Editorial Roundup: Illinois
Arlington Heights Daily-Herald. February 23, 2022.
Editorial: Process was indeed flawed, but that's not the issue for ethics watchdog
The initial reaction to the appointment of a new ethics watchdog for Illinois state government has centered on the troubling way in which former judge Michael McCuskey was chosen for the job.
To be sure, that process was deeply flawed in ways that longtime watchers of Illinois government can only greet with an eye roll and a long, exasperated sigh. But there is even more and greater exasperation ahead if we let this all-too-familiar partisan disappointment overshadow the reason the legislative inspector general position was open in the first place.
On that score, direct your attention to the description of the job from the previous person who held it: 'œpaper tiger.'ť
The legislative inspector general is supposed to investigate ethics complaints against members of the Illinois General Assembly. When, last July, former appellate judge Carol Pope announced her resignation from the post two years early, she complained that restrictions on the position made it all but impossible to achieve its goals. It was a familiar refrain, virtually mirroring complaints from her predecessor, Julie Porter. Porter, by the way, had been brought in during an embarrassing 2017 #MeToo scandal in the legislature because the job had been vacant since 2014.
Pope announced her resignation in July and left the job a month and a half ago. Democrats pointed to the delays and what they described as a political stalemate regarding her successor as the justification for ramrodding McCuskey through the House and Senate last week.
But before we rush to celebrate their sense of urgency, consider what lawmakers have done to respond to Pope's and Porter's concerns. They decided the inspector general can open a case without first seeking the blessing of the state Ethics Commission.
That's it.
They have not granted the watchdog subpoena powers critical to getting testimony and information. They actually made the job tougher by requiring a formal complaint to open an investigation rather than allowing the watchdog to pursue cases based on media or public reports.
Neither party gets any points, of course, for trying to break the Ethics Commission impasse over two finalists. They both contributed to the stalemate, and neither showed any inclination to try to solve it, until Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat, brought forth McCuskey.
So now, at least, we have an official watchdog to oversee ethics issues in the General Assembly. And, by all accounts -- even those of people who voted against him because of the process -- the former judge is respected for his independence and integrity.
But Pope and, before her, Porter both came into the role with similar credentials and reputations. And both left frustrated and disappointed. So, the key issue now isn't that we have an inspector general, nor even the unsavory tactics that put him in place. It's whether he's going to be allowed to do his job or will step away in disgust a few years hence.
If either party truly cares about currying the public's confidence and respect, that's where they'll concentrate their attention.
___
Champaign News-Gazette. February 27, 2022.
Editorial: State should keep its financial powder dry
The state's finances are in better shape, but still far, far away from being in good shape.
When Gov. J.B. Pritzker presented his proposed 2022-23 state budget a few weeks ago, he won praise - in some quarters, it was particularly generous - for Illinois' improved fiscal condition.
His $45.5 billion budget plan, by his count, included a surplus. There also was an extra $500 million payment to the state's woefully financed public pensions and a contribution to the state's rainy-day fund.
Gone were a $7.9 billion unpaid-bill backlog and $1.2 billion in late-interest-payment penalties for non-payments of those bills. Instead of the state's financial rating being one notch above 'œjunk'ť status, Pritzker bragged that it had soared to two notches above junk status and is on the verge of another move up.
Indeed, circumstances are so much better that Pritzker, who just happens to be running for re-election, proposed teeny, tiny, temporary reductions in sales, property and gas taxes.
What's the explanation for Illinois' dubious version of sound financial status? The answer is, at least in part, many billions of dollars in federal bailout money and an improvement in state tax receipts beyond what was anticipated.
Calling the state's financial position 'œdramatically better than it was when Governor Pritzker took office,'ť Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, issued lavish praise.
'œThe governor's use of the federal revenue support has been effective and fiscally reasonable, and it has helped improve the state's financial condition, as has the growth in revenue,'ť he said 'œThere's a lot of positives in this budget.'ť
Msall is right. But Illinois is still a long way from good fiscal health. The state's public pension contribution consumes 25% of the operating budget and federal money eventually will run out.
It's important to bear those realities in mind.
That's why recent proposals by Comptroller Susana Mendoza need to be taken with a grain of salt.
She has proposed doing away with a state law that imposes a 12% annual interest rate on unpaid bills to state vendors and another one that allows private investors to buy debt owed to vendors and collect the interest penalty.
For starters, Mendoza makes a sound point about the 12% interest penalty. The outrageous amount - 1% a month - was established by the 1993 Prompt Payment Act, the thinking being that the high rate would serve as a disincentive to sloppy financial management.
The law presumes state officials would never be so irresponsible as to not pay bills promptly and be penalized to that degree. But that's exactly what our elected officials did.
The second program - the one allowing wealthy investors to buy vendor debt, sit back and cash in - is distasteful. But while they were taking advantage of an ugly situation, these investors also were bailing out cash-strapped business owners who needed the money to avoid financial disaster.
Mendoza seems to be confident that Illinois will not fall back into the sordid situation that resulted in the non-payment of bills that private investors exploited for financial gain.
But that confidence, in our view, is not justified considering the serious financial challenges Illinois still faces.
Modify the 12% interest rate to something less? Absolutely, particularly in this age of zero interest rates.
But betting on the kind of future solvency
that meeting monthly bills requires seems like a long shot.
Mendoza stated accurately that the people of Illinois finally have their 'œheads above water.'ť She also said - and most would agree - that 'œit is now when we need to take a hard look at what happened and to reform our policies so that taxpayers are not having to pay these exorbitant costs.'ť
No one is against reform, particularly the kind that saves money. But let's reform first before taking steps based on the premise Illinois' future financial news will all be good.
___
Moline Dispatch. February 24, 2022.
Editorial: Of course taxpayers want money back
Gov. J.B. Pritzker is on a selling tour for his proposed Illinois Family Relief Plan, which he hopes to pilot through the legislature by the spring.
Key features are more than $1 billion of tax relief taking the form of up to $300 in property tax rebates for property owners. He also wants to eliminate the state tax on groceries and freeze the gas tax over the coming year.
The plan includes:
(asterisk) Suspend a 1% tax on groceries, saving Illinois residents an estimated $360 million.
(asterisk) Freeze the motor fuel tax which had been expected to increase about 2 cents a gallon from 39.2 cents to 41.4 cents a gallon. It would save taxpayers an estimated $135 million.
(asterisk) Rebate property taxes via an income tax credit of up to $300 for nearly 2 million Illinois property owners.
He's also pushing restoring the Local Government Distributive Fund (LGDF), which dedicates part of the state income tax revenue for municipalities.
State-shared income tax revenue is distributed to local governments through the LGDF, a state and local funding partnership instituted as part of the establishment of the state income tax in 1969. The idea was to help local governments fund essential services and programs such as public safety, public health and basic infrastructure construction and repair. This shared revenue also reduces the amount of revenue local governments must collect through local taxes.
Over the last decade, the state has found that partnership easy to raid. A review of the history of LGDF distributions shows that the local percentage share of the state income tax distributed through LGDF funding has already been reduced over the years. This has prevented local governments throughout the state from receiving billions of dollars in shared revenue.
Until January 2011, counties and municipalities received 10% of total state income tax revenues through LGDF. Following a temporary increase in state income tax rates in 2011, the percentage of tax revenue allocated to LGDF for distribution to local counties and municipalities declined to 6%.
In January 2015, the local share of the state income tax increased to 8% when the higher income tax rates declined according to a predetermined schedule established by law. The state income tax was permanently increased in 2017 and the local government share was reduced to 5.45%. The LGDF share is presently 6.06% for individual income tax collections and 6.845% for corporate income tax collections.
The manipulation has left municipalities across the state frustrated and irate. Whenever you hear an official of any city say 'œwe're waiting for our money from the state,'ť this is what they're talking about. Municipalities unwilling or unable to balance budgets have resorted to increased taxes.
Campaigning by promises of money is always a good idea. Unfortunately, Pritzker paints with a broad brush, and specifics turn smooshy.
Everything Pritzker announces between now and Election Day deserves additional scrutiny. He's practically at the point where he can designate whatever policies he wishes, based on both the Democrat majority in Springfield and his own confidence that he's write.
Difficult to forget, however, is his reversal on his campaign promise about district map drawing.
We're all for taxpayers getting money back. We also understand we're in Illinois. You'll excuse us if we keep both hands on our wallet, and keep it in a front pants pocket.
END