Spring 2011 Legislative Session Summary

by Collin Hitt The General Assembly has adjourned for the summer. A budget was passed that contained real cuts, but it was still too big. Significant school reform sits on the governor’s desk. Illinois government will be more transparent. And yet so much more remains to be done. Here are the highlights of the spring...

by Collin Hitt

The General Assembly has adjourned for the summer. A budget was passed that contained real cuts, but it was still too big. Significant school reform sits on the governor’s desk. Illinois government will be more transparent. And yet so much more remains to be done.

Here are the highlights of the spring 2011 legislative session in Illinois. Over the next few weeks, we will roll out a thorough analysis of all the legislative items, large and small, that were on the Institute’s watch list this year.

State Budget

The Illinois legislature has passed a budget of $33.2 billion, a one percent decrease from the $33.5 billion that the state will spend during the current fiscal year. The $300 million in overall cuts pales in comparison to the $7 billion tax increase that lawmakers laid upon Illinois families in January. But it is the first budget in years that contained no borrowing and showed real reductions in overall spending.

That said, the Illinois Senate Democrats are seeking to add at least $430 million to the amount already budgeted, meaning that Illinois would see a net increase in state spending this year. They will likely pursue this added spending throughout 2011.

Taxpayers were promised fiscal responsibility when their taxes were raised. Five months later, the Senate Democrats are backing away from that promise, even though Gov. Quinn destroyed his own credibility as budget steward after proposing a $1.7 billion increase in March.

Education Reform

Two significant steps for school reform were taken this year by the legislature.

The Charter School Quality Act could introduce dozens of Illinois communities to the charter school movement. It would pave the way for charter schools to open in school districts that were previously closed to innovation or too small to adequately oversee charter schools.

A package known commonly as the Performance Counts Agenda would end the practice of laying off younger teachers before older teachers, regardless of performance. It would also maintain tenure protections only for teachers who demonstrate strong performance, as measured by school districts. It would also extend Chicago’s criminally short school day. And it would create reasonable checks against teacher strikes in Chicago.

Both pieces of legislation await Gov. Quinn’s signature.

Government Reform

The Tax Transparency Act passed both chambers unanimously. The legislation would require that the Department of Revenue maintain an interactive database of all state and local taxes in Illinois. This database would be available also for mass download, through the Department’s website.

Another effort begun this spring shows significant promise, though legislation remains in the Senate. Working with the Institute, Sen. Pam Althoff introduced the Fiscal Note Reform Act, which would require an independent commission to assess the taxpayer cost of new regulations and state programs. Sen. Althoff is stewarding a bipartisan group of lawmakers, staff, watchdog groups and existing government oversight agencies that together possess the knowledge and drive to create a new process in which legislation is given a price tag before it is voted upon.

Retiree Benefit Reform

With one day left in the legislative session, House Speaker Michael Madigan and House Minority Leader Tom Cross issued a joint press release. They decided to delay their bipartisan effort to reform public employee pension debt until the fall 2011 session.

Legislation introduced by Rep. Cross was the most serious attempt in years to solve the growing debt within the state’s nearly bankrupt pension system.

In the Senate, Democrat Jeff Schoenberg also tabled a proposal that would require state retirees to pay part of their health insurance premiums. As present, state retirees, whose median household income exceeds $80,000, receive health insurance paid for almost entirely by state taxpayers.

Together, the unfunded liability of the state’s pension systems and its retiree healthcare program exceeds $100 billion. The state will never be on sound footing until it settles these crushing obligations. This year saw a more robust dialog and more aggressive reform legislation than any year prior – reformers must build on this progress and, piece by piece, rescue the state’s finances from its unaffordable debts.