If people were mad about the cuts in Gov. Pat Quinn's budget, imagine what they'll say about the alternatives. In a unanimous vote this week, the House approved revenue projections three-quarters of a billion dollars less than the governor's office, and $1.5 billion under the estimate provided by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

But a $1.5 billion decrease in revenue projection is nothing compared to a budget proposed by the Illinois Policy Institute, a conservative think tank. The group's plan would have the state spend just $27.6 billion, compared to the $35.4 billion proposed by Quinn. The State Journal-Register reported the IPI budget would "would slash education spending, make sweeping changes in the state’s Medicaid program, eliminate funding for agencies like the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, lieutenant governor’s office and the Historic Preservation Agency and cut millions of dollars from other programs." Other cuts in the plan include a $1 billion decrease in K-12 education funding and a nearly two-thirds decrease in the budget for the Department of Public Health. (A poll last fall showed 82 percent opposed cuts to K-12 education.)

Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability called the IPI budget "disingenuous." He told the Illinois Statehouse News: "And it is meant to obfuscate the reality that these cuts are not cutting waste, fraud abuse, or any other of that silly stuff that people talk about. They are cutting substantive programs and services that not only improve quality of life, but help the most vulnerable in Illinois demography."

Then there's the GOP proposal. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) and other Republican leaders say Quinn's budget doesn't cut enough and called for an additional $4 billion to $6 billion in budget reductions. Specifics are not yet available. Those should be coming soon, though. In a Tweet this afternoon, State Sen. Ron Sandack (R-Lombard) wrote, "Next week comes the cuts."