 In the first edition, released yesterday afternoon, Quinn cites his
reasons for his budgetary requests and paints a dark picture for
Illinois government in the event the General Assembly does not back
his proposals. The complete text follows:
Dear Illinois citizen,
Within the next two weeks, the General
Assembly will approve a new state budget -- a crucial decision that
will determine Illinois' fate for many years. On March 18, I
presented lawmakers with a proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 that
will rescue our state from financial ruin while protecting its most
needy citizens. My budget plan contains tough, but responsible,
choices that must be made.
To date, my budget remains the only
comprehensive and balanced plan before the General Assembly.
Unfortunately, some opponents of my plan say that my tax reforms are
unnecessary, but refuse to make their own proposals. These critics
claim that we can balance the budget solely by cutting state
expenditures.
I feel that it is my responsibility,
as governor, to let you understand the consequences of such a "slash
and burn" budget. If we were forced to balance our budget without
reform, and with no new revenue, we would be forced to:
-
Lay off over 14,300 teachers.
-
Take away health care from over
650,000 people.
-
Lay off almost 1,000 state
troopers.
-
Release 6,000 prison inmates
early.
-
These are just a few of the many
draconian cuts that this kind of mean-spirited and
counterproductive budget would require.
[to top of second column] |
That is why I do not support this
approach. We need to make tough choices, not bad choices.
I hope you'll contact your elected
officials to let them know that you support a responsible, balanced
budget. I encourage you to let your legislators know that a
slash-and-burn doomsday budget would take a terrible human toll on
the Land of Lincoln.
To find out how to contact your
legislators, go to the
State Board of Elections -- District/Official Search, click on
the "By Address" tab and enter your home address.
We can -- and must -- pass a
responsible budget for the Land of Lincoln that contains reform,
responsibility and recovery. I look forward to working with each of
you to make this a reality.
[Text from the governor's office;
LDN]
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