Public policy groups calls governor's budget "cuts" more political theatre

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Policy Institute, a non-partisan liberty based public policy organization, has called on the Governor to end the political theatre and get serious about eliminating wasteful, unnecessary spending from the budget. The Governor's proposed cuts are directed more at political opponents than protecting the taxpayers of Illinois. According to the State Comptroller's office, state revenue has increased by nearly $5.5 billion (5.5% per year) from 2003-2007. Illinois has been receiving record revenues for years, and to call this budget battle a crisis is not just inaccurate but misleading to the taxpayers.

"As is typical in Illinois, this is another example where taxpayers  depending on essential state services are being held hostage by politicians intent on protecting their interests over the interests of those they have sworn to serve," said Greg Blankenship, President of the Illinois Policy Institute. "The idea that we have a revenue shortage is fiction. What we have is a lack of responsible spending discipline, especially as the economy goes down and gas prices go up. Instead of beginning with front line personnel, our leaders should look into their fiefdoms, including their own offices."

The Illinois Policy Institute suggests a list of action items the Governor and lawmakers could include to inject fiscal responsibility into the state budget:

Eliminate $686 million in wasteful, unnecessary spending as identified by the "2008 Piglet Book," which identified earmarks such as $550,000 for the conservation of pheasants, $40,000 for the Springfield Figure Skating Club and $1,000 for a woman to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs
Implement real transparency reform so the public can review all state spending and consultants in an online searchable database. Senate President Emil Jones has blocked HB4765, The Illinois Accountability Portal, even though the Illinois House has passed this legislation by a unanimous vote
A November 2007 report by the Auditor General indicated that the Blagojevich Administration could not compile a list of state programs under its purview (the Auditor General found at least 1,750 existing state programs)
Adopt the "Illinois Sunshine Act" which would create an independent, blue-ribbon commission of business leaders (not connected with state government) who would review every aspect of the state budget and present lawmakers with a list of ineffective, duplicative and wasteful programs that could be cut to save taxpayers millions of dollars

Comments

The 40K for the Springfield Skating Club sounds like a member initiative of a Springfield legislator: Republican Ray Poe.