Doomsday budget slashes critical programs, puts hundreds of thousands of Illinois families in danger

Teachers, health care workers, advocates call on General Assembly to oppose catastrophic cuts and support a fair tax plan

Springfield – The Campaign for Illinois’ Future – a broad and growing coalition of community, advocacy and labor organizations – strongly opposed the doomsday budget proposal announced by Governor Quinn today, calling the proposed 37 percent across-the-board cuts catastrophic and urging the General Assembly to take action to prevent devastation for hundreds of thousands of Illinois families by passing a fair income tax increase.

“Gov. Quinn’s budget just demonstrates that it’s not possible to get out of this legislative session and keep state government running without a tax increase,” explained Julie Dworkin, policy director for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. “I hope state legislators will take notice and start talking seriously about increasing taxes in a fair way.”

“Eliminating health insurance, home care and child care for nearly one million Illinois citizens is the wrong way to balance Illinois’s budget,” said Keith Kelleher, president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana. “The Governor’s doomsday budget should serve as a wake up call to members of the General Assembly. Legislators who oppose cuts to these vital services need to get off the fence and on record in support of a fair tax plan that raises enough revenue to prevent this proposal from becoming reality.”

The Governor’s doomsday plan includes no new revenue, aiming to address the budget crisis through a 37 percent cut to every state agency instead. The result is a plan that cuts billions of dollars from education, health care, human services, senior care and other vital programs and would destroy state agencies and programs for the future.

“A $769 million budget cut in IDHS funding during this time of crisis is both appalling and heart breaking,” said Aimee Navarro, staff at Southwest Reach Center and a leader with the Illinois Hunger Coalition. “These drastic cuts will ultimately lead to public benefits being less accessible to eligible families, at a time when they need the support more than ever.”

“Governor Quinn’s proposed ‘doomsday’ would propel our state on a path to economic ruin,” said Ed Geppert, Jr., president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “The 14,000 teacher layoffs that would be triggered in districts large and small would effectively destroy our system of public education, eliminating one of our state’s best tools – a strong system of public education from pre-Kindergarten to graduate schools - for fueling an economic recovery.”

“Slashing education would truly devastate our communities, not just now, but for years to come,” said Denise Dixon, executive director of Action Now. “How we treat the ‘least of these’ is our legacy, and this budget makes a sorry statement on what we value in Illinois.”

The Campaign for Illinois’ Future is calling on lawmakers to protect vital services by enacting fair tax reform that generates enough new revenue to close the state’s deficit while making tax fairness for low- and moderate-income Illinois residents a priority.

“Working families would be hurt the most by these cuts to social services and we can’t take it anymore,” said Amalia Montoya, a community parent patrol member for the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council. “We’re counting on our elected officials to pass a fair income tax increase to generate enough new revenue to protect vital services in our neighborhoods now and for the future.”

“Illinois’ families need a state budget that generates enough new revenue to fund vital services and speed economic recovery while prioritizing tax fairness - anything less, particularly a “doomsday” budget, is an attack on these families and their children, and on our state’s chances for economic recovery,” said Maria Whelan, president of Illinois Action for Children.

The Campaign for Illinois’ Future (illinoisfuture.org) unites more than 40 organizations across the state to educate Illinois legislators and families about the need for a fair and lasting solution to the state’s financial crisis. Since the launch of the coalition in March, the group has held numerous events throughout the state to emphasize what is at stake in the FY10 budget for working families – including two rallies on the steps of the State Capitol in Springfield that each drew crowds of over 1,500. In the final weeks of the session, the group will continue to pressure elected officials to pass the new revenue needed to protect vital public services for the future.

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