Post by twhl on Mar 2, 2009 11:42:53 GMT -6
So again Dr D and M2 - what say you ?? How are we doing and what has D204 expected and planned on getting from the State? And how much we will actual get ??
Illinois' precarious financial picture worsening, report warns
By Mary Ellen Podmolik | Tribune reporter
March 2, 2009
www.chicagotribune.com/business/c....0,3727667.story
Illinois is on the verge of a financial meltdown, and hard choices will be necessary to contain the economic damage, according to a report from a group of prominent businesses executives.
The report, to be released Monday by the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago, paints an even darker picture of the state's finances than in late 2006, when the group calculated that the funding shortfall amounted to $106 billion, or $8,800 for each of Illinois' 12 million residents.
Unfunded debts total more than $116 billion, or $10,000 per resident, the group estimates, and the sum could increase by as much as $10 billion annually.
The updated report isn't so much a case of "I told you so" as it is a renewed call to action, committee members said. Recent events, including former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged pay-to-play politics and the economy's two-year downward spiral, have made the situation more precarious, but the roots of the problem go deeper.
"The reality is that politicians in both major parties, over many years, have failed to manage the state's affairs and finances consistent with the interests of the people who live and work in this state," the report said. "They have ducked anything that resembled a hard choice."
Members of the state legislature, as well as Gov. Pat Quinn, were briefed on parts of the report over the past two weeks.
"Gov. Quinn realizes the urgency of the state's fiscal condition and is exploring a range of measures and solutions," a spokeswoman said. "In doing so, Gov. Quinn has reached out to many organizations, including the Civic Committee, and welcomes their input."
According to the report, there is no longer any pretense that the state's budget is balanced. The anticipated revenue shortfall, the increasing pension and retiree health-care costs, unpaid Medicaid bills and failed commitments to aid public schools add up to a fiscal 2009 budget gap of $9.6 billion.
The hard choices reiterated by the committee are similar to those taken by the private sector and involve cutting costs, particularly in the areas of employee pensions and retiree health-care benefits. The committee also restated its position that a tax increase is inevitable but should not be considered until the state's expenses are reduced.
"We need someone to take action, and that action has to be reform [and] cut costs—what responsible people do when they can't live within their means," said committee chairman W. James Farrell. "You really can't tax your way out of this problem. If you tax your way out of this, businesses would be leaving the state in droves."
Recommendations include:
•Creating a second tier of pension benefits for new state employees and increasing the required amount that all employees contribute to their pensions by at least 1 percentage point.
•Taking a page from the Chicago Transit Authority by not acting as guarantor of retiree health benefits. Rather, the state should make a fixed contribution toward retiree health-care plans, with current and future retirees picking up the rest. The change could amount to a savings of $1.1 billion.
•Restructuring Medicaid programs by shifting all children and most adults into risk-based managed-care programs, requiring "gatekeeper" referrals to specialists and other measures that could save the state $750 million annually.
•Making state purchasing more efficient and further consolidating various human resources departments, a move that could save $400 million a year.
•Capping revenue sharing and grants to local governments, saving up to $300 million annually.
The 2006 report, the group said, largely fell on deaf ears. This time, the group is heartened by initial talks members have had with legislators and the fact that the recession's impact on the state has increased the calls for reforms.
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton had an "insightful" meeting with committee members, who have been invited to participate in a newly formed Senate Committee of Deficit Reduction, a spokeswoman said.
"I heard a receptiveness to this that I haven't heard before," said R. Eden Martin, Civic Committee president. "Whether it translates to anything, we'll see."
mepodmolik@tribune.com
*******************************************************
There is a interesting graphic in the original story that is worth the view. (Comment from SSSM) Thanks for posting this.
Illinois' precarious financial picture worsening, report warns
By Mary Ellen Podmolik | Tribune reporter
March 2, 2009
www.chicagotribune.com/business/c....0,3727667.story
Illinois is on the verge of a financial meltdown, and hard choices will be necessary to contain the economic damage, according to a report from a group of prominent businesses executives.
The report, to be released Monday by the Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago, paints an even darker picture of the state's finances than in late 2006, when the group calculated that the funding shortfall amounted to $106 billion, or $8,800 for each of Illinois' 12 million residents.
Unfunded debts total more than $116 billion, or $10,000 per resident, the group estimates, and the sum could increase by as much as $10 billion annually.
The updated report isn't so much a case of "I told you so" as it is a renewed call to action, committee members said. Recent events, including former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged pay-to-play politics and the economy's two-year downward spiral, have made the situation more precarious, but the roots of the problem go deeper.
"The reality is that politicians in both major parties, over many years, have failed to manage the state's affairs and finances consistent with the interests of the people who live and work in this state," the report said. "They have ducked anything that resembled a hard choice."
Members of the state legislature, as well as Gov. Pat Quinn, were briefed on parts of the report over the past two weeks.
"Gov. Quinn realizes the urgency of the state's fiscal condition and is exploring a range of measures and solutions," a spokeswoman said. "In doing so, Gov. Quinn has reached out to many organizations, including the Civic Committee, and welcomes their input."
According to the report, there is no longer any pretense that the state's budget is balanced. The anticipated revenue shortfall, the increasing pension and retiree health-care costs, unpaid Medicaid bills and failed commitments to aid public schools add up to a fiscal 2009 budget gap of $9.6 billion.
The hard choices reiterated by the committee are similar to those taken by the private sector and involve cutting costs, particularly in the areas of employee pensions and retiree health-care benefits. The committee also restated its position that a tax increase is inevitable but should not be considered until the state's expenses are reduced.
"We need someone to take action, and that action has to be reform [and] cut costs—what responsible people do when they can't live within their means," said committee chairman W. James Farrell. "You really can't tax your way out of this problem. If you tax your way out of this, businesses would be leaving the state in droves."
Recommendations include:
•Creating a second tier of pension benefits for new state employees and increasing the required amount that all employees contribute to their pensions by at least 1 percentage point.
•Taking a page from the Chicago Transit Authority by not acting as guarantor of retiree health benefits. Rather, the state should make a fixed contribution toward retiree health-care plans, with current and future retirees picking up the rest. The change could amount to a savings of $1.1 billion.
•Restructuring Medicaid programs by shifting all children and most adults into risk-based managed-care programs, requiring "gatekeeper" referrals to specialists and other measures that could save the state $750 million annually.
•Making state purchasing more efficient and further consolidating various human resources departments, a move that could save $400 million a year.
•Capping revenue sharing and grants to local governments, saving up to $300 million annually.
The 2006 report, the group said, largely fell on deaf ears. This time, the group is heartened by initial talks members have had with legislators and the fact that the recession's impact on the state has increased the calls for reforms.
Illinois Senate President John Cullerton had an "insightful" meeting with committee members, who have been invited to participate in a newly formed Senate Committee of Deficit Reduction, a spokeswoman said.
"I heard a receptiveness to this that I haven't heard before," said R. Eden Martin, Civic Committee president. "Whether it translates to anything, we'll see."
mepodmolik@tribune.com
*******************************************************
There is a interesting graphic in the original story that is worth the view. (Comment from SSSM) Thanks for posting this.
) - we are already looking at on line learning as a future education tool and Frontier campus is at only a little over 50% capacity. 
.