Editorial: 100 days

Editorial: 100 days
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
July 24, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-election-0725-20100724,0,4757637.story



They have rested their case, and await your verdict. No, not those two Blagojevich brothers. We speak of Gov. Pat Quinn, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton — they and their legislative cronies clearly are content to be judged Nov. 2 by what they've done to address Illinois' worsening crises. Or by all they haven't. You hold their fate.

The Democrats who run Springfield are on vacation. They'll avoid all responsibility, all risk of offending any voters, during these 100 days. They trust that the election won't disrupt a return to business as usual. That's when they hope their soporific euphemisms — "revenue enhancements" and "strategic borrowing" — herald still more billions in taxation and debt. This didn't have to be: They've had plenty of time to reinvent how this state spends its money. To make Illinois a low-cost cradle of job creation. To demand an education system that primarily serves children, not adults. To pass aggressive ethics reforms.

Ask yourself: In nearly two years A.B. (After Blagojevich), has the current Illinois regime achieved even one of those four goals? Look around. Keep looking.

But the clout-crowd incumbents are shrewd: If the rest of us don't behave as fed-up change agents Nov. 2, if we again empower them, then we'll get — and we'll deserve — the reform-resistant governance we already have. That goes, too, for Cook County and other governments that are in sorry need of fresh blood. Fresh thinking. Fresh eyes inspecting finances.

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For months this page has offered a simple ultimatum: If Quinn, Madigan and Cullerton can't or won't fix an insolvent and sclerotic Illinois, then the rest of us need to defeat as many of their allies, their timid legislative enablers, as we can. We've said that because these four crises eclipse our current officials' incredible claims that, if citizens just give them more time and money, all will be well:

• Springfield's pathology of "Spend. Borrow. Repeat." has debilitated Illinois' ability to pay its bills or meet its needlessly generous promises to employees and retirees. Our debts will choke our children. The current regime wants to borrow more.

• Too many employers see Illinois as too costly, too dysfunctional, too unstable. They know they can locate jobs elsewhere today and avoid paying higher taxes to pay down Illinois' debts tomorrow.

• The public education industry in Illinois has made some improvements. Yet it still has too many districts, too much administrative overhead — and too little inclination to pay teachers for how well they serve children.

• The politicians who run Illinois have insulated this scandal-plagued state from reforms that would diminish their power. How do you feel about that?

Our hope is that you'll take this day, and the 100-day countdown it launches, as a call to arms. Start talking to family members, friends, co-workers, college students, anyone eligible to vote. Make them your mission.

Make reform your mission. One year from now, Illinois can be a better place.

If, come Election Day, you and yours demand … better.