Week of July 6th, 2009

This week, I would like to take a deeper look at the budget crisis we continue to face in Illinois. We are scheduled to return to Springfield in special session on July 14th. Governor Quinn has indicated that he will use the next week to attempt to build consensus on a tax increase. In renewing his push for a tax hike, he is bypassing his own party leadership and lobbying individual legislators. In May, the Senate approved a tax increase proposal which later failed in the House. Speaker Madigan wants to be assured of Republican support before he calls another tax increase bill. Even thought the Speaker is in favor of a tax increase, he seems to have done little to round up the votes necessary for passage. Speaker Madigan has shown in the past that he has the ability to pass any bill he wishes. In the midst of all of this politics, our state is still without a budget and many important social service programs are facing drastic cuts. Quinn vetoed all budget bills and now the State faces a real fiscal meltdown.

I attended another meeting this week as a member of the Pension Reform Task Force. While the meeting was informative, little was accomplished in the way of real reforms that could help with the unfunded liability of the public retirement systems. The Republican side of the aisle has been advocating for pension and Medicaid reform for awhile as a means to responsibly manage our obligations and put a dent in our $9 billion budget deficit. As I mentioned last week, the House overwhelmingly passed a pension note bill that would allow for short-term borrowing. This would have freed up over $2 billion to restore the cuts to social service programs that I and many of you oppose.

Gov. Quinn publically praised the House for passing the pension note proposal, but then curiously lobbied against the bill in meetings with individual Senators just hours later. The bill was ultimately defeated in the Senate. Gov. Quinn’s intent was to send a message that the legislative leaders need to negotiate a budget resolution immediately. However, he did this at the expense of hundreds of social service agencies who desperately need funding. I think that the governor’s decision to put our most vulnerable citizens in this situation is wrong. We should never use our most vulnerable citizens as pawns in political posturing.

Gov. Quinn has also yet to sign the capital bill that would put thousands to work right now. There is broad consensus amongst Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly that he needs to sign this bill immediately to give the Illinois economy a shot in the arm. He also lobbied for this legislation. Although Gov. Quinn made an earlier promise not to tie this public works package to the budget, he is now using it as leverage for votes on a tax hike. The Governor’s inconsistency on budget issues has made it even more difficult to reach a budget resolution and begin to repair our state. It probably does not help that he is relying on former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s chief budget negotiator, John Filan, for counsel regarding our current budget situation.
Gov. Quinn reached a deal with Speaker Madigan under which Filan would resign his job in the administration effective July 1st. However, the Governor immediately hired Filan as a private contractor. So it seems we will continue to operate under the same principals of “Filanomics” that have led us into this fiscal fiasco. I believe that Gov. Quinn is a nice man with very good intentions, but he has been the recipient of some very bad advice when it comes to fixing our budget.

It has become more and more clear that the impeachment of Rod Blagojevich did not pave the way for a new era of fiscal responsibility. In Illinois, Democrats control every statewide office and both chambers of the General Assembly. They have failed to work with each other, let alone with their Republican colleagues, to find an adequate budget solution in a timely fashion. We are in a special summer overtime session for the third year in a row, and I fear that the practice of relying on 11th hour gimmicks to craft a budget has led to a climate of fiscal irresponsibility that will be difficult to reverse in the coming years.

Last week, the Governor also vetoed a bare-bones appropriations bill, so it is back to the drawing board on the FY 2010 budget. The appropriations bill would have continued to fund a multitude of other state services, though at much lower levels. Because the new fiscal year began on July 1st, entities that rely on state funding do not know if, when, or how much money they will be receiving from the state. All of this budget uncertainty at the state level makes it very difficult for school districts, state agencies and units of local government to plan for their own budgets. Additionally, social service programs for children, the elderly and the disabled are in limbo as to how they can continue to provide these vital services without adequate funding. The bottom line is that innocent people are caught in the crossfire, and we need to do all we can to produce solutions and reforms that will fund programs for those who need it most.

Things could become much worse at the Statehouse before they get better. I hear from people all time about saving programs and not cutting spending. I am very interested in hearing your opinions on the budget situation and any possible income tax increase or revenue to pay for the spending. You can easily reach me by email at reddyunit1@aol.com. You can also call either of my offices (217-558-1040 or 618-563-4128) or send letters (P.O. Box 125, Hutsonville, IL 62433). If you want to track legislation from this session, you can visit www.ilga.gov or visit my website at www.peopleforeddy.com. I also encourage you to follow me and other legislators on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RepEddy and www.tweetillinois.org. Next week, I will give an update on any budget developments, and resume my review of Spring 2009 session legislation.