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State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, and state Rep. Bill Mitchell,
R-Forsyth, (at left) listen to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's sixth budget
address, presented to a joint session of Illinois lawmakers
Wednesday in the chambers of the House of Representatives.
The 44th District senator says the governor's financial blueprint
for the coming fiscal year relies once again on record-high state
debt; a record-high backlog of unpaid bills; financial gimmickry
such as leasing the state lottery; another pension bond sale and
more raids from the Road Fund; and continued attacks on business.
"Families today, and our children tomorrow, are going to be
paying for this governor's lack of real leadership in bringing
fiscal responsibility back to Illinois," Brady said. "The governor's
latest budget plan continues to leverage the future of our state. He
is not addressing the critical issues of a nearly $1 billion revenue
shortfall for the current fiscal year, nor our severely underfunded
Medicaid system that is the result of pushing health care
obligations from one fiscal year to the next, giving the false
illusion of a balanced budget.
"I am sponsoring legislation, Senate Bill 1533, to address these
‘Section 25 Liabilities,' estimated to be as much as $3 billion, and
ensure more prompt payment to Illinois' doctors, hospitals and
nursing homes," he added. "It is unfortunate that my legislation has
not been released from the Senate Rules Committee and is being
denied a hearing before lawmakers."
The 44th District senator also noted that a proposed $16 billion
pension bond scheme would double state debt yet again -- it has
already doubled to date, so this measure would mean state debt has
quadrupled since fiscal 2003 -- and would provide opportunities for
more "pay-to-play" abuses by the administration.
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 "The citizens of Illinois want an ethical government," Brady
said. "But while reforms I have sponsored are being blocked by
Democrat leadership, this budget offers more of the same old
pay-to-play, including another $60 million in insider fees under
their pension bonding plan."
Brady says Blagojevich continues to target employers and the jobs
they provide, and the long-term effects of his policies show in
state's lackluster job growth. Illinois is 45th in the nation in job
growth since Blagojevich took office.
According to federal jobs numbers from December, Illinois has a
2.5 percent job growth rate, while Iowa has a 5.9 percent rate,
followed by Wisconsin at 4.3 percent, Kentucky at 4 percent,
Missouri at 3.9 percent and Indiana at 2.8 percent.
The 44th District senator says strong job growth -- not huge tax
increases -- is a better way to address budget woes. If Illinois had
kept pace with the national average in job growth, it would have
more than 213,000 additional jobs today, which would mean more than
a half-billion dollars in additional tax revenues.
Blagojevich outlined his $49.7 billion budget proposal for fiscal
2009 to a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday. Fiscal
2009 runs from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009.
Brady says the governor's budget proposal is the first step in a
long negotiation process, and he looks forward to working with his
fellow lawmakers to craft a fiscal plan that reflects the spending
priorities of 44th District citizens.
[Text from file sent on behalf of
Sen.
Bill Brady by Illinois
Senate Republican staff] |
