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No rate relief, no state budget Now in an unprecedented
third month of overtime, a continuing lack of leadership by the
governor and Democratic legislative leaders has left the state of
Illinois -- and the citizens it serves -- with no rate relief for
utility consumers and no state budget.
The General Assembly missed its scheduled May 31 adjournment
deadline. On July 25, the legislature set a record for the longest
overtime session.
A utility rate relief settlement was approved July 26. A budget
was approved Aug. 9. The governor has signed neither.
The people of Illinois and the employees of the state of Illinois
deserve better.
Blagojevich is exceeding constitutional authority
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is exceeding his constitutional authority by
trying to spend money the General Assembly has not authorized.
He reminds me of the Steven Seagal movie "Above the Law." Not
only does he think he is above the law, he thinks he is above the
constitution. He is trying to circumvent the fiscal 2008 budget
approved by the legislature Aug. 9 in a manner that is both
unconstitutional and illegal.
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 I do not question the governor's amendatory veto of funding
appropriated for "pork" projects, just his attempt to use the money
for a completely different purpose not authorized by lawmakers.
I was the first to stand up and say the governor should
amendatorily veto the pork. Any reasonable person would question if
we currently have enough revenue for these projects, which may be
worthwhile but not affordable right now. This action is fully within
the purview of the governor's authority.
What is above the law and above the Illinois Constitution is that
Blagojevich is trying to circumvent the legislative process through
executive order and use those funds for other programs. He took an
oath of office to uphold the Illinois Constitution, which says he
can only spend money authorized by the legislature.
Other ways to circumvent budget process?
There is speculation that even when the governor accepts the fact
that he cannot spend money without General Assembly authorization,
he might still find a way to get around the rules. One political
pundit suggested that the governor might simply go on a spending
spree, using up the annual appropriation for health programs in a
few months, and then portray lawmakers as heartless if they refused
to approve more money for those programs.
[Text from file received from
Sen.
Bill Brady] |
