Illinois Government Consultants Incorporated

The state of Illinois has notified Catholic Charities in Springfield and three other cities that it will not renew foster care and adoption contracts with those agencies.

Attorneys for three of the agencies will be in court in Springfield this afternoon seeking an immediate order to continue the contracts.

The Department of Children and Family Services notified Catholic Charities in Springfield, Peoria, Joliet and Belleville on Friday that it will not offer contracts to provide foster care and adoption services for the new fiscal year.

“Your agency has made it clear that it does not intend to comply with the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act,” DCFS said in the notice. “That law applies to foster care and adoption services.  Thus, there is no meeting of the minds as to the FY12 Foster Care and Adoption Contracts.”

The Springfield, Peoria and Joliet agencies sued the state last month seeking a court order that they do not have to place foster children with unmarried couples, including those in civil unions.  Steven Roach, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Springfield Diocese, said at the time that such placements would require the charities to violate their religious principles.

Roach could not be reached for comment Monday.

Quinn: ‘Not going back’

During a bill-signing ceremony in Chicago Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn said the charities sparked the state action.

“We have a law in Illinois. We’re not going back,” Quinn said. “

The charities said they are willing to continue their current practice of referring unmarried couples to other agencies, but the state said that isn’t enough.

“We cannot enter into a contract for services with anyone who has publicly, affirmatively stated that they will not follow the law when they deliver these services,” said DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe.  “We must now plan to transition these services with the least interruption possible.”

Marlowe said just under 2,000 children are receiving Catholic Charities services. The Springfield Diocese had 267 children in foster care in early June.

An attorney representing Catholic Charities said the state should have allowed the lawsuit to be heard before making its decision.

“If we are going to do this process, then, for heaven sake, don’t disrupt the children’s lives,” said Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society.  “We’re not aware of a single entity that could take all of these kids.  The difficulty is when you change caseworkers on a child in midstream, it greatly increases the chance the child will not have a positive long-term outcome.”

Minimal disruption

Marlowe said DCFS is confident it can place the children with other agencies with minimal disruption.

Earlier this year, Catholic Charities in Rockford bowed out of foster services rather than have to place children in the homes of same-sex or unmarried couples. All 300 children in the Rockford agency’s care were placed with Youth Services Bureau of Illinois Valley by the end of June. Also, DCFS placed 1,000 children who were with Catholic Charities of Chicago with other agencies after ending contracts with it.

“Illinois has a strong non-profit child-welfare community that stands to reach to take these cases if necessary,” Marlowe said.

Breen said it is clear the General Assembly did not intend to force religious institutions to recognize civil unions if it conflicted with their beliefs.

“We think we have a strong legal position and a reasonable interpretation of the law,” Breen said.

——————————–

Source:  The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois

The state of Illinois had slightly fewer employees last year, but it cost a bit more to pay them, analysis of state data showed Sunday. 

Officials attributed the increased cost mainly to raises required by union contracts and higher overtime costs created by a shortage of employees. 

The state delivered paychecks to 78,567 people in 2010 — 369 fewer than in the previous year, according to an analysis by the Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus.  

Despite that slight reduction, total payroll costs climbed $95 million to $4.45 billion, an increase of about 2.3 percent. 

“Because there are fewer employees, there’s more overtime being paid,” said Kathy Cutler of Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka’s office. “That may account for the growth in the dollars being spent as opposed to the employee numbers going down. … Most of us regular employees aren’t getting salary increases.” 

The secretary of state’s office had the biggest drop in the number of people paid. The department shrank by 385 people, to 4,522, because the agency didn’t hire summer workers and left vacancies unfilled, spokesman Henry Haupt said. Still, payroll climbed by more than $6 million to a total of $197.1 million last year. 

“Sometimes employees will get a payout for retirement,” Haupt said. “But the biggest reason for the increase is union raises. The contract for union workers calls for a raise each year.”

The trend was similar in 2009, when the number of employees fell 4.5 percent but payroll climbed nearly 1.2 percent.

The newspapers found an increase in higher-paid employees in 2010.

The number making between $100,000 and $150,000 reached 3,147, a jump of nearly one-quarter.

Gov. Pat Quinn announced recently that he is canceling raises for thousands of employees at 14 state agencies because lawmakers didn’t provide enough new money. Unions are taking that decision to court and to an arbitrator.

———————

Source:  The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois

Gov. Pat Quinn has signed three education bills aimed at preventing violence and encouraging reading and math. Quinn signed the trio of legislation Friday at a Chicago high school.

One bill requires Illinois school districts to teach all children about preventing violence and resolving conflicts. While fourth through 12th graders get that instruction now, the new bill includes youngsters in the kindergarten through third grades.

The governor’s office says another bill Quinn signed requires districts to put an emphasis on math and reading during summer school if students are two grade levels behind for two consecutive years.

The third bill promotes 60 minutes of reading in the kindergarten through third grades if students are one or more grade levels behind.

———————

Source:  The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois

A universal fare card for mass transit in the Chicago area is getting closer to reality.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Thursday that requires the Chicago Transit Authority, the Metra commuter rail and the Pace suburban bus system to implement a universal fare card by 2015.

Officials say a universal fare card would make it easier for commuters to change between the three transit systems.

They say it’s a way to increase ridership and improve tourism by making traveling between the city and suburbs seamless.

The bill also requires the transit agencies to provide web-based arrival information by July 1, 2012.

—————————

Source:  The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois

Gov. Pat Quinn cut $376 million Thursday from the already austere state budget lawmakers sent him, reducing spending for Medicaid, school buses and regional school superintendents.

However, Quinn signed the rest of the budget without further changes, despite his previous complaints that the budget shortchanges education and human services and is “incomplete.”

Thursday was the last day of the state’s old fiscal year. Fiscal year 2012 begins Friday.

“We have a final budget, and it is signed,” said Quinn budget director David Vaught. “There’s a lot of work to do to implement the budget. There are a lot of reductions in there and a lot of things that are going to have to change.”

Quinn’s largest reduction was a $276 million cut in Medicaid spending, which provides medical services to the poor. Vaught said the cost of Medicaid is rising “faster than we can afford to pay for it.”

Medicaid talks

The budget sent to Quinn essentially pushed more than $1 billion in Medicaid costs off to future budgets. Medical providers have said payment delays are preferable to a cut in rates to save money. However, Vaught said Quinn wants medical providers and state officials to work out additional ways to save money.

“The governor believes the interested parties need to come to the table and have negotiations,” Vaught said.

Quinn also cut about $11.3 million in state support for regional school superintendents. Quinn proposed the cut in his original budget speech, but lawmakers rejected the idea when they crafted the budget.

“They are local elected officials, and they should be paid locally,” Vaught said. “He’s not calling for elimination of the offices, he’s calling for them to be paid with local sources.”

School transportation

Quinn also eliminated $89 million from funds used to reimburse school districts for their student transportation expenses.

“Getting kids to school is a local responsibility,” Vaught said. “The governor … thinks the priority should be in the classroom.”

Pete Sherman, spokesman for the Springfield School District, said the governor’s action will hurt the district’s budget.

“It requires us to find money elsewhere,” Sherman said. “We’re a large urban district, so transportation is a necessity.”

Vaught said the governor’s action means the state will provide the same amount for transportation assistance as last year.

Changes possible

Quinn thinks a fairer way to distribute state assistance to schools is through the general state aid formula. Money from that can be used to cover transportation expenses. However, lawmakers reduced general state aid by $150 million in the budget signed by Quinn.

Legislators could vote to restore Quinn’s reductions when they return for the veto session in October.

With the latest round of cuts, Quinn approved a $32.9 billion budget.

“It takes spending below the most conservative revenue estimate,” Vaught said. “That’s a good thing. It hasn’t happened in a while.”

——————-

Source:  The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois

Wisconsin lawmakers have approved lifting the ban on carrying concealed weapons and have sent the measure to Gov. Scott Walker, who is expected to quickly sign it into law.

When he does, Illinois will be the only state to still prohibit the carrying of guns, knives and other concealed weapons. A bill that would have ended the ban in Illinois failed in the House by six votes in May after Gov. Pat Quinn threatened to veto it.

Supporters of the measure in Wisconsin said the fact that none of the 48 other states with similar laws have had to repeal them shows opponents’ fears about concealed carry are unwarranted.

Rep. Jeff Mursau, R-Crivitz, called the proposal he sponsored “a great first step for citizens of this state to personally be able to protect themselves.”

Democrats who opposed the measure said there was no reason to change current law. “The majority of the public in Wisconsin is not banging down our door insisting that we pass this law,” said Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau.

Under the Wisconsin bill, people who obtain a permit and go through training will be allowed to carry concealed weapons in most public buildings, including the state Capitol and city halls, unless there is a sign posted saying they are not permitted. The weapons would be barred anywhere within 1,000 feet of school grounds, police stations, jails and prisons, courthouses, secure mental health facilities, and beyond airport security checkpoints.

Current law would be loosened when it comes to keeping guns in cars. Under the bill, permit holders could keep loaded, uncased guns in their cars. Guns are currently only allowed in cars if they are unloaded and in a case.

The measure cleared the state Senate 25-8 last week, with six Democrats voting in its favor. It passed the Assembly 68-27 on Tuesday, with 11 Democrats and one independent joining 56 Republicans in support. One Republican, Rep. Don Pridemore of Hartford, voted against the measure.

Wisconsin’s new law will take effect in either October or November, depending on when Walker signs the measure. Passage of the bill, which was heavily lobbied by the National Rifle Association, came after Republicans were blocked through vetoes in 2003 and 2005 by Walker’s predecessor, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.

Opponents of the new measure said there aren’t enough protections for those who don’t want to worry about being in public buildings, hospitals, domestic abuse shelters and other places with people carrying concealed weapons.

“Putting more guns on the streets, particularly in Milwaukee, is the worst thing we can do,” said Rep. Leon Young, D-Milwaukee, who pushed for barring guns at neighborhood festivals. His proposal was rejected.

Democratic leaders also argued the bill’s training guidelines, which don’t require a person to actually fire a weapon to obtain a permit, are not stringent enough.

“Let’s just do it right,” said Democratic Minority Leader Peter Barca. “Let’s make sure when we give people this ability, they know what they’re doing.”

Barca, who said he owns several guns and likely would apply for a permit, said permit-holders should meet more stringent standards like those in neighboring states such as Minnesota, where actually firing a gun is a required part of training. Republicans rejected his proposed changes.

Rep. Mary Williams, R-Medford, said she agreed meaningful training was necessary but supported what is required under the bill.

“I hope all of us who want to pack a pistol, we all get training,” Williams said.

Acceptable training under the bill includes courses offered by the Department of Natural Resources, a law enforcement agency, or organizations that certify firearms instructors

Permits would only be given to Wisconsin residents over age 21 who go through the required training and clear background checks that show they are not felons or otherwise not allowed to carry guns. The permits would cost no more than $50 and be good for five years, with a $25 renewing fee.

The names of those with a license in Wisconsin would be kept in a database maintained by the state Department of Justice. Police could only access the database to confirm someone who is carrying a concealed weapon has a valid permit or investigate whether someone lied when applying for a license. Carrying a gun without a permit would be a misdemeanor.

The names of people who have guns would not be made available under the state’s open records law.

Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn and Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm have advocated for increasing the penalties for those who illegally carry guns or purchase them from felons. A separate bill to do that was pending in the Legislature.

Source: Chicago Tribune

The top Illinois gambling regulator is criticizing legislation to expand wagering as poorly written and difficult to enforce.

Aaron Jaffe is chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board. He said at a public meeting Tuesday that the board’s staff would have to be doubled to enforce laws governing five new casinos, slot machines at horseracing tracks and other provisions in the bill awaiting action by Gov. Pat Quinn.

Jaffe says, ” You can’t make perfume out of a pile of garbage.”

He says the measure would usurp regulatory power from the Gaming Board and blur lines of jurisdiction with other enforcers. He says expansion would “cannibalize” existing casino business.

Quinn has called the bill “top heavy” but signaled he might accept a casino in Chicago.

—

Online: http://www.igb.state.il.us/
——————
Source: The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois

When Sears Holdings Corp. rattled Illinois last month by saying it was considering moving its headquarters out of state, Gov. Pat Quinn promised he would find a way to keep the retailer around.

It’s a potentially costly scenario that could be repeated more than 100 times over the next three years.

Tax-break deals with 107 companies will expire in 2012, 2013 and 2014, according to records obtained by The Associated Press through a Freedom of Information request. Those deals, worth more than $100 million, run out at a time when other states view Illinois as a prime target for poaching after this year’s tax increases stirred unhappiness in the state’s business community.

Illinois may have little choice but to offer bigger breaks to many of those companies or risk seeing them leave, even though the state already faces a budget deficit that could top $9 billion annually in coming years.

Dozens of the deals are with companies that employ hundreds or even thousands of people in the state, including J.P. Morgan Chase, Deere & Company, U.S. Cellular Corporation, Abbott Laboratories and Wells Fargo.

“If you get household name corporations appearing in news headlines (for leaving the state), that’s not a good thing,” Doug Whitley, president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, said referring to Sears’ threat and more recent news that both the Chicago Board Options Exchange and CME Group were considering leaving Illinois.

“When a company raises its hands and says ‘Look at me,’” Whitley added, “then you’ve got a government entity scrambling.”

A state spokeswoman said there is no set way for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to handle expiring tax incentive contracts. But she said the end of a deal isn’t a guarantee of a new one.

“This is not an automatic ticket for a company to get additional incentives,” Marcelyn Love said in an e-mail. “Our focus is on being responsive to companies so we can better assess their needs and make Illinois an attractive place to do business. If a company decides that they will be making additional investments and are interested in getting state assistance, then we would work with them.”

Tax breaks and the way states use them to compete with each other, particularly those offered to retain existing jobs, are often criticized. Many economists say they don’t creating anything new, but instead pay companies to maintain the status quo. But critics also tend to say they understand why states use incentives: few politicians would be able to stay in office if they refused to make deals to keep jobs that appear headed elsewhere.

The tax-break deals set to expire in Illinois in the next few years were made through the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy program, known as EDGE. It is Illinois’ primary tool to persuade companies with offers to leave the state to stay. The program also gives incentives to firms considering adding jobs to create them in Illinois.

Early last month, using the EDGE program, Illinois promised Motorola Mobility $100 million in tax breaks to keep the consumer electronics maker’s headquarters in Libertyville.

The companies that made deals that expire between 2012 and 2014 promised to keep more than 12,000 jobs in Illinois and create another more than 10,000 positions. In some cases, according to state records, those companies haven’t used the tax credits. Whitley and others said the most likely reasons are that the company didn’t add jobs as intended, or the company didn’t have profits to use the tax credit against.

Deals that expire next year include $34.7 million in tax breaks that J.P. Morgan Chase used after agreeing to keep 2,247 jobs at locations in Chicago, Elgin and Elk Grove Village, and $6.72 million in breaks provided to the Robert Bosch Tool Corp. after that company agreed not to move 444 jobs from a facility in Mount Prospect.

Deere & Company has used $7.28 million in tax credits as part of a deal expiring in 2013 that requires the company to keep 350 jobs in place and create 30 more at facilities in Moline, East Moline and Silvis.

In 2014, a deal with audio electronic maker Shure Inc. is set to expire. The company has cashed in $7.28 million in tax credits after agreeing to keep its headquarters and 570 jobs in state, in Niles, rather than look elsewhere. Also that year, a state deal with Abbot Laboratories to keep 260 jobs in Des Plaines and create another 50 expires.

Incentives are almost never the most important factor in where a company locates, experts say, only an important sweetener. But Illinois’ situation makes them potentially more important. Businesses are genuinely unhappy about the state’s tax increase and workers’ compensation costs that are higher than in many states, said Tim Monger, senior vice president at Cassidy Turley, an Indianapolis law firm that helps companies negotiate incentives.

And companies almost certainly will at least look to see if they have better options elsewhere, Monger said.

“The closer you get to that end of that commitment, the question always is do we do it here or do we do it in another location,” he said.

Neighboring states, sensing an opportunity in Illinois, have launched campaigns to lure businesses away. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker repeatedly tout their state’s business climates, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie flew to Illinois in February to meet with business leaders.

Sears employs 6,200 people in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates. When the company said it was considering options elsewhere, Quinn quickly said Illinois would work on a deal to keep Sears in place.

“I’m sure that we will work out something that will work for the company, but most importantly, work for the common good, for the workers, for the jobs,” Quinn said.

Instead of waiting for companies to make threats, the chamber’s Whitley said, Illinois should be working its way down the list of companies with expiring deals and initiating the conversation. He doubts that’s happening.

“That’s a proactive approach that takes time and energy and effort; inertia is most likely to be the case,” he said. “Furthermore, the state does not have a lot of resources to devote to this.”

***

A list of Illinois’ expiring tax incentives deals

Tax-break deals the state of Illinois made with 107 companies to either keep jobs in the state or create new jobs are set to expire in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Some of the larger deals are listed here, with the company name and location, along with the jobs the companies agreed to try to either retain or create and the amount of their tax credits used.

2012

ArcelorMittal Riverdale Inc., Riverdale/Hennepin, 300 jobs to be created, $4.3 million in tax credits used

J.P. Morgan Chase, Chicago/Elgin/Elk Grove Village, 2,247 jobs to be retained, 125 to be created, $34.7 million

Land O’Frost Inc., Lansing, 250 jobs to be retained, 25 to be created, $2.2 million

LTD Commodities, Naperville, 187 jobs to be created, $397,000

Manchester Tank & Equipment, Quincy, 45 jobs to be retained, 150 to be created, $1.7 million

North American Lighting, Paris, 162 jobs to be created, $2.38 million

Robert Bosch Tool Corp., Mount Prospect, 444 jobs to be retained, 25 to be created, $6.72 million

Service Master Holdings Corp., Downers Grove, 200 jobs to be retained, $1.96 million

Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Lincolnshire, 266 jobs to be created, $18.5 million

2013

Aisin MFG, Illinois LLC, Marion, 140 jobs to be created, $2.99 million

Deere & Company, East Moline/Silvis/Moline, 350 jobs to be retained, 30 to be created, $7.28 million

Genco Inc., Pontoon Beach, 190 jobs to be created, $486,883

Lanco International Inc. Mi-Jack Products, 325 jobs to be retained, 25 to be created, $3.59 million

Menard Inc., Plano, 230 jobs to be retained, 150 to be created, $206,396

Sterling Steel Company, Sterling, 200 jobs to be created, $2.66 million

Sysco Food Services, Des Plaines, 355 jobs to be retained, 110 to be created, $7.5 million

Wahl Clipper, Sterling, 310 jobs to be retained, $2.77 million

Wal-Mart Stores East, Spring Valley, 600 jobs to be created, $6.44 million

William Wrigley Jr. Company, Chicago, 155 jobs to be retained, 30 to be created, $5.71 million

2014

Abbot Laboratories, Des Plaines, 260 jobs to be retained, 50 to be created, $2.83 million

CDW Corporation, Vernon Hills and Mettawa, 142 jobs to be created, $1.9 million

Holten Meat Inc., Sauget, 214 jobs to be retained, 29 to be created, $742,581

Shure Inc., Niles, 570 jobs to be retained, 65 to be created, $4.19 million

Terrace Holding Company, Cicero, 153 jobs to be retained, 91 to be created, $1.9 million

U.S. Cellular Corporation, Bensenville, 150 jobs to be created, $2.08 million

Wells Fargo Bank, Springfield, 548 jobs to be retained, $2.18 million
——————-
Source: The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois

Gov. Pat Quinn is scheduled to sign a landmark education reform measure that will make it harder for teachers to go on strike and easier for educators to be fired.

Lawmakers approved the overhaul and sent it to the governor’s desk last month. Quinn scheduled a bill signing at an elementary school in the Chicago suburb of Maywood on Monday.

Under the legislation, teachers would face new restrictions on job-protecting tenure. Layoffs would be based on ability and credentials instead of seniority. And tenured teachers could be fired more easily.

The bill also includes tougher standards for teacher strikes over contract disputes. It would require several additional steps, including earlier intervention by mediators and publicizing each side’s last, best offer in contract negotiations, before a strike.
—————–
Source: The State Journal Register - The Oldest Newspaper in Illinois