* Lance Trover…
“President Cullerton made clear today that his view of a balanced budget is a budget that makes no spending reforms, no pension reform and only raises taxes. Rather than moving our state backward to the failed tax-and-spend policies of the past, we urge President Cullerton to work with us to pass meaningful structural reforms to change the fiscal trajectory of our state.”
This was sent out before Cullerton even finished speaking to reporters, by the way.
And Cullerton did say that he would work with the governor on structural reforms. What he suggested was that the governor finally introduce a balanced budget so they could get moving. Perhaps disingenuous, I agree, but this statement was truly unhelpful.
…Adding… “We’re not calling for a tax increase,” Cullerton said when told that the governor had sent out a statement while he was talking with the media, adding that he simply wanted the governor to send them a balanced budget. He repeated that he wants to work with the governor on the property tax freeze, workers’ comp, etc.
…Adding More… Cullerton said Rauner was “totally unaware” of the workers’ comp bills that had been passed. He also claimed the governor didn’t know about the report released by his own workers’ comp commission which showed progress was being made on costs.
…Adding Still More… From yesterday…
Weeks into the budget impasse, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Tuesday said the whole mess would be solved if not for one powerful man: Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
At a Springfield press conference, the governor said the budget would have been done by now if he were working solely with Senate President John Cullerton and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
“We would have this done,” Rauner said, adding: “The speaker doesn’t want to deal with it right now.”
So, either the governor was flat wrong yesterday about Cullerton, or he went out of his way today to sabotage whatever relationship he had with Cullerton.
…Adding Still Still More… Cullerton’s spokesperson Rikeesha Phelon reacts to Gov. Rauner’s apparent flip-flop from yesterday…
Oh. Now I’m sad. I thought we were friends. Bummer.
In my mind, this was a big mistake by Rauner because it totally undercuts a message he’s been trying to build for weeks. We’ll see if the Chicago media can actually comprehend this.
…And Adding Even More… Cullerton’s full remarks…
* Press release…
Senate President John J. Cullerton today called on Gov. Bruce Rauner to reset the budget process by submitting a new balanced budget plan that can end the state’s immediate fiscal crisis.
Three weeks into the new fiscal year, neither the governor’s original plan nor the budget passed by the General Assembly is law. Cullerton called on the governor and members of his party to acknowledge that both plans are dead and that it’s time to reset and move toward a real resolution.
“The budget process traditionally starts with the governor submitting a balanced plan that allows the legislature to review and respond appropriately – something that Governor Rauner never did,” President Cullerton said. “He now has an opportunity to restart negotiations by submitting a new plan to the General Assembly. That balanced plan should reflect the budgetary lessons we’ve learned the past few months.”
Rauner’s budget balancing task may be simpler this time around given the fact that $23.5 billion of state spending is already in motion. That leaves $15 billion in anticipated costs left to budget. That responsibility, however, is balanced against revenue projections that give the governor only $10 billion to spend.
President Cullerton encouraged the governor to focus on priorities outlined by credit rating agencies rather than a corporate class agenda that doesn’t address the current budget crisis and hurts the middle class. Credit rating agencies have made it clear that we must address our structural deficit, pass constitutional pension reform and lower the backlog of bills to change Illinois’ status as the state with the lowest credit ratings in the country.
“The governor has spent all of his time in office prioritizing an agenda that will satisfy the corporate class. While some of those ideas are worthy of debate, he has been unable to provide one shred of evidence that his agenda adds one cent to the ledger for our budget crisis in the short term or elevates our credit rankings in the long term,” Cullerton said.
President Cullerton remains hopeful that the governor will accept this challenge and that a budget resolution can be reached before Aug. 4, when the Senate is scheduled to return to Springfield.
