Budget impasse destroying the state, advocates say
Over the past seven months, human service organizations across the state have made layoffs, cut programs and pleaded their case to lawmakers that the people of Illinois need a budget in place.
In the Statehouse, faith that Gov. Bruce Rauner and the legislature will get a budget passed for fiscal year 2016 continues to dwindle as providers and recipients of essential services across Illinois join together to protest, write letters and form coalitions.
On Jan. 26, the Responsible Budget Coalition, made up of human service providers, education groups and service recipients, demanded action on the budget, saying that Illinois residents are suffering as a result of the stalemate.
Speaking before Rauner gave his State of the State address on Jan. 27, Don Lesser, director of economic justice for Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty, accurately predicted that Rauner in his speech wouldn’t mention the impact the budget has had on essential services for seniors, mental or disabled patients and low-income families.
“We have homebound seniors who are not receiving home-delivered meals because of the budget impasse,” Lesser said. “We have teens in high-crime neighborhoods who no longer have after-school programs they can go to. We have victims of domestic violence who are not receiving the services they need to stay safe. We have people with mental illnesses who are not receiving the critical treatment that they need. These are all things that are essential measures to the state of our state.”
The organizations present all agreed that the suffering boils down to the budget.
The state owes Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, one of the largest statewide providers of social services, $6 million. As a result, Mark Stutrud, president and CEO of LSSI, announced on Jan. 22 that the organization will close more than 30 programs and eliminate 750 employee positions.
A survey conducted Jan. 9 through Jan. 13 by United Way of Illinois, the largest nongovernmental funder of health and human services in the state, indicated 85 percent of service providers have cut the number of clients they serve in the past six months, up from 34 percent in July 2015. There were 444 respondents to the survey across every county in Illinois.
Richland Community College in Decatur was forced to raise tuition an additional $5 per credit hour, according to Donnie Lewis, chairman of the Illinois Community College Board’s legislative committee.
Rauner largely skirted the issue of the budget impasse in his speech. He spoke of education, term limits, Illinois police procedures, state workers and unions. He mentioned property taxes, moving children from shelters to homes, and he even had a list of long-term goals.
“We hear a lot of talk about non-budget items,” said Polly Poskin of Springfield, executive director for Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “Sexual assault survivors don’t need term limits or tort reform in the aftermath of a sexual assault; they need counseling, safe space and support. I think our policy makers need to choose revenue to fund these critical services for women, children and men.”
During the speech, the governor acknowledged that budget negotiations should be based on the goal of making Illinois competitive and compassionate.
“If each of us commits to serious negotiation based on mutual respect for our co-equal branches of government, there’s not a doubt in my mind we can come together to pass a balanced budget alongside reforms,” Rauner said. “If we work together, Illinois can be both compassionate and competitive.”
Human and social service agencies across the state will not see any compassion or competiveness in the near future if the budget isn’t resolved by March. Poskin explains that federal funds have kept social service agencies like the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault afloat up to this point. A federal fund called the “Victims of Crime Act” provides $4.8 million to the organization, but requires the state to match these funds using money from the general revenue fund. Without the help of the state, the organization’s annual contract with the Department of Human Services that provides $6.2 million from the general revenue fund will also end.
“Is this working?” Poskin said, referring to the podium microphone. “Since about last August, it doesn’t seem like anybody has been listening.”
Contact Brittany Hilderbrand at intern@illinoistimes.com.
