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Here are some stories about the budget’s winners and losers.
· Daily Herald: Gov. Rod Blagojevich got just about everything he wanted in this year’s state budget, sending the Chicago Democrat into his re-election race with a strong political tailwind… “He was willing to compromise, which I always say is a good sign of a maturing governor,†said Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan…
· Lee Newspapers: The governor, who faces Republican state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka in the November election, emerged from the spring session with a handful of high-profile victories, including his preschool plan and a pared-down college tuition assistance plan.
· Finke: There seems to be one clear winner from this year’s budget mess. Gov. Rod Blagojevich got most of the things he wanted in the budget…
What do you think? Who were this spring session’s biggest winners and losers?
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 8, 06 @ 1:59 am
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Non-union IL supervisors once again receive no pay raise for more work to do; union workers now make more than their supervisors and our non-union legislators will get a 10% raise because “lawmakers are not second-class citizens, and I believe that they deserve raises as well” (Emil Jones). Does anyone else see a problem with this thinking? Who will want to be a supervisor of any IL Dept AND be classified as second-class citizens by our Senate President?
Comment by North of I-80 Monday, May 8, 06 @ 2:56 am
When you have the two chambers legislative ‘leaders’ who, by the way, are the gov’s campaign chairpersons, what do you expect them to do for the gov? Those three have run the state’s finances into the ground and they have to cover each other’s asses.
They also have a lot of people they need to get hired at the super salaries beong distributed by this corrupt and incompetent cohort and they won’t be able to do that under Gov. Topinka.
Keaderswhip? Not from those three.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 8, 06 @ 6:13 am
The Democratic Gov got almost everything he wanted when the budget was developed/decided by the Demo party. Man, what a shock! The Demos are in control and they clearly took it. If things go great they look good, if not watch all the spin. Since the the Repubs are not saying much, they must be resigned to waiting for the bus crash.
Losers: if you get any type of funding through the state (sales, grants, services, whatever) and your payments have been slow they will get really slow now. Love how state run services got COLA “maintenance” increases of 8.5% but non-state run services providers got COLAs of 0%. Guess gas, salaries, and other costs only go up at state programs.
Biggest loser: Everyone who has to pay for all this stuff (now and later) with real money and still get lousy service. Paying off the credit card with another card and a home equity loan does not get rid of the debt. Must be nice to live way beyond your means and claim you are doing a great job.
Comment by zatoichi Monday, May 8, 06 @ 6:26 am
Winners:
1. Incumbent career politicians & their cronies
2. Horse racing “industry”. Free money! Giddyup!
Losers:
1. Non-juiced, non-special interest taxpayers.
2. People who will be living in Illinois after the year 2010.
3. The CTA - good luck moving 10% of your operating budget over to fund pensions. Better look into selling the Red Line to China or something.
Comment by Leroy Monday, May 8, 06 @ 6:39 am
Like last year, selling votes is the name of the game in order to get the budget passed. Purchasing one’s way to victory…I believe we frown on that in sports and Abramhoff is doing time for purchasing votes. So tell me how is this different??????
Comment by You'veGotToBeKidding Monday, May 8, 06 @ 7:02 am
Some of the Democrats that voted for it are being quoted now as saying this is not a balanced budget and there is enough time before election for rhe experts,not Filan blago’s henceman, to pick it apart amd show ,what it really is.Already the casinos are lining up their attorneys to go to court.More of their hype that will die on the vine.
Comment by DOWNSTATE Monday, May 8, 06 @ 8:05 am
Winners? What did they get? I see little more than more campaign PR moments that lets Blagojevich claim her cures every illness and breastfeeds every baby.
Here we are in the 21st Century, and we have a governor who thinks he is Lyndon Johnson. Blagojevich clearly believes that he is smarter than everyone else, and knows what is best for everyone else. His followers also believe that Illinois needs to be a nanny state that can be paid for by the rich. Somehow these people have completely ignored reality over the past 30 years.
Blagojevich already has the support of those who think government should support them. He is already considered a sex symbol to elderly ladies who voted for FDR and Durbin. He isn’t going to get votes from families that believe they are responsible for their lives.
This budget is pay-back to Chicago and hopefully the beginning of the end of nanny state mentality. Illinois cannot compete with booming states like Texas, with bloated social programs like New York.
States that do not free working families will see them move to states that do support them, leaving behind the elderly, feeble and infirm to wonder why the gravy train derailed.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, May 8, 06 @ 9:27 am
You guessed it
Another homerun for GRod
Meanwhile AccordionGal is puting out releases even Fink calls lame — ouch — and getting buried in GRod ad blizzard
Anyone else heard about the secret IMA poll showing the ads are devastating Judy Bore Topinka and Crew? There was also a little gossip that the Trib had another, but did not publish. Unlikely, since the team is bleeding money and looking for hitters. Why wawste money on that political nonsense.
Comment by Reddbyrd Monday, May 8, 06 @ 9:54 am
Those Illinois residents our Governor decided not to represent in this budget are the real losers.
Comment by Skeeter’s conscience Monday, May 8, 06 @ 10:17 am
The losers are the 99.9.9% of the voters that didn’t know the budget was being discussed or passed.
Comment by Merlin Monday, May 8, 06 @ 11:04 am
Clearly the Governor is a winner this year getting most of what he wanted just in time for the general election…and without any GOP votes. The Republicans can complain and moan all they want but the reality is that this budget is one of the most populist I’ve seen in nearly a quarter-century. The losers, besides Republicans, are going to be the very groups benefitting from the populism when they learn that much of the enabling legislation for their pet project contains sunset provisions that take effect in a few years. Other losers include merit compensation employees who have not (effectively) had a pay raise since 2002; the price of everything has risen, but not even a COLA for these folks. Another winner is Speaker Madigan for again holding his caucus together. President Jones may want to learn how to do that. Losers are also the Latino Caucus when the governor “forgets” his promises. Finally, the ultimate losers will be Illinois taxpayers who at some point will have to pay for all this largesse.
Let’s see, that about does it.
Comment by Common Sense in Illinois Monday, May 8, 06 @ 11:24 am
1) IL Taxpayers
2) IL Business not having no bid state contracts
3) Health care providers
Comment by Making The Wheels Turn Monday, May 8, 06 @ 12:59 pm
Lisa Madigan is a big loser here. Now in 2010, she is going to have to explain why she has to raise taxes to cover the debts of a democratic Governor and oh yea, the other guy who signed off on the bill. I think she calls him Daddy!
Comment by the Patriot Monday, May 8, 06 @ 1:30 pm
Downstate…What downstate dems? Just curious.
Comment by Political Junkie Monday, May 8, 06 @ 1:45 pm
Vanilla,
Anybody that thinks universal pre-school is a social program product of a nanny state Lyndon Johnson wannabe doesn’t know the first thing about education. Whether he’s been honest about his budgeting in general or pensions in particular is besides the point. Universal pre-k is the single smartest thing this governor has ever done to make this state competitive for decades to come. It was a bold move.
Besides, which would you rather be, defending large investments in the next generation or claiming that we should blow them off because it’s “fiscally irresponsible?” It’s not a great position she’s gotten herself boxed into and will come back to bite her.
Comment by ChicagoCynic Monday, May 8, 06 @ 2:02 pm
ChiTown Cynic:
Let’s see, what are the “GREAT” beneifts of
pre-k?
1) My kids who already know how to count, know their colors and know their ABC’s get to hang around more little snot-nosed brats so my kids get to be sicker more often.
2) Undoing the parental burdon of teaching your own kids how to count, ABC’s etc.
3) If they are going to learn all this in pre-k then what is Kindergarten for? Why don’t we just skip Kindergarten and go straight to 1st Grade?
Once again Liberal Democrats, GET OUT OF OUR LIVES AND QUIT DICTATING WHAT WE SHOULD AND SHOULDN’T DO AS INDIVIDUALS. THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT KNOW BETTER THAN WE DO AS PARENTS!!!!!
JUST PAY YOUR DAMN BILLS IN A TIMELY AND CONSISTENT MANNER AND GET OUT OF OUR PERSONAL LIVES!!
Comment by BIG R.PH Monday, May 8, 06 @ 5:13 pm
The victory for the Governor was pre-ordained in the last session when the Dems reached agreement to defer pension contributions for two years. The Governor was given two years and $2.3 billion of new spending leading up to the fall election. Unfortunately, the pension funds continue to be underfunded and none of the budget room went to Medicaid deficits. The Governor will really have his hands full making sure that AllKids isn’t the straw that breaks the Medicaid camel’s back. Lack of access to care could doom this initiative.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 8, 06 @ 6:21 pm
Daily Herald:
“Wait a minute, hat’s not a political tailwind, it’s… what’s that smell?”
Comment by HoosierDaddy Monday, May 8, 06 @ 6:38 pm
As usual, the people doing the real work of the state get the shaft. But we have plenty of money to print up brochures and pamphlets for AllKids, drug programs that hardly anyone uses and application forms for programs that may or may not fly. Print a one page application and then print a multi-page booklet on how to fill that one page out - oh and put the Guv’s name on every page. Absolutely sickening.
But ignore the people doing all this for you, don’t give them even a COLA to try to keep abreast of living expenses and then, stiff them on payments to the pension system that is supposed to sustain them until they keel over. What a class act this administration isn’t.
Comment by What a state we're in! Monday, May 8, 06 @ 8:26 pm
Once again, the biggest loser has become the people of the State of Illinois. When supervisors are making less than their secretaries, how many of them are going to remain in state government? The employees with the experience and the know-how to get things done for the people of Illinois will leave and be replaced by “beamed-in” hacks who will receive inflated salaries, know nothing of the job to be done and don’t really want to work, anyway.
Four years without salary increases (don’t talk to me about that 4% raise in December, it just gave them back what was taken two years ago for pensions) is not what I would call pay equity. Many of the supervisor’s will now be looking for jobs in the private sector or in other state governments.
By election time, Hot Rod will have effectively turned Illinois into a state with a government more political that it was when he took office.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, May 9, 06 @ 8:48 am