Buffalo Grove assails state lawmakers over budget impasse

Buffalo Grove officials are sending a scathing message to Springfield.

On Monday, the village board passed a resolution urging the prompt adoption of a state budget and the protection of local government revenues.

Trustee Jeffrey Berman said the resolution stems from recent legislative forums presented by the Northwest Municipal Conference and the Lake County Municipal League, during which local governments have been asked by local legislators to take a stand.

Berman said local governments are in danger of losing local revenues and control over their finances, as a result of proposed legislative reforms.

"Passing those so-called reforms, however, will not reduce the state's budget deficit or diminish its gargantuan unfunded pension obligations," he said.

He noted that Buffalo Grove's village board has made many hard financial choices to maintain financial stability during difficult times.

"The village has the distinction of having a higher credit rating than either the state of Illinois or the federal government," Berman said.

Berman said it appears some state leaders believe they know what's better for local communities than those towns' residents and elected officials.

"It takes an extraordinary level of hubris for the governor and the members of the General Assembly, who, together, have driven the state to the brink of financial catastrophe, to suggest that they, rather than we, know best how to manage our local services and finances," he said.