in public schools, covering core subjects like math, language arts, science and health. But parents don’t have to have a high school diploma or GED, and state authorities cannot compel them to demonstrate their teaching methods or prove attendance, curriculum or testing outcomes.
Go read the whole thing. It’s typically fabulous writing from Beth Hundsdorfer and Molly Parker.
TOP STORIES SO FAR THIS WEEK ON THEILLINOIZE.COM
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Democrats tap gaming cash cow to help fill state budget gap (Capitol News Illinois)
Kevin Warren presses ahead on Bears stadium pitch as Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. J.B. Pritzker stay quiet (Chicago Tribune)
After Springfield denial, Bears seek biz support in stadium pursuit (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois legislature passes carbon capture and sequestration regulations (Daily Herald)
Here are 4 key pieces of legislation that stalled during spring session in Illinois (State Journal-Register)
Bill aimed at assisting public defenders falls short this spring, backers say they’ll try again in fall (Chicago Tribune)
State senator hopes gas-leak detector bill can prevent catastrophes like house explosions (Daily Herald)
Ed Burke is asking for a new trial — with sentencing less than 3 weeks away (Chicago Sun-Times)
Editorial: Repeal the ill-considered Interchange Fee Prohibition Act and avoid credit card chaos in Illinois (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Who's Robin Hood in this Springfield scenario? (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Editorial: Hemp can get you high. Illinois needs to better protect its minors. (Chicago Tribune)
Editorial: Speaker Welch slams the door shut on taxpayer stadium subsidies. Time for Plan B, Bears and Sox. (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: This Illinois law is Big Brother in action (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Curran: Gov. J.B. Pritzker should embrace instead of fight reforms to the Prisoner Review Board (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: State's May revenues add up, but not to much (Champaign News-Gazette)
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