* 11:10 am - Kevin and I will be providing updates on the budget address here. Use it as an open thread until it starts. If you’re not watching on Public TV, you can follow along on the Intertubes at this link.

We’re supposed to have a link soon where you can find budget stuff at noon. Stand by.

*12:10 pm - KEVIN: I have a copy of the Governor’s speech in my hand and will be periodically updating the blog in the next few minutes on the address. Here are the highlights:

* Illinois Works - a $25 billion capital plan. Pension funding reform by refinancing high interest pension debt into low-interest pension obligation bonds , to immediately add $16 billion in assets to the state pension funds and save the state $55 billion over the next 36 years. The speech also says that Illinois Works will be funded primarily through partial concession of the lottery.

* Illinois Child Tax Credit - to qualify a family must: have a dependent under 18, earn at least $3,000 a year through earned income, unemployment, or social security, and have an income of less than $75,000 annually for an individual or $150,000 for joint filers.

* Illinois Business Tax Cut - 20% for businesses that paid corporate income tax in 2007. To be eligible, employers must maintain their employment levels.

* A 3% across-the-board spending reductions in all areas outside of healthcare, education, and public safety.

* 12:28 pm - KEVIN: The Governor just ended his speech and I timed it at around 22 minutes. The speech was considerably shorter than his previous addresses that were timed around 45 minutes to an hour.

* The economic stimulus package will be funded by a one-time revenue source. One option, outlined in the Governor’s press release, is to securitize revenues into up-front payments. 18 states, including CA, NJ, OH, and VA have completed similar securitizations.

One example is tobacco settlement funds. In 1998, Illinois along with 45 other states signed a settlement with four major tobacco companies who agreed to pay hundreds of billions of dollars in damages for the ill effects of smoking. The amount Illinois receives is based, in part, on national tobacco consumption.

* 12:45 pm - KEVIN: Here is the breakdown of the capital bill as outlined in the Governor’s press release:

* $ 14.4 billion for road and bridge programs
* $ 3.8 billion for school construction
* $ 2.7 billion for public transportation
* $ 1.1 billion for higher education
* $ 1.1 billion for environment, energy, and technology
* $ 1.0 billion for economic development, including housing
* $ 600 million for improved and expanded state facilities
* $ 500 million for airports and rail

* 12:51 pm - KEVIN: update on funding Illinois Works. The Governor proposes a “partial concession” of the lottery. The State would then retain 20% ownership and the ability to regulate, which will continue the funding that currently supports education. The partial concession is estimated to raise between $10-12 billion, $7 billion of which will be directly used to fund Illinois Works. This means that the State will not have to issue any debt in order to pay for 65% of the program.

The State would then issue $3.8 billion in bonds to pay for the remaining 35%. Debt service on these bonds will come from $300 million in annual transfers from the Road Fund and “other sources.”

* 1:05 pm - KEVIN: I am looking over the health care proposals in the address, and it practically mirrors what the Governor has previously proposed. These include:

* Illinois Covered Choice and Illinois Covered Assist to allow small businesses and individuals guaranteed private health care.
* Illinois Covered Rebate to help alleviate health insurance premiums.
* Roadmap to Health & Electronic Health Records to introduce new efficiencies into the healthcare system.
* Healthcare Capacity Building to improve overall health status for schools, health care provider sites, and nursing homes.

* This will be supported by a proposed 3% payroll assessment on businesses of a certain size that do not spend at least 4% of their payroll on health care for their employees.

* 1:50 pm - RICH: Sen. AJ Wilhelmi just said that the governor’s office warned him today that Stateville Correctional Center is on the list of facilities that could be closed in the next year. Wilhelmi is not pleased, to say the least, and this would not be great news for Senate Majority Leader Debby Halvorson’s congressional campaign.

Also, Senate GOP Leader Frank Watson told reporters that despite the governor’s reversal on gaming expansion, he still believes the idea for funding a capital plan is alive. Watson called the governor’s speech, “fluff,” said the state probably could not afford the economic stimulus plans proposed by Blagojevich. Watson was more open about another pension obligation bond scheme, but wouldn’t completely commit.

State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias called the governor the “anti-Obama” this afternoon, noting how, unlike the presidential candidate, Blagojevich is universally divisive. Giannoulias expressed some doubt about the Lottery lease and other proposals because he had yet to see details.

* 2:00 pm - KEVIN: Speaker Madigan’s Statement Response to the Governor’s Budget Address:

* “Above all else, I believe that there is a strong desire among lawmakers to avoid a repeat of the 2007 budget debacle. The people of our state simply will not tolerate another prolonged, acrimonious encore of last year.”

“… We ca always count on Governor Blagojevich to give a fine speech. However, we have learned from hard-won experience that the devil is always in the details when dealing with his fiscal plans.”

“In addition to the normal appropriations committee hearings at the Capitol, in the near future we expect to initiate a series of regional hearings across Illinois to take state government to the people and give them an opportunity to learn firsthand about the budget and offer their views to lawmakers. We will hear testimony from those representing front-line social service providers, local governments, health care facilities, school districts, universities, labor unions, business groups, and civic organizations.[…] Our objectives are to put a human face on the budget, increase the transparency of the budget process , build broad consensus for a spending plan and promote greater public understanding of the ways that budget decisions made in Springfield have real world effects for communities, families, and individuals throughout Illinois.”

* Note: The regional hearings were also proposed last year after the Governor’s 2007 Address.

* 3:50 pm - The Illinois Federation of Teachers has weighed in on the Governor’s Budget Address, and it ain’t pretty:

” …the funding methods listed in the Fiscal Year 2009 budget proposed proposed by the Governor today do not appear to be sufficient to address the underlying structural deficit under which our state struggles. This budget request also calls for an additional 3 percent cut, which will further harm state agencies already operating with greatly reduced staff and resources.”

[…] “We are also concerned about the continued lack of funding for higher education. Our colleges and universities are constantly forced to raise tuition because the level of state funding has decreased over the years. Under this budget proposal, higher education funding in FY09 would be less than it was in FY03. This downward trend must stop.”