Random thoughts about the boondoggle state budget passed by the House and Senate Democrats over the weekend:
- The budget is so badly out of balance ($2 billion?!?) that someone - the Legislature expects it to be the Governor, and vice versa - will have to make severe cuts. I hope it's the legislature, because I disagree with so many of the Governor's spending priorities. And I still don't understand how the legislature can abdicate so much authority and discretion to a Governor whom none of them trust.
- You will see lots of stories claiming that the UI got such-and-such funding increase, and lots of mail and press releases from Rep. Naomi Jakobsson and Sen. Mike Frerichs claiming that they secured that increase. But all they've really done is ask the Governor to make $2 billion in spending cuts, and they know that higher education will be one of his first targets. So take all the bragging with a huge grain of salt until the UI actually receives the increased funds.
- Speaking of Sen. Frerichs, he voted against the gaming expansion and lottery sales which were to fund the $34 billion capital plan, but voted present on the spending portion of that plan. That's a great example of consistent, principled, "tough and independent" leadership, eh?
- I'm glad that no Republicans voted for this budget, unlike last year, when so many were lured by the siren song of pork.
UPDATE: Sen. Frerichs says that the deficit isn't that bad:
State Sen. Mike Frerichs (D - Champaign) said the governor has the power to balance the budget himself by vetoing the specific expenses he deems unnecessary and doubts the size of the deficit is as large as Blagojevich claimed Monday morning.
"According to our budget staff, it is not that large," Frerichs said.
How large is it? And why did Sen. Frerichs vote for an unbalanced budget, trusting the Governor to make such important budgetary decisions?
Here is the url to read the story dated 4 June in the Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-state-budget-hole-05may05,0,7881817.story The story covers the amount of deficit in this year's budget. I imagine that it is totally impossible to factually find out just what are the various amounts of spending and proposed spending because most government budgets are shell games. An internet search yields various other sources with stories about Illinois government budgetary fiasco for all of the world to read.
Pattsi Petrie
That article from early May is discussing the FY08 budget, rather than the FY09 budget which just passed.
State Sen. Mike Frerichs (D - Champaign) said the governor has the power to balance the budget himself by vetoing the specific expenses he deems unnecessary and doubts the size of the deficit is as large as Blagojevich claimed Monday morning.
What an irresponsible cop-out!
Of course we all want to support education, and particularly our colleges and universities, but any increase in funding to the University of Illinois should be secured on the basis of the University providing a plan for curtailing the growth of its bloated bureaucracy and its appalling administrative expenditures.
One true service that the legislature could do for the university and the people of Illinois is to slash the University budget in such a way that the tenure system is annulled. That would permit the culling of numerous professorial positions, particularly that sort of professor who regularly does nothing, quite often not doing anything much other than serving on some committees but otherwise hardly ever even showing up for work.
How much is in the budget for funding the new expanded health coverage the Gov implemented last year?
IP yes, the article was written in May. The purpose for posting thus is to emphasize that having a discussion about the Illinois state budget is frought with inaccuracies because probably no one has any idea what is the total situation. It would be more productive to read conversations about ways to put in check the behaviors and decisions of the Illinois legislators so they vote for the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the state rather than their pension increases, salary increases, "present" when they do not want to be held accountable, waste money because decisions can not be made in a timely manner, etc. There are so many firewalls built into the process and fear of losing position status that the number who will not only talk the talk, but walk the walk maybe approaching a negative.
Pattsi Petrie
I have been wondering whether the passing of an unbalanced budget is constitutional. I thought the budget had to be balanced according to the Illinois State Constitution. Does passing an unbalanced budget make it null and void? Is there a reasonable way to argue that so that Republicans have more say in the process?
I am disgusted with the General Assembly and the Governor. I'd love to hear others' thoughts.
I'm sorry, but do you know of any such professors? I've never even heard of such a person here. It seems to me you're throwing around irresponsible and innacurate accusations.
Let's say for the moment that there are one or two such professors. Get rid of them and you've saved maybe 100-200K each, including the associated overhead. That's not really much in the scheme of things, plus there's the expense of completey rejiggering the entire system.
Get rid of the tenure system and you're going to lose a lot of really good professors to other universities that do have tenure.
Narc, dont give me that nonsense. Either you are pulling my leg or you are totally blind. I could document three specifically in one department and could come up with more quite easily. There is also a book "Dry Rot in the Ivory Tower" which was written by two former professors here (one was a Dean), one writer did not appear as an author for obvious personal reasons. "Dry Rot" makes a lot more accusations than I can...
Regnad Kcin, I completely agree with you. Having worked t the U of I and currently working at another Illinois school, I saw them there, and I see them in my current school. What you're saying are not accusations, it's fact.
Completely aside from any discussion of "dry rot" though, if you eliminate tenure from the U of I you will no longer get any good candidates bothering to apply. U of I will simply cease to be on the map of "real research universities," never mind all the lofty talk about being at the top.
If the Constitution requires a balanced budget, I don't see how sending the Governor an unbalanced budget passes Constitutional muster (and I'm no fan of the Governor).
Narc-I think they have lost it. The Professors they see must be retired and wondering the building helping out for the fun of it.