Health Department employees enlist lawmakers in plea for jobs

State and union officials made a public plea Monday for six months of time to find emergency funds that could prevent the gutting of the Kane County Health Department. But all indications are the county agency has decided the state is a deadbeat and will proceed with cutting health services for more than 8,000 residents.

State Sen. Mike Noland of Elgin and State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia of Aurora joined a sampling of the 62 health department workers facing a layoff in about 30 days at the health department's Elgin office. The layoffs stem from a recommendation to reject state grants that provide funding for eight programs in the health department. Executive Director Paul Kuehnert made that recommendation to the county board's Executive Committee because the state is $1.5 million behind in paying for services the health department has already provided. There is no definitive payment date in sight.

Without those programs, health department union President Joe Durczak said thousands of low-income and recently unemployed mothers and babies will go without access to the health care system. None of the employees are confident the state and county will match all the families in their case books to services with local nonprofit agencies that assist with health care by the time the layoffs take hold.

"Maybe, maybe they'll be seen," Durczak said. "Possibly not. If not, they'll go on a waiting list. I don't know if these young women are going to be able to make it in this community."

The employees are represented by AFSCME - the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - one of the largest unions in the state. Union officials already told the county it would put the full weight of its political pull to free up the $1.5 million if the county would delay the layoffs. That offer was rejected by County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay.

Noland said refusing help to get money the county is owed for vital services shows failed leadership on the county board.

"It's inexplicable that they would be refusing and turning down money from the state that every other agency is clamoring for," Noland said. "That's their job. That's our job. We're willing to go to bat for our constituents, so should they."

However, Noland conceded that there is no guarantee that he, Chapa LaVia or the union will be able to free up the money, especially without new "revenue enhancement" at the state level. The most discussed form of such enhancement right now is an increase to the state income tax. Chapa LaVia said there's no reason for the health department or county to lose faith in the state making good on its debts.

"We've never defaulted on a payment," Chapa LaVia said. "There might be a lag in that, but what if every health department did this in the state of Illinois? We would create such a problem in our area that it would cost the whole society. People always say, 'Why is my health insurance going up?' Because somebody who doesn't know any better will walk into an emergency room and try to get services that way. Where does that cost go? It goes to a person that has insurance."

Clients of the health department will make another plea directly to the county board at its meeting Tuesday morning.