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* From WGN Radio…
Former Governor Pat Quinn: “The first job as a governor is to get a budget passed”
* If you listen to the audio below (15:40 mark, in case you don’t want to listen to it all), you’ll hear Quinn deny that any of his budgets were out of balance…
“That isn’t true at all. Our revenue equaled our expenditure. That’s called arithmetic.”
Umm, no.
Quinn’s final budget as governor was a complete, utter failure. The General Assembly passed a fantasy budget that didn’t make any allowances for the loss of revenues from the scheduled partial rollback of the income tax hike. So, the incoming governor had to patch that huge hole.
* Raw audio…
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:37 am
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Pat Quinn failed…
That’s exactly right.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:38 am
Dust off Quinnochio
Comment by Not Again Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:38 am
It’s rather generous to call his memory on this…selective.
Comment by A guy Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:39 am
Perspective?
Even now with months and months of a Rauner Administration, Pat Quinn is still not a viable option for me.
Now AFSCME… they may want a replay, but… I digress.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:41 am
==final budget as governor was a complete, utter failure==
Rich, it didn’t harm 1 million people, threaten closure of public universities, shred the social service fabric of the state, etc.
If Quinn’s budget was a “complete, utter failure”, I’d love to hear your description of the Rauner approach.
Comment by Handle Bar Mustache Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:41 am
Yeah. Totally. His last budget was a complete disaster. They should have extended the tax rate before the election. Total miscalculation.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:43 am
The rollback wouldn’t have happened if the election went the other way.
Or has everyone selectively forgotten that?
Comment by northsider (the original) Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:44 am
Handle Bar: the fact that Quinn’s successor has failed to fulfill his constitutional obligation doesn’t make Quinn’s failure to do so any less egregious.
There’s no defending Quinn on this one. None.
Comment by thunderspirit Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:44 am
Rich, do you ever find anything nice to say about Pat Quinn?
You often find a “silver lining” in your Rauner coverage.
The imbalance is striking.
Comment by Handle Bar Mustache Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:44 am
==They should have extended the tax rate before the election.==
As I recall this was a core issue of the 2014 campaign season. Quinn lost on this issue.
Comment by Handle Bar Mustache Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:46 am
Signing that last budget was a mistake. He probably thought he could fix it when he won through extending the tax increase. Politically he would have done better to line item veto it and get expenditures back to his not recommended budget. That would have let people know how much pain was coming if revenues fell.
Comment by Last Bull Moose Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:47 am
I’m Pat Quinn and I approve this message
Comment by Almost the Weekend Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:48 am
I have a feeling Quinn thought the temporary tax increase would become permanent.
Comment by Mama Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:50 am
I hope this finally dispells the phony image of Pat Quinn being an honest but inept governor. The difference between Quinn and Rauner is that Quinn was hostile to public servants and dishonest with the public in a different way than Rauner.
Comment by Qui Tam Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:51 am
… and the tax should have become permanent!
Comment by Mama Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 9:51 am
I like Pat Quinn, and I hope he continues to be politically engaged, and critical of the current administration, but I truly hope he doesn’t run again for Governor. I agree that he wouldn’t have destroyed the fabric of the state like Rauner, no one has, but a repeat of the last Governor’s race might have the same result.
Comment by AC Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:01 am
AC, replace Rauner with MJM, and your statement is accurate
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:11 am
Rauner asked the legislature allow the income tax hikes to expire, so he is to blame for the results.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:13 am
- So the incoming Governor had to patch that huge hole….
Wasn’t it Bruce Rauner who told the General Assembly to let the tax hike expire before Rauner took the oath?
Rauner claimed that he didn’t need the tax hike with his secret, unreleased proposed budget.
Comment by Chicago 20 Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:13 am
This. This right here is the reasons why democratic voters - even those like me that tried to help him beat Rauner - are tired of this guy. He can’t keep it simple and say “We at least kept the state operating during my term in office” or even a canned political response like “We at least got budgets done, even though they weren’t perfect - because we refused to just allow what we’re currently seeing happen to our most vulnerable citizens”. No, he’s gotta respond with a complete fabrication. I’m frankly amazed he didn’t follow that up by suggesting a goofy policy idea using cornball statements like “The People of Illinois, good and true, …”
Comment by Lester Holt's Mustache Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:15 am
===You often find a “silver lining” in your Rauner coverage.===
Yeah, sure dude. He’s got a real soft spot for Rauner and has gone easy on him. That’s beyond kooky.
Comment by A guy Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:17 am
Therefore. “Bite him”.
Comment by A guy Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:17 am
What this highlights to me is that the 2014 ballot had two bad choices on it for Governor. Ugh.
Comment by illini97 Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:19 am
=Wasn’t it Bruce Rauner who told the General Assembly to let the tax hike expire before Rauner took the oath?
Rauner claimed that he didn’t need the tax hike with his secret, unreleased proposed budget.=
That’s what I recall also, I guess Rauner gets a pass on that ongoing monumental lie.
Comment by Qui Tam Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:23 am
I was wondering how long it would take to be Rauner’s fault on Quinn’s last budget (10:13am). Somehow, the unseated Rauner wielded power over the Democrat led General Assembly to forcibly prevent the tax increase from being extended.
Even if the income tax had been extended, were any of the prior budgets balanced given the growing pension liabilities? Nope.
Comment by Shemp Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:24 am
As bad as Quinn was at driving the Illinois budget bus, he did way better then Rauner. Quinn got there with some dents and scrapes. Rauner has it wrapped around a tree, it never arrived.
Comment by DuPage Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:24 am
===so he is to blame for the results===
Sigh.
Quinn signed a budget into law knowing it was way out of balance.
I’m gonna start banning some of you hyperpartisans.
Yes, Rauner deserves some blame because he did insist after winning the election that the tax hike be allowed to partially expire.
But he didn’t sign a grossly unbalanced budget into law in 2014.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:26 am
Geez…
Two separate things.
Quinn was grossly inept at the handling of the duties of being a functional governor.
Rauner inserted himself, needlessly, to be an “actor” in the sunsetting of the income tax rate by asking, by asking in an unsolicited way, the general assembly to let it sunset and then thanked them for doing what he (Rauner) asked.
A huge rookie mistake because now Rauner can’t blame Democrats for the sunsetting, nor can he arbitrarily say “the Democrats let it happen, I didn’t do it”
Rauner asked, pleaded, and thanked the Democrats for their actions deferring to Rauner’s wishes.
Enough with the “Democrats did it, not Rauner”
Oh, the Democrats did it, and made sure it was Rauner asking… Then… then they obliged.
Please keep up with the institutional knowledge.
Thank you.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:30 am
Quinn was totally inept and listened to totally inept people. He was no friend of the union even though some of them can’t see that.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:34 am
===He (Gov. Quinn) was no friend of the union even though some of them can’t see that.===
I bet dozens and dozens of AFSCME members sleep well now because they showed Pat Quinn…
… then they awake and have to deal with Bruce Rauner.
It boggles my mind.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:37 am
It’s largely a question of semantics. Were the budgets Quinn was required to propose under the constitution balanced? I would say mostly, yes (there is always some over optimism on revenues and actual expenses). From that perspective, he did have balanced budgets. Did he also sign into law appropriations which significantly exceeded revenue? Yes, but he would probably make the argument that appropriations are not technically a “budget”. I think that would be playing free and loose with the generally accepted definition of a government “budget”, but that is basically what politicians do. True honesty and politics rarely mix.
Comment by Pelonski Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:38 am
I’m sorry if previous comments crossed a line.
But I maintain that if Quinn was “grossly inept” Rauner is something far worse.
Don’t take it from me:
“Former Gov. Jim Edgar — one of the state’s most popular Republican governors — said Tuesday that Illinois is in its worst shape in 50 years…”
Comment by Handle Bar Mustache Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:38 am
Had Quinn passed a permanent tax increase (as was needed then and now) our current situation would not be so dire. Yes we’d still be arguing over the budget and “reforms” but we’d at least have a more adequate revenue stream. The suggestion that he would have fixed this if re-elected rings hollow.
Comment by pundent Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:43 am
====But he didn’t sign a grossly unbalanced budget into law in 2014.======
Yes, Mr. Miller, Bruce Rauner did not sign that budget. Or any other budget for that matter. In fact, he’s never signed a budget.
Pat Quinn is not a public figure any longer. We are almost in FY ‘17. Blaming Gov. Quinn for the mess we are in right now is a mistake in my opinion. He makes an easy scapegoat for the people who’s job it is to run the State of Illinois.
Comment by Try-4-Truth Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:43 am
===Blaming Gov. Quinn for the mess we are in right now===
Who’s doing that?
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:45 am
The problem with PQ, is PQ! He’s always believed his own lies!! I’ll say it over and over, he worked “day and night,” but he ran the most incompetent administration in history.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 10:48 am
Pat, Pat, Pat… I know it sucks to be unemployed, but Governor isn’t going to happen.
Secretary of State may be opening up soon. Few worries, no dealing with AFSCME or the GA, no pension crisis to deal with, and more time to mow your grass, it is truly a good pre-retirement position. Heck, take a hint from Sheila who is running for state rep. You don’t need all the aggravation with being governor especially with the mess the current governor is creating. Grab that SoS position. I bet Jesse would be happy to let you have it.
Comment by A Jack Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 11:00 am
if you remember the FY15 hole was filled without a tax increase–use of special fund sweeps. what folks don’t realize is that when you look at all revenues instead of just GRF, the revenues and expenditures are near balance–of course things must be sacrificed–like road fund etc, but I’m saying when you add other state funds to the overall spend plan the budget is very close to being balanced
Comment by Anon Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 11:37 am
His quote could have been from The Onion.
That last budget didn’t even pretend to be balanced. It wasn’t the only one that was problematic.
2010 relied on billions of dollars of borrowing to =balance= the budget.
2011 used an accounting gimmick to push $1 Bill of unpaid bills into the next year to =balance= the budget.
Those budgets are all part of Illinois’ current $ crisis.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 12:14 pm
Gov. Quinn proposed a balanced budget for FY 15 that included a tax increase. The legislature passed an FY 15 budget that didn’t have the revenues Gov. Quinn proposed. Given an unpleasant choice between vetoing it and signing it, he signed it, keeping things running, with the idea that he could improve upon it later, and that the revenues could be enacted once voters had weighed in on the issue. They weighed in against it, instead turning to Gov. Rauner, who had promised during the campaign to cut $500 million in waste from CMS to eliminate the tax increase, but has instead presided over a historic gutting of human services.
Gov. Quinn took great political risk in calling for an extension of the increase, and he signed a budget that would keep schools, human services, and other essential programs running at responsible levels. Was he supposed to veto it and force cuts, at a time when Rauner promised no cuts to human services and no tax increase? Criticize today’s quote and call him Quinnocchio. Fine. Whatever. But whose path would have served the state better?
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan: “Are you better off now than you were two years ago?”
Comment by John Deere Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 1:35 pm
I can’t top what anyone has said here other than to say…Pat, please go away.
Comment by Shytown Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 3:26 pm
Yes, Rauner is worse, but Quinn…oh my gosh, what a disaster that was. Please keep posting these types of things, Rich. People are truly forgetting.
Comment by CCP Hostage Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 3:37 pm
John Deere has it right. All the gnashing of teeth every time Pat Quinn pops up is starting to get comical here.
The venom is irrational, outragous or funny depending on your perspective.
Comment by Handle Bar Mustache Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 3:58 pm
===is starting to get comical here===
Only for Quinn apologists.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 4:05 pm
Rahm for Governor
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 23, 16 @ 4:28 pm