CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE: A year ago, Illinois’ new governor, Bruce Rauner, told lawmakers it was a fresh beginning for the state and a new partnership because voters had made it clear they wanted a bipartisan government where people worked to solve problems and get things done.
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Sullivan also supported the governor’s call for more money into education, especially for rural school districts and communities, however, he wanted more information on the state’s budget, as the current impasse is in its seventh month.
Critics said it’s a lot to tackle.
The nature of yesterday’s press conference with Senate President Cullerton was such that most of the questions were truncated but this reporter is confident that, if asked explicitly, Cullerton would have said yes to the “Five easy questions,” articulated here.
Cullerton had warned that a pension reform measure previously passed by the Legislature was unconstitutional because it reduced retirement benefits.
A recent report from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget says if the current spending levels continue without new taxes or the Legislature cutting spending the deficit for the fiscal year ending in June will be $4.6 billion.
But beyond speeding the state’s modernization work, Bhatt sees the consolidation to a “unified” department as a key step toward building “career paths” for IT workers. He says his lawyers are working with Cullerton’s staff to finalize legislation.
Sen. John Sullivan, D-Rushville, welcomed Rauner’s support for financial help to downstate and rural school districts. At least since last March they have been constructively helpful in their proposals on everything from workers’ comp reform to pensions.
Cullerton said immediately that was not the deal he signed off on and Madigan quickly sent out another of his news releases claiming how Rauner wants to “destroy the middle class”, etc.
However, Republicans weren’t reading the governor’s remarks the same way.
But there is no indication Democratic leaders will respond to him positively.
Democrats want Rauner to agree to a tax increase to balance the budget.
And in a brilliant move, the Cullerton and Rauner negotiators deliberately included some important language from Madigan’s own pension proposal: “Employers shall not be required to bargain over matters affected by the changes, the impact of changes, and the implementation of changes” made to state pension law.
“All of us in this chamber had a hard year together in 2015 as we debated a budget with structural reform”, Rauner said.
Rauner on Wednesday called addressing Illinois’ $111 billion pension debt “one of the most critical actions we can take” to save taxpayers money.
Even without a budget, the state has continued to operate – and spend – because of court orders to keep some essential services running.
Lutheran Social Services of IL, the state’s largest social service provider, announced Friday that it is cutting 30 programs and 750 staffers. The programs affected include services for the homeless, mentally ill and seniors who need home care.
“You could say bringing up that negative item early on in the speech would be poor salesmanship”, said state Rep. Randy Frese, R-Quincy.
“One of the most critical ways to lower our cost of living and compete for more good jobs is to reduce our property tax burden”, he said. He said what is needed is a combination of cuts and taxes.
The governor addressed the budget impasse near the conclusion of his speech, urging lawmakers to work together.
We also heard another list of so-called education reforms today, the vast majority of which do nothing to improve teaching, learning, or student success.
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Rauner has aggressively promoted his pro-business, anti-union Turnaroud agenda. “That starts with fundamental changes – term limits and redistricting reform”.
