'Wolf' is
here; OK 60-day plan to keep it at bay - Pantagraph
June 28, 2009
"Wolf!" "Wolf!" "Wolf!" "No,
really, Wolf!"
Like the young shepherd in Aesop's
fable, state officials have falsely cried, "wolf" about
budget problems so many years that many people have
stopped listening.
Now that the "wolf" is at the
door, few believe that massive spending cuts and other
dire consequences will actually happen - except the
social service agencies that have received letters
informing them of the cuts.
They can't afford to wait until
the last minute to see if lawmakers finally do their
jobs.
And many can't afford to stay open
and meet basic operational costs if the state doesn't
come through.
So they have to begin procedures
for shutting down.
Years of underfunding and delayed
payment of bills have left little cushion to wait out
the political games.
That's why the Occupational
Development Center is instituting plans to shut down and
why Chestnut Health Systems is closing its alcohol and
drug detoxification program.
They are not alone.
Even a temporary shutdown of ODC
or similar facilities that serve the developmentally
disabled can have a devastating impact on a vulnerable
population.
What will happen to those needing
the assistance of agencies such as ODC, Marcfirst or
Homes of Hope? Will they wind up homeless or wandering
the streets? Will they be sent to the few remaining
state facilities - facilities that cost far more per
resident and provide a lower quality of life than these
individuals currently enjoy in a community setting?
If agencies "temporarily" shut
down, will they reopen? Will their employees move on to
other jobs or other states? In other regions in
Illinois, agencies have shut their doors during previous
funding disputes and never reopened.
Other agencies targeted in the
"doomsday" budget are in similar situations, agencies
serving the elderly, abused children and others who,
through no fault of their own, need the state's help -
our help.
At this point, the best idea would
be to approve a 60-day extension of current spending
authority - as advocated by most Republicans and by
state Comptroller Dan Hynes, a Democrat.
This would buy time to hammer out
the rest of the details and put together a combination
of structural reforms and meaningful cuts in appropriate
areas that must precede enactment of a tax hike.
Do it now. Don't wait for 11:59
p.m. Tuesday. For many Illinoisans, among the most
vulnerable, that will be too late.
