Blagojevich talks tough on budget
If lawmakers don't come up with more dollars for the state's budget in two weeks, Gov. Rod Blagojevich will order $1.5 billion in draconian cuts to some of Illinois' most crucial services, including health care, education and transportation.
Those are just a few of the state services Blagojevich has slated to slash with his veto pen unless lawmakers approve a spending package that has enough income to be supported.
"For me to sign this budget would be lying to the people of Illinois," Blagojevich said Tuesday. "It would be like writing a check that I know would bounce."
The state's budget year is set to run out Monday. The budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 includes, by some estimates, more than $2 billion in spending that can't be supported. The total state operating budget is $59.2 billion.
Among other things, Blagojevich's proposed cuts would mean:
• About 900 fewer people suffering from mental health issues, HIV/AIDS, or substance abuse would have access to affordable housing and needed services.
• State support for fare subsidies to the RTA would be eliminated for students and people with disabilities.
• Funding would be reduced for the state's 39 community college districts.
A $16 billion pension borrowing plan that would greatly reduce the size of the next pension payment was approved by the Senate but never voted on in the House. That was also the case for a proposal to sweep away and spend more than $400 million set aside in special, protected state accounts. Blagojevich supports both proposals.
The governor also called for the approval of gambling expansion and a lottery lease deal to pay for a $34 billion construction spending plan that would free up money to balance state spending.
The Illinois House has until July 9 to approve enough revenue to pay for the spending included in the budget, Blagojevich said.
State Rep. Dennis Reboletti, an Elmhurst Republican, said the governor's request is no surprise.
"I've always anticipated going back to Springfield for a special session when Democratic leadership lives in a pretend world," he said. "You can't pretend we have additional revenue or that we have money in the bank. This budget was make-believe and a sham and they knew it when they passed it."
But the governor's call for House action did not appear to alter House Speaker Michael Madigan's views, at least not immediately.
Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said the governor's revenue ideas contain "substantial defects" that must be corrected before the House seriously considers reconvening.
In a written statement, Senate President Emil Jones Jr., a Chicago Democrat, pushed for the House to pass the revenue legislation that the Senate sent to the House.
"The House knew when it did not pass the revenue bills that they were playing a dangerous game in which the people of Illinois could lose," he said, adding, "These aren't easy votes to make, but they are necessary to finish the people's work."
State. Rep. Michael Tryon, a Crystal Lake Republican, blamed a lack of communication among controlling Democrats, namely the contentious relationship between Madigan and Blagojevich, for the state's budget woes.
"You have the making of a perfect storm here when you have no communication between the leadership of the legislative bodies," Tryon said. "I can tell you I think the members of the House and the rank-and-file members of the Senate are getting tired of this."