Shoveling manure to the mushrooms: must be budget time in Illinois; Plus: Sign up for our expert pension forum

PENSION TOWN HALL Reboot Illinois is teaming up with the Daily Herald of Arlington Heights to host an expert pension forum at 7 p.m. April 24 at Wheeling Township Town Hall in Arlington Heights. Panelists are Rep. Elaine Nekritz, Rep. Tom Morrison and Illinois Education Association President Cinda Klickna. Nekritz is sponsor of a comprehensive pension reform bill with bi-partisan support in the House, Morrison is the sponsor of a pension reform bill backed by the Illinois Policy Institute that would move public employees to a 401(k)-style retirement savings plan. Clickna heads the state's largest teachers union.

This promises to be an informative and insightful discussion of arguably the greatest fiscal challenge in the state's history. Seating is limited so advance registration is required. Find out more and register here.

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SPRINGTIME FOR MUSHROOMS There's a reason why rank-and-file lawmakers are called "mushrooms," writes longtime Illinois Statehouse journalist Scott Reeder. "They are called that because they are kept in the dark and shoveled a lot of manure by their leaders." This is never more true than during budget season, when the year's biggest, most complicated and most important piece of legislation gets dropped on their desks and called for a vote in a matter of hours. Reeder wonders in his column this week why all members of the General Assembly don't get at least 72 hours to look over the state budget before having to vote on it. Read it here.

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INCUMBENT PROTECTION PROGRAM Better Government Association President Andy Shaw marvels at the creative ways local election boards find to kick challengers of their cronies off of election ballots. It's one reason why so many incumbents in tomorrow's elections are unopposed. "Ah, the beauty of our dysfunctional state laws with their endless conflicts of interest," writes Shaw. (Editor's note: He's being sarcastic.) Amazingly, a bill in Springfield to change this system has gone nowhere. Shaw's weekly column is here.

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DAILY TIP-OFF Between January 2012 and March 2013, electric producers ComEd and Ameren contributed $1.3 to the campaign funds of various Illinois lawmakers of both parties. Coincidentally, a "smart grid" bill pushed by the two utilities sailed through the Illinois General Assembly last month, The Better Government Association wonders about this "coincidence."

We've been looking forward to Mondays for several months now because each Monday brings a new installment in GateHouse News Service's "Deadbeat Illinois" series, which highlights the ways Illinois' bill backlog and slow bill payment is causing serious hardship for lots of people in Illinois. Today's focus, courtesy of the Rockford Register Star, is the panic the state's trouble is causing for city and county governments. They're owed $293 million, though that's just a tiny slice of the $6.5 billion in the state's official bill backlog.

The final round of hearings for Chicago's controversial plan to close 54 schools began over the weekend, though attendance was sparse. Those who did attend complained that the closing decision already had been made and their opinions would make no difference. One especially interesting piece in today's news comes from the Chicagoist blog, which describes a guided tour by the Chicago Teachers Union through the neighborhoods where the soon-to-be-closed schools are located. The Chicagoist is not sold on CTU's intended message.

Reuters offers a thorough piece analyzing the challenges for lawmakers trying to fix Illinois' pension system. The biggest, of course, is getting a reform bill written and passed that will both save the pension funds from insolvency and remove the danger they pose to the entire state budget. Then comes the constitutional challenge. The House passed some major reform bills right before its two-week break, which ends when lawmakers resume their work on Tuesday.

And is Illinois losing $150 million a year to offshore tax havens? The Illinois Public Interest Research Group says it is.

Find links to these and other Illinois reform news articles in our Daily Tip-Off section.

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WE'RE HIRING! We are looking for a director of outreach to work with our partners both on social media platforms and in the communities. See the job description here.  Know anyone who would be a great fit? Let them know about us!

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