 Quinn said last week he would make another $900 million in cuts, on
top of the $500 million he previously announced, to reduce Illinois'
record-high budget deficit. But those cuts are simply lumped under
broad categories.The real decisions about which programs will get
less money -- and therefore which Illinois residents will get less
from their government -- still lie ahead.
At the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, for
instance, $208 million in cuts are described simply as "various
quality and efficiency initiatives." The Department of Human
Services faces $576 million in cuts that it says will affect young
mothers, disabled children, deaf people and more, but officials
still have to decide on specifics.
Such uncertainty means people and groups that actually deliver
services on the state's behalf -- pharmacies providing medicine for
the poor, workers who cook and clean for the elderly, job programs
that train the developmentally disabled -- don't know if they'll
continue being paid or how much they might get.
"They can't plan. How do you make a budget?" said John Bouman,
president of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.
"It's not fair."
The agencies that must make the cuts are in a difficult position,
too.
Healthcare and Family Services Director Julie Hamos says she has
ideas on how to cut her agency's budget but can't discuss them
publicly yet. She also acknowledges that the agency, which provides
Medicaid health coverage for the poor, is figuring out some cuts as
it goes along.
"There's some of that," Hamos said, adding that a $200 million
reduction in federal funds is "presenting another challenge to us
that we haven't even begun to think about."
Human Services spokeswoman Marielle Sainvilus said that agency
still hasn't decided "the exact programs that face elimination."
Judith Gethner, manager of the coalition Partners for Human
Services, said her group has been trying to find out from state
officials when more details will be available.
"The answer we received is that it's going to be fluid," Gethner
said. "This is an ongoing target that is going to keep moving."
Advocates say Quinn bears only part of the responsibility for the
uncertainty.
Much of the blame, they say, lies with state legislators who
refused to approve new money to pay for state services but also
refused to make the tough decisions on where to cut spending.
Lawmakers dumped both chores in Quinn's lap.
"The legislators' job is to construct a budget. They chose to
throw it over the fence to the governor," Gethner said.
[to top of second column] |
Between old bills waiting to be paid and shortfalls in the coming
year, Illinois faces a deficit of roughly $13 billion. Officials
would have to slash state spending in half to close that gap in a
single year.
Quinn proposed reducing the deficit with a combination of tax
increases, spending cuts and loans, but legislators would not
approve any specific plan.
Instead, they gave Quinn broad authority to make cuts wherever he
sees fit. So organizations that depend on state money now have to
wait for the Quinn administration to figure out what it will do.
The governor's budget office wouldn't discuss how those decisions
are being made, beyond saying that officials are looking for places
where reductions can be made and deciding which services get top
priority.
While Bouman, from the Sargent Shriver Center, isn't happy about
the uncertainty, he does see some benefit to Quinn delaying final
decisions. It's possible the federal government will provide more
money to the state or that legislators will take action, such as
raising taxes, in November, he said.
"Playing for time if you think there's some chance of a better
outcome is not an irresponsible strategy," he said.
But Bouman also argued it's one thing to wait until there's a
decision at the federal level, and it's another for Illinois
officials to delay action for purely political reasons.
"Let's face it," he said. "Everybody's waiting until the election
to see exactly what will be done."
[Associated Press;
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.
 |
