Quinn's Plan to Reduce State Debt Could Cost Lemont $1.17M

SPRINGFIELD — If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That appears to be the attitude Gov. Pat Quinn has taken on paying down the state’s backlog of bills.

Quinn has floated a new way to pay off the $4.5 billion the state owes to schools, social service providers, doctors and others. Part of this plan would suspend paying local governments in the state their share of the Local Government Distributive Fund ,from which localities get a cut of many state taxes.

Illinois would start sending out those LGDF checks again once it had paid off the old bills.

Delaying the payments would avoid a legislative vote on the unpopular borrowing scheme. But lawmakers would have to give Quinn permission to suspend the local payments. 

“Our goal is to pay the bills and we need the General Assembly's support to make this happen,” said Kelly Kraft, Quinn’s Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman.

Originally, Quinn had asked the Legislature to borrow $8.75 billion to pay off old bills, but that plan has been buried by criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.

This new plan might suffer the same fate.

“We must make our government more efficient and effective by passing a balanced budget and reforms before we constantly lean on massive amounts of borrowing in the open market,” said Sara Wojcicki, spokeswoman for House GOP Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.

Senate Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) also said legislators wouldn't support borrowing without more spending cuts.

Local communities are trying to stop the governor's plan Illinois Municipal League Deputy Executive Director Roger Huebner said if the state suspends or delays payments, it would make things very difficult, but "we have no alternative."

Mayor: 'Plan Would Devastate Services Provided in Lemont'

Lemont Mayor Brian Reaves addressed the governor's plan during the Village Board meeting Monday night.

Should Quinn make good on his threat, the village would see an estimated $1.3 million reduction in state funding, he said.

Last month, the village adopted what Reaves called "the most bare bones" budget Lemont has seen in recent years.

"This plan would devastate the services we provide here in the village of Lemont," Reaves said. "We're faced with unprecedented fiscal times in this state, and they're trying to balance the budget on the backs of municipalities."

Village Attorney Dan Blondin added that the state will see a 54.3 percent increase in revenue as a result of the adopted by lawmakers earlier this year.

"The money they're talking about keeping from local governments would be on top of that," he said.

Reaves said he is working with the Southwest Conference of Mayors to prepare a response to the governor's plan later this week.

"The village cannot be taken down this road anymore," he said of Quinn's threat. "It's the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard in my life."

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Illinois Statehouse News and was written by Andrew Thomason. Lemont Patch Editor Amanda Luevano contributed to this report.