By Cynthia Grau/WJEZ News
Governor Bruce Rauner’s budget address happened Wednesday and local legislators weighed in on the speech.
Senator Jason Barickman and Representative Tom Bennett gave some thoughts on the speech from Wednesday and both agree, the state has some issues to sort through.
“My preferred path here is that we come forward with a bipartisan compromise, but really, whether that happens, lies with the democrats in the legislature who control the legislative process right now and we need to see them act,” Barickman said.
Bennett said the governor’s speech was direct and to the point and a lot of what he talked about had been talked about before.
“They talked about how we over-promised and over-spent for years and we’ve got to find ways to get better. And of course, he talked about this current year, where the longer we go without a budget, the more we go into debt. Our interest rate on pensions is high. The interest rate on our unpaid bills is high. He also talked about how we need to live within our means,” Bennett said.
Barickman said the biggest challenge the legislature has is how some refuse to be bipartisan, and he believes that needs to stop.
“As we know, when you’ve got people like Speaker Michael Madigan, who historically doesn’t negotiate with anyone, I think there is going to be some considerable pressure on him to negotiate and I hope he’s finally willing to do so,” Barickman said.
Bennett said something that Rauner highlighted in his speech is all the work he’s doing for the people he represents.
“He mentioned he wants to focus on the middle class. He talked about families, communities and of course, the taxpayers, who are important. He represents the taxpayers of the State of Illinois. He’s trying to do a number of things,” Bennett said.
Barickman understands now is a difficult time and said he continues to reach across the aisle and will continue to do so.
“Now is a difficult time for the State of Illinois. It’s frustrating to, I think, everyone who sees the dysfunction. It’s, quite frankly, frustrating for me, and I’m a part of it. I see it unfolding internally,” Barickman said.
Bennett wants to see everyone in the legislature work together to make changes, especially when it comes to specific areas that aren’t receiving funding due to the budget deadlock.
“There are a lot of issues and there are a lot of concerns. Services are being cut. Jobs are gone. People are leaving the state. We’ve got a number of things we need to be working on and we need everyone working together to make it better,” Bennett said.
The two agree the only way to solve the budget crisis is by cooperation by both parties.
