The Mike Bertelsen Project

Oh where to begin....oh yeah, the budget for Illinois FY09. Six years of Democrat overspending and complete fiscal mismanagement has now swept into one budget. This budget from the start was woefully out of balance (2.1 billion dollars), but the Democrats made no move to make a tough decision. The Republicans were not consulted during the budget process until the process fell apart. The Republicans were asked to find a solution. A demand that is quite a challenge!

But is it that large of a challenge? Illinois Senate Republican Leader Fran Watson knows the score and here is the solution.

1. Cut wastefull spending
2. Eliminate new programs
3. Reform programs like Medicaid, where the spending is out of control
4. Gain Republican seats in the Illinois Senate

With the Democrat Senate majority, there has been no way to block the wasteful spending. For the past six years, the Senate Democrats have been loyal to the Governor which has led to special-purpose fund raids and more spending. Plus, the Senate Democrats gave the Governor more power to unilaterally raid 530 million dollars from special state funds which pay for highway repairs and downstate public transportation, just to name two.

This frankly has to end. We can't keep putting more debt on the backs of taxpayers and future taxpayers if Illinois is to be competitive in the job market. With the global economy, a new wave of imported products has flooded our markets. That's competition enough! Businesses and taxpayers can't afford more of the same six years!