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Finances
at risk
The governor continues to put state
finances at risk, proposing yet another budgetary shell game to
generate state revenues.
On March 4, Senate Democrats passed
legislation requested by the governor that would allow his budget
office to issue variable rate general obligation bonds. I stood in
strong opposition to this plan.
House Bill 2626 would allow the governor's office to enter into
swap agreements with private banks or other financial institutions
to exchange state bonds with a long-term fixed rate for variable
rate bonds. These fixed-to-variable swaps could generate substantial
cash to state government upfront but leave Springfield at risk to
higher floating rates over the term of the agreement.
The governor's fiscal schemes are all
about short-term gain with long-term risk. It is not sound economic
policy to sell billions in pension bonds, take a second mortgage on
a state-owned building and risk good long-term interest rates just
to find enough revenues for a fiscal 2004 budget that increases
spending by $1 billion and to plan for more of the same in fiscal
2005.
Senators
discuss the future of public education
The Illinois Senate met as a single
committee March 3 to learn more about Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan to
restructure the State Board of Education into a cabinet-level office
under his control.
During a rare session of the Committee
of the Whole -- the first in 12 years -- senators heard from the
governor, state Superintendent Robert Schiller and more than 20
other education officials from across Illinois about the plan to
fundamentally change the system of public education.
It was my hope that this meeting would
provide much-needed information because the governor has not given
us the kind of details we need to cast a responsible vote on his
plan. In concept, I applaud the governor's proposal to create a new
Department of Education because it mirrors legislation I have
introduced. But we need more substantive language.
[to top of second
column in this article]
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My
SJR-CA 46 would eliminate the State Board of Education, and
Senate Bill 2266 would create the State Department of Education
run by a secretary of education.
The plan to create a new Department of
Education will help cut costs and make the people who set
educational policy more accountable to lawmakers and the governor.
We are looking for ways to direct more money to the classroom and
reduce the high level of bureaucracy. The Illinois State Board of
Education seems like a good place to start. Their duties can be
carried out in a more cost-effective and accountable manner in a new
Department of Education.
I also agree with the governor's call
to repeal some of the excessive education regulations. As such, I am
sponsoring
Senate Bill 2868, the "Gubernatorial Educational Mandates Relief
Act of 2004." Excessive mandates placed upon our local school
districts infringe upon the rights of locally elected school boards,
locally hired administrators, and teachers and parents themselves.
Senate Bill 2868 is a "vehicle" bill
that can be used to eliminate many of the 2,800 pages of
administrative rules imposed on Illinois school districts, and it
takes a major step toward returning the control of local schools to
local communities. Once the governor has identified which mandates
need revision, the legislation can be amended to reflect the
governor's proposal.
During the Senate Committee of the
Whole March 3, general questions were also raised about the learning
gap between schools in Illinois and about construction dollars for
overcrowded and inadequate school buildings.
[News
release from
Sen. Bill Brady]
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