©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Gov. Edgar Says Budget Problems May be Partly his Fault |
(IRN)-Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar says Republicans should lower their expectations when it comes to facing the state's burgeoning budget problems.
Edgar, now a University of Illinois political science professor, says the largest deficit he ever faced was $2 billion, which he says is "child's play" compared to today's problems. He says suggesting far more conservative spending caps and revenue projections than the governor's is a good start toward outlining what lawmakers want, but it's just a start.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with people saying this is what I want. But they've got to understand they're not going to get everything they want," says Edgar. "And if they hold out for everything they want, I think they'll fail."
Edgar says he may even be partially to blame for the current situation. He left office with a surplus of roughly $1.5 billion. He says legislators like to spend money, so that's what they did.
"We left things in too good a shape. When we left office, we had a billion and a half dollar surplus, state government was working pretty well, people kind of forgot what had happened in the late 80s, that we spent more than we took in," he said.
Edgar says the culture of spending continued until earlier this year, which is when he says major steps were taken to cut the budget and rein in spending. But he says more cutting must be done, which will now be a lot harder because constituents won't understand why budget cuts are needed after a tax increase.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
|
| 04 08 11 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
