94 Comments - Give Me A Break - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:27 am: I’m thinking Jim and Brenda have been taken off the Mansion Christmas Party invite list. - @MisterJayEm - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:27 am: “the governor is the person in charge and the governor has got to be the one who sets aside maybe some of the things they’d like to do to get done what has to be done” That’s your cue, OW… – MrJM - Anonymous - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:27 am: Go back to teaching your failures as a leader - VanillaMan - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:27 am: Edgar is 100% correct. - Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:28 am: Careful Bruce. Jim Edgar is the the Eisenhower of Illinois. Everybody loves him. Step lightly…. - Wordslinger - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:30 am: Edgar seems rightfully offended by Gov. Ahab’s abuse and disrespect of the office, and damage to the state, in pursuit of his personal obsessions. Rauner has never articulated any substantive ROI for the great cost that he is forcing others to pay. There’s not a big business in the world that would undertake this immensely costly strategy without quantifiable, measurable goals. - anon - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:32 am: Jim needs to send the same message to MJM. - VanillaMan - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:32 am: Jim Edgar is not going away He has been out of office since 1999. If he was a crazy old man, he wouldn’t be listened to. If he had a crappy two terms in office, he wouldn’t be listened to. If we had a functioning governor, he wouldn’t be listened to. I’m glad he is not going away. After the past fifteen years, we’ve kind of forgotten how a real governor governs. - Almost the Weekend - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:34 am: This where you see the difference between Republicans in Illinois. It isn’t moderate vs. tea party. It is Chicagoland area Republicans v. Downstate Republican. Chicagoland area Republicans aren’t as effected by the budget crisis as downstate Republicans. Edgar is from downstate and realizes many republicans downstate, who voted for Rauner, are hurt because of the lack of budget. In DuPage, Kane, Will, south suburban Cook, the effects are minimal. Until these Republicans are hurt because of the budget or more rich people from Chicago come out complaining about a lack of budget, Rauner won’t move the dial. - Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:34 am: ===Jim needs to send the same message to MJM.=== What, that he is the one in charge? - RNUG - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:36 am: == There’s not a big business in the world that would undertake this immensely costly strategy without quantifiable, measurable goals. == It’s only costly if you view the short-term results as being damaging. If you just look at it as a method to temporarily reduce the cash flowing out (and ignore the human damage), it’s not costly. And if you view it as a reset to a lower base spending number, then it’s a permanent cash outflow reduction … which seems to be one of Rauner’s goals. - Frosty Springfield - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:37 am: Some say Illinois will end due to no budget. And some due to terrible budgets. From what I’ve tasted of Illinois politics, I hold with those who favor terrible budgets. But I think I know enough of hate to say no budget is also great, and thus it would suffice. - @MisterJayEm - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:39 am: “Jim needs to send the same message to MJM.” Edgar: “[The] governor is the person in charge and the governor has got to be the one who sets aside maybe some of the things they’d like to do to get done what has to be done.” I don’t think Mike Madigan is unfamiliar with that message. – MrJM - LizPhairTax - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:40 am: Anon and Anonymous and other Rauner supporters posting here today your challenge is making a two term Republican Governor sound batpoop loco for the following statement: “You cannot have a state function without a budget, and four months is way too long,” I know you can do it. You are Superstars! Anon already used MJM so you have one lifeline left. - @MisterJayEm - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:41 am: @Frosty Springfield No Budget is the road less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. – MrJM - Jockey - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:41 am: Maybe Governor Rauner can to start reading L. Ron Hubbard for some additional guidance. - Keyrock - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:43 am: Or perhaps Isaiah. Or Jeremiah. - Dilemma - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:43 am: ===“Democrats don’t like to cut, Republicans don’t like to raise taxes, but they’re gonna have to do both,” Edgar said. “People have to realize there are things they want, but might not be able to get this year.”=== The budget impasse has NOTHING to do with proposed cuts to spending or tax hikes. Both sides have already openly agreed to or acknowledged the need for both. The ONLY thing keeping this state from having a budget is a laser like focus on a non-budget agenda. The budget is currently being held hostage (not by the legislature IPI) in order to exact a ransom consisting of anti-union demands. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:45 am: ===That’s your cue, OW…=== Governors Own. ===…the governor is the person in charge and the governor has got to be the one who sets aside maybe some of the things they’d like to do to get done what has to be done,” [former Gov. Jim Edgar] said.=== A Republican, Jim Edgar, a former governor, says Governors own. If I have to choose, I’m with Jim Edgar. Rauner wanted Edgar’s endorsement. Rauner got it. Rauner owns. End of story, really. - AnonymousOne - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:46 am: How humbling and embarrassing that an ex-governor would need to get involved in telling the current boss how to do his job. But I guess Rauner really doesn’t know. Someone has to educate him on politics. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:46 am: ===“It is not all (Rauner’s) fault, but…=== … Governors own. - Wordslinger - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:47 am: RNUG, I have no reason to believe spending is an issue with Rauner. Look at the fiscal train wreck he’s engineered. His obsession is sticking it to certain classes of citizens he doesn’t like for no greater good that he can articulate. - Grandson of Man - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:48 am: Edgar nails it again. Rauner can get a little extra beside the budget–a property tax freeze and workers comp reform. Too bad it doesn’t go along with his worldview of Illinois’ death spiral (even as he makes tens of millions of dollars a year) and radical proposals that he won’t justify with a cost-benefit analysis. - Former Hoosier - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:49 am: Former Gov. Edgar is correct…”It’s not all (Rauner’s) fault, but the governor is the person in charge…” It falls to the one who is in charge to lead the way. That is something this governor has not done. He has shown that he does not have the ability to lead our state. - out of touch - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:50 am: –Jim needs to send the same message to MJM– LOL. Edgar’s message is almost identical to the script from Madigan for the past 4 months. - Arsenal - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:51 am: ==Jim needs to send the same message to MJM.== Pretty sure “The Governor needs to set aside some of the things he wants to do what the state needs” is exactly what MJM has been saying from Jump Street. - slow down - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:52 am: I haven’t always agreed with Gov. Edgar but I always respected his pragmatism. Compare him to Rauner, or the tea party nut jobs in DC, and it provides a stark contrast that sadly is depressing. - Stating The Obvious - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:55 am: Rauner doesn’t really care about Illinois or state government, he only cares about himself. Same thing with Madigan, whose first priority is himself. Forget about this January prediction. Why is there reason to believe that there will EVER be a budget, given the mindsets of Rauner and Madigan? Rauner is right about the government not shutting down, which is a win for him. What’s to prevent us from limping along as we are now limping along until the next election, with Rauner beheading a hostage or two periodically just to remind everyone who’s really in charge. - Mekong Cafe - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:57 am: Last night Brian Mackey WUIS ran a story about a Rauner speech leading up to the election where he suggested using social services spending as a wedge issue to reduce the influence of unions. What the story left out is the idea that the strategy is most likely a “win-win” because whether the results of the action reduces Union influence or reduces spending on social services, both are goals in the end for someone who doesn’t like unions and doesn’t want a large government safety net. - @MisterJayEm - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:58 am: “Thompson/Edgar/Ryan every bit as big a part of the problem as Madigan/Blago” You forgot to mention the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group and the Bavarian Illuminati. – MrJM - siriusly - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:58 am: Gravitas. Respectability. Admiration. Choose your word, but they all vaguely describe some of the qualities that Edgar has. I really appreciate Governor Edgar’s willingness to speak up. Edgar is the only credible elder statesman we have when it comes to compromise and governing. Let’s hope that Madigan, Cullerton and Rauner listen to him. - Phenomynous - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:59 am: The Governor needs to set aside some things, and he has…however there is room for even more. Likewise, Madigan needs to come to the table with some reforms his caucus can stomach. - Pelonski - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 8:59 am: Edgar is free to speak truthfully on his thoughts about the Governor because he has nothing to lose. Once the primary candidates are set and other Republicans have an idea who they will be facing, we will see more of this from Republicans. - Snucka - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:00 am: If Esgar was so influential, even among Republican voters, Kirk Dillard would be governor. That said, he’s correct in what he says. We need a functional state and right now we don’t have one. Rauner believes that we also need many other reforms that he is not capable of passing into law, so he’s refusing to let the state function. The more people who point this out, the better. - Arsenal - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:03 am: ==The budget impasse has NOTHING to do with proposed cuts to spending or tax hikes. Both sides have already openly agreed to or acknowledged the need for both. The ONLY thing keeping this state from having a budget is a laser like focus on a non-budget agenda. The budget is currently being held hostage (not by the legislature IPI) in order to exact a ransom consisting of anti-union demands.== Yup. - Cubs in '15 - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:05 am: Rauner supporters should step back, take a breath, and apply some deductive reasoning. Why would two Republican ex-governors publicly offer their ‘advice’ to Rauner? What is in it for them? Do they have something to gain from it personally? If so, what? Unlike Rauner, I truly believe Edgar and Thompson were able to set aside their personal ‘wants’ in favor of compromise for the good of everyone concerned. Were the end results perfect? Of course not. Did they accomplish what HAD to be done at the time? I believe so. The ex-governors are pointing out that Rauner’s strategy is hurting the state deeply. I don’t believe for a minute they have anything to gain personally from their public comments. I think they’re doing it out of concern for all Illinoisans. To counter their comments with “but pension ramp” or “but Madigan” completely misses the point. - out of touch - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:05 am: Contrary to the rhetoric of the newly-minted GOP Edgar bashers, once again Edgar proves that he is no shrinking violet. The notion that Edgar “caved” to Madigan is fallacy. Compromise and negotiation are key elements to problem-solving and legislative success, which explains Rauner’s abject failure as Governor. “Winner take all” and “any deal is a bad deal” approaches to issues lead to gridlock, which is exactly where IL stands. - AC - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:10 am: Endorsers own their endorsements too. Edgar put his reputation on the line when he campaigned with Rauner in the final days of his campaign. Edgar also lended credibility to the Rauner administration by being a part of the transition team. - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:10 am: “Then-Gov. Jim Edgar signed into law a pension funding plan, supported by Statehouse Democrats and Republicans, that was all but doomed to fail: It gave lawmakers a lavish 50 years, rather than the customary 30, to backfill their underfunded system. It asked them only to achieve 90 percent of full funding, not the necessary 100 percent. And lest the plan cramp lawmakers’ yearning to spend state money on more popular pursuits, it began with a 15-year “ramp” of inadequate contributions.” Ahhh, the fruits of compromise in Springfield . . . . - Tom Turgid - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:12 am: Rich Miller work$ for Rauner?…Yes? - Honeybear - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:14 am: –It is Chicagoland area Republicans v. Downstate Republican.– Bingo right on the money. Believe me or not but the pain is intense down here. Edgar represents a daily growing demographic of discontented Southern Illinoisans. One thing in the character of Southern Illinoisans is a dislike for perfidy. Rauner really made a mistake donning a Carhardt, driving in a trashcan van, and dropping his G’s. It worked to get elected but time and time again he shows he’s not who he portrayed himself to be. He’s a Chicago vulture capitalist who destoyed small business for a living. Nothing has been done or is being done OR EVEN PLANNED TO BE DONE, to help the South. Perfidious Rauner - Formerly Known As... - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:15 am: Sure, Gov Edgar. What we will do instead is ==update== the pension ramp. Instead of paying $7.6 bln, we will just pay $1 bln this year. We will keep those payments low while Rauner is in office. Then, a couple decades from now, when Rauner is long gone and everyone praises him for his budget acumen, the ==real== payments will begin. Edgar has to support his own policy. No one has to raise taxes, and no one has to cut anything, either. We all ==win==. Except the retirees, of course. But that is someone else’s problem. /s Sheesh. - Arsenal - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:15 am: @ Kodachrome, geez, why did Rauner campaign with this guy? - Norseman - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:16 am: Maybe Edgar can put on a private seminar in governing for Rauner and his frat boys. - Abe the Babe - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:17 am: The most important thing a Governor can do is enact that social and moral document that we call a budget. The budget sets the priorities for the state and protects those in society that we have all agreed need help. Bruce and the superstars don’t understand that there are thousands of policy decisions in that document that they could be arguing for/against. And that’s a negotiation that Madigan has to engage in because WE NEED a budget. There will be politically opportune times that will arise that can generate momentum for other parts of their agenda. But holding this social contract hostage is akin to cutting off your nose to spite your face. Its really sad that the either the superstars do not understand this or worse, they do and Bruce wont listen. - Juvenal - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:17 am: Correction, Governor Edgar: Democrats and Republicans don’t like to raise taxes, and Democrats and Republicans don’t like to cut either. The false partisan dichotomy when it comes to budget-making is one of the underlying problems in public policy analysis that has led to the failed GOP strategy. Madigan understands that Republicans don’t like to cut, and he is using that to his strategic advantage. As soon as Republican lawmakers adopt a new strategy that recognizes that Democrats don’t like to raise taxes, we will pass a budget. Anyone who thinks it will be January is delusional. - 360 Degree TurnAround - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:17 am: Actually, this should cue the House Republicans to begin speaking out. Edgar is giving them all the cover. What he isn’t giving them is money. - Unbalanced - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:19 am: Edgar is entitled to his opinion. But since his cronies were convicted at the MSI trial, I’ll ignore him - 360 Degree TurnAround - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:19 am: Norseman, I like that idea. Instead of a seminar, how about a House Committee of the Whole. Edgar and Thompson testify and take questions on how to govern. - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:19 am: The point, Arsenal, is that compromise for the sake of compromise is not what we need. I do NOT agree with what Rauner wants - ok? It’s like if anyone on this blog doesnt agree that we should hate Rauner, you’re a Raunerite. BS. Compromise is great when the compromisers are doing so for the benefit of the people of this state. As we have so clearly seen, proven by our current fiscal mess which did not start in January 2015, compromise is done here for political points. I’m sick of it. - former southerner - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:19 am: Former Governor Edgar and fellow loyal party members are concerned about lasting damage to the state AND the long-term health of the party. During and especially after the Rauner term ends these senior members fully understand the damage that will occur to the state party if it is seen to be fully in lockstep with Rauner’s more outlandish wants, desires, and “accomplishments”. Like anyone who stakes out extreme positions Rauner has some highly loyal supporters but the large centrist group members who were “anyone but Quinn” or “let’s try something different” are those critical to winning most district and certainly statewide elections and that is the group the GOP cannot afford to lose for a long period of time. As things are currently going MJM and the IL democratic party are going to be the long term beneficiaries of governor’s ill advised behavior. - Formerly Known As... - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:20 am: Should we just ==update== the pension ramp? Instead of paying $7.6 bln, we will just pay $1 bln this year. We will keep those payments low while Rauner is in office. Then, decades from now, when Rauner is long gone and everyone praises him for his budget acumen, the ==real== payments will begin. Edgar has to support his own policy, right? No one has to raise taxes, and no one has to cut anything, either. We all ==win==. Except the retirees, of course. But that is someone else’s problem. /s Sheesh. - Give Me A Break - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:20 am: Rauner folks need to ask themselves if they were running state rep or senator right now, who would they rather share the stage with at a campaign event, Ruaner or Edgar? - Wensicia - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:20 am: Let’s hope Edgar’s common sense trickles down to GA Republicans. - lake county democrat - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:23 am: So let’s say Jim Edgar was governor instead of Rauner. How much do you think would get cut from the budget vs. raised in taxes? How much structural political reform and/or turnaround agenda items would be enacted? Opinions can vary on that, but it seems a fair question. - DuPage - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:23 am: Rauner: How much for your integrity? Edgar: Not for sale. - Wordslinger - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:27 am: Koda, tne current fiscal mess of FY16 absolutely started on July 1. That’s how fiscal years work. - Jocko - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:27 am: Maybe Bruce can take Jim’s message to heart after his meetings with world leaders, attendance at funerals for fallen officers and firefighters, and bill signing. - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:29 am: = Former Governor Edgar and fellow loyal party members are concerned about lasting damage to the state AND the long-term health of the party = Really?? Hmmm, seems he wasn’t so concerned about it when HE was in office, or he would have paid the darn bills when they came due. So Wenscia and DuPage, please explain to me the “integrity” of pushing off pension bills to his children and grandchildren, and now likely his great grandchildren? As opposed to, oh, I don’t know, being honest with the public about how much needs to be spent and how much their taxes needed to be raised in order to do so. - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:33 am: So I guess the last 20-30 years had nothing to do with the hole we’re starting from, eh Word? Do you actually want Springfield to run just as it has in that time? A constant compromise of kicking the can down the road to make sure no one’s election plans are altered? Seriously, do you? - Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:35 am: ===So I guess the last 20-30 years had nothing to do with the hole we’re starting from…=== Gov. Edgar says Rauner owns… now. Please… Keep up. Thank you. - Wordslinger - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:41 am: Koda, the FY16 hole is the FY16 hole. Projected spending greatly exceeds projected revenue in the fiscal year that began July 1. What “hole” are you talking about? Unfunded pension liability? Yes, that’s been a constant for decades, much longer than 30 years. And a pension payment has never been missed. How’s about we take some baby steps and square FY16? - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:41 am: Well, if the oracle says so, OW . . . . How about you? Happy with how the sausage has been made in Springfield over that time, Willy? Nothing needs to change, just compromise and get a budget done and back to biz as usual? - Rich Miller - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:46 am: ===How much do you think would get cut from the budget vs. raised in taxes?=== He was widely known as “Governor No” back in the day. It’s why spending exploded under George Ryan. Lots and lots of pent-up demand. - The Dude Abides - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:51 am: @Kodachrome, pay attention. Edgar said that the Democrats will have to agree to cuts that they don’t want to make and he said the GOP will have to agree to increasing revenues through tax increases that they don’t want to do. That’s not kicking the can down the road, those are tough decisions that have to be made now. Unfortunately the Governor refuses to discuss cuts and taxes with the Democrats until they agree to his pro business agenda, which will hit middle income workers across the state pretty hard. - Arsenal - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:56 am: ==The point, Arsenal, is that compromise for the sake of compromise is not what we need.== No one’s talking about compromise for the sake of compromise. Rauner doesn’t have the votes for either his agenda or a budget balanced entirely via cuts. Madigan doesn’t have the votes for a budget balanced entirely via tax hikes. We need a compromise for the sake of a budget, period. ==I do NOT agree with what Rauner wants - ok?== It’s OK with me, but I’m no authority on the subject. ==It’s like if anyone on this blog doesnt agree that we should hate Rauner, you’re a Raunerite. BS.== No clue what you’re talking about, you’ll note that I never said you were anything. MY point, which had nothing to do your political persuasion, is that it’s awfully hard to dismiss Edgar after the Republican Party, including Rauner, has spent the last 2 decades canonizing the guy. They wanna turn around now and say, “Oh, he’s always been part of the problem”? I don’t disagree! But they’ve been in bed with him the whole time, which means THEY’RE part of the problem, too. BUT, the fact is, Bruce Rauner is Governor, so nothing is going to get done in state government without him making peace with it. So you gotta work with him. And yes, he’s making that impossible right now, but it doesn’t change the fact that a compromise is the only thing that will get us out of this mess. - Precinct Captain - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:02 am: ==- Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:10 am:== What actuary says 100% funding is necessary–or even fiscally responsible? - hisgirlfriday - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:03 am: I just hope Rauner doesnt take out his frustration with Edgar’s public criticisms on the U of I. The McKinney deal showed how vindictive Team Rauner is so I worry even more how my alma mater and all higher ed is gonna get whacked even when we do get a budget. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:03 am: - Kodachrome - I’m in the middle of a cyclone of things right now… But… We’re 100 days without a budget, no compromising by Rauner or the GA in sight, and Jim Edgar has to give multiple primers to a governor about owning. If absolutely can not understand the lesson of governing Jim Edgar is trying to teach and must be a victim so Rauner can’t own, you are then a willing participant to holding hostages. Today. It’s all about today. I’m with Edgar all day, every day and twice in Sunday on this. Why? I want a functioning government, Edgar knows for that to happen, governors own. - downstate commissioner - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:05 am: Whether the Rauner supporters like it or not, Ducky summed it up: “Edgar is the Eisenhower of Illinois…”. Another presidential comparison might be Jimmy Carter, who also NEVER went away… and has been the most influential ex-president ever… I still want to know who Madigan would have voted for (in the secrecy of the ballot box) if Edgar had came out of retirement to run against Blagojevic for Blago’s second term… Edgar has been there, done that, and for those who have forgotten, Edgar was sometimes called “Governor No”; he and Madigan did have their differences, but at the end stuff got done. And THAT is the bottom line… - downstate commissioner - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:12 am: “Give Me A Break” @9:20. RICH how about a poll-”Who would you want to share a stage with…” Just put it up, let it speak for itself-no rationale in comments needed… - Birdseed - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:13 am: === - Precinct Captain - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:02 am: ==- Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:10 am:== What actuary says 100% funding is necessary–or even fiscally responsible? === I must have missed where anybody suggested 100% funding…. - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:18 am: OW - When the bill was due and Edgar ramped the payments, what was the right thing to do - what he (and the GA) did, or to tell the public we didn’t have the money to fund pensions, and we needed to raise taxes? I completely understand your point about today, but its easy to be an armchair quarterback, criticizing others when, had you done the right thing when you were quarterback, you may have found yourself in exactly the same situation, doing exactly the same thing (I do not mean pushing for union destruction, but rather deciding whether you are willing to wear the jacket for something unpopular, i.e. raising taxes). - burbanite - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:20 am: Based on everything I have read and heard I don’t think the discussions about cuts btwn the Gov and Leaders has even started. That is the true shame of it. The budget needs to be addressed not ancillary maybe some day we will see a savings issues. On a side note, Higher ed was told to expect about a 20% cut, they were trying to prepare for that and were looking at where they could trim the fat. Then, the Gov presented his plan (the one he said he would tell us about after he was elected, not before) and the cuts to higher ed were 31%. Now we don’t even know what is going to happen this spring. - walker - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:35 am: ===Nothing needs to change?=== Kodachrome: Stop playing with strawmen. No one here says nothing needs to change, just like almost no one doesn’t realize we need both cuts and revenues in the short term. Coming to a budget agreement does not automatically mean we are committed to some “status quo.” Also it doesn’t restrain Rauner from making structural and cost changes still available in the operations of the Executive branch. - Liberty - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 10:56 am: Edgar is trying to save the party from Rauner’s destruction. - How Ironic - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 11:06 am: Morning Rich, Bruce Rauner is amused at these sham announcements and proclamations from Mike Madigan and the past Governors that he controls. Bruce feels that he’s currently in control, although he has absolutely zero responsibility in anything that may be negative. Bad Madigan. Bruce is workin’ hard at hardly workin’. Best, ck! - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 11:20 am: Well, walker, from what I have seen, as soon as a budget is passed, the pressure to change the status quo ends, and it never changes. If you agree that something needs to change, how do you propose that we get that change from a group of politicians who certainly appear to have a vested interest in that status quo? - Demoralized - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 11:28 am: ==who certainly appear to have a vested interest in that status quo?== There’s that argument again. If you don’t agree with the changes that have been proposed you are for the status quo. What I want is for everyone to accept exactly what Governor Edgar said. Some things that each side wants simply are not going to happen. Of course you’ve got the “no surrender” group out there who isn’t helping the situation. - downstater - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 11:29 am: Maybe when Edgar is through attention-whoring, he can address the horrendous moves he made with the pension system 20 years ago, which helped lead to the mess that Rauner & Co. are now tasked with cleaning up. - Demoralized - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 11:35 am: ==Maybe when Edgar is through attention-whoring== Yes, we certainly don’t need the opinion of somebody who has actually been Governor and understands the process and what it takes to get things done. And, flawed or not, at least the moves he made with the pensions were an attempt to fund them. The tripped and fell on their face with the implementation and backloaded the payments too much. But at least they didn’t attempt to skirt the state’s responsibility to fund the pensions which is what the latest round of “solutions” is purporting to do. - cailleach - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 11:42 am: To Koda and downstater - I think it was Madiar who did the pension funding research. He discovered the gimmicks (like shorting payments and pension “holidays”) had been used since the early 1900s. Which Gov over the past 100 years do you want to blame? - the old man - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 12:05 pm: Do I see a GOP primary for governor developing in 2018 between the reasonables and others? - nona - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 12:31 pm: === Edgar is from downstate and realizes many republicans downstate, who voted for Rauner, are hurt because of the lack of budget.=== As the Bible tells us, we reap what we sow. === Really?? Hmmm, seems he (Edgar) wasn’t so concerned about it when HE was in office, or he would have paid the darn bills when they came due. === As a candidate for governor in 1990, Edgar called for making a temporary income tax hike permanent, while his Democratic opponent oppose doing so. In 1997, Edgar called for a hike in the income tax, which actually passed the House on a bipartisan vote before Pate killed it in the Senate. - nona - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 12:57 pm: === The budget impasse has NOTHING to do with proposed cuts to spending or tax hikes. Both sides have already openly agreed to or acknowledged the need for both. The ONLY thing keeping this state from having a budget is a laser like focus on a non-budget agenda.=== The truth, that. === Birdseed– I must have missed where anybody suggested 100% funding…. === See comment by - Kodachrome - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 9:10 am. - 2018 - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 1:11 pm: Jerry Brown made a come back, why cant Jim Edgar? is there any doubt that he would crush the almighty in a primary? - Pot calling the kettle black - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 1:21 pm: Who is to Blame for the Current Pension Crisis – Part 1 October 29, 2013 by Lennie Jarrett There are many to blame for the current pension crisis here in Illinois and we will delve into this over the next several weeks. Let’s start with the the 1994, Gov. Jim Edgar and Mike Madigan pension ramp (graph below). This was suppose to allow the state to meet it’s obligation to retirees while keeping Illinois financially stable. It was obvious to anyone with common sense back then that heavily back loading the pension payments and allowing the state to borrow money (not pay required pension payments) were going to lead to a disaster. http://www.championnews.net/?p=49771 - 2018 - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 1:33 pm: pot calling the kettle back Edgar did do something for pensions, IT IS NOT HIS FAULT THAT AFTER he left, the GA found away to undo what he did. - Graduated College Student - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 1:49 pm: ===Jerry Brown made a come back, why cant Jim Edgar? is there any doubt that he would crush the almighty in a primary? === He’s had heart trouble in the past. The campaign would kill him, and if it didn’t kill him running the state would kill him, and if that didn’t kill him his wife would. - burbanite - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 1:56 pm: Playing the blame game gets us no where. It isn’t productive, in fact it is counterproductive. Though I do appreciate the historical knowledge many here provide, in a constructive manner. - Blue dog dem - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 2:13 pm: Sorry ex gov. Edgar, what’s left to cut. Haven’t courts mandated spending levels already at 90%? This leaves a few things,but the Raun man can’t reduce LGDF in an election year. Raising revenues is about it….I do know where we can save $177,000 next year though….. - DuPage Bard - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 3:26 pm: He doesn’t care what anyone says here, he doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him or says about him in the press. He has nothing to lose. - Sue - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 3:36 pm: Dear Jim- I suggest you take the next RAMP and ride off into the sunset. Had you not passed your sham pension funding bill we would not be in this hole you helped dig. - Aldyth - Friday, Oct 23, 15 @ 3:42 pm: Rauner hasn’t the least interest in listening to anyone, because of Madigan and the former governors he controls. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.