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Senate Week in Review: February 21-25, 2011 |
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 A week after Governor Pat Quinn unveiled his budget plan for the coming fiscal year, more questions than answers surfaced as lawmakers, editorial writers and the public tried to sort through the numbers, according to Senator Dale Risinger.
Early reviews were generally unimpressive as many questioned why the Governor had included revenues that have not been approved by the General Assembly, in apparent violation of a law he signed just hours after delivering his budget message. New information also surfaced that the budget added nearly 1,000 new employees to state government, Senator Risinger said.
Meanwhile, the Governor’s office announced spending cuts for the current fiscal year that
were made more severe because the Administration waited until more than half the year was over before announcing the cuts. However, as has become common in recent years, by week’s end the Quinn Administration appeared to be backpedaling on some proposed cuts.
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Senate Week in Review: February 14-18, 2011 |
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 As expected, Governor Pat Quinn’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal relied on $8.75 billion in borrowing to pay for what Senator Dale Risinger says is an $1.7 billion increase in state spending.
The $35.4 billion budget proposal would bring state spending to an all-time high, with planned spending exceeding anticipated revenues by almost $1.5 billion. The Governor’s own budget documents show Governor Quinn plans to divert approximately $1.5 billion of the borrowed money to finance the new spending, instead of using it to pay off state debt.
Senate Republicans are unanimously opposed to the Governor’s borrowing plan, which not only adds new obligations to the state’s ballooning debt, but also pushes off the bulk of the payments until Governor Quinn’s term is over. Senator Risinger said that the massive borrowing package is an enormous burden to place on taxpayers, particularly following the 67 percent state income tax increase recently signed by Governor Quinn, which Democrats passed without Republican support in the final hours of a lame-duck session January 12.
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Senator Risinger reacts to Governor Quinn's budget address (audio) |
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Quinn budget plan has higher spending, $1.5 billion deficit, more borrowing |
 Governor Pat Quinn’s budget plan for next year relies on spending $1.7 billion more than last year, a $1.5 billion deficit, and more borrowing to make up the difference, according to Senator Dale Risinger.
Governor Quinn outlined his Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposal to a joint session of the General Assembly on Feb. 16. Fiscal Year 2012 runs from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.
“The Governor’s speech was short on details, but the bottom line is he wants to spend more than ever before in state history. And despite a 67 percent tax hike, he wants to spend $1.5 billion more than the state would bring in,” Senator Risinger said. “And our Governor wants to finance his increased spending by borrowing more money. This sounds awfully familiar.”
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