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Gov. Pat Quinn acknowledges support for his proposed income tax increase as Campaign for Illinois Future and other groups rally to urge legislators to pass an income tax increase at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday June 23, 2009. Officials said the rally drew thousands of people waving signs in support of services for women, children, senior citizens, disabled people and more. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
That's right, Illinois, it's an exciting day as the new Fiscal Year has begun and- what? There's no budget but rather a huge budget hole? Between $7 billion and $9 billion? Shit. Didn't we just boot a corrupt as all Hell governor so that the state government could right this sinking ship? Well...crap.
A few names have changed but the results are the same: that state finds itself mired in a budget mess. Yes, Springfield is eating itself as assembly Dems battle Republicans and Governor Quinn battles both. And in the meantime, there's no real budget in place and as a result many social services are set to see massive cuts. During a speech in front of lawmakers yesterday, Quinn maintained that he's digging in his heels to get those tax raises he sees as a solution to the state's budget gap, saying, "I'm prepared to stay here all summer to get the job done. I think that's what the people want. That's why we're here -- to get the job done, whatever it takes." Members of Quinn's own party, though, including state house leader Mike Madigan, refused to give in and the deadline came and went without anything solved. Quinn allegedly proposed a one-month budget extension plan to buy more time, but leaders ultimately rejected the plan.
While this deadline has come and gone, another will quickly approach: July 15, when the next round of state worker paychecks are scheduled to go out. Of course, without a budget deal, there's no money and without money, there won't be paychecks. [Tribune, CBS 2]
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does getting the job done doing whatever it takes include investigating and reducing wasteful & unnecessary spending in the state budget? i'm guessing no... wouldn't get enough camera time that way.
Once again, our fine state remains a beacon for other states.
"Look. It could be worse. We could be like Illinois"
please save our social services !
I think one of the more destructive effects of the rampant corruption in Illinois is that it has created a huge overestimation in the public mind of the financial effect of that corruption. Yes, there is a lot of waste in government, but not nearly so much that its elimination will solve a $7-$9 billion deficit. The inflated perception of waste, though, gives cover to all the politicians who would rather avoid making the necessary tough choices.
Unfortunate as it is, many of these social services discussed are--like war, ironically--the luxury of a wealthy society. We are no longer that wealthy, so some services will have to go ... even if we do raise taxes (which I also see as necessary.) It's time to pay the bills we've been putting off at all levels of government for far too long.
Unfortunately many of the services that could be cut are NOT "luxuries." If Illinois follows through the the proposed cuts to the foster care and adoption systems, the state won't be in compliance with federal mandates regarding timelines for reunification and case worker/child ratios. If we're not in compliance with federal guidelines, we also lose federal funding.
One would shudder at the amount of federal money Illinois has lost over the years because of the douchebags running things in both Springfield and Cook County. Yet they are still elected time and time again.