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A NEW DECADE DAWNS
ON STATE SPENDING
Comments by State Comptroller DAWN CLARK NETSCH
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I am proud to have broken down a barrier of inequality with my election as Comptroller. It is an honor
to be the first woman elected to state constitutional
office in Illinois. But as I embark on this mission I hope
that, over time, I will be remembered for my work as
the state's fiscal watchdog, not just as the first woman to
achieve this high office.
The reason is simple. Illinois' financial situation is in
its most precarious position since the recession years of
a decade ago.
The problem is evident in the state's General Funds
balance, which for the past several months has been
consistently below the traditional $200-millon "warning zone" level. The longer our balance of funds lurks
below this level, the more unstable our financial footing
becomes and the closer we are to running a deficit that
could severely impact state programs and services.
As the state's chief financial officer, I will use my
extensive background as an educator and an expert in
state finances to provide Gov. Jim Edgar and the people of Illinois with the crucial information they need to
make the difficult decisions necessary to restore our
General Funds. My 18 years in the Senate and 25 years
as a professor at Northwestern University's School of
Law have prepared me for this mission.
While Illinois' fiscal crunch is not as bad as some
states', there is no cause for fiscal complacency. The
states that in the 1980s neglected to anticipate the rising
costs of government programs and the flattening of tax
revenues — such as many New England states — are
now undertaking deep cuts in programs aimed at reducing huge state deficits.
Perhaps there's some small silver lining amid all this
fiscal unease. The growing attention paid to the rising
costs of programs and tax issues puts financial officials
in an excellent position to educate people about state
spending. People need to know that the bulk of state
spending pays for public aid, local education, transportation and higher education, and that these agencies and
programs are, for the most part, more than 50 percent
more costly to deliver now than they were 10 years ago.
Much of our work networks us with the fiscal activities of the more than 6, 000 units of local government
across the state. These entities are in no way immune
from the fiscal challenges facing the state as a whole.
Government bodies big and small face the same quandary: How to provide more and better services without
increasing costs and taxes?
The Comptroller's Office helps local governments
by doing more than merely auditing their financial affairs. Each year we update and publish booklets designed to help local government leaders manage and
invest their monies more effectively.
At all levels, we need to examine closely our state
programs and expenditures. We must ascertain
whether these programs are necessary and are functioning efficiently. The Comptroller's Office, with a new
sense of vigor and purpose, will perform its watchdog
role, tracking programs costs over time. But our findings will have little impact unless citizens, legislators
and other state officials study them and use them as the
basis for action.
We are making a special effort to insure that our
financial reports are more accessible and comprehensible to people who possess even a passing interest in
state finance and government. Our goal is to get people
to have the same interest and concern for the state's
checkbook as they have for their own.
Better communication and information alone will
not absolve citizens of the responsibility to challenge
themselves to understand the complexities of state programs, taxes and spending procedures. We want citizens to know what the state's General Funds are, and
what "lapse period spending" means, and why they are
significant in determining the state's fiscal standing.
Our democracy is based on informed people making sound decisions. We will do our part by providing
the most comprehensive, meaningful information we
can on state finances. We look forward to helping you
to do your part. •
Page 12 / Illinois Municipal Review / March 1991