* For the first time in a very long time, legislators are getting a real taste of budgetary responsibility. This will obviously take some getting used to, and some Democrats clearly aren’t yet prepared to bite the bullet…
Senate appropriations committees considered more than two dozen bills that Democrats said would cut Gov. Pat Quinn’s spending plan by $1.2 billion. The committees took no votes on the bills after Republicans complained they were not given enough time to analyze them.
But several rank-and-file Democrats on the committees made it clear they didn’t like what they saw and where budget negotiators chose to make cuts.
“There are too many uncertainties and too many vast cuts,” said Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago. “I haven’t been satisfied at all.”
“You can be cut on the pinkie or be cut on the jugular,” said Sen. Willie Delgado, D-Chicago. “You’ll bleed either way, but one is more serious.”
* The governor’s proposed spending for next fiscal year on personal services and operations would be cut by 5 percent, and contractural services would be cut by 7 percent in the Senate proposal. But there are other cuts that aren’t going over too well…
One such cut was a 25 percent, or close to $1 million, reduction to the Hope Institute for Children and Families $4.4 million state appropriation Quinn was asking for. The institute focuses on autism-related services.
Jacobs asked Georgia Winson, the executive director for the Hope Institute for Children and Families, what the cut would mean to their average client.
“It means for many children they would not receive an early diagnosis and one of the things our society is hampered with now is many kids who are late to diagnoses and treatment are served by very costly residential placements,” Winson said.
With the full $4.4 million in funding from the state, Winson said she could leverage that into $20.83 million non-state money, which could be used for early diagnosis and therefore keep kids with their families and out of group homes.
Jacobs asked her, if she was in his chair, where she would make the tough cuts.
“I have to say, I am relieved I am not sitting in your chair,” Winson said.
* Meanwhile, over in the House…
Illinois school districts may soon get the answer to their multi-million-dollar question: Exactly how much money are they getting from the state?
As the Illinois Legislature rushes to beat the budget deadline, lawmakers in the Illinois House are eyeing cuts to the majority of grants for local schools. General state aid also may be trimmed to make the House’ $6.9 billion school spending goal.
State Rep Will Davis, D-East Hazel Crest, said the state has to cut from schools, but lawmakers are limited in what can be cut. Although a good portion of the budget has been decided, Davis is staying mum on exact numbers.
“We’re kind of faced with a lot of, ‘Well, I don’t want to touch that. No we can’t touch that, no we can’t do that,’ and unfortunately if you add up all of the grant lines it won’t get you close to $230 million,” Davis said.
At the moment, the House’s primary and secondary education budget still is more than $230 million higher than its allotted budget, said Davis, who noted that he can’t cut mandated categories without risking federal matching money.Mandated categories cover everything from school buses and special education to free and reduced price breakfast and lunch programs.
That leaves the grants.
State grants subsidize a variety of programs, including state testing, vocational programs and bilingual education.
The Illinois State Board of Education receives about $548 million in grants annually, said Matt Vanover, spokesman for ISBE, who noted the elimination of many grants in recent years.
They’re learning. But time is short.
* Related…
* VIDEO: Rep. Will Davis on K12 cuts
* VIDEO: Rep Brauer on Illinois’s unpaid bills
* VIDEO: Frank Mautino budget process
* VIDEO: Larry Bomke on budget
* Vendors: Illinois needs to borrow to pay bills
* Quinn backs Springfield chamber plan for state short-term borrowing
* SEIU Healthcare Illinois Releases Ad Fighting For Disability Services
* Dave Bakke: Statehouse rallies for ralliers, not legislators
- DRB - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 7:26 am:
It appears to me the only equitable way to solve the budget is to have cuts in every line item. There is going to be pain for everyone.
- Cincinnatus - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 8:39 am:
Is it not true that the budget cuts being proposed by both Quinn and the Democrats actually result in a net budget increase in spending?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 9:33 am:
Talk is cheap, a tough vote is hard.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 9:38 am:
Only pat Quinn could talk about budget cuts in a budget that has more spending than previous years.
- mokenavince - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 10:13 am:
It looks like the budget will not be lowered. Quinn and the boys just can’t say no. Better luck next year. Same O sameo.
- Leroy - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 10:25 am:
We *can’t* cut money now….it will cost us more later.
Of course, *not cutting* now will also cost us more later.
Pay now, and pay later.
- Leatherneck - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 11:20 am:
Mokenavince,
We all know another phrase that will also sum up your opinion–”kicking the can down the road.” I agree with your assessment.
- soccermom - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 11:34 am:
I hate “equitable” cuts. Those kinds of cuts assume that every program is equally good and serving an equal number of people with equal needs. To me, that’s not equitable — it’s lazy. We should fund the programs that are working, and cut the ones that aren’t. And no, I don’t know which ones those are — but surely someone must — or should!
- Louis XVI - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 12:07 pm:
The legislature should simply outlaw energy, food, raw materials, and health care inflation. That will eliminate that pesky increased spending.
Budgeting for dummies.
- Jack Horner - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 1:55 pm:
Anyone else hearing anything about an early adjournment? Someone just told me the Speaker wants to finish May 18. Hmmm…
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 2:16 pm:
Wish there were more folks like Soccermom in the General Assembly.
Here’s some cuts the GA is planning that don’t make sense to me:
Child abuse prevention
Juvenile crime prevention
Substance abuse treatment for youth and adults
Autism prevention
- dupage dan - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 4:57 pm:
The idea that cuts can be made based on verified need really only results in cuts based on who is better at articulating what their agency/program does. Being a state employee, I remember in tough times past where we were encouraged to provide examples of what we do so they could be paraded in the committee meetings as a way to show that what we do is important. Being a very small agency made that all the more difficult. Small footprint, big impact - those were our watchwords.
For every program there is a need and a constituency. For every program there are people in need who will be impacted by a loss of revenue. How do you put a impersonal value on that?
Who is there out there who can put an “objective” value on the worth of a program? Decide it by how many people kvetch? How many people show up at at the capital and wave banners?
It is conceiveable that you can’t do that without a storm of protests that could delay the vote on each line item. Pain is gonna happen, folks. Better to get on with it and divvy it out. Straight cuts should occur - that’s what’s been happening in the last several years and we’re still limping along. Better than total collapse.
- Kyle Hillman - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 5:26 pm:
Hilarious to watch the Senate budget debate. Every GOP argument is that they are using the Governor’s proposed budget numbers for cuts. The exact same numbers the IL GOP used for their highly publicized budget cut proposals.
- Not It - Wednesday, May 4, 11 @ 6:02 pm:
Perhaps I’m too cynical, but I think the reason the Speaker is pushing rank-and-file to be so involved in the budget making process is to distract them from his work to re-draw the map. He knows no good can come from them trying to actually put together a real budget. That is a waste of time.