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Budget battle lines beginning to form

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* The budget battle is starting to shape up, and it has multiple fronts…

Governor Pat Quinn says any budget plans being floated by lawmakers must include sufficient funding for education.

Quinn’s comments come Thursday in Mokena after the Democratic and Republican leaders in the Illinois House drew up a budget outline that would cut state education funding by $200 million. Another $400 million in federal funds could also disappear. Quinn wants to see cash increases to education, not cuts.

“We want to have a budget that invests in education,” Quinn said. “We aren’t going to have good jobs unless we have smart, well trained workers. So I’m not going to be making radical, severe cuts in our schools. That is very, very the wrong way to go.”

* The Senate Democrats are not enamored with education cuts, either. They had this to say in response to a much larger proposed cut by the Senate Republicans, but it might very well apply to the House as well…

(I)n a letter penned by State Sens. Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Dan Kotowski (D-Highland Park) that responds to the Senate GOP’s budget-slashing plan, the senators write that, “Reductions that add to the disparity of per pupil spending among school districts in our State will likely gain little support within our caucus.”

* Speaker Madigan more than hinted that the House is going its own way…

After two years of giving Gov. Pat Quinn a lump sum budget and allowing him to make most budgeting decisions, the House and Senate appear to be gearing up to take a more active role in piecing together a spending plan for the coming year. […]

“I think you’re going to see a member-driven budget-making,” Madigan said. “We’ve already started among the Democrats, and I presume that the Republicans will do the same thing where a large, large share of the budget-making decisions will be made by the members.”

And…

Asked if Quinn is involved in the budget process, Madigan replied: “Well, he’s proposed a budget.”

Madigan video…

* Background…

The numbers are the House’s estimate of the amount of tax revenue that will come into the state during the next budget year. The House approved a resolution establishing that number at $33.2 billion.

That is far less than the $34.3 billion the Senate officially set as its estimate for revenues for the budget year that starts July 1. Quinn’s own revenue figure is about $600 million higher than the House’s, but his budget plan is nearly $2 billion above the House revenue estimates.

Cross and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, have vowed that the House will produce a budget based on its revenue estimates and not the higher numbers used by the Senate and governor. That will mean significant cuts to some programs. Under the House outline, education would be cut $200 million. Quinn’s budget plan called for education spending to increase.

* Meanwhile, Speaker Madigan all but said the other day that the governor’s school consolidation plan was dead in the water, and now the state schools superintendent is casting doubt on its viability…

Some of Illinois’ 868 school districts may come together before the start of the next school year. But it will not be because state school leaders have ordered them to consolidate.

Illinois State Superintendent Chris Koch said Thursday that Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to force school consolidation is all but dead.

“I doubt there is going to be anything that comes out this year that gives that kind of direction, that says you have to consolidate,” Koch said.

* And then there’s this…

A Board of Education report compiled last fall cautions that cutting jobs could be difficult if new merged districts are too large. It also noted that a state panel in 2002 said high schools should have enrollments of at least 250 and elementary districts at least 625 students. Using that guideline would mean eliminating 359 districts, not the 568 that Quinn has suggested.

The report found no clear correlation between district size and student performance. Small districts did better than large ones by some measures and did worse by others.

* Related…

* Kotowski, Democrats respond to Senate GOP budget cuts

* Senate votes to eliminate treasurer and comptroller offices: The Illinois Senate voted unanimously Thursday to eliminate the offices of state treasurer and comptroller in favor of a single constitutional office - comptroller of the treasury. Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said “there was a lot of debate in the constitutional convention about having the two constitutional offices.” “This is an idea that’s been around time after time after time,” Brown said. “We’ll take a look at it and go forward.”

* Video: Dan Rutherford on merger

* Video: Pam Roth on school consolidation

* State audit slams former regional education office

* GOP dials up bad savings idea

* Senate OKs automatic property tax exemption for seniors - Bill ending the need to refile for property tax break goes to House

* Local congressmen urge Quinn to reform pensions

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 4:44 am

Comments

It is about time that the members of the legislature took the power back in developing the budget. Ceding all the power to a very few people at the top certainly hasn’t produced fiscal responsibility or any kind of sense of open government.

Comment by Aldyth Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 7:23 am
That $33.2 billion estimate is going to drive the process, it seems, and will make for some tough choices.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 7:36 am
===Ceding all the power to a very few people at the top certainly hasn’t produced fiscal responsibility or any kind of sense of open government.===

Please, the rank and file GA members have been hiding behind the leadership for years. On top of that, most of the aforementioned lemmings have little to no knowledge of the budgetary needs or misappropriations of the state.

Comment by Obamarama Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 8:03 am
How about we revamp the legislatures retirement plan and pay scale as well. They have the best gig going…Do eight years and recieve full benefits and how much do they make for their “part” time job, which it appears they cannot get right. Thats why the states in the mess that it’s in. Cuts need to start at the top and when Reps and Senators want to cut jobs, pay, benefits etc. They need to lead by example..I’m just saying

Comment by dumb ol' country boy Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 8:50 am
Actually, the higher amount may well be more accurate considering that nationally, state and local revenues are improving. This is partly due to the economic recovery, however sluggish, and partly due to tax increases implemented during the recession.

Here in Illinois, the huge increase in the personal and corporate income tax, in addition to our improving economic fortunes, make it reasonable to be optimistic.

So why is Governor Pat so intent on borrowing 9 billion dollars, including some unspecified amount for operational expenses? Or is he? Who knows. I predict another string of waffles on this issue.

The best thing the state legislators could do is dedicate all revenues over the low estimate, and preferably more and including some real cuts, to paying off the state’s enormous deficit. But why would we expect them to do that? No doubt the alternative-a spending binge–will be all too tempting, whatever the current rhetoric. And, having peacefully accepted hge tax increases and voted in Governor Pat, we voters can hardly
say those legislators are ignoring their constituents.

Comment by cassandra Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 9:42 am
I don’t know Congressmen Manzullo and Walsh, but I would suggest to them there is plenty enough amiss in Washington to command there attention, and they are now in charge of the US House. Perhaps once they get that straightened out they will have time to offer suggestions on state level problems.

Comment by steve schnorf Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 11:47 am
At this time we have to wonder why the Governor keeps up his mantra on k-12 education funding. Education including higher ed form 35.5% of General funds expenditures in Illinois. In order to protect k-12 funding the Governor cut higher education and human service more dramatically than more balanced reductions would have required. It clearly makes sense to use the lower revenue estimates, given what happened last year.
K-12 education funding cannot be above review or reduction, it was not during the Great Depression and ultimately it will not be in the current downturn.

People couldn’t pay their property taxes during the Great Depression so school districts were lacking funds. Few teachers were hired and there wasn’t enough money to buy books and supplies. Students were forced to bring their own supplies to school. Since many parents couldn’t afford to buy these supplies, students dropped out.

Schools were forced to drop classes like home economics, physical education, art, and foreign languages. Just the basic courses of reading, writing, and arithmetic were taught.
By 1933 many public schools closed, leaving three million students with no school to go to.
Teachers were paid a flat fee regardless of experience or education. Many rural schoolteachers only had a high school diploma and were sixteen years old when they began teaching. Many teachers during this time had their salaries cut or were paid in script. Some teachers received only room and board as compensation. Rural schoolteachers would live in the schoolhouse and cooked their food on a wood stove.

Ultimately Illinois will have to directly cut funding to schools instead of delaying payments and pretending we are flat funding education. Just like the Great Depression eventually government funds will come back, but for now the kids will have to do with less. Hopefully not as little as during the Great Depression.

Comment by Rod Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 2:18 pm
“Using that guideline would mean eliminating 359 districts, not the 568 that Quinn has suggested.”

Always have had a problem with single-school-districts NEEDING a Superintendent.

Let’s assume a 359 reduction.

That translates to about $54 million less tax payer dollars spent on Supers alone, at $150K each.

The pie is getting smaller; we ALL need to find ways to take smaller pieces of it.

Comment by sal-says Friday, Apr 1, 11 @ 3:34 pm