The major candidates for governor recently met with the Tribune editorial board in informal debates. Today, and in the coming weeks, edited transcripts of those debates will appear on the Commentary page. Here is what Republicans Corinne Wood, Patrick O’Malley and Jim Ryan said about state spending.
Chicago Tribune: The state is facing a significant budget problem. Could you tell us how you’d balance the budget?
Patrick O’Malley: During the (General Assembly) veto session I supported the efforts to expand the flexibility of the governor.. Step No. 1 is getting our governor the kind of flexibility needed in situations like this–crisis situations where we’re really falling short (of money). Medicaid is being cut, (it’s) one of those areas where the governor has flexibility. It smacks of balancing the state budget on the backs of the poor, and we’re literally losing federal resources for every cut we make in state resources.
I would focus on program review, from top to bottom. There is waste in state government.
I have an example that was shared with me when I was Downstate at a meeting with some people. They indicated that since the current administration came into effect, we’ve gone from having five deputy superintendents in the Department of Corrections to 38. Why? I can tell you that the people inside the Department of Corrections who are the rank-and-file members really question it because they don’t see any need for it. And they also point out that it’s not just about 38 deputies, but literally the staff that comes with them. That’s just one of many examples that should be subject to program review.
Within our (state) budgeting process, there should no longer be the assumption that because a program received “X” dollars last year it is entitled to received X dollars plus a certain amount in the coming year.
We need to do a program analysis and program review on an annual basis, reining in the amount of spending that we’re doing in Illinois.
Corinne Wood: It was last October that I announced my economic plan so that we could help balance our budget and it was long before some of the budget woes became public. At that time, I outlined my views that we needed to increase our share of federal tax dollars. It’s something our state has historically not done very well. Even though we’ve increased (our) federal transportation dollars, our rate of return has been lower than most (states) in the last federal transportation bill.
I know it’s possible for us to get more fed dollars, to get more of our fair share, because as lieutenant governor I headed up the Illinois Rivers 2020 cleanup program. We drafted it with an eye toward capturing more federal dollars and we were authorized for $100 million. So the dollars are there if the will and the talent (are there) to get that revenue.
Chicago Tribune: The state budget director Steve Schnorf said there have been all kinds of efforts to try to increase the reimbursement rate to no avail. Even some pretty powerful congressmen from Illinois have been unable to do so. What makes you think that you as governor of Illinois would be able to do that?
Corinne Wood: When we went to Congress to lobby for the Illinois River 2020 program, it’s a 20-year comprehensive program looking at up to 2 billion federal dollars, we were told we couldn’t get it passed. We did in the first try because we were able to build concensus. We were able to move the entire lobbying force of the delegation to ask . . . for $100 million. And I did this not with the force of the governor’s chair behind me, but as the lieutenant governor. Medicaid is one example, transportation is another. Time and time again, we’ve seen federal dollars sit in Washington that I think we (Illinois) should access.
There’s also an option to extend basically what are health-insurance benefits to the working poor. By an investment of a few million state dollars, we could access, I think, 70 or 80 million federal dollars. You have to ask yourself, why we’re not pursuing those dollars and this opportunity.
I also said last October, again, long before it became politically popular, that maybe we could put an end to pork-barrel projects and member initiatives. There was more than $300 million last year put in the hands of legislative leaders basically to divvy up between legislative districts. Some of those programs might be worthwhile, but if they are then they should be able to withstand public scrutiny and public review in the budget process.
Jim Ryan: I think the plain fact is that we’ve spent too much money over the last three years and we haven’t saved enough. We have to have fiscal discipline in our budgeting process. A governor has to have the ability to say no. I think it’s important that we eliminate waste, and I think I’ve talked about this issue of appointing through executive order a taxpayer accountability commission that would be chaired by a tough-minded business person and (include) efficiency experts and accountants to go after the waste, duplication and programs that are no longer necessary.
One way we have suggested to reduce the number of state employees and save money is through an early retirement initiative. It worked for Gov. (Jim) Edgar in ’91, businesses do it, and I think that’s a fair way to shrink the size of government or at least reduce the number of state jobs. I think we need to save more and spend less, that’s the bottom line.
We need to have a rainy-day fund that’s meaningful. I would suggest somewhere around $500 million. If you look at our end-of-year balance when Gov. Edgar left office, and he was fiscally disciplined, we had an end-of-year balance of $1.5 billion, then the next year $1.1 billion. This year it’s projected under $900 million.
Now we do have this crisis, because we’ve overspent, we’re attempting now to balance the budget, as Pat O’Malley said, on the backs of hospitals, the poor and disabled. That’s no way to do business. I believe with Corinne that we should end membership initiatives. Some of those projects may be very good, but how can you set priorities if legislators don’t now what they’re voting on until after the fact? I don’t think that’s the way to do business.
Friday: The Democrats discuss prescription drug initiatives for seniors. The “In their own words” series is available at chicagotribune.com/election
