Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner has already tried to make the case that that Illinois' finances are worse than he thought. Now he's adding to his list of examples.
"What we've learned here in recent days, and I'm here to get more of the detail on ... there's $760 million of what they're calling - what I guess, I'm learning the lingo - supplemental appropriations, about to be requested," he said.
Basically, it means that state agencies are going to be asking for an additional $760 million to get them through this budget year -- or, as Rauner put it, they want to go "over budget."
"And what we've learned is these department heads were told to submit some low number in the budget, the budget doesn't really mean anything, put in a low number, spend how you want to spend, and then we'll deal with it after the election," he said at a Better Government Association event in Springfield, prior to a meeting in Springfield on Tues., Dec. 16, in part to meet with his budget team.
Rauner did not say if he'd support that extra spending. He just noted it'd add to Illinois' already large bill backlog. Saying no could mean big, and quick, cuts.
While Rauner professes ignorance about the budget issues, the one-time fixes that were part of the current budget plan and the likelihood agencies would need more money were widely reported in the spring.
Gov. Pat Quinn's office says he considers the legislature's spending plan "incomplete," and that Quinn had proposed a plan that would have allowed for a balanced budget by keeping Illinois' income tax rate constant instead of letting it rollback in 2015, midway through the fiscal year.
The Department of Revenue says a median family of four could see an extra $930 next year as a result of Illinois' tax rate going from 5 percent to 3.75 percent.
