The Arc of Illinois

June 17, 2010

Leaders in The Arc:

Yesterday I was in Springfield meeting with Board Members Susy Woods and Missy Kichline for the orientation of one of our new Board Members, Sue Brown. Welcome to The Arc Board, Sue!

As long as I was in the Capitol, I thought I would talk to a few folks about what is happening around the budget because we are just about two weeks away from the end of the fiscal year, which is June 30^th.

It is surprisingly quiet in the Capitol. At this point nothing is settled. The Governor is waiting for the Senate to pass the borrowing authority for the pension payment. Without that borrowing we have another $4 billion hole in the state budget! Secretary Saddler understands the importance of getting your contracts out as soon as possible, but her hands are tied right now as well.

People believe that the Governor will release the new state budget for fiscal year 2011 sometime during the last week of June. They also believe that the  Senate will pass the borrowing bill, but when I called my Senator, Senate Republican Leader Radogno, she indicated that the Senate has not scheduled a day to return to the Capitol to vote on the borrowing bill!

Will we go into the new fiscal year without a state budget? Will the Governor call a special session on the borrowing bill? What about our contracts and payments?

Right now, everyone is in the dark, so keep sending your pennies to the Governor!

Story on borrowing from NPR follows.

Tony Paulauski

The Arc of Illinois

708-464-1832

***********************************************

Quinn Urges Senators to Act on Borrowing Plan

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is urging state senators to come back to Springfield to take action on a $3.7 billion borrowing plan. The House has already approved the borrowing to make state pension payments. Quinn thinks there are enough votes in the Senate to approve the measure.
QUINN: It's time for the Senate to come together. They want to do it on the last day of the month, so be it. But we really need them to understand that the pension borrowing will save taxpayers in Illinois about $20 billion over the life of our pension system.
Quinn says he expects the Senate to take up the issue in the last week of the month. But a spokeswoman for the Senate President says there's no plan to make lawmakers return to the capitol.
The new fiscal year begins in July.