* Gov. Pat Quinn leaked a few details about his upcoming budget speech yesterday…

Speaking before a packed City Club of Chicago audience, Quinn said he wants to cut Medicaid expenses by $2 billion, close tax loopholes that cost the state millions of dollars and examine changes to the public employee pension system that include raising the retirement age for workers.

* Let’s look at his pension ideas first…

Quinn said that when it comes to pension cost reform “everything must be on the table,” including lowering cost of living increases, hiking the retirement age and asking employees to pay more for benefits. He also wants to examine shifting some of the pension burden to universities and local school districts, saying they pay little or nothing toward the cost of retirement benefits for their workers.

The governor would not say whether he would support efforts to revamp the state’s pension payment structure, which requires the state to make larger contributions each year in what was supposed to be an effort to fund the system by 90 percent by the year 2045.

More…

Meanwhile, the governor is looking to off-load some of the state’s pension costs. The state contributes $5.2 billion a year to pensions, but Quinn complains that only a fraction of that benefits workers directly under state control. Employees of state universities, community colleges and local school districts, for example, are in state-funded retirement plans.

He wants state universities and school districts to contribute, figuring if they have “skin in the game,” they’ll think twice about awarding generous benefits.

* Now, Medicaid…

Quinn said the state can no longer afford to pay $15 billion a year for the Medicaid program, which provides health care for the poor. He wants to cut that by $2 billion, and amount he says lawmakers “shifted” over from last year’s budget by delaying payments.

* More…

Some options for restructuring the system are shrinking payments to hospital and doctors, reducing how many people are eligible and cutting benefits the state isn’t legally required to offer.

Rep. Greg Harris, D-Chicago, said even ending optional benefits would mean tremendous pain for some people.

“If you look at the services the federal government says are ‘optional,’ they are prescription drugs, they are long term care nursing homes, they are hospice care. So this is going to be horrible decision making,” said Harris, chairman of the House Human Services Committee.

* More…

Last year Quinn proposed cutting the state’s Medicaid budget by $600 million. The state Senate cut that to $300 million and in the House of Representatives, “Democrats and Republicans banded together and announced they would take ‘zero percent’,” Quinn said. He plans to triple down and try for a bigger cut.

What exactly will he cut?

Quinn said he would spell that out in his budget address in two weeks. But it involves changing the state’s Medicaid program into a “wellness system” instead of a “provider payment system,” he said. The problem he faces is that cuts to Medicaid can mean cuts to federal matching funds.

* And, now, tax loopholes…

“We’ll ask the loophole lobby: ‘What’s more important, early childhood education for a 4-year-old or your loophole?’ We’ll ask: ‘What’s more important: Scholarships for somebody who’s deserving but can’t go to college without a scholarship or your loophole?’”

* Meanwhile…

Speaker Michael Madigan on Tuesday outlined grim budget news to House Democrats who left a closed-door meeting predicting deep budget cuts, particularly in health care for the poor. […]

Madigan’s memos laid out scenarios for how much additional money could come in during the next budget year that starts July 1. If revenue grows a modest 2 percent, the state would collect an additional $568 million. If it grows 4 percent, which one lawmaker suggested is unlikely, the state would gain about $1.13 billion.

But the amount of new money isn’t likely to be enough to cover the increased costs of public worker pensions, which are expected to increase by $957 million. And that doesn’t take into account the desire to increase spending in the rest of the budget, especially on politically popular areas like education.

* More budget stuff…

* Washington State’s Medicaid Program Will No Longer Pay For Unnecessary ER Visits

* Schools pay for teacher pensions? They say no - But some people, even unions are willing to discuss it

* Legislative panel critical of Quinn’s plan to close two facilities

* Lawmakers complain about no details at Jacksonville facility hearing

* JDC: Closing plan gets cool reception

* Director says prepaid tuition program ‘lost its way’

* Director: College Illinois! to stay afloat, even if that means taxpayer bailout

* State torture panel strapped for cash

* Budget cuts force cancellation of DNR’s Outdoor Illinois magazine

* Kadner: State turns its back on the needs of the mentally ill