Spectre’s Sayings

The Illinois State Journal-Register is reporting the following:

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes said today that it is irresponsible for Gov. Rod Blagojevich to threaten a government shutdown if the legislature doesn’t send the governor a budget to his liking.

“It’s my belief that it would do a disservice to all state employees and all who rely on state government to allow government to be shut down or to allow the prospect of a shutdown to be used for political or legislative advantage,” Hynes told the editorial board of The State Journal-Register.

“If the legislature passes a 12-month budget by a supermajority vote, the game’s over,” Hynes said. “And to throw out the idea of a government shutdown is, I think, a dangerous thing.”

Hynes said it was a good move when the governor asked state employees Tuesday to stay on the job and assured them they would be paid in full once a new budget is passed.

Wednesday, however, the governor told legislative leaders in a letter that if they send him a 12-month budget he considers unbalanced, it will “simply precipitate a shutdown.”

Hynes said he found that letter “very disturbing.”

“It’s my belief that that letter and all of his behavior the past several weeks and months leads me to believe that he intends on shutting the government down,” Hynes said.

“I think what we all need to do is say, ‘In no case, in no event will we shut down government,” Hynes said.

Becky Carroll, speaking for the Blagojevich administration, said Blagojevich “wants to avoid a shutdown, which is why he has strongly advocated that the legislature pass a 30-day budget, and we would ask the comptroller to join us in that effort.

” It’s also unfortunate that he should make such heated comments about what the governor’s intentions are without even speaking with him personally,” she said.

Odd that the story doesn’t mention the names of the legislative leaders with whom the governor is having budgetary disagreements, isn’t it?