Illinois General Assembly

Rep. Tracy:  "Illinois Sunshine Commission" Will Remove Unnecessary, Wasteful State Spending

For Immediate Release
May 6, 2010
Contact Rep. Jil Tracy
(217) 223-0833

Springfield, IL...State Representative Jil Tracy (R-Mt. Sterling) referred to the recent passage of legislation creating the Illinois Sunshine Commission as "a real reform to state spending practices that is certainly needed considering our current financial circumstances."
 
"There has been a lot of talk about cutting the budget, but it seems like that is all the farther we get, just talk," said Rep. Tracy.  "With this commission in place, we will get specific spending reductions that will require General Assembly action within sixty session days.  Hopefully the suggestions from the Sunshine Commission will move us past the talk and into real action on eliminating wasteful, ineffective state programs."
 
House Bill 4836, co-sponsored by State Representative Tracy, would create the Illinois Sunshine Commission with the goal of conducting a thorough review of the relevance, efficiency and effectiveness of state government programs.  The newly installed commission would consist of four legislators and four members of the public to make formal recommendations to the General Assembly.  Legislators would then be required to approve or reject the commission's recommendations within sixty session days.
 
The Sunshine Commission would have three options when evaluating specific programs, including: the elimination of obsolete or ineffective programs; consolidation of duplicative programs; and suggestions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of a program.
 
"Right now, we should be going through the budget line by line, program by program to ferret out any and all waste," said Tracy.  "I believe Illinois Sunshine Commission will be extremely effective at locating outdated, duplicative state programs that are no longer beneficial to taxpayers.  Ridding the state of unnecessary spending must be our first step toward addressing our fiscal dilemmas."
 
House Bill 4836 has passed the House and Senate, and now heads to Governor Quinn for final approval.