State Rep. Chapin Rose spoke to students about the state budget Thursday in the Charleston-Mattoon Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Rose told students how the Illinois budget, which is around $32 billion, is actually balanced this year.

“There’s $1.3 billion set aside for bill paydown this year,” he said. “To achieve the $1.3 billion you have to implicate the full package of Medicaid reforms.”

He asked students if they were aware of issues such as cut funding for higher education as well as kindergarten through 12th grade, and the closing of two state prisons.

“(The budget has) been pretty bleak, and it’s going to get bleaker for a year or two,” he said. “It is solvable though, once we get the pension thing solved.”

Rose recommended that students budget their money better, especially when faced with student loans and incurring debt.

“If you take nothing else away from this, nothing is free,” he said. “Rod Blagojevich had this idea that money grows on trees, and that just isn’t true.”

Rose said any scenario that is reached will amount in everyone paying more, from teachers to legislators.

“The budget picture (for Illinois) isn’t pretty, but it’s possible to get out of this with discipline,” he said.

Rose said he has been speaking to EIU Foundations classes for eight or nine years and always appreciates the opportunity to talk to students.

He began by going over some of the big issues Illinois is facing in this upcoming election, including the need to handle pension and Medicaid issues.

Funding for private schools like cooking schools instead of public institutions was also a main point of Rose’s.

After discussing current Illinois political issues, Rose talked about his personal experiences of being a representative and gave advice to students.

“I’m a huge believer that lady luck will give everyone in this room a chance at what you want to do,” he said. “You can’t control when you get that shot, so you have to be prepared.”

Rose said he believes that in the United States, a person can do whatever they set their mind to, as long as they are willing to put in the work.

He also stressed the importance of informed voting.

“Who you elect is so important because you can really screw things up if you elect someone who doesn’t want to manage the state,” he said.

Robyn Dexter can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].