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Sen. Bomke's Week in Review
Dec. 3-7
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[December 08, 2007]
SPRINGFIELD -- While legislative
leaders and the governor continued to meet this week on a mass
transit and road and infrastructure program, the Illinois
comptroller was sounding alarm bells about the state budget and a
business advocacy group sued the governor over his controversial
health care plan.
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 The comptroller warned that shortages in the state's General Revenue
Fund are once again causing delays in state payments to vendors.
That is bad news for Medicaid providers, road contractors, state
employees and other state payees, said state Sen. Larry Bomke,
R-Springfield.
As the state is now about halfway through the fiscal year, the
comptroller is predicting payment delays will not only continue
throughout the second half of the year, but delays will likely
worsen.
"All state agencies, employees, state vendors and payees should
be advised that the current delays affecting payments out of the
state's General Revenue Fund are expected to continue and likely
lengthen throughout the remainder of calendar year 2007 and into
calendar year 2008," according to an article on the comptroller's
online site.
Major newspapers in Springfield and Bloomington have also
reported that the state is two months behind in distributing income
tax funds to municipalities and owes some towns millions of dollars
in income tax money. A spokesman for the state comptroller was
quoted as acknowledging that the state is $1.6 million behind in
paying the local share of income taxes owed to the city of
Springfield. The report also indicated the problem is growing
statewide.
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 State leaders from both parties have been critical of the
Blagojevich administration's history of fund sweeps and
interbudgetary fund transfers to pay for state projects not approved
by the General Assembly, including his proposed universal health
care proposal and fund transfers to pay for temporary mass transit
bailouts.
In related action this week, the governor was sued by an economic
coalition that claims his proposed state-funded health care plan is
unconstitutional.
The suit filed by the Illinois Coalition for Jobs, Growth and
Prosperity argues that Blagojevich's decision to expand state-funded
health care coverage without any approval or funding from the
General Assembly is unconstitutional. The lawsuit also says that
with no funding set aside in the state budget for the expansion,
people who sign up for the program may not be able to get health
care because doctors and hospitals have no guarantee they will be
paid.
[Text from file sent on behalf of
Sen.
Larry Bomke by Illinois
Senate Republican staff]
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