Bill Brady Says He'll Balance Budget In One Year With 10% Spending Cut

The Republican candidate for Illinois governor appears to be backing away from an astonishing claim he made yesterday in the western part of the state.

Bill Brady told an audience in Quincy, Ill. that he would balance the state's devastated budget in his first year in office. The state's budget deficit, one of the worst in the nation, is currently around $13 billion.

According to a recording made by the Quincy Herald-Whig, and obtained by The Capitol Fax Blog, Brady was emphatic on the point yesterday.

"I will balance the state's budget in the first year," he said. "Let me say that again, because most people don't believe it. I will balance the state's budget in the first year, because I have a fiduciary obligation to the people of Illinois, through the Constitution, to do that."

(Click here to hear the audio.)

Brady's budget plans include cutting state government spending by 10 percent, and lowering taxes to encourage business investment.

With the state's budget at around $54 billion, a 10 percent cut -- which could be crippling to state agencies that are already waiting on piles of unpaid bills from Springfield -- would amount to a savings of $5.4 billion. This is less than half of the state's budget shortfall, without taking into account revenues lost from tax cuts.

The budget has been a weak point for the Republican state senator, with former Republican Governor Jim Edgar calling his plan "naive." And his opponent, Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn, jumped on his latest remarks in a press release today:

Senator Brady yesterday made unmistakably clear what many have long known: he doesn't understand how our state budget works, but he'll say anything to woo voters on the campaign trail. ...

[J]ust as no magic beans can actually grow into a beanstalk that reaches the sky, no 10% cut of state spending can eliminate a $12.9 billion deficit. Even worse, it would require catastrophic cuts to our schools and police departments across the state. It would mean skyrocketing property taxes. And it would still leave an $8 billion hole.

When CapFax followed up with the Brady campaign, a spokesman scaled back the candidate's ambitious plan.

"Bill has said he'll have a plan in place to deal with the backlog of unpaid bills -- but it could take 2-3 years to pay them off," the spokesman reportedly said.

Still, it's unclear exactly how Brady's plan will balance the budget, even two or three years from now. In Quincy, he emphasized job-creating reforms, like workers-comp reform and energy-industry deregulation, as well as an end to government inefficiency, according to the Herald-Whig.

For instance, he plans to eliminate the State Board of Education, saving roughly $40 million.

But it'll take a lot of $40 millions to reach $8 billion -- 199 more of them, in fact. Where these will come from remains to be seen.

Comments

[luckymatt1983]

12:01 PM on 08/13/2010

I am not here to defend Governor Quinn, but we must stop Bill Brady. He is an extreme rightest on the most important of social issues; he is only pro life, he is not for marriage equality, and he is for the carrying of concealed weapons. Tell everyone who will listen to you how wrong he is for Illinois.

[LonosCurse]

09:45 PM on 08/12/2010

No he won't.

[NightEditor]

04:25 PM on 08/12/2010

He will? Really? hahaha
Is he a comedian or a candidate?

[bksrmgk]

01:25 PM on 08/12/2010

Or????? There should be an effect clause to that cause statement.

"I will balance the state's budget in the first year...or I will resign immediately at the end of that year." Politicians should held responsible for the claims they make.

[Paulhaider74]

09:52 PM on 08/11/2010

I forgot to include that Brady will also need to increase taxes on the wealthiest residents of Illinois in order to eliminate the 13 billion dollar state deficit. With the possible exception of Oprah Winfrey, these residents tend to have white skin and vote for Repugnantncans, uh, Republicans to protect their sacred income. Oh, by the way, inhumane Humana completely sucks as far as providing adequate health "insurance." Can Bill Brady do something about predatory insurance companies in Illinois as long as he is promising what is impossible and totally unrealistic? Can Bill Brady turn water into wine? We would settle for cheap beer.
Paul Haider, Chicago

[MilesLong]

09:34 AM on 08/12/2010

Candidate Brady is just as full of crap as Mark Kirk. This generation of Republicans is completely bereft of any workable ideas; well, except of giving away middle class money to the wealthy.

That said, who's the biggest loser in the crowd? Republicans, or the idiots who support their "positions?"

Miles "Clown Car Of Politics" Long

[ChicagoMitch]

12:21 PM on 08/12/2010

We need more guys like Quinn and Daley in Illinois - look at all the good they've done ??
- Crime in the city is outragious!
- When the budget is bloated from union pension payouts, he gives his people raises
- all the citizens are told to share the burden, except cops unions, firemans union, and ofcourse the crooked teachers union, they get their guarenteed raises !
- All the while, the chosen one (big Obama), who learned his tricks in Chicago sends his wife, Michelle (let them eat cake) on a lavish vacation with some "dear family friends"
FEAR THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT - FOR THEY WILL VOTE ALL YOUR CORRUPT UNION DEMS OUT !!!

[Paulhaider74]

05:30 PM on 08/11/2010

Brady is a delusional moron if he really thinks that he can balance the budget and eliminate a 13 billion dollar deficit in one year. How will be eliminate the deficit? Will he pray to God to send money fairies from heaven to fly over Ilinois and spread the wealth of a Jewish carpenter? Bill Brady will not be able to keep this campaign promise or any other that he makes. However, if he is serious about eliminating the state's deficit, here are three ideas: 1) decriminalize and legalize marijuana, and sell/tax it the same way as alcohol or cigarettes, 2) end the tax-exempt status of organized religions (Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam) in the state of Illinois, and implement a tax of 50 cents on every dollar earned going straight to the state government, and 3) increase the sales tax and registration fees for guns while mandating the price of bullets to $1,000 per bullet. Although I am opposed to putting casinos in the city of Chicago (please remember what happened to Atlantic City) and legalized gambling, it would make some sense to legalize prostitution (the world's oldest profession) and create a tax code system for the clients of female and male prostitutes. Once again, we need to think of new ways to generate revenues for the state of Illinois, and there is not any other place for a tourist to visit here with the exception of Chicago, an exceptional city by the lake.
Paul Haider, Chicago

[Cogs]

09:03 PM on 08/11/2010

You offer some good suggestions. I would seek a sales tax on internet purchase, pari-mutual betting on pro sporting events, eliminating county and township governments,prohibiting no-bid contracts and halt the hiring of consultants.

[corwin]

09:51 PM on 08/11/2010

The easy answer is cutting state employee wages and salaries to comparable private levels.
Or, perhaps toll booths on 94 to make the 'smart people who are fleeing the state pay for their deliverance.
But,it just keeps gettingbetter doesn't it?

[Trublulu]

08:25 PM on 08/26/2010

Corwin: Cutting state employees wages is the simple solution for people who think that every government worker is raking in all kinds of money. What a laugh. I used to work for the State of Illinois. After Jim Edgar retired from office, the Republicans went crazy cutting state jobs. There were less and less people doing more and more work at low salaries. Those at the top received the big salaries and the pensions, not the lowly underlings. State workers are supposedly not political. No matter which party is in the majority, the workers remain at their jobs. The head(s) of the Secretary of State office, Health and Human Resources,Attorney General, (not the politicians) are dedicated, hard working individuals that deserve every cent they make. You have no idea of the verbal abuse heaped on these workers by disgrunteled citizens who blame the workers for their tax bills, their right to own a gun, a stolen drivers license, missing child support payments, etc. that was not caused by the employee, but those workers will bend over backwards to resolve the issues. It is the politicians who give themselves the raises, it is the politicians who are afraid to pass a balanced budget, and it is the politiians who receive the lucrative pensions; not the lowly state workers. And it is the politicians who scream the loudest about "government waste" and "no new taxes" that do the least to clean up their mess.

[cgeorgan]

05:05 PM on 08/11/2010

Lie.

[fifthmansix]

04:21 PM on 08/11/2010

yeah just like bush a tax cut for the rich and bring in more money , when it only takes more money out like 3 trillion dollars enough to pay for bushs wars.

[JohnMichael Davis]

02:59 PM on 08/11/2010

IL's budget is not going to be balanced in a year, but there is a ton of money to be saved outside of program cuts. Pension reforms, health insurance reforms, pay cuts/freezes, and employment cuts would get the state budget much closer to being in the black. Without those sorts of changes IL will likely face insolvency before growth/revenues pick up. Our cost to borrow has already been raised significantly. At some point in the not too distant future the ability to borrow at all will evaporate w/out significant spending changes.

[fifthmansix]

04:18 PM on 08/11/2010

how about raising taxes on the rich in il and the companies that steal from the il taxpayer instead dude.

[cgeorgan]

05:06 PM on 08/11/2010

No, we need pension reform.

[JohnMichael Davis]

05:36 PM on 08/11/2010

I think we need to do that to a certain extent. The problem is that if you do that too much those wealthy people and businesses leave. Right now businesses pay a flat 7.3% corp state tax which is on the high side of competative. But say we raise that to 10%. A business with $1,000,000 in profits would pay $100,000, an extra $27,000 in taxes every year (assuming their profit stayed the same). They could move their business to MO which has a 6.25% rate and save $37,500 instead. It is not easy or free to move most businesses for a variety of reasons, but for that sort of money some will move. The more you raise taxes the more move. Eventually you reach a point of diminishing returns where higher taxes start to bring in lower revenues. The same dynamic comes into play with individuals. That is why low tax states such as Texas have seen so much more growth than high tax states.

And I'm not sure how businesses steal from the taxpayer. They pay everyone's salaries/wages and pay taxes on what's left dude.

[mcartri]

02:24 PM on 08/11/2010

Brady's campaign issued a press release following his promise to balance the state's budget in his first year as Illinois governor. For immediate release: Yes, it will be difficult to do, but remember what Mr. Brady did on 9/11 in NYC, where he was visiting the recently relocated Lincoln's Tomb. According to the only eyewitness who saw all Brady did that day-Brady himself, actually-he rescued the driver of a pizza delivery car that was burning from flaming debris. Brady said, "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this delivery man was actually Elvis Presley. I asked him if he was indeed Elvis & the guy said he was." Mr. Brady drove the burning car with Elvis in it to Brady's home in Bloomington, Illinois. Elvis remains in seclusion at Brady's home, desguised as Brady's pet Hound Dog. Brady will announce later tomorrow that Elvis will perform at a free concert at Illinois State University, if Brady wins the election.

[MilesLong]

09:42 AM on 08/12/2010

From your description, Mark Kirk and Bill Brady must be from the same shallow end of the gene pool.

Miles "DNA Tested" Long

[ItAintNoRocketScience]

02:13 PM on 08/11/2010

Yes, and while you're at it, watch out for those flying pigs...

[Meggie]

01:55 PM on 08/11/2010

But nobody will make him prove it with hard numbers and proof.

[ChangeAgent007]

01:25 PM on 08/11/2010

What math is he using? There is no way he will balance a $13 billion deficit in one year with a 10% across the board cut to ALL services and a tax decrease to business owners. The figures don't work that way.

If he has an obligation to balance the budget in the first year, he needs a better plan. The one he has presented won't work for many reasons. The largest being that the entire general revenue budget is only $26 billion. If cutting services is his only option he would have to cut more than 50% of services, which can't happen because then we would also lose federal matching dollars and hurting our state even more. These services include public safety, education, as well as social services. That's not going to happen. The public won't allow it.

The other option is to make marginal cuts to inefficient programs and raise revenue in the form of income tax increases. Barring that, it will come in the form of property tax increases.

Please note, the deficit would not have grown this large if the legislature had not shirked their responsibilities. They know what needs to occur. It's quite clear. They just didn't want to do it before this years elections.

[Aldyth]

01:44 PM on 08/11/2010

Well said.

Brady is kidding himself if he thinks Madigan and Cullerton would allow Brady to actually run the state of Illinois and impose those kinds of cuts. They're just waiting until after the election to pass a major tax increase.

Even if Brady is governor, with a Democratic house and senate, he'd be the biggest do nothing governor in history.

[Meggie]

01:59 PM on 08/11/2010

Oh, I don't know.
I have a feeling he'd be good for a scandalous scam or two.
Just for tradition's sake.
Just maybe not in the Motor Vehicles Dept because that's been done already.

[Meggie]

01:59 PM on 08/11/2010

He also neglects to understand that if he cuts services too far, I will leave and take all my quarterly tax payments to the state with me. And all the sales tax revenue he gets from me...
I have no good reason to stay in a state that's declining as severely as this guy would require.

[HOWMANYTIMES]

01:11 PM on 08/11/2010

and now Quinn gave raises to 235 staffers,,,

GOVERNOR BRADY AND SENATOR KIRK HAVE SUCH A NICE RING

[mcartri]

02:29 PM on 08/11/2010

You obviously do not live in Illinois. I do, and do not wish Attila the Hun's wannabes to pillage & burn my home state.

[cne1002]

02:36 PM on 08/12/2010

Stroger and Daley running for higher office?

[RickM1969]

01:10 PM on 08/11/2010

Wow Brady will be a busy man because he will have to man the entire government by himself.