Observations and comments about state government by State Representative Robert W. Pritchard.

The General Assembly began its spring session this week with a few committee meetings, bill filings and the Governor’s State of the State address. Usually the Governor’s address sets out his legislative agenda, concerns and suggestions for legislators and the citizens of our state.

The Governor began his comments by reviewing significant legislative reforms last year concerning Medicaid, pensions, worker compensation, unemployment insurance and education. He listed many capital projects through the Illinois Jobs Now! program that are repairing and modernizing the state’s infrastructure and are so important to retaining and attracting business. The Governor set the focus on putting people to work and growing our economy as ways for Illinois to climb out of its fiscal mire.

By this time most legislative heads were nodding in agreement and I was attentive thinking perhaps the Governor was about to layout a realistic plan to achieve his dream. What came next amazed everyone.
With the state unable to pay its bills, facing mountains of debt and seeing much of its revenue consumed by pension and Medicaid payments, the Governor proposed spending hundreds of millions of dollars on new programs. He then went on to propose three tax cuts which were key to his Illinois Jobs Agenda for 2012. Perhaps he now sees that the largest tax increase in history passed last year was too much.

The Governor never mentioned the Civic Federation’s report about how the state’s unpaid bills will total more than our revenue in just five years. Nor did he mention Moody’s downgrade of the state’s credit rating to the lowest in the nation due to its failure to control spending. I guess these will be topics for his budget address later this month.

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