Page 26 - FOP March 2017 Newsletter

Most of the debate in Springfield has cen- tered on getting a budget for the state. In the Senate, there has been a strong push from President Cullerton and Republi-
can Leader Radogno to get to a “Grand Bargain.” This effort has been contro- versial and contentious, while also be- ing bipartisan.
As of this writing, the Senate has suc- cessfully passed several bills, which are components of that Grand Bargain. Those include gaming expansion, government consolidation, some pension reform and some appropriations, among other issues. These do not yet include revenue enhancements, a property tax freeze and workers’ comp reform.
The gaming expansion bill Senate Bill 7 (SB 7) is im- portant to Chicago and has passed the Senate. As you may recall, we have worked diligently on this issue for years. The City has agreed with our efforts, and it is now law that any revenue from a Chicago casino would go to pay for Chicago police and fire pensions. That effort
took a big step forward with the passage out of the Sen- ate of SB 7. The effort still has a long road ahead as it needs to pass the House and be signed by the gover-
nor, but this is a major step forward.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s motion to ad-
dress the issue of state employees’ payment con-
tinues to work its way through the courts. It will most certainly wind up at the Illinois Supreme Court. As a reminder: There is currently no appro- priation for state employees to be paid; as such, there is a legal argument that they should not be paid. There are only a few issues that could be big enough to break the logjam that is Springfield – state workers not being paid
is one of them. This will be one to watch.
In addition, AFSCME members have overwhelmingly
approved a strike authorization vote as their impasse with the governor’s office continues.
Regarding legislation that may impact policing and public safety, we continue to watch many bills and con- tinue to work well with the Illinois FOP. We will continue to be a strong voice in those discussions. d
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26 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2017