Illinois Dems Drop the Ball AGAIN

State stimulus money, jobs, held up in Springfield. CBS2 video. HT The Sixth Ward. Zorn offers a "tiny apology". Dennis Byrne, "Public employee unions have become the deadly enemy of Chicago's commonweal." Interesting comments on a Crain's story on non-profit pain. Here's one:

Ana F. wrote:

The State of Illinois must bring expenses in line with existing revenue immediately, period! Let the programs find other sources of donation and/or adjust accordingly. Do not add to the existing debt. Then, twelve months from now, we can discuss a tax increase to pay the existing debt. That is what I had to do in my small business and home.

And this:

J J. wrote:

@Vincent B.

I'm not advocating cutting services to the most needy. BUT I am also not falling for the politicians scare tactics. There are lots of other places to cut the budget. Although this isn't very scientific, take a look at an LA Times "state budget balancer" program, that shows where cuts can be made to balance their $26 billion dollar deficit: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-statebudget-fl,0,95571.htmlstory

As you can see there are many places where the budget can be cut to make up the gap, not just cutting from cutting services for the most needy. Of course Illinois is run by powerful unions who will make sure that those vital services are cut before their benefits are.

One more time--the Illinois Policy Institute's blueprint for streamlining Illinois without raising taxes.