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* If you read comments, you know that I try to steer people away from proposing smallish, symbolic budget cuts. I do that because it too often distracts from the big picture: Gigantic deficits that can’t be solved with a few little cuts.
Today, though, I’m gonna give you free rein.
* The Question: What smallish state budget items would you eliminate if you were king/queen for a day? List as many as you want.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:06 am
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The Assembly’s scholarship program for state schools. We are all paying the price to send their friend’s children to college.
Comment by Collar Observer Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:16 am
Tell Quinn, and Jesse Jr. no Peotone airport, and all that land purchase etc. That will save a lot right there.
Comment by Third Generation Chicago Native Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:16 am
Cut boards and commissions by 80%. While many of them do not get salaries, they generate costs, redundancies, bureaucracies and inefficiencies.
The Health Care Facilities Planning Board - end it! It is a corrupted boondoggle whose creation was to compliment a 1970s-era mentality that was never realized. It has added waste, inefficiencies, raised the cost of health care through it’s attempt to manage it, and has been the bed of so much pay-to-play corruption, that eliminating it would be a great thing to do.
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:16 am
– Bonus pay for committee chairs in the GA
– GA scholarships
– GA retirement Plum (either make them fulltime or make there retirement the same as any other state employee — 80% is a joke). If they want to take the state employee’s lets see them take the innitiative themselves.
Comment by wow Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:22 am
The number of holidays for state employees. I’m sure the impact on the budget is not great, but it is annoying seeing state facilities closed on minor holidays. If everybody else is hard at work, state employees should be hard at work.
Comment by Skeeter Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:23 am
I note that I agree with VMan on the Healthcare Facilities Planning Board, except to the degree that it is considered “minor.” For people who want to build facilities, it can be a major headache.
Comment by Skeeter Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:25 am
Per diem for legislators when in session. As a regular state employee, I don’t get a per diem for going to work.
Comment by tanstaafl Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:26 am
Sell Air Farce One.
Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:26 am
First, not quite a cut, but…: Vehicles. Let’s not buy full-size sedans and SUVs for motor pools where Civic-class vehicles will do. It would be good to examine overall life-of-vehicle cost of ownership, too, to help in selecting models.
Second, while I realize much of this is Fed money and it often gets used for needed items that are at best indirectly related, I’d look into what we’re spending on “terrorism”. I don’t think the cost-benefit is currently valid.
Comment by rrt Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:28 am
Reduce the number of deputy governors and deputy department directors.
Comment by tanstaafl Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:28 am
Most travel for meetings is unnecessary in the time of teleconferences and video conferences. Staying in Chicago is especially expensive with the higher room, gas, eating, and parking expenses than downstate (sorry Mayor, but dems da facts). The savings not only from the per diems involved and other personnel expenses, but on the maintenance of vehicles, could be a tidy sum.
Travel expenses for directors who get paid for mileage to and from their homes to their offices when they live in a different location than their office and housing allowances could also be eliminated. The people who get these allowances make enough to either move closer to work or pay the freight themselves. Another few dollars saved.
Limit the number of bills introduced by the legislature to 150 for each party caucus in each chamber. Imagine the time and money saved on staff expenses for all state agencies who have to sift through the thousands of bills every session only to find that 90% of them never get passed or even out of the Rules/Assignments committees.
Comment by Captain Flume Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:30 am
Sell the Lotto.
Comment by Ravenswood Right Winger Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:33 am
GA scholarships - it doesn’t cost us in the GRF budget, it actually costs other students in tuition
Reduce number of employees at the Secretary of State. They can modernize and computerize many more services still. Headcount is too high there.
Reduce the number of agency staff who are “liaisons” to the Governor and the General Assembly. Shouldn’t the secretaries handle most of that? Seems like some of those people are political hacks sitting around doing petty favors for GA members on our dime.
Eliminate the office of the Lt. Governor - I know this would take a constitutional amendment, but clearly it isn’t necessary! Just have an order of succession, no need to have a Lt. Gov at all.
Comment by carbon deforestation Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:35 am
- Put Judges and GA on the regular State employee retirment plan
- Get rid of or substantialy reduce CMS
- Toss out the union contract, hold salaries flat
- Hire more employee’s in high overtime areas
- stop sending legal work to outside firms, use the attorney general
- make almost all of the boards unpaid
- cut salaries at higher education facilities and hold salaries flat
Comment by Ghost Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:35 am
I mean department heads and secretaries, etc.
Comment by carbon deforestation Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:36 am
What an interesting idea. “I usually ask people to give careful thought to the problem at hand and to put forth ideas which contribute to our shared goal of finding a workable solution. But just for today, try to think of something stupid and say it here!”
You can do better, Rich, than to pander to the little people with little ideas. Eliminating per diem? Give me a break. Why don’t we just solve the budget problem by raising the rent in the Rathskellar?
Comment by Dolly Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:37 am
I aggree with Skeeter: State employees have too much time off for pseudo-holidays. Stick with the biggies: Christmas/Hannukah, New Years Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and since it’s Illinois, why not Lincoln’s Birthday.
Comment by The Polignac Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:38 am
Ghost wrote: - stop sending legal work to outside firms, use the attorney general
AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by lake county democrat Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:40 am
1) On vounteer basis only, option to offer up another 5 or so furlough days by state employees.
2)Find more useful work (or outplacement) for folks hired in all the outreach/promotion/welcome activities that were mainly part of himself’s self-promotion, part of the permanent campaign, or part of the fabled friend’s and family plan.
3) Without implying such problems are everywhere, suggest investing in staff to go after fraud, funky stuff, and terrible quality in areas where these are known to lurk - no matter who provider might be, be related to, or be able to call for help in GA.
Comment by a little knowledge is a.... Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:47 am
I would not mind getting rid of some of the “extra” state employee holidays as long as schools stay open on those days as well!
Comment by Secret Square Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:48 am
Polignac—
So you prospose giving state employees Columbus Day but not Independence Day?? If anything it should be the other way around.
Isn’t it sending a bad message to put an end to MLK Day?
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:49 am
Dolly
Here’s an idea: Bite Me!
Comment by Captain Flume Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:49 am
Free parking for big shots in downtown Chicago garages
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:50 am
Allow most people to apply for certain government benefits on line instead of going to a state office building. This would result in reductions in staffing and also in the number and size of buildings used to handle in person applications.
Example 1 unemployment benefits. Does anybody get rejected for unemployment benefits based on how they look or what they say in the “interview.”
The intake clerk, as I understand it, looks up your tax forms and some other stuff on the computer and decides if you are eligible.
Another example: food stamps. Either you meet the income requirements or you don’t. I believe the feds recently waived the requirement for an in person interview anyway. Not sure if in Illinois but they could apply for a waiver.
I am sure there are others. Remember, these days you can apply for Social Security and Medicare online.
Absolutely, cut travel in favor of teleconferencing. There should be hardly any travel between Chicago and Springfield and there should be severe cuts in the hotel and per diem budgets. State officials spend far too much time traveling around doing nothing. No, I’m not talking about parole offices and child abuse investigators. I’m talking about supervisors and middle and upper management. Let them learn how to run a videoconference or put them on Skype.
Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:50 am
Agree with all of the above proposals and here are a few more:
No cola increase for state workers or the legislature until deficit is resolved. Impose a one day a month furlogh for non-essential state workers.
Tax credit unions the same as banks are taxed.
Comment by Just a Citizen Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 10:54 am
Arizona allows people to renew drivers licenses for long periods of time.
How about if someone has had a drivers license for at least seven years (with a relatively safe driving record), is below 65 and certifies s/he has no medical conditions which are associated with diminished driving ability letting ‘em renew their license for 10, 15 or 20 years (up to age 65)?
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:01 am
Funding for abortion services and embryonic stem cell research.
Comment by Paul, Just This Guy, You Know? Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:04 am
Let’s reduce the number of people in prison.
1. Reduce incarceration for non-violent drug offenses.
2. Increase parole for people who have passed the age when they are likely to engage in recidivism.
3. Close the super high security prison and replace it with outsourcing for people who misbehave in prison. Prisoners who misbehave should be transferred to Haiti, Siberia and other places where they can be held cheaply.
4. Release the 25 men convicted based on confessions obtained through torture.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:06 am
TAPs millions should be cut. They have yet to answer for where much of their money goes and parents are tired of waiting for the services they are supposed to be giving our children.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:09 am
Review taxing bodies that spend a large amount on legal bills.
If the litigation is deemed frivolous by the AG (especially in cases where taxing bodies went to court when it was clear they were in the wrong) then cut the state payment to the taxing body by an amount double the legal bills and the cost of the AG review.
This would apply to school districts, municipalities, park districts, etc.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:11 am
Utilize prisoners for projects like pot hole filling, clean up trash from roads and lots, etc. Why sit on their butt all day? Also, use the recipe that famous sherrif used to cut his food costs by over half. It is nutritious and a court upheld his decision to create the ‘loaf’ of food. Maybe, just maybe, if jail was unpleasant enough we could decrease recidivism and save even more.
Comment by Belle Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:14 am
Skeeter and Polignic - As a state employee, I agree with the goofy holidays. However - where I work, we are open on 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day. While you spend those days with family or just sleeping in, I have to go to work - just like any other day. I would gladly trade those days for Columbus Day and MLK Day. Of course, that means the tax payer could not come to my park on those summer days because we would be CLOSED. If you are willing to live with that - go ahead and make the change!
Comment by lincolnlover Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:22 am
How much is the state spending on cell phones? Can we contact these state employees with cell phones anytime during the day or night on their cell? We are paying for them. I say all cell phones must be approved by the Director and the count made public. How how about giving state employees that need cell phones a $20 per month stipend and they buy their own. I’m sure that would cut the cost more that half. Plus we would have to buy new ones when they “accidentally” drop it 5 times when a new model comes out.
Comment by Peon Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:28 am
Cassandra: Food stamp app’s are now available online, but frankly it is a horrible idea. We have found that the fraud rate is higher in any online program. Stolen SSN’s can be used to obtain benefits, etc. DHS had started the ONLINE not IN LINE program some time back. The goal was to automate most application and renewal processes’. The only problem with that idea is that the majority of customers do not have access to the computers needed to apply. It is hard to apply online if you are homeless. There just doesn’t seem to be many cardboard boxes with electrical outlets or phone lines. And for those who advocate that the homeless use the computers in public libraries, etc. the reality is that most libraries, internet cafes and the like restrict access for a variety of reasons. There has been a call for “kiosks” to be provided by the state for just such situations, but then you expand costs of the program exponentially.
Comment by Sweet Polly Purebred Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:31 am
Day one have a survey to each state employee on how to cut 10% of their operating budget. Those in the trenches know where the waste is. I suspect you would find a lot of consistent answers which would cut 2-5% off of most agencies budgets.
I would also fire anyone hired in the last 6 years. Do it global and call it cutbacks based on seniority. Then if you really need the person, rehire them in a process where qualifications, not donations is the key.
This will have people paid based on their qualifications, not their donations and save some money.
Comment by the Patriot Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:32 am
The Gov could ask for employees to volunteer for furlough days; and any employees who volunteers would be guarnateed that their position would not be laid off.
Comment by Ghost Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:42 am
First thing I would do is remove the tax exempt status from ALL the internet ministers in the Crook County region. Impose travel restrictions on this flying circus. Reimburse travel costs at the rate it would have cost to take the Amtrack, and NO more. If the flying circus wants to take a more expensive alternative, let ‘em pay their own darn way. Reduce costs through the use of telecommuting, 4 day work week an a reduction in middle management layers. In some areas of DHS, the gov’s office interjected 2 - 3 layers of Cook county based middle/upper management above the manager who is actually doing the work. And just how many deputy secretaries and “liasons” do we really need? You know the inmates are running the asylum when a supervisor has to inform one of Blago’s gifts that taking your laptop to Starbuck’s in Chicago all day every day cannot be classified as “paid working away” time.
Comment by Sweet Polly Purebred Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:45 am
Ghost - I gave 20 furlough days in 1984 when we were asked to take them on a voluntary basis as I was very pregnant and very sick. It worked for me and I was glad to have the option. I was then laid off from CMS, while the person I was laid off to make room for, had given no furlough days. I certainly wish your proposal had been in place back then.
Comment by Sweet Polly Purebred Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:50 am
Shift from relying on large, costly residential facilitites for the disabled and instead establish more community based living facilities or allocations for home based services. I believe this also allows us to capture more federal dollars.
Comment by anon Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 11:52 am
Do not require state officials to have a home on Springfield.
Comment by PPHS Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 12:10 pm
CUT ALL - ELECTED OFFICIALS PENSIONS. PERIOD. ONLY GIVE THEM THE ABILITY TO CONTIRBUTE TO A 401K WITH NO STATE MATCHING FUNDS.
Comment by JUST A TAXPAYER Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 12:20 pm
Reduce headcount of Dept. of Insurance by 50%. (budget is 228 people). Streamline the application and renewal processes (to make it easier to admin) and expand the Statewide Volunteer Network to provide assistance to low income, not just elderly and disabled.
Dept of Ag - zero out all line items funding “county fairs and horse racing”. I’m not even sure why these items are going together, but taxpayers don’t need to shell out dollars for horseracing and county fairs right now. The DuQuoin State Fair is a separate budget item, and I guess since it’s the state fair, I’ll leave it alone. In fact, if its the only game in town for a few years, it might draw more of a crowd. But no county fairs.
The operating budget presents a lot of hot air about reducing costs at IDNR and increasing its credibility. Yet it proposes an additional 100 more employees in headcount, above the currently crazy 1,583 (presumably FTEs). I can’t figure it out, but it seems like the agency should only hire minimal permanent staff (maybe 75-100), and the rest should be part-time jobs, outsourced and competitively-selected facility managers, and environmental specialists on retainer. The way to cost savings is in reducing the number of people receiving state benefits, not increasing the number. No more staffing and holding open houses for things like the Joint Deer Population Control Task Force, and no more politically connected liaisons.
Pet Peeve time - if anyone has any thoughts on how the people of Illinois can derive a little more revenue from the alcohol distributors - licence fees, or something - I’d be on board. They make a lot of money from us (that’s a big part of why your bottle of wine costs so much more at the restaurants than its retail price), now its their turn to pitch in.
Comment by Keep Smiling Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 12:41 pm
Just A Taxpayer - I like it! Cut the elected public servant version of the corporate ‘golden parachute’!
Comment by Belle Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 12:43 pm
Eliminate parole, combine Treasurer and Comptroller, cut cell phones out, sell Lincoln Developmental Center to someone - anyone, get rid of the Duquoin Fair, fire deputy directors, eliminate the expensive Prisoner Review Board, lease out the Thomson prison and privatize everything.
Comment by Out There Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 1:37 pm
At my private sector job, we are given the option of “buying back” up to three vacation days a year. We opt in at the beginning of the year, and then the cost is pro-rated over the year’s paychecks, so you don’t take the big hit in a single pay period. That’s the problem with the state’s furlough policy — you take off two days in the same pay period, and you really feel it.
Comment by soccermom Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 1:42 pm
State Fire Marshall’s office. Two years ago, the budget had 195 FTE positions. They get responsibility for a whole bunch of various and sundry inspection (boilers, elevators, etc.).
Most of the inspections (at least for elevators) are actually handled by elevator service companies, but SFM has to register all elevators, lifts, etc., etc. every 2 years, & bill everybody a fee.
It’s a flat out paper blizzard, to a point where the biggest paper fire hazard might be the SFM office in Springfield after all the registration forms are returned.
The fee amount (bi-annual) is $40.00(?). Keep that fee going to the State, but increase the elevator fee by an additional $20, outsource the entire paper blizzard for the additional fee amount (not 1 added cent from the state budget from here on out), process all the applications and record keeping over the Internet (and it can be done if one just thinks it over just a little bit), and then because the data is stored in web databases, the data can easily be shared with all local governmental units, etc.
Benefits: Some limited potential for employee reduction in SFM offices, but more importantly, get the rolling train wreck of elevator registration/inspection/billing out of the SFM office and let them concentrate on what is important.
Have the State Auditor General audit the outsourcing contract every 4 years to make sure the work is getting done, and done right, and no portion of the work can be “offshored” (sent out, or even maintained from out of the Country).
Do the same thing with all the State “oversight” of oil and gas processing here in Illinois.
Comment by Judgment Day Is On The Way Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 1:50 pm
Charge the prevailing rate at state parking lots, instead of giving those spaces away to well-connected state employees.
Comment by Res Ipsa Non Loquitur Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 2:01 pm
Get rid of ALL of the Blagojevich era “consolidations” - Facilities Management, Shared Services, etc. - and all future consolidations required advance validation of financial figures by OAG. If OAG can’t verify, no consolidation.
Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 2:28 pm
Get rid of the mandatory ethics test for State employees - what an absolute waste of time & money. How about eliminating the Kasmir Pulaski holiday that the schools get? That always seemed like a total waste to me. There are too many deputy directors & asst. dep. directors in state agencies. I know that many correctional employees are working double shifts several times weekly - being mandated. These facilities are skeletal (& are expecting a lot of retirements this year) even though the Blago administration always said they were fully staffed.
Comment by Southern Illinois Voter Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 2:55 pm
Require every state employee with a parking spot to pay a monthly fee. regular workers in chicago have to pay for their parking, so why should state workers get a break on parking.
Comment by ideas Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 3:03 pm
Point taken, I did sadly forget about July 4th. As for MLK day, it is a great holiday celebrating a truly great person, but most people do indeed work that day, and the State should be no different.
Comment by The Polignac Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 3:04 pm
Get rid of the Springfield Fair. (pfft - “get rid of the Duquoin Fair”, us down here enjoy it).
Allow the state to split in two. Southerners will be happy to not be associated with Chicago and I’m sure they feel the same.
Comment by SI Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 3:11 pm
Take a look at all hires after Blagojevich was elected to see if they are qualified and reduce their salaries back to the level of the people they work with who have been state employees for years. Too many of them came in with ridiculous higher pay for being connected with Blago staff. Quinn needs “his people” to look at each agency from top to bottom.
Comment by Take a Look Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 3:32 pm
Time for Reps and Senators to look at district allowances. Let them share the pain, they can take a hit too, cut hometown office budgets.
Comment by Everyone Shares Pain Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 3:36 pm
Eliminate all hardcopy/paper subscriptions. Eliminate cellphones, redundant with blackberrys; which only senior staff and 24 hour available should have.
Comment by Bonsaso Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 3:41 pm
Prevent former legistators from “working” at state agencies to bulk up their pensions by receiving large salaries.
Comment by Toast Man Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 3:54 pm
SI
=== Allow the state to split in two. Southerners will be happy to not be associated with Chicago and I’m sure they feel the same. ===
As an immigrant to IL, I have to ask “Are you nuts?” Outside the Metro Chicagoland area we are carried by them. Take away Chicago’s tax dollars, criminals, and college students, and would there be any jobs?
Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:02 pm
Vanilla Man, wow, Ghost - all great ideas. I especially like the boards/commissions idea. An incredible amount of time/money is wasted on redundencies.
Also wondering, why are IEPA and IDNR separate agencies? Many states combine the two thus reducing administrative overhead. On that note, Comptroller and Treasurer should also be combined, although that’s more complicated with the Constitutional issues.
Comment by Velma D. Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:04 pm
Smitty, it’s a tired old song that’s been sung by the superficial for a long, long time.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:04 pm
Stop robbing Peter to pay Paul. How much money is spent just circulating the same money around? e.g. state agencies paying the state fire marshal for inspections, paying CMS over $100 per year for EACH e-mail address used by an agency (do electrons really cost that much?), not allowing state agencies to trade equipment but having to pay to send it to CMS surplus for sale. . . .
Comment by Sangamo Girl Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:15 pm
Wordslinger - are you saying Illinois south of I-80 could go it alone? What would replace the prison / state university jobs when the Chicago area population stayed north of I-80 for college and prison?
Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:15 pm
Publishing arcane state public notices in newspapers, especially the state “newspaper of record”. Use the state websites. If the current trend continues, this issue may take care of itself:-).
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:16 pm
Smitty, I’m saying that the “Cut Chicago” from the rest of the state is a a moldy old chestnut by those inclined to believe that every problem needs a villain.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:30 pm
Wordslinger - Thanks for the clarification. As an immigrant, Chicagoland can be maddening, but they do send a lot of college students and criminals down this way, creating a job or two … .
Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 4:52 pm
General Assembly pensions for anyone serving 8 years ir less in the general assembly. Out of a 30 to 40 year career, someone passing through the GA most likely is earning enough elsewhere to save for retirement. Long-timers are a different story.
Comment by Bobby Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 5:04 pm
-Administer lethal injection to redundant Boards and Commissions.
-Goodbye Du Quoin State Fair.
-Kill off “official state paper” and other obsolete pieces of bureaucracy.
-Close one State university and either sell the grounds or convert it to drug rehab in lieu of incarceration.
-Reduce State support of Community Colleges.
-Once and for all, have one State Police force.
-Fish or cut bait on CMS/Shared Services.
Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 5:19 pm
Put prisoners out on the roads and parks picking up, cutting brush etc.
Put GA on the same health and pension system as regular state employees.
Allow state employees to buy five years credit towards their pension. This would put a big influx of cash into the pension fund and defer the cost until later.
Dismantle CMS.
Increase the limits on a capital project before CDB gets involved.
Instead of being paid to be on committees make it mandatory that each member of the GA has to serve on a certain number of committees.
Turn off the heat in the driveway of the governors mansion.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 5:26 pm
How about an honest budget covering all expenses for the Gov’s office? I realize Quinn didn’t personally create this problem but for the past 30 plus years the actual cost of running the office has been buried in every state agency budget. Openness and Transparency … words the Democrats are supposedly behind at both the local and national level. It may not save any money or just chicken feed but it would help identify where some of the money is going … and might even help eliminate a ghost employee or two.
Contracts #1 - put real, enforceable deadlines and penalties in them … and then followup and collect the penalties when appropriate.
Contracts #2 - Some people are just better at negotiating contracts. Find those people and reward them appropriately … some of them are good enough that you could pay them a few percentage points (no salary or just a low base) of the savings they negotiate and would make more money than they do today. Of course, you would need oversight but there could be a lot of savings.
Contracts # 3 - slightly tongue in cheek - formalize “pay to play” and let companies offer some innovative tax payment plans at a value somewhere under retail but more than manufacturing costs … maybe Motorola would like to pay their state taxes in cell phones, maybe H-P would like to pay in printers and laptops … maybe one of the car companies would pay their taxes in cars … anyway, you get the idea. If it is goods and services the state needs anyway, might be a “win-win” deal.
Comment by Retired Non-Union Guy Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 5:28 pm
Any state employee salaries above $60,000, including legislators, should be cut by 10 percent, and no state employee should be making more than $80,000 or so. Many of those salaries are far too high. I also agree with the suggestions that pensions for state employees are far too generous and must be reined in. And, yes, please stop the per diem pay that legislators get for showing up for work; if you don’t like working in Springfield for part of the year, then just don’t run for office. And spare us the line that we need to pay high salaries to keep good people. No. 1, these days there are plenty of good people who’d be willing to work for the state for a reasonable salary, and, No. 2, in private business, it’s a well-known axiom that anyone can be replaced.
Comment by OldSmokey2 Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 5:46 pm
$180,000/Year get rid of both Mike Stout and his wife from IDOT and make them pay back the $12,000 in bonus money they got last year
Comment by anon again Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 6:22 pm
Eliminate the Deputy Director Viteri for DCEO in Chicago. He provides no benefit to the Agency and is a blatent ghost payroller.
Comment by Dave Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 6:24 pm
To CMS haters everywhere -
During Auditor General Bill Holland’s testimony before the Senate Impeachment Tribunal, when asked by Senator Forby “General, is it your opinion that state government could operate more efficiently without the Department of Central Management Services” his answer was “No, that would not be my opinion.” (January 28, 2009 transcript, page 149, page 511 of the entire transcript.) Sorry.
Comment by Smitty Irving Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 6:35 pm
Stop all the contractual contracts, such as IBM, which has received millions of dollars. Eliminate all double exempt positions that were filled with individuals with no education or management experience. Do not continue to allow a state employee to work in Springfield and commute from Chicago or Collinsville or other parts of the state. Any employee who received an excessively large bonus at IDOT should return that money-these bonuses far exceeded any union raise. I could have done a lot with $12,000 instead of $50.
Comment by Old Timer Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 7:07 pm
Smitty, they send the great bulk of the tax dollars, as well.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 7:21 pm
Get rid of assigned state vehicle perk. Plates and fees will make it cost more.
Newspapers - IDOT orders so many newspapers for every bureau, director, deputy director, etc. The poor guy has to push a cart full of them dropping them off every few feet. Some days he struggles.
What’s with everyone having a small refridgerator and/or microwave oven in their cubicle? That cost money. Bring your lunch in a lunch cooler bag.
Get rid of controlled housing and relocation costs. You get a job in Springfield, then move to Springfield.
Get rid of no-bid contracts. Also review all the Professional and Artistic contracts for fraud - will save a ton of money.
Comment by Can't Say My Nickname Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 8:58 pm
Smitty, dear Smitty. Would you please get off the “I’d like to thank Chicago for sending all of its horrible criminals down to pure-as-snow Central Illinois so that good, honest, god fearing Americans south of I-80 can work hard at keeping Illinois safe” theme?
Because it makes me think of the inbred, syphallitic, bucktooth, mullet-wearing, mustachioed men and women downstate — all proud recipients of GEDs who read at a third grade level — who are working their fingers to the bone to produce meth for the masses, robbing liquor stores, and driving down Rt. 51 stoned out of their minds.
If you cast generalities, I will cast generalities. And I know more, bigger words than you.
Comment by Dolly Wednesday, Mar 18, 09 @ 9:27 pm
Proprietary office productivity software &/or operating systems.
Yeah, this century’s version of ‘big blue’ gives us a bulk discount, but it’s hard to beat ‘free’.
Monthly medical card mailouts. Who else’s insurance sends a card more than once a year?
Comment by Frank Sobotka Thursday, Mar 19, 09 @ 12:05 am