SPRINGFIELD – Some central Illinois Republicans say they're skeptical of House Speaker Michael Madigan's call for significant revisions in everything from the state's worker compensation system to pension and health care benefits for retirees.

But state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, said she thinks Madigan's message earlier this week about politically difficult decisions is sincere and that this is going to be an "uncomfortable" year for lawmakers.

"Did you hear his speech?" Jakobsson said. "When he was speaking on the floor I was thinking, 'Wow, this is like I've never heard him before.'"

Now that the income tax increase is in place, Jakobsson said, the Legislature will have to make spending cuts. "They're going to be not good cuts for a lot of folks. It's going to be rough. It's going to be uncomfortable."

But Republican state Reps. Chapin Rose and Jason Barickman said they'll wait to see if Madigan's actions match his words.

"I think he's trying to deflect from the fact that he's raised taxes and spending by $6 billion," Rose said. "So now they want to appear to be fiscal conservatives."

Rose said changes in the workers' compensation system were proposed late last year, but nothing became of it.

"And then he says we must act now on pensions. Well, they acted last year on pensions, and that has apparently triggered an SEC investigation, as well as concerns that it's not going to save as much money as they had thought."

Rose said Medicaid reform was the only substantive change made last year.

Barickman, of Champaign, called Madigan's remarks "general discussion points at best.

"What I heard were some lofty goals that I fear will not have much substance, and then we had a vote on House rules that indicated (Republicans) won't have any say on what they want to do. I hope there are individual legislators who will reach across the aisle and work on substantive reforms – Medicaid, workers comp, public pension system, spending. They all need to be addressed in a substantive way."

Barickman said the state needs to move from a defined benefit pension system "to more of a 401(k)-style, but my guess is there is no intention from the speaker's office to push that type of an agenda forward."

State Rep. Chad Hays, R-Catlin, was more circumspect, however.

"I do think there is a fiscal reality setting in that we simply don't have enough money to do everything that everyone wants to do," Hays said. "Some people tried to describe the vote for the tax increase as a courageous vote. I suppose it depends where you are politically how courageous a vote that was.

"But I think a courageous vote is when you have to look someone in the eye and tell them that the program that they have, that is excellent and does a good job for people, is something that we simply cannot afford."

Hays said that lawmakers have to be careful, however, about their discussion of politically explosive issues, particularly about the effect they could have on public employees.

"I'm getting a lot of calls from people who are at or nearing retirement age," he said. "They read about some of these bills that are being floated and they get nervous. One of the things we have to be very careful about is that you have people who have invested their entire career in a job and have planned on retirement income, not knowing what to do. If we're not careful about communication, you could have a mass exodus of the senior leadership of all our institutions."

Many public employees might decide to retire now, he said, before the Legislature reduces their benefits.