Quinn cuts would ax 1,938 state jobs

Gov. Pat Quinn took steps Thursday to try to close seven state institutions and lay off more than 1,900 employees in an effort to live within the reduced budget approved by the Illinois legislature, and he challenged lawmakers not to “run away” from the impact of their decisions.

Quinn announced he had begun the process to close a prison in Lincoln, a youth prison in Murphysboro and facilities for the mentally ill and disabled in Rockford, Jacksonville, Tinley Park, Dixon and Chester. Those closures, along with cuts elsewhere in government, will eliminate 1,938 jobs.

“You can’t spend money that you do not have,” he said.

The layoffs and closures violate a deal Quinn negotiated with a key state union in exchange for other concessions. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has said the agreement has the force of law, and the union is likely to sue to enforce it.

“Any layoff and any closure would be a direct violation of that agreement,” said AFSCME Council 31 spokesman Anders Lindall. “It would be a direct violation of the word the governor gave and AFSCME has shown that we will do whatever is necessary to see that the rights of our members under the contract and under the law are upheld.”

The union already has sued over pay raises Quinn canceled for about 30,000 state employees to save $76 million. A federal judge ruled Wednesday against Illinois state employees in the dispute and AFSCME plans to appeal.

Quinn said the latest cuts would save $54.8 million, still leaving a gap of nearly $183 million between the spending lawmakers authorized and what the governor says is the minimum needed to operate Illinois government for a full year.

The Democratic governor said he has already heard complaints from lawmakers about cutting services and he expects to hear even more. But he said the legislature chose to pass a budget that was $1.5 billion less than Quinn proposed and now lawmakers must live with the results. “It’s time for a rendezvous with reality and if you vote for something in the spring don’t run away from it in the fall,” Quinn said.

Some suburban lawmakers snapped back, saying budget cuts were a reality and Quinn had to deal with it.

“I’m not running away from it,” said state Rep. David Harris, an Arlington Heights Republican. “I’m embracing what we did.”

And Sen. Dan Kotowski, a Park Ridge Democrat and a lead Senate budget negotiator, said Quinn’s decisions reflect the reality that the state is short on cash. “Some very difficult decisions had to be made,” Kotowski said.

During a 42-minute news conference, Quinn repeatedly blamed lawmakers for the cuts. But he approved the budget that lawmakers sent him in May, when he could have vetoed it. He encouraged lawmakers, who come back to work next month, to reallocate money to avoid the round of cuts.

But Quinn said he can’t wait for lawmakers to act or assume that they will do what he wants.

Quinn said he chose to sign a budget he disliked because if he sent it back to the legislature, the Republican minority in the state Senate would have had leverage to demand even more “radical” reductions. Quinn said he didn’t want to give them a chance to affect the budget.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat, intends to revisit the budget, spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon said.

“In days and weeks ahead, we will study the governor’s plans to determine what legislative action may be needed,” she said in a statement.

Republican Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine said it’s amazing Illinois still doesn’t have enough after the Democrat-controlled legislature earlier this year voted to raise the state income tax.

“You just heard the governor lament that it’s still not enough, which drives home the point and crystallizes that it will never be enough for them,” Murphy said. “You give Gov. Quinn and his allies in Springfield more money, they will find a way to spend it.”

Ÿ Daily Herald State Government Writer Mike Riopell contributed to this report.