Category Archives: State of Illinois

State Legislation, State of Illinois

Smoking ban unenforceable

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The Smoke Free Illinois Act was so poorly drafted that courts have ruled it cannot be enforced.

The decision by Associate Judge Cornelius Hollerich, combined with the rejection of proposed regulations for the statute by the state earlier this year, appears to leave no recourse for the prosecution of smokers cited for lighting up indoors in public places. […]

Alexander’s lawyer, Peoria attorney Dan O’Day, said the ruling has immediate, far-reaching implications for the smoking ban. “This ruling, if it’s correct – and we think it is – is that there’s no way to enforce the Smoke Free Illinois Act right now,” O’Day said. “There should be no more arrests for smoking.”

Yet another example of Springfield being broken. I didn’t favor this bill (because I believe it tramples personal property rights, not because I’m pro-smoking or anything), but if a bill is going to be passed, it should be well-written and able to be enforced. This was a failure on the part of lawmakers to write good legislation, and it makes one wonder what other unenforceable or poorly-written laws have been put on the books.

2008 Campaign, State of Illinois

Local groups oppose con-con for Illinois

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A number of local groups came out against a constitutional convention yesterday.

Representatives with the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Labor Council of West Central Illinois gathered Monday at Peoria City Hall to voice their disapproval with a referendum they claim will only exacerbate problems in the state.

“We believe it’s inappropriate, unpredictable and expensive,” League President Mary Jane Crowell said.

Their basic premise is that there’s nothing wrong with the state’s constitution. Rather, the problems in the state house are the result of bad behavior by our elected representatives. All we need to do is elect different (better) people and Springfield will be fixed. If anyone has a problem with the constitution, they should work on amending it, rather than rewriting it.

The pro-constitutional-convention website Yes for Illinois counters this argument:

Some “No” proponents argue that we can improve the state through “better leadership”. That’s fine on paper, but it reminds us of all the “guaranteed rights” in the Soviet Constitution. You can talk about better leadership, but how will we ever get better leaders.

It is our position…that while there are many good people in Illinois who could do a better job than their current legislators, they have precious little chance of getting elected, given Illinois gamed system of election laws and ballot access hoops….

This can’t be fixed by “electing better people” for one very simple reason. “Better people” are locked out of this system. ONLY dynamic changes of the kind brought about by a Constitutional Convention offers the opportunity to bring “better people” into the process.

A good example of that is how the legislative districts are drawn. Take a look at this political map:

This is textbook gerrymandering. Legislators are picking their voters instead of the other way around. So, what incentive is there for an elected representative to fight for a redrawing of a legislative district that he or she won? The system is fundamentally broken, which is why a constitutional convention is critical.

A “no” vote is a vote for the status quo. And we know the status quo isn’t working.

Democrat Party, State of Illinois

Illinois Democrats share the love

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Rich Miller of the Capitol Fax Blog is keeping up on a most remarkable showing of reconciliation between feuding Illinois Democrats, complete with video and pictures. Some are skeptical, but all appearances are that Governor Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan have hugged and made up after months of public fighting. They weren’t the only ones. U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Mayor Richard Daley also hugged, causing Jackson to get all misty-eyed. You have to see it to believe it. A true Kumbaya moment!

Radio, State of Illinois

PI explains the law to state trooper

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I don’t usually listen to the Greg & Dan Cavalcade of Commercials in the mornings, but apparently between ads yesterday they squeezed in a few seconds with a state trooper named Officer Halsey. Topic: speed limits in school zones where the sign reads “School Speed Limit 20 on school days when children are present.” Halsey maintained that the 20 mph speed limit is in effect from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. regardless of whether children are present. The only problem is that his statement is not consistent with state law, the opinions of the Secretary of State and Attorney General, or the plain language of the school zone signs themselves.

PeoriaIllinoisan sets the record straight.

City of East Peoria, City of Pekin, State of Illinois, Traffic

Eastern Bypass public meeting planned for July 29

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In the city’s “Issues Update” this week, there was information regarding the upcoming Eastern Bypass study. This is the plan to connect Route 6 and I-474 on the east side of the river, making a ring road — a complete bypass for the greater Peoria area. Here’s the letter IDOT Deputy Director of Highways Joe Crowe wrote to Pekin Mayor Dave Tebben (emphasis mine):

The Illinois Department of Transportation has scheduled a Public Kickoff Meeting for the Eastern Bypass Study. This project would connect Illinois Route 6, near Mossville, to Interstate 74, near Morton, a distance of approximately 20 to 25 miles. The meeting is being held to introduce the project to the public, to describe the study elements, and to answer questions and receive comments.

This meeting is scheduled for Tuesday July 29, 2008, from 3:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at the Countryside Banquet Facility in Washington, Illinois. Enclosed is a copy of the newsletter we have prepared for this meeting, which gives more information concerning the project and public participation. Advertisements announcing the meeting will be published in local newspapers beginning this week.

If you have any questions regarding the project or the scheduled kickoff meeting, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Mike Lewis at (309) 671·3474.

The letter from Crowe and the newsletter to which he refers are available here (PDF file). I hear that many people in affected areas have already received invitations to the meeting.

State Legislation, State of Illinois

Park advocates to rally against budget cuts

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From a press release:

Park Advocates To Gather at Jubilee College State Park
To Send A Message to Springfield:

Save Our Parks – Stop the IDNR Cuts!

Cuts Take Effect Thursday Unless Springfield Acts

What: A press conference to protest cuts made by Governor Blagojevich to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that threaten to close state parks, eliminate outdoor recreation opportunities, and hurt the state?s ability to protect wildlife and the environment.
Who: Illinois Sierra, Heart of IL Group Sierra, Nature Conservancy and other groups
When: 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
Where: Jubilee College State Park, Quail Meadow Picnic Area
(go 3.8 miles west of Kickapoo on Rt. 150 to the main park entrance; stay on main park road past the Park Office, and turn right at the next corner)

BACKGROUND
On July 9th, Governor Blagojevich cut $14 million from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources? (IDNR) budget, decreasing by another 20% the general fund budget for an agency that has lost a quarter of its staff from budget cuts since 2001. This will undoubtedly force the department to close some facilities for lack of staffing, comes at a time when our parks continue to experience increases in attendance by outdoor enthusiasts.

The cuts will take effect Thursday, July 24th unless both the Illinois House and Senate act to override the Governor’s cuts.

2008 Campaign, State of Illinois

Perhaps the biggest vote this November

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The campaign is heating up now. No, not the presidential race. I’m talking about the battle over whether Illinois should have a constitutional convention, or “con-con.” Organizations and coalitions are forming, and we can expect to see political ads from both sides.

Yes

On the “yes” side, there’s a couple of groups I’ve found. One is called United Power for Action and Justice, which has a site advocating a con-con. Then there’s Yes for Illinois, an effort of the nonpartisan Illinois Citizens Coalition (ICC). Here is an episode of the Illinois Issues Forum where ICC founder Bruno Behrend explains why he’s a proponent of having a con-con, and refutes the arguments of opponents:

No

On the other side, we have the Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution. They apparently don’t have a website yet, but I expect they will soon. According to the State Journal-Register (Springfield), “the alliance expects to spend about $3 million getting its message out to voters.” Their message?

Members of the new Alliance to Protect the Illinois Constitution say that convening a constitutional convention in 2010 would cost an estimated $100 million or more and would do little to solve state government’s problems. The real solution, they said, is to elect better leaders.

And just who is part of this alliance?

Members of the alliance include the Illinois Business Roundtable, Illinois AFL-CIO, Illinois Chamber of Commerce, Illinois Retail Merchants Association, Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and League of Women Voters of Illinois.

My Take

I’m for a con-con. I think it would be worth the money and the risk. The biggest surprise to me in that list of alliance members is the League of Women Voters. They have long decried the gerrymandering of Illinois’ voting districts. How are the people of Illinois supposed to “elect better leaders” when lawmakers choose their voters through gerrymandering? Or when Illinois limits ballot access to third party candidates? It’s naive to think that these problems can be rectified by anything less than a constitutional convention.

Interestingly, Presidential candidate Barack Obama is getting some heat over this issue. The Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Martin reports that Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod is lending the aid of his public relations firm to opponents of a con-con. Martin quotes this letter from United Power for Action and Justice to Obama:

“Our nonpartisan organization . . . was surprised to learn that David Axelrod’s public relations firm has negotiated a contract of at least $2 million to lead a campaign against the state’s best chance for change in 20 years — the upcoming referendum on whether or not the citizens of Illinois should call a constitutional convention to deal with the mess in Springfield. While your campaign manager is heading a presidential effort whose slogan is “Change you can believe in,” his firm is running a local campaign whose slogan should read, “Change we must fear and undermine.”

But then, cognitive dissonance doesn’t appear to be a problem for Obama, as his multiple flip-flops on issues show.

There appears to be a big disparity in money. Opponents have $3 million to spend convincing Illinoisans to vote against a con-con. I can’t find any figures on the two proponent organizations, but they don’t appear to have a lot of money. But they do have the Illinois legislature and governor on their side. Oh, not explicitly, of course. I just mean that as long as they keep displaying their dysfunctional and embarrassing antics down in Springfield, it only serves to stoke the fires of voter discontent. Maybe legislators can choose their voters, but the con-con vote crosses district lines.

Education, State of Illinois

Illinois chosen as part of tailored NCLB pilot program

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The Journal Star (AP) reports that Illinois was one of six states chosen to “write their own prescriptions for ailing schools under the Bush administration’s signature education law,” i.e., No Child Left Behind, or NCLB.

This press release from the Illinois State Board of Education outlines their “prescription” for our ailing schools:

Illinois receives additional flexibility to help schools meet federal NCLB requirements

One of 6 states accepted into new U.S. Dept. of Education pilot program; flexibility targets low-performing schools earlier with tailored resources

Springfield — Illinois State Superintendent of Education Christopher A. Koch announced today that Illinois has been chosen to participate in a federal pilot program to provide additional flexibility and tools to assist schools in meeting federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements. The U.S. Department of Education selected Illinois as one of six states to participate in the new pilot program that allows the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to focus additional resources and efforts on schools and districts across the state with targeted efforts.

“Our state testing data shows that there are many different reasons why schools fail to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) measures. Current NCLB guidelines are one-size-fits-all, and treating all schools the same is not an effective approach, just as treating each student the same is not effective,” said Supt. Koch. “With this additional flexibility we will be able to identify and focus our efforts on the students that need it the most. I’m excited about this opportunity to take more immediate action to improve our lowest-performing schools.”

With the U.S. Department of Education’s ‘Differentiated Accountability’ pilot program, ISBE can use different strategies, providing additional resources, techniques and approaches to help all students succeed. Illinois’ approval is conditioned on demonstrating that state assessments administered in 2007-08 are fully compliant with NCLB. The overarching goal of NCLB is for all students to meet or exceed standards in reading and mathematics by 2014.

Because of the flexibility, low-performing schools in Illinois will begin offering additional tutoring earlier to students. Currently, schools that fail to make AYP in the same subject area two consecutive years must offer public school choice (PSC) and tutoring services after three years. Under the pilot, schools will offer either school choice or tutoring after failing to make AYP for two consecutive years and both options after failing for three consecutive years.

With school choice, students must be given the option to attend a public school that is not identified for improvement. However, in smaller districts, this option isn’t always available to students. By implementing tutoring as an earlier option, students will have access to additional services such as academic assistance in reading and math, to take place before school, after school or during the summer.

Also, ISBE will be able to differentiate between low-performing schools under the new pilot program. Schools and districts will continue to move through the process of improvement each year they do not make AYP, however, instead of all schools failing to meet state standards being labeled as in ‘need of improvement’, under the new system, schools and districts will be classified as either in the ‘focused’ or ‘comprehensive’ category. Schools and districts that make AYP in the “ALL students” subgroup, but not in one or more of the other subgroups would be placed in the ‘focused’ category, while schools that fail to meet state standards in the “ALL students” subgroup would be identified as ‘comprehensive.’

Illinois’ testing data shows that schools in the ‘comprehensive’ category are achieving lower than those in the ‘focused’ category and would greatly benefit more from intensive and specific interventions. In addition, ISBE would also eliminate ‘corrective action’ as a school designation of improvement. The corrective designation for schools will be replaced with a third year of either ‘focused school improvement’ or ‘comprehensive school improvement so that interventions have longer to work.’

The state’s lowest-performing schools will also be eligible to participate in an intensive ‘Priority Schools’ initiative. This initiative aims to make drastic changes that produce significant achievement gains as quickly as possible.

The five other states approved for the pilot include Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio. A total of 17 states submitted proposals for the program. Each state’s proposal, including Illinois’, was reviewed by a panel of nationally recognized experts. In return for the additional flexibility, each state has to commit to building their capacity for school reform; take the most significant actions for the lowest-performing schools, including addressing the issue of teacher effectiveness; and use data to determine the method of differentiation and categories of intervention.

ISBE will begin implementing portions of the proposal during the 2008-09 school year with full implementation in the 2009-10 year.

Peoria Pundit, State of Illinois

Pundit tries out Blog Talk Radio

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I caught a little bit of Billy Dennis’ online talk radio show Sunday. It was very interesting. Billy’s guest was John Bambenek of the Illinois Citizens Coalition and the topic was whether Illinois voters should approve a Constitutional Convention (or “con-con”) to rewrite Illinois’ constitution.

I heard about the last half hour, and plan to listen to the first half the first chance I get. I encourage you take a listen.

Museum Block, State Legislation, State of Illinois

State has money to burn, evidently

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According to Comptroller Dan Hynes, Illinois “still sustains a deficit, ending fiscal year 2007 nearly $3.6 billion in the red based on preliminary unaudited estimates.”

Nevertheless, the General Assembly apparently feels that it has $12 million to spare for the Peoria Riverfront Museum. The House of Representatives approved the expenditure 80-23, and now the bill heads to the Senate where it’s being championed by Sen. David Koehler.

Rep. Aaron Schock voted for it. So I guess he’s okay with deficit spending and fiscal irresponsibility. He’ll fit right in in Congress.