Editorial: State leaders avert one crisis, but bigger questions loom

In typical fashion, the Illinois legislature appears at the last minute to have reached a funding solution that will avert a crisis in courtrooms across the state, as well as provide needed day care support for low-wage working families. We'll try to resist cynicism in recalling Gov. Bruce Rauner's declaration in mid-February that negotiators were "literally days away" from a solution to a problem whereby the state would have run out of money to pay court reporters and day care providers. Yes, literally, the solution was days away, but probably a lot more days than anyone had in mind at the time.

But a solution we have - at least in the state House and presumably very soon in the Senate as well - and for the time being it seems something to be thankful for, even as the words of day care owner Robin Nordin echo from her interview with Daily Herald Political Editor Mike Riopell. "I just don't trust them now," Nordin said, explaining why even with the legislative solution at hand, her Kiddie Junction facility in Des Plaines was not lifting the austerity measures put in place in preparation for a feared funding cutoff.

Trust has always been the linchpin to the Illinois public's attitude toward taxation and state spending, and it will no doubt suffer further strains as we ramp up toward the annual May 31 budget crisis. But the court reporter/day care solution does provide a look at what we can expect from the much more far-reaching budget battle ahead. In short, the measures are not going to be pleasant, some very worthy projects, agencies and interests will suffer and we'll learn more about the potential for leaders of both parties to work together to find solutions.

For the present compromise, the suffering was allotted to schools and road work. Through 2.25 percent spending cuts across state government - including money set aside to pay for road construction and millions of dollars intended for schools but unlikely for them to receive this year anyway - lawmakers found a way to prop up its funding for low-income day care, fund salaries of prison workers and pay court reporters, avoiding a certain nightmare of backups in a system already plagued by delays. The solution includes $97 million provided to Rauner to spread around to troubled schools - itself an open expression of trust in the governor on the part of legislators.

None of this is inconsequential. Elgin's U-46 school district alone stands to lose $2.3 million. As for shifting money out of the roads account, the president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce noted that the potential loss of funds "highlights one of the reasons we have significant infrastructure needs and exacerbates an already bleak future for Illinois' transportation system."

But it does all still feel more like a temporary response to an emergency than a long-term solution to a systemic problem. No one, as an example, could answer Riopell's question about why the state, rather than the local counties where they work, is responsible for the salaries of court reporters.

The crux of the challenge ahead for the governor and lawmakers is to arrive at a budget that not only satisfies the immediate requirement of a funding plan for the coming year but also establishes a reasonable and affordable structure of revenues and expenses that will hold up for years to come. The timetable for reaching that type of solution is not measured in days, but at the same time, it can't extend much beyond, literally, weeks.