Gov. Rod Blagojevich hatches a plan, practically overnight, to privatize the state’s lottery and invest the estimated $10 billion in proceeds in education. The plan is so vague and risky it raises a thousand questions. An obvious one: How did you arrive at the $10 billion figure?
Astonishingly, Blagojevich says he’s not telling. He contends the financial estimate prepared by Goldman Sachs is “proprietary” information.
“Releasing their work would be the equivalent of releasing a road map to bidders on how to bid less, and that doesn’t make sense,” said a Blagojevich spokeswoman, Becky Carroll.
So … just trust him?
That might work in Shangri-La. It doesn’t here in Illinois. Not when a huge state asset and the financial future of the state’s education system are at stake.
Blagojevich may think he can ignore Republicans and fast-talk a lot of Democrats into backing this plan, but apparently he can’t fast-talk House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).
In a May 30 letter sent to Democratic and Republican lawmakers, Madigan called for an “in-depth review process” to scrutinize the plan. Among the questions he wants answered:
– How will school districts and the state handle the “four-year cliff”–when $4 billion in spending from the deal will end, without a replacement? How will they contend with the “15-year cliff”–when $650 million in annual school payments from the deal will disappear?
– Which school districts stand to benefit most from the education plan?
– Is the state Board of Education prepared for the added responsibility of taking over chronically failing schools, as the governor’s plan anticipates?
– What types of controls would be placed on the private operator of the state lottery, particularly when it comes to marketing the lottery to poor, elderly or minority groups? Would the new operator be able to expand gambling sites in Illinois?
– What will happen to new education programs that are determined four years hence to be ineffective?
“Guiding the review process should be this principle: We must consider our obligations not only to those who need help today, but also that we keep the state on a sound financial footing so that we can meet our responsibility to those who will need help tomorrow,” Madigan wrote.
Madigan’s apparent skepticism about this plan is a relief. He’s asking the right questions. Gov. Blagojevich, there’s nothing proprietary about providing complete and open answers to taxpayers about their government.
