GOP lawmakers will have to defend Rauner's budget to constituents : Politics

 

Gov. Bruce Rauner put Republicans representing downstate legislative districts in a sticky wicket with his budget speech on Wednesday.

While the rookie chief executive laid out a road map for correcting Illinois' long-festering budget imbalance, he did it by, in part, calling for reductions in pensions for state workers, university employees and public school teachers. On top of that, he outlined a plan to make these public servants pay more for their health insurance.

Most downstate Republicans represent areas filled with thousands of these workers, spelling trouble for when they return to their districts to try and explain whether they support their own governor's plans.

Among the people they will have to face is Tracy Freeman, a high school social studies teacher who works at Normal West High School in McLean County.

Her take on Rauner's proposal: "It's unbelievable to me."

As Freeman sees it, Rauner's push to limit retirement pay for teachers will send the wrong message to the people who are charged with educating Illinois youngsters.

"I think he's doing everything he can to push dedicated teachers out," Freeman said.

And, she added, "I don't know if I could tell my students to go into education."

"I feel it's a complete disconnect with what's going on in the public schools," Freeman said. "I really am in disbelief."

"I really hope that our more local and more frequently elected politicians will stand up to him," Freeman said. "We have local representatives who have always listened to our students and genuinely are interested in our local schools."

That wasn't exactly the type of message being spread by at least one downstate Republican in the aftermath of Rauner's speech Wednesday.

Here's what state Sen. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, had to say in a statement he issued:

“Over half a decade ago, I called for an immediate 5 percent across the board cut to the state budget, but no one listened. Not only did no one listen, they increased spending, created new programs, and spent wildly out of control. It was unsustainable and the day of reckoning is here.

"Governor Rauner hit the hard facts head on and didn’t sugarcoat this in today’s speech. For example, Governor Quinn last year promised higher education over a billion dollars in funding. To date, very little of that has been paid because the money didn’t exist in the first place.

"Governor Rauner was truthful about our reality. Importantly, though, he also discussed necessary reforms to government to cut the waste, fraud and abuse — reforms that if implemented, will allow us to restore some of the more draconian leftovers of the Quinn/Blagojevich years.”

Here's guessing that Rose is going to hear an earful in the coming weeks

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: Budgets are not just random, robotic spreadsheets that outline how your tax dollars are going to be spent.

They are political documents too. Governors and members of the Legislature can put their stamp on parts of the spending plan, diverting money to pet projects and funneling money away from programs they don't like.

That's why one part of Rauner's budget proposal caught my eye.

In the section reserved for state construction projects, Rauner is proposing to buy doors for Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office.

Apparently, there are many assistant attorney generals who are assigned offices in the state's main office building in Chicago that do not have doors. This can be a problem when they conduct confidential discussions.

"There is a need to improve the level of privacy and more effectively safeguard sensitive materials," budget documents note.

Perhaps Rauner is trying to curry favor with the attorney general after he proposed zapping 10 percent of her budget, 10 percent of her father's budget as head of the House Democratic caucus, and 20 percent of her mom's budget, as chairwoman of the Illinois Arts Council.

THE REVOLVING DOOR: In December, after the unexpected death of Republican Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, Rauner called for her chief of staff, Nancy Kimme, to step in and serve as her replacement.

In January, the governor issued an executive order saying state employees should be banned from taking lobbying jobs for one year after they leave state government.

Last week, we learned that Kimme is leaving her job at the comptroller's office. To become a lobbyist.

The more things change ...

GOP lawmakers will have to defend Rauner's budget to constituents : Politics