30 March 2011

News from Springfield….by State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25)

            It was a cold and windy Saturday in early March.  But our mood, at 72^nd and Merrill, was toasty and warm.

            We were there to celebrate the finish of a comprehensive weatherization project.  The 40-unit building, Merrill Court Apartments, was eligible for the state and federally funded low-income home energy initiative.  The money was used for an energy audit, for caulking, for insulation and for new furnaces.

            Note that the furnaces don’t come first.  Critical to the success of the weatherization program is a check-up to find out where there is air leakage, where there is inadequate control over heating levels and, finally, whether a more efficient furnace would in fact save energy and cut down on the tenant’s heating costs.  It would make no sense to put in a new furnace only to find, down the road, that it’s doing a fine job of heating the great out of doors.

            The program operates through CEDA, the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County.  On hand to cut the theoretical ribbon were Robert Wharton, CEDA’s president and CEO, and John Hamilton, weatherization director.   

We were treated to a demonstration of the diagnostic tests that indicate whether the air stays indoors and where a window frame might need sealing.  A pretty high-tech system, it relies on infrared cameras.  We checked out the new equipment in a third-floor apartment.  The new furnace was much smaller and much more efficient than the one it replaced.  It’s expected to cut utility bills in half.

Many single-family houses and apartment buildings are eligible for free energy efficiency audits from CEDA.  Call Cappy Kidd at 312-564-8488.  And the weatherization program is available for multi-family residences if two-thirds of the residents meet income qualifications—a little more than $44,000, for example, for a family of four.  For information, call 800-571-2332.

And in the meantime, I’m delighted our friends at Merrill Court will enjoy warmer winters—and lower heating bills.

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21 January 2011

Our State Senator, Kwame Raoul,  our neighboring State Rep. Will Burns and I have penned a letter explaining our support for the recent tax increase legislation in Springfield.  Here it is.

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The state's fiscal crisis has dominated newspaper headlines for the last two years. In our view, the coverage has veered toward the sensational and the partisan. 

The state's budget woes are the result of several factors.  The first is, of course, the recession of 2008.  The recession reduced state revenues by some 25% in a single year. The second cause is Illinois' decades-long structural deficit.  Under both Republican and Democratic governors, and with help from both Republican and Democratic legislators, state government has failed to balance its on-going revenue streams with state spending.  Budgets passed using one-time revenue fixes and other budget gimmickry unfortunately papered over the structural problems.

In the last two years we have cut the budget by $3 billion. Our state workforce, on a per capita basis, is the smallest in the country.  We have reduced pension benefits for future state employees and approved reforms to the Medicaid program that will restore integrity to the program and require new efficiencies.

Yet we still faced a $14 billion deficit - a deficit equal to half of the state's general revenue fund.

This crisis is unprecedented in Illinois history.  We could fire every state employee and the state would still be in the red. We could reduce education spending to zero and the state would still be in the red.

The crisis demands responsible action.  First, the state must pay its outstanding debts to contractors and providers.  It's inexcusable that the state treats them as if they were our bankers.   Second, we must control the growth of state spending.  Senate Bill 2505 fits the bill.  It proposes an increase from 3% to 5% in the individual income tax and an increase from 4.8% to 7% in the corporate rate. Most of the rate hike is temporary.  The Taxpayer Accountability and Budget Stabilization Act, which is part of SB 2505, sets serious limits on state spending.  If the legislature spends above the limit, the income tax is automatically-and immediately-repealed. 

These are difficult times which require real leadership and tough decisions.  Raising taxes is never a happy choice.  But doing nothing would have been worse.  We are in a crisis, and SB 2505 will set us on the road to fiscal health and financial stability.

State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25)

State Rep. Will Burns (D-26)

State Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-13)

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District Update by ...............

State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie

Our District did well in the competition for federal Transit Enhancement Projects. The legislature has appropriated the federal funds, and the winners were announced last week. The Illinois Department of Transportation will develop a separate bicycle track along Stony Island Avenue between 69th and 77th Streets. Parking lanes will be reconfigured, so that opening the car door won’t risk harm to a cyclist, and a bike lane will be installed along the curb lane. Next, a bicycle trail from Stony Island to the existing lakefront trail will be built near 59th Street. These two projects, with several other improvements, will provide a protected connection between Hyde Park and other southeast side neighborhoods to the lakefront trail—thus all the way to McCormick Place, downtown Chicago and beyond. Our third winner is the continuation of the streetscape on Lake Park Avenue, between 47th and 56th Streets. Safer bus stops and attractive embankments are on the drawing board as are new lighting, new sidewalks and improved landscaping for the 47th and 56th Street viaducts. 

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Courtesy of I-GO, our nonprofit car-sharing program, I had a chance to drive the all-electric Mitsubishi i-Miev last month. I-GO plans to add 30 all-electrics to its current fleet of 250 fuel-efficient cars. I-GO, an affiliate of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, is focused on reducing the number of cars on city streets and cutting down pollution. The car was a treat to drive, but it’s unbelievably quiet. I worry that, without adding a bell or a whistle, an unsuspecting pedestrian could be in trouble. The biggest problem with the electric car is the need for car-charging stations. Home chargers are impracticable. Some gasoline stations are looking into the opportunity to install them, and the City of Chicago has asked companies to bid to provide them. The bid includes 36 car-chargers for I-GO. Vroom, vroom!

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There’s a change at the top in the Currie District Service Office. Ted Fetters has moved on. He’s the new Director for Program Management at the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition. We miss him—and we wish him well.

His replacement is Ryan O’Leary. Ryan comes to us from Minnesota, with a degree from the William Mitchell College of Law. He also earned a Master’s from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago last June. We’re delighted he’s on board.

We’re lucky we still have Annette Harley and Jackie Bearden to help you cut bureaucratic red tape. And our University of Chicago College intern, Alex Sisto, is back this year to give you a hand as well. We have a new intern, Abra Lyon-Warner. Abra’s a first-year student in the School of Social Service Administration at the U. of C.

So give us a call at 773-667-0550. Or, better yet, stop by the office, 1303 E. 53rd Street, say hello, and let us know how we can help you.

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1 August 2010

News from Springfield ………

By State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie

A lengthy story on Illinois’ financial problems was recently featured in the New York Times. Some of the reporter’s conclusions were, at best, exaggerations. He likened us to Greece. But the Greek national debt is more than 100% of its GDP, while the comparable number for Illinois is approximately 6%.

There is, however, no doubt that the state is in very serious fiscal difficulties. Many of our fiscal problems, shared with most of our sister states, do in fact reflect the worst recession since the Great Depression.

The reporter quoted me as saying, “In the long run, we’ll muddle our way through.”

But he missed the context. “Muddling through” is not my preferred course.

We have offered significant cuts in the budget. Last year we cut almost $2.5 billion from the previous year's spending. In the current budget the legislature made an additional $300 million in cuts in agency operations. The Governor, given the fiscal realities, is indeed going to have to make some additional cuts. In the legislature there were efforts to make deeper cuts in state spending. But, one might ask, how deeply do we wish to cut into bone? Those efforts failed. Many Democrats couldn't bear to see human and social service programs on the trash heap. Republicans, having taken a leaf from the playbook their friends at the federal level are following, just vote no.

We tried to raise taxes. I sponsored the Governor's proposal for a hefty hike in the Illinois individual income tax – even with the increase, we would have remained a state with one of the lowest rates among the states that tax income. On the roll call, there were 42 voting yes. The bill needed 60 to pass. Again, not a single Republican voted yes.

Borrowing isn't popular with the populace or the press, but we are faced with a singular problem if we don't find a way to put an additional $3.8 billion into the state's pension liabilities this year. I offered a proposal to borrow the money over an eight-year period. The interest cost to taxpayers would have been approximately $1 billion. Failing to borrow will, according to the pension systems' actuaries, cost the taxpayers some $20 billion over time. Two Republicans defected from the party position and helped us pass the bill in the House (both were immediately demoted from their leadership posts), but we don't yet have the votes it takes in the Senate to get the job done.

So here we are. We can make cuts. But to rely on cuts alone to solve the fiscal dilemma would seriously undercut our responsibilities to the poor, to schoolchildren, to the vulnerable, and to the fragile. We could raise revenues, and I believe we must.

There is not, apparently, as yet the legislative will to do either. Faced with no other options, I'm afraid we will have to do our best to muddle through. Let me be extremely explicit on this point – "muddling through" is not my preferred course. It leaves me dismayed and heartsick that this is the only current option available, and that some cannot muster the political courage to do the right thing for the sake of our state, its people and future generations.

I will continue to search for responsible cuts. And I will continue to fight for the revenues we need to balance the budget and keep Illinois state government on course.

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22 June 2010

News from Springfield..................by State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25)

Courtesy of Casey Family Programs, I recently spent a day in Washington, D.C. The event brought together child welfare representatives from 12 states for meetings with Congressional staffers and high-ranking officials in the Department of Health and Human Services. The focus was on reform of the federal program that helps fund family preservation and foster care services.

I was pleased to join Erwin McEwen, our highly regarded Director of the Department of Children and Family Services, in representing Illinois. And I was delighted that the new Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families in the Department of Health and Human Services is his predecessor, Bryan Samuels.

Casey Family Programs, a close relative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is dedicated to improving outcomes for children at risk of abuse and neglect. It works to increase the number of children who can safely stay at home; when that isn’t possible, the Casey commitment encourages states to find permanent alternatives for our young.

The last 15 years have seen a sea change in the national landscape for vulnerable youngsters. In 1997, for example, there were 52,000 Illinois infants, children and adolescents in the care of the state’s Department of Family Services. Today the number is 15,500. Casey Family Programs hopes to reduce the numbers even further: the goal is a 50 percent reduction by 2020.

Why have things changed? Today child welfare services are focused on addressing the needs of families before children have to come into care. At the time when Illinois saw 52,000 children in care, we witnessed the occasional high-profile case in which a parent killed or seriously endangered a child, which meant that preventing physical harm to children had to be the agency’s urgent focus. In those days, child welfare dollars were rarely spent on prevention. But research into brain and child development makes clear that children who can safely stay with their families are happier, better adjusted and more successful in the long run than children who can’t. Of course the key word is ‘safely’, and that word has encouraged the child welfare system to focus on the supports families need in order to provide that safe environment.

It doesn’t always work. And here too Casey Family Programs has a prescription. Children who are bounced from one foster placement to the next do not fare well. In fact, the director of one state agency said the government itself commits child abuse when a child faces eight, ten or 15 foster placements before aging out of the system. The answer? Focus on adoptions and permanent guardianships.

We met in Washington to encourage the federal government to change the way it helps states fund services for at-risk kids. A major problem is that eligibility for funding is based on income eligibility under the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. But as AFDC was repealed in 1997, the income limits haven’t changed even though the cost of living has. And the states Casey brought together would like more flexibility in spending federal dollars. The government has granted a limited number of waivers. All the states at our conference have improved outcomes for at-risk youth, but the waiver states find it easier to carve out new and responsive routes to meet that goal.

I know our messages fell upon open ears. I’m hopeful that those who were listening will be able to spread that word to the rest of the federal government.

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23 June 2010

On Tuesday, June 29 I will host an informational town hall meeting with Rep. Will Burns and Sen. Kwame Raoul. We want to spread the word about the Urban Weatherization Initiative Act, a $425 million federal program aimed at providing jobs, technical training and improved energy efficiency. The meeting is set for 6:00 p.m. at Kenwood Academy High School, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave.

Experts from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will be on hand to explain the program and answer questions. The Act is intended to increase skills for the under/unemployed, to improve residential energy efficiency and thus lower home heating and cooling costs, and to create jobs.

The implementation of this initiative could be a boon to our local economy. It also offers a practical way for individuals to address global warming. Private, public and not-for-profit groups will team up with community-based organizations to train and employ people to provide weatherization services. Our neighbors will not only reap the benefits of training and employment, but will also be eligible for weatherization projects in their homes and apartments that will cost them little or nothing.

My hope is that the program will stimulate the economy by hiring local residents and using local suppliers and distributors of weatherization equipment. Targeted buildings are owner-occupied single-family homes and multifamily apartment buildings of six units or less in census tracts with high rates of unemployment, underemployment and poverty.

Qualifying weatherization activities include repair and replacement of inefficient water heaters, furnaces and air conditioners as well as weather stripping, caulking, window and door replacement, and pipe and duct insulation.

The Act provides that weatherization costs of up to $6,500 can be spent for an individual housing unit. And these dollars can be combined with the existing Illinois Home Weatherization Program (IHWAP) for a total potential unit benefit of $13,000.

I hope to see you next Tuesday, June 29 at Kenwood Academy. If you have questions, you can reply directly to this e-mail or call my District Service Office at 773-667-0550.
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As the current school year winds to an end, many students are preparing to embark on their first year of college. Inevitably, part of that planning is figuring out how to pay. Below are a few resources I'm happy to share.

If you have questions about these or other programs, please give my office a call at 773-667-0550 or send an e-mail to RepCurrie@sbcglobal.net.

Illinois Student Assistance Commission

In 1957, state lawmakers created the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to help make sure that financial considerations don't prevent Illinois students from realizing their postsecondary educational goals. ISAC's mission is to make college accessible and affordable for all Illinois students. It's by far the largest provider of financial aid in the state.

ISAC is a one-stop financial aid center, offering a comprehensive array of programs and services. At every stage of the financial aid process, ISAC is there, acting as a centralized source of information and guidance. ISAC administers most of the key state and federal grant, scholarship, loan and prepaid tuition programs available to postsecondary students. It annually awards close to $750,000,000 to nearly 250,000 qualified applicants.

As a one-stop center, ISAC tries not only to broaden access to postsecondary education, but to simplify the process of reaching that goal as well. Visit www.CollegeZone.com to learn more about how ISAC can assist you.

Conference of Women Legislators Scholarship

The Conference of Women Legislators (COWL), a bipartisan coalition of women legislators in the Illinois General Assembly, awards a limited number of scholarships as part of its mission to promote economic independence, community service and leadership development. The scholarship program is geared to ward mature women who want to earn a college degree. Each grant is $2,500.

Scholarship applicants are required to enroll in an Illinois accredited college or university for a minimum of seven credit hours to qualify, which means the scholarships are available to part-time as well as full-time students. In addition to academic achievement, the scholarship committee also considers the applicant's commitment to community service. Applications must be postmarked by April 09, 2010. Awardees will be notified of the decisions by May 7, 2010. Scholarship applications may be downloaded from the COWL website at www.cowlil.com.


General Assembly Scholarship

Although the House has voted to eliminate General Assembly tuition waivers, it isn't clear whether the Senate will follow suit. Should they not, I will continue to make the waivers available for people who live in the 25th Representative District and plan to attend or are currently attending an Illinois state university.

A total of eight one-year tuition waivers are awarded annually. Renewal is not guaranteed, but successful applicants are welcome to re-apply. Applications must be received in the District Service Office by June 15.

Applications are reviewed by the 25th District Scholarship Committee. The Scholarship Committee has established a set of criteria on which to grant the awards. These criteria are included in the General Assembly Scholarship Packet.

Click here to download the General Assembly Scholarship Packet.

Good luck with your college plans!

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Voter's Guide

Mid-term primary elections are nearly here, with some important dates approaching quickly. I write to share these dates with you along with important information about voting this year. If you have any questions, please call our District Service Office at 773.667.0550. Or drop by 1303 E. 53rd St. You can also send an email to repcurrie@sbcglobal.net. We're happy to help in any way we can.



Voter Registration

January 5, 2010 is the deadline to register to vote to be eligible to cast a ballot in the February 2, 2010 Primary Election.

If you're not sure whether you're registered to vote, you can check the status of your registration by clicking here.

In Chicago, voters may register:

• by submitting the mail-in form (click here), which must be postmarked no later than January 5th.
• in person at 69 W. Washington St., Sixth Floor.
• through an active deputy registrar affiliated with a local organization, such as a political party, ward office, business, etc.
• at any driver's license facility.

Early Voting

Early voting for the 2010 Primary Election will be offered Jan. 11 through Jan. 28, 2010. To vote early, just bring a government-issued photo ID card.

Chicago voters may vote at any of the city's 51 sites, regardless of where they live. Hours for all sites are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18.

You can vote early downtown at the Board of Elections, 69 W. Washington St., Lower Level Conference Room. This location is also open on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Here's a list of early voting sites in and around the 25th District:

• 4th Ward -- M L King Community Ctr. 4314 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
• 5th Ward -- Jackson Park 6401 S. Stony Island Ave.
• 7th Ward -- Jeffery Manor Library 2401 E. 100th St.
• 10th Ward -- Vodak/East Side Library 3710 E. 106th St. This location is also open on Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• 20th Ward -- Coleman Library 731 E. 63rd St.

Grace Period Voting

Grace period voting is a safety net offered to those who failed to register by the January 5th deadline.

A grace period voter must register and vote at the same time in person at the Election Board offices at 69 W. Washington St. on the Sixth Floor. Grace period registration and voting will be offered Jan. 6 thru Jan. 26, 2010.



Absentee Voting

Voters are allowed to cast their ballots before Election Day either in person at an early voting site or by mail through absentee voting.

All persons registered to vote in Chicago are eligible to cast absentee ballots. The voter must file a completed and signed request for an absentee ballot by the legal deadline:

• Applications from military and civilians overseas must be received at the Election Board by close of business on Jan. 25.
• Applications from voters in the United States must be received at the Election Board by close of business on Jan. 22.

To download the absentee ballot application, click here.

Under a new law, voters in Illinois don't need to offer a reason to vote absentee.

In addition, the following unregistered voters are eligible to vote by absentee ballot:

• Members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine and their spouses and dependents, whether serving in the United States or abroad.
• U.S. citizens and their spouses or dependents whose permanent residences are in Chicago but who will be temporarily living abroad on Election Day.
• U.S. citizens (not their spouses or dependents) who maintained a residence in Chicago immediately before their departure from the United States.

If you're planning on voting absentee, be sure to apply early to make sure your application arrives in time.

Happy New Year -- and happy voting!

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18 December 2009

News from Springfield..................by State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25)

The federal courts recently ended oversight of the Chicago Public School system's progress in racial and ethnic integration of the student body. Under the federal decree, CPS was required to guarantee specific racial and ethnic enrollment goals for magnet and selective enrollment schools. Two years ago a United States Supreme Court decision cast doubt on the ability of a school system, absent federal court intervention, to take race into account in individual cases.

The CPS response for the next academic year is to ignore race entirely in its admission policies for these schools. It will instead rely solely on socio-economic status (SES). The SES standard will not attach to a particular student applicant, but rather reflect the general geography of the student's neighborhood. However, even within a single census tract, let alone an entire neighborhood, great variations in social class are not unusual.

My colleagues state Rep. Will Burns (D-26) and Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-13) and I are sufficiently concerned about the possible loss of minority enrollment in our high-performing magnet and selective enrollment schools that we wrote an open letter to CPS chief Ron Huberman.

We think the Supreme Court decision does not deny a school system the ability to use race at all as a factor in the admissions process. Justice Kennedy's controlling opinion makes clear that while race cannot be used as the sole factor, race can be used in a nuanced way to promote racial and ethnic diversity. As Justice Kennedy wrote, "the decision today should not prevent school districts from continuing the important work of bringing together students of different racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds."

The Louisville school system took Kennedy's words to heart and continues to use race as one factor in the admissions process. We suggest CPS embrace this approach rather than relying solely on SES.

Racial diversity dropped significantly in the San Franciso, Charlotte and Cambridge public schools when student assignment plans were based solely on SES.

Ours is a diverse city. To ensure our continued viability and vibrancy we must continue our commitment to inclusion and equal opportunity. Without using race as a factor, we fear that our magnet and selective enrollment schools will no longer reflect the diversity that makes our city great.

We hope Mr. Huberman will reconsider his decision. We think he would be on solid ground if he used race as one factor in the admissions policy and we fear that, if he won't, CPS will find itself taking several steps backwards in the struggle to ensure truly equal opportunity to all our children.

I'll let you know Mr. Huberman's response.

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6 November 2009

News from Springfield..................by State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-25)

If Governor Quinn signs the bill, Illinois will join 45 other states in limiting the amount of money that can be contributed to election campaigns.

I worked closely with CHANGE Illinois!, (www.changeil.org) a coalition of more than 50 civic, business and labor groups, and with the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform in crafting the final product. My hat is off to both of these reform organizations for their willingness to participate in good-faith negotiations with the Governor, the House and the Senate. While we didn’t get all we wanted, the bill is a significant step along the way to a cleaner and fairer system for funding politics in Illinois.

The limits on giving are reasonable. They vary—individuals can give less than can political action committees, for example—but they apply across the board. All interests, from business to trade to labor, will be limited in their ability to fund candidate campaigns and party organizations. The limits apply in each election cycle. An earlier version instead tied the limits to the calendar year which, arguably, gave incumbents a fund-raising advantage.

The measure gets high marks for its commitment to transparency and accountability.

Today candidates report contributions and spending twice a year. Under the new bill, reports will be quarterly. As well, any contribution of $1,000 or more that a candidate committee receives must be disclosed in a timely fashion.

The State Board of Elections is empowered for the first time to conduct random audits of political committees to make sure they’re following the law. If there’s reason to suspect wrongdoing, the Board can audit for cause. Violators will be subject to strengthened penalties.

The bill limits the amounts of money party committees can contribute to candidates in primary campaigns. The limits depend on the contest. They are higher for statewide candidates, for example, than for county hopefuls. They apply in the aggregate, which means that contributions from ward and township organizations, county parties, caucus and state parties count together toward the limit.

The sticking point was whether or not the limits should also apply to general elections. The Supreme Court has ruled that even if expenditures help a candidate, they can’t be limited if they are not directly coordinated with that campaign. The legislative leaders were concerned that preventing parties from coordinating a response with candidates who are under attack from outside organizations with no funding limits would put them and their nominees at an unfair disadvantage. Think Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group whose television ads undercut John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign.

The reform advocates will continue to press for general election limits on political party contributions. Primary limits, in the meantime, are not trivial. In 2008, only a few primaries for the General Assembly featured a contest, and in more than half the districts the winner of the primary faced no opposition in the general election. Limits on party leaders might encourage more people to run for public office as limits help level the playing field between challengers and those with party backing.

One of the hallmarks of the campaign reform bill is the creation of a bi-partisan task force that is charged with the responsibility to assess the effects of the reforms, to make further recommendations, and to examine the utility of a voluntary system of public financing for all state offices.

Maybe our last and best answer isn’t limits on party contributions in general elections. Maybe public financing is a surer bet if one’s goal is to take special interest money out of election campaigns.

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