Governor again bypasses Legislature to fund embryonic stem cell research           

[JULY 21, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- While the state's backlog of unpaid bills continues to pile up, Gov. Rod Blagojevich has decided to use $5 million of state resources to fund embryonic stem cell research, despite the objections of the Legislature, according to state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington.

The Legislature has repeatedly rejected the idea of using public money to fund embryonic stem cell research. But the governor continues to go around the Legislature and use public money for the research. Last year, the governor took it upon himself to direct some $10 million of state funds toward the controversial research.

"Congress recently used its constitutional authority to send a stem cell research bill to the president's desk, and the president used his constitutional authority to veto it," Brady said. "But here in Illinois, our governor continues to abuse his authority by circumventing the legislative process. An issue this controversial should not be decided by the whims of one person who happens to be running for re-election. It should be decided by the legislative process as outlined in our constitution. I am not surprised by the arrogance of this administration, but I am certainly disappointed."

Like many Illinoisans, Brady is morally opposed to the taking of innocent human life, including the destruction of human embryos. He emphasized he does not oppose public funding for research using adult stem cell lines, where the greatest scientific advances have been made, and he has proposed legislation to promote research with adult stem cells and cord blood.

The governor is taking the $5 million from the budget of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services. This decision comes on the heels of Comptroller Dan Hynes' Comprehensive Annual Financial Report showing the backlog of unpaid bills piling up. According to the report, the state's total deficit is more than $3 billion, an all-time record high in Illinois.

"There are literally hundreds of health care providers, nursing home owners, pharmacists and a host of other business men and women from all parts of Illinois waiting to get reimbursed for services they have provided the state," Brady said. "The state does not have the money to pay them, but yet there is enough money for stem cell research. Now is not the time to be adding new state spending -- especially for an initiative that so many people adamantly oppose."

[News release from Sen. Bill Brady]

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