Quinn: Doomsday Budget Would Have "Awful Human Toll"
In a letter advanced to state agency heads today, Gov. Quinn made clear that he is "not a proponent" of the doomsday budget assembled by his office. He emphasized that he must nonetheless "inform Illinois citizens about
the dire consequences that would follow ...
In a letter advanced to state agency heads today, Gov. Quinn made clear that he is "not a proponent" of the doomsday budget assembled by his office. He emphasized that he must nonetheless "inform Illinois citizens about the dire consequences that would follow should the General Assembly pass a 'slash and burn' budget."
The doomsday budget addresses the state's $11.6 billion deficit by coupling $7.5 billion in cuts with $4.1 billion in stimulus funds. Quinn sent the agency heads a summary of these reductions, stating: "This list illustrates the awful human toll that a Doomsday scenario will have on the Land of Lincoln and why it is not the right course for Illinois." Here are the sector-by-sector cuts:
Education – $1.5 billion cut – Over 14,300 teachers laid off
Higher Education – $554 million cut – Over 400,000 students affected
Healthcare – $1.2 billion cut – Over 650,000 people lose healthcare
Seniors – $368 million cut – Over 271,000 seniors affected
Veterans – $27 million cut – Over 150,000 veterans affected and 1,000 kicked out of veterans’ homes
Public Safety – $294 million cut – Nearly 1,000 State Troopers laid off and 6,000 inmates released early
Human Services – $769 million cut – Over 100,000 people affected
Economic Development – $549 million cut – Every mass transit district affected
Agriculture and Natural Resources – $98 million cut – 60 parks and every museum closed
Local Government – $1 billion cut
We obtained the full letter, which you can read below:
Dear Illinois citizen,
Within the next two weeks, the General Assembly will approve a new state budget - a crucial decision that will determine Illinois’ fate for many years. On March 18, I presented lawmakers a proposed budget for fiscal year 2010 that will rescue our state from financial ruin while protecting its most needy citizens.
To date, my budget remains the only comprehensive and balanced budget plan before the General Assembly. It calls for: paying off a more than $7 billion deficit in fiscal year 2010; investing in education and healthcare; protecting vital social services; providing tax fairness and relief to nearly five million taxpayers; and making over $1 billion in spending cuts.
My proposed budget also recognizes the hard economic fact that state revenues are falling while demand for services is dramatically increasing.
Most important, it speaks honestly and directly to the people of Illinois about the tough choices we must confront. However, some critics and opponents reject my realistic solution. Instead they want to slash away at the budget, hurting our children, students, working families, elderly, veterans and many other citizens.
I am not a proponent of a Doomsday approach. As I said in my March 18 address to lawmakers, a budget that only offers mean-spirited tactics like these hurts all of our citizens and damages the economy.
When it comes to passing a budget, we need to make tough choices not bad choices.
However, as Governor I have a responsibility to inform Illinois citizens about the dire consequences that would follow should the General Assembly pass a “slash and burn” budget. This list illustrates the awful human toll that a Doomsday scenario will have on the Land of Lincoln and why it is not the right course for Illinois.
Sincerely,
Pat Quinn
Governor
Here is the full inventory of cuts included in the doomsday budget:
“Slash and Burn” Budget Consequences
Balancing the fiscal year 2010 budget by using only a “slash and burn” approach will take a significant toll on the people of Illinois. In this grim budget scenario, Illinois meets requirements to tap American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding and provides limited state money necessary to attract other federal matching funds.
What follows are some of the dire consequences should this scorched-earth, cuts-only, approach be used to close the deficit:
Education – $1.5 billion cut – Over 14,300 teachers laid off
• Cut school aid by $568 million, causing more than 9,300 teachers to lose their jobs.
• Eliminate preschool for 100,000 children, causing more than 5,000 teachers to lose their jobs.
Higher Education – $554 million cut – Over 400,000 students affected
• Eliminate all state scholarships, including MAP grants, making college less affordable for 400,000 students.
Healthcare – $1.2 billion cut – Over 650,000 people lose healthcare
• Eliminate healthcare for 300,000 children and 175,000 parents, and Rx assistance for 172,000 seniors.
• Eliminate all healthcare subsidies for 78,000 retired teachers, university and state employees.
Seniors – $368 million cut – Over 271,000 seniors affected
• Cut Community Care program in half - 26,000 seniors would not receive services to help remain in their homes.
• Eliminate Elder Abuse and Neglect program - 11,000 cases would not be investigated.
• Eliminate Circuit Breaker program, cutting property tax relief for 271,000 seniors.
Veterans – $27 million cut – Over 150,000 veterans affected and 1,000 kicked out of veterans’ homes
• Close all four Illinois veterans’ homes, leaving over 1,000 veterans without critical care.
• Eliminate Traumatic Brain Injury & Post Traumatic Stress Disorder counseling and assistance program.
Public Safety – $294 million cut – Nearly 1,000 State Troopers laid off and 6,000 inmates released earl.
• Lay off nearly 1,000 State Troopers -50 percent of the force - and eliminate the 2010 class of 100 cadets.
• Release over 6,000 inmates early and close the Sheridan and Southwestern Drug Treatment facilities.
• Close four Department of Juvenile Justice facilities and release over 500 juveniles early.
Human Services – $769 million cut – Over 100,000 people affected
• Eliminate home services for 5,000 people with disabilities.
• Eliminate addiction treatment and prevention for 45,000 people.
• Close one out of every five Illinois Department of Human Services offices.
• Eliminate child care for 1,000 kids and increase co-pays for remaining children.
Economic Development – $549 million cut – Every mass transit district affected
• Eliminate all state funding for public transit and AMTRAK.
Agriculture and Natural Resources – $98 million cut – 60 parks and every museum closed
• Shut down half of the state parks and lay off one-third of frontline park staff, and close state museums.
• Eliminate state funding for Springfield and Du Quoin state fairs, 4-H and county fairs.
Local Government – $1 billion cut
• Eliminate state funding for local governments, reducing their ability to fund core services like law enforcement, fire service and garbage collection and offices like public defenders, county treasurers and state’s attorneys.
Additional– $1.1 billion cut
• Require additional deep reductions in agency services, eliminate support for numerous specialized programs and eliminate dozens of state boards, offices, commissions and agencies.
Comments
hope they are still funding my pension fund
If the citizens of Illinois don't vote every present legislator out of office during the next election, we are as irresponsible as the people we have elected in the past. The current budget crisis is the result of careless management of our tax money, and now they want more? How many legislators refused to accept the salary increase they gave themselves, while employers across the state are cutting salaries to stay afloat. Wake up citizens of Illinois! We need to elect common-sense, working class people to government offices and we need to refuse to elect the candidates that political action committees and big business are supporting.
How is it that a mere return to spending levels that were regarded as perfectly normal just six years ago now constitutes "doomsday"? Goodness, if I were to return to my own spending levels of just six years ago, everything for me would be ... exactly the same.
So why don't we and the governor and the legislature cut the crap and cut the spending along with it?
Your response is uninformed, insensitive, uneducated, and just plain ridiculous.
Has your income increased at all during the past six years? I would bet it has. Even minimal cost of living increases to wages translate into significant costs for an employer. Simple math would indicate an increase of 2% for six years would be an increase of 12%. This is not taking into account that insurance rates have increase far beyond expectations from six years ago. My health insurance premium went up by 47% this year and 36% the year before. Start thinking about that bucko... I work in a place where my function is to assist people who need advocates and my job is the result of grant and state funding. Pull your head out of that dark place and realize that the government's function is to protect its people from harm.
Wondering where the salary cuts for the poiticians are? The rest of 'us' look like we are going to suffer one way or another ~ many loosing the ability to make a living, why not just reduce what the law makers are paid?
My employer announced at the beginning of the year that there would be no merit increases to salaries. Common sense tells me I am limited to what I earned in the prior year, as to what I can spend this year. Why can this not be the same for the State? To add to the State's idiocy, you have been spending and wasting way too much in past years anyway. Lick your wounds and tighten up everything for few. Enough of the socialism.
The "socialism" you refer to would cut all services for my current 14 year old special needs foster child. Without therapy now for all that she has gone through, not only will she have no chance for any kind of future, but you, as a taxpayer, will be paying a minimum of eight times more what her services cost now for future "social services" (special education, welfare, and probably prison) She has struggled her whole life. Should I just tell her to buck up and "lick her wounds"??? Your arrogance (and ignorance) would topple any governmental system. How ironic.
Everyone is having tough times and is frustrated by the state of politics in IL, but having more people unemployed and virtually no services to the most vulnerable in our population is not an option for our communities! This impacts childcare resources for the struggling single mother, forcing senior citizens on the edge of trying to maintain their independence into nursing homes, people with disabilities on the street. The cost of avoiding this to taxpayers amounts to less than your morning cup of coffee! I do not want to loose more moeny to taxes being that I reside in Chicago and Cook County where there is a triple whammie...but I would gladly pay the couple of extra bucks to keep my job in social service and ensure the safety of my community.
I completely agree. I am a crisis counselor in south/central Illinois. As the economy worses we have seen more and more people in crisis due to loss of jobs, homelessness, alcohol abuse, and failing relationships. The majority of the crises are due to economic factors and not chronic mental health issues. If the Doomsday budget passes, these services will be depleted for the average Joe. I foresee crime rates and suicide rates going up and lack of services for the people that need immediate attention. When these people need our services, and there aren't any, their perspectives will change, but it will then be too late.
"How is it that a mere return to spending levels that were regarded as perfectly normal just six years ago now constitutes "doomsday"? Goodness, if I were to return to my own spending levels of just six years ago, everything for me would be ... exactly the same.
So why don't we and the governor and the legislature cut the crap and cut the spending along with it?"
Your response is uninformed, insensitive, uneducated, and just plain ridiculous.
I am unaware of any household, service provider (health care or otherwise), or store that has not needed to pay more money for electricity, telephone service, postage, food, medicine, medical care, gas, etc... than they paid six years ago - so simply returning to spending levels of six years ago is not an answer.
What needs to be cut are duplicate services and governmental red tape. Because of staffing issues, it seems fine that governmental entities do not respond in a timely manner to requests, payment of monies owed to service providers, have automated messages wherein you only get flipped from one phone to another - while we are to pay fees on time (or pay interest!), be available for unannounced inspections and carry on with normal duties while continuing to be available, maintain staffing levels despite not being able to pay the amount of money or offer health care benefits that people need to survive.
I wonder how many government officials would be willing to take a pay cut themselves or pay for their own health care benefits rather than having their own support ride on the backs of the tax payers. Under the previous administration, after funding cuts (or freezes in some instances) were announced, the same officials who decided that was appropriate also decided that it was appropriate to give themselves a pay raise - WHO sees that as fair. We have given our staff pay increases according to rate increases received in the health care sector, but we have never taken a pay raise back from them!
We have the working poor caring for the vulnerable populations in our state. It seems that it is the poor who could work and yet use public aid as a way of life who drain the system. People should have a limit on the amount of time they can collect public aid.... was changing the title of the department to HFS to make receiving public assistance more palatable??? It should not be comfortable and sound nice - it is what it is... living off of public aid dollars (not to mention, how much money went into making the change from IDPA to HFS... or what kind of dollar amounts were tied into getting Blagovich over every I Pass lane in the state only to remove it again... THOSE are the types off issues that require greater oversight to cut out the real waste in our state!)
Please grant that it is the waste that is cut out - not vital human services!
Tell the homeless youth on the street that you won't help them and give them your logical response as to why they are unworthy of your money. What is the real reason you refuse to sacrifice a little more of your earnings for those in great need?... Power? Priviledge? Pride?
Apparently Gov. Quinn does not want to remain Gov. How could he even think of laying off 1/2 of the Illinois State Police work force at a time when they are needed most. I can understand not hiring new Troopers right now, but laying off should be out of the question. Crime is higher due to the poor economy and he wants to cut our only protection? What is he thinking?? Save our Illinois state Police. Protest!
Gov. Quinn needs to layoff middle and upper management and not the work force. Cut what is not needed...not what is needed.
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