* Earlier this week, Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget director testified to the Budgeting for Results Commission. According to Jamey Dunn at Illinois Issues, David Vaught told the commission that state revenues would grow faster than earlier believed…

Vaught did not give specifics on how the numbers would change before Quinn’s budget speech, which is scheduled to take place in a week, but he said revenues are “trending up.”

* But our old friend Steve Schnorf is on the commission and he had some words of caution for Vaught…

Steve Schnorf, a member of the Budgeting for Results Commission and a former director of the Bureau of the Budget under former Gov. George Ryan, warned against a repeat of the fight over revenue estimates that happened last spring as lawmakers started the budgeting process for the current fiscal year. The House created a smaller estimate that the Senate and Quinn disagreed with, but that was what the budget was ultimately based upon. “Starting with an agreed upon revenue number … creates buy-in from all the players,” Schnorf said. “I think that buy-in is important.”

* Vaught’s excuse was a bit weak…

Vaught said that the three-year projection created last year was done hastily and that his office was “a little uncertain” about the revenues that the then newly passed income tax increase would bring in. He said the estimate this year is much more certain.

* Even so, Schnorf is fairly optimistic about the new commission he sits on…

Schnorf said that plans like Budgeting for Results aren’t new. “Most administrations have an initiative of some sort like this,” he said. “You go back through the last 30 years of press clippings and you would find initiatives like this announced by administrations.” But Schnorf said he thinks Quinn and lawmakers are committed to make the program work, and he predicted it would not become “sizzle rather than steak.”

* But he also warned that if lawmakers want to reward results, they would most likely have to penalize the failure of otherwise popular programs…

Schnorf warned lawmakers that if they focus only on tangible goals when making decisions and have an eye for programs that are measured as successful, they might not like the budgeting outcomes. He said that public schools, for example, may not rate as high performers and asked lawmakers: “Does that mean we should take the money away from them and invest the money somewhere else that has a better return on investment?”

* And always bear this in mind…

“In a time of scarcity, the only way you can reward someone for performing well is by punishing someone else,” Schnorf said. “Every dollar you spend is a dollar you don’t have. You have to take it from somewhere else.”

We need lots more people like Steve Schnorf either in or advising this government. He’s a state treasure. And he’s absolutely right about this budgeting for results stuff during a time of scarce state resources. Difficult choices are ahead.

I usually try not to get too close to Statehouse types. Yeah, it can be lots of fun hanging out with them after hours whilst I troll for stories at the various watering holes. But Schnorf is one of the only people in this business who I’ve allowed to come to my home for gatherings of my non-political friends. He’s brilliant, has a wealth of life experience, can converse on multiple topics, knows more about music than most and my friends just love the guy. I don’t blame them. So do I.

…Adding… Related…

* Medicaid in Crisis Even Before Cuts: The Illinois Hospital Association and Illinois State Medical Society oppose Quinn’s plan to cut the rates doctors are paid. The state’s per-service payments already fail to cover the full cost of providing treatment. In dental care, for example, private insurance might pay about $75 for filling a cavity. For a Medicaid patient, the dentist receives about $30 from the state after waiting, sometimes for up to six months, for reimbursement. The result is a shrinking pool of doctors willing to treat Medicaid patients.

* Chicago teachers asking for 30% raises over next 2 years: Documents obtained by the Tribune show that in the face of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s expansion of the school day, the union has led with an offer seeking a 24 percent raise in the 2012-13 school year and a 5 percent increase the following year, the net effect being 30 percent.

* State high court sides with CPS in dispute over teacher layoffs

* College Illinois! could get shot of taxpayer cash

* Sugar-drink tax to get Chicagoans, budget in shape?

* Illinois voters tend to agree with Obama’s mix of higher taxes, spending cuts - Tribune/WGN-TV poll also shows two-thirds support minimum 30% rate on highest earners