More for Chicago, less for Southern Illinois: Reis comments on State of the State Address

January 18, 2006

Springfield.….Following Wednesday's State of the State message in Springfield, State Representative David Reis (R-Ste. Marie) expressed disappointment in the Governor's State of the State remarks and said that he believes the Governor is misleading the people of Illinois as to the financial condition of the state.

"We need to be very clear; Illinois is not in good financial shape. Period." Reis stated.

"Since taking office this Governor has tripled the state's long term debt (from $7 billion to almost $21 billion), created the worst public pension system in the country (additional $38 billion in unfunded obligations in FY 2006), and currently has $2 billion in unpaid Medicaid bills. He just implemented a very expensive health insurance program for children, raided nearly every dedicated fund in the state, and has increased over 300 fees and licenses. He is bankrupting our state" said Reis.

A center piece of the State of the State address was the Governor's $3.2 billion capital projects proposal that he indicates will be spent on road, bridge, and construction projects throughout Illinois.

"Even with all this debt, the Governor still wants to borrow more money," stated Reis. "The fact of the matter is we wouldn't even need a capital budget if this Governor hadn't raided the road fund to the tune of $1.75 billion over the past three years. The road fund is supplied by a tax that Illinois citizens pay on every gallon of gas that they buy. These funds were meant to be spent on roads and bridges, not on pork projects for Chicago."

Reis feels that unlike the families he represents in the 108th district, the Governor simply refuses to live within his means.

"We need to send a message to this administration. No more spending, no more borrowing, no more broken promises, and no more pay to play politics," Reis said. "You're over your credit limit with the state's credit card and your charging privileges are being revoked."

In addition Reis feels that Southern Illinois was completely over looked in the Governor's message.

"Rural Illinois took a real hit in the Governor's speech yesterday. Agriculture, Illinois' number one industry wasn't mentioned once. We heard of new gun law restrictions, and I am certain after today's speech that any pro-life or pro-family values legislation that ends up on his desk is dead on arrival" said Reis. "Again we find him standing with the Democratic machine in Chicago.   It's a message to attract swing voters in Chicago's suburbs and a message to the people in Southern Illinois that their support isn't needed."

The Governor will return to Springfield on February 15th for his annual budget address.

"We are hopeful that the Governor will come back in February to deliver a reasonable budget for FY '07," Reis stated. "The people of Illinois are not going to accept the business as usual approach to running state government. And they are surely not going to be receptive to what amounts to a $3.2 billion taxpayer funded campaign contribution during an election year."