[Turelli] said she also hopes to take Medicaid reform even further with a rollback of eligibility standards to pre-2002 levels, the appointment of an independent auditing firm to identify waste and fraud and a re-evaluation of provider billing practices and fee payments.

Turelli called out special interest groups and vowed to “cut, cut some more, and then cut some more until we dig ourselves out of this hole. That means every person or entity involved in the Medicaid program — doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and patients — must join together in sharing the burdens necessary to reform this out-of-control program,” she said in a news release on Monday.

Click here to read the article on the Daily Herald website.

In making this announcement, Turelli acknowledged that “even though Governor Quinn changes his mind weekly about whether to spend more or spend less, I think all Illinoisans need to immediately lock him into a commitment to reduce Medicaid spending by $2 billion to begin the journey towards a balanced budget”. While two billion dollars a year for four years will only bring the State of Illinois current on its present backlog of bill payments, Governor Quinn’s willingness to put this ‘sacred cow’ on the table represents a major victory in our fight to force the Democrat-controlled government in Springfield to admit that throwing more money at a problem is not going to fix it.”

Turelli explained that “Medicaid was originally designed to provide indigent and disabled persons with access to basic medical treatment and prescription drugs which otherwise would be unavailable to them. Nevertheless, in the last decade of Democrat-controlled government in Springfield, Medicaid enrollment increased by sixty-six percent, resulting in one out of five Illinoisans participating in the program.”

Turelli further noted that “this increase has resulted in Medicaid spending becoming the largest and fastest growing line item in the Illinois state budget. More specifically, from 2001 to 2008, Medicaid spending increased from $8.4 billion to $13.8 billion dollars, or sixty-five percent. In FY 2009, Medicaid spending comprised about 30% of the state’s budget.”

Turelli went on to say that “special interests have driven our state budgets and resulting deficits to such a disastrous level that we no longer have any choice but to institute deep and aggressive reforms to stop the hemorrhaging. Forty percent of our state budget now covers Medicaid payments alone because special interest groups have been calling the shots down in Springfield – a practice I will fight to end by advocating that we cut, cut some more, and then cut some more, until we dig ourselves out of this hole. That means every person or entity involved in the Medicaid program – doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and patients – must join together in sharing the burdens necessary to reform this out-of control program because Illinois politicians can longer protect one special interest group to the detriment of our state as a whole.

Some highlights of the article include:

• “Lauren Turelli, 40, has worked as a teacher, is a board member for Lake Forest Parks & Recreation and ran against Karen May in 2010, getting 43 percent of the vote.”
• “Turelli said that over time she has become dismayed by what she says is corruption in state politics, inspiring her to join the race in 2010 and again this year.”
• “Both candidates said they are opposed to raising taxes, but Turelli has been endorsed by Taxpayers United.” 
• “Turelli has suggested creating partnerships between school districts, community colleges and local corporations to create jobs and help students further their education.”
• Turelli has expressed her support for “charter schools, voucher programs and merit-based teacher pay. ‘It’s more than just funding, the funds are there, it’s how they’re being used,’ Turelli said.”
• Turelli and her opponent “differ over campaign contributions. Turelli said contributions should be limited to keep elections fair. ‘Money equals power in Illinois,’ she said.”

Click here to read the full article on the Daily Herald site.

“The state has an $80 billion pension debt, an unsustainable Medicaid program, and an additional $7 billion dollars Pat Quinn plans to spend in 2012 that we don’t have, I am stunned” said Turelli. “I can’t believe that the Governor of our state has buried his head so far in the sand that he is honestly talking about increasing spending for anything. We should not be talking about how much more money the Governor is spending right now, we really should be talking about how we are going to cut and slash $7 billion from the expense side of the state ledger. Pat Quinn saying he wants to spend more money is akin to a person who just filed bankruptcy talking about buying a new Mercedes – it is ludicrous.”

Quinn’s initial vague increased spending warnings were geared toward education, children and businesses hiring veterans.

“I have never hidden the fact that I am a fiscal conservative, I believe we must work cooperatively with all legislators to roll back the massive program expansions we have seen over the last 10 years. We can not wait one more day. It is high time we put partisan bickering aside, lock the special interest groups out, and truly fix what’s wrong in Illinois,” concluded Turelli.

Quinn offered no specific or general explanations on how the State of Illinois would pay for his new spending proposals.

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“Taxpayers United of America does a great service to the general public by simply asking all elected officials to sign a pledge not to raise taxes. High taxes are killing the economy of Illinois because business owners are beginning to leave for other states that will not confiscate their revenues,” said Turelli. “Taxpayers United puts all candidates on notice that their actions are being watched. The candidates who mistakenly believe it is their duty to raise taxes to fund their special interest constituencies without any regard for the negative impact high taxes have on business growth and job creation need to be exposed. Jim Tobin and the Tax Accountability staff do a great job of holding elected officials accountable” added Turelli.

Founded in 1976, TUA is the largest taxpayer protection organization in Illinois with over 30,000 members and supporters.

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[...]

Turelli, a Lake Forest resident, received the endorsement over obstetrician Dr. Mark Neerhof in the race to replace retiring Democrat Karen May. Turelli ran a strong campaign against May in 2010…

Click here to read the rest of the article on the Wilmette Life website.

Citing declining revenue coupled with a $13 billion budget shortfall, the Democrat leadership in the General Assembly passed this monumental tax increase. The tax increase also raised the corporate tax rate, which has led to businesses leaving the state.

“When I ran two years ago, I clearly stated my staunch opposition to any tax increase, and had I been in Springfield, there would have been one less vote for this tax hike,” commented Lauren Turelli who is running in the Republican primary in the 58th State Representative district. “This tax increase means that hard working families are losing, on average, $1,000 per year to help pay for the fiscal mis-management of the Democrat leadership.”

This one-year old tax increase has resulted in almost $5 billion in new revenue for the State. The income tax increase is set to sunset in 2014, however Democrat Governor Pat Quinn has recently announced that the tax increase will need to become permanent to avoid a potential State bankruptcy.
“Ten years of Democrat borrowing, spending, and pet projects has lead our state to the brink of financial insolvency. We cannot keep passing the buck and expecting our families to pay for the Democrats mess,” concluded Turelli.
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“Our state is driving full speed towards financial disaster, and we need to cut every single unnecessary expense, and the Legislative Scholarship program is a prime example of waste,” said Lauren Turelli, Republican candidate for State Representative. “The legislative scholarship program costs over $12 million a year, and while saving tax payers $12 million will not fix the state budget, I believe we need to start somewhere, and this is a good place to start.”

Each year, every Illinois State Senator and State Representative are granted the right to award two full four year scholarships to a state University to a student residing within their district. Most legislators choose to divide the scholarships into eight – one year scholarships. With Illinois’ 59 State Senators and 118 State Representatives, over 1,400 students within the State of Illinois university system could be the beneficiaries of the program in any given year.

“Once I take office as the State Rep for our community, I will work to put an end to this wasteful program,” concluded Turelli.

Turelli is running for State Representative in the Lake Forest area.

The NTRO also strongly endorsed six other candidates, including Lauren Turelli (58th Illinois House District), Marc Levine (9th Illinois Senate District), Dr. Arie Friedman (29th Illinois Senate District), Rep. Robert Dold (10th U.S. House District), Timothy Wolfe (9th U.S. House District), and James Pieczonka (Cook County 12th Subcircuit Judge).

Click here to continue reading the article on the Illinois Review website.