Budgeting for tax relief: Rauner taking right first steps
The governor-elect has shown wisdom in his first steps to address budget challenges. Illinoisans should hope the trend continues once Rauner takes office.
Governor-elect Bruce Rauner and his team came to Springfield during the first week of veto session on a mission to learn just how bad the state budget really is. What he found was pretty dismal. He used terms like “stunningly bad,” “horrible” and “dire” to describe Illinois’ financial condition, and “booby-trapped” to describe the state budget. He knows he’s walking into an ominous situation. But, according to early reports, he’s taking wise first steps as he faces the challenge.
First, Rauner’s initial actions show he sees the budget crisis first and foremost as a spending problem. He seems to have genuinely set aside the question of new revenues as he confronts the spending issues head on.
That Rauner began his detailed review of the state’s financial condition immediately rather than waiting until in office is an excellent sign of diligence and dedication. His language is a sign that he recognizes waiting a moment longer to begin addressing the crisis isn’t an option.
The governor-elect recruited to his transition team a respected and experienced legislative staffer with deep knowledge of the state budget and appropriation processes. He traveled to Springfield to meet with those who are currently managing the budget to learn from them and to enlist their help. And he began to build relationships with other state leaders, especially in the legislature, whose help will be required as he seeks to bring sanity to the state budget.
Rauner has not looked past the current fiscal year’s woes in a rush to focus on next fiscal year. He knows the “booby traps” in the current budget must be dealt with to minimize the trauma leading to the next fiscal year’s budget. He has called on Gov. Pat Quinn and agency directors in his administration to help rein in the spending immediately, and asked Quinn to impose a hiring freeze. Whether Quinn is all-in for helping to keep spending down is yet to be seen.
With Quinn’s support, Rauner asked the agency directors to begin a process to review and prioritize state agency programs and spending for this year and the next. Each agency should be developing plans to operate within budgets that are as much as 20 percent lower than previous budgets. He is asking for thoughtful, prioritized proposals, not just across-the-board cuts. Agency plans are to be presented to Rauner’s transition team through December.
Another good sign of fiscal responsibility is Rauner’s plan to go ahead with his first budget message – for fiscal year 2016 – on schedule in February instead of asking for a delay. This is a welcome change from the practice of the current governor, who delayed this year’s budget address by a full month.
While his initial actions and decisions bode well for the future, there are many tough choices yet to be made by the governor-elect and his team. “Good first steps” and the right messaging don’t matter unless the governor-elect takes action to effect change. Not only do spending cuts need to be identified; they need to be made. Some Rauner can do himself, but most require the help of others in the legislative process. The work to manage the budget will only get harder for a time.
In a recent blog, Illinois political expert Jim Nowlan noted his “Iron Law of Politics”: You cannot take something back once it has been given. In Illinois, it may go even deeper than Nowlan’s law. It’s more like the children’s story “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”; whatever is given never seems to be enough.
But a change in the culture of Illinois politics and state finance is desperately needed. Responsibility must be restored. Nowlan’s law must be challenged. And the politicians and the people of Illinois must be challenged, too, to take seriously the stewardship of the state. Once in office, Rauner must take action that is commensurate with the wisdom he has shown up to this point, and fight the good fight for the financial well-being of Illinois.