THE ILLINOIZE: Thursday Free for All...State revenue estimates fall...A ban on banning books advances to governor...What does the ComEd trial result mean for Illinois politics?
May 4, 2023
Good morning, Illinois.
Lots to get to with 15 days to go before adjournment. The House and Senate are in at noon. Governor Pritzker speaks at the Police Officers Memorial Ceremony outside the Statehouse at 11.
We’ll also have a podcast for subscribers first (and everyone else after) with reaction from the ComEd Four trial. Had some good discussions yesterday.
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Let’s get to it.
YOUR THURSDAY FREE FOR ALL
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Latest state budget forecast puts brakes on previously predicted surplus (Capitol News Illinois)
The state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has decreased its current-year budget forecast by $728 million, erasing much of a once-predicted surplus that had led Gov. JB Pritzker to float the idea of tax cuts earlier this spring.
While the commission’s $51.2 million estimate is now 1.2 percent below its estimate from early March, the impact on Gov. JB Pritzker’s budget proposal is relatively small because the governor’s plan relied on a more conservative estimate.
“Responsible fiscal decisions have led to surpluses allowing us to pay off debt, save for our future, and let us prepare for the possibility of a revenue slowdown,” Pritzker spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh said in an email. “The governor will continue to work with the General Assembly to pass a responsible balanced budget that makes necessary investments while living within our means.”
COGFA’s Fiscal Year 2023 estimate is now about $183 million below the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget’s estimate that was included in Pritzker’s February proposal. Pritzker’s updated FY 2023 budget, however, had planned to spend slightly less than the new COGFA estimate.
If final revenues mirror the new COGFA estimate, it would, however, mean there’s little to no current-year surplus beyond spending already proposed by the governor as lawmakers craft a final spending plan with two-and-a-half weeks to go in the spring legislative session.
The financial picture for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2024 is also largely unchanged by the new report. COGFA’s $50.4 million FY 24 estimate is $800 million above the proposed $49.6 billion spending level in Pritzker’s February plan.
The latest COGFA report echoes a word of warning that Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris gave to a Senate appropriations committee last week.
“Looking ahead to FY 24, I would simply encourage caution. I think the governor's budget that was introduced is accurate,” he said.
The issue here isn’t so much the decrease in revenue, that was expected. It’s wondering now what the legislature will do to with all of the gigantic pressures on the spending side.
Related: Illinois' surge in revenue might be over as April figures tank (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Bill targeting book bans heads to governor's desk (Decatur Herald & Review)
A bill discouraging Illinois libraries from banning books due to political pressure is heading to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk after passing the Illinois Senate Wednesday afternoon.
The measure requires Illinois libraries to either adopt the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights or develop an explicit policy prohibiting the practice of banning books in order to remain eligible for state grants.
It passed the Illinois Senate 39-19 on a partisan roll call, with Democrats in favor and Republicans in opposition. It passed the Illinois House in late March.
It has been a top legislative priority of Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who also serves as the state’s librarian.
“This landmark legislation is a triumph for our democracy, a win for First Amendment rights and, most importantly, a great victory for future generations to come,” Giannoulias said in a press conference after the bill’s passage.
The measure was hailed by Giannoulias as a first-in-the-nation measure pushing back against a broader partisan battle across the country over what books and materials are appropriate for consumption in public libraries.
“The concept of banning books contradicts the very essence of what our country stands for,” Giannoulias said. “You get to decide what is right for your children but you don’t get to make that decision for everyone else.”
No book should be banned. Ever. Period. End of story. But not every book is appropriate for a five year old. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground in this debate and it makes me want to bang my head against the wall.
Related: Bill blocking libraries from state funding if they ban books clears General Assembly (Capitol News Illinois)
Opinion: When books are banned (Illinois Times)
What the ComEd trial guilty verdicts mean for Illinois politics (WBEZ)
The fallout from bribery convictions against four former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists may take months or maybe years to sort out, but a federal jury appeared to make a forceful statement with its verdicts.
It strongly disliked how Springfield does business.
The outcome of the seven-week trial of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and former company lobbyists Michael McClain, John Hooker and Jay Doherty — convictions for all four — is certain to impact the racketeering and bribery trial next year of one-time House Speaker Michael Madigan.
The evidence of how those former ComEd officials bribed Madigan — roughly 140 secretly taped audio and video recordings, testimony from a government mole and about three dozen witnesses for the prosecution — underwent an important legal stress test in this trial in putting the ex-speaker in an ugly light.
Portions of that same evidence could be reused in the Madigan trial since part of the case involves the ComEd bribery storyline. A juror on Tuesday evening said that the group saw Madigan at the center of the entire scheme.
“Our perception was that he really did cause this all to happen,” said juror Amanda Schnitker Sayers, a veterinarian from Logan Square. “If it wouldn’t [have] been for him, then these people would not have been in [a] position that they would need to commit crimes in the first place.”
The guilty verdicts in the current case also could ignite new ethics reforms at the statehouse Madigan once commanded. As Illinois history shows, major criminal cases or ethical scandals almost always have forced change.
Related: Exelon is still paying for ComEd's crimes (Crain’s Chicago Business)
How the jurors reached their guilty verdict in the ComEd bribery trial (WBEZ)
ComEd jurors say they didn’t believe the jobs and money that went to Madigan allies were just legal lobbying (Chicago Sun-Times)
'ComEd Four' jury convicts Springfield, too (Crain’s Chicago Business)
SOME TOP LINKS FROM THE WEEK SO FAR
POLITICAL POTPOURRI
Illinois near the top in U.S. in pot taxes collected (Crain’s Chicago Business)
House approves drug price gouging bill, now heads to Senate (State Journal-Register)
Only two states ban declawing cats. Will Illinois become the 3rd? (Chicago Tribune)
Federal appeals court in Chicago asked to intervene after judge blocks assault weapons ban (Chicago Sun-Times)
Pritzker’s IDOT secretary violated rules by letting high-ranking officials delegate duties to keep job options open, IG finds (Chicago Tribune)
Uihleins spread their money beyond Illinois (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Illinois’ House speaker, an ally to organized labor, faces a push from his own employees to unionize (WBEZ)
Budzinski on bipartisanship and supporting working people (Illinois Times)
Illinois moves to build its own Obamacare marketplace (Crain’s Chicago Business)
Rep. Jason Bunting settling into Springfield digs (Pontiac Daily Leader)
Editorial: Law against hanging things from rearview mirror needs to end (Daily Herald)
Editorial: Enough with fake newspapers where propaganda masquerades as news (Chicago Tribune)
Opinion: Brandon Johnson Won’t Turn Chicago Into Detroit (Chicago Magazine)
Opinion: The heart of labor is beating strong in Chicago and Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times)
Opinion: Gambling expansion in Illinois: How much is too much? (Champaign News-Gazette)
Opinion: Managing water risk will become big business. Illinois should lead the way. (Crain’s Chicago Business)
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