Daily Herald Says Follow Cross

Those who hold real power in Springfield these days care little about what Republican leaders think for the simple reason that they don’t need to.

Democrats control both legislative chambers, the governor’s seat and every other constitutional office. For the most part, Illinois Republicans have themselves to blame considering their recent penchant for running too many candidates who range from the insufficiently inspiring, in the case of Judy Baar Topinka, to the utterly absurd, in the case of out-of-state and out-of-touch Alan Keyes.

But the absence of greater Republican influence is unfortunate in that some members of the party do have a clear and direct vision of where the state’s priorities should lie as a new legislative session gets under way. In his weekend “At Issue” interview with WBBM News Radio 780, House Republican leader Tom Cross, of Oswego, laid out a series of points that should — but probably won’t — serve as the guiding principles for this session of the General Assembly.

Among Cross’ main points:

• Lawmakers’ first order of business should be to put the state’s fiscal house in order at the very foundation composed of its long-term commitments: pensions, Medicaid and other existing obligations.

Lawmakers, Cross observed, have had trouble with money “burning a hole in their pockets” in recent sessions and can hardly wait to launch new programs. Cross didn’t say it, but this instinct has been led and encouraged by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, to the detriment of the state’s long-term financial health.

• School funding needs to be addressed, but, again, only after the state puts itself on more solid financial footing.

Cross acknowledged that property tax relief is needed and that inequality in school funding needs to be addressed. But only after the state’s basic financial condition is shored up.

The House Republican leader also said he and his colleagues must be sure, at the end of the day, that any school funding changes actually translate into higher quality education.

Cross did not say this, but the logical extension of his caveat is that lawmakers and residents should guard against assuming that putting more money into the schools automatically means better educated students. Challenging this assumption becomes particularly important when one sees the so-called stewardship of existing tax dollars in places like Elgin Area School District U-46, where the board has given its superintendent an incomprehensibly lavish contract extension.

• Capital spending must proceed only with defined revenue streams. Yes, Cross said, the state needs new roads, transit, schools and the like. But he’s right; the only responsible way to move ahead is with reliable revenue streams for those purposes.

Cross also offered good advice for his own party. Republicans, he said, need to rehabilitate their image, broaden their appeal and improve their “farm system” of developing young talent to seek office. Until those things occur, sound agendas and principles like those offered by Cross may get regrettable short shrift in the