Our sorry state
Monday, Mar 25, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Last year around this time, I celebrated my 50th birthday by throwing a fundraiser for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. We raised about $60K for the group, but I wish I could’ve raised $60 million…
Chicago social worker Frank Harris and his staff have felt the pain of turning away even more people seeking treatment for their drug addictions as Lutheran Social Services of Illinois has taken steps to deal with funding cuts and chronic payment delays from state government.
“Who wants to be known as the state that can’t help those who need help the most?” he asked.
As the Kenmore Center treatment facility Harris supervises was forced to lay off 20 percent of its staff over the past few years, Lutheran Social Services reduced the number of substance abusers it was able to treat in the Chicago area by almost 1,200 a year.
The 5,630 people served in fiscal 2008 dropped to 4,464 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.
It’s likely that many people turned away by Kenmore haven’t been able to find timely treatment elsewhere.
Ugh.
…Adding… To donate to LSSI, click here.
* In other news, the Wall Street Journal ran a story recently about how vendors facing mountains of past-due bills can get most of their money up front via a new company. The article is behind a subscriber firewall, but Illinois Review sums up some points…
Vendor Assistance is funded by a small investor group and has secured a revolving credit facility totaling $320 million, with Citigroup Inc. as the lead lender, WSJ reports. The company currently has 12 employees. […]
Vendor Assistance pays vendors 100% of what the state owes them—90% initially, and then the vendor is paid the remainder in two installments. Vendor Assistance makes its money from the late fees, which in Illinois are 1% a month on the balance owed after a 90-day grace period. Last year, Illinois paid a total of more than $85 million in late fees.
As IR notes, the worse off the state becomes, the more this politically connected company is paid. But at least something is being done.
