Weekly Review
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January 20,
2009
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President Obama's Plan for the States
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Today, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th
President of the United States. He has pledged
to set a new course for the American Economy.
On January 8th, then President-Elect Obama
proposed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Bill of 2009. The package contains tar  geted
efforts in:
- Clean, Efficient, American Energy
- Transforming our Economy with Science
and Technology
- Modernizing Roads, Bridges, Transit and
Waterways
- Education for the 21st Century
- Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create
Jobs
- Lowering Healthcare Costs
- Helping Workers Hurt by the Economy
- Saving Public Sector Jobs and Protect
Vital Services
Specifically for the state and local
governments, the President has proposed
providing federal dollars for capital projects,
education, school construction health care,
transit, job training, the Medicaid program and
many other programs.
Read the summary
Read the committee report
Read the entire legislation
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From
the Capitol
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After the new General Assembly was sworn in last
Wednesday, the House took a second vote to
impeach Governor Blagojevich. It passed
117-0-0. According to the State Journal
Register, because a new General Assembly was
sworn in on Wednesday, Speaker Madigan wanted to
ensure the vote was legal. The resolution was
exactly the same as passed on Friday, January 9
(114-1-1
(HR 1671).
The Senate is scheduled to take up the matter on
January 26th.
Background
On December 9, 2008 Governor Rod Blagojevich was
arrested on corruption charges including
attempting to sell President-elect Barack
Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat. Governor
Blagojevich claims he has done nothing wrong and
remains in office.
Following his arrest the Illinois House created
a Special Investigative Committee to investigate
any misconduct and to make a recommendation to
the full House on impeachment.
(View the members here).
The Committee met regularly, discussing matters
such as the expansion of the FamilyCare program,
audits by the Auditor General's Office and the
government's criminal complaint against the
Governor. The Governor was represented by his
attorney, Ed Genson in Committee. On January
8th, the Committee recommended impeachment to
the full house on a vote of 21-0-0. The Final
Report of the Special Investigations Committee
as well as other Committee documents can be
accessed
here.
Senator Burris
On December 30, 2008, Governor
Blagojevich appointed former Illinois Attorney
General and State Comptroller Roland Burris to
the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect
Barack Obama (also the Senate seat the Governor
allegedly tried to sell). After some
disagreement to the validity of the appointment,
Senator Burris was seated last week.
New General
Assembly Sworn In
Cullerton Sworn
In as New Senate President
A new General Assembly was sworn in last
Wednesday. Senator John Cullerton was
officially sworn in as President of the Senate.
In his speech to the Senate, President Cullerton
discussed the financial challenges facing the
state. Cullerton stated,
"In recent years, we have seen all of the
gimmicks and listened to all the quick-fix
promises, but we know they won't solve our
problems...Our options are limited."
According to the State Journal Register,
President Cullerton pointed to the fact that
Illinois has the lowest ratio of state workers
to population in the country and that the State
already ranks 49th in the country in state
support for schools. Additionally that it would
be difficult to cut health care and since health
care and education make up most of the state
budget and are off limits, cutting the rest
won't save much money. He said, however, that
the state must pay its bills and pay them on
time.
Cullerton did specifically signal that he would
push for a tax hike, but said everything is on
the table.
CTBA has a wealth of information on state
revenues, appropriations for education, health
care, human services and other state services
available at
http://www.ctbaonline.org
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FY 2009 Budget
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General Assembly Passes Supplemental
Appropriation Bill
On January
13th, SB 1132 passed both Houses. The bill
provides supplemental funding for
constitutional offices including the
Attorney General, Treasurer, Secretary of
State and several conservation funds. In
total, the General Assembly passed about $68
million in supplemental appropriations.
Some of the appropriations to the
constitutional officer's budget will prevent
scheduled furloughs, hiring and wage freezes
and layoffs.
The appropriations were part of the original
FY 2009 budget bill passed last summer by
the General Assembly and then vetoed by the
Governor.
Appropriations under SB 1132:
- $3,000,000 to the Department of
Healthcare and Family Services for costs
associated with a health information
exchange initiative
- $2,000,000 to the Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity for
the Illinois Rural HealthNet
- $3,125,000 to the Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity for
grants, contracts, and administrative
expenses associated with the Employment
Opportunities Grant Program pursuant to
20 ILCS 605/605-812, including prior
year costs
- $35,000,000 from the Coal
Development Bond Fund to the Department
of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for
the purpose of facility cost reports
prepared pursuant to Section 1-75(d)(4)
of the Illinois Power Agency Act
- $11,300,000 to the Office of the
Secretary of State for the purposes of
supplementing their ordinary and
contingent expenses
- $6,750,000 to the Office of the
Attorney General for the purposes of
supplementing their ordinary and
contingent expenses
- $1,079,000 to the Office of the
State Treasurer for the purposes of
supplementing their ordinary and
contingent expenses
- $5,000,000 to the Wildlife and Fish
Fund
- $500,000 to the Fish and Wildlife
Endowment Fund
- $250,000 is appropriated from to the
State Pheasant Fund
- $2,000,000 to the Illinois Habitat
Endowment Trust Fund
- $1,000,000 to the Illinois Habitat
Fund
- $500,000 to the State Migratory
Waterfowl
To read the bill click
here
The bill will now be sent to the Governor.
It is unclear if and when he will sign the
bill into law.
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CTBA Symposium
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Save the Date
CTBA's 8th Annual Fiscal Symposium
A panel discussion on how
the current economic downturn is affecting
Illinois' ability to provide crucial public
services.
Monday,
February 23, 2009
Registration: 8:15 am
Continental Breakfast: 8:30 am
Program: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Union League Club of Chicago
69 West Jackson Blvd.
Main Lounge, 2nd Floor
Chicago, Illinois
Details and Registration Form will be
forthcoming
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Calendar
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WHAT: Loyola
University Chicago School of Law Public Interest Law
Reporter Symposium
Separate and Unequal: The
Socioeconomic Realities of American Public Education
WHEN: Friday,
February 6, 2009 8am to 4pm
WHERE: Loyola
Law Center
Ceremonial Courtroom
25 East Pearson Street
Chicago, IL
INFO:
Loyola University Chicago School of Law is pleased
to present this important
symposium at no charge. However, seating
is limited. To register, please e-mail:
PILR-Symposium@luc.edu
WHAT:
Leadership for Diversity Conference
Social Justice for Illinois Schools
Pre K-12
WHEN:
Friday-Saturday, January 30-31, 2009
WHERE:
Bradley University · Robert H. Michel Student Center
· Peoria, IL
INFO: The
purpose of this conference is to promote a statewide
dialogue about best leadership practices to promote
learning in diverse environments. We seek to
understand policy implications at the local, state,
and national levels that affect all stakeholders in
diverse settings. It is our hope that from this
dialogue will emerge effective leadership practices
that build inclusive learning communities where
diversity is valued, respected and promoted.
Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Linda Skrla,
Associate Dean for Research, P-16 Initiatives, &
International Programs, Texas A&M University, Ralph
Martire, Executive Director, Center for Tax and
Budget Accountability, Phillip Jackson, Founder &
CEO, The Black Star Project
Registration Fees:
Friday Afternoon Diversity & Inclusion Awareness
Workshop $50.00
Friday Evening $50.00
Saturday $125.00
CPDU credit available - $15.00 Register online at
www.iwel.org. (Deadline for registration is January
9th.) Questions? Contact Dr. Jenny Tripses at
309-677-3593 or jtripses@bradley.edu
WHAT: Dupage Federation on Human Services
Reform, Making the Connection: Accessing Public
Benefits for Low Income Persons
WHEN: October
1, 8, 15, 22, 29
February
18, 25
March 4,
11, 18
June 3,
10, 17, 24
July 1
WHERE: All trainings held at NIU Naperville,
1120 Diehl Road, Naperville, IL
INFO: Making the Connection training sessions
contain information in an easy-to-understand format
regarding many programs available to assist low
income persons.
Individuals who register for a Making the Connection
training session now receive membership access to
the Federation's newly developed Making the
Connection Illinois website, www.mtcil.org.
To register and for more information please visit
www.dupagefederation.org.
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Do you have something to add to the Weekly
Review?
email Chrissy Mancini @
cmancini@ctbaonline.org
___________________________________________________________________________
Center for
Tax and Budget Accountability
70 East Lake Street, Suite 1700
Chicago, IL 60601
312-332-1041
www.ctbaonline.org
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