The Problem
Illinois desperately needs economic reform. We have a $9 billion budget hole, families are fleeing the state, and our job and income growth has stagnated. Meanwhile, spending is skyrocketing — up approximately 39% since 1998. In the same time period, population has grown only 6.8%.
We don’t have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem, and it affects every Illinois citizen. This unsustainable growth in government continues to hurt the struggling families and taxpayers of Illinois.
The Solution
Our Economic Reform Agenda redefines the rules of the game in Illinois to restore citizens’ trust in government and put our state back on the road to fiscal discipline, economic growth, job creation, and prosperity. These common-sense reforms consist of four proposals that address the root causes of Illinois’s fiscal and economic crisis:
3/5 Supermajority for Tax/Fee Increases
Too often, budget problems are addressed by simply digging deeper into taxpayers’ pockets. HJRCA 28 requires a 3/5 supermajority vote on any legislation that would raise taxes or fees on Illinois families or businesses. This reform will put a stop to out-of-control spending, encourage prudent examination of spending plans before raising taxes, and, most importantly, bring back fiscal discipline to Illinois.
Sunshine Act
In late 2007, the state Auditor General issued a report indicating that Illinois “does not have a comprehensive, consistent inventory of programs” it funds on a daily basis. This report reveals that the state government is so disorganized and inefficient that a roster of state programs does not exist.
The Sunshine Act (HB 4134) creates a tool to carefully and thoughtfully remove wasteful, fraudulent, ineffective or inefficient spending. It creates an independent commission of business leaders that make specific recommendations to consolidate or eliminate duplicative, outdated, or ineffective state programs. The General Assembly must vote up or down on the commission’s total recommendation. The Sunshine Act is modeled on a successful base closure program used by the Department of Defense in 2005.
PAYGO
PAYGO (HB 3189, Pay As You Go) requires honest accounting from elected officials. With PAYGO, when a new spending program is added, lawmakers must offset the expense by eliminating an existing program that is outdated or ineffective. Every day, Illinois families have to balance their spending decisions within their budget, and so should the state government.
Stimulus Watch Act
The Stimulus Watch Act (HJR 19) brings fiscal discipline to Illinois government, particularly in the use of any funds received as part of the recently passed federal stimulus package. This resolution restricts the governor from using any funds from the stimulus package unless a program is created and appropriated by the General Assembly. Further, any new programs launched as part of stimulus funding must sunset when stimulus funds are no longer available, preventing excessive upward pressure on spending when future revenue sources are uncertain or unavailable.
Why This Works
Each of these reforms works well on a stand-alone basis. However, by adopting all of them now, Illinois will make government more transparent, cut wasteful spending and send a signal to workers and businesses that jobs and prosperity can return to Illinois.
Our problems can be solved if elected officials show the leadership to adopt policies that address the root causes of our current fiscal and economic crisis. These reforms will, for the first time in years, address these problems directly—and will also point Illinois toward a more prosperous future.