Tag: Springfield
State lawmakers will meet in a special one-day session Friday to discuss potentially dramatic changes to the pension systems that serve state employees. Statehouse watchers say that Speaker of the House Mike Madigan has agreed to call HB1447 for a vote. Approved May 31 by the Illinois Senate on the final day of the spring...
In Washington, D.C. … Congress begins a five-week Summer Recess. Prior to adjourning, Congressional leaders and the White House agreed to a bi-partisan deal that will keep the government funded for six months, through March 31, 2013, at a level consistent with the 2013 level ($1.047 trillion) set forth in the Budget Control Act passed...
In Washington, D.C. … Officials of the U.S. Department of Education today unveiled the Obama administration’s college financial aid “shopping sheet,” which was developed jointly with the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The shopping sheet, while allowing individual institutions to provide customized information, provides a number of common elements regarding a student’s financial aid...
In Springfield … The Governor signed HB 3887 on June 27, now Public Act 97-0711. This law requires personnel of institutions of higher education, including coaches and other personnel in the Athletics Departments, to report to authorities suspicions of sexual abuse and other forms of child abuse under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act....
The Associated Press is reporting today that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn “has signed a law that ends free health care for state retirees and requires them all to contribute to the cost of health care, based on their ability to pay.” Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax begins its coverage this way: “We still don’t know how...
Rep. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) introduced HB 4996 to curb the current practice of Illinois’ public universities rehiring annuitants to work while drawing a pension. This bill passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly, and the governor is expected to sign the bill over the summer. Biss, who has been actively involved in various efforts...
In an effort to keep you informed about what occurred during the spring legislative session in Springfield, we thought that it would be helpful to focus on some key areas and give you more context in terms of what happened. Our first area of focus is the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. The Illinois General Assembly...
Pension reform bills in both the State Senate and House of Representatives failed to come up for a vote before the midnight, May 31, deadline that marks the end of the spring legislative session. “While this has been a productive legislative session, our work is not done for the people of Illinois,” Illinois Gov. Pat...
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the Executive Committee of the Illinois State Senate heard testimony regarding House Bill 3076, which would apply technical elements similar to those presented in Senate Bill 1673, heard yesterday in the House, to the State Universities Retirement System. Additionally, the committee heard summaries of amendments to House Bills 1447 and 3865 before taking testimony in favor of...
In Springfield … Last week, both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly continued to move bills through committees and through third readings. However, the three big issues remaining are the FY 2013 appropriations, pension stabilization, and Medicaid reform and cuts. Most of the discussions on these three issues have taken place behind closed doors, but...
In Springfield … With only three weeks left before the scheduled May 31 adjournment of the Illinois General Assembly, there are three major issues still unresolved: the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, pension stabilization and Medicaid reform. FY2013 Budget The House Higher Education Appropriations Committee has been meeting frequently over the past several weeks to determine how...
Residents of Illinois in 2011 worried about paying their mortgages and keeping their jobs, and had few good things to say about lawmakers. Those findings were among the results of the 28th annual Illinois Policy Survey published last week. Conducted annually each fall, the survey is designed to provide citizens and state leaders with systematic...