auto insurance fund tapped

The Sun-Times carried an AP story (John O'Connor) saying the state had spent all the money in the fund that pays for state vehicles being in accidents.

Insurance companies regularly concoct ways to stall paying claims. The worst case scenario is that claims will be deferred to the next fiscal year.

Becky Carroll, spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich's budget office, said officials need to analyze why costs are so high. The administration is sensitive to the situation, she said, but a tight budget limits its options.

"We need to ensure we're meeting our commitment to our schools and health care," Carroll said. "Those are the top priorities."

Carroll's response is unsatisfactory because paying claims for damage done by state employees is a higher priority than general health care funds and general education funds. Remember, a major reason the state can't pay for its obligations is Blagojevich deciding to make "no sales/income tax increases" the top priority. G-Rod is fine with cutting education funding (the small increase minus shifting pension burden to the districts decreases funding for education) as long as it helped him and his political career.

Despite the shortfall, Blagojevich is not seeking more money for the fund in next year's budget, Carroll told The (Bloomington) Pantagraph, which first reported the problem.

More irresponsible budgeting by G-Rod.