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Where is the state budget?
What's happening with the state budget?
What can I do about it?
The state of Illinois is currently operating without a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2007.
Competing political and economic interests in Springfield are preventing agreement on a new budget.
State government is set to miss payments to local school districts and for state employees next week.
The state's responsibility for caring for our most vulnerable citizens, which has been eroding for many years, may be weakened even more because of the budget crisis.
Governor Blogojevich and your State Senator and State Representative need to hear from you that you expect them to work together to craft a budget that protects vulnerable people and strengthens—not weakens—services to people in need.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Create a budget that strenghthens the Human Services!
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I am a member of Lutheran Advocacy Illinois and I am concerned about the state budget impasse.
As you work to craft a budget for the state fiscal year that began on July 1, I ask you not to forget the most vulnerable people in our state and the many community-based human service programs that assist them throughout the year. Please make sure that a 3% across the board cost of providing servicesincrease for community-based services is included in the final budget.
Surely we in Illinois, the fifth richest state in the union, can do better than remaining near the very bottom among the fifty states in the level of state funding for human care services.
I believe that the human care system in Illinois has three fundamental pillars: health care, education and human services. We should be strengthening all three and never let funding for one be accomplished by under-funding another.
Contrary to popular misperception and much political posturing, Illinois is a low-tax state. Even with a modest increase in our state income tax and a broadening of the sales tax as suggested by A+ Illinois, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and even some business groups, we would remain a low tax state. We need adequate and sustainable revenue to overcome the structural deficit for this year and for the foreseeable future.
I look forward to receiving a response from you and I will be watching to see how you contribute to the resolution of the current budget impasse.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
August 03, 2007
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Background
As you have probably read or heard, the state of Illinois is currently operating without a state budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. An emergency one-month budget that was passed at the end of June expired on July 31, 2007. Governor Blagojevich has called on the Illinois General Assembly to adopt another short-term budget. Legislative leaders seem to be getting close to an agreement on a full year budget that they hope to approve before August 8 when the next batch of state checks for school districts and many state employees is due.
There are several critical issues at stake in the maneuvering and posturing taking place in Springfield:
1. The governor insists on a budget that includes substantial, though significantly scaled back provisions of Illinois Covered, his proposed health insurance plan.
2. The governor has also threatened to veto any budget that includes an increase in income or sales taxes.
3. The governor and Senate President Emil Jones are insisting on a large increase in state funding for public education.
4. Speaker of the House Michael Madigan is pushing for a more modest increase in education funding.
5. There is support in both the House and Senate for a large increase in funding for the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to be paid for by an increase in the sales tax in counties served by the RTA and an increase in the real estate transfer tax in Chicago. It is not clear that there is sufficient support in either house to override a threatened veto by the governor.
6. There are numerous proposals for increasing state revenue, including but not limited to an increase in the state tax on cigarettes, an expansion of gambling in Illinois, closing tax loopholes enjoyed by many businesses and the sale or lease of state assets such as the Illinois Tollway system or the Illinois Lottery.
7. Although a bi-partisan majority of legislators has expressed support for increased funding for human services to poor and otherwise disadvantaged people in Illinois, it seems increasingly clear that few legislators see that as a high-priority issue.
8. Many legislators are hoping to be able to support a capital projects bonding bill that would fund school construction and renovations projects, road and bridge projects and many other projects that supporters refer to as "member initiatives" and critics often label as "pork barrel spending."
9. Many legislators also hope to provide some form of reduction in local property taxes which are the primary way in which local school districts are funded in Illinois.
As you can see, the issues standing in the way of a satisfactory resolution of the current impasse in Springfield are varied and complex. And so the Illinois General Assembly continues in "overtimes session"—the longest overtime session in the nearly 189 year history of the state.
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