Following months of dismal financial news, lawmakers were prepared for a challenging, austere plan when Governor Quinn unveiled his proposed FY 13 budget Feb. 22.

Senate Republicans hoped that the Governor was ready for a "Reality Check."

What they got was a proposed budget that would still increase spending over the current fiscal year and would still expand programs with little explanation as to where the money would come from.

While the Governor referenced a roll back of state spending to its fiscal year 2008 level, he actually asked to spend about $3.4 billion more than in 2008. And, the Governor proposed spending about $550 million more than the adopted budget for the current fiscal year.

Few legislators expected to see expanded programs, and most were more interested in hearing the Governor's plans to bring spending under control and assure that the 67% income tax increase would actually be temporary.

Just weeks before, figures from his human services agency had revealed that the state will likely face a $21.0 billion Medicaid backlog in five years. Coupled with other costs, the total state backlog could reach nearly $35 billion or about $2 billion more than the state's entire annual general fund.

February 17, 2012

As lawmakers prepare to return to Springfield for Gov. Pat Quinn’s annual budget address on Feb. 22, Senate Republicans are looking forward to an in-depth account of the Governor’s plan for Illinois’ finances, including more detail on how Quinn proposes to accomplish the goals laid out earlier this month in his State of the State speech.

Following the State of the State address, lawmakers from both parties noted that though the Governor’s address was full of uplifting rhetoric and compelling ideas, they were disappointed he glossed over the daunting fiscal obstacles facing Illinois

. Most officials said they would have liked specifics on how the Governor’s proposals would be financed, considering the state’s current economic challenges.

On Wednesday, Feb. 22, Senate Republicans hope for more detail on how Quinn plans to reduce the state’s projected deficit. Even after the 67 percent income tax increase, Illinois is still on an unsustainable path, with debt and unemployment continuing to rise, and the state’s credit ratings continuing to be lowered. When taking into account the financial obstacles facing Illinois, Senate GOP legislators are also interested to learn how Gov. Quinn intends to phase out the tax increase as planned.

According to projections the Governor’s administration released in early January, Illinois faces a deficit of more than $500 million in the current fiscal year, not including $2 billion in Fiscal Year 2012 Medicaid obligations that will be deferred into the next fiscal year. For the coming fiscal year, the Governor's office promised a tightly balanced budget that would spend $33.7 billion, based on $34.1 billion in projected revenues. Ideally, that budget would keep spending slightly under revenues, and allow for a modest surplus that could be used to reduce the state's backlog of bills. But, achieving that goal will be far from easy.

February 17, 2012

One can hardly walk down the street in the capital city without seeing Illinois’ favorite son on every street corner. On Sunday, February 12, our nation celebrated Abraham Lincoln’s 203rd birthday.  

It is likely that in honor of America’s sixteenth president, students in elementary schools across the country meticulously constructed stove pipe hats and beards out of black construction paper. However, the lessons of Lincoln’s life are not only for school children.  His wisdom can teach every American a great deal.  

President Lincoln has gone down in the history books as one of the most controversial and highly revered presidents in U.S. History. Lincoln’s story is the human embodiment of the American dream.  From humble beginnings Lincoln went from boy teaching himself to read by the firelight in his family’s log cabin, to become the President of the United States of America.  

Lincoln inherited a nation in crisis, but his presidential legacy is indisputable.  During his time in office he successfully led this country through a military, constitutional, and moral crisis that threatened to tear apart the very fabric of the United States.  As president, Lincoln preserved this nation’s unity and eradicated the abominable practice of slavery in the process.  

While contemporary society views Lincoln with great admiration, in his own time the president did not receive such accolades.  As President he faced harsh criticism from all sides. Yet he persisted in pursuing what he believed to be right for the country.

It certainly would have been easier for Lincoln to allow the south to secede and preside over an orderly divorce. Instead he fought to preserve that union and with it the principals upon which the United States was founded.

This is perhaps the most valuable lesson that Lincoln leaves behind.  His legacy as a determined leader demonstrates the importance of being strong and standing up for what is right in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Lincoln once said, “The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just; it shall not deter me.”

Today Lincoln’s legacy endures, and his timeless wisdom resonates more and more with each passing day.  From that boy teaching himself to read by the fire, to the man who taught himself the law, to the President who struggled tirelessly against overwhelming odds to preserve the nation he loved, President Abraham Lincoln stands as a shining example perseverance, self sacrifice, and love for one’s country.