Jim Dey: Pritzker doesn't call out critics, just calls them names

Mar. 2—Gov. J.B. Pritzker, as expected, received a warm welcome when he went before legislators to disclose his budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Democrats were enthused about him, even if not as pleased with his budget proposals. Republicans, who resent Pritzker's partisan approach, were polite.

But Pritzker, who dreams of one day delivering a State of the Union address, had more on his mind than budget numbers.

He lambasted unnamed critics, conjuring up a new insult: "Doom Grifters."

The what? Don't worry, an explanation is forthcoming.

But first, the governor.

"... We created a $2 billion rainy day fund. We achieved nine credit upgrades. And in the face of a pandemic and high inflation, we delivered historic tax relief."

We, we, we. Like a narcissistic opera singer, he unleashed a torrent of self-congratulation that meant me, me, me, me.

"Do not let the doom grifters steal your optimism about what's ahead for Illinois. Our future is bright."

Who are "doom grifters"? They are "spelunkers of misery." Who? The "carnival barkers."

Pritzker's barb collection refers to skeptical financial analysts, including those at Truth in Accounting and Wirepoints who report the unofficial side of the budget story.

Wirepoints' Mark Glennon acknowledged Pritzker's resentment but said the "name calling honestly doesn't bother me."

He said Illinois "has achieved some degree of fiscal stability" under Pritzker. Glennon attributed it to a "massive income tax increase passed just before he took office, federal money disguised as COVID relief, stimulative federal fiscal policy and a variety of regressive tax increases he implemented."

Glennon said Illinois' budgets have "ballooned and, net-net, we are no better off. The tax base continues to flee as a consequence."

It's reports like those from Truth in Accounting, headed by Sheila Weinberg, that get under Pritzker's skin. A recent TIA report said Illinois ranks 48th of 50 states in financial health.

"Even though it had revenue increases of $18.4 billion, mostly from increased grants and tax increases, the state remained deeply in debt," said a TIA report on the Financial State of the States 2023.

It found Illinois "needed $175 billion more than it had to pay all of its bills."

Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner of Wirepoints are equally unsparing. They call Illinois' budget "dishonest."

"The only real way to really judge a budget, then, is to measure how it impacts the kitchen table issues of ordinary Illinoisans. Like gasoline prices. And property taxes. The quality of education. Inflation. And of course, jobs. By that standard, Gov. Pritzker's previous five budgets have failed and his latest proposal for 2025 is on track to do the same. The data is unequivocal, as we detail in the sections below," they recently wrote.

Illinois' long-term financial status starts — but does not end — with $142 billion in public pension debt. State contributions consume roughly 20 percent of the budget but are insufficient to keep the pension debt from growing.

The governor appears to consider any mention of that as dirty pool. That's one reason he initially compared the critics to carnival con men hustling rubes.

As insults go, "carnival barkers" is pretty good. People understand their inherent untrustworthiness.

But "spelunker of misery"?

A spelunker is an underwater cave diver. That makes no sense. There's so much misery in Illinois, one need not go scuba diving to find it.

Perhaps that's why the governor came up with "Doom Grifters."

A grifter is someone who takes advantage of people or engages in petty theft.

So a "Doom Grifter" swindles people out of their gloom? That lacks the certain "je ne sais quoi" an effective insult needs.

It is, of course, not easy to come up with a clever label that strips the target of credibility. A more effective approach would be to challenge their accuracy, if Pritzker can.