 Five appropriation committees in the Illinois House of
Representatives have moved to closed-door meetings to hash out the
details of the state budget, especially where and how to cut state
spending.
"The committees are meeting in closed session to hammer out and to
talk about some issues that they don't feel comfortable doing in the
public," state Rep. Robert Pritchard, R-Hinckley, said.
But that contention isn't sitting well with some people.
"Public confidence is so low in Illinois lawmakers that it is not
helped at all when things are done behind closed doors," said David
Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy at Southern
Illinois University at Carbondale.
Unlike in recent years, rank-and-file legislators this year have
more say in the process of crafting a budget. For the past few
years, the General Assembly sent the governor lump sums of money and
allowed the state's chief executive officer to decide how and where
to spend the funds.
Lawmakers said they are hesitant to float some needed, but
politically dangerous, cuts in public because of the potential
repercussions.
Pritchard, who serves on two education appropriation committees,
said meeting in private takes off the pressure legislators face from
advocacy groups that might see cuts. It also allows for frank
discussions, he said.
These "working committees" generally take place before an
appropriations committee, but in a few cases the public has been
kicked out of a hearing so the legislators could move the talks
about the budget out of the public's earshot.
Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget
Accountability, a think-tank that promotes "progressive tax,
spending and economic policies," according to its website,
challenged Pritchard's contention that privacy is paramount for the
budget-making process.
"What are they so afraid of?" Martire asked. "We have a right as
taxpayers and voters in this state to understand what the real
issues are, what the real pressures are, if we need to cut, if we
need to raise revenue."
What happens in the meetings is less important than how members vote
in public, according to state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, D-Chicago.
Feigenholtz chairs the House Human Services Appropriations
Committee.
Feigenholtz said any budget proposal that surfaces would be in the
public record for a period before the House votes on the measure,
giving anyone interested the time to offer suggestions. And, she
defended the closed-door process.
"I think that elected representatives who have been sent down here
to represent their constituencies and to lead the charge on better
health care in Illinois, more efficient health care, a smarter
spending package on how we do what we do, is exactly what the public
wants," Feigenholtz said.
Kent Redfield, a longtime Statehouse observer and professor of political studies at
the University of Illinois at Springfield, likened the
new process to how the U.S. Congress handles the budgeting
process -- divvying up the budget into bills that represent different
departments and agencies.
Like others, he said the return to the practice of lawmakers
controlling the budget is a step in the right direction for
Illinois, even though it's not what everyone may want.
"It's much more participatory from the members' standpoint than
what's been in recent history, but it's not transparent in terms of
a situation where all the decisions and agreements are made in
public," said Redfield, who also works with the Illinois Campaign
for Political Reform, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that pushes for
accountability and transparency in government. "You probably never
do get to that."
Steve Schnorf, who was budget director under former Republican
Govs. Jim Edgar and George Ryan in the 1990s and through 2002,
said that during his time in state government, he saw responsibility
for
the final budget gradually distill to the four legislative leaders
and the governor.
It might not be ideal, but giving legislators the opportunity to
take on the state's finances might mean some talks don't take place
in front of the public, he said. It allows some ideas to be floated
that otherwise might not have seen the light of day, he said.
[to top of second column]
 |
"Those discussions, at least the preliminary ones, the early ones,
taking place in a closed environment or a more private environment
are pretty understandable to me," Schnorf said. "That way a
legislator can say freely, 'Look, I hate to even suggest this, but
maybe we need to cut home services and aging by $200 million.'"
John Tillman, chief executive officer of the Illinois Policy
Institute, said as long as legislators aren't breaking the law, some
closed meetings can be useful. He did have one caveat, however.
"Whatever the results of these discussions are, they then have to be
fully vetted in the open committee hearing or the House floor once
it gets to that state," Tillman said.
The Illinois Policy Institute is a nonpartisan research organization
dedicated to supporting free-market principles and liberty-based
public policy initiatives, according to its website.
State Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Westmont, who serves on the same
committee as Feigenholtz, this week said she sat through a six-hour
closed meeting to dive into the numbers. Having open and closed
meetings are essential to creating a budget that everyone can agree
on, she said.
"I think it's been a fair process in (our chamber) because we've had
the human service appropriations hearings, so we've allowed all the
people to come to us and give those views," Bellock said. "We've
taken those views back, so I think this process has worked well."
Jennifer Fuller, president of the Illinois News Broadcasters
Association, said the proof will be in the final outcome. "What we'll have to watch is when the final budget, or even a
tentative budget, comes out, how well does that match what happened
in those open hearings?" Fuller asked. "If it appears lawmakers took
testimony into consideration, then perhaps our concerns aren't as
serious."
The General Assembly has until the end of May to pass a budget.
After that, more votes are required for passage, requiring
Republican support in a Legislature controlled by Democrats.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]
 |
