 However, that prediction relies on some measures that haven't come
to fruition.A proposed $8.75 billion bond issue to get vendors,
hospitals, social service providers and others paid -- a measure
that stalled in the previous General Assembly -- is crucial to the
governor's projections.
Right now, the backlog of bills sits at more than $6 billion.
Projections by the former and current state comptrollers show it
could rise to more than $10 billion if nothing is done, exacerbating
the state's financial woes.
Another critical component of Quinn's map toward financial
security is a $1.01 tax increase on the cost of a pack of
cigarettes. This would bring in more than $300 million annually.
This, like the bond issue, stalled in the lame-duck session.
The bonding component has been reintroduced as
Senate Bill 3.
"The debt restructuring bond and the cigarette tax are part of
the governor's plan to address the state's budget challenges," said
Kelly Kraft, spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget.
Making the new tax and restructuring a reality won't be easy,
said state Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford.
Including revenue that isn't a reality in a budgeting process is
a gimmick former Gov. Rod Blagojevich liked to use, Syverson said.
"I think from a budgetary standpoint, whether it's a cigarette
tax or bonding, both have failed, both should not be considered as
part of the budget process," he said. "You should plan your budget
on a snapshot of where you are today and what you know is coming
in."
The bonding needs a three-fifths majority vote in the both
chambers to pass. Republicans, who didn't cast a single vote in
favor of the recent income tax increase, would have to vote "yes" on
borrowing. Syverson said not to look for those votes until there are
more reforms of state operating systems and further cuts to
spending.
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Also included in the projections is money from the income tax
increase and reinstituted estate tax. In total, those should
generate around $7 billion annually the state wasn't bringing in
previously, according to Quinn's office.
"These projections, which do include the passage of the cigarette
tax, display no structural deficit (the difference between what the
state spends and what it brings in). So yes, these projections
represent the end of the structural deficit," the OMB's Kraft said.
The bipartisan Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability, of which Syverson is a member, will release its own
numbers later in the year. Jim Muschinske, revenue manager for the
commission, said Quinn's estimates look slightly more optimistic
that what the committee's will end up being, but likely aren't far
off the mark.
"It looks like everyone is playing out of the same playbook,"
Muschinske said.
Quinn is scheduled to present his budget proposal for the next
fiscal year Feb. 16.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]
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