Progress Illinois

As Illinois lawmakers explore the options available to them to balance the state’s budget, one possible solution may surprise them: making polluters pay for heat-trapping emissions that cause global warming.

The Climate Action and Clean Energy Investment Act (HB 3668), sponsored by State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, would limit heat-trapping emissions from large sources, including power plants and oil refineries. Businesses could buy emissions credits -- each worth one ton of emissions -- through a state-run auction that would cover the pollution they produce. Businesses would have the flexibility to choose the best mix of reducing emissions or buying credits. In this way, they would be able to use the power of the market to implement the most cost-effective emissions reductions.

According to an analysis by my organization, the Union of Concerned Scientists, HB 3668 could generate $800 million to $4 billion annually in Illinois. Revenues raised from polluting businesses would go toward measures that strengthen energy efficiency, increase renewable energy use, and further cut global warming pollution in ways that generate new local jobs.

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Barack Obama’s first trip to Mexico this week will not be spent enjoying the famous Mexican surf and sun. He and Mexican President Felipe Calderon have a series of difficult issues they must address. Following Calderon's crackdown on the Mexican narcotics cartels, violence has surged in the country. Trade skirmishes have broken out between the U.S. and Mexico. And then there are the thorny issues along our 2,000-mile contiguous border, with drugs and immigrants moving north and rivers of guns flowing south. It's safe to say there will be no time for snorkeling.

The president is facing some mighty tough issues on this trip and last week he demonstrated that he actually is “Chicago-tough." The White House made headlines when it reiterated that Obama is serious about addressing our broken immigration system during his first year in office, including an earned path to citizenship for the undocumented. 

Pundits marveled that even our Blackberry-addicted, multi-tasking president would try to take on this divisive issue so early in his first term and during a recession. But there are some very good reasons to act on immigration reform this year.  Hopefully, he and Calderon will discuss the shared stake our nations have in pursuing real immigration solutions.

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"As we roll out new products we will continue to price businesses for appropriate margins. We will not sacrifice profitability for membership. ” – Wellpoint CEO Angela Braly

With the health care reform debate heating up in Congress, the insurance lobby has successfully shifted attention away from what is needed to reach a compromise.  The insurance industry’s lobbying arm, American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), talks of ceasing the practice of charging higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions as long as the government mandates the purchase of health insurance.  Seems like a fair compromise, right?  But they don’t stop there.

AHIP is now crying foul over the proposal of a public health insurance option, saying they can’t compete with such an alternative.  This stance isn’t surprising, given the profit margins the industry seeks to preserve.  The top four insurance companies made a combined $11 billion in 2007 with United Health Care pulling in the most at $4.65 billion.  Meanwhile, the average CEO salary was $8.75 million in the health insurance sector with Aetna’s CEO topping the list at $32 million.

Insurance companies are businesses, and their bottom line is at the center of all of their policy negotiations. This is made clear when the CEO of Aetna sees payouts for medical care at less than 80 cents on the dollar as a victory, and the CEO of Wellpoint says she will not “sacrifice profitability for membership.”

AHIP President Karen Ignagni continues to talk reform, but her recommendations do little to address the real problem.  She talks about “repairing the safety net” by forcing states to maximize enrollments in SCHIP and Medicaid.  She talks about “a helping hand to working families” through the creation of tax credits and subsidies to help pay the cost of health insurance for families making up to $80,000 a year.  In each of these cases, the taxpayers are the ones making a sacrifice, while the industry’s profits remain the same.

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The charges laid out in the federal indictment of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich are stunning, but not wholly unexpected when considering our state’s unregulated campaign finance system.

Illinois, unlike most other states, places almost no restrictions on who can donate to candidates or how much money an individual or group can give.  That’s why we formed CHANGE Illinois, a coalition of community, faith, labor, and business leaders working to restore accountability to Illinois government through campaign finance reform.

It is this broken campaign system that has served as the breeding ground for the over 1,000 Illinois public officials and government employees who have faced corruption charges over the last three decades.

Our limitless campaign finance system is inherently problematic because it encourages candidates to bypass the people and fill their war chests with as many big checks as possible. As such, wealthy special interests are able to overpower smaller ones, buying themselves a seat at the table during policy negotiations and purchasing undue influence with politicians eager to keep their jobs and offices.

Even worse, corrupt individuals can exploit this free-for-all system and take it to grotesque extremes. Blagojevich is a perfect example: Federal investigators contend that he attempted to extract five-figure campaign contributions from interest groups and businesses in exchange for official state action.

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