Gov. Pat Quinn gave his state of the budget address Wednesday, and called for the “biggest education investment in state history.”

Quinn’s plan would be implemented throughout the next five years, with a new initiative called the Birth to Five.

His plan, which he hopes will “drive economic growth for the next generation,” centers on at-risk children who do not receive high-quality early education. The plan calls for a $1.5 billion investment throughout the next five years.

“At-risk children who don’t receive a high-quality early childhood education are

25 percent more likely to drop out of school, 40 percent more likely to become a teen parent, 50 percent more likely to be placed in special education, 60 percent more likely to never attend college and 70 percent more likely to be arrested for a violent crime,” Quinn said.

Quinn also called to invest $6 billion in classrooms throughout the next five years.

Quinn also addressed higher education as part of the investment.

With an increase in investment to community colleges and four-year public universities, Quinn wants to expand opportunities for students to attend college.

“That’s why we will double our investment in MAP college scholarships for students in need,” Quinn said. “We’ll also increase access to higher education through dual enrollment and early college programs.”

Quinn also addressed that hard choices are still to come for Illinois and the state’s budget.

If action is not taken to stabilize the revenue code, “extreme and radical cuts” will be imposed on education and public services, he said.

“Cuts that will starve our schools and result in mass teacher layoffs, larger class sizes and higher property taxes,” he said.

Among those cuts, he ticked off a few that include 13,000 teachers laid off, 21,000 fewer senior receiving help they need from in-home caretakers, 30,000 fewer people with mental illnesses receiving the assistance they need, 41,000 fewer children in child care, 30,000 fewer students receiving MAP college scholarships, 11,000 victims of domestic abuse not receiving shelter and assistance and 3,700 victims of rape left without proper care.

“We cannot stand by and allow savage cuts to schools and these critical services to unravel the progress we’ve made over the past five years,” Quinn said.

Quinn also addressed the need to repair and invest in the state’s infrastructure.

“Five years ago, when I took office, you worked with me in good faith to pass the largest construction program in Illinois history to update our roads, our bridges and our schools,” he said. “That program – Illinois Jobs Now! – has supported more than 400,000 jobs.”

Among other aspects of the programs, Quinn said 7,731 miles of road, 1,330 bridges and 1,048 schools have been built and repaired since the initiation.

The current pension woes faced by Illinois also took center stage during the address.

Although Quinn pointed out that since he became governor, he has made every single pension payment, he also boasted about the “urgently-needed comprehensive pension reform” passed last year. The reform, he said, will “preserve the hard-earned pensions of our workers while eliminating the pension debt over the next 30 years.”

Along with the pensions, Quinn also brought up the contract agreement with public employee unions, a contract he called “unprecedented.

“After 15 hard months at the bargaining table, we reached a landmark three-year agreement that is saving Illinois taxpayers more than $900 million in healthcare costs over the life of the contract,” he said. “That is unprecedented. No governor in the last four decades has been able to achieve that kind of savings for our taxpayers.”

Along with the contract, Quinn also said Illinois has paid down $5 billion in bills and is “well on our way” to returning a 30-day payment cycle.

“The rating agencies are sending positive signals for the first time in recent memory,” he said.

With harsh cuts looming, Quinn also promised several aspects of what he will not do in the coming years. He will not institute any new, “unfair” taxes on everyday services that working people rely on.

“It hurts working families the most to tax basic services like going to the Laundromat, like taking your child to daycare, like visiting the barbershop, or taking your dog to the vet,” he said. “We should not create a new and unfair tax burden on everyday families and the small businesses that serve them.”

He also stated he would not tax retirement income, including social security checks.

“We shouldn’t balance our budget on the backs of our senior citizens,” he said.

Finally, he said he would not underfund schools and shift more of the property tax burden onto homeowners in local school districts.

“Cutting state education funding not only shortchanges our children. It increases the burden on school districts whose funding is dependent on local property taxes,” he said. Make no mistake – cuts to state funding for education will dramatically increase local property taxes on families and businesses.”

Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].