Governor's budget proposal would take heavy toll

Public services at every level, community service providers, Illinois citizens who rely on these services, active AFSCME members and retirees, and nearly everyone who lives, works, goes to school in or visits Illinois will be affected by the governor’s proposed budget, which, while making huge cuts, still leaves a $9 billion budget deficit.

In every Illinois community, the broken budget is causing the loss of jobs, the reduction or elimination of vital services, and severe financial instability for cities and towns, schools, nonprofits and businesses that depend on state funds.

The biggest cuts come to education, leaving school kids and their parents with bigger classes and fewer related services, while AFSCME members in local school districts and those in higher education will face more cutbacks, harder bargaining and demands for concessions.

• Local governments, who now get 10 percent of state revenues, would only get 7 percent -- amounting to hundreds of millions in cuts.
• The lag between when the state owes money and when it pays will lengthen, making life even more difficult for community service providers who depend on state funding. Some of them are already on the verge of closing their doors or cutting programs. And to make matters worse, Quinn’s proposal cuts 2.5 percent from community disability agencies, where most of the already underpaid workers haven’t had a raise in three years.
• Cuts to community mental health programs could have devastating affects on the city of Chicago’s mental health clinics, and to private, non-profit agencies like Heartland Human Services.
• Health-care costs would be shifted onto the backs of state and university retirees, with an especially heavy burden for those who aren’t yet eligible for Medicare.  AFSCME will challenge this blatant violation of the union contract.
• The proposal to merge DJJ into DCFS would continue the underfunding of juvenile justice operations, while covering that up by making a show of creating a solution.

AFSCME and its partners in the Responsible Budget Coalition have already begun mobilizing opposition to the budget proposals. AFSCME members will soon be called on once again to help respond to this irresponsible budget.