Patricia Reid Lindner

May 2005

I have spoken to groups about the structure of the legislative session and how politics affects this process. Many people are troubled when elections become so partisan, with each party fighting so hard to get more of their members elected. This is because the majority party has complete control over the legislative session.

The majority party has control of the legislative calendar. They set the deadlines for bills to be filed, passed through committee, called on the floor and go through the process in the other chamber. The majority leader in both chambers also has the power to keep a bill from being considered. In Illinois , the Democrats have the majority in both the House and the Senate.

The current legislative session convened in January and is scheduled to adjourn at the end of May. During this time the legislature is supposed to consider substantive issues and vote a budget into law. There is no time as important as the present for the Democrats to enforce the deadlines, negotiate the budget with all of the caucuses and bring the session to a timely close. Unfortunately, they have continued to cancel session dates with our May deadline approaching.

If you remember, it was only last year when the same thing occurred. We had no budget by the time we were scheduled to adjourn. The Governor then called the entire legislature back to Springfield to attend numerous special sessions, which cost the taxpayers more than $360,000. I do not want to see this happen again. I filed a bill to curb the Governor's power to call a special session. It would have required an agreement by the four party leaders before a special session could be called. I also filed a companion bill to decrease the per diem that legislators receive during a special session. Due to the current political make-up, these bills never saw the light of day.

We have an enormous amount of work that still needs to be accomplished. We are facing a 2 billion-dollar budget deficit in Illinois . It is our duty to fulfill our basic obligations for pensions, education, Medicaid and other essential services.

The foundation of the Governor's budget is his pension reform plan, which is being highly scrutinized. A first draft of the plan contains numerous new provisions and some changes to original reforms. It appropriates less for the pension systems in 2006 and will continue to under fund the system for several years. It is our responsibility to ensure that retirees get the pensions that they have paid into while trying to protect the taxpayers from increased costs.

The Governor's proposal also includes decreases for our local schools, with an inequitable distribution of money. There have been inconsistent proposals from the Governor and the Interim State Superintendent of Education on the allocation of education funds. Education funding needs to be a top priority for the state.

The cost of Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare to low-income and disabled individuals, has significantly risen. We need to look at reforming the system, while continuing to reimburse providers. Many legislators are examining a model for change that would make Medicaid into a managed care system. This would provide recipients with a primary care doctor and decrease the number of patients who use the emergency room for non-emergency purposes, which would help to save the state money. Some states have even used the savings to pay doctors and providers a better reimbursement rate.

There are many questions to be answered and many budget gaps that must be filled. Although legislators have constant input throughout the budget process, 177 people cannot sit down and negotiate the details. The Governor and the Democrats must use their majority power to enforce deadlines to ensure that the people in the state are provided with a well thought out budget that fulfills state-funded obligations. As per the Illinois Constitution, the Governor drives the budget and it is time for him to act. Waiting until the last minute is only decreasing our options for thoughtful reform.

As always, please feel free to contact my district office with any questions, comments or concerns: (630) 466-9791.



							Lindner's Opinions
							Lindner's Opinions
						May 2005 I have spoken to groups about the structure of the legislative session and how politics affects this process. Many people are troubled when elections become so partisan, with each party fighting so hard to get more of their members elected. This is because the majority party has complete control over the legislative session. The majority party has control of the legislative calendar. They set the deadlines for bills to be filed, passed through committee, called on the floor and go through the process in the other chamber. The majority leader in both chambers also has the power to keep a bill from being considered. In Illinois , the Democrats have the majority in both the House and the Senate. The current legislative session convened in January and is scheduled to adjourn at the end of May. During this time the legislature is supposed to consider substantive issues and vote a budget into law. There is no time as important as the present for the Democrats to enforce the deadlines, negotiate the budget with all of the caucuses and bring the session to a timely close. Unfortunately, they have continued to cancel session dates with our May deadline approaching. If you remember, it was only last year when the same thing occurred. We had no budget by the time we were scheduled to adjourn. The Governor then called the entire legislature back to Springfield to attend numerous special sessions, which cost the taxpayers more than $360,000. I do not want to see this happen again. I filed a bill to curb the Governor's power to call a special session. It would have required an agreement by the four party leaders before a special session could be called. I also filed a companion bill to decrease the per diem that legislators receive during a special session. Due to the current political make-up, these bills never saw the light of day. We have an enormous amount of work that still needs to be accomplished. We are facing a 2 billion-dollar budget deficit in Illinois . It is our duty to fulfill our basic obligations for pensions, education, Medicaid and other essential services. The foundation of the Governor's budget is his pension reform plan, which is being highly scrutinized. A first draft of the plan contains numerous new provisions and some changes to original reforms. It appropriates less for the pension systems in 2006 and will continue to under fund the system for several years. It is our responsibility to ensure that retirees get the pensions that they have paid into while trying to protect the taxpayers from increased costs. The Governor's proposal also includes decreases for our local schools, with an inequitable distribution of money. There have been inconsistent proposals from the Governor and the Interim State Superintendent of Education on the allocation of education funds. Education funding needs to be a top priority for the state. The cost of Medicaid, the program that provides healthcare to low-income and disabled individuals, has significantly risen. We need to look at reforming the system, while continuing to reimburse providers. Many legislators are examining a model for change that would make Medicaid into a managed care system. This would provide recipients with a primary care doctor and decrease the number of patients who use the emergency room for non-emergency purposes, which would help to save the state money. Some states have even used the savings to pay doctors and providers a better reimbursement rate. There are many questions to be answered and many budget gaps that must be filled. Although legislators have constant input throughout the budget process, 177 people cannot sit down and negotiate the details. The Governor and the Democrats must use their majority power to enforce deadlines to ensure that the people in the state are provided with a well thought out budget that fulfills state-funded obligations. As per the Illinois Constitution, the Governor drives the budget and it is time for him to act. Waiting until the last minute is only decreasing our options for thoughtful reform. As always, please feel free to contact my district office with any questions, comments or concerns: (630) 466-9791.