 After the Senate passed several measures on Friday to make payments
to state pension funds, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago,
said they would have to slash about $1.2 billion from Gov. Pat
Quinn's $35.4 billion budget to balance the checkbook for the next
fiscal year.Cullerton said that in the coming weeks he wants to
see lawmakers suggest changes to the approximately 40 different
pieces of legislation that make up Quinn's proposed budget, a move
Cullerton said would make the process more "open and transparent."
"We're not suggesting going behind closed doors and having a
take-it-or-leave-it plan that we dump on the desk of the members,"
said Cullerton, who compared the process with budgets in recent
years.
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, welcomed
the idea of more cuts, but she wanted to see fewer political "games"
and a more holistic framework.
"We're saying, let's participate in a bipartisan process. That's
why we committed to put half the votes on any of these cuts. But you
don't accomplish that by having a series of a partisan roll calls,
and then turn around and use them in campaign brochures," said
Radogno, who said she hoped to see the governor's office taking part
in discussions.
For its part, Quinn's office said it is welcoming collaboration
with the Senate and the Illinois House of Representatives.
"We have been at the tables with Republicans and Democrats on
both sides of the aisle, getting their feedback, working with them,
having them have insight to all of our proposals," said Kelly Kraft,
spokeswoman for Quinn's budget office.
The Senate estimates that the state will have $34.3 billion to
spend for next fiscal year's budget, a number senators based on
information from the Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability. On the House side, lawmakers are using a lower $33.2
billion budget estimate.
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Radogno said she's leaning toward House numbers and waiting for
their cuts to be voted on in the Senate.
But Cullerton stood behind COGFA's numbers Friday, calling it a
bipartisan commission.
"That's why we then have to deal with the House, and we have to
work with the House, apparently even on revenue estimates and what
the cuts are," Cullerton said.
If the cuts don't go far enough, Republicans won't be voting on
them individually, Radogno said.
Republicans issued a proposal last month that suggested more than
$6 billion in possible cuts from Quinn's budget. The Republican
members said that to make a balanced budget and ensure the recently
passed personal and corporate income tax increase expires in four
years, somewhere around $5 billion of possible cuts need to be
enacted.
"Do they envision this tax increase being temporary or not? And
the decisions that we make today on spending are what will determine
whether or not it is temporary or not, or if there even needs to be
another tax increase in a few years," Radogno said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By MELISSA LEU]
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