SPRINGFIELD – State Rep. Dan Beiser, D-Alton, is calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner to return to the negotiating table to help get a full and balanced budget for the state of Illinois after reviewing the Senate budget, which is built on unrealistic savings and shoddy accounting“Our social services, schools, universities and families deserve an honest budget,” Beiser said. “After reviewing the Senate’s plan, it’s become clear that this plan isn’t the relief local families need, but would further add to their burden.”
Beiser is concerned that the Senate plan does not close the budget deficit. Beiser and House appropriations committees reviewing the budget proposal passed by the Senate have found a number phantom savings and other budgetary gimmicks that will cost taxpayers in the long run. The Senate proposal would authorize billions of dollars in new borrowing, but does not budget the payments needed to repay this debt. The proposal also includes savings from a pension bill that is not yet law and would only achieve short term savings while increasing costs down the road. It also assumes savings from a proposed increase to state employee insurance premiums which have not been agreed to by employees themselves.
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While Beiser has fought to restore funding for breast cancer screenings, services for the developmentally disabled and victims of domestic violence, the Senate’s budget plan cuts millions of dollars from these programs.
Beiser also expressed concern that the Senate’s plan does not appropriate adequate early childhood education funds to meet federal guidelines, failing to properly fund critical services necessary to helping children achieve their full potential. Additionally, the Senate’s proposal contains only a portion of the funding needed to sustain MAP grants, which help 130,000 Illinois students attend college.
“I stand ready and willing to work with both parties to help enact a full budget for our state that provides meaningful reform and cost reductions, but this is only possible if the governor comes back to the table and decides he is finally ready to start working in good faith,” Beiser said. “The people of Illinois and the Metro East deserve better. I am urging the governor to return and negotiate with us on a budget that will provide true savings, while also helping create new jobs, grow our small businesses and lift the middle class.”
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