THE ILLINOIZE: Will there be an energy bill?...The $8 billion unemployment gorilla...FOID bill to get a vote...Rep. Dan Brady isn't running for Secretary of State (at least, not yet)
June 15, 2021
Good morning.
About the time you’re receiving this, I’ll be pulling the wagons out of the suburban ranch for the trip to Springfield where we…well…have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen with hotly contested energy bill.
The Senate is scheduled to be in today, the House tomorrow, and everything was supposed to move like clockwork. Until it didn’t. (More on that in a minute.)
We’ve been telling subscribers about the details of the internal Democratic battles on this legislation, and the only way you’ll find out the latest with detail and insight is by becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only $7.99 per month or $75 per year. It’s a steal. I mean, I’ll spend more than $7.99 on coffee today. Sign up now.
As always, we want your suggestions, input, comments, critiques, jokes, scuttlebutt, and witty comments about what’s happening in state government. Feel free to reach out anytime at patrick@theillinoize.com.
Let’s get to it.
PRITZKER/HARMON FEUD STALLING ENERGY BILL?
This e-mail will hit your inbox with around 6 1/2 hours to go before the State Senate calls in the Illinois General Assembly to pass a wide-ranging energy bill, except, as we go to bed Monday night, there’s no deal on the bill.
Supporters hope the legislation accomplishes three things:
Provide subsidies and/or ratepayer hikes to Exelon/Commonwealth Edison to keep nuclear plants in the state up and running.
Add restrictions on coal-fired and natural gas power plants to close them by 2035.
Implement new requirements (and fees) for the use of green energy projects. That is expected to increase bills for consumers, as well.
The sticking point, at least as we write this, is the complicated relationship between Gov. JB Pritzker and Senate President Don Harmon. Pritzker has been in lockstep with environmentalists through the process, demanding the closure of coal and natural gas plants. Harmon has sided with unions who don’t want to lose the jobs at huge employers like the Prairie States Energy facility in Marissa in southern Illinois.
As of this writing (I’m typing this at 10:10 P.M.), there’s no bill filed anywhere. The Senate has scheduled a 10:30 A.M. “subject matter” hearing in the Senate Energy and Public Utilities committee meeting.
If there’s no agreed bill, it’s possible President Harmon runs his bill that was floating around town last week.
It’s going to be nuts today, kids. Stay tuned.
UNEMPLOYMENT DEFICIT COULD COST BUSINESSES
It’s not hard to imagine if you’ve never heard of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
It’s where unemployment taxes paid by businesses go into the fund and are used to pay unemployment claims. The fund has been relatively steady since the “Great Recession” of 2008 and 2009, but, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, is in the worst shape the fund has ever been.
Illinois Retail Merchants Association President & CEO Rob Karr says, post 2008 collapse, the UI Trust Fund was about $2.3 billion in the hole.
Right now, that hole is $8 billion.
“The system was overwhelmed,” he said. “Part of that includes fraud. And, to this day, I don’t know that anyone has a good handle on the true extent of the fraud.”
The new budget includes $100 million for the UI Trust Fund, but Karr says that won’t help tackle the problem. The House is expected to pass a bill Wednesday to provide unemployment funding for non-education employees in schools like janitors and cooks. The bill would also forgive payments made to people who didn’t qualify as long as it was no fault of their own. Those two additional costs are expected to eat up the funding from the legislature.
Karr says employers are asking the General Assembly to use more of the American Rescue Plan dollars to strengthen the UI Trust Fund, but much of the ARP funding was not disbursed in the new budget. He says the Pritzker administration is attempting to get additional funding to shore up the fund, but hasn’t made significant progress yet.
Karr says without an influx of money, the state faces the choice of raising taxes on employers, cutting benefits to the unemployed, or some combination of the two.
You can read more about the giant issue facing workers during tough times here.
FOID VOTE WEDNESDAY
Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) confirmed to me last night he’s going to call the Senate version of the “Fix the FOID” bill Wednesday.
The Senate and the House passed separate Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) bills before adjournment. The House version was seen as more restrictive, as it would have required anyone who wants a permit to own a gun to get fingerprinted. (Which, by the way, isn’t even required to get a concealed carry license.)
The Senate bill makes it optional to get fingerprinted, but it would make the approval process faster.
The Illinois State Rifle Association is neutral on the bill, so gun owners aren’t freaking out about it. In fact, State ISRA President Richard Pearson told me last week there are some things in the bill he thinks will speed up approval of the long-delayed cards. Our lovely friend Amanda Vinicky from WTTW has more here.
The House bill only got exactly 60 votes at the end of May, but would require 71 to pass now. The less restrictive language may keep some downstate Democrats on board, but may peel off some more progressive Democrats from Chicago and the suburbs.
I asked Hoffman if he thinks he has the votes and he wrote back simply “I don’t predict roll calls.”
BRADY UPDATE
State Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) corrected the record for me yesterday after a reporter tweeted over the weekend Brady was telling colleagues he is running for Secretary of State.
Brady told us in early May he would consider running for Secretary of State 2022, especially if he were drawn out of his Bloomington-Normal based district. So far, Brady’s district remains in tact, but he’s still having conversations about running statewide.
He denied that he told any of his colleagues he is running for Secretary of State, but continues to gather input and consider his options. Former Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), though not related to Dan Brady, is also considering running for Secretary of State. Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) has also been connected with a potential campaign for SoS, where Democrat Jesse White plans to retire in 2023, sets up a potentially high-powered race to replace White.
Democrat former State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, Sen. Michael Hatings (D-Frankfort), as well as Chicago alderwoman Pat Dowell and alderman David Moore have all signaled their intention to seek the office next year.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
Friday- Rep. Aaron Ortiz, former State Rep. Jerry Mitchell
Saturday- Former State Sen. Cheryl Axley
Sunday- Rep. Maurice West
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