Missing on primary chance to matter
Remember how important it was for Illinois to move its primary up from this month to February's "Super Duper Tuesday" in order to remain relevant, we dare say even influential?
Why, Illinois is a "bellwether state" and deserved to be "in the mix," "in the hunt," with "a bigger role" and a chance "to be a player." Indeed, Illinois could help launch home state Sen. Barack Obama into the White House. We certainly did not want "the selection process" to "be finished before it reaches the Illinois primary."
Fast forward to the present, and guess what? Super Duper Tuesday came and went, we barely got a glimpse of the candidates, the race is far from over and the Land of Lincoln was not nearly as relevant as it could have been if the primary had stayed where it was.
Why, Illinois could have been Pennsylvania in April, with the eyes of the entire nation focused upon us flatlanders as the deciding factor in the most exciting race for the presidency in forever.
Alas, the Law of Unintended Consequences has struck again. Serves us right.
Rein in Medicaid
Illinois Senate Republicans want to rein in Medicaid, and it can't happen quickly enough.
The program is out of control. It gobbles up almost $10 billion a year in state funds, and accounts for almost 30 percent of the state's total general revenue spending. And that's without counting all the programs Gov. Rod Blagojevich added recently by fiat last year after the legislature said no. A decade ago, Medicaid made up about 22 percent of the state's general fund.
The rate and growth of spending is unsustainable. Currently, Illinois has a $1.7 billion backlog of Medicaid bills to be paid; the total could reach $2 billion by fiscal year's end.
The wait time for health care providers to get reimbursed now is an average 67 days. Basically, doctors, pharmacists and other health care providers are being forced to make interest-free loans to the state, and it's just not right.
The Republicans are proposing some common-sense reforms.
These are sound changes, and we urge our area lawmakers to support them.