In Springfield ...

The national jobs report, released this morning, shows that job growth last month was meager. Illinois is no exception. Although there are speculative reports that executives in Illinois might start hiring again during the next three months, jobs are still awfully hard to come by. That's a major reason why so many people are having their unemployment benefits garnished to pay child support and why so many kids now qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The state government's bad budgeting practices don't help, either. The Civic Federation found on Monday that a series of rating downgrades increased that state government's borrowing costs by more than $551 million over the past year alone. Because of delayed payments, school district officials say they are increasing fees for parents. One coalition of Latino-based social service organizations even warned that if they did not receive their state appropriations by September 20, they will take part in a one-day strike.

How can Illinois rebound? The U.S. Senate could help by extending funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund by the end of the month, which would save an estimated 26,000 jobs created through the successful Put Illinois to Work program. Illinois could continue to make timely investments in broadband technology, a key tool in the 21st century economy. State lawmakers could champion a slew of reforms supported by the CHANGE Illinois coalition, which would increase the public's faith in government. Those same legislators could also pass a sustainable budget that does not hack away at teacher pay, as GOB gubernatorial nominee Bill Brady (pic 7) suggested Wednesday.

Even though the recession has diminished illegal immigration nationwide, the number of undocumented Illinoisans remained stable in 2009. If immigrants didn't leave during the depths of the economic collapse, they aren't moving anytime soon. That means it's important for elected officials to keep in place Illinois' strong protections for immigrants of every legal status.

In other news, embattled Department of Corrections chief Michael Randle (pic 1) resigned on Thursday and was quickly replaced by Assistant Director Gladyse Taylor. Environmental groups are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to recognize sites where toxic coal ash (pic 5) has polluted the water, including three in downstate Illinois. Tom Green, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Human Services, confirmed that state health officials did not apply for costly and ineffective abstinence-only sex education funds made available through the federal health care reform package. And we took issue with a Sun-Times' story on a payday loan (pic 3) reform bill the General Assembly passed in May.

In Chicago and Cook County …
Chicago police superintendent Jody Weis's (pic 2) sit-down with reputed gang leaders on the city's West Side generated debate, controversy and plenty of headlines throughout the week, as Mayor Richard M. Daley (pic 8) and some aldermen defended the tactic, while Gov. Pat Quinn (pic 6) and other aldermen criticized the meeting. At a press conference called by a loosely-knit group of mostly ex-gang members (pic 4), several speakers said persistent unemployment in Chicago's black communities was at the root of neighborhood crime. They demanded access to jobs and resources.

Over the new two weeks, the City of Chicago's budget season will begin with preliminary hearings. Mayor Daley has said privatization of city services and functions is on the table. This week city public health care workers represented by AFSCME Council 31 tracked legislation they feared would open the floodgates to outsourcing in the Department of Public Health. A draft ordinance offered by the Daley Administration about contracting out public health services contained broad language, but the bill was rewritten using narrower terms and passed out of the health committee.

Hotel workers went on strike against their employer at the Hyatt Regency in Rosemont this week. Negotiations between the workers, members of UNITE-HERE Local 1, and the hotel firm are stalled. Officials from Local 1 say Hyatt is trying to lock-in a recession contract heavy on wage and benefit cuts. The strike in Rosemont came three days after workers at the Hyatt Sheraton, located in the Loop, briefly walked off the job.

At Chicago State University, meanwhile, just 13 percent of students who enroll in the school graduate within 6 years. It's one of the worst completion rates in the nation, at a school known for its administrative incompetence.

On the campaign trail …

State Sen. Brady released a 14-page jobs plan he claims will produce 700,000 new positions across the state. For those who have followed Brady's campaign closely for the past few months, the platform won't include anything too surprising. Among the proposals: a "jumpstart tax credit" larger than the one Gov. Quinn signed into law last month and a slew of smaller subsidies. The plan trumpets the importance of medical malpractice caps (they've been ruled unconstitutional three times) and overhauling the workers compensation system (which was reformed five years, with his support). Brady's jobs plan specifically opposed the implementation of a progressive income tax because it "penalizes productive members of society."

Brady acknowledged his tax proposals would add up to $1 billion to the state's deficit, but he said the cuts would "replenish themselves" in a "year or two." The candidate declined again to detail specifics on what he'd cut from the state budget and was lambasted for failing to spell out his plan for reforming the state prison system.

Wage levels bubbled up on more than one occasion in the governor's race this past week. Brady told supporters that school districts could absorb lower funding levels from the state by "maybe not offering the pay raises that they put in place." Of course, there's no blanket contract for teachers across the state, and several big districts have already agreed to keep teacher salaries flat.

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, the Democratic and Republican candidates for U.S. Senate, are essentially tied. Each candidate garnered 34 percent of the support of 600 likely Illinois voters who took part in a recent Tribune poll.

Both Kirk and Giannoulias gave speeches this past week on fiscal policy. In Kirk's, the candidate insisted he was a fiscal conservative, and demanded reform of earmarks, which comprised less than 1 percent of federal spending in 2008. He backed a balanced budget amendment, which would eliminate the federal government's role as a fiscal stabilizer during rough economic times.

That's a point that Giannoulias disagreed with. In his speech, Giannoulias said the federal debt "should be our No. 1 fiscal priority when we arise out of the current recession." The timing contained in that statement recognized, on some level, that a premature move toward fiscal austerity during an economic crisis could send the economy tumbling. Giannoulias also accepted the endorsement of former Gen. Wesley Clark this week.

We noted the tendency this summer of Illinois GOPers to express admiration for the Hoosier State. But the employment and government picture in Indiana is far from rosy. While state Republicans may laud the business climate in Indiana, unemployment there is barely lower than it is in Illinois. There's no question the state's budgetary outlook is better than the mess in Illinois, but that doesn't mean all is well in Indiana either. Of course, the federal stimulus bill, which Republicans from both states like to bash, has helped on that front.

State Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago), meanwhile, is said to be mulling a run for mayor. Forrest Claypool, who is running for Cook County Assessor as an Independent, backed an ethics package targeted as his Democratic opponent Joe Berrios; the legislation would force the assessor and members of the county's tax appeals and zoning boards to disclose each quarter the names of all attorneys and other legal representatives who appeared before their agencies.

Seniors protested outside of a fundraiser Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) held in Chicago for Joel Pollack, the GOP candidate for congressman in the 9th District. Ryan, of course, has floated a plan that would dismantle Social Security. Illinois Statehouse News identified 15 General Assembly races that could be competitive this fall.