Gov. Quinn delivered an essentially status quo budget yesterday. It should be treated as dead on arrival. His education cuts of ten percent are not intended to solve the deficit problem. They are intended, instead, to motivate the teachers unions, the PTAs, the Illinois Association of School Boards, etc. to lobby for Quinn's proposed 33% increase in the income tax, so the education cuts can be avoided.
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Quinn is proposing virtually no reforms. Nothing on education. Nothing on healthcare. Nothing on transportation. And, only baby steps on state and local government employee pensions. In short, the four big-ticket system items of spending in state government remain virtually unchanged. This is primarily because to reform those systems would upset public sector unions and those unions now essentially control the Illinois Democratic Party, even more so than Speaker Mike Madigan. Quinn has supported baby steps toward a two-tier pension system for public sector unionized employees, i.e., reduced pension benefits (not clearly articulated) for future state and local employees, and that almost cost him the election (Quinn's Democratic Primary opponent, Dan Hynes, went with the unions and opposed a two tier pension system).
After fifteen years of Chicago Public School reform, we have about 7% of the CPS kids in charter schools and 0 % of the CPS kids participate in school vouchers-school choice. Charter and voucher reforms would enable the quality of education to increase and the cost to decrease. But, you will need much bigger numbers than 7% and 0% to accomplish that.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Brady, Senate Republican Leader Radogno and House Republican Leader Cross should work with the Illinois Policy Institute and the Heartland Institute to draft some reform education legislation and estimate the cost savings for the State if that legislation is adopted. The same with Medicaid-managed care legislation. The same with the estimated revenue from selling the state lottery. This would convert the Republicans from the "party of no," to the "party of reform," the "party of new ideas," and the "Party of no new taxes."
Now, how is that for keeping it short? Even shorter than Quinn's speech. And, much more budget savings per word for the taxpayers of Illinois. Reform, new ideas and no new taxes. Words to live by.
