Decisions made by a governor in a far-away but strikingly similar state might actually influence our election right here in Illinois.

Just a week or so after Governor Pat Quinn lays out his state budget blueprint next month, recently elected New Jersey governor Chris Christie will do the same.

Illinois and New Jersey have more in common than you might think. They're not exactly alike by any means, but they're both Democratic-leaning states that have elected Republican governors in the past. They both have unemployment troubles, although New Jersey is better off than us right now, and they both have horrible state-budget problems.

Illinois' budget crisis is somewhat worse than New Jersey's, but they're similar enough that the two governors' budget plans will undoubtedly be compared. Illinois' budget deficit for next fiscal year, which starts in July, is projected at somewhere around $13 billion. New Jersey's upcoming red-ink total will be about $11 billion. The two states' operating budgets are about the same size.

"No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots." -- Barbara Ehrenreich, The Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed

Recently, I was invited to speak to a group of affluent, upper-middle-class retirees. The host's estate was extensive, his home was airy and spacious, original art graced the walls, and the guests ranged from dignitaries to activists from the civil-rights era.

I had been invited to lead a discussion on ways to minimize political polarization and find common ground, and I agreed, hoping that these people -- who are well-educated, well-connected and well-to-do -- would want to get involved in the freedom struggle and effect change within their spheres of influence. Instead, I came face-to-face with those I've been writing about for years: materially comfortable, disconnected from reality, and totally oblivious to what's been going on in the American government as far as the erosion of our civil liberties and the amassing of power by the federal government.

I quickly realized that what these people call "polarization" is actually Americans challenging the status quo, especially the so-called government elite. To my surprise, I found myself on the receiving end of a group lecture in which I was reprimanded for being too negative in my views of the government. I was also informed that I need to have "faith" in our leaders and refrain from criticizing our president because Americans still live in the best country in the world. In other words, my patriotism was called into question.

It is time for Americans to understand a key political distinction between "progressives" as they relate to both Democrats and Republicans. Progressives are individuals from both parties who commonly believe in social improvement through government action. Traditionally, progressives are thought to be liberal or Democrat in nature. This is not accurate. The first progressives were actually a splinter group from the Republican Party in 1912. Today, it can be argued that most of our legislators are progressive Democrats and progressive Republicans, evidenced by the exhaustive amount of legislation from both sides of the aisle that perpetuates government's ever-growing involvement in American lives.

The notion that a progressive agenda is strictly that of liberals, Democrats, or socialists is a misconception in desperate need of correction. The past century has shown us that any salient differences between the two parties have only narrowed with each new administration and/or legislature.

Governor Chet Culver's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2011 exceeds the state's 99-percent spending limitation and fails to address roughly $400 million in state costs, State Auditor David Vaudt said this week.

"He's actually spending $25 million more than the expenditure limitation, rather than the $61 million under the spending limitation that he presents in his budget document," said Vaudt, a Republican. "The governor's budget numbers just don't add up."

Culver defended his proposed budget, maintaining that it's balanced and spends less in his fourth year in office than when he began his term as governor in 2007.