Cut stipends before increasing taxes

Sunday's Daily Herald contained two stories of interest out of Springfield that, had we to do it over again, should have been paired together.

One was our front-page story that discussed the ongoing debate over a gas tax increase. How much and how it is divided was the crux of the excellent piece by transportation writer Marni Pyke.

The other was an Associated Press story that detailed how our legislators managed to make more money over the last decade by creating more committees - some of which did very little work.

And this is the problem in Springfield. Yes, the gas tax will create far more money to help solve the state's dire financial problems. But the same people who want to impose anywhere from 8 cents to 16 cents more on a gallon of gas can't seem to rein in their own budget.

This gets at what we said not even two weeks ago to state leaders about increasing taxes: Cut spending first.

The AP reports that since 1996, the number of House committees grew from 29 to 58. The Senate had 17 committees in 2002 but now has 30. The increases created 84 additional paid positions. The top Democrat and the top Republican on each committee earns an additional $10,327 a year. The cost to taxpayers is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What's worse is that some of the committees do very little. And the only reason they seem to exist is to give legislators a title and a pay boost.

"Certainly it's not going to solve our budget problem, but it's a good example of how government mushrooms and expands in small amounts," said Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, a Lemont Republican.

Yes, it's an excellent example. Our legislative leaders - Democrats John Cullerton in the Senate and Michael Madigan in the House, along with Republicans Radogno in the Senate and Tom Cross in the House - need to pare it back and show they're serious about cutting government excess. And, as we said previously, cuts needs to be made throughout the budget before taxes are increased.

If, after that, a gas tax increase is implemented, then how it gets spent is key. We agree with groups like the Metropolitan Planning Council, who told Pyke that a nonpolitical way of deciding how to spend the proceeds - a 16-cent increase could raise $1 billion a year - is what's needed. Doing so would show that Illinois truly does want to change its traditional politics-first way of operating.

Democratic state Rep. Kathy Ryg of Vernon Hills has introduced legislation that should be given strong weight. It would divvy up new capital funds based on safety, cost-effectiveness, job creation, population and whether a project can benefit more than one mode of transportation.

A good study of what that would do in actuality is needed. But it's a good first stab at making sure the areas that most need transportation dollars get them.