Jun 29, 2009 6:13 pm US/Central
State Budget Shortfall And Cuts Continue To Loom
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Mayor Daley on Monday expressed hope that state leaders can agree on a balanced budget this week to preserve services.
CBS
The General Assembly's preparing for another showdown in Springfield Tuesday, the final day of Fiscal Year 2009.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery visited some young people whose high school may have to ring in Fiscal Year 2010 by firing teachers.
Things could change in the Illinois Capitol. Right now, though, it looks like the state will hit thousands of social service agencies with big spending cuts next month.
The good news for Vanessa Benitez and her classmates in this summer job-training program is that federal stimulus money is paying for it.
The bad news: When the regular school year resumes at the Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy High School, Benitez may find her senior year opening with the firing of several teachers.
"It would be really, really sad if they lose their jobs just because of the budget," she said.
Sharing space with the high school are adult education GED and English As A Second Language programs that may have to dump 450 of their 600 students.
The reason is the same. Illinois, like many other states, faces a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. Visiting Monday to tout federal stimulus funding, Mayor Daley said the impact of threatened state cuts could overwhelm the help provided by federal stimulus money.
"That's a real crisis in many families and communities," he said. "The good news is (the governor and legislative leaders) are continuing talking. They are meeting together, they're cordial meetings, it's friendly, it's not adversarial. From my standpoint, Illinois has come a long way on that."
Students at Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy don't mince words about the potential impact of throwing tens of thousands out of drug-addiction treatment and job-training.
"If programs are cut off, obviously, some way, crime will be increased," Faustino Morales said.
"They should think about it twice, because a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt," Benitez said.
The Illinois House voted 101-7 to approve legislation that would allow the state to borrow about $2 billion. If the state Senate agrees, legislators say would it reduce the pain of budget cuts but not eliminate them altogether.
The General Assembly has also finally agreed to send to the governor's desk the pruned-back budget and the public works program approved about a month ago.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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