State Senator John O. Jones

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW JAN. 23 - 27

MT. VERNON, IL - Senate Republicans are looking forward to Gov. Pat Quinn’s annual “State of the State” address on Feb. 1, which State Sen. John O. Jones (R-Mt. Vernon) hopes will provide insight into the Governor’s priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

State budget forecasts recently released by the Quinn Administration and Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka underscore the importance of addressing Illinois’ multi-billion dollar deficit and burgeoning bill backlog. But while the state’s budget woes remains a top priority for lawmakers, media reports indicate the Governor will likely turn his attention to other important—and contentious—issues like public pensions, taxes, and the Medicaid system.

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW JAN. 16 - 20

MT. VERNON, IL - Senate Republicans announced this week they will voluntarily walk away from the controversial and scandal-prone Legislative Scholarships Program, State Sen. John O. Jones (R-Mt. Vernon) said. The Senate Republicans hoped their decision will pressure their Democrat colleagues to also give up the costly and politically-charged perk.

Also during the week, Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka released a new report that estimates that one year after the state raised personal income taxes by 67 percent, Illinois has a bill backlog of about $8.5 billion.

A Jan. 19 Chicago Tribune editorial praised Senate GOP efforts, saying: "Republicans in the Illinois Senate are voluntarily suspending their participation in the tuition waiver program that has brought so much dishonor — and so much dishonorable conduct — to the General Assembly."

SENATE WEEK IN REVIEW JAN. 9 - 13

MT. VERNON, IL - This week, Jan. 13 marked the one year anniversary of the state’s 67 percent tax hike passed by Democrat lawmakers during the 2011 lame-duck session. State Sen. John O. Jones (R-Mt. Vernon) said that while the increase was packaged as the way to pull Illinois back from financial collapse, a year later the state is still faltering financially.

Just last week, Gov. Quinn released budget projections showing that even with the tax increase, the Fiscal Year 2012 budget is on target to spend more money than state will generate. In fact, according to the Governor, Illinois will still see a $500 million shortfall at the end of this fiscal year—not including $2 billion in deferred obligations.

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