 But statehouse Democrats say
the state's problems haven't changed
and neither have the solutions.The governor's office stayed
tight-lipped about specifics of the new state spending plan. An
off-the-record briefing to lawmakers and reporters Tuesday evening
left as many questions as it did provide answers.
Illinois is still facing a multibillion-dollar deficit and is
projected to once again not have enough money to pay for a full year
of state services. Quinn has proposed a combination of billions in
borrowing and millions in cuts to remedy the situation.
"I think it's a lean budget," said Quinn spokesman Mica Matsoff.
"(The budget) focuses the burden across all areas of state
government."
Democrats still control the statehouse but lost just enough races
last fall to give Republicans a seat at the table when it comes time
to borrow. And the Senate GOP boss, Christine Radogno, has said
already that they won't support it.
"I've told (Gov. Quinn) multiple times since January that if he
submits a budget that assumes borrowing (will be part of the mix),
he will not get any Republican support," she said.
State Sen. Pam Althoff, R-Crystal Lake, said they've heard these
same cries for years that if lawmakers will only give just a little
more, then everything will be OK.
"We need to say no. We need to go back to the board and find out
where we're going to make cuts," Althoff said. "We need to be
responsible with the money we're going to obtain from this new
income tax increase."
State lawmakers last month raised the personal income tax by
nearly 67 percent, from 3 percent to 5 percent, which is expected to
garner close to $7 billion annually.
But as GOP lawmakers talked tough about turning their backs on
borrowing, the Quinn administration quietly circulated lists that
tallied the billions owed to state vendors. Each lawmaker got a list
that showed which of their local businesses are still waiting for
checks from Springfield.
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Quinn has said in the past he'd like to borrow as much as $8.75
billion to erase close to $6.6 billion in unpaid bills.
When lawmakers approved the income tax increase last month, they
did not act on the borrowing proposal.
State Rep Frank Mautino, D-Spring Valley, said there will be new
money coming into Springfield from the tax hike but not nearly
enough to pay those past-due bills.
"The tax hike alone is helpful, but it is not nearly enough,"
said Mautino "There is going to have to be additional borrowing to
cover the state's bills."
Mautino said he does expect lawmakers to agree on some kind of
borrowing plan, but he said the price tag and timeline will have to
be worked out.
The broad strokes of Quinn's budget -- borrowing, cuts,
efficiencies -- have been known for months. It still remains to be
seen how those broad themes will affect local communities or social
service providers.
And even though Quinn will unveil his budget at noon on
Wednesday, it could be months or more before the local effects begin
to be felt.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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