The End Run Around the Illinois Constitution to Provide Socialist Health Care

The Chicago Tribune has an editorial on Illinois government:

Then there's Gov. Rod Blagojevich in Illinois. After he failed to get the Illinois legislature this year to pass a massive publicly funded health-care expansion, he didn't turn to voters. He decided to do it by fiat.

His bid to raise taxes by $7.6 billion for his health-care initiative collapsed spectacularly earlier this year. (Remember that 107-0 vote against it in the Illinois House?)

But he said he will expand state-paid health care anyway, piece by piece, whether the legislature likes it or not. And that's what he's been doing.

Last week, he moved to significantly expand state-funded health care for adults.

This comes under the FamilyCare program, which covers doctor visits, dental care, hospital care and more for parents who live with children 18 and younger.

Right now, FamilyCare is available to a family of four that earns up to $38,000 a year, for example. It reasonably protects working-class families not covered by Medicaid.

But by Blagojevich edict, that cap will more than double to about $82,000 a year. Blagojevich aides say that will increase eligibility by an estimated 147,000 people and cost about $225 million a year. But state Rep. John Fritchey (D-Chicago) figures the cost at $367 million. And remember, we're talking about covering adults here, not children.

Fritchey is a member of a bipartisan oversight committee that may vote on Tuesday to block the governor's move. That's a good idea.

The Illinois legislature did not approve this spending. But the governor vetoed nearly $500 million in other spending approved by the legislature, and he intends to grab some of that money for his health-care plans. It's still not clear that he has the legal authority to do that.

Blagojevich's moves don't sit well with many legislators and judging by recent opinion polls, with many citizens.

"The governor is seeking to single-handedly determine health policies for the state of Illinois that will have a tremendous and lasting fiscal impact upon our state," said Fritchey. "I don't think that the Illinois Constitution envisioned such unilateral action, nor do I think the 12 million people of Illinois feel comfortable investing their futures in the hands of any one person."

Eleven months ago, the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago warned that Illinois faces "a financial implosion." The highly respected business group reported that the state owed $106 billion, much of it for pensions and health-care costs.

The state made no progress in the last year on those dire financial problems. Yet Blagojevich is doing an end-run on the legislature to impose more spending on health care.

Does anyone care about constitutions?