Illinois Pension, Medicaid Costs to Top Illinois Budget Problems in 2012

(Springfield, IL) – Illinois will be facing an $800 million deficit within three years, despite tax revenue projected to grow by more than $1 billion a year.

“These projections clearly demonstrate that action must be taken to control not only Medicaid costs but also (pension) costs or all other areas of government will continue to be squeezed,” Kelly Kraft, the governor’s budget spokeswoman said in a statement.

Quinn on Tuesday released his three-year budget projection in which Illinois in fiscal 2013 is expected to spend $33.7 billion, about $1.5 billion more than this year. By fiscal 2015, Illinois’ expenditures will reach $34.2 billion, or $2 billion more than the current budget.

The governor’s fiscal outline is part of the state’s Budgeting for Results initiative. Lawmakers created this process in 2011 to force the governor to craft a realistic budget within the financial means of the state.

The majority of the additional spending will be on public employee pensions.

Quinn’s own numbers project an $818 million deficit by 2015, even after holding spending flat on Medicaid, elementary and high school funding, and state government services.

Illinois’ pension payment jumps $1.1 billion in fiscal 2013, from $4.2 billion this year to $5.3 billion. By 2015, Illinois will be making an annual pension payment of $5.9 billion.

Republican State Treasurer Dan Rutherford said the state cannot afford a nearly $6 billion pension payment.

Gov. Pat Quinn OK’s Restoration of Illinois Substance Abuse Treatment Funding

(Springfield, IL) – Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation Monday that restores $28 million to Illinois substance abuse treatment services that were cut inadvertently earlier this year.

The legislation, Senate Bill 2412, reallocated money within the current Illinois budget to reinstate the treatment funding.

The following budget line items were restored:

• Addiction Treatment Medicaid: $7.6M
• Addiction Treatment Services: $16.9M
• Addiction Treatment for DCFS Clients: $2M
• Addiction Treatment for Special Populations: $1.5M

The bill also includes $30 million for community-based mental health services, mental health centers, burial services for the homeless and the poor, homelessness prevention programs, and need-based financial aid for college students.

Finally, the legislation will ensure that no state-run mental health or developmental disability centers will be closed this fiscal year.

“The successful effort to restore funding to Illinois substance abuse treatment services had many legislative champions, especially Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, State Representatives Sara Feigenholtz, Barbara Flynn Currie, Kenneth Dunkin, Patricia Bellock, and Rosemary Mulligan, as well as State Senators Heather Steans, Dan Kotowski, Jacqueline Collins, William Delgado and Mattie Hunter,” said TASC President Pamela Rodriguez. “We are deeply grateful to them, and to all who voted to restore funding for these essential services.”

The current state budget runs until June 30, 2012.

 

ABTC, TASC Open Renovated Reentry Home for Juveniles in Douglas Park

(Chicago, IL) – Alternative Behavior Treatment Centers (ABTC) and Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC) have opened the Douglas Park Transitional Living Program for youth. The program is designed to facilitate safe community reentry for youth who have been in detention by helping them build pro-social living skills and reconnect with their families or positive support networks.

Home Depot volunteer Phillip Richard completes installation of floor tile.

Located at 1335 S. California Avenue in Chicago, the 10-bed, juvenile justice transitional living program will serve young people from ages 15 to 21. The project is a public-private partnership made possible by grants, in-kind product donations and volunteer resources from the State of Illinois, The Home Depot Foundation and The Home Depot.

“We are grateful to the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services for helping to develop this program,” said Robin McGinnis, founder and CEO of ABTC. “We are also so appreciative of the work that volunteers from The Home Depot have done to renovate this home to help get kids safely back into their community. There’s no way we could have done this without their support.”

“All of us at The Home Depot are very honored to work on this project,” said Andy Christiansen, store manager for the Mundelein Home Depot, noting that volunteers have donated more than 500 hours to create a home-like living environment for the youth in the program. “We especially want to thank our volunteers and 11 stores within our district that have been working hard to make this happen.”

Pamela Rodriguez, president of TASC, added that a safe living environment is crucial for young people who are trying to establish a positive life. “We know that young people need safety and support, and sometimes they haven’t experienced a stable living environment until they come to a program like this. From here, we can help them establish their footing as they restart their lives on a more positive path.”

ABTC graduate Cavelle Lewis speaks with Univision reporter Erika Maldonado at opening of the Douglas Park Transitional Living Program for youth.

ABTC was founded in 1995 as a non-profit adolescent treatment agency to work with youth identified as difficult to manage and in need of residential care. Today ABTC operates numerous programs along a continuum of care for children, adolescents, families, and adults located throughout Illinois.

TASC has a 35-year history of promoting social justice and advocating for alternatives to incarceration. The agency serves nearly 20,000 adults and adolescents annually in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and family health programs across Illinois.

(Photos by D. Baille)

Illinois Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly to Restore Illinois Substance Abuse Treatment Money

TASC, Inc. President Pamela Rodriguez

(Chicago, IL) – The Illinois legislature on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to restore nearly $30 million to community substance abuse treatment providers throughout Illinois, drawing praise from advocates.

“This supplemental budget immediately restores substance abuse treatment money to community care providers who received less money than intended in the state’s original budget,” said State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), chair of the House Human Services Appropriations Committee.

The budget fix, Senate Bill 2412, which shifted money from various state accounts without increasing state spending, added $28 million to substance abuse treatment care and restored spending to other key state programs.

The bi-partisan bill passed the House 92-20, and in the Senate, 50-5.

“We focused on the 99%,” said Feigenholtz. “Our budget priorities reflected their needs.”

The restoration of the substance abuse treatment money for community providers drew deep praise from a top treatment advocate.

“The successful effort to restore funding to Illinois substance abuse treatment services had many legislative champions, especially Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, State Representatives Sara Feigenholtz, Barbara Flynn Currie, Kenneth Dunkin, Patricia Bellock, and Rosemary Mulligan, as well as State Senators Heather Steans, Dan Kotowski, Jacqueline Collins, William Delgado and Mattie Hunter,” said TASC President Pamela Rodriguez. “We are deeply grateful to them, and to all who voted to restore funding for these essential services.”

The legislation also included $30 million for community mental health services.

Governor Pat Quinn is expected to sign the bill.

Illinois Lawmakers OK Funding to Keep Illinois Prisons, Mental Health Facilities Open

(Springfield, IL) – Illinois’ seven endangered prisons and mental health facilities will stay open for at least the next six months after lawmakers gave Gov. Pat Quinn the power to shift nearly $300 million inside the state budget.

But more importantly, lawmakers also said they sent the governor this clear message: He must not threaten to close state facilities to get what he wants from the state budget.

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved this new spending authority for Quinn. The House approved it with a 92-20 vote and the Senate with a 50-5 vote.

The money, which was taken from Illinois’ regional superintendents, school transportation accounts and the Medicaid budget by delaying payment on more Medicaid bills, will keep the seven sites open through the end of June.

Congress Restores Second Chance Act Funding

(Chicago, IL)– Federal funding for Second Chance reentry programs, which had been cut by the Senate in September (see Sept. 16 post), has been restored. The House originally had approved $70 million for the Second Chance Act, but the Senate had eliminated the funding, leaving programs across the country in jeopardy for the 2012 fiscal year that began October 1.  

As reported in an electronic press release by the Legal Action Center on November 18, “In a dramatic victory for advocates and stakeholders who support smart approaches to reentry that reduce recidivism and improve lives and communities, the House and Senate negotiated the differences between the two bills and today passed legislation, signed into law by the President, that includes $63 million in funding for Second Chance in FY 2012. The funding level is remarkably close to the $70 million high-water mark set by the House…”

Persistent phone calls and emails from reentry advocates across the country made a difference.

“The restored funding is not only a testament to the value and necessity of evidence-based reentry services, but it’s also a reminder that our voices are heard in Washington,” said TASC President Pamela Rodriguez.  “We commend the members of Congress and our colleagues and fellow citizens across the country who recognized what’s at stake and insisted on the funding restoration.”

For details of the legislation, including funding for other criminal justice programs, please visit the Council of State Governments‘ Knowledge Center.