Jim’s 10 Step Plan for Fiscal Discipline
ELMHURST—Former Attorney General Jim Ryan today unveiled a 10-step plan to restore fiscal discipline and efficiency to Illinois government—a blueprint to start undoing the damage caused by the Blagojevich-Quinn administrations.
All 10 will be undertaken in the first 30 days of a Jim Ryan administration.
“From my 1st hour in office, I will begin undoing the catastrophic financial policies of the Blagojevich-Quinn era,” Ryan said. “The lack of leadership has hurt those who need it most—working families and those who help the less fortunate. We need to get the state’s budget under control so we can focus on our real priorities and give Illinois government back to the people.”
The 10 steps are:
1. Ordering an immediate freeze on hiring and a moratorium on new spending programs. Also suspend out of state travel and in-state travel other than essential to conduct state business. A message needs to be sent that we are in a budget crisis.
2. Creation of an Efficiency Panel to recommend spending cuts, consolidations and streamlining. The panel will be appointed prior to inauguration and consist of business leaders, academicians and efficiency experts. It will do a cost-benefit analysis on all state spending. A first wave of recommendations will be due in 60 days and another in six months. We have identified a list of nearly 100 spending efficiencies identified by the Civic Federation, Taxpayer Action Board and Illinois Policy Institute. The Efficiency Panel can start with these recommendations and make others.
3. Reforming the state’s big-ticket, unsustainable programs. “Cadillac” pension and retiree health care systems must be brought under control. Medicaid must be reformed. These are the big ticket items that need to be put on sustainable courses. In the short term, those reforms could save at least $2 billion and could solve the pension shortfall over 25 years.
4. Encouraging a constitutional amendment to limit spending to population growth plus rate of inflation or some other metric. Ryan proposed a similar cap in 2002 and had it been put in place, the state would have saved $13.7 billion from 2004-2008, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Colorado has used a cap effectively and other states, including Minnesota, are considering their own spending limitations. Funds collected in excess would be returned to taxpayers or put in a rainy day fund.
5. Ushering in a new era of transparent government. A state-of-the-art new state government website will immediately be developed to make all state spending much more open and transparent than ever before in Illinois. Honest and effective government requires that citizens have easy access to government documents. Transparency will help unmask wasteful spending, fraud and abuse.
6. Emphasizing and rewarding efficiency throughout state government. Any non-supervisory state employee who identifies a new efficiency saving of at least $100,000 will be eligible for a $5,000 bonus or one-time salary adjustment. These adjustments will be given transparently and with stringent oversight, including requiring verification of taxpayer savings and requiring supervisors to sign affidavits vouching for the legitimacy of the tip. The bonus program will be re-evaluated after one year to make sure it is working properly.
7. Measuring results. Starting immediately, supervisors of all new and existing state spending programs and grants will be required to devise metrics to determine how effectively the program is operating. Those metrics will be monitored annually to make sure the program is meeting expectations and serving a critical public need.
8. Giving government back to the people. During his first year in office, Ryan will pledge to hold town hall meetings across the state at least once a month to report on the progress of state government and to give citizens a chance to speak out. No more hiding at home or in government offices.
9. Considering all innovative approaches to solve budget crisis. Those approaches include sale or lease of tollway and prudent monetization of any state asset or service. The difference with the Ryan approach compared to the Blagojevich-Quinn approach will be a focus on whether such a plan helps taxpayers instead of helping insiders.
10. Realizing that the long-term solution to budget problems is a vibrant, growing state economy. Illinois ranks near the bottom of all states in economic growth and job creation. As Governor, Ryan realizes that must change. He will work to lower the cost of doing business in Illinois in order to create a more vibrant economy, which will help alleviate chronic budget problems. Next week, he will unveil a more detailed plan to improve the economy and bring new jobs to Illinois.
Thank you for proposal. Solving the budget mess caused by past administrations and the General Assembly’s lack of leadership will not be easy to fix. This sounds like the best fiscally conservative approach to start getting IL back on track. You have my vote!
Our firm tried to do business with the DNR. Their banking activity, which was abandoned by the Treasurer’s office is using technology that banks can no longer support. They get lockbox receipts on microfiche. Libraries don’t even use microfiche, any more. They have employees working overtime because funds to fix their antiquated systems, and would have funded our work, were cut out of the budget.
Look at overtime, Mr. Ryan. I suspect there are other departments where money is being paid for overtime work because system overhauls were cut from budgets. It’s not just wasteful spending, but stupid spending, as well. The Efficiency Panel should also document what kind of technology departments are using.
This sounds great. In fact all politicians initially sound great. Quinn was the “reformer”, Obama was the guy pushing hope and change. All of thsi was a load of dodo. What I would like to see is politicians sign pledges with a promise to resign if they do not make every attempt to keep their promises. Publish that pledge in in the papers and you will get in with a land slide. Otherwise you are just another politico promising a lot of hot air.
Hi. I am an average Illinois resident and I wanted to share my opinion.
1. I agree the government needs to cut spending, so many times do I see complete waste of our resources. To note, I see with my own eyes and even ABC aired a special on construction workers just standing around and not working. They let one person do the work and the rest watch throughout the day. Also, there was to be stricter laws on governmental automobiles just sitting around with their cars on for heat or just idling. This pollutes our air and spends our limited money on gas, which we all know is expensive. There needs to be more accountability and watching of state workers.
2. I agree that we need to cut spending in Medicaid. Some suggestions on the pharmacy end would be to eliminate paying for brand names if there is a generic available, with the exception of Warfarin and Synthroid and any other medication that needs to be exact. I am a pharmacist and future physician so I have seen so many wasteful spending. Some patients are misinformed and refuse to get the generic because they think the brand is somehow better. Just the other day, a patient choose to get the brand Depakote. A one month supply cost the system 800 dollars compared to 200 that the generic would cost. If we are cutting cost, patients should only be required to get generic as they are the same. Another choice is to add a co-pay to eliminate wasteful spending and steer patients from the sake of getting them since their free. I see many people who get medicine they do not need because why not, the government is paying for it. Something as little as two dollars can steer them away and most of them have the money as I see what they buy everytime they pick up their RXs.
3. Please do not lease of tollway, we know this does not solve anything. Look at the parking meters and how the rates have discouraged people to come to chicago and even myself going to certain areas.
My husband works in an Illinois state government office and is continually frustrated by the needless waste he witnesses at work on a regular basis. He worked in private industry for many years prior to working for the state, and it drives him nuts to see this go on! I think your idea of rewarding state employees for money saving ideas is a great one! Just be sure that they don’t have to run it by their supervisor or other higher ups in their particular branch of the state, or it will never see the light of day.
Jim Ryan talks the talk, but will he walk the walk if elected. It would be great for Illinois if he did.
Any new pension program should be aligned and automatically evolve like social security. Retirement age will be increasing signficantly in the future (as life span increases) and it will be important to have an automated way to change our system. Politicians won’t do it until a crisis arises and then it’s too late.
A tough, but sound 10 point plan. Freeze everything; evaluate everything; identify and eliminate wasteful spending; reward employee’s for good ideas; set measurable standards; cut the cost of doing business in Illinois; and do it all transparently. Common sense ideas from a common sense candidate.
DO NOT SELL OR LEASE OUR TOLLWAY SYSTEM . THIS IS A TEMPORY FIX THAT WILL ONLY BE COSTLY TO CHICAGO AREA COMMUTERS AS THERE IS NO TOLL SYSTEM DOWN STATE. THE TOLLS AT THE HANDS OF PRIVATE COMPANY WILL RISE LINEING THIER POCKETS. IF A PRIVATE COMPANY CAN BUY OR LEASE IT AND MAKE A PROFIT AFTER SPENDING BILLIONS OF $$$$$ JUST TO BUY OR LEASE WHY CAN’T WE RUN IT AND BREAK EVEN. TAXES SHOULD HAVE BEEN RAISED SLOWLY OVER THE YRS BUT WEREN’T SO I’M SURE THAT IN GOING TO HAVE TO HAPPEN EITHER WAY SO SPREAD IT OUT ACROOS THE ENTIER STATE NOT JUST ON THE BACKS OF CHICAGO AREA COMMUTERS. AS I RECALL SOME PART OF THE TOLL SYSTEM WAS BEING SOLD OR WAS SOLD IN THE PAST AND THE ENTIRE STATE WAS GOING TO GET A PIECE OF THE PIE SO IF WE SELL OR LEASE IT WILL BE SPLIT BUT THE NORTHERN PART OF STATE WILL SHOULDER THE COST IN HIGHER TOLLS
I’m glad to hear that you are not against the medical marijuana initiative.
Here’s acouple of things that I would like to see:
The elimination of all pensions for any state employee who earns more than $120K/yr. With that kind of money, any employee should be able to fund an indiviual IRA. Considering that this amount is approximately three times the average Illinoisians’ income, and most who don’t have pensions, this doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Health care: Eliminate all health care benefits for every elected offical in the state. Remember, you all work for us…I would ask you to show me any Illinois company where the workers actually receive more benefits than the owners of said business, it doesn’t exist. If the state did these two things, I’ll bet your close to eliminating any budget shortfalls.
Finally, stop selling off the state’s assets. Think about this, you sign the lease and the new owners decide that they’re not ready to do any repairs, so now the state has to spend millions in court in order to force the owners to do the necessary repairs. If you don’t think that this would happen, just check the court docuts for slum lord prosecutions.
I love that you took the time to actually say what you want to do as governor, instead of crabbing about what the others are screwing up. We are a smart enough group of Americans and we already know what’s going on in Springfield & Washington. I voted for you because you have a plan. I’m tired of mud-slinging and I will not vote for anyone who has only that on their agenda.
Please do something about “habitual welfare abusers” and we can actually “solve” problems instead of just paying for them. My husband and I have worked all our lives for the great healthcare we have. Phone company people – not a lot of money, but the benefits were always great.
Why should we pay more for not as great healthcare, so that habitual welfare abusers can have better healthcare than they already have for free?
Good Luck to you, Jim
Your 10 step plan is a nice start, but accountability for job performance needs attention. All jobs need clearly defined job responsibilities and accountability for carrying out those responsibilities. Every government employee must know what’s expected from them and then they have to be held accountable for doing their job. If not, it will be another cost to us the taxpaying public. There are too many government employees that think their job is to show up and get paid. Tolerance for that mentality by employees shows how poorly they are managed. Ineffective managers and supervisors have to be dismissed as in fired … not shuffled off to some other position where we get to continue paying them for their incompetence. Illinois government has not demonstrated that it has any idea of what accountability is … mostly because of its corruption and self serving interests. Government transparency is a necessary first step in addressing the public’s perception of our government, but it’s not enough. Since you intend to update your plans, please include how you will address this accountability issue.
While I understand the states need for revenue is dire, leasing or selling the tollway or any state asset is a bad idea. It is a one time quick fix without any source of revenue down the road and we have seen that every time that an asset is sold it is the people that pay the price in the long run. Just look at what has happened in the city of Chicago. My suggestion would be to put a nominal state surcharge or a tax on every I-PASS replenishment transaction to create a new revenue stream. .25,.50 or as much as $1.00 would go a long way to help generating more revenue for the state, and it is a constant stream of money now and in the future. Leasing any asset that has increased value is a bad idea.
Your proposed program for offering bonuses to state employees that find unnecessary state spending of $100,00 or more will induce corruption. Why should there be any bonus for someone doing the job their hired to do? If that’s gonna work there better be very strict oversight and council on what spending is taken out of the budget. Shouldn’t our elected officials, who get paid well, in the state congress be doing that anyway?
I’m enthused about much of your agenda, but selling the tollroad and medical marijuana? You just lost my vote!
I have one more comment: what is your position on taxes? Increase, decrease, or stay the same?
I will fight against tax increases. Taxes are too high — and we need to focus on the Illinois’ rampant spending problem.