Governor’s Medicaid Cuts May Hurt Struggling Hospitals

Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to slash $2.7 billion from Medicaid to save a program "on the brink of collapse" could prove fatal for some of the Chicago-area hospitals that treat the poor and already are struggling to survive amid rock-bottom reimbursement rates and costly federal health care reform, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.

State GOP: Quinn Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic

Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said that Governor Pat Quinn's proposed budget that he just presented to the General Assembly does not contain the financial reforms needed to turn the state's economy around.

"Governor Quinn's matinee performance today was just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," said Brady. "Instead of reforming state spending and lowering taxes to gain more jobs, Governor Quinn's budget continues to increase spending and has no strategic plan for bringing businesses and jobs back to Illinois that have been lost since he and his Democratic friends raised taxes 67%."

Cook County Official Indicted

Cook County Commissioner William Beavers faces tax fraud charges.

He was indicted Thursday for allegedly failing to pay taxes on tens of thousands of dollars in campaign funds that he used to pay off personal expenses. Beavers stands charged with three separate counts of filing inaccurate federal income tax returns, in addition to another count of obstructing and impeding the Internal Revenue Service, CBS Chicago reports.

The 77-year-old Democrat denied the charges and said he was indicted after he refused to wear a wire on fellow Cook County Commissioner John Daley.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Beavers allegedly failed to report thousands dollars of income he withdrew from his campaign accounts, as well as his county discretionary spending account. Beavers -- who sometimes refers to himself as "The Hog With The Big Nuts" -- allegedly used some of the money to gamble with and used $68,000 from a campaign account to boost his city pension. Between 2006 and 2008, he is accused of withdrawing $225,000 from the accounts in question.

Dillard: Quinn’s Budget Proposal Would Increase Spending

The posted this from Ill. Sen. Kirk Dillard’s office: While State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) was pleased Gov. Pat Quinn used his Feb. 22 budget to outline the serious fiscal challenges facing Illinois, the 24th District senator said the budget increases spending by almost $550 million and lacks critical details on how to address the state’s most pressing issues.