After 2 1/2 years...something good for Illinois.
 

In 2015 a shitsack republican billionaire nursing home slumlord named Bruce Rauner became governor of Illinois. He ran against democrat Pat Quinn, using the typical strategy of the moment in 2015...linking every Illinois democrat to Rod Blagojevich. It quickly became clear what Rauner's agenda was...turn Illinois into Indiana. And for him to become the Mike Pence of Illinois. What he didn't figure on was running into IL House speaker Mike Madigan-D, and IL state Senate President John Cullerton-D. It became clear right from the get-go that both immediately went into, "Oh yeah? well fuck you Bruce" mode. So...since January 2015, the state of Illinois has been operating without a budget, bills have gone unpaid to the tune of $15 billion...state programs have been slashed to the bar minimums...even state participation in the Powerball lottery has ended for lack of money available for participation. Many republicans, conservatives and other assholes have, of course, blamed the whole thing on that evil scumbag Mike Madigan...which is a giant carload of shit. Rauner walked into the job, a beligerent billionaire not all that much removed from Donald Trump, acting like he had a "mandate" which he didn't have...and refused to cooperate with anybody with a "D" after their name. He stuck his fat nose in the process of the Legislative branch of Illinois government.

This past week the consequences of this situation had become catastrophic...and guess what happened? A dozen Republican members of the IL House sat down with House Democrats and hammered out a balanced budget deal. They agreed to a pretty stiff state income tax increase in order to begin paying down the state's debt and getting current bills paid. It hurts, but it's gotta be done. Rauner, acting like his mentor, Donald, immediately expressed his raging sense of betrayal, and vowed to veto any such budget. What Rauner is demanding is that a whole list of state services, mostly serving the working poor in Illinois would either be slashed or eliminated completely to satisfy his "balanced budget." Sound like anybody we know? Good, fine Bruce...go fuck yourself.

Several days later two or three republican state senators also abandoned Rauner's bullshit and voted to pass a corresponding Senate bill with pretty much the same tax consequences. The bill went to Rauner, who immediately vetoed it. Within hours yesterday, the Illinois Senate over-rode his veto, and everybody went home to watch the fireworks. It is expected that the IL House vote will happen tomorrow, and the votes are there to over-ride the veto there as well.

If you want a state government as it exists in Indiana, you're gonna have to move to Indiana, Bruce. But you're gonna be run out of office on a rail in the next election anyway...and we will be free of your ass.

I wonder how many people realize that most of the problems this country faces have been caused by the republican party.

They break things that were working OK then say "look government is broke".....

Republican vote whores are best at slashing programs and services to the working poor and other financially disadvantaged citizens that don't get them any votes.

News in today's paper is that Rauner vetoed the budget yesterday, and the Illinois senate immediately (withing 30 minutes, on the 4th of July) voted to override the veto. But the override may be tougher in the Illinois house, with action 'not scheduled' at the time of the report. 15 Republicans voted with the Democrats to initially pass the budget; I assume more than that will be needed for the override.

The larger revolt was actually in the IL House where, as you reported, those 15 republicans voted in favor of the budget. No guarantees of course, so we shall see, but I'm hearing on the news that an over-ride is expected. It appears enough legislators from both sides would prefer to hang a continuing budget impasse on Rauner.

The democrats in Illinois are far from innocent in all that mess. They spent like drunkin sailors like the good times would last forever. One of the shining examples is state retirees getting a 3% raise in their pension every year which is unsustainable and what's worse it's protected by the Illinois Constitution. Illinois Representatives kept voting themselves pay raises in bad times. There are so many things wrong with Illinois. People are leaving in droves and I'm one. The wife and I became citizens of Kentucky this week. That tax hike will drive even more out and may actually cause revenues to drop from the loss of population. I don't see a way out for Illinois that isn't bankruptcy. It's a good state to be from. Oh and Pat Quinn didn't lose because of Rauner be lost because he sucked and he proved that durning his term.

Kentucy's the better for it, Sanford. The state IQ just went up a few points. ;)

Rauner is a jerkoff low rent Trump.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...sse-toward-end

Looks like Rauner lost. Good.

Great news. I wonder what posses assholes like Jindal, Rauner and Brownback to drive their states financially into the gutter to hold up an ill conceived ideal. Or enact tax cuts on money the state does not have.

Step one in ridding ourselves of this scumbag Trump wanna-be.

And Moody's says they may still kick Illinois' rating down to "junk." And I say fuck Moody's and fuck Standard and Poors as well. The rating houses rolled over and died behind Bear Stearns and Lehman's demands for top ratings on their loan bundles filled half full with D rated paper. The rating houses were as responsible for the meltdown as the banksters. Maybe more.

Still have $250 Billion in unfunded pension liabilities, apparently constitutionally guaranteed. Hell of a problem. Politicians bent over backwards for the public employee unions, which are a real menace in way too many states.

Which brings up the question, why do government employees at any level need union representation?

Because they need union representation. Why do you think unions came into existence at all?

My wife is a union represented government registered nurse. If she did not have a union to represent her, she could be doubleshifted, be forced to work ten days in a row, be forced to work mandatory overtime, be a casual day labor nurse who could be released at any moment from her assigned work hours due to low census, be subject to immediate layoff without recourse if she was involved in a whistleblower situation, have inadequate hierarchal structures to elevate patient concerns, and a multitude of other scenarios that directly affect patient care and safety.

If you think that care at the VA system is bad, just imagine what it would be like without nurses advocating on behalf of their patients.

Not sure why nurses need a union to advocate on behalf of patients; that doesn't follow logically. Unions advocate on behalf of their members, for better or worse. Teachers unions surely haven't improved the quality of education for students in this country, but they have definitely driven up costs for taxpayers, especially with the billions of unfunded pension liabilities saddling so many states.

Individual advocates are easily ignored or fired. In union there is strength.

Though you point out that unchecked union power has it's evils, just like unchecked management power. Only an approximation of the ideal balance will be possible.

Government unions are a joke. They are negotiating with entities that really do not understand how to manage employees since these people are not executives with P & L responsibilities. Everyone likes to play Santa Claus with other peoples money.

People wind up with jobs for life, ridiculous retirement benefits not only for themselves but even their spouses. And then the city and state governments go broke and we blame the politicians instead of the unions who probably knew when they negotiated these sweetheart deals that they could not be sustained.

Yes, here in CA, both parties signed off on a pension deal based on rosy projections. Wasn't going to cost taxpayers a dime. Right.... The projections were way off, so the pensions should decrease, just like my 401K, right? Right... :rolleyes:

http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-m...is-davis-deal/

Check out BART benefits and please do not do this on an empty stomach. :rolleyes:

I always find it interesting that in conversations about benefits to gov employees, people tend to lump all gov employees into one group.

As a gov employee at the county level.... I do not receive a pension that is equal to my paycheck unless I work thirty five years. I also don't get medical benefits in retirement. And, my spouse gets nothing from my employment. In fact, even after twenty years of service, if I should die before I retire, spouse will get nothing.

That is quite different that those who work at the state level and the city level.

Another thing.... every couple of years, the benefits change. I won't lose anything, but those hired after me have lost several paid holidays and other benefits have been modified/downgraded.

We are required to be part of the union. I don't have anything against unions in general.... but the union I am required to join really sucks. While we were getting furloughed .... they were getting pay raises.

And about that myth that gov workers can't be fired.... they can be.

You just made my case for me. Who in the private sector gets that anymore?
And how does that make any sense or justified?

Who works at a place for thirty five years anymore?

I'll bet any corporate boss gets more in retirement than any county boss at the same level.

I'm on my 33rd year with the same company. Pension was frozen decades ago, isn't worth much. Happily, I've fully funded my 401K, and have many investments worth even more, but that was all done through sacrificing and diligent saving.

See the LA Times link above. Some of the CA pensions, given as early as age 50, are pretty outrageous. Several of the CA public employee unions have far too much influence over lawmakers. Taxpayers, including many making far less than these state retirees, are stuck paying the difference between the overly optimistic projections and reality. Hardly fair, but they're locked in.