Open Illinois.org

Clairvoyance, or “the supernatural power of seeing objects or actions removed in space or time from natural viewing,” seems like an ability that Illinois policymakers wish they had when it comes to looking at the problems in the state budget.  Clairvoyance would give them the ability to see exactly who or what they spent money on and know exactly how to balance the budget.

This would also be very useful to answer questions we all have: “Where is all my money going?” “Why is Quinn threatening to make huge cuts?” “Do they really need to raise taxes?”

But a “supernatural” power really isn’t needed to answer these questions. What is needed is government transparency.

Government transparency would help lawmakers and citizens see that Illinois doesn’t need more money—it needs less spending.  The state of Illinois needs to think about some serious cuts in spending before it even hints at possibly raising taxes.  If every state legislator was handed a list of the wasteful spending done by this state, they would see that there is a huge amount of money being thrown away each year and maybe think twice before passing a budget that doesn’t propose any proper cuts in spending and better allocation of funds.

Since “supernatural” powers aren’t readily available, let’s hope that Illinois policy makers use their prudent judgment when they go to vote on a new budget.