* As we discussed yesterday, Gov. Bruce Rauner unveiled a bipartisan criminal justice reform package. Rauner, however, refused to take any questions on “unrelated” matters, even when a reporter brought up the fact that cops and other law enforcement officials were in Springfield yesterday to say the budget impasse is causing real pain.

To me, that was most definitely a related matter…

Law enforcement officials also spoke out against the budget stalemate on Wednesday. They said the nine-month standoff is hurting public safety.

Adams County State’s Attorney Jon Barnard said lack of funds for the State Police is a serious issue.

“They are literally running on fumes. They’re running out of money for vehicle maintenance or radar equipment,” Barnard said. […]

Other law enforcement advocates said youth crime-diversion programs are serving fewer teens because they haven’t gotten state funding since last summer. More than half of the state’s counties that participate in Redeploy Illinois, which provides counseling to teens at risk of incarceration, have left the program, affecting almost 300 youths who would have been served, according to a survey by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids. The survey also found that about 1,800 youths no longer have access to after-school programs and that community-based centers that help runaways have cut staff.

* More…

One member of the panel, St. Clair County State Attorney Brendan Kelly, commended Rauner’s goal during the news conference with other law enforcement officials, but said it’s undermined by the budget crisis.

“Criminal justice reform, it’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a smart thing to do and we all understand that,” he said. “It reduces crime. But we need to move forward — we need to move forward with that criminal justice reform and this budget impasse. We’re not moving forward; we’re moving the exact opposite direction.”

Rauner said it’s “a tragedy” that the state still lacks a budget but added that the criminal justice system “has been broken in Illinois for decades.” He said the failure to pass balanced budgets and polices that grow the economy are partly to blame.

Because we haven’t had balanced budgets, businesses leave, we lose jobs, people become unemployed, crime goes up, human service needs go up because we’re not growing our economy,” he said.

And he’s merely an innocent bystander to the “tragedy.”

* The law enforcement officials handed out this info yesterday…

       

15 Comments - Ghost - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 10:13 am: as Rich has reported, this is what Rauner wants. Rauner beleives the pitchfork weilding people will demand that unions be crushed to releive this pain….. and he does not care hwo he hirts to make that pain. Working as planned. Rauner teads these and rubs his hands together and saya “excellent” /inMrBurns voice - RIJ - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 10:19 am: I am sick to death of Rauner’s constant denigration of our state, each aspect or in whole, whether they deserve it or not. - Anon221 - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 10:23 am: Rauner has spent a lifetime of cutting things up. He cannot seem to grasp the concept of the WHOLE and how parts of society are interrelated and interconnected. - Formerly Known As... - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 10:24 am: Lack of a budget casts a wide net. Lots of people are being hurt in lots of areas. But as long as both ==leaders== prioritize ==winning==, the war continues. smh. - Juice - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 11:04 am: In the Governor’s tragically unbalanced introduced budget, he has proposed eliminating teen reach. Would love to see how that one is on Madigan. - Anon221 - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 11:11 am: Teen reach and the Rauner Family YMCA- http://www.ymcachicago.org/blog/entry/teen-reach/ His name is on that one too! Ownership. - Omega Man - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 11:31 am: Team Rauner’s “Divide & Destroy” strategy is working perfectly! Full speed ahead! /s - wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 11:43 am: –Lack of a budget casts a wide net. Lots of people are being hurt in lots of areas.– The General Assembly passed appropriation bills. The governor vetoed most of them, resulting in a $6.2 billion GRF deficit for FY16 and zero funding for higher ed and social services. Anyone know what’s going on in Corrections? Is there a Plan B for when a food vendor finally cuts off the state for being a deadbeat? - Robert the Bruce - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 11:44 am: Cut parent-coaching and endanger federal matching dollars (funds which go to in-state vendors, so the ROI is outstanding for the state even if you assume no improvement in the life of toddlers). This is Illinois. - @MisterJayEm - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 11:54 am: “Rauner said it’s ‘a tragedy’ that the state still lacks a budget” If the governor is as impotent as he would have us believe, he should resign. If the governor isn’t impotent, he should act. – MrJM - DuPage - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 12:05 pm: Running on fumes. Several years ago a state cop I knew told me of an experience he had with gas in the police car. He had had a busy shift and ended up on fumes far away from the state garage. He went to get gas at a gas station, and they would not take the state credit card. He paid for the gas on his own personal credit card, expecting to be reimbursed promptly. It took over a year, and he said he would never do that again. This happened years ago when the state had a budget, they had a backlog, but they did pay eventually. What are they running on now? If the state can not pay the electric bill or the water bill, how are they paying for fuel for the police cars? - Ghost - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 12:36 pm: Word plan B at DOC is soylent green…. also helps w/ problems created by removing social services….. the plan was submitted as A Modest Proposal…. also some options for inmate clothing - Independent retired lawyer, journalist - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 4:38 pm: Expect Rauner to treat the Illinois State Police well enough to keep them at bay. That’s a more powerful hostage than the poor and the other neediest people. - sal-says - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 4:52 pm: Paraphrasing: ‘Hi, Rich. Running on fumes? Please. This was orchestrated solely by Madigan and the sham GA members under his thumb. With warmest personal regards, ck’ - Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 3, 16 @ 9:15 pm: “Adams County State’s Attorney Jon Barnard said lack of funds for the State Police is a serious issue.” Best news of the year. I can’t wait until the State Police run out of money and patrol with bicycles. State highways that I have driven for 25 years are now infested with troopers. Where I used to see one trooper three times per year on a stretch of road, now it’s twice per day. With the base ticket in Illinois now $120, up from $75, the State Police are now a revenue agency. The last time I got stopped by a trooper before the price of tickets went up, he refused to take my bail bond card. Kept me on the side of the road for 15 minutes while searching court cases in his binder to see if he could find an excuse NOT to take my bond card. Guess they don’t read the Magna Carta at the State Police cop academy. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.