Dear Friends,
Tuesday of this week brought the much anticipated primary election. It was exciting to monitor the election results and watch the outcomes unfold. I think my predictions were pretty accurate. I can tell you I won’t miss all the robo-calls and negative commercials.
House Votes to End Legislative Scholarship Program
Many years ago, the General Assembly began a program which allowed each legislator to award up to 8 full year scholarships (per legislative term) for State Universities. These scholarships have never been funded by the legislature. Instead, the universities are forced to absorb the cost of the program. This program invited corruption from the beginning and we have multiple current and former legislators under investigation for abusing this program.
I, like many of my colleagues, have opposed the Legislative Scholarship Program since I took office and refused to place this undue burden on our State universities. The time has come for this program to end and I was happy to see legislation abolishing the program pass through the House this week.
Investigative Committee
A group of House lawmakers called for the creation of a Special Investigative Committee to begin looking into allegations and charges of impropriety that prompted the recent arrest of Representative Derrick Smith (10th District, Chicago).
On March 13, 2012, Representative Smith was arrested on a federal bribery charge following an undercover investigation by the FBI. According to the charge, Representative Smith accepted a $7,000 cash bribe to write an official letter of support for a daycare center that he believed was seeking a state grant.
The House Investigative Committee, similar to that formed following the arrest of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, will determine what, if any, disciplinary action the House should take against Representative Smith.
It’s hard to believe that even after the high profile conviction of our past two Governors, this level of corruption is still happening. If the Investigative Committee finds that the FBI’s charges hold water, then we must vote to remove Representative Smith from office and allow the 10th District the honest representation that they deserve.
Medicaid Budget Crisis
On Thursday, Director of Healthcare and Family Services Julie Hamos presented a “Medicaid 101” presentation to those legislators who were interested in gaining a better understanding of the Medicaid Crisis in our state. In the next few months, we will be focused on putting together a balanced budget – living within our means.
One of the major components of the state’s budget is the bulging Medicaid cost. Our Medicaid membership has skyrocketed to 2.7 million adults and children. This number has grown over a million people in just 10 short years. The Medicaid bill costs will have grown over $1 – 1.5 million between the 2012 and 2013 budget years.
During the Governor’s budget address, he proposed cutting over $2.7 million in Medicaid. However, he did not specify where those cuts would be made. Director Hamos’ presentation laid out an overview of who receives Medicaid, an overview of the programs and services offered, what reforms have been put in place and are being implemented now, and a detailed description of the crisis – how we got here and potential cuts to existing programs.
In a nutshell, we got here by over promising and a poor economic climate. I would like to see implementation of residency and income verification. A year after the bi-partisan Medicaid reforms were passed in January 2011, we are finally starting to implement this verification process. There are estimates of several hundred million dollars in potential savings from this verification alone. Other options for Medicaid savings is the Optional Services. Optional Services are those programs that are offered through the State but are not required by the Federal Medicaid Program. Thus, there is no match from the federal government and the cost rides solely on the taxpayers of Illinois. These programs will be closely reviewed and tough decisions will have to be made.
Caustic Substances
This week the House passed legislation to clarify last year’s “caustic substance” bill, which required photo ID and a signature from a person purchasing industrial grade cleaners.
While the law is aimed at sulfuric acid, lye, and similar industrial strength chemicals; merchants are finding that the vague language in the bill might require them to ask for identification for items such as drain and toilet cleaners and pool chemicals. Faced with up to a $1,500 fine, merchants are playing it safe and requiring consumers to sign the chemical registration log.
With the clarification passed this week, people purchasing these common household items will no longer need to show ID and sign their name.
ONLINE SURVEY
There is still time to you have your voice heard. If you have not had a chance to take our recently launched online survey please visit my website at roth.ilhousegop.org and click on “Online Survey” under Resources on the right-hand side to complete the survey. I greatly appreciate all constituent feedback to help me serve you better as the spring legislative session continues.
As always, please feel welcome to call us at (815) 416-1475 or e-mail me at pamrothd75@gmail.com with any questions, concerns, or feedback you may have.
Sincerely,
Pam Roth
State Representative – 75th District
