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Archive for May, 2010

2010 Legislation

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Dear Neighbor,

In previous emails I provided an overview of the Care of Students with Diabetes Act and Nursing Home Reform legislation that I led in the Senate. This update provides an overview of some of the other significant bills that were passed by the legislature and other bills that I spearheaded and got passed.

Significant bills:

Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (or McPier, SB28). This bill creates new Trustee oversight authority and names Jim Reilly as the Trustee. The Trustee has the authority to enter into a private management contract to run McCormick Place, enter into a marketing agreement with the Chicago Conventions and Tourism Bureau, recommend whether or not to separate Navy Pier from McCormick Place, and enforce exhibitor rights. A new 7-member interim board is also appointed for 18 months (3 members by Mayor, 3 by Governor, and 1 member selected by the 6 to serve as chair) and has the power to veto any action of the Trustee with a 5/7 vote. A 9-member Board is appointed after 18 months and must hire a CEO. The bill also establishes exhibitor rights to address concerns about costs and increases fees on taxi rides from airports to provide an operating subsidy. The bill also permits McPier to enter into a licensing agreement for naming rights of buildings and facilities. Click here to read the bill.

Telecommunications Deregulation (SB107). Under this legislation, telephone carriers can opt to become “electing providers” and become subject to a new, lower form of regulation. Telephone companies should have savings that can be invested in broadband and other technologies and create additional jobs. The bill protects consumers by establishing “safe harbor” packages for low use customers and freezing their rates. Click here to read the bill.

Legislation that I introduced includes:

Mercury Thermostat Collection (SB3346)
Many thermostats contain mercury, a neurotoxin which poses an environmental and health threat if released into the environment. This bill creates a collection program for out-of-service mercury thermostats. This program would require manufacturers to meet yearly goals for recycling thermostats containing mercury. Click here to read the bill.

Craft Distillery License (SB3348) – This bill revises Illinois liquor licensing rules to allow small craft distillers such as Koval, a small business in Lincoln Square, to sell their spirits directly to the public in an on-site retail store. This will allow craft distillers to offer tours, samples, and sales of their product on-site, increasing local tourism and promoting a locally made product. Click here to read the bill.

ID Cards with Non-Existent Addresses (SB3169) – I worked with the North Side Community Justice Center, a community-based prosecution section of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office to pass this bill. Gang members in the area had been using false paperwork to get ID cards with non-existent addresses on it (not just the wrong address, an address that did not exist). This bill prohibits holding a state-issued ID card with a non-existent address on it. Click here to read the bill.

Pedestrian Safety (HB43) - This bill would require that drivers stop for pedestrians crossing unregulated crosswalks. Current law only requires a vehicle to yield. This standard is confusing and makes it difficult for law enforcement to penalize those that endanger pedestrians. Click here to read the bill.

Bed Bug Task Force (HB6439) - This bill creates a statewide task force to address the spread of bed bugs in Illinois. Many units in our community have been infected by bed bugs, which are very difficult to eradicate. This task force will look at what strategies and procedures the state should put in place to address the spread of bed bugs. Click here to read the bill.

Please let me know if you have questions about any other legislation. Two of the bills above came directly from a problems people in the district identified and we have been able to address them with these bill. I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Best,

Heather A. Steans
State Senator

Posted in Environment, Legislation

2011 Budget Update

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Dear Neighbor,

The Legislature left Springfield last week without passing a budget. While I continue to argue for comprehensive solutions to our budget problems rather than half measures that delay and increase our budget crisis, I worry we will ultimately enact an irresponsible budget. Below, I provide an overview of what happened in the Senate last week, what happened in the House, and my thoughts about reforms we must demand.

Senate

The Senate passed a series of budget bills. With small majorities, the Senate reduced overall funding levels by 1.3% ($357.5 million), enabled the Governor to defer pension payments, and provided the Governor with Emergency Budget Authority to unilaterally make changes to the budget.

I voted no on these measures for 3 core reasons. First, the appropriations bill starves critical education and health services since we do not have the revenues to support the appropriation levels. Second, delaying pension payments creates a massive unaddressed budget deficit; we are only kicking the problem down the road and increasing our future problem. Finally, giving the Governor “emergency” budget authority and providing “lump sum” budgets rather than budgets for individual programs abdicates our Constitutional responsibility to democratically appropriate State spending. Because the legislature does not want to make cuts, we are giving the Governor total authority to do so.

House

The House did not pass any budget related bills. There was not support to borrow for the pension system payments (this requires a super majority vote to pass), make cuts equal to the pension fund payments that are due (about $3.7 billion), defer the pension payment, or increase revenues. As a result, the Legislature will need to return to Springfield to pass a budget. The one small hope in the inaction by the House is that there could be growing pressure for real reform.

Summary

I do not (and will not) support a budget that is not credible and balanced. In the budget to date the appropriation levels are not supported by sufficient revenues to fund them. We would have to borrow dollars to meet the spending levels and/or defer payments to the pension systems. I believe we must be taking steps now to address our budget deficit, not borrow and continue to increase our debt and delay (and grow) our problem.

Currently we have over $5 billion in unpaid bills and over $130 billion in unfunded liabilities. These extreme circumstances demand that we reduce expenditures significantly and raise revenues. Further, we must reform our budget process to ensure dollars are spent on critical priorities and that we enact fiscally responsible budgets going forward. I will continue to push for these changes but fear difficult decisions may wait until after the election in November. I welcome any thoughts or suggestions and encourage you to communicate with other legislators as well. You can contact me at hsteans@senatedem.ilga.gov or 773-769-1717.

Best,

Heather A. Steans
State Senator
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Posted in Budget

Nursing Home Reform Legislation

Monday, May 10th, 2010

Dear Neighbor, For years our community has suffered from too many nursing homes that have put profit ahead of the needs of their residents. As the “Compromised Care” series in the Chicago Tribune exposed, there is “chronic violence inside a subset of facilities that house younger psychiatric patients and convicted felons alongside geriatric residents.” On Friday the Illinois Senate sent a bill to the Governor’s desk that will overhaul nursing home regulations to ensure greater safety and quality of care in nursing homes and provide more opportunities for patients to receive care in community and home based settings. I am honored to have worked with a tremendous group of advocates to help pass this legislation. You can read the Tribune article about the bill here and read the bill itself here.

The Governor’s Nursing Home Safety Task Force, led by Michael Gelder in the Governor’s Office, developed a series of recommendations to improve the safety and care of nursing home residents. These recommendations formed the starting point for negotiations between industry representatives and advocates for the elderly, nursing home residents and mentally ill. Hundreds of hours of tense negotiations led to this bill which includes the following changes:

Expands the pre-admission screening process and adds a re-screening component for nursing home residents with serious mental illness to ensure individuals are provided with community options;
Tightens criminal background checks and screenings of patients with serious mental illness;
Requires facilities to obtain a new psychiatric rehabilitation certificate before serving residents with serious mental illness and a new behavioral management unit certificate before serving residents who pose a risk to others;
Raises required staffing ratio to 3.8 hours of skilled care per resident per day (from 2.5 hours) and 2.5 hours of intermediate care (from 1.7) over 4 years;
Strengthens penalties and fines to nursing homes for failing to meet standards and expands the Department of Public’s Health authority to suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a facility’s license;
Doubles license fees and mandates surveyor ratios to ensure the Department of Public Health has sufficient resources for needed oversight; and
Creates a workgroup of advocates, providers, state agencies and the Governor’s office to submit a plan for a new provider assessment by November 1, 2010.

These changes are long overdue in Illinois. The sweeping reforms would not have been accomplished without vigilant advocacy from AARP, Illinois Citizens for Better Care, SEIU, Next Steps, and many other organizations, as well as the ongoing focus from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Reporter. This victory demonstrates that Springfield can (at least on occasion!) produce positive results that meaningfully impact people. Going forward we will need to remain vigilant to ensure the development of a fair provider assessment and that, once signed, the bill is implemented appropriately. Resources need to be provided to community and home based alternatives as well to ensure individuals have meaningful options.

Over the next few days I will send additional emails with updates on the budget debacle and other legislative results from the session. As always, please contact me at 773-769-1717 or at hsteans@senatedem.ilga.gov if you have any questions or thoughts to share.

Best regards,

Heather Steans

Posted in Nursing Homes