Springfield- Senator Bill Brady, (R)-Bloomington, has introduced 7 budget bills he says will create the first balanced budget the state has seen in years.
The Bloomington Republican announced his package of bills Tuesday afternoon, which he says contain $5 billion in cuts. "Cuts are never easy, and I don't anticipate the cuts outlined in this budget will be well received by everybody, but given the situation that our state is operating at a court ordered spending plan, with billions of dollars of deficit spending it's time to fix Illinois fiscal crisis." he said.
Senator Brady says his proposal provides for selling revenue bonds totaling $6 billion to reduce the state's backlog of unpaid bills and save the state millions of dollars in interest costs.
"The state's unpaid bills now total almost $13 billion, or $1,000 for every man, woman and child in the state. If we do nothing, our unpaid bills, what we owe to medical providers, social service agencies and other vendors, will grow to move than $20 billion over the next two years. That's not the message Illinois out to be sending to the world, and it's not the kind of system we should ask Illinoisans to accept." he said.
Senator Brady says this budget package is not being proposed as a replacement for the Grand Bargain, rather a supplement to it. "I have always said that a balanced budget must be an integral part of the grand compromise that the Senate has worked on. While I appreciate the hard work and progress that has gone into some of these proposals, nobody has been talking about a budget. What I'm proposing is a balanced budget that takes into account the new revenues from that compromise but also includes more than $5 billion in general revenue fund spending cuts, adjustments and cost savings, including 5 percent across-the-board cuts for most of state government outside elementary and secondary education."
Senate President John Cullerton appears open to considering the newly formed package.
“We welcome Senator Brady’s ideas to the mix. His press conference was the first we’ve heard about them. We look forward to reviewing his legislation to see if we can add Senator Brady to the growing list of people who recognize the need for the solutions found in the ‘grand bargain’ compromise.” said John Patterson, spokesman for President Cullerton.
However, in the other chamber, Republicans continue to point fingers at the Democrats for the fiscal crisis. House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R)-Western Springs, called on the other side of the aisle to stop blaming Governor Rauner for the budget impasse, and begin working toward a real solution.
"The fact is the Governor does not introduce legislation, the Governor does not pass legislation. It's up to the Speaker to make a decision, the Speaker and the President to make a decision, whether they are going to work with this Governor to advance an agenda that is going to make Illinois a better state. It's not the Governor's fault, it's the Democrats who have absolutely no desire to work with this Governor. Put it on them." he said.
Each day the state goes without a budget adds $11 million to the backlog of unpaid bills.
