Crespo: Not all cuts were pork
State Rep. Fred Crespo decried the $463 million in state budget cuts Gov. Rod Blagojevich made in the name of health care.
If lawmakers don't override the governor's veto, the Hoffman Estates Democrat's district will lose $650,000.
"To cut that funding and imply that it's pork is preposterous," Crespo said at a Hanover Park press conference. "It's almost morally wrong to cut some of these items for political purposes."
The cuts range from senior services to bike paths.
Among them was a $50,000 grant that had been designated for the domestic violence agency Women in Need Growing Stronger.
Among other services, the agency provides emergency shelter for domestic violence victims.
Executive Director Rebecca Darr said she was shocked and disappointed at the veto, and will have to limit the number of people WINGS could serve. It receives about 200 calls a month from women seeking assistance.
"This is one of the most vulnerable populations in the state, and there's not a lot of attention being paid at the highest level," Darr said.
The governor has said he eliminated pork and special-interest spending.
"Some of the projects legislators included in the budget had little, if anything, to do with the mission of state government," said Justin DeJong, a spokesman for the governor's office of management and budget.
Hanover Park Village Manager Marc Hummel was on hand Tuesday to discuss two affected "public safety and welfare" initiatives.
The village wants a pedestrian traffic signal built at the library on Irving Park Road, a street Hummel says is traveled daily by between 30,000 and 40,000 cars. The state would've given $35,000.
Hanover Park had also been working with Schaumburg for months to create a bike path. It has secured a federal grant and spent close to $30,000 on engineering costs. Without the $50,000 from the state, "it certainly puts a strain on the local budget," Hummel said.
Blagojevich kept $500,000 for a Romeoville bike trail.
Mickey Macholl, a Hanover Park parks commissioner, was angry the governor cut $45,666 for a 15-passenger bus with wheelchair lift, especially since similar items were spared in other towns.
"We struggle greatly to even maintain the facilities that we have," she said. "And others get what they ask for because of partisan politics."
Macholl said there have been no tax increases in her 13-year tenure, and the park district was counting on the van so seniors and the disabled can participate in programs.
The cuts also included $95,000 for security cameras and renovation for the Streamwood Park District, and $100,000 for the Hoffman Estates Park District to construct a park and cricket and soccer fields.
Crespo's 44th House District includes all or parts of Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Streamwood, Hanover Park, Bartlett and Elgin.