South West Illinois News

State Sen. Paul Schimpf (R-Waterloo) recently visited a local talk show, speaking with news radio WJPF’s Tom Miller on "The Morning Newswatch" to discuss aspects of the state’s budget crisis most relevant to Illinois constituents.

The senator spoke first about the critical need for state workers to get paid. He pointed out that many working in the private sector who don’t come into regular contact with state workers may not realize “how absolutely dire the situation is.”

Schimpf referred to an approximately seven-month backlog of arrears for Illinois in relation to its creditors, including service agencies, as “unfortunate … that’s been one of the factors that has allowed this budget impasse to go on for over two years now.”

He told his host that Illinois is  dealing with a roughly $8 billion difference between what it owes and is spending, and what it’s taking in.

“We have a very serious financial situation, and it’s something that I’m hopeful that we can get the budget agreement done so that we can at least start our state moving forward and start the recovery process,” Schimpf said.

In response to Miller’s query regarding the state Senate taking the initiative with a multiple-item legislative package, Schimpf explained why he voted against four pieces of legislation recently introduced by state Sen. Michael Hastings (D-Tinley Park).

“The way they structured this compromise was … 13 different bills, all of which contain language saying that unless all of these get passed, none of them take effect,” Schimpf said.

Essentially, it was framed as an all-or-none proposition.

“In my opinion … it was a little bit of a cop-out … I decided that I wasn’t going to cherry-pick my yeses and nos,” Schimpf said. “I felt like I owed it to the citizens of the 58th Senate District. While I was really encouraged that we had made a lot of progress, I didn’t feel like the total package as of last week was something that I could support.”

Schimpf outlined his four bottom-line priorities for the bill, noting that he had communicated them to Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), as well. Namely, he said, it has to balance; it must be constitutional; it must have tangible reforms to make the state’s business climate more attractive to job creators; and, finally — acknowledging that it’s the condition nobody wants to hear about — it must contain tax increases.

“You can’t ask people to swallow a massive tax increase unless there are spending cuts,” the senator said, adding that the pending package did not contain sufficient or significant spending reductions. “We raised taxes in 2011 with no reforms, and look how that turned out — it didn’t work.”

Schimpf commented that the current package would attempt to close the $8 billion gap with a $6 billion tax increase and $2 billion spending cut — something he feels won’t sit well with the public. He suggested that it be closer to “at least” a 50-50 split.

“People are justifiably livid with the General Assembly,” Schimpf said.

Regarding Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, “the thing that sticks in my craw about the attorney general inserting herself into this” is that she hasn’t done more to confront corruption, he said — allegedly because it is not in her job description.

Schimpf objected to what he called the attorney general’s “limited view” of what her job comprises, adding that he does not consider her overtures helpful and that she is “trying to meddle in budget discussions.”

Blue Lives Matter is a happier story: Schimpf recently co-sponsored legislation with state Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) to target hate crimes, which he defined as targeting certain groups within the population.

“If you’re trying to commit a crime in order to send a message and terrorize a group, that is a crime in and of itself,” the senator told his host and audience. He says hate crime legislation should include protections for law enforcement and corrections personnel, firefighters and other first responders.

When asked about Gov. Bruce Rauner’s State of the State address — scheduled shortly after the interview took place — Schimpf told his host that he thought the administration was close to a solution.

“You know me, Tom; I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy,” he said. “I think we’re close. I have been really impressed with the leadership of the Illinois Senate. They have tried … to seek to compromise, seek to find common ground.”

Reiterating that he has been truly impressed with his colleagues from both sides of the aisle, Schimpf informally estimated that 95 percent of the Illinois General Assembly was genuinely striving to work together on the budget.

The senator was careful to clarify that “there’s no easy way out.” He compared the state’s coffers to late-stage cancer, saying that the cure is almost as bad as the disease.

“There’s no pain-free way out of this,” he said. Some suffering is inevitable.

Schimpf, who resides in Waterloo, has a professional background as an attorney and served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.