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CTBA Weekly Review
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October 23, 2007 |
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Springfield Update |
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 Budget,
Transit, & Capital Plan Still Unresolved
The BIMP & Education Funding
The BIMP authorizes how to spend any
new money in the budget such as the
$400 increase in the per pupil
foundation level.
While local school districts can receive
their increased payments retroactively,
human service providers rely on Medicaid
funding, which can only be paid
prospectively. That means some human
service programs have lost funding this
year.
A new report from the Illinois State
Board of Education details how the BIMP
delay affects every school district in
the state. The report reveals that
because there is no BIMP, schools are
receiving almost $34 million less in
state aid per month than appropriated to
them in the FY 2008 budget.
Right now there is no telling when the
General Assembly will act on the BIMP.
Capital Plan & Gaming
While almost everyone in the state
agrees that Illinois is in desperate
need of a capital program to build
and repair roads, bridges, schools
and other infrastructure, almost no
one can agree on how to fund it.
Last week the House Gaming Committee
heard testimony on two possible
funding pieces, House Bills
2035
and
480.
Last month the Illinois Senate
approved HB 2035, a
capital-construction program that is
funded through a Chicago casino, two
additional casinos at undetermined
locations and extra positions at
existing riverboat casinos. That
bill now sits in the House.
In addition to more gaming tables
for gambling on riverboats and
additional casinos, HB 480 also
provides for more slot machines at
race tracks.
The hearing was packed with
proponents and opponents. Some
opponents, like the Chicago
Crime Commission and the Better
Government Association,
testified that a casino would
promote hiring fraud, misconduct
and corruption. Both groups
urged lawmakers to find other
revenues sources to fund the
capital program.
There is no telling the bills
fate in the House. Making
matters more confusing is the
fact that currently, Chicago
(one of the recipients of a
casino) will be required to pay
$800 million to the state if
they get a casino license. The
state would then use that money
to help fund the capital
projects bill. The problem is
that Chicago thinks the $800
million fee would not leave the
city with enough money to
fund the building of a casino.
Transit
With "doomsday" scheduled for
November 4th, less than two
weeks away, there is still no
solution for the mass transit
funding problem. Many groups,
including the Taxpayers'
Federation of Illinois
(TFI), have endorsed
SB 572,
the sales tax rate increase in
the Chicago region for mass
transit.
Read TFI's
position statement here.
Highlights of SB
572:
- Generates a total of
between $386-$482 million in
revenues
- Local governments would
receive $116 million of
total revenue for roads
- Transit (CTA, RTA and
PACE) would receive between
$270 and $366 million
- Additional revenue would
go to the Downstate and
Metro-East Public Transit
Funds
- Increases the sales tax
by .50% in Lake, McHenry,
DuPage, Kane and Will
counties
- Increases the sales tax
by .25% in Cook County
- Increases the Chicago
Real Estate Transfer Tax (by
$300 for every $100,000)
- Decreases CTA personnel
retiree benefits
If there is not an agreement on
funding by state leaders, the CTA
will have to cut half of its bus
lines, including all express Lake
Shore Drive busses. Monthly passes
will rise from $75 to $94. One way
fares on busses will increase to
$2.75 and rail to $3.25 during peak
hours.
List of
all routes eliminated
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Follow the Money |
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 Comptroller
Releases "Open Book"
Today Comptroller Dan Hynes unveiled a
searchable database of state contracts
and campaign contributions.
The website, called
"Open
Book"
is a searchable database of state
contracts and campaign contributions
that combines information from the
Comptroller's accounting system with
official semi-annual campaign
disclosure reports filed by
political committees with the State
Board of Elections (SBE).
"The purpose of
Open Book
is to make it much easier for the
public to 'follow the money,'" said
Hynes. "That should make public
officials more accountable to the
people they serve. In turn, it is my
hope that some measure of the public
confidence in state government that
has been lost over the years can be
restored."
The data is presented in a format
that allows users to enter the name
or partial name of an entity that
conducts business with the State of
Illinois and compare that entity's
State contracts with political
contributions it made.
Go to Open Book here
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The Illinois Economy |
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New Report Compares Illinois to the
Nation
The Commission on Government Forecasting
and Accountability (COGFA) has released
a new report on the Illinois economy.
The report,
A Comparative
Study of the Illinois Economy,
compares Illinois with five other
states on a number of variables
including Gross State Product, wages,
employment, personal income and
standards of living.
Highlights of the report:
· Illinois' economy was the 5th
largest economy in the
U.S. in 2006 as measured by GDP.
Illinois' economy makes up
approximately 4.5% of the total U.S.
economy.
· The growth of Illinois' economy
has lagged the country as a whole in
each of the last three decades.
· Over the last decade, the
manufacturing industry has become a
smaller part of Illinois' economy,
while the real estate, professional
and technical services, and health
care and social assistance
industries have grown.
· Illinois had the 5th
largest workforce in
the country. Though this employee
workforce is large, it was the 3rd
slowest growing
workforce in the country.
· Illinois' unemployment rate has
been one of the highest in the
country over the last thirty years.
· The people of Illinois enjoyed the
13th
highest personal income
per capita at $38,215 in 2006.
Similar to GDP growth, Illinois has
lagged behind the country in this
category, averaging growth of only
3.83% over the last decade, which
ranked Illinois 44th.
· Illinois had the 18th
highest standard of
living as measured by real GDP per
capita in 2006 at $41,026. Once
again, Illinois lagged in the growth
of this economic indicator, growing
only 1.13% per year over the last
decade, placing it at 37th.
· While Illinois has done well in
absolute terms (high GDP, high
wages, and high personal income),
the state has experienced poor rates
of growth in these categories over
the past decade.
2007 State of
Working Illinois Report to
Be Released
The second detailed analysis
of workforce and economic
trends, the State of Working
Illinois, will be released
on Wednesday
December 5, 2007 at
a policy forum and
symposium.
This is the second detailed
analysis of workforce and
economic trends produced by
this partnership. Statewide
data as well as data on
individual regions and
counties will be presented
in the report. The
symposium will include a
brief presentation of the
report's highlights followed
by a discussion of the
policy implications by an
expert panel.
The State of Working
Illinois report is one
of the most detailed
state analyses ever
conducted on the
Illinois economy. The
report tracks the
effects of national and
global economic trends
on working families
throughout the state and
provides a wealth of
information on jobs,
income, and unemployment
for each county in the
state. The report also
identifies industrial
sectors and occupational
growth by sector,
employment, education
and income changes in
each region.
With over 400 tables and
charts, The State of
Working Illinois is the
comprehensive reference
on the Illinois
workforce. Visit the
State of Working
Illinois
website for all of the
State of Working
Illinois reports and
data.
The report is a project of
The Center for Governmental
Studies and the Office for
Social Policy Research, both
at Northern Illinois
University, in partnership
with the Center for Tax and
Budget Accountability
Please mark your calendar for
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 from
8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The
forum will be held at the Union
League Club of Chicago, Main
Lounge, 65 West Jackson Blvd,
Chicago Illinois.
Special thanks to The
Joyce Foundation and the
Woods Fund of Chicago for
their financial support in
this project.
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Downstate Transit |
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Downstate - Transit
Funding Opportunity for Accessing
Jobs
The Illinois
Department of Transportation, in
partnership with the Rural Planning
Regional Coordinators, Metropolitan
Planning Organizations (for small
urbanized areas), and the State
Oversight Committee are compiling a list
of organizations / agencies that maybe
interested in applying for funding for
the upcoming solicitation of Job Access
Reverse Commute (JARC) and New Freedom
funding.
The attached memo
requests that you send the appropriate
contact information for your agency (or
others you know who may be interested)
so that we can send out applications
once the official 'Call for Projects'
begins. If you have a mailing list
already compiled, you can forward that
as well. Please
send all contact information by October
31 (including agency contact, address,
phone, email and fax) to
Harriet.Fox@illinois.gov.
(Note the deadline has been extended.)
If you have any
questions about the process, please feel
free to contact or Natashia Holmes at
the Illinois Department of
Transportation
Natashia.Holmes@illinois.gov
or via phone at 312.793.3307.
For more
information about transit projects
accessing jobs and the JARC program, see
the report,
New Opportunities
for Transportation-to-Work Projects in
Illinois.
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Calendar of Events |
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WHAT?
2008 Illinois State Budget
Briefing: What Nonprofits Need
to Know.
WHEN?
Wednesday October 24, 9-11am
WHERE?
Roosevelt
University, Congress Lounge,
Second Floor, 430 S. Michigan
Avenue, Chicago
Hear
what experts have to say
about the areas of the state
budget that will have the
greatest impact on the
nonprofit sector and get
answers to your questions.
Donors Forum, the Center
for Tax and Budget
Accountability and
Roosevelt University
will co-host a budget
briefing on the 2008
Illinois state budget.
Hear what experts have
to say about areas of
the state budget that
will have the greatest
impact on the nonprofit
sector, and get answers
to your questions.
Speakers will include
Ralph Martire of the
Center for Tax and
Budget Accountability,
and Lawrence J.
Suffredin, Jr.,
Cook County
Commissioner. A panel of
legislators will also
join us as speakers
Register
online or
call 312-578-0090, toll free
888-578-0090.
WHAT?
Understanding Appeals & Domestic
Violence and Public Benefits
WHEN?October
24, 2007
WHERE?Naperville,
IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services
Register Here
WHAT?
Immigrants and Public Benefits &
Putting the Pieces Together
WHEN?October
25, 2007
WHERE?Naperville,
IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services
Register Here
WHAT?
Illinois Food Summit 2007
"Building on Success Through
Collaboration"
WHEN?
November 8, 2007
WHERE?
Kankakee Community
College,
100 College Drive,
Kankakee, IL 60901
More info:
http://inc.aces.uiuc.edu/
Sponsored by
Illinois Interagency
Nutrition Council and the
University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign Extension
WHAT?
Affordable Housing Month
WHEN?
November 1-30, 2007
WHERE?
Public education events and
activities to be held throughout the
state
Contact:
nate@housingactionil.org
or 312-939-6074 x 201 More info:
www.housingactionil.org.
WHAT?
Release of
the 2007 State of Working
Illinois Report and Policy Forum
WHEN?
Wednesday, December 5, 2007 from
8:30 to 12:30
WHERE?
Union League Club of Chicago,
main Lounge, 65 West Jackson
Blvd, Chicago, IL
INFO:
This
is the second detailed
analysis of workforce and
economic trends produced by
the Center for Governmental
Studies and the Office for
Social Policy Research, both
at Northern Illinois
University and the Center
for Tax and Budget
Accountability. Statewide
data as well as data on
individual regions and
counties will be presented
in the report.
WHAT?
Making the Connection Basic Training
WHEN?
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
WHERE?
Naperville, IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services the session
contains practical information in an
easy to understand format regarding
many programs available to assist
low income persons.
Register Here
WHAT?
Making the Connection: Public
Benefits and Single Adults & Public
Benefits for Youths up to 21
WHEN?
March 5,
2008
WHERE?
Naperville, IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services
Register Here
WHAT?
Making the Connection: Mental Health
and Public Benefits & Understanding
Spenddown
WHEN? March
6, 2008
WHERE?Naperville,
IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services
Register Here
WHAT?
Understanding Appeals & Domestic
Violence and Public Benefits
WHEN?
March
18, 2008
WHERE?Naperville,
IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services
Register Here
WHAT?
Immigrants and Public Benefits &
Putting the Pieces Together
WHEN?
March 19,
2008
WHERE?Naperville,
IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services
Register Here
WHAT?
Making the Connection Basic Training
WHEN?
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
WHERE?
Naperville, IL
Presented by the DuPage Federation
on Human Services the session
contains practical information in an
easy to understand format regarding
many programs available to assist
low income persons.
Register Here
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Do you have something to
share in the Weekly Review?
Please email Chrissy Mancini
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