Since his election in November, Governor Bruce Rauner has expressed surprise about what he says he's "discovering" in the state's budget. As it turns out, Rauner has been setting himself up to ask for special budgeting powers.
Illinois's program for childcare assistance is running out of money, meaning parents left without subsidies might have to choose between quitting work to stay home with their kids, or earning just enough to pay for daycare.
That $300 million dollar shortfall is the first of many budget bombs that are set to go off, left by former Governor Pat Quinn's administration on the way out of office. Democrats had been counting on a Quinn victory in November and had passed a budget last Spring that relied on an extension of the 2011 income tax hike.
But Quinn was ousted, and Democrats weren't eager to help out governor Rauner with a budget fix, especially when he'd repeatedly promised to fix the state’s finances without that tax increase. Now, Rauner wants special budgeting powers to fix these budget holes.
"Many key departments are running out of money. We've had a dishonest government structure. What I've asked the legislature to do, and I'm working closely with them, is to allow me to reallocate money out of non-essential activities and put it into what's essential. We'll do that in the short run."
Rauner wants to borrow money from special funds within state government, revenues funded by specific fees. It's a bit like using your vacation savings to go grocery shopping. This isn't an unusual strategy; Interfund borrowing was a part of this year's budget. Here is Senator Dan Biss, a Democrat from Evanston, back in May.
"Hey, let's be honest. We're passing a budget that delays some very important decisions. And in a situation like that, we need to give the governor the authority needed to manage his way through this situation."
But the difference here is that most interfund borrowing must be paid back in 18 months with interest. Governor Rauner doesn't want to do that. He says he views the myriad of special funds in state government as a place to hide money and has suggested he wants to eliminate them.
To borrow from and not pay back these funds seems disingenuous to new Treasurer Mike Frerichs, a Democrat.
"I think that when we borrow, we should pay back our debts.”
The next budget bomb set to go off is the state's prison system. The Department of Corrections may fall short on payroll as early as March.
