The governor's budget proposal was panned from all directions.

Gov. Pat Quinn delivered a nearly 30-minute budget address this past week but didn't devote a lot of time to the details of his proposed spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

In some respects, who can really blame the guy for not wanting to go into the ugly details just as the state's fiscal chickens are coming home to roost after eight years of financial mismanagement.

That's the kind of thing people don't want to think about unless they have to. So Quinn conjured up the image of a different Illinois, not the one hamstrung with spending problems but a utopian state in which all is well.

"In my Illinois, our children go to safe, top-notch schools that prepare them for the rigors of the global economy. The parents of Illinois earn a decent wage, and their employers give them the opportunity to have a good middle-class standard of living. Our homes are energy efficient, technology connected and easy to maintain thanks to Illinois innovations. Everybody in, nobody left out when it comes to building a better Illinois," he said.

But before they get to the new and improved tomorrow, people in Illinois are stuck with a wretched today. At least that's the impression one gets hearing various beneficiaries talk about the disaster Quinn's budget plans will force upon them.

Nobody, it seems, liked Quinn's speech, except for Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"By the governor's standards, I thought it was a good speech, a very good speech," said Madigan, apparently comparing Quinn's budget address to the disastrous, off-the-cuff state of the state Quinn delivered last year.

Despite that praise, Madigan chastised Quinn for proposing to spend too much money, charging Quinn's $52.7 billion spending plan exceeds previously agreed upon spending caps by more than $700 million. He pledged to see the budget cut, stating "my commitment in Illinois budget-making is to live within those spending controls."

Meanwhile, Republicans joined Democrats in asserting that Quinn's budget is too large and relies too much on more borrowing.

Senate Republican Minority Leader Christine Radogno criticized the $1.7 billion in increased spending that she said relies on more borrowing to "support spending we cannot afford."

Gov. Quinn and legislative Democrats approved higher personal and corporate income taxes during the January lame-duck session, action that is expected to increase revenue by more than $7 billion. Now they want to borrow another nearly $9 billion to pay back old bills, retiring the debt over 14 years out of the revenue increases from the tax hikes.

Quinn contended "this is not new borrowing," which goes to show just how dishonest the debate has become over the details of Illinois' effective bankruptcy. Even if the money borrowed goes to pay off old state bills, it's obviously new borrowing.

The state is proposing to exchange one form of debt (unpaid bills) for another (bonded indebtedness) that does little to improve the state's economic plight.

But while Quinn was criticized for spending too much, he also was being criticized for spending too little. Social service providers of assistance to the poor, sick, disabled and very young expressed deep anger over spending reductions that will make it harder for them to serve their clientele.

It's a big mess, exactly what one would expect to happen after years of financial excess and economic hardship. No wonder Quinn wanted to forget today's nightmare and dream of better days ahead.