Suburbs better at minding budgets

Americans are worried that the national debt is swelling at a rate of $4 billion a day.

Illinoisans are flummoxed by their state legislature's inability to pass a budget at all, let alone one that's less than $1 billion in the red.

We're all frustrated that we spend so much time at home trying to make sure our bills don't swallow our checkbooks whole while our representatives in both Washington and Springfield can't seem to pass a balanced budget.

Perhaps it's the ridiculous size of our federal and state governments that make billions seem meaningless to those who spend it. Perhaps it's because locally we can't just borrow willy nilly from China to keep the plows gassed up. But closer to home leaders seem to have a better grasp on toeing the line.

At a time when people are crying out for government to act more like a business, we're seeing hard evidence of it here in the suburbs.

Last week the city of Elgin put in motion a plan to trim 54 jobs over the next couple years through layoffs, attrition and early retirement buyouts.

Car sales are way down and development has virtually stopped in the city. Elgin relies on taxes and other income from those sectors and others to pay its workers. It started with laying off 16 people last week. All with the goal of sealing a $5 million leak in the 2009 budget.

In Naperville, the city council last week agreed to cut 23 vacant positions but ultimately will need to cut again as much. Which means more than two dozen city employees will lose their jobs after the first of the year. Naperville, too, is trying to close a $5 million budget gap, one that is expected to grow to $11 million next fiscal year.

Those are both cities with populations of more than 100,000. But Des Plaines is looking to lay off a dozen city employees; Rolling Meadows eight.

We take no delight in seeing good people laid off. It's a horrible, painful process for all involved.

But at some point, government must live within its means as the rest of us must. Companies are answerable to their shareholders. Where government is concerned, though, we're all shareholders.

We caution those local leaders who are facing such draconian budget cuts - and there will be more as we see car dealerships continue to close and we sink deeper into recession - to eliminate creature comforts before laying off cops and firefighters and public works employees who provide bedrock services that keep us safe.

A final word to the people of Elgin who scratch their heads over why a city with the state's most profitable casino - an enterprise that pumps millions into the city every year - is in such a spot of bother.

City fathers had the good sense 14 years ago when the Grand Victoria opened to never use its revenue to fund ongoing expenses, like salaries for city employees, because they knew the gravy train might run dry.

Riverboat casinos, too, are now facing drops in revenue. Think of how bad things would be in Elgin today had leaders not shown that foresight.