In response to a request initiated by Rep. Darlene Senger (R-Naperville), the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced they will review allegations that Federal grant money may have been misspent on a poorly managed program to market and promote Illinois enrollment in the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

In a letter from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) dated July 23 and announced by Rep. Senger today, the OIG states they will conduct a “review of potential criminal and civil fraud violations and misconduct related to HHS programs, operations and beneficiaries. On the basis of the review, we will determine the appropriate course of action.” Read more.

Health Care – Medicaid Expansion

Medicaid expansion bill signed by Governor. Many health care advocates have expressed concerns to the State about various payments made and not made, and treatments offered and not offered, within Medicaid under current law. SB 741 contains a complex package of changes to the Medicaid system negotiated by the State, hospitals, nursing homes and other medical care provider organizations. Some of these revisions are designed to draw in matching funds from the federal government, but the State and its taxpayers will also have to put up a stream of money. The annual cost of the changes contained within SB 741 is estimated as at least $221 million per year. Persons concerned about this bill believe the cost could be more accurately estimated at $275 million per year.

Rep. Darlene Senger calls for investigation of costs
associated with Get Covered Illinois

A Republican lawmaker has called for investigations into spending costs associated with promoting President Barack Obama's health care law in Illinois.

The Associated Press reported that a key subcontractor working on the "Get Covered Illinois" campaign was owned by three former aides to powerful Democrats.

They were among consultants whose hourly billing rate of $282 is raising questions about whether Illinois did enough to rein in taxpayer costs. Their firm could take assignments directly from Gov. Pat Quinn's administration under a provision of its subcontract. The Southern reports the AP story.

Graduated Income Tax  
House GOP: Graduated Tax Threat to Illinois Jobs, Families.  On Monday, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) and members of the Illinois House Republican caucus announced their unanimous opposition to the graduated income tax proposal introduced by legislative Democrats. The plan, currently filed as HJRCA 33, would replace the state’s current flat tax with a graduated income tax system, with rates to be determined by the General Assembly.

“There is a movement in Springfield by the majority party to move Illinois from a flat income tax to a graduated tax,” said Durkin. “The same party responsible for years of overspending, over taxing and a mountain of debt wants to move to a graduated tax for one reason and one reason only – to raise taxes and spend more money.”

On Monday, new Metra CEO Donald Orseno will join state Rep. Ron Sandack and state Rep. Darlene Senger  for a public hearing to discuss procedures for notifying customers of service delays and cancellations at 7 p.m. at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., Naperville.

Concerned about Metra's performance on frigid days this winter as well as other issues plaguing the agency, suburban lawmakers say they want to see changes at the country's second largest commuter rail system.

"We want to make sure that the trains run on time and people aren't put out on cold platforms in subzero temperatures," said state Rep. David Harris, an Arlington Heights Republican.

Metra riders endured a tough January with multiple delays and cancellations, particularly during the so-called polar vortex. Marty Hobe has the story in the Daily Herald.

Representatives Ron Sandack (at podium), Patti Bellock,
Jeanne Ives, David McSweeney, Tom Morrison, Darlene
Senger and Ed Sullivan explain to the media why they
oppose a tax increase for Illinoisans. 

At a recent  press conference to discuss the latest call to renew a tax increase proposal, Rep. Ron Sandack told reporters that all 47 Republicans in the Illinois House oppose a graduated income tax.

A group of suburban Republican state lawmakers said Wednesday that no House GOP members will vote for a graduated income tax, a system that taxes people based on how much they earn.

At a Chicago news conference, state Rep. David McSweeney of Barrington Hills touted his resolution opposing the idea, which has garnered nearly enough support so far in the Illinois House to block a change. Mike Riopell has the story in the Daily Herald. 

Rep. Darlene Senger is concerned
about those who will be losing their
jobs with the Office Depot move.

Office Depot Inc.'s decision to base itself in Boca Raton, Fla., instead of Naperville, where predecessor entity OfficeMax Inc. had its headquarters, puts some 1,600 west suburban jobs at risk.

The timing of the move remains uncertain, but Naperville city officials noted that the office supply retailer, created by the merger of OfficeMax Inc. and Office Depot Inc.last month, has two and a half years left on its lease of its 344,000-square-foot former HQ. An Office Depot spokeswoman declined to comment on how many people ultimately will be let go.

"The whole city of Naperville is saddened by the fact that OfficeMax and Office Depot have decided to move to Boca Raton," Naperville Mayor George Pradel said in an interview this morning. "In addition to being Naperville's sixth-largest employer, they do all kinds of community work for our schools." Read the rest of the story by Brigid Sweeney in Crains.

State Rep. Darlene Senger, R-Naperville, has joined the call to delay enactment of a key provision in the federal Affordable Care Act.

The “individual mandate” that requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or be subject to a tax penalty survived a constitutional challenge in 2012 when the Supreme Court cleared the way for its implementation. Still, it continues to be challenged by conservative lawmakers, some of whom say time is running out for consumers to meet the requirements for the scheduled full rollout of the act seven weeks from now.

Senger introduced House Resolution 680 in Springfield on Tuesday, and Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove, and three other GOP House members joined her as chief cosponsors the following day. Another 39 of their remaining 42 Republican peers also signed on as cosponsors Wednesday. Read the rest of the story by Susan Frick Carlman in the Naperville Sun.

You might also find these stories of interest:

Only 'hundreds' enroll in Illinois exchange

Legislators: How many Illinoisans lost healthcare plan due to fed insurance requirements?

Week in Review for 11/4/13 through 11/8/13

House Republican members call for health insurance
numbers at November 7th press conference.

Via Crains Chicago Business,  November 8, 2013
   
Only hundreds of people enrolled in the Illinois health insurance exchange in October, state officials said today, offering the first glimpse into an online marketplace that has been vexed by glitches.

Insurance carriers have told state officials that hundreds of consumers signed up in October, confirmed Jennifer Koehler, director of the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace. But she and Cristal Thomas, Illinois deputy governor, cautioned that it was just a guess since federal officials haven't yet provided enrollment figures.

“We do not know,” Ms. Thomas said. “If we have to guess we would guess probably in the hundreds.”  Kristen Schorsch and Andrew L Wang tell the story in Crains Chicago Business.

In response to stories about Illinois residents who lost their current health insurance coverage or experienced rate increases, Rep Darlene Senger is asking the Illinois Department of Insurance to publicly disclose the impact of the Affordable Care Act on Illinois families.

House Resolution 680 introduced by Senger and co-sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost and more than 39 other legislators, urges the Illinois Department of Insurance to release information regarding the number of people in Illinois whose current health insurance plan was cancelled because of the Affordable Care Act and the number of Illinoisans who have obtained health insurance through the Illinois marketplace. Read more about HR680.

Rep. Darlene Senger, Naperville

In a recent column in Reboot Illinois, Rep. Darlene Senger talks about new legislation that would keep convicted criminals from collection taxpayer funded pensions.

Believe it or not, criminals in Illinois can still legally collect taxpayer funded public pensions while behind bars. Currently in Illinois, unless the crime is related to the retiree’s job, public pensions must be paid to criminals.

For example, retired Chicago fire department lieutenant, Eugene Ornstead, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of first degree murder of his wife in 1994. Ornstead’s crime was not tied to his job as a firefighter; therefore, he continues to collect a pension check from the Chicago firefighter’s pension fund.

Despite his life sentence, he still receives a pension check while incarcerated, costing taxpayers more than $55,000 a year. Reboot Illinois has the rest of the story.

Should incarcerated felons receive taxpayer funded pensions? Let us know what you think.

Row 1:  John Cabello at Rockford Register Star for an online chat. David McSweeney presented a resolution honoring TOPSoccer of Cary, a community-based program for young athletes with disabilities.

Row 2:  Rep. Darlene Senger shares 'A Day in the Life' of a State Representative at Tabor Hills Assisted Living located in Naperville. Rep. Bill Mitchell meets seniors at the Livingston Center in Monticello.

When members are not is session they spend the majority of their time meeting with constituent, attending events and addressing issues affecting their districts. In the photo above are Reps. Jim Durkin,  Patti Bellock, Darlene Senger and Ron Sandack (on the fire engine).

Pension Reform Conference Committee on July 8, 2013

Members of the the Pension Reform Conference Committee met for the third time yesterday to discuss options for comprehensive pension reform.

Today was the date established by the Governor to take action on pension reform. At yesterday's meeting, the Conference Committee overwhelmingly agreed that the July 9th date set by Governor was an unrealistic deadline without knowing what the Governor will accept as reform.

Testifying at the hearing were: Rep. Mike Fortner on his legislation HB 2365, Dave Urbanek on behalf of the Teachers’ Retirement System, Tim Blair on behalf of the State Retirement Systems, Jerry Stermer from the Governor’s Office, and Rich Whitney and Professor William Barclay on behalf of HB 1554 and SB 7.

At this time the Conference Committee has not set a date for the next meeting and will stand adjourned until the call of the chair.

Read more:
Rockford Register Star
News Channel 20, ABC
Capitol Fax

There was standing room only as Illinois’ pension conference committee met for the first time Thursday in Chicago. The bipartisan 10-member committee comprised of State Senators and State Representatives has been tasked with producing a compromised bill that enacts meaningful reform to the worst funded pension system in the nation. The committee heard testimony from state agencies, the business community, advocacy groups and unions who pleaded their cases and offered their positions and priorities to be read into the record.

Illinois House Republican Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) tapped state Rep. Darlene Senger (R-Naperville) and state Rep. Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) to serve on the pension conference committee to represent the Illinois House Republicans because of their expertise on this pressing issue. On the pension reform discussion table are topics that need to be considered that will have an impact to our state’s finances, the economy, taxes, spending and the budget. State Rep. Senger cited a

Standing room only for Day 1of
Pension Reform Conference
Committee Meeting 

representative’s remark from the Fitch credit rating agency, that Illinois currently has what is equivalent to a junk bond rating for a corporation because we have failed to enact meaningful pension reform.

Despite recent reports that the conference committee would clear the slate of previous pension proposals, most of the testimony offered yesterday was geared around components of Senate Bill 1 and the union-backed Senate Bill 2404. Senate Bill 1 has passed the House and Senate Bill 2404 has passed the Senate, but neither bill has advanced in the other chamber. It was established yesterday that Senate Bill 1 goes further in savings than Senate Bill 2404.

Governor Quinn has tasked the pension conference committee to produce a compromised piece of pension reform legislation by July 9 when session reconvenes. It remains unclear if that will happen.

The pension conference committee will reconvene in Chicago on July 3rd at 9am.

In June of this year, for the first time since December 2005, the Illinois General Assembly appointed a conference committee. The subject for this one is SB1: Pension reform legislation. That committee will meet in Chicago at 11 AM on Thursday, June 27 in room C600 of the Bilandic Building to start the steps necessary to reach consensus on pension reform. Additional meetings will likely be necessary. If agreement can be found, the conference committee will report its recommendations to the General Assembly, perhaps as early as July 8. The final step will be a vote by the entire legislative body.

The General Assembly has long been able under House and Senate Rules to appoint conference committees to resolve differences between versions of specific legislation that had passed out of the respective chambers.

The pension reform impasse brought on by Democrat leaders in Springfield is costing Illinois taxpayers $17 million for each and every day a solution is not found. It is threatening the financial future of the state including the ability to provide resources to the elderly, veterans, children and our most vulnerable populations. What’s more, without reform there will not be funds available to ensure the state’s current and future retirees will have a pension at all.

This week, caucus members joined House Republican Leader Tom Cross in unveiling a legislative package designed to make college more affordable for Illinois families.

As the cost of college tuition continues to rise at Illinois state universities, college students are being lured to out-of-state schools with lower tuition rates.

Illinois' state universities feel the need to increase their tuition and fees to supplement the loss of revenue caused by past state budget cuts that started with the Blagojevich administration. The result has been a drop in student enrollment at 8 of Illinois 12 public universities. The brain drain is real and will only get worse if we don't act now to help Illinois students and their families with the cost of quality education, right here in Illinois.

The House Republicans have a solution. This week, several members joined House Republican Leader Tom Cross in unveiling a legislative package designed to make college more affordable for Illinois families.

The College Affordability plan provides for a tax credit and a tax deduction that together will result in real savings for Illinois families and at the same time keep the best and the brightest right here in Illinois. 

With two days left until the end of session we're changing things up a bit on the blog. Several members will be adding their voice to our live blog coverage, specifically on budget bills. Reps. Tim Schmitz, Darlene Senger & Norine Hammond will provide their insight and knowledge to staff's reporting.

Session starts today at 11 a.m. and we'll be providing the highlights, here.