Noland, Martinez: Latino Treatment Center, others, need help

Two Democratic state senators exhorted Gov. Bruce Rauner to help solve the state's fiscal crisis so that agencies such as the Latino Treatment Center in Elgin won't have to close their doors.

The center, which provides alcohol and substance abuse services, was handed a 20 percent budget cut this year from the state, its executive director Adriana Trino said Monday at a news conference, flanked by state Sens. Mike Noland of Elgin and Iris Martinez of Chicago.

As a result, the center has cut its staff of about 12 in half and has been unable to provide some services, such as post-incarceration and for at-risk youth, she said.

If the state goes a second year without a budget, the agency will close, Trino said. "Not only do my clients feel the sheer pain of these cuts, but my staff has sacrificed."

The state has a duty to take care of the most vulnerable by providing adequate social services, Noland said.

"We all understand the schoolhouse-to-jailhouse pipeline, and if we are not providing services here, we are simply opening up that pipeline," he said.

The Latino Treatment Center also has offices in Chicago and West Chicago with a total annual budget of $212,000, Trino said. It provides bilingual services to 160 to 180 clients a month, mostly Spanish speakers with an average household income under $10,000, Trino said.

Client Jannet Alvarado of Elgin said she hopes the agency will continue to help people in need. Alvarado said she is a U.S. citizen but is most comfortable getting services in Spanish. "The center helped me lot, and they can help a lot of other people."

Orlando Miranda, board chairman for the center, said residents of Illinois are paying taxes, yet the state is failing to deliver services in return. That includes undocumented immigrants, which the center also serves, and who contribute to the economy by paying sales and other taxes, Miranda said.

Agencies such as the Latino Treatment Center provide services that can make the difference between life and death, Martinez said.

"I think there is money out there and I think it is up to the administration to continue to fund programs that really are in dire need," she said.

Martinez said she hopes legislators will come up with a budget by May 31. "The governor knows that he tried and has seen that it (his "Turnaround Agenda") didn't work, because we're still at it with the same fights," she said.

The center's staff members work for as little as $25,000 per year despite having master's degrees, and have taken on additional responsibilities, including janitorial, Trino said.

The fiscal crisis has affected several Elgin area agencies, Noland said, pointing to Ecker Center for Mental Health, the Community Crisis Center, Lutheran Social Services and Renz Addiction Counseling Center.