Penance at the Capitol
A really, REALLY strong editorial piece from last Saturday's Springfield Journal-Register.
It’s time for penance at the Capitol
The state's unpaid bills total topped $12 billion last week. It seems outrageous, but it was just
mid-December when that total reached $11 billion. If Illinois continues on the path it's been
on, it won't be long — maybe late March? April if we're lucky? — before it hits $13 billion.
These days there is barely time to compose a lament at the dismal state of Illinois before the
next ghastly milestone hits and even more despair descends. And that next milestone is just a
few days away: When the calendar flips to March on Wednesday, Illinois will head into its 21st
month without a state budget.
March 1 is also a day of repentance for many Christians. Ash Wednesday is the start to the
season of Lent, a time of spiritual reflection and penance as the faithful wait for Christ's
resurrection on Easter Sunday in hopes of receiving redemption.
If there's anyone who needs to ask for redemption after reflecting on their inactions, it's state
lawmakers and the governor. Thanks to the unwillingness to compromise by leaders of both
political parties, March 1 will mark 609 days since Illinois has had a spending plan. That has
inflicted perhaps irreversible harm on public universities, small businesses and human service
agencies that have struggled to serve students or clients, or keep their doors open, while
legislators did nothing to help them.
The first tentative steps on the path toward atonement were taken in early January when
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and Minority Leader Christine Radogno introduced
their "grand bargain," a collection of a dozen interlocking bills that would be a bona fide
spending plan.
Only three of the measures have been approved: One that would make it easier to eliminate
small units of local government, another to change state purchasing rules to help streamline
them and a third to help local governments save money on borrowing costs. A pension reform
bill didn't pass, but there are procedural ways that it could be brought back for a vote.
The details in many of the remaining bills remain fluid, but in broad strokes the plan has
proposed an income tax increase, expanding gambling, a two-year property tax freeze, and
workers' compensation reform. It authorizes borrowing $7 billion so the state can pay off some
of its bills, and sets a spending plan for the rest of the current fiscal year.
Being the Capitol, the package's journey toward approval has been filled with temptations
aimed at leading it astray.
One of the most important pieces of the bargain — school funding reform — hasn't yet been
introduced. The plan has lost some steam as special interest groups have had time to chip away
at various aspects. Gov. Bruce Rauner also weighed in on what it would take for him to sign
the bargain and he isn't completely in-sync with certain parts of the plan.
Add in the pressure that Rauner's proposed budget for next fiscal year has a $4.6 billion gap
between spending and revenue, which the governor relies on the Senate's plan to close. Without the "grand bargain" passage, Rauner's budget is out of balance by closer to $7 billion. And then there's the fact that state employees represented by the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees Council 31 just approved a strike authorization.
Taking all those roadblocks into account, it could appear that Illinois' future has never been
darker.
If Lent teaches us anything, it's that the dark can be followed by the light — but only if we are
brave enough to fight through the temptations.
The "grand bargain" is the best hope to starting Illinois onto a path of fiscal stability, and
Cullerton and Radogno have rightly noted that the Senate needs to get moving on it. Speaking
Feb. 16 on the "Steve Cochran Show" on WGN-AM 720, Radogno said the "urgency here is
critical."
"If we don't get this moving by the 28th, we might as well just go home and then at that point,
(House Speaker) Mike Madigan can figure out what he's going to do. This is the only game in
town," she told the radio host.
Perhaps the fear of the budget reverting back to an unwinnable battle of wills between
Madigan and Rauner will be enough for action to be taken.
The spark that Radogno and Cullerton lit needs to ignite into a bonfire if it is to light the path.
Senators need to fuel the embers, or be prepared to take the blame for dousing the fire.
Oh how our state is languishing in crap.
Out for now.......
Matt
It’s time for penance at the Capitol
The state's unpaid bills total topped $12 billion last week. It seems outrageous, but it was just
mid-December when that total reached $11 billion. If Illinois continues on the path it's been
on, it won't be long — maybe late March? April if we're lucky? — before it hits $13 billion.
These days there is barely time to compose a lament at the dismal state of Illinois before the
next ghastly milestone hits and even more despair descends. And that next milestone is just a
few days away: When the calendar flips to March on Wednesday, Illinois will head into its 21st
month without a state budget.
March 1 is also a day of repentance for many Christians. Ash Wednesday is the start to the
season of Lent, a time of spiritual reflection and penance as the faithful wait for Christ's
resurrection on Easter Sunday in hopes of receiving redemption.
If there's anyone who needs to ask for redemption after reflecting on their inactions, it's state
lawmakers and the governor. Thanks to the unwillingness to compromise by leaders of both
political parties, March 1 will mark 609 days since Illinois has had a spending plan. That has
inflicted perhaps irreversible harm on public universities, small businesses and human service
agencies that have struggled to serve students or clients, or keep their doors open, while
legislators did nothing to help them.
The first tentative steps on the path toward atonement were taken in early January when
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and Minority Leader Christine Radogno introduced
their "grand bargain," a collection of a dozen interlocking bills that would be a bona fide
spending plan.
Only three of the measures have been approved: One that would make it easier to eliminate
small units of local government, another to change state purchasing rules to help streamline
them and a third to help local governments save money on borrowing costs. A pension reform
bill didn't pass, but there are procedural ways that it could be brought back for a vote.
The details in many of the remaining bills remain fluid, but in broad strokes the plan has
proposed an income tax increase, expanding gambling, a two-year property tax freeze, and
workers' compensation reform. It authorizes borrowing $7 billion so the state can pay off some
of its bills, and sets a spending plan for the rest of the current fiscal year.
Being the Capitol, the package's journey toward approval has been filled with temptations
aimed at leading it astray.
One of the most important pieces of the bargain — school funding reform — hasn't yet been
introduced. The plan has lost some steam as special interest groups have had time to chip away
at various aspects. Gov. Bruce Rauner also weighed in on what it would take for him to sign
the bargain and he isn't completely in-sync with certain parts of the plan.
Add in the pressure that Rauner's proposed budget for next fiscal year has a $4.6 billion gap
between spending and revenue, which the governor relies on the Senate's plan to close. Without the "grand bargain" passage, Rauner's budget is out of balance by closer to $7 billion. And then there's the fact that state employees represented by the American Federation of State,
County and Municipal Employees Council 31 just approved a strike authorization.
Taking all those roadblocks into account, it could appear that Illinois' future has never been
darker.
If Lent teaches us anything, it's that the dark can be followed by the light — but only if we are
brave enough to fight through the temptations.
The "grand bargain" is the best hope to starting Illinois onto a path of fiscal stability, and
Cullerton and Radogno have rightly noted that the Senate needs to get moving on it. Speaking
Feb. 16 on the "Steve Cochran Show" on WGN-AM 720, Radogno said the "urgency here is
critical."
"If we don't get this moving by the 28th, we might as well just go home and then at that point,
(House Speaker) Mike Madigan can figure out what he's going to do. This is the only game in
town," she told the radio host.
Perhaps the fear of the budget reverting back to an unwinnable battle of wills between
Madigan and Rauner will be enough for action to be taken.
The spark that Radogno and Cullerton lit needs to ignite into a bonfire if it is to light the path.
Senators need to fuel the embers, or be prepared to take the blame for dousing the fire.
