Springfield’s State Journal-Register reports that Illinois’s budget is in significantly worse shape than had been thought:
With Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s first budget speech less than two weeks away, the Pritzker administration said the state’s financial problems are worse than expected.
In a report released Friday, former comptroller and now deputy governor Dan Hynes said the state’s budget deficit next year will hit $3.2 billion unless steps are taken to bring it under control.
The administration said the deficit is 16 percent higher than what former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration projected in a report it released in November.
“We’ve had several weeks now to work with the agencies to look through their financials and really do an assessment of the damage done by the previous administration,†Hynes said in an interview. “It’s worse than we thought both in terms of the scope and size of the deficit facing us (next year), but also the amount of unpaid bills left on our desk.â€
Naturally enough, he lays the blame squarely on his predecessor:
The report placed most of the blame for the problem on Rauner and continued fallout from the budget impasse during his administration. The report said spending pressures became obvious as various state agencies submitted budget requests to the administration that were considered maintenance budgets.
For example, obligations for human services means those projects face an additional $275 million shortfall. State employee health insurance is facing an estimated $170 million deficit.
The report also said that simply looking at the bill backlog gives a misleading picture of the money owed in connection with unpaid bills. The backlog stood at $7.9 billion at the end of last year. However, the state also owes $5.5 billion on money borrowed to help pay down the backlog and save on interest payments. There is also $650 million to be repaid to special state funds and about $500 million owed to state workers for unpaid step increases.
“Adding all of that up was a stunning revelation,†Hynes said. “It really spells out how serious this problem is.â€
Would-a, could-a, should-a. It’s Gov. Pritzker’s watch now and he will be tested. The question is will he preside over the state’s continuing decline or seek to expand Illinois’s population and economy? I know where I’d put my money. My advice: stop digging.
They won’t stop digging. The politics of blaming Rainer are obvious. But I’ll bet the only real solution they come up with are more taxes.
We are having dinner tonight with a couple from our old club in Naperville. The kids are gone; he is 4-5 years from retirement but can work outside IL. They are………wait for it…….looking in Naples for a home and club. Another high taxpaying person gone.
And the band played on………
Pritzker’s first job is to get rid of the Madigans, by hook or crook. As long as they are in place things will only get worse except for the politariat.
There is no prospect whatever of that happening. Pritzker and Madigan are as thick as thieves, a phrase I use advisedly. Pritzker was Madigan’s handpicked candidate for governor.