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| Will anything significant happen here Wednesday? |
Larsen
issued the ruling that is the worst nightmare to Gov. Bruce Rauner – who had
hoped he could continue to make the state payroll even though there is no
budget in place.
WHICH
IS SOMETHING the Illinois Constitution requires before any government expenses
can be paid. It is a logical requirement – spending government money without a
plan would be irresponsible.
Larsen
ruled that the state payroll can’t be made come July 15, or any other time,
until the state gets its act together and officials pass a balanced budget.
Since
Rauner and the General Assembly’s leadership aren’t in any mood to get serious
(they’re more interested in one-upping each other), there won’t be a budget in
place by next week.
So
state workers are likely to miss a paycheck (or a few if this political fight
lingers on).
IT
BECOMES LIKELY they’re going to blame the new guy for stirring things up with
his desires for anti-labor and other ideological measures. Even though Rauner
desperately wants everybody to believe that it’s the fault of Illinois House
Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, who has taken on the role of leader of the
legislative fight against the governor’s ideological battles.
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| Couldn't we just put gov and speaker ... |
It will be Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger who will
lead the political rhetoric – although there will be others who will spew
claims of “Daddy’s girl” against the attorney general. Her office will file the appeal in court, although the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has its own legal action planned to try to keep workers getting paid.
The
rhetoric is going to get ugly, and I’ll be the first to admit sympathy for
those state employees who are showing up for work these days without knowing if
they’re going to be paid on time.
 |
| ... in a boxing ring to slug it out? |
What
makes this year’s situation seem so pathetic is that it seems that Rauner was
too eager to bring it on.
So
what happens now?
The
Illinois House of Representatives is scheduled to convene on Wednesday, which
means the high and mighty speaker of the House will have his opportunity to
make a statement of sorts that denounces the governor for not getting serious
about putting together a budget that fulfills all of Illinois government’s
obligations for the upcoming year.
WHICH
MEANS MORE rhetoric with little action. Although even if the Illinois House
were to pass something on Wednesday resembling a budget, there’s still the fact
that the state Senate won’t convene until next week.
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| MADIGAN: A win for father also benefits state? |
Yes,
I’m being critical of the governor for prolonging this issue – instead of
realizing that his political fight to pass his ideological fantasies is over
for this year and that he ought to focus his attention on how to resume the
battle come next spring.
If
he were serious, he’d realize that is the best tactic to get a political win
for the long-term. Instead of threatening the state payroll and angering his
employees to the point where they’ll actively work against him to make sure he
never achieves his desires.
-30-
1 comment:
How do you deliver services in an environment like this? Over the last ten years many people have been involved in building up the capacity of the state to create permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless. the state has multiplied their funding many times to provide dollars for case management. They have done this because supportive housing is a proven remedy for the extreme costs of chronic homelessness. How extreme are these costs? Most people are unaware that allowing people to live on the street costs them money. In fact, the nationwide average cost for keeping a significant percentage of these people on the street is $50,000 per annum. Think of that: doing nothing costs $50,000 a year per person. Why? Because chronically homeless people are chronic users of public services. They are in the emergency room more than others, they are hauled before the court more often than others, they spend nights in jail more often than others, they die younger than others. We are all bearing this cost. The state learned this ten years ago and started pushing for more supportive housing. Supportive housing cuts those expenditures at least in half and often by two-thirds. It also pulls in federal dollars which have been established just for this purpose. The only thing that the state needs to do is pay for the case management. Now in comes the new governor, and what does he cut? Dollars for case managing supportive housing. Millions of dollars of cuts. This has all be explained to him over and over, but great businessman that he is, he would rather pay more to create a new crisis on the street, than continue with a proven strategy that is saving everyone money--not to mention saving lives and improving the quality of life for all of us who live with and around these poor benighted souls who have no place to call home. It seems that becoming "business friendly" requires that we destroy the quality of life of our community.
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