CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn appealed Monday to an influential group of business leaders in Chicago to add their weight to his push to reform Illinois' debt-laden Medicaid and public pension systems, describing the plan as both a tough sacrifice and an urgent "rescue operation" for future generations.
With barely two weeks left in the legislative session, the Democratic governor has gone on the offensive and turned to unlikely allies in the business community to pressure lawmakers to pass his proposals. On the other side, unions and advocates for the poor say the reforms will hurt the most vulnerable.
Quinn told the City Club of Chicago that the two programs are taking a 39% bite out of the state budget this year, putting what he called a "serious squeeze" on spending for other essential government duties: to ensure public safety, provide education and other services and invest in transportation and infrastructure.
"All the other things that we want our government to do, there's less and less money available," Quinn said.
Medicaid, the health program for the poor and disabled, is currently running a $2.7 billion deficit. The state retirement systems are running a shortfall of $83 billion on the money they'll have to pay out to state employees in the decades ahead.
To rein in Medicaid costs, Quinn has proposed cutting services for the poor and disabled and cutting payments to doctors and hospitals. To keep from having to cut further, he proposes essentially doubling the tax on a pack of cigarettes.
