 The Illinois Policy
Institute, a nonprofit research center and free market think
tank, delivered a strong rebuke on Tuesday of the yet-to-be-signed
state budget that lawmakers approved in May. Collin Hitt, the
institute's senior director of government affairs, said lawmakers
are selling the budget as a $33.2 billion spending plan because they
are not counting $1.1 billion in unpaid bills that are being pushed
into 2013.He noted that "$34.3 (billion dollars) in, $34.3
(billion) out means you retire almost no debt."
Quinn's budget spokeswoman, Kelly Kraft, didn't dispute the
numbers.
"The budget that passed is $33.2 billion. (However,) the budget
does not contain substantive reductions, but rather pushes off over
a billion dollars of Medicaid bills into the next fiscal year," said
Kraft. "These bills will not go away and will have to be paid."
Kraft and the IPI agree, somewhat, on how to pay those bills.
Kraft said Quinn proposed a $600 million reduction in Medicaid
reimbursement rates, but lawmakers "did not have an appetite" for
that move. Kraft pointed to this past year's pension reforms as
another example of Quinn's attempts to pay the state's bills and fix
the budget.
Illinois approved a two-tiered pension system that would have new
employees paying more for their retirement benefits, while waiting
longer to collect them. Kraft said those reforms would save more
than $200 billion, over decades, but would do nothing for current
state employees or Illinois' current pension debt. The state owes
$130 billion to its five government-backed pension systems -- a
worst in the nation.
But the governor proposed a nearly $36 billion budget for 2012
and spent much of the spring trying to convince lawmakers to spend
more than the $33.2 billion, the amount on which they settled.
Hitt and the IPI insist Illinois should cut the budget to less
than $28 billion.
"Illinois cannot stay on the path of what it is actually spending
forever," said Hitt. "It's (a path) where either we have a permanent
extension of record increases to state taxes, maybe further taxes."
Hitt said Illinois would be "at 1980s levels" if the state would
trim spending back to $28 billion.
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The Illinois Policy Institute has released a number of reports
that Hitt said highlight where Illinois could cut spending. Many of
the proposals are small, such as eliminating urban fishing programs
and ending state spending on tourism promotion. Those reports
highlight the deep division between the group, which has a history
of pushing for smaller government, and Quinn, who has spent his
three years in office pushing for more government involvement.
Hitt said major savings, with price tags in the billions, could
be found only by cutting Medicaid and pensions.
Kraft said the governor is willing to look at those cuts, but
only if lawmakers are willing to follow.
The Quinn administration "continues to work with the Legislature
to further address the rising costs associated with pensions and
health care, two of the largest areas of spending in the state,"
said Kraft. "But there needs to be an appetite to address these
costs."
State Rep. David Harris, R-Elk Grove, who helped craft the new
budget, said lawmakers didn't support Quinn's cuts because the
people affected by those cuts asked to be spared.
"We delayed payments rather than cut the Medicaid reimbursement
rate because providers could not afford to get less," said Harris.
"Nobody likes (to be paid late), but everybody can live with it."
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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