There’s been some interesting disagreements and political realignments in Muncie, but there’s at least one thing almost everyone we talked to last week in the Rust Belt city agreed on: They did not appreciate Senate Bill 1, the property tax bill.
That’s just one takeaway from our reporting stop in Muncie. This Wednesday, we went the opposite direction, to Daviess County. More on that next week!
Happy trails…
-Kayla
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THE MAIN EVENT: Shutdown
Gridlock is at it again.
The federal government shut down Wednesday, delaying pay for federal workers (of whom there are 25,000 in Indiana), placing question marks on the financial health of federal aid programs like SNAP and WIC, and causing mass confusion and limbo in immigration court.
Congress still gets paid during the shutdown, but there are a few members ― including U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve of Indiana’s 6th ― who say they will refuse the pay during this period. Shreve says he’ll donate his pay to the Boys and Girls Club of Johnson County. That will yield the organization some fraction of the $174,000 salary paid to congressmen.
UNDER THE ADMIN: The IEDC audit is here
It’s finally here.
The long-awaited forensic audit into the IEDC and some affiliated third parties found a slew of conflict-of-interest concerns, a “lack of transparency and accountability in the management of state funds” by third parties and “the potential for favoritism and misuse of public funds.”
We read the whole 127-page report and distilled its findings ― and we noticed some overlap with our Three Kings investigation.
UNDER THE DOME: An ethics complaint against Greg Taylor
The Indiana Democratic Party got its first test case for the new code of conduct leaders adopted after a series of harassment allegations embroiled the party in 2024.
The complaint has ties to the very 2024 reporting that prompted this new code of conduct.
Indianapolis City-County Councilor Jesse Brown publicly called for the resignation of Indiana Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor in the wake of that reporting. Now he’s accused the Indianapolis Democrat of bullying and threatening him. Taylor denies the account. We’ve got the details on how Democrats handeled the case.
UNDER THE DOME: SB1’s impact
Hamilton County local leaders were among the loudest opponents of Braun’s signature property tax cut legislation, Senate Bill 1, this session.
Now it is actually budget season, so we’re starting to see what things they are putting on the chopping block.
Some examples: a domestic violence shelter, some city positions, the arts. Our HamCo reporter Jake Allen has the details.
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
If you’ve ever read Franz Kafka’s “The Trial,” you might experience some familiar feelings reading our colleague Noe Padilla’s piece from inside Indianapolis’ new federal immigration court, opened to deal with the growing backlog of cases under President Donald Trump’s administration.
He followed some immigrants with language barriers frantically navigating an unfamiliar system with no assistance until they managed to find the right court room, which of course, sometimes they didn’t.
THE CHECKBOOK
Braun, his cabinet, and other statewide elected officials spent more than $90,000 in state taxpayer dollars on travel over the last fiscal year.
That’s according to the first-ever travel reports required of them by the General Assembly, which were partly inspired by public scrutiny over Secretary of State Diego Morales’ jetsetting. Turns out, he rang up the largest bill.
TLDR
WHAT WE’RE READING
Indiana Capital Chronicle: S&P Global Ratings says the property tax cuts from Senate Bill 1 could create “uncertainty” for local governments’ credit ratings.
TICKER
The Miami Correctional Facility, or the “Speedway Slammer,” got its first 15 ICE detainees. | Starbucks baristas in Indianapolis joined a nationwide picket action Oct. 2 demanding a fair contract. | A federal judge is allowing an Indiana policy prohibiting the state from changing birth certificates to match someone’s preferred gender to take effect while the ACLU’s lawsuit plays out.
SEEN ON SOCIAL
State Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, was ALSO anxiously awaiting the promised IEDC audit.
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Checks and Balances is compiled and written by Hayleigh Colombo, Kayla Dwyer, Kaitlin Lange and Marissa Meador on the IndyStar politics and government team. Send us tips or let us know what you think of the newsletter by emailing kaitlin.lange@IndyStar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Senate Bill 1 is everywhere
Reporting by Kayla Dwyer, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
