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“Once it goes, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild”

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* Bloomberg on the impasse…

Rape crisis centers, owed about $5 million, are depleting reserves, leaving positions unfilled and creating waiting lists for victims of sexual assault. Homeless shelters haven’t gotten state aid this year, which is also jeopardizing matching funds from the federal government, according to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

“The whole social services safety net is starting to wear away,” Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois told lawmakers last week. The state owes Catholic Charities of Chicago $18 million. “Once it goes, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild.”

Illinois bonds aren’t in danger of defaulting because state law mandates monthly transfers to ensure that semi-annual debt payments are made. But the the turmoil hasn’t gone unnoticed: Investors are demanding an extra 1.8 percentage points to hold Illinois’s 10-year debt, the most among the 20 states tracked by Bloomberg and up from as little as 1.1 percentage point two years ago.

“Bondholders pay attention to distress in social services for the borrower,” said Adam Buchanan, senior vice president of sales and trading at Ziegler, a broker-dealer in Chicago. “It’s a signal of weakness of potentially greater problems in the future.”

No question, the pre-Rauner status quo was bad. But the current status quo is much worse at the moment.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:22 am

Comments

@RonSandack: I’m frustrated 2, but taking steps towards reforming IL more important than short term budget stalemate. - Ron Sandack, 9/28/15

“Hang in there.” - Todd Maisch

“Short term pain for big long term gain” - Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Pointing out these purposeful statements does NOT mean I think Quinn would’ve been better, or things were better before.

Right now, things are worse… for Social Servives, Higher Education, and for Labor Peace too.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:28 am
Loss of federal matching funds is sort of reverse leveraging. I have heard that if a state loses federal funds, the money is re-allocated to other states. I wonder what other state Rauner is helping out today? Maybe they will send us a Thank-you card.

Comment by DuPage Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:35 am
“Once it goes, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild”

That’s the intention.

Comment by Earnest Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:42 am
—
But the current status quo is much worse at the moment.
—

“At the moment?”

What, there’s a plan to make it better?

Comment by Formerly Known as Frenchie M Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:45 am
At Mass on Sunday the priest made a plea for parishioners to help Catholic Charities before it gets destroyed (already badly damaged and in retreat). While not overtly urging political action, the priest asked for prayers, donations (a second collection next weekend), and a “focus” on the consequences of the lack of a budget.

Comment by Concerned Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:46 am
“Once it goes, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild.”

Perfectly said. Our network of social services has been built of over many decades, but is taking just 2-3 years to unravel thanks to the governor’s insistence on an agenda which any logical person can see is not politically feasible in our state.

Comment by Father Ted Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:48 am
EXACTLY SO!!! The holes in the net being created now will be there for decades. This is where the free-market principles of the Raunerites fail miserably. There is no profit in East St.Louis. Who is going to come here to start a non-profit social service agency when the last one’s, built over decades, were so brutally and callously destroyed. Oh quick send Munger to apologize. Could Nuding maybe come next time? s/

East St. Louis is now a hole. South Chicago is now a hole. Heck, the whole South of Illinois is rural hole. The state is like a netless basketball hoop of the collar counties. Gilligan was being generous. I think more is gone than he is admitting.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:51 am
Saying that Rauner’s tenure has been an “epic fail” seems to be a understatement.

Comment by Norseman Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:53 am
“Once it goes, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild.”

Anyone who thinks the infrastructure Rauner has destroyed is going to be rebuilt by the nonprofit sector within the next 20 years is deluded.

There isn’t enough philanthropy to repair the damage.

Rauner and Ken Griffin could both write personal checks for $50 million and it wouldn’t even be a start.

The best hope for restoring these services in the short term, ironically, is to bring them back in-house and provide them directly from government agencies rather than through nonprofit organizations.

Comment by Juvenal Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:55 am
“A little shakeout might be necessary”, right, christine?

The shame of this death march will last for generations.

Comment by Langhorne Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 9:56 am
–“Once it goes, it’s virtually impossible to rebuild.”–

That’s the plan. Squeezing the beast for the necessary shakeout.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:00 am
I think some commentators may be giving Rauner too much credit for strategic foresight, some Ayn Rand 5 year plan.

It may also simply be, he has no idea what he’s doing.

Comment by ZC Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:03 am
“[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” –Mitt Romney, but it might as well have been Bruce Rauner.

To these people, the victims of social service cuts have no worth and are only suffering the consequences of their own bad decisions (you know, like being born into desperate poverty, or having a disability, or being raped).

Comment by TooManyJens Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:04 am
OW, you missed Radogno’s cheery assessment of the social services consolidation in your quote roundup.

Comment by illini97 Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:08 am
Not only will the holes in our net be there for decades but this will be the causative event for a lot of crime and social ill. People get by with whatever means they have at their disposal. We are in for a lot of crime, abuse, and addiction.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:23 am
Let’s just change the name of this state to Oligarchy and be done with it.

Comment by James Knell Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:28 am
== At Mass on Sunday the priest made a plea for parishioners to help Catholic Charities before it gets destroyed (already badly damaged and in retreat). While not overtly urging political action, the priest asked for prayers, donations (a second collection next weekend), and a “focus” on the consequences of the lack of a budget. ==

Most religious organizations have stepped up fundraising … and a lot of religious leaders are calling for some kind of change / action, some more directly than others.

Comment by RNUG Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:31 am
===…you missed Radogno’s cheery assessment of the social services consolidation in your quote roundup.===

I try to support Radogno and Durkin as best I can since I know that $20 million being held over their heads makes their complicity more of a hostage situation(?)

The Owl Sandack is so very much ALL-IN that the Black-Bost role has evolved into the talking points baiting of a floor leader neither Black or Bost propagated.

I root for the Leaders. They may not see my helping at times as helpful, but…

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 10:44 am
Well at least we still have the prison system. That’s where we treat the mentally ill in Illinois now. Maybe we can just expand the prison system more so we can incarcerate everyone needing social services.

Comment by CCP Hostage Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 11:14 am
==East St. Louis is now a hole. South Chicago is now a hole. Heck, the whole South of Illinois is rural hole. The state is like a netless basketball hoop of the collar counties.==

Honeybear didn’t you mean “basketball ring?”

Comment by walker Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 12:15 pm
Nice try, Walker. Isn’t that what Cruz said? Poor Hoosiers. They were horrified.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 12:35 pm
I should send some pictures of what East St. Louis looks like. It’s a modern ruin. It’s perfectly safe just ruins with poor folk living in the rubble. Like most smallish Illinois towns folks are nice here, just desparately poor.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 12:39 pm
The irony is that if the state has to begin providing some of these services in house, the cost will increase. Social services in Illinois represent the ultimate in privitization! Our child welfare system is/was highly respected for the public/private collaboration. Providing social services through the state will increase costs and lower efficiencies, as well as reducing responsiveness. Private agencies can move more nimbly, and respond to local needs

Comment by Pandora Tuesday, May 3, 16 @ 1:57 pm
@Pandora -

The price for all of that nimbleness is operating inefficiencies, just a different kind.

Comment by Juvenal Wednesday, May 4, 16 @ 12:27 am