|
Dear Friends,
 This week the governor unveiled his fourth budget proposal. This is the closest he has ever come to presenting a real, balanced budget, which I appreciate. That said, I have some serious concerns about his cuts to human services, Medicaid and retired pensioners to whom we have a contractual obligation.
The governor’s budget proposes spending $37.6 billion while bringing in $37.9 billion. However, many of his proposed savings require significant legislative action or implementation of an employee contract in order to actually be achieved. If those legislative changes are not achieved, it is estimated that his budget would be more than $1 billion out of balance.
One of the biggest ways the governor proposes savings is by shifting 25 percent of teacher pensions and some health care costs onto local school districts. He also seeks to punish Chicago children for a pension problem they did not create by requiring CPS to pick up its entire pension cost – the only school district in the state that would have to bear this burden. These changes would undermine the bipartisan evidence-based school funding formula, which was passed over the summer to improve education funding for all school districts.
Though the governor claims to increase education funding by $330 million, his pension and health care cost shifts would result in a cut to education funding. He also eliminated funding for afterschool programs, advanced placement programs, parent mentoring and more. This cost shift and programmatic reduction may leave school districts with the tough choice of reducing classroom support or increasing local property taxes.
The governor also proposed reducing Medicaid reimbursement rates by 4 percent, which he estimates would lead to a $150 million savings. This could make it more difficult for Medicaid patients to access health care. He proposed this cut even though Illinois already has the lowest Medicaid reimbursement rates in the nation.
He outlined cutting funding for human services by $292 million. Many human service agencies are still struggling from the detrimental budget impasse. As a government, we have a responsibility to take care of our neediest citizens. I do not believe slashing funding for human services is a compassionate approach to governing.
The governor suggested eliminating health care support for retired teachers to save $129 million. This would likely double their out-of-pocket costs. Most of these retirees do not receive Social Security benefits to offset that change. Additionally, this point could be challenged in court because of the state’s contractual obligation to pensioners.
 The governor failed to address the backlog of bills in his budget proposal, which currently sits at nearly $9 billion. The backlog soared to $16 billion during the budget impasse. Through a measure sponsored by Senate Democrats, the state was able to borrow $6 billion to pay off some of the debt and received more than $2 billion in matching funds from the federal government. This shifted the burden of debt from small businesses to investors. Without further action, the backlog of bills will continue to accrue late interest penalties.
Now that the governor has submitted his proposal, we will begin to conduct budget hearings in the Senate. Agencies will testify about their funding needs, and I will work with my colleagues across the aisle to find a compromise. Based on these hearings, we will propose and vote on a budget. The governor will have the option to approve or veto the budget once the Legislature approves it.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 773-769-1717 or reach out online with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Senator Heather Steans
7th District – Illinois
|
This week the Senate will begin to hear funding requests from state agencies. This process will continue over the next few months as we work to create a bipartisan compromise budget. During these subject matter hearings, Senators will have an opportunity to question agency heads about their budget proposal and programs.
This is shaping up to be a busy week in Springfield. In addition to our regularly scheduled committee hearings, the Senate is holding four subject matter hearings. These hearings will include an update from the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget on his cost-cutting initiatives, an in-depth look at the legionella outbreak at the Illinois Veterans Home at Quincy, information on the implementation of the evidence based funding model, and a report from the Employment and Economic Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities Task Force.
This week kicks off the spring legislative session. I look forward to reviewing new legislation as well as measures that were not addressed last year.