Governor Quinn said 'cut, cut, cut,' so what's up with all of this?

SPRINGFIELD - Earlier this month, Gov. Pat Quinn said he'd "cut, cut and cut" state spending, but a closer look at his budget plan finds numerous expenditures that raise eyebrows at a time when taxpayers are being asked to pay more to bailout state spending.

For instance, there's $341,600 for Illinois lawmakers to attend the National Conference of State Legislatures, $50,000 for an agriculture in the classroom grant and $200,000 to research Abraham Lincoln.

There's $2 million to promote organ and tissue donation. And, in case Illinoisans miss the organ and tissue donation promotions, the budget also proposes spending $200,000 for organ and tissue donation awareness.

Many local lawmakers said they expected to see far more cuts in Quinn's budget, especially given his call for increasing the personal income tax rate by 50 percent to a 4.5 percent rate to help balance an estimated $11.6 billion deficit in this and next year's budgets.

"We're on a rubber lifeboat and we're sinking and it sounds like many people want to bring their flat-screen TV with them," said state Rep. Jack Franks, a Marengo Democrat. "Little things add up."

Critics are pointing to items in the governor's 482-page budget proposal that on their own don't cost the state that much, but can add up.

"I suspect a lot of these are things that might have some merit to them, but in the current climate do they belong in there? I think that one would be a 'No,'" said state Sen. Matt Murphy, a Palatine Republican.

A spokeswoman for Quinn's budget office said not everything in the budget came from the governor.

"Line items that are included in the General Assembly or other constitutional officers' budgets are presented as requested by those agencies. These entities submit their own budgets to the legislature," said spokeswoman Marcelyn Love.

"With regard to some of your specific examples, including $200,000 for research on Abraham Lincoln, this line provides appropriation authority should the agency receive grant funds to support this research," Love said.

She said core programs must continue and that Quinn has included $1.3 billion worth of cuts in his plan to balance this and next year's budgets.

"But we can't cut our way out of an $11.6 billion deficit. The governor has employed a number of tactics to address the deficit while maintaining services for working families," Love said.

Quinn recently told the Daily Herald his hands are tied in making large cuts because if the state cuts education or health care spending, it risks losing billions in federal stimulus dollars Illinois is counting on to also help balance the massive deficit. Education and health care spending account for nearly 70 percent of the state's spending plan.

Quinn inherited the state's financial crisis from his impeached and ousted predecessor Rod Blagojevich. Quinn, previously the lieutenant governor, was sworn in as governor Jan. 29.

Since outlining his budget plan, Quinn has dared his critics to come up with a better version, noting that so far his is the only proposal.

Some Republican lawmakers - including Murphy - say they're taking him up on that challenge and will produce a list of nearly $3 billion in cuts in the coming days.

"We talk about the big ticket items all the time, but there's no reason we can't go through and do exactly this," Murphy said. "I don't know what it's going to add up to, but in terms of credibility, it adds up to a lot."

<p class="News"><b>See for yourself</b></p> <p class="News">Examine Gov. Pat Quinn's budget for yourself and see if there are programs that could be cut. The budget book and other budget documents are available online at: <b><a href="http://www.state.il.us/budget" target="new">www.state.il.us/budget</a></b>.</p> <p class="News">Of note, the budget book is a voluminous file and not everything is as simple or wasteful as it might seem. For instance, there's a $10,000 grant to "help expose Illinois youngsters to the game of golf." What isn't mentioned in that section is that the program is paid for by people who buy youth golf license plates.</p>