5/01/2012

Springfield…By a vote of 3 yes, 7 no, and zero present, the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability voted today against closing the Warren G. Murray Developmental Center.

Rep. John Cavaletto had the following to say regarding COGFA’s recommendation…

“I am thrilled with today’s decision by COGFA to recommend keeping the Warren G. Murray Developmental Center open.  It’s obvious that all of the hard work by the parents, employees, and local communities made a big impact on the members and showed them the importance of Murray Center.  I want to thank everyone for all of their efforts from the bottom of my heart.

We’ve known all along that Murray Center is more than just a building, it’s a home.  I’m so happy the members of COGFA could see that and agreed to recommend keeping it open to the Governor.

As positive of a step as today is, we have to remember we’re not out of the woods yet.  Technically the Governor does not have to listen to COGFA’s recommendation.  We have to continue to show our strong support for Murray Center and its patients and employees.  I will continue to fight on its behalf as we head into budget negotiations.”

-State Representative John Cavaletto (R-Salem)

Click to hear Rep. Cavaletto’s comments on the vote……….

4/26/2012

Letter to the Editor

Last Friday, April 20, the state of Illinois witnessed the one of largest COGFA hearing in its history at the Centralia High School.  I can’t express how proud I am to be able to say that.

Thank you to all of the people in our area who attended the hearing and showed great feeling and compassion to keep the residents of Murray Center in their home.

Thank you to the hundreds of people who have worked day and night to keep the home of our residents open.

Thank you to all who have given and donated to keep the home of our residents open.

Thank you to everyone who came to listen, support, and testify to keep the home of our residents open.

Thank you to the Centralia High School administration, staff, students, and parents for all of their help to make the COGFA hearing a very organized event that allowed everyone to express how important it is to keep the home of our residents open.

Prior to the hearing last Friday, I had issued FOIA requests to the Governor’s office twice in order to get the criteria for rating Murray Center and other state-controlled developmental centers, as well as all of their rankings.  I received numbers for Jacksonville (39), Murray Center (34), and, eventually, a second rating for Murray Center (32).

But after reviewing the limited information I was provided, it became clear we are not talking about just a number.  We are talking about people who have a home (not just a house) in which they have lived for, in some cases, more than 30 years!  We don’t care about numbers and rankings.  We care about the residents and their welfare and the care they receive for the rest of their days.  How can we compare people to rebalancing criteria for closing a facility?  There is no justification for compassion.

A need is a need is a need!  If we push these residents out of their home, we have to ask where our state’s priorities are.

Keep Murray Center open!

Respectfully,

State Rep. John Cavaletto
107^th District

4/23/2012

Springfield…State Representative John Cavaletto (R-Salem) wants to remind everyone that this Friday, April 27, a hearing regarding the proposed closure of the Department of Agriculture Animal Disease Laboratory in Centralia will take place.

The hearing is scheduled for 11am at the Kaskaskia College Auditorium in Centralia.

State Senators and Representatives from Southern Illinois will be in attendance.  Officials from the Department of Agriculture have been invited and asked to testify.  Additionally, municipal officials, facility employees, and agriculture experts have requested or been asked to present testimony.

“The Animal Disease Lab is a very important facility to my district and Southern Illinois.  It not only tests for diseases that could pose a danger to animal and human populations, but also conducts important tests on municipal water supplies for local communities,” Rep. Cavaletto said. “I hope this hearing will show the Governor and the Department of Agriculture why this facility needs to remain open.”

4/21/2012

Springfield…WSIL TV channel 3 attended the April 20 COGFA hearing regarding the proposed closure of Murray Center.

To see their story, click HERE.

4/20/2012

Democrats’ Tax Increase Continues to Draw Fire

• Two House Republican measures, HJRCA 23 and HJRCA 44, fight back at the Democrats’ tax increase of January 2011 by requiring future tax increases to be passed by a 3/5ths majority of both houses. Speaker Madigan has tried to defend his caucus members’ votes for the lame-duck tax increase by bottling up HJRCAs 23 and 44 in the Rules Committee, but House Republicans forcefully debated the issue on the House floor on Wednesday, April 18.

Pension Reform

• Supermajority votes may be required for future pension sweeteners. HJRCA 49 would (if approved by the Senate and ratified by the voters) require a three-fifths vote for any bill that increases pensions and other retirement benefits for public sector employees.  HJRCA 49 was approved by the House on April 18 on a bipartisan vote of 113-0-0 after Speaker Madigan, the chief sponsor, admitted that the Constitution of 1970, which he helped write, had been incomplete in its treatment of the enactment process for pension bills.
• Democrats refuse demand for independent actuarial review of troubled pension systems. House Republican Leader Tom Cross sponsored Amendment #1 to HRJCA 49.  This amendment would have mandated the State to conduct a review, carried out by an independent actuary, of the stability and funded ratio of the five current State-managed pension systems. Testimony presented to the House Pension Investment Committee has indicated strongly that the condition of these five systems is even more troubled than previously thought. Passage of the underlying amendment by the House on April 18 effectively sidelined this House Republican effort for now.
• House Pension Investment Committee looks into fees, performance of State-managed pension funds. The House Pension Investment Committee, chaired by Leader Cross, began to hold hearings in spring 2012 on the performance and outcome of professional money managers who share fiduciary responsibility for the pension fund monies invested under the umbrellas of the Teachers Retirement Fund (TRS), the State Employees Retirement System (SERS), and other State funds. The Better Government Association (BGA) has discovered that over a recent 10-year period, TRS has transferred more than $1.3 billion in fees to Wall Street money managers. In return, it achieved an annual rate of return of only 3.3% per year (net of fees paid), far below the targeted rate of return of 8.5%. TRS’s relatively disappointing rate of return, exacerbated by fees paid, is expected to play a role in an approaching demand by TRS that the State allocate a massive increase in general funds monies to meet the fund’s actuarial deficit. For further information on the BGA study and findings, seehttp://www.bettergov.org/sticker_shock_lofty_fees_low_returns/.

Jobs

• Advocates step up fight to save Illinois enterprise zones as time begins to run out on 347,000-job program. The Illinois Enterprise Zone Act, which allowed the certification of almost 100 30-year enterprise zones throughout Illinois, was enacted in 1981. The zones created under this Act are credited with stimulating at least $29.4 billion in private-sector Illinois investment over a recent 10-year period, and the creation or retention of 347,266 jobs. Enterprise zones lower tax costs and regulatory burdens on infrastructure invested within their boundaries. Because of the 30-year lifespan assigned to most Illinois enterprise zones when the original law was passed in 1981, many Illinois enterprise zones (61 of 97) will cease to exist over the next five years. This week a nonpartisan employer group, Central Illinois Regional Chamber Legislative Effort (CIRCLE), launched a new push to renew the lives of threated Illinois enterprise zones. Representative Adam Brown is one of the House Republicans who has taken the lead on legislation to aid this effort. Brown’s bill (HB 3922) would extend the lives of existing enterprise zones by 20 years each. HB 3922 remains in the House Rules Committee.

Budget

• FY13 budget process continues. Working with the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, the General Assembly estimates that the State will take in approximately $33.7 billion in general revenues during the approaching fiscal year starting July 1 (FY13). This money has been divided up between the five House Appropriations committees, which have begun to meet to enact FY13 budget bills that will spend this money in a manner that will enable the State to keep its obligations. The process takes account of certain items of obligatory spending by the State, including Medicaid ($6.6 billion), pensions ($5.1 billion), and debt service ($2.2 billion); other areas of essential State spending, such as monies for school aid and State prisons, must divide up the remaining funds.
• General Assembly continues effort to cut $2.7 billion/year from massive Medicaid costs. Together with pension fund costs, Medicaid is the largest expenditure in the State budget. A bipartisan General Assembly advisory panel has begun to examine a proposal from the Governor’s office for $1.3 billion in cuts that could be made, achieving about one-half of the FY13 budget goal. Democrats allied with Governor Quinn appear to be abandoning efforts to achieve the full target and are instead calling for bringing in what they say will be $700 million/year from an additional tax on cigarettes of $1.00/pack. Critics of this proposal point out that that this estimate does not take full account of continuing declines in cigarette usage, particularly among young adults. Representative Patti Bellock, the panel’s House Republican point person, continues to advocate for renewed efforts to achieve the entire targeted savings of $2.7 billion.

Ethics Reform

• Push to eliminate controversial legislative scholarship program stalls in Senate.Calls swelled in spring 2012 to eliminate the long-controversial program that allows General Assembly members to grant up to eight scholarships per year for tuition-free benefits at State colleges and universities. No provision exists in the law requiring academic or other standards from otherwise eligible recipients, although many lawmakers who utilize this program have instituted voluntary standards on their own. HB 3810, a measure to eliminate this much-criticized perk, has already passed the House. Senate Democratic leadership, which opposes the bill, bottled it up in committee this week.

3/29/2012

Springfield…The Illinois House took a strong step toward reducing government spending and paying old unpaid bills by passing House Resolution 706 which allocates revenue for the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, according to State Representative John Cavaletto (R-Salem).

“This is going to be a very conservative budget.  We are spending less than last year, less than the Governor proposed, and will pay off $1.5 billion in old bills.  For way too long, spending ran out of control and now we have to strongly rein it back in,” Rep. Cavaletto said.

Cavaletto said with the House Republicans involved in the process, they will be able to have a say where cuts take place.

“Working in a bi-partisan manner on this budget will be good because it will give House Republicans a seat at the table.  We will have the opportunity to take part in the budget process and steer the conversation in a way that allows us to make cuts that need to be made,” Cavaletto explained.

Cavaletto said cuts will have to be made across the board and in every geographic region of the state.

“We can’t cut back and do it solely by closing facilities in Southern Illinois and cutting funding to school districts and human services in Southern Illinois.  Chicago will have to share in the pain as well,” Cavaletto said.

Now that spending numbers have been agreed to, the Appropriations Committees have been charged with going through the budget line-by-line and cutting 5.4 percent. A special committee is also looking at ways to reduce Medicaid liability by $2.7 billion.

“Until last year, Illinois had been spending more than it was taking in.  If we want the ‘temporary’ tax increase to expire as scheduled, we have to continue to cut spending and pay off old bills,” Cavaletto said.  “My main concern is to make sure those cuts are made judiciously and don’t negatively impact those who are in desperate need of assistance in my district and around the state.”

Click to hear Rep. Cavaletto discuss HR706…..

3/27/2012

Springfield…State Representative John Cavaletto (R-Salem) met this morning with officials from the Governor’s office to discuss and express his concerns about the possible closure of the Warren G. Murray Developmental Center and the Department of Agriculture Animal Disease Laboratory.

“It was a very productive meeting and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to share why closing these facilities would be detrimental to Centralia and the surrounding region with the Governor’s office,” Rep. Cavaletto said.

Cavaletto met with Governor Pat Quinn’s Senior Advisor Jerry Stermer and Legislative Affairs Director Gary Hanning.

“I told them how closing these facilities would harm the employees and their families, as well as the residents at Murray Center.  I explained to them just how important these facilities are to Southern Illinois and, in the case of the Animal Disease Lab, the state of Illinois as a whole,” Cavaletto said.

Cavaletto said both sides agreed that hearings by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) will give families of patients, local officials, employees, and others the opportunity to publically air their concerns.

A COGFA hearing regarding the proposed closure of Murray Center has been scheduled for Friday, April 20, at 3:30pm at Centralia High School.  A hearing regarding the Animal Disease Lab is being discussed.

3/23/2012

Springfield…State Representative John Cavaletto (R-Salem) announced today that a date has been set for a public hearing to be held to discuss the proposed closure of the Warren G. Murray Development Center.  The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) will hold a hearing on Friday, April 20 at 3:30 p.m. at Centralia High School in Centralia, Illinois.

“This hearing will be the big opportunity for everyone affected by the closure of Murray Center to tell the COGFA board how it will hurt the employees, the patients, Centralia and the surrounding region,” Cavaletto said. “I encourage everyone to pack the room and show how important Murray Center is to us.”

The Governor announced the proposed closure of Murray Development Center during his annual budget address.  COGFA is a government committee tasked with making a recommendation to the Governor as to whether a facility should be shut down or not.  One of the main components COGFA considers when writing its report to the Governor is the impact a closure will have on a community and surrounding region.

“I have had close to 1,000 people sign my online petition to save Murray Center.  I know the City of Centralia has also been circulating a petition to save Murray Center.  We need to send a strong message to the Governor that Murray Center is a vital resource in our region to both the patients and employees,” Cavaletto said.

The Governor also announced the proposed closure of the Department of Agriculture facility near Kaskaskia College that specializes in studying animal diseases.  That facility employs 15.

“I have sent a letter to COGFA requesting a hearing to discuss the proposed closure of the Department of Agriculture animal disease lab. Currently, I have not heard if a hearing will be scheduled or not.  I will hopefully have more information on that soon,” Cavaletto said.

To sign Rep. Cavaletto’s online petition to keep Murray Center open, please visitwww.cavaletto.ilhousegop.org/petition-to-keep-murray-center-open/

3/9/2012

Springfield…State Representative John Cavaletto testified this week against the proposed closure of the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Lab near Centralia.

The lab, which employs 15 and is the only lab in the state to conduct the type of research it does, was named as one slated for closure by Governor Quinn in his recent budget address.

Representative Cavaletto is fighting the closure of the Animal Lab along with the Warren G. Murray Developmental Center.

To read more on this subject, please see WJBD’s report by clicking HERE.

3/6/2012

Springfield…Legislation that would allow courts to impose stronger sentences on people convicted of felonies that used a position of trust when committing a crime against a victim passed the Illinois House today by a unanimous vote according to the bill’s chief sponsor, State Representative John Cavaletto (R-Salem).

“When someone uses a position of trust, like a scout leader or teacher, to commit a crime against a victim, the court should have the ability to impose an additional punishment because of that abuse of trust,” Rep. Cavaletto said.

According to House Bill 4656, a position of trust includes, but is not limited to, a family member, teacher, scout leader, baby sitter, or day care worker. The victim must be 18 years of age or under for this law to apply.

“A person in a position of trust should not abuse their position to harm children, and if they do, that violation of trust should be taken into account during sentencing.  This law provides a court with the ability to increase a sentence for individuals that use the trust and innocence of their victim to cause harm,” Cavaletto said.

House Bill 4656 passed by a vote of 116-0-0 and will now go to the Senate for consideration.

Click to hear Rep. Cavaletto discuss HB4656……….