Bassi, Morrison debate filling state budget hole

The two candidates squaring off in the Republican primary for the 54th District House seat have laundry lists of how to go about solving the state's budget crisis.

Both Palatine residents are firm in the position that raising taxes isn't an option, but challenger Tom Morrison goes a step further than state Rep. Suzie Bassi, saying under no circumstance will he ever support a tax hike.

"If we raise the income tax, even for those making more than $200,000, that will be the last nail in the coffin," said Morrison, a small-business owner. "You will see an accelerated exodus of businesses and citizens from Illinois and those of us who stay will have an even greater burden to shoulder."

Six-term incumbent Bassi said raising taxes during a recession is irresponsible and unconscionable and she outlines 19 different proposals that need to be considered before turning to taxpayers.

First, she wants to see uniform 2 to 3 percent across-the-board cuts in operating costs. Other measures include reducing low-risk inmate populations while increasing the number of prison guards in order to cut down on overtime costs.

"My record shows I've been a tax fighter all the way through," Bassi said. "I refused to vote for the last few budgets because they weren't balanced."

Morrison's biggest critique of Bassi's plan is she's "trimming around the edges. It's not enough to fill an $11 billion hole."

He pegs several of Bassi's votes as fiscally nonconservative, such as in October when legislators including her approved $205 million for the state's Monetary Award Program, which gives scholarships to about $138,000 students.

He said the vote was irresponsible because there's no money, though Bassi responded that the money was already appropriated in discretionary spending.

One of Morrison's ideas is to eliminate the entire Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and its nearly $1 billion budget. He said businesses don't need another bureaucracy telling them how to trade, bring in business and get supplies.

Both candidates are staunch supporters of rolling back the Medicaid expansions by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, as well as pension reform.

Bassi suggests reforming packages to current employees by adjusting retirement age, vesting requirements, capping maximum benefits and limiting cost of living adjustments. Morrison agrees and says double- and triple-dipping into the pension system should be criminal.

As for gambling, Morrison said he would oppose any expansion while Bassi said she's against video gaming but is willing to look at slots at Arlington Park and possibly a carefully constructed Lottery sale because a capital bill is necessary to fix roads and bridges in disrepair.