Rod Blagojevich has been making the kind of changes we had been anticipating for 30 years of Republican governors. With his 2002 victory we realized what life could be like with a Democrat leading the state government. We as Democrats had very high hopes for the Blagojevich administration and he has delivered. He has taken up the cause of many of the concerns we all had including health care, minimum wage, stem cell research, passing GLBT legislation to protect against discrimination, expanding pre-school programs, and funding for the vast array of social services and human rights programs that make the quality of life in Illinois better.
Topinka, our current state treasurer, on the other hand has not demonstrated anything in her tenure that would make for a reason to vote for her. She has worked hard to try to take advantage of Blagojevich missteps and potential problems but that is a campaign to not vote for Blagojevich. She has failed to give anyone a reason to vote for her.
When the polls close on Tuesday, Nov. 7 I believe we will se a huge Blagojevich victory and the government of Illinois will continue to be lead by Democrats. The question then becomes what to do with that power.
I have at least three issues that I would like to see addressed. We all need to be very concerned about the general finances of the state. When Blagojevich came in he faced a five billion dollar deficit. He has managed to move things forward, but at what cost? It seems to me that rather than address the issues today, we have decided to delay those decisions into the future. The governor needs to develop a plan to address the long-term financial situation. No new taxes makes that even more difficult, but whatever the options are we need a plan that will protect the programs we have long waited for and keeps the state in sound financial shape.
While he is addressing the financial future a second problem that must be addressed is the funding of education. Without the 7% tax cap and with property values significantly up the burden of property taxes is growing heavy on most citizens of Illinois. A plan to change the way schools are funded that decreases the reliance on property tax is necessary.
Finally, a third item that needs to be on the Governors agenda is tax increment financing reforms. TIF's can and have played a valuable role in development of some areas that may not have seen development otherwise. That does not mean that TIF's are appropriate for every area that wants development. Some should have the assistance, but most should be able to develop without it. The revenues also need to be better understood and utilized so that their is appropriate and transparent use of the funds.
I believe that there are other things that need to be addressed and new issues will arise. I know that there will be some issue we just will not all agree upon, but I also have no doubt that we will all be better off with Blagojevich as our governor.
Go Democrats!
