"Only insiders, only
people with a detailed knowledge of the inner workings of state
government, could have exploited the system so effectively and so
cynically to suit their own ends," the governor said, describing the
actions of some of those who received extraordinarily high sums of
money.
The actions
Blagojevich took Wednesday are in keeping with the ongoing series of
significant reform measures that the administration has taken to
date.
Since taking office
in January, Blagojevich has taken several steps to bring change and
a businesslike approach to state government and to closely examine
state expenditures -- even those that are the result of
long-established spending practices.
Last week, he called
on departments and agencies to cut, on average, 10 percent in
administrative costs, a move that could save $30 million this year
and $125 million in fiscal 2004. He also placed an additional $1.7
billion worth of this year's operations costs, grants and capital
projects in reserve.
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Also last week, he
unveiled an innovative plan to
refinance the state's pension
obligation and apply approximately $1.9 billion to the deficit. He
also called for major reforms of the state's current lineup of
boards and commissions, eliminating 11 boards through executive
order and announcing legislation to cut all pay at another 11
boards, eliminating stipends and per diems, cutting 120 seats, and
consolidating another four boards into two.
Earlier in his
administration, he froze payments for legislative member initiative
projects, imposed a
hiring freeze on all agency directors, called
for measures to
reduce administrative costs at state universities,
prohibited heads of departments and agencies from acquiring new
cars, initiated a review of whether the high-paid positions held by
term appointees are essential to the operation of state government,
and canceled costly
lobbying contracts with Washington, D.C.-based
firms.
Blagojevich said
Wednesday that he would continue his agenda to bring change to state
government.
"As examples continue to come to our
attention
-- of waste, of an old and cynical way of doing business, of wasting
taxpayers' money in a supercilious way -- we will continue to act,"
he said.