16 Comments - Nikoli - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 3:38 pm: Regarding the Tax Amnesty program and Madigan’s response as to why they proposed their own bill instead of running one of the HGOP’s bills, Madigan says they wanted to wait until they got a clear picture of the budget and to see whether or not they needed to implement a tax amnesty program. What does that say about Speaker Madigan and the Democrats and their ability to read the financial tea leaves if the HGOP was smart enough to propose a tax amnesty program quite a while BEFORE the Democrats proposed one? If you follow the Speaker’s logic, it would mean the HGOP HAD a clear picture of the state budget and the financial difficulties we are in prior to the House Dems and introduced a bill that would assist in fixing the problem. - Nikoli - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 3:42 pm: Additionally, it is intellectually dishonest on Speaker Madigan’s part to say the HGOP sat on the sidelines and did nothing. Its hard to do anything when all of your bills get stuck in committee. How many times this session did Bill Black or one of the other HGOP get up on the house floor and try and have a bill discharged from committee? I seem to recall on Tuesday night, Black standing up and trying to discharge something like 60 bills that the HGOP had introduced that would have made some financial changes in Illinois. Its disingenuous and intellectually dishonest for Speaker Madigan to call the HGOP dropouts and do-nothings when he alone kept his powerful foot on their proverbial throat all session long. - steve schnorf - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 3:44 pm: I think the pension borrowing and other parts of this budget would go down easier if people could see how it was all part of a multi-year plan that actually got us back on firm financial footing - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 3:48 pm: If John Bambenek drops by, what ever happened to: http://www.extremewisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/budgetcomplaint.pdf - John Bambenek - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 3:53 pm: It’s still active… it’ll be revised with the 2010 budget details… probably tonight. - CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 3:56 pm: Madigan nailed it Lucky he does not talk to the media everyday. We would looking about as good as the leaking oil well - Cincinnatus - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 4:28 pm: John Bambenek, Add my name to the complaint! Are you planning on asking for an emergency injunction? Since you are more familiar with this issue than I am, can the Illinois Constitution be interpreted as requiring impeachment of any and all legislators that knowingly vote for an unconstitutional budget because they have broken their oath of office? - Rod - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 4:42 pm: I found the Speakers comments about the adoption of HB859, the budget appropriation act, as somehow protecting essential services in our state to be disingenuous. HB859 is effectively with a few minor modifications Governor Quinn’s doomsday budget. Do we all recall the numerous commentators telling the public that the Governor’s budget was a ploy to get an income tax increase and he would never do all of these dramatic cuts? I would ask anyone to examine Article 19 of HB859 where k-12 education funding is to be found and compare these appropriations to those in the Governor’s budget, then to the FY 2010 appropriations, and come away agreeing with the Speakers comments on how the budget protects education in our state. This is especially true now that SB44 the cigarette tax has failed and our state’s children with disabilities are faced with around $320 million in budget reductions, which by law school districts themselves will likely have to make up out of property taxes. Under the Emergency Budget Act the Governor was given the authority to make additional cuts in two areas: “discretionary human services” up to $2.2 B, and “discretionary operational and state government” up to $1.2 B. In the FY 2010 budget human services (including the Departments of Aging,Children and Family Services, and Human Services) were cut by $2.1 B (38%) from FY 2009. For the Speaker to talk about the Emergency Budget Act as being a tool for the Governor is simply ridiculous, it is a tool for the General Assembly to pass the cuts on to the Governor so they can tell their constitutes we did not do these things the Governor did. - CircularFiringSquad - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 4:50 pm: It is clear Madigan said rewarding tax cheats (AKA GOP budget plan) a last option rather than a first step, but when the GOP say “nada” on revenue (i.e. zero help on cigarette tax) no heavy lifting on cuts (i.e. zip amendments to the budget) and no involvement in pension reforms ( i.e. 2009 no votes in committee) it is clear they lack sincerity and choices were limited. It is what it is - wordslinger - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 5:55 pm: MJM is still the smartest banana in the bunch. Everybody else is playing at Birmingham, waiting for the callup. - DuPage Dave - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 6:29 pm: No argument from me re: the smartest banana. But being smarter may produce good political results at the expense of the good results required by the people of Illinois who are, as the constitution says, represented in the General Assembly. This is going to be a very bad fiscal year. It does not really matter who wins in November. Quinn seem incapable of influencing the legislature, and Brady lives is some budget fantasy land. Either way we are all in trouble. - grategul - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 7:49 pm: AGAIN No responsibility taken by the Controlling PARTY THEY ARE THE Group who ran up the Deficit !!!! SMART PEOPLE DON’T BORROW MONEY EDUCATED PEOPLE CAN DO BETTER VOTE THESE BUMS OUT OF OFFICE 2010 THEY WILL ALWAYS BLAME SOMEONE ELSE BEFORE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY OR TELLING THE TRUTH WAKE UP VOTERS !!!! - Cheswick - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 9:12 pm: I agree with wordslinger re Madigan. He should speak more often, or get out in front more often, so the people can hear what he has to say. It would increase people’s confidence in the process and the Dems. It does for me. - Springfield Watcher - Thursday, May 27, 10 @ 10:16 pm: “Get a clear picture of the budget” what part of broke does he not understand. I hope everyone who can vote for him DON’T - the Patriot - Friday, May 28, 10 @ 7:25 am: Well at least he isn’t really even trying to hide his plan. Madigan is willing to run the ship aground as long as neither Brady or Quinn gets strong enough to challenge him. in 10 years and 3 governors one thing has been consistent, Mike Madigan. After 3 failed marriaes, each one worse then before some might think maybe its me. The governor is not the problem. Not matter who wins this election, if Madigan does not go, the problems will continue to worsen! - Still Gettin Twisted - Friday, May 28, 10 @ 7:40 am: Wow.. that’s impressive spin from Madigan. Was that snark when complimented Cross?? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.