Clueless in Illinois?

by Kate Piercy From today’s Chicago Tribune Editorial page: “Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has handed out raises — some of more than 20 percent — to his staff while proclaiming a message of ‘shared sacrifice’ and planning spending cuts of $1.4 billion because the state is awash in debt.” —The Associated Press, July 6, 2010. “Illinois ended...

by Kate Piercy

From today’s Chicago Tribune Editorial page:

“Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has handed out raises — some of more than 20 percent — to his staff while proclaiming a message of ‘shared sacrifice’ and planning spending cuts of $1.4 billion because the state is awash in debt.”

—The Associated Press, July 6, 2010.

“Illinois ended (Fiscal 2010) in the worst fiscal position in its history. … (T)he delay in paying vouchers was 153 working days this June compared to 99 days at this time last year.”

—Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, quarterly report, July 7, 2010.

Is Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration not up for running a multibillion-dollar operation? The Tribune thinks the AP story suggests as much, reporting:

The AP story, drawn from records obtained under the state’s Freedom of Information Act, said that in the past 15 months, Quinn has given 43 salary increases averaging 11.4 percent to 35 staffers. The governor’s response, as quoted by the news service? “We have fewer people doing more, and that’s what the public wants.”

Fewer people doing more? The AP said payroll records list 124 employees in the governor’s office and affiliated budget office in May, compared to 125 in July 2009 and 122 in February 2009, just after Quinn took office.

And that debunking of Quinn’s claim may not be the end of the story: The AP also reported that dozens of employees reporting to the governor’s office are paid by other agencies under Quinn’s control.

– Chicago Tribune, July 8, 2010

What is happening here? Unfortunately, Illinois residents, broken promises from a “governor who last year promised to “cut, cut, cut” state government” and “has been insulting citizens by quietly giving his employees nice raises.”