LETTER to Gov. Quinn with budget suggestions

March 9, 2010                      

 Governor:

You have recently thrown open the state budget for citizen input. We too have been talking with citizens to gauge public opinion on the state budget and other critical issues. 

As leaders of the Senate and House Republican Caucuses, we welcome the opportunity to again share the views of our members and the millions of Illinois citizens we represent. The recommendations we make here are not new. We have been vocal and consistent in our proposals to you, your predecessor and the Democrat majority in the House and Senate during the past seven years. 

We recognize the state is facing a fiscal crisis and we believe we must work in a bi-partisan manner to come up with solutions to get our state back on the right track. 

The budget deficit in Illinois is not simply a result of the national economy.  The magnitude of the problem is the result of many factors created by state government over the years.  

Our state government is too often seen as hostile to Illinois employers and that is certainly part of the problem.  Various organizations and publications consistently rank Illinois in the lower half of all states for business climate. 

We rank 47^th in the nation in job growth.  We have one of the ten highest unemployment rates nationally, and the highest unemployment rate in Illinois since 1984.  We cannot continue to go down the path of driving more and more employers out of our state. 

Decisions made over the last few years have also exacerbated the state’s budget problems.  New programs have been established.  Pension systems have been underfunded while other spending has increased.  Few budget reforms have been implemented.  These actions, among others, have served to create an unprecedented fiscal crisis. 

The independent credit rating agencies have evaluated our state finances and have assigned us the worst credit ratings in the history of our state and the worst credit ratings of any state in the nation except California.  

The national economy is struggling, but Illinois consistently ranks poorly compared to other states that are operating in the same national economic environment.  Clearly, we are doing, and have done some things wrong in Illinois. 

We believe major changes need to happen in Illinois before state taxpayers are asked to invest more of their hard-earned money into a state government that has not and is not serving them well. 

We have consistently offered both short-term and long-term recommendations to improve our economic climate: 

Control spending

• Your budget website indicates revenue projections for FY10 are $1.3 billion lower than originally projected. Yet FY10 spending is now projected at $29.2 billion – an increase of $1.2 billion over your own plan. The combination has added $2.5 billion to the budget deficit. The FY10 budget must be brought into balance.
• We must look at zero-based budgeting.
• Recommendations heard from our constituents reflect a clear willingness on the part of the public to scale back state spending in order to avoid tax hikes.
• When the FY10 budget was signed, you promised $1 billion in state spending reductions. We are asking for a thorough, detailed accounting of all of the budget reductions that have actually been implemented and the savings associated with each action.
• Your Taxpayer Action Board (Executive Order 2009-03) issued its report in June 2009 with recommendations to save “several billion dollars” per year.  We request details on implementation of those recommendations and associated cost savings.
• Implement the strategy employed by Illinois families: refuse to allow spending to exceed revenues. Manage the state budget within available revenues.
• Refuse to create new or expanded programs.
• Systematically review all state programs to eliminate waste and duplication and exact efficiencies.
• Appoint members to the sunshine commission that you established by Executive Order 14-2009 last year to study the state budget and provide ideas to save money.
• Join with us in a demonstration of good stewardship and eliminate General Assembly Scholarships which are ripe for abuse and unnecessarily drain the resources of our state universities. 

Reform the Medicaid Program

• The Medicaid program has been growing at an unsustainable pace, fed by increased eligibility that has shifted the program to one that creates barriers to health care because providers are not willing to accept its patients.
• Significant reforms must be implemented. We have proposed a broad spectrum of reforms that aim to re-focus the program, improve health care and save tax dollars.
  • Stop pushing off Medicaid bills into the next fiscal year.
  • Establish a two-year moratorium on program expansions.
  • Asset test enrollees and use 30 days of income data to ensure the most vulnerable of citizens have access.
  • Employ forensic accounting to root out fraud and inefficiencies.
  • Expand managed care to allow enrollees a medical home. 

Reform Pensions

• Begin earnest dialogue to modernize the five state pension systems and bring some parity between the systems and private sector pension programs.
• Bringing the pension systems and the public employees they represent together into discussions could result in reforms that save billions.  Many areas should be looked at including raising the retirement age, lowering Cost-of-Living-Adjustments and preventing double-dipping in state and local pension systems for future hires. 

Improve the Business Climate in Illinois

• Reform our workers compensation system to equalize our costs with the costs of other states. An initial step should include recognizing workers’ responsibilities in alcohol and drug-free workplaces and requiring that injuries occur in the workplace and arise in the course of employment.
• Streamlining Permitting and Licensure Procedures to encourage and attract new business opportunities.
• In light of the Supreme Court medical malpractice decision, re-visit legal reforms in order to bring sanity to the process that now threatens our jobs climate.
• We must explore other tort reforms to ensure a fair civil justice system.  

Please do not misinterpret our opposition to tax increases and uncontrolled government spending as a sign of our unwillingness to work with you to address the crisis facing our state.  We may have different views on the solutions to our state’s problems, but we can, and must find common ground on proposals that assure Illinois’ economic future. 

Sincerely,

Christine Radogno                                                        Tom Cross

Senate Minority Leader                                              House Minority Leader