Rauner Cuts $61,000 from MCC

Shaving a little here, cutting a little there.

The Commons and cafeteria are the most recent renovations to McHenry County College.

The Commons and cafeteria are the most recent renovations to McHenry County College. Last Thursday night Student Trustee Jason Memmen argued the cafeteria was inadequate space for students to socialize.

In trying to balance the disaster of a budget left to him by Democratic Party legislators and ex-Governor Pat Quinn, Governor Bruce Rauner has been making cuts.

Last week his Office of Management and Budget announced that McHenry County College would get $61,255 less.

I figure that’s about one employee’s salary and benefits.

Instead of getting $2,727,255, the college will received $2,665,892.

MCC gets such a pittance of what state officials promised in 1967, it hardly seems to matter.

When the committee that put the successful question on the ballot was being briefed, I remember the following formula being put forth:

  • State – 50%
  • Students – 33 1/3%
  • Local taxpayers 16 2/3%

Always assume that when a higher level of government offers and incentive that its officials will lie.

Elgin Community College, getting about twice as much as McHenry’s, will lose $117,930.


Comments

Rauner Cuts $61,000 from MCC — 5 Comments

  1. Where is the source document for the cuts announced by the Office of Management and Budget?

  2. A post on the Illinois Community College Board web site, which came from Illinois Office of Management and Budget, I believe.

  3. Here’s some information about the State budgeting process and how it effects community colleges.

    The reductions in the article above apply to Fiscal Year 2015, which is July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015.

    The reductions are part of Public Act 99-0001 (PA 99-0001).

    PA 99-0001 reduced the appropriations contained in Public Act 98-0678 (and several other Public Acts).

    PA 98-0678 appropriated money from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Community College Board and the community colleges themselves, amongst other appropriations.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    A brief word on shell bills and sausage making.

    One of the major problems with Illinois state politics is the process to create state laws is broken.

    First, the process allows shell bills which as introduced don’t reflect the bill as passed.

    There are many iterations of shell bills.

    At their worst, the introduced bill and passed bill do not remotely resemble one another, as an illustration of the absurdness, if you started writing a comic book and the result was a book about how to repair a computer.

    This makes following legislation very difficult.

    Here is an example of a shell bill.

    PA 98-0678 as introduced stated, “Appropriates $2 from the General Revenue Fund to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority for its FY15 ordinary and contingent expenses. Effective July 1, 2014.”

    PA 98-0578 as passed does not even mention “Sports Facilities.”

    Next let’s look at how PA 99-0001 was introduced and passed.

    The synopsis of PA 99-0001 as is, “Appropriates $2 from the General Revenue Fund to the Board of Higher Education for its FY16 ordinary and contingent expenses. Effective July 1, 2015.”

    The bill as passed was 304 pages and reduced many if not most state appropriations for FY 2015 and was not effective July 1, 2015, but March 26, 2015.

    In summary, this gets to one of the many major problems of creating laws in the Illinois General Assembly (House and Senate).

    It should be ILLEGAL to introduce a bill as one subject, and change it to another subject.

    Instead, a new bill about the new subject should be introduced.

    Notice below the names on both bills.

    Michael J Madigan and John J Cullerton.

    They are a major part of the problem in Springfield.

    When Mr. Madigan is gone, Mr. Cullerton will likely remain.

    In that fashion the Illinois General Assembly operates in a culture of deception which the public tolerates as sausage making.

    Why are the newspapers not proposing to outlaw shell bills?

    Thousands if not tens of thousands of people know about shell bills.

    But no one does anything about it.

    No State Reps or Senators are introducing a bill to make shell bills illegal.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    PA 98-0678

    House Bill 6094 (HB 6094)

    House Sponsors: Representatives Rep. Michael J. Madigan, Luis Arroyo, & Kenneth Dunkin.

    Senate Sponsors: Senators John J. Cullerton and Dan Kotowski.

    Passed the House May 27, 2014.

    Passed the Senate May 30, 2014.

    Signed into law as Public Act 98-0678 on June 30, 2014 by Governor Pat Quinn.

    http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=6094&GAID=12&GA=98&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=81789&SessionID=85&SpecSess=

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    PA 99-0001

    House Bill 0317 (HB 317)

    House Sponsors: Representatives Michael J. Madigan, Jim Durkin, Barbara Flynn Currie, Mary E. Flowers, & La Shawn K. Ford.

    Senate Sponsors: Senators Heather A. Steans, Christine Radogno, & John J. Cullerton

    Passed the House March 24, 2015.

    Passed the Senate March 25, 2015.

    Signed by Governor Bruce Rauner into law as Public Act 99-0001 on March 26, 2015, effective March 26, 2015.

    http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=0317&GAID=13&GA=99&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=84183&SessionID=88&SpecSess=

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    The Illinois Community College Board has a 3 page document on its website titled, “Fiscal Year 2015 System Grants to Districts.”

    A link to the document currently appears on the home page of the ICCB as, “FY2015 Mid Year Grant Reductions by College.”

    http://www.iccb.state.il.us/pdf/budgets/FY15_Reduced_Grants_by_College.pdf

    Community Colleges are the aforementioned districts.

    For example, McHenry County College is District 528.

    “System Grants” is an accumulation of various grants used in state appropriations for budgeting purposes.

    The document on the ICCB website breaks “System Grants” down to:

    – Base Operating Grants
    – Equalization Grants
    – Small College Grants
    – Special Grants / Add-ons

    McHenry County College, and several other community colleges, only receive Base Operating Grants from this budgeting process.

    Here is the Base Operating Grant Adjustment for McHenry County College for Fiscal Year 2015 which ends June 30, 2015.

    Original FY 2015 Allocation – $2,727,255
    Adjusted FY 2015 Allocation – $2,665,892
    Difference – ($61,363)

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    In addition to Public Act 98-0678, here are several other acts associated with the Fiscal Year 2015 budgeting process for the State of Illinois.

    Public Act – PA Signed – Effective Date — Bill # – Passed House – Passed Senate
    PA 98-0683 – 06/30/2014 – 06/30/2014 – HB 1322 – 04/10/2014 – 05/27/2014
    PA 98-0681 – 06/30/2014 – 07/01/2014 – HB 6097 – 05/27/2014 – 05/30/2014
    PA 98-0680 – 06/30/2014 – 07/01/2014 – HB 6096 – 05/27/2014 – 05/30/2014
    PA 98-0679 – 06/30/2014 – 07/01/2014 – HB 6095 – 05/27/2014 – 05/30/2014
    PA 98-0678 – 06/30/2014 – 07/01/2014 – HB 6094 – 05/27/2014 – 05/30/2014
    PA 98-0677 – 06/30/2014 – 07/01/2014 – HB 6093 – 05/27/2014 – 05/30/2014
    PA 98-0675 – 06/20/2014 – 07/01/2014 – HB 3793 – 05/28/2014 – 05/30/2014
    PA 98-0675 Line Item Veto Art 1, Sect 25, Pg 4, Line 12 for $250,000,000 Capital Repairs.
    PA 98-0642 – 06/09/2014 – 06/09/2014 & 07/09/2014 – HB 6060 – 05/28/2014 – 05/30/2014

    There are various bills whose appropriations were adjusted in FY 2015 that originally passed the General Assembly and were signed into Public Acts in previous Fiscal Years.

    PA 98-0591 – 11/18/2013 – 11/15/2013 – HB 0209 – 11/05/2013 – 11/07/2013
    PA 98-0050 – 07/02/2013 – 07/02/2013 – HB 0215 – 05/28/2013 – 05/31/2013
    PA 98-0050 Line Item Veto
    PA 95-0782
    PA 95-0728
    PA 95-0576
    PA 95-0425
    PA 94-1020
    PA 91-0832
    PA 91-0656
    PA 91-0382
    PA 87-0763
    PA 86-0928
    PA 85-0928
    PA 84-1432
    PA 84-1340

  4. Just wonder how many public sector jobs could be eliminated if we forced all government units to stand on their own with no state or federal funding?

    Most federal grants assign FIFTEEN to TWENTY percent right off the top for administration.

    Applying for grants, legislating allocations of state and federal collected revenue to other government entities creates a LOT of Public Sector jobs.

    There was a time (not long ago) when Townships handled ALL ‘snow’ events with their own financial resources.

    Now, Townships receive reimbursement from FEMA after ‘serious’ snow events.

    This has created a lot of new jobs in the public sector.

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