 Democrats took the attitude that sometimes you just have to go with
what you've got."Was it a perfect budget? No," said state Rep.
Pat Verschoore, D-Rock Island. "But I think it was the lesser of two
evils."
House members approved 71-44 a plan allowing the state to borrow
up to $4 billion to make its annual payment to the five public
employee pension systems.
An alternative called for delaying the payment until December,
which Verschoore said would have cost the systems $20 billion in
lost interest income from assets that would have been sold off to
make the annual payment.
The Senate returned to the Capitol on Wednesday but has yet to
take action on the pension borrowing plan. The House approved the
Senate budget passed two weeks ago. Gov. Pat Quinn declined to
comment on when he would sign a spending plan for the fiscal year
set to begin July 1, saying he wanted to wait for Senate action on
the borrowing plan.
Republicans took the stance that more deliberation and
cooperation were needed to avoid borrowing that only increases the
state's red ink. And the state still owes approximately $6.5 billion
in unpaid bills through June 30.
"We're just adrift, we're not dealing with it," said Rep. Jil
Tracy, R-Quincy. "I feel like we're on the Titanic and we're making
decisions we wouldn't normally make and ... we're being put into a
corner."
A central Illinois Republican echoed Tracy's call for
bipartisanship and fiscal reforms. State Rep. Jim Watson,
R-Jacksonville, said he was frustrated by the inaction.
"Pay as you go is not a partisan issue. Demanding the state get
its payment cycle into a 30-day annual cycle is not a partisan
issue," he said. "And if you do those things, if you implement those
things and say 'these are the rules we're going to live by,' it will
restrain spending so that it matches revenue."
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However, Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, maintained the state has
already trimmed any excess fat.
"There have been $2 billion or $3 billion cuts that have taken
place in state government already, taken place over the last year,"
said Bradley. "The actual amount of state spending appropriations is
down significantly over the last couple of years. ... The governor's
office has been managing the budget where they don't have enough
money to provide for the programs that we need in this state."
Verschoore said that in order to keep the state running, an
increase in the state sales or income tax has to be expected --
sometime.
"Like I tell people in my district, you don't run your household
on the same dollars you did eight years ago, and the state is no
different," he said.
However, he hesitated about the budget provision giving the
governor emergency budget powers to make lump-sum appropriations to
programs rather than the usual specific, line-item appropriations.
And Republicans joined him in his reservations.
"That's passing the buck because the majority of the General
Assembly didn't want to make tough decisions," Watson said. "Look,
at some point we have to be leaders and we have to step up and say
'we can't be everything to everybody.'"
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MARY MASSINGALE] |
