Possible state budget cuts hit home for Kane County law enforcement

With a $9.1 billion budget gap looming in Springfield, Kane County law enforcement officials say they're on edge over proposed cuts that could cripple social service programs for local victims of child abuse, domestic battery and crimes against seniors.

Whether the cuts take place remains up in the air as lawmakers debate the state budget. But local officials say they are preparing for the worst come Wednesday, when a final budget is expected.

"The reality is, I'm holding a letter that says July 1st, I will receive no funding. I cannot assume that to be inaccurate," said Lori Chassee, director of the Kane County Child Advocacy Center in Geneva, which investigates and prosecutes crimes against children, and offers recovery counseling. "While this may be rhetoric in Springfield, it is reality at the grass-roots level."

Under the current proposal, Chassee says the advocacy center, which has just 17 employees, would have to eliminate a forensic investigator and a clinical supervisor whose jobs currently are funded by the state. Other aspects of the center are funded locally.

The result, she said, would be a decrease in the amount of expertise available to victims, and an extra burden on local police agencies who would be expected to pick up the slack despite budget constraints of their own.

"That's hugely impactful to the citizens of Kane County," she said.

Also expected to take a major hit is funding for battered women's shelters in Aurora and Elgin, an agency that handles crimes against seniors, several substance-abuse and mental health programs, and teen outreach efforts at local police departments across the county.

Kane County State's Attorney John Barsanti said the cumulative effect of such cuts would be felt in the judicial system almost immediately.

He said the elimination of alternative treatment programs for defendants with substance-abuse problems and limited criminal histories, for example, would drastically change how some cases are resolved.

Regarding domestic abuse, Barsanti said victims may be less likely to cooperate without the advocacy services that are currently available.

"Within a week, we'll have cases that will turn out a different way because of the lack of funding," he said. "When you're talking about eliminating a battered women's shelter, it's very frightening. I am concerned political decisions are being made as opposed to decisions that should be made to protect the community."

Barsanti said his office is lobbying state legislators through law enforcement organizations such as the State's Attorney Association, while child advocacy centers across the state are uniting as well.

"I don't know that any of us really know what the legislators are thinking or doing," he said. "Everybody is being urged to write their legislators to reiterate the impact on a lot of law enforcement issues by their votes on this."