Questionable Government Spending Abounds

Observations and comments about state government by State Representative Robert W. Pritchard.

July 26, 2010

·        How to Create Jobs and Put People Back to Work
·        The Governor’s Efforts to Balance the Budget
·        Senior Health Fair Approaching

·        Celebrate the Power of Reading

·        Governor Signs More Legislation

·        Questionable Government Spending Abounds
·        Small Business Resource Fair Reveals Opportunity
·        Cemetery Meeting Informs about New Regulations
·        Higher Education Commission Looks at Finances

How to Create Jobs and Put People Back to Work

As I travel around the district many people ask about the state’s efforts to create jobs and put citizens back to work.  With more Illinoisans unemployed today than at any time since the Great Depression, the jobs crisis demands action.

People generally understand that jobs which create economic value come from small business, not government.  Yet state and local governments help create the climate for business to operate and make a profit which results in job creation and business growth.

The evidence is pretty clear that in Illinois, government has created a climate that discourages business to create jobs and expand operations here.  For the last decade job growth in Illinois has been only 40 percent of the national average.  In just three years of the past 30 has Illinois job growth exceeded the national average.

Testimony at the Job Creation Hearings held across the state by a House task force this spring pointed out government regulations and lack of responsiveness to help business locate in Illinois and expand here are part of the problem.  Many solutions were presented that I’ve collected in what I call the top 10 ideas for creating jobs.  I share those ideas in a flier that will be mailed to all households in the next week.

The ideas are not revolutionary but have helped our neighboring states to battle the recession better than Illinois.  By putting people back to work, state tax revenues will grow naturally.

According to a University of Illinois Regional Economic Applications Laboratory (REAL) study, the lack of job growth in Illinois has resulted in over $6 billion less state revenue over the past decade.  That’s half our current deficit!  To get more information now, please visit the U of I REAL website (www.real.illinois.edu).

The Governor’s Efforts to Balance the Budget

There’s an old proverb that to get out of a hole, you have to stop digging.  Illinois hasn’t stopped digging.

The current budget passed by the General Assembly authorizes about $4 billion more spending than anticipated revenue.  However, Governor Pat Quinn was given extra ordinary authority to cut spending and use revenue from all sources to balance the budget as required by the constitution.  How is he doing?

About 30 days into the new fiscal year he has yet to decide where to make the $1.4 billion in cuts he announced on July first.  This budget is beginning to look a lot like last year when the governor didn’t make the needed cuts in spending; he just delayed payments and added to our debt.

Governor Quinn has decided to increase state worker pay when many citizens would just like to have a job.  He has focused his executive powers on non-union employees to take a mandatory five weeks (24 days) off without pay while only suggesting union workers do the same.  You can see why over 90 percent of state workers have unionized.

I continue to call for the General Assembly to return to Springfield, to discuss spending priorities and come up with realistic solutions to our financial crisis.  Putting off the difficult decisions due to political expediency is completely unacceptable.

This past spring legislators offered more than 60 ideas to fundamentally change our budget process, increase fiscal accountability, help employers to create jobs, and rein-in wasteful spending.  Illinois cannot afford to allow the Governor and legislative leaders to ignore these ideas.

Senior Health Fair Approaching

Please join Senator Brad Burzynski and me for our annual Senior Health Fair on Thursday, August 12th from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the DeKalb County Center for Agriculture (1350 W. Prairie Drive, Sycamore).  Held in conjunction with the Family Service Agency’s Senior Services Center, the fair features over 30 service providers and free health screenings.

Not just for senior citizens, the fair offers care givers information about programs and services for seniors.  There will be free screenings for blood pressure, hearing, and diabetic foot testing.  For more information, please call my office at (815) 748-3494.

Celebrate the Power of Reading

Every summer I encourage children throughout the district to continue to read.  My Summer Reading Club celebrates those children in 1st through 5th grades who read at least eight books.

Please join me at one of the following locations to celebrate:  Sandwich Public Library (Aug. 4 at 3 p.m.), Flagg-Rochelle Public Library (Aug. 5 at 3 p.m.), DeKalb Public Library (Aug. 7 at 10 a.m.), or Sycamore Public Library (Aug. 10 at 3 p.m.).  This year Culvers of Sycamore, Culvers of Rochelle, Barnes and Noble, and Borders join in providing the tangible rewards.  Of course the real benefits to the reading program are expanded imaginations, information and skills useful for life.

Governor Signs More Legislation

During the summer the Governor is acting on hundreds of bills passed by the General Assembly this spring.  This past week he signed five bills I sponsored including SB 2801 which affects Kishwaukee Community College.  The law allows Kish to issue bonds for building purposes for 25 years (instead of 20 years) if approved at referendum.  The college is responding to dramatic enrollment jumps of nearly 40 percent in the last two years.

Another of the bills I sponsored with Senator Burzynski affects the prompt payment law.  SB 3587 directs the state to pay interest to individuals as well as providers of goods or services when the state fails to pay them on time.  Some providers are requiring individuals to make partial or full payment for services at time of delivery and then wait for state reimbursement.  The state was not paying those individuals a late payment penalty but will in the future due to this law.

Questionable Government Spending Abounds

Illinois is used to road signs promoting governors and government programs.  Recently U.S. Representative Aaron Schock (R-Illinois) pointed out the amount of federal funds being spent to promote the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

He introduced a bill to prohibit funding for any additional ARRA signs, require agencies to report on the amount already spent on signs and would recapture those funds for taxpayers by reducing the agencies administrative expenses equal to the cost of the signs.

According to Schock, the signs are simply advertising for President Obama and his public works projects.  Each sign can cost taxpayers up to $10,000 and roughly $20 million has been spent on signs nationwide.  Schock goes on to explain that despite the trillion dollar stimulus being sold as an infrastructure improvement package, less than eight percent of these funds went to infrastructure projects.  His bill is before Congress for a vote.

Small Business Resource Fair Reveals Opportunity

Along with several citizens from the district, I attended Congressman Bill Foster’s (D-Illinois) Small Business Resource Fair at Elgin Community College recently.  A wide variety of more than 20 government agencies and other organizations were available to explain programs and resources available to help small businesses.

Two statements at the fair impressed me that spell opportunity for our state. The Department of Energy has allocated over a billion dollars for Illinois to use in weatherizing, renewable energy, storage batteries and creating green jobs.  Only about $100 million has been committed leaving 90 percent of the funds available for grant proposals.

Visit www.energy.gov/recovery/il.htm for details and how to apply for the grants.

The second statement explained why Illinois is dead last in receiving federal energy awards.  Agencies, units of government and businesses need to apply for the federal grants and Illinois grant writing is “lousy”, to quote the presenter.  This spells opportunity for individuals looking for work and organizations looking for funding.

Perhaps our Community Colleges can create or better promote their grant writing courses.  According to the presenter, grant writing requires good writing skills, local proposals that meet the federal goals, and tenacity.  One Indiana community of less than 500 people hired a grant writer who won millions of dollars for local programs.

Cemetery Meeting Informs about New Regulations

Senator Burzynski and I recently held an informational meeting to discuss new rules, fees and reporting standards of the Cemetery Oversight Act signed into law earlier this year.

The legislation creates a unified regulatory structure for the funeral and cemetery industries and provides rigorous oversight and regulation of public and private cemeteries in Illinois.  The rules implementing the law will not be approved for several months.  Contact either the Senator’s or my office for further information.

Higher Education Commission Looks at Finances

I have been appointed to a study commission created by SJR88 that will make recommendations about how to align the state’s goals for college and career success with its higher education budgeting process.  While our goal is for more citizens to earn a college degree, the state is investing less in higher education today than it did in 2002 on an inflation adjusted basis.

The commission will look at funding practices in other states, and examine the productivity of public colleges and universities, tuition and financial aid policies, and alternative funding mechanisms.  A report is expected by the first of next year.

Bob

District Office 815-748-3494 or E-Mail to bob@pritchardstaterep.com