Oct. 20--Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.
Topspin
It's Tuesday, Oct. 20, the night the Cubs will either make a series out of this thing or end up behind the 8-ball.
Lawmakers will return to the Capitol after several weeks away with another side effect from the budget impasse: a downgrade from Fitch Ratings, which lowered the state's bond rating from A- to BBB+ on Monday.
That move is unlikely to inspire any substantive movement toward a budget agreement, though the usual political fireworks are likely to continue.
In the House, lawmakers will hold another hearing to examine the contract given to new state school Superintendent Tony Smith, who received a special stipend to make up for a reduced pension. Democrats want Illinois State Board of Education Chairman James Meeks to explain why the stipend hasn't been removed from Smith's contract, though it's unclear if Meeks will show for the inquiry.
Meanwhile, another legislative panel is expected to consider an idea pushed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to increase the property tax exemption to offset the massive hike he has proposed. Under a proposal filed late Monday, the homeowners exemption would double from $7,000 to $14,000 in Chicago. Counties, but not individual municipalities, would also have the ability to opt in to the plan.
City Budget Director Alexandra Holt acknowledged Monday that the exemption plan will not be law before the Chicago City Council is asked to approve the mayor's budget Oct. 28.
"I wouldn't expect to see a bill passed before then," Holt said. "The exemption doesn't need to be in place before the end of the year. It certainly does need to be in place before the second-installment bills go out in July."
Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, had a question. "Essentially, what we've been hearing in the media is that the governor's not going to support that. So what is this administration prepared to do if that doesn't happen, if we don't get the exemption?"
Holt replied: "At least historically, exemptions have not been particularly controversial in Springfield. ... We think it would not be controversial here as well. I certainly understand the governor's view, but we think this is a better way to protect homeowners than what he's been discussing to date. And it also would be purely local. It's about the city of Chicago and our taxing base and not about any other community."
Holt also discussed a potential fallback if the state exemption measure doesn't become law: a rebate for lower-income homeowners. "I think that still has to be on the table as part of the discussion. ... We think a homeowner's exemption is a better way to go."
With a rebate, "(payment) comes out of pocket first and then get reimbursed," said Holt, who pegged the cost of a rebate at $20 million to $40 million. "We know for some low-income homeowners that's going to be difficult, and we'd rather see the discount taken off their tax bill."
The House also is expected to vote on a resolution introduced by Madigan to name veteran Rep. Frank Mautino the state's new auditor general. Mautino was nominated by a legislative panel to replace longtime auditor Bill Holland, who is retiring at the end of the year. Mautino's selection must be approved by a 3/5ths vote of both the House and Senate.
Over in the Senate, no committees are scheduled to meet. Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton, said lawmakers will primarily return for a closed-door caucus meeting. Phelon said there's simply not much for the Senate to do after sending several measures to the House to fund various programs during the budget impasse, including lottery payouts, child care and scholarships for low-income students.
Cullerton also is scheduled to meet with university presidents, who penned a letter to the governor this month warning the budget impasse "casts a shadow of uncertainty over the campuses" that is unsustainable.
In other action, the Department of Healthcare and Family Services will hold a public hearing regarding a proposed rule change that would cut the monthly allowance for people in developmental disability group homes from $60 to $50 a month. Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration has routinely sought to cut costs through the obscure rule making process, but advocates complain it's a way to cut costs without legislative approval. (Monique Garcia, Hal Dardick)
What's on tap
*Mayor Rahm Emanuel will be out at a school to announce a federal grant to expand high-speed Internet access and Wi-Fi service at Chicago Public Schools.
*Gov. Rauner has no public schedule.
*The plan to build George Lucas' lakefront musem, a project backed by the mayor, will be considered by the Zoning Committee. It has been approved by the Park District and Plan Commission, and it's expected to easily clear the latest hurdle. The Friends of the Park nonprofit group is challenging the plan in federal court, saying it's opposed to using prime lakefront land for the facility.
*Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery will speak at a City Club of Chicago luncheon. His event is titled "The Myth of 'Choice': A conversation about charters, public schools, and our priorities," in case you wondered where the teachers union exec was coming from.
From the notebook
*City budget committee votes: The Chicago City Council Finance Committee will convene in the morning for individual votes on the four separate massive property tax increases Emanuel wants, which will total $543 million over the next four years.
The committee also will vote on whether to allow Emanuel to collect his proposed $9.50-per-month household trash pickup fee, a proposed mayoral revenue-raiser that remains deeply unpopular with several aldermen who complain it hurts low-income homeowners most and that their constituents consider garbage collection costs part of their property taxes.
An amendment could be forthcoming Tuesday about limiting the trash fee. Aldermen worried about wearing the jacket for foisting a brand-new tax on residents could point to a cap as evidence they tried to hold the line.
Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, said Monday that some council members are concerned the mayor will try to move in upcoming years to a volume-based trash fee like many suburbs, a move he said would be unfair in certain areas of the city, like his own predominantly Latino ward.
"Well, in my community, that would not work," Cardenas said of the volume-based system. "It would be punishing people who have three, four kids. And also, if you're Catholic, this would be a hit on you. Think about it. Right? Our families are big families. That's a tax on Mexicans. It can't work." (John Byrne)
*Kirk gun award: A re-election-seeking U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk has received the Abraham Lincoln Award from the Illinois Coalition Against Handgun Violence, becoming the first Republican member of the Senate ever to receive the recognition.
Kirk was given the award for his efforts to make gun trafficking a federal crime and for his push to strengthen background checks.
"Sen. Kirk was there for us when we needed him most, and crossed party lines to support universal background checks. His courage and leadership truly symbolize the purpose of the Lincoln Award," said Colleen Daley, the group's executive director.
Previous winners include former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former President Bill Clinton, Mayor Emanuel, Democratic U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Dianne Feinstein of California. (Rick Pearson)
*Ms. Zopp goes to Washington: Andrea Zopp, a first-time candidate running for the Democratic nomination to challenge Sen. Kirk in 2016, plans to visit Washington on Thursday and Friday to meet with elected officials, organizations and members of the media, spokesman Bryce Colquitt said.
No fundraisers are on tap, but Zopp plans to meet with Democratic U.S. Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago; J Street; the National Council of Jewish Women; and political handicappers, including the Cook Political Report, Colquitt said.
She'll also pay a call on the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, despite its endorsement of Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates, in the Senate primary next March 15.
Zopp, who lives in Chicago, is a former prosecutor, former Chicago Urban League chief and former member of the Chicago Board of Education. (Katherine Skiba)
*Munger wiggle room: Republican Comptroller Leslie Munger insists she isn't saying anything new about the need for Republican Gov. Rauner and Democratic leaders to agree on a new budget.
But in speaking to reporters at the City Club of Chicago on Monday, Munger was clearly trying to put some space between her and Rauner's demands for union-weakening provisions in a local property tax freeze proposal.
Rauner, who appointed Munger to fill the comptroller's office after the death of Judy Baar Topinka, wants to allow municipalities and school districts to curb collective bargaining rights with public employee unions. He also wants to eliminate laws requiring local governments to pay prevailing union wages on public construction projects.
"The things that I support are things like (changes in) workers' comp and tort reforms. I don't know what impact that has on weakening any unions, honestly. It really is just helping our businesses be more competitive with neighboring states. And actually the union members I talk to are looking for good jobs in Illinois," Munger said.
"With respect to property tax reform and holding those, I do believe there are ways to do that if people would get together and talk. There are ways that don't impact unions at all," she said. "We have hundreds of unfunded mandates in this state. We can give up on a lot of those. It would give our municipalities the flexibility they need to manage a freeze on property taxes instead and yet still make all their commitments."
Later, Munger was asked directly about the union provisions that Rauner wants and Democrats in the legislature oppose.
"I'd like to see us focus on, like I spoke before, ways around that. I'd like to see us find a way to freeze property taxes. I think there are alternatives to do it," she said.
Still, Munger said she believes the Democrat-controlled General Assembly should bear the brunt of criticism over the stalemate that has left state government without a budget since July 1. (Rick Pearson)
*Schneider on Edgar on Rauner: Apparently being a popular former Republican governor doesn't count for much in current state GOP Chairman Tim Schneider's playbook.
Schneider, who spoke to about 150 people at the City Club on Monday, echoed Rauner's demands for "structural reforms" as part of a budget agreement. Schneider did not mention that many of those demands require lawmakers to pass laws weakening collective bargaining rights.
After his speech, Schneider was asked about comments critical of Rauner made by former two-term GOP Gov. Jim Edgar. Edgar told the State Journal-Register that while some of Rauner's demands were more "important" than others, "you don't hold the budget hostage to get those."
"I don't think the governor is holding the budget hostage," Schneider said. "I think Speaker (Michael) Madigan and (Senate President) John Cullerton could pass a budget tomorrow if they wanted to."
As for Edgar, Schneider said: "That's one person's opinion. He's still only one person." (Rick Pearson)
*8th District backing: State Sen. Mike Noland, the Elgin Democrat seeking the party's nomination in the open-seat 8th Congressional District, has added to his list of sheet-metal union workers' endorsements.
Noland's camp announced the latest endorsement from SMART-Transportation Division. SMART stands for Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation. The union represents railroad conductors, brakeman, engineers, yard masters and other transportation personnel.
Noland's previous endorsements included the Sheet Metal Workers of Illinois State Council and Sheet Metal Workers Local 73 and Local 265.
Noland is in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination for the northwest and west suburban congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Schaumburg. She is seeking the party nomination for the U.S. Senate race to challenge Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.
Also in the Democratic race is Schaumburg businessman Raja Krishnamoorthi and Villa Park Village President Deb Bullwinkel. (Rick Pearson)
*Personnel file: Libby Langsdorf, one of numerous Emanuel press aides, has landed at Res Publica Group. ... Col. Michael J. Glisson is the new Illinois National Guard director of the joint staff. ... Ernest Brown, a former Chicago Police Department deputy superintendent, is the new head of the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
What we're writing
*Record property tax hike not enough without Rauner signature?
*Pricetag on NFL Draft in Chicago.
*State's credit downgraded.
*ISBE paid thousands to departing employees.
Follow the money
*Democratic Reps. Anna Moeller of Elgin and Kathleen Willis of Addison, both potential Republican targets in 2016, each picked up big contributions from the Laborers union political fund ($53,900) and the plumbers/pipefitters national arm ($10,000).
*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash
Beyond Chicago
*Presidential race, Republican side: Recalling Trump's USFL ownership.
*Presidential race, Democratic side: As Biden mulls, Clinton leads poll.
*Second-generation leader elected in Canada.
