SPRINGFIELD— Today the Illinois House of Representatives passed an important resolution to limit spending for our FY 13 budget.
State Representative Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) supported House Resolution 706 that passed the House Thursday which limits next yearâs state spending to $32.9 billion.
âWe have over spent for years and are leaving our children with huge piles of debt,â said Durkin. âWe must cut spending, reform our pensions and Medicaid and start meeting our obligations.â
This is an important step in the process to get Illinois back on a sustainable budget track. The House previously set a conservative revenue estimate for this year of $33.7 billion.
âThis plan fully funds our state pension payment obligation of $5.065 billion for this year and will allow the state to pay off $1.5 billion in old bills to providers that are struggling to survive,â said Durkin. âThis plan is the responsible action to take and even though it will be difficult to cut spending by 5.4 percent we simply do not have the money to sustain the spending levels we are at.
Next, the appropriations committees will need to go through the budgets line by line and make appropriate allocations.
Click to hear Representative Durkin discuss HR706.........