The Chicagoland vs. Downstate Road Dollar Fight Reignited

by Cal Skinner

The Illinois Legislative Research Bureau is a godsend to Illinois legislators smart enough to use it.

One such person is State Senator Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago).

It appears he has had the LRU replicate the type of cost-benefit study I got in 1999 right before the vote on Gov. George Ryan's Illinois FIRST bonding program was under consideration. (Click to enlarge the table.)

The Research Unit took a look at where money would go for the new projects Ryan proposed versus the ones that were otherwise in the IDOT program.

There was a distinct shift toward Downstate under Illinois FIRST, proving, I guess, that George kept the promises he made on roads in 1998.

How else can you explain a 4-lane Route 67 in Western Illinois, which has less traffic in some places than on Lake Avenue in Lakewood, Illinois (6,500 cars per day)?

The six-county Chicago are got 45% of the road money as a result of a deal cut by State Rep. Bob Churchill when the gas tax was hiked in 1989. Bob caught a lot of heat for sponsoring the bill, but our region's share jumped from 40 to 45%.

The report which Senator Sandoval had prepared should provide ammunition to Chicagoland legislators.

May they use it to guide their actions.

I voted against Illinois FIRST based on the additional money Ryan proposed to divert from the Chicago area.

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Six Degrees of Separation provided the following information in a comment on Capitol Fax Blog:

"This old saw again?

"According to highway mileage of all roads in the system, 24,275 miles or 17.2% of state roads are in Chicagoland’s District 1, and 116,484 miles or 82.8% are elsewhere in the state.

"Also according to the latest stats, District 1 motorists accounted for 58 billion or 55.2% of the total 105 billion vehicle miles traveled in 2008.

http://www.dot.il.gov/travelstats/2008_ITS.pdf

"So, at one extreme we should fund downstate at 82% based on mileage, and at the other extreme 45% based on usage of the system.

"The idealized formula of 55% downstate/45% District 1 seems to strike the right balance between geography and usage. If you are going to attempt to pay for 82% of the system with 30% or 40% of the funds, you had better be prepared to decide which highways and bridges you will close, let go to pot, or transfer to the locals (if they will even take them off the state’s hands)."

= = = = =

Besides suggesting that folks should look at lane miles in their comments under the Capitol Fax Blog article to which I have linked, let's add some McHenry County traffic counts to the mix.

Route 31 between Crystal Lake and McHenry was repaved last year. I called it the "Valley of the Potholes" in a story before that.

Did the Illinois Department of Transportation widen the road, as it is consistently doing to Illinois Route 59 between Naperville and I-55?

Of course not.

I would note that Route 31 is a major route to the Northwest TOLLway, a concept foreign to Downstaters, about which I have frothed here.

The traffic count is 32,600 just north of Route 176. By the time Route 31 reaches Bull Valley Road, it is down to 20,700.

When I was researching when IDOT thought adding lanes was justified in the late 1990's, what I heard was more than 20,000 vehicles per day justified another lane.

Yesterday, I was told IDOT now thinks that the traffic count should be 24,000 (actually, "24ish" was the exact quote) per day.

The shift, if it represents official IDOT thinking, is certainly a convenient way to withhold highway dollars from the traffic-choked Chicago area.

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Countdown to capital begins

By Bethany Jaeger and Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn wants at least a portion of his statewide plan for major construction projects approved by the General Assembly before April 3. That’s the last session day scheduled before legislators are supposed to head home for a two-week spring break, and Quinn reportedly said today that he thinks they should bypass spring break to work on a capital plan.


The $26 billion plan, called Illinois Jobs Now, eventually would fund infrastructure, mass transit, railroad improvements, new school buildings, housing, conservation projects, and water treatment projects. Two new projects also would include an airport near Chicago’s south suburbs and the construction of the first veterans’ home within Chicago.

The proposed funding mechanisms, as usual, spark controversy. If Quinn’s budget plan were approved, vehicle-related fees would help fund road and bridge construction. (Driver’s license fees would increase from $10 to $20; license plate fees would go from $79 to $99; and vehicle registration fees would rise from $15 to $30.) Mass transit projects would be funded by title transfer fees, which would increase from $65 to $105.

Plans to build new schools, then, would be funded by shaving a portion of tax revenues typically given to local governments.

In addition to federal stimulus money, Quinn also proposes using about $150 million a year from the state’s dedicated Road Fund. That would allow the state to bond/borrow money to pay for projects specifically for roads and bridges.

That’s one portion of a capital plan that could be done by April 3. Senate President John Cullerton said it could be realistic for the legislature to approve increasing the amount the state may borrow for the purposes of kick-starting a road program and tapping into federal matching funds.

The part of the capital plan that will take the longest to negotiate is other sources of funding, especially if it's intertwined with an attempt to increase the state income tax rate or motor fuel tax rate. For instance, Cullerton said he still supports the idea of increasing the state’s 19-cent tax on each gallon of motor fuel, which hasn’t changed since 1990. He describes the motor fuel tax as a traditional way to pay for roads, and because it’s a so-called user fee, people could adjust their lifestyles if they didn’t want to pay more. (Senate Democrats are working on a plan that would increase the tax by about 16 cents, while the House is considering a bill to increase the tax by 8 cents.) According to Cullerton, an 8-cent increase could generate $500 million.

Sen. Martin Sandoval, a Chicago Democrat who chairs the Transportation Committee in his chamber, agreed that an increase in the gasoline tax has support in the legislature and would fund a “robust” capital plan. He’s sponsoring SB 200, which doesn’t have language, yet, but could be used to advance a motor fuel tax bill.

Sandoval is one critic of Quinn’s capital plan because, he said, he’s concerned it would be unfair to Chicago. “Mass transit takes a huge hit at a time when we’re preparing for the Olympics, at a time when we’re trying to protect the environment, at a time when we’re trying to put people back to work. Gov. Quinn is going in the wrong direction when it relates to mass transit.”

Under Quinn’s proposed budget, the Chicago-area Regional Transportation Authority would lose $32 million in grants for operating assistance. Public transportation also would lose about $42 million, but that’s based on decreased sales tax revenues. Downstate transportation districts, on the other hand, would see an increase of about $24 million.

Jennifer Morrison, managing director of the Transportation for Illinois Coalition, said that her organization was encouraged by Quinn's emphasis on a long-awaited capital plan but that the funding for mass transit, highways and local roads would be “way too small to make any meaningful impact.” She added that the budget plan is “more than a little unclear” about which revenue sources would be designated to which projects.

While neither Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno nor House Minority Leader Tom Cross supports Quinn’s fee increases, they said last week that they do hope to meet with the governor to work out a compromise.

Another part of the plan that will take a long time to negotiate is how the money would be distributed throughout the state. Not only could it differ depending on the source of revenue approved by the legislature, but it also could change if Democratic Rep. Kathleen Ryg of Vernon Hills has her say.

She wants the planning process to empower local stakeholders through various metropolitan planning organizations. House Bill 2359 would create a new advisory committee to the Illinois Department of Transportation when prioritizing road projects. Ryg said the new committee would help assure taxpayers and state officials that the limited amount of money available would be spent on the best use, particularly as a capital bill is drafted and new revenue sources are generated.

The recent appointment of Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig, a former state representative and budget expert for House Democrats, actually could help the measure advance. Ryg said this afternoon that she changed her bill from its original form in response to concerns expressed by Hannig shortly after his transition from the legislature to the state agency. Now Ryg's bill would ensure more representation for all areas of the state, including those that don't have metropolitan planning organizations.

Her bill also would change the way projects would get funded. Currently, engineers distribute money based on such factors as the condition of roads, the traffic flow and the population served. Ryg said her bill would fund the greatest maintenance needs first, and then the regional groups would advise the Transportation Department on other local needs. All areas of the state would be evaluated under the same set of new criteria.

Regardless of which revenue sources the General Assembly ultimately agrees upon, the influx of money has some legislators nervous about whether their districts will benefit. So watch for the concept in Ryg’s bill to serve as a potential “accountability” measure, meant to assure legislators that, at the least, their areas would be represented in the decision-making process.

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Quinn taps key Democratic negotiator

By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn named Rep. Gary Hannig, a Litchfield Democrat and a deputy majority leader for House Speaker Michael Madigan, as director of the Illinois Department of Transportation. He replaces former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointee, Milton Sees, who served in the position since 2007.


Hannig, an accountant, had been a state representative since 1979 and served as the chief budget negotiator for the Democratic Caucus. Quinn said Hannig has the experience, expertise and integrity to lead the department.

Kent Redfield, a political scientist at the University of Illinois at Springfield, described the move as a positive step for the Quinn administration, potentially improving rather strained relations between the executive and legislative branches as they prepare to negotiate a long-awaited capital plan and a spending plan for federal stimulus funds. As Madigan’s second in command, Hannig is well-known and well-liked in both houses and on both sides of the aisle, Redfield said. “He knows the issues. He’s widely respected, and very, very experienced.”

Hannig said this morning that communication suffered under the Blagojevich administration because promises repeatedly were made and broken. He said he thinks that a little trust could go a long way. “I know them [members of the General Assembly] by name, and they know me, and I am not going to lie to them,” Hannig said.

Hannig said he has been meeting with Christine Reed, chief engineer and director of the department’s Highway Division, to prepare for the job and for handling federal stimulus funds. Hannig said that he thinks they make a good team because while he has budgeting experience, she has the engineering expertise.

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Belt-tightening begins

Gov. Pat Quinn started the process of trimming the fat, ordering all state agencies to further cut their budgets by 1 percent and hold the line on travel, equipment, contracts and hiring. Agencies already were operating on a 3 percent reduction under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. “We have to make sure that state government is lean and cuts costs wherever it can,” Quinn said this afternoon in the Capitol. He estimated savings at “hundreds of millions” of dollars.

But lean state agencies could challenge the state’s ability to compete for federal transportation funds, according the Associated Press. It reported this afternoon that the Federal Highway Administration sent a letter to Quinn to warn that the Illinois Department of Transportation may be too understaffed to carry out major road construction projects.


Quinn said this afternoon that he had not seen the letter but that Illinois would do whatever it takes to ensure the ready-to-go projects are, in fact, ready to go.

After meeting with House Democrats in the Capitol this afternoon, Quinn reiterated his priorities of health care, education, transportation and public safety; however, he also sent the message to legislators to be prepared to take some tough votes, keep their wish lists in check and consider the fiscal context under which decisions will have to be made.

He also set the tone of a more cooperative budget-making process. Democratic Rep. David Miller of Lynwood said his approach is less antagonistic than it was under Blagojevich. “My opinion will be evaluated for its merits,” Miller said. “It will be looked at closely, and if there are ways that I can come up with trying to decrease the cost to the state, streamline efficiencies, then [Quinn will] be very, very open to it.”

But according to Rep. Julie Hamos, an Evanston Democrat, Quinn simply set the stage for some more belt-tightening and reforms. “We don’t know exactly what that means. Are we cutting programs, or are we raising taxes? He didn’t get specific, but he did talk about being very realistic this year and the tough choices facing us.”

She said the effort to build uniform understanding of the dire fiscal straights — a nearly $9 billion deficit next fiscal year — is necessary. “If we are going to take the very difficult leap to raise taxes, we are all going to have to be on the same team. And we’re going to have to sell it to the people.”

Other than watching for proposals to reform the state’s tax structure, also watch for alternative borrowing schemes. We’ll have more on that in the near future.

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Sign warns Illinois drivers about zombies

You know after hearing some bad news about the state's fiscal picture and last week's removal of Rod Blagojevich as Governor. Some of you may laugh at this story, perhaps some of you won't. Still I hope you have a sense of humor.

This story is from KSDK:

Drivers in the Metro East were warned about zombies during their Tuesday morning commute.


This happened on 1-255 Southbound just south of the Pontoon Beach exit. Someone changed IDOT's sign to read "DAILY LANE CLOSURES DUE TO ZOMBIES."


IDOT believes someone hacked the sign's computer remotely. While crewmembers were still on the scene after fixing the message, the display changed back to the hoax.


"We've talked to the company that supplies these and they have a patch out there they've applied to the program to fix the problem," said Joe Gasaway with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

It was noted that something similar already happened in Austin, TX.

The image I found is from the New York Daily News, which adds...

Such pranks are a no-no because they distract drivers from real life road hazards and could endanger road crews, said Joe Gasaway of the Illinois Department of Transportation. 

 Aside from that engaging in such a prank could result...

In Illinois, tampering with an official traffic control device is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $250 fine.

Well I hope who ever did this had their fun!

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Advocates for Intercity Passenger Rail Call on Congress and President Obama to Increase Funding for Rail in Stimulus Plan

(Cross-posted at Midwest High Speed Rail, Improving Amtrak Incrementally)

Chicago Union Station, Great Hall

Thursday, January 29^th, 12:30 pm

Contacts:

Representative Elaine Nekritz, Chair of the Illinois House Rail Committee

Paris Ervin, Illinois Department of Transportation

Rick Harnish, Midwest High Speed Rail Association

Laura Kliewer, Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission

ADVOCATES FOR INTERCITY PASSENGER RAIL CALL ON CONGRESS AND PRESIDENT OBAMA TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR RAIL IN STIMULUS PLAN

Chicago press conference one of several held around the Midwest this week

Participants:
Illinois Secretary of Transportation Milt Sees, Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-Des Plaines), Representative Dave Winters (R-Rockford), Representative Al Riley (D-Hazel Crest), Representative Naomi Jakobsson (D-Urbana), Representative Paul Froehlich (D-Schaumburg), County Board Member Michael Richards (D-Champaign), Rick Harnish of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association, Laura Kliewer of the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission, John O'Brien, United Transportation Union

The economic stimulus plan currently being considered by Congress provides an incredible opportunity to build a modern regional passenger rail network that makes America more energy-efficient, sustainable and prosperous, and while there are encouraging developments in the Senate led by Dick Durbin, the first drafts of the federal stimulus plan miss the mark.

Last night the U.S. House passed its stimulus plan: the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. The bill allocates only $1.1 billion to rail – $800 million to Amtrak and $300 million to state projects to improve intercity rail outside of Amtrak's capital needs. Investing in state projects is the best way to build up the Midwest's intercity passenger rail network.

Unfortunately, $300 million is not nearly enough to build up intercity rail. A much better proposal came from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which recommended a $5 billion total investment in rail: $3.4 billion for state passenger rail projects, $1.5 billion for Amtrak and $100 million for short line railroads.

The Senate Appropriations Committee plan comes closer to the $5 billion mark with $2 billion allocated to high-speed rail corridors, $850 million for Amtrak and $250 million for state investments in intercity rail. The Senate committee-passed plan also creates a discretionary program for larger projects, for which passenger rail projects are eligible.

There is pent-up demand for new and expanded service for intercity passenger rail throughout the Midwest. Passenger rail ridership – especially on shorter, corridor service that would be implemented by the build-out of the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative and Ohio Hub plans – has increased dramatically, but federal funding to help build these systems has not followed. Passenger rail is the most energy-efficient means to move people over medium distances (100–600 miles). Increased funding for our states to plan, design and construct these interconnected passenger rail systems would bring tangible benefits to the Midwest, not only creating short- and long-term jobs, but building a new, efficient passenger rail system across the region.

The way to build a regional network is by improving routes and lines in each state. State projects that can be quickly obligated total far more than $5 billion throughout the nation, not to mention the medium-term planning that is necessary to develop new routes.

Midwestern states have been working together for more than 10 years on two plans to bring faster, more-frequent passenger rail service to the region. On behalf of the Midwestern states, the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission (MIPRC) has submitted to congressional leaders a list of more than $815 million in projects that could move forward within 120 days. The preliminary environmental work on the entire Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI) and Ohio Hub systems could be completed for about $150 million.

The best way to make sure our transportation investments meet our energy policy goals is to invest in intercity rail: we cannot afford to miss this opportunity to create jobs that lead to long-term prosperity through better intercity rail that connects the Midwest.

The Midwest High Speed Rail Association is a membership-based non-profit advocacy organization with more than 2000 members.

The MIPRC is a 10-state interstate compact commission that promotes, coordinates and supports regional improvements to passenger rail service. Member states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin.

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Legal grounds

The Illinois legislature continued a trend by ignoring the governor’s requests and, instead, focusing on some hot-button issues that grab headlines before the November elections. Gov. Rod Blagojevich called a special legislative session for today to focus on education funding reform, but not a peep was heard during proceedings. “Today is a joke. No agenda. No bill. No plan,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross. The legislature has nothing to do when no legislation is proposed, added Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Here are two other items that grabbed the spotlight:

A legislative review panel unanimously rejected Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s idea to move about 140 state jobs from Springfield to Harrisburg, three hours apart. But the vote isn’t binding, and the governor maintains that he intends to move the jobs as an economic boost to the southern Illinois town.

But the bipartisan, legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s six-hour hearing last month and the “pounds of evidence” generated might not go to waste, says Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, an Evanston Democrat chairing the commission and author of the law setting a review process for closing state facilities. The legal and economic data provided as a result of this process could be used as evidence in court.

Legal challenges could come from the state legislators representing the Springfield area, as well as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 or the local Teamsters union representing the affected employees in the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Division of Public Safety.

Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin adds that the unanimous vote by the commission demonstrates that the public review process works and that it sets a precedent for future moves. “We’re already hearing rumors of other moves, and I think this is just as important as the next one or the one after that,” Davlin said after the committee vote. “I think it’s obvious that this is what this commission was formed for, to take a look at the economic impact. And I think they spoke overwhelmingly.”

The panel voted 12-0 to recommend that the administration not move the Division of Traffic Safety from Springfield to Harrisburg and that it, instead, look for alternative locations within the City of Springfield that would be cheaper than its current lease.

“Does this decision legally inject or confirm what the administration does to the point where it can stop the administration from doing it? According to the law, the answer is no,” Schoenberg says. “However … given the overwhelming volume of evidence that we heard on the economic and legal issues associated with this proposal, I personally think it would be unwise and contrary to the public’s interest.”

Sen. Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican on the commission, said the process has highlighted questions about the fiscal merit, the political motivations and the human impact on the employees.

The administration, however, is looking at other evidence to the contrary, suggesting the move will save money and help out an economically depressed area. Here’s the governor’s statement, provided by e-mail this afternoon: “We will be moving forward with the geographic relocation of IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety to Harrisburg, as previously mentioned. We’ll be working with the employees who do not choose to relocate, within the terms of their contracts, to find positions for them in Springfield. We will follow all appropriate timelines and guidelines as we move forward.”

Watch this blog for more about legal questions surrounding the governor’s executive authority.

But as part of a checks and balances system established by the state Constitution, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability may be unable to issue binding recommendations, Schoenberg said. What that means for the IDOT proposal, he said: “The facts of the case point heavily towards the commission’s recommendation. Ultimately, if the executive branch chooses to go in a different direction, there may be someone who takes an exception with that.”

No pay raises
The Senate finally agreed with the House to reject granting about $1.1 million in pay raises to legislators, executive officers and top agency officials. But they still got a 3.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment this fiscal year.

Senate President Emil Jones Jr. and Sens. Donne Trotter and Kwame Raoul, all Chicago Democrats, voted present. The remaining 47 senators on the floor voted to reject the raises recommended by the Compensation Review Board. Raoul voted present because, as he said during floor debate, the board was formed to take the issue of legislative pay raises out of the legislature’s arena. “It should not be my decision as to how much I am compensated.”

Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson called the Compensation Review Board a “cover” that fails to take the issue out of the legislative purview. “State government is in shambles. Nothing is getting done … It’s just not the time for anyone in state government to get a pay increase.”

In the balcony, a group of people wearing turquoise T-shirts visited to urge legislators to refund $43 million in budget cuts affecting substance abuse and treatment services.

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Ready, set, repeat

Reminiscent of last year, a whole host of state policy issues remain up in the air throughout the summer. Inaction mostly rests on the shoulders of Democrats, who are repeating history by agreeing on practically nothing. The main culprits are Gov. Rod Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan, each of whom blames the other for lack of action. Meanwhile, Illinois is in its ninth year without a capital construction plan, campaign funding reform remains dormant, many state services and agencies are operating with stagnant or decreased funding and long-term costs of health care and pensions continue to compound.

Legislators and the governor will return to Springfield this week with lots to talk about, but little progress is anticipated. Here’s a chronological list of activities with some context.

Today: Comptroller Dan Hynes issued a statement that he would not cut the checks for pay raises for state legislators and officers if they are enacted because the General Assembly never gave him authority to spend the necessary money. “We cannot implement the pay raises without an appropriation. But more importantly, I am of the opinion that this is no time for pay raises,” he said in a release, citing budget cuts for social services and Medicaid providers. The House rejected the pay raises, but the Senate has yet to do so. In the larger scheme of things, the pay raises simply are a battle of public perception. While such state services as substance abuse treatment struggle to meet demand because of $43 million in budget cuts, it would look disingenuous if legislators received their annual 3 percent cost-of-living adjustments at the same time they receive significant pay raises, costing about $1.1 million just for constitutional officers, legislators and top state agency officials, according to the comptroller’s office. That doesn't count pay raises for judges.

Tuesday: Expect Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s idea to move about 140 state employee positions from Springfield three hours south to be rejected by a bipartisan legislative review panel. Expect that rejection to be followed by the governor’s statement that the move is going to go forward, anyway. Lots of union-backed employees will be up in arms again. Meanwhile, they’re still working under last year’s contract with the state while their union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, remains gridlocked (click this link and scroll down) with the administration. Among the key sticking points are employee wages and employee contributions to health care and pension benefits.

Tuesday and Wednesday: Gov. Rod Blagojevich called legislators back to the Capitol to address two major issues: funding for education on Tuesday and funding for capital construction projects Wednesday. But neither session meets until late in the afternoon, giving legislators time throughout the day to attend various events at the annual State Fair in Springfield. Governor’s Day (a.k.a. Democrats’ Day) is Wednesday and Republican Day is Thursday. Watch for political fireworks off stage.

Ongoing: The governor says he’ll “rewrite to do right,” his slogan for changing agreed-upon bills to include his agenda. If the General Assembly rejects his changes, then the underlying bill dies. So far, he’s changed two bills. One would allow all adults up to age 26 to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans. The original intent was limited to college students who took a medical leave or who reduced their course loads to part time because of an illness or injury. They would have been covered for a year on their parents' plans. A second amendatory veto would extend property tax exemptions to all veterans with service-connected disabilities certified by the U. S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The original bill regarded a tax increment financing district in the Village of Downs. Blagojevich has said he will continue amending numerous bills in his Rewrite to Do Right campaign, “to take positive action on legislation that has been sent to him by the General Assembly,” according to a statement from Brian Williamsen, his spokesman.

August 29: Later this month marks the deadline for the governor to sign, change or reject ethics reforms sent to his desk in June. His office repeatedly has said he doesn’t think the ethics reforms go far enough. One potential amendment could include banning state contractors from donating to statewide political parties. The original legislation, which received unanimous approval by the General Assembly in May, only prevented state contractors holding contracts worth $50,000 or more from donating to statewide officeholders who sign the contracts.

Also coming up: One of the House Democrats’ point people on education, Rep. Mike Smith of Canton, announced that he’ll host a series of public hearings to consider a proposal to abolish property taxes for school funding by 2010. It’s been floated by Sen. James Meeks, a Chicago Democrat who previously threatened to run against Blagojevich for governor in the absence of education funding reforms. Meeks didn’t run, but he also didn’t get what he wanted. So here we go again. Add education funding reform to a huge pile of politically sensitive Statehouse issues that likely will grab some headlines but will remain stalled, at least before the November elections.

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Which way?

The first time a state legislative panel has gone this far in carrying out a statutory process for closing a state facility isn’t a pretty one. Whether intended or not, one Illinois town has been pitted against another after Gov. Rod Blagojevich in June proposed moving about 140 Illinois Department of Transportation positions from Springfield three hours south to Harrisburg.

It was easy to see the tension during a lengthy public hearing in the state Capitol building Thursday night. A packed committee room literally was divided. Harrisburg residents sat on one side in purple T-shirts encouraging people to visit the southern Illinois town. Springfield state employees sat on the other side in lime green T-shirts saying the move is the “wrong way.” More supporters and opponents overflowed to the floor below, where they sat in folding chairs lined up in two more hallways and watched the committee hearing on giant screens.

The dilemma facing the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, the panel overseeing the process, is muddled. Facts have been complemented, and sometimes contradicted, by politics and emotions in the past few months.

Union-backed employees repeatedly have shared personal stories, including having to leave a grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease in a nursing home, forcing a teen-age son who lives between his mother’s and father’s homes to decide between the two and challenging people with disabilities who have support networks and medical experts in Springfield. The governor's office has said employees can choose to stay in Springfield and take jobs with equal pay and equal benefits, although the employees are skeptical.

Harrisburg officials said they feel left out and overshadowed by Springfield. “We’re depressed, not stupid,” said Harrisburg Mayor Valerie Mitchell.

They’re both victims, one set to lose either way. The motivation behind the move is the most contentious point, particularly whether the idea is rooted in economics or in politics.

GOP legislators representing the Springfield area allege the governor’s proposal was retribution for supporting a measure that would allow voters to recall elected officials, a measure perceived to be directed at the governor. Local officials list various state-owned facilities in Springfield that have space and could house the division. “We can move them a block or two and not 200 miles,” said Rep. Raymond Poe, a Springfield Republican, during the hearing.

The administration refutes the allegation and says the move is intended to give a boost to an economically depressed area of the state.

Sen. Christine Radogno, a Lemot Republican, said this proposal fails to consider economic development through private investment or tourism funding. Having spent the morning in Chicago at a leaders’ meeting about a statewide capital plan that would encourage such development, Radogno said during the hearing: “Guess what. It ain’t happening. It is so dysfunctional, the governance of this state, that we’re reduced to talking about economic development in terms of moving jobs around.”

“I want to help you,” she said to local Harrisburg officials, “but I’m not sure that, just again, moving government jobs around should satisfy us that we’re doing adequate economic development. That’s not economic development.”

Secretary of Transportation Milton Sees testified that it all started because of the need to replace old carpet nearly two years ago. Rather than continue to pay for an expensive lease to a California owner to house the Division of Traffic Safety, the department looked for ways to save money once the lease expired. Shortly after, Sees said the governor directed him to find a division that could serve in a stand-alone facility and relocate to an economically depressed area of the state. The focus shifted from finding space in Springfield to determining whether the Division of Traffic Safety could relocate to southern Illinois, eventually leading to Harrisburg. “They are starving for jobs, literally,” Sees said.

The transportation department already signed a contract to purchase space in the Harrisburg facility for $812,000, using money from the state’s dedicated Road Fund. IDOT’s chief counsel Ellen Schanzle-Haskins added that the department could break that lease at any time with five day’s notice. She also said the purchase is frozen until after the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability issues a recommendation, due September 11. The recommendation, however, is not binding. The governor could move the positions, anyway.

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Transportation jobs still in limbo

By Bethany Jaeger
The hype over moving an Illinois Department of Transportation building from Springfield to southern Illinois goes beyond the roughly 110 jobs at stake. It begs the question whether the administration will be sincere in following a statutory process for closing state facilities and whether politics will overshadow policy in the decision.

The governor announced this afternoon that he intends to move the department’s Division of Traffic Safety from Springfield to Harrisburg in Saline County. The press release says the move would save $12.8 million over the next decade, while allowing much-needed economic development in southern Illinois. Several local officials, on the other hand, argue that there are numerous options for cheaper office space in Springfield and no reason to move the workers, who travel throughout the state for their work, away from the centrally located city.

The governor made it sound as though the move was final, but there’s a process that must take place under state law before the state can close a facility. Skeptics don’t buy the logic and question the motivation. Whether politics or cost-savings are behind the move, it’s the process that deserves attention.

The public body in charge of overseeing that process is the bipartisan legislative Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. Dan Long, executive director of the oversight panel, says the State Facilities Closure Act is pretty clear: “No action may be taken to implement the recommendation for closure of a State facility until 50 days after the filing of any required recommendation.”

The administration has to file its recommendation to close the Springfield facility by July 1. That hadn’t happened by Friday morning, even though the governor officially announced Harrisburg would receive the IDOT Division of Traffic Safety shortly after. An IDOT spokesman said the intent is to file the necessary paperwork by the deadline. A public hearing has to be held, currently scheduled for July 31 in Springfield. Then the administration can’t actually close the Springfield facility for 50 days, which lands on September 11. The governor’s press release says the move would take six to nine months.

“If they’re acting already to move before the 50 days after the recommendation’s filed, I think it’s a violation of the act,” Long said. If that happens: “I suppose someone could go to court and challenge it.”

A legal challenge could come from anyone from the commission itself, to the legislators who serve on the panel, to the legislators who represent Springfield, to the public employee unions that represent the IDOT employees.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 represents the 110 of the workers affected by the move, according to spokesman Anders Lindall. Management would remain in Springfield. Lindall said he won’t speculate about the administration’s intent but did say, “We’re troubled by the way this entire process has proceeded so far.”

He compared the move to previous attempts to close Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet and another correctional center in Pontiac. “What’s common to each of them is that it seems very clear that there’s no logic or planning or sound policy behind any of them. Whether it’s political or whether it’s meant as a threat, I don’t know. But I do know that we don’t think it’s appropriate for anyone to threaten people’s lives and livelihoods, to threaten their jobs. And that’s what’s happening here.”

One political undertone involves the ongoing negotiations between AFSCME and the administration. They have to agree on a contract that spells out the amount state employees make and the amount they have to pay for health care and retirement benefits for the next four years. Threatening any state employee jobs could be perceived as a threat to compromise — or else.

Another political undertone involves the legislators whose districts would lose the Springfield jobs. The move first was announced the day after Springfield Sen. Larry Bomke, a Republican, voted in support of a measure that would have allowed the public to decide whether to recall public officials, commonly seen as a swipe against Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Bomke said the motivation seems clear to him: Retribution for the recall vote.

“I don’t think [the governor] likes Springfield,” he said. “I don’t think Springfield cares much about him.”

But Bomke said he felt skeptical that the move will actually happen. “This governor has a tendency to make announcements and then not follow through. So I’m hopeful this will be another case of that.”

Rep. Rich Brauer, a Petersburg Republican, described the plan as an “ill-informed idea that should be dropped,” as it would move some data entry employees with disabilities away from their homes and potentially affect their health care options. But, he said, “Unfortunately, the process isn’t binding. It’s going to take public opinion to change the fact that he has a lot of leeway on where he wants [to station them] and the fact that state government is here in Springfield.”

The question is whether the process will work as intended. After the public hearing, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability has to review the information gathered and issue a recommendation about whether to close the facility and move the jobs. The commission’s opinion, as Brauer pointed out, is not binding. The governor could still move the jobs. But in the past, the governor has followed the commission’s recommendations.

The governor’s press office did not return repeated phone calls or an e-mail.

Bomke said the governor has thumbed his nose at the law before (mainly in his push for health care expansions), and this time also would come with consequences. “If he does, then it gives us clear grounds to sue him,” Bomke said.

Would he do that? “Absolutely. In a heartbeat.”

Note: The State Journal-Register posted this article saying IDOT employees who don't want to move to Harrisburg would be offered same-level jobs within the agency.

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Road Repair Priorites on Route 31

You have to wonder about the road improvement priorities of Governor Rod Blagojevich.

I don't often take Route 31 between Crystal Lake and McHenry.

To put it bluntly, its surface is abysmal.

Near Terra Cotta, the big valley, I've labeled the Valley of the Potholes.

It's not that one cannot find beauty in potholes, but hitting them can cause expensive damage to one's car. One at the edge of the McHenry Blacktop even cost me a new tire.

You will notice from the tire track in the hot patch that temporarily fills a large pothole in Route 31, that the repair is recent.

And temporary.

Permanent repairs are being constructed by Alliance Construction on the four-lane portion of Route 31 south of East Crystal Lake Avenue.

And someone in the Illinois Department of Transportation tell me the logic of fixing a median strip when the road down the hill is in shambles?

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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Human rights, ethics and impeacment

Illinois’ first openly gay legislator and the man who championed the state's law to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation died yesterday. Larry McKeon was 63.

The Democrat announced his retirement in 2006 after 10 years in the House, where he represented northern Chicago neighborhoods. But Rep. Gregory Harris, who replaced McKeon, says his work resonated statewide. “I think a lot of people expected him to come down here and sort of be a single-note guy. He proved that he had the ability to represent the City of Chicago, he had the ability to represent the people of his district, he had a strong voice for people who were dispossessed and underserved all across this state — and really distinguish himself as a leader on a lot of key issues.”

House Speaker Michael Madigan described McKeon as a “tireless advocate on a wide range of social, health care and human rights issues,” including services for people with HIV and AIDS, as well as housing, mental health and developmental disabilities.

“He never shied away from confronting tough issues or seeking to bring disparate forces together,” Madigan said in a statement. “I admired his tenacity and his intellect.”

Born in Idaho, McKeon earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University at Los Angeles and worked toward his doctorate at the University of Chicago. His 42 years of public service included working as a special adviser to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, a lieutenant in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and an infantry officer in the U.S. Army.

He was diagnosed with AIDS and colorectal cancer in 2005. (See Illinois Issues magazine, September 2006, page 35.)

Civil unions
Harris also said he expects to call a measure that would allow civil unions in Illinois, which would grant legal rights related to emergency medical decisions, nursing home and hospital visits and funeral arrangements. In a Statehouse news conference, Harris joined senior citizens in advocating for the measure. He also said it would apply to same sex couples, although it's not the same thing as same sex marriage. He tried to advance HB 1615 last year but didn't get very far.

This is different. He said same-sex marriage is "off the table" this time around.

"There’s clearly not support for that. What I did hear from people is that they understood that committed couples need certain basic legal rights and responsibilities related to hospital visitation and health care decision making and funeral arrangements and those kinds of basic life issues. And that’s what civil unions is addressing.”

Ethics on the move
Sen. Don Harmon, sponsor of long-awaited ethics reform, said he hopes to call the “pay-to-play” legislation Thursday on the Senate floor. After a Senate committee advanced the measure this afternoon, Harmon said he couldn’t imagine too many people voting against it. We’ll have to see that to believe it.

“Impeachment” is a buzzword around the Capitol
by Patrick O'Brien
Four state lawmakers and about 150 state workers rallied on the steps of the Capitol today and called for the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In a rally organized by Springfield radio station WMAY, central Illinois Republicans criticized the governor over the slow pace of budget talks and the proposal to move 150 state jobs in the Illinois Department of Transportation from Springfield to southern Illinois.

Sen. Larry Bomke, a Springfield Republican, already sent a request for an impeachment trial to House Speaker Michael Madigan. Bomke accused the governor of playing political games with workers’ lives.

Note: Yesterday, the House approved a measure that would supplement the Illinois Department of Transportation budget. The agency is struggling to meet demands after the particularly harsh winter and increasing gas prices. The measure, sponsored by the governor’s floor leader, Democratic Rep. Jay Hoffman of Collinsville, includes extra money for the IDOT branch in Springfield.

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An Open Letter to the Illinois General Assembly about the Federal Highway Match

Hi, Guys-

Got an idea that might be worth some consideration.

Even though I thought your imposition of the quarter of one percent sales tax on me and other collar county residents was a really bad idea, maybe there is a way you can turn this lemon into lemonade.

Could the federal transportation dollars be matched by the new collar county share of the "RTA" half percent sales tax money?

You know, like you used Cook County Hospital revenue to capture federal Medicaid money?

My guess is that with state roads being the responsibility of, well, you guys, collar county governments would be unwilling to use the new RTA local sales tax dollars to repair them.

Even though state roads like Route 31 between Crystal Lake and McHenry look like the Valley of the Potholes, the McHenry County Board wouldn't want to repair it...

Unless it got “free money” from using the $9 million or so a year from its share of the new RTA sales tax.

Come to think of it, McHenry and some other collar counties levy their own Motor Fuel Taxes.

Why not use that to match the federal money, too?

Now, I'm sure that Downstate counties will cry that they are being left out.

Authorize them to levy a local gas tax. Then, they can qualify for the new source of funds as well.

Even Cook County levies a local MFT, but I think it used to go to the Cook County Jail. I am sure Todd's budget folks are creative enough to figure out how to use that gas tax to capture the federal money, if you buy my idea.

In the process, they might even make that currently misdirected tax logical.

Let them use it to fix highways or the Chicago Transit Authority. Either would be more local than using it to pay prison guards.

This might be an appropriate time to bring up something I discovered when I applied for the job of county manager in Janesville, Wisconsin. Back then, county governments built the state roads, as well as their county roads.

It seems to me that might be one reason that Wisconsin roads are generally, but not always , better than those in Illinois.

Put the McHenry County Board in charge of re-building Route 31 and I'll bet there will be a better road than if the folks in Schaumburg are in charge.

Why?

For the same reason that Valley Hi, the county nursing home, is better than the Woodstock Residence (of “Angel of Death” infamy). If someone has a complaint, they actually might be able to affect whether the county board member stays in office.

No similar threat to IDOT bureaucrats.

cal

P.S. Here's what the RTA quarter of one percent tax would have brought in last year for the collar counties:

* DuPage - $45 million
* Kane - $15.5 million
* Lake- $28.1 million
* McHenry - $9.2 million
* Will - $19.2 million

That totals $117 million

DuPage, Kane and McHenry Counties have local Motor Fuel Taxes. Here's what they brought in last year:

* DuPage - $20.8 million
* Kane - $7.6 million
* McHenry - $4.7 million

for a total of $33.1 million.

Add the two together and you have in the neighborhood of $150 million a year. You'd have to subtract the part of the new local “RTA” sales tax that is drained off for law enforcement, but whatever the amount, it's not on the table as matching money now.

It's certainly not enough to capture all the federal funds. But, as the old saying goes, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

And it could get some highway projects off the ground.

Posted first on McHenry County Blog.

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Inverness Man and His Engineering Firm Indicted in IDOT Fraud

Barrington area resident Kamleshwar Gupta and his firm, Kam Engineering (KEI) of Elgin, has been indicted by United State's Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald for overcharging the Illinois Department of Transportation by over $1 million from 1994 through 2003.

The State Board of Elections reveals campaign contributions to Rod Blagojevich, George Ryan, Jim Edgar, Judy Baar Topinka, Sid Mathias, and Jim Schmidt.

Blagojevich received $15,000 from 2002-2004.

Ryan got $6,200.

Mathias - $3,500 from 1999-2006.

Edgar got $5,500.

Schmidt - $500.

Judy Baar Topinka - $1,200, all in the 1990's.

A bookkeeper has apparently agreed to testify against Gupta.

This is the first indictment after Federal Appellate Court Judge Ann Williams' scathing and crystal clear opinion upholding the convictions of Mayor Richard Daley's patronage men.

If you were the U.S. Attorney's Office would you be interested in knowing how Gupta got convinced to contribute $3,000 on April 8, 2004, and, then, another $5,000 on the same day? And, five weeks later still another $5,000?

The press release, which follows, says Gupta faces 80 years in prison. He is 63.

Think it is “let's make a deal” time?

The U.S. Attorney's pres release follows:

ELGIN ENGINEERING FIRM AND ITS OWNER INDICTED FOR ALLEGEDLY
OVERCHARGING IDOT MORE THAN $1 MILLION DURING NINE-YEAR SPAN

CHICAGO – An engineering consulting firm in Elgin and its owner were indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly overcharging the Illinois Department of Transportation more than $1 million while performing various jobs for the state agency between 1994 and 2003, federal law enforcement officials announced today. The defendants, Kamleshwar Gupta, and the engineering firm he founded and owns, KAM Engineering, Inc. (KEI), allegedly submitted false invoices and financial information regarding overhead expenses and the number of hours worked by KEI employees on contracts for IDOT.

Gupta, 63, of Barrington, and KAM Engineering, of Elgin, which has approximately 30 employees, were each charged with four counts of mail fraud in an indictment returned on April 17 by a federal grand jury in Chicago. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of more than $1 million in proceeds of the alleged fraud scheme. The charges were announced today by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Michelle McVicker, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General in Chicago; and Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Gupta and KEI are scheduled to be arraigned on April 30 in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

According to the indictment, during a span of nine years, GUPTA and KEI fraudulently altered KEI’s timekeeping records by moving hours among different KEI jobs and contracts. The altered hours reported to IDOT fraudulently increased the amount of money that KEI billed to and collected from IDOT. Contrary to regulations applicable to IDOT contracts, Gupta and KEI caused employees to keep timesheets in pencil, rather than in ink, to facilitate fraudulent alterations of the employees’ timesheets.

The indictment alleges that Gupta directed Individual A, a bookkeeper, to falsely alter original employee timesheets. As a result, Gupta and KEI manipulated labor and overhead to increase the amounts that would be paid to KEI by IDOT, including by inflating the hours for which KEI could bill under contracts that paid KEI based on the hours worked, and by inflating KEI’s overhead costs. Gupta allegedly signed that fraudulent invoices that he directed Individual A to create.

The alleged scheme resulted in KEI overcharging IDOT a total of $1,069,293.44, according to the indictment. IDOT officials provided extensive assistance in the investigation after uncovering the alleged fraud scheme. IDOT’s responsibilities include administering federal and state highway funds in Illinois, including substantial funds from the Federal Highway Administration.

The Government is being represented in court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Egan.

If convicted, each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Court, however, would determine the appropriate sentence to be imposed under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

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Dan Ryan construction video

Our friend ArtistMac provides us with a time lapse video of the Dan Ryan reconstruction project over 7 months. He compressed it down to about 3 minutes. I really wish I knew what music he used for this vid.

BTW, he has a question for those of you who reside around the Eden's Expressway...

I've got a question for you folks living by the Edens during its current September-November 2007 repairs. Are IDOT workers parking dump trucks, cement mixers and their personal cars and storing supplies on your residential streets? Are they taking lunchtime siestas on your parkway grass? Just curious.

This is perhaps one sign that the 2 year Dan Ryan Expressway project is coming to a close, finally.

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IDOT Stiffs McHenry County Blog, But Thursday Durbin Promises Study on Amtrak Round-Tripper Chicago-Rockford-Dubuque Study Will Be Posted Online

March 22nd, McHenry County Blog was denied a copy of Amtrak’s study of the pros, cons and costs of various routes for daily round-trip service between Chicago and Dubuque via Rockford.

Here’s the reason given by the Illinois Department of Transportation, taken from the Freedom of Information Act [5ILCS 140/7 (1) (f).]:

(f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.

Didn’t Democratic Party candidate Rod Blagojevich express support for railroad commuter service for Rockford at that first 2002 debate?

The report, by the way, is promised by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin to be at this IDOT Amtrak web page on Thursday.

He and Congressman Don Manzullo will hold a public hearing at 10 AM this Saturday at Fisher Memorial Chapel at Rockford College, 5050 E. State Street in Rockford.

Here’s the top part of Durbin’s press release:

ROCKFORD – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo will host an informational meeting to discuss the findings of the recently-completed “Feasibility Report on Proposed Amtrak Service” from Chicago to Dubuque via Rockford and Galena.

Amtrak officials will present the report’s findings and discuss several service options. Durbin and Manzullo will be joined by Amtrak Senior Director of Corridor Planning Mike Franke and Senior Director of Government Affairs Ray Lang, Illinois Department of Transportation Acting Secretary Milt Sees, officials from Jo Daviess, Stephenson, Boone, DeKalb, Ogle and Winnebago counties as well as Dubuque, Iowa and passenger rail supporters. Following the presentation, there will be a Q & A session with members of the audience.

Durbin, who has long been committed to bringing passenger rail service to the northwest Illinois region, hosted a public forum in July where local officials were able to make the case for restoration of service directly to Amtrak’s top leadership.

Anyone notice that McHenry County is not mentioned?

I hope that does not discourage Huntley, Union, Marengo and McHenry County officials from attending.

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