Progress Illinois

Back in March, we were excited to learn that Illinois' own Rep. Jan Schakowsky would serve as a member of President Obama's 18-member deficit commission, knowing she would add a progressive perspective to the discussion about the nation's long-term debt. Others, however, we're less sanguine about the commission's potential. Because recommendations for revenue increases and spending cuts could only be sent to Congress if 14 of the 18 members reached consensus, some feared that anti-tax conservatives would be unwilling to cooperate.

After just two meetings, that cynicism seems to have been warranted. In an interview with Think Progress yesterday, Schakowsky called the success of the commission “unlikely” because conservatives are refusing to consider any tax hikes, even though combined taxes are at their lowest levels in a half-century. "[Conservatives] give some lip service to ‘everything should be on the table,’" said Schakowsky. "Then, when it actually comes to what kind of revenue can we raise, [they] are closing that door and taking it off the table." Watch it:

When the General Assembly finished the spring session and left behind an unbalanced and inadequate budget, they directly imperiled those vendors and service providers who are still owed billions in late payments from the state. Now, with every passing day, more reports surface documenting the ripple effect of that backlog.  Here's the latest discouraging example:

Adams County officials said Thursday they have had to eliminate programs, including those meant to prevent domestic violence and teen pregnancy, because the state of Illinois isn't paying its bills on time.

Eight people have lost their jobs, and 16 more could be laid off, they said.

Wonderful.

Despite the recent catastrophic environmental disaster resulting from America's addiction to fossil fuels, U.S. Senate Democrats can't seem to get their act together on comprehensive climate legislation. Caucus leaders will meet with relevant committee chairs later this week to devise a potential floor plan for the bill Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) introduced last month, one that enviros cautiously endorsed. But Politico is reporting that some consensus may be building behind a weaker "energy-only bill" that avoids any effor to price carbon emissions.

Hanging over the proceedings, however, is an ominous "resolution of disapproval" authored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), which would effectively strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate carbon under the Clean Air Act. (Learn more about the underlying issue of "preemption" here.) While Murkowski's measure likely wouldn't survive a presidential veto, it could nonetheless serve as a bellweather for the political will in the Senate to implement strict environmental protections. And make no mistake about it: the proposal is pretty radical. Next year, the EPA will begin regulating greenhouse gases from automobiles and some industrial facilities. If the resolution passes, Environment Illinois estimates that the state's dependence on oil would increase by more than 17 million gallons in 2016, costing residents $44 million at the pump.

It looks like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and his caucus leadership has broken a promise with jobless Americans. Before the body went on recess, Reid said he planned to take up a bill this week extending the filing deadline for emergency unemployment benefits. Well, the Senate is back in session today and unemployment insurance isn't on the docket. From The Hill:

The fate of the measure is uncertain. At this point, the Senate probably doesn't have enough votes to pass the measure, and it's unknown how the House would react to changes.

Jackie Headapohl at MLive points out that any major change to the bill would force it back to the House for another vote, where passage is not assured -- this despite the fact that 74 percent of Americans think it's too early to cut off emergency assistance, according to a new Hart Research Associates poll (PDF). Meanwhile, the severity of the long-term unemployment crisis is growing. On average, the National Employment Law Project estimates (PDF) that current unemployed workers are without work for 34.4 weeks, or over eight full months. That's worse than the latest estimate from the Economic Policy Institute, whose data only extended through 2009.

UPDATE (6:20 p.m.): Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) tells the Hill that the Senate leadership is "close" on a deal to get the so-called "extenders" bill.  It appears they will introduce it some time tomorrow.