PRESS RELEASE: Institute Offers the Suggestions Quinn Says He’s Waiting For
Illinois is in a fiscal abyss, and without stringent reforms the state will continue failing. Thats why the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute has proposed Budget Solutions 2012"...
PRESS RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Diana Rickert
Diana@IllinoisPolicy.org or (312) 607-4977
March 11, 2011 On Thursday, the Illinois Senate Republicans announced they would soon introduce a series of cuts to the state budget. Gov. Quinn responded by stating he was open to specific, good-faith, realistic suggestions.
Illinois is in a fiscal abyss, and without stringent reforms the state will continue failing taxpayers, business owners and worst of all, the poor and disadvantaged. Thats why the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute has proposed Budget Solutions 2012 an alternative to the strategy of overtaxing, overborrowing and overspending that has failed Illinois year after year.
Now is the time for real reform, said John Tillman, Illinois Policy Institute CEO. Illinois can once again be an economic powerhouse offering prosperity for all citizensbut only if we choose the right path.
Budget Solutions 2012 is a balanced, line-by-line alternative to the budget proposed in February by Gov. Quinn. It is a plan to fund core government services, reduce spending, pay down past due debt and even pave the way for tax relief. It remains the only detailed plan yet published that would allow state government to live within its means and put Illinois on a path toward prosperity.
The 108-page document was circulated this week to legislative offices and shared with the governors office. It includes innovative solutions to state problems, such as the rising costs of Medicaid reform. Budget Solutions 2012 suggests the state transform Medicaid into a premium assistance program, which through a federal block grant waiver would offer Medicaid beneficiaries greater access to care at a lower overall cost to the state.
The budget also includes specific recommendations for spending reductions. For example, we propose reducing education spending by just $350 per student, which would significantly impact the state budget. This can be achieved by adopting a myriad of good policies like those in Florida where there is less spending per pupil and superior results.
These are common sense solutions to what ails our state, Tillman said. They wont be easy and they will require political courage. But the time is now for real reform.
The Institute’s Budget Solutions 2012 is available online at: www.illinoispolicy.org/BudgetSolutions2012.
Media contact: Diana Rickert (312) 607-4977