Illinois state government works to prioritize special interests over taxpayers – and the budget deal being negotiated in the Senate would continue that.

An education-funding plan in the General Assembly is already proven to make unattainable goals at a high cost to taxpayers.

Forty percent of respondents to a newly released statewide poll blame the government for poverty. Poll results also show that Illinoisans feel insecure about jobs and education, in addition to frustration with government dysfunction.

State Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorne Woods, filed legislation March 23 that would give the Illinois Comptroller’s office discretion to delay payments to lawmakers if insufficient funding exists to do so. This came just hours after a Cook County judge said lawmakers must be paid.

A spokeswoman for the governor said the measure would cut overtime costs and help reduce the state’s corrections budget.

Judge Garcia points to the lack of a budget as reason enough to delay payments to legislators.

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza is suspending funding for a technology initiative Gov. Bruce Rauner has said would save taxpayer money and promote efficiency, data security and transparency in state government.

Between 2014 and 2016, Illinois’ Medicaid expansion cost $4.6 billion more than its supporters had forecasted, crowding out services for Illinois’ most vulnerable residents.

Illinois holds more than $66 million worth of stocks and bonds in PepsiCo, Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper Snapple alone.

The Senate’s “grand bargain” contains a one-year spending “cap” that won’t improve fiscal responsibility. A real cap must come with structural spending reforms to return spending to a level that taxpayers can afford.