(Springfield, IL) – February 16, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today presented his fiscal year 2012 Illinois budget to the Illinois General Assembly and—despite reams of rhetoric of spilt and spouted on his commitment to the most vulnerable of Illinois residents—he sliced hundreds of millions of dollars from Illinois human services budgets, leaving multitudes, including: infants, the infirm, the battered, the hungry, the old, and even the dead, adrift.
According to the Illinois House Democratic staff review of Quinn’s budget, the human service cuts include:
- Child Care Services–$333,344,000—gone.
- Put Illinois to Work–$107,000,000—gone and with that 22,000 jobs.
- Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services–$52,602,000—gone.
- Mental Health Grants–$33,472,600—gone.
- Aid to Aged, Blind, or Disabled–$14,907,400—gone.
- Funeral & Burial Expense Assistance–$3,43,900—gone.
- Mental Health Psychotropic Medications–$2,646,000—gone.
- Domestic Violence Shelters–$2,08,200—gone.
- The Children’s Place Association Pre-School for HIV/AIDS-affected toddlers–$492,400—gone.
- Home Delivered Meals to Seniors–$400,000—gone.
- Crisis Nurseries–$318,700—gone.
Well, you get the idea.
One Democratic lawmaker, tossing a budget briefing book in the air, said, “We busted our behinds for Quinn to increase the income tax and this is what we get?”
Illinois House and Senate appropriation committees will begin reviewing and voting on Quinn’s budget proposals in the coming weeks.
Gov. Pat Quinn
I know it is not the state budget, but Ed Burke get 6 body guards? How many does his wife get; paid for by the state? How many drivers are out there to drive these elected officals, and how many cars are out there anyway?
Posted by Jim Sather | February 16, 2011, 4:06 PMJim,
These cuts go far beyond counting excess paper clips and filing clerks.
Thank you for writing.
David
Posted by David Ormsby | February 16, 2011, 4:15 PMOf course they do, but how about getting rid of excess paper clips and filing clerks first. Show us that the elected officials can give up SOMETHING. How about reducing staff levels to the 1980 level, I bet the staff has grown just as the deficit has grown and I do not see anything more productive. As the owners of our country say, “A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step”
Posted by Jim Sather | February 16, 2011, 4:47 PMJim,
As a result of employee pension buyouts since George Ryan’s era, the Illinois state employee per capita ratio is one of the lowest in the nation. The costs of pensions, retiree health care, etc. is what is killing the state.
David
Posted by David Ormsby | February 16, 2011, 6:01 PM