Welcome…
Dear Friends,
When I was first elected in 1998, I promised to revolutionize the Comptroller’s Office through sound fiscal policies, implementing creative innovations and demanding government accountability. Through hard work and determination, we exceeded our goals and expectations and became the state’s leading voice for fiscal responsibility. In 2002, more than 2 million voters validated our efforts, as I won re-election by more than one million votes. While we have accomplished many of our goals over the last 7-½ years, our work is not complete. I am excited and eager to run for re-election and continue our work as a strong consumer and taxpayer advocate, a leading proponent of budgetary reforms and a steward of high ethical standards. Please enjoy visiting my website and I encourage you to get involved in our campaign, as we head towards November.
Daniel W. Hynes - Biography
Daniel W. Hynes is serving his second term as State Comptroller, having won re-election in 2002 by a margin of more than one million votes. As the state’s chief fiscal officer, Hynes, 38, has become the state’s leading voice for fiscal responsibility. In the process, he has focused his administration on consumer and taxpayer advocacy, government accountability and long-term budget reform.
Hynes’ efforts to secure state funding for stem cell research culminated in the creation of the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute in 2005. In Spring 2006, IRMI awarded $10 million in grants to medical research facilities for the development of stem cell-based treatments and cures, making Illinois the first state in the Midwest to commit public funds to this life-saving work.
Also in 2005, Hynes proposed a legislative package of reforms that attacked “pay to play” politics by dramatically reducing the ability of campaign contributors to get state contracts. At the same time, Hynes led by example and issued an Executive Order making his office subject to the restrictions immediately.
Hynes believes the Comptroller should be a watchdog for taxpayers and consumers. In 2004, his bill protecting 375,000 Illinois workers from punitive new federal overtime rules was signed into law. He also successfully blocked a foreign firm from receiving payment for flu vaccines it had not delivered. Previously, he sponsored successful legislation that prohibits tax scofflaws and corporations involved in financial crimes from getting state contracts. He has also created a means on the Comptroller’s web site by which taxpayers can easily determine whether they are among those owed more than $20 million in uncashed state income tax refunds.
Hynes engineered the creation in 2000 of a Rainy Day Fund, designed to ensure that the state can meet its financial obligations during economic hard times and revenue slowdowns. He also drafted legislation passed in 2003 that generates a permanent revenue source for that fund, establishes a strong budgetary reserve in prosperous times, and creates greater accountability by recognizing and paying down unpaid liabilities. In 2004, his warning that the state’s long-term debt was spiraling out of control helped prompt the General Assembly to tighten controls.
The Comptroller also regulates private cemeteries and funeral homes. After holding statewide hearings and receiving input from hundreds of citizens, Hynes spearheaded bi-partisan passage of the most sweeping consumer protection reforms of those industries in 25 years. His office also toughened its oversight of crematories and has initiated legal actions that resulted in monetary restitution to hundreds of defrauded funeral home customers. In addition, Hynes established a toll-free cemetery hotline and a special web page, created and distributed a consumer video, advocated legislation that doubled the plot allowance benefit for veteran burials, and sponsored the cleanup of dozens of neglected cemeteries across the state. Hynes has re-energized the Local Government Division of his office. Under his administration, local government financial reporting compliance has increased from 65 percent to 95 percent. In addition, his office has provided statewide training and assistance to thousands of local government officials, which resulted in initiatives that saved local taxpayers more than $1 million.
Hynes has further demonstrated his commitment to openness and accountability by providing extensive information on his web site, both in English and Spanish, about the workings of state government. His Public Accountability Project has become an established reporting system that offers a comprehensive view of what each government program is intended to accomplish and whether it has met its goals.
During his tenure, Hynes has expanded the state’s commercial direct deposit program, encouraging state vendors to receive their payments electronically, thereby saving money and increasing efficiency. Under Hynes’ leadership, participation in the direct deposit program has grown substantially. He has also put sharper teeth into the state’s debt collection efforts, more than doubling the monies collected through the Comptroller’s offset system.
Before taking office, Hynes was a health care attorney for a Chicago law firm. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame in 1990 with a degree in economics and computer applications, and earned a J.D. with Honors in 1993 from the Loyola University School of Law. Hynes is active in numerous civic and charitable organizations. A native of Chicago, he married Christina Kerger, M.D., in June, 1999. They have a son, Charlie.
The Hynes Record -A Record of Leadership for Illinois
Public Advocacy
Protected overtime rights of Illinois workers
Comptroller Hynes feels that Illinois has the most productive and dedicated workforce in the world and believes that public officials should make every effort to ensure that workers receive the level of compensation to which they are entitled under law. In 2004, Hynes pushed legislation that stopped the new United States Department of Labor rules which would have eliminated overtime pay for thousands of Illinois workers. An estimated 375,000 employees, including nurses, EMTs, lab techs, military vets, and police and fire personnel could have been denied overtime protections had the Hynes’ legislation not passed.
Championed cutting edge medical research
When the federal government drastically cut stem cell research, the Hynes’ administration made state funding of that research a top priority. Leading scientists believe stem cell research may soon lead to cures of diseases that affect nearly every family in Illinois. Hynes’ efforts led to the creation and funding of the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute by Governor Rod Blagojevich—a move that will result in the awarding of $10 million in medical grants for the development of stem cell-based treatments and cures, making Illinois the first state in the Midwest to commit public funds to this life-saving work.
Accountability to Taxpayers
Blocked excessive and wasteful state spending
Comptroller Hynes has taken decisive action to curb wasteful state spending. In 2005, he refused to pay nearly $2.6 million for flu vaccines the state never received. In the midst of budgetary crises in 2003 and 2004, he refused to issue disputed pay raises for state judges until ordered by the State Supreme Court to do so. Those efforts mirrored events of his first term in office when he froze payments for member initiative pork projects – actions that resulted in greater public and media scrutiny of state spending practices.
Aggressively promoted a progressive workplace environment
Comptroller Hynes believes strongly in promoting a positive and productive work environment. Accordingly, each employee in the Comptroller’s office is now required to complete annual training programs on ethics rules, sexual harassment and diversity issues.
Fought to ensure corporate responsibility
Comptroller Hynes believes that companies awarded lucrative state contracts must also be good corporate citizens. That’s why the Hynes’ Administration sponsored successful legislation in 2003 that bars corporations from receiving state contracts for at least five years if they are convicted of accounting frauds like those that occurred at Enron and WorldCom. In 2004, the Comptroller also fought to bar the state from doing business with corporations that incorporate in foreign tax havens to avoid having to pay their fair share of Illinois taxes.
Toughened the state’s prevailing wage standards
In 2002, Comptroller Hynes issued an Executive Order seeking to assure that all recipients of state construction contracts and grants comply with the state’s Prevailing Wage Act. Hynes, who also created the position of Prevailing Wage Officer, has made sure that citizens can now verify that prevailing wages are being paid by examining contracts on the Comptroller’s web site, www.ioc.state.il.us
Integrity in Government
Imposed tough ethics and contract reforms
Taxpayers have a right to expect spending decisions based on sound public policy and the highest ethical standards. To that end, Comptroller Hynes issued an Executive Order requiring that anyone bidding for contracts with the Comptroller’s Office must disclose any contribution made to Hynes’ political fund to the Executive Inspector General of the Comptroller’s Office. The order also bans contributions from persons or entities with more than $10,000 in contracts with the Comptroller’s Office.
Pushed for statewide campaign reforms
The public perception persists that too often, public contracts are awarded on the basis of political contributions—not qualifications. In 2005, Comptroller Hynes proposed a series of legislative reforms that will end “pay-to-play” procurement in Illinois government.
Implemented financial stability plan
A five-year effort by Comptroller Hynes to improve the state’s long-term fiscal foundation culminated in 2004 with the signing of a new law that implements fundamental budget reforms. The new law requires that for each year that state general revenues increase by more than 4%, the state budget will include a 1% hold on state spending from those revenues. Those funds will be deposited into the Rainy Day Fund, which Hynes established in 2000 as a means to provide the state with a cash reserve during lean economic times.
Held the line on spending in the Comptroller’s Office
As the state’s chief fiscal officer, Comptroller Hynes and his office are responsible for a multitude of critical administrative functions including issuing warrants for the state, collecting and issuing financial reports for local governments and the Cemetery Care Division, providing accurate fiscal information to the Governor and the Illinois General Assembly and processing more than 6.1 million electronic payments a year. Despite an increase in responsibilities, both the operational budget and the office head count are lower than when Hynes took office in 1999. Administrative efficiencies and innovative use of technologies have helped Hynes run the Comptroller’s office with a smaller budget today than when he took over the office seven years ago.
Efficiency in Government
Effective Cash Management for providers of critical state services
In his first term, Comptroller Hynes fulfilled a promise he made during his first campaign by establishing the Rainy Day Fund as a reserve for the state during tough economic conditions. And by reforming and strengthening the Prompt Payment Act, which forces the state to pay its bills in a more timely manner, Comptroller Hynes kept faith with his assertion that the state should be a better business partner to the tens of thousands of state vendors. Since fiscal year 2001, as the state has struggled with an uncertain economy and scarce revenues, the innovative cash management practices employed by the Hynes Administration have mitigated the financial distress suffered by the healthcare and social service provider communities.
Increased efficiency in state payment process
The Hynes Administration continues to focus on making the state payment process more secure and efficient through the issuance of electronic payments, saving the state an estimated $1.5 million each year in postage and paper costs. Today the office processes over 6.1 million electronic payments annually, nearly doubling the number of electronic payments issued the year prior to Hynes taking office. Overall, Comptroller Hynes has been a leader in state government’s transition to new business methods by reducing paperwork and red tape and utilizing state-of-the-art technologies to reduce processing times and save taxpayer dollars.
Better Debt Collection
Every year, thousands of deadbeat parents, tax scofflaws and other debtors attempt to receive government payments regardless of their obligations to the state. When Comptroller Hynes took office, he upgraded the state’s inadequate procedures for collecting these debts, resulting in more than $152 million being returned to the state treasury that would otherwise have gone to undeserving individuals and companies.
Reformed Governmental Accounting Methods
As the state’s Chief Fiscal Officer, Comptroller Hynes has the responsibility to implement national accounting directives and guidelines imposed on him by the General Accounting Standards Board. The Hynes Administration has already instituted three major reform initiatives for Illinois and the more than 6000 local governments within the state. These reforms have resulted in more open governments, with increased sunshine on information local governments have to file in their annual reports. The new reforms have led to Comptroller Hynes being recognized by the Governmental Finance Officers Association for excellence in financial reporting.
Implemented Technological Innovation to Increase Government Reporting
Hynes has re-energized the Local Government Division of his office. Under his administration, local government financial reporting compliance has increased from 65 percent to 95 percent. In addition, his office has provided statewide training and assistance to thousands of local government officials, which resulted in initiatives that saved local taxpayers more than $1 million.
Northwest Herald & Kane County Chronicle - October 16, 2006 -Editorial
Dan Hynes is seeking his third term as state comptroller, and he has earned re-election.
Hynes, a Democrat, is one of the most upstanding, uncompromised and well-respected candidates on the statewide ballot.
The comptroller is the state’s chief fiscal officer and signs checks for state government.
Hynes made Gov. Rod Blagojevich angry when he refused to sign a $2.6 million check last year to pay for flu vaccines that the state did not need and did not receive.
Hynes is not a bearer of good news this campaign. He warns that pension liabilities, Medicaid and debt service will break the state in four years. This comes when candidates for governor for both parties are on spending binges without the money to back them up.
Republicans have fielded a fine candidate in Carole Pankau of Itasca, a state representative for 12 years before being elected to the state Senate in 2004. She focuses on budget and appropriations.
But Hynes is doing a good job. We endorse him.
Heed warning about state crisis -Editorial
Bloomington Pantagraph - September 22, 2006
A politician who tells the truth even when the news is grim – make that especially when the news is grim – is something to be celebrated.
And the public should listen to him.
In this case the bearer of truth – and bad news – is Dan Hynes, a Democrat who is running for re-election as state comptroller.
While many candidates for various state offices are pointing to natural revenue growth as a way the state can pay for their vote-seeking initiatives, Hynes says that nearly all of that money is spoken for.
Not only that, he told the State Finance Task Force of a Chicago-based business group that the state is heading toward a crisis in less than four years.
Pension liabilities, Medicaid obligations and debt service will eat up most of the state’s revenue growth – assuming the state can maintain at least the 4.4 percent annual growth rate it has averaged in the past decade, Hynes said.
A 4.25 percent growth rate will be needed just to keep pace with the state’s obligations in those three areas, according to Hynes.
The annual payments needed to meet pension obligations are projected to grow from $1.37 billion in fiscal year 2007 to $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2007.
“While the economy will hopefully continue to grow at a good pace, any expected new economic revenues will be needed to address structural demands and long-term obligations built into the state budget,” Hynes told the task force of the Commerce Club of Chicago’s Civic Committee.
“If current trends continue and the state fails to address these looming issues, the state could face a serious crisis by fiscal year 2010,” Hynes said.
Voters should keep that in mind as they evaluate candidates for the Legislature as well as governor and other statewide offices.
Hynes warns of potential financial crisis
The State Journal-Register - September 19, 2006 by Doug Finke
Payments for pensions, bonds and health care for the poor will eat up virtually all new state revenue in the next three years, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes warned Monday.
Hynes, a Democrat who is running for re-election, said that will leave little money to put into other programs and leave state government vulnerable if a recession cuts into tax receipts. Failure to address those issues could lead to “a serious crisis” in three years, he said.
“We need to acknowledge the fact we can’t just continue to push pension payments off and defer Medicaid expenditures in an effort to allow us to spend money on other things,” Hynes said. “We have significant obligations that are not going to go away.”
Hynes said the state’s pension payments will have to increase about $700 million per year over the next three budget years to meet funding requirements. Medicaid – the joint state-federal program that provides health care for the poor – will see costs rise by $250 million to $275 million annually because of expanded enrollment and higher health-care costs, Hynes said.
Payments on state bonds will probably increase by $60 million to $70 million a year, he added.
That means state revenues will have to grow by $1 billion, or 4.25 percent, a year just to cover expenses in those three areas. Over the last 10 years, state revenues grew by an average of 4.4 percent, he said.
“It shows we will have very little flexibility or margin for error,” Hynes said.
In presenting the numbers to the Civic Committee in Chicago, Hynes said he is not suggesting that a tax increase is necessary, nor is he recommending how to solve the budget problem. Instead, Hynes said he was delivering a wake-up call to the state’s elected officials.
“There’s just an unwillingness to get to the bottom of this problem,” he said. “There’s just so many pressures to increase spending (elsewhere).”
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s budget office issued a written statement that the administration is working on the problem.
“We’ve proved that by keeping new spending down, reducing the size of government and creating new revenue streams, we can address challenges facing the state without having to raise taxes on working people and businesses,’’ spokeswoman Becky Carroll said in the statement.
Blagojevich, a Democrat who also is running for re-election, has pledged again not to raise the state income or sales tax over the next four years if he gets another term. His opponent, Republican Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka, wants to put a casino in Chicago as a way of increasing state revenues.
Hynes based his fiscal projections on money the state gets from “economy driven” sources such as the income and sales tax. It does not include money the state gets from fee increases or taking cash out of special-purpose funds to use on other spending.
Hynes said the state can get additional cash from those sources, but there are limits to how much can be obtained, particularly from raiding special-purpose funds.
“I wouldn’t say it would dry up completely, but a lot of the money we’ve seen transferred is one-time in nature,” Hynes said.
Trade Group Expenses Scrutinized
Chicago Sun-Times - September 8, 2006 by Dave McKinney & Chris Fusco
Gov. Blagojevich last year billed the new Illinois Global Partnership as “another effective tool in creating more opportunities for our working families to get ahead.”
But the only people who really got ahead were the trade group’s $100,000-plus-a-year executives, who traveled, wined and dined on the taxpayers’ dime, a state audit shows.
The idea for the group was pushed by state House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), who encouraged the governor to name business consultant Thomas H. Miner as the group’s CEO.
Miner insisted Thursday the blistering audit is a result of “misunderstandings” and that the partnership is “pure as the driven snow.”
Still, auditors pointed to hundreds of thousands of dollars in questionable expenses, including hefty restaurant tabs for the agency’s brass, stays at swanky Four Seasons hotels in the Middle East, dues to exclusive social organizations such as the Mid-America Club and a $2,300 no-bid computer repair contract to an executive’s son.
“What they were creating was a state-funded organization to put together trade missions and foreign trips, but this almost became one big expense account for the people who are managing it,” said state Comptroller Dan Hynes, whose office did the audit. “That certainly doesn’t serve a public purpose.”
On Sept. 15, Hynes said he plans to stop all state payments to the little-known non-profit group, which the General Assembly created to spur growth for Illinois businesses.
Hynes said he hopes the move will lead to the group dissolving because almost all of its cash comes from taxpayers. The organization’s board meets in Chicago today.
The governor fully supports Hynes’ efforts. “The concept of the global partnership was a good one—that’s why lawmakers approved it,” Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said. “But in practice, it’s been a mess.”
Bills for beverages, Bears
Hynes’ audit found that state dollars were spent on everything from glasses of wine, beer and Bombay Sapphire martini to mileage so one IGP official could attend a Chicago Bears game.
Three executives rang up a $15,662 food tab over the course of a year. Executive Richard Paullin billed taxpayers for 81 meals over 214 work days, according to the audit, and “also charged the state for meals that were exclusively ‘beverages’ at Chicago restaurants.”
“Of the $15,000, much of it was their own meals,” Hynes said. “These weren’t meals with dignitaries and foreign investors.”
The comptroller’s suspicions about problems with the group were fueled when the audit revealed IGP principals billed the state $30,000 for “expenses” incurred months before the group’s inception.
The expenses include time spent lobbying lawmakers to create the group.
Questions also surfaced about a “trade mission” to Saudi Arabia and Qatar earlier this year that included an unexplained weekend “side trip” in Germany. The group stayed at luxury hotels, but the agency’s bookkeeping was so poor it did not know the total cost of the trip or provide an itinerary.
The only result from the trip that IGP could point to when questioned by auditors was that “a Saudi businessman is in Chicago discussing the construction of a 45-storey (sic) building in Jeddah and a 50-storey (sic) building in Dubai,” IGP documents showed.
“Unfortunately, no particulars or documentation has ever been provided by IGP to explain how this trade mission benefited Illinois taxpayers,” the auditors wrote.
Hynes has the potential to shut down the IGP because the Legislature gave him oversight over its state grant money when lawmakers passed legislation creating it last year. Blagojevich signed the bill July 29, 2005, and appointed five of the group’s 14 board members.
The other nine board members include Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Speaker Madigan and other top state legislative leaders. A Madigan spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Hynes’ budget called for him to give as much as $12 million to the group over two years. Only $2 million has been released to date.
BY THE NUMBERS
Here are some of the costs a state audit says taxpayers bore on behalf of Illinois Global Partnership.
$125,000 Annual salary of Illinois Global Partnership CEO Thomas Miner—more than at least three state agency directors who have larger budgets and work forces.
$11,458 Cost of a study to determine how much Illinois Global Partnership executives like Miner should be paid. Two other executives also had $100,000-plus salaries.
$455 Cost for a January dinner at Andy’s Jazz Club in Chicago with state agriculture officials. Of that, $154 was spent on liquor.
$2,300 Cost of a no-bid computer-repair contract awarded to the son of Illinois Global Partnership Vice President Richard Paullin; almost half of that work was done from the son’s home.
$31,710, $17,760 or $18,292 The cost of an Illinois Global Partnership trade mission last March to Saudi Arabia and Qatar; the agency’s record-keeping was so poor it couldn’t say which amount represented the true cost.
$20,000 Amount described as an “advance” to the law firm of Illinois Global Partnership’s general counsel. The October 2005 voucher was handwritten on a piece of notebook paper and did not state what specific services had been performed.
$10.75 The amount Paullin charged the state for mileage to see the Chicago Bears play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 25, 2005, at Soldier Field.
Source: Internal audit by Comptroller Dan Hynes’ office
Dems see votes in stem cell issue
Pioneer Press - August 2, 2006 by Pat Corcoran
State Democrats hope to use their support for embryonic stem cell research in the fall campaign to pick up more seats in the state Senate, where opposition was stiff last session.
State Comptroller Dan Hynes, who supports state funding of embryonic stem cell research, said last week state lawmakers will be asked again during the next legislative session whether Illinois should fund stem cell research.
“Ultimately, it’s going to be up to the states to fill the void,” Hynes said in Park Ridge last week while stumping for Democratic State Senate candidate Dan Kotowski.
Running against incumbent Sen. Cheryl Axley, R-33rd, Kotowski has promised to be an advocate for public funding for embryonic stem cell research.
“This is an issue that provides the state with an opportunity to save millions of lives and attract jobs and businesses,” he said.
For Kotowski, who has epilepsy, the issue is also a personal one.
“Epilepsy is just one of the diseases that stem cell research can help,” he said. ”(Stem cell research) is not about party politics and it’s not about partisanship, it’s about the quality of our lives.”
The issue has divided the General Assembly the past two years. Hynes and other Democrats, including state Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, D-9th, of Evanston, rank stem cell research as a top issue in the November election, particularly in the north and northwest suburbs where four candidates are competing for two open seats.
President Bush’s veto of legislation to expand federal support for embryonic stem cell research means Illinois lawmakers will chart the state’s course through the developing scientific field. Just a day after the July 19 veto, Gov. Rod Blagojevich used his executive power to shift $5 million to stem cell research, providing a short-term funding boost for the state’s Illinois Regenerative Medical Institute, from money designated for the state Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
The move comes a year after Blagojevich used an executive order to direct $10 million to the institute, all of which was awarded in 2006 to researchers.
Democrats like Hynes and Schoenberg are seeking long-term funding solutions and General Assembly members willing to support their initiatives. But first, they need to get past Republicans in the Senate who oppose them. Hence, the Park Ridge campaign stop for Kotowski. Just five months ago, Senate Republicans pledged to oppose public funding of embryonic stem cell research in a letter to Blagojevich.
The Republican Senate Caucus—including all 27 Republican senators—deemed public funding of embryonic stem cell research inappropriate in the Feb. 28 letter.
Axley, who was appointed to the Senate when David Sullivan resigned, is seeking election in her own right. While she signed the Feb. 28 letter, she said she is very much in favor of state funding for embryonic stem cell research.
She does worry that the state does not have money to fund the research.
“I’m a big supporter,” Axley said. “I don’t doubt that the caucus took that position, but we took that position because of the budget. It was a matter of priorities at that time.”
Two other Republicans who signed that letter are retiring at the end of their terms this year. They are Sen. Wendell Jones, R-27th, of Palatine, and Steve Rauschenberger, R-22nd, of Elgin. Peter Gutzmer, the Democratic nominee for Jones’ 27th District seat, said he would back state initiatives to fund embryonic stem cell research.
“It’s about science and working to help people. It’s about giving people afflicted by terrible diseases and accidents a chance to get their lives back,” he said.
Matt Murphy, the GOP candidate for Jones’ 27th District Senate seat, would not support embryonic stem cell research.
In March, he told the Illinois Federation for Right to Life, a political action committee supporting pro-life candidates, that he would endorse a law to protect “living human embryos from being used for medical experiments that would harm them or kill them, including so-called embryonic stem cell research.” On July 20, Murphy said he opposed public funding of embryonic stem cell research because of the cost to the state. “It’s a massive financial investment. Our state is not in a position to take that on,” he said.
Murphy also said when adoption is an option, embryonic stem cells should not be used for research purposes.
“What I have told people who have asked me about this is: If the choice is between using a frozen embryo for research or throwing it away, I’m for research. If there are people out there who are willing to adopt these embryos, I’d be in favor of that over using them for research … An all-out ban, that’s too rigid.”
Gutzmer said Murphy has tempered his views to fit with public opinion.
“I think he’s changed his mind because he knows the voters of this district don’t find his position on the issue appealing. They want a common-sense approach to issues like these,” he said. Legislators’ efforts to secure long-term funding for embryonic stem cell research have failed in the past.
Stem cells are un-specialized cells that renew themselves via cell division. Under certain conditions, the cells can be induced to become cells with certain functions that can potentially cure diseases or repair injured tissue.
Embryonic stem cells are cultivated from three- to five-day-old human embryos, called blastocysts.
Some, including President Bush, the Catholic Church and pro-life organizations, oppose embryonic stem cell research on the basis that it destroys these blastocysts, which can be inserted into an adoptive mother, grow in the womb and be born as healthy babies.
More than 100 embryos have been adopted through the California-based Snowflakes Frozen Embryo Adoption Program.
Bush and others instead call for the use of adult stem cells for research purposes. Adult stem cells are found in the bone marrow, brain, liver, blood and elsewhere in the bodies of adults and children. There is some debate over which types of stem cells are more useful in medical research.
Hynes blasts Bush veto of stem cell research, vows fight for more state funding
Daily Southtown - July 26, 2006 by Illinois State Comptroller Daniel W. Hynes
By vetoing federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, President Bush has achieved three dubious distinctions.
First and most appallingly, with one stroke of the pen, he has handcuffed advancement of the most promising medical research of the 21st century, thus simultaneously diminishing the hopes of millions of Americans suffering from diseases that stem cell research has shown early signs of successfully combating.
Second, with brazen transparency, he has let politics trump public health in order to curry favor in an election year with the conservative base of a Republican Party electorate increasingly agitated by what they consider his non-conservative leanings on other issues and his refusal to previously use his veto power on even a single spending bill.
Third, by vetoing legislation that is favored by close to two-thirds of Americans and was supported by numerous prominent Republicans as well as most Democrats, the president has increased the already dangerously high level of public cynicism toward the political construct under which all of us live.
In the run-up to last Wednesday’s veto, the White House attempted through various proxies to reject the need for further federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, both by touting the successes of adult stem cell research and by claiming that the currently federally funded embryonic stem cell lines are not flawed. Both arguments are specious, if the mainstream scientific community is to be believed over White House operatives.
Sadly, what we are left with is the need for the states to step up and perform the federal government’s job of funding basic scientific research. Here in Illinois, under the leadership of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, we made a good start last spring with the creation of the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute and the awarding of $10 million in publicly funded grants for stem cell research. I and the many stem cell advocates across the state intend to be back before the General Assembly this fall to fight for continued and increased funding of IRMI.
In the meantime, we watch events in Washington with disgust and disappointment.
Daniel W. Hynes is comptroller of the state of Illinois.
Hynes Pays Visit to Elgin, Backs Stem Cell Research
Elgin Courier - July 20, 2006 by Mike Sullivan, Staff Writer
ELGIN — At virtually the same time President George W. Bush made good on his threat to veto key legislation supporting stem cell research, Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes was in Elgin on Wednesday renewing his call for state funding.
Hynes, speaking in the law office of Michael Noland, Democratic candidate in the race for Illinois Senate in the 22nd District, said the issue of stem cell research has taken on greater importance because of the president’s “imminent veto” of the federal bill.
In the first veto of his 5½-year presidency, Bush charged legislation easing limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research “crosses a moral boundary” and is wrong.
He said the bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others.
At a White House briefing, Bush was surrounded by 18 families who “adopted” frozen embryos not used by other couples, and used them to have children.
Meantime, Hynes said due to lobbying efforts led by state Democratic leaders, the state has earmarked $10 million for stem cell research.
“It’s a small amount in terms of what’s needed,” Hynes said.
Hynes noted that the outcome of the 22nd Senate District race and another in the 33rd District, where Democrat Dan Kotowski of Park Ridge is on the ballot, will make the difference on whether Illinois continues to push for stem cell funding in Illinois.
“Today, I am making it known that our efforts to promote stem cell research funding in Illinois will take on a greater urgency,” Hynes said, adding that the state needs to have “the proper leadership” in the General Assembly to get the funding.
Hynes credited state Democrats for proposing $100 million last year to fund stem cell research over five years.
“We had the votes in the House — but we did not have the votes in the Senate,” Hynes declared, noting that two more votes were needed — hence the push for Noland and Kotowski to represent their respective 22nd and 33rd Senate Districts.
Noland assured Hynes he would support such legislation and lauded U.S. senators, led by Illinois Democrats Dick Durbin and Barack Obama, for “doing the right thing.”
Noland accused Republicans of “trying to put a stranglehold on this important research,” which he said diminishes the opportunity to find new therapies and possible cures for devastating diseases.
He applauded the Illinois Democratic leadership for creating the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute, which administers the awarding of grants to medical research facilities for stem cell research — grants, Noland noted, that are paid for through the tobacco industry settlement — not a tax increase.
The push for the state to shoulder a greater burden of stem cell research funding likely will take on greater impetus, as federal lawmakers are not expected to muster the two-thirds majorities in either chamber needed to override Bush’s veto.
Heed the Comptroller’s Warning on State Deficit
Jacksonville Journal-Courier - July 17, 2006
Gov. Rod Blagojevich inherited major budget deficits when he took office in 2003, and his supporters claim he has done a good job of reducing those shortfalls during his administration.
But a recent analysis by State Comptroller Daniel Hynes indicates that significant problems loom with the state’s budget, largely because Illinois is delaying paying billions of dollars that it owes to doctors and pharmacists, among others.
Mr. Hynes claims that the state’s budget deficit for fiscal year 2005 actually was more than $3 billion, mostly because the state failed to pay more than $2.9 billion in medical bills last year. The comptroller says the governor’s administration simply delayed those expenses until future years in order to declare a balanced budget for fiscal year 2005.
The Medicaid providers whose payments are being delayed include doctors hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies that care for the poor. When they try to get reimbursed by the state, they often must wait months for payment.
Mr. Hynes’ annual report comes after the fiscal year has ended, but it seems to give a more wide-ranging view of the budget than the governor’s office and the General Assembly provide when they declare the state budget balanced. The comptroller’s report takes into account all expenses for a given year, even if they come in months later.
The comptroller’s report shows the state’s revenues didn’t come close to meeting its expenses in fiscal year 2005, and the indications are that fiscal years 2006 and 2007 will be the same.
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The fact is, Mr. Hynes is merely doing the job he was elected to do. We think he raises some serious concerns, and we hope the governor and his administration take his data into consideration. Playing fast and loose with budget numbers might help the governor get re-elected, but it would be a disservice to all Illinoisans.
Hynes to run again for comptroller, ends speculation he might seek another office
Springfield State Journal-Register, The - January 14, 2006 by Bernard Schoenburg, Political Writer
Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes said Thursday that he will run for a third four-year term in his current office.
“I will be seeking re-election in 2006,” Hynes, a Democrat, told The State Journal-Register, ending speculation that he might seek a different office that year.
“I feel that it’s important for people to know that my commitment to the comptroller’s office is certainly going to last beyond the next two years,” Hynes said. “I believe there’s more work to be done in the office. … I believe I’ve been a force in budgetary reform, and I want to play a role in bringing about budgetary stability.”
He also stressed that he plans to take on a wider range of issues that affect the state, as evidenced by his recent proposal to promote stem-cell research in Illinois.
The 36-year-old comptroller predicted that Gov. Rod Blagojevich will not be challenged in the Democratic primary in March 2006 and that “the party will be unified behind him” for a second term.
But when he was asked how the governor has been doing, Hynes said his style differs from that of Blagojevich.
“I’m not one for the confrontational approach,” Hynes said. “I believe working more in coalition- building, and that I definitely disagree with the governor on. I don’t think he has made a great enough effort to reach out and work with the legislature” and other constitutional officers.
Blagojevich said in an interview earlier this week that he hopes to work more in concert this year with others in state government, including lawmakers and his fellow statewide elected officials.
Hynes placed second to Barack Obama among seven candidates in the Democratic primary for U.S. senator last year. Obama went on to be elected to the Senate.
Hynes said that run, which came in the middle of his second term as comptroller, “was motivated by my desire to be in a position where I could make a major impact on major issues of the day. What I realized after that election was that I’m already in a position to do that.”
He also noted that “virtually every issue has some financial component to it.”
The comptroller’s main job is to issue state checks. The office has about 300 employees and an operating budget of about $26 million.
Hynes said he’d also pushed legislation, now law, to keep overtime rules the same for workers in Illinois despite changes at the federal level and to create a rainy-day fund.
That fund, Hynes said, contains about $270 million, which he agreed “doesn’t even come close” to the amount needed to plug a projected state budget hole.
House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, predicted this week that the gap will be $2.1 billion for the fiscal year that begins July 1 – although the governor said it’s not that large.
Hynes, a Chicago native and lawyer, and his wife, Christina, a doctor in her fourth year of residency at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, are expecting their first child in June.
Hynes said he’s very excited about becoming a father and that it will be a challenge to launch his re-election campaign soon after the baby is born.
“I’m going to have to fight to retain this office,” Hynes said, predicting that he will have serious opposition.
He also said the budget situation means the governor “still has a lot of work to do” on his way to a second term.
“It’s not an easy position that he finds himself in,” Hynes said, adding that if the state GOP “continues to be in a disorganized state … then I think that the Democrats are going to continue to see greater gains. … But because of what’s at stake and because of the losses of 2002 and 2004 for the Republicans in Illinois, I do think they’re going to coalesce and then start working together. I think 2006 will be a competitive year.”