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Better policy may be more feasible than it appears. And the
long-term economic effects of reform along these lines would be
profound: better incentives for business investment and job creation,
fewer incentives for businesses and individuals to pile up debt—and
faster long-run economic growth.
Over the past decade, the entrenched education establishment in
Illinois, the teacher unions, has pushed for more and more education
funding, yet they vehemently resist attempts for increased
accountability or competition in public education.
As part of the BGA's Rescuing Illinois project, this investigation is
the first in the Education Watch series shining a light on the state's
school systems.
A private company—or a private school—whose customers are
fleeing has to come up with ways to keep them around. In Obama's
public sector, there is a quicker solution: Lock the exits.
At a time when Illinois cries out for leadership and vision, Gov. Quinn
came before both houses of the General Assembly to give an address that
was flatly inconsequential.
The President’s vision of the path forward for America is to imagine
ourselves as members of a military organization with the American people
selflessly following the orders of their superior officers no matter
the personal cost up through the chain of command to the President as
Commander in Chief.
Quinn will deliver his annual budget speech in three weeks, and
administration officials say fiscal issues will be addressed then.
But critics say the severity of those issues — including an $85
billion long-term public pension shortfall, a roughly $500 million
operating budget deficit even after last year's tax hike, and a
multibillion-dollar backlog of unpaid bills — necessarily makes
finances part of any discussion of new initiatives.
An interview with Mayor Rahm Emanuel is featured in a new video from a Michigan-based education organization promoting charter schools and criticizing the Chicago Teachers Union.
The politicians we send to Washington are fiddling while the taxpayers’
future burns. Expanding debt burdens will devour ever more of our
government’s resources.
Suburban lawmakers might be in good position to sway Gov. Pat Quinn's
opinion on one of the state's most pressing issues as three of the four
members of his new pension team are from the suburbs.
Illinois'
unpaid bills may more than triple to $34.8 billion by 2017 unless
lawmakers and Democratic Governor Pat Quinn immediately bring Medicaid
and pension spending under control
Entertainment Properties Trust and Inland Public Properties Development
Inc. also are among companies that are investing in buildings for
charter schools as demand for campuses grows.
Being
able to admit a mistake and change course is an important aspect of
leadership. Last year's income tax hike was a dismal failure, pure and
simple.
Consolidation
can be a powerful tool to save money and boost opportunities for
Illinois students. The governor and lieutenant governor should keep
pushing to make it happen.
Democratic
Gov. Pat Quinn intends to strike familiar themes of jobs and helping
working families during his State of the State address Wednesday, a
speech that is expected largely to steer clear of Illinois' ongoing
budget problems.
Illinois rushes ObamaCare Medicaid expansion for Chicagoland -- against state law 2/2/2012 by Jonathan Ingram
Imagine this scenario. You're the governor of a state with a giant fiscal mess. You just learned that your Medicaid program is going to be$21 billion in debtto doctors and hospitals within 5 years. And that's the rosy scenario, not even taking into account the massive costs that ObamaCare will generate. What do you do?
If you're Gov. Quinn, you rush to expand Medicaid even more.
But as we've already reported, the ObamaCare expansion is going to cost the state more than$10 billionby the end of the decade. The Supreme Court willdecide this summerwhether or not the expansion is even constitutional, and state law evenprohibits expanding the programuntil at least 2013.
The Quinn administration loves the new health care law so much that it just can't wait for it to get here. Gov. Quinn said in his Wednesday address that we need to reform Medicaid. We're now seeing that his idea of "reform" is the expansion of a broken program, ultimately leaving the most vulnerable with a Medicaid card not worth the paper its printed on.
The Medicaid program already fails to serve Illinois' most vulnerable population. The state has the lowest reimbursement rates in the region and one of the longest payment delays in the nation. Doctors already turn away poor patients or make them wait weeks or months longer to receive care,just to keep their office doors open. As the bills pile up, more and more providers will be forced to opt out. If that weren't bad enough, ObamaCare will overload the program with millions of new enrollees.
Last year, lawmakers came together and decided -- almost unanimously -- that the program's solvency was in danger. They decided that until the state could actually operate the program in a way that served the needs of the most vulnerable, it shouldn't expand eligibility to overload the system.
The Quinn administration has apparently decided otherwise.
I thought after spending the last two weeks listening to Newt Gingrich stretch the bounds of credulity with his talk of lunar colonies and interstellar additions to the United States of America that my imagination was now sufficiently elastic to contemplate the ravings of any politician.
But that was before Gov. Pat Quinn applied his Vulcan mind meld and erased my memory of the physical place I thought was Illinois, replacing it with the ethereal State of Illinois he described.
In his State of the State Address, Gov. Peter Falk tucked us into bed and told us a story about a faraway land where airplanes takeoff from Peotone, high-speed trains arrive in Chicago and the CTA is self-sustaining.
It is a place with networks and councils and task forces at the ready to give us high-speed Internet access, to subsidize our LEED-certified idea to turn pocket lint into clean energy and to tell us that it is okay if we don’t pay our mortgage.
From these magical grounds that gave us Lincoln and Reagan, we are told that we now have a Toni Preckwinkle to make fallow lands fertile and a Shelia Simon to cultivate the dormant minds of the young.
Gov. Quinn’s Illinois need not abide the crude rules of mathematics. Instead, he can raise taxes on the average Illinois family by $1000, propose a tax credit of up to $100 for families with children and call that tax relief.
Ours is a governor who knows that we can only reform Medicaid and fully fund public pensions by making off-the-rack invocations about the need for political courage to unspecified ends.
We have come so far. We can all recall that bygone era three years ago when people were losing their jobs and their homes. That period is so Blagojevich and has thus been decreed over by Gov. Quinn. Today, as the governor tells it, Illinois is place where big businesses are flourishing, small businesses are growing and entrepreneurs are flocking. Don’t let the fact Illinois’ unemployment rate is 15 percent higher than the national average fool you.
Our governor, like our president, understands that ambitious goals require ambitious plans. By 2025, Gov. Quinn wants 60 percent of Illinois adults to have a degree or “meaningful career certificate.” A skeptic might ask, how do we accomplish this laudable goal with so many children currently relegated to failing schools they are forced to attend until the age of 17? Gov. Quinn has the answer: we force those children to attend those failing schools until they are 18. Skeptics be damned!
It is this kind of mission focus that has enabled Gov. Quinn to keep highway fatalities under 1,000 for three consecutive years, credit for which he humbly accepted from himself. Additionally, under Gov. Quinn and also for three consecutive years, plant life in Illinois has converted carbon dioxide, water and light energy into oxygen for us to breathe.
If this is just a DREAM Act, do not wake me.
I don’t want to go back to the Illinois experiencing a mass exodus not seen since the Israelites left Egypt.
I don’t want to think about the Illinois that is exporting more of its college-bound high school seniors than every state but New Jersey.
I don’t want to explain Illinois’ barbarism as exemplified by its 51st ranking (behind D.C. too) in the provision of services for the developmentally disabled.
I don’t want to deal with the kleptocratic Illinois, the one that has the highest state deficit per capita, the worst credit rating and the largest unfunded pension obligations.
And if Gov. Quinn made one thing very clear in his State of the State Address, it is that he does not want to think about, explain or deal with any of the above matters either.
Dan Proft is a Senior Fellow with the Illinois Policy Institute.
Rebuttal to Gov. Quinn's 2012 State of the State Address 2/1/2012
by John Tillman
Below, you will see a link to my brief response to Gov. Quinn’s 2012 State-of-the-State speech presented at noon today in Springfield.
The overarching theme with the Governor’s speech is that Illinois is moving forward and is “back on course.” How does that square with the people of Illinois? Actually, 74% say the state is on the wrong track.
There are some, however, who will love the Governor’s speech. If you are a public or private sector union worker, this was a great speech for you. If you are dependent on government in any way, whether it is for the capital you need to start a business or whether you need a favor factory tax carve out, this was a great speech for you. If you are working class or poor, there was something in it for you. Of course, in return you have to become even more dependent on our essentially bankrupt state because private sector job growth is non-existent.
The most stunning part of the speech – yet it isn’t surprising because this has been the pattern over the past three years – is what an outlier Gov. Quinn is when it comes to his policy vision. In Gov. Quinn’s world everything begins with new and bigger government programs for every problem we face as a society. The costs and the current fiscal and economic death spiral be damned.
Even a cursory review of the choices other states are making, Democrat and Republican alike, from Rhode Island (Democrat) to Indiana (Republican) and every mix of political control in between, virtually every state is choosing a much different path – a path of spending restraint and even spending cuts in real terms, while holding the line on taxes.
Not Illinois. More spending, higher taxes, more debt. For nearly five years I have been calling Illinois’ policy path an economic death spiral. Today, it accelerated yet again.
The good news – and there is good news – is that the people of Illinois are seeing through the niceties of the rhetorical cover up to the realities we must soon face. Look at some recent polling we did to see how the people are leading the way, across party lines, in seeking solutions on the spending reform side. The people are rejecting the tax, spend and borrow binge we have tried for over three years.
Members of the General Assembly who join Gov. Quinn in this ongoing policy fantasy do so at great peril to their own interests. Click here to see my remarks.
I just got back to my desk from absorbing to Gov. Quinn's State of the State speech at the statehouse, and while I don't agree with his recommendations for more "investing" (a.k.a. "spending) and more government intervention in the private sector, he hit the nail on the head when he said we lived in an "age of big bureaucracy." It's so true. There's a government department, an agency, a program and an initiative for practically every problem nowadays. Never mind that many of these concerns could be better addressed (and more cheaply) by civil society.
Granted, Gov. Quinn used the "age of big bureaucracy" phrase to reference the "the millions of Illinois consumers who need advocates to look out for them" and thank Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Regardless, it's a sad day when the fine people of Illinois need government "knights in shining armor" to protect us from ... government bureaucracy.
Today is Feb. 1, Digital Learning Day: “a nationwide celebration of innovative teaching and learning through digital media and technology that engages students and provides them with a rich, personalized educational experience.” People across the country are coming together to promote the integration of modern technology both in and outside the classroom. Parents have the opportunity to learn more about new and innovative options for their children. Since students learn in different ways, this public awareness campaign will provide them a path of discovery on what works best for them.
What is Digital Learning? From the website: “Digital learning is any instructional practice that is effectively using technology to strengthen the student learning experience. Digital learning encompasses a wide spectrum of tools and practices, including using online and formative assessment, increasing focus and quality of teaching resources and time, online content and courses, applications of technology in the classroom and school building, adaptive software for students with special needs, learning platforms, participating in professional communities of practice, providing access to high-level and challenging content and instruction, and many other advancements technology provides to teaching and learning.”
With millions of students already benefiting from these programs, elected officials and school board members in Illinois should find courses their districts are currently lacking and if feasible, fill in the gaps for their pupils with a form of digital learning.
In December, the Institute hosted former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise, co-founder of the Alliance for Excellent Education and a leading advocate for digital learning. He highlighted the positive benefits of these new forms of learning for both students and teachers. Later in the month he was interviewed on the topic in Washington, D.C. Listen to that interview here.
Last night, the Institute's Senior Director of Governmental Affairs Collin Hitt was interviewed on the enormous potential of digital learning. Watch below:
The Institute will celebrate Digital Learning Day tomorrow morning with an event featuring Ron Packard, CEO of the online learning company K12, Inc.
Gov. Quinn's State of the State Address will be on Feb. 1, 2012 at noon.
Listen in
to what Gov. Quinn will have to say. How he frames the issues
and which solutions he offers will be instructive. Will he get behind
transformational change, or will he be satisfied with tinkering at the
edges? Will he keep his promise to make the tax hike temporary, or will
he commit to more unreformed spending that makes the scheduled rollback
impossible?
Of course, a big gap can divide rhetoric and reality. It's easy enough
to co-opt the language of reform. Who doesn't want to be the champion of
small business and working families? But what is promised and what
actually happens are often very different things.
To drive this point home, the Illinois Policy Institute is hosting a "State of the State BINGO!" game. Below, see the details on how you can play along and what you can win.
Remember that while Gov. Quinn may call for "tax relief," it was his
tax hike that shrunk family budgets. He may speak of "green jobs," but
recall that Illinois' unemployment rate went up last year under his
watch.
Follow the Illinois Policy Institute on Twitter (we will be live-tweeting remarks throughout the speech) or on Facebook. We will call out whenever Gov. Quinn mentions something on the cards.
If you get five in a row (up-and-down, across or diagonally), mention @IllinoisPolicy on twitter or comment on our facebook thread and say "Bingo!" The first three responses we see will win a free book (several options are available)
Medicaid will have a $23 billion backlog of unpaid bills within 5 years 1/31/2012
by Jonathan Ingram
Last year, the Institute warned about the dangers of unpaid Medicaid bills piling up after lawmakers enacted a budget pushing $2.4 billion of this year's bills into next year. Now, it's coming true.
On Monday, the Civic Federation released its "Budget Roadmap" for the coming fiscal year. In it, they highlight the fact that state officials now believe the Medicaid program will have over $21 billion unpaid bills by 2017. But if $21 billion in unpaid bills weren't scary enough, the state is greatly understating this backlog.
You see, the state predicts that Medicaid appropriations will increase 2 percent per year over the next several years. Gov. Quinn, on the other hand, has made clear that appropriations will remain flat. If appropriations remain flat as Quinn predicts, the backlog will grow to more than $23 billion. And that's without ObamaCare, which is expected to cost the state another $6 billion during the 5-year budget window.
Medicaid will end fiscal year 2017 with $23 billion in unpaid bills, even without ObamaCare
Source: Illinois Policy Institute calculations.
Medicaid patients are already suffering from the state's low reimbursement rates and long payment delays. Nursing homes and hospitals are running out of time and money while they wait for reimbursement. Doctors are having to turn away poor patients or make them wait weeks or months longer to receive care, just to keep their doors open.
Medicaid is a mess. The time for tinkering at the margins is over. If lawmakers want to ensure the program is both sustainable and protects the most vulnerable, they must redesign it from the ground up in a way that meets the needs of Illinois' unique population. The first step is transforming it from the broken fee-for-service design into a sliding-scale premium assistance program paired with health savings accounts. This would ensure the most vulnerable would have access to doctors and specialists, would be empowered to make healthy and cost-conscious health care choices and would no longer be trapped in government dependency.
Reforming Medicaid is no longer a choice. It's a necessity.
Last January, Gov. Quinn, President Cullerton and Speaker Madigan pushed through a record income tax increase on the grounds that it was "temporary." They then proceeded to budget and spend in such a way that would make the tax hike's partial roll back in 2015 impossible. A classic bait and switch if ever there was one.
When pressed by Fox Chicago last week about the "temporary" nature of the tax hike, Speaker Madigan said he'd deal with the question of making it permanent or not in 2015.
But the time for deciding that isn't in 2015. It's now. How we spend today matters for balancing our budget tomorrow. Coyness only benefits those who would perpetuate a crisis in order to extract even more revenue from Illinois families and business.
As we embark on the 2012 legislative session, Illinois residents deserve clear answers to the following two questions from Messers Quinn, Cullerton and Madigan:
Given the damaging impact of the tax hike on both individuals and corporations, do you support an immediate repeal of the tax hike?
If you oppose an immediate repeal, do you still vow to allow the tax hikes to sunset as you originally promised?
