Week of March 9th, 2009

We are about a week or so away from Governor Quinn’s first Budget Address to the Illinois General Assembly. It is an understatement to say that he is facing a very difficult challenge. By many estimates, Illinois is facing a budget deficit as high as $9 to $10 billion dollars heading into FY10. For a couple of weeks now, there has been speculation as to how Governor Quinn will approach closing that deficit. Many believe that he will propose a budget that includes various increases in taxes and fees. The question is what tax and fee increases will he propose and will he also propose cuts and additional efficiency in state government?

It is likely to take a combination of strategies to propose anything that resembles a balanced budget for FY10. Some new short and long term borrowing proposals might also be part of any proposed package. At this point, the state is several months behind on payments to health care providers and schools. In fact, schools have only received one of the four scheduled quarterly payments they are to receive to pay for mandated services to students like special education funding and money to reimburse them for transporting students. Without some type of borrowing, it is not likely that schools will receive those funds before June 30 th to cover the FY09 promised reimbursements. That, of course, does not bode well for FY10 and only adds to the already steep climb out of this mess.

Unfortunately, additional bad news continues for the economy. In February, state revenues fell $167 million from last year with almost every source of state revenue declining. For the year, base revenue for the state is down a little over $1.2 billion dollars compared to last year. There is widespread speculation that this trend could continue for many months. If the reaction of the stock market to the federal stimulus package continues the negative slide we have seen so far, revenues for the state could continue to fall through the last quarter of the year. So far, our free enterprise system has soundly rejected the creeping socialism that is so apparent in the federal stimulus.

With this difficult situation facing us, Governor Quinn truly has a tough road. I will keep you posted as to his proposals. It is important that we work together in a bi-partisan manner to solve the difficult budget issues that face our state. I intend to do that. However, it is also important that if proposals regarding revenue and spending do not appear to help solve the problems we face, it is my responsibility to speak out and challenge proposals which appear to actually make things worse. I also intend to speak out and offer other solutions. At this point, all solutions will be painful in some way. This budget problem has been building for six years caused by terrible fiscal practices including pension, road and other fund raids coupled with record borrowing huge expansions of health care spending. This will not be easy to get out of.

One of the first and best things we can do is to STOP unfunded mandates to schools and other local governments. In the past few weeks though, a new round of unfunded and potentially very expensive mandates have been introduced for schools. One of the very worst was a bill that would require schools to pay for “expert witnesses” in special education IEP meetings. The bill, as introduced, did not even require a standard for an “expert”. There is already a very lengthy process established for special education IEP meetings that provides several levels of due process for parents and students. This is another example though of unfunded mandates that will cause huge expenses for schools without any reimbursement.

In addition to the budget watch, we are tracking a number of attempts to restrict Second Amendment Rights. There are at least a dozen bills that would in some way further restrict law abiding citizens rights related to guns. HB687 would require gun owners to maintain liability insurance of at least $1 million or lose their FOID card. HB48 is the annual attempt to ban private sales of hand guns, HB165 is a semi-automatic weapons ban, and HB179 is the trigger lock bill. There are also bills that would add to the handgun dealer license laws (HB180), and allow only one gun per month to be purchased (HB199). I will strongly oppose each and every one of these bills.

There are several bills that would allow for conceal and carry. HB245, HB367, HB462 and HB2257 support some version of conceal and carry for Illinois. I will support these bills. I thank everyone for the hundreds of calls, e-mails and letters related to gun laws. The people of the 109 th legislative district are clear about this issue, they want crime control and not more gun laws.

Speaking of ill-advised legislation, HB3914 among other restrictions provides that it is illegal to operate an all-terrain vehicle or off-highway motorcycle if the operator is under the age of 16, or does not have a valid driver's license. I will oppose this bill every step of the way as well!

Finally, don’t forget to track progress related to the federal stimulus package. New rules and regulations are being drafted all the time. The Governor’s office has set up a website for folks to stay updated. All project proposals are to be submitted through this site. So, even if you have contacted our office, is important that your project is submitted on this site: http://recovery.illinois.gov

There are lots of other bills out there and I will do my best to keep you updated. Over four thousand bills have been introduced in the House and over two thousand more in the Senate. It is important that I hear from you regarding legislation that is important to you. With that many bills, your help and input is essential to me. You can track legislation at www.ilga.gov and also follow the action on my website, www.peopleforeddy.com. Please feel free to call one of my offices at (217) 558-1040 or (618) 563-4128 or (217) 932-9082. You may also e-mail me anytime at reddyunit1@aol.com, or send mail to Box 125, Hutsonville, IL 62433 or 222-N Stratton Office Building, Springfield, IL 62706.