Sept. 15--While state government continues to limp along in its third month without a budget, advocates for social service programs once again sounded the alarm, saying Tuesday that some services are at risk of disappearing unless lawmakers and Gov. Bruce Rauner strike a deal soon.
"It won't be long before [the] damage is longstanding," said Emily Miller, policy and advocacy director for the nonprofit group Voices for Illinois Children. "Our social services are being dismantled one by one. The infrastructure that keeps families and communities together is being dismantled piece by piece by piece."
To bolster that point, Miller's group compiled a list of nearly four dozen state-funded social service programs that it said have been denied state tax dollars in the midst of the budget impasse, some of which report being near the point of having to close their doors.
Among them: After school programs for teens, early childhood intervention, autism assistance, domestic violence shelters and services, funeral and burial services for the poor, and programs to help parents prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Although Rauner and ruling Democrats in the General Assembly have failed to enact a budget to fully fund state government for the financial year that began July 1, most of the state's expenses are being paid anyway through a combination of laws and court orders. Additionally, Rauner, who vetoed the vast majority of a Democrat-passed budget earlier this year, did sign a school funding bill and another that allowed the state to release federal dollars for some programs.
The result is that as much as 90% of state government's expenses have been authorized, leaving the impression that the budget battle at the Capitol is delivering little pain to Illinois residents.
Advocates for social service programs, many of which don't have a law or court order to keep their funding flowing, say that's not the case.
Shallie Pittman, a youth development associate at ACT Now, said 16 Teen REACH after school programs have closed down and 79 staff have been laid off, affecting around 1,300 students.
"Those that are open are doing so by reducing their hours, by cutting staff, by having volunteer staff," Pittman said. "And they're hanging on to the point where they are hoping that they're funded, and if not, the programs will just close."
Lisa Christensen Gee, a policy analyst with Voices for Illinois Children, said social service agencies are "in a state of crisis."
"We have organizations furloughing staff, laying off staff, reducing services, exhausting their cash reserves, trying to extend their lines of credit but not being able to do so because banks can't trust that the state money will come through," Gee said. "The harm is widespread."
Even with federal money making its way to some programs, it's not enough to keep the services going, Gee said. Domestic violence programs, for example, are 91% unfunded because they don't have access to state funding, she said.
The advocates also put out a list of suggestions for filling the state's multibillion-dollar shortfall to prevent cuts to social services in the event that a budget deal does emerge out of Springfield.
Those options include restoring an income tax rate hike that started to roll back in January, taxing retirement income, broadening the sales tax, taxing items like sugar-sweetened beverages and e-cigarettes, and raising taxes on cigarettes and alcohol.
"I think that lawmakers need to understand the pain that comes along with their decision not to raise appropriate levels of revenue," Miller said. "These are not just feel-good things. These are essential things that keep families and communities running in this state."
kgeiger@tribpub.com
