Progress Illinois

Republicans and conservatives categorically opposed to an income tax increase in Illinois have so far failed to make a convincing case that lawmakers can cut their way out of our gaping state deficit. (See, for example, the vague ideas put forth by the Civic Federation and State Sen. Matt Murphy in recent weeks.)

Now some Republican leaders think they have found their answer in the Taxpayer Action Board assessment (PDF) released last week. Speaking on WUIS Radio yesterday, House Minority Leader Tom Cross leaned heavily on the report when asked where smart cuts could be made to close the budget deficit. Listen here:

Internal mp3

CROSS: I think you have to explore [Medicaid managed care], you have to explore pensions. You’ve got a report that came out called the Taxpayer Action Board. And there are about 10 areas they talked about -- from cutting to Medicaid to pensions -- and I think you have to explore all of those and really exhaust all of those before you go down any other road of revenue.

We've already run through the problems with the managed care and two-tiered pension reforms that are repeatedly being cited on the airwaves. So it's no surprise that the TAB report, while helpful for pointing out some inefficiencies in state government, is no panacea. As Rich Miller wrote in his column last week, "this report is a good thing in that it shows without doubt that there is just no way for Illinois to fully cut itself out of this awful budget mess." Don't believe him? Maybe Steve Schnorf, former George Ryan budget director will change your mind.  From the "minority report" he co-wrote and appended to the TAB study (page 121):

My best personal estimate is that you will be able to save very little, if any, money in FY10. If I were working on the budget, I would be thrilled if there were $200 million in actual, achievable FY10 savings. I think it is also important to remember that our suggestions aren’t the ordained word, handed down from on high. I believe if you had appointed 30 different people, with 15 different consultants, you would likely be getting a very different set of proposals. Take everything we say to you with some grain of salt.