House District 66 hopefuls debate budget crisis solutions

Democratic state Rep. Mark Walker on Saturday pitched a new way to put together state budgets that would ensure Illinois doesn't spend more than it takes in, while David Harris, the Republican hoping to take his House seat, said spending must be cut though education and social services should remain priorities.

The two Arlington Heights residents and candidates in the 66th District of the Illinois House shared their ideas during a forum Saturday in Arlington Heights sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Arlington Heights, Mount Prospect and Buffalo Grove area.

Harris proposed fixing the state deficit with spending cuts, saying Illinois revenue has gone up 20 percent in the last seven years while spending has increased 35 percent.

Reductions would not have to be across the board, said Harris, proposing a 10 percent pay cut for all elected officials and department heads.

"Education should be a priority and at the top of the list, and social services should be at the top of the list," he said.

Walker said 23 of the last 25 state budgets under governors of both parties were "broken."

He talked about a proposal to change how the budget is put together that he and other area legislators have devised and that he says has a 60 percent chance of passage this fall.

An important part of the proposal is "deciding on how much money we have to spend by law, before we decide on how to allocate our spending and then not spending more than is taken in, which is the opposite of what our budget process has been for 30 years."

To address the issue of public pension funds that are running deficits, Walker said abuses must be ended. He said individuals should not be allowed to work a second or third government job while collecting a pension from the first job or get their salaries raised significantly at the end of their careers to increase their income in retirement. He also called for a ceiling on the annual amount a person could receive from a pension.

Harris said whatever pension system is devised it must be properly funded, and while the legislature has reduced what will be owed for pensions for future employees, the amount promised to current employees must be cut.

"We need to do this in an agreeable way. We need to call in those folks from the state, call in those folks from the unions and say, 'Folks, we've got to make some changes because we've got a system here that we can't afford.'"