State lawmakers sponsor legislation to match Budget Solutions reforms

On Feb. 28, the Illinois Policy Institute held a press conference to publicly release its alternative budget plan, entitled Budget Solutions 2014. This 10-point plan offers responsible solutions to Illinois’ fiscal crisis. State Reps. Tom Morrison, Jeanne Ives, Dwight Kay and state Sen. Kyle McCarter showed their support and attended the press conference. Budget Solutions...

On Feb. 28, the Illinois Policy Institute held a press conference to publicly release its alternative budget plan, entitled Budget Solutions 2014. This 10-point plan offers responsible solutions to Illinois’ fiscal crisis. State Reps. Tom Morrison, Jeanne Ives, Dwight Kay and state Sen. Kyle McCarter showed their support and attended the press conference.

Budget Solutions 2014 will:

• Balance Illinois’ budget for the first time since 2001.
• Rebalance state spending to $29 billion in fiscal year 2015.
• Return more than $7 billion to taxpayers by repealing the 2011 tax hike early.
• Pay down the state’s $9.3 billion in unpaid bills by 2016.
• Outline structural spending reform that improves outcomes for Illinoisans.

Paired with a real pension reform plan – one that moves Illinois to a defined contribution system for all future work and tackles the automatic, compounded cost-of-living adjustment – Budget Solutions 2014provides Gov. Pat Quinn with the reforms needed to make Illinois prosperous again.

Budget Solutions 2014 is the fifth annual alternative state budget plan introduced by the Illinois Policy Institute. The Institute’s Government Affairs team has been working hard to garner support for our reforms among state legislators. We have introduced bills with various sponsors from the Illinois House and Senate that correspond directly to our policy recommendations. These bills give the Institute the credibility of having real vehicles to potentially advance our policy proposals, an exciting new advantage for our team.

The Budget Solutions 2014 legislative package includes:

1. Comprehensive pension reform, HB 3303 (sponsored by state Rep. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine)

2. A constitutional amendment to strengthen Illinois’ balanced budget requirement, HJRCA 20(sponsored by state Rep. Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton)

3. A responsible spending limit, tied to inflation plus population, HB 3302 (sponsored by state Rep. Tom Morrison, R-Palatine)

4. Grant transparency, HB 2 (sponsored by state Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Westmont)

5. State retiree health insurance reform, HB 3309 (sponsored by state Rep. Ron Sandack, R-Downers Grove)

6. Patient-centered Medicaid reform, HB 3189 (sponsored by state Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Westmont)

7. A bill to remove tax increment financing, or TIF, districts from General State Aid calculations, HB 3305 (sponsored by state Rep. Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford)

8. Legislation to reduce the state income tax by Jan. 1,2014, SB 1677 (sponsored by state Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine)

9. A bill to cut General Assembly allowances by 10 percent, HB 94 (sponsored by state Reps. McSweeney, Halbrook, and Ives)

10. A Department of Central Management Services study on state government worker compensation, SB 1670 (sponsored by state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington)

11. A bill that stops Affordable Care Act expansion, HB 176 (sponsored by state Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Decatur)

12. Legislation that would introduce Health Savings Accounts for government workers, HB 3374(sponsored by state Rep. Darlene Senger, R-Naperville)

At last Thursday’s press conference, Institute CEO John Tillman identified Budget Solutions 2014 as “the only proposal in Springfield that actually solves Illinois’ problems and positions the state for an economic comeback.”

The 2014 budget is an opportunity for the 98th General Assembly to make the tough decisions required to ensure that our state enacts and implements good public policy. Moving forward, Illinois must do what every family does: spend within its means and operate under a balanced budget.