*** UPDATE *** You can read Cullerton’s speech as prepared for delivery by clicking here.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* Senate President John Cullerton is speaking to the City Club today. From his office…
Declaring “failure isn’t an option,” Illinois Senate President John Cullerton today will address the City Club of Chicago in an effort to rally public support for a sweeping balanced budget deal designed to end a devastating financial impasse that has dragged on for nearly two years.
“If we can pull this off, we’ll pay businesses on time, fully fund MAP scholarships, ensure state workers get paid and government doesn’t shutdown, assemble a complete budget for the first time in two years and put Illinois on the path to a balanced budget,” Cullerton is expected to say in the speech.
“We’ll also save billions on pension costs, give voters the power to reduce Illinois’ ‘most in the nation’ number of local governments and give schools relief from state mandates.
“It’s an intricate and delicate give-and-take designed to create a plan that can win bipartisan support among lawmakers and hopefully get the governor’s signature.”
The Senate President is scheduled to deliver his remarks at noon today.
* I’m told that this passage from one of my recent newspaper columns will be featured in his speech…
[Over the past two years], sexual assault victims were frozen out of counseling, homeless teens and domestic violence survivors were kicked to the curb, breast cancer screenings were eliminated, and large and formerly stable charities like Lutheran Social Services of Illinois as well as small and vulnerable service providers laid off thousands of staff members and discontinued programs.
–[Over the past two years], sexual assault victims were frozen out of counseling, homeless teens and domestic violence survivors were kicked to the curb, breast cancer screenings were eliminated, and large and formerly stable charities like Lutheran Social Services of Illinois as well as small and vulnerable service providers laid off thousands of staff members and discontinued programs.–
The failure of the Democratic Party to put faces and names to this disaster to move public opinion is sickening.
Rauner’s deliberate devastation of the social services infrastructure has been a beachball down Broadway, and the Dems never got their bats off their shoulders, much less took a cut.
The Illinois media as a whole sure hasn’t done their job, either.
But as we saw last week, some of them can’t even think of a question for the governor, even when he invites them to ask.
Does the Speaker agree that failure to pass a balanced budget with reforms is also not an option or is he still hoping for another “successful stop gap” budget like the previous 7 that have failed Illinois.
Has anyone investigated what would happen if Rauner line-item vetoed part of one of the bills, given the “one fails; they all fail” language in the bills?
“failure isn’t an option”. Oh, yes it is! It has been the option of choice for the past few years. I wish that stupid phrase was wiped clean from our vocabulary.
Word: Many human service providers are in bind when it comes to making public actions they have taken to address the fiscal mess.
On one hand, the would love to make make public the nasty choices they had to make. On the other hand, going public with it could backfire when it comes to contracts with the State.
And, many providers have, and continue to, lose staff due to the budget mess, going public with how bad it is does not help in retaining staff.
Term limits would permit a legislature to actually take tough votes like cutting spending a raising taxes which might make reelection more difficult. Instead of solving the state’s problems we lurch from one election to the next with a flurry of activity the last day of the session
Cullerton was great. He was brief and to the point. If you think the Cullerton-Radogno plan is awful, how awful will the deal that ultimately gets passed look? A LOT worse than this.
If organized labor and the Illinois Chamber both are lobbying against it, that tells me this is probably a good compromise.
Lucky, please present your quantitative evidence correlating legislatures with term limits and and legislators taking tough votes. I’ll be waiting a while since there is correlation, good try though.
Great speech. I’m a fan of truth with out playing blame and of real numbers. I’d also like to see a Rauner alternative approach to a balanced budget, and also a completely Democratic approach from the leader of the state party.
==Term limits would permit a legislature to actually take tough votes like cutting spending a raising taxes which might make reelection more difficult==
Only if the swing-vote legislators aren’t looking for a post-term job in the industry about to be gored.
I attended Pres. Cullerton’s City Club speech and it was well done. He basically challenged the Governor to present a detailed plan in his budget address so that (I’m paraphrasing here) the people of Illinois can compare the Gov’s plan with the Senate’s “grand bargain” to determine which kind of pain they prefer. And make no mistake, the pain is coming and the longer we wait to start addressing this nightmare the worse it will become.
- wordslinger - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:04 pm:
–[Over the past two years], sexual assault victims were frozen out of counseling, homeless teens and domestic violence survivors were kicked to the curb, breast cancer screenings were eliminated, and large and formerly stable charities like Lutheran Social Services of Illinois as well as small and vulnerable service providers laid off thousands of staff members and discontinued programs.–
The failure of the Democratic Party to put faces and names to this disaster to move public opinion is sickening.
Rauner’s deliberate devastation of the social services infrastructure has been a beachball down Broadway, and the Dems never got their bats off their shoulders, much less took a cut.
The Illinois media as a whole sure hasn’t done their job, either.
But as we saw last week, some of them can’t even think of a question for the governor, even when he invites them to ask.
- Generic Drone - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:07 pm:
Well from what I have read about it, that pension plan won’t get by the courts.
- Lucky Pierre - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:10 pm:
Does the Speaker agree that failure to pass a balanced budget with reforms is also not an option or is he still hoping for another “successful stop gap” budget like the previous 7 that have failed Illinois.
- MSIX - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:14 pm:
=We’ll also save billions on pension costs…=
What’s the budgeting equivalent of vaporware? Vapor-savings?
- LessAnon? - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:26 pm:
Has anyone investigated what would happen if Rauner line-item vetoed part of one of the bills, given the “one fails; they all fail” language in the bills?
- Anonymous - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:29 pm:
“failure isn’t an option”. Oh, yes it is! It has been the option of choice for the past few years. I wish that stupid phrase was wiped clean from our vocabulary.
- ExCMS - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:30 pm:
hi, Jay!
- Stark - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:33 pm:
Lucky, you do know the previous 7 budgets weren’t stopgaps, right?
- Give Me A Break - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:34 pm:
Word: Many human service providers are in bind when it comes to making public actions they have taken to address the fiscal mess.
On one hand, the would love to make make public the nasty choices they had to make. On the other hand, going public with it could backfire when it comes to contracts with the State.
And, many providers have, and continue to, lose staff due to the budget mess, going public with how bad it is does not help in retaining staff.
- Stark - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 12:34 pm:
Actually, I wouldn’t expect you too, considering you think term limits create economic growth. /s
- Anon - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:01 pm:
John Cullerton is the closest thing to a statesman that we have in Springfield.
- Lucky Pierre - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:04 pm:
Term limits would permit a legislature to actually take tough votes like cutting spending a raising taxes which might make reelection more difficult. Instead of solving the state’s problems we lurch from one election to the next with a flurry of activity the last day of the session
- Norseman - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:07 pm:
Nice shout out to Radogno for “initiating” the grand bargain discussion. Cullerton is a class act.
He made a good case for the grand bargain. For the sake of this state, we should all wish him and Radogno success.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:37 pm:
Cullerton was great. He was brief and to the point. If you think the Cullerton-Radogno plan is awful, how awful will the deal that ultimately gets passed look? A LOT worse than this.
If organized labor and the Illinois Chamber both are lobbying against it, that tells me this is probably a good compromise.
- Stark - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 1:55 pm:
Lucky, please present your quantitative evidence correlating legislatures with term limits and and legislators taking tough votes. I’ll be waiting a while since there is correlation, good try though.
- Demoralized - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 2:03 pm:
==Term limits==
We already have them. They are called elections.
- Earnest - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 2:27 pm:
Great speech. I’m a fan of truth with out playing blame and of real numbers. I’d also like to see a Rauner alternative approach to a balanced budget, and also a completely Democratic approach from the leader of the state party.
Kudos as well to Leader Radogno.
- DuPage Bard - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 2:58 pm:
When’s Rauner’s speech to the City Club going to happen.
- Arsenal - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 3:11 pm:
==Term limits would permit a legislature to actually take tough votes like cutting spending a raising taxes which might make reelection more difficult==
Only if the swing-vote legislators aren’t looking for a post-term job in the industry about to be gored.
- chitowndrummer - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 3:50 pm:
I attended Pres. Cullerton’s City Club speech and it was well done. He basically challenged the Governor to present a detailed plan in his budget address so that (I’m paraphrasing here) the people of Illinois can compare the Gov’s plan with the Senate’s “grand bargain” to determine which kind of pain they prefer. And make no mistake, the pain is coming and the longer we wait to start addressing this nightmare the worse it will become.
- Norseman - Monday, Feb 6, 17 @ 4:06 pm:
=== He basically challenged the Governor to present a detailed plan in his budget address ===
Yes he did! And he said it with a straight face knowing that Rauner is going to chicken out again by presenting a phony budget.