The consequences of deliberate inaction
Wednesday, Mar 22, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* From Sen. Melinda Bush…
Since it was founded in 1980, A Safe Place has grown into a $2.2 million agency with seven offices across Lake County. Services include emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis line, legal advocacy, permanent housing, case management, individual and group therapy, mentoring programs, supervised family visitation and custody exchanges, and more.
“Until recently, A Safe Place served 16,000 individuals each year, but because domestic violence organizations were left out of the stopgap budget, last year we were only able to help 13,000 people,” said Pat Davenport, Executive Director of A Safe Place.
A Safe Place gets half of its funding from fundraising and the other half comes from the state. But because of the budget impasse, A Safe Place’s emergency shelter is operating at 75 percent capacity. For victims of domestic violence, being able to flee to a shelter could be the difference between life and death.
“In roughly 80 percent of domestic violence related murders, the victim had already left the abuser or was in the process of leaving,” Davenport said. “Due to the lack of state funding, our domestic violence shelter has been forced to turn away over 500 individuals who were fleeing for their lives, leaving them with limited options: return to the abuser or risk homelessness.”
A Safe Place depends on state funding to cover all payroll costs. As a result, they have been unable to fill open positions and have had to scale back their services.
“If we continue scaling back our services, it won’t just impact the thousands of domestic violence victims who rely on us, but it will also have a ripple effect across the community as other organizations would have to pick up where we left off,” Davenport said.
But, hey, term limits will solve their problems, right?
Ugh.
- sw - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:24 pm:
We live in a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” world right now. Because of the gov & his inability to pay providers, it looks like social service providers of all kinds are SOL.
- Langhorne - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:32 pm:
Winning, right christine and jim?
Just resign and go away.
- Cubs in '16 - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:32 pm:
One man’s consequence is another man’s collateral damage.
- Skeptic - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:36 pm:
“But, hey, term limits will solve their problems, right?”
Yup, the Job Creators(tm) will get so excited they’ll start throwing jobs out into the audience. “And you get a job! And you get a job! And you get a job!” And pretty soon the economy will be so booming that we can grow ourselves out of this mess and all those jobs will mean domestic violence will be a thing of the past! Or someone could just #DoYourJob.
- Barrington - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:40 pm:
This is a real shame. A Safe Place is a much needed resource. Sad for Lake County. This is a great organization.
- Gruntled University Employee - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:45 pm:
“In Illinois there’s been a long-time history of what I would call social service, social justice, a bigger role for government in the safety net than in many other states,” Rauner said at a tax policy conference sponsored by the George W. Bush Institute. “I think we can drive a wedge issue in the Democratic Party on that topic and bring the folks who say, ‘You know what? For our tax dollars, I’d rather help the disadvantaged, the handicapped, the elderly, the children in poverty. I’d rather have my tax dollars going to that than the SEIU or Af-scammy, who are out there for their own interests.’”
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:47 pm:
– “Due to the lack of state funding, our domestic violence shelter has been forced to turn away over 500 individuals who were fleeing for their lives, leaving them with limited options: return to the abuser or risk homelessness.”–
But safe in the knowledge that the governor is fighting to spend hundreds of millions for fancy-pants consultants battling the existential threat of cyber attacks on executive branch computers.
What you’ll fight for reveals priorities. What you’ll allow to die from neglect reveals character.
- GA Watcher - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:50 pm:
No Rich. A combination of term limits, fair maps and a property tax freeze will solve A Safe Place’s problems.
- Stumpy's bunker - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 3:55 pm:
-What you’ll fight for reveals priorities. What you’ll allow to die from neglect reveals character-
Every Raunerbot button-pusher in the legislature should have these words thrown in their face at every opportunity during their next campaign.
They are complicit, though many claim not to be.
- don the legend - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:01 pm:
But the Governor is talkin to people, workin to help people, fightin for the people, standin up to the bad people, supportin compromise, advocatin for structural change, givin money to charity, and settin the record straight. Did I miss any dropped g’s?
- lake county democrat - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:15 pm:
Term limits arguably would solve their problems: the pols would be less beholden to re-election concerns and more willing to negotiate. THey could tell their leaders, who would be on the clock as well, to back off.
Also, term limits could have been used as a bargaining chip to get a deal - they don’t cost anything and are supported by 80% of the state. Instead there was the obscene “hostage taking” stance that refused to negotiate any non-budgetary item, no matter how meritorious or how popular, as part of a budget deal even though there’s no law against it and Congressional Democrats have attempted the same tactic in the past (see Ted Kennedy and Walter Mondale’s attempt to hold the budget hostage for national health insurance).
And Wordslinger, given the New York Times report a couple of years ago that the Chinese military has hacked most fortune 500 companies and Russia hacked the DNC, why would you mock the idea that they might be hacking state governments as well?
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 4:34 pm:
This is the Rauner 2013 quote being played out in real-time, with real-time pain, leverage, and hostage-taking, right from that quote, and without any wavering to that plan.
That’s the shame. That’s the personal decision Rauner made and said in 2013, and seeing things devastated according to a quote and plan, Rauner owns it, like all governors own, but in this case, it’s purposeful damage, and it’s sadly working.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 5:45 pm:
AG Lisa, Comp Mendoza, Mayor Rahm and now Senator Bush all pushing Madigans tax increase…. in 5…4…3…2…1
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 5:50 pm:
–And Wordslinger, given the New York Times report a couple of years ago that the Chinese military has hacked most fortune 500 companies and Russia hacked the DNC, why would you mock the idea that they might be hacking state governments as well?–
I’m mocking the ridiculous priority of hundreds of millions for IT consultants when the state is reneging on contracts and borrowing billions from state contractors, including those that provide life-and-death services.
But please, LCD, share what you know as to why this IT priority rates over all others. What is the grave risk to the citizenry?
Make your case. I’m sure it’s just as reasonable and compelling as the one you made for why there must be term limits before the state will fund a domestic violence shelter.
- Amalia - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 6:21 pm:
it’s not just State money, Townships are making cuts too. those elections are coming up April 4. everyone take a hard look at those who are in charge. Dems, get at it!
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 6:26 pm:
Rauner’s supporters aren’t shedding tears when a citizen, whom they feel is unproductive, discovers tough love at the end of a thrown fist.
Welcome to a customer-focused, taxpayer-worshipping politics, and the people who keep voting it in.
Screw citizenship, they think. It’s about making poor choices and learning the hard way. Tough love to curb their risky life choices. Rauner supporters believe that we can’t save everyone, so society must only save people like themselves - taxpayers.
- Dr X - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 6:45 pm:
You are forgetting the trickle down effect of a tax cut and the growth that result. Surely those job creators and good compassionate conservative Christian souls will privately contribute. This will make up the difference. You just wait………
- Rabid - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 7:53 pm:
Rauner can’t be hacked he don’t have email. Tattoos and piercings are really popular but I don’t want one. Don’t limit my voting rights
- Term Limits, LIKE ONE! - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 7:55 pm:
Nah, term limits won’t work, besides, its not like Illinois has a huge amount of debt, unfunded pensions or unpaid bills. The existing group, mostly career politicians have done a great job of retaining businesses and increasing population!
Oh…wait a minute…
- Term Limits, LIKE ONE! - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 7:57 pm:
and they really know how to keep electricity rates reasonable too!
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 8:15 pm:
- Term Limits, LIKE ONE! -
The sun is down, the streetlights are on, so the kids on your lawn left. You can get off your porch and head inside…
- Puddintaine - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 8:19 pm:
Women and children hit hardest?
Pawchawing
Try the veal, tip your waitress please..
- Term Limits, LIKE ONE! - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 10:22 pm:
Thanks Willy! I live in a secluded spot where
the only kids on my lawn are mine.
- Term Limits, LIKE ONE! - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 10:23 pm:
and there’s not a streetlight for miles!
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 22, 17 @ 10:56 pm:
LCD, you think the threat of Russkies hacking the executive branch is a top priority right now worth expenditure of a few hundred million? With s $13B bill backlog?
That’s like your roof has collapsed, water is seeping through your foundation, the fridge is empty, the utilities are going to be shut off, and you can’t pay for any of it.
Time to shell out cash for that state of the art home security system!
- Flynn's mom - Thursday, Mar 23, 17 @ 8:51 am:
Victims of domestic violence just want structural reforms.
- Michelle Flaherty - Thursday, Mar 23, 17 @ 8:54 am:
The repo man showed up to take a sick little girl’s oxygen tank away because the state hasn’t paid the bills (the mom has been paying her health insurance premiums).
Is that the kind of health/life/safety we should be prioritizing?