Progress Illinois

With a little more than a month remaining in the spring legislative session in Springfield, advocates for Illinois children say it's important to understand the factors driving the state's fiscal year 2014 budget debate and what can be done to help avoid damaging cuts to education and other critical programs.

David Lloyd, senior policy analyst with the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children, told advocates on a web conference call this week that maintaining funding for their priorities depends on a sustainable state budget that raises necessary revenues.

“These are difficult choices, but I think eventually the math wins," Lloyd said. "Without additional revenues to pay the liabilities such as pensions and Medicaid, Illinois will be forced to cut other programs. There’s just no other way around it."

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Improving the public’s understanding of how the Illinois state budget works will contribute to better policy decisions by elected officials, according to a new policy brief from the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices For Illinois Children.

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In a February report called 'Closing the Medicaid Coverage Gap', Voices For Illinois Children announced its support for the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion.

When the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed the fundamental legality of the Affordable Care Act in June, it left open the option for states to decide on various aspects of participation, including the Medicaid expansion.

“Illinois should take advantage of a unique opportunity to offer health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents,” the report reads. “Given that the federal government will provide nearly all of the funding, extending Medicaid eligibility is a very good bargain for Illinois. We can’t afford to pass up this valuable opportunity.”

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