Some Illinois pols in both parties vote against debt ceiling deal

[August 03, 2011]  SPRINGFIELD -- Despite the threat of the federal government defaulting on its debt, a handful of Illinois congressmen on both sides of the aisle voted against the plan to raise the national debt ceiling and cut trillions of dollars in spending over the next decade.

Their votes came in spite of wide bipartisan support for the last-minute deal, which passed the U.S. House with a 269-161 vote late Monday night and the U.S. Senate with a 74-26 vote on Tuesday. President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law shortly after it gained approval from the Senate.

Tea party-backed U.S. Reps. Joe Walsh, R-McHenry, and Randy Hultgren, R-Winfield, were two of the 161 votes in the House against the measure, which increases the amount the federal government can borrow by $2.1 trillion through 2013.

Both said the legislation doesn't address the country's deficit sufficiently. Hultgren and Walsh said that in addition to the $2.4 trillion in cuts, a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution was needed for their "aye" vote.

"It is my opinion that the proposal approved by the House ... falls short of what we need to do to put our country back on the right track. By failing to require Congress to approve a balanced budget amendment ... prior to any further increases in the debt ceiling, this bill does not provide the structural changes that I stated were necessary to earn my support," Hultgren said in a news release.

A balanced budget amendment was a staple for many tea party candidates during the 2010 election that catapulted them to Washington, D.C.

"I cannot support this latest deal. It spends too much and cuts too little ... Democrats still don't get it and refuse to make the spending cuts necessary," Walsh said in a news release.

The two newcomers were joined by their fellow Republican, six-term U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, of Urbana, in voting against the legislation. Johnson said the cuts outlined didn't go deep enough.

"Under the Budget Control Act, we're still spending more than we did last year ... I fear this kind of compromise will only maintain the status quo," Johnson said in a news release.

Two of the state's more liberal Democrats joined the Illinois Republicans in voting against the proposal. However, U.S. Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Chicago, and Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston, said the legislation cut too deep into the social safety net provided by the federal government.

"This is the wrong medicine for a sick economy. This bill could increase unemployment, slow economic growth and deepen already historic income inequality," said Schakowsky in a news release. "Though I have voted to raise the debt ceiling in the past, I cannot in good conscience support this deal, which requires $1 trillion in spending cuts that make the middle-class, the poor and seniors sacrifice."

Schakowsky said she wanted the tax cuts implemented by President George W. Bush for the wealthiest Americans rolled back before she voted for the debt-ceiling deal.

Five Illinois representatives voted against the agreement, but the other 13 Illinois representatives -- both Democrats and Republicans -- were part of the chorus of 269 House members voting yes, but for different reasons.

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Chicago, said he voted yes out of desperation more than anything, and he had strong words for those on the right.

"The tea partyers and the GOP have made their slash-and-burn lunacy clear, and while I do not love this compromise, my vote is a hose to stop the burning. The arsonists must be stopped," Gutierrez said in a news release. "The damage this bill will do to the people of the 4th District, Chicago and the country is real and lasting but pales in comparison to the damage the GOP was willing to do to the American and world economies to make a political point."

U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, said the legislation is not perfect, but it's a "step in the right direction."

"While this has been a frustrating and lengthy process, I think the finished product is something to be proud of," Schock said in a news release. "It's not perfect. In fact, it's far from perfect, but with divided government neither side gets everything they want." He said that the great number of Republicans and Democrats who joined to approve the legislation was evidence of its support.

U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said they voted in favor of it to avoid the federal government going into default.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]