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* Finke…
With less than a handful of vetoes to deal with, the whole tenor of the session will be determined by how much other stuff lawmakers decide to tackle. And there’s a pretty long list of stuff they could do if they are inclined.
Bills to ban flavored vaping products and to cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin are definitely on the agenda. Both proposals have some intense opposition, so it’s not necessarily a slam-dunk for either one. (Then again, opposition to the insulin bill comes from pharmaceutical and other business interests, which don’t always engender a lot of sympathy in these here parts).
Gov. J.B. PRITZKER said he’s still going to push his idea to consolidate hundreds of downstate police and fire pension systems. But more and more lawmakers seem to not want to rush this idea.
There are other possibilities, but lawmakers may be inclined to basically just rest on the laurels of what was a pretty productive spring session.
It’s hard to say for sure at this point on anything. But I will just remind you that a whole lot of folks were predicting that very little would be accomplished in May, and then everything passed.
* Some really good session previews have been published since Friday. Hannah Meisel begins with the elephant in the room…
Lawmakers will return to Springfield Monday nearly five months after a momentous spring legislative session that saw the passage of massive bills from recreational marijuana legalization to a $45 billion infrastructure plan.
But the political climate has shifted significantly since early June, since the existence of widespread federal corruption probes was revealed over the summer and fall. The inquires appear targeted at Democrats and their allies, but the investigations have also shaken Republicans and longtime Springfield lobbyists who work for bipartisan interests across industries.
Federal agents raided the home, Springfield and district offices of State Sen. Marty Sandoval (D-Chicago) in late September. Since then, search warrants released by the state Senate and other local government bodies revealed federal agents are searching for information about dozens of individuals and businesses. […]
State Sen. Tom Cullerton (D-Villa Park) was indicted in August on 45 counts of embezzlement for allegedly keeping a ghost payroll job with the Teamsters Joint Council 25 in the early years of his time in the Senate.
Neither senator is expected to participate in Veto Session.
The feds also appear to be circling closer to House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago).
* Team coverage in the Tribune…
Lightfoot has a lot riding on the veto session, which will serve as a major test of her influence in Springfield. When she unveiled her budget plan at a special City Council meeting Wednesday, Lightfoot said the math only works if state lawmakers and Pritzker give Chicago permission to implement a graduated tax on real estate transactions. She also called on the General Assembly to rework the tax structure for a proposed city casino to make it more attractive to potential investors and to “develop a statewide pension reform package.”
But Lightfoot’s $11.65 billion 2020 budget plan doesn’t count on any revenue from the casino or any savings from pension changes at the state level, which could allow the mayor’s office to focus its lobbying efforts on pushing through the real estate transfer tax before the legislature adjourns for the year in mid-November. Her plan calls for raising the tax on the sale of residential and commercial properties worth more than $1 million.
Lightfoot had been saying for months that her spending plan would rely on help from Springfield, but she long left many key people in the dark on the specifics. Her office didn’t brief Pritzker’s staff on the details until a week before she publicly unveiled her budget and four days after she laid out her proposals for rank-and-file lawmakers who represent the city. After her Wednesday budget address, Republican leaders said they were still waiting for details.
Pritzker and legislative leaders have put the onus on Lightfoot to marshal support for her proposals. The mayor’s office declined to comment on its legislative strategy. […]
“Everyone knows that they have a difficult mountain to climb,” [House Majority Leader Greg Harris] said.
* Jerry Nowicki also covers several issues, including pension consolidation…
In recent days, a task force formed by Pritzker recommended the state consolidate 649 suburban and downstate police and firefighter pension funds into just two, saying the move would generate billions of dollars in additional earnings and cut administrative costs over the next 20 years.
The funds would be consolidated into one each for firefighters and police. The Illinois Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council “expressed strong concerns about the recommendations” of the task force in a statement, while the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois said it supports the recommendations.
Pritzker said this week language for the bill “is being put together now.”
“There are many people who understand that if we want to keep property taxes down, we want to bring them down, that we want to stop the hikes that are occurring everywhere, we’ve got to attack property taxes everywhere we can,” he said. “One of them is to attack it by making sure that our police and fire pensions are reasonably well funded.”
The bill would not, however, address the more than $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities facing state government, as the funds that would be consolidated are funded by local municipalities, not the state.
Make sure to click on all the links above. There’s just too much content to excerpt here.
…Adding… This is the city’s chief financial officer…
CFO on state prospects for real estate transfer tax and casino changes….We continue to have productive conversations…we feel optimistic about our ability to secure those two revenue sources for our budget and for the outyears.
— yvette shields (@Yvette_BB) October 28, 2019
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Oct 28, 19 @ 9:19 am
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On the matter of pension consolidation, I would MUCH rather have the firefighters on board with it, rather than the police. The firefighters are far more politically active. I never see police union members walking precincts, or marching in parades. While their role in society is essential, police have no political presence.
Comment by medicaid mickey Monday, Oct 28, 19 @ 9:27 am
1. Will Lightfoot truly to sabotage a pension bill that does not include Chicago?
2. Could she succeed in pulling off enough votes if she tried?
=== the mayor’s office declined to comment on it’s legislative strategy ===
👆🏻 Presumes they have one.
Comment by Charlie Brown Monday, Oct 28, 19 @ 9:30 am
We can probably assume no gambling trailer bills will be up for consideration now. heh heh
Comment by Just Me Monday, Oct 28, 19 @ 2:28 pm
Lightfoot will leverage the out of school for 8 days kids to put pressure on Springfield to give her what she wants.
Comment by A voter Monday, Oct 28, 19 @ 5:01 pm
Any reason they couldn’t consolidate only the Downstate Fire pension funds? There isn’t any good reason to let FOP hold others hostage.
Comment by Harry Monday, Oct 28, 19 @ 5:03 pm