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* Huntley: The Civic Committee got it right and got it wrong. What this public-spirited committee of the Commercial Club got right was its report laying out in excruciating detail the looming fiscal tsunami facing the state. What it got wrong was holding off on releasing this comprehensive report until after the election, thereby denying the voters the right to have a say on how to solve the problem.

* Sneed: Gov. Blagojevich’s office is deactivating the ID cards of nearly 50 administration employees and campaign workers.

* Tribune: The decision to replace Arlington Park’s dirt track with a synthetic surface was made not only to minimize injuries to horses but also to attract new fans, particularly families with children, racetrack officials said Thursday.

* Hastert prepares to rejoin rank and file

* Sides regrouping on immigration

* Boycott planned in Carpentersville - Group wants people to avoid businesses to protest anti-illegal immigration idea

* Deputy governor will head back to N.Y. - Key Blagojevich aide among several to exit

* Newspaper battle turns nasty: Accusations fly as newspaper ends short run

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 8:21 am

Comments

I commend Huntley for his courage — not many folks have the guts to critique the Commercial Club — but I can’t agree with him.

It has been no secret that Illinois is in dire straits. In fact, Steve Huntley’s editorial board knew that full when when they endorsed Gov. Blagojevich for re-election, acknowledging as much in their editorial:

“But Blagojevich’s leadership style has been to forge ahead and deal with the consequences later. That has led to complaints from some Democrats that, instead of cleaning up a mess left behind by 25 years of Republican leadership and a scandal that is sending former Gov. George Ryan to prison, Blagojevich has resorted to budget wizardry that is not what it seems and will leave the state deep in debt.

According to Blagojevich, the state was staring at an estimated $5 billion budget deficit and facing the prospect of making drastic cuts in education and health care when he took over four years ago. He has dramatically reduced that deficit, although even Democratic Comptroller Dan Hynes suggests the state’s financial portrait is less rosy than the one Blagojevich painted.

Blagojevich has vowed not to raise taxes, and, given the state’s needs, we think the no-tax pledge was a mistake. The governor will be hard-pressed to keep that pledge because he has promised to provide universal health care and generate an additional $10 billion for schools. One major concern is that Blagojevich is merely deferring the taxpayers’ pain.”

Now, if the Sun-Times editorial board knew all of this, but decided to “vote” for Blagojevich anyway, what makes them think that voters would’ve acted any differently?

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 8:35 am
So, at the end of the day, what Tusk accomplished was open road tolling? That’s underwhelming.
His public relations buzz was much more impressive than he was.

Mayor Bloomberg is said to be considering a run for the presidency. Maybe Tusk, in addition to making some money, wants to be nearby if that should happen.

Comment by Cassandra Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 8:43 am
Tusk will be missed. Every cabinet meeting, when folks who stuck around for a second term are wondering who the heck got the state into this financial mess, Tusk will be missed.

BTW, when exactly does the Governor’s cabinet meet? You never hear about that.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 8:54 am
Yellow Dog Republican,
You probably don’t hear about it because it is none of your business. Now get to work. The speaker’s office needs cleaning and don’t forget to wash his car.

Comment by Bill Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 8:59 am
Actually, the Civic Committee got it more wrong than right. I told you I would look at it last night, and I did. What I saw was a lot of exaggeration and a lot of make believe. I feel I just have to call “bullsh**.”

I am not trying to defend the administration of the current governor, or ryan’s administration or edgar’s administration or thompson’s administration - all who led to parts of this problem. I need to call bullsh** on people who just tried to launch a movement to raise my taxes.

1) Pensions - The report claims $46 billion. Fine. This is legitimate and valid debt. We pay interest on it. We “owe” it. This is the only valid thing in the report. If the number is right.

2) Retiree Health Care - They claim the debt here is $48 billion. Except, it isn’t really a debt, since we pay for retiree health care every year (no trust fund like the pensions). Rather, the $48 billion is just the cumulative amount of the increase of the cost over what we currently spend. I.E. They assume that if we only spend what we do now for the next X years, that we will accumulate $48 billion in debt.

Well duh! But, how is that different from every other expenditure that will grow over time? This is a completely bullsh** number.I suspect they added it to give their report more OOOOMPH.

3) Medicaid debt - They claim the state has medicaid debt of $2 billion because will have a backlog of $1.7 billion at the end of the year. Well, yes - it grows towards the end of every year. They say this Medicaid debt is “growing”. No really. It just so happens that the state has historically had more bills on hand at the end of every fiscal year than it did at the beginning. The state uses the new money at the beginning of the fiscal year to pay down the bills on hand. And then it grows up again.

This is a cycle - it isn’t growing. So, yes, the state right now owes $1 billion in unpaid medicaid bills, but that isn’t debt since it is budgeted for. That number could never be ZERO, because bills could never be paid instantaneously. There will always be bill processing time.

Conclusion
My conclusion? Let’s look at our real “debt” - the pension debt. Let’s figure out how to pay down the $40+ billion in pension debt. We can’t ignore it.

The rest? Bullsh**. The $48 billion “debt” on retiree health benefits is completely imaginary. That is a pay-as-you-go item. Just like your food or rent. Just because the cost of food or rent will increase every year, doesn’t mean that you are in “debt” for the cumulative amount of those annual increases over what you pay now for food and rent. As for the medicaid? It isn’t debt if it is budgeted for.

Let’s take what they say in this report seriously, and analyze it fully. For these are people that want to raise our taxes. And before we hop on that band wagon, we have to be absolutely sure what road we need to travel down. I looked, and that road was full of bullsh**. Pretty messy.

Comment by JohnR Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 9:02 am
JohnR,
Thanks for your analysis! The truth will set us free.

Comment by Bill Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 9:05 am
There is nothing ominous in former state employees (regular or contract) in finally having their building access/ID cancelled. And it’s not the Gov’s office (or that of any other statewide officer) that does it. It’s Central Management Services, which runs state properties. Not that they do it in the most timely manner … but. This is another of Sneed’s halfbaked “inside scoop Sneedlings” space fillers. It’s a shame the Sun-Times doesn’t have copy editors and fact checkers to keep an eye on the likes of her.

Comment by jaundiced eye Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 1:34 pm
JohnR: Your analysis of the health care costs is off-base. The future health care benefits for retired and current employees is as real a debt as the pension debt. Your analogy of buying food and paying rent not being a debt just because the cost goes up each year isn’t comparable. The correct analogy would be if you entered into a contract with me where you promised to pay my rent and buy my food every year for the next 40 years. I think you would agree that would be a debt. That’s the deal with the pensions and health care benefits. State employees “earn” those benefits while they work for the state. So they are an obligation of the state even though they are going to be paid out in the future. The health care benefits are just as real as the pension benefits, and the debt is just as real as well. States haven’t had to report the health care post-employment benefit liability in the past, and that’s why it hasn’t received the same attention that the unfunded pension liability receives.

Comment by blueinaredstate Friday, Dec 8, 06 @ 3:09 pm
So Lon and Brad bailed, huh. I guess with subpoenas flying fast and furious (and this is just the beginning) they thought better of staying around through a second term. Better to get that plum job elsewhere before you may be called to testify and permanently ruin your reputation as a top administrator for the Governor of Illinois. It’s easier to find a job if you have a job, after all.

Grapevine also is saying that there will be many more people forced to leave the administration after the inauguration. Gotta make a place for all the second term campaign workers, I guess.

Comment by Disgusted Saturday, Dec 9, 06 @ 5:22 am