AFSCME responds to Gov. Rauner's proposed budget
On Feb. 18, Governor Bruce Rauner addressed a joint session of the state Senate and House to present his initial budget plan for the coming fiscal year. It included "huge budget cuts," in the words of the Associated Press, as well as a proposal to end Tier 1 pensions for state and university employees and teachers hired before 2011, and no new revenue.
AFSCME Council 31 executive director Roberta Lynch issued this response to news media statewide:
"The governor is wrong to propose a budget that gives billions in tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy, while making billions in cuts to vital public services. This plan would further harm state agencies like DCFS, Human Services and Natural Resources that are already underfunded. And it would reduce support for state universities, local governments and Medicaid, which is essential to struggling families, home health care, nursing homes and community disability agencies.
"Yesterday a new analysis by the nonpartisan Center for Tax and Budget Accountability showed that the expiration of 2014 income tax rates is draining more than $5 billion a year from state government. Of this, more than $1.2 billion is going to the top 3% of income earners alone, and another $1.3 billion to corporations. Millionaires are getting an average tax break of $37,000 a year. The governor in effect wants to fund these giveaways to big corporations and the wealthy few by making more than $5 billion in cuts to essential public services, harming every Illinois resident but especially those struggling to join or remain part of the middle class.
"The proposed budget acknowledges the urgent need for safe staffing levels in state prisons, but does not appear to provide sufficient funding to address the severity of the problem.
"The governor said he seeks to short-fund the health plan for state and university employees who have already shouldered significantly higher health care costs in recent years. If he intends to propose further changes to health coverage or employee costs, the governor acknowledged he must do so as part of state contract negotiations now underway.
"The people of Illinois want and deserve policies that improve public services, grow the middle class and offer fair solutions to our state’s real problems. Instead of these extreme cuts, our union will work for responsible revenue measures to fund the public services threatened by this plan."
The union's budget experts are examining the governor's proposals, and in the days to come will have a fuller analysis of the plan's impact on AFSCME members and the services we provide.
In addition, the We Are One Illinois coalition of which AFSCME is a leading member also issued a strong statement opposing Gov. Rauner's proposed pension cuts:
"Under his proposed cuts to pensions earned and paid into by teachers, caregivers, correctional officers and other public employees, Gov. Rauner would rob the retirement security of those who dedicate their lives to public service--most of whom aren't eligible for Social Security, and many of whom risk their physical safety to serve.
"These unfair cuts are clearly in violation of the plain language of the constitutional pension clause.
"Besides being illegal, forcing employees into the lower 'Tier 2' or a private Wall Street account would likely require adding Social Security eligibility--making this proposal even more costly to the state than the current pension plan.
"Instead of inviting further litigation with clearly illegal schemes to strip the life savings of working people---and delaying real budget solutions with illusory savings from those illegal schemes--the governor should work with our coalition and lawmakers to develop a fair and constitutional approach to restoring fiscal soundness to state retirement funds."