The voice of the people has been heard. The House and Senate have approved fund sweeps to provide money to reverse the governor's budget cuts and avert the closing of two dozen state parks and historic sites.

Now, Gov. Rod Blagojevich must show he is listening, too, by signing the bills without changes.

The carefully crafted legislation details how much money will come from each fund and specifies where the money should be spent. This provides the accountability and certainty the public desires.

Among the state facilities targeted by Blagojevich are Moraine View State Park, Weldon Springs State Park and the David Davis Mansion.

This legislative action also restores $231 million in money needed for social services to continue important programs, such as substance abuse treatment, without drastic cutbacks.

Most of the money comes from "fund sweeps" - taking "surpluses" from special accounts.

If Blagojevich signs the bill, he can call off his planned park and historic site closings. But even though the public won't be kicked out of the woods literally, the state is not out of the woods financially.

This may be only a temporary reprieve.

If the economy doesn't improve, revenue projections could fall short and another round of budget cuts might occur down the road.

The fund sweeps also aren't the long-term answer to keeping the state's budget balanced.

The governor and Legislature also should examine whether there should be admission charges for parks and historic sites (we think there should be reasonable fees).

They also should examine whether there are other places in the budget where spending should be reduced (the governor's travel budget, for example) - rather than resorting to high-profile cuts that seemed designed to prompt the strongest reaction because of their obvious unfairness.

Blagojevich and lawmakers also should be looking at ways to make the state more attractive to business, thereby attracting more jobs, which will bring in more revenue to the state coffers.

At a minimum, as we have said repeatedly, quit adding new programs or expanding eligibility for old ones when the state is not fully supporting existing programs.

It took a bipartisan effort to pass this legislation. It will take a bipartisan effort to reach a long-term solution. The public is watching.