By Jamey Dunn
A panel of lawmakers voted today to reject Gov. Pat Quinn’s plans to close several state facilities.
The Commission On Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) shot down Quinn’s proposals to close two prisons — a “super-max” security facility in Tamms and a women’s prison in Dwight — along with Murray Developmental Center in Centralia, a juvenile detention center in Joliet and two Department of Corrections facilities — one in Chicago and one in Peoria — meant to help inmates transition back into society. Quinn’s budget proposal had called for the closure of a total of 14 state institutions.
Many who opposed the closures said that they did not think Quinn’s plans for closing facilities were detailed enough. Rep. Patricia Bellock, a co-chair of the committee, said that she supported closing developmental centers, but she wanted more reassurance that there would be enough community based programs and services to care for those currently in the residential developmental centers. “The comprehensive plan needs to be in place. …When we make a change like this, a huge change that impacts the people’s lives, it has to be done in a correct way,” said Bellock, a Hinsdale Republican. Lawmakers gave the same reason for opposing proposed facility closures from Quinn last year.
Rep. Raymond Poe, a Springfield Republican, said that he thinks that alternatives to Quinn’s proposed closures, which the governor's office says would lead to a total of more than 2,300 layoffs, should be explored. Poe said that funding for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity could be used to stave off the closures and preserve jobs, or Quinn could sign a gaming bill passed last year and bring in more revenue.
“We ought to be looking at solutions of how we keep these open. We ought to be looking at solutions of [how] we’re going to pay for it. I think as the legislature, we have thrown out a couple of ideas here, and I’m sure there’s more,” Poe said during today’s hearing.
Sen. Donne Trotter, a budget point man for Senate Democrats, said that lawmakers must face the reality of the state’s budget problems and make unpopular decisions, such as voting to close facilities. “Looking at the $8 billion of debt that we’re in, looking at our pension liability and looking at the things that we must do to get us whole again in this state, this is just a right way of doing that,” Trotter, a Democrat from Chicago, said before voting to close Dwight Correctional Center. Trotter voted against the closure of IDOC adult transition centers.
The group did approve the closure of a Department of Children and Family Services office in Skokie. However, employees from that office would be moved to other nearby DCFS offices. No members of the panel present today voiced opposition to the consolidation.
The commission’s recommendations are advisory, so Quinn can move forward without the groups’ approval. However, Evanston Democratic Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, a co-chair of the committee, said that no governor has closed a facility against COGFA’s recommendations.
Quinn did not give a clear indication of his next step. “We respect the role of COGFA in the facility closure process, as well as their engaged questioning throughout. We have incorporated a great deal of their input into our facility closure plans. However, we must continue to deal with our budget challenges and make the difficult decisions necessary to restore fiscal stability to Illinois,” said a written statement issued by the governor’s office.
Union officials who represent workers at the institutions and family members of residents at the state’s developmental centers celebrated today’s vote. “We applaud the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability for rejecting Governor Quinn’s wrongful and damaging closure threats,” Anders Lindall, a spokesman for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31, said in a written statement. “The governor’s push to force individuals with disabilities out of their homes, reduce mental health treatment, jeopardize prison safety, end reentry programs and put thousands of public servants out of work are the wrong priorities for Illinois.”
Moving ahead, the battle over closures will focus on the budgeting process. Will lawmakers include funding for the facilities in the budget they are scheduled to produce later this month? If they do, it would likely mean cuts elsewhere. Quinn could also opt to use his veto pen to cut out any funding for institutions he wants to close.
“We call on Gov. Quinn to listen to the commission and withdraw his ill-considered closure plans, and we urge the legislature to make sure all state facilities are fully funded in the [Fiscal Year] 2013 budget,” Lindall said.
Showing posts with label COGFA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COGFA. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Thursday, March 01, 2012
House passes spending cap
By Jamey Dunn
The Illinois House is on track to cut from Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget in the same way that it did last year.
The chamber today approved an estimate of what the state would have available to spend for the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, and the number was about $200 million less than Gov. Pat Quinn’s revenue estimate. The House estimate of general revenue funds that will be available for FY 2013 is $33.7 billion, and Quinn’s, $33.9 billion. “I thought we needed to take a conservative approach. I think we needed to give ourselves some breathing room,” said John Bradley, a Marion Democrat.
The resolution setting the estimate and committing the chamber not to approve a budget with more than $33.7 in spending passed with bipartisan support. The House approved an identical joint resolution, which will head over to the Senate for consideration. Last year the House only passed its own resolution and left the Senate behind in the budgeting process.
Opponents say setting a spending cap limits flexibility and could lend to unnecessary cuts. William McNary, co-director of Citizen Action Illinois, said the state should work off of projections but not set a cap. He said that lawmakers should instead base spending decisions on the need for and effectiveness of programs. “Upfront hard spending caps put the cart before the horse. It would arbitrarily set an appropriations number and try to get the need to fit to this number. ” He added: “One way to find over $200 million immediately is to use the [Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability] revenue estimate. They’ve been historically reliable.” COGFA’s projection is $50 million more than Quinn’s.
This year’s House estimate is much more in line with the governor’s numbers than last year’s House projection, which was $750 million less than Quinn’s revenue estimate. “Last year we were below the numbers of [Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability] and the Department of Revenue and [the Office of Management and Budget] and we were right. And so I would rather err on the side of safety and caution, then to be high and get into trouble at the end of the year--worse than what the state’s already in,” Bradley, who is the chair of the Houses’ revenue committee—which produce both the estimates from last year and this year.
Supporters of last year's admittedly conservative estimate said that any additional money would go toward paying off the backlog of overdue bills. The state has paid off about $1 billion of those bills with additional revenues. However, Illinois is projected to complete the current fiscal year with a deficit of about $500 million. One possible trigger for the deficit is the repayment of more than $600 million in interfund borrowing.
This year, some lawmakers support the idea of setting aside revenue before any operating expenses are paid and spending it on the backlog. The idea is similar to the way lawmakers paid the pension payment and debt service last year. “I would personally be in favor of taking money off the top to begin the process of paying off the backlog of bills,” Bradley said.
But such a move would add to the list of growing costs that are putting pressure on state spending. “We know the pension payment is up. We know we have Medicaid pressures, and we know we have general operating pressures. And we’ve only estimated about $500 million additional [revenue] from what was available last year, and you may have as much as $4 billion of additional pressure, not including the backlog of bills,” he said. Quinn proposed closing corporate tax loopholes to help pay off the bills. If lawmakers fail to close such loopholes, Quin also proposed spending about $160 million less than his projection and using the extra cash to pay down bills.
“The governor's FY 2013 revenue projections utilized economic forecasts from nationally recognized forecasting firms with final revenue estimates developed by state agencies using detailed historical tax collection data and employment records,” Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for Quinn’s budget office, said in a written statement. “A difference of more than $200 million will lead to even further reductions during a time when many legislators call for cuts, but when cuts are proposed they say, ‘Don't cut here.’”
Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican, warned that the state must get a handle on spending before last year's income tax increase is set to begin phasing out in FY 2015. “We have to address the structural problems that we have because in FY 15, [FY] 16 we’re on a cliff if we don’t start building in numbers to get rid of the tax increase. Or is the governor just saying, ‘We’ll make that tax increase permanent?’” Sullivan said that despite some large growth in expenses, such as a pension payment that will be about $1 billion more, Republicans do not want spending for FY 2013 to total more than the FY 2012 spending.
He said some Republicans are frustrated that additional spending for the current fiscal year was approved last fall. “Last year we made this leap of faith,” and then the legislature passed additional spending bills. “The next step [in the budgeting process for FY 2013] is the big step, and the next step is the trust that we’re going to build between the caucuses,” he said.
Bradley said that the House plans to handle the budgeting process in a similar manner as last year, when the projected revenue was carved up and assigned to different areas of state spending, such as education or human services. The budgeting committees for those sectors were then asked to craft a spending plan based on the amount they were assigned.
The Illinois House is on track to cut from Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget in the same way that it did last year.
The chamber today approved an estimate of what the state would have available to spend for the Fiscal Year 2013 budget, and the number was about $200 million less than Gov. Pat Quinn’s revenue estimate. The House estimate of general revenue funds that will be available for FY 2013 is $33.7 billion, and Quinn’s, $33.9 billion. “I thought we needed to take a conservative approach. I think we needed to give ourselves some breathing room,” said John Bradley, a Marion Democrat.
The resolution setting the estimate and committing the chamber not to approve a budget with more than $33.7 in spending passed with bipartisan support. The House approved an identical joint resolution, which will head over to the Senate for consideration. Last year the House only passed its own resolution and left the Senate behind in the budgeting process.
Opponents say setting a spending cap limits flexibility and could lend to unnecessary cuts. William McNary, co-director of Citizen Action Illinois, said the state should work off of projections but not set a cap. He said that lawmakers should instead base spending decisions on the need for and effectiveness of programs. “Upfront hard spending caps put the cart before the horse. It would arbitrarily set an appropriations number and try to get the need to fit to this number. ” He added: “One way to find over $200 million immediately is to use the [Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability] revenue estimate. They’ve been historically reliable.” COGFA’s projection is $50 million more than Quinn’s.
This year’s House estimate is much more in line with the governor’s numbers than last year’s House projection, which was $750 million less than Quinn’s revenue estimate. “Last year we were below the numbers of [Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability] and the Department of Revenue and [the Office of Management and Budget] and we were right. And so I would rather err on the side of safety and caution, then to be high and get into trouble at the end of the year--worse than what the state’s already in,” Bradley, who is the chair of the Houses’ revenue committee—which produce both the estimates from last year and this year.
Supporters of last year's admittedly conservative estimate said that any additional money would go toward paying off the backlog of overdue bills. The state has paid off about $1 billion of those bills with additional revenues. However, Illinois is projected to complete the current fiscal year with a deficit of about $500 million. One possible trigger for the deficit is the repayment of more than $600 million in interfund borrowing.
This year, some lawmakers support the idea of setting aside revenue before any operating expenses are paid and spending it on the backlog. The idea is similar to the way lawmakers paid the pension payment and debt service last year. “I would personally be in favor of taking money off the top to begin the process of paying off the backlog of bills,” Bradley said.
But such a move would add to the list of growing costs that are putting pressure on state spending. “We know the pension payment is up. We know we have Medicaid pressures, and we know we have general operating pressures. And we’ve only estimated about $500 million additional [revenue] from what was available last year, and you may have as much as $4 billion of additional pressure, not including the backlog of bills,” he said. Quinn proposed closing corporate tax loopholes to help pay off the bills. If lawmakers fail to close such loopholes, Quin also proposed spending about $160 million less than his projection and using the extra cash to pay down bills.
“The governor's FY 2013 revenue projections utilized economic forecasts from nationally recognized forecasting firms with final revenue estimates developed by state agencies using detailed historical tax collection data and employment records,” Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for Quinn’s budget office, said in a written statement. “A difference of more than $200 million will lead to even further reductions during a time when many legislators call for cuts, but when cuts are proposed they say, ‘Don't cut here.’”
Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican, warned that the state must get a handle on spending before last year's income tax increase is set to begin phasing out in FY 2015. “We have to address the structural problems that we have because in FY 15, [FY] 16 we’re on a cliff if we don’t start building in numbers to get rid of the tax increase. Or is the governor just saying, ‘We’ll make that tax increase permanent?’” Sullivan said that despite some large growth in expenses, such as a pension payment that will be about $1 billion more, Republicans do not want spending for FY 2013 to total more than the FY 2012 spending.
He said some Republicans are frustrated that additional spending for the current fiscal year was approved last fall. “Last year we made this leap of faith,” and then the legislature passed additional spending bills. “The next step [in the budgeting process for FY 2013] is the big step, and the next step is the trust that we’re going to build between the caucuses,” he said.
Bradley said that the House plans to handle the budgeting process in a similar manner as last year, when the projected revenue was carved up and assigned to different areas of state spending, such as education or human services. The budgeting committees for those sectors were then asked to craft a spending plan based on the amount they were assigned.
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Legislative panel critical of Quinn's plan to close two facilities
By Ashley Griffin
Leaders in Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration appeared before the General Assembly's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on Tuesday to update legislators on a plan to close two state institutions.
COGFA members took Quinn’s representatives to task over the lack of details in the administration's plan to close Tinley Park Mental Health Center and Jacksonville Developmental Center. After receiving a new120-page proposal just hours before the hearing, some lawmakers were left puzzled.
“It’s hard for us to comment on anything when we just received a 120-page document,” said Rep. Patti Bellock, a Republican from Hinsdale and co-chair of COGFA. Members said they did not get the plan until last night, and some said they had not seen it before this morning’s hearing.
“I voted in the fall in favor of the closure, but I have to say I don’t feel comfortable on the details you provided, we only receive them at the end of the business day yesterday. Everybody would like to see it to ask better questions,” Sen. Jeffery Schoenberg, a Democrat from Evanston, said during today’s hearing.
Committee members also called for more information from the working group that helped Quinn choose the facilities that are scheduled for closure and urged the governor to hand over a more comprehensive report from the group's meetings.
Rep. Al Riley, a Democrat from Hazel Crest, said that the original closure plan was done hastily. “You are much like an advocate. I’m a state rep and my responsibilities are broad,” Riley said to representatives from the Department of Human Services (DHS). “Your policies are affecting a lot of people and a lot of different entities and it is my responsibility to find that [information] out.”
But the biggest concern for some lawmakers was how much would the plan actually cost.
Schoenberg said the proposal to transition patients from institutions to community care settings contained no information on what the move would cost and how it would be paid for. Without the info, he said it “has the potential to be a false promise” to patients and families. For more on the plan to transition from institutional to community care, See Illinois Issues February 2012.
“One issues is this: cost. The administration will say that cost is but one factor, that they are really looking for patients' care, but cost is a factor. Cost is a factor, and we can’t really agree on what the numbers are because to implement their plan, it's going to cost money,” Riley said..
But according to those working on the proposed closures, the plan is progressing well.
“Our goal is to help make sure that the General Assembly is as informed and aware of what we are doing at all of these levels as possible,” said Michael Gelder, a senior health policy adviser to Quinn. “We are proud of the effort that we are taking to implement our plan.”
DHS is reaching out to mental health providers in the Chicago area to find treatment for those who would have gone to the Tinley Park Facility, said Debra Ferguson, senior deputy in chief of clinical operations for the Division of Mental Health at the department. She said many who end up at Tinley Park also need addiction treatment services, which are available in community settings.
Kevin Casey, director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities at DHS, says a comprehensive plan must be made for every resident at the Jacksonville Facility to address specific needs before it closes. He said when people are shoehorned into existing openings in the community, the placements often fail.
Despite the reservations of some lawmakers, others continue to support of the plan.
“To me, it still continues to make great sense to move folks into the community … and to redirect that money into community based services,” said Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Des Plaines who also voted in favor of closing both facilities last fall.
“From a policy-maker’s perspective, I personally am less concerned about the details and more concerned about the fact that if we don’t make this choice, then we have to make other hard choices. And this to me should be one of the choices we’re making.”
According to Bellock, COGFA hearings near both facilities will be scheduled in the coming weeks. “This will give us some time to review, and we’ll set a date within the next few days.”
Leaders in Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration appeared before the General Assembly's Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on Tuesday to update legislators on a plan to close two state institutions.
COGFA members took Quinn’s representatives to task over the lack of details in the administration's plan to close Tinley Park Mental Health Center and Jacksonville Developmental Center. After receiving a new120-page proposal just hours before the hearing, some lawmakers were left puzzled.
“It’s hard for us to comment on anything when we just received a 120-page document,” said Rep. Patti Bellock, a Republican from Hinsdale and co-chair of COGFA. Members said they did not get the plan until last night, and some said they had not seen it before this morning’s hearing.
“I voted in the fall in favor of the closure, but I have to say I don’t feel comfortable on the details you provided, we only receive them at the end of the business day yesterday. Everybody would like to see it to ask better questions,” Sen. Jeffery Schoenberg, a Democrat from Evanston, said during today’s hearing.
Committee members also called for more information from the working group that helped Quinn choose the facilities that are scheduled for closure and urged the governor to hand over a more comprehensive report from the group's meetings.
Rep. Al Riley, a Democrat from Hazel Crest, said that the original closure plan was done hastily. “You are much like an advocate. I’m a state rep and my responsibilities are broad,” Riley said to representatives from the Department of Human Services (DHS). “Your policies are affecting a lot of people and a lot of different entities and it is my responsibility to find that [information] out.”
But the biggest concern for some lawmakers was how much would the plan actually cost.
Schoenberg said the proposal to transition patients from institutions to community care settings contained no information on what the move would cost and how it would be paid for. Without the info, he said it “has the potential to be a false promise” to patients and families. For more on the plan to transition from institutional to community care, See Illinois Issues February 2012.
“One issues is this: cost. The administration will say that cost is but one factor, that they are really looking for patients' care, but cost is a factor. Cost is a factor, and we can’t really agree on what the numbers are because to implement their plan, it's going to cost money,” Riley said..
But according to those working on the proposed closures, the plan is progressing well.
“Our goal is to help make sure that the General Assembly is as informed and aware of what we are doing at all of these levels as possible,” said Michael Gelder, a senior health policy adviser to Quinn. “We are proud of the effort that we are taking to implement our plan.”
DHS is reaching out to mental health providers in the Chicago area to find treatment for those who would have gone to the Tinley Park Facility, said Debra Ferguson, senior deputy in chief of clinical operations for the Division of Mental Health at the department. She said many who end up at Tinley Park also need addiction treatment services, which are available in community settings.
Kevin Casey, director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities at DHS, says a comprehensive plan must be made for every resident at the Jacksonville Facility to address specific needs before it closes. He said when people are shoehorned into existing openings in the community, the placements often fail.
Despite the reservations of some lawmakers, others continue to support of the plan.
“To me, it still continues to make great sense to move folks into the community … and to redirect that money into community based services,” said Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Democrat from Des Plaines who also voted in favor of closing both facilities last fall.
“From a policy-maker’s perspective, I personally am less concerned about the details and more concerned about the fact that if we don’t make this choice, then we have to make other hard choices. And this to me should be one of the choices we’re making.”
According to Bellock, COGFA hearings near both facilities will be scheduled in the coming weeks. “This will give us some time to review, and we’ll set a date within the next few days.”
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Quinn hopes to slow facility closures
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close seven state facilities may soon be put on hold, but layoff notices have already gone out to some workers.
Members of the General Assembly are in talks with Quinn about shifting funds to avoid the looming closures, which Quinn had planned to implement in the closing months of 2011 and the beginning of 2012. Kelly Kraft, Quinn’s budget spokesperson, said she expects an agreement to be reached when lawmakers return for an additional session beginning on November 29. The House announced last night plans to return to the Capitol later this month to work on a business friendly tax incentive plan that didn’t gel during the time frame that legislative leaders set for the General Assembly's fall veto session.
But Quinn has not backed away from the idea of closing state institutions. The new plan calls for the shuttering up to four centers for the developmentally disabled and at least two mental health centers.
The plan would transition about 600 of the 2,000 people with developmental disabilities in state institutions to community care settings. Michael Gelder, senior health policy adviser to the governor said the transition would take two and a half years. Once the plan gets rolling, he said, about 20 people a month would be transferred according to individual transition plans based on assessments of their needs.
“As appropriations increase, we’ll be able to maintain these facilities over the course of this year. That is our goal,” Gelder said.
Gelder said the plan could result in closing more than two psychiatric hospitals by 2014. “That would be the minimum. We think we could do more with that planned thoughtful approach working with local hospitals and working with other community base service providers to prevent emergency psychiatric admissions that are now treated in our state centers.”
Kraft said the money to keep the facilities open would likely come from Quinn’s budget vetoes, which stand because they did not come up for a vote this week, and transfers from special funds — the same funds targeted by Senate Democrats as a revenue source during their failed attempt to add spending to the budget shortly after it passed. She said federal Medicaid dollars might also be tapped.
Union officials, who represent many workers at state institutions, were not impressed with Quinn’s new plan to close facilities in a slower and more deliberate manner. “Governor Quinn is under fire for his irresponsible push to cut mental health care, force people with severe developmental disabilities out of the homes they have chosen and destroy thousands of middle-class jobs. Spreading that pain out over the coming years doesn’t make it any less wrong,” Anders Lindall, spokesperson for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31, said in a written statement.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability voted to keep all seven facilities open. Though many members said they thought some facilities should be closed, they objected to Quinn’s rushed timeline. Republican legislators, including House Majority Leader Tom Cross, have accused Quinn of targeting facilities in Republican districts. These opponents called on the governor to slow down the process and put all state facilities on the table.
“There’s a right way to close these places and a wrong way to do it, and I thought this was the wrong way,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, an Orland Park Democrat. “We are over-institutionalized in our state. We understand that. We want to move forward.” COGFA plays an advisory role in the process, but according to COGFA co-chair Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, no governor has gone against its recommendations on a facility closure.
While lawmakers argue that they want all facilities up for consideration, many members of COGFA say that it would be impossible to close either the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln or the Chester Mental health center, which houses the criminally insane. “There are two facilities I think that we just couldn’t close, and it’s incumbent upon us to find the resources. One is Chester, one is Logan [Correctional Center in Lincoln,]” Rep. Michael Tryon, a Crystal Lake Republican, said at a previous COGFA hearing. “[Chester is] the only maximum security facility for the criminally insane and those who are not fit to stand trial. … These are not the kind or prisoners that we should put in Alton [Mental Health Center] or any other facility.”
The proposed plan to close Logan, which Schoenberg said “defies imagination,” involves housing prisoners in the gymnasiums of other prisons.
The new tack described by Gelder did not focus on correctional facilities, although Quinn’s original plan called for closing Logan and the Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro. “We would rather spend less on maintenance of institutions and more on the people who are served in [them.] So we will move ahead with a planned thoughtful approach — stopping admissions, initiating assessments and completing care plans and transition plans that will enable us to serve and meet the needs of the people that we all want to meet wherever they are in the state,”Gelder said . “We will work with the General Assembly…to identify the facilities and prioritize those facilities. Not everybody is going to agree.”
Although members of Quinn’s administration say he wants to put the breaks on closures, the state sent out layoff notices earlier this month to 200 employees of the Tinley Park Mental Health Center. The layoffs would be effective December 3. Kraft said if legislation to shift funds is passed soon, it would save those workers’ jobs, but the state is obligated by law to give them layoff notices because the money is not there to pay them. If a plan is not approved soon, about 160 workers at the Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford would be the next to get pink slips.
Kraft said there are no plans to reinstate 21 Department of Agriculture employees who have already been laid off under the original closure plan.
COGFA co-chair Rep. Patricia Bellock said hearings held throughout the state on the proposed closures helped to raise awareness among lawmakers about the need to give more patients access to community based care. “Besides the 12 members of COGFA, at all those hearings, the local legislators were there. So now you have 35 or 40 legislators who are familiar with this process in Illinois of institutionalization and are ready to move forward with the [Quinn] administration on this in a serious way,” said Bellock, a Hinsdale Republican.
She added, “This will not go away.”
Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close seven state facilities may soon be put on hold, but layoff notices have already gone out to some workers.
Members of the General Assembly are in talks with Quinn about shifting funds to avoid the looming closures, which Quinn had planned to implement in the closing months of 2011 and the beginning of 2012. Kelly Kraft, Quinn’s budget spokesperson, said she expects an agreement to be reached when lawmakers return for an additional session beginning on November 29. The House announced last night plans to return to the Capitol later this month to work on a business friendly tax incentive plan that didn’t gel during the time frame that legislative leaders set for the General Assembly's fall veto session.
But Quinn has not backed away from the idea of closing state institutions. The new plan calls for the shuttering up to four centers for the developmentally disabled and at least two mental health centers.
The plan would transition about 600 of the 2,000 people with developmental disabilities in state institutions to community care settings. Michael Gelder, senior health policy adviser to the governor said the transition would take two and a half years. Once the plan gets rolling, he said, about 20 people a month would be transferred according to individual transition plans based on assessments of their needs.
“As appropriations increase, we’ll be able to maintain these facilities over the course of this year. That is our goal,” Gelder said.
Gelder said the plan could result in closing more than two psychiatric hospitals by 2014. “That would be the minimum. We think we could do more with that planned thoughtful approach working with local hospitals and working with other community base service providers to prevent emergency psychiatric admissions that are now treated in our state centers.”
Kraft said the money to keep the facilities open would likely come from Quinn’s budget vetoes, which stand because they did not come up for a vote this week, and transfers from special funds — the same funds targeted by Senate Democrats as a revenue source during their failed attempt to add spending to the budget shortly after it passed. She said federal Medicaid dollars might also be tapped.
Union officials, who represent many workers at state institutions, were not impressed with Quinn’s new plan to close facilities in a slower and more deliberate manner. “Governor Quinn is under fire for his irresponsible push to cut mental health care, force people with severe developmental disabilities out of the homes they have chosen and destroy thousands of middle-class jobs. Spreading that pain out over the coming years doesn’t make it any less wrong,” Anders Lindall, spokesperson for the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31, said in a written statement.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability voted to keep all seven facilities open. Though many members said they thought some facilities should be closed, they objected to Quinn’s rushed timeline. Republican legislators, including House Majority Leader Tom Cross, have accused Quinn of targeting facilities in Republican districts. These opponents called on the governor to slow down the process and put all state facilities on the table.
“There’s a right way to close these places and a wrong way to do it, and I thought this was the wrong way,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, an Orland Park Democrat. “We are over-institutionalized in our state. We understand that. We want to move forward.” COGFA plays an advisory role in the process, but according to COGFA co-chair Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, no governor has gone against its recommendations on a facility closure.
While lawmakers argue that they want all facilities up for consideration, many members of COGFA say that it would be impossible to close either the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln or the Chester Mental health center, which houses the criminally insane. “There are two facilities I think that we just couldn’t close, and it’s incumbent upon us to find the resources. One is Chester, one is Logan [Correctional Center in Lincoln,]” Rep. Michael Tryon, a Crystal Lake Republican, said at a previous COGFA hearing. “[Chester is] the only maximum security facility for the criminally insane and those who are not fit to stand trial. … These are not the kind or prisoners that we should put in Alton [Mental Health Center] or any other facility.”
The proposed plan to close Logan, which Schoenberg said “defies imagination,” involves housing prisoners in the gymnasiums of other prisons.
The new tack described by Gelder did not focus on correctional facilities, although Quinn’s original plan called for closing Logan and the Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro. “We would rather spend less on maintenance of institutions and more on the people who are served in [them.] So we will move ahead with a planned thoughtful approach — stopping admissions, initiating assessments and completing care plans and transition plans that will enable us to serve and meet the needs of the people that we all want to meet wherever they are in the state,”Gelder said . “We will work with the General Assembly…to identify the facilities and prioritize those facilities. Not everybody is going to agree.”
Although members of Quinn’s administration say he wants to put the breaks on closures, the state sent out layoff notices earlier this month to 200 employees of the Tinley Park Mental Health Center. The layoffs would be effective December 3. Kraft said if legislation to shift funds is passed soon, it would save those workers’ jobs, but the state is obligated by law to give them layoff notices because the money is not there to pay them. If a plan is not approved soon, about 160 workers at the Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford would be the next to get pink slips.
Kraft said there are no plans to reinstate 21 Department of Agriculture employees who have already been laid off under the original closure plan.
COGFA co-chair Rep. Patricia Bellock said hearings held throughout the state on the proposed closures helped to raise awareness among lawmakers about the need to give more patients access to community based care. “Besides the 12 members of COGFA, at all those hearings, the local legislators were there. So now you have 35 or 40 legislators who are familiar with this process in Illinois of institutionalization and are ready to move forward with the [Quinn] administration on this in a serious way,” said Bellock, a Hinsdale Republican.
She added, “This will not go away.”
Thursday, October 27, 2011
COGFA shoots down facility closures
By Jamey Dunn
A legislative panel voted today to reject the closure of four state facilities because legislative leaders plan to work with the governor on budget tweaks that may make some closures unnecessary.
Gov. Pat Quinn called for the closure of seven institutions and the layoff of more than 1,900 state workers. Quinn said the budget approved by the legislature in the spring would not fund basic services through the end of the year, and the closures would be needed to keep government afloat. “Something has to give, and what has to give is we have to close down some of those facilities,” Quinn said when he announced the closures. Under Quinn’s timetable, the state would start closing facilities next month, with the last of the closures coming early next year.
But lawmakers sitting on the Commission of Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) disagreed with Quinn’s tactics.
Legislators who voted for and against the closures generally agreed that the state does need to consider shutting down some of its institutions. Those who voted on both sides of the issue also agreed that Quinn’s plan was rushed and a coherent transition would take time. “We’re trying to do something in three or four weeks that we’ve waited eight years to do,” Hinsdale Republican Rep. Patricia Bellock said at this hearing this morning. “We want to close facilities, but taking a look at all the lives and jobs and people in these residences, it’s a very, very hard decision to make.”
Bellock, a co-chair of COGFA, said budget cuts affecting small providers that offer community-based care to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled raised concerns about whether they will be able to handle the needs of patients currently housed in state facilities. “The community providers have lost money, so to put that all on them and the hospitals … it’s a very. very difficult decision, especially when we’re looking at the fragile lives of the mentally ill. … It’s just not the one place. It’s how it affects the entire mental health system in Illinois.”
Other lawmakers echoed Bellock’s call for a more comprehensive look at all the institutions in the state to best determine where closures can be made. “We need to be taking a systemic look at all of these, and there may be a need for some closures, but it needs to be done in a much more organized [way] and in a manner that’s going to make financial sense and fit into reality,” said Sen. Dave Syverson.
Syverson, a Rockford Republican, argued that the closure of the Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford would not result in savings because the center is used for emergency cases — the average stay is 14 days — and such patients would have to be transported long distances to get similar treatment. “From a dollar standpoint, it does not make sense. The idea of how can we operate these facilities more cost-effectively immediately makes sense. Can some of these services of any of these facilities, can they be transferred to the private sector over a period of time with a legitimate transition plan? … That is a possibility, but again, that is going to have an upfront cost to it. And if the goal here is to try to save $50 million, that’s not going to occur.” Singer was in Syverson’s district until a new legislative map was drawn this year.
However, Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who voted to close Singer, said that the budget crisis is forcing lawmakers to make choices that could be damaging. “In this kind of environment — and it’s happening in other states too — the old decision-making models where it’s harm versus no harm or risk versus no risk don’t really work. The decisions we’re going to have to make are harm versus less harm and risk versus less risk because people are going to be hurt by the decisions we make,” said Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat. “We don’t have the luxury of unlimited time or lengthy time. I wish we did. … And we’re going to have to make these decisions with incomplete information.”
Chicago Sen. Donne Trotter, a budget point man for the Senate Democratic leadership, scolded lawmakers who backed budget cuts in the past and voted today to keep facilities open. “I think that everyone that represents these districts that didn’t vote for some funding to make sure that these most-vulnerable people are taken care of should be voted out of office,” Trotter said. “That was not the concern when they were voting last May. Hard decisions had to be made … and we have to make them now. So there’s a story that should tug at everybody’s heart every place we go, but some hard decisions have to be made. … Do the right thing. Either close these places or come up with funding to ensure that we can keep them open until we can find some other alternatives.”
He added “This is B.S. The chickens have come home to roost, and the egg is on your face.”
All the members of the panel agreed to keep the Chester Mental Health Center open, arguing that there is no other facility prepared to house the criminally insane. “There are two facilities I think that we just couldn’t close, and it’s incumbent upon us to find the resources. One is Chester, one is Logan [Correctional Center in Lincoln,]” said Rep. Michael Tryon, a Crystal Lake Republican. “[Chester is] the only maximum security facility for the criminally insane and those who are not fit to stand trial. … These are not the kind or prisoners that we should put in Alton [Mental Health Center] or any other facility.”
The committee also voted to recommend that the Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro and the Jack Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon remain open.
Those who did not vote in favor of some of the closures said that they were still open to the idea of closing facilities, but they want to see how budget negotiations during veto session pan out. “I think that these are things that really take time. A lot of things are happening. We’re looking at maybe redistribution money in the budget. I think there’s more information that we need. I don’t think that it really does us any good to be hasty just for the sake of haste,” said Rep. Al Riley, a Democrat from Olympia Fields.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross said that the four party caucuses plan to come together with Quinn and discuss shifting about $240 million in funds to other areas, including keeping facilities open. He said some of the money would come from Quinn’s line item vetoes. Cross said House members are open to moving dollars around, as long as the spending total is the same as the original budget passed in May.
COGFA plays an advisory role when it comes to facility closures, so Quinn could ignore today’s votes.
However, Evanston Democratic Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, co-chair of COGFA, said, “No administration has ever moved contrary to how the commission has recommended.” He said he expects the commission to vote on more closures during the last week of veto session.
"While we respect the role of COGFA, their recommendations do not change the reality of the budget we are tasked with managing. These are not closures that we sought to accomplish this fiscal year; we are forced to close these facilities now because there is not enough money appropriated to run all these facilities for the entire year. Unless the General Assembly takes action, we must continue to seek these closures and other actions to responsibly manage the budget, and we will continue to do so," said a prepared statement from Quinn's office.
A legislative panel voted today to reject the closure of four state facilities because legislative leaders plan to work with the governor on budget tweaks that may make some closures unnecessary.
Gov. Pat Quinn called for the closure of seven institutions and the layoff of more than 1,900 state workers. Quinn said the budget approved by the legislature in the spring would not fund basic services through the end of the year, and the closures would be needed to keep government afloat. “Something has to give, and what has to give is we have to close down some of those facilities,” Quinn said when he announced the closures. Under Quinn’s timetable, the state would start closing facilities next month, with the last of the closures coming early next year.
But lawmakers sitting on the Commission of Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) disagreed with Quinn’s tactics.
Legislators who voted for and against the closures generally agreed that the state does need to consider shutting down some of its institutions. Those who voted on both sides of the issue also agreed that Quinn’s plan was rushed and a coherent transition would take time. “We’re trying to do something in three or four weeks that we’ve waited eight years to do,” Hinsdale Republican Rep. Patricia Bellock said at this hearing this morning. “We want to close facilities, but taking a look at all the lives and jobs and people in these residences, it’s a very, very hard decision to make.”
Bellock, a co-chair of COGFA, said budget cuts affecting small providers that offer community-based care to the mentally ill and developmentally disabled raised concerns about whether they will be able to handle the needs of patients currently housed in state facilities. “The community providers have lost money, so to put that all on them and the hospitals … it’s a very. very difficult decision, especially when we’re looking at the fragile lives of the mentally ill. … It’s just not the one place. It’s how it affects the entire mental health system in Illinois.”
Other lawmakers echoed Bellock’s call for a more comprehensive look at all the institutions in the state to best determine where closures can be made. “We need to be taking a systemic look at all of these, and there may be a need for some closures, but it needs to be done in a much more organized [way] and in a manner that’s going to make financial sense and fit into reality,” said Sen. Dave Syverson.
Syverson, a Rockford Republican, argued that the closure of the Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford would not result in savings because the center is used for emergency cases — the average stay is 14 days — and such patients would have to be transported long distances to get similar treatment. “From a dollar standpoint, it does not make sense. The idea of how can we operate these facilities more cost-effectively immediately makes sense. Can some of these services of any of these facilities, can they be transferred to the private sector over a period of time with a legitimate transition plan? … That is a possibility, but again, that is going to have an upfront cost to it. And if the goal here is to try to save $50 million, that’s not going to occur.” Singer was in Syverson’s district until a new legislative map was drawn this year.
However, Rep. Elaine Nekritz, who voted to close Singer, said that the budget crisis is forcing lawmakers to make choices that could be damaging. “In this kind of environment — and it’s happening in other states too — the old decision-making models where it’s harm versus no harm or risk versus no risk don’t really work. The decisions we’re going to have to make are harm versus less harm and risk versus less risk because people are going to be hurt by the decisions we make,” said Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat. “We don’t have the luxury of unlimited time or lengthy time. I wish we did. … And we’re going to have to make these decisions with incomplete information.”
Chicago Sen. Donne Trotter, a budget point man for the Senate Democratic leadership, scolded lawmakers who backed budget cuts in the past and voted today to keep facilities open. “I think that everyone that represents these districts that didn’t vote for some funding to make sure that these most-vulnerable people are taken care of should be voted out of office,” Trotter said. “That was not the concern when they were voting last May. Hard decisions had to be made … and we have to make them now. So there’s a story that should tug at everybody’s heart every place we go, but some hard decisions have to be made. … Do the right thing. Either close these places or come up with funding to ensure that we can keep them open until we can find some other alternatives.”
He added “This is B.S. The chickens have come home to roost, and the egg is on your face.”
All the members of the panel agreed to keep the Chester Mental Health Center open, arguing that there is no other facility prepared to house the criminally insane. “There are two facilities I think that we just couldn’t close, and it’s incumbent upon us to find the resources. One is Chester, one is Logan [Correctional Center in Lincoln,]” said Rep. Michael Tryon, a Crystal Lake Republican. “[Chester is] the only maximum security facility for the criminally insane and those who are not fit to stand trial. … These are not the kind or prisoners that we should put in Alton [Mental Health Center] or any other facility.”
The committee also voted to recommend that the Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro and the Jack Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon remain open.
Those who did not vote in favor of some of the closures said that they were still open to the idea of closing facilities, but they want to see how budget negotiations during veto session pan out. “I think that these are things that really take time. A lot of things are happening. We’re looking at maybe redistribution money in the budget. I think there’s more information that we need. I don’t think that it really does us any good to be hasty just for the sake of haste,” said Rep. Al Riley, a Democrat from Olympia Fields.
House Minority Leader Tom Cross said that the four party caucuses plan to come together with Quinn and discuss shifting about $240 million in funds to other areas, including keeping facilities open. He said some of the money would come from Quinn’s line item vetoes. Cross said House members are open to moving dollars around, as long as the spending total is the same as the original budget passed in May.
COGFA plays an advisory role when it comes to facility closures, so Quinn could ignore today’s votes.
However, Evanston Democratic Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg, co-chair of COGFA, said, “No administration has ever moved contrary to how the commission has recommended.” He said he expects the commission to vote on more closures during the last week of veto session.
"While we respect the role of COGFA, their recommendations do not change the reality of the budget we are tasked with managing. These are not closures that we sought to accomplish this fiscal year; we are forced to close these facilities now because there is not enough money appropriated to run all these facilities for the entire year. Unless the General Assembly takes action, we must continue to seek these closures and other actions to responsibly manage the budget, and we will continue to do so," said a prepared statement from Quinn's office.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Gaming revenues down as Quinn continues to mull expansion
By Jamey Dunn
A legislative commission report paints a bleak picture for Illinois gaming revenues, and Gov. Pat Quinn says he plans to have specifics by the end of the month on what he wants for a gambling expansion bill.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released a report that says total gaming revenues for the state in 2011 reached their lowest level since 2001. The state's take of riverboat, horse racing and lottery revenues for last fiscal year was about $1 billion.
Revenue for riverboat gambling decreased by almost 6 percent from Fiscal Year 2010 and made up almost 34 percent of total gaming revenues. Four years ago, riverboats contributed about 52 percent of gaming revenues. The report said revenues from riverboats are at the lowest since FY 1999.
The report pointed to the economic downturn and increased competition from neighboring states as possible causes for the drop. However, the numbers continue to suggest that the biggest contributor to the drop in Illinois casino revenues is the indoor smoking ban. “Since the indoor smoking ban began in January 2008, adjusted gross receipts for Illinois riverboats have fallen a combined 30.7 percent from pre-smoking-ban levels,” the report stated.
COGFA’s report also warned against expecting consistent revenue increases under a gaming expansion plan that will be a topic of debate during the legislature's fall veto session. “Many estimate a significant amount of one-time revenues and recurring revenues would come from gaming expansion. However, factors such as a reduced tax rate and cannibalization will make it challenging for substantial amounts of new state revenues to be realized. Lowering the tax rates would likely increase the amount spent by gaming operators on the casino[s], which, history has shown, could lead to higher attendance. … But large increases in overall adjusted gross receipts will be necessary to offset the loss of revenues from the lower tax rates and from the expected loss of revenues from existing gaming facilities that would be cannibalized by the new casinos.” The report estimates that revenues from legalizing video poker in some bars and restaurants across the state would not start coming until "FY2013 at the earliest." The state has been dragging its feet getting the licensing process off the ground and had to rebid a contract for a necessary computer system because of mathematical errors made when totaling costs associated with bids.
Quinn again pointed to fears of saturating the gaming market as he talked to reporters in Chicago today about the gaming expansion passed by the legislature last spring. “I just think it’s top heavy, I’ve said that all along. You can’t over-saturate the gambling market in metro Chicago or anywhere else. If you have too many positions and casinos, they hurt each other, and they don’t really add to the revenue. And I don’t think the people really want our state to become the Las Vegas of the Midwest.” Quinn has voiced support for a provision of the bill that calls for the creation of a casino owned by the city of Chicago.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have said negotiating with Quinn over Senate Bill 744, which would allow for slot machines at horse racing tracks, as well as five new casinos, have been difficult because Quinn won’t say what he wants. Quinn countered today that legislators have not been specific about changes they are willing to make. “I haven’t seen anything specific or tangible from the legislature. All I know is what they did on May 31.” He said he would release specific changes he would like see “later this month.”
Senate President John Cullerton put a procedural hold on the bill in the hopes of negotiating with Quinn. The governor has pointed to that move as an indicator that the plan is flawed. “Obviously they know they have some defects there, because they haven’t sent it my way,” Quinn said. He added, “obviously they’re afraid of my review, and I think they should be.”
Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang, a sponsor of SB 744, said he expects the fate of the expansion will be decided one way or another when lawmakers return later this month. “The plan would be to have some finality to this gaming issue during veto session.” Cullerton backed a plan to draft a so-called trailer bill that would make changes to the original legislation and then send both bills to the governor to be signed at the same time. “I’ve been pushing for a trailer bill. … It would be very tough to pass a new gaming bill or an amended gaming bill that makes substantial changes,” Lang told Illinois Issues.
But Quinn came out strong today against reworking the plan with a trailer bill. “They have a bill. If they don’t think the bill is good enough, they should go back to the drawing board and pass another bill that’s better,” Quinn said. “Do it right the first time. If it’s not right the first time, it’s got to go in the reject pile, and [lawmakers have] got to go back to the drawing board.” When asked if he would veto SB 744, if given the chance, Quinn said, “I think anybody with common sense, if they saw that [bill], would probably throw up their hands in shock and disbelief that we would have gambling expansion in Illinois without proper oversight.”
For more on video poker and the challenges the state faces in implementing it, see Illinois Issues April 2010.
For more on the upcoming veto session, see Illinois Issues October 2011.
A legislative commission report paints a bleak picture for Illinois gaming revenues, and Gov. Pat Quinn says he plans to have specifics by the end of the month on what he wants for a gambling expansion bill.
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released a report that says total gaming revenues for the state in 2011 reached their lowest level since 2001. The state's take of riverboat, horse racing and lottery revenues for last fiscal year was about $1 billion.
Revenue for riverboat gambling decreased by almost 6 percent from Fiscal Year 2010 and made up almost 34 percent of total gaming revenues. Four years ago, riverboats contributed about 52 percent of gaming revenues. The report said revenues from riverboats are at the lowest since FY 1999.
The report pointed to the economic downturn and increased competition from neighboring states as possible causes for the drop. However, the numbers continue to suggest that the biggest contributor to the drop in Illinois casino revenues is the indoor smoking ban. “Since the indoor smoking ban began in January 2008, adjusted gross receipts for Illinois riverboats have fallen a combined 30.7 percent from pre-smoking-ban levels,” the report stated.
COGFA’s report also warned against expecting consistent revenue increases under a gaming expansion plan that will be a topic of debate during the legislature's fall veto session. “Many estimate a significant amount of one-time revenues and recurring revenues would come from gaming expansion. However, factors such as a reduced tax rate and cannibalization will make it challenging for substantial amounts of new state revenues to be realized. Lowering the tax rates would likely increase the amount spent by gaming operators on the casino[s], which, history has shown, could lead to higher attendance. … But large increases in overall adjusted gross receipts will be necessary to offset the loss of revenues from the lower tax rates and from the expected loss of revenues from existing gaming facilities that would be cannibalized by the new casinos.” The report estimates that revenues from legalizing video poker in some bars and restaurants across the state would not start coming until "FY2013 at the earliest." The state has been dragging its feet getting the licensing process off the ground and had to rebid a contract for a necessary computer system because of mathematical errors made when totaling costs associated with bids.
Quinn again pointed to fears of saturating the gaming market as he talked to reporters in Chicago today about the gaming expansion passed by the legislature last spring. “I just think it’s top heavy, I’ve said that all along. You can’t over-saturate the gambling market in metro Chicago or anywhere else. If you have too many positions and casinos, they hurt each other, and they don’t really add to the revenue. And I don’t think the people really want our state to become the Las Vegas of the Midwest.” Quinn has voiced support for a provision of the bill that calls for the creation of a casino owned by the city of Chicago.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have said negotiating with Quinn over Senate Bill 744, which would allow for slot machines at horse racing tracks, as well as five new casinos, have been difficult because Quinn won’t say what he wants. Quinn countered today that legislators have not been specific about changes they are willing to make. “I haven’t seen anything specific or tangible from the legislature. All I know is what they did on May 31.” He said he would release specific changes he would like see “later this month.”
Senate President John Cullerton put a procedural hold on the bill in the hopes of negotiating with Quinn. The governor has pointed to that move as an indicator that the plan is flawed. “Obviously they know they have some defects there, because they haven’t sent it my way,” Quinn said. He added, “obviously they’re afraid of my review, and I think they should be.”
Skokie Democratic Rep. Lou Lang, a sponsor of SB 744, said he expects the fate of the expansion will be decided one way or another when lawmakers return later this month. “The plan would be to have some finality to this gaming issue during veto session.” Cullerton backed a plan to draft a so-called trailer bill that would make changes to the original legislation and then send both bills to the governor to be signed at the same time. “I’ve been pushing for a trailer bill. … It would be very tough to pass a new gaming bill or an amended gaming bill that makes substantial changes,” Lang told Illinois Issues.
But Quinn came out strong today against reworking the plan with a trailer bill. “They have a bill. If they don’t think the bill is good enough, they should go back to the drawing board and pass another bill that’s better,” Quinn said. “Do it right the first time. If it’s not right the first time, it’s got to go in the reject pile, and [lawmakers have] got to go back to the drawing board.” When asked if he would veto SB 744, if given the chance, Quinn said, “I think anybody with common sense, if they saw that [bill], would probably throw up their hands in shock and disbelief that we would have gambling expansion in Illinois without proper oversight.”
For more on video poker and the challenges the state faces in implementing it, see Illinois Issues April 2010.
For more on the upcoming veto session, see Illinois Issues October 2011.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Union asks state to slow down on closures
By Jamey Dunn
A union representing public employees is asking lawmakers to slow down on their timeline to consider the closure of several state facilities.
A union representing public employees is asking lawmakers to slow down on their timeline to consider the closure of several state facilities.
According to Gov. Pat Quinn, the budget passed by lawmakers falls
$313.5 million short of paying for state operations through the end of the current fiscal
year. The governor’s proposed solution includes closing seven state
facilities and laying off about 1,900
employees, which he said will save the state about $54.8 million.
But Henry Bayer, executive director of the Council 31 of the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said the
schedule for hearings before the legislature's Commission on Government Forecasting and
Accountability, which will make recommendations on the proposed closures, would
discourage input from the public. “[T]he administration is intent on
implementing these closures as quickly as possible with as little public
scrutiny as possible. Unfortunately, it appears that COGFA is prepared to
collaborate in this effort to stifle public review and input rather than
seeking to provide an independent review based on the broadest possible public
examination of the facts — as is the clear intent of the law,”
Bayer stated in a letter sent to COGFA members.
A statement from AFSCME says that scheduling a hearing on
the Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford for next Wednesday — giving
the public a week of notice — as well as
scheduling another hearing on the Murphysboro Youth Center in Carbondale on a weekday morning makes it difficult for concerned citizens from
the community and employees of the facilities to attend. AFSCME also complained
that COGFA does not plan to conduct a hearing on the Tinley Park Mental Health Center because the commission already voted in support of closing the
institution in 2009.
AFSCME is asking that hearings be held on nights or
weekends, that two weeks notice is given before any hearings and that the
hearings be held in the same municipality as the facilities being considered
for closure.
Hinsdale Republican Rep. Patricia Bellock, a COGFA co-chair,
said scheduling decisions are based solely on the logistics of trying to
get as many COGFA members to a hearing as possible. She adds that the legally required timeline for a facility closure forces COGFA to act quickly when making
recommendations. “We certainly want to give transparency. The whole reason we
are having theses hearings is so that people can have public comments.”
Bellock, who voted to close the Tinley Park center in 2009, said she understands that things have changed since then, but she said she does not know if COGFA will reverse its decision about holding a new hearing. “We did have the hearing. We had a long hearing on it.”
Bellock said that no matter how soon COGFA makes its
recommendations, the closure of any of the state faculties will take time if it
is to be done right. “It took us over
two years to transition people out of Howe [Developmental Center in Tinley Park.] …. So the governor, I know he feels
financial pressures, but at the same time these are people’s lives and these
are people’s jobs and these are people’s communities.”
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