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“It will take years to fix this devastation”

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Illinois

* Social service providers are breathing a sigh of relief with the new budget, but they were whacked so hard by the gridlock that it’s going to take a while to recover…

For providers of drug-abuse and mental-heath treatment, the budget crisis-related gaps in funding and uncertainty led to the layoffs of more than 1,000 people at various agencies statewide, Howe said.

Several centers opted to close down permanently.

Because of political bickering, the capacity of human-service providers in Illinois to serve low-income patients seeking addiction-treatment services dropped during a nationwide opioid crisis, she said.

“It will take years to fix this devastation,” she said.

John Kelker, president of the Springfield-based United Way of Central Illinois, said the budget crisis caused many local human-service providers locally to lose highly trained professionals through layoff or people choosing to leave the field.

* Crain’s…

“How are they going to pay everybody?” said Merri Ex, CEO of Family Focus, which recently received enough funds from the state comptroller’s office to delay planned layoffs and program cessations. “It’ll take a long time before (the state) catches up.” […]

What the budget lacks is full funding to pay back bills from 2016 and 2017, [Illinois Collaboration on Youth CEO Andrea Durbin] said, adding that the coalition has been told that a combination of fund sweeps and bonding will be used to pay the bills.

“This is not a cash infusion,” said Abdon Pallasch, spokesman for Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza. Once the income-tax hike takes effect, “it will take a while to catch up on all the unpaid bills once the new revenue comes in,” he said, adding that “the comptroller has been prioritizing social-services agencies and the state’s most vulnerable.”

The state owes about $5 million, for example, to Lutheran Child and Family Services of River Forest. Earlier this year, the agency laid off 100 staffers, or 25 percent of its workforce, and shut down nine programs. CEO Mike Bertrand is doubtful that the budget will help the agency restore the programs or rehire the workers. The agency has signed about $24 million in state contracts for fiscal 2018, Bertrand said. “We are certainly hopeful that we as a state will move forward and not let this happen again,” he said.

What the budget lacks is full funding to pay back bills from 2016 and 2017, Durbin said, adding that the coalition has been told that a combination of fund sweeps and bonding will be used to pay the bills. “This is not a cash infusion,” said Abdon Pallasch, spokesman for Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza. Once the income-tax hike takes effect, “it will take a while to catch up on all the unpaid bills once the new revenue comes in,” he said, adding that “the comptroller has been prioritizing social-services agencies and the state’s most vulnerable.” The state owes about $5 million, for example, to Lutheran Child and Family Services of River Forest. Earlier this year, the agency laid off 100 staffers, or 25 percent of its workforce, and shut down nine programs. CEO Mike Bertrand is doubtful that the budget will help the agency restore the programs or rehire the workers. The agency has signed about $24 million in state contracts for fiscal 2018, Bertrand said. “We are certainly hopeful that we as a state will move forward and not let this happen again,” he said.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 1:39 pm

Comments

Great only a couple more years until the next tax increase don’t just fund these programs give em all raise

Comment by Holy cow Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:00 pm
This is what self imposed Raunerite crisis looks like.

Comment by Dr X Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:04 pm
We will have to increase the income tax another 1-2% in the next 2 years.

Our obligations are growing yearly and the revenue this is creating now doesn’t even cover our bills as we are borrowing to pay past due bills.

The recent hike wasn’t enough, and the citizens are going to flip out when the state has to do this again in 2 years because the state will be broke again.

Comment by Anon Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:06 pm
LaSalle Street Tax. Make Bruce’s friends pay for it. They sent him, he caused the damage, they pay for it.

Comment by 360 Degree TurnAround Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:08 pm
===” The agency has signed about $24 million in state contracts for fiscal 2018

Fool me once shame one you, fool me twice shame on me.

Why would you contract with the State for more services when you just went through all of this? Is 2018 (with an election) going to get better?

Comment by BIG R. Ph. Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:09 pm
Fund sweeps again. Because that worked so well when Blago did it.

Comment by Tequila Mockingbird Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:13 pm
They need to resurrect the Progressive Income Tax initiative. I’m sure if they market it as a tax cut for low and middle income families it would pass on the ballot to make the Constitutional change required.

Comment by IL needs to Graduate Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:22 pm
Questions for RNUG. Or anyone else who would happen to know.

1. Retirement and military salaries are not subject to Illinois income tax. What other types of income are not subject to Illinois income tax?

2. What are the legal hurdles to broadening the tax base, constitutional, legislative only, etc.?

3. Any idea how much income in Illinois is not subject to state income tax?

4. Now that 4.95% income tax is the law of the land thoughts on the political hurdles to broadening the tax base?

And finally 5. If broadened how much additional revenue could the state raise?

Comment by Mike Royko Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:28 pm
Rather then complain about Rauner why not focus on the real culprits- the public pension machine and the Dems expansion of Medicaid. Pensions and Medicaid are the big cost drivers and just wait until the 2020 Medicaid expansion costs kick in- there will be no place to hide from the fiscal crisis that will cause

Comment by Sue Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:34 pm
They still have to have an approp line to cut a check, regardless of source of funds.
what about lawmaker paychecks? Are those caught up yet?
They did a budget. Update on that situation?

Comment by Team Warwick Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:35 pm
There are a lot of loose ends yet everywhere before we can pull Illinois out of the ditch. Ive started my tow straps today but everywhere you look there are additional items.

Comment by Team Warwick Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:37 pm
Thanks for posting this Rich, I have been telling people this and some, including a few human services providers, say I am going off the rails and that passing the budget solves these problems relatively fast.

Comment by Rod Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:41 pm
=== “It will take years to fix this devastation” ===

An important component of this fix is to get rid of the devastator. Social service agencies need to remind folks of what Rauner wrought on services and jobs so important to their communities. These agencies can’t expect Rauner and his minions to focus on the repair. He still sees them as leverage to use against the Dems.

Comment by Norseman Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:43 pm
Retirement income would bring in $2B minus those that leave the state.

Military - Ballpark guess - $200M

We do not tax out of states residents who work here temporarily (like on a job assignment). Some other states do, some do not.

We do not tax out of state residents on Gambling winnings. If a casino is allowed - this would need to be changed.

Lots of other ways to skirt income tax in IL. Take a look at the Schedule M and the 1299-C to see what all gets exempted. We lost a lot of cash from those subtractions/credits.

Comment by Dublin Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:44 pm
I know the budget authorizes bonding for a portion of the past-due bills, but since the Governor opposed this budget, I wonder if he’ll actually issue the bonds.

Comment by Billy Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:44 pm
If we’ve learned anything from all of this it’s that Rauner had no desire to obtain a budget. He did not care about the toll that the absence of one would inflict and made it a point to hastily veto the recently presented budget in its entirety even though it reduced spending by $3B.

Comment by Pundent Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:49 pm
Sue. Spot on. I have asked this several times over the last few weeks. Whats the over/ under on the next income tax increase. 2020 the state picks up another huge chunck of medicaid expansion. Noone wants to look ahead. People just keep talking about the good ole days in Illinois politics. Well i hate to tell people thats what got us here. Not looking ahead to pension promises. Not looking ahead to increases in life expectancy. Not looking ahead to medicaid expansion. But not to worry, the middle class will pick up the tab.

Comment by Blue dog dem Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:51 pm
Thank you Dublin. Taxing out of state residents on temp work assignments seems like a no-brainer. Same for taxing gambling winnings of out of state residents (is this common in other states?)

So ~$2.2B revenue increase best case. Doable? Seems like most would favor, even some of the retirees and mil personnel since it is fair and in best interests of state.

Comment by Mike Royko Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 2:55 pm
–Why would you contract with the State for more services when you just went through all of this?–

Some crazy notion that the recent flim-flammery was an aberration, and the State of Illinois can be counted on to act in good faith?

–rather then complain about Rauner why not focus on the real culprits- the public pension machine and the Dems expansion of Medicaid.–

I’m pretty sure Rauner signed the contracts and then vetoed the appropriations for them.

I guess you’re okay with doing business that way.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 3:01 pm
Doable?? Pretty difficult. If you tax retirement and/or military - you tick off a lot of people - and people who vote.

I’m sure there are some that don’t, but most states do tax non-resident gambling winnings. That’s the best way to increase revenue - tax people who aren’t citizens. That’s how Florida and Nevada get away with 0% income tax.

Comment by Dublin Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 3:04 pm
Thanks Dublin. Agree with you on taxing out of state residents. Wondering on how much potential revenue is there.

Is it common for other states to not tax retirement or military income?

Comment by Mike Royko Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 3:06 pm
I think only 1 or 2 other states do not tax retirement (plus the ones that do not tax at all).

There are 13, or so, random states that do not tax military. WI, MN, OH, PA, MN are the mid-west states that do not.

Comment by Dublin Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 3:13 pm
“Why would you contract with the State for more services when you just went through all of this?”

What is Lutheran and other groups like them supposed to do? Sell their properties/homes and tell the people living there “so sorry but you’re out.”? Tell the other groups who need their services to stay out of nursing homes ’sorry but you are now on your own’? These programs do not run on an immediate start up. It takes a long time to get staff and facilities.

Comment by zatoichi Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 3:14 pm
I’m a state retiree. After retirement, I tutored at an ESL program which also offered citizenship classes, computer classes, Head Start and a food pantry. It was located in a neighborhood with many immigrants & refugees. Most of the instructors, who were required to have Master’s degrees for state funding, ironically, left when they were laid off in October, 2015. The program is hobbling along but is just a shadow of its former lively, thriving self. The people who worked there had many years of experience and were deeply committed. It was a wonderful program with a strong sense of community. It was sad to see the end of so many things when their state funding ran out.

Comment by Emily Booth Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 3:23 pm
To the Post,

I could never do justice to those in the social services the devastation they have had put upon them by Rauner

It’s those like Emily Miller and Andrea Durbin that can really frame, like the Post is doing, the sheer destruction into the real people pain all this Rauner did caused.

It takes years and years, sweat and tears to build these agencies… it’s taken months and brazen purposeful callousness to destroy all that work.

We can be thankful for the budget, but the waves of destruction are still pounding and that destruction… not so easy to fix.

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Jul 7, 17 @ 4:36 pm