With no budget, Rauner delivers Illinois State of the State

IL has been operating without a budget as of July of previous year when the Democratic-controlled legislature was not able to come to terms with the Republican governor on reforms he says would make IL more business-friendly.

It is scheduled to begin at noon.

“Governor Bruce Rauner understands what Illinoisans rightly think; state government is inefficient and spends too much, taxpayers are overtaxed and IL can grow again if our leaders decide to reject the status quo and transform our state government”. But it will be the state budget – or the lack of one – that will continue to color everything the governor does in the coming year.

CORLEY: The Chicago Sun-Times reports the governor will highlight a bipartisan pension plan along with education and criminal justice reforms.

“In his State of the State address today, Gov. Rauner renewed his attack on our courts and his demand that lawmakers roll back the financial safeguards that our state’s workers’ compensation and tort systems afford to the vast majority of Illinoisans. We see the whole system is becoming more and more frail”, she said.

The governor will need the help of Democrats, who have supermajorities in the Legislature, although already the pension plan appears to face a roadblock over Rauner’s suggestion that it include limits on labor union bargaining power.

Bivins said the day of reckoning is here for years of overspending and ignoring a constitutional mandate to keep a balanced budget. “If we work together, IL can be both compassionate and competitive”, Rauner said.

“The people of IL deserve nothing less than the best education system in America”, Rauner said. “The people of IL need stability and solutions, but the governor has terminated contract negotiations and walked away from the table, trying to force confrontation and disruption”.

He mentioned in his speech that lawyers are still working out the details but that, as a note of compromise, he will support Cullerton’s pension plan that makes retirees choose between a higher pensionable salary or higher COLAs (cost of living adjustments) in retirement.

He said he will use an executive order to create a private, non-profit office to recruit businesses and jobs to Illinois, after Democrats previous year shot down his plan to turn the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity into a private-public partnership.

“The problem is going to be many of our members are probably going to say, ‘Well, that’s OK; that’s pension reform”.

Democrat Mike Smiddy, the 71st District state representative, said his focus was on what the governor didn’t say. Meanwhile, Speaker Madigan said a working group in the House has been studying the education funding formula for several months.

Supporters say the latest budget cuts are weakening the state’s economy and communities. “To drive that result, we are committed to eliminating wasteful bureaucracy, putting more money into our classrooms, freeing up our teachers to teach and holding our schools truly accountable for results”.

And he’ll repeat earlier calls for fixing the state’s massive pension debt, which stands at $111 billion.