RAUNER’S BUDGET PLAN IS MIGHTY THIN GRUEL

To wit: The state last year closed the controversial “supermax” Tamms Correctional Center in far southern Illinois. Annual savings were estimated at $26.2 million. The state today has $2.6 billion in unpaid bills. That translates to closing 100 Tamms prisons. Good luck finding those cuts. Oh, and once you’ve found them, good luck making them happen.

Which explains why I get suspicious when I hear politicians talk about bringing the state back to financial health by cutting waste from the state budget. Especially when those savings are in millions of dollars, or less.

My colleague Madeleine Doubek this week penned an open letter to Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner asking for some specifics on how he plans to right Illinois’ financial ship while the state loses $1.8 billion next year if income taxes drop as scheduled.

Rauner delivered on Thursday, though it was hardly the revolutionary plan he’s been teasing for months.

Give Rauner credit for putting some specific names and numbers behind a plan.

When the state auditor finds $13 million in Medicaid spent on health care for deceased people, it stands to reason that a closer look at Medicaid accounting is in order. There’s also a lot of truth in Rauner’s assertion that state grants have become “slush funds” for politicians (note the infamous $50 million Neighborhood Recovery Initiative) and have been sloppily administered.

But I didn’t discern any game-changing plan for systemic change, nor did I hear numbers that reach the billions in savings Illinois needs, in Rauner’s “Bring Back Blueprint” plan. I heard some recycled ideas, some big populist appeals, some flat-out bad ideas and one overriding theme: “I’m not Pat Quinn.”

As noted above, Rauner has some worthy ideas for whipping state government into shape. But from a candidate who has promised to bring in a team of world-class business experts to fix things, this was mighty thin gruel.

My take on a few specifics from Rauner’s plan:

Sell state air fleet and save $10 million

This one has been around for years. In my former job as editorial page editor at The State Journal-Register in Springfield, I regularly fielded letters to the editor from readers demanding that the state divest itself of its aircraft and make lawmakers, the governor, constitutional officers and state employees drive or take Amtrak for the Chicago-Springfield travel.

Implicit in these letters was the belief that air travel was a luxury perquisite for the state officials who use the planes and helicopters.

To me, this always seemed awfully shortsighted. The fact is, Illinois is a big state geographically. The less time in transit, the more time for work.  Travel is a fact of life in a state that measures almost 400 miles north to south and more than 200 miles east to west.

That’s not to say that air travel can’t be abused. Rod Blagojevich infamously flew at taxpayer expense from Springfield to Chicago to attend a Blackhawks game. A Department of Natural Resources director resigned after his frequent use of a state helicopter for non-essential  travel came to light. But those things can be policed.

Rauner says selling the planes will bring in $10 million. That’s probably true, but it also will result in the state reimbursing a lot of travel expenses while state officials spend a lot more time on the road.

And I also believe shedding the planes would mean Illinoisans outside of Chicago and Springfield would see even less of the governor and other statewide office-holders than they do now.

Rauner won’t take salary or pension

Item No. 4 on Rauner’s list says he’ll forego the governor’s $177,000-year annual salary and pension for a four-year savings of $708,000. This is a nice gesture for a candidate whose tax return showed $53 million in income for 2012, but it should not figure into anyone’s voting decision. That’s a savings of roughly .0005 percent.

Put another way, would you make a choice on a surgeon for a $10,000 procedure because one doctor promises to save you a nickel? Would that even factor into your decision?

Restrict outside employment for legislative leaders

Rauner hammered his opponents in the Republican primary for being “career politicians,” yet this idea means the four legislative leaders (and especially a certain Speaker of the House) must be career politicians. At least for the eight years they’d be allowed to serve if Rauner’s term limits amendment becomes law.

Article IV of the Illinois constitution defines the composition and function of the legislature so it’s likely that this change would require a constitutional amendment. That’s a monumental hurdle.

Merge the offices of comptroller and treasurer

Again, this idea has been around for years. Combining the offices would save $12 million. But there’s more to this than just bureaucracy. The separate offices – one handling state investments, the other handling the state’s checkbook — are rooted in anti-corruption measures.

Reform the procurement process in the Department of Central Management Services

Rauner says in his plan that this will save $500 million. He says the Quinn administration spent $517 million on emergency contracts and agencies spent $163 million on sole-source contracts.

There’s no question that procurement – where state contracts are signed and money changes hands – is a prime source for corruption and inefficiency. But we’ll need more details about these emergency contracts before putting faith in Rauner’s plan. Sometimes emergencies are emergencies.

Again, give Rauner some credit for offering something. But for a candidate who has promised innovation that will “shake up Springfield,” this was beyond disappointing.

Next article: Stuck in a sickening and sick state in Illinois

[RECOMMENDED]

1. Top five campaign slogans of Bruce Rauner.
2. Take our poll: Should the 2011 income tax increase become permanent?
3. Charting each state’s pension debt.
4. Police and firefighter pensions put many Illinois cities in an impossible fiscal situation.
5. Do you oppose a pension and tax-funded salary? If so, use our Sound Off tool to tell your local politicians enough is enough.

Matthew Dietrich is Reboot’s executive editor. An award-winning journalist, Dietrich is the former editorial page editor of the State Journal Register in Springfield. He believes in holding our politicians accountable. Read Dietrich’s take on the leadership vacuum that sent Illinois sinking. You can find Reboot on Facebook and on Twitter @rebootillinois.