Legislature appears ready to force gov to make deep cuts

BY ABDON M. PALLASCH AND STEVE CONTORNO Staff Reporters


You may have noticed signs up at your hospital, town government office or social service agency letting you know a program has been canceled because the state has not been paying its bills on time, if at all.

Expect even more of that in the days to come.

Even the best options are bad as legislators return to Springfield today to take another whack at fixing a budget that spends $13 billion more than it takes in.

Legislators don't want to be on record voting to cut popular programs, so they appear poised to transfer that authority to Gov. Quinn, then leave town before he starts making cuts so they can let him take the blame.

"The only way we are going to get the cuts we need is for the governor to do it," Quinn said Friday. "We are in an economic emergency in this state. Both parties are reluctant to make cuts. I am not reluctant to do what has to be done for the taxpayers. I did it last year."

Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) proposes cutting two state departments, and another renegade group of legislators will hold a news conference this morning outlining their proposed cuts.

"We've been communicating with the governor's office," said state Sen. Susan Garrett (D-Lake Forest). "We've also worked with [Speaker of the House Mike] Madigan and [Senate President John] Cullerton. I think there's an agreement to put these things on the bill as amendments and vote them up or down."

So far, in the tightly controlled state House of Representatives, the only plan moving forward is the usual approach: no big cuts; no income tax hike; just more borrowing to cover the budget hole. But Garrett said 1/3Madigan‚s staff has been extremely responsive, as has Cullerton, to giving the renegades a vote on their proposals to cut state contracts and tinker with Medicaid and retirees‚ insurance.

With the Nov. 2 general election looming, Madigan does not want any of his members on record supporting an income tax hike, so that's off the table. Republicans don't want to be on record supporting borrowing $3.7 billion to make the state's pension payment -- and Quinn needs at least one Republican vote -- so that may still be off the table.

"It'll be a pile of hot garbage. The House and Senate don't want to specify what gets cut. They'd rather hang the governor with that," said Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. "Politically, for the speaker, it's good to hang a starving budget on the governor instead of himself."

Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said, "The speaker has been talking to people every day. He's been in touch with the governor, members, President Cullerton."

One tax hike remains on the governor's wish list: a dollar-a-pack increase in the state cigarette tax. He couldn't get the votes for that a few weeks ago. But with a May 31 deadline hanging over legislators, he is hoping they will be more amenable. After that date, more votes will be needed to pass a budget, so Republicans will get a bigger say.

Most of his package will be borrowing -- borrowing against $1 billion in expected tobacco settlement money over the coming years, against dedicated state funds, etc. Quinn will also try again to get money to meet the state's pension obligations. If he can't, the state will just defer payment until after the Nov. 2 elections, costing the state's pension funds millions or billions of dollars down the road.

In the meantime, the state stretches out its payments to social service providers who, in turn, have to cut services. The worse the deficit gets, the more inclined the bond agencies are to downgrade the state's credit rating, which in turn means the state must pay more to borrow money.

Cutting money to preventive programs such as drug addiction and prison-release after-care programs to prevent prisoners reoffending could end up costing the state more in the long run, but they appear likely to be cut anyway.

Quinn has been meeting with members of the legislative Black Caucus who have sought his assurance that cuts he would make under the proposed emergency powers for himself would not be to teen-reach programs, summer jobs for youth, early childhood education, family case management, child care that supports low-income mothers, violence prevention programs, teacher programs like "grow your own teacher," alternative education programs, digital divide programs, HIV outreach, adult education, etc.

"Lots of legislators have individual programs or causes they have worked for," Quinn said. "I'm not excited about cutting education."

Asked Friday if further cuts to the Department of Corrections would mean more early-release of prisoners, a practice that has already brought bad press for Quinn, the governor said, "No." He said he hopes not to cut from corrections, health or education. Of course, those areas account for most of the spending in the budget.

Even if Quinn gets everything he asks for from the Legislature, that still leaves a $6 billion deficit.

"It's not like the demand for those services go down with the cut. These are vulnerable populations. Really bad things can happen, including crime and violence," Martire said. "Take the case of the violent husband. The $6,000 funding for his domestic abuse treatment is cut. So he becomes violent and beats up his wife. She has to go to the hospital. He has to go to prison, which costs the state $30,000. They've lost their income and she has hospital bills to pay. She has to get a job. She's not going to be the only victim. The kids now have been witnesses or victims of abuse and they're not getting treatment and their mom is working full time."


The governor's Republican rival, Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), said cuts are the only answer.

"The governor's got to lower spending down to a balanced level," Brady said. "I don't think he's capable of doing what needs to be done. I would treat every agency equally, reduce spending by 10 percent, then ask my department heads to identify the highest priorities."

But Quinn, Madigan and Cullerton have not consulted the minority Republicans, said a spokeswoman for House Republican Leader Tom Cross.

"It's been a puzzling process," she said. "The Democrats have decided that this is what they prefer to do and keep the minority party out of the negotiations."