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Huge crowd at first 'state of the state' presentation An
overflow crowd at the Kelly Avenue Grill in Pekin shared their
concerns about the future of our state Jan. 19 during the first in a
series of "state of the state" presentations I am scheduling in
communities around central Illinois.
More than 145 people attended Friday's luncheon meeting, which
was co-hosted by the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tazewell
County Farm Bureau. We unfortunately had to turn some attendees away
because we ran out of room, but it was exciting to see that so many
people are concerned about the direction state government is headed.
The issues we discussed included Medicaid, health care, property
taxes, pensions and ways to address these budget pressures without
increasing taxes. We must focus on paying our bills on time, not
expanding social programs, making sensible Medicaid and pension
reforms, and increasing state revenues with economic development and
job growth.
I want the citizens of the 44th District to understand the
serious challenges facing Illinois today, and I also want to hear
the ideas people have for giving Illinois a more secure financial
foundation and more promising future.
Similar forums are being planned in communities throughout the
44th District in coming weeks. Contact my office at 309-664-4440 to
find out the dates and locations of these meetings.
Lawmakers must heed fiscal warnings
A number of fiscal red flags are giving Illinois senators plenty
to think about before they return to the Capitol to begin the spring
legislative session in earnest on Feb. 6.
During his inaugural comments Jan. 8, the governor said he has
balanced the state budget. His claims stand in stark contrast to
warnings by several other financial experts about the state's fiscal
stability. We lawmakers must carefully consider such information and
weigh its impact on budget negotiations.
Who is saying what?
Just last month, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, a group of business leaders, warned of Illinois' impending
"financial implosion" resulting from $106 billion in liabilities
that the state has no money to pay.
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 In September, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes warned that the
state's current fiscal position -- insufficient revenue to meet
current spending demands -- leaves it very vulnerable to any
economic bumps in the road. In inaugural comments this month, the
comptroller voiced further concerns: "For too long, government spent
money without the slightest concern for the future. And the
consequences -- those could be put off until the next year, the next
administration or the next decade. ... Those consequences are here.
Not as red numbers on a balance sheet -- but as roads that crumble,
kids who don't go to good schools and parents who put off seeing a
doctor because they don't have health care. On such unsteady
foundations, no strong future can be built."
Other groups that dispute the governor's balanced-budget claims
include the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, the Illinois
Chamber, the Civic Federation, the University of Illinois Institute
for Government and Public Affairs, and the Institute for Truth in
Accounting.
Budget message delayed
The governor is delaying his annual budget message by two weeks,
until March 7.
Illinois job growth lagging behind
Blagojevich also begins a second term with a poor record of
creating jobs. Federal Department of Labor statistics for the
January 2003 to November 2006 period show that Illinois ranks 43rd
in the nation in job growth.
During the first four years of the Blagojevich administration,
job growth in Illinois was just 1.8 percent -- less than half that
of Iowa, the region's best-performing state, which saw a 5.1 percent
growth in jobs during the same time period. Illinois' job growth
rate is also far below the national average of 4.8 percent.
Other border states also outperformed Illinois. Wisconsin saw a
3.4 percent increase in jobs, Kentucky grew jobs at the rate of 3.3
percent, Indiana at 2.9 percent, and Missouri at 2.4 percent.
Since 2003, Illinois has seen an increase of 103,100 jobs. If the
state had kept pace with the national average, the total job growth
would have been more than double -- 280,684 -- or more than 177,500
additional jobs.
(Column from
Sen. Bill Brady) |
