Critics say Illinois governor's budget plan fails to 'cut, cut, cut'

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Before he presented his plan for balancing a crumbling state budget, Gov. Pat Quinn offered three words about his approach: "cut, cut, cut."

Now many state lawmakers are looking at his proposal and responding with three words of their own: "Is that it?"

Quinn presented a budget Wednesday that calls for about $1.3 billion in spending cuts. He has spelled out only a few of them, however. Most reductions are vaguely described as "efficiencies" or "holding the line."

His proposal doesn't contain any headline-grabbing cuts. No overhaul of Medicaid. No mass layoffs. No closing of major facilities.

And the cuts cover only a fraction of the $11.5 billion deficit Illinois faces -- about $1 in every $10. Other steps, notably an income tax increase, would be needed to cover the rest of the deficit.

Lawmakers of both parties say that before they and their constituents will back a tax increase, the Democratic governor must show the state is doing everything possible to control spending, particularly wasteful jobs and contracts based on political connections.

"I think Illinoisans want to know, 'Before you raise my cost of living, what are you going to do to clean up Illinois government? What are you going to do to reform it? What are you going to do to fumigate that government?'" said House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.

Quinn's budget proposal is certainly lean enough that it outraged some groups.

State employees would have to take four unpaid days off and would be required to pay more for health insurance. The changes amount to a significant drop in take-home pay and would save the state about $236 million.

The state would reduce payments to community organizations that provide social services, such as foster care or mental health programs. The 2 percent cuts would save about $80 million.

Illinois Action for Children complains that some of Quinn's proposals are "potentially devastating." The state employee union AFSCME said the budget is "unfairly balanced" on workers' backs.

Other groups, however, applauded Quinn for not proposing deeper cuts.

The Illinois Hospital Association praised him for not trying to reduce Medicaid, the fast-growing health program that makes up a big chunk of the state's budget.

Many Republicans think Medicaid is exactly where Illinois should make cuts. They think HMO-style "managed care" could save money without hurting services provided to poor people -- for instance, by encouraging early treatment before ailments grow serious and much more costly to treat.

Managed care isn't popular among Democratic lawmakers, who worry it would be used to deny service to needy people. Still, Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said he was surprised Quinn didn't even propose discussing Medicaid costs, if only to demonstrate that he's willing to look at everything during the budget crisis.

Murphy, the chief budget expert for Senate Republicans, gives high marks to some Quinn proposals and acknowledges that trimming the budget isn't simple.

"I try not to suggest that I think there are a lot of cheap and easy cuts for a lot of money, because I don't know that there are," Murphy said. "I think he made a good-faith effort at trying to take on sacred cows."

But he complained that Quinn has offered few details about the efficiencies and cost-cutting he estimates would save $1.3 billion. Even if that's a realistic estimate, it doesn't go far enough, Murphy said.

"It's definitely a little thinner on the cuts side than I think most people feel would be necessary before anybody would be willing to stomach a tax hike of that magnitude," Murphy said.

Quinn's proposed cuts pale in comparison to the $15 billion in reductions that California officials approved in the face of a $42 billion deficit. Schools lost billions of dollars, state employees lost two paid holidays and had to take at least a dozen unpaid furlough days. People in welfare and health care programs were denied cost-of-living increases.

Quinn makes clear that without a tax increase, Illinois would have to make similar cuts to vital services -- something he's not willing to do.

"I believe our state budget should reflect our values. We are a state that has a servant's heart. We understand if there is a child who needs health care, we're there to provide it. If there's a person with disabilities, we're there to help them," Quinn said Friday.

So far, Quinn's public discussions of his budget have focused on what it would offer people, not what it would take away.

Spokeswoman Katherine Ridgway said Quinn will do more to show legislators he's serious about cutting. His administration notified lawmakers Friday that it wants to close a Southern Illinois center for juvenile delinquents, saving $2.7 million, she said.

But Quinn says small cuts, even a lot of them, won't be enough.

"Some of the suggestions I heard the other day, they might save $10, you know, or maybe $100 or maybe $1 million. We'd like to make all those economies, but the bottom line is you got to get up to $11.5 billion. And that's my job," Quinn said. "I wear the jacket. I'm accountable."

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Associated Press Writer Deanna Bellandi contributed to this report from Chicago.