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In remarks at rallies in the Quad
Cities, Carbondale and Edwardsville, the governor said the people of
Illinois elected him to do three things -- reform state government;
make schools better, communities healthier, the economy stronger and
the streets safer; and solve the worst fiscal crisis in the state's
history without raising the income or sales tax.
“I wake up every day thinking about how
we can accomplish each of these and, if you look at everything we
have done in our first 100 days in office, I feel pretty good about
our progress on each front,” Blagojevich said. “It has been a very
busy and productive beginning to my administration, but we're just
getting started.”
The key to addressing the various
challenges facing the governor has been how to deal with a nearly $5
billion budget deficit. Blagojevich unveiled a $52.4 billion budget
blueprint on April 9 that calls for a reduction in overall state
spending by $345 million -- the first time since 1981 that state
expenditures have declined -- without asking taxpayers to dig deeper
into their pockets. It also trims $1.3 billion in waste and hikes
spending for education, health care and public safety.
“We've proposed a budget that does not
ask the taxpayers to right the wrongs of the previous administration
by paying more taxes,” the governor said. “We've proposed a budget
that does not solve the fiscal crisis at the expense of educating
our children, protecting our communities or helping our seniors and
working families get access to health care. We're proposed a budget
that, if you put it up to a vote by the people, would pass
overwhelmingly.
“However, we've also proposed a budget
that makes the state government insiders unhappy, and that's where
the battle lies -- between the people and the powerful. We're with
the people.”
The fiscal 2004 budget plan includes
increases for per student general state aid, early childhood and
special education programs, Medicaid, more parole officers, a
crackdown on club drugs, and reopening Sheridan Correctional Center
as a national model to deter drug crime.
The $250 per student general state aid
increase is larger than those in the prior three years combined and
the highest since 1999. The nearly $30 million for early childhood
programs will allow the state to serve an additional 8,200 at-risk
children, and an $87.5 million increase for mandated school programs
includes $42 million cut from last year's budget and $45 million for
new spending.
In addition, the governor identified
more than $1.3 billion in waste and inefficiencies in the budget,
with more to be identified. Blagojevich also has begun a series of
moves to consolidate or transfer operations of 14 existing state
agencies and five major functions that will save $40 million in the
next fiscal year alone, froze state hiring, and moved to stop buying
vehicles for state employees.
“Some have suggested I was dealt a bad
hand with this budget mess, but I see it more as an opportunity to
reshape government, to make it run more efficiently and, at the same
time, make Illinois a better place to live,” the governor said.
“Sure there are tough choices to make, but I was elected to make
those tough choices.”
Part of the governor's innovative plan
to solve the budget deficit was the idea of a $10 billion pension
bond financing plan that allows the state to take advantage of
historically low interest rates and save $1.9 billion this fiscal
year and next. In order to get the plan passed, the governor had to
win the support of Democrats and Republicans alike in the House and
Senate because a super-majority was necessary for passage. The bill
passed in both chambers and was signed into law by Blagojevich on
April 7.
One of the administration's biggest
tasks -- one that started on Blagojevich's first day in office --
has been to clean up state government.
“Business as usual is no longer an
acceptable practice in state government,” the governor said. “I am
working hard to change the culture of government in Springfield and
regain the trust of the people of Illinois. They have asked for a
change in government, and I am bringing substantive change.”
The governor began by firing former
Ryan loyalists who were placed in late-term patronage appointments
and Scott Fawell as chief executive officer of the Metropolitan
Exposition and Auditorium Authority. Fawell, Ryan's former chief of
staff in the secretary of state's office, was recently convicted in
federal court of orchestrating a scam to use state employees as
political workers while on state time.
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Since then, the governor has appointed
a special investigator for employment and personnel, Mary Lee Leahy,
to review the hiring and promotions made during the final six months
of the previous administration; created a new post of inspector
general to investigate acts of public corruption or misconduct in
state government and hired a federal prosecutor, Zaldwaynaka L.
Scott, to lead the new office; mandated ethics training for all
state agency employees; and disciplined or fired state workers
involved in a scheme to protect their high-paying term appointments.
The governor also initiated sweeping
changes of the state's boards and commissions, reducing
substantially the roster of members who serve on them and slashing
the amount of resources spent on them. The reforms are expected to
save $5 million a year.
Job growth and spurring the economy are
also key priorities that have received Blagojevich's attention. The
governor has suggested using state incentives to encourage business
growth, and his efforts have already resulted in the announcement of
two major developments that will create thousands of jobs.
Through an incentive package of tax
credits, road improvements and job training, Mitsubishi Motors North
America has told Blagojevich it will begin a $200 million expansion
this year of its Normal car manufacturing plant that will create 300
high-paying new jobs and about 1,400 construction and indirect jobs.
As part of his efforts to revive the state's sluggish coal industry,
state incentives have led to the announcement of a $1 billion
high-tech coal plant in Will County that will employ 80 workers,
create 200 coal mining jobs and 1,200 construction jobs.
The governor also has announced the
creation of entrepreneurship centers -- the first of which is to be
open next month -- to provide training, tools and resources to help
small businesses locate in the state and has expressed support for
an increase in the minimum wage and equal pay for women.
In the area of health care, Blagojevich
is pushing the legislature for a prescription drug plan to reduce
the financial burden on seniors, is working to expand the Circuit
Breaker program to cover drugs for all conditions and has created a
special advocate to negotiate a better deal on the nearly $2 billion
in drugs purchased by the state.
“It's been an exciting first 100 days
in office, and I am still humbled by the opportunity afforded me by
the voters of this state,” Blagojevich said. “I look forward to the
continuing challenges ahead.”
A number of the governor's legislative
priorities are poised for votes at various stages in the General
Assembly and are to be acted on in the coming weeks. The bills
would:
(A comprehensive list of
key reforms can be viewed online.)
[Illinois
Government News Network
press release] |
