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"As lawmakers, we must set priorities
and make sure the state's basic needs are met -- education,
transportation, public safety," Brady said. "And in the process, we
must take care not to increase the financial pressure on the
businesses who provide the jobs and pay the taxes that fund so many
state programs. Our solution must focus on job growth."
Brady says the fiscal 2004 budget is
loaded down with tax increases that are pushing jobs out of state --
and Gov. Rod Blagojevich is pushing for more of the same for the
fiscal 2005 budget. Senate Republicans are working to repeal current
business taxes passed last year and oppose any new tax increases
that will continue to hurt Illinois jobs.
"Targeting businesses yet again is not
the answer," Brady said. "My Senate Republican colleagues and I are
working for business, jobs and economic development. We are looking
out for legislation that may be detrimental to business and doing
what we can to quash those efforts or lessen their impact on jobs
and the business climate in Illinois."
Brady says the governor's insistence on
more business taxes is hard to figure out, especially in light of
troubling news about jobs leaving Illinois. Recent U.S. Department
of Labor statistics show a loss of 39,000 non-farm jobs since
Blagojevich took office in January 2003. During the same time
period, all of Illinois' neighboring states gained jobs.
A similar report released May 4 by the
Mid-West Truckers Association showed trucking registrations in
Illinois have dropped to an eight-year low, while neighboring states
had dramatic increases in their trucking registrations. Last year,
the governor and his Democratic allies hit Illinois trucking
companies with new commercial distribution fees and higher rolling
stock taxes, which forced many trucking businesses to leave the
state.
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in this article]
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Senate Republicans have repeatedly
asked the Senate president to allow a public hearing on legislation
that would repeal the 36 percent increase in truck registration fees
passed last year, but that legislation is currently bottled up in
the Senate Rules Committee.
The Senate Republican Caucus is also
demanding a return to traditional borrowing practices rather than
the governor's financial schemes that delay repayment and saddle
future generations with staggering debt. Since the governor has
taken office, the state's general obligation debt has doubled to
more than $11 billion. Most of that debt is backloaded, meaning
billions of dollars in payments won't come due until long after
Blagojevich is out of office.
Senate Republicans have also asked that
a Medicaid Task Force be created to determine the best way to manage
the anticipated growth, and skyrocketing costs to taxpayers, of the
Medicaid program. One such suggestion is requiring Medicaid
recipients to participate in managed care health programs, such as
many working citizens choose as a means to hold down costs. This and
other measures would help contain Medicaid costs and ensure that the
system will be viable to help the citizens who need it.
Brady says
other, non-budget issues must also be resolved -- including medical
malpractice legislation that includes meaningful medical reform,
court reform and insurance reform. Skyrocketing medical malpractice
insurance premiums are forcing Illinois doctors to move their
practices out of state or to retire. The victims, however, are the
patients facing decreased access to quality care. In some areas of
Illinois, there are no neurosurgeons, and many ob-gyn doctors are
limiting their practice to lower their insurance costs.
[Illinois
Senate Republican Caucus
news release]
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