Budget cut ideas separate 81st House candidates
Medicaid often is targeted as one area of the state budget where cuts should be made, and the candidates for the 81st state House seat in the Downers Grove area are among those taking aim at the cost of administering the program.
But Republican incumbent Ron Sandack and Democratic challenger Liz Chaplin see the problem with Medicaid differently and offer opposing perspectives on how the state's financial situation should be improved.
Sandack, a 50-year-old attorney from Downers Grove, blamed the majority of Medicaid expense issues on out-of-state residents who somehow remain on the rolls to receive benefits from the medical assistance program for low-income people.
But Chaplin, a 49-year-old accountant from Downers Grove, said she thinks corrupt doctors and medical providers who are gaming the system are most at fault and should be targeted to help cut Medicaid costs.
"Those kind of abuses are what's really hurting Medicaid; it's not the person that is on the dole," said Chaplin, who is also a DuPage County Board member. "That instance is not nearly as significant as dishonest doctors and people that are running facilities that manipulate the system to use that money for their benefit instead of for our most vulnerable."
In other areas of the state budget, Chaplin said the state already has cut millions in funding for education, human services, public safety "and all your basic, core needs" in recent years. She said she supports taking another look at spending to ensure there are no instances of fraud or abuse, but the budget already has been cut "significantly," so it's time to look for more revenue.
Chaplin said she supports the implementation of a progressive income tax, which taxes higher income earners at a higher rate, to help bolster the state's checkbook.
While Sandack agreed cuts to education, human services and public safety have been made, he said total state spending continues to increase year over year. Still, he said "what should be cut" is not the right question to improve Illinois' financial state.
"The right question is should we be reinventing state government and looking at it from a different perspective," Sandack said.
After a fresh analysis of the structure of state government, Sandack said he would be ready to discuss measures to increase revenue.
"After we look at that (expense) side of the ledger, after we go through an audit process of each and every department, then we have inherent trust in the size, scope and expense of government," Sandack said. "And then I'm happy like any other reasonable person to talk about revenues and matching those revenues to make sure those departments are funded and doing what they're supposed to do."
Sandack and Chaplin are running in the Nov. 4 election to represent the 81st District, which includes parts of Darien, Downers Grove, Lisle, Naperville, Westmont and Woodridge.