Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar

The damage done

Posted in:

Illinois

Champaign County agencies are taking a breath after two years of stalled state funding, but directors are nervous that break won’t last long.

The passing of the state budget on July 6 has given places like the Rape Advocacy, Counseling & Education Services (RACES) in Urbana a solid dollar amount to expect, with RACES expecting $215,000 in annual state funding.

That amount is paired with federal funding, as well as local funds from county taxes. RACES Executive Director Adelaide Aime had an overall sense though that next year’s numbers could be in jeopardy.

“I am not confident that a year from now that the legislature is going to pass another budget,” Aime said. “So we are going to be very cool. But we are not going to lock ourselves in.”

Aime said RACES found itself locked in a difficult cycle while running on partial funding the past two years since a majority of its budget came from the state.

“It was horrible. First (RACES) cut staff hours, and then they had to lay people off,” Aime said. “And then after a whole year with no money, they continued laying people off, and really the agency went down to a skeleton and was only providing a sliver of services.”

Domestic violence shelter Courage Connection went through a similar gutting during the budget impasse. Executive Director Isak Griffith said the biggest pain was losing staff, and they are finding themselves trying to get back to where they were before the budget impasse.

* The Pritzker campaign responds…

A recently released report detailed the destruction done to the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault (ICASA) by Bruce Rauner’s 736-day manufactured budget crisis.

ICASA, which administers 29 rape crisis shelters in Illinois, had to put its building at risk by borrowing nearly $1.5 million because of Bruce Rauner’s budget crisis. The two centers highlighted in the report had to lay off staff and provide “a sliver of services” after losing state funding due to the budget crisis.

“Bruce Rauner decimated ICASA and caused irreparable harm to Illinois women and children as a result,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “The damage has been done by this failed governor.”

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:14 am

Comments

This is the real Bruce Rauner.

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:28 am
This is brutal. This was done intentionally, as craven and cruel backdoor cuts done by Rauner and supported by the IPI and many of their wonderful supporters and social media commenters.

Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:30 am
Excited to see my old college newspaper as a source

Comment by Molly Maguire Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:42 am
Women in Champaign-Urbana picked up the phone and made a courageous call to RACES only to find that the agency was barely operating, surviving on life support, really.

“Every morning, I am up at 5:30. Yeah, it’s another day, we’re gonna get ‘em. I’m smiling,” he said. “She says ‘I’ve never seen you so happy in your life. This is bizarre. The press is kicking the stuffing out of you again today. What’s wrong?’ And I say, ‘Diana, when do you get the chance in life to improve the future for 13 million people?’” - Governor Rauner on April 6, 2017

“he doesn’t have a social agenda” - Diana Rauner on April 11, 2014.

“Perfidy” - Honeybear on the daily

Comment by illini97 Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 9:44 am
ICASA is a wonderful non profit comprised of dedicated, caring, hard-working individuals, as are the 29 centers. Their treatment and the treatment of other social service providers under this administration has been atrocious.

Comment by Iron Lady Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:08 am
“Diana, when do you get the chance in life to improve the future for 13 million people?’”

If Rauner truly believes he’s improving the lives of 13 million people he is literally insane.

Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:14 am
Illini97, you missed

SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR on bruces tee,

And I’M WITH HIM –> on dianas tee

Comment by Langhorne Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 10:22 am
I’m guessing this did the same thing to treatment centers for addicts.

Comment by Highland IL Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 11:46 am
We have students that are without the mental health services once available to them. It is overwhelming our limited capacity and these kids need help. The budget has not had an impact locally because of the level to which services were eliminated.

Kids are at risk now more than ever.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Sep 7, 17 @ 12:39 pm
And these figures don’t begin to address the talent loss in good counseling staff that have moved out of state to more stable areas to work. The loss of good people will take YEARS to recover from, if ever.

Comment by Jerry Friday, Sep 8, 17 @ 8:41 am