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fees that real estate brokers and sales agents pay.
What's ironic and deceptive about this situation, said Sieron and State Sen. Frank Watson, a Republican from Greenville
and a pharmacist who has seen a similar Blagojevich budget tactic exercised on his profession, is this: Just a few years
back, realtors saw the state of Illinois hike their licensing fees by 50 percent and 100 percent in the name of
self-regulation and consumer protection, which is what the monies from the Real Estate License Administration Fund are
supposed to go to. But rather than go to consumer protection, the dollars seem to be finding their destination in the
general fund.
In the fall of 2003, the Blagojevich Administration increased the real estate broker annual license fee from $50 to $75.
The real estate salesperson's annual license fee doubled from $25 to $50.
"These funds come primarily from people in the real estate industry themselves," Watson said. "What they do is monitor
the industry. They protect consumers by hiring examiners, creating tougher standards and more. And when you take the money
out of the very fund that was established to do this, there is no means by which to hire the people to provide this consumer
protection. Since the governor started his practice of fund sweeps, over $600 million has been swept into the general fund.
If there's any kind of a balance in any kind of fund, beware of Gov. Blagojevich," he added.
According to the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, a total of $700,000 was swept from the Real Estate
License Administration Fund into the general fund in Fiscal Year 2005 and another $750,000 was swept in FY 2004.
Sieron said it is his hope that the Illinois Association of Realtors will see other professional organizations become
allies with the statewide realtor association and join in the lawsuit as it moves beyond the discovery phase toward trial.
Greg St. Aubin, director of governmental affairs for the IAR, said what prompted the lawsuit is the Blagojevich
Administration's "continuing pattern" of relying on fund sweeps of all sizes and categories to balance the budget.
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"We're really reaching the point where it's (the fund sweep) no longer a last resort," said Aubin. "It's an assumption
that there are going to be fund sweeps as part of the budget process. The governor has indicated that he doesn't believe in
the dedicated fund system. The Blagojevich Administration might say there's a surplus in this fund, but that surplus exists
in order to protect consumers by putting people in offices and on the street to do just that. Up until last fall, with some
80,000 real estate licenses in Illinois, we had only one real estate investigator. It's really ironic to have the licensees
themselves begging the administration for regulation. That ought to tell the governor something."
In looking only at the raw numbers, Aubin said, one could argue - as the Blagojevich Administration is doing - that there
is a surplus in the Real Estate License Administration Fund. But the numbers themselves don't tell the entire story, he
said.
"We went along with the (license fee) increases because there was the promise of additional staffing and resources," said
Aubin. "What's deceiving when you look at the numbers is that there is an actual surplus, because they (the Blagojevich
Administration) increased the fees and didn't expend any extra money on the resources. They doubled the licensing fees and
at the same time, the licensee base in Illinois was growing. The administration either needs to spend the money on what it
was intended for, or it needs to reduce the fees. The Real Estate License Administration Fund, like many others we've seen
swept, is not intended to be revenue-generating," he added.
In filing suit against the state of Illinois, the Illinois Association of Realtors is following suit after a litany of
other associations objecting to similar fee increases and fund sweeps.
In November 2004, a Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce over its claim
that the Blagojevich Administration's workers' compensation-related fee increases were unconstitutional.
In December 2004, the Illinois Credit Union League, the Illinois League of Financial Institutions and the Community
Bankers Association of Illinois jointly filed a lawsuit waging a similar argument to the state chamber - that the
Blagojevich Administration introduced and assessed fees to specifically fund the regulation of state-chartered credit
unions, thrifts and banks. Nearly two years later, that lawsuit remains in the discovery phase; the financial parties have
secured a preliminary injunction similar to the IAR's that prevents any sweeps from occurring until the outcome of a trial.
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