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PI Original
by Micah Maidenberg
3:57pm
Mon Aug 30, 2010
1 comment

Groups Push EPA On Coal Ash Pollution Downstate

Environment

Coal ash sludge polluted 300 acres in Eastern Tennessee two years ago. Now, environmental groups are calling on the EPA to recognize additional sites where coal ash has polluted the water, including three in downstate Illinois.

Quick Hit
by Micah Maidenberg
12:15pm
Mon Aug 30, 2010

Republicans And Their Love-Hate Relationship With Stimulus Dollars

Given the opposition to federal stimulus legislation we've seen from Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady, it's worth noting that a neighboring state's high-profile GOP governor is now seeking nearly $435 million of those exact funds. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' administration is applying for $207 million in Medicaid funding and another $227 million in education dollars thanks to the $26 billion state aid package that went into effect earlier this month -- largely due to the votes of House and Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama's support. 

Brady, on the other hand, called the bill "typical Washington games" and said he opposed its passage. But the legislation will give state governments a much-needed boost. The Quinn Administration is seeking around $1 billion for Illinois, including $415 million to support an estimated 5,700 teaching jobs and up to $550 million in health care for the poor. Perhaps Daniels, a critic of the Obama Administration's stimulus programs, including the latest package, needs to give his would-be Illinois counterpart a call to discuss the fiscal realities state governments are facing right now.

PI Original
by Micah Maidenberg
10:23am
Sat Aug 28, 2010

The PI Week In Review

Catch Up!

The week that was in Illinois politics and government (August 21 - August 27, 2010). 

Quick Hit
by Aricka Flowers
5:43pm
Thu Aug 26, 2010

Seals Slams Dold's Social Security Stance

When U.S. Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI) endorsed Dan Seals, the Democratic candidate in the 10th Congressional District race, yesterday's announcement of the decision quickly turned to the future of Social Security. Seals's GOP candidate Robert Dold has backed Social Security privatization in the past and more recently flirted with supporting Wisconsin Republican Paul Ryan's radical "Roadmap" plan, which would cut Social Security benefits. Levin, who is chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means and has fought against such proposals in Congress, said that although he hasn't met Dold, he has "met the positions that he proposes and that he believes in." Levin went on to explain why no plan for Social Security privatization would work:

There can always be slight differences in privatization plans, but if you tear them apart, they are all the same. At the heart of it, it would move younger people away from insured benefit plans and put poeple in a substanial way dependent upon the stock market. And we've learned these last years how much in jeopardy this places a trust fund and also how much it places in jeopardy the people who have to rely on it. If those who are now on social security all had, instead of social security, 401(k)s, they would be in, frankly, difficult straits.

Seals echoed that sentiment and voiced his concern about the impact Social Security privatization would have on the federal deficit:

If you were to privatize Social Security, you would actually add trillions of dollars to the debt - and outstanding debt already stands at $13 trillion, so the notion that we can add another two trillion or more to it is simply unacceptable. I support protecting Social Security and I'm happy to have the endorsement of a committee looking to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare and I'll continue to work to make sure this is a program that's solvent for years to come.

Considering the fact that Republicans have been filibustering any and every bill that would add to the federal deficit, like the recently-passed state aid bill, does Dold's support of such an expensive and unproven initiative make any sense?

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
12:25pm
Thu Aug 26, 2010

The Wrong Way To Protect Illinois Farmers

Yesterday, Illinois' major statewide candidates discussed agricultural policy at a forum hosted by the Illinois Farm Bureau. U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, whose website boasts that he "will fight for Illinois farmers and expand opportunities for our state’s agriculture industry," advocated for several policies that could end up hurting small farmers in the long-run.

For starters, Kirk reiterated his support for a budget-busting estate tax repeal, which he said could lower taxes on some family farms. Like the GOP's gubernatorial candidate, Kirk is greatly exaggerating the impact of the estate tax on farmers. The Tax Policy Center found that just .003 percent of all estates both qualify for the tax and have significant small business or farm assets. The average farmer in Illinois won't have to pay more taxes if it's repealed ... except those needed to help pay down the debt the tax cut will cause.

Kirk also criticized the U.S. House climate bill that he helped pass last year, but has since dismissed as too costly. The legislation as written, however, was extremely forgiving to farmers. Not only was agriculture exempt from the cap-and-trade system but farmers were promised subsides to adjust to energy cost increases. On top of that, the bill would have provided a needed boost to wind and solar industries from which farmers could benefit while protecting Illinois crops from the worst effects of climate change.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
12:41pm
Wed Aug 25, 2010

Fixing Illinois' Health Insurance Exchange

We recently talked to some local health care advocates to find out how Springfield regulators and lawmakers should structure Illinois' forthcoming health insurance exchange to ensure the federal health reform package works for state residents. One issue we didn't cover was the danger of "adverse selection," or the separation of healthier and less-healthy people into different insurance systems. If too many low-cost people enroll in plans offered outside the government-regulated clearinghouse, it will drive up costs for consumers and small businesses who do purchase coverage through the exchange.

How can Illinois avoid this problem? Sarah Lueck with the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities outlined some smart protections in a new paper.

Quick Hit
by Adam Doster
11:05am
Wed Aug 25, 2010

The Deadline Looms For Put Illinois To Work

The federal stimulus package, much derided by Republicans in Illinois, is doing wonders for the economy. The Congressional Budget Office released a report yesterday showing that the law created 3.3 million jobs in the second quarter of 2010 alone and may have prevented a double-dip recession. One successful program that owes its existence to the recovery bill is the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund, which has provided private employers subsidies to hire (for $10-per-hour) folks who are eligible. For Decatur's Ashlee Tate, as well as roughly 30,000 other Illinois residents, the Put Illinois To Work program has been a godsend. The Decatur Herald-Review reports:

"It's been three or four months now since I haven't tried looking for a job," Tate said. "This really helps out a lot as far as getting experience and having a reference if I find another job afterward."

Although Democrats on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee have introduced new legislation that would extend funding for the TANF program through FY 2011, the threat of a Republican filibuster in the U.S. Senate means the chances of the bill passing before September 30 are slim. That's a big disappointment for Decatur Township Assessor Tom Greanias, who has taken on 16 temporary workers using the subsidies. "I wish I had money to hire them," he said. "I'll be approaching my board based on the success of some of these people that have really worked out well to ask for an increase in my budget to contract these people."