"The state of the state is not good," said former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar at UIC last Friday. "By far the worst it's ever been."
The statement came as part of the Future of Chicago Lecture Series at UIC.
Prior to being elected governor in 1990, Jim Edgar served as Secretary of State for 10 years. As governor he won re-election in 1994, and by the time he left office in 1999, he successfully eliminated the state's backlog of payments on its bills in addition to reducing the size of state government. Not to mention, he was also the last in a long stretch of governors to not face any criminal charges.
Edgar was anything but shy when expressing his true feelings on the outlook for Illinois. He boldly admitted, "I'm not optimistic, the future looks bleak."
Regarding the biggest problem facing Illinois right now, Edgar asserted that, "We are not facing an ethics crisis. We are facing a leadership crisis." He explains that an effective leader is essential in getting out of the current financial mess.
He advised that what Illinois needs most right now is a governor who is disciplined above all else. He must be willing to say "no" when asked to fund new programs, and stick to it. Finally, the future governor must make budget cuts and raise taxes in order to pay the state's spiraling debt.
Money is another major issue. It is no secret that the state of Illinois is in a whirlwind of financial trouble, and has been for quite some time now.
When Edgar first took office he was faced with a similar financial crisis, but saw the state through it. Back then it took about 3 to 4 years to recover. However, with the present debt approximated to be 7 or 8 billion dollars, Edgar estimates that it will take an unforeseeable amount of time to recuperate.
"Until you deal with finances, you can't deal with much else," he said.
This is an unfortunately true statement. Aside from leadership and monetary issues, Illinois is facing another dilemma concerning budget spending.
In recent years, funding for institutions of higher education in the state of Illinois has dropped by 17.9 percent. However, financial support for elementary and secondary institutions has risen by 46.8 percent. With rising costs in education, this is a predicament not to be taken lightly.
It is too easy to blame this on the economic downturn, but the fact is that financial support for public colleges have been declining long before the nation's dire financial crisis came about.
When asked to comment on this issue, Edgar suggested that since private universities are more costly, public schools are not a high priority for receiving assistance from the state. He also proposed that those vying for public funds at the elementary and secondary level are more effective at lobbying to obtain funds.
In order for Illinois to see the light of the bright future it so desperately needs, Edgar indicated that both Republican and Democrat parties need to come together to repair these crises. "There needs to be a major attitude change in Springfield," he said.
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