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Quinn has promised a "five-year blueprint," but said he can't unveil
his plan at the Feb. 19 budget address. The Democratic governor
wants to wait until late March.
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NOT WAITING: Illinois lawmakers are not waiting for the governor to
draft a budget.. |
That's fine with the state's most powerful Democratic lawmaker,
House Speaker Mike Madigan, D-Chicago. He'll let Quinn sit on the
sidelines.
"The governor is asking for a delay, but here in the House we are
not asking for a delay. We're going to move forward," Madigan said
Tuesday.
With that, Madigan marginalized Quinn and made the governor's
pending budget plan much more irrelevant.
The speaker said the House has already begun the process of crafting
the state budget.
"The House is really the driver of the state budget," budget
architect Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion said. "At the end of the day…
the (House budget) numbers are accepted by the rest of the building."
Bradley's panel has already said the state will have about $34.4
billion to spend next year. The current state budget spends $36
billion. But Illinois has $42.6 billion in bills.
Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka's office said there are $6.6
billion in unpaid bills either at the comptroller's office or inside
state agencies.
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OUR JOB: Lawmakers have asserted themselves as the drivers of the
state budget. |
Lawmakers don't know how they will stretch $34 billion to cover
$42.6 billion in obligations.
State Rep. David Harris, R-Arlington Heights, the GOP's point man on
the budget, said Quinn plans to make up some of the difference by
hoping for more money.
[to top of second column] |
"His revenue estimate was $727 million higher (than ours)," Harris
noted. "The governor's office never saw a penny it doesn't want to
spend."
It will likely take a tax increase to make up the rest.
Illinois' 2011 temporary income tax increases are set to roll back
in January 2015, halfway through the new state budget.
Lawmakers expect to lose $1.6 billion immediately and as much as $5
billion within two years.
Quinn, however, won't say if he wants to extend the 2011 tax
increases or if he will propose another plan to raise billions of
dollars.
Carol Portman, president of the Taxpayers Federation of Illinois,
said lawmakers are once again leaving the hesitant governor behind.
"The House is having a series of hearings on Illinois tax policy and
tax incentives. They are talking a lot about Illinois' business
climate, but it is very clear they are also thinking about the
upcoming rate roll-back, and what is the most fiscally responsible
way to deal with it," Portman said.
The House will hold more hearings on the budget until Quinn unveils
his budget plan in late March. The Legislature must have a budget in
place by the end of May.
___
Contact Benjamin Yount at
Ben@IllinoisWatchdog.org and find him
on Twitter:
@BenYount.
[This
article courtesy of
Illinois Watchdog.]
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