Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • A2

A2 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 DECATUR HERALD REVIEW 1 Budget From A1 Under his plan, those debts would be paid by 2052 instead of 2045. Years of underfunding pen- sions has pushed this ob- ligation to $9 billion. budget I present to you today is an honest Pritzker told lawmakers. costs are not hidden, the rev- enues I propose are not out of reach, the hole we need to ll is not He said the plan ects some of my most deeply held values and the hopes of voters who sent us here but tempered by the knowledge that we must hold the line on Pritzker has said that legaliz- ing recreational cannabis could generate as much as $1 billion in tax revenue a year. If approved this spring, the next budget would include $170 million in start-up licensing fees.

But he said there would be more than a scal impact. should take this action for our state because of the cial criminal and social justice implications and the jobs it will Pritzker said. be honest, like it or not, canna- bis is readily available right now. I would rather the state tax it and regulate Sports betting, allowed by a recent U.S. Supreme Court rul- ing, also could be lucrative for Il- linois, although there are plenty of Midwestern states looking to get involved.

Pritzker also pro- posed $390 million in revenue from a tax on insurance compa- nies, cally managed care organizations to help cover the Medicaid program costs. There would be $65 million more in taxes on cigarettes and e-cig- arettes and closures and caps on corporate loopholes and dis- counts. Republicans voiced concerns about new taxes. heard a lot in his speech about more spending, more tax increases and concepts tried in the said Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady of Bloomington. we are going to put Illinois on a path forward, then we need to learn from history, not repeat Pritzker said he would add $375 million to public education funding as required by a 2017 revamped funding formula, provide more money for early childhood education and univer- sities and beef up public safety with more Illinois State Police troopers.

Reporters were briefed on the details after the speech by deputy Gov. Dan Hynes and Pritzker budget director Alexis Sturm, but the press ce prohibited reporters from quoting the two directly. The Associated Press chose not to participate. The governor touted the min- imum wage plan he signed into law this week and said he would begin negotiations immediately to develop a plan to replace the at-rate income tax system with a graduated tax, requiring a greater percentage of income from wealthier taxpayers. But that can play no role in the budget year that begins July 1.

It would require voter approval to change the Constitution, and the earliest the question could be put on the ballot would be in November 2020. Pritzker began his speech ask- ing for a moment of silence for the people killed and wounded in the Aurora warehouse shooting last Friday. Tanner 19 NEWS Our commitment to accuracy See an error in our reporting? We want you to tell us about issues regard- ing accuracy and fairness. Contact (217) 421-8905 or review.com. Past corrections are at Digital Mobile Social media Print Proudly serving Central Illinois since 1872 601 E.

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The Herald Review is published daily at 601 E. William St. by Lee Enterprises Central Illinois. Periodicals postage paid at Decatur, Illinois, post office. LOTTERY WEDNESDAY Pick Three-Midday 9-5-4, Fireball: 4 Pick Three-Evening 3-8-4, Fireball: 2 Pick Four-Midday 8-2-9-1 Fireball: 5 Pick Four-Evening 9-3-9-7, Fireball: 5 Lucky Day Lotto-Midday 25-36-8-18-34 Lucky Day Lotto-Evening 44-30-2-41-39 Lotto Jackpot $10.5 million Mega Millions Jackpot $224 million Powerball 50-52-49-51-27 Powerball: 2 Power Play: 2 Jackpot: $282 million Harvard science historian Naomi Oreskes, who wrote the book of on climate denial, pointed to instances when Happer has claimed that carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas from the burning of coal, oil and gas, is good for humans and that carbon emissions have been demonized like poor Jews under bio at Princeton University, where he previously taught, describes him as a pio- neer in the eld of optically po- larized atoms.

It notes that he served in the administration of President George H.W. Bush as the director of energy research at the Department of Energy, where he oversaw a basic research bud- get of roughly $3 billion. The National Security Coun- cil advises the president on se- curity and foreign policy issues. According to the discussion pa- per, the council would fund and oversee the committee. Among the responsibili- ties would be to exist- ing United States Government reports on climate for accuracy and advise on the na- tional security implications of climate The committee would be com- posed of 12 members, according to a draft of the executive order.

Members would include experts in national security and climate science. The panel would advise the president on how climate change in the future under natural and human u- A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment. The Washington Post rst reported on the proposed executive order establishing the climate security committee. Trump once tweeted that climate change was a More recently, he used a cold snap that hit much of the nation last month to again cast doubts. last out- side even for minutes.

What the hell is going on with Global Waming (sic)? Please come back fast, we need he tweeted. Both the Pentagon and the intelligence team have mentioned climate change as a national security threat, and a 2018 National Climate Assess- ment detailed drastic ects of global warming. Over about a dozen years, gov- ernment scientists, military lead- ers and intelligence experts have repeatedly highlighted climate change as a major national secu- rity risk, said Titley, who founded one such study team in the Navy. Titley said these studies have come to the same conclusions under three presidents, includ- ing two Republicans. He said there are surprising number of documents from the Pentagon and intelligence community af- ter January 2017 (when Trump took ce) that talk about cli- mate and security the Pentagon, about Titley said.

the intelligence community, about risks. We see the risks are Voting From A1 Panel From A1 Well, this is especially true in the consolidated elec- tion, in which voters determine who will represent them on on city councils, village boards, library boards, community col- lege boards and school boards. most no- table races are in the city of Decatur, which has contests for mayor and city council. Incumbent Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe, who has held the position since being appointed in 2015, seeks her rst four-year term in ce. She faces a chal- lenge from current city coun- cilman David Horn and Jacob Jenkins, an employee of the Il- linois Department of Human Services and chairman of the Greater Decatur Black Chamber of Commerce.

For the three available council seats, incumbents Lisa Gregory and Bill Faber will face ve chal- lengers: retiree Marty Watkins, accountant Shavon Francis, Taylorville Correctional Cen- ter Warden Shelith Hansbro, Skywalker International Sports Complex CEO Rodney Walker and auto shop owner John Phil- lips Jr. Councilwoman Dr. Dana Ray opted to step down at the end of her term. Another notable local election is for the Decatur Board of Educa- tion, which has three open seats but only one incumbent, cur- rent board President Dan Oakes, seeking re-election. The other candidates are retired teacher Leara Evans, Decatur attorney Regan Lewis and Andrew Taylor, economic development cer for Decatur and Macon County.

Incumbents Brian Hodges and Sherri Perkins will step down at the end of their terms. If on political overload, good news: Not enough candidates led to require a pri- mary election. How can I vote early? Early voting will be available in the Macon County ce on the rst oor of the Macon County ce Building at 141 S. Main St. in Decatur.

Until March 22, the ce will allow early vot- ing on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ce hours expand to 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. the week before the election, as well as Monday, April 1.

The lone week- end day for early voting will be Saturday, March 30, from 9 a.m. to noon. There should be minimal delay if a person is already registered to vote, said Macon County Clerk Josh Tanner. Those who are not registered are allowed to do so at the ce during early vot- ing, and can cast a ballot once registration is complete. Those who register must bring an ID or proof of their Macon County residency.

Should I expect lines? Tanner said people should be able to come into the ce and vote with- out much concern about lines. Things could become busier as it gets closer to Election Day, but Tanner said the ipside is that consolidated elections generally have the lowest turnout. A total of 17,543 ballots were cast in the 2017 consolidated election, a turnout of just over 23 percent of all registered voters. not that people in- terested in Tanner said. just that in a lot of smaller communities there a lot of competitive Contact Ryan Voyles at (217) 421-7985.

Follow him on Twitter: CHICAGO TRIBUNE In his budget address on Wednesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker compared the woes to those faced in the early 1930s by a new governor from Chicago, Henry Horner. Despite challenges including the Great Depression and wide- spread ooding ap- proached his job with optimism, with wit and with a dogged work Pritzker said. So who was Henry Horner? A probate judge in Cook County for many years, Horner was a Democrat like Pritzker.

Horner became rst Jewish gov- ernor when he was elected in 1932. His grand- father had been one of the rst four Jews to set- tle in Chicago, 91 years before. In his speech Wednesday, Pritzker repeated his call for a graduated income tax that will weigh more heavily on the wealthy. Horner also took on a tax issue, successfully pushing in 1933 for a state sales tax, a 3 percent levy that was roundly denounced by business interests. An opponent of patronage and corruption, Horner sparred with powerful Chicago Mayor Edward Kelly.

In 1936, Democratic machine sought to defeat Horner, but with strong Downstate support he won re-election. Two years later, a state ticket he supported in the face of machine opposition the Tribune reported. But, according to the Tribune, successful ort he then made to overcome the bosses cost him his Horner suf- fered a stroke in 1938, and died while still in ce in 1940. He was 61. In the late 1950s, the Chicago Housing Authority named a West Side complex along Lake Street after the late governor.

The Henry Horner Homes were decimated by gangs and violence in the 1980s and Demoli- tion of the last buildings in the Henry Horner Homes was com- pleted about 10 years ago. Pritzker evokes memory of Gov. Horner Horner DOUG FINKE The State Journal-Register SPRINGFIELD Gov. J.B. Pritzker continued on Tuesday to ll out his cabinet, appoint- ing three new agency directors.

Pritzker named Grace Hou, 49, of LaGrange to head up the Department of Human Services. She is currently president of the Woods Fund Chicago, which makes grants to community organizations ghting poverty and racism. Hou, though, has previous experience at the giant agency that administers a wide range of programs for mental health, child welfare, medical as- sistance and food assistance pro- grams. She served as assistance secretary in the department from 2002 to 2012 during the tenure of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Hou graduated from the University of Illinois at Urba- na-Champaign and holds a master of public administration degree from the University of Il- linois eld. The governor chose former agribusiness radio reporter Col- leen Callahan to lead the Depart- ment of Natural Resources. Callahan, 61, of Kickapoo, was the agribusiness director for WMBD TV in Peoria for 30 years. She also spent seven years as state director for USDA Rural Development in Illinois. Callahan currently manages her own com- munications consulting rm.

She also made an unsuccessful run for Congress in the 18th District in 2008. The new director of the De- partment of Financial and Profes- sional Regulation will be Deborah Hagan, a 36-year veteran of the Illinois Attorney ce. Hagan, 62, of eld, headed up the Consumer Protection di- vision at the ce. She special- ized in areas like mortgage pro- tections, student loan servicing, debt collection and identity theft. Hagan has a law degree from the University of Dayton law school.

Hou, Callahan and Hagan must all be approved by the Illinois Senate. Governor names 3 cabinet directors LISA SCHENCKER Chicago Tribune The U.S. government has joined a lawsuit against compa- nies bought by Abbott Labora- tories, alleging they fraudulently billed Medicare for unnecessary devices for diabetic patients and paid kickbacks to those patients. The lawsuit, which was rst led by a whistleblower in 2013, alleges that mail-order diabetic testing supply company Arriva Medical LLC and its parent com- pany Alere Inc. participated in a scheme to defraud Medicare and er patients kickbacks before north suburban-based Abbott acquired the companies in 2017.

Arriva allegedly required all new customers to receive new glucose meters, regardless of whether they already had them billing Medicare for medi- cally unnecessary equipment, according to the Justice Depart- ment. Arriva also allegedly paid kick- backs to Medicare ciaries by not attempting to collect co-payments from them for the meters or diabetic testing supplies bought in connection with the meters. Waiving co- pays in order to entice Medicare ciaries to buy a compa- products is illegal under the Anti-Kickback Statute. The company also allegedly paid kickbacks to Medicare cia- ries in the form of free glucose meters, according to the Justice Department. Abbott spokeswoman Darcy Ross said in a statement Wednes- day that Arriva stopped operat- ing shortly after Abbott bought it in 2017.

The federal govern- ment stopped allowing Arriva to bill Medicare in 2016 after the company billed the program for medical equipment for a patient who had already died, according to the Department of Justice. matter relates to activ- ities that took place prior to the acquisition and was previously disclosed by Alere in nancial Ross said. Abbott bought Alere in 2017 after legal battles over the deal. The deal was rst announced in February 2016, but Abbott then tried to scrap it, saying in a lawsuit that Alere had fered a series of damaging busi- ness Alere then sued Abbott to try to force it to go through with the acquisition. Both companies dropped their lawsuits after Abbott agreed to buy Alere for $5.3 billion, a lower price than rst agreed upon.

The lawsuit was originally brought by Gregory Goodman, a former sales representative at Arriva. In successful whis- tleblower lawsuits, the whis- tleblower is entitled to a portion of the money the government is able to recover. In intervening in the lawsuit, the government also added a reimbursement consultant for Arriva as a de- fendant. The lawsuit was led under the False Claims Act. Those found guilty of violating that act are liable for three times the amount of the losses, plus nancial penalties for each false claim.

Justice Department joins Abbott lawsuit RICH SAAL, THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER Gov. J.B. Pritzker is applauded as he delivers his budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly Wednesday at the Capitol in eld..