South Cook News

The recent bipartisan budget agreement recently signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner isn't good and reflects the business-as-usual attitude among Springfield lawmakers, a Mt. Greenwood Republican who is running for the state House said during a recent interview.

"I believe it's a bad budget, not balanced," Herbert Hebein, who is running for the 35th House District seat, which is currently held by Rep. Frances Ann Hurley (D-Chicago), told the South Cook News. "They predict the future but never plan for it. They are anticipating future revenues that have not been confirmed, such as the sale of the Thompson Building and pension buy-outs."

The James R. Thompson Center on West Randolph Street in Chicago's Loop district, which is home to the offices of the Illinois state government, isn't exactly for sale, as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel blocked that idea last year. That hasn't stopped speculation that the state could expect a couple hundred million dollars if the building were to be sold.

Republican state House candidate Herbert Hebein

Hebein, who isn't the only person skeptical about how much pension buy-outs will save the state, criticized the budget for being short on "fundamental reforms" and for being unbalanced by as much as $1.5 billion, according to an estimate by the Illinois Policy Institute. 

"We are still paying for debts we owe that were not paid off in years past," Hebein said.

Rauner said in the press release that the spending package is "a step in the right direction," he but admitted that "it is not perfect." 

"We have a lot of work to do before we fully restore the state's fiscal integrity," Rauner said in the release. "We still need to enact reforms that bring down the cost of government, make the state friendlier to job creators and ignite our [state's] economy so it grows faster than government spending."

The budget spends all of the revenue from the 32 percent tax hike last year, something Hebein said he does not support

"No, I would not support a tax hike," he said. "I believe the tax hike... is for further spending, such as possible spending for infrastructure for the Obama Library.