Get ready for more threats, demands, and gimmicks. Tonight, Illinois legislators scurried out of Springfield without passing a budget for the state. While Illinois law requires the lawmakers to have a budget by May 31st or risk a state shutdown and/or overtime legislative session, party leadership set today's date as their deadline.
House Speaker and shadow governor Mike Madigan told lawmakers "When we are prepared to finish our business, we will come back to Springfield for one or two days, hopefully no more." What that means is that all legislative negotiating and sausage making will take place in secret, behind closed doors, with many public threats (read: lies) and dire warnings of apocalypse without certain programs being continued or taxes being increased.
Several gimmicks were left on the legislative table according to the Chicago Tribune. The gimmicks included an August sales tax holiday for back to school purchases and $1-a-pack increase in the state cigarette tax. For the many legislative members that support moving towards a more progressive income tax system, a cigarette tax increase is just another way to screw the
poor guy because he (or she) smokes more.
Senate President John Cullerton pushed through a bill that would allow Governor Quinn to completely skip a $4 billion payment to Illinois pension systems, but the House did not take up the bill.
Cullerton said the bill would allow the state to avoid an automatic transfer of cash into public employee pension plans as required by current law. Quinn could transfer any available money into pensions. However, that would most likely mean no money would get transferred considering the dire budget situation. Plus, it would only increase the long term burden on the Illinois taxpayers with the unfunded pension liability.
The Tribune reported that "Madigan offered two budget alternatives. One used borrowing to fill in the budget gap and provide pension funding, while the other contained massive cuts -- a jab at Republicans who long argued that reducing spending would solve the budget woes. Both measures failed, with 99 of 118 House members opposed to the cuts." Both gimmicks.
A Republican state representative, Bill Black, compared legislative Democrats to confused first graders during a fire drill. I'm surprised Black is giving the Democrats that much credit. It should be noted that Black and his GOP caucus are doing nothing to help. Basically, while Democrats run around frantically in loops, circles, and zig zags, Republicans are jumping up and down, stamping their feet, and
walking around without moving their arms, with both crying and whining like babies. That's the Illinois budget process (and Illinois politics) in a nutshell. Also, remember that these fools are acting this way with a budget deficit of over ten billion dollars.
So, we're getting screwed again.
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