Suburban Dems budget plans receive mixed results

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois lawmakers shot down a proposal that would have forced state retirees not on Medicare to contribute to their state health care.

The proposal, which some say would have saved the state $100 million, was one of an array of cost-cutting proposals by House Democrats that received mixed results in a key committee Tuesday afternoon.

A band of Democrats, mostly from the suburbs, rallied together over the last few weeks in attempt to find budget alternatives after other plans stalled in the House earlier this month. Many of the alternatives wouldn't save the state large amounts of money and would only make small dents in the state's roughly $13 billion budget deficit.

Lawmakers, for instance, shot down Champaign-Urbana state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson's plan that would have reduced the state's transportation allowance, which is currently 50 cents per mile, to a federally suggested figure of 39 cents.

A proposal, however, by Elgin state Rep. Keith Farnham advanced to the full House that would limit the travel allowance for lawmakers to 39 cents for the next year. It also would reduce lawmakers' travel allowance for housing and meals - currently $139 a day - to $111.

"This furthers our participation in trying to cut money and show that we have that intent," Farnham said.

Arlington Heights state Rep. Mark Walker advanced legislation that would force legislators, constitutional officers and other state officials to forgo a cost-of-living increase for the next year.

Meanwhile, a proposal that could potentially save $300 million by canceling and rebidding state contracts for a total of more than $1.2 billion also cleared the committee.

"There's a pattern of renewing contracts just year after year," Jakobsson said. "We just renew them and don't ask questions."

Aurora state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia's proposal to eliminate all state-paid stipends and bonuses for local officials was held in committee. She said the measure needed more work.

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Northbrook, supported a proposal that effectively would cut funding from the state budget for the year slated to end this July. That legislation was shot down in a committee vote.

The proposal would have allowed lawmakers to waive about $100 million in state education grants, in addition to $300 million in cuts ranging from transportation to special education.

Nekritz said that money likely won't be disbursed anyway, unless lawmakers approve a tax increase. Because lawmakers and Gov. Quinn "overpromised" funding with the current year's budget, she said, the state is grappling with $6 billion in unpaid bills, which has resulted in late payments to state schools.

"These are some cuts we think are manageable, and will allow the state to predictably have a budget and pay its bills, so that we can be relied on, rather than just being deadbeats," Nekritz said.

That proposal was voted down, 13 to 5.

House Democrats attempted to lure Republicans into supporting a pension-borrowing plan by adding millions worth of borrowing for school construction projects. The measure cleared committee without any Republican support, and GOP members accused Democrats of sinking to new lows with the ploy.

Chicago state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie said that doesn't bode well for the borrowing plan, which requires Republican votes.

"The early signs from these test votes does not make me overly optimistic that we can do the sensible thing when it comes to borrowing for the pension payment," Currie said.

The borrowing plan came up one vote short of passing Tuesday evening, but was being positioned for another vote later in the evening.