Peter Roskam

More On Those Federal Housing Funds

Adam Doster — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:51:25 -0700

Remember that mortgage relief bill that Rep. Peter Roskam voted against because, as he so eloquently put it, he didn't want Gov. Rod Blagojevich to be our landlord? As we noted, the position was bunk: the governor will have very little control over how the funds promised to Illinois cities and municipalities will be used. And while the details are still being ironed out, the Christian Science Monitor highlights a few of the projects local legislators are planning to enact once given their share of the promised $4 billion. Turns out, many of them sound pretty darn helpful.

Among the ideas forming: Baltimore intends to use some funds to gain control of the inventory of foreclosed homes within it's borders, Cleveland may demolish houses in blighted areas and then plan neighborhoods more thoughtfully, and Trenton, NJ officials want to rehabilitate abandoned lots and restore copper wiring that's has been stolen:

States and cities consider the funding a key to blunting the effect of foreclosures, seen in abandoned properties, inadequate rental housing, and deteriorating neighborhoods. For many locales, it will add leverage to their own efforts. Some community activists hope the money will also help to moderate home-price declines.

"For many communities impacted by homes already foreclosed on, this was viewed as the linchpin to turn the tide around," says David Berenbaum, executive vice president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington. "It will augment state, private, and partnership funds."

There's no word yet on how much of the total appropriation will be sent to Illinois.

Illinois Achievement Gap Grows As Legislators Bicker

Adam Doster — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:56:47 -0700

There was both good news and bad news on the education front yesterday. While Illinois students’ scores on ACT college entrance exam inched upward this year -- to the highest level since the state began requiring the test -- the gap between black and white high schoolers’ scores grew steadily as well:

An improvement in white students’ performances mostly fueled the gains in the 2008 scores, and the disparity between black and white students’ scores continued to widen, the report said. White students who graduated this spring scored 5.2 points higher on average than their peer black students. That’s up from a low spread of 4.5 points in 2003. [...]

“We know high schools are struggling with that issue,” [State School Superintendent Christopher Koch] said, adding that Illinois is working on it by requiring summer school and pre-testing before some students enter high school.

The report is perfect fodder for the education reform debate fermenting in Illinois. Critics like State Sen. James Meeks have lamented our state's reliance on local property taxes to fund education -- a system that creates a disparity between the funds available to property-poor school districts and wealthy ones. In a recent column here at Progress Illinois, Illinois state rep candidate Will Burns pointed to Michigan's 1994 education funding overhaul as evidence that a centralization of funding (the Wolverine State pays 57.3 percent of the total education costs) can save taxpayers money and improve education equity.

Is Michigan's plan perfect? Not in the least. On his Daily Herald blog yesterday, John Patterson reprinted his own 2005 story pointing out some of the reforms' shortfalls.

Ten years after Michigan embarked on the nation's most dramatic education funding swap, its state budget is awash in red ink and, as a result, schools there have been forced to close buildings, end programs, and cut staff. [...]

"The problem with this method of funding is it's dependent on sales tax and sin taxes and income tax, all of which become very unstable when the economy is down and that's what's happened in Michigan," said Shirley Bryant, spokeswoman for Birmingham Public Schools, a suburban Detroit district annually ranked among the state's best. As state funds have come up short, the district closed buildings and is considering cutting the programs it offers students. "All the districts in Michigan are drowning," Bryant said.

An analysis from earlier this year bears out Patterson's predictions: the annual school aid budget gap in Michigan could reach $3.9 billion by 2017 because tax revenues won't be able to keep up with spending pressures.

But rather than simply discard Michigan's plan, let's take a look at some specifics. While things aren't too rosy economically in Illinois, our situation isn't nearly as bad as in Michigan -- one of only two states to lose population in 2007 and home to the nation's highest unemployment rate. Moreover, there are ways to dampen the effect of an economic downturn on school funding. For instance, provisions in the plan proposed by Center for Tax and Budget Accountabiliy executive director Ralph Martire are aimed at preserving stability. From Patterson's piece:

Martire believes his version is far more stable, largely because it keeps property taxes in the mix. But also because the state tax increases would be far broader.

To begin with, the state would pay 25 percent of the local property tax bill that goes to schools.

On the flip side, the state personal income tax would raise to 5 percent from 3 percent. That's a 67 percent increase. The corporate income tax goes up too. And you'd pay sales tax on car repairs and other services. For instance, now when someone gets a muffler fixed, they pay tax on the muffler, but not on the labor.

That last provision is key, said Martire. Because even in slow economic times people still get cars fixed and pay for other services. So the plan is far more sustainable, he argued. Just extending the sales tax to such services would bring in $1.5 billion a year.

In addition, the proposal asks lawmakers to grant education funding special protection in the budget, ensuring that dollars for schools are doled out no matter what. It would mean that in tough budget times schools automatically get their state dollars while cuts occur elsewhere or taxes increase.

Of course, these are the types of proposals suburban Republicans like Rep. Peter Roskam (a one-time state Senator from Wheaton) have repeatedly rejected since at least 1997. In fact, as Patterson reminds us, Roskam spent $40,000 on radio commercials rallying opposition to such reforms on the basis that suburban residents would "see nothing but tax increases ... in this trade." Educational equality be damned.

Unfortunately, while yesterday's special session was intended to address education funding, the House adjourned after only 21 minutes. Let's hope they force the issue when they meet again this fall.

Roskam's Trip To Washington

Adam Doster — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:13:26 -0700

On Sunday, Rep. Peter Roskam and his family decided to forgo their scheduled family vacation and instead headed east to Washington, DC, where a group of House Republicans were gathering to protest what they have termed the "Pelosi shutdown" -- the decision by Democrats to adjourn for August recess without first voting on offshore drilling legislation.

Yesterday, Roskam called into WLS' Don Wade & Roma to discuss his impromptu trip. After lauding him for his effort -- even thanking him for "helping America's families" by moving the energy debate forward -- the radio hosts assisted Roskam in obscuring some crucial facts about the drilling proposal. For instance, listen to this exchange:

Internal mp3

ROSKAM: Our desire is to move a holistic energy policy forward. There is an understanding that were not simply going to drill our way out of this, but you’ve got to pursue those sources of energy in the short-run.

But if we can't "drill our way out of this" energy crisis, as Roskam acknowledges, why should we devote resources to expanded offshore drilling? Why not instead focus most of our energies -- and taxpayer dollars -- on developing sustainable, alternative sources of energy?

Curiously absent from the 11-minute discussion on WLS was any mention of timeframes -- with one exception. During the above clip, Roskam appeared to suggest that increased drilling will help lower gas prices "in the short-run."

But a recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted we wouldn’t see “a significant impact” on gas prices until 2030. No economist from any ideological position disputes this point. So unless Roskam equates "20-plus years" with "short term," he's being highly misleading.

Of course, it's possible that extra drilling could provide a psychological boost to traders on the oil futures market, which in turn could lead to a reduction in price in the short-run. But that's not the case Roskam is making. And even if he was, there are plenty of other steps Congress could take to ease market concerns. In fact, there are also other ways Congress could provide immediate assistance to cash-strapped drivers. David Robert's outlines a few ideas here, including "everything from direct tax rebates to bumps in the EITC to expansions of healthcare coverage."

What often gets clouded over in the drilling debate is that we're chasing a finite resource. The cost of oil, like all fossil fuels, is going to keep rising regardless of the degree to which we expand exploration. By relentlessly and disingenuously pursuing a policy that won't control costs in the near future, and repeatedly blocking forward-thinking energy legislation, Republicans like Roskam are ensuring that American families will lose out where it counts: in the long-run.

"Men In Caves"

Josh Kalven — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:10:49 -0700

In an interview with Roll Call (subscription required), GOP Rep. Peter Roskam demonstrates his view of Arabs:

In 2006, he faced wounded Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth (D), who garnered national and international media attention. Arabic news network Al-Jazeera even traveled to the district to cover the campaign.

“What do men in caves in Pakistan care about this campaign?” Roskam remembers thinking.

Defending His Opposition To Housing Bill, Roskam Fearmongers

Adam Doster — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 10:38:29 -0700

The big news out of Washington yesterday was the passage of a far-reaching housing rescue bill by the House. While President Bush initially opposed a section of the bill that would appropriate nearly $4 billion in grants for local governments to buy and refurbish foreclosed properties, he eventually relented, clearing the way for the bill's passage. But 149 congressional Republicans, many citing the rehab funds as a major sticking point, voted nay.

Among this group was 6th District Rep. Peter Roskam, who explained that he opposed the bill out of the fear that Gov. Rod Blagojevich will have too much control over the federally-funded Illinois projects. "Do you want Rod Blagojevich to be your landlord?" Roskam asked in a statement released by his campaign last night.

But how much control will Blagojevich actually have? As it turns out, not very much.

The $3.9 billion earmarked for the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed properties in communities hit particularly hard by foreclosure will be distributed through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), CDBG's work like this: for metropolitan cities with populations of at least 50,000, known in HUD terminology as "entitlement communities," local governments apply directly to the federal government and then develop their own programs and funding priorities. Communities with a population of less than 50,000 -- which would include various suburbs in DuPage County -- apply for what is known as a "State Administered CDBG."

Essentially, once a state decides it wants to participate in the program, it solicits applications from local government authorities. State officials then decide how to distribute funds among communities in non-entitlement areas and ensure that recipient communities comply with applicable state and federal laws and requirements, but they have no hand in running the programs. That responsibility rests on local officials, who must "consider local needs ... and carry out the funded community development activities." While the state can accept some administrative and technical assistance expenses, they may not exceed three percent of the total allocation.

In short, Rod and his cohorts in Springfield are responsible for distributing funds to small communities based on a comprehensive application process created by the federal government. But it is those local governments -- not the state -- that will purchase and manage the properties in question.

To be sure, this housing bill is not a perfect piece of legislation. The provision using taxpayer dollars to rescue Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae shareholders -- and without implementing limits on executive compensation -- is nothing more than a massive corporate bailout for unwise investors. But Roskam raises none of those legitimate critiques.

Instead, he attempts to criticize Blagojevich, Bush, and congressional Democrats in one fell swoop through a vapid statement that doesn't stand up to much scrutiny. In doing so, he shows either a basic misunderstanding of the bill or a severe distrust of local Illinois governments to address the foreclosure crisis in their communities, which is only getting worse with each passing day.

Morgenthaler To Roskam: Our Troops Aren't Children

Josh Kalven — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:35:22 -0700

Earlier in the year, Rep. Peter Roskam signed on as a co-sponsor of the Military Honor and Decency Act, which restricts the sale of movies or printed materials featuring any nudity on Army bases worldwide. Today, the Sun-Times' Abdon Pallasch printed a response from Roskam's Democratic opponent, retired Col. Jill Morgenthaler:

"I find it offensive, having served with the young men and women in Iraq," said Morgenthaler, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. "Every day we trust them to make decisions. This bill says we don't trust them to choose their own magazines or movies."

Blogger Steve Benen expressed similar sentiments last April:

Let me get this straight. U.S. troops are fighting two wars, neither of which are going well, and Republicans believe we should spend time and energy considering what kind of magazines U.S. troops can purchase on base? Here’s a radical idea: maybe those who wear the uniform and put their lives on the line for their country should be able to read whatever they want.

Roskam's Weak Defense Of Vote Against G.I. Bill

Adam Doster — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:13:15 -0700

Peter Roskam says vets in his district know he supports them. If that's the case, why did he vote against the House version of the revamped G.I. Bill last month? The bill assists veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars that have served three years or more by covering the cost of four years at a state college and helping with housing and books. Speaking to NBC5's Mary Ann Ahern yesterday, Roskam said it was all a matter of dollars and cents:

“I’m a co-sponsor of underlying bill, but as with many things in Congress, you don’t get an up-and-down vote on simply that bill alone. So unfortunately, it was loaded up with a whole lot of other spending and it was loaded up with $51 billion dollars in new taxes. Nobody sent me to Washington D.C. to raise their taxes.”

Roskam left out a tiny detail about those "new taxes." To fund the 10-year benefit package, Democrats proposed a half-percent tax surcharge on individuals earning over $500,000 and couples earning over $1 million a year. But that wasn't good enough for the Illinois congressman, who was apparently more interested in protecting the economic interests of his district's wealthiest residents than the educational interests of the 1.6 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans hoping to better their lives at home.

DCCC To Run Radio Ad Hitting Kirk For Vote On Iraq Bill

Josh Kalven — Sun, 25 May 2008 15:01:43 -0700

Tomorrow, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will run a radio ad criticizing Rep. Mark Kirk for his decision to vote "present" last week on the House's version of the Iraq war funding bill. The bill included an amendment that modernized the G.I. Bill by expanding education benefits for military veterans and offset the cost with a tax hike on individuals making over $500,000 annually and couples earning more than $1 million. The bill also mandated President Bush to being drawing down the number of troops in Iraq with 30 days of its enactment.

Over 130 Republicans joined Kirk in voting "present" on the bill, including almost all of Illinois' GOP congressional delegation: Reps. Judy Biggert, Peter Roskam, John Shimkus, Don Manzullo, and Jerry Weller.

With the ad-buy, the DCCC is making clear how serious they are about targeting Kirk this time around. After all, it's six months until Election Day and Chicago is one of the country's more expensive media markets.

You can here the DCCC's ad here.

DCCC Announces Six Targeted Races In Illinois

Josh Kalven — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:00:12 -0700

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has released its list of targeted congressional races for 2008 and there are six in Illinois:

- IL-6: Incumbent Peter Roskam is one of the DCCC's "Targeted Republicans"

- IL-8: Incumbent Melissa Bean is one of the DCCC's "Frontline Democrats"

- IL-10: Incumbent Mark Kirk is a "Targeted Republican." Meanwhile, challenger Dan Seals is part of the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program.

- IL-11: Democratic candidate and State Sen. Debbie Halvorson is also on the "Red to Blue" list.

- IL-14: Bill Foster, who is filling out the rest of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's term after winning a March 8 special election, is one of the DCCC's "Frontline Democrats"

- IL-18: The DCCC describes this as a "competitive open seat" (current Rep. Ray Lahood is retiring). The Democratic candidate is Colleen Callahan.