Sep 23, 2008 8:51 pm US/Central
Lawmakers Restore Budget Cuts That Forced Layoffs
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) ―
Illinois lawmakers voted to restore hundreds of millions of dollars to the state budget Tuesday, aiming to save more than 300 state jobs and keep open state parks and historic sites.
Most of the $231 million the Senate approved would come from "surpluses" in special state funds. The money would prevent the layoffs of human services caseworkers and the closure of places associated with Abraham Lincoln on the eve of the 16th president's 200th birthday.
"We need to step forward and draw on existing resources for those who are most vulnerable in our communities and to ensure that essential services the government provides can continue," said Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, the Evanston Democrat who sponsored the "fund sweeps."
Funds sweeps would provide $221.5 million; the rest would come from regular revenue sources, such as sales taxes and taxes on riverboat gambling, that lawmakers did not previously know would be available, said Sen. Donne Trotter, a Chicago Democrat and lead budget negotiator.
Spending the money also would make Illinois eligible for another $16 million in federal matching funds, Trotter said.
But the Senate vote, which sends the measure to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, came on the same day Blagojevich's Revenue Department announced that the slowing national economy has crimped tax collections. Income, sales and other tax receipts are down $200 million from anticipated levels.
That shortfall exacerbates the budget problems, Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said. But Guerrero said he knew nothing of Trotter's claim that Blagojevich asked lawmakers Tuesday to add $45 million to the bill for expanded health care.
"We will spend what we can afford to spend in the areas of the greatest need," Guerrero said.
While debating the restorations, some lawmakers criticized Blagojevich, but just months ago, legislators sent the Democratic governor a spending plan that was out of balance by as much as $2 billion, saying it was up to the executive to "manage" it.
Blagojevich cut $1.4 billion, and in August announced that translated into laying off 325 workers, including 252 at the Departments of Human Services and Children and Family Services, which help low-income families and tackle child abuse.
The rest would lose their jobs at the Department of Natural Resources, which would close 11 state parks, and the Historic Preservation Agency, which would shutter 13 landmarks, including the site near Charleston where Lincoln's family lived. The state is gearing up for international attention from the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in February.
But the money comes from accounts set aside for special purposes, some of which critics said fund the very services the measure attempts to save, such as a local tourism fund, a trust fund for Medicaid health coverage, and a fish and wildlife endowment fund.
"No one walks out of this building proud of the way this is done," said Sen. Dale Righter, a Mattoon Republican. "This is not a good solution."
Such opposition was reflected in the 40-15 vote to sweep the special funds. But when it came time to appropriate the money, the vote was 55-0.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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