Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s budget director, John Filan, said fiscal health is better than the numbers make it look. He said the state is taking in enough money to cover annual bills, but it’s burdened by debt that the Democrat inherited when he took office in January 2003.And we have a case in point on what this can mean for patients, in Heartbreaker.
“In terms of day-to-day running the joint, so to speak, we’ve taken in more money than we’ve spent in terms of expenditures,” he said.
The figures reflect the state’s long-standing struggle to control health-care bills and pay down pension debt. Comptroller Dan Hynes, a Democrat, called them “two major obstacles to getting entirely on sound fiscal footing.”
The state was backed up with $1.4 billion in health-care bills when it ended its last budget on June 30. And as of late last year, its five pension systems had a $38.6 billion gap between cash in the bank and what it would cost to cover retirees and current workers’ retirement balances.
Health-care providers serving Medicaid recipients often wait several months for the state to reimburse them for the costs. And when the state finally gets around to paying them, it usually covers less than 100 percent of their costs.
Two Illinois Republican legislators, kept in the dark by the governor's office, are forced to file a FOI request to pin down $500 million in proposed spending. (Not a surprise after the governor's arbitrary move on stem cell funding.)
Did you see Lynn Sweet interviewed on Brit Hume's show last night on Illinois' penchant for children inheriting their fathers' ELECTED positions? (or being picked to run for plum posts)
Meanwhile the governor is still fast-stepping around legal questions on hiring.....but Topinka has yet to get traction.
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