State budget slays suburban sacred cows
SPRINGFIELD - Back in March, one of the few things suburban lawmakers said deserved some protection in the red ink drenched state budget was funding for social service groups that care for the elderly, disabled, mentally ill and needy.
"That, to me, we can't touch that. There's just no way," state Rep. Fred Crespo, a Hoffman Estates Democrat, told the Daily Herald.
"I'm really concerned about the status of our human service providers," echoed Vernon Hills Democratic state Rep. Kathy Ryg. "Their budgets were cut by the governor last year ... we haven't kept up with our payment commitments."
Republicans were concerned too.
Developmentally disabled "facilities really are in no position to be experiencing a cut," state Sen. Dan Cronin, an Elmhurst Republican, said in the same round of March interviews. "They're barely staying above water."
Those concerns, however, are now of little comfort to agencies feeding the poor, watching over the elderly or treating the mentally ill.
Fast forward to July and groups like Des Plaines-based Lutheran Social Services and Elgin's Association for Individual Development are either planning or have already begun laying off employees and turning away clients because their state funding no longer exists.
The reason is lawmakers approved a budget that only covered about half of the normal spending for these groups. Calling it a "half-baked" budget, Quinn rejected it outright and told lawmakers to come up with something better, ideally his plan that includes a tax increase.
The groups bearing the brunt of the budget fight are not state agencies. Their workers are not considered state employees and don't get state benefits. Rather, they are local, not-for-profit groups that get state contracts and dollars to care for the needy on behalf of Illinois.
Or at least they used to.
Since there's no budget for this year, there are no contracts, no funding and no guarantee when or if they'll get paid should they continue to pay for facilities, caregivers, medicine and supplies. Layoff notices and service cuts have ensued.
The area lawmakers who initially expressed concern for their plight call the resulting situation ludicrous.
Ryg used the example of disabled couple able to work and have a residence because a state program provides a caregiver. Now that assistance is jeopardized, as is the couple's ability to work and remain independent. They could end up in a state-supported institution or nursing home that ultimately costs taxpayers more.
"What we're doing doesn't make any sense in the short, mid or long term," she said.
Similar concerns exist for the mentally ill and addicted, who without state-supported treatment could end up in hospitals and jails that ultimately cost taxpayers more than the treatment.
Crespo said Illinois already lagged the country in caring for the disabled, now it's a struggle just trying to find money to maintain the inadequate levels.
"This sets us back," Crespo said. "You and I have options. We might not like them but we have options. These are folks who have absolutely nothing out there."
The unfortunate reality for these groups is their funding is one of the few areas in the state budget where lawmakers can control spending without risking losing federal funding.
Cut Medicaid - the joint state/federal program that helps pay for health care for the needy, elderly and disabled - and Illinois loses federal matching dollars that help prop up the budget.
The same is true with education. If the state cuts school funding it loses out on billions in federal assistance offered through President Obama's stimulus plan. If that money goes away, suddenly the education budget is mired in red ink and more cuts are needed.
But there is no immediate domino effect with social service cuts, which is why $10 billion worth of grants was halved in the budget plan.
Republicans, like Crystal Lake state Rep. Michael Tryon who also expressed concern with protecting social service funding, pointed out that the so-called half budget was approved without any Republican support.
"That was done by the Democrats and that was ludicrous," Tryon said. "That was an exercise in budget stupidity."
However, he said everyone needs to sacrifice in the budget and that means social service funding too. But he said those groups shouldn't shoulder all the cuts.
Quinn has defended his move, saying lawmakers left him no choice and their half budget is no way to plan for the future.
"This bill does not effectively address Illinois' growing budgetary and economic calamity. This is a budget that funds a full year of services at a 50 percent level. The result is a halfway measure that fails to address the dire consequences of the state's declining revenues, widening deficit, increased demand for critical human services and the weak U.S. economy," Quinn said in his veto message. "Most troubling, this bill fails to fund the basic needs of the people of Illinois."
In response, House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, said what Quinn should have asked himself is whether some spending authority was better than none. Madigan noted that the House had approved enough financial maneuvers to get the spending up to 70 percent of previous levels without a tax increase, but that Quinn opposed some of the provisions.
Lawmakers are due back at the Capitol next week to consider a new budget plan or possible override the governor's veto and force their version on his administration.