Archive for January 9th, 2008
January 9th, 2008
The Senate voted 54-0 Wednesday to accept Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s changes to the budget implementation bill, which is necessary for the state to release $617 million in general state aid to schools.
The House will now consider the governor’s veto of the bill and may vote as early as Thursday.
The dollars for schools were appropriated as part of the budget Blagojevich approved in August. That budget earmarked $554 million in new dollars for schools, including $315 million in general state aid, reimbursement for state-mandated services and other state support.
However, the State Board of Education won’t release the general state aid until Blagojevich and lawmakers also agree on a change in the foundation level. In fact, the state is actually doling out less in general state aid than it doled out last year.
The foundation level is the minimum amount that schools must spend on each pupil. It drives the state’s allocation of general state aid, particularly with respect to schools in districts with lower property tax bases. When local property tax payers contribute less money to schools, then the state must contribute more to help the schools reach the foundation level.
The budget implementation bill, commonly known as the BIMP, would hike the foundation level by $400 per pupil to $5,734 from $5,334.
Some background from the Register Star:
Without the change in foundation level, the State Board of Education says schools statewide will lose $302 million this year, compared to last year, thanks to other factors that adversely affect general state aid such as reduced attendance and higher property values.
With the change in the foundation level, the board says schools will gain $315 million, compared to last year. The difference is $617 million — cash the state board will withhold until the governor and lawmakers agree on the $400-per-pupil change.
In other words, the $617 million represents new money for schools, as compared to last school year, as well as money that schools did get last year. The state is giving schools fewer general state aid dollars then it gave them last year.
The difference between the amount of general state aid the state is now providing (less than last year) and the amount they would receive once the BIMP is approved (more than last year) is $617 million. If the BIMP is approved, and the foundation level is increased by $400, schools therefore stand to gain $617 million over their current, negative position.
State Board spokesman Matt Vanover adds in an e-mail:
The $617 million you reference is the swing from BIMP vs. non-BIMP for GSA. Because it takes less state funding to maintain the foundation level when local resources rise, about $300 million fewer dollars from the state would be paid out to school districts to keep them at FY 2007 level. However, it can not be said that it’s an increase of $617 million from 2007 to 2008, because the $300 million was already in last year’s budget.
Blagojevich proposed a series of technical changes to BIMP in his veto issued Friday. Among other points, the governor wants to expedite the distribution of special education dollars.
From the governor’s press release:
Under the BIMP bill, districts will get an additional $1,000 for each certified teacher and $700 for each non-certified staff member. Because of a drafting error, districts were not scheduled to begin receiving that money until FY 2009. If accepted by state lawmakers, Gov. Blagojevich’s amendatory veto means districts will get that money beginning in the next few weeks.
Vanover says the governor’s change on this point would mean another $50 million in special ed dollars for schools.
January 9th, 2008
The Illinois Supreme Court next Tuesday morning will hear oral arguments in the case of Alan Beaman, a Rockford man who claims he was wrongly convicted in the August 1993 killing of his ex-girlfriend.
Background from the Register Star:
Alan Beaman was convicted of first degree murder for killing Illinois State University student Jennifer Lockmiller, who was strangled and stabbed in her apartment in Normal.
Beaman is serving a 50-year prison sentence.
We’ll be at the high court to bring you the story.
January 9th, 2008
A House committee voted unanimously today to restore funding for CeaseFire, the anti-violence program. In fact, the committee voted to double the program’s funding.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich cut 100 percent of the program’s state funding — $6.25 million — when he vetoed parts of the state budget in August. His cut included $250,000 slated for Rockford CeaseFire, all but killing off the local program.
House lawmakers moved to restore the funding in the fall but the Senate — a chamber led by Senate President Emil Jones Jr., the governor’s ally — blocked the effort.
On Wednesday, the committee voted to spend $12.5 million on CeaseFire programs around Illinois, including $500,000 in Rockford. The bill now moves to the full House for consideration.
Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, praised the committee vote. He said local law enforcement officials believe in the value of the program.
“If they’re convinced it works, that’s good enough for me,” he said.
January 9th, 2008
Lawmakers return to Springfield today and, at least in the House, are expected to make another run on plans to bail out Chicago-area mass transit systems.
Late last year, both of those plans failed to clear the House.
The first, long supported by House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, would raise the sales tax in Chicago and the suburbs. The second, supported by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, would shift nearly $400 million in existing fuel tax revenue to the mass transit systems. (How would the state replace that revenue, which currently is earmarked for other needs? There is no specific plan.)
We’ll have much more on this later, but for now here are a couple variables to consider:
1) The standard for passage of either bailout plan has changed. Prior to Jan. 1, lawmakers needed three-fifths majorities in both chambers of the Legislature to pass either plan. Now they need only simple majorities. Presumably, this empowers Madigan by making it easier for he and his fellow Democrats, who control the House but do not have a super-majority, to advance one or both of the bills. Then again, Madigan might actually prefer for at least a few Republicans to be on board; the other party, therefore, would share any political pain.
2) Many downstate lawmakers continue to maintain that they will not support a bailout of Chicago-area mass transit systems until the state also approves a capital construction plan for the entire state. Previous versions of a capital plan have promised more than $100 million for Rock River Valley infrastructure projects. Madigan has sought to keep any mass transit bailout separate from a statewide capital plan.
3) If lawmakers do insist on running a capital plan at the same time as a mass transit bailout, then how do they pay for the capital plan? Over the last year, lawmakers increasingly focused on gambling expansion as the way to generate new tax revenue necessary to finance roads, bridges and other infrastructure. But they haven’t yet agreed on a specific plan for more gambling, either.
A recap: First, there is no agreement on where to find the money for Chicago-area mass transit systems. Second, there is no agreement on whether to link a mass transit bailout with a statewide capital plan.
