Rich Miller vs. Rich Miller: Pat Quinn Really Doesn’t Want a Pension Bailout…Maybe His Budget Director Does and Maybe it’s in the Budget Analysis, but We Must Trust Rich and Pat!
From the September 25th Captial Fax
Illinois Policy Institute fear-mongering about a single line in an administration analysis of the Fiscal Year 2012 budget over a year and a half ago, in February of 2011..
significant long-term improvements will come only from additional pension reforms, refinancing the liability and seeking a federal guarantee of the debt.
That line was immediately retracted by the governor’s office and there’s been zero discussion about this topic since then.
There you have it. Zero discussion means Rich Miller says there has been zero discussion.
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There must have been some discussion at some time in 2009 because Rich Miller also says there was that too (which he lifted from Crain’s)
According to newly installed state Budget Director David Vaught, Gov. Pat Quinn recently brought up the idea with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and others at the White House. The governor got a good enough reception that “he intends to extend” his efforts, Mr. Vaught said.
A federally guaranteed bond issue could be an enormous help to Illinois in dealing with a huge fiscal 2011 budget hole that Dan Long, executive director of the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, the Legislature’s fiscal research arm, now pegs at $11 billion to $12 billion.
Nothing to see here, just move along.
From the Illinois Policy Institute: No Pension Bailout
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