The Illinois House Republican "Agenda for Action" is a lot like a child's Christmas list: There are a lot of good things on it, but the likelihood of getting them all is small.

That's not necessarily the fault of the House Republicans. They are in the minority in both the House and Senate.

Besides, if Santa Claus keeps a naughty and nice list on Illinois politicians, it is the Democrats who will have checkmarks in the "naughty" column for not playing well with others - or even among themselves.

But calling their list an agenda for "action" is, at best, wishful thinking.

While it doesn't promise action within a designated time period, like the Republicans' national "Contract With America" did nearly 15 years ago, it does let the public know what Republican priorities are, at least in the Illinois House.

The agenda has seven categories

w Creating jobs while repairing and rebuildling Illinois.

w Demanding fiscal responsibility and a true balanced budget.

w Delivering real property tax refief.

w Enacting the nation's toughest anti-corruption laws.

w Providing security and safety for victims of domestic violence.

w Creating cyber-safety laws that protect children from online predators.

w Aiding families in affording a college education.

The first item, which calls for approval of "a comprehensive capital program that will reinvigorate the Illinois' economy" is something both parties agree on. However, the scope of the program and how to pay for it has kept it bogged down since the election of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The most promising - and needed - part of the "Agenda for Action" requires no money, just political willpower. Unfortunately, that "will" seems to be in even shorter supply than new revenue.

We are referring to the agenda items calling for fiscal responsibility and laws against corruption.

We wholeheartedly agree that the state should not be creating a "balanced budget" by shifting unpaid bills to the next fiscal year. Also deserving support is the agenda's call for "defined, minimum time periods a budget bill must be made available for inspection and scrutiny by legislators, the public and the media."

As for anti-corruption laws, the state is close to achieving the agenda's goal of "ending the 'pay to play' culture in Illinois by banning government officials from soliciting contributions from contractors conducting business with their office" - if only the governor would sign House Bill 824, which passed without opposition in the House and Senate.

Taxpayers should watch closely what action the Republicans take on their agenda.