PeoriaStory

The great pension ripoff and the politics of resentment

PEORIA -- As the Democratic Party-controlled Illinois state government is poised to gut pensions and benefits for state workers, the politicians should read this: How Business Elites Looted Private-Sector Pensions.

The author writes that corporate elites discovered they could loot private sector pensions without penalties, and that fact is being used now to gut public sector pensions. 

So now we have the politics of resentment: " I lost mine so you should lose yours. I can't afford to pay taxes for you."

That's shortsighted, since government pay and benefits can set a standard that corporations must reach to attract qualified employees. But that requires connecting the dots a bit -- a challenge for many people.

How sad, and how stupid the Democrats have become, to fall into the Republican austerity trap. They will be blamed for gutting public pensions, alienating their base of support! 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Why tax strip clubs? Here's why

PEORIA -- After reading a Peoria Journal Star column by Phil Luciano about the tax on strip clubs, in which Phil criticized the pay of state administrators overseeing rape crisis centers, Peoria author Burt Raabe penned an answer. It's based on his own experience, and worth reading:

 

"I am a fan of Nicholas Kristof, who writes for the New York Times. Many of his columns deal with sexual abuse and exploitation.

I worked for the Center for Prevention of Abuse (in Peoria) for 12 years and my wife contracted as a counselor there for several years. Neither of us worked in the sexual abuse  field which is very specialized and highly skilled.  The CFPA cannot exist on state funding for the services it provides. They must get grants, conduct a duck race and hope that other money will come in. As far as the ICASA is concerned, a salary of $69,000 plus $10,000 for some expenses is not that much for a director of a state agency. People in those positions are generally highly qualified with years of experience and are dedicated to their work.

My field was working with domestic violence offenders. I learned and passed on that treating women as objects is at the root of violence against women.

One of the prime examples of this behavior is Big Al's strip club. He takes vulnerable, often sexually abused, often drug addicted young women and exploits them for money. Simple as that. And that is supported and applauded by our city fathers as an example of a "business."

The casinos had to agree to contribute some of their income to the treatment of gambling addiction. They recognized that they would be creating a cost to the community as they exploited people in it. I think it should also apply to strip clubs that they help with the effects of their activities. Also, I do not accept that Al Zucharini is qualified to read a research study and make a judgement about it. (He claimed domestic violence and strip clubs are not linked.)

I think that emulating Kristof would serve the community better than taking dictation from Al Zucharini.

I am retired now and none of my opinions should be taken as representing the Center For Prevention of Abuse."

 -- Burt Raabe

 

Stop chem poisons!

PEORIA -- From a news release: 

 

 An Endocrine Disruptors Meeting is set for Tuesday, June 12th at 6:00pm at Lakeview Library in Peoria.  

 

We encourage you to read these materials and bring your ideas for what impact for change that we can pursue.

 

 

 

Information

There are more than 86,000 chemicals on the market today, and only 1 to 2 percent has been tested for health effects. Many of these chemicals in use today are toxins and endocrine disruptors linked to cancer, infertility, diabetes, autism, Alzheimer’s Disease, ADHD, asthma, diabetes, obesity and Parkinson’s disease.

 

Dr. Suzanne Fenton, a toxicologist with the National Institutes of Health, said every health education teacher, family physician, midwife, obstetrician and pediatrician should be discussing endocrine disruptors and how to avoid them. But if we don’t know what endocrine disruptors are and how we’re exposed to them, it’s hard to formulate a plan to avoid them.

 

Here are a few routes of exposure:

 

·        Atrazine, a pesticide used widely on corn, is an endocrine disruptor. The EPA allows an average of 3 ppb of atrazine to be present in drinking water, but spikes occur in spring when atrazine is applied to fields. Exposure can be reduced by drinking only filtered water.

·        Bisphenol A is a plastic hardener used in the lining of food and beverage cans and on thermal cash register receipts. Exposure can be reduced by avoiding canned foods unless the cans are BPA-free. Minimize handling of cash register receipts and wash hands thoroughly afterward.

·        Many lawn chemicals are endocrine disruptors. Avoid them by converting to an organic lawn and urge your neighborhood association to hold educational programs on lawn chemicals. Find out if your child’s school uses lawn chemicals. States, municipalities and school districts across the country are implementing bans on lawn chemicals. 

·        Many personal care products include ingredients that are endocrine disruptors. Check the safety of the products you use at the Environmental Working Group’s site (http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/). 

·        Chemical residue remains on food. Switch to organic. If price is a concern, follow the Environmental Working Group’s guidelines for the Dirty Dozen, Clean 15 (http://static.ewg.org/reports/2011/foodnews/pdf/2011EWGPesticideGuide.pdf).

 

Please join our discussion to learn more about what we can do in central Illinois! 

 

Here are some links to information about pesticide drift, endocrine disruptors and organic lawn care.

 

Clare Howard wrote this four-part series on pesticide drift and endocrine disruptors. Central Illinois is in the heart of this problem: 

http://100r.org/?s=Clare+Howard

 

 

 Dr. Shanna Swan is interviewed about the health effects of endocrine disruptors that can end up in food via pesticides and plastics:

http://www.euractiv.com/sustainability/us-scientist-routes-exposure-endocrine-disruptors-interview-512402

 

 

Dr. Warren Porter lectures in this video about subtle biological effects of pesticides and other environmental chemicals:

http://www4.uwsp.edu/media/CNR/LMarkham/PesticideEffects.aspx

 

Over the past decade, more than 150 municipalities and several Canadian provinces have banned "cosmetic" lawn pesticides. In the United States, Connecticut and New York have banned or limited pesticide use, as has Cuyahoga County, Cape Cod and more than 30 communities in New Jersey:

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=7370

Lathan fights back but doesn't answer the questions

PEORIA -- Peoria School District 150 Superintendent Grenita Lathan launched a counterattack at her critics, in prepared remarks at the May 29 School Board meeting.

But her political-style speech didn't answer the questions critics raised during the public comments. The comments including Lathan's speech are posted here.  

Dist150 May 29

 

The most interesting comment:  Activists Sharon Crews and Terry Knapp alleged that District 150 has offered to change bad evaluations given some tenured teachers to good ones, and pay them $7,000 if they will resign."That's lying," Knapp said. 

"Is it true that evaluations are now for sale?" Crews asked.

Her interesting list of questions will be posted below.

Knapp said tenure used to be granted after two years, then four years. "Now you want to do away with tenure so you can hire relatives and friends."

Tenured teachers given bad evaluations are supposed to be given remediation, but that's not occurring, he said. "It's bullying." He predicted lawsuits will occur.

Before the meeting more than 450 teachers and supporters marched outside with signs against bullying and asking for respect and not intimidation.  They declined to enter the meeting, however.

Lathan apparently recruited three supporters to speak during the public comments, including two prominent members of the African American community, Joyce Banks and Rev.Tony Pierce. They praised her for bringing change to the district.

Lathan's remarks included an attack on "decades of educational malpractice" in District 150, with half the schools "low performing."

Ignoring decades of academic research into low test scores for minorities, Lathan said the failure "is not related to the low income level of parents," but instead she blamed the teachers. "We allowed it to happen.  We did not demand excellence. Poor teachers were passed along from building to building." 

Change is hard, she said but it's being done for -- what else? -- the sake of the children.  She offered no data to back up her assertions. "All children can succeed. They are not limited by their circumstances," she said. 

Today, she said, "a vocal few are intent on remaining on the same path." 

She did not address any of the questions raised by Crews and Knapp.

Afterward, critics leaving the meeting scoffed at her talk.

My take:  everyone wants the students to succeed, but as any experienced teacher or parent knows, some will not be reached by any known technique, and may not thrive until years after they leave school. Shifting teachers and principals and intimidating them isn't likely to improve student learning. 

The district now has almost 75 percent poor and low income, as measured by the school lunch eligibility standards.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Here are the remarks from Sharon Crews:

Tonight I have a few questions.

Is it true that next year most academic high school courses will be one-year, not one-semester, courses?    Why is this a good idea?  For instance, if a student is ill or expelled for a semester, will the student from then on be behind for a whole year instead of a semester?  Or will the standards be so low that a student can miss one, two, three months of school but still pass a year course? 

Is it true that evaluations are now for sale?  I heard that some of the fired tenured teachers have since been offered a deal.  Were they told that their unsatisfactory evaluations would be changed to satisfactory and that they would receive $7000 if they agreed to resign?  I know it sounds absurd and unethical to me—so surely there is no truth to it, right?

Is it true that a new directive states that all visual aids must be removed from walls so as not to distract students?  Does that change last year’s directive that all the Thinking Map posters must be displayed in all classrooms?

Is it true that Irving will close during the spring of 2013?  Where will the Irving principal, and all the teachers and students go second semester?  Sounds like a nightmare to me.

Is it true that recently substitutes were assigned so that middle school teachers could attend professional development at the board rooms?   Is it true that teachers learned when they arrived at the board rooms that the meeting had been cancelled—but notification of the cancellation wasn’t on GroupWise until 9 a.m. that day?  Who is responsible for wasting money on subs that weren’t needed?

Who was responsible recently when students were bused to Woodruff for some purpose but then had to be returned to their home schools because of an error in scheduling?

I guess it’s bonus time.

 

Who Pays to Remove Weed Killer from Your Drinking Water?

PEORIA --  Here's a post, special to PeoriaStory.com, by the award-winning journalist Clare Howard:

According to a $105 million settlement agreement filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, residents of Peoria and nearly 2,000 other communities in 45 states will no longer be forced to pay the cost of removing the herbicide atrazine from their drinking water. The cost will be paid by Syngenta, the manufacturer of atrazine.

The agreement comes after eight years of litigation in a class-action lawsuit filed by attorney Stephen Tillery on behalf of public water systems  against Swiss-based agrichemical giant Syngenta. If approved by U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert, the agreement will affect 52 million Americans.

“The scope of this historic settlement is enormous and its protection of the health of millions of Americans across the country is a huge benefit to the public, the environment and the taxpayers,” Tillery said in a prepared statement.

The agreement does not address mounting research linking atrazine, an endocrine disruptor, to birth defects, learning disabilities and low sperm count. Central Illinois has one of the highest rates of atrazine use in the nation. The herbicide is used widely on corn throughout the Midwest. It runs off fields into water supplies. It also volatilizes and returns to Earth in rain. One study measured rain in Iowa and found atrazine at 154 parts per billion, significantly higher than the 3 ppb considered safe in drinking water by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

Atrazine has been banned in the European Union for nearly a decade, but a study released in January still found atrazine in the urine of pregnant women in France.

If the agreement is accepted, attorneys representing the water systems will share about $35 million in fees.

The EPA is still reviewing the safety of atrazine to determine if it will continue to re-authorize use in this country. The herbicide has been sold in the United States since 1959.

Syngenta released a statement saying the settlement was a business decision and will end the uncertainty and expense of almost eight years of litigation. It does not acknowledge any liability and indicated that almost 7,000 studies over the past 50 years have affirmed the safety of atrazine.

“No one ever has or ever could be exposed to enough atrazine in water to affect their health,” the company stated.

Karen Cotton, spokeswoman for Illinois American Water Co., issued a statement confirming American Water Co. subsidiaries in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio and Iowa participated in the suit. Cotton said no information would be released at this time about the amount of reimbursement the company expects.

Michael Wolff, former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court and now a law professor at St. Louis University, said the settlement will have far-reaching impact on the safety and quality of the public drinking water across the country, as well as on the environment and on environmental law.

Asked about ramifications of the decision on other agrichemical manufacturers and the pesticide drift caused by their products, Wolff said, “There are very few lawyers with the resources to go the distance” in prosecuting these cases.

 Wolff said the settlement shows regulation in the United States is less rigorous than it is in the EU. As a result, Americans are forced to rely more on expensive, time-consuming lawsuits. Companies are legally bound to clean up their drift, he said, but compliance depends on enforcement.

Andrew Wetzler, a director with the Natural Resources Defense Council, wrote on his blog that while the settlement agreement brings some financial relief to help cleanup water, it fails to address “numerous epidemiological studies strongly correlating atrazine exposure with birth defects and reproductive problems . . . . “

For more information on the agreement, go to http://www.atrazinesettlement.com/ and click on case documents for the complete settlement agreement and for the joint motion for preliminary approval of settlement.

Click here to see a map of atrazine in the US environment.

Thinking of opting out? Read this first.

PEORIA -- Perplexed over whether to opt out from the new municipal electricity supply plan? Here's how to find out whether it will save you money.The opt-out deadline is June 1.  If you're eligible for the plan you should have received an opt-out letter by now.

Chris Setti, Peoria's Special Projects Manager said in a email that "the negotiated price is $0.0408/kWh, well below the standard rate."  That's 4 cents plus, per kilowatt hour.

If you want the hassle of checking on the web, here's how, But stay tuned, as there's a faster way I discovered, below.

Setti wrote:  "Ameren has a nifty "price-to-compare" function that shows you the average price per kWh you are likely to pay on the standard rate (this is a blended average of your summer, non-summer and excessive use rates over a 12 month period).  The process to find it is pretty convoluted, but here is how to do it:

1. Go to www.ameren.com
2. On the left side, login to your account (if you don't have an online account, you can register for one pretty easily).
3. On the left side of the next screen, under "Customer Service Center" you will see and option (under "My Bills and Payments") called "My Account Details."  Click this.
4. A new window will pop up.  In the top right corner of this window, click on "Usage History."
5. Specific information about your account will now be visible.  Near the middle of the window, you will see a link that says "Show More Detail." Click this.
6. The window changes to show some expanded information.  One of the items now visible is the "Comparison Price."  If that number is greater than $0.0408/kWh, you are better off sticking with the program.  If, for some reason, your number is lower than $0.0408, then you should opt-out.  My number was $0.056439/kWh, so I'm going to join the program (by doing nothing)."

However:  if this is too much hassle, just call the Ameren 800 number: 1-800-755-5000.  Hit 'operator' then ask for the 'Comparison Price.'  You'll get it in seconds. 

I did it, and found my Peoria rate to be more than 5 cents per KWH -- so I'm happy to save money by staying in the new plan.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Canton mine permit hearing

CANTON -- Why isn't this hearing being held in Canton, so local people can attend without having to travel?

From a news release:

 

MEDIA ADVISORY

May 21^st, 2012

Contact: Brenda Dilts, Canton Area Citizens for Environmental Issues, 309-649-1948

Joyce Blumenshine, Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club, 309-678-1011

CONTROVERSIAL CANTON COAL MINE PERMIT APPEAL HEARINGS BEGIN MAY 23^rd

Local Residents Appeal Coal Mine that Would Threaten Drinking Water

WHAT: Administrative Review Hearings – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will conduct administrative review hearings on the proposed North Canton strip coal mine beginning May 23^rd at the Springfield IDNR office, #1 Natural Resources Way, on the state fair grounds.

At issue is whether or not Capital Resources Development, LLC will be allowed to proceed with plans to strip mine for coal in the watershed of Canton Lake, which is the source of drinking water for over half of Fulton County’s residents.

In 2008, several Canton area citizens and the Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club filed an appeal of IDNR’s decision to grant the permit, contending that it would compromise water quality in Canton Lake. The quantity of water the mine will hold back and divert from the lake is also at issue. Four years later, local residents will finally have a chance to present their concerns to IDNR.

Local residents are particularly concerned because Capital Resources Development is affiliated with the Industry Mine, located in Schuyler and McDonough County. The Industry Mine has over 625 Clean Water Act violations between 2004 and 2011. The Illinois Attorney General, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Prairie Rivers Network, and the Illinois Sierra Club filed suit on the unabated water pollution in 2010. This case is still pending before the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

WHEN: 9:00 am-5:00pm, Wednesday, May 23^rd and Thursday May 24^th, 2012

WHERE: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, One Natural Resources Way Springfield, IL 62702

WHO: Several local members of Canton Area Citizens for Environmental Issues, a grassroots group of residents from Canton, IL as well as Canton and Orion Townships who are dedicated to protecting Canton Lake, a drinking water resource for over 20,000 people, will be at the hearing.

Heart of Illinois Group, Illinois Chapter Sierra Club, is a grassroots central state section of the Sierra Club, whose motto is to protect the environment for our families and for our future.

WHY: The proposed North Canton Coal Mine would destroy over 1,000 acres of land in the watershed of Canton Lake. This has the potential for adding sediments and pollutants such as heavy metals and salts into waters now used for drinking water supplies, fish and wildlife habitat, and livestock watering. The mine will also withhold millions of gallons of water that would reach Canton Lake under present conditions.

VISUALS: Canton area residents in attendance at permit appeal hearing. -30-

My take:  Here is another test for the Democratic administration of Gov. Pat Quinn.

We'll be watching to see what he does with this.

  -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Interesting film

PEORIA -- Here's a film that looks good. It's at Forest Park Nature Center on June 6.

Teachers have evaluated superintendent in District 150

PEORIA -- Peoria School District 150 teachers have evaluated Supt. Grenita Lathan, and will be releasing the evaluation to the School Board and to Lathan, teachers union president Bob Darling said at the May 14 board meeting.

The evaluation will not be made public, Darling said, since it involves personnel.

He spoke during the public comments portion of the meeting.  A recording of the public comments can be accessed here.  

Dist150 May 14

Darling addressed board president Linda Butler by name, saying: "I'm not sure you can objectively evaluate" Lathan.  "You're close friends.  You should be representing the community." 

The teachers union grievance chairman Brian Devine said there are fourteen grievances pending, mostly concerning teacher evaluations.  There was one at this time last year, he said.

A number of tenured teachers were notified recently they won't be rehired after receiving poor evaluations, prompting state legislators at a Town Hall meeting on May 7 to admonish District 150 and say the new evaluation tools should not be used to punish teachers.

Darling said Lathan will be given a chance to remediate her performance if it is poor, and also can work with a mentor, steps apparently denied the fired teachers.

Activist Terry Knapp referred the board to an article in the Los Angeles Times about Lathan's former mentor and boss Terry Grier, with whom she worked in North Carolina and San Diego, Calif. He introduced a controversial  'value added evaluation' system but left after controversies over that and management issues.  

Knapp has said Lathan is following the steps of Grier in her management of District 150.

Activist Sharon Crews reported on small class sizes at Trewyn School, and said they are much smaller than other schools in an apparent attempt to make the school "look good on resumes."

"Others are set up for failure," she said.

Her comments are posted below. 

The public comments lasted a half hour while middle school math students waited to be recognized, prompting a critical comment from Scott Donahue, who said they should have been placed on the agenda before the comments. 

He also questioned why some teachers were required to attend a meeting from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. on the last day of school, when they should be tending to other tasks. He asked that the date be changed.

He also suggested that the board could save $46,000 a year if administrators were substitute teachers one day each week, using time they otherwise devote to "walk throughs."  Thirteen administrators are qualified to substitute, he said. "Think about it."

After the public comments a technology staff member presented several alternatives to getting board meetings back on live cable TV or the web. He didn't have all the costs, and was told to come back with more information.  The meetings have been off the air for two years.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

Here are the comments of Sharon Crews:

"Maybe the class size data that surprised me is no surprise to board members. More than likely, it will be a surprise to some District 150 teachers.

According to October data, Trewyn’s largest class size is 22 and the lowest is 12 with one class of 22, four of 21, four of 20, one of 18, seven of 17, two of 16, one of 15, one of 14, two of 13, and one of 12.

No one can honestly compare these class sizes with those at other schools and not draw the conclusion that these small class sizes were by design. In fact, if Trewyn had only two classes, instead of three classes for its 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 8th grades, class sizes would still be below the policy guidelines set for each grade level. I find that to be startling information.

Trewyn has been selected for innovations that look good on resumes--such as the IB program to enhance academics and Carl Canon’s Elite team to improve discipline. Class size data seems to indicate that the planners of these initiatives believe that small class sizes are necessary to achieve the goals set for Trewyn. Conversely, class size data indicates that the other primary and middle schools are being set up for failure.

Perhaps I didn’t listen carefully enough because I didn’t hear class size mentioned as one of the Trewyn innovations. Research does indicate that class size is probably one of the most important indicators of success or failure, especially in inner city schools.

These small class sizes undoubtedly should have a profound impact on discipline and on teacher morale. These two by-products of small classes are bound to be important factors in any academic success enjoyed by Trewyn this year.

These class sizes are for only academic subjects such as reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies.

In February, when I provided this data for only kindergarten and 1st grade, Dr. Lathan contradicted me by stating that the students do not actually meet as a whole class—that they are divided into smaller groups. However, I believe that even at the primary level, each class meets as a whole during most of the day, especially for the academic subjects.

The spreadsheets I gave you include data from Trewyn, Whittier, Roosevelt, Glen Oak, Harrison, Calvin Coolidge, Lincoln, Lindbergh, Rolling Acres, Von Steuben, Roosevelt, Glen Oak, and Washington Gifted.

Since I already reported on the kindergarten and 1st grade classes, I won’t repeat that data. Trewyn’s second grade class sizes are 20, 18, 17—all below the guideline of below 26. Trewyn’s third grade class sizes are 17, 16, 16—all well below 26. All of the third grade class sizes at the other schools are larger than those at Trewyn. Trewyn’s fourth grade class sizes are 21, 21, and 20—all below 26. The sizes of only four classes at the other four schools fall below those at Trewyn’s.

Trewyn’s fifth grade class sizes are 17, 17, and 15—all considerably smaller than the guideline of below 29. If there were only two fifth grade classes, the class average would be 24.5, which is still 3 to 4 below the guidelines.

Trewyn’s sixth grade class sizes are 22, 21, 20—all well below 29. Trewyn’s seventh grade class sizes are 17, 15, 13—all below 29. If there were only two seventh grade classes, the class average would be 22.5, which is still 5 to 6 below the guideline.

The seventh class sizes at the other eight schools are all larger than those at Trewyn, with the exception of one class of 17. Their class sizes include one class of 30, and one of 28, and three social studies classes of 30, 28, and 27.

Trewyn’s eighth grade class sizes are 17, 17, 13—all well below 29. Eighth grades at the other schools include one class of 32 and two of 30.

If any glowing reports of success at Trewyn are presented, I trust that class size will be at the top of the list of probable causes. And next year, I think Trewyn’s advantages should be spread to the other schools—which would mean an increase in teachers.

Hopefully, 150 is done buying expensive programs and can concentrate on class size."

 

Illinois Democrats sell out their base

PEORIA -- A woman I know has a piece of paper that promises to pay  her medical insurance premiums as a state of Illinois retiree.  It's not just a promise, it's in contracts, she said, bargained for by her union, awarded instead of pay raises.

Now the Illinois General Assembly has passed a measure to make her pay the insurance premium, which could be hundreds of dollars monthly.  She's already retired, and as a former teacher had not worked long enough in the private sector to qualify for Social Security and Medicare. These benefits are the state equivalent of those programs for her.

See the PJS story on this, together with a list of those area legislators who voted to approve it.

There is so much wrong with this legislation it's hard to list the ways, mostly ignored by the news media.  But here they are:

1.  It's likely unconstitutional.  The Illinois constitution says state retiree benefits cannot be reduced.That means big dollars in lawsuit costs.  The unions are going to sue to defend their bargaining, as they should.

2. It's going to be means tested, a terrible idea.  To means test anything is to diminish public support for it, as it's soon seen as something only for the poor.  The legislators of the past knew that, and that's why Social Security and Medicare are not means tested.  The Illinois health benefits for retirees are the equivalent of Medicare for them. 

3. It eliminates incentives for the state to hold down costs on medical insurance, as they can pass along the premiums to retirees.  Given the history and culture of Illinois, this is a recipe for corruption. (Bribes? Kickbacks?)

4.  It takes millions out of the pockets of retirees and sends it to medical providers, many out of state.  That will seriously harm small college towns, and perhaps larger cities as well, as retirees cut back spending on charities, local businesses, restaurants and stores to pay their medical premiums.  Those premiums will be deducted from their retiree checks, so they have no choice but to pay.

What on earth were the Democrats who voted for this measure thinking? This is their base of support in elections.  Suddenly they have turned on their own base, instead of finding other sources of revenue to pay the state's deficits. 

Republicans who controlled state government for years refused to fully fund pensions, partly causing this crisis.  Now the Demos have fallen into their trap, agreeing that the state deficit must be fixed, and turning on their own base to fix it.

It's disgraceful, and those legislators of both parties who voted for this are STUPID and should be thrown out of office.  If Gov. Quinn signs this, as he has indicated, he should follow them on the way out.

 -- Elaine Hopkins