Monday, Jun. 22, 2009

Holbrook fills in at Belleville chamber breakfast after Costello's brother dies

The state's current budget woes was the main topic at the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Issues and Eggs breakfast Monday morning at Fischer's Restaurant in Belleville.

State Rep. Thomas Holbrook, D-Belleville, was the keynote speaker at the and talked about the issues the state has faced over the past year.

U.S Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Belleville, was scheduled to be the keynote speaker but Costello's brother, Daniel E. Costello Jr., 72, of Belleville died Saturday and Jerry Costello canceled so he could attend his brother's funeral and burial Monday morning.

Holbrook talked about the state budget and the impending cuts to services.

"The budget is done, the budget has been passed," he said. "We are going back Wednesday to see if we need more revenue. I am concerned about it and so are a lot of people, but, if you don't have the money you can't spend it. The deficit is what it is."

Holbrook predicted lawmakers will vote in favor of an income tax increase in the next six to eight months to cover the state's budget shortfall.

"The money just is not there," he said. "The deficit is tied directly to the lack of jobs and income. We're not selling a lot of cars and people are out of work. Our income and sales taxes are down and the state has had about a $7.5 billion drop in income."

Finally, Holbrook ended the breakfast meeting by talking about the passage of the state's capital bill and the money slated to be spent on new construction in the metro-east, including $37 million for a new forensics lab in Belleville, $78 million for a new science lab at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, $19 million for a new classroom building at Southwestern Illinois College and funding for the repaving of Illinois 158 and Illinois 15.

"People come up to me and say 'you're cutting services to poeple yet you're building a new road,'" Holbrook said. "That spending is absolutely necessary for our state to move ahead. If we are ever going to move ahead as a state, we need to educate our kids. You need to make sure they can get in to a classroom at SWIC or a science lab at SIUE. These are necessary projects if the state is going to get ahead."