FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2001

GOVERNOR RYAN INTRODUCES 2002 BUDGET TO
INVEST IN EDUCATION, HUMAN SERVICES AND
ILLINOIS COMMUNITIES

51 Percent of New Revenues for Education for Third Straight Year,
Peotone Airport Land Acquisition to Begin

SPRINGFIELD -- Governor George H. Ryan today introduced a $50
billion budget for fiscal year 2002 that proposes, for the third year in a
row, an unprecedented commitment of 51 percent of new revenues to
education while also continuing investments in our communities,
human services and public safety.

The $49.97 billion budget proposal once again ends the year with a
general funds balance of $1.2 billion. While it acknowledges recent
projections of slower economic growth, it meets the Governor's clear
and consistent funding priorities. It calls for no new tax or fee
increases, but it continues the second-year of tax relief programs for
senior citizens, low-wage workers and parents of school children.

"Today I present to you a budget that will continue to improve our
schools, create jobs and opportunity, fix our roads, get our children
the health care services they need, clean our air and water and help
keep our neighborhoods safe," Gov. Ryan said. "It strengthens Illinois'
human infrastructure. It maintains our programs to expand and
improve the state's physical infrastructure. And it allows us to
continue the tax relief programs for families that we started last year."
The budget again appropriates funds to acquire land for the proposed
Peotone Airport to supplement air transportation capacity in
Northeastern Illinois. In his budget address, the Governor announced
the Illinois Department of Transportation will begin purchasing land
from willing sellers in the airport's footprint.

Other highlights of the budget include:

EDUCATION

The Governor's proposed budget includes an additional $460 million,
or 51 percent of all new state revenue, to education. That would bring
the education appropriation to nearly $9 billion.

In addition, the budget proposal includes a two-year, $250 million
capital investment program for the state's 48 Community Colleges-a
system the Governor has called the backbone of the new economy.

Other proposals include:

• A record commitment to higher education, $3.4 billion this year
  for state universities, community colleges and private
  institutions.
  
• A general funds increase of $60 million to fully fund mandated
  programs such as special education, transportation and school
  lunches.

The Governor said his administration will begin working with local
school districts, parents' organizations and groups like the Illinois
Business Education Coalition to start the process of moving toward
annual student testing as a means of ensuring greater accountability.
"Parents should know the progress their children are making in every
school, every year," Gov. Ryan said.

Gov. Ryan applauded State Board Chairman Ron Gidwitz and State
School Superintendent Max McGee for developing a solid reform
plan for the Illinois Board of Education that builds on the agency's
strengths and puts it more in touch with students, parents, teachers
and school officials in every community.

The State Board proposes improving efficiency by transferring some
programs to other state agencies, streamlining operations, privatizing
some functions and cutting 120 positions through transfers within
state government, annual attrition or downsizing.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In another effort to keep Illinois prepared to meet the needs of a
changing economy, the Governor outlined a $1.3 billion budget for
economic development and job training.

"As I promised last month, we will not forget those who have recently
lost their jobs in Illinois as the economy slows and we will do all that
we can to help people who have been laid off to find a new job," Gov.
Ryan said.

The Governor also pledged to work with business and organized labor
to ensure that our tax structure, unemployment insurance and workers'
compensation systems are fair to all parties and appropriate for the
times.

TECHNOLOGY

To capitalize on Illinois' ranking as the fourth largest high-tech
economy, Governor Ryan's second year of his landmark
VentureTECH program dedicates almost $400 million to upgrading 
Illinois' scientific infrastructure and investing in research and
education in medicine, biotechnology, physics and information technology.

INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

The 2002 budget will continue the third year of his landmark Illinois
FIRST program. The projects will widen highways, repair bridges,
relieve congested suburban streets, build new roads for economic
development and put tens of thousands of people to work.

These Illinois FIRST projects will also improve the quality of life for
people across the state.

They include:

• A $2.3 billion road construction program, the details will be
  announced this spring.
  
• Continued untangling of notorious Chicagoland traffic
  headache, the "Hillside Strangler."
  
• $96 million for mass transit, including new buses and trains.
  
• $500 million in new funding for construction projects at
  elementary and high schools.

AVIATION

Gov. Ryan said his 2002 budget proposes taking the first concrete
steps toward increasing the capacity of our air transportation in
Northeastern Illinois.

The Governor said he was directing the Department of Transportation
to begin buying land from willing sellers in the proposed Peotone
Airport construction footprint in Will County--$45.5 million is
proposed for land acquisition in 2002.

HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE

The budget strengthens the state's human infrastructure with key
investments in social services:

• Caregivers for people with developmental disabilities will
  receive a $1-an-hour wage increase, effective March 1, 2001 if
  a supplemental appropriation is passed.
  
• The Department of Public Health will use $36 million in
  tobacco recovery funds for smoking prevention programs.
  
• The Department of Children and Family Services would receive
  an increase of $35 million to help the agency move even more
  children into permanent homes.
  
• $3 million for the Illinois Workforce Advantage program to
  bring help to economically disadvantaged areas.
  
• The after school program Teen REACH will receive a $2.5
  million increase.
  
• An increase of $1 million for the Great Start program for
  training day care workers.
  
• The Department of Public Aid is allocated $7.4 billion in state
  and federal funds to assist our most needy citizens.

Gov. Ryan said the Department of Public Aid would continue to be
committed to ensuring child support checks make it into the hands of
custodial parents on time.

In 1999, custodial parents across the state suffered hardships when the
new, federally mandated state-run child-support check disbursement
system nearly collapsed, causing missed and delayed child support
payments. Thirty-three thousand emergency checks, averaging $280
each, were sent to parents. Noting those hardships were no fault of the
parents or children, Gov. Ryan said there will be no effort to recoup
the money, now that the disbursement system is working.

"With compassion and understanding, this state should not attempt to
recoup those emergency payments," Gov. Ryan said. "The
circumstances behind those 33,000 emergency checks led to
numerous hardships for innocent families - we should not create any
more."

The Governor reiterated his support for the KidCare program and said
KidCare enrollment has grown nearly five-fold since he took office,
with nearly 143,000 children and pregnant mothers enrolled in the
health program.

But health care inflation, expanded enrollment in KidCare and
advances in medicine raised Medicaid's costs-- 13 percent in 2000 and
another 10 percent this fiscal year.

The 2001 supplemental budget request includes $200 million to keep
Medicaid on track for the rest of fiscal year 2001. The Governor
pledged to continue to work with health care leaders and lawmakers
on cost containment strategies.

ENVIRONMENT AND AGRICULTURE

This budget continues the great strides made over the last two years to
protect our environment and natural resources while enhancing the
vital agricultural economy and helping rural Illinois.

• The budget includes the third $40 million installment of the
  Illinois Open Lands Trust, a four-year program that has placed
  tens-of-thousands of acres in public hands.
  
• $ 5 million for Illinois Rivers 2020, an important program
  being led by Lt. Governor Corinne Wood that will leverage $50
  million in federal funds.
  
• The budget also includes $2.5 million to support the "Illinois
  Tomorrow" program, which helps cities and villages plan their
  future growth.
  
• The Department of Agriculture would launch AgriFIRST with
  $3 million for grants to enhance and develop products that
  expand the value of our state's raw crops.
  
• $2 million for a new alternative fuel incentive program to
  spread the use of ethanol.
  
• A $150 million expansion of the state's existing revolving loan
  programs to help more towns and villages fix up aging water
  systems.

PUBLIC SAFETY

Gov. Ryan's budget proposes significant investments in public safety
with the hiring of more state police officers and the addition of
corrections beds.

• In the current year the Corrections Department will open two
  new facilities with more than 2,600 beds. In addition, the 2002
  budget funds 3,600 additional beds, which includes a new
  maximum-security facility in Thomson.
  
• The Governor fulfills his commitment of doubling the number
  of state parole agents monitoring more than 32,000 adults and
  juveniles released from prison.

The State Police budget of $385 million includes:

The hiring of 100 more state police officers, bringing to 350 the
number of new troopers to keep our highways and communities
safer.

The budget also includes:

• $47 million for the construction here in Springfield of a new,
  modern State Police headquarters that will consolidate the
  agency's offices.
  
• $1.5 million to beef up and improve the agency's important
  forensic science capabilities.

TAX RELIEF

The Governor's budget continues the second year of tax relief
including the $35 million Earned Income Tax Credit; the $105
million Circuit Breaker/Pharmaceutical Assistance program for
seniors and the $75 million Tuition Tax Credit for parents of school
children.

Gov. Ryan pledged to work to secure more funds for Illinois from
Washington; particularly an increase in federal formulas that
determine how much Illinois is entitled for numerous social services
and education programs.

The Governor noted Illinois is home to 4.5 percent of the nation's
Medicaid population, yet under current federal formulas receives only
3.5 percent of federal Medicaid funds. That one percentage point
difference represents a loss to Illinois of approximately $1 billion
every year.

Illinois taxpayers must pay a greater share of the cost of Medicaid
than do taxpayers in our neighboring states. The federal
reimbursement rate for Illinois is 50 percent while Wisconsin is at 59
percent; Indiana, Missouri and Iowa all are reimbursed at more than
60 percent and Kentucky is at 71 percent.

Gov. Ryan pledged to work in a spirit of bipartisan cooperation with
the General Assembly to pass the 2002 budget.

"We will ensure that our state government does the most good for the
greatest number possible," Gov. Ryan said. "We are a strong state and
this budget for 2002 will make us stronger."

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