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 The governor has said he intends to do as little harm as possible to
education, human services, the health care safety net and public
safety.
Quinn had indicated he'll instead focus on state government. Budget
office spokeswoman Kelly Kraft said the governor is "reviewing and
analyzing spending" with an eye toward where cuts can be made.
That kind of vague assurance is not calming fears among those who
depend on state dollars, including the groups Quinn wants to
protect.
David Jensen, the chief operating officer for Lutheran Social
Services of Illinois, said he doesn't see how the governor can avoid
trimming spending for the state's social service system.
Jensen said the need already outstrips the ability to provide
services. And he said the need is getting dangerously close to
outstripping the ability to pay for those services as well.
"Services are provided by people. And while we can delay vendors,
most of our costs are for employees. And we have to make payroll for
them," he said.
And Jensen said funding cuts are not the only threat to making
payroll. He fears the state will simply take longer to cut checks to
LSSI and other social service providers.
"If we're talking about a payment cycle that's two or three months
longer than it is today, I would say many or most social service
providers will go bankrupt."
Kraft, from the budget office, said the Quinn administration wants
to "protect Illinois' critical services as best we can." The
governor has said a short-term borrowing plan could help trim the
payment cycle. But he has yet to convince enough senators to approve
that plan.
The only hint as to what may be cut in the new budget came earlier
this week when the governor said he wants to tighten the belt of
state government.
Anders Lindall of AFSCME, one of the state's largest
public-employees unions, said that's going to be next to impossible.
Quinn signed a deal with AFSCME to limit layoffs and facility
closings in exchange for delayed pay raises.
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Lindall said that because of that deal, and just plain
common sense, there is little the governor can cut from the
bureaucracy of state government.
"More than $9 out of every $10 (that the state spends) goes to
education, health care, human services and public safety. So if
you're making Draconian cuts, you're cutting education, health care,
human services and public safety," he said. Kraft said any cuts will not be uniform. She said Quinn is looking
at state spending in pieces.
"He's looking case by case, agency by agency and program by
program."
But Kraft declined to give an estimate as to how much may be cut.
That's a number that Ben Schwarm at the Illinois Association of
School Boards needs.
Schwarm said schools across the state need to finish their budgets,
but they can't until they know how much state funding they'll be
receiving. And they can't rehire any of those thousands of laid-off
teachers.
"The way everything was left hanging, and with the governor having
all of this power to reserve funds or transfer funds or make
additional cuts, I just don't see where school districts are going
to have the confidence to call anybody back. ... I certainly don't
think anyone will be calling too many of the teachers back based on
his message tomorrow," he said.
Quinn said he wants to spare schools from steep cuts, but Schwarm
said there was talk in the spring of a $600-per-pupil cut in
classroom dollars.
The per-pupil general state aid is the lifeblood for many schools
across the state. Any decrease in that would have a serious impact
on some of those schools.
The governor's office has scheduled a news conference in Chicago
Thursday morning to sign and then discuss the new budget.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
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