Issue Position: Fixing the State Budget

Issue Position

All three ratings agencies (Standard and Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's) are downgrading Illinois. The state is borrowing billions just to stay afloat. Census data shows that about 240,000 more Illinoisans lived in poverty in 2008, compared to 2000, yet there are over 4,000 former State of Illinois employees receiving pensions over $100,000/year.

We have serious problems to fix.

To fix these problems we need to take a common sense approach and reduce spending. In a time when state revenues are decreasing, we must decrease spending to be fiscally prudent.

We need to make positive changes that will create long term solutions. For example, we need to make immediate changes to the state pension program like the creation of a dual track system that will begin to reduce escalating costs to the state.

We need to streamline state government, improve accountability, reduce wasteful spending, increase efficiency through technology, and reduce fraud in major budget areas such as Medicare. We also need to move to a system of "health care" rather than "sick care." A health system that requires personal responsibility and encourages people to take better care of their health will reduce costs to state and local governments.

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