Tag: SB1

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ICYMI: Madigan and Cullerton “jeopardizing the start of the school year”

Editorial Boards Slam Democrats for Holding Up School Funding

Editorial boards this weekend slammed Mike Madigan, John Cullerton, and Democrats in Springfield for holding school funding hostage to their Chicago bailout demands.

The Chicago Tribune: Dear Illinois parents: You’re being played by Democrats in Springfield
Yes, parents, while you’ve been preoccupied with lemonade stands and summer camps, Democrats in Springfield have been jeopardizing the timely opening of schools.

… Just when you think Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan couldn’t be more scheming, they prove you wrong. In this case, they’re jeopardizing the start of the school year. Brinkmanship at its worst. A game of chicken with school families trapped midfield.

To emphasize, parents: August is here and your legislature has not agreed on how to send your state tax money to your schools. You’re being played. You’re supposed to panic and blame a governor who’s, yes, still waiting for that May 31funding bill to arrive.

The Belleville News-Democrat: Illinois lawmakers set time bomb to get Rauner, hit students instead
Lawmakers couldn’t pass a budget for more than two years and were willing to owe other people $15 billion, but they sure got their paychecks on time. The rest of us don’t get paid if we don’t work.

So could it be that they realize the optics are bad on that issue? They fear facing voters in 2018 looking like a bunch of self-serving, ineffective louts? Do they think limiting the per diems would give them the ability to say, “See, we aren’t all about us”?

They got a chance to earn another $111 a day plus mileage this past week, when Rauner called lawmakers back into session to advance Senate Bill 1, the education funding bill. They failed to do so because Rauner promised an amendatory veto to remove a Chicago Public School pension bail-out. Big surprise, because they are likely doing all this to force an August showdown to get that Chicago money and hand Rauner another fanny-whoooping — at the cost of our students.

Herald & Review: Our view: We’re back where we started with Springfield
What’s the better solution? Remove the Chicago pension funding proviso from the legislation.

That would meet Rauner’s satisfaction while preserving the core mission to fix the backwards funding formula.

It’s easy for us to say, but Chicago pensions shouldn’t break this legislation. We must think of students statewide.

Remove the pension rule.

Sign the bill.

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ICYMI: Editorial Boards Slam Cullerton as “a Disgrace”

Cullerton, Madigan Refuse to Send Gov. Rauner Education Bill

Even more editorial boards are slamming John Cullerton, Mike Madigan and the Chicago Machine for holding schoolchildren hostage. They’re refusing to send Governor Rauner an education funding bill that passed two months ago.

From the Chicago Tribune editorial board:
Springfield is an orgy of deplorable these days. The inaction, the dysfunction, the empty chairs in the House and Senate — a disgrace. Of the 118 members of the Illinois House earning full-time salaries for part-time jobs, 32 did not show up for the start of Thursday’s special session. And there were dozens of empty desks in the Senate, a chamber that doesn’t take daily attendance. Lucky for those hard-to-track senators playing hooky.

Then both chambers adjourned within minutes of convening, sabotaging a rightfully called special session to address a serious issue for schoolchildren and their families. But because Cullerton and Madigan signaled it was OK for their members to blow it off, many did.

Let’s get a few things straight, given that legislative leaders and lawmakers have difficulty navigating right vs. wrong. The right thing to do in a part-time government job is to show up for special sessions when the governor calls them. The right thing to do — yes, you, Mr. Cullerton — is to quit playing games with a school funding bill legislators passed eight weeks ago and put it on Rauner’s desk. The right thing to do is then vote to accept or override whatever changes Rauner makes in an amendatory veto.

…Brinkmanship, pressure, lurching. The whole idea is to continue manufacturing — let’s copyright this phrase and not let him change the subject — “Cullerton’s School Crisis” ©2017.

From the Dispatch Argus editorial board:
Why wait, Mr. Cullerton? If you have not already done your duty, do it now and send the bill immediately so that, whatever happens next, lawmakers will have time to act to ensure that schools will open for the fall semester and stay that way.

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ILGOP Releases Digital Video – “Get Back to Work”

Madigan and Cullerton Holding Schoolchildren Hostage

Mike Madigan and John Cullerton are holding school funding hostage by refusing to send Governor Rauner the education funding bill they passed two months ago.

It’s a perversion of the democratic process in order to force through their $500 million Chicago bailout.

Today, the Illinois Republican Party is releasing a digital video highlighting the Madigan machine’s refusal to honor the Illinois Constitution and send the education funding bill to the Governor’s desk.

Watch “Get Back to Work” here.

 

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Downstate/Suburban Dems Taking Orders from Madigan on School Funding – More for Chicago, Less for Their Districts

“non-Chicago Dems… will essentially be voting against their own school districts if they stick with Madigan/Cullerton on the override issue”

“On every policy issue, the Madigan plan has always been more for Chicago, less for the rest of Illinois. So it’s no surprise that downstate and suburban Democrats like Carol Ammons support less money for their own school districts because they’re taking orders from Madigan. It’s time for Democrats to stop the Chicago bailout and support a school funding plan that’s fair for all Illinois schoolchildren.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Aaron DeGroot

In an email exchange between State Rep. Carol Ammons and News-Gazette Opinion Editor Jim Dey, Ammons, through her silence, revealed a stunning truth on the debate over school funding and Senate Bill 1 – downstate and suburban Democrats are advancing Madigan’s Chicago interests, not their districts’.

Dey asked Ammons, “Do you support holding the legislation as long as possible to pressure the governor to sign the bill? If so, can you elaborate? If he issues an amendatory veto, do you plan to vote to override the bill even if C-U schools would get more money if Rauner’s veto is sustained? If so, can you elaborate?”

Dey then received a non-answer from Ammons’ chief of staff describing her support for SB1 and hope that Governor Rauner signs the bill in it’s current form with a Chicago bailout.

Dey followed up with Ammons’ to get an answer to his original questions, but Ammons’ office did not respond.

Why would Carol Ammons be silent on a plan to increase funding for schools in her legislative district?

The answer is simple, but tragic – to the detriment of schoolchildren in her district and all over Illinois, Democrats like Ammons are taking their orders from Mike Madigan.

More for Chicago, less for the rest of Illinois.

The story is the same for all other downstate and suburban Democrats who supported Senate Bill 1.

It’s time for Democrats to join Governor Rauner and Republican lawmakers and support a school funding plan that’s good for all Illinois school districts, not just Chicago.

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ICYMI: Mr. Madigan, Mr. Cullerton, Wisconsin thanks you for blocking Illinois reforms

“It’s Madigan and Cullerton who’ve set up Illinois to fail in these contests for jobs.”

Yesterday, the Chicago Tribune reported electronics manufacturer Foxconn will build a $10 billion factory in southeast Wisconsin – an investment that’s expected to create up to 13,000 jobs over the next 15 years, the largest economic development project in Wisconsin history.

Illinois was one of several state’s being considered for the historic investment, but as the Chicago Tribune noted, economic development of this magnitude is not occurring in Illinois.

Why?

Because career politicians like Mike Madigan and John Cullerton refuse to change – they are blocking reform to protect the Chicago Machine, at the expense of Illinois families and taxpayers.

From the Chicago Tribune’s editorial:

Early this month, when they hit taxpayers with a 32 percent jump in the individual income tax rate, many legislators broke a promise they had made: No more tax hikes without major reforms to help Illinois’ moribund economy. Don’t worry, said Democrats who pushed the tax hike. We’ll get to those reforms soon enough.

But not soon enough, we now see, to keep electronics giant Foxconn from bypassing Illinois to make a jobs-rich investment in southeast Wisconsin. This is a huge win for Scott Walker, the Republican governor of Wisconsin whom Illinois Democrats loathe. Just as this is an embarrassment for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton.

Once again, the people of Illinois see how Madigan and Cullerton, with their combined 86 years in Springfield, have left Illinois ill-prepared to compete for 21st-century jobs. Their agenda is about raising taxes, not about delivering those reforms. As we wrote a few days ago, every other state on Foxconn’s short list looked better than Illinois by the basic measures of financial stability and pro-growth economies.

…Cranky Springfield apologists for Madigan and Cullerton will say we’re overreaching, that Gov. Bruce Rauner is somehow to blame for losing Foxconn to Wisconsin. Except Rauner has been pushing exactly the kinds of employer-friendly reforms that Madigan and Cullerton have resisted, often to please their allies who lead labor unions.

It’s Madigan and Cullerton who’ve set up Illinois to fail in these contests for jobs. Madigan and Cullerton who haven’t sent Rauner a no-gimmicks property tax freeze to even slightly offset the extra $5 billion their income tax hike will gouge from companies and workers. Madigan and Cullerton who won’t make major fixes to a workers’ compensation system that drives away employers. Madigan and Cullerton who can’t deliver significant pension reforms to Rauner’s desk. Madigan and Cullerton who can’t bring themselves to slash that costly roster of 7,000 local governments.

Early this month we urged Madigan and Cullerton to run for re-election from their districts if they wish, but to step down from their leadership posts. We asked them to emulate former Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno, who in recently announcing her retirement said, “I’ve really tried hard. It’s time for someone else to take the reins.”

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ICYMI: Get school-funding bill to governor

Dems are playing “a highly distasteful game of chicken… by putting the opening of the school year in jeopardy”

For 57 days, House and Senate Democrats under the thumb of Mike Madigan have been holding Illinois schools hostage.

Why?

Because they want to take money out of downstate and suburban classrooms to bail out of Chicago Public Schools.

Even though the legislation passed on May 31st, Madigan’s Democrats have been holding Senate Bill 1 from reaching Governor Rauner’s desk because they know the governor will block the Chicago bailout. Editorial boards across Illinois have been calling out the Democrats for their hostage-taking.

From The News-Gazette editorial:
Attached to consumer goods are tags that read “Made in ….”

If the impending showdown over school-funding legislation carried a tag, it would read “Made in Springfield.”

…That’s because Democrats have been holding the legislation in the Senate since May 31. After passing legislation, the General Assembly normally sends the bill to the governor’s office for further action.

…So when Gov. Rauner urges legislative Democrats to let the bill go and they ignore him, he’s the one acting to protect parents and schoolchildren from delays in school openings. Why should they be collateral damage to a political brouhaha?

That’s why he called the special legislative session that began Wednesday.

…To highlight their intransigence, Democrats lambasted the idea of any kind of legislative gathering. House Speaker Michael Madigan accused Gov. Rauner of engaging in theatrics. Cullerton, Madigan’s mini-me, professed not to understand the governor’s action and said they should have a meeting to discuss it.

…Majority Democrats in the House and Senate want to force Rauner to accept the Chicago-friendly funding provisions — $400 million-plus in benefits — as the price of getting the rewrite of the state’s school funding formula that he supports. They figure if they can waste sufficient time to threaten the opening of K-12 schools, either Rauner or enough legislative Republicans will cave on the issue.

…So if a special session is what’s needed to redirect legislators’ attention and break the logjam, that’s not a stunt. It’s a tactic, just as the Democrats’ decision to hold S.B. 1 is a tactic.

…Rauner wants the bill now so he can use his amendatory veto power to excise the Chicago-friendly provisions.

…Gov. Rauner is hoping his planned action will be sustained in the Legislature, most particularly the House, where Speaker Madigan lost his super-majority in the last election. Madigan will be looking for four Republicans he can buy off to be able to overturn Rauner’s amendatory veto, the tactic he used to pass his version of the state budget/tax hike plan over the governor’s veto.

So it’s essentially a highly distasteful game of chicken the Democrats are playing by putting the opening of the school year in jeopardy.

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BossMadigan.com Updated– 57 Days Madigan Machine Holding Schools Hostage

ILGOP Releases Madigan Hostage Taking Stopwatch

It’s been over 57 days since Mike Madigan and his machine have taken school funding and the futures of Illinois children hostage for their $500 million Chicago bailout.

Today, the Illinois Republican Party has updated BossMadigan.com with a stopwatch to remind voters just how long the Madigan Machine has taken our children hostage.

On May 31st, SB1 passed the General Assembly. Per the Illinois Constitution, the bill is supposed to head to Governor Rauner’s desk.

But Mike Madigan and John Cullerton are intentionally holding the bill, perverting the legislative process.

It’s a blatant assault on our democracy in order to create pressure for their Chicago bailout.

See the updated BossMadigan page here:

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Pritzker Chooses Madigan Over Schoolchildren

Backs Chicago Bailout in FB Live

“J.B. Pritzker’s support for SB1 in its current form is all about politics, not the children. He knows that a Chicago bailout hurts children across Illinois by redistributing their tax dollars towards a broken pension system without reform, but he doesn’t care. Pritzker is willing to hurt children in order to maintain his good favor with Mike Madigan’s Chicago machine.” – Illinois Republican Party Spokesman Steven Yaffe

In a Facebook live video today, billionaire J.B. Pritzker declared his unequivocal support for SB1 in its current form – a school funding bill that includes a massive taxpayer funded Chicago bailout.

Pritzker knows that funneling 64% of all new education funding towards Chicago is fundamentally unfair, but he’s unwilling to speak up for children across Illinois.

Pritzker knows holding SB1 in the Senate is a perversion of the democratic process. And he knows that Madigan wants the bailout – so he’s playing ball.

It’s just more evidence that Pritzker works for Mike Madigan and his Chicago Machine, not us.

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ICYMI: Madigan Machine “playing a dangerous game with our children’s future”

“The clock is ticking” 

Another day, another editorial board bashing the Chicago Machine for refusing to send SB1 to Governor Rauner’s desk.

John Cullerton, Mike Madigan and their Chicago allies are perverting the legislative process, intentionally preventing SB1 from reaching Governor Rauner’s desk for an expected amendatory veto.

They are holding education funding and Illinois schoolchildren hostage in order to force through a $500 million Chicago bailout.

It’s a direct assault on democratic government.

Yesterday, the State Journal-Register editorial board weighed in, writing that “the Senate has to do what could have been done weeks ago. Send the bill. Start the process of trying to reach a compromise in motion.

The clock is ticking. Anyone who thinks that waiting until August can build the urgency to solve the crisis is playing a dangerous game with our children’s future.”

They’re right. Madigan and Cullerton – send Governor Rauner the bill and drop your demands for a Chicago bailout.

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ILGOP Releases Robocalls

Calls Highlight Mike Madigan, Dem Gov Candidates’ Support for Chicago Bailout 

Today, the Illinois Republican Party released robocalls statewide highlighting Mike Madigan’s hostage-taking.

Mike Madigan and his political allies are trying to hold schoolchildren hostage in order to force through a $500 million Chicago bailout without reform.

This comes after Madigan held state government hostage for years in order to force through his 32% permanent income tax hike.

Now, the Chicago Machine is refusing to release education funding for all Illinois schools unless they get their taxpayer funded bailout.

And while Madigan and his allies work the legislative side, Madigan’s candidates for Governor – J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss – support the bailout too.

The Illinois Republican Party is committed to exposing Madigan’s hostage-taking scheme.

Listen to the call here.

Script:
That’s a school bell ringing, but your kids may not hear it this fall if Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan gets his way.

Mike Madigan and his enablers in the state house are threatening to shut down schools unless they get a special $500 million bailout for Chicago public schools.

First, Madigan held the budget hostage to force through a 32% permanent income tax hike with no reforms.

Now, Madigan is holding our school children hostage to get a $500 million bailout for Chicago. 

And Madigan’s candidates for Governor – J.B. Pritzker, Chris Kennedy and Daniel Biss – support the bailout too. 

Now is the time to fight back and stop the Chicago politicians before it’s too late. 

Call your state representative and state senator. Tell them your higher taxes shouldn’t pay for a Chicago bailout. 

Paid for by the Illinois Republican Party.

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