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Inaction has consequences

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Illinois

* All this and much, much more, over $510 million a year in projected revenues…

The budget impasse in Illinois is beginning to depress enrollments at the state’s colleges and universities, as state money earmarked for low-income students remains tied up in a political stalemate that shows no signs of easing.

More than 1,000 students failed to return for the second semester as their schools stopped picking up the tab for the $373 million Monetary Award Program, said Randy Dunn, president of the Southern Illinois University system.

The program normally provides grants of up to nearly $5,000 to some 128,000 students with mean family incomes of about $30,000, said Lynne Baker, spokeswoman for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, which administers the program. But with no state budget in place since summer, the program’s funding has stopped. […]

The problem is poised to grow quickly as schools wait for their share of about $1 billion in state funding.

* And…

Disabled Illinois residents who depend on in-home help for daily needs will suffer once the state stops paying overtime for their caregivers beginning March 1, some home health care workers and their union say.

Tens of thousands of employees who help people with disabilities live independently are eligible for time-and-a-half pay over 40 hours in a week, under a federal rule that took effect Jan. 1. But without a state budget in place to control spending, Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration says it can’t afford the extra pay.

A state Department of Human Services memo obtained by The Associated Press indicates the policy will allow 35 hours of work and five hours of travel.

The workers, who make about $13 an hour, and their supporters say that 30,000 clients who need assistance because of physical or developmental disabilities will receive less-efficient and less-effective care because most need more than 40 hours of weekly assistance. Families will have to find other aides to help, meaning disruption, and for some clients, discomfort with a new person.

* Related…

* Illinois budget situation forcing seniors to lose assistance programs

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 9:57 am

Comments

Just remember, it was Governor Rauner who said in 2014 that we “may need to shut down state government” to get things done.

Comment by 360 Degree TurnAround Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:03 am
The Mississippi Model of state governance continues…..

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:05 am
Most likely, however, Rauner will shut down state government and still get nothing done.

Comment by IllinoisBoi Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:05 am
IllinoisBoi nails it at 10:05!

Comment by Sad Commentary Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:06 am
My family is dealing with this issue in another state, as we have recently decided to extend an aide’s hours. We are paying for the service, so we have multiple options, but it is true that dementia patients can be made uncomfortable by multiple caregivers coming and going. Even getting comfortable with one aide takes time. Not sure what the reasoning is for this Illinois policy.

Comment by Cassandra Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:08 am
@RonSandack: I’m frustrated 2, but taking steps towards reforming IL more important than short term budget stalemate.

Remember, this isn’t accidental.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:13 am
This is governmental malpractice.

Comment by Fusion Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:26 am
Enrollment is down at the City Colleges of Chicago, so let’s open new buildings despite the absence of students!

CCC students got hit with a double whammy last semester. In addition to the state budget impasse, the CCC District Office failed to distribute financial aid to many students in a timely manner due to unspecified internal office problems.

With the grand opening of the new Malcolm X College (which replaced a forty year old structure) students and instructors were surprised to find that the architects neglected to include faculty offices in the state of the art facility.

Comment by CCC Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:34 am
“Thanks y’ll for your sacrifice to my anti-union crusade.” faux Rauner

Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:44 am
From the SJ-R article, “The policy allows overtime work if clients can’t be left alone or have a medical emergency, or are facing an extreme condition like a natural disaster, according to the memo.”

Instead of complying with the new Federal Law, Rauner once again uses the B-word as leverage. What are DHS’s definitions for the above reason WHY overtime can be used, and how much paperwork (delay tactics) will be developed to try and deny people the care they need to stay in their homes???

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 10:52 am
It’s almost as if he doesn’t care.

– MrJM

Comment by @MisterJayEm Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:00 am
I’m sure on Bruce’s state P&L its cheaper to house students and the old and sick in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities.

Wait! Arent they union? Well we could hire excess greeters from big box stores to save money.

Comment by Jack Stephens Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:03 am
MrJM- But, Almost is Never Enough…

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/arianagrande/almostisneverenough.html

Comment by Anon221 Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:07 am
The extremists think college money for low income students is a waste.

Comment by Liberty Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:11 am
Hang in there!

Comment by Frenchie Mendoza Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:14 am
Enrollments at many colleges/universities drop from their Fall semesters to their Spring semesters historically. What are the data saying about the percentages of students not returning? Were they all MAP recipients? Were other factors involved? I don’t disagree that lack of state funding is harmful to students, but please make the case using verifiable data.

Comment by My New Handle Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:17 am
== More than 1,000 students failed to return for the second semester as their schools stopped picking up the tab for the $373 million Monetary Award Program, said Randy Dunn, president of the Southern Illinois University system. ==

I am literally ill after reading this.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:20 am
* Illinois budget situation forcing seniors to lose assistance programs
Easy to pay for this by eliminating the income tax exemption for retirement income.

Comment by anon Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:32 am
===Some college leaders are advocating for permission from the legislature to borrow to pay for operating costs.===

Taking out a loan to pay operating costs is never a good idea in my opinion. Considering the low bond rating of the State of Illinois and the high interest rate that the state must pay it is even worse for the taxpayers of the state.

Comment by Hit or Miss Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 11:32 am
>Remember, this isn’t accidental.

That’s a big one to remember. These our the Illinois citizens our governor singled out to suffer in order to put pressure on democrats to pass his turnaround agenda. He has a lot of other tools at his disposal and he chose this one. If he wanted true pressure to get things done, he could have held back on funding K-12. If he wanted to accomplish his agenda in a pragmatic way, he could have locked in what he could get and then get working on more. Yet, he chose this approach, and these people. Agree with the turnaround agenda or not, can you support this approach with other tools available?

Comment by Earnest Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:02 pm
=”Each meal a senior receives through the program is about a third of their daily nutrition.
The budget situation is also going to put an end to the transportation service provided for seniors to get their medication and go to the doctor on February 1.”= Meals on Wheels used to provide one meal per day for 5 days. Now they only have enough money to pay for 1 meal a day for only 3 days. Can the state be sued when those ‘Meals on Wheels’ seniors start dying from starvation?

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:17 pm
My New Handle at 11:17 has a point worth considering. Did 1,000 not return in total or did 1,000 students not return specifically because of MAP grant problems?

Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:19 pm
=”The budget situation is also going to put an end to the transportation service provided for seniors to get their medication and go to the doctor on February 1.”=
Can the state be sued when seniors (without families) die from lack of medication due to no transportation services to the pharmacy?

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:21 pm
“More than 1,000 students failed to return for the second semester as their schools stopped picking up the tab for the $373 million Monetary Award Program, said Randy Dunn, president of the Southern Illinois University system.” Check out the IL Board of Higher Education.

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:24 pm
https://capitolfax.com/2016/01/08/universities-reveal-impasse-impacts/

==The Illinois Senate did pass a bill that would have funded MAP grants, but the measure has not passed the House of Representatives.==

Good thing the Speaker cancelled session last Wednesday and Thursday.

This not just on Rauner or Madigan. Both are contributing to this in their own stubborn ways.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:49 pm
too many people are getting hurt. Rauner and Madigan must sit down together and work out a compromise both can live with.

Comment by jim Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:54 pm
The 1000 students not returning. How much of this is map and how much is natural turnover?

Comment by Trydge Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 12:59 pm
==What are the data saying about the percentages of students not returning?==

Well said. +1 that the lack of MAP $ is harmful to students. To the data, at U of IL the fall 2014 undergraduate enrollment was 32579. The spring 2015 undergraduate enrollment was 30948.

The others would take longer to look up.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:10 pm
Which is to say that it appears the ==1000== figure is not unusual, but that is only considering the U of IL data for last year.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:13 pm
Apparently, some are having difficulty with reading comprehension or didn’t bother to read the article at all.

–More than 1,000 students failed to return for the second semester as their schools stopped picking up the tab for the $373 million Monetary Award Program, said Randy Dunn, president of the Southern Illinois University system.–

There is causality in that sentence. It is in the context of a WSJ article that makes a causal link between the no MAP grants and dropping enrollment.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:27 pm
==failed to return for the second semester as their schools==

==as== does not indicate causality.

==Because of==, ==due to==, ==as a result of== indicates causality. ==As== indicates that two things happened at the same time.

Both that sentence and that article describe a concurrent relationship, not a causal relationship, between the two.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:46 pm
SIU official fall enrollment on October 15 2014 was 17989.

SIU official spring enrollment on February 5 2015 was 16684.

==More than 1,000 students failed to return for the second semester== last year as well.

Comment by Formerly Known As... Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:52 pm
FKA, as always, you’re as desperate to escape the consequences of your support for the hostage strategy as you are to pretend that someone other than the governor is setting pre-conditions for passing a state budget.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 1:53 pm
…and just maybe their parents moved out of Illinois between semesters.

Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 2:06 pm
I don’t really want to debate what “as” means, but I do think there’s more to the falloff than MAP, as the prior year data suggests. I’m personally aware of two SIU students that didn’t return for the Spring semester for non-MAP considerations.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 2:44 pm
It’s so sad that Rauner is willing to let so many citizens of Illinois suffer, victims of the manufactured budget hostage crisis he wanted, just to pass his agenda that will only save what amounts to a rounding error on each years state budget just so he can say he destroyed organized labor in Illinois (and with it tens of thousands of good paying jobs).
I truly hope OW is correct and in the end ownership of this mess falls at Rauner’s feet.

Comment by Southpaw Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:15 pm
Thousands of lives are being ruined - some probably permanently as they may not be able to get back to school. I know this is the plan but it’s a horrifically heartless and disgusting plan. I lose more respect for the Governor and particularly with guys like Sandack each passing day. Talk about legislative mushrooms. Cmon guys - if the Gov. gave a rats patootie about you, he would have put that money into your caucuses and not into Dan Proft’s pocket.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:18 pm
Rich, we need more articles like this one in the4 news. People need to see that real people are being hurt by the budget impasse.

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 4:23 pm
The sentence is ambiguous. Equally wrong to assume that the 1000 student drop is not due to MAP as it would be to assume that it is. Pres. Dunn needs to clarify the meaning – or the reporter if he mangled Dunn’s statement.

Comment by X-prof Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 5:10 pm
Goldberg’s memo last week covered the waste, fraud, abuse, inflated salaries, cronyism, and over spending at state universities. It seems university officials would rather continue these injurious practices than fund student grants.

Comment by Muscular Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 8:03 pm
===…in the end ownership of this mess falls at Rauner’s feet.===

- Southpaw -

History says its so, so does Edgar…

- Muscular -

If any University closes, they will close on Gov. Rauner’s watch.

Rauner will have to eat that. Thems the breaks, and the students and their families will never forget

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Jan 19, 16 @ 8:43 pm