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Comment: Don’t know why they used that headline because no answer is offered, but this is a pretty fair summary of where things stand.
What Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan previously had labeled a “diversion” to resolving the state’s budget impasse became a priority issue Tuesday when the House voted to repeal an automatic 2 percent pay hike following weeks of criticism from Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Thanks only to public outrage. As reported separately, Madigan is claiming this as a “concession” to Rauner.
Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday would not shut the door on a property tax increase to balance the city’s books and ease its reliance on heavy borrowing, saying taxpayers will have to wait until he unveils his budget proposal in September to find out.
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With the second-largest number of sworn officers in the U.S., Chicago is struggling to pay an extra $550 million in pension obligations owed to public-safety workers. That leaves the city with little financial flexibility as homicides have risen more than 18 percent from last year and shootings 17 percent.
As a percentage of operating revenue, Chicago remained at the top with adjusted net pension liabilities at 703%.
“I just don’t get the sense that the administration really has any understanding of the value of money,” said one U of I prof.
In a ruling entered Friday, the Fifth District Appellate Court refused to overturn a circuit court’s order that state employees continue to be paid — despite the lack of a state budget — while those employees pursue a lawsuit.
Comment: Huge waste of time. It would be an incredible stretch for the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Illinois’ decision on SB-1, and would be a bad thing if it did, leading to years and years of vague, court-supervised control of state budgets. Besides, SB-1 would still leave the state with unfunded liabilities larger than when the bill was drafted. See our earlier piece here.
Mitsubishi announced last week that production at the Normal plant will end at the end of November. Tesla could be a candidate to open a new facility in the U.S. Tata Motors, the largest manufacturer in the Indian automotive industry, may be looking to build, and Jaguar officials also are reported to be considering opening a plant to build Land Rovers.
Suburbs that host video gambling in bars and restaurants and look forward to getting a cut of the money won’t see their share until the state has a budget in place, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s office said Monday.
As Illinois legislators head back to Springfield, Tuesday will mark House members’ last chance to stop a pay raise worth more than $1350 before they get paid Friday, July 31.
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