Comptroller Susana Mendoza explains what’s at stake if there is no budget passed by midnight Friday (as well as where we are and how we got here) in a new video that for Illinois, is going viral. As of last evening it had 1.4 million views and more than 32,000 shares on Facebook.
“Derailment is imminent,” Mendoza warns. “This is not a false alarm.” Unless there is a budget, she says: “Illinoisans must brace for maximum impact.” In the video, Mendoza urges the public to call state legislators and the governor and tell them to pass a budget.
After a caucus meeting on Wednesday, a number of other House Democrats have started floating the notion in private conversations they could live with passing a budget deal before the first checks of the next fiscal year are scheduled to come out on July 15th.
Comptroller Susana Mendoza, a former House Democrat herself, strongly advised against this reckless strategy.
“People need to act like adults,” Mendoza said. “Anyone who thinks that June 30 at midnight is not a real deadline is just insane. Because guess who does think that’s a real deadline? All of the credit rating agencies who are watching. They don’t believe July 15 is a credit deadline.”
Lindsay Perez, a suburban Chicago mother, and her 9-year-old daughter Elena, who survives on a Medicaid-funded ventilator, described for reporters on Thursday the horrific situation of losing some of her medical supplies because of the budget crisis.
The girl, who was born without a lung, urged politicians to pass a budget.
“If you could try hard enough, you could do it,” she said.
Franklin- and that matters why. The president has 2.5 million twitter followers and we know how well his agenda is doing. No matter what the sun will rise on Saturday
- Franklin Delano Bluth - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:19 am:
@ Sue
I’m just saying clearly her message resonated in a way that politicians on neither side have experienced. Also, major difference between a 6 min video that thoroughly explains the fiscal situation of the state and Trump’s 140 character personal attacks — surely you can see this, right?
In my opinion Mendoza was the key to resolving this a year ago. The constitution says we must have a balanced budget and since we have not for years. She should have refused to issue a check until the until the legislature and governor did their job. Yes, she probably would be in jail for contempt, but she could have ended this if there was true desire to be a part of the solution.
The reality is she was put in place by Madigan to protect his agenda and do what he says. Now Madigan has given her the order to fall on her sword and she is clawing for another option.
With all the analytics of how we got here, the passing of JBT is an often overlooked, but a major component because she had the will, moxy, and base to force both sides to listen.
Yeah, sure, its Mendoza’s fault. JBT woulda done the right, thing, but now….Mendoza (cause Madigan). Give me a break. BTW, there was another Comptroller that filled in for a bit right? This rhetoric is simply amazing.
“she was put in place by Madigan”. Really? The voters had nothing to do with her getting that office? Huh. That Madigan guy must individually control several million people or maybe just the voting boxes. It does not matter how Mendoza voted a year ago. She has this job and the math is what it is. If the cash is not there, how is she or anyone supposed to write checks that actually cash?
“Sorry, mother of sick child but the insurance carrier that the State of Illinois has chosen for you is not paying their bills and has no plan to pay their bills. Go to the ER and take a number.”
It would be nice if it was absolutely legal for the Il Supreme Court to be find every single person in the Executive and Legislative branches of government in violation of the Il. constitution by failure to perform the duties of their office and immediately be sent to Tamms until which time a signed balanced budget was presented to and approved by that court.
I saw the Mendoza post on Politico much earlier this morning, but Elena made the strongest case for a budget. Has everyone forgotten about the young girl from Sandoval who was having her breathing machine repossessed because the State was almost 2 years behind in paying its vendor?
If you take Rauner at his word, this GRF disaster is a tool to leverage some “economic” agenda, however incoherent and reactionary.
Personally, I think that’s spin, and the objective has always been to destroy as much of “collectivist” government functions as he could within the restraints of court orders and Democratic majorities.
Either way, it has been intentional.
And that’s just nuts.
- Former Merit Comp - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 11:38 am:
This video has been burning up Facebook the last couple days. Even hard core republicans are applauding it in comments
I’m not shocked by the number of views. It was shared by several of my friends on Facebook who normally have no interest in government and politics. It struck a chord with people. This was well done on her part.
Yes, it is an incredibly dumb idea. But no more than paying bills without a Constitutionally balanced budget which made the problem worse each day. I am not inferring she created the problem, but that the Comptroller does have a pivotal position.
Based on the conciseness, clarity, and sincerity, I would vote for her over any of the current Governor candidates including Rauner.
- Franklin Delano Bluth - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:06 am:
Rauner has never had over 150k views on a video for context.
Even if the 1.8 million number is wildly off it dwarfs anything we’ve seen on either side of the aisle.
- Sue - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:10 am:
Franklin- and that matters why. The president has 2.5 million twitter followers and we know how well his agenda is doing. No matter what the sun will rise on Saturday
- Linus - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:10 am:
Tweet from McKinney this morning:
“W/o a budget, State Bd of Elections, hacked by the Russians, could lose antivirus protection b/c of $9k unpaid bill.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-illinois-budget-consequences-idUSKBN19L1N0
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:11 am:
Linus, that’s an old story.
- Linus - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:13 am:
Yet it freaked me out anew! Thanks, Rich -
- Franklin Delano Bluth - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:19 am:
@ Sue
I’m just saying clearly her message resonated in a way that politicians on neither side have experienced. Also, major difference between a 6 min video that thoroughly explains the fiscal situation of the state and Trump’s 140 character personal attacks — surely you can see this, right?
- the Patriot - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:27 am:
In my opinion Mendoza was the key to resolving this a year ago. The constitution says we must have a balanced budget and since we have not for years. She should have refused to issue a check until the until the legislature and governor did their job. Yes, she probably would be in jail for contempt, but she could have ended this if there was true desire to be a part of the solution.
The reality is she was put in place by Madigan to protect his agenda and do what he says. Now Madigan has given her the order to fall on her sword and she is clawing for another option.
With all the analytics of how we got here, the passing of JBT is an often overlooked, but a major component because she had the will, moxy, and base to force both sides to listen.
- @MisterJayEm - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:29 am:
“No matter what the sun will rise on Saturday”
The sun also rose over the Second Battle of Ypres.
That is an insufficiently high bar for a civilization.
– MrJM
- Robert the 1st - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:36 am:
Reading the top comments on the YouTube version, I’d guess some Alt-Right website linked it.
- S-Town - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:37 am:
Yeah, sure, its Mendoza’s fault. JBT woulda done the right, thing, but now….Mendoza (cause Madigan). Give me a break. BTW, there was another Comptroller that filled in for a bit right? This rhetoric is simply amazing.
- OBV - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:39 am:
@ Patriot - Mendoza only took office in December…
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:39 am:
===She should have refused to issue a check===
What a dumb idea. She has a constitutional obligation.
- zatoichi - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:41 am:
“she was put in place by Madigan”. Really? The voters had nothing to do with her getting that office? Huh. That Madigan guy must individually control several million people or maybe just the voting boxes. It does not matter how Mendoza voted a year ago. She has this job and the math is what it is. If the cash is not there, how is she or anyone supposed to write checks that actually cash?
- BIG R. Ph. - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:42 am:
“Sorry, mother of sick child but the insurance carrier that the State of Illinois has chosen for you is not paying their bills and has no plan to pay their bills. Go to the ER and take a number.”
This is what happens beginning Saturday.
- Chicago Cynic - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:43 am:
Well we can’t say we weren’t warned.
- Colin O'Scopey - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:56 am:
To paraphrase Paul Krugman from the NY Times: “We’re Greece, Greece I tell you!”
- Union thug - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 10:58 am:
And the governor sits at his desk waiting for others to do his work
- cc - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 11:07 am:
It would be nice if it was absolutely legal for the Il Supreme Court to be find every single person in the Executive and Legislative branches of government in violation of the Il. constitution by failure to perform the duties of their office and immediately be sent to Tamms until which time a signed balanced budget was presented to and approved by that court.
- illini - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 11:11 am:
I saw the Mendoza post on Politico much earlier this morning, but Elena made the strongest case for a budget. Has everyone forgotten about the young girl from Sandoval who was having her breathing machine repossessed because the State was almost 2 years behind in paying its vendor?
- wordslinger - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 11:35 am:
If you take Rauner at his word, this GRF disaster is a tool to leverage some “economic” agenda, however incoherent and reactionary.
Personally, I think that’s spin, and the objective has always been to destroy as much of “collectivist” government functions as he could within the restraints of court orders and Democratic majorities.
Either way, it has been intentional.
And that’s just nuts.
- Former Merit Comp - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 11:38 am:
This video has been burning up Facebook the last couple days. Even hard core republicans are applauding it in comments
- Old Shepherd - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 1:03 pm:
I’m not shocked by the number of views. It was shared by several of my friends on Facebook who normally have no interest in government and politics. It struck a chord with people. This was well done on her part.
- the Patriot - Friday, Jun 30, 17 @ 1:12 pm:
Yes, it is an incredibly dumb idea. But no more than paying bills without a Constitutionally balanced budget which made the problem worse each day. I am not inferring she created the problem, but that the Comptroller does have a pivotal position.
Based on the conciseness, clarity, and sincerity, I would vote for her over any of the current Governor candidates including Rauner.