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Quinn loses budget vote, won’t change outcome

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Illinois

* The governor’s people were predicting earlier in the week that this would be a close vote. It wasn’t…

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is going to the House of Representatives with a simple message: Spend money on children, not outdated prisons.

The Democratic governor’s office said Wednesday it will continue to fight to divert money from prisons to child-protection services after the Senate rebuffed the attempt there.

The Senate voted 35-16 to reject Quinn’s cuts of $57 million that lawmakers want to restore to keep open the Tamms high-security prison, the Dwight women’s lockup and juvenile detention centers.

A simple majority was required to override Quinn’s reductions. But the vote was mainly symbolic. Even if the House concurs, it won’t stop Quinn from closing state facilities.

* Quite a few Democrats voted to override the governor, but Republicans have been clamoring for budget cuts for years now, yet most of them voted to override. Here are a few quotes from memory lane…

* “Everything that can be cut should be cut.”

- Senate President Christine Radogno, New York Times March 19, 2009

* “We can’t spend more money than we did last year. We need to see cuts in the budget. The families of Illinois have made sacrifices and the state of Illinois needs to do the same with their budget.”

- Sen. Bill Brady,, Bloomington Pantagraph Feb. 13, 2011

* “No one wants to be cut. Everyone points the finger and says: ‘Cut them, not me.’”

- Sen. Kirk Dillard, Daily Herald, April 27, 2012

* “It is time that we stop this abuse of tax dollars and make the real spending cuts needed to balance the budget.”

Sen. Kirk Dillard, campaign release, March 16, 2012

* “Yeah, we’re on course, but we’re on a collision course if we don’t get our spending under control.”

- Sen. Sam McCann, State Journal-Register, Feb. 1, 2012

* “I think it’s time to have the governor realize that we’re going to have to do with less state government, and it’s time to make some cuts.”

- Sen. Shane Cultra, Quad City Times Feb. 13, 2011

Food for thought.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 9:15 am

Comments

Talk’s cheap, prisons are expensive.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 9:24 am
- “No one wants to be cut. Everyone points the finger and says: ‘Cut them, not me.’” -

Perhaps our dear friend Cinci can explain Dillard’s newfound support of a mentality he once derided.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 9:27 am
Republican spending cut hypocrisy? Well I just plain can’t believe it!

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 9:50 am
I’m not much for tin foil hats but I’m starting to believe that Gov. Quinn has done more to protect prison funding than any Governor in recent memory.

Comment by The Captain Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 9:50 am
Maybe Quinn has something up his sleeve- DCFS has already posted the reorganization plan(based upon an “agreement” with AFSCME) that eliminates 400+ positions but those people must choose from over 500 vacancies- and yes there are 6 new job classifications that have been created that has added a few hundred new direct service positions.
Callica appears pretty certain that the $25 million for personnel services plus the additional $13 million for programs that he’s asking for are going to be restored to DCFS.
Perhaps the reasoning behind choosing Dave Clarkin for the Office of Communications was to secure some leverage through his relationships.

Comment by carbaby Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 9:57 am
Why cut spending on a 19th century prison mentality?

Comment by Ahoy! Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 10:11 am
It is difficult to understand our legislators’ ongoing fondness for 19th century (and earlier) correctional practices including heavy use of long and brutal incarceration even for nonviolent offenders. And it’s not just law-and-order Republicans who advance this approach. Despite their supposed strong concern for human rights, Democrats in Illinois seem equally inclined to lock ‘em up and throw away the key. Under a Democratic governor, the number of state prisoners has soared and jail conditions have reportedly deteriorated. The solution is not to open more prison cells. It is to change correctional policy, including use of alternative sentencing and of monitoring technology to reduce the number of offenders who are kept in our ultra-expensive jails.

None of this has anything to do with DCFS, another troubled agency, and it was silly for Quinn to link the two. Legislators were right to question DCFS’ management of its resources especially after last year’s contracting scandal. In today’s Trib article on the revamp of the agency’s hotline, the reporter suggests that there was a delay in using appropriated funds for the revamp. Why? And after a year in office Quinn’s latest DCFS director still apparently hasn’t completed a reorganization which was supposed to result in fewer bureaucrats and more line staff who work directly with kids and families. If the agency’s well-paid executives and a bevy of highly-paid contractors can’t get the job done, should we be giving this agency more money to mismanage? A little accountability would be nice. And Quinn’s termination of the contract doesn’t mean that nobody can do anything substantive until the dispute is resolved.

Comment by cassandra Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 10:27 am
Republican Senators vote for more spending for facilities, and our Democratic Governor refuses and will close the facilities anyway? And he just cancelled a public employee union contract?

Illinois party policy and tactics just don’t match what the public usually assumes. The fiscally conservative are in both parties, as are the fiscally liberal. On financials, the party labels don’t say much.

Comment by walkinfool Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 11:03 am
STL,

Priorities.

Comment by Cincinnatus Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 12:20 pm
That was then, this is now.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 12:34 pm
If it was about cutting, if it was about fiscal responsibility why would the Quinn administration and the Illinois Deartment of Juvenile Justice be allowed over 8 million dollars to improve a facility that is and will continue to all apart (it is over 100 years old) when another facility that is on the chopping block is less expensive to operate, more centrally located and physically in much better shape? It’s never been about money. It’s about what looks better on the brochure!

Comment by Walk in my shoes Thursday, Nov 29, 12 @ 4:08 pm
WRONG. A super majority of 3/5 is required to override the governors veto. It was overriden with only about 5 extra votes.

Comment by Andy Monday, Dec 3, 12 @ 8:44 pm