Guest guest Posted September 6, 2011 Report Share Posted September 6, 2011 Thanks to Laurie Jerue for just putting up the below article. I heard about this on the news in the last day or 2 and couldn't believe it at first. Government exists to provide services...supports for our kids/loved ones as well as shoot people in far-away places who don't like us! This seems to be part of a new world order and please let me quickly hop on and off my soapbox. <on the box<< Like at the federal level, 'cut-able' (read public-aid related) services are always in play while corporations gets untold billions in tax breaks (Exxon/Mobil with > $30 Billion in quarterly profits likely does not need federal assistance of any kind), pharmaceutical companies with their hands out for 'research $$' while spinning some tale or other about their profitability vs. needing some pills to cost $10./each, cash payments to not grow certain crops, and incredibly, tax relief when an American job is lost, heading somewhere overseas....how much longer until customer service is 'outsourced' to the US? <off the box<< Good luck to all of us. The pressure needs to be kept up at all levels of government..like most things, the quality of the publicity may affect the ultimate outcome. A disturbing trend is getting worse quickly....not a fan of write-the-politician, but I think I will be launching a few emails. Al Karman ================================================================================\ =================================================== ================================================================================\ =================================================== ================================================================================\ =================================================== From another blog I read called Capitol Fax, saw some interesting news about Pat Quinn and his agreement with AFSME to keep all state-run facilities for DD adults open...fyi...I’ll be sharing this with my state legislators today. Seems to me IF the General Assembly or Governor do manage to ‘find’ any Supplemental money to pump up some of these line items, it makes more sense to appropriate supplemental funds to the COMMUNITY side than to temporarily prop up the STATE OPS side, since community is where we’re heading. Pls share this message with your local legislators, too, if this issue is important to you! NO SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FOR STATE OPERATED RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES. INSTEAD, APPROVE SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING FOR COMMUNITY RESIDENTIAL SERVICES TO BUILD CAPACITY IN THE COMMUNITY, SO WE’RE READY TO WELCOME PEOPLE COMING OUT OF SODCs. THIS WOULD BE A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO SPEND DOLLARS IN THE SHORT TERM, WHILE BUILDING LONG TERM CAPACITY TO SERVE PEOPLE WITH FEWER TAX DOLLARS. Thanks!! Gov. Pat Quinn plans to issue layoff notices to thousands of state workers this week as he deals with a budget shortfall he pegs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, a state government source with knowledge of the situation told the Tribune. The governor also intends to announce the closing of several state facilities, including a prison, juvenile detention center and homes for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, sources confirmed. Without action, Quinn’s budget office says, several agencies would run out of money by the spring. Quinn is responding to the Democratic-controlled Legislature’s decision at the end of May to dictate this year’s budget with little input from his office. The Democratic governor maintains that lawmakers didn’t provide enough money to keep the state operating for a full year. Quinn, who asked for $2.2 billion more, already has made partial vetoes to the budget and blocked raises for thousands of state workers, a decision that’s being challenged in court by the state’s largest government employee union. The union also is expected to fight the pink slips, citing a no-layoff agreement it struck with Quinn last year. […] Unless lawmakers step in, the prisons system won’t have enough money to pay guards, let alone feed and clothe inmates or provide proper drug addiction counseling and medical care, according to Quinn budget office estimates. There also won’t be enough cash to cover checks for workers who care for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled, or keep the doors open for a full year at state-operated residential facilities and psychiatric hospitals. The state also is struggling to cover the cost of the food stamp program and cover travel costs for workers investigating allegations of abuse or neglect. […] Some lawmakers warn that Quinn will find little relief as state coffers remain bare despite the major income tax increase. Republican Sen. Matt , of Palatine, says the state already spends too much and needs to cut further. He said moves like shutting facilities need to happen, but that Quinn should have known that before making a campaign pledge to keep them all open. During the campaign last year, Quinn forged an agreement with AFSCME that precluded layoffs and facility closures in return for the union to come up with budget- balancing ideas. Word is that Quinn will say that the union hasn’t held up its end of the agreement, a claim the union flatly denies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 7, 2011 Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 Thanks, Laurie. Love your message about how we would like to see any " extra " money used to rebalance our I/DD system. Well done! Ellen Ellen Garber Bronfeld egskb@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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