Protesters keep heat on as no end to Illinois budget battle in sight
A contingent of demonstrators representing children with disabilities, some from the suburbs, worked to keep the heat on lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner Thursday even as the Illinois House left Springfield with no plans to meet again for four weeks and no budget in sight.
Nicole Molinaro of Algonquin was among the estimated more than 700 people who filled the Capitol rotunda in Springfield Thursday on behalf of a state program that pays for the care of young children with disabilities.
Just recently, Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger announced the program is one the state can pay for without a budget in place because of federal rules, but Molinaro and others say they want to keep the pressure on, especially because it's unclear how programs like Early Intervention will fare when Democrats and Rauner eventually do agree to a spending plan.
“There's definitely a trust issue,” said Molinaro, a physical therapist who works with children under age 3 with disabilities. “They paid us because media was on them.”
With no long-term deal in sight and no public evidence of serious discussions to craft one, Democrats continue to push legislation intended for specific programs.
An Illinois House committee on Thursday passed a plan to pay for emergency food assistance, mental health and other services during the state budget stalemate.
The funding bill for human services was passed by the House Executive Committee on a 7-0 vote and sends the $3.8 billion spending plan to the full House. The measure would also authorize the state to spend $1 billion from the state lottery fund to pay out winners who currently aren't getting paid because of the budget stalemate.
But it didn't go any further as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he'll veto the bill as he and Democrats who control the General Assembly continue to disagree over a state budget that was due July 1.
Rep. Greg Harris, one of the sponsors, told committee members Thursday that passing the measure was more fiscally responsible than allowing state agencies to rack up bills for services they're not currently able to pay.
“We have providers who are doing work that can't even get paid now. For a lot of people this is very real in their lives today,” the Chicago Democrat said.
But members of both parties questioned the wisdom of the bill.
“I don't think this solves it. This makes it worse,” said Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican.
“It's unfair to pass an appropriations bill that doesn't have the revenue with it,” added Rep. Mike Tryon, a Republican from Crystal Lake. “It's disingenuous to tell our providers, ‘Everything's going to be OK, we passed an appropriations bill.'”
Mindy Koechling of Winfield, who was among the protesters, suggested it was silly for Illinois Lottery winners who aren't getting their big payouts to get so much attention when smaller programs struggle to be visible in the political fight over the state budget.
Lottery winners' plight has grabbed headlines as one of the more unusual consequences of the state impasse.
“It's about getting services to the kids who need them,” Koechling said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.