SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — After watching from the sidelines for months, Republican lawmakers now enjoy new power over the state’s budget mess and they’re using it to push doggedly for major changes in government spending.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — After watching from the sidelines for months, Republican lawmakers now enjoy new power over the state’s budget mess and they’re using it to push doggedly for major changes in government spending. They want controls on fast-rising health care and retirement costs, two politically sensitive and financially complex issues that can’t be resolved quickly. To get them, Republicans are willing to delay budget decisions by passing a temporary spending plan to keep government operating while negotiations continue. The risk for Republicans is that they’ll be tangled up in a budget crisis that, so far, has largely been the responsibility of the Democratic majority. Even if they get many of the changes they want, Republicans could share in the blame if the stalemate drags on all summer and ultimately produces an unpopular tax increase and painful service cuts. "By winning on the intellectual component of budgetary discussions, they risk the Democrats outflanking them on the political message," said Doug Whitley, president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Republicans are a distinct minority in the Illinois House and Senate. During most of the spring legislative session, they were largely ignored by Democratic leaders trying to figure out how to fill an $11.6 billion budget deficit. But that changed on June 1, when new legislative rules kicked in. Now, it will take a three-fifths vote, rather than a simple majority, to pass a budget. Democrats can no longer do it alone. The current budget expires Tuesday at midnight, and there’s tremendous uncertainty about what the next budget might look like. Community groups that get state money to provide local services are preparing for huge cuts. State employees fear massive layoffs. Government soon might have to stop paying many bills. Given the atmosphere of crisis, Democrats would like to see Republicans quickly sign on to the mix of budget cuts, tax increases and financial gimmicks that have been on the table for weeks. Republicans, however, aren’t about to squander their rare moment of power. They refuse to talk taxes until getting concrete action on pensions and health care. Republicans don’t want to block progress on the budget when so many people are worried, said House Minority Leader Tom Cross. Their goal is to make changes that will help the budget for years to come, he said, even if it means a delay now. "If you don’t do them now, they’ll never get done. We’ll repeat what we’ve done in the past," said Cross, R-Oswego. Some Democrats say Republicans are raising good points that could result in useful changes to the state budget. Others object to the GOP’s proposals. But both groups warn that Republicans shouldn’t delay the budget with demands unless they’re ultimately willing to discuss the unpleasant issue of taxes. People in both parties acknowledge the state’s budget crisis can’t be solved through spending cuts alone, so Democrats argue that Republicans are delaying for no good reason if they won’t consider a tax increase. "The Republicans will show us that they are cooperative when they decide that some of them are going to support a tax increase," said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago. "I would be hopeful that they would be ready to step up to the plate, but I’ve seen no evidence to date that tells me that’s going to happen." She said the Republican idea of a temporary budget would simply delay the necessary spending cuts, making them even more painful once they finally take effect. Republicans appear to be getting some results from their new role in budget talks. Gov. Pat Quinn and the four legislative leaders have appointed working groups to come up with quick recommendations for overhauling Medicaid, which provides medical care to the poor, and government retirements systems. For Medicaid, that could mean more emphasis on HMO-style managed care, an idea that worries many Democrats. Retirement changes could include offering reduced benefits to future government employees — something Quinn proposed this year, triggering stiff resistance — or even switching to a system where retirees are no longer guaranteed a set pension. Even if these working groups come up with ideas that could pass, they’re unlikely to make a big difference in the upcoming budget. The Medicaid group’s goal, for instance, is $100 million in savings for the upcoming budget — a tiny fraction of the deficit Illinois faces. Republicans also have won Quinn’s commitment to cut government spending by an additional $1 billion, on top of roughly $1 billion in cuts he proposed earlier, and he has agreed to a "sunshine commission" that will find other ways to save money in the future. Republicans have been vague about where else to cut. A Senate Republican report on the budget offered few specifics. And they opposed a Democratic budget proposal that focused most of the pain on community organizations providing such services as child care, drug counseling and mental health treatment. Republican lawmakers are in a strong position not just because their votes are needed but because Democrats are divided. If Quinn and the Democratic legislative leaders could agree on a budget plan, they might be able to turn up the public pressure for Republicans to go along. Or they might be able to peel off a handful of GOP votes and pass their plan. But Democrats can’t seem to work together. The House has one idea, the Senate another and Quinn a third. How much should spending be cut? How high should taxes be raised? Is a temporary budget worth considering? Democrats don’t have a united answer for those questions. Republicans may run some political risk from getting more deeply involved in a crisis that can have no pleasant, voter-friendly solution, but lawmakers are betting that voters know which party has been in charge. It was the Democratic majority that passed budget after budget weakening state finances, Cross said, and it was the majority that failed to come up with a solution this spring. Comparing state government to a drifting ship that has run aground, Cross sees an opportunity for Republicans to impress voters. "I think we can right the ship and help get it off that reef," Cross said. "The fact that someone is trying to guide it in a responsible way is a positive." ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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