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If trying to figure out your health insurance bills isn’t a big enough headache, the deadbeat status of the state of Illinois has introduced a new level of confusion to thousands of state workers and retirees.

The state is now $3.7 billion behind on payments to thousands of state vendors.

Because of this, some doctors and dentists who provide services to employees and retirees covered by state health insurance are charging interest to their customers while they wait for the state to pay what it owes to them.

In all, more than 350,000 employees and retirees could be affected by this state of affairs, which was caused not only by a downturn in the national economy, but by the people who oversee state government — bureaucrats, state lawmakers and a few recent governors.

Businesses that provide services to the state are well aware of the pain. Some haven’t been paid for work they did back in March. The payment delays have resulted in the closure of some social service programs.

Gov. Pat Quinn wants to solve the problem by raising taxes. Republicans want to cut spending. Democratic lawmakers don’t want to hurt their chances on Election Day, so they are waiting until after the Feb. 2 primary election to even think about voting for a tax hike.

Everyone in charge seems to be waiting for some key moment that will allow them to take action without hurting their political careers.

This past week, rather than spending the fall veto session dealing seriously with the budget, legislators became consumed with reform fever. Not that getting rid of Rod Blagojevich or improving campaign finance laws is a bad thing. It’s just that there is a giant financial mess hanging over state government.

So, while lawmakers fiddled around with ethics reforms, regular folks who rely on state benefits were being pestered by the billing departments of health care providers.

Is there a way to resolve this?

We asked Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes first. The comptroller is in charge of paying the state’s bills. The comptroller, we’ll also note, is running for governor. Against Quinn.

We asked whether people should pay these interest charges or refer the billing departments to the state.

Hynes’ office said people should take their inquiries to an agency that is under Quinn’s control, the Department of Health Care and Family Services.

“The Department of Health Care and Family Services manages the health insurance program for state employees and retired employees,” a spokeswoman wrote. “That agency is the one that determines which providers receive payment and the timing of those payments, so your inquiry should really be responded to by DHCFS.”

“Sorry, wish I could be of more help,” she added.

We took her advice and asked a spokeswoman at the Department of Health Care and Family Services the same question. Should people pay interest out of their own pockets to their health care providers, even though the problem is because of the meltdown in Springfield?

The spokeslady at the agency told us to ask someone at the Department of Central Management Services, another state agency under Quinn’s control.

Undeterred, we followed the red-tape trail.

“We have received no calls from members indicating that they are being asked to pay interest by health care providers,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Central Management Services wrote.

Perhaps that’s because no one knows where to complain.

Given the lack of help offered by the bureaucrats, a better bet for venting might be to your local lawmaker or to Gov. Quinn. The accidental governor is on the campaign trail a lot these days. He’s usually pretty approachable.

Your local lawmakers also are in re-election mode. They clearly have the time to hear your beefs now since they aren’t scheduled to return to Springfield to spin their wheels until sometime next year.

In the meantime, here’s what else we were told by one of the Quinn administration mouthpieces.

“Providers should not charge members interest.”

The advice from state officials is for employees and retirees to work out a payment schedule with their health care providers so that when the state eventually pays them, they will reimburse these employees and retirees for any interest they’ve already paid.

In other words, you deal with it since we either can’t or won’t.

There is a state program that attempts to educate college students about the perils of piling up credit card debt.

Perhaps members of the General Assembly and Gov. Pat Quinn should check it out.

On Thursday, the House and Senate made a lot of low-income college students happy when they approved spending $200 million to fund a cash-strapped scholarship program.

The problem: The state can’t pay its existing bills. The budget is so far out of whack, many state vendors haven’t been paid for work they did back in April.

So, wasn’t the so-called MAP grant solution just like taking out a really big IOU?

“That’s one way to look at it,” House Minority Leader Tom Cross said.

Another way to look at it is a shell game.

Quinn says he’ll try to scrape together money sitting in special state accounts to close the gap.

This is essentially like transferring money from the left pocket of your pants to the right pocket and then claiming you’ve got more money.

Remember all this when the next angry group of constituents descends on the Capitol lobbying for money that isn’t there.

The tally

Lawmakers came back to Springfield on Wednesday for the first time since last summer and within a day the state’s deficit ballooned by another $1.1 billion.

Here’s how it happened:

First, the governor’s budget office said an unforeseen shortfall in income tax revenue means the state will be $850 million more in the hole than it was earlier this year. Then a second revenue forecast showed taxes from casinos will be off by $50 million.

Add the $200 million in mystery money from the MAP grants and the state budget hole just got $1.1 billion deeper.

The crux

Most budget experts agree the only way Illinois can get out of this fiscal mess is to cut spending and raise taxes.

Here’s why we’re stuck: Conservative Republicans don’t want to raise taxes and liberal Democrats don’t want to cut programs.

So, stay tuned for continuing pain. Lawmakers and Quinn don’t intend to seriously begin dealing with a budget fix until next year.

Shell Game, Part II

One thing lawmakers did not do during the first week of the fall veto session was follow through on legislation that would force Quinn to fire about 750 high-level employees hired during the Blagojevich and Ryan administration.

The aim of the proposal is to “fumigate” state government in the wake of the two scandal-plagued governors.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, has argued that Quinn is moving too slowly in cleansing his administration of the holdovers.

But Quinn is taking care of some of them. Literally.

For example, Quinn did get rid of Roger Walker as director of the state prison system. However, rather than cast him out, Quinn gave the former Macon County sheriff a position on the Prisoner Review Board.

Former Blagojevich budget director Ginger Ostro was recently moved out of the budget office. Rather than cast her to the wind, Quinn helped her find a job with the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Last week, Quinn replaced Carol Adams as head of the Department of Human Services.

Yet, rather than pull the rug from underneath Adams, Quinn named her as the state’s liaison to Africa.

Food for thought

For years, state Rep. Dan Brady has helped nourish his colleagues by bringing sandwiches to the House chambers from a restaurant in his home district.

The Gondola sandwiches from Avanti’s Italian Restaurant in Normal are always a hit with lawmakers, whose favorite food is the free variety.

This year, the sandwiches were more than just a tasty lunch for lawmakers.

They were food for thought.

When he announced the sandwiches had arrived on Thursday, Brady also introduced the person who had made them, Rachel Thomas.

Thomas, who has autism, served as an intern in Brady’s legislative office when she was a student at Normal Community West High School.

When her stint in Brady’s office ended, she went to the Occupational Development Center, a social service agency in Bloomington dedicated to helping disabled people find jobs.

When state budget cuts forced the closure of ODC, Brady said Thomas found a job at Avanti’s making sandwiches.

Brady said Thomas’ story can serve as an example.

“She deals with her disability and she doesn’t give up,” Brady said. “And, she makes a darn good sandwich.”

Lawmakers showed their appreciation by gobbling up the food.

We tested one of the sandwiches and heartily concur.

Kurt Erickson is Lee Statehouse Bureau chief. He can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or (217) 789-0865.

The end of the first quarter of the state’s fiscal year showed state revenues off by 11 percent. Expenses during those three months were up 14 percent.

That’s not a recipe for financial success. The state is about $3 billion in the hole and unable to pay its bills in any kind of timely manner. It’s bad and seemingly getting worse.

On Wednesday, lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn return to Springfield for the start of the fall veto session.

Will they wade into the fiscal quagmire and try to fix things?

Nah.

Rather, the Quinn administration and top legislative leaders say they have no plans to do anything significant about the state’s financial situation until after the February primary election.

In other words, the people elected to make tough decisions about our futures want to wait until they know more about their futures.

Campaigning on state time

Remember when former Gov. Rod Blagojevich would jet all over the state and try to convince everyone outside of Springfield to support some scheme when he probably really should have been spending time in Springfield focusing his lobbying efforts on actual lawmakers?

Flash forward to last week. Quinn made numerous stops at college campuses trying to rally support for money to keep a state college scholarship program afloat.

Don’t be surprised if lawmakers ignore the whole thing, just as they often did with Blagojevich. Under the budget approved last summer, Quinn was given discretionary power over a large chunk of money. Legislators could tell him to simply manage what he was given in order to find money for the Monetary Award Program scholarships.

The fight over the MAP grants has been good way for the governor to do a little campaigning on the taxpayer’s dime in his primary election fight against a better-funded Comptroller Dan Hynes.

That’s not to say Hynes isn’t using his taxpayer-paid position to attack Quinn.

In a press conference last week, Hynes the Comptroller sounded just like Hynes the Candidate as he jabbed at the governor over his “leadership” abilities.

Removing the stench

Rather than moving the state forward when they get together later this week, some believe lawmakers may continue dwelling on the past by taking action on a proposal that would result in the firing of about 750 people appointed by ex-Govs. George Ryan and Blagojevich.

The so-called “fumigation” legislation is the brainchild of House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, who often warred with Blagojevich.

The measure didn’t get called for a vote in the Senate last spring. But, Quinn’s slow pace when it comes to booting Blagojevich cronies out of their jobs has triggered talk of it coming up again in the fall veto session.

Other issues on the table

Democrats and Republicans are planning to push a few other issues during the veto session.

The GOP is targeting a century-old perk that allows members of the House and Senate to dole out scholarships to public universities. Some lawmakers have been caught giving the scholarships to the sons and daughters of campaign contributors.

Reformers are hoping a major overhaul of campaign finance laws gets a vote. If successful, Illinois could join most other states in putting limits on how much people can give to politicians.

The Quinn administration is pushing for a revamp of cemetery oversight laws.

And, efforts to give voters the right to recall elected officials could get a vote.

Jim Ryan resurfaces

Former Republican Attorney General Jim Ryan popped up last week, saying he might be interested in running for governor again.

Ryan, who lost to Blagojevich in 2002 and pretty much dropped off the political radar screen, released the results of a self-funded poll showing he was favored over the existing GOP candidates.

But, the same poll shows 63 percent of respondents didn’t know what position he had held in state government. And, what’s more, nearly 20 percent thought he’d been governor.

In other words, 83 percent of the people who said he’s the frontrunner didn’t really know who he was. So, take that poll with a grain of salt.

Other GOP candidates for governor include state Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady, businessman Adam Adrzejewski, DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, former GOP state chairman Andy McKenna and political consultant Dan Proft.

Kurt Erickson is Lee Statehouse Bureau chief. He can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or (217) 789-0865.

Gov. Pat Quinn finally acknowledged reality last week when he decided that trying to pass a tax hike this fall was not going to happen.

After meeting with legislative leaders, he agreed that it was more politically expedient to try for the income tax hike after the first of the year.

That means you have at least three more months to continue watching the state’s financial meltdown.

Layoffs of state workers are looming. The release of prisoners could come soon after that.

As of last week, the state was still paying bills that date to March because it is about $2.1 billion short of the cash it needs to keep bills current.

Retirees who live in other states are getting alarming phone calls from their medical providers threatening to cut off service because the state hasn’t paid them for months.

For those of you who slow down to look at car wrecks, these next few months will be golden.

Short-term relief

Quinn did open the door last week to a cigarette tax hike. He says the proceeds of a buck-a-pack boost could go to college scholarship funds that have been slashed. Yet, its no sure bet lawmakers will go along with the idea.

A tobacco tax hike was OK’d in the Senate last spring, but never got voted on in the House. The sponsor said there never were enough votes for approval.

Double secret probation

Quinn is just the latest chief executive to find out what happens when you cut funding to the judicial branch.

Rod Blagojevich was in charge when pay hikes to judges were cut a few years back. The judges sued and were able to get their money.

Quinn met last week with top Supreme Court officials who are upset that an estimated $20 million has been stripped out of the court’s budget for probation services. The cut has left county-level probation offices scrambling to either layoff workers or cut back on services.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald said the current level of state funding for probation is “dangerously inadequate.”

Rather than say “tough luck” like he has to numerous other people who want state funding, Quinn said he’d try to help.

Here’s a statement from his office: “The Governor feels that supplemental funds must be provided for probation services in every county of the state. He will make an announcement soon regarding the use of discretionary dollars to support these vital programs.”

The book

Much has been said and written about Blagojevich’s new book. Some have questioned whether its fiction or nonfiction.

Here’s one thing to consider before you contribute to his legal defense fund by buying a copy: The material promoting the book lists Blagojevich’s nemesis as “Richard Madigan,” rather than Mike. Perhaps they were only on a last-name basis.

Senate campaign news

Former Chicago inspector general David Hoffman launched his bid for U.S. Senate last week with a stop in Springfield.

Although he’s casting himself as an non-politician fighting for the downtrodden, he did show signs of an experienced campaigner: He showed up for the event 20 minutes late.

To be sure, it is an upstart campaign operation. While waiting for Hoffman to arrive, one of his aides asked members of the press if they had extra paper. Apparently, they were printing out a copy of Hoffman’s speech and were one sheet short.

Campaign news, Part II

Before he gets much deeper into his campaign for U.S. Senate, Republican Eric Wallace might want to take care of a little problem at the Illinois State Board of Elections.

A recent check of election-related fines owed to the state found that the African-American Republican Council is on the hook for more than $4,600 in fines for failing to report contributions in a timely manner. Wallace, a Matteson Republican, is listed as the chairman of the organization.

There are so many Republicans running for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Barack Obama, each candidate will have to do something special to get the attention of voters. Owing fines to the state Board of Elections probably isn’t the best way to do it.

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes last week unveiled what he would do if elected governor in 2010.

For more than a decade, Hynes has served mostly in the shadow of other statewide officeholders.

So, it would make sense he’d desire any and all attention he might get as he emerges from behind his green, bean-counting visor in hopes of being embraced by voters.

At a campaign stop in Springfield, the Chicago Democrat opened his speech by saying he wanted to have a “substantive discussion” about the state.

It was mostly a one-way discussion.

After reading the prepared remarks, Hynes answered a handful of questions from reporters and then stiffly walked off stage and was ushered by a handler into a holding room.

There were many questions left unasked.

For example, at least five of Hynes’ so-called budget “fixes” have already been proposed by himself, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich or current Gov. Pat Quinn, only to be rejected by lawmakers.

What would Hynes do differently?

Maybe he’ll discuss it with us another time.

Tax hike key

Quinn and Hynes are making it easy for Democratic primary voters to remember them.

Both want to raise state income taxes.

Quinn would boost income taxes for everyone, from the current flat rate of 3 percent to 4.5 percent. At least that’s his latest position on the issue.

Hynes wants to raise income taxes for people making over $200,000 a year, with folks making over a million bucks paying a rate of about 7 percent.

In order for Hynes’ plan to work, though, voters must approve a change to the state constitution.

One curious thing about Hynes’ bid to alter the tax system is that he wants it to be in place by Jan. 1, 2011.

The logistics of that are daunting, if not politically implausible.

Here’s why:

If voters approve a constitutional amendment in the November 2010 election, lame duck lawmakers would then have to actually implement the tax changes within the next month and a half. Quinn, at that point, also would still be in office, meaning he’d have to sign off on the change before the end of the year.

In other words, Hynes wants his plan implemented before he even has a chance to be governor.

Well, at least he has a plan.

The GOP response

Winner of the Most Obvious Republican Response Award for his reaction to Hynes’ tax hike proposal goes to state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, who’s running for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

“As I travel around Illinois, I don’t hear support for new and higher taxes,” Brady said.

GOP tea party

Just so there is no more confusion that these “Tea Party” protests going on around the nation are indeed backed by conservative Republican Party officials — rather than being just a grass-roots uprising — a recent announcement of an event to be held Sunday in Bloomington was signed by none other than John Parrott.

Parrott is the chairman of the McLean County Republican Party. He formerly was a top official with the Illinois Christian Coalition.

Layoffs loom

Quinn appears set to move forward with his plan to lay off 2,600 state workers.

After the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union rejected his request to re-open their labor contract in an attempt to find savings elsewhere, Quinn’s office put out a statement:

“By being unwilling to re-open the contract, we are now forced to proceed with the layoffs.”

The union is taking the fight to the courts now. AFSCME will ask a Johnson County judge to stop the layoffs, using some of the same safety-related arguments that were successful in their blocking Blagojevich’s push to close Pontiac Correctional Center.

Treasurer’s race

A man you probably never heard of quit his race for an office you probably don’t pay much attention to.

Kip Kirkpatrick, the co-founder of a Chicago-based private health-care equity firm, last week ended his bid for state treasurer.

That would seem to be good news for Democrat Robin Kelly of Matteson, who is U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias’ pick to take over his post.

Kelly is a former state lawmaker who serves as Giannoulias’ chief of staff.

Just as Kelly may now have a clear path through the primary season, Republican candidate Dan Rutherford, a state senator from Chenoa who wants to be treasurer, also has no known primary opponent at this early juncture of the campaign season.

Like any good Illinois politician, Gov. Pat Quinn likes to cloak himself in all things Abraham Lincoln. He often refers to Lincoln in his speeches, and consistently offers up little quotes and other tidbits about the 16th president’s life in Illinois. It was no surprise then when Quinn waxed poetic about Lincoln during the Illinois State Fair last week. Quinn said the fair has been around so long – since 1853 – that Lincoln may have even visited in the days before he left for Washington D.C. It’s Quinn’s way of comparing himself to Lincoln: See, both of us went to the fair. I’m just like Abe. It was a good thing, though, that Quinn couched his comments because it is not clear whether Lincoln ever actually went to the state fair in Springfield. What is known is that Lincoln went to the state fair in September 1858. But, that was back when the fair was rotating among different cities. That year, it was in Centralia. In 1859, Lincoln went to a state fair. But it was the Wisconsin State Fair. In October 1854, Lincoln was scheduled to campaign at the state fair in Springfield. But, a downpour canceled the event and he instead spoke at what is now the Old State Capitol. For sure, that doesn’t mean Lincoln didn’t go to the state fair in Springfield. Historians say he may have went to the fair with his family unannounced. HEARTLAND Not only is Quinn a big fan of Lincoln, but he let fly last week that he’s a big George Strait fan. In fact, he said he is Strait’s “biggest fan” and would like to convince the country star to play at the state fair someday. Quinn added that Strait would have to come for free because the state is broke. BLUE SWEDE SHOES State Rep. Shane Cultra, R-Onarga, is usually among the more quiet members of the sometimes raucous Illinois House of Representatives. And, we applaud him for that. But, according to Quinn, Cultra can do a pretty mean impression of Elvis Presley. Who knew Cultra and infamous Elvis fan Rod Blagojevich had anything in common? WWJD What will Judy do? Former state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka is trying to make a comeback. After losing a bid for governor in 2006, Topinka is eyeing a run for comptroller in 2010. “I’m unofficially official,” Topinka said during Republican Day festivities at the fair Thursday. “I’m looking at it very seriously.” Asked if she ever thought about just throwing in the towel after losing to Rod Blagojevich three years ago, Topinka scoffed. “How can you give up on politics? It’s the only game in town. It’s what makes the world go ’round,” Topinka said. NEW GOP LEADER The downfall of Rod Blagojevich and the fiscal condition of the state under Democratic control have Republicans frothing about their chances in the 2010 election. Yet, the unofficial start of the campaign season at the state fair got off to a dubious start when state GOP chairman Andy McKenna announced he was quitting. Instead of focusing attention on the Republican candidates, the spotlight fell on him and his successor, St. Charles attorney Pat Brady. Nonetheless, McKenna remains optimistic about the party’s chances in this post-Blagojevich environment. “I think we have some very winning candidates and I think really the only two pieces of the pie kind of left to be done are one, make sure we get the best field of candidates and two, make sure we have the resources,” he said. - NO. 2 IS NO. 1 For a job that consists of sitting around and waiting in case something happens to the governor, there sure is a long line of people wanting to become the next lieutenant governor. Among Republicans candidates angling for the job are Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole and Rockford-area lawmaker Dave Winters. The list of Democratic entrants keeps growing. Last week, state Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, announced his plan to run for the lite gov position. That was the same day state Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan, jumped into the fray. Other Democrats include state Rep. Art Turner of Chicago, who has the backing of powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan. The job comes with a tiny staff, but a bully pulpit. if anyone wants to bother listening.

Is there common ground among Democrats and Republicans when it comes to the increasingly emotional debate over health care reform?

Let’s take a step back and look at what’s happening in Illinois.

State government is in the midst of a fiscal meltdown. Thousands of state workers are in line to be laid off in a few weeks. People ravaged by the bad economy are facing the prospect of fewer state services at the very time they are needed most.

Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, wants to raise taxes to help close the budget gap. Republicans have other ideas about how the state can dig itself out of its financial hole.

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, for example, has been saying for years that one key to getting the state budget under control is to reform health care.

Brady, who is running for governor, says the state needs to impose more managed-care health insurance programs on its employees and others who receive state benefits.

In other words, one of the most conservative politicians running for statewide office wants the government to get more involved in health care decisions for its citizens.

Remember that when you read about reports of town hall meetings on health care reform being disrupted by people saying they fear a government-controlled health care program.

Train to nowhere?

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has thrown some cold water on the idea of putting a high-speed rail route through Decatur.

As part of the state’s bid to increase the speed of Amtrak trains, some high-speed passenger rail supporters said it may make more sense to route trains between St. Louis and Chicago through Decatur and Champaign, rather than along its current line through Bloomington-Normal.

We asked Durbin about it last week.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Most of these ideas are dramatically expensive. It is a dramatic expenditure, a dramatic leap in cost.”

“We have to look at this honestly,” Durbin said.

The Blagojevich connection

As expected, a second Democrat has joined Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in making a bid for President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat.

Cheryle Jackson is wading into the fray, hoping to take over for current U.S. Sen. Roland Burris.

Jackson is best known for being a defender of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, having served as his communications chief for three years.

Good luck with that.

What goes around

When Brady ran for Congress in Illinois’ 15th district back in 2000, he was up against Tim Johnson – the eventual winner – and Sam Ewing, the son of the retiring incumbent, former U.S. Rep. Tom Ewing.

One of Ewing’s campaign handlers was Ryan McLaughlin.

Fast forward to the 2010 campaign for governor. Brady is running against a large field of Republicans, including state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine.

Murphy recently hired McLaughlin to help manage his campaign.

We’ll see if things turn out differently this time around.

Making hay

Gov. Pat Quinn has approved a plan to give the Illinois Department of Transportation a little help mowing grass alongside highways this year.

The governor last week signed legislation that would allow farmers to contract with IDOT to harvest hay beside roads near their farms.

No one knows if farmers will jump at the chance, but the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro, hopes it will let farmers make a little cash and chip away at IDOT’s $10 million annual mowing budget.

A $40 permit would be required for farmers to start mowing.

The dog days

Among the hundreds of bills that crossed the governor’s desk last week was one that Michael Vick could appreciate.

Quinn signed House Bill 168 toughening penalties for people who engage in dog fighting.

It was sponsored by state Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline.

Adlai surfaces

Adlai E. Stevenson III’s name is better than his track record when it comes to running for governor.

Twice, the former U.S. senator ran for governor. Twice, he lost.

But that isn’t stopping gubernatorial wannabe Dan Hynes from touting Stevenson’s endorsement last week.

“The name Adlai Stevenson has special resonance across Illinois, representing an undying commitment to progressive principles and basic decency,” Democrat Hynes said.

Stevenson’s father, Adlai II of Bloomington, was a former Illinois governor and two-time Democratic presidential nominee.

With election season upon us, politicians are out in force raising money to help them win votes in the February primary.

But the money they rake in isn’t only for buying ads and yard signs.

A review of spending for the first half of the year shows thousands of dollars being spent on a variety of items that, at first glance, appear to have little to do with vote-getting.

For example, fundraising reports show that politicians across the state spent more than $11,500 on pizza in the first half of the year.

Those pies mostly were purchased to help campaign workers who’d been out rustling up votes.

Lawmakers and local elected officials spent nearly $41,000 on airfare between January and June. Included in the mix were trips by senators to Turkey and Ireland.

The reports show that $6,500 was spent by politicians on guns. The weapons were purchased to serve as prizes for fundraising raffles.

Politicians also spent more than $50,600 on flowers, presumably to be sent to constituents for hospital stays, funerals and other occasions.

Another major fundraising expense during the first half of the year revolved around golfing.

The reports show that more than $505,000 was spent on golf-related activities. In most cases, the expenses went toward organizing golf outings, which are a popular way for politicians to raise money.

Another $321,000 was spent on attorney fees.

Most of those fees aren’t because of some pending criminal action or federal corruption allegations. Rather, attorneys are often brought in to make sure campaign funds are operating within the proper constraints of the law.

THE PUPPETEER?

Back in 1989, Republican Jim Edgar warned voters that electing a Democratic governor could result in that person being a puppet of House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

“I’m not sure you want the speaker of the House to also control the executive branch,” Edgar said as he launched his successful bid for governor back then.

Flash forward to the Blagojevich era. The Rodster and Madigan definitely weren’t on the same page.

Madigan and the current Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, also don’t seem to be in lockstep.

For example, Madigan criticized Quinn in late June for changing positions on various issues.

“It’s not good to do flip-flops,” Madigan told reporters. “It’s much better to stake out a position and stand there.”

Now comes Comptroller Dan Hynes, a Democrat, who formally announced his plan to oust Quinn as governor on Thursday. He opened his campaign with this very Madigan-like comment:

“We need a leader who will offer a clear, consistent and compelling vision for our state’s future,” Hynes wrote. “We just can’t afford to have someone leading our state who changes positions daily, without offering a clear sense of where we are going.”

Hmmm.

KIRK HEADING SOUTH

Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park will make a swing into downstate in the coming days in his quest to win the Senate seat now held by Democrat Roland Burris.

Kirk is being challenged for the GOP nomination by Don Lowery, a retired judge from Golconda.

In the final two weeks of August, campaign aides say Kirk will make stops in Lowery’s stomping grounds around southern Illinois, including Metropolis, Cairo, Harrisburg, Carbondale and Marion.

Kirk also plans to visit Moline, Decatur and Mattoon.

On the Democratic side, first-term Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is the front-runner. Other possible candidates include former Blagojevich spokeswoman Cheryle Jackson and Chris Kennedy, the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy.

BUDGET FALLOUT

Last week marked a lull in the on-going story of the meltdown of state government.

For the most part, Quinn’s decision the previous week to cut $1 billion in state spending was still sinking in among those affected by the reductions.

And there remain many kinks to be worked out.

For example, at one point the administration was talking about releasing thousands of inmates from state prisons as a way to cope with a drop in the number of guards thanks to Quinn’s decision to lay off hundreds of them.

Although there’s been little mention of early release in recent weeks, Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Januari Smith said the issue hasn’t gone away, not for Quinn or for new prison chief Michael Randle.

“It’s still being reviewed by Governor Quinn and Director Randle,” she said.

After a brutal legislative session in which he was manhandled by lawmakers, it wasn’t a surprise when Gov. Pat Quinn’s schedule noted that he wouldn’t be holding any public events.

But he wasn’t just sitting at home licking his wounds. Rather, beginning last weekend, he boarded a plane for Washington D.C., where he was due to join a handful of other governors on a trip to Baghdad.

For the most part, the whole thing was hush-hush as per U.S. Department of Defense directions. (Read more…)

On Wednesday, lawmakers and Gov. Pat Quinn finally agreed on a so-called state budget. It came more than two weeks after the state’s fiscal year began and more than 45 days past their original target.

Let’s review:

Democrats have a veto-proof majority in the Senate. They have a 70-48 majority in the House. The governor is a Democrat and he supports raising taxes.

And the budget they approved? It will result in cuts to providers who serve the needy and poor. It threatens unionized state workers with layoffs. It leverages state employee pensions for money to operate.

Sounds sort of like a Republican budget. (Read more…)

Construction workers are revamping two large fountains on the east side of the Statehouse lawn.

By all regards, the fountains are a nice feature of the Capitol complex.

But, they’ve been out of commission for at least a year because they were old and leaky.

The timing of the work seems a bit off. (Read more…)

The state’s new fiscal year began Wednesday with no budget in place.

Social service providers are laying off workers because they don’t know if the state will pay them to provide services to the neediest of Illinois’ residents.

Gov. Pat Quinn could call the General Assembly back to the Capitol to force lawmakers to come up with a satisfactory spending plan.

He sounded like things were urgent on Wednesday.

“We cannot dillydally,” Quinn told reporters.

But he’s not calling them back.

Rather, Quinn is deferring to the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, who don’t plan to call the legislature back to town until July 14, a day before the first round of paychecks is due to be paid to thousands of state workers.

It was a puzzling decision that drew catcalls from Republicans.

“The governor needs to act decisively, stop being afraid of the House speaker and the Senate president and bring [lawmakers] back to the Capitol to finish their work,” said Republican state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, who is gearing up for a gubernatorial run.

The clock is ticking.

Keeping lists

Among House Speaker Michael Madigan’s biggest beefs is that Quinn keeps changing his position on issues.

During a press conference Wednesday, Madigan listed four examples of how Quinn hasn’t been consistent, including the governor’s decision to praise a pension borrowing scheme in a Tuesday speech and then hours later calling on senators to vote against it.

“It’s not good to do flip-flops,” Madigan said. “They are not helpful to his credibility.”

Later in the same press conference, Madigan was reminded about John Filan, a much despised Blagojevich budget chief who was removed from his state job by Quinn at Madigan’s request, but then was given a consulting contract by the Quinn administration.

“Thanks for giving me a fifth item for the flip-flops,” Madigan said.

Garden of eatin’

Given the success of First Lady Michelle Obama’s vegetable garden at the White House, there is a move afoot to have similar gardens installed at state capitol buildings across the nation.

The trouble with this concept in Illinois, is that no one in charge would be able to decide what to plant.

Republicans would want a no-growth garden.

Democrats would only want to raise taxes.

Secretary of State Jesse White oversees that Capitol grounds. His spokesman, Henry Haupt, was aware of the concept but said there are other issues facing the state that supersede the garden issue. Like, the lack of a state budget.

“It’s not on our list of things to do,” Haupt said.

Senate race

A former top adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich is poised to run for the same U.S. Senate seat that landed Blagojevich in hot water with the feds.

Chicago Urban League chief Cheryle Jackson last week formed an exploratory committee for the race.

The former chief spokeswoman for Blagojevich is seeking to become the second black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. Carol Moseley Braun held the same Senate seat from 1993 to 1999.

The current seat warmer is Roland Burris, but he has not made it clear whether he will seek a full term in 2010 after his controversial appointment by the now-indicted Blagojevich.

Others Democrats to watch for in the race include Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Chicago businessman Chris Kennedy, a son of the late New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan also is toying with a run and recently trekked to Washington D.C. to talk about the post with the former holder of the seat, President Barack Obama.

Prior to working for Blagojevich, Jackson was a spokeswoman at Amtrak.

In other words, she’s very familiar with train wrecks.

Winning by losing

The way things work in Illinois politics, a run by Jackson could be good for her pocketbook, even if she loses.

Just look at Democrat Colleen Callahan, who ran, and lost, in the race to replace Ray LaHood in the 18th Congressional District.

Last week, Callahan landed a $125,000-per-year job as Illinois state director for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

She joins another central Illinois congressional wannabe in the Obama administration. Mike Kelleher, who ran, and lost, his bid for Congress in the 15th district, works in the White House office of correspondence.

Kurt Erickson can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or 217-789-0865

This nearly annual stalemate over the state budget is getting stale.

Here’s what we wrote on July 1, 2008:

“In what is becoming a trend: Another fiscal year is set to begin with no state budget in place.”

Even though some of the players have changed, they still seem to be merely cutting and pasting their way through June.

On Wednesday, after weeks of threatening to pull the plug on social service agencies that serve the poor, disabled and elderly, Gov. Pat Quinn backtracked and said he didn’t really want to do that.

Last year, former Gov. Rod Blagojevich publicly threatened to cut funding for 4-H programs and then reversed course just four days later. He did the same thing earlier in his audacious tenure when he threatened to close prisons in Vandalia, Pontiac and Stateville.

For now, millions of Illinoisans who rely on state services must watch the annual debacle unfold again and worry.

The House returns to the Capitol Monday. The Senate comes back Tuesday.

The new fiscal year begins Wednesday.

“I think we’re inching towards a balanced budget,” Quinn said last week.

Hmmm. That seems awfully familiar.

Yep, it was during a special legislative session last year.

“Let’s just keeping inching forward,” Blagojevich said at the time.

Slashing and burning

To help balance the budget, Quinn wants to force state workers to take 12 furlough days. Ouch.

He also is talking about a billion dollars in unspecified administrative cuts – including 2,200 layoffs — in order to help close the state’s budget gap.

A complete list of those possible cuts was not available, which makes us wonder just how serious Quinn might be.

But, just so you know, Quinn emphasized last week the cuts would be serious.

“This is not a piddly-diddly exercise,” Quinn said.

Senate Democrats

Democrats who control the Senate have been mostly sitting on the sidelines in recent weeks, mainly because – unlike their counterparts in the House — they were able to muster enough votes to approve a massive income and services tax hike at the end of May.

“We have stepped up to the plate,” Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said Tuesday.

Indeed, Cullerton is correct.

However, in legislative baseball parlance, their vote on a tax hike that is destined to go nowhere in the House was the equivalent of hitting a weak grounder back to the pitcher.

Good job, guys and gals. Way to go. Maybe you can give each other high fives.

More GOP jockeying

Given the problems Democrats are having in governing the state, it makes sense that a lot of Republicans smell blood in the water.

Thus far, no fewer than seven Republicans say they are considering a bid for chief executive.

They include state Sens. Bill Brady of Bloomington , Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale and Matt Murphy of Palatine, as well as DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom, Hinsdale resident Adam Andrzejewski, political consultant Dan Proft and DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett.

The undercard

And what would be a race for governor without an accompanying battle for the lieutenant governor’s spot?

A Rockford-area lawmaker is putting his hat in the ring to run for the post.

State Rep. Dave Winters, R-Shirland, was poised to make an announcement last week, but backed off at the last minute when he cancelled a press conference.

If he makes the plunge, he would join Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole and Randy White of Hancock County as likely candidates for the GOP nomination.

Cole, who is still in the formative stages of a statewide run, visited the Senate chambers Wednesday as a guest of state Sen. Dave Luechtefeld, R-Okawville.

In what could be a sign of a ticket in the making, Cole had an extended conversation with Dillard.

Both Dillard and Cole have something in common beyond their GOP roots. Dillard served in the Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar administrations, while Cole served in George Ryan’s administration.

Shout out to the Palmetto State

Congratulations to my in-laws, Harry and Mary Miller.

The former Carbondale residents need no longer feel left out when it comes to having a bizarre governor.

After watching the behavior of Rod Blagojevich from their home in South Carolina for these past few years, the Millers were recently treated to a gubernatorial unraveling of their own, via the hole digging, Argentina-visiting adulterer Mark Sanford.

Like Blagojevich, Sanford is a former congressman who had once envisioned himself fodder for the White House.

Welcome to the club, Millers.

Illinois lawmakers are trying to share the pain, symbolically at least.

While private industry is shedding workers, benefit plans and retirement programs, legislators approved a bill in May that would force them to take four unpaid furlough days.

The proposed law, which hasn’t yet been transmitted to the governor’s office for his approval, is designed to show that members of the General Assembly are doing what they can to help Illinois through rocky financial times.

But, in an interesting twist, a closer read of the legislation shows they are calculating their furlough days based on the premise that they never take a day off of work.

In the private sector, furlough days are generally based on a five-day work week, which amounts to 260 days of work per year.

The General Assembly’s version, as contained in Senate Bill 2090, is calculated on 365 days.

That seems to mean that lawmakers believe they never stop working, even though it would appear from the results of the most recent legislative session, they never really started working.

Lawmakers are saying they never take a vacation, never spend a day out on the campaign trail, never stop to watch the Super Bowl or, for that matter, never stop serving their constituents even when their wives are having babies or their husbands are undergoing surgery.

That’s all fine and well, but the maneuver also means they will have to give up less pay than most other people who are furloughed.

Here’s how it works out financially:

If calculated against their base pay of $67,835, the 365-day plan will cost each lawmaker a total of $743 from their paycheck.

If they based it on a five day workweek, it would cost them a total of $1,043.

The way it is written into the proposed law, the total savings of the measure to taxpayers could amount to $131,583.

If the furloughs were calculated on a five day work week, the savings to the budget would be $184,722.

The difference isn’t enough to solve the budget problems, but, hey, its only symbolism, right?

They return

The legislative game of chicken continues.

As was expected when they left town May 31, members of the General Assembly return this week to take another stab at staving off deep cuts to state services.

There aren’t very many observers who believe much will happen, unless you think finger-pointing is a viable activity to engage in at a time when budget decisions – real or manufactured — could hurt the poor, disabled, orphans and the elderly.

Democrats who control state government say they need Republicans to help pass a tax increase.

Republicans are trying to use their leverage to implement “reforms,” such as altering state employee pension benefits.

But despite the rising cacophony of anger over the cuts being threatened by Gov. Pat Quinn, things are still not apparently bad enough to trigger any significant action.

“I don’t believe we’re there yet,” said state Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington. “I don’t see a lot going on.”

Well, there are some things going on.

For example, social service providers have scheduled a rally in the Capitol Rotunda aimed at convincing lawmakers to stop Quinn from implementing his threatened cuts.

“All rally participants are asked to wear black clothing to signify mourning the devastating potential loss of the entire human services system,” a media advisory noted.

The theatrics begin Tuesday.

Cost cutting

The new director of the Illinois Department of Corrections told me last week that there is no money in the budget to open the mostly unused maximum-security prison in Thomson.

But, that doesn’t mean taxpayers aren’t on the hook for costs associated with the white elephant.

While other state programs are being cut, the state just inked a new five year deal worth more than $700,000 to test and maintain Thomson’s fire sprinkler system.

Senator Sneaky

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris is very adept at dodging and evading.

But, he apparently keeps it all within legal parameters.

On Friday, Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Schmidt announced Burris would not be prosecuted for perjury in regards to his slippery answers to a House committee investigating the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich.

The move came just days after it was revealed Burris slipped in and out of the Sangamon County Courthouse last week without letting anyone else know he was even in Springfield.

For those of you watching Illinois’ deteriorating budget situation, please take a deep breath.

Yes, there is reason to be extremely concerned. The state’s current budget expires at midnight June 30.

But, we’ve been down this road before. In fact, this is third year in a row its happened. (Read more…)

At the end of the spring session of the General Assembly, there traditionally is a big party where lawmakers, legislative staffers and other Capitol denizens get together for one last blow-out before heading home to their districts for the summer.

During the Blagojevich era, these parties seemed somewhat hollow.

Sure, the beer was cold and the wings were hot, but because of the neverending disputes between Blagojevich and the General Assembly, the failure of our elected officials to get their business finished by the scheduled May 31 adjournment date cast a pall over the festivities.

This year was going to be different. Legislators booted Blagojevich out of office. They pledged a new kind of cooperation, a less confrontational approach to governing. (Read more…)

As any married person knows, disputes about money happen.

To resolve them, priorities are laid out on the kitchen table. In the best case, the priorities speak for themselves. You plunk down the cash – or don’t – and the two of you move on to the next big decision, trusting you’ve made the right call.

This is how we got a new roof last week.

Sure, there are dental bills and school physicals to pay for. The odometer in my car is in the six digit range. Both of us would rather take a nice vacation.

But, we couldn’t wait any longer for a storm to blow the curling shingles off the roof in hopes of getting the local State Farm agent to cut us a check for a new one.

We had to pay for it ourselves.

Which brings us to the Illinois General Assembly.

For the past six years, there has been no significant statewide infrastructure improvement program to speak of. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was opposed to raising taxes, which made it near impossible to figure out a way to pay for new roads, bridges and schools, let alone fixing up existing state assets — such as roofs on state-owned buildings.

It wasn’t just his opposition to raising taxes that kept things bottled up. Lawmakers could have approved a massive expansion of gambling to raise money, but they didn’t trust Blagojevich to spread the largesse equally across the state.

The dysfunction led to a widespread crumbling of state facilities.

Ultimately, the General Assembly booted Blagojevich out of the house. A governmental divorce, of sorts.

Like me, state lawmakers and new Gov. Pat Quinn are overseeing a state that has a roof in dire need of repair.

Unlike the state, however, I don’t have the ability to raise taxes or expand gambling in order to bring in extra revenue.

So, my wife and I sat down and started crunching the numbers. We looked at the income stream, our expenditures, our equity levels – both fixed and fluid.

And we bit the bullet. We called around for estimates, nailed down a contractor and waited for a sunny day.

A gang of roofers showed up early one morning last week and knocked out a new roof in a day.

Now we’ll move on to the next big project that awaits us.

In their own way, lawmakers followed our lead last week.

In a span of two days, members of the House and Senate rammed through a gambling expansion proposal and a series of tax and fee increases aimed at generating enough money to pay for billion of dollars in new roads, schools, university facilities and bridges. And roofs.

Approval of the long-sought capital construction plan didn’t come without some interesting twists.

As the votes were tallied in the House on Thursday, there was a curious “yes” vote in the mix.

State Rep. John Bradley was among a majority of 86 members who backed the plan.

This is the same Bradley who, in 2005, unveiled a plan to ban riverboat gambling in Illinois.

In October of that year, Bradley shepherded legislation through the House that would rid the state of what he called a scourge of massive proportions – gambling.

Yet, there he was Thursday, voting to legalize video gambling, which could put poker terminals in every corner tavern, truck stop and VFW in the state.

The Marion Democrat said video gambling is already going on everywhere. It’s just not regulated. The money the state will rake in – an estimated $375 million – will fulfill a lot of needs, he argued in defense of his switcheroo.

It probably didn’t hurt that Bradley’s district will be the recipient of one of the biggest road projects in the state – the $103 million widening of Illinois 13 between Carbondale and Marion.

In the 2010 election, voters will have to choose whether the advent of video poker and higher beer prices outweighs the benefit of new roads, schools and university buildings.

And lawmakers will be sure to focus on the benefits with the voting public.

We didn’t have a ceremony to celebrate our new roof. It’s just not that exciting.

But, if Gov. Pat Quinn signs on to this massive new construction plan, it’s a good bet that folks like Bradley will be out in force with plenty of ribbon and some oversized scissors in the lead-up to the 2010 elections.

The Illinois Statehouse was an anthill of activity last week, as it usually is when lawmakers enter the home stretch of their slog toward a scheduled May 31 adjournment.

On Wednesday, special interest groups — school teachers, park district officials, even Girl Scouts — swarmed the marble floors lobbying in support of their ideas.

In the middle of it all was Pat Quinn, who has been governor now for just over 100 days.

With captive audiences in town for various lobbying events, Quinn launched his own lobbying effort in support of:

• A controversial deficit reduction plan (an income tax hike);

• Ethics reform plans (lawmakers are balking);

• And, a statewide construction program (elusive now for a decade).

For sure, he’s got a lot of convincing to do — not just of state lawmakers, but a general public made skeptical of state government by Quinn’s two cynical predecessors.

Quinn’s day started with a 9 a.m. speech to attendees of the Illinois Association of Park Districts annual state conference.

Entering the ballroom, Quinn was greeted with a standing ovation. He did, after all, reopen the state parks that his predecessor had shuttered.

With the smell of ham, coffee and eggs wafting through the air, Quinn said one of his jobs is to put an end to Illinois’ status as a national laughingstock.

And, he warned the attendees that tough decisions lie ahead in the coming weeks.

“We do have to eat some spinach here. We have to repair the damage,” Quinn said.

Next on Quinn’s agenda was an event across town at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. Officials from the Veterans of Foreign Wars were meeting in what once had been the poultry exhibition building.

After a short speech there, he dashed off to an appearance before members of the Illinois Education Association, a well-organized union that is fighting Quinn’s proposed changes to teacher pensions.

Quinn acknowledged it was going to be a tough crowd.

“I know how Daniel felt in the lion’s den,” Quinn said as he took the stage in a tent two blocks from the Capitol.

As he outlined the problems facing the state, Quinn was peppered with catcalls and booing. Teachers yelled that they should not have to pay higher pension costs because of the screw-ups of past administrations.

Quinn tried to deflect blame, saying he wasn’t the one who caused the budget woes. The teachers weren’t buying it. They heckled him.

Quinn scolded them back. “It’s impolite … to interrupt,” he said.

The tension seemed to ease after Quinn announced he was abandoning a plan to require teachers and other state employees to contribute more to their pensions as a way to help balance the budget.

As Quinn’s speech came to a close, his chief of staff, Jerry Stermer, gently nudged me and pointed out that the sun had come out. I didn’t bother to point out that there were still clouds hanging over the nearby Statehouse.

Quinn was then on his way to a speech to the titans of industry.

At an event at a downtown hotel, the governor spoke to about 325 business executives from companies such as ComEd and Archer Daniels Midland.

For the second time in less than three hours, Quinn compared tough decisions regarding the state’s financial condition to drinking “castor oil.”

Afterwards, Quinn headed back to the Statehouse to accept an award from a group holding a rally on the first floor of the Capitol. He then dashed upstairs to a press conference designed to highlight an energy conservation agreement with the city of Springfield.

After 100 days, its clear Quinn isn’t hiding from the press and the public. He’s making sure there is a clear distinction between him and his predecessor on more than just issues like whether to raise income taxes or open shuttered historic sites or parks.

But the challenge he faces was never more openly on display than in front of the angry and well-organized mob of teachers.

In between their near-constant interruptions, the governor tried to offer up a message of unity:

“In hard times we all have to band together for the common good. I think it’s important that all of us work together to deal with the biggest financial crisis our state has ever had,” Quinn said.

The response from the union, which is one of the biggest campaign contributors at election time: Jeers.

Kurt Erickson is Lee Statehouse Bureau chief. He can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or (217) 789-0865.

DuPage County Board chairman Bob Schillerstrom will make it all but official Wednesday that he’s going to run for governor in 2010.

The 10-year veteran of the suburban Chicago county government scene will join state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington, who really never stopped running after running in the 2006 GOP primary, and potential candidates Matt Murphy, a state senator from Palatine, and DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett, a two-time failed statewide officer seeker.

Schillerstrom will announce he’s forming an exploratory committee Wednesday and make his bid more official in a few weeks.

On the Democratic side, Gov. Pat Quinn says he’s planning to seek election to a full term. Attorney General Lisa Madigan also is considering a run for the top spot.