Honorable Governor Pat Quinn
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

Dear Governor,

Previously you should have received correspondence from members of the House and Senate Republican caucuses identifying key reform proposals we feel need to be enacted to restore fiscal responsibility to our state. We have a number of additional ideas that collectively will add up to meaningful savings for taxpayers.

Some of the ways we can begin to get state spending under control include:

Fiscal Reforms to Control Spending:
o HB 4095 Utilizes the same rules as the Comptroller’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report to create a balanced budget that is consistent with accrual accounting
o HB 6626 Requires the budget to be posted online for seven days prior to vote
o HJRCA 28 Requires 3/5th supermajority vote on any legislation to raise taxes or fees on Illinois families or business
o HB 4836 Creates a Sunshine Commission made up of business leaders to review programs and services to eliminate duplicity and make government more efficient
o HB 5212 Adopts Truth-in-Accounting principals
o SB 1679 Requires Zero-Based Budgeting
o HB 4711 Allows school districts to suspend unfunded mandates of their choice
o No out of state travel for elected officials or state employees
o Eliminate perk of free cars and cancel all gas cards with the exception of the Illinois State Police
o Sell ½ of the state automobile fleet
o No state office should be remodeled, no new furniture or carpet
o HB 6622 Prohibits legislative pay raise for FY11
o HB 6625 Institutes 12 furlough days for lawmakers
o HB 5488, HB 4800 Eliminates fleet of state aircraft (Generate $25 million and save millions more each year to operate) Continue reading »