News From

State Representative Ron Stephens

For Immediate Release: May 31, 2009

Contact: Rep. Stephens

618-651-0405

Stephens: Democrats Push Through Irresponsible Budget

Springfield…. The House of Representatives passed a budget Sunday evening which will result in massive budget cuts for state departments and agencies according to Representative Ron Stephens (R-Highland).

“We’ve talked about this day for a long time, and unfortunately it has finally arrived,” Rep. Stephens said. “Government spending has finally outpaced state revenue, and now we don’t have the money to pay for the handout programs the Democrat majority has been creating for the last six years.”

Under the proposed budget, lump sums of revenue will be provided to state departments and human services agencies. The departments and agencies will then be allowed to allocate the money as they see fit within their organizations. Most departments and agencies will see a significant decrease in allocated funding, some as much as 50 percent.

“The budget we’re looking at represents, and is the direct result of, six years of bad budgeting,” Stephens said. “Over the past six years we’ve seen nothing but financial trickery every time we create a state budget. Now the citizens of Illinois are going to suffer because of failed Democrat leadership. Many state services, such as programs for the developmentally disabled, seniors and the mentally ill, will be disastrously affected.”

Under this budget, the money will run out in three months, causing the General Assembly to come back and begin the budget process again at square one.

“We’ve had months to go through the budget line-by-line and prioritize our spending. Instead the Democrat majority has waited until the last minute and thrown together a sloppy plan… they passed the buck,” Stephens said. “Throughout the spring, Democrats insisted on the need to raise taxes, while refusing to consider fiscal reforms offered by Republicans to control spending, and increase accountability to the taxpayers.”

Stephens said the budget creation process has been chaotic all session long, despite the fact that former Democrat Governor Rod Blagojevich was not involved.

“In the past the Democrat leadership would blame bad budgets on Rod Blagojevich, but this budget proves that he was not one-hundred percent to blame for our state’s problems,” Stephens said. “If we had all worked together, Democrat and Republican alike, early on in the budget creation process, we might not be facing the budget we have this evening. The only time Republicans were involved in the budget process was when the Democrats requested our help in passing a 50 percent income tax increase, which is something I refuse to do.”

According to Stephens, with momentum waning on their income tax proposal, Democrats even resorted to a play right out the Blagojevich budget playbook – sweeping money from dedicated state accounts. Funds dedicated for breast, cervical and ovarian cancer research, mental health, Alzheimer’s Disease research, and violence protection all will be swept under the Democrat budget plan.

“Rod Blagojevich may not have been involved in creating this budget, but the people who have crafted it sure learned a lot of financial tricks from him,” Stephens said. “What’s sad is that with total control of state government and two new fresh players at the table in President Cullerton and Governor Quinn, you’d think they could finally get their act together given what we’ve experienced with our former governor. The people of Illinois deserve better and they’ve been let down again.

Stephens said there was one bright spot amongst the proposed budget plan. The only responsible portion of the budget plan offered up by the Democrats authorizes the state to refinance it’s debt at a lower interest rate which will save Illinois hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Even a broken clock is right twice a day I suppose,” Stephens said.

####