Springfield . . . Reforming the way political boundaries are drawn by removing undue political influence, a controversial move to allow state government to borrow more money and an eye-opening report on state pension liabilities top this week’s activity at the State Capitol, according to State Senator Kyle McCarter.

Two proposed Constitutional Amendments were filed Feb. 18 that Senator McCarter said would amend the Illinois Constitution with reforms that would take the power of drawing legislative maps out of the hands of political insiders and give control over to an independent commission.

Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 104 and House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 56 take an initiative sponsored by the Illinois League of Women Voters and other government reform groups and put it into legislation for General Assembly passage.

“The current redistricting process allows legislative leaders to draw district boundaries behind closed doors,” said McCarter.  “As proposed, the constitutional amendment would require public hearings, ensure a public display of proposed legislative district maps and allow the public to submit proposed maps.  Since 2001, incumbents have had a 98 percent reelection rate but I believe passage of the amendment will encourage competition and promote diversity.”

According to state law, in order for the Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment to appear on the ballot in November the General Assembly must pass it with a 3/5th majority by May 2, 2010 (six months before the election).

Also this week, the Senate Executive Committee approved legislation Feb. 17 that would authorize two types of short-term borrowing, despite Republican concerns the state continues to defer making tough decisions on how to fix its fiscal problems.  Senate Bill 416 would allow most public universities, except the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northeastern, to short-term borrow up to 75 percent of the money owed to them by the state.  The universities would then repay the borrowing when they receive the money they are owed by the state.

Republicans primarily objected to a second borrowing component contained in the bill that would allow Gov. Quinn to short-term borrow $250 million for Medicaid expenses without approval from the Comptroller and Treasurer.  Currently the governor must receive authorization from the Comptroller and Treasure to commence short-term borrowing.

“There are no provisions in the bill outlining how the governor would pay back the money.  Again, this just kicks the can down the road one more time, putting off the tough decisions needed to address our fiscal crisis,” said McCarter.

McCarter and his Senate Republican colleagues also questioned why—if the governor has such a good financing plan—there is a need to bypass the Comptroller and the Treasurer and borrow more money without their approval.

Since 2003, Illinois Democrats who control the General Assembly with majorities in the Senate and House, have short-term borrowed $11 billion, with interest topping $100 million.  McCarter said instead of pushing off the state’s problems and paying so much in interest costs, Illinois should confront its budget woes head-on.

“Unfortunately, we still have nearly three weeks to wait before we hear from the Governor about how he intends to address our budget problems,” said McCarter.  I thought it was wrong for the Governor to delay his budget address because he is the one that is supposed to be leading us.  But apparently he is short on answers, which explains his request for the public's ideas.  So, in order to help him out if you send me your budget suggestions, I will forward them to the Governor.”

Senator McCarter can be reached by sending emails to: mccarter51@att.net or senatormccarter51@att.net.

Meanwhile, having been approved by the Senate Executive Committee, Senate Bill 416 now progresses to the full Senate for consideration.  Because the measure authorizes a general obligation bond, the bill requires 3/5ths approval of the Senate before it can move to the House for further debate.

In other financial-related news, Illinois’ woefully underfunded pension systems were highlighted in a report released by the respected research group, The Pew Center on the States, which found that Illinois ranks dead last when it comes to funding the state’s pension systems.

According to the report, Illinois’ unfunded liability surpasses $54 billion.  The Pew Center noted that only slightly more than half of state’s pension liability is funded, which is far below the 80 percent funding level recommended by experts.

It was also noted that Illinois has consistently deferred making its required payments into the systems, “paying less than 60 percent of the required amount in each year since 2005.”

The Pew Center’s study only researched pension funds through fiscal year 2008 and does not account for the recent stock market crash—and the serious impact that had on the value of state pension investments.

Bills approved by Senate Committees this week include:

Business District Development (SB 2523):  Amends the Business District Development and Redevelopment Act to allow a municipality to create an advisory board of directors.

Floodplains (SB 2556):  Exempts lands protected from flooding within a Flood Prevention District from regulation under DNR’s permit programs, defines the term “100-year floodplain,” and deems an area not within the 100-year floodplain if it lies within an area protected by a levee or levees in a Flood Prevention District.

Unfounded Reports (SB 2622):  Extends the amount of time unfounded reports must be kept on file by DCFS and accessed by the Child Protective Services Unit.

Veterans’ Taxes (SB 2350):  Allows returning veterans to claim a $5,000 exemption in the tax year following the year in which they return if the primary residence is first acquired when they return.