Progress Illinois

The backlog of payments to Medicaid providers is a serious problem in Illinois. When these notoriously low reimbursements to primary care physicians administering care to Medicaid patients don't arrive on time, it makes the doctors increasingly reluctant to treat that population. That diminishes health care access for some of the state's most vulnerable citizens, thus raising the potential for public health outbreaks and preventive disease and deaths. It's an unsound system, both economically and morally.

Since the recession hit, Illinois has been making payments to most providers by the skin of its teeth, thanks almost exclusively to President Obama's stimulus bill, which provided $2.9 billion in short-term federal aid. Congress could pass along a little more help if the Democrats' health care reform bill passes; the version that the House approved provides $23.5 billion for state legislatures to pay a higher share of all Medicaid costs -- 66 percent on average, up from 57 percent prior to the stimulus -- for an additional six months in 2010.

This morning, the state also took some independent action aimed at solving this problem, as Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law HB 542, sponsored by Rep. Dan Reitz (D-Sparta) and Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Evanston).

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Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:

Hard Labor
Chicago-based labor reporter Claire Bushey is launching a new blog at True/Slant. She explains the inspiration for the project in her first post.

Tamms Tour
As part of his 10-part reform plan for the Tamms Correctional Center, Illinois Department of Corrections Director Michael Randle opened the prison to the media this week. To compliment its reporting, the Belleville News-Democrat produced a short video of the tour.

No Legal Barrier
According to OpenLeft's Chris Bowers, there don't appear to be any legal barriers to using leftover Wall Street bailout money to fund a new jobs bill.

To receive our “Around The Horn” update in your inbox every afternoon—along with links to our top stories and the breaking news of the day—sign up for the Progress Illinois Extra.  You can also learn what we're reading via our Twitter feed.

The Windy City edition of the New York Times debuted today, featuring an article on the controversial parking meter lease from veteran City Hall reporter Dan Mihalopoulos, now with the Chicago News Cooperative.

In his report, Mihalopoulos digs into the books of Chicago Parking Meters LLC, the private company that now controls the city's meters under a 75-year, $1.15 billion deal with the city. He found -- not surprisingly -- that the company's profits are growing steadily, generating $1.1 million per week, thanks to the higher rates they instituted after taking over the system.  With more gradual increases on the way, the company is projected to collect $46.9 million this year and $79.5 million in 2010.

The most candid remark in Mihalopoulos' piece came from Ald. Rey Colon (35th Ward), who was one of five aldermen to vote against the 2008 ordinance approving the parking meter deal:

Another of the naysayers on the Council, Rey Colon, said this week that the parking meter company’s own numbers showed that aldermen should have raised parking charges and kept the money that the increases would have generated.

“At this rate, it was a great deal for the parking meter company,” he said. “I don’t know if it was a good deal for the city. We should have just bit the bullet and done it ourselves.”

Mayor Daley and some of the aldermen who supported the deal like to make the argument that the city could not have "bit the bullet and done it ourselves" for political reasons.  They further argue that their chosen path -- offloading the responsibility for the system to a private company (who then raises the rates) in return for an immediate windfall -- was a safer approach.  But was it? 

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After the Cook County Board of Commissioners finally agreed yesterday to fund foreclosure mediation services, housing advocates are celebrating the move as "a huge step" towards stemming the problem.

As regular readers know, it's been a tough slog for those community activists -- led by the group Action Now -- who've been pushing the county to devote more resources to mediation -- a proven method of staving off foreclosure. By a vote of 16 to 1, the board approved a $3 million budget amendment introduced by Comm. Earlene Collins (D) at the behest of Board President Todd Stroger and Cook County's Chief circuit court Judge Tim Evans (Republican Comm. Tony Peraica was the lone dissenter).

Like elsewhere in the state, foreclosures continue to pile up in Cook County.  During a roundtable on WTTW's Chicago Tonight yesterday,  MB Bank Vice President Thomas FitzGibbon noted that one of the biggest challenges in enabling mortgage modifications is getting through the daunting paperwork. "Having a neutral third party helping that consumer, helping that household, fill out the documents is an extremely important part of this whole process," said FitzGibbon, who also sits on the board of the non-profit Neigborhood Housing Services. "Seventy percent of the applications for this service -- for this help that we send out to consumers who we know are in trouble -- never comes back." Watch his remarks (full video here):

Once up and running, Cook County's program will help fill this void.

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Take a look at this headline from today's Daily Herald:

Reading that, you might guess that the west suburban town of about 150,000 passed a referendum opposing an income tax increase in Illinois.  Or perhaps someone polled Naperville residents' on the various tax hike proposals being discussed at the state level.  Well, not exactly:

Naperville's business community on Thursday had a chance to voice its concerns about jobs, taxes and the economy directly to Gov. Pat Quinn. [...]

Some [Naperville Chamber of Commerce] members said Thursday an income tax increase would be detrimental to the business community.

John Schmitt, president and CEO of the chamber, said he was not prepared to comment specifically on Quinn's income tax proposal but that the chamber doesn't typically support tax increases. But he was glad the business community had a chance to share its concerns and called the visit productive.

Last we checked, the Naperville Chamber doesn't represent the entire town ...

This just out from Sen. Roland Burris' office:

After months of investigation into the circumstances surrounding the appointment and seating of Senator Roland W. Burris, the Senate Select Committee on Ethics has closed its inquiry and cleared the Senator of any legal wrongdoing.

In a ‘public letter of qualified admonition,’ the Senate Ethics Committee outlined the specific areas of concern that it investigated, and conclusively found no “actionable violations of the law” occurred. [...]

“I am pleased that after numerous investigations, this matter has finally come to a close.  I thank the members of the Senate Ethics Committee for their fair and thorough review of this matter, and now look forward to continuing the important work ahead on behalf of the people of Illinois,” said Senator Burris.

The ethics committee is yet to post the full "public letter," but we'll have more updates on their findings once it's released.

UPDATE (10:30 a.m.): And the letter is now available.  While declining to take any action against Burris, the committee still had some pretty harsh words regarding his activities and public statements prior to being sworn-in as Barack Obama's U.S. Senate replacement:

The Committee found that you should have known that you were providing incorrect, inconsistent, misleading, or incomplete information to the public, the Senate, and those conducting legitimate inquiries into your appointment to the Senate.  The Committee also found that your November 13, 2008 phone call with Robert Blagojevich was inappropriate.  Although some of those events happened before you were sworn in as a U.S. Senator, they were inextricably linked to your appointment and therefore fall within the jurisdiction of this committee.

While the Committee did not find that the evidence before it supported any actionable violations fo the law, Senators must meet a much higher standard of conduct. [...]

Again, the Committee has found that your actions and statements reflected unfavorably on the Senate and issues this Public Letter of Qualified Admonition.

Read the whole thing below:

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That's how the Reader's Ben Joravsky describes our own Angela Caputo in his latest article on Chicago's tax increment financing (TIF) network.  And you can bet she's wearing that badge with pride.

Joravasky's piece also details how state legislators used a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) bill to quietly extend the lifespan of four Chicago TIF districts by 12 years.  With little to no debate, the bill was passed by both chambers in the final days of the regular session and signed by the governor in late August.  Joravsky later notes that the projects to be subsidized by these districts during the extended period appear worthwhile, at least when compared with "some of the stuff the mayor comes up with, such as the recent $35 million handout to United Airlines."  But the process of approving the extension should nonetheless raise eyebrows:

You'd hope that in these calamitous economic times, Governor Quinn, house speaker Michael Madigan, and senate president John Cullerton would feel compelled to hold hearings and engage in debate before effectively raising Chicagoans' property taxes. But you'd hope in vain.

Joravsky further writes about Cook County Clerk David Orr's new TIF search engine and gives some great instructions on how to research the amount of individual property taxes that go into Daley's slush fund. Read the whole thing here.

Cullerton: State Lawmakers Have No Gitmo Control
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) says the General Assembly has no formal control over the decision to relocate Guantanamo Bay detainees to an Illinois prison. While a committee could review the proposal, any vote would be advisory.

Illinois Unemployment Hits 26-Year High
The state's unemployment troubles just keeps growing, according to new data from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Between September and October, the state's unemployment rate jumped from 10.5 to 11 percent, the highest level in 26 years.

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All four Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate Democratic have produced new videos in the last few days. Let's take a look, shall we?

The first comes from David Hoffman, who cut a highlight reel from a forum held by the Northern Illinois Coordinated Campaign Committee in Rockford on Sunday. In the clip, Hoffman discusses the economy, banking reform, the federal deficit, and Afghanistan:

The Hoffman campaign also released a new polling memo this week that The Hill, the Washington Post, and Politico all picked up. While pollster Geoff Garin took pains to argue that Alexi Giannoulias too "flawed" a candidate to beat GOP Rep. Mark Kirk in the general election, the underlying data is similar to other polls we've seen so far (Kirk leads Giannoulias 40-37 percent, but out-distances Hoffman -- whose name identification is at only 26 percent --  by 10 points.)  Here's what Giannoulias campaign manager Tom Bowen had to say to the Post's Chris Cilliza:

"Every public poll shows Alexi Giannoulias leading or neck-in-neck with Mark Kirk while David Hoffman is trailing badly. ... He is behind, desperate and now he is running a negative and dishonest campaign, preferring to attack fellow Democrats instead of telling us what he would do in the Senate."

Speaking of the Giannoulias, he earned an endorsement from Illinois' own U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky on Sunday. In this video clip from the press conference, the congresswoman said Giannoulias would be a strong voice for health care reform in the Senate. Watch it:

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Below are our daily picks from the Illinois blogosphere and media at large:

A Kink In The Campaign
This week's Reader cover story examines the unorthodox primary race in Illinois' 40th District.

Life Support
At Huffington Post Chicago, Shawn Healy digs into a new study on civic engagement in Illinois.

What Happens Before 2014?
Curious which provisions in the Senate health care bill will take effect immediately if it's passed? Ezra Klein has you covered.

To receive our “Around The Horn” update in your inbox every afternoon—along with links to our top stories and the breaking news of the day—sign up for the Progress Illinois Extra.  You can also learn what we're reading via our Twitter feed.

The Chicago City Council held its full monthly meeting yesterday.  We've got some of the highlights:

Budget Priorities Take A Beating

All eyes have been on Mayor Daley's 2010 spending plan as of late, which relies on $370 million from the city's asset-sale proceeds to help balance next year's $6.14 billion budget. Despite this windfall, the safety net is still going to take a hit.  During the public portion of yesterday's meeting, several social service providers testified in favor of restoring the cuts to substance abuse and mental health funding. As regular readers may recall, the city's 12 mental health clinics will lose an additional $3 million in state funding this year because of the Daley administration's own incompetence at implementing a new $16 million billing system.

In response, Ald. Joe Moore (49th Ward) voiced support for rescinding the cuts and blasted Daley's "property tax relief" gimmick -- a plan introduced yesterday to pull $35 million from a reserve fund created by the parking meter lease to refund some taxpayers between $50 and $100 on their bills. "What impact is that going to have on those homeowners lives? It's very negligible," Moore said. "I think you're going to get a lot more bang for your buck by helping the mentally ill lead productive lives through counseling and other support services."  Listen:

Internal mp3

Ald. Moore isn't the only one slamming Daley's meager property tax rebate.

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A new video from the Dan Hynes campaign has been making the rounds online today. It splices together some footage from yesterday's Campaign for Better Health Care forum in which Gov. Pat Quinn appears a bit tired and distracted as Illinois resident Midge Hough recalls the tragic story of her 24-year-old daughter-in-law's death. The video ends with the tagline: "Illinois can't afford a governor who is asleep at the wheel."  Watch it:

This afternoon, the Quinn campaign responded quickly with some footage of their own.  It shows the governor talking one-on-one with Hough following the event.  He can be seen giving her his card and telling her, "I know this is the cause of your life," adding, "I want to help tell Jenny's story."  Watch it:

In a release accompanying the video, the Quinn campaign accused the Hynes campaign of "deceptive" editing and further stated:

We all commend Midge Hough for her extraordinary courage and her indomitable belief that this personal tragedy may ultimately serve to help millions of other people, like Jenny and her baby, who still do not have health care coverage.

The state's unemployment troubles just keeps growing. Today, the Illinois Department of Employment Security released the October jobless rate. In just one month, it jumped from 10.5 to 11 percent, the highest level in 26 years. CBS 2 has more:

The state reported job losses in numerous industries. The trade and transportation sectors lost 1,400 jobs, and the manufacturing sector lost 800. But some sectors reported significant gains in jobs – 3,600 for educational and health services, 1,300 for professional and business services, and 1,000 for construction, according to the Department of Employment Security.

Here's our updated graph showing the comparison between the state and national unemployment figures, dating back to January 2008. It's not pretty:

For those trying to stay afloat, there is some good news to report from Washington. Roll Call (subscription required) notes that Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) have been "quietly trying to write a jobs bill that the Senate can act on early next year." Durbin was a staunch advocate in the Senate fight to extend unemployment insurance through 2009, so his involvement probably increases the chances that jobless benefits will be factored into the new bill.

The federal government is one step closer to providing health care and retirement benefits to domestic partners of its gay and lesbian employees. Yesterday, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved H.R. 2517 by a 23-12 vote. Illinois Democrats Mike Quigley, Danny Davis, and Bill Foster all supported the legislation. GOP Rep. Aaron Schock voted against it. From Alyssa Rosenberg's report on the contentious hearing:

Republican committee members argued that the 2009 Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act was an inappropriate extension of benefits to a small subset of federal employees at a time when unemployment was rising. They also said such a move would threaten the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and could open the door to fraud by people of the same sex who simply wanted access to benefits.

Democrats countered that extending access to health and survivor benefits to the same-sex partners of federal workers in exchange for an agreement that those employees would abide by rules governing nepotism and financial disclosure for their partners, was a matter of equality and of establishing the federal government as an inclusive, competitive employer.

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Yesterday afternoon, as part of the Campaign for a Better Health Care's annual conference, Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic primary challenger Dan Hynes engaged in an hour-long debate on health care reform. Because it costs the state money to provide coverage to the poor and to protect public health, the debate routinely veered into discussion about the state deficit and the gubernatorial candidates' competing tax reform proposals. When it did, things got snippy. Watch this compilation:

Notice how neither candidate even broaches the most important aspect of this debate: how they plan to convince the legislature to go along with their respective proposals next year. In a sense, this debate is taking place solely in the abstract.

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