Democratic candidate for governor Roland Burris said Monday that Gov. George Ryan and lawmakers are operating under a “sky-is-falling mentality” in looking to cut government spending, because the economic situation is not as bad as they have made it appear.
“Just how realistic is this shortfall?” Burris said. “The crisis generally is not as severe as it is being painted by the politicians.”
Burris, a former state comptroller, said the governor and the General Assembly caused the state’s economic problems by overspending but insisted there is no need to slash social services and make other cuts Ryan has proposed.
“The economy is going to pick back up,” he said. “It’s already picking up even quicker than was expected.”
Burris made the comments as he unveiled an economic plan and a new TV spot that criticizes the “reckless budget cuts.” Burris’ plan includes subsidizing the ethanol and coal-mining industries, creating lending programs for small businesses, and increasing state funding for Amtrak and high-speed rail. He could not estimate how much these programs would cost.
Burris also repeated a pledge to borrow $300 million to help cover the budget shortfall, saying the money would be repaid as the economy recovers.
In the Republican race for attorney general, DuPage County State’s Atty. Joseph Birkett accused rival Robert Coleman, a Loop lawyer, of funneling money to an insurance company in the Cayman Islands that he and his partners controlled. Birkett couldn’t detail any wrongdoing but said the dealings raised questions.
Zack Stamp, director of the Department of Insurance when one of Coleman’s companies was declared insolvent in 1990, joined Birkett at the news conference. Stamp said Coleman told the department the company’s finances were sound less than six months before the collapse.
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He also questioned why an Illinois company would need to be owned by an offshore corporation. “Why the Cayman Islands?” Stamp said. “Its reputation was basically anything goes. You could call down there with a credit card and start an insurance company.”
Coleman’s spokeswoman Barb Lazarus said Coleman started the company two decades ago, when it was common to establish businesses on the Cayman Islands. “Bob Coleman and his partners lost money on the deal,” she said.
Also Monday, the campaign for Rahm Emanuel, 5th Congressional District Democratic candidate, filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, alleging that a television ad sponsored by a women’s political action group breaches campaign laws.
Emanuel denounced the spot purchased by Emily’s List, a major financial supporter of his main opponent, former state Rep. Nancy Kaszak.
The ad, which calls Emanuel a Washington insider, accuses the former Clinton aide of costing Illinois thousands of jobs by leading the fight for the North American Free Trade Agreement and brokering a ComEd utility merger that netted Emanuel’s investment banking firm $10 million.
Emanuel’s campaign says the ad breaches campaign laws because it is a coordinated expenditure with Kaszak’s campaign–even though Emanuel benefited from radio ads last month paid for by Handgun Control Inc. that touted his efforts to pass the Brady Law on gun control.