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Hynes: Blagojevich threat is irresponsible

Posted August 02, 2007 11:00 pm

Bernard Schoenburg and Doug Finke

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes said Thursday it is irresponsible for Gov. Rod Blagojevich to threaten a government shutdown if the legislature doesn't send him a budget to his liking.

"It's my belief that it would do a disservice to all state employees and all who rely on state government to allow government to be shut down or to allow the prospect of a shutdown to be used for political or legislative advantage," Hynes told the editorial board of The (Springfield) State Journal-Register.

"If the legislature passes a 12-month budget by a supermajority vote, the game's over," Hynes said. "And to throw out the idea of a government shutdown is, I think, a dangerous thing."

House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego, said Blagojevich will be blamed for any government shutdown.

"We have to fund essential state services, and if the General Assembly puts a budget on the governor's desk that does that, I think it's pretty hard to lay the blame on the General Assembly," Cross said.

Hynes said it was a good move when the governor asked state employees Tuesday - as a temporary budget to fund operations through July was expiring - to stay on the job and assured them they would be paid in full once a new budget is passed.

Wednesday, however, the governor told legislative leaders in a letter that if they send him a 12-month spending plan he considers unbalanced, it will "simply precipitate a shutdown."

Hynes said he found that letter "very disturbing."

"It's my belief that that letter and all of his behavior the past several weeks and months leads me to believe that he intends on shutting the government down," Hynes said.

"I think what we all need to do is say, 'In no case, in no event, will we shut down government."

Becky Carroll, speaking for the Blagojevich administration, said the governor "wants to avoid a shutdown, which is why he has strongly advocated that the legislature pass a 30-day budget, and we would ask the comptroller to join us in that effort."

"It's also unfortunate that he should make such heated comments about what the governor's intentions are without even speaking with him personally," she said.

Meanwhile, the four legislative leaders continued meeting Thursday to hammer out a budget deal that can be approved by the General Assembly before Aug. 8.

Hynes has said that if a budget is not in place by then, $170 million in school-aid payments will be delayed and 4,900 state employees will not get paid on time.

Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, said he'll accept less than a $900 million increase for education in a new budget if lawmakers aren't willing to expand gambling. Jones had set that number as the target for increased education spending, but it was tied to the state getting money from a massive gaming bill that added four new casinos and allowed existing riverboats to expand operations. That bill passed the Senate but is stalled in the House.

"When we passed the gaming legislation, we were looking at $900 million," Jones said. "If we're not going to do gaming, I'm willing to settle for something less than that."

Jones refused to disclose a figure, but sources said negotiators are looking at increasing education spending by $600 million to $650 million.

Republican leaders initially favored limited growth in gambling, allowing only existing riverboats to expand. They also wanted the extra gambling revenue tied to a capital program, not used for ongoing state operations. On Tuesday, they indicated they might support a land-based casino in Chicago. But on Wednesday, they said the Chicago casino was going nowhere.

"The Titanic goes down and someone brings it up again," said Jones of the on-again, off-again talks of gambling expansion.

The Senate president also made it clear that he views a state budget as separate from Blagojevich's universal health-care plan, something the governor is insisting the legislature act on.

"It's not a budgetary item," Jones said. "I strongly support the health-care initiative, but right now, we are trying to deal with budgetary items."

Separating health care from the budget will make it easier for the legislative leaders to round up the three-fifths supermajority needed to pass a budget now that the legislature is in overtime.

Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, one of the budget negotiators, said progress is being made now that people have scaled back their expectations of getting more state money.

"The governor raised expectations because he based his spending proposal on what has turned out to be an unrealistic revenue proposal," Trotter said of the failed gross-receipts tax. "Now that many of us have gotten past that, others have come to the realization that this is not going to be the Christmas they thought it was going to be."

Political writer Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at (217) 788-1540 or bernie.schoenburg@sj-r.com. Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527 or doug.finke@sj-r.com.

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