The Tap: Wednesday, November 9, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #42 of The Tap, which was published on November 12, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Local

• New Jersey's Local Finance Board voted 5-0 to allow Director Timothy Cunningham to take control of Atlantic City. The vote was a result of the city failing to convince the state that it had a recovery plan that would make the city economically stable. Atlantic City currently holds more than $500 million in debt, with most of that owed to casinos that successfully appealed tax assessments. Under the state’s Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act, state officials will have the power to hire and fire city employees, sell off assets, nullify union contracts, and close city departments. Mayor Don Guardian said he felt the takeover was less about economic stability and more about the city’s Municipal Utility Authority (MUA). The MUA was the target of two unsuccessful bids by private companies, and state officials have called for it to be run by the county or sold to a private industry in the past. Atlantic City is the state’s 55th-largest city and is well known for its casinos and beaches.
• Following a similar move by Moody’s in late September 2016, Standard & Poor’s dropped the bond rating of Chicago Public Schools in Illinois to the agency’s B rating, moving it further into junk status. The agency pointed to short-term borrowing in order to cover operational expenses, as well as $55 million in new costs from a recent agreement with the Chicago Teacher’s Union, as grounds for the rating drop. Standard & Poor’s also stated that the city’s bond rating has a one-in-three chance of dropping again within the year. CPS is expected to begin issuing $420 million worth of bonds next week to purchase “computer servers and equipment,” as well as to refinance old debts. The district served 396,683 students during the 2014-2015 school year, making it the largest school district in the state and the third-largest school district in the country.
  • On September 26, 2016, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the bond status of CPS, pushing its rating into a lower level of junk bond status. The firm decided on the downgrade due to the following three factors: a reliance on short-term borrowing, the district’s budget being "built on unrealistic expectations" of aid from the state government, and a “deepening structural deficit.” A day later, the school district announced a loss of $45 million in funding after enrollment fell below projected levels for the current school year.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #41 of The Tap, which was published on November 5, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

• Need help sorting through the noise the day after the election? Join Ballotpedia as our experts detail everything you need to know about congressional elections. We'll review the outcome of battleground races and discuss how incumbents fared. Register here to join us. Can't make it? We'll send out a link of the webinar after the event to all who register.
• The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether a gender-based distinction in immigration law violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantees of equal protection in Lynch v. Morales-Santana. The U.S. government is seeking to deport Luis Ramon Morales-Santana for multiple felony convictions. Morales-Santana argues that he cannot be deported because he is a U.S. citizen through his biological father. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, the government would recognize Morales-Santana’s citizenship status if his biological mother were a U.S. citizen, however, because his biological father was a U.S. citizen and not his mother, his claim of citizenship was denied by the Board of Immigration Appeals. Morales-Santana argues that this distinction violates his rights to equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.