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| Governor Wants Senate to Take Up Borrowing |
The governor is counting noses in the Illinois Senate to pass a plan to borrow money to pay into the state's pension funds.
The Senate left Springfield last month without taking action on the borrowing plan, worth $3.7 billion, that passed the House with the minimum 71 votes needed.
Gov. Pat Quinn says he thinks the votes are there in the Senate to get this passed. "I hope we can get it done by the end of the month," he said Monday in Chicago. "That's what we need to do. The Senate has to gather their courage and come together and take a vote on this. We did it in the House, we got 71 votes, three-fifths of the House. It was a Herculean effort. I expect the same out of the Illinois Senate. If they don't, they're letting the people down."
It will take 36 votes to pass this in the Senate. There are 37 Democrats, but three will not vote for it: State Sens. James DeLeo (D-Chicago), Heather Steans (D-Chicago) and Michael Noland (D-Elgin). The governor says he thinks he has lined up "three or four" Republicans to vote for it, but he didn't name names.
Quinn says borrowing to fulfill the state's pension contribution obligation will cost taxpayers $1 billion in interest. However, not borrowing will cost taxpayers $20 billion in lost interest over the years, as pension funds will have to sell assets to pay beneficiaries. Opponents of the borrowing plan argue that the governor should prioritize the pension obligation, and make $3.7 billion in cuts somewhere else.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 06 08 10 by Newsroom |
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