Addiction fund cuts must be overridden

Just days before Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced plans to send the National Guard into Chicago, he slashed funding for vital programs that prevent violent crime in the first place.

The governor's budget cuts include $55 million to combat drug and alcohol addiction, the largest cause of violent crime in Illinois.

Studies show that more than 69 percent of inmates in Illinois prisons have been locked up for crimes that can be traced directly back to drug and alcohol addiction.

Gov. Blagojevich's cuts also mean Illinois will lose out on an additional $55 million in matching federal aid to combat drug addiction.

The combined $110 million in cuts will force local non-profit organizations that provide prevention and treatment to turn away tens of thousands of people who need and want help and some treatment centers may be forced to close.

The governor's cuts to drug and alcohol addiction programs are shortsighted and potentially catastrophic.

If we don't provide these services, taxpayers will pay for the after-effects: broken homes, unemployment, homelessness, emergency room treatment for overdoses, violent crime, prisons.

Fortunately, the Illinois House has voted to override $43 million of Gov. Blagojevich's cuts.

However, time is of the essence. If Senate President Emil Jones does not reconvene the Illinois Senate immediately and override the governor's ill-considered vetoes as well, families and communities will pay the price.

We encourage everyone to contact their state senator and urge him or her to pressure Sen. Jones to reconvene the Senate and restore funding to programs that provide essential prevention and treatment services.

The Rev. Frederick Aigner,

President and CEO, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

Brady Harden Jr.

President, Inner Voice

Richard L. Jones

CEO and President, Metropolitan Family Services

The Rev. Dr. Sid L. Mohn

President, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights