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Let’s do something right, for a change

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Illinois

Sometimes it seems like everything our state government tries to do turns out wrong.

It created and expanded a pension system for public employees that it has almost never properly funded. It raised income taxes and was finally getting its fiscal house in some semblance of order only to let much of that tax hike expire. The government plunged into an 18-month budgetary stalemate with no end in sight. It dawdled so long on creating fracking regulations that it missed the oil boom experienced by other states.

I could go on forever, but I’m sure you have your own examples.

But here’s one of my current pet peeves:

Go read the rest before commenting, please. Thanks.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:02 am

Comments

Under Gov. Quinn, our backlog of overdue bills was decreasing, our state started to turn the tide on our debt, and Dan Rutherford was right when he said we’d have an $8 billion hole in our budget if the tax increase went away. We don’t make enough to operate state government. This state needs $153 billion minimum to get out of debt, and its not going away. We can’t raise the money overnight, so we’re going to have to increase taxes in order to pay this debt off. Rauner came in, promising reforms that won’t happen, he pushed for the tax increase to expire, then blamed Democrats for the budget mess we’re in. Whether you like Mike Madigan or hate him, he was able to negotiate budgets with every single governor, all but two tmk, were Republicans. Rauner didn’t get us into this mess, but he’s not trying to get us out either. And contrary to his belief, it’s also not the fault of state employees. We have one of the smallest state workforces in the country.

Comment by Hottot Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:21 am
That sums it up in a nutshell. Decriminalization of small amounts to the end user does nothing to reduce the criminal element involved in the distribution. Legalize it!

Comment by TheGoodLieutenant Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:24 am
Rich for the win!

Comment by Biker Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:28 am
Has anyone polled legalization lately? I have a feeling it has no where near the support to even think about doing it.

Comment by m Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:28 am
I’m very supportive of legalization, but is the state by state approach going to move the needle in Congress? Unless and until the Feds drop their regulations, the states are only half the battle.

Comment by Not quite a majority Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:29 am
thank you for being so vocal about this, rich.

legislators, why aren’t you listening to us? legalization is more popular than rauner; send him a bill and dare him to veto it!

Comment by Homer J. Quinn Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:33 am
Delaying legalization is only delaying the inevitable. It is going to happen — whether its in five years, 10 years, or 15 years. Illinois is better off getting ahead of the curve and reap the financial rewards of legalization. This is a no brainer.

Comment by Just Observing Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:42 am
In my over-60 crowd, I’m hearing some amazing stories about pain relief from arthritis and fibromyalgia via med marijuana. The MDs are scared to death of prescribing opiods due to fed regs and litigation, so med marijuana is becoming an important med. Illinois needs to move quickly on rational legalization. The foot dragging is inhumane.

Comment by Cook County Commoner Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:43 am
Yes! Rich you are spot on!

Comment by highspeed Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:43 am
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for IL to get this right an time in the foreseeable - say next 5 to 10 years.

Comment by El Conquistador Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:45 am
Passing a law, and getting it done in the real world, are two different things. Rule making can take many months, public awareness many more, implementation by the Executive branch sometimes years. Very frustrating for the productive legislators.

Many of the laws passed to try to help small businesses, for example, have had those delays, or even died forgotten on the vine, because powerful lobbies don’t follow thru after passage, on their behalf.

Comment by walker Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 9:49 am
But yet nurses all but threatened to call DCFS on us when we refused to give my teenage daughter Norco after minor foot surgery. It was surreal. We were practically treated like criminals. Lots of icing, elevation and a little ibuprofen did the trick, and they gave us enough Norco to kill a horse.

Comment by Moby Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 10:04 am
As much as people want marijuana to be decriminalized, it remains a Schedule 1 drug. While the States have lead the charge to reduce the potential charges, the cloud of federal crimes still hang over the drug.

Rather than going through the States to decriminalize pot, the needed legislation must go through Congress.

Comment by Huh? Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 10:19 am
Thank you. Again.

Comment by Jeff Trigg Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 10:25 am
Huh? - legalizing at the state level is the only leverage we have to pressure the feds to act. alcohol prohibition ended the same way, first states then federal.

Comment by Homer J. Quinn Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 10:31 am
A lot of legislators likely have visions of ‘Reefer Madness’ dancing in their heads. Legalization is still too hot a political topic for our legislators to tackle. I mean, look at the issue of a tax increase. That’s something everyone agrees is required yet no one wants to shoulder ‘blame’.

Comment by Cubs in '16 Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 10:35 am
Legalizing, regulating & taxing is a great idea that will occur. Cannabis could be a huge cash crop for Illinois farmers, the tax revenue would help the budget and regulation similar to Alcohol would simplify enforcement. Just a matter of time. Unfortunately the fracking example is what’s most likely to occur. After other states establish a cannabis industry, Illinois will be late to the party and will receive a smaller economic benefit than it could realize through quicker acceptance of the inevitable.

Comment by John Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 11:40 am
Legalize it, and TAX it! There is increasing evidence that marijuana is less harmful than our old friend, alcohol, and it holds vast tax revenues just waiting to be tapped.

Comment by Dr Kilovolt Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 12:10 pm
Time for a referendum.

Comment by Biker Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 12:30 pm
Think about the revenue legalization would create. Illinois would be the first state east of the Mississippi to legalize and people from surrounding states would. flock here.

But of course this doesn’t fit into Rauner’s agenda. If we were flush with cash, he wouldn’t have a crisis to use as leverage. I doubt you will see legalization for that reason alone.

We could use the extra cash for opioid abuse counseling and paying of the pension debt. Both of which this state desperately needs.

Comment by A Jack Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 1:00 pm
Perhaps the state can start up a certification program for vendors of nonviolent and cartel free marijuana. Buy your decriminalized marijuana from crime free vendors. You know, the kind of hoops Illinois might jump through to try anything but legal. Yeah, a ludicrous idea but that is where we are.

Comment by Vole Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 1:05 pm
“Delaying legalization is only delaying the inevitable. It is going to happen — whether its in five years, 10 years, or 15 years.”

I’ve been saying exactly that for 20 years.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 1:35 pm
Governor Rauner did not get us into this mess, current legislators led by Senator Cullerton and Speaker Madigan did.

What are they doing to get us out of this mess? Nothing I can see other than blaming the Governor.

With regard to the legalization of pot, the Obama administration is not cooperating. NPR reports that just last week the DEA gave “enormous weight” to the conclusions of the FDA that marijuana has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, ” and by some measures it remains highly vulnerable to abuse as the most commonly used illicit drug across the nation.

“The decision isn’t based on danger. The decision is based on whether marijuana as determined by the FDA is safe and effective medicine and it is not.”

Comment by Lucky Pierre Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 2:02 pm
Thanks for taking the lead on the subject of legalizing, not “decriminalizing” marijuana. One of the benefits for citizens of the recently signed decriminalization bill for possession of less than 10 grams, is that I assume your car cannot be seized and impounded if it’s no longer a criminal offense. That’s how you whittle down the police state, take away the revenue incentive.

I suspect the reason that marijuana is not fully legalized is the whispering of the police union lobbyists into the ears of the good old boy Representatives and Senators from small towns and deindustrialized areas like southern Illinois. The same crowd that wants more prisons built and doesn’t want to close any prisons.

Comment by Payback Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 3:05 pm
Lucky:

We can always count on your daily press release, whether it has anything to do with the topic or not.

As for your other comments, you go get in someone’s face for whom Marijuana is helping and tell them exactly what you said. Wouldn’t it be nice if people left other people alone and minded their own business instead of pretending that they should have any say whatsoever in how their doctor treats their illness. I frankly don’t care what the FDA or anyone else says. If marijuana helps someone then by all means let them use it. I don’t need some ridiculous academic debate.

Comment by Demoralized Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 4:38 pm
I’ve said for years to legalize, regulate & tax cannabis, call it a day and move on. Alas, this is Illinois. Any legalization laws would be so burdensome and expensive that it’d still be cheaper and easier to buy from the black market.

Comment by South Illinoisian Monday, Aug 15, 16 @ 5:49 pm