36 Comments - Adam Smith - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:08 am: So after years of denial where his action and inaction made the fiscal problem harder to address the Gov has had his epiphany. Great. No game changing ideas, no innovative leadership and no hard choices. Sure, he claims he’s making hard choices but they have been obvious to everyone in the state for years. If everyone knows we have to do things that we don’t necessarily want to (cut services) then it is hardly a profile in courage on Quinn’s part. He also was less than forthright on spending. He may be cutting appropriattions, but the state is still spending more money today than it did when he took office. At least it seems that the blinders are finally off. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:09 am: I gave Quinn a “C”. Huge speech for him and his delivery and thoughtful manner (code: not rambling) was better than his past speeches. To the content: Still a “C”, lost of “working groups” to sift through, but not just kicking the can and letting Cullerton and Madigan do all the heavy lifting. “C” - Bill - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:10 am: It was ok. I gave it a C. My guess is not very much at all will actually get done this year except maybe after November. Work study groups, task forces, special commissions…Ho Hum. same old, same old. They’ll just overestimate revenue, underestimate expenditures and call the thing balanced. - Captain Illini - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:12 am: I gave him a B, since I thought it was a good attempt to frame those issues he felt necessary to highlight as priorities. His delivery was pretty good too, however, I thought he should have been more aware of his hand gestures that seemed to be a little animated. All in all, it sets a starting point that will be up to both houses, and both parties to either deal with or not, but not unlike a ticking clock the big issues aren’t going away, they keep advancing until they’re dealt with. - Cindy Lou - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:12 am: I gave him a B…overall he laid out the needs and the seriousness of it. No ‘A’ as he mentioned a few lines I could have choked on. I’ve read a lot of mumbling that he did not lay out specifics and/or detailed plans. I can’t knock him on that one as clearly it is not all in his hands as to the what/hows. Nothing getting through without both House and Senate being on the same page nor some compromising between between D and R sides. We have to be in this together. More in the speech would have been nothing but blowing air. - Dirty Red - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:21 am: I say B. Content was great. They seem to have found a happy medium with the Legislature. That said, public speaking just isn’t PQ’s thing. I couldn’t feel his passion, or that he really cares about the issues. - dupage dan - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:26 am: I went with the C. Better than his previous efforts but that isn’t saying much. Can’t wait to hear from those task forces, tho. I’m sure they will take charge, roll up their collective sleeves and get down to business in this year of district changes & re-election campaigns. Oh, never mind. - Jade_rabbit - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:29 am: I voted “F”. Illinois needs leadership. I didn’t see or hear a leader with that speech. I heard someone trying to share the burden and responsibility. The saying “It’s lonely at the top” has some truth to it. I wanted more of the Quinn from after the election. The one that said he was given a mandate to raise taxes. I wanted to hear him state that the Illinois people elected him to fix what’s broken in Springfield. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:31 am: Jade_rabbit, if you want to live in a dictatorship, move away or run for the House. Just sayin… - wordslinger - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:38 am: A solid B. A sober, short and focused outline that reins in spending growth under the inflation rate. I’m amused by the ADD editorializing about how the speech “lacked details.” Did you want to be there all night? It’s a $33 billion package — if you want details, there is a 438-page budget book you can read. Get on it. Plus, it’s a starting point. Last I checked, there is a legislative process. Under the Constitution, the governor proposes, the GA disposes. There’s a long way to go before it’s soup. - Plutocrat03 - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:42 am: I voted a C because it seems that he is now on the record accepting that spending is at last as much of the problem as revenue is. I could not go higher than that because I did not see a blueprint forward. What I expect will happen now is that the special interests will circle the wagons and declare that their turf is sacred ground and that the other parts of the budget should bear all the pain. Like Bill, I expect little from the legislature this year in particular. - Plutocrat03 - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:43 am: that would be least, not last - Dooley Dudright - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:44 am: I gave Quinn a C. C, as in Costa Concordia — the spectacularly sunken Italian cruise liner. Alas, the Good Ship Illinois, too, is wrecked and ruined. That’s obvious for all to see — including, finally, Captain Quinn. The only reason why I didn’t give Captain Q a “D” is because he at least had the good sense not to claim (figuratively speaking) that he “tripped and fell into the lifeboat,” as the Italian skipper attempted to explain. Or to insist that the nasty, nasty rocks jumped out and bit him. No matter. We’re sunk. Pass the buckets, friends, and bail. - Tired of it all - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:47 am: “Work study groups, task forces, special commissions…Ho Hum.” Of course all at a tremendous cost to the taxpayers to pay for some High powered bags of hot air with absolutely nothing getting done or resolved. - Wensicia - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:50 am: It’s a C. He addressed the worst of the problems, pensions and Medicaid, but didn’t offer solutions, passing that process to others. That’s delegating, not leading. - wordslinger - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 9:50 am: –Alas, the Good Ship Illinois, too, is wrecked and ruined. That’s obvious for all to see — including, finally, Captain Quinn.– Not exactly the spirit that won the west, lol. Some people faint at any sign of difficulty. - Colossus - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:02 am: And once again, Word says what I came here to type. In all seriousness, what more could you have asked of Pat Quinn? This isn’t about an ideal governor giving an ideal speech, it’s about the governor we have come to know stepping up his game and putting on the daddy pants. B. +. - PublicServant - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:05 am: The same people would criticize Jesus’ walking on water as a misuse of the sandals entrusted to him. - Dooley Dudright - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:08 am: @Wordslinger 9:50 — Gurgle. Blub. - cassandra - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:23 am: I absolutely agree with Bill. With the entire legislature up for election in the fall, they can’t possibly work through the summer, even the most confident of them has to do some campaigning, preferably in an atmosphere of minimal controversy. And the commissions working on the big issues need time to do their work-at least until the end of April, I presume. There is no time. Maybe in Jan. 2013 when only Quinn has an election coming up. The newly elected legislature would probably be willing to put Quinn’s re-election in jeopardy as they do something unpopular early in their terms, like extend the tax increase permanently earlier or even increase income taxes further. - reformer - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:27 am: cassandra What makes you think there will be many truly competitive legislative races in the fall? The new map draws as many noncompetitive districts as possible. Typically, only one in ten seats is hotly contested, and half usually have only one name on the ballot. - 47th Ward - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:28 am: I gave him a B and would probably add a + to it because it seems he and Madigan are reading from the same book (but not quite the same page). That’s progress. Bipartisanship was the theme coming from both the Speaker and the Governor. There is no way the Democrats are voting for this budget by themselves. They will not adjourn on time precisely because they will not allow the GOP to take a pass on this. There will be GOP votes for closing state facilities, reducing pension benefits and cutting the Medicaid roles. The sooner Tom Cross and Christine Radogno realize this, the better. They will not be able to stand on the sidelines this time and toss grenades at the Governor. What we have here is a big (deleted) sandwich, and everybody is going to have to take a bite. Quinn finally gets it. - mark walker - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:32 am: B- Truthful, clear, and focused on the right things. Not uplifting, but accepting the reality that he has to work closely with the legislature. I hope more on both sides of the aisle start pulling on the oars, rather than just trying to sink the boat. - wordslinger - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:35 am: –What we have here is a big (deleted) sandwich, and everybody is going to have to take a bite.– Lol, Life is a Big (deleted) Sandwich — the more bread you have, the less (deleted) you have to eat. - cassandra - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:37 am: That doesn’t mean that the legislators see it that way. I have the impression that legislators feel permanently insecure. And voters are mad anyway about a lot of things this year-do they want to make them madder? Anyway, I forgot to say that I gave the speech an F. We know the state is in fiscal trouble. We are not stupid. Perhaps 0 would be a better rating. It’s all talk. I don’t blame the guv for his approach, but it’s all talk. - downstate commissioner - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:41 am: Gave the poll a “C” just to see the results, because I was unable to watch, read, or hear the speech. Suspect that others will do the same, so the C grade is suspect. Unfortunately, the poll doesn’t show the number of respondents. At this time (10:37), the A & B grades have a slight lead over the D & F grades, so maybe he is on the right track. Will be interesting to check results later. - wordslinger - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:43 am: –I don’t blame the guv for his approach, but it’s all talk.– Plus a 438-page line-item budget book. - Way Way Down Here - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 10:48 am: I gave him a “C”. I am not confident anything of substance will take place this year. The threat to keep them here for the summer sounded hollow. Even though it IS time for EVERYBODY to saddle up! - Irish - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 11:13 am: I gave it a C. Didn’t care for the one liners thrown in there. Those parts of the apeech seemed to be written to accommodate the quotes. I see it as a explanation of where we are at and stating what he would like to do to fix things. However, I don’t see the goals being reached. We have heard that our prisons are overcrowded, that overtime is driving up the cost of operations. So how do you reduce prison populations to the point of being able to close prisons? Tams is a maximum security prison, Dwight is a women’s prison. How do you move those populations into another facility? The he called for pension reform. One option is putting all of the teachers, etc. pensions on local governments. That definitely means property tax increases. That will never fly. Especially since district transportation costs and the cost of the ROEs might become the responsiblity of the local districts before they get to the pensions. You might have one round of property tax increases to fund the transportation and ROEs, followed by an attempt to raise them again for the pensions. Changing pensions for state employees currently employed or retired might also be difficult given the decisions in Arizona and New Hampsire that declared changing existing employee’s pensions was unconstitutional. This might give our GA pause before they attempt the same thing. I think Madigan alluded to that in his reaction to the speech. Medicaid is another area where the Governor is trying to put the burden on local programs. I think there will have to be some movement on paying the local providers and hospitals before you dump more clients on them. I think the Governor made an attempt to put every part of the state “in play” so all the legislators have skin in the game, and both sides of the aisle have to be involved. That along with the study groups that are supposed to report by April 17 mean this will go on for a long time. I think he is hoping that the recovery will pick up speed so he can say he tried to change things and that the fiscal condition is improving. Either way I don’t think any major thing is going to happen this year. What he called for in this speech should have been done years ago in order for them to be accomplished in the time frame he wants. Now there are too many other variables to be made into constants before the plan can move forward. Also our GA and the Gov. needs to recognize that if they abdicate their funding from a program they also have to loosen their mandates. Case in point is the bill currently in play to stop what the CPS is doing with their turnaround schools. If the state isn’t going to fully fund those schools how can they dictate that CPS can’t try to improve their schools as they see fit? - Small Town Liberal - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 12:06 pm: - The Question: Overall, what grade would you give Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget address? - - It’s all talk. - What would you ask for, interpretive dance? I give it an A. He has Madigan and Cullerton praising him, Cross and Radogno struggling to find criticism that doesn’t make them look like hypocrites, and completely apolitical people like my mother praising him for sparing education. Sounds like a winner to me. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 12:20 pm: ===What would you ask for, interpretive dance?=== Funniest line of the week. - Retired Non-Union Guy - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 12:24 pm: Before reading the other comments, gave it a B. He acted like and sounded like a Governor. Didn’t get an A because it was short on pension and Medicaid details. If he keeps this up for the next two years, I may have to consider voting for him come reelection time … - Amuzing Myself - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 12:57 pm: I give the Governor and “INC” for incomplete. You can call it an “F” if you want, but I think for the first time we saw something resembling reality. So, I’m hesitant to call it a complete failure. He rightly noted two of the biggest problems but failed to give any specifics on how to solve those, passing the buck to “his” panels made up mostly of legislators. Passing the buck to the legislature - again - is hardly leadership, and while I understand the need to keep options open to allow for some sort of deal, by doing what he did, he basically - and probably unintentionally - admitted his irrelevance. Further, what he chose to spend the most time on in his speech was spending. Veterans, Education, individual communities - all spending. We can’t pay our existing bills. There is NO WAY, we should be talking about expanding ANY programs or increasing funding ANYWHERE. Period. Finally, we’ve been encouraged by Quinn speeches before, only to see him pull a 180 when it came time to actually govern. I don’t expect this year to be any different. Again, I find it telling that the only thing that got done last year was because of work by legislators led by a legislator. Perhaps self-preservation in the legislature will lead to progress on pensions and Medicaid, too, but I find it hard to believe it will have anything to do with the Governor. He’s pen will just be required once all the hard work is done. Summary? His speech really didn’t matter. So it doesn’t really matter how good or bad it was. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 2:43 pm: Praise from Madigan, Cullerton, The Mayor, The Board President…and Rutherford and the Chamber of Commerce had nice things to say. Republicans looked like idiots opposing prison cuts because they wanted to save state jobs. Light on specifics? Fair criticism. But very heavy on principles, which is what a budget address should be. If you’re going to have a partnership with the Legislative Branch, you outline the principles of the budget and negotiate the details. I give it an “A”. That said, some of the specifics he outlined in his speech are DOA. They could have used a bit more pragmatism there. - jake - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 3:02 pm: I gave a “C”. The speech was realistic, so it deserves a good grade from that perspective. But the context, in which one must be concerned that the Governor will not follow through in a constructive manner, given his history, made me lower my grade. I also thought that the treatment of cuts in criminal justice, mental illness, and medicaid systems should have been coupled with some search for more cost-effective ways to deliver these services, as opposed to just presenting them as budgetary issues. And many aspects of the language in the speech betrayed arrogance, for example “I believe you can handle the truth”. The presumption is that he is the truth-deliverer, when in fact historically last year he wanted the legislature to deliver a fantasy-based budget and they delivered a dose of reality to him. Overall, the speech might be a step in the right direction, but he has a long way to go to convince me he will be part of the solution more than part if the problem. - steve schnorf - Thursday, Feb 23, 12 @ 3:23 pm: B+. This was the budget address Illinoisans have been waiting 10 years to hear. Not since George Ryan called a special session of the GA on Memorial Day 2002 to tell them he intended to cut a billion dollars from the budget he had introduced some 100 days earlier has a Governor been as clear and truthful about what needs to happen. The tone was right, somber, the delivery was focused, the words direct, all in all a very good budget speech. If he had been specific about what he intended to do on pensions and Medicaid he would have been criticized for not engaging in collaborative discussions before he decided what to do, so he was in a no-win there. I liked his position on those two issues: I don’t have prescribed solutions, but there are serious problems, we are going to solve them, and I want you to work with my staff and agencies to come up with the specific proposals. What’s wrong with that? Of course, the devil will be in implementation. The next 100 days will not be for the faint of heart. We should all wish the Governor and the GA well: what they are undertaking has huge implications for Illinois for the decade ahead. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.