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Money could be found in the budget of
DHS, the agency that oversees all state-operated centers for the
developmentally disabled, he said. Ironically, it is DHS that is
trying hard to close the 125-year-old Lincoln facility.
State agencies like DHS usually have
some flexibility in their budgets, he said. In the past, DHS could
transfer 2 percent of its budget from one institution to another,
but this year, because of the budget squeeze, the agencies have 3
percent instead of 2 percent that is flexible.
DHS has more than $3 billion in its
budget, Bomke said, and 3 percent of that would be about $128
million.
Last year, the budget for operating LDC,
with about 375 residents, was only $35 million. This year, because
of downsizing by Gov. George Ryan and DHS, there are only 242
residents. About 40 of these, who are under the Office of the State
Guardian, may be moved out soon.
An injunction issued by Judge Don Behle
yesterday will prevent the state from moving residents without their
consent until a permit has been granted by the Illinois Health
Facilities Planning Board. However, the Office of the State Guardian
is expected to consent to moving about 40 LDC residents to other
state centers. That would leave the center with only 200 residents.
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this article]
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Bomke, R-Springfield, is a party to the
lawsuit seeking to prevent the movement of LDC residents and
attended the court hearing yesterday.
He told Lincoln Daily News that
the arguments of DHS attorney Steven Puiszis regarding budget
constraints were not accurate. Puiszis charged that LDC would run
out of money and residents might have to be returned to their homes.
"DHS could fund Lincoln if it wanted
to. The governor chose not to put money in that line item for DHS,
but the point remains that DHS has transferability of up to 3
percent of $3 billion," Bomke said.
"They can argue they would have to take
it away from someplace else, but they would have to put money into
other institutions to care for former LDC residents."
Bomke said even if DHS did not fund the
Lincoln facility, the budget completed by the General Assembly this
year anticipated an $850 million year-end balance.
This could be transferred to any
department.
"It would
take an action by the General Assembly, but we do that all the
time," he said.
[Joan
Crabb]
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Bill Bates, city
attorney, said the new three-year contract with Fraternal Order of
Police 208 isn’t much different from the last one. It includes a 9¾
percent raise over a three-year period: 3 percent the first year, 3¼
percent the second year and 3½ percent the third year.
The city will
continue to pay 100 percent of the health insurance for police
department employees but will not pay for coverage of employees’
families. The city previously discussed adding a co-payment clause
for some medical procedures, but that did not become part of the new
contract.
The contract with the
police union is the first to be ratified by the city, although the
contract with Operating Engineers Local 399, which represents street
department employees, was on the agenda Monday but was tabled.
The other two unions
represent the fire department and the city’s clerical workers.
The council also
approved an early retirement incentive plan, which will allow city
employees who are at least 50 years old and have 20 years of service
to buy out their remaining years and retire.
Both employees and
the city must pay the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund the amount
they would have paid had they remained employed until age 55.
Employees have only two years to make the payment to IMRF, but the
city can take at least 10 years to pay off its share, according to
City Clerk Juanita Josserand.
The "window" for
signing up for early retirement will be 60 days from Sept. 1, 2002.
Any employee who wants early retirement must sign up with IMRF
during this time, she said. The city will not be authorized to offer
early retirement again until it has paid its share for those
employees choosing to retire. If it chooses the 10-year payment
option, for example, it cannot offer early retirement again for 10
years.
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Employees who take
early retirement will have to pay all of their insurance benefits
until age 55, at which time the city will pay half the premium.
Insurance premiums have gone up 15 percent this year, Josserand
said.
She advised the
council that the city will save money only if no new employees are
hired to replace those retiring. "The whole idea is to get rid of
employees," she said.
She said the two
employees who have so far indicated interest in early retirement are
from the street department. They are Don Osborne, superintendent,
and Rod Malerich, assistant superintendent.
The council learned
that the probationary period for firefighter Todd Koehler ended June
20, and he has a permanent appointment as a firefighter. Also two
police officers, Jason Lucas and Christie L. Jackson, have
successfully completed probationary periods.
At a committee
meeting before the regular council meeting, finance committee
members made a few minor changes to the city’s $10.5 million
appropriations ordinance for fiscal year 2002-2003. About $230,000
was added for monthly salaries and $115,000 for demolition of
buildings. A line item for $600,000 for capital projects was added.
This represents the amount the city can levy for general obligation
bonds and will be used for improvements to the infrastructure,
Josserand said.
A public hearing on the appropriations
ordinance is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 9.
[Joan
Crabb]
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Judge Behle issued a temporary
restraining order to prohibit the state from any involuntary
transfer of residents until it has a permit from the Illinois Health
Facilities Planning Board. The board is not expected to take action
on the permit until Aug. 15.
This means the state cannot move 191 of
the residents still on the campus without their permission until the
board’s decision is announced. However, the future of the other 51
residents may still be in doubt.
Those 51 residents
have already agreed to move to other state-operated facilities,
according to Steven Puiszis, attorney for DHS, the agency that
oversees all state facilities for the developmentally disabled. DHS
had planned to move the 51 residents between July 2 and July 8.
However, because a
letter sent to families and guardians said LDC was slated to be
closed by Sept. 1 and did not say there was a chance, however slim,
that it might remain open indefinitely, these residents and their
guardians will have a chance to reconsider their decisions.
According to Steve
Yokich, attorney for the plaintiffs, these 51 residents must be
advised before they are physically moved that they cannot be forced
to leave LDC at this time. Most of the residents who agreed to move
are wards of the state, he said.
Judge Behle made it
clear that his injunction applies only to "involuntary moves" and
does not prevent any resident from voluntarily moving from LDC if
the resident and parents and guardians make that choice.
Attorneys for the
state argued that because DHS has applied for the permit, even
though it has not yet been approved, the agency can begin the
process of closure. Gov. George Ryan has ordered LDC closed
completely, citing health and safety issues for the residents.
Yokich argued that
the state is assuming it will get the permit to close LDC and so can
move residents without waiting for final approval. Moving residents
will cause "irreparable harm," he said, and if the IHFPB does not
approve the permit, the state will have to move them back, which
would also be destructive for residents and their families.
Puiszis said moving
residents would not constitute "irreparable harm" for either them or
their families. He said there are more than enough beds in the other
10 state-operated facilities to accommodate the LDC residents. The
69 who have local ties can go to Jacksonville, also in central
Illinois, which has 88 openings and provides the same services and
support that LDC does.
Puiszis also argued
that LDC will not be able to stay open because the state legislature
did not budget funds for it to operate this fiscal year. Only $5
million is in the budget, compared to $35 million for its operation
last year, when LDC had about 375 residents.
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article] |
In its recent budget
session, the legislature put $35 million back into the budget for
LDC, but Gov. Ryan vetoed the appropriation. The Senate later failed
to override the veto.
Yokich said he
believed funds can be found. "If they’ve got money in the budget to
hire people in Jacksonville to care for LDC residents, they can move
money out of that budget," he said.
However, he added,
the court should not have to rule on money issues.
"Let the chips fall
where they may. Let the political actors take responsibility for the
chips," he said.
Puiszis also argued
that the plaintiffs — American Federation of State, County,
Municipal Employees, which represents most LDC workers; Norlan and
Eleanor Newmister, parents of an LDC resident; Don Todd, president
of AFSCME Local 425; and state Sen. Larry Bomke — did not have legal
standing to sue the state.
He also argued that
because the 4th District Appellate Court is considering arguments in
the case Judge Behle does not have jurisdiction to address it at
this time.
Behle replied that he
did not intend to address issues of legal standing at this hearing.
Puiszis also argued
that LDC residents should be moved because they are not receiving
the care they need.
He suggested that if
LDC remains open and runs out of money, its remaining residents may
have to be sent to their homes.
At least 50 people,
many of them parents or relatives of LDC residents or LDC employees,
filled the courtroom for the two-hour-long hearing.
One parent, Rosemary
Murray, who lives in Friendship Manor and is in frail health, was
encouraged by the judge’s ruling.
"I’m still not
looking for any other place to put my son," she said.
She said she visits him each week and
would have a hard time getting to Jacksonville to see him.
[Joan
Crabb] |
