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Illinois Policy Institute says State Needs to Cut Billions from Budget

One of Illinois' private, fiscal watchdogs says lawmakers need to slash billions, not just trim millions, from Governor Pat Quinn's proposed state budget.The Illinois Policy Institute released a plan that would cap state spending at $29.4 billion. that's about four and-a-half billion below Quinn's proposal. One of the components of its plan would be to shift the costs for downstate teacher retirements to local school districts. The institute's Ted Dabrowski says shifting the costs to local taxpayers would not necessarily result in higher property taxes, because local schools will become much more frugal with salaries and benefits when they have to cover their own costs. He says  structurally their plan tries to bring back accountability. Dabrowski says one group of government shouldn't have to incur a cost, and someone else have to pay for it.  He likens that scenario to an open bar. Dabrowski says we all know what happens at a bar when someone is paying; things go crazy. We want to avoid those kind of things.
 
Some Illinois lawmakers have been talking about shifting retirement costs, and they're not ruling it out. The institute's budget plan also calls for state employees to take a 10 percent pay cut.  That's something the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees union (AFSCME) is strongly against.

The Illinois Policy Institute Plan also includes a component for Medicaid reform involving the removal of some people from the Medicaid rolls.  More information on the plan is available at the Institute's webpage.

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