Gov. Pat Quinn today moved to shutter three state mental health facilities, two centers for people with developmental disabilities and two prisons, saying the fiscal year 2012 budget passed by members of the Illinois General Assembly during the spring legislative session failed to provide sufficient tax dollars to fund their operations.
During the spring legislative session, Quinn asked for a budget worth about $35.1 billion. Legislators passed a spending plan totaling $33.2 billion. Upon signing the budget, Quinn said he cut another $376 million to that document.
"We have to manage our budget. We clearly do not have enough money in the budget that was appropriated by the legislature in the spring to pay the personnel and the facility costs of a number of our facilities and the people who work for the State of Illinois," Quinn said at a news conference in Chicago this afternoon. Click here to listen to his remarks in MP3 format.
More than 1,900 state employees would lose their jobs should the closing actually happen.
The American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees District Council 31, the union that represents many state employees, said Tuesday the closures and layoffs would be "in direct violation of negotiated agreements with our union. Moreover, it would have a dire impact on the maintenance of public safety and the delivery of services of vital importance to the people of Illinois."
Quinn and Council 31 are already tangling over raises the union bargained for, but the governor says he cannot fund because the legislature failed to provide funding.
According to a fact sheet released today by Quinn's office, it would take about $313 million to keep the seven facilities running. Quinn said today the $376 million he cut from the budget earlier this year "can be, and should be, reallocated to help deal with some of the issues we're dealing with today."
There is already talk that state legislators will revisit the budget during the fall veto session.
A spokeswoman for state Senate President John Cullerton wrote in an email that Cullerton has already "stated his intent to revisit the shortcomings of the budget that was passed this spring. In days and weeks ahead, we will study the governor's plans to determine what legislative action may be needed."
Quinn's action will affect communities outside of the City of Chicago. The mental health centers targeted for closure are located in Tinley Park, Rockford and Chester; the prisons are in Lincoln and Murphysboro; the developmental centers are in Dixon and Jacksonville.
The closures, according to Quinn's office, are expected to start in November, as would the layoffs.
The fiscal year 2012 budget drew cries of protest from some segments of the social service community, with mental health providers particularly worried about funding levels. Some of those frustrations could get an airing again next week in Chicago, when the House Appropriations Committee for human services meets for a hearing in the Loop.
Photo courtesy of Flickr user ennuiislife.
© Community Renewal Society 2011
What dim bulb Quinn, and apparently Cullerton don't realize, is that the House, in passing the budget, said that it was in line with the estimate of revenues for that year, which it must be to conform to the constitutional requirement that "Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year." Illinois Constitution Art. VIII, section 2(b).
This is after--
--they raised the income tax 66%.
--did not pay off the existing backlog of $4 to $8 billion. Instead, the Republicans said in support of their budget that any income above that estimate would be applied to the backlog.
Yet the above crying seems to be based on the totally false premise that the tightwads in the Legislature didn't appropriate the money it had.
Yes, it is time for Quinn and Cullerton to tell their constituents who voted for them through the lens of poverty that the pantry is dry. Don't blame it on the House.