A report on the country’s governors by the libertarian Cato Institute has given Gov. Rod Blagojevich a below average rating for his fiscal policies.

The Washington-based think tank’s “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors: 2004” criticized the governor for proposing tax increases and what they said was a lack of focus on curbing state spending.

Illinois Republicans blasted Blagojevich over the report.

Andy McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, said the governor’s handling of state finances was “reckless” and “irresponsible” in a press release, saying he increased state spending by over $2.2 billion.

Blagojevich disputed that number Feb. 16 in his fiscal year 2006 budget address. He said the estimate is inaccurate because it doesn’t include about $500 million in federal reimbursement for Medicaid, or revenue growth of $575 million he attributed to an upswing in the economy.

Some of the report’s other numbers are also debatable, said Becky Carroll, spokesperson for the governor’s office of management and budget.

Carroll said there was no truth to the report’s claims that Blagojevich’s policies have called for an annual $500 million in tax hikes.

“When Gov. Blagojevich came into office, we faced a $5 billion deficit,” Carroll said, “and he had a commitment to the people of the state that he was not going to make them pay for that burden in raising the income tax.”

Carroll said the deficit has been whittled down to just over $1 billion.

Representatives on both sides offered mixed views on the report’s objectivity.

Three of the four governors receiving failing grades [Fs] and eight of the 12 receiving below average grades [Ds] were Democrats, while all four of the governors receiving As were Republicans.

“I think the report they gave was pretty comprehensive,” said Jason Gerwig, spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party. “They didn’t just beat up Democrats, they took their shot at Republicans as well.”

Carroll said she thought otherwise of the institute, which has featured conservatives such as media mogul Rupert Murdoch on its board of directors in the past.

“The Cato Institute is an ultra-conservative organization who only hands out gold stars if someone cuts taxes,” Carroll said.

Carroll said Republicans publicized the report to cover up their own past mistakes.

“Their governor ran the state’s finances into the ground,” Carroll said. “This was a challenge that his Republican predecessors could not live up to, so it’s no surprise that the Republican party would make desperate attempts to divert attention,” Carroll said.

Gerwig said he did not buy the governor’s claims that previous governors were at fault and said Blagojevich needed to stop blaming past administrations, and instead criticized the governor for lacking leadership.

“I would think that the governor’s office could come up with a better excuse than that,” Gerwig said.

Blagojevich was the first Democrat elected to the governor’s office in Illinois in 30 years.