New study finds huge jump in state’s budget deficit

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – A new study says the size of the Illinois budget deficit has nearly doubled in just two years.

The budget gap for this year is $8.1 billion, according to the Commercial Club of Chicago. Two years ago, the group put the gap at $4.3 billion.

The club’s Civic Committee includes a long list of expenses and obligations in its figures. That produces a larger deficit estimate than the one from the Illinois comptroller’s office.

But no matter how the figure is calculated, the fact that it has nearly doubled suggests serious problems for state government.

The Commercial Club calls for cutting pension and Medicaid costs and dramatically reducing state spending. It also rejects tax increases.

Sen. Durbin pushes bill to prevent foreclosures

CHICAGO – Sen. Dick Durbin is trying to drum up support for legislation to prevent foreclosures – literally taking it to the steps of a boarded up Chicago home that was foreclosed upon.

At a news conference Monday, Durbin said such homes aren’t only displacing residents, but as they stand vacant and crumble they drive down values of surrounding homes and even become havens for gang activity.

Durbin first introduced the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act in 2007 but it didn’t pass. He says the chances are better now.

He says the bill would help millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure by letting them modify the terms of their mortgages in bankruptcy proceedings.

Report: Illinois sees surge in prison inmates

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The number of Illinoisans in prison or on probation has more than doubled over the last 25 years to 1 in every 38 adults.

The data released by the Washington-based Pew Center on Monday ranks Illinois at 37th nationwide for the number of adults incarcerated, which has reached nearly 73,000 people.

Pew says the state’s prison population grew by 162 percent from 1983 to 2007. And the center’s report says Illinois spends more than $39 a day on each person in prison.

Officials with the Illinois Department of Corrections say the prison population has remained steady since 2002 thanks to educational and vocational programs inside prisons and re-entry programs outside.

Illinois also ranks 23rd for its population of nearly 180,000 people who are on probation.

Quinn says time to move on from Burris

CHICAGO – Gov. Pat Quinn says it’s time to move on from the flap over embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris and focus on the economy.

Quinn wants a special election for the Senate position, but said Monday he doesn’t think that can happen unless and until Burris quits.

Burris has defied calls for resignation. He’s being scrutinized over the circumstances of his Senate appointment by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and has changed his story several times. Burris denies wrongdoing.

Blagojevich was removed from office and faces criminal charges alleging he tried to profit from filling the Senate seat once belonging to President Barack Obama.

Quinn met Monday with black elected officials on Chicago’s West Side, including U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.

Quinn says most of the meeting was about economic recovery.

From Associated Press reports