Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

Did Quinn jump the gun?

Posted in:

Illinois

* If school districts were hoping that the new federal aid to states bill would help alleviate the governor’s truly gigantic 42 percent cut to school transportation, they should think again. From the summary…

The amendment includes provisions to ensure that States use these funds for the preservation of jobs serving elementary and secondary education. Amounts from the Education Jobs Fund may not be used for purposes such as equipment, utilities, renovation, or transportation. S.A. 4575 prohibits States from using any of these funds to add to “Rainy-Day Funds” or to pay off State debt. [Emphasis added.]

Had Gov. Pat Quinn waited just a few days to announce his cuts, or if had used the Senate proposal as a guidepost for cutting elsewhere, he may have been able to move money around so at least some of those transportation cuts could’ve been avoided. It may be too late now. We’ll see.

* Related and a roundup…

* Congressional Record - SA475 part one

* Congressional Record - SA475 part two

* Ill. leaders applaud Senate vote on state funds

* State Announces $7.5 Million in Stimulus Funding to Build Affordable Homes in Central Illinois

* Transportation cuts bad news for B-N schools

* State funding remains uncertain for central Illinois schools

* Anti-violence programs for kids are running out of ammo

* Illinois to get $5.4M for health care training

* Rail improvement crews expected to reach Springfield by October

* Another View: Keep records open to public

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 11:37 am

Comments

It appears that the Governor’s team did not check with their counterparts on the staff of the U.S. Senate’s Assistant Majority Leader (a.k.s Dick Durbin) as to the likelihood or timing of the aid.

Comment by GoldCoastConservative Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 12:26 pm
The state budget office has turned into a rolling train wreck under Vaught with an assist from the bumbling Quinn.

This is the gang that can’t add straight.

Comment by Truth monger Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 12:30 pm
The $26B bailout was nothing more than a sop to the unions. Wonder if the timing of Congressional largesse had anything to do with the upcoming November elections…

Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 12:31 pm
My hunch is they can make a shift with GRF and put the money back in transportation without officially using the new fed money for that line item. Yes, they had bad/stupid timing, but they can probably fix it. Of course, it will look like another flip-flop.

Cincy-

*The $26B bailout was nothing more than a sop to the unions.*

Unions are made up of regular, everyday people that had the good sense to organize to protect themselves. You use “unions” like it is a dirty word. My father worked for long, hard hours for decades, but got a decent wage because he was part of a union. Rise above the that rhetoric, will you?

Comment by Montrose Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 12:44 pm
Sheesh, first everyone calls Quinn a fool for believing this money would be available. Then, when it actually becomes available, he’s called incompetent for not knowing exactly how it could be spent. What short memories you folks have.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 12:49 pm
montrose,

I am a long-time believer in unions. I just don’t think there should be requirements for “fair wage” contracting by government (which basically drives all government contracting to union shops), nor should there be any public sector unions because of the built-in conflict of interests those members have with the government.

Employees should be free to organize or not in the private sector (no CardCheck though), and the free market can decide who succeeds or fails.

Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 1:23 pm
==The $26B bailout was nothing more than a sop to the unions. Wonder if the timing of Congressional largesse had anything to do with the upcoming November elections… ==

Huh. Even if one is to accept your hackneyed partisan premise (and I don’t), these are jobs that are being saved. You know, the kind of jobs that pay salaries. Salaries that are used to buy goods and services. That’s a good thing, eh?

Surely better than any policy prescription you’ve ever offered. What a hack.

Comment by The Doc Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 1:26 pm
What’s up Doc?

The funding runs out in six months. Then what? All this funding is is a feeble attempt for Democrats to shore up their union base, and to allow irresponsible state and local governments to hid their fiscal mismanagement. It does nothing to solve any problems, just glance up this page to see what I mean.

You may call me a hack, but that comment just shows your childish, small minded, elitist attitude toward any person, issue or statement that doesn’t fit nicely into you limited worldview. Your comments show a lot more about you that is does me.

Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 1:41 pm
- All this funding is is a feeble attempt for Democrats to shore up their union base, and to allow irresponsible state and local governments to hid their fiscal mismanagement. -

And so is every other thing Democrats do according to you. You were clamoring for more money going back to local governments a week or two ago, remeber? The closer the money is to the people the better as I recall? Now its a big con by the Democrats? But keep regurgitating Limbaugh and others, only liberals contradict themselves.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 1:51 pm
I have a great deal of trouble understanding why the Democrats persist in allocating money for building “affordable housing” when the country is awash in forceclosures, short sales and folks who need to move but are underwater on their homes.

If we have to provide “affordable housing” for some segments of the population with taxpayer monies, why not use it to rent or buy existing housing and support the tenants who will living in those buildings (hopefully, after a screening process). Why add to the supply of housing when
so much housing is vacant?

Comment by cassandra Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 2:02 pm
STL,

“The closer the money is to the people the better as I recall?”

Yup, I said that and it is true. The money should be raised and controlled by the government body as close to the service as possible. How do you think the fiscally responsible citizens in Indian feel about their tax dollars going to the irresponsible politicians in Illinois?

Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 2:12 pm
- How do you think the fiscally responsible citizens in Indian feel about their tax dollars going to the irresponsible politicians in Illinois? -

Do Illinois citizens not pay federal income taxes or something?

Comment by Small Town Liberal Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 2:16 pm
Since the budget was supposed to be done in May, I dont think Quinn jumped the gun; more that he is juggling the surface of the sun hot potato the GA tossed to him so they could leave and go home, job undone.

Comment by Ghost Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 2:28 pm
If schools don’t offer bus service to nearby students (a mile or two is not an uncommon walk to school for the majority of people in this world), then parents can drive, pay for the service, or fundraise to support the service.

Of course, a little exercise most days wouldn’t hurt our kid’s growing waistlines.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 3:53 pm
STL,

Since Illinois is a “donor” state, I could live with receiving all of the Federal taxes paid being returned to the state. I could also live with taking away money from the states receiving more Federal aid than they pay in taxes.

However, this situation is different that the current bailout, which is completely funded by borrowed funds, covering holes in a mismanaged budget. Additionally, as I’ve already pointed out, this borrowed money is not being used to perform any repairs of systemic problems, it is nothing more than a band aid, cynically whipped up right before an election (why didn’t they do it 4 months ago), and almost totally earmarked to union employees.

You’re okay with that?

BTW, for anyone who cares about such things, and assuming Federal Tax collection estimates are correct (growth is currently slower than the projections used on Federal revenues) since Tuesday this week, every Federal dollar spent is borrowed.

Every. Single. Dollar.

Nobody should lecture anyone about all of this current spending on “the children.” Look what we’re doing to their futures. Nobody seems to care a whit about that.

Comment by Cincinnatus Friday, Aug 6, 10 @ 4:38 pm