A poor definition of 'balanced budget'

I read with interest the June 2 story entitled "House clears budget, gambling package" about the elements included in what legislators promote as a balanced budget.

Included in the $39.9 billion spending plan is a provision that "allows borrowing $1.2 billion to pay down a $6.7 billion pile of overdue bills to save money on interest payments."

A balanced budget means that any payments for overdue bills are to be paid out of existing revenues. Therefore, this budget is not balanced. Since some of the overdue bills are due to a previous year revenue shortfall, then by definition, that budget was also not balanced.

For years, the definition of an Illinois balanced budget has been "Revenue + Borrowing = Expenses," which is certainly not my definition of a balanced budget. I'm sure people with a basic knowledge of mathematics would agree.

Finally, I've yet to see any proposals for cutting costs, consolidating government entities, or streamlining major processes to save the taxpayer money.

Mason Holmes

Glen Ellyn