·
Representative Jim Durkin (R-Western
Springs) takes over as Leader of the House Republican Caucus. The transition took place on Monday, September 23. Representative Tom Cross (R-Plainfield), the
leader of the House Republicans for ten years (2003-2013), moved on to turn his
attention to other opportunities. While
Cross plans to serve out his legislative term, Durkin becomes the leader of the
forty-seven House Republican members.
Jim Durkin, a practicing attorney, began his House service in
1995. He has served repeatedly on the
House’s Judiciary Committees, specializing in issues of criminal law and civil
misconduct. He was a leader in the
bipartisan investigatory committee that gathered evidence and made a
recommendation that led to the impeachment and removal from office of former
Governor Rod Blagojevich in 2008-2009. In
2012-2013, Durkin led the General Assembly’s efforts to investigate and help
regain financial stability for the troubled “College Illinois” savings program.
Budget – Medicaid Reform
·
State to continue redetermination
scrutiny of 2.7 million Illinois Medicaid recipients.
With the taxpayer-funded
program’s costs and patient headcounts growing exponentially – more than
one-fifth of Illinois’ 12.8 million men, women and children are now enrolled in
the program, originally designed to provide medical care to the extremely poor
– the General Assembly, led by Rep. Patricia Bellock (R-Westmont), has
instructed the Quinn administration to carry out a “redetermination,” a
scrutiny procedure to examine the existing rolls to see how many of the
households currently in the program have experienced changes in their financial
circumstances that may render some of them ineligible.
This redetermination has run into many snags. In particular, a major labor union that
represents State employees filed a grievance lawsuit to stop the redetermination,
arguing that the terms of its existing contract forbid the redetermination from
being bid out and procured from the private sector. Acting in accordance with the General
Assembly’s mandated timetable, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services
(DHFS) has contracted with Maximus, a private-sector firm, to conduct the
database search functions necessary for the redetermination. DHFS reaffirmed on Monday that it plans to
appeal a court ruling that seeks to break the State’s procurement contract with
Maximus, and plans to continue working with the private sector to carry out the
redetermination and meet its General Assembly-mandated FY14 budget goals.
Concealed Carry
·
State Police announce that approved
concealed carry firearms training curricula will be available on Monday,
September 30. The announcement marked what the State Police
believes is another stage of progress towards the full rollout of concealed
carry, which has been mandated by the General Assembly to occur no later than
January 2014. As of Tuesday, September 24, 54 instructors had been approved by
the State Police to instruct applicants for concealed carry licenses. The new State concealed carry law will
require applicants to show proof of instruction as part of their applications
to carry a concealable firearm in public.
Groups that advocate for the Second Amendment rights of
law-abiding gun owners have expressed concerns about the proposed new
curricula, which could impose redundant “gun safety information” requirements
upon licensed FOID cardholders who have already learned how to safely handle a
concealable firearm. Even if they
already know gun safety, most of these individuals are slated to still be
required to undergo 16 hours of additional mandated training. Concealed carry instructors will be
required to follow one of the State Police-approved 16-hour curricula when
training a concealed carry applicant and passing him or her on to final
licensure.
Concerned gun owners may want to look up the Illinois State Police’s
website for further concealed carry information at http://www.isp.state.il.us/firearms/ccw/ and their Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQ) webpage at http://www.isp.state.il.us/firearms/ccw/ccw-faq.cfm.
Criminal Law – Controlled Substances
·
Police, reporters say heroin
increasingly available in greater Chicago area; overdose deaths tallied.
Five of the greater Chicago area’s six counties (all except Cook) have
seen increased heroin-related fatalities in the first seven months of
2013. While the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) has stepped up its investigatory and search-and-seizure operations, and
nearly 180 kilos of heroin were seized in 2012 in the five-state DEA Chicago
Division, improved supply pipelines appear to be funneling increased quantities
of the illegal opiate into Illinois.
A report published on Monday, September 23 by the Chicago Tribune stated that a dose of heroin,
treated so as to be ingestible by sniffing, can be bought in some localities
within greater Chicago for as little as $10. Changes in technology have created a form of
heroin that does not need to be injected by syringe. A drug cartel headquartered in western Mexico
is blamed for the heroin pipeline.
Criminal Law – Parole
·
Representative John Cabello (R-Loves
Park) calls for improved parole standards. The Rockford-area
lawmaker, who is a trained police officer, pointed to flaws in the existing
parole system operated by the Illinois Department of Corrections. IDOC’s 341 parole officers have an average
caseload of 106 parolees each, which prevents them from putting effective
guidance or pressure on parolees to get a GED degree or other job training. An investigation by the Rockford Register Star has found that in some cases, the Department
has not even been able to maintain accurate records of the physical location of
its parolees. After a series of violent
crimes in Rockford, a parolee was arrested on March 15 on charges of attempted
murder and armed robbery. Cabello’s remarks were made on Thursday, September 26.
Downstate
·
Food giant Archer Daniels Midland
announces exploration for new headquarters. The agricultural
processing giant, which has been headquartered in Decatur since 1969, announced
on Monday, September 23 that it is exploring headquarters opportunities
elsewhere. ADM’s management has
historically sited itself adjacent to the firm’s U.S. industrial operations,
which refine corn and soybeans into ethanol, animal feed, soybean meal
products, corn oil, and other commodity goods.
Wall Street analysts pointed towards the increased importance of
international trading to ADM’s overall operational picture, and suggested that
relocating to a major urban area could increase the firm’s global profile. Approximately 100 headcount positions would
be affected by the move. ADM stated
that they expected to continue to employ approximately 4,400 men and women in
Decatur. ADM’s global sales totaled
$89.0 billion in FY12, of which almost 48% were earned outside the U.S.
Economy
·
Illinois unemployment rate remains at
9.2 percent. The August 2013 numbers from the Illinois
Department of Employment Security (DES) indicate that Illinois’ jobless rate
remains among the highest reported among the 50 states. While the unemployment rate has dropped
slightly from its January-February 2010 peak of 11.3 percent, the jobless
numbers (602,000 Illinois residents lack a paycheck and report searching
actively for work) continue to indicate severe recessionary conditions.
The 2010-2013 period has seen a genuine cut in the number of
persons employed by the public sector, with 34,000 headcount positions shed by
federal, State and local government during this three-and-a-half-year
period.
By contrast, August 2013 figures reported separately by the
Illinois Association of Realtors indicates the presence of a ray of strength in
the Illinois construction and building sector, with home sales up in August
2013 by 17.3% on a year-over-year basis from the depressed levels of August
2012. Year-over-year growth in home
sales was reported in 52 of Illinois’ 102 counties.
Gambling – Riverboat Casinos
·
Illinois Gaming Board considers whether
to explicitly allow 24/7 riverboat casino operation.
The Land of Lincoln’s ten licensed riverboat casinos, operating from
Elgin to the southern Illinois county seat of Metropolis, have voluntarily
complied with a 22-hour-per-day limit on their operations. By contrast, casino floors in Atlantic City
and Las Vegas operate under a business model that includes continuous
operation.
Testimony presented to the Illinois Gaming Board on Thursday,
September 19, included both supporters and opponents to the proposed move from
22 hours to 24-hour-operation.
Opponents, including a recovering compulsive gambler, pointed to a daily
casino floor shutdown as the only way to stop them from pursuing a gaming
binge. Proponents pointed out that the
casino floors in neighboring states, and the video gaming machines operated at
Illinois truck stops, are already allowed to operate on a 24/7 basis.
General Assembly
·
Rep. Jim Sacia (R-Freeport) steps
aside; to be replaced by Brian Stewart. Jim Sacia, a member of the House since
2003, had pledged to serve no more than six terms in office. A former Special Agent of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI), Sacia has specialized in law enforcement and
agricultural issues. Sacia’s resignation
will take effect on Monday, September 30.
Following legal procedure, local political leaders convened and
appointed Freeport businessman and former sheriff’s deputy Brian Stewart to
serve as the new representative for the 89th House District. Speaking to reporters, Stewart cited lower
taxes, middle-class job creation, and a bipartisan solution to Illinois’
pension crisis as three key priorities for his legislative work. Stewart is scheduled to be sworn into office
on Wednesday, October 2.
Health Care – Obamacare
·
Unanswered questions affect Illinoisans,
including those without health insurance. Widespread questions are
being asked about the imminent rollout of health insurance products under the Affordable
Care Act (ACA) “exchange” scheduled to be operating no later than Tuesday,
October 1. The 50 states, and the
District of Columbia, are each scheduled to have federally mandated “exchanges”
on which uninsured Americans and their families can purchase health
insurance. 36 states, including
Illinois, have elected to have the federal government run their exchanges. Many questions remain as to which health
conditions will and will not be covered by the insurance policies that may or
may not be available in various states. In addition, different levels of patient co-payments
will be required under different levels of ACA insurance coverage.
Critics say the Quinn administration has not taken effective steps
to explain the program. While some
federally funded advertising is taking place, critics also point out that if
the ACA were truly a private-sector-friendly federal program, the insurance
industry would be taking active steps to explain the program and sell the
insurance policies that Americans will, in the near future, be mandated and
required to buy.
Revenue – Taxes & Fees
·
State considers new $15 annual fee for
golf carts and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs); hearings possible.
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is reported to be
preparing a new $15 annual fee to be imposed on owners and operators of golf
carts and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) if they are used on a “public way,” such
as a country road, municipal street, or campground. The fee would be enforced by decal sticker,
which would be similar to the decals mounted by owners on boats and motor
vehicles.
The widely used
recreational vehicles are not licensed as motor vehicles and, up until now,
Illinois residents have not been required to register them or pay a fee. The new surcharge, which would be imposed by
rule, would bring in an estimated $800,000 per year. Similar fees are already
charged in Maine, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
State law
requires DNR to hold hearings on new administrative rules if enough Illinois
voters or businesses request one and a hearing on this proposal could be held
as soon as October. DNR said on Monday,
September 23 that they did not expect to enforce the fee decal requirement on
private property that the vehicle owner resides on or uses for business.
Suburbs – Deep Tunnel
·
North section of well-known dolomite
quarry closes; to become stormwater reservoir. The bedrock excavation is
a familiar sight to drivers on the Interstate 80 section of Chicago’s Tri-State
Tollway. The quarry is located in south
suburban Thornton adjacent to the tollway oasis. The quarry quadrant north of the toll road
will now become a key link in the Deep Tunnel floodwater control system. As the Thornton Transitional Reservoir, the
reconfigured 350-foot-deep basin will have the capacity to hold up to 7.9
billion gallons of stormwater and sanitary sewer runoff flowing out of more
than 12 south suburban municipalities.
Basin reconstruction began on Monday, September 23.