 Now, less than a week before Quinn will present his budget for the
next fiscal year, his office has released a detailed list of exactly
where those cuts were made.While the budget has increased
annually since Quinn took office in 2009, his office has cut $3.6
billion in discretionary spending -- $2.4 billion in fiscal 2010 and
$1.2 billion in fiscal 2011, according to numbers the governor's
office gave to legislators late Thursday night.
Some examples of what was on the cutting board last year include
a $68.5 million reading improvement program block grant, $14.2
million in addiction treatment programs and $40 million from the
Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice facility repair and
maintenance fund.
While those cuts are some of the larger reductions, there also
are myriad other smaller cuts across many state agencies.
Quinn said Friday these are specific areas he can point out to
people who say he's not making the tough choices.
"They're talking about a governor that's cut more out of the
budget than any governor in Illinois history. That's what I've
done," Quinn said. He went on to call his plan for the state's
finances "lean" and "frugal."
The release of specific cuts for the past two years could be a
way to get Republicans on board with borrowing, according to James
Nowlan, a senior fellow at the University of Illinois' Institute of
Government and Public Affairs.
Part of the governor's budget plan involves borrowing $8.75
billion in bonds to pay down the majority of the state’s overdue
bills. The plan needs Republican votes in both the state House and
Senate to become a reality.
Members of the GOP have demanded reform to state programs and a
lot less spending before going the borrowing route.
"He (Quinn) does have the challenge of convincing Republicans
that he is indeed capable of cutting the budget, and the actions he
has taken and has now enumerated seem to suggest he has been willing
to make some cuts in sensitive social services areas," Nowlan said.
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Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of politics at the University
of Illinois at Springfield, said Quinn might also be trying to shape
the discussion that will surround his budget proposal. Showing that
the state has made significant cuts might help assuage a public
still reeling from a 67 percent personal income tax increase,
Redfield said.
"It is unusual that you'd put out this kind of information a week
before the budget address," Redfield said. "But (Quinn) is trying to
kind of control the narrative in terms of saying we really have been
making cuts, and now if we do everything right with more cuts and
more revenue, we're going to get back to zero."
Expect this to be the first of many innings of the budget debate.
Because of redistricting, every legislator will face an election in
2012. Only Democrats put votes on the tax increase, and they will
now be trying to show the electorate that they are fiscally
responsible.
Nowlan said that could be a Sisyphean task.
"We really have major problems facing the budgeters, and it's
going to be very difficult to reduce cost as easily as I think the
public thinks it can be done," he said.
For Quinn, a successful budget could be all in how he delivers
the message.
"If it is another rambling, stream-of-consciousness kind of
speech like last year, that is not going to be very encouraging for
people who are hoping to see some stronger leadership and some
growth in the office from Gov. Quinn," Redfield said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON and DIANE S.W. LEE]
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