Democrats disagree on budget reform
John Moynihan, who's challenging 56th District state Rep. Paul Froehlich in the Feb. 5 Democratic primary, might be described as a one-issue candidate.
But when that issue is the state budget and the problems it continues to cause every other aspect of Illinois government, that's perhaps understandable.
Moynihan, a Schaumburg attorney specializing in financial cases, believes he has the skills to bring about reform in the budgeting process. But he also believes making the process transparent to the ordinary citizen is almost a self-correcting way of preventing problems that happen when the budget is controlled by only a small group of people.
"That's why I'm running, so regular citizens like me can get the information," he said.
He believes the annual budget process has been nothing but a constant compromise of the next generation's well-being for a quick, short-term fix.
"We have to get away from the mindset that we ask people of the future to pay for a problem today," Moynihan said.
Froehlich agrees with Moynihan's assessment of the problem's seriousness -- including the part underfunded pension obligations play -- but questions the ability of even a new set of eyes to bring about a long-term solution quickly.
"No one member down there is going to fix the problem," Froehlich said. "You don't need an accounting degree to see we have a budget problem."
The only long-term solutions would be to find an additional $3 billion in revenue or cut $3 billion in spending, Froehlich said.
But with new revenue likely to be in the form of taxes -- and much of today's spending going to health care, education and pensions -- no one advocates such drastic solutions, Froehlich added.
In the meantime, most legislators know not to propose any expensive plans that will make the problem worse, he said. But life does and will go on through new legislation that doesn't strongly impact the budget.
He cites as an example a new bill he's sponsoring on prohibiting the sports eligibility of high school athletes who test positive for anabolic steroids.
"I think experience matters, especially when one candidate has no experience and the other has been elected to five different offices," Froehlich said. "You can have great ideas, but implementing them … it isn't going to happen."
Moynihan said that while his professional skills have prepared him well for budget issues, recent laws like the indoor smoking ban and new requirements for teenage drivers make sense to him both as a citizen and a father.
His background as an attorney has prepared him to weigh the arguments and evidence of all sides on a variety of issues, Moynihan said.
"If you like the government we have, value the experience he has," Moynihan said of Froehlich. "We have to get the people to know there's a different way to go about this."
The 56th District is primarily Schaumburg but stretches from Harper College to the north to Army Trail Road to the south. It takes in parts of Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Roselle and Bloomingdale.