PERU, IL – State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) says she hopes Governor Quinn will show strong indications he is serious about enacting policies that will restore solvency to Illinois when he delivers his State of the State address to the General Assembly on Wednesday, Feb. 1.
“We are in a position where we must get serious about enacting real change,” she said. “This needs to be the year. Governor Quinn has recognized that the deficit is too great to ignore or push down the road. I’m very interested to hear how he plans to not only let the tax increase expire as promised but also what the plan is to eliminate the deficit his own office projected to be around $800 million in the year 2015. This is a number that would be true if all spending is to remain level each year, but we know that it is extremely unlikely for spending to not increase.”
Sen. Rezin said she hopes to hear the Governor’s plans for many different areas, such as how to improve Illinois’ credit rating, which is now the worst in the nation.
“I will be listening for the Governor’s plans of how he will improve the dismal credit rating, which has only gotten worse throughout his tenure,” she said. “Also, I’d like to hear how he plans to achieve his goal of holding education and healthcare spending level through 2015, as well as what program reforms can take place in order to avoid a deficit. There also need to be clear plans for Medicaid and pension reform presented, and it will be interesting to see if he will call on his fellow Democrats to finally end the scandal-ridden Legislative Scholarship Program.”
Sen. Rezin noted that Senate Republicans have offered solutions to many of the state’s major problems with their Reality Check Budget Plan. She said that if that plan was adopted, the tough – but sensible – decisions made would balance the state’s budget while rolling back the tax increase, allowing it to expire when scheduled.
Sen. Rezin also commented that borrowing was not an option as a way to solve the deficit or the backlog of bills, and hopes Governor Quinn will not suggest it during his address.
“In the last 10 years, for every dollar in revenue that state takes in, it has borrowed four, leading to twelve credit rating downgrades with the latest downgrade in the beginning of January,” Sen. Rezin said. “Borrowing is a large reason why we’re in the position we are and more of it will only place our state in a deeper hole. If you’re in debt, you don’t increase that debt further – you find ways to scale back and live within your means. These are the types of policies and ideas Governor Quinn should present to us on Wednesday, and it is my hope that he will do just that. Illinois can make these tough, but necessary policy changes and become fiscally responsible again.”