WTF ILLINOIS!

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CHICAGO (Reuters) - Caught in a political stalemate that has forced it to operate for nearly three months without a budget, Illinois' spending decisions are increasingly being made by courts and at a rate that is further deepening the state’s fiscal woes.

The standoff between the Republican governor, a political newcomer, and the Democratic-controlled legislature is affecting everything from the ability of lottery winners to collect their cash to state workers' healthcare payments.

In the weeks since fiscal 2016 began on July 1, U.S. and state judges have ordered Illinois to pay its workers and adhere to federal consent decrees mandating certain healthcare and social service programs.

That has put $14 billion of state spending under judicial control, according to Illinois Budget Director Tim Nuding. It has also placed the state on a path to spend more than its estimated fiscal 2016 revenue of $32 billion. The courts have ordered spending at levels in place in fiscal 2015 when revenue totaled about $36.6 billion due mainly to higher income tax rates that expired on Jan. 1.

"The courts in many ways are running our government because the legislature has failed to pass a balanced budget," Nuding told a state Senate hearing last week.

Governor Bruce Rauner sent a memo to lawmakers on Thursday, warning that the longer it takes to resolve the budget impasse with Democrats, "the cuts we will have to make become deeper and what we ask of taxpayers will be steeper."

Illinois and Pennsylvania are the only two states still fighting over a budget past their July 1 deadline, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Arturo Perez, an NCSL analyst, said the fact that neither state was able to put temporary spending measures in place has opened the door to court intervention.

RISK OF MORE JUDICIAL INTERVENTION

Lottery players in Illinois who have won prizes of $25,000 or more and who have not been paid since July 1 due to the lack of a budget filed a class action in federal court. The winners are seeking $288.4 million plus interest and a suspension of certain lottery ticket sales.

Several labor unions including Illinois' biggest, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, this week asked a St. Clair County Court to force the state to fund healthcare coverage after it stopped paying claims, according to AFSCME spokesman Anders Lindall.

"There is a substantial possibility that state employees

will forego needed medical care, either because they will not be able to afford to pay for the care up front at the time of service, or because they fear that medical care providers will demand such payments up front," the unions' complaint states.

In a notice on Friday, Illinois said it will resume payments for its self-insured plans once a budget is approved.

Group health insurance and public universities and colleges are two big-budget items that cannot be funded without an annual appropriations. Other big-ticket items, such as bond and pension payments, are being paid through continuing appropriations, which total about $8.9 billion, according to Nuding.

The budget impasse is also preventing the state from making some payments to local governments.

Mark Kern, St. Clair County Board chairman, said Illinois is close to being $6 million in arrears on money earmarked for the county's 911 emergency communication system and probation department.

"The taxpayers of St. Clair County can't afford to balance the state's budget on our backs," Kern said.

The county is preparing a lawsuit over money the state is collecting but not remitting for 911 service on county residents' cell phone bills, he added.

A multi-county mass transit district in southern Illinois sued for the release of $3.8 million. In its lawsuit, the agency warned it will have to shut down in mid-October if no state money comes in.

http://news.yahoo.com/courts-call-shots-budget-less-illinois-212521974--business.html

I spent my childhood in this state which has been headed South politically for a long time but OMG. And Chicago is a huge mess financially and otherwise. This is getting bad.

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Its alright. The state is confiscating all the raffle money and putting it in the general fund. Another republican governor fixing the problems of state.

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@RABEL222,

RABEL222 wrote:

Its alright. The state is confiscating all the raffle money and putting it in the general fund. Another republican governor fixing the problems of state.

this problem as been evident since the mid 70's, and both parties played equally into the work not getting done. Just for instance the state cant make it without Chicago being functional, and it is a disaster.....under D control.

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

the state cant make it without Chicago being functional, and it is a disaster.....under D control.

I grew up in Chicago on the SouthSide and didn't leave till I was fully an adult.

Don't blame the mess on the Dems. When Richard Daley and even his own son were Mayors, the City was doing just fine. Then of course, the steel mills on the SouthEast side closed. Then the Stock Yards moved to KC, primarily because of Union trouble.

The City is now 1 million Hispanics, 1 million Afro-Americans and the remainder are white plus Other. The City has always been a haven for welfare...welfare and more welfare. For as long as I can remember, Chicago has always been an enemy of towns and other cities outside of Chicago, who consider Chicago to be a big drain on the rest of the State.

About 10 years ago, I needed copies of my birth certificate. I contacted the Illinois department, in Springfield for the certificates, using forms down loaded from online. It took 2-3 weeks to receive the paperwork. At that time I called Springfield to find out why it took so long. They told me it took a long time to gather the data, because, Illinois had not shifted over to a
computer based system.

Several Chicago natives have told me that the real trouble started with Harold Washington. That I don't know anything about.

Considering all the trouble Chicago and Illinois are presently in, I personally don't think that the Obama library should be in Chicago, or anywhere else in Illinois.

I heard, that Mrs Obama wants the library to be in NYCity.

1 Reply

@Miller,

I lost my Ill drivers license in 2008. Getting it replaced felt like 1938. I then got a WA license. When I had to renewedit I did it online.

I was shocked and awed.

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

I suffered through many, many Chicago winters with snow storms,temps at 20 to 30 degrees below zero. Through all this we never had trouble with the CTA
buses or the subways or even Amtrack or airplane service, like we, here in Boston did last Winter.

So, at least we can say something good about Chicago! Razz

1 Reply

@Miller,

Quote:

So, at least we can say something good about Chicago!

I love Chicago. My wife still tells stories of the date we had spent all on the CTA, with me telling stories, to include the Skokie Swifts connection to the North Shore.

I am supposed to be embarrassed.

I never am.

EDIT: ****, we stepped off for great food, great Ice Cream (cause I knew the great places of course) , and a tour of the Loop and Magnificent Mile , what more could a woman want?

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

I love Chicago, too. At times, I miss the "old Chicago" I know and my old neighborhood.

I can remember my rides on the CTA during many a cold Jan morning. It was so cold on those buses, the frost on the windows was at least 1 inch thick.

I also remember a guy, we called "Chicken Charlie" who used to sit in the back of the bus with his chicken. Charlie used to play the banjo, while the chicken jumped around on the floor.

1 Reply

@Miller,

Quote:

At times, I miss the "old Chicago"

I was traveling through 02 on the way to Lansing, planed to ORD and then took the CTA to Union and then Amtrak to Battle Creek (still love Corn Flakes!). Ended up in an old dark wood Bar on LA Salle. Got told that they were one of the last old bars in the loop left, and would be gone in a year. Everything else was steel and glass, mostly franchise names. Had three pints of Guinness.

And I am a guy who remembers the La Salle St Station,kind of dumpy in 1970 but still standing. still fab.

Dont get me started on Chicago pre urban renewal, pre gentrification. I remember All-Nation Hobby and a ton of record stores on the streets with hobo blacks and piss...and Whimpy's.

4 Replies

@hawkeye10,

On the Southside, both in black and white areas of the City, were taverns on each street. Really great music , lots of bar fights, lots of vomitting .In those days, clubs and bars closed at 5 am and re-opened at 7 am.

Chicago folks were big time boozers. As far as today, I doubt that the City will ever return to the good old days. I can remember a long stretch of State Street with bar after bar , cool, cool music and hot dancers going at it, from dust to dawn. There were white bars and black bars and " everything" bars.

You mentioned a dark, old bar. There used to be many of them in the loop and elsewhere. These were the spots for the Pols, lawyers and mafiaosa to gather . Many a big time deal was make in those dark spots.

I can remember early in the morning, going off to the bus stop to get to school, I had to run past a local bar,that had it's doors open to air out the place. No smell is as heavenly, as that of beer flowing out of those bars...even at 7 am in the morning.

Now, sadly,a good part of the SouthSide is nothing more than slum, after slum, after slum. Buildings that in the 50s and 60s that could have sold for at least $3 million, now won't even sell for $350,000. My old high school is closed as is my old grade school. Just plan trashed! And...no body cares. Crying or Very sad

0 Replies

@hawkeye10,

On the Southside, both in black and white areas of the City, were taverns on each street. Really great music , lots of bar fights, lots of vomitting .In those days, clubs and bars closed at 5 am and re-opened at 7 am.

Chicago folks were big time boozers. As far as today, I doubt that the City will ever return to the good old days. I can remember a long stretch of State Street with bar after bar , cool, cool music and hot dancers going at it, from dust to dawn. There were white bars and black bars and " everything" bars.

You mentioned a dark, old bar. There used to be many of them in the loop and elsewhere. These were the spots for the Pols, lawyers and mafiaosa to gather . Many a big time deal was make in those dark spots.

I can remember early in the morning, going off to the bus stop to get to school, I had to run past a local bar,that had it's doors open to air out the place. No smell is as heavenly, as that of beer flowing out of those bars...even at 7 am in the morning.

Now, sadly,a good part of the SouthSide is nothing more than slum, after slum, after slum. Buildings that in the 50s and 60s could have sold for at least $3 million, now won't even sell for $350,000. My old high school is closed as is my old grade school. Just plan trashed! And...no body cares. Crying or Very sad

0 Replies

@hawkeye10,

You forgot "White Castle"...I've always wondered what they put in that "meat"...

1 Reply

@Miller,

I 've noticed that this thread isn't listed on the "popular" list, even though it has a total of 3 thumbs up posted.

Iis this a discrimination against Hawk, Miller, or the City of Chicago? The answer, my friend, is obvious. Rolling Eyes

0 Replies

@hawkeye10,

The City of Chicago is in such serious financial trouble, the Mayor of the City is planning to raise property taxes and among other things re-organize the Sanitation department to save money. The goal is to protect the benefits of the Fireman and the Police, as outlined in their contracts..

I don't know what the Mayor plans to do about other City workers.

Increases in property taxes may lead to more homes being sold, with the Owners moving to other parts of the US.

Then what?

1 Reply

@Miller,

When Chicago has 12.6% fewer jobs than it had in 1991 problems are to be expected.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20141129/ISSUE05/311299947/road-to-chicagos-revival-runs-through-downtown

Chicago is a decaying city with high taxes, high crime, schools that have not worked in a very long time, a political system that has not worked in a long time in a state where the political system has not worked in a long time and the near by cities of Milwaukee and Detroit are in even worse shape. Oh, and the weather aint too great either.

It is not clear to me that there is a solution. I also dont see how the metro area keeps as many corporate HQ's as they currently have when the city, the state, and the region are all disaster areas economically and politically.

1 Reply

@hawkeye10,

The only professionals living in the City are City employees, because by law they have to. With time, while I lived in Chicago, the Dems kept changing the City limits to accomodate employees, who wanted to be listed as living in Chicago, but who also didn't want to live in slumy areas of the City.

Many of the Directors of high end Corporations live in high end suburbs that surround the City. They don't use public tranportation, and resort to car services for transport, or they drive themselves into the City.

Others maintain apartments or Condos in the City, usually very close to the lake front, for example.

High-end apartments in the City run from about $10,000 up/month.

Back to the Mayor of Chicago: I suspect this will be his last turn as Mayor, he may never run again. He may have a big connection, in the future with the Obama library.

0 Replies

WTF ILLINOIS!

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