(WJBC file photo)
By David Stanczak
I’ve always been suspicious of politicians who, upon taking office, tell us that the situation is even worse than they thought during the campaign. That line is usually used to buy time, lower expectations, and justify getting into our wallets even more. The last example was Gov. George (Lyin) Ryan, who told us during his campaign that Illinois infrastructure was fine and didn’t need drastic action. Upon taking office, he changed his mind opposite and embarked on a huge spending program.
When Bruce Rauner tells us that Illinois is in worse shape than he thought (as he will), he will have some credibility. The University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs just released a report saying that Illinois is twice as broke as was previously thought (and that was pretty broke). The state of the Governor’s Mansion is symbolic of the state’s financial state of disrepair: floors are buckled, plaster is falling from ceilings, and the front door doesn’t work. The best thing Gov. Rauner could say about it is that it was in better shape than his college fraternity house.
Rauner has his work cut out for him. Figuring out what to do about the problem is the easy part: we need to increase revenues and cut spending. But that, in itself poses a dilemma. The last time Illinois raised the income tax, the state started bleeding businesses to the point that the only way we could keep some high profile businesses in the state was to bribe them with taxpayer funds.
Rauner’s bigger problem is that most of the people who brought Illinois to this fiscal precipice are still there. Blago and Quinnochio are gone, but Madigan and Cullerton are still there with veto-proof majorities. And there is no sign that they get it yet. Rauner’s biggest weapon is the line item veto. But to make it work, he will need to make such a compelling case for cutting state expenses that enough Democrats will support him when he uses it to sustain those vetoes.
Springfield has been kicking the can down the road for decades. We’re now in a fiscal cul-de-sac. The time for accounting gimmicks is gone. It is now time, in the words of W.C. Fields “to take the bull by the tail and face the situation squarely.”
David Stanczak, a Forum commentator since 1995, came to Bloomington in 1971. He served as the City of Bloomington’s first full-time legal counsel for over 18 years, before entering private practice. He is currently employed by the Snyder Companies and continues to reside in Bloomington with his family.
The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media Inc.
