Rauner grant freeze prompts protest
Wednesday, Feb 4, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Mark Brown…
More than 30 Chicago area social service agencies discovered an unwelcome surprise in their email inboxes late last Thursday afternoon.
A letter from the Illinois Department of Human Services tersely informed them to “cease any and all operations” funded by state grants they were awarded in the closing weeks of Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration.
The contract awards, which were announced Dec. 17 and took effect Jan. 1, were intended to provide job training, after school and other “youth development” programs.
Some $8 million total was involved, a drop in the bucket compared with the $1.5 billion budget deficit that Gov. Bruce Rauner says he inherited from Quinn upon his Jan. 12 inauguration.
* Charlie Wojciechowski…
“He has cut $4.5 million in youth employment,” said Father Michael Pfleger of the St. Sabina Parish. “He has cut $3.5 million in after school care. Make it clear, this money he can say the state didn’t have, this money was allocated. Jobs began, contracts were signed as of January 1.”
One of those contracts was with the Humboldt Park-based Youth Connections, which was expecting $900,000 to fund 250 jobs.
“I was sad. I was crushed,” said Founder of Fellowship Connections Lynette Santiago. “In this economy and in this community we serve, to have to tell people that they are no longer employed… I don’t know.”
Pfleger said the cuts are “inappropriate” at the time and come at a time when the governor is raising the salaries of his own staff.
* Charles Thomas…
“In order to keep the income tax low, he’s going to have to make spending cuts in the state budget,” said Diana Rickert of the Illinois Policy Institute, a free market think thank that is a Rauner beneficiary.
Rickert expects the governor to cut selected social programs as well as state worker jobs and salaries.
“Everything is fair game for cuts this year,” Rickert says. “The reason why is government has been over spending for many, many years.”
* Back to Mark Brown…
Communities United, formerly known as the Albany Park Neighborhood Council, had planned to use its $276,000 grant mainly to operate its popular Bikes N’ Roses program, which I have written about previously.
The group employs neighborhood youth after school and during the summer to work in its bike repair shop, where they are trained not only to completely overhaul a bicycle but also to work with the public, to come to work on time and to meet deadlines.
Oscar Rivera Jr., the program director, had already hired 50 kids and was planning to open a second shop in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. Some had quit other jobs to take this one, he said.
- Gabe - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:42 am:
I guess when you get laid off, your income tax is zero.
- Ahoy! - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:44 am:
“this money he can say the state didn’t have, this money was allocated.”
Money being allocated, does not mean that the State has the money. I know this is a new concept than what has been practiced now for 16 years, dating all the way back to Ryan. Habits are hard to break.
I’m not saying that these cuts are good or bad, I’m just saying that because money is allocated, does not mean it is there.
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:46 am:
The clock keeps ticking until July 1, 2015.
Until then, thank you Pat Quinn, Mike Madigan and John Cullerton.
Unless someone has a money tree they’d like to loan to the state to get through the next few months…
- Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:47 am:
If he wants to work on addressing the problems with over crowded prisons, these programs would seem to be great long-term investment.
- Mouthy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:48 am:
Tip of the iceberg. IDOT hides some of their grants as construction contracts.
- Jerome Horwitz - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:49 am:
This is just the beginning. Look for drastic cuts to community services. Mental health, substance abuse, youth services, services to people with developmental disabilities will be targets.
- jogger - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:50 am:
The money was allocated from a budget that had unrealistic revenue assumptions, so no, the money is not really there. This is just the start of many more cuts coming.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:51 am:
===In order to keep the income tax low, he’s going to have to make spending cuts in the state budget===
In order to augment his 56 million dollar income, he’s going to have to cut programs that the poor depend on. He also has to cut middle class wages, because less spending provides business with more confidence to increase widgit spending so that people who have less money to spend will buy more widgits to meet the increase in supply. There. Fixed it for ya.
===“Everything is fair game for cuts this year,” Rickert says. “The reason why is government has been over spending for many, many years.”
Everything needs to be cut. The reason why is government has been under funding for many, many years. Fixed that one for you too, Ms. Rickert.
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:54 am:
==this money was allocated==
Anyone can ==allocate money== by writing a check. Until that check bounces.
Allocating money or writing a check is worthless without an account balance to cover the payment.
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:56 am:
Protest away. Everything Governor Quinn did after the election is subject to greater scrutiny. Hopefully some of this gets restored. But, freezing his actions in December is a prudent move. He just didn’t act responsibly, and per usual, some good programs and people are going to experience pain on account of his shenanigans.
- Wordslinger - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:56 am:
So the money didn’t go out? The state can unilaterally break signed contracts?
- 1776 - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:04 am:
Perhaps some focus should be on Governor Quinn who issued grants on the way out the door knowing full well that the state didn’t have the money. Quinn and the GA passed a horribly unbalanced budget and want to scream about Rauner.
- Del Clinkton - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:04 am:
As long as there are offsets in Welfare for the Wealthy, this is all good.
I’m sure Bruce is going to announce a Progressive Income Tax!
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:06 am:
Word, they can if the contract has the old “subject to appropriation” provision, which gives the State a nice clean way out.
- anonymous - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:08 am:
I think that Rauner should take all the salaries of those people he hired from the fake 501c3 Illinois Policy Institute and give it to those poor kids instead.
- Gone, but not forgotten - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:09 am:
Where’s the $55 Million that Quinn granted before the previous election???? I guess we still don’t know. Ergo, I believe it is very prudent to postpone his actions!
- RNUG - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:11 am:
-AA-,
I agree, but if the money was in a line item, doesn’t the legislature have to specifically not fund or revoke that line item? I’ve only been involved in one of those takebacks and I thought that was how the contract got broken, specifically leaving it out of a detailed line item.
- Shemp - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:11 am:
I agree with Wordslinger on outright breaking contracts is poor form.
At the same time, if people are going to moan about cutting drops in a bucket, we’ll never have enough to half fill it. You have to start somewhere and attack the problem at both ends.
- Wordslinger - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:12 am:
Thanks, AA.
Gone, if you want to know where the NRI money went, you can read the auditor generals report.
- Chicago cynic - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:21 am:
They should thank Quinn for making promises the state can’t keep. Their is no money and Quinn new it. Quinn did as much as he could to hanthe state and the new Gov after he lost.
- Responsa - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:22 am:
Assessing and evaluating these last minute Quinn grant programs seems both prudent and necessary. If they’re as worthy and well run as some people say they are then reinstatement is possible and likely when funds are found. This is not a hard concept.
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:29 am:
==As long as there are offsets in Welfare for the Wealthy==
As there should be, if Rauner means anything he says about ==shared sacrifice==.
Otherwise he becomes a hypocrite.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:33 am:
===“subject to appropriation”===
The three worst words in the english language.
There is no methadone program. A lot of organizations are going to have to quit cold-turkey. It’s not going to be pleasant.
- Del Clinkton - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:36 am:
Interesting that Bruce is proposing an expansion of the Downstate Jobs Program called “prisons” without any offset in revenue to pay for it.
Must be the new business math they are teaching the kids these days!
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:56 am:
==The state can unilaterally break signed contracts?==
There is also language in contracts that allows the state to terminate them for “convenience.”
- steve schnorf - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:09 am:
Come on, folks. We’ve all known this was coming for years. This is going to be the fiscal policy we should have seen 12 years ago, but didn’t. Governor Blagojevich exacerbated an already existing fiscal problem. With the help of the temporary income tax increase Governor Quinn made some progress, but not enough.
Even if the tax increase had been extended we would still be facing hard choices in the 2015 and 2016 budgets. Gove Rauner appears ready to recommend those hard choices. It will be painful. We’ve know all along it would be, when the day of reckoning finally came. The longer we put it off, the more painful the solutions will need to be.
Let’s see what he says today, and then 2 weeks from today. He’s staking out positions, and why would he suggest half-way measures. You can’t negotiate from there.
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 11:12 am:
Amen Schnorf.
- walker - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:12 pm:
Crying over some rain, when the tsunami is visible on the horizon.
The only beef right now is that Rauner is still talking about increasing programs in front of some select audiences.
His line ought to be: “If we can find any way after making massive adjustments to the budget, we might be able to increase funding for …”
- jerry 101 - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:22 pm:
I don’t see any funding cuts in there for Ounce of Prevention. Wonder why…
- Keyser Soze - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:28 pm:
Why is it necessary for the government to create jobs for young people? They are probably the easiest to employ, not to mention the least expensive. I am pivoting here but is there no need for delivery boys (and girls), errand runners, table bussers, snow shovelers, grocery clerks, etc., etc.? I’ve never known it to be hard for teenagers to find work if they so desired.
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:43 pm:
==- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:56 am:==
==- Responsa - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 10:22 am:==
Try to use facts and read for comprehension. The bike project isn’t a new program that Quinn “did after the election.” It’s a been a recipient of youth employment funds for a few years.
- sparky791 - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:50 pm:
No problem with shared sacrifice as long as it includes Rauner and fellow 1%. Otherwise as someone said he is just a hypocrite. Anyone want to bet wealthy don’t share in this sacrifice?
- RNUG - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 12:50 pm:
== Why is it necessary for the government to create jobs for young people? ==
Because like it not, class warfare or not, stereotype or not, there is a sub-group of young people who grow (grew?) up without examples in their home of people that get up and go to work everyday, showing up on time and doing whatever is needed to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. This group’s only expectation is there will be someone / something, usually a government check every month, to let them get by without having to work.
If you want to try to break that cycle, they need to learn the expectations of the job market, show up on time and work, somehow. The alternative is to just decide to throw away that segment of society and formalize a government dole system …
- think - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 1:26 pm:
this funding was going to the poorest safes area in the city with the most deaths. shame on u all to make this a political issue. next time a teenage dies in englewood, Humboldt park think of the few
dollars saved because a political. think tank
has made it its mission to divide the have from the downtrodden.
dollars that were saved because a thinle
- Responsa - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 1:53 pm:
==Try to use facts and read for comprehension.==
Oh Precinct Captain, my Captain –Following is the statement I addressed above.
==A letter from the Illinois Department of Human Services tersely informed them to “cease any and all operations” funded by state grants they were awarded in the closing weeks of Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration.
The contract awards, which were announced Dec. 17 and took effect Jan. 1, were intended to provide job training, after school and other “youth development” programs.==
That is a quote. It is direct from Rich’s own words in his intro to the thread. I have no idea why you felt I deserved an insult or where you saw a comprehension deficit unless you yourself failed to read Rich’s words.
- Juvenal - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:01 pm:
=== Gove Rauner appears ready to recommend those hard choices. It will be painful. We’ve know all along it would be, when the day of reckoning finally came. The longer we put it off, the more painful the solutions will need to be. ===
After he consults with the Deputy Governor, who makes $200K a year, and the Chief of Staff for the First Lady, making $100K.
C’mon Schnorf. I think we all know how the “shared sacrifice” is gonna work.
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:06 pm:
@Responsa:
I doubt the letter actually referenced Governor Quinn.
And letters like this generally are to the point.
- Nilwood - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:08 pm:
My memory is fading with the passage of time, but I seem to remember the DCEO grants also contained subject to availability of funds language, as well as the subject to appropriation language mentioned above.
- Responsa - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:38 pm:
==I doubt the letter actually referenced Governor Quinn.==
LOL, and where pray tell in my 10:22am post did I say that it did, Demoralized?
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:46 pm:
==- Responsa - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 1:53 pm:==
Let’s walk through this step-by-step, since that might be easier for you to understand.
1. You commented, “Assessing and evaluating these last minute Quinn grant programs seems both prudent and necessary.”
2. This is not a “last minute” program. It is a program that has been providing youth employment opportunities for years. An understanding of the grant process and its history would let you know these decisions are in the works for some time. Nothing is last minute about them, particularly from the provider standpoint. That’s a fact.
3. The words you cited are not “direct from Rich’s own words,” but are in fact direct from Mark Brown, a Sun-Times columnist. You obviously did not comprehend the post.
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 2:54 pm:
==LOL, and where pray tell in my 10:22am post did I say that it did, Demoralized?==
I didn’t say you did. I was commenting on the statement you addressed. Sheesh. Get a grip
- Rod - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 3:03 pm:
Responding to Keyser Soze, while many young people can get starter jobs in many places the young people this program focuses on are largely high school dropouts who are reentering school and job training programs. These are also statistically the young people most likely to end up in jail if they don’t have a job.
- Responsa - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 3:58 pm:
I understand the grant process. I understand what Mark Brown wrote and what Rich Miller specifically chose to quote from him and others to kick off this thread. I understand you do not care for the action Gov. Rauner took on the specific contract awards that were announced on Dec. 17 in the waning days of the Quinn administration and that went into effect Jan. 1., no matter how long they or similar programs may have been in place under other contract awards. I understand some or many of the programs may be re-instated in the same or other form. I also understand that you specialize in being a sarcastic jerk in this comment section for no obvious reason other than that you can.
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:02 pm:
Cap’n tried on big boy pants today. They don’t fit. Pat had a bad month. Hard to know what should and shouldn’t go forward; no matter how worthy the program. It’s a freeze, not a cancellation. That’s what happens when irrational guys are doing irrational things. Lose the vitriol Cap’n.
- Enviro - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:21 pm:
Illinois needs more revenue and a progressive state income tax similar to some our nearest neighbor states. Iowa has a top rate of 8.98% and Wisconsin 7.65%.
Even Missouri and Kentucky have a state income tax of 6%. How can we expect to pay for state services with a low rate of 3%.
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:47 pm:
It won’t harm your point Enviro, but it’s 3.75%
- Precinct Captain - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:51 pm:
==- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:02 pm:==
Here’s a message for you A guy, “Add something to the conversation or just watch and learn.”
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:53 pm:
There is a lot of spending out there that is now frozen. You just don’t know about it yet. And the freezes in many cases have nothing to do with when the programs started.
- Enviro - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 4:55 pm:
It is true that the rate is now 3.75%. However Illinois’ state income tax rate was 3% for many years and the governor’s goal is to return the tax to 3%. This low rate has been one reason for our state’s financial problems, but not the only reason.
- Citizen - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 7:21 pm:
I don’t get why taxes are paying for these social service programs. Non-profits and churches can figure out ways to help in these matters, not forced taxation out of my pocket and into someone else’s. Instead of taking 30% of my check, why not take 15% for basic government services, then the other 15% let me choose the charity?
- Wordslinger - Wednesday, Feb 4, 15 @ 9:20 pm:
Cit, you really think the state of Illinois is taking 30 percent of your check?
If you really want to understand how things work, you might want to research how much non-profits and religious charities are funded by government.
And feel free to contribute to those charities since you’re so keen to do so.