Governor Pat Quinn delivered his fiscal year 2013 budget address on Wednesday, February 22nd to the Illinois General Assembly. The governor said that the state’s “rendezvous with reality has arrived.” He contends the proposed budget provides stability through major reductions and efficiencies, pension and Medicaid stabilization, tax reform and jobs and economic growth.

“The truth is that over the past 35 years, too many governors and members of the General Assembly have clung to budget fantasies rather than confronting hard realities, especially when it comes to our pension and Medicaid investments,” Democratic Governor Quinn said. “Today I am proposing a budget that includes serious spending reductions and major reforms in order to restore fiscal stability to our state and build and grow our economy.”

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said, however, that Governor Quinn’s proposed budget does not contain the financial reforms needed to turn the state’s economy around.

“Governor Quinn’s matinee performance today was just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Brady. “Instead of reforming state spending and lowering taxes to gain more jobs, Governor Quinn’s budget continues to increase spending and has no strategic plan for bringing businesses and jobs back to Illinois that have been lost since he and his Democratic friends raised taxes 67 percent.”

Quinn said his 2013 budget of $24.8 billion, a 3.6 percent decrease, reduces discretionary spending to a point below 2008 levels.

Quinn also claims the state has realized close to $200 million in annual savings by reducing the number of state employees by more than 2,200 since January of 2009. The Governor announced in his plans to further reduce the state employee headcount by more than 700.

During his budget address to the General Assembly, Quinn called for:

• Increasing education funding;
• Closing or consolidating 63 state facilities;
• Trimming Medicaid spending by $2.7 billion;
• Restructuring the state’s pension systems.

Illinois Statehouse News reports among the 63 facilities that would close permanently, putting more than 1,400 state workers on the unemployment rolls.  State Senator Gary Forby (D-Benton) is most concerned about closing the Tamms Correctional Center.  “I don’t know where this governor is coming from. You can’t close facilities like Tamms. What are you going to do with these people? These are the worst of the worst,” Forby said.

Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy for the Illinois Policy Institute, believes what Illinois needs is to reform spending and significantly pay down the billions in unpaid bills, “However, Gov. Quinn’s budget does just the opposite.”

Dabrowski notes the proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 increases state spending by $212 million to $33.939 billion, up from $33.727 billion during fiscal year 2012. Of the $33.939 billion in spending, $162 million is going to pay down bills.

“While the governor finally recognized the state’s problems with stronger than usual rhetoric, he offered few concrete reforms to deal with that reality,” said Dabrowski.

The Illinois Policy Institute said in early March it will offer a plan that reforms Illinois’ budget and puts the state back on a path to prosperity.

State Representative Jil Tracy (R-Quincy) said the governor’s proposal to cut billions from Medicaid is necessary, but she is quick to add that Quinn didn’t offer any ideas on how lawmakers should make such a huge cut.

“The devil is going to be in the details and we didn’t hear a lot of details,” Tracy said. “I am concerned. I think the pension has to be restructured just as Medicaid has to be restructured.  And if you note, Gov. Quinn didn’t talk about restructuring pension, he talked about stabilization.  It sounds like he’s pushing the problem off to local governments.”