 |
| EDGAR: Budget a priority |
Personally,
it doesn’t shock me, except perhaps that it took Edgar (who served two terms as
governor back in the 1990s) four months into the current fiscal year before he
expressed his thoughts.
I
SUSPECT HE has felt this way ever since the current fiscal year began on July
1, only he kept his mouth shut out of some sense of loyalty to the “Republican”
label that both Edgar and Bruce Rauner bear.
But
the difference between the two is that Edgar was a government official, while
Rauner is a business executive who ran for elective office in last year’s
election cycle under the line of logic that he wanted to toss out the “old way”
of doing things.
Largely
because he and his allies view government as the element that gets in the way
of maximizing their financial bottom line.
Edgar
was literally the guy who got out of college and became, first an intern, then
a staffer with the Legislature. Later, he became a legislator, a gubernatorial
aide, then secretary of state before he ran for terms as governor in 1990 and
1994.
THIS
IS A guy who is going to view the putting together of a budget for the daily
operations of state government as a priority – perhaps even the highlight for
the state’s fiscal year.
Whereas
Rauner is the guy who had never run for office, and openly campaigned on his
opposition to organized labor and union concerns. He probably does think
achieving something toward that goal is more important than a budget.
Probably
because he has deluded himself to thinking that government continues to operate
regardless of the process, and that the agencies and programs that are now
being forced to shutter themselves aren’t all that important – at least not to
him.
 |
| RAUNER: Labor opposition to the death?!? |
So
the fact that Edgar has given a few interviews to say that Rauner needs to act
to approve a budget? It is one of those rare moments for those political geeks
who live for the minutia of government procedure.
SO
WHAT HAPPENS now? I don’t think Rauner will be swayed by anything Edgar says.
Rauner is the guy who has said a budget could come some time around January or
February – although he also says it is because Chicago city government is in
need of state support, which will force city legislators to back him if they
want the City Council to receive its aid.
Which,
to my ears, sounds like he’s claiming Chicago ineptitude, and that the state
will have to come to its rescue. But I also know that EVERY municipality in
Illinois gets a significant share of its funds from the state.
The
lack of a state budget is going to flow down and cause problems for everybody –
even those communities with Republican leadership who want to think that Rauner
is paying special attention to them.
As
for Edgar, what should we think of him telling the Illinois Radio Network, “We
can’t hold the budget hostage for other issues,” adding later, “We have to set
priorities, and the priority, I believe, is the budget.”
I
REALIZE THAT for Rauner, the anti-labor measures are the priority. He made it
clear when he campaigned that’s what he wants.
While
I disagree with such a priority, I understand he’s not going to give it up so
long as he’s governor. I fully expect he will resurrect his efforts during the
spring of 2016 – and also will use his money during next year’s election cycle
to try to shift the balance of power so that the Legislature won’t be so
solidly opposed to him.
If
he can accomplish such things, then so be it. The will of the voters will have
spoken.
But
until then, the budget battle has become evidence of how purely ideological our
political scene has become – with the one-time “Gov. No” known for his
willingness to refuse to go along with Chicago political desires now using his “No”
to try to sway the senses of our governor.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment