Tough Talk About The State Budget Won T Save Illinois

• AP Photo/The State Journal-Register, David Spencer
• Protesters have already told state representatives what they don’t want cut from the budget.

If you’re in the mood for talk that isn’t as tough as it wants to be, turn to the op-ed page of Tuesday’s Sun-Times and read the essay there by Madeleine Doubek, chief operating officer of Reboot Illinois. Illinois needs to trim the state budget to something it can afford, she says, so let’s get to it! “It’s up to all of us to figure out what we want to afford. What we’re willing to pay for and what we’re not willing to fund. What can we live without?”

This is obviously a reference to a recent Tribune editorial hailing a pilot program at the Lurie Children’s Hospital that would improve services and save the state money in the long run. If programs like this one grow on trees, let’s harvest the nuts and plant them around the state.