49 Comments - Not it - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:31 am: The General Assembly sent Pat Quinn a lump sum budget. They’ve done it before and they can do it again. Or, they can create a real budget with revenues. The Dems talk a big talk about the budget but I have yet to ever see any of them file a bill for a tax increase. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:33 am: - Not It - #TaxHikeMike There will be no tax increase. Rauner made sure of that. - 360 Degree TurnAround - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:36 am: Not it - Pat quinn always said “may the will of the people, be the law of the land”. He was trustworthy. - A Jack - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:39 am: That lump sum budget was a mess for state agencies. It was a bad idea then and a worse one now. - The Dude Abides - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:40 am: Trust is something that has to be earned, it can’t be bought. Most folks in the legislature, in both parties, mistrust Rauner. There’s no way they will give Rauner that kind of power. We will see if they give Rauner a “clean” K-12 funding bill. I don’t see that happening either. That is the one thing Rauner wants funded soon because there will be outrage across the state if it isn’t. You don’t think the Democrats would use that as leverage do you? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:41 am: To the Post, ===• Establish a wide array of spending reserves recognized and clearly enforceable by the comptroller; • Reduce provider rates that are currently set in statute; • Reduce or modify statutory transfers out of any state funds; • Reallocate balances from other state accounts into general funds; and • Alter or delay payments under continuing appropriations.=== Lots of verbiage for the sentiment… “Usurp the power of the Legislative and grant powers to the Legislative as prescribed by the Executive and at the exclusive Executive’s unilateral discretion.” I really, honestly, don’t think Rauner understands the whole “co-equal government” thingy he opened his literary work entitled “Budgetary Address”… which was reviewed for literary criticism, and reviewed favorably, by the Tribune Editorial Board. So… there’s that. - thechampaignlife - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:42 am: Bring it to the floor, vote it down, and move on. - burbanite - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:50 am: Remember the Good Friday Massacre? The cuts on Autism Day? Madigan does, Cullerton does, the GA does. I do. - Austin Blvd - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:52 am: Agree with thechampaignlife. Take the roll. - Norseman - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:54 am: Give me the keys to the house and access to your bank accounts and trust me to do right by you. Scam artist - Anonymous - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:55 am: Compromise with Rauner to balance the budget, let him do your job for you, or come up with an alternative on your own. Whatever you choose, please do something instead of standing there and saying “No” to everything. - Still a Sox fan - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:56 am: Yes take the roll and while you’re at it, maybe add language to establish Illinois as a monarchy? - Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:59 am: ===“The person occupying the governor’s office,” he said.”=== At least Speaker Madigan was open and honest about opposing these provisions. And his solutions are . . . - Juice - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:02 am: “these powers could not extend to the…payment of pension benefits to retirees.” Let’s think about this. They are not even trying to hide the fact that they are trying to skip on the pension contributions. Payments to retirees are not the same thing. The manner in which the Governor is willing to constantly complain about poor fiscal decisions in the past and then weasels his way into essentially making the same proposals is enjoyable to watch. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:03 am: - Louis G Atsaves - Should the Speaker support a budget $3.5 billion out of whack? That Gov. Rauner… for a money guy this budget doesn’t add up. lol - How Ironic - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:03 am: @- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 10:59 am: “And his solutions are . . .” He’s just waiting for the Gov to fulfill his constitutionally mandated responsibilities and provide a balanced budget to consider. Guess the Gov is awaiting some ‘poindexters’ to come along and give him a hand. - Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:09 am: If you pay attention to what’s been happening in Michigan, it strikes me that this is the equivalent of Bruce Rauner being asked for powers akin to the “emergency managers” in Michigan. Not being hyperbolic here - that’s what he’s seeking. Didn’t work out so well for Flint. - Independent retired lawyer, journalist - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:09 am: Pass a budget. Let Rauner wear the jacket for his non-amendatory veto. Vote on an override. Rinse. Repeat. November is the ballgame. - Austin Blvd - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:10 am: Louis, Madigan called for a combination of a reduction in spending and an increase in revenue. His preferred revenue approach is the millionaire surcharge, which voters overwhelmingly endorsed. This was the approach Madigan outlined yesterday. He prefers negotiations. - Juice - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:14 am: OW- I wouldn’t be so generous. The Governor’s budget is more than $3.5 billion out of whack. On top of that, you have $750 million in partial pension holidays, another $300 million in unspecified “transformational savings,” one time resources from selling the JRTC (have they explained the plan to get out of the retail contract or where a couple thousand employees are going to go yet. Hate to be the landlord who agrees to rent our space when the state isn’t paying rent), not putting the money back into the budget stabilization fund, or the Group Health savings which AFSCME is never going to agree to and will probably end up in court if the LRB approves the impasse declaration. Way more than $3.5 billion off. - VanillaMan - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:17 am: “The person occupying the governor’s office,” There is a lot of meaning to that simple statement. For Rauner supporters, it could be read as personal and political. After all, Rauner has spent millions of dollars publically smearing the person quoted above. Rauner has turned the Illinois Speaker into a political cartoon, instead of a governing partner who has constitutional authorities, which has been given to all GA speakers over the past two centuries in Illinois. Rauner is not using his most lethal and powerful political weapon - governing. Rauner isn’t governing because he is obsessed at his, and our, expense. Rauner is like the guard dog barking at the cat while the house is being burgled. The longer Rauner doesn’t govern through compromise and bipartisanship, (which as the minority party governor - he must), the more he loses. At this point, even a Rauner win will be an overall loss, due to the efforts he took to win. We have a speaker comfortable in saying this publically. Madigan. The guy usually behind the curtain. The guy who for decades has made deals behind closed doors with GOP governors. MJM isn’t losing his touch. He is just willing to say what a majority of Illinoisans are publically saying. It is a rotten day for our government when a speaker this private, says this something like this, in public. This quote ranks right up there with Madigan’s comments after Blagojevich’s arrest. The Speaker of the House is publically acknowledging that the Governor is a problem for our state. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:17 am: - Juice - I wasn’t being generous, I guess I was just channeling my inner “Chicago Editorial Board” avd just stopped lookin’ at numbers after the blatantly obvious $3.5 billion… That’s on me. My bad. - illini97 - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:31 am: Willy has already nailed it. Remember when the GOP made hay on #taxhikemike’s honest statement that tax revenues will have to increase and will be a part of any negotiated budget. That was reality. The Trib and Radogno took that and ran. I hope it was fun. Can they walk it back now? - GOP Extremist - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:37 am: And his suggestions are…. Stop functioning in the extreme and aknowlege the make up of the GA. Try actually bargaining in good faith on the doable and stop with the silly repackaged Turn-Around nonsense. The quasi Democratic supermajority will never roll over and adopt his radical Tea Party agenda. - Juvenal - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:42 am: === Reallocate balances from other state accounts into general funds === Let downstate Republicans vote on giving the governor power to raid the road fund and the pension fund. I agree, let Republicans vote for all of this stuff. - RNUG - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:50 am: == let Republicans vote for all of this stuff. == The fall campaign ads just write themselves … - Louis Capricious - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:56 am: === Let downstate Republicans vote on giving the governor power to raid the road fund and the pension fund. === According to Rauner’s budget book (page 31), his proposed executive management powers “could not extend to the Road Fund, debt service or payment of pension benefits to retirees.” - BeenThereB4 - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 11:56 am: This may be naïve but, the Governor says he wants an appropriation for early education and K-12, because (he reasoned) that is something they all can agree on, Why not build on that? Surely there are other things they all can agree on. The 5 leaders should publicly sit down and each propose things they think would be mutually agreeable. If they all 5 agree then it goes on the list, if someone doesn’t agree they should explain why, but it doesn’t go on the list. When they are done they can craft a bill that funds all of the items on the list. That way everyone knows where each of them stand on the issues, and more things get funded than the First Lady’s pet projects. It would be a start anyway. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:04 pm: ===…the Governor says he wants an appropriation for early education and K-12, because (he reasoned) that is something they all can agree on,…=== No, the Governor knows, that Governors own. If schools don’t open in August/September, that’s on a governor, any governor, so Rauner is about Rauner, and hostages are needed to decimate collective bargaining and end prevailing wage. It’s a political move for Rauner. If it was an Educational move, the MAP Grant Bill would be signed, as both seem to “lack” the same funding source premises. - thechampaignlife - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:07 pm: ===Can they walk it back now?=== “Walk what back? That was then and this is now. Madigan’s own Rich Miller acknowledged just today that we must look to the future and stop focusing so much on the past. Hey, look, another shooting…” /s - lake county democrat - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:11 pm: –It is a rotten day for our government when a speaker this private, says this something like this, in public.– It’s a rotten day for government to have such a private speaker. - Jack Stephens - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:12 pm: Has anyone explained to Bruce that “governin’ is different than runnin’ a $5 pizza parlor? - Jack Stephens - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:15 pm: Not sure what the big deal is but “right to work” is the greatest thing since sliced bread. If only you people would just shut up, capitulate, and understand that if you make less money you’ll be happier and taxes will grow and Illinois will become #1!!!!!!! - Chicago 20 - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:15 pm: Rauner’s refusing to do what is constitutionally required. Rauner’s refusing to Govern until his “Turnaround Agenda” is passed. The agenda has been vetted and all of the conclusions are the same, none of it benefits Illinois, it will however reduce tax revenues. Not to mention of the escalating EDGE program or the resale of tax credits. Rauner doesn’t want to govern, he only wants to torture people who depend on the State to provide services and social programs. Don’t expect anything for your tax dollars, don’t expect a pension, don’t expect an education to compete in the job market, don’t expect anyone will take care of the needy. This is Rauner’s show and Rauner’s rules. Oligarchy at its worst. - Austin Blvd - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:19 pm: Louis Capricious- Note that while Rauner won’t stop pensioners from getting their checks, he will stop statutory pension payments. Is that his way of breaking the pension systems? Possibly. It is worth noting that when he was doing pension business with the state a few years back, he got his. Now that he got his, to heck with the rest. - BeenThereB4 - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:22 pm: -OW OK, do it the political way. Make this offer, one that most people would consider reasonable, to then either the Governor will accept it or he will turn it down. If he turns it down, then when schools don’t open in the fall, he will own it. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:28 pm: - BeenThereB4 - See “MAP Funding Bill” It’s not about what’s “right” to Rauner, it’s about choosing the right hostages that will also not hurt Bruce Rauner. Remember, the K-12 Approp last “budget” that the GOP GA opposed at the behest of Rauner, that Rauner signed whole… that was all about hostages, at the cost of GOP GA members and their records. This K-12 Approp idea is about controlling hostages. That’s all. - JS Mill - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 12:57 pm: The Governor’s budget is at least $11 Billion in the red because you have to add in all of the unpaid FY 16 bills that will be waiting in FY17. Big number - BeenThereB4 - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:03 pm: -OW I don’t disagree, but if the Democrats don’t send Rauner his K-12 appropriation, Rauner will blame them when schools don’t open. –If they make an offer like the one above and Rauner refuses, the blame will be all his. Voters will see him holding their children hostage for his extreme agenda, and his GOP legislators will have to choose between abandoning his TA or going down with it. –If they make an offer like the one above and he agrees, they will have details of what spending the governor does not support, which can also be used against him. The one thing we know for sure is that this governor cannot be trusted with carte-blanche power to make cuts. He would use that power in a surgically political way to gain more leverage over legislators. One need only look at his closing of the State Museum for proof of that. - Rasselas - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:11 pm: The hostage taker has merely changed the terms of the ransom. Nothing else. - Norseman - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:23 pm: BeenThereB4, Rauner would blame the Dems for a TP shortage. The Dems have a lot of strategic decisions to make. If they value the social service network and higher eduction, one of them should not be to give Rauner a clean education funding bill. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:28 pm: ===I don’t disagree, but if the Democrats don’t send Rauner his K-12 appropriation, Rauner will blame them when schools don’t open.=== Those protesters at the State of the State and Budget Address were there protesting Rauner, because Goveronors own. Governors own the bad… Givernors own all the good too, and I feel the SuperStars fail to see that getting wins help a governor more than demonizing your opponent. The governor is one. One. One branch, one person, huge upsides, huge downsides. Rauner can’t get a K-12 Approp out to sign, that’s a governor that count to 60 and 30 and can’t get it done when it matters. Rauner wants, requires, hostages. Ok, work, Governor Rauner, be a governor. You want K-12, show everyone you can manuver with that co-equal branch you cited to get it. Nope, it’s on a governor. Always has been. Rauner can’t change that. - Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:28 pm: “And his solutions are . . .” @ahem! Other than hearing generalities and the usual knee-jerk sneering towards my post by the usual suspects, can someone drill down into what Speaker Madigan’s solutions are without repeating HIS generalities? If there is going to finally be a budget dance between Rauner, Madigan and Cullerton, will the Speaker stop being the wallflower and join in? No one person in this State has the ability to dictate the terms of any budget, it takes collaboration and agreement. Each side waiting for the other side to capitulate, surrender, grovel or whatever their end goals are, has lead this to this sad state of affairs. So . . . “And his solutions are . . .”? - How Ironic - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:43 pm: @- Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:28 pm: “So . . . “And his solutions are . . .”?” Again, when the Gov fulfills his CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY and provides us and the legislature with a balanced budget…then we can ‘wonder’ what Madigan will do about it. Until then it’s a moot point. Tell your BFF Bruce to do his job. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:52 pm: Oh - Louis G Atsaves -, ever the victim, LOL ===…can someone drill down into what Speaker Madigan’s solutions are without repeating HIS generalities?=== Let’s start with a budget proposed by Rauner already, from Jump Street, $3.5 Billion, with a “B” out of whack. Can’t Rauner propose a budget? Is Rsuner really that inept? The Chicago Tribune Editorisl Board had to pretend numbers don’t matter in a budget to do what Rauner and Ferro demands and say Rauner has a great budget. Seriously, a newspaper known to drill into budgetary numbers for “Denocrat” budgets refused to do so for Bruce Rauner. That’s how uttery pathetic Rauner’s Budget scheme is… Just admit, “Hey, Rauner is inept, we all need to go around him”, just admit it, pointing to the Rauner $3.5 Billion “sham” budget, call out the Tribune, then you have some credibility. Being the ongoing victim you portray - Louis G Atsaves - is as disingenuous as Rauner’s current “phony, sham” budget. Admit the Rauner budget is a sham, Rauner is inept, then we can all can work around him. ” “Simple” - RNUG - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 2:23 pm: - Louis Capricious - That phrase refers to the payments FROM the pension funds, which Rauner has no control over anyway. It doesn’t protect the GRF payments INTO the pension funds, which is where every Governor ends up shorting the pensions. Rauner’s statements have to be read as carefully as listening to a Clinton testifying under oath. - Annonin' - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 3:36 pm: More power? Hardly Remember it was this group of $uper$tars who could not get an accurate list of fed funds account together last summer. - Chicago 20 - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 3:43 pm: - Louis Capricious “And his solutions are . . .” Gee what a conundrum. A Governor who refuses to do his job and instead lays out guidelines for those who dare to try. “A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.” Indeed. - tominchicago - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 3:44 pm: - Louis G. Atsaves - Thursday, Feb 18, 16 @ 1:28 pm: “And his solutions are . . .” The problem for Madigan is that Rauner begins every meeting with “What do you want after we gut the unions…” Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.