By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn said any concealed carry bill in Illinois would have to contain safety restrictions to get his approval.
“The court did say for the reasons of public safety that reasonable limitations can be applied...and I think it’s important that we stress that. Public safety comes first,” Quinn told reporters in Chicago today.
After a federal court ordered the General Assembly yesterday to approve a concealed carry law within 180 days, supporters said they would not be as willing to compromise on a more restrictive bill. “We just wanted them to work with us in the past, and they never wanted to,” Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat, said of those who did not back his concealed carry legislation. After Quinn stated publicly that he would veto the bill, Phelps’ bill legislation did not get enough votes to pass when it was called on the House last year. His proposal required training for a concealed carry permit and put limits on where guns would be allowed. But now that a court has signed off on concealed carry, Phelps and others say they will likely present a less restrictive plan. “You can’t argue with the courts,” he said.
Quinn did not get specific on what he wants to see in a bill, but he said public safety is his priority. “We’re going to take a look at everything: not only bills that have been introduced in Illinois, but the laws that exist in other states. We want to get the very best law that protects public safety. That’s where I’m coming from, and I’m going to insist on that, and,frankly, you don’t have a law until you have the governor’s signature.”
Quinn said it is up to Attorney General Lisa Madigan to decide whether to appeal the ruling. “I’ll trust her judgment.”
The governor used the news of the ruling to again call for the ban of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips in Illinois “We are not going to have people marching along Michigan Avenue or any other avenue in the state of Illinois with military style assault weapons, weapons that are designed to kill people,” Quinn said today. During the veto session, the legislature overturned a veto that Quinn used to tack such a ban onto another bill. After that vote, he said he planned to back such a proposal through the legislative process.
Quinn commented on another court ruling today. The Illinois Supreme Court yesterday lifted a court order that had been preventing the governor to move ahead on a plan to close several Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. “I’m happy the court ruled in our favor, and now we’ll carry out what the court told us.”
While the Senate voted to override Quinn’s vetoes of the money for the facilities, the House let the vetoes stand. Quinn used his veto pen to remove $19.4 million for the super-maximum security prison near Tamms and $21.2 million for the women’s prison in Dwight from the budget passed by lawmakers in the spring session. In addition to the prisons, he plans to close three transition centers meant to help inmates re-enter society. He also cut $8.9 million for a youth prison in Joliet and $6.6 million for a youth prison in Murphysboro.
Quinn said without the money to fund them, the facilities cannot remain open. “We’ll follow the proper legal process in order to go through the court system, but the bottom line is last week the Illinois General Assembly did not override my veto, I vetoed money for these prisons and other facilities,” Quinn said today.
But the Quinn administration has not released a timeline for the closures and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 plans to continue its appeal, which is pending in a lower court.
“AFSCME members are extremely disappointed in this ruling. The injunction is vital to upholding the union’s right to seek judicial review of an arbitrator’s findings on crucial health and safety concerns. Nonetheless, we intend to vigorously pursue that appeal. This ruling doesn’t change the fact that closing any prison will worsen severe overcrowding throughout the correctional system, making the remaining prisons more dangerous for employees, inmates and ultimately the public,” Anders Lindall, spokesman for AFSCME Council 31, said in a written statement.
Showing posts with label State Facilities Closure Act. Show all posts
Showing posts with label State Facilities Closure Act. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Quinn's budget cuts stand
By Jamey Dunn
During the Illinois General Assembly's fall session, the House did not take up Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget vetoes, which eliminated funding for several state facilities he plans to close.
Quinn cut a total of $57 million from the budget that lawmakers sent to him, and most of the money was funding for prisons and other Illinois Department of Corrections facilities that the governor says he intends to shutter as part of a cost-savings plan.
He vetoed $19.4 million for the super-maximum security prison near Tamms and $21.2 million for the women’s prison in Dwight. In addition to the prisons, he plans to close three transition centers meant to help inmates reenter society. He also cut $8.9 million for a youth prison in Joliet and $6.6 million for a youth prison in Murphysboro. The Senate voted to override the vetoes last week, but the House did not take a vote on the issue, which all involved said was largely symbolic. Even if the House had voted to reject Quinn’s changes, he would not have been bound to spend the money to keep the facilities open.
Still, downstate legislators in support of keeping the prisons open wanted a chance to argue their case on the House floor before the House ended its veto session today. “I had the best speech ever,” said Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat. He said the closures would hurt areas of Illinois that are already economically depressed. “Tamms is a huge economic engine for that little area down there. It’s just going to be devastating for that area and for my district. The governor always says he is the jobs governor, but he is not proving it right now.” Phelps said that today was the last day to vote on the vetoes.
Quinn had been lobbying hard against an override in both chambers. “Today is a victory for the taxpayers of Illinois. The Illinois House of Representatives sent a strong message about their serious commitment to reducing spending the state cannot afford,” a written statement from Quinn’s office said.
Critics of Tamms say that the prison's high staffing numbers and low number of inmates wastes money. They claim that its policy of extreme isolation for prisoners, who often spend only an hour outside of their cells each day, equates to torture. The treatment of inmates at the prison has been condemned by a number of international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International. Those in favor of closing Tamms argue that it would help other woefully understaffed prisons reach required staffing levels because staff from the closed prisons would be transferred.
But those opposed say the closures will make the state’s already overcrowded prison system even more dangerous. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sued to keep the prisons open on the basis that the closures would put their employees in danger. So far, one arbitrator has sided with the union, saying the closure violates its contract, and one sided with Quinn, saying that the prisons could be closed safely. It is likely that a court will make the final call.
A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, Steve Brown, said Madigan did not call the bill because it would have been “at best, a symbolic kind of vote” and that the House was unlikely to reject the cuts because Republicans were not on board. House Minority Leader Tom Cross said yesterday that he would not support an override vote because he believes Quinn plans to shut down the institutions no matter what. “We have a fiscal problem in this state, and we have to recognize that someday, that we don’t have a lot of extra money.”
Quinn is pushing lawmakers to use some of the money from his vetoes to fund the Department of Children and Family Services, which took an almost $90 million hit under the budget crafted by the House. Brown said negotiations over that spending, as well as facility closures, continue. “There’s pretty wide-ranging negotiations going on over changes in the budget,” he said. “The give and take that will continue to go on is probably the most important thing in that area.”
During the Illinois General Assembly's fall session, the House did not take up Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget vetoes, which eliminated funding for several state facilities he plans to close.
Quinn cut a total of $57 million from the budget that lawmakers sent to him, and most of the money was funding for prisons and other Illinois Department of Corrections facilities that the governor says he intends to shutter as part of a cost-savings plan.
He vetoed $19.4 million for the super-maximum security prison near Tamms and $21.2 million for the women’s prison in Dwight. In addition to the prisons, he plans to close three transition centers meant to help inmates reenter society. He also cut $8.9 million for a youth prison in Joliet and $6.6 million for a youth prison in Murphysboro. The Senate voted to override the vetoes last week, but the House did not take a vote on the issue, which all involved said was largely symbolic. Even if the House had voted to reject Quinn’s changes, he would not have been bound to spend the money to keep the facilities open.
Still, downstate legislators in support of keeping the prisons open wanted a chance to argue their case on the House floor before the House ended its veto session today. “I had the best speech ever,” said Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Harrisburg Democrat. He said the closures would hurt areas of Illinois that are already economically depressed. “Tamms is a huge economic engine for that little area down there. It’s just going to be devastating for that area and for my district. The governor always says he is the jobs governor, but he is not proving it right now.” Phelps said that today was the last day to vote on the vetoes.
Quinn had been lobbying hard against an override in both chambers. “Today is a victory for the taxpayers of Illinois. The Illinois House of Representatives sent a strong message about their serious commitment to reducing spending the state cannot afford,” a written statement from Quinn’s office said.
Critics of Tamms say that the prison's high staffing numbers and low number of inmates wastes money. They claim that its policy of extreme isolation for prisoners, who often spend only an hour outside of their cells each day, equates to torture. The treatment of inmates at the prison has been condemned by a number of international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International. Those in favor of closing Tamms argue that it would help other woefully understaffed prisons reach required staffing levels because staff from the closed prisons would be transferred.
But those opposed say the closures will make the state’s already overcrowded prison system even more dangerous. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sued to keep the prisons open on the basis that the closures would put their employees in danger. So far, one arbitrator has sided with the union, saying the closure violates its contract, and one sided with Quinn, saying that the prisons could be closed safely. It is likely that a court will make the final call.
A spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan, Steve Brown, said Madigan did not call the bill because it would have been “at best, a symbolic kind of vote” and that the House was unlikely to reject the cuts because Republicans were not on board. House Minority Leader Tom Cross said yesterday that he would not support an override vote because he believes Quinn plans to shut down the institutions no matter what. “We have a fiscal problem in this state, and we have to recognize that someday, that we don’t have a lot of extra money.”
Quinn is pushing lawmakers to use some of the money from his vetoes to fund the Department of Children and Family Services, which took an almost $90 million hit under the budget crafted by the House. Brown said negotiations over that spending, as well as facility closures, continue. “There’s pretty wide-ranging negotiations going on over changes in the budget,” he said. “The give and take that will continue to go on is probably the most important thing in that area.”
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
Judge issues order halting prison closures
An Alexander County judge has issued a restraining order to block Gov. Pat Quinn’s plans to close several state corrections facilities.
According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, Judge Charles Cavaness issued the order today in Alexander County Circuit Court.
Quinn had intended to shutter a super-maximum-security prison near Tamms, a women’s prison in Dwight, adult transition centers in Decatur, Carbondale and Chicago and youth prisons in Joliet and Murphysboro, but AFSCME sued to block the closures. The union argued that moving prisoners to other overcrowded facilities would create unsafe working conditions for its members. In his order, Cavaness wrote that the closures "have the potential to make the prisons that remain more dangerous for employees."
An arbitrator ruled Friday that the closures violate the union's contract with the state and ordered Quinn and AFSCME to resolve the issue through ongoing contract negotiations.
Last month, Quinn temporarily stopped layoffs and the transfer of inmates, saying he would hold off on implementing his plan while legal proceedings played out. However, Kelly Kraft, a Quinn spokeswoman, said the administration is not backing down from the closure plan. “We are examining options.” She said Quinn hopes to resolve the matter quickly.
According to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, Judge Charles Cavaness issued the order today in Alexander County Circuit Court.
Quinn had intended to shutter a super-maximum-security prison near Tamms, a women’s prison in Dwight, adult transition centers in Decatur, Carbondale and Chicago and youth prisons in Joliet and Murphysboro, but AFSCME sued to block the closures. The union argued that moving prisoners to other overcrowded facilities would create unsafe working conditions for its members. In his order, Cavaness wrote that the closures "have the potential to make the prisons that remain more dangerous for employees."
An arbitrator ruled Friday that the closures violate the union's contract with the state and ordered Quinn and AFSCME to resolve the issue through ongoing contract negotiations.
Last month, Quinn temporarily stopped layoffs and the transfer of inmates, saying he would hold off on implementing his plan while legal proceedings played out. However, Kelly Kraft, a Quinn spokeswoman, said the administration is not backing down from the closure plan. “We are examining options.” She said Quinn hopes to resolve the matter quickly.
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Arbitrator: Prison closures violate union contract
By Jamey Dunn
An arbitrator ruled today that Gov. Pat Quinn’s plans to close several state corrections facilities violates union contracts.
The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees sued earlier this month to block the closure of seven state facilities. Quinn had planned to shutter a super-maximum security prison near Tamms, a women’s prison in Dwight, adult transition centers in Decatur, Carbondale and Chicago and youth prisons in Joliet and Murphysboro. The union and the administration agreed to take the issue to an arbitrator.
Most of the facilities were scheduled to close August 31, but Quinn agreed to put a temporary hold on the closures while legal proceedings played out, and the Associated Press reported this week that Department of Corrections officials sent letters to employees telling them to continue reporting to work.
Arbitrator Steven Bierig wrote in his finding: “The state violated the contract when it moved to close Department of Corrections Facilities and Department of Juvenile Justice Facilities prior to the conclusion of impact bargaining with the Union. The matter is remanded to the parties to conclude bargaining prior to the closure of said Facilities. The parties are ordered to conclude impact bargaining within 30 days of the date of this Award, unless agreed upon otherwise.”
AFSCME, the state’s largest public employee union, and the Quinn administration are currently negotiating contracts because the union’s previous four-year contract expired in June. Both sides agreed to extend the terms of the previous contract and seek the assistance of a mediator for future negotiations.
Today's ruling move comes the day after Cook County Circuit Court Judge Richard Billik Jr. told Quinn to submit vouchers to the comptroller’s office for AFSCME pay raises, which are under dispute. The judge has yet to decide whether the state must pay the raises, but he ordered Quinn to set aside the money so it will be available if he rules in favor of the unions. Quinn refused to pay the raises, saying that the General Assembly did not include the money in last fiscal year’s budget.
“Today's decision is another important step forward," Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31 said in a written statement. "Gov. Quinn's reckless rush to close prisons despite the consequences has been halted for now, but our work to protect the public safety continues. There is no rationale for closing these facilities. They were fully funded by the legislature, which recognizes that closing them would destabilize the entire prison system, worsen dangerous overcrowding and put the safety of employees, inmates, youth and the public at risk. We urge Gov. Quinn to drop his push to close needed prisons, undermine communities and destroy good jobs.”
AFSCME has asked a judge to make the ruling binding and order the state to comply. However, the Quinn administration has filed an appeal and asked that the ruling be vacated. "As we work to move Illinois forward by closing tax payer funded facilities the state no longer needs that are empty, half full, outdated and expensive to operate--it is disappointing that progress to make Illinois a better place and to put its financial house in order continues to be halted," Kelly Kraft, a Quinn spokeswoman, said in a written statement. "We remain committed to our closure plans and are eager to resolve this matter as quickly as possible."
An arbitrator ruled today that Gov. Pat Quinn’s plans to close several state corrections facilities violates union contracts.
The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees sued earlier this month to block the closure of seven state facilities. Quinn had planned to shutter a super-maximum security prison near Tamms, a women’s prison in Dwight, adult transition centers in Decatur, Carbondale and Chicago and youth prisons in Joliet and Murphysboro. The union and the administration agreed to take the issue to an arbitrator.
Most of the facilities were scheduled to close August 31, but Quinn agreed to put a temporary hold on the closures while legal proceedings played out, and the Associated Press reported this week that Department of Corrections officials sent letters to employees telling them to continue reporting to work.
Arbitrator Steven Bierig wrote in his finding: “The state violated the contract when it moved to close Department of Corrections Facilities and Department of Juvenile Justice Facilities prior to the conclusion of impact bargaining with the Union. The matter is remanded to the parties to conclude bargaining prior to the closure of said Facilities. The parties are ordered to conclude impact bargaining within 30 days of the date of this Award, unless agreed upon otherwise.”
AFSCME, the state’s largest public employee union, and the Quinn administration are currently negotiating contracts because the union’s previous four-year contract expired in June. Both sides agreed to extend the terms of the previous contract and seek the assistance of a mediator for future negotiations.
Today's ruling move comes the day after Cook County Circuit Court Judge Richard Billik Jr. told Quinn to submit vouchers to the comptroller’s office for AFSCME pay raises, which are under dispute. The judge has yet to decide whether the state must pay the raises, but he ordered Quinn to set aside the money so it will be available if he rules in favor of the unions. Quinn refused to pay the raises, saying that the General Assembly did not include the money in last fiscal year’s budget.
“Today's decision is another important step forward," Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31 said in a written statement. "Gov. Quinn's reckless rush to close prisons despite the consequences has been halted for now, but our work to protect the public safety continues. There is no rationale for closing these facilities. They were fully funded by the legislature, which recognizes that closing them would destabilize the entire prison system, worsen dangerous overcrowding and put the safety of employees, inmates, youth and the public at risk. We urge Gov. Quinn to drop his push to close needed prisons, undermine communities and destroy good jobs.”
AFSCME has asked a judge to make the ruling binding and order the state to comply. However, the Quinn administration has filed an appeal and asked that the ruling be vacated. "As we work to move Illinois forward by closing tax payer funded facilities the state no longer needs that are empty, half full, outdated and expensive to operate--it is disappointing that progress to make Illinois a better place and to put its financial house in order continues to be halted," Kelly Kraft, a Quinn spokeswoman, said in a written statement. "We remain committed to our closure plans and are eager to resolve this matter as quickly as possible."
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Report of assaults stirs new debate over prison closures
By Jamey Dunn
Lawmakers and unions officials are asking Gov. Pat Quinn to but the brakes on prison closures after reports of recent assaults have surfaced.
The Associated Press reported that a corrections officer was stabbed at the Stateville Correctional Center and another guard was stabbed at the Pontiac Correctional Center in the last six weeks. The AP also reported that more than a dozen weapons have been found during recent searches of inmates cells, and that two prisoners were found unresponsive in the cell they shared. Officials from the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31, which represents prison guards, said that the two had overdosed on heroin. A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections said she could not comment on the incident because it is part of an ongoing investigation. According to the IDOC, both inmates survived.
Legislators and union leaders say the reports bolster their arguments against closing some of the state’s corrections facilities.
Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn made clear his intentions to move forward with the closures with a few strokes of his veto pen. Quinn signed the budget sent to him by the General Assembly, but he vetoed $19.4 million that was included to run the state’s only super-maximum security prison located near Tamms and the $21.2 million included to operate a women’s prison in Dwight. In addition to the prisons, he plans to close three transition centers meant to help inmates reenter society. The prisons and transition centers are scheduled to be closed on August 31. (For more on the debate surrounding the closure of Tamms, see Illinois Issues, June 2012.)
Quinn also cut $8.9 million for a youth prison in Joliet and $6.6 million for a youth prison in Murphysboro. The facility in Joliet is slated for closure on November 30, and the Murphysboro facility is scheduled for closure on August 31.
Quinn’s administration said that the assaults have nothing to do with the governor’s closure plans. “There is no evidence of an increase in weapons found or assaults within the facilities as a result of the closure plans,” Stacey Solano, a spokeswoman for the IDOC, said in a prepared statement. “As common practice, to ensure safety and security within the facilities, IDOC often searches for contraband and removes it. Inmates found to be in possession of contraband, or those who display negative behavior, are swiftly and appropriately disciplined.”
However, opponents today called for the governor to halt the closures until lawmakers return for their fall veto session scheduled for November. They said the legislature should have a chance to vote to override the governor’s vetoes before the facilities are shuttered. “They should be halted. The governor should halt them, and he should wait for the General Assembly. ... The General Assembly worked very hard on this budget. They did allocate money to keep these facilities open,” said Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31.
Lawmakers who oppose closing prisons argued that news of recent assaults undermines Quinn’s claims that the prisons will be safe after the closures. “Every prison now is overcrowded,” said Sen. Gary Forby, a Benton Democrat. “You’re going to hurt officers. You’re going to hurt prisoners. You’re going to hurt the state of Illinois.” Forby said that he and other opponents of the closures plan to lobby lawmakers to reject Quinn’s vetoes of corrections spending. “We’re going to try to override him. I’m going to stick to my guns.”
Republicans said Quinn should not have vetoed the money for prisons and then urged for spending elsewhere, such as the Department of Child and Family Services. Quinn also plans to close mental health centers and centers for the developmentally disabled as part of an effort to save money and move away from institutional care.
Sen. David Luechtefeld, an Okawville Republican, said Quinn rejected the money for facilities and “in the next breath, he doesn’t say to ‘pay some of our bills.’” He added, “It’s to simply spend the money someplace else.”
Rep. Mike Bost, a Murphysboro Republican, said: “We did our jobs. We put the money in the budget. We showed where our priorities were.”
Quinn argues that the facilities are a drain on the state’s budget, and money to fund them should instead be used to fund things that he sees as more pressing priorities. “Anyone who calls to keep these outdated, half-full, expensive facilities open is calling for the continual waste of taxpayer dollars on facilities the state no longer needs,” Kelly Kraft, a Quinn budget spokeswoman, said in a prepared statement. “The overall population is down from last year, and female entries into the system are declining. Inmates will be safely and securely transitioned into appropriate facilities fully capable of securing offenders and resulting in costs savings to Illinois taxpayers. Some will say that money was provided in the budget to keep these facilities open when in reality, legislators made a choice on how to spend taxpayer dollars: choosing outdated, half-full, expensive prisons over educating our children and keeping them safe,”
Frank Mautino, a budget point man for the House Democrats, said that the budget bills would not have had the support to clear appropriations committees and reach a floor vote in the House if they had not contained funding for the state facilities targeted for closure. “Facility closures were the linchpin of the budget. ... Amongst the committee negotiations is where it became the linchpin,” he said.
Mautino, from Spring Valley, said that while there were not explicit agreements that he knows of between lawmakers and Quinn’s office to trade votes on other issues for assurances of facilities remaining open, Quinn had staff at committee meetings, and he should know that the budget would have been shot down without the funding for state institutions. “That’s how you put a budget together,” Bayer said. “Now it’s like: ‘Heads I win; tails you lose.’ The governor got many of the things he wanted.”
He criticized Quinn for not making public all the details of his plans for closing facilities and moving staff and prisoners to new locations. “If the department has a plan, we think they have an obligation to present it, to show us that things aren’t going to be out of hand. They haven’t done that. I don’t think they can do it,” Bayer said. “They’re taking places that are already overcrowded and making them even more overcrowded and trying to lead us to believe that it won’t be any more dangerous.” But Solano said the governor’s staff met with union representatives last week, briefed them on the plan and answered their questions. “The closure of multiple facilities is an ongoing process, and the department continues to work with the union as it moves forward with responsibly carrying out the closures.”
Bayer said the union has not ruled out taking legal action if Quinn proceeds with the closures, which AFSCME maintains would create unsafe working environments for some of its members. “We’re exploring all options,” Bayer said. “We’re very concerned about the dangers that are going to be exacerbated by this move.”
Lawmakers and unions officials are asking Gov. Pat Quinn to but the brakes on prison closures after reports of recent assaults have surfaced.
The Associated Press reported that a corrections officer was stabbed at the Stateville Correctional Center and another guard was stabbed at the Pontiac Correctional Center in the last six weeks. The AP also reported that more than a dozen weapons have been found during recent searches of inmates cells, and that two prisoners were found unresponsive in the cell they shared. Officials from the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31, which represents prison guards, said that the two had overdosed on heroin. A spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Corrections said she could not comment on the incident because it is part of an ongoing investigation. According to the IDOC, both inmates survived.
Legislators and union leaders say the reports bolster their arguments against closing some of the state’s corrections facilities.
Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn made clear his intentions to move forward with the closures with a few strokes of his veto pen. Quinn signed the budget sent to him by the General Assembly, but he vetoed $19.4 million that was included to run the state’s only super-maximum security prison located near Tamms and the $21.2 million included to operate a women’s prison in Dwight. In addition to the prisons, he plans to close three transition centers meant to help inmates reenter society. The prisons and transition centers are scheduled to be closed on August 31. (For more on the debate surrounding the closure of Tamms, see Illinois Issues, June 2012.)
Quinn also cut $8.9 million for a youth prison in Joliet and $6.6 million for a youth prison in Murphysboro. The facility in Joliet is slated for closure on November 30, and the Murphysboro facility is scheduled for closure on August 31.
Quinn’s administration said that the assaults have nothing to do with the governor’s closure plans. “There is no evidence of an increase in weapons found or assaults within the facilities as a result of the closure plans,” Stacey Solano, a spokeswoman for the IDOC, said in a prepared statement. “As common practice, to ensure safety and security within the facilities, IDOC often searches for contraband and removes it. Inmates found to be in possession of contraband, or those who display negative behavior, are swiftly and appropriately disciplined.”
However, opponents today called for the governor to halt the closures until lawmakers return for their fall veto session scheduled for November. They said the legislature should have a chance to vote to override the governor’s vetoes before the facilities are shuttered. “They should be halted. The governor should halt them, and he should wait for the General Assembly. ... The General Assembly worked very hard on this budget. They did allocate money to keep these facilities open,” said Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31.
Lawmakers who oppose closing prisons argued that news of recent assaults undermines Quinn’s claims that the prisons will be safe after the closures. “Every prison now is overcrowded,” said Sen. Gary Forby, a Benton Democrat. “You’re going to hurt officers. You’re going to hurt prisoners. You’re going to hurt the state of Illinois.” Forby said that he and other opponents of the closures plan to lobby lawmakers to reject Quinn’s vetoes of corrections spending. “We’re going to try to override him. I’m going to stick to my guns.”
Republicans said Quinn should not have vetoed the money for prisons and then urged for spending elsewhere, such as the Department of Child and Family Services. Quinn also plans to close mental health centers and centers for the developmentally disabled as part of an effort to save money and move away from institutional care.
Sen. David Luechtefeld, an Okawville Republican, said Quinn rejected the money for facilities and “in the next breath, he doesn’t say to ‘pay some of our bills.’” He added, “It’s to simply spend the money someplace else.”
Rep. Mike Bost, a Murphysboro Republican, said: “We did our jobs. We put the money in the budget. We showed where our priorities were.”
Quinn argues that the facilities are a drain on the state’s budget, and money to fund them should instead be used to fund things that he sees as more pressing priorities. “Anyone who calls to keep these outdated, half-full, expensive facilities open is calling for the continual waste of taxpayer dollars on facilities the state no longer needs,” Kelly Kraft, a Quinn budget spokeswoman, said in a prepared statement. “The overall population is down from last year, and female entries into the system are declining. Inmates will be safely and securely transitioned into appropriate facilities fully capable of securing offenders and resulting in costs savings to Illinois taxpayers. Some will say that money was provided in the budget to keep these facilities open when in reality, legislators made a choice on how to spend taxpayer dollars: choosing outdated, half-full, expensive prisons over educating our children and keeping them safe,”
Frank Mautino, a budget point man for the House Democrats, said that the budget bills would not have had the support to clear appropriations committees and reach a floor vote in the House if they had not contained funding for the state facilities targeted for closure. “Facility closures were the linchpin of the budget. ... Amongst the committee negotiations is where it became the linchpin,” he said.
Mautino, from Spring Valley, said that while there were not explicit agreements that he knows of between lawmakers and Quinn’s office to trade votes on other issues for assurances of facilities remaining open, Quinn had staff at committee meetings, and he should know that the budget would have been shot down without the funding for state institutions. “That’s how you put a budget together,” Bayer said. “Now it’s like: ‘Heads I win; tails you lose.’ The governor got many of the things he wanted.”
He criticized Quinn for not making public all the details of his plans for closing facilities and moving staff and prisoners to new locations. “If the department has a plan, we think they have an obligation to present it, to show us that things aren’t going to be out of hand. They haven’t done that. I don’t think they can do it,” Bayer said. “They’re taking places that are already overcrowded and making them even more overcrowded and trying to lead us to believe that it won’t be any more dangerous.” But Solano said the governor’s staff met with union representatives last week, briefed them on the plan and answered their questions. “The closure of multiple facilities is an ongoing process, and the department continues to work with the union as it moves forward with responsibly carrying out the closures.”
Bayer said the union has not ruled out taking legal action if Quinn proceeds with the closures, which AFSCME maintains would create unsafe working environments for some of its members. “We’re exploring all options,” Bayer said. “We’re very concerned about the dangers that are going to be exacerbated by this move.”
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Unions and lawmakers push back on facility closures
By Jamey Dunn
State employee unions and some lawmakers are voicing their disappointment as Gov. Pat Quinn moves forward with the closure several state facilities.
Quinn’s administration confirmed that plans to close a super-maximum-security prison near Tamms, a women’s prison in Dwight, a juvenile justice center in Murphysboro and a juvenile justice center in Joliet are moving forward. Three centers used to transition inmates back into society would also be closed. The facilities are scheduled to close by August 31, except the juvenile justice center in Joliet, which is scheduled for closure on October 31. (For a comprehensive look at the debate over closing Tamms, see Illinois Issues, June 2102.)
Lawmakers included money in the budget to fund all state facilities through the next fiscal year, and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a legislative panel, refused to sign off on the closures when members voted during the regular session. However, the ultimate decision belongs to Quinn.
Legislators from southern Illinois, who pushed for putting funds in the budget to keep state institutions open, struck back at Quinn. “We all know that Illinois is facing a huge financial crisis that will require government to cut back and reduce spending. But if the governor wants to show he is serious about getting the state to live within its means, he should focus on all of the waste and mismanagement that occurs in Springfield and Chicago on a daily basis before handing out pink slips to all the employees at Tamms,” Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Democrat from Harrisburg, said in a written statement.
Union officials are also trying to push Quinn to change his mind. “The decision to close state facilities should not be based on political expediency. The budget sent to you by the General Assembly represents a positive intersection of fiscal and ethical issues: All of the proposed closures have dire consequences for the safety and well-being of real human beings — and all of them can be prevented. We urge you to take immediate action to stop the closures by publicly stating your intention to keep facilities open and maintain the funding levels designated by the General Assembly,” Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31, wrote in a letter recently sent to Quinn. Lawmakers opposed to the closures and corrections workers also held a news conference outside of Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon’s Carbondale office today.
But Quinn’s administration says it has already participated in the listening portion of the process. “The governor’s decision to close several facilities was made after careful consideration and extensive deliberation with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice. While we have heard many voices and participated fully in the COGFA process, the fact remains that the state can no longer afford these facilities if we truly want to address the state's budget challenges that have been created over decades of fiscal mismanagement,” Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for Quinn’s budget office, said in a prepared statement. Kraft said increased Medicaid and pension costs have squeezed out other spending and made the closures a budgeting necessity.
According to Quinn’s office, the closure will affect about 720 employees, but those workers will have a chance to move to positions at other state institutions. "We have also directed our two jobs agencies — the Departments of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Employment Security — to be on the ground in the affected communities to guide these employees through their transitions. They have a comprehensive and coordinated set of resources to provide direct, customized assistance to those facing unemployment to ensure they are matched with available job opportunities in the region or the training needed to secure a job,” said a written statement from Quinn’s office. “Both agencies will work with all employees by conducting workshops that will guide them through the unemployment application process, as well as assist with job search. DCEO and IDES websites will continually be updated with upcoming job fair information, available workshops and other changes that may impact employees.”
State employee unions and some lawmakers are voicing their disappointment as Gov. Pat Quinn moves forward with the closure several state facilities.
Quinn’s administration confirmed that plans to close a super-maximum-security prison near Tamms, a women’s prison in Dwight, a juvenile justice center in Murphysboro and a juvenile justice center in Joliet are moving forward. Three centers used to transition inmates back into society would also be closed. The facilities are scheduled to close by August 31, except the juvenile justice center in Joliet, which is scheduled for closure on October 31. (For a comprehensive look at the debate over closing Tamms, see Illinois Issues, June 2102.)
Lawmakers included money in the budget to fund all state facilities through the next fiscal year, and the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability, a legislative panel, refused to sign off on the closures when members voted during the regular session. However, the ultimate decision belongs to Quinn.
Legislators from southern Illinois, who pushed for putting funds in the budget to keep state institutions open, struck back at Quinn. “We all know that Illinois is facing a huge financial crisis that will require government to cut back and reduce spending. But if the governor wants to show he is serious about getting the state to live within its means, he should focus on all of the waste and mismanagement that occurs in Springfield and Chicago on a daily basis before handing out pink slips to all the employees at Tamms,” Rep. Brandon Phelps, a Democrat from Harrisburg, said in a written statement.
Union officials are also trying to push Quinn to change his mind. “The decision to close state facilities should not be based on political expediency. The budget sent to you by the General Assembly represents a positive intersection of fiscal and ethical issues: All of the proposed closures have dire consequences for the safety and well-being of real human beings — and all of them can be prevented. We urge you to take immediate action to stop the closures by publicly stating your intention to keep facilities open and maintain the funding levels designated by the General Assembly,” Henry Bayer, executive director of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Council 31, wrote in a letter recently sent to Quinn. Lawmakers opposed to the closures and corrections workers also held a news conference outside of Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon’s Carbondale office today.
But Quinn’s administration says it has already participated in the listening portion of the process. “The governor’s decision to close several facilities was made after careful consideration and extensive deliberation with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice. While we have heard many voices and participated fully in the COGFA process, the fact remains that the state can no longer afford these facilities if we truly want to address the state's budget challenges that have been created over decades of fiscal mismanagement,” Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for Quinn’s budget office, said in a prepared statement. Kraft said increased Medicaid and pension costs have squeezed out other spending and made the closures a budgeting necessity.
According to Quinn’s office, the closure will affect about 720 employees, but those workers will have a chance to move to positions at other state institutions. "We have also directed our two jobs agencies — the Departments of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Employment Security — to be on the ground in the affected communities to guide these employees through their transitions. They have a comprehensive and coordinated set of resources to provide direct, customized assistance to those facing unemployment to ensure they are matched with available job opportunities in the region or the training needed to secure a job,” said a written statement from Quinn’s office. “Both agencies will work with all employees by conducting workshops that will guide them through the unemployment application process, as well as assist with job search. DCEO and IDES websites will continually be updated with upcoming job fair information, available workshops and other changes that may impact employees.”
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Legislative panel isn't on board with facility closures
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.
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.
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, January 19, 2012
Quinn plans to close Jacksonville and Tinley Park facilities
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn today announced plans to close the Tinley Park Mental Health Center and the Jacksonville Developmental Center as part of a larger proposal to close several state institutions.
Quinn previously proposed the closure of seven state facilities because he said there was not enough money in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget to keep them open. Lawmakers worked out a budget deal in November to keep the institutions open through the end of FY 2012, but Quinn said he planned to move ahead with closures after the end of the fiscal year.
Under the plan, 600 of the about 2,000 people with developmental disabilities currently in state institutions would be moved into community care settings over the next two and a half years, up to four state centers for the developmentally disabled would be closed and two state mental health centers would also be shuttered.
“My administration is committed to increasing community care options and improving the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions,” Gov. Pat Quinn said in a prepared statement. “The approach we are taking will allow for the safe transition of care for some of our most vulnerable citizens to community care settings. I want to thank the members of the public, the General Assembly and advocates who worked with my administration to meet this challenge and help our state move forward.”
Under the governor’s proposal, the Tinley Park Mental Health Center would shut down in July, and the Jacksonville Developmental Center would close in October.
The Tinley Park Center primarily serves so-called acute care patients, who typically stay between 24 hours to 21 days. The administration plans to halt admissions at Tinley in time for all patients to complete treatment before the closure, but no date has been chosen yet. “The [Department of Mental Health], however, is actively securing additional beds at community providers and hospitals in the area surrounding Tinley Park [Mental Health Center] to ensure that services in the area are not interrupted,” said a summary of the plan issued by Quinn’s office.
According to the governor’s office, several factors were weighed when considering which facilities to close, including the age of the facility, the amount of deferred maintenance and repairs, the level and quality of care and the economic impact.
But Rep. Jim Watson, a Republican from Jacksonville, said that he thinks administration officials knew what facilities they wanted to close and created the rubric to fit those institutions. “It was pretty obvious that they developed criteria to get the outcome they wanted.” Watson was part of a working group that took up the issue of which facilities should be on the chopping block. “I think that they picked facilities that were largely downstate geographically where he did not fare well and then picked them in mainly Republican districts.”
Watson noted that Tinley Park us in northern Illinois, but he said it made the list because Quinn has been considering closing it for a while. Both of the facilities announced today were also on the list for closure under the governor’s previous plan.
Unions representing the workers and families of residents at the state’s developmental center say Quinn has not included them in talks over closure decisions. Watson said he thinks that Quinn is listening to advocates on just one side of the issue. “As a governor, don’t you have to be responsive to both sides of the issue and the entire state?” he asked. Watson was critical of Quinn for being in Washington, D.C., when the word came down about planned facility closures today. “I think it’s reflective [of his mindset on the issue] that the governor today is in [Washington,] D.C., when he makes an announcement that affects the lives of thousands of Illinoisans.”
Union officials complained earlier this week about working group meetings that were held outside of the public view and said Quinn was moving forward without their input. “Mental health and developmental centers provide essential health care services in communities across Illinois. When these facilities are threatened, what’s at stake is life or death for men and women who need intensive developmental services or treatment in mental health crisis and have nowhere else to go. The closure push appears based on politics and budget considerations, not what’s best for individuals, families and communities. It’s grossly irresponsible to plot to close these facilities behind closed doors,” Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said in a written statement.
“The governor’s office has not reached out to us at all,” said Rita Burke, president of the Illinois League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled, which represents parent organizations from the state facilities. “My concern about these particular people making decisions that are monumental in meaning in scope for families is that I don’t believe that they are intimately knowledgeable about the facilities or about the residents.” She said that the quota-driven nature of the plan could force people into the community against their will or into situations that do not provide an appropriate level of care.
Advocates for delivering care in smaller settings argue that receiving services in one’s home or a home-like setting with fewer residents allows developmentally disabled adults more freedom, flexibility and the ability to be a part of their community through activities, such as holding a job or volunteering. “Community-based care is about quality of life,” Kevin Casey, director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, said in a prepared statement. “Through this careful, deliberate process, Illinois will improve quality of life for hundreds of people with developmental disabilities, while realizing significant savings through the closure of a costly state facility.” The Department of Human Services said it would conduct thorough assessments, so residents of facilities would be matched with the services they need when they are outside of institutions. The plan is to move 20 residents per month out of institutional care.
Supporters also highlight the potential cost savings that could come from closing facilities and serving those with developmental disabilities and mental health needs in community settings. According to the Department of Human Services, operations at the Jacksonville Developmental Center cost about $29.7 million annually. Under Quinn’s plan, the state would invest about $16.2 million in community care and save about $11.7 million. Tinley Park Mental Health Center has an annual operating cost of about $20.6 million. The state would invest $9.8 million in community mental health programs and save about $8.1 million.
But Watson said that losing the economic stimulus that the facilities provide to the local communities is not worth savings that seem somewhat meager when compared with the overall state budget. “Is this financial or is this philosophical?” he asked.
“If the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity could make an investment of $12 million and get an economic impact of $47 million, they would do it in a heartbeat,” Watson said of the plan to close the facility in Jacksonville.
For more on the state's shift away from institutional care, see the upcoming February issue of Illinois Issues.
Gov. Pat Quinn today announced plans to close the Tinley Park Mental Health Center and the Jacksonville Developmental Center as part of a larger proposal to close several state institutions.
Quinn previously proposed the closure of seven state facilities because he said there was not enough money in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget to keep them open. Lawmakers worked out a budget deal in November to keep the institutions open through the end of FY 2012, but Quinn said he planned to move ahead with closures after the end of the fiscal year.
Under the plan, 600 of the about 2,000 people with developmental disabilities currently in state institutions would be moved into community care settings over the next two and a half years, up to four state centers for the developmentally disabled would be closed and two state mental health centers would also be shuttered.
“My administration is committed to increasing community care options and improving the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities and mental health conditions,” Gov. Pat Quinn said in a prepared statement. “The approach we are taking will allow for the safe transition of care for some of our most vulnerable citizens to community care settings. I want to thank the members of the public, the General Assembly and advocates who worked with my administration to meet this challenge and help our state move forward.”
Under the governor’s proposal, the Tinley Park Mental Health Center would shut down in July, and the Jacksonville Developmental Center would close in October.
The Tinley Park Center primarily serves so-called acute care patients, who typically stay between 24 hours to 21 days. The administration plans to halt admissions at Tinley in time for all patients to complete treatment before the closure, but no date has been chosen yet. “The [Department of Mental Health], however, is actively securing additional beds at community providers and hospitals in the area surrounding Tinley Park [Mental Health Center] to ensure that services in the area are not interrupted,” said a summary of the plan issued by Quinn’s office.
According to the governor’s office, several factors were weighed when considering which facilities to close, including the age of the facility, the amount of deferred maintenance and repairs, the level and quality of care and the economic impact.
But Rep. Jim Watson, a Republican from Jacksonville, said that he thinks administration officials knew what facilities they wanted to close and created the rubric to fit those institutions. “It was pretty obvious that they developed criteria to get the outcome they wanted.” Watson was part of a working group that took up the issue of which facilities should be on the chopping block. “I think that they picked facilities that were largely downstate geographically where he did not fare well and then picked them in mainly Republican districts.”
Watson noted that Tinley Park us in northern Illinois, but he said it made the list because Quinn has been considering closing it for a while. Both of the facilities announced today were also on the list for closure under the governor’s previous plan.
Unions representing the workers and families of residents at the state’s developmental center say Quinn has not included them in talks over closure decisions. Watson said he thinks that Quinn is listening to advocates on just one side of the issue. “As a governor, don’t you have to be responsive to both sides of the issue and the entire state?” he asked. Watson was critical of Quinn for being in Washington, D.C., when the word came down about planned facility closures today. “I think it’s reflective [of his mindset on the issue] that the governor today is in [Washington,] D.C., when he makes an announcement that affects the lives of thousands of Illinoisans.”
Union officials complained earlier this week about working group meetings that were held outside of the public view and said Quinn was moving forward without their input. “Mental health and developmental centers provide essential health care services in communities across Illinois. When these facilities are threatened, what’s at stake is life or death for men and women who need intensive developmental services or treatment in mental health crisis and have nowhere else to go. The closure push appears based on politics and budget considerations, not what’s best for individuals, families and communities. It’s grossly irresponsible to plot to close these facilities behind closed doors,” Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said in a written statement.
“The governor’s office has not reached out to us at all,” said Rita Burke, president of the Illinois League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled, which represents parent organizations from the state facilities. “My concern about these particular people making decisions that are monumental in meaning in scope for families is that I don’t believe that they are intimately knowledgeable about the facilities or about the residents.” She said that the quota-driven nature of the plan could force people into the community against their will or into situations that do not provide an appropriate level of care.
Advocates for delivering care in smaller settings argue that receiving services in one’s home or a home-like setting with fewer residents allows developmentally disabled adults more freedom, flexibility and the ability to be a part of their community through activities, such as holding a job or volunteering. “Community-based care is about quality of life,” Kevin Casey, director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, said in a prepared statement. “Through this careful, deliberate process, Illinois will improve quality of life for hundreds of people with developmental disabilities, while realizing significant savings through the closure of a costly state facility.” The Department of Human Services said it would conduct thorough assessments, so residents of facilities would be matched with the services they need when they are outside of institutions. The plan is to move 20 residents per month out of institutional care.
Supporters also highlight the potential cost savings that could come from closing facilities and serving those with developmental disabilities and mental health needs in community settings. According to the Department of Human Services, operations at the Jacksonville Developmental Center cost about $29.7 million annually. Under Quinn’s plan, the state would invest about $16.2 million in community care and save about $11.7 million. Tinley Park Mental Health Center has an annual operating cost of about $20.6 million. The state would invest $9.8 million in community mental health programs and save about $8.1 million.
But Watson said that losing the economic stimulus that the facilities provide to the local communities is not worth savings that seem somewhat meager when compared with the overall state budget. “Is this financial or is this philosophical?” he asked.
“If the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity could make an investment of $12 million and get an economic impact of $47 million, they would do it in a heartbeat,” Watson said of the plan to close the facility in Jacksonville.
For more on the state's shift away from institutional care, see the upcoming February issue of Illinois Issues.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Human services spending restored as part of larger budget deal
By Ashley Griffin
As part of legislation that will keep some state institutions open through the current fiscal year, the Illinois General Assembly also approved more spending for some human services programs.
With all eyes on a plan to halt state facility closures and avert 1,900 layoff, the General Assembly was able to quietly restore millions to some human services programs statewide in cash-stricken times.
Teen Parent Services, which helps low-income parents younger than 20 receive their GEDs and offers parent training classes, received $1.4 million under Senate Bill 2412.“Redeploy Illinois,” a program designed to provide services to youth 13 to 18 years old who are in the juvenile system and are at high risk of being committed to the Department of Corrections, received $2.4 million.
Legislators also allocated $1.4 million to the state’s Homeless Prevention program. Sen. Heather Steans, one of the sponsors of the bill, said that if programs to address homelessness did not receive funding now, it would lead to larger problems and costs for the state because more people would end up in emergency rooms, institutionalized and on the streets. “We were making sure it was getting maintained, not cut out completely,” said Steans, a Chicago Democrat. Senate Democrats pushed for more human services spending last summer but lost when the House and Gov. Pat Quinn refused to go along with the plan.
The Homeless Prevention program was designed to help provide rental assistance, utility assistance and supportive services to individuals and families who are at risk of being evicted or entering foreclosure on their homes. For the past five years, the program has provided counseling, job preparation and assistance with rent or security deposits. It is administered by six centers in the Chicago area and more than 75 sites statewide that aim to help families remain in their homes by offering various programs such a one-month rental-assistance program and emergency funds for families.
According to the Department of Human Service’s website, the program served more than 14,000 households in Fiscal Year 2007. The state’s economic downturn has brought a growing demand for social services and left the state climbing to the top of the nation’s largest inventory of foreclosed homes. A May 2011 RealtyTrac report showed the Chicago metropolitan area had 118,776 homes in foreclosure.
“I think there’s a lot of cold people in the street in the winter months, and homeless families have it the worst. … At the end of the day, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to make an inhuman line item to cut the program,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a Democrat from Chicago. Currently, more than 14,000 Illinoisans experience homelessness each night, according to a report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Although some legislators pushed for the increase in spending for human services, a recent budget projection from Quinn revealed the state plans to spend $507 million more than it will take in during the current fiscal year. The state is also set to hit $7 billion in overdue bills to vendors — including human service providers — by the end of FY 2012. As part of the projection, Quinn called for a 9 percent cut to state spending, with the exception of education and health care, paving the way for potentially large human services cuts in FY 2013.
While Feigenholtz acknowledges that FY 2012 was a difficult budget year, she said the state must address the backlog of bills, and she predicted that the next budget could possibly send major cuts to human services. “We have to start paying our bills and stop spending,” Feigenholtz said. “As bad as last year was, it may be a walk in the park compared to this year budget.”
As part of legislation that will keep some state institutions open through the current fiscal year, the Illinois General Assembly also approved more spending for some human services programs.
With all eyes on a plan to halt state facility closures and avert 1,900 layoff, the General Assembly was able to quietly restore millions to some human services programs statewide in cash-stricken times.
Teen Parent Services, which helps low-income parents younger than 20 receive their GEDs and offers parent training classes, received $1.4 million under Senate Bill 2412.“Redeploy Illinois,” a program designed to provide services to youth 13 to 18 years old who are in the juvenile system and are at high risk of being committed to the Department of Corrections, received $2.4 million.
Legislators also allocated $1.4 million to the state’s Homeless Prevention program. Sen. Heather Steans, one of the sponsors of the bill, said that if programs to address homelessness did not receive funding now, it would lead to larger problems and costs for the state because more people would end up in emergency rooms, institutionalized and on the streets. “We were making sure it was getting maintained, not cut out completely,” said Steans, a Chicago Democrat. Senate Democrats pushed for more human services spending last summer but lost when the House and Gov. Pat Quinn refused to go along with the plan.
The Homeless Prevention program was designed to help provide rental assistance, utility assistance and supportive services to individuals and families who are at risk of being evicted or entering foreclosure on their homes. For the past five years, the program has provided counseling, job preparation and assistance with rent or security deposits. It is administered by six centers in the Chicago area and more than 75 sites statewide that aim to help families remain in their homes by offering various programs such a one-month rental-assistance program and emergency funds for families.
According to the Department of Human Service’s website, the program served more than 14,000 households in Fiscal Year 2007. The state’s economic downturn has brought a growing demand for social services and left the state climbing to the top of the nation’s largest inventory of foreclosed homes. A May 2011 RealtyTrac report showed the Chicago metropolitan area had 118,776 homes in foreclosure.
“I think there’s a lot of cold people in the street in the winter months, and homeless families have it the worst. … At the end of the day, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to make an inhuman line item to cut the program,” said Rep. Sara Feigenholtz, a Democrat from Chicago. Currently, more than 14,000 Illinoisans experience homelessness each night, according to a report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Although some legislators pushed for the increase in spending for human services, a recent budget projection from Quinn revealed the state plans to spend $507 million more than it will take in during the current fiscal year. The state is also set to hit $7 billion in overdue bills to vendors — including human service providers — by the end of FY 2012. As part of the projection, Quinn called for a 9 percent cut to state spending, with the exception of education and health care, paving the way for potentially large human services cuts in FY 2013.
While Feigenholtz acknowledges that FY 2012 was a difficult budget year, she said the state must address the backlog of bills, and she predicted that the next budget could possibly send major cuts to human services. “We have to start paying our bills and stop spending,” Feigenholtz said. “As bad as last year was, it may be a walk in the park compared to this year budget.”
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tax plan fails while budget plan sails
By Jamey Dunn
In a session day that one legislative leader described as “ a mixed bag,” lawmakers approved a budget deal to keep state facilities open but failed to pass a tax incentive package geared at keeping businesses in the state.
“We just don’t have an agreement yet as far as I know,” said Senate President John Cullerton.
In a session day that one legislative leader described as “ a mixed bag,” lawmakers approved a budget deal to keep state facilities open but failed to pass a tax incentive package geared at keeping businesses in the state.
Legislators returned to the Statehouse today for a single session day that was scheduled for the explicit purpose of approving a tax break plan meant to appease the CME group, which owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board of Trade, and Sears. Both businesses have threatened to leave the state in recent months.
But the two chambers were unable to agree on a bill. Yesterday, a House committee approved Senate Bill 397, scaled back version of previous plans that had been floated. However the Senate approved House Bill 1883 this afternoon. (Each chamber amended a bill from the other chamber and added its plan.) The Senate measure mirrors the House version except for a few important areas that became the sticking points that prevented lawmakers from finding an agreement that could clear both chambers today.
“We just don’t have an agreement yet as far as I know,” said Senate President John Cullerton.
HB 1883, like SB 397, offers about $200 million in tax breaks to CME and Sears. Both bills also include an extension of the research and envelopment tax credit and a reinstatement of the net operating loss provision in 2012 for losses up to $100,000.
However, the proposal from the Senate offers more tax breaks for individuals. Under SB 397 the earned income tax credit would increase from 5 percent of the federal credit to 7.5 percent in 2012 and 10 percent in 2013. The House version only calls for an increase of 7.5 percent. The Senate plan would link the personal tax exemption to the federal exemption, while the House plan would only tack on a flat $50 to the exemption. The House shot down HB 1883, with 99 “no” votes and only 8 “yes” votes. Cullerton said he doubts that the Senate would approve SB 397 because of the lower earned income tax credit.
Rep. John Bradley, who worked on SB 397, said many in the his chamber think the proposal from the Senate is too costly. He said his plan relies on a tax credit that is being fazed out and would not dip into general revenue funds in the near future. “We had created a package that we felt was sustainable without getting into general revenue funds,” he said. Bradley, a Marion Democrat, said the Senate’s larger earned income tax credit would cost about $50 million more than the House plan annually, and the personal exemption would be about $25 million a year.
Bradley announced on the House floor that he did not have enough support to pass his own plan. “At this point and time,we have reached a temporary impasse. This is not going to happen tonight,” Bradley said. “We are prepared to come back as soon as there is an agreement and as soon as we are able to work this out in order to save the two companies that are threatening to leave and in order to try to provide relief to working families and relief to small business in Illinois. Unfortunately, that day is not today. Whether it’s tomorrow the next day or next week, we’re prepared to come back as soon as this is settled.”
“I think there’s ample time,” Gov. Pat Quinn said as he was leaving the Capitol this evening to catch a plane. Clearly the House and the Senate are deeply divided on the issue.” Quinn said he thinks lawmakers should “take a step back.”
He added: “If you’re going to have any kind of tax relief package, it must have significant relief for working families — raising kids, working hard. That’s my fundamental bedrock principle. And unless that happens, there won’t be any action.” Quinn supported the Senate version of the tax plan.
“We are disappointed that today, the legislature was not able to reach agreement and pass a package that will help us remain an Illinois company,” Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite said in a written statement. “It is our hope that lawmakers will achieve a compromise very soon as our timeline for making a decision about our future by the end of the year has not changed. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of many members of the General Assembly over the last several months on our behalf.”
The General Assembly did approve budget changes late this evening that are meant to avert the seven state facility closures and nearly 2,000 layoffs that Quinn announced in September.
Under the new plan, the facilities would remain open through the current fiscal year, paving the way for the governor’s plan to close some state facilities in what he describes as a slower and more deliberative manner.
“[The legislation] will enable us to create a sensible, reasonable, responsive and effective plan for moving people from state operated facilities into the community,” said Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, who sponsored the budget plan in the House. Currie, a Chicago Democrat, said the proposal would not put state spending over the caps set with the income tax approved in January.
The plan combines money from the governor’s budget vetoes with cash transferred from various state funds and Medicaid reimbursements brought in from the federal government. The total amount of dollars shifted would be more than $270 million, and a strategy called “churning” is projected to bring in an additional $136 million in Medicaid dollars from the feds. Just over $200 million is slated to keep state facilitates open. Additional money would be spent on human services and other programs that Quinn and some lawmakers did not want to see cut in the budget that was approved in the spring, including:
- $30 million for mental health programs.
- $4.7 million for programs to combat homelessness.
- $8 million for indigent burials.
- $28 million for substance abuse programs.
- $33 million for Monetary Award Program grants for college students.
Opponents voiced frustration over the funds that were not restored. Rep. Roger Eddy, who is a school superintendent in Hutsonville, said it was “unfair” that money for transportation, which has been drastically cut in recent years, was not restored when state law requires schools to provide transportation. Eddy, a Republican, said the transportation cut hits downstate school districts harder than Chicago districts, which are mostly represented by Democrats. Eddy said downstate legislators agreed to shift money from funds for spending that did not end up in the final bill. “That money wasn’t used exactly the way we thought it was going to be used.” The plan passed with no debate in the Senate.
Kelly Kraft, a spokesperson for Quinn’s budget office, said Quinn is working to avoid all layoffs announced under his original closure plan. However, she said the state might have to work out agreements with unions for employees who have already been laid off.
“That, I think, was a great victory for the public that we are able to have adequate human services,” Quinn said. “Think back [to] last summer of how dire this was. We were able to, I think, rescue the people of Illinois from a budget disaster.”
Republican Leader Christine Radogno, who called the session a “mixed bag,” said Quinn should have been more actively involved in the tax plan. She said when the two chambers battle over an issue, as they have tended to do recently, Quinn should work to diffuse the situation and find a compromise. She said a deal was not reached today because of "a failure of leadership."
Republican Leader Christine Radogno, who called the session a “mixed bag,” said Quinn should have been more actively involved in the tax plan. She said when the two chambers battle over an issue, as they have tended to do recently, Quinn should work to diffuse the situation and find a compromise. She said a deal was not reached today because of "a failure of leadership."
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.
Monday, October 03, 2011
Arbitrator: Closure plan violates agreement with unions
By Jamey Dunn
The same arbitrator who ruled that Gov. Pat Quinn owes state employees the raises he has refused to pay, found today that if Quinn moves forward with his plan to close state facilities, Illinois may end up owing some state employees even more.
Arbitrator Edwin Benn’s ruling issued today said Quinn must stick to the deal he made with a public employee union. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had agreed to cost saving measures that included a reduction in the raises in their contracts in exchange for a promise of no facility closures or layoffs. Benn said if the state does not hold up its end of the deal, it would be required to pay back wages and medical costs for employees who are put out of work by Quinn’s plan. “No employees represented by the Union can be laid off through June 30, 2012; the seven mental health and correctional facilities targeted for closure cannot be closed prior to July 1, 2012; and if any employees represented by the Union are laid off, bumped or transferred as a result of layoffs and facility closures involved in this matter prior to July 1, 2012, those employees shall be reinstated and returned to their former positions and made whole in all respects for their losses flowing from the State’s violation of its contractual promises to not lay off employees and to not close facilities prior to July 1, 2012,” the ruling stated.
Benn said the state would also be on the hook for damages paid to employees who went through certain hardships as a result of a layoff. “If as a result of the state’s violation of the cost savings agreements, adversely impacted employees are put in a position of not being able to make timely payments on their homes or cars and are foreclosed upon or evicted or otherwise forced to move from their residences, as part of the make whole relief, the state shall compensate the employees for those losses.”
Union officials said Quinn should halt his plans and avoid the risk of having to pay costly settlements to workers. “This order is unequivocal. Governor Quinn should rescind all threatened layoffs and closures,” Henry Bayer, AFSCME Council 31 executive director, said in a written statement. “Failure to do so will not only harm the vital public services state employees provide, it will expose the state to significant damages for lost wages, benefits and other costs incurred as a result of the governor’s irresponsible actions.”
The ruling included a timeline for the planned layoffs and facility closures, as well as the number of union employees that would be affected:
The arbitrator noted that laid off workers would face a tough jobs climate due to high unemployment rates — which range from 7.8 percent in Jackson County, where the Illinois Youth Center is located, to 13 percent in Winnebago County, home to the Singer Mental Health Center. “Employees who gave concessions to ease the state’s financial difficulties, and in return were promised by the state that they had job security and would not be laid off through June 30, 2012 will, because of the state’s violation of its promises, be thrown into an economy with little chance of finding comparable employment.” Anders Lindall, spokesperson for AFSCME Council 31, said elected officials should avoid creating more jobless Illinoisans. He points to recent incentives Quinn has offered corporations such as Motorola to keep jobs in the state. “If you imagine a plant closure or a business or corporation threatening to leave the state and take 2,000 jobs with them, you would hope that the governor and every other elected official would be there to save those jobs,” Lindall said. “But what we are facing right now is just that situation — state government threatening to throw 2,000 women and men out of work across the state.”
Quinn, who has previously defended the no layoffs deal with AFSCME, has said he has no other options based on the budget that lawmakers approved. He said that under that budget, if he does not skip pay raises, close the facilities and institute layoffs, the state will run out of money before the end of the current fiscal year. “[Lawmakers who approved the budget] knew exactly what they were doing. They knew there would not be enough money to maintain our facilities for the whole fiscal year or maintain our workforce for the whole fiscal year,” Quinn said when he announced the closures. According to the governor, his budget proposal, which called for billions more in spending than the plan he signed, included funding to avoid layoffs and institute pay raises. “This ruling does not change the fact that the money to run all these facilities for the entire year was not appropriated by the General Assembly. You can’t spend money you don’t have,” said a statement issued by Quinn’s office today.
Benn said Quinn’s argument is outside of his realm of consideration. “The statutory, Constitutional and other non-contract arguments raised by the state in which the state seeks to avoid its contractual obligations are not for me as an arbitrator to decide. My function is to interpret the state’s contractual obligations, and those obligations are clear and have been violated. The state’s statutory, Constitutional and other non-contractual arguments are to be resolved by the courts.” Benn predicted a lawsuit and urged any judges who take up the case to decide it quickly, given the state’s timeline for facility closures.
“Arbitrator Benn concedes that he does not have jurisdiction over the Illinois Constitution and statutes that apply to this issue, and both the Constitution and statutes remain to be addressed by the courts. We will seek to stay and vacate the decision while we continue to manage the budget so that core services the people of Illinois depend upon can be provided for the entire year,” said Quinn’s statement.
Hearings on the facility closures begin this week.
The same arbitrator who ruled that Gov. Pat Quinn owes state employees the raises he has refused to pay, found today that if Quinn moves forward with his plan to close state facilities, Illinois may end up owing some state employees even more.
Arbitrator Edwin Benn’s ruling issued today said Quinn must stick to the deal he made with a public employee union. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees had agreed to cost saving measures that included a reduction in the raises in their contracts in exchange for a promise of no facility closures or layoffs. Benn said if the state does not hold up its end of the deal, it would be required to pay back wages and medical costs for employees who are put out of work by Quinn’s plan. “No employees represented by the Union can be laid off through June 30, 2012; the seven mental health and correctional facilities targeted for closure cannot be closed prior to July 1, 2012; and if any employees represented by the Union are laid off, bumped or transferred as a result of layoffs and facility closures involved in this matter prior to July 1, 2012, those employees shall be reinstated and returned to their former positions and made whole in all respects for their losses flowing from the State’s violation of its contractual promises to not lay off employees and to not close facilities prior to July 1, 2012,” the ruling stated.
Benn said the state would also be on the hook for damages paid to employees who went through certain hardships as a result of a layoff. “If as a result of the state’s violation of the cost savings agreements, adversely impacted employees are put in a position of not being able to make timely payments on their homes or cars and are foreclosed upon or evicted or otherwise forced to move from their residences, as part of the make whole relief, the state shall compensate the employees for those losses.”
Union officials said Quinn should halt his plans and avoid the risk of having to pay costly settlements to workers. “This order is unequivocal. Governor Quinn should rescind all threatened layoffs and closures,” Henry Bayer, AFSCME Council 31 executive director, said in a written statement. “Failure to do so will not only harm the vital public services state employees provide, it will expose the state to significant damages for lost wages, benefits and other costs incurred as a result of the governor’s irresponsible actions.”
The ruling included a timeline for the planned layoffs and facility closures, as well as the number of union employees that would be affected:
- Tinley Park — Closure date: November 30, 2011; union layoffs: 143
- Singer Mental Health Center (Rockford) — Closure date: Dec. 31, 2011; union layoffs: 122
- Illinois Youth Center (Murphysboro) — Closure date: December 31, 2011; union layoffs: 97
- Logan Correctional Center (Lincoln) — Closure date: December 31, 2011; union layoffs: 324 Chester Mental Health Center — Closure date: March 31, 2012; Union layoffs: 419
- Jacksonville Developmental Center — Closure date: February 29, 2012; union layoffs: 390
- Jack Mabley Developmental Center (Dixon) — Closure date: February 29, 2012; union layoffs: 162
The arbitrator noted that laid off workers would face a tough jobs climate due to high unemployment rates — which range from 7.8 percent in Jackson County, where the Illinois Youth Center is located, to 13 percent in Winnebago County, home to the Singer Mental Health Center. “Employees who gave concessions to ease the state’s financial difficulties, and in return were promised by the state that they had job security and would not be laid off through June 30, 2012 will, because of the state’s violation of its promises, be thrown into an economy with little chance of finding comparable employment.” Anders Lindall, spokesperson for AFSCME Council 31, said elected officials should avoid creating more jobless Illinoisans. He points to recent incentives Quinn has offered corporations such as Motorola to keep jobs in the state. “If you imagine a plant closure or a business or corporation threatening to leave the state and take 2,000 jobs with them, you would hope that the governor and every other elected official would be there to save those jobs,” Lindall said. “But what we are facing right now is just that situation — state government threatening to throw 2,000 women and men out of work across the state.”
Quinn, who has previously defended the no layoffs deal with AFSCME, has said he has no other options based on the budget that lawmakers approved. He said that under that budget, if he does not skip pay raises, close the facilities and institute layoffs, the state will run out of money before the end of the current fiscal year. “[Lawmakers who approved the budget] knew exactly what they were doing. They knew there would not be enough money to maintain our facilities for the whole fiscal year or maintain our workforce for the whole fiscal year,” Quinn said when he announced the closures. According to the governor, his budget proposal, which called for billions more in spending than the plan he signed, included funding to avoid layoffs and institute pay raises. “This ruling does not change the fact that the money to run all these facilities for the entire year was not appropriated by the General Assembly. You can’t spend money you don’t have,” said a statement issued by Quinn’s office today.
Benn said Quinn’s argument is outside of his realm of consideration. “The statutory, Constitutional and other non-contract arguments raised by the state in which the state seeks to avoid its contractual obligations are not for me as an arbitrator to decide. My function is to interpret the state’s contractual obligations, and those obligations are clear and have been violated. The state’s statutory, Constitutional and other non-contractual arguments are to be resolved by the courts.” Benn predicted a lawsuit and urged any judges who take up the case to decide it quickly, given the state’s timeline for facility closures.
“Arbitrator Benn concedes that he does not have jurisdiction over the Illinois Constitution and statutes that apply to this issue, and both the Constitution and statutes remain to be addressed by the courts. We will seek to stay and vacate the decision while we continue to manage the budget so that core services the people of Illinois depend upon can be provided for the entire year,” said Quinn’s statement.
Hearings on the facility closures begin this week.
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.”
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Advocates support closures if handled with care
By Jamey Dunn
While some see Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close several state facilities as tinged with partisan politics or as a headline grabbing strategy to put the screws to state legislators over the budget, some advocates see it as an opportunity.
After Quinn announced the potential closure of seven facilities throughout the state as well as the layoffs of more than 1,900 state employees, some Republicans fired back. “Is this political payback and an attempt to ratchet up political pressure? Is that really the first place you need to go to save less than 1 percent of the budget?” Palatine Republican Sen. Matt Murphy asked of Quinn’s proposal.
The facilities Quinn said he plans to close are Tinley Park Mental Health Center, Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford, Jacksonville Developmental Center, Jack Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon, Logan Correction Center in Lincoln and Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro. Quinn said the budget lawmakers sent him would not fund state agencies through the end of the fiscal year. He claims a shortfall of $313.5 million and said the closures would save about $54.8 million. Quinn said he is open to working with lawmakers in the fall veto session to close the budget gap, and potentially avoid some of the closures.
But advocates for the developmentally disabled say that the closure of state mental hospitals and developmental centers — if handled properly — would be a step in the right direction. In recent years, a movement has emerged to urge the state to move away from the model of large institutions and into so-called community care providers. For many individuals, that would mean moving into group homes that have far fewer residents and that could be closer to family and loved ones than state institutions. “We see this as a wonderful opportunity. When times are tough, there are some positives that can come out of it,” said Don Moss, coordinator for the Illinois Human Services Coalition. Moss said the state must take three steps to turn such closures into a positive for the developmentally disabled community. First, Moss said any residents of the facilities that may close who want to stay in an institutional setting should have an option to transfer to another facility. “We would hope that the great majority of the individuals would chose to move into the community, and we have to gut feeling that they will.”
Moss said that caring for institutionalized individuals can cost more than $150,000 a year. He said that currently, the state spends about $50,000 annually per person receiving care in a group home. He said, while shifting people to community care will result in savings, the funding level should increase to $75,000 per person.
Moss said that getting more funding for community care could be politically difficult, given the state’s budget woes, next year’s election looming in lawmakers’ minds and the power of the unions that represent the workers facing potential layoffs. “With an election next year and [the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees] being all-powerful, there may be pressure from legislators who want to keep the jobs in their district.” But Moss said “the needs of the individuals should be prioritized over jobs for state employees and over political consideration.”
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees can be expected to fight the closures and lobby lawmakers to do all they can to stop Quinn. “This course of action would be in direct violation of negotiated agreements with our union," Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said in a prepared statement. "Moreover, it would have a dire impact on the maintenance of public safety and the delivery of services of vital importance to the people of Illinois." Bayer said that tough economic times have led to increased demands for state services, and the proposed closures and layoffs would “plunge state government into chaos.”
Moss said Quinn’s plan would also have to be undertaken gradually. “That would mean not dumping people into community programs that aren’t suitable for them or [placing residents in homes] they’re not ready for.” Moss said he thinks the state could meet Quinn’s goal of starting closures at the beginning of next year “if they begin now and plan carefully.” He said if the state rushes and floods the community care infrastructure with new clients, it would create the potential for mistakes that would set the movement back. “If there’s a series of catastrophes in the community [care] it’s going to slow down and potentially halt such movement into the community,” Moss warned. “It has to be done well or not done at all.”
Rep. Patricia Bellock, a Hinsdale Republican, agreed that Quinn’s plan could be an opportunity for those who would like to see the state’s mental health hospitals and developmental centers closed. “That is what people want. That is what the disabled community wants.” Bellock, the top Republican on the House’s Human Services Committee, said patients should be able to choose where they will go, and state funding should follow them in that choice. Bellock said that when the state closed the Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park last year, about two thirds of patients were transferred to other institutions, while one third went elsewhere, including community care facilities. Bellock does not agree with advocates such as Moss who say that all the state’s large facilities should be closed. “I feel that there probably needs to be a couple.”
Moss said members of his community hope that Quinn’s plan is genuine and not just an attempt to twist arms over budget decisions. Social services providers, as well as those needing treatment for mental illness and developmental disabilities, have been on a roller coaster ride during much of Quinn’s administration as he has threatened substantial cuts during difficult budget negotiations, only to later roll back proposed reductions. “We have to grab hold of this situation and hope to maintain the momentum,” He said of Quinn’s latest plan.
Check back tomorrow for perspectives on Quinn's plan from the juvenile justice community.
While some see Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to close several state facilities as tinged with partisan politics or as a headline grabbing strategy to put the screws to state legislators over the budget, some advocates see it as an opportunity.
After Quinn announced the potential closure of seven facilities throughout the state as well as the layoffs of more than 1,900 state employees, some Republicans fired back. “Is this political payback and an attempt to ratchet up political pressure? Is that really the first place you need to go to save less than 1 percent of the budget?” Palatine Republican Sen. Matt Murphy asked of Quinn’s proposal.
The facilities Quinn said he plans to close are Tinley Park Mental Health Center, Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford, Jacksonville Developmental Center, Jack Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon, Logan Correction Center in Lincoln and Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro. Quinn said the budget lawmakers sent him would not fund state agencies through the end of the fiscal year. He claims a shortfall of $313.5 million and said the closures would save about $54.8 million. Quinn said he is open to working with lawmakers in the fall veto session to close the budget gap, and potentially avoid some of the closures.
But advocates for the developmentally disabled say that the closure of state mental hospitals and developmental centers — if handled properly — would be a step in the right direction. In recent years, a movement has emerged to urge the state to move away from the model of large institutions and into so-called community care providers. For many individuals, that would mean moving into group homes that have far fewer residents and that could be closer to family and loved ones than state institutions. “We see this as a wonderful opportunity. When times are tough, there are some positives that can come out of it,” said Don Moss, coordinator for the Illinois Human Services Coalition. Moss said the state must take three steps to turn such closures into a positive for the developmentally disabled community. First, Moss said any residents of the facilities that may close who want to stay in an institutional setting should have an option to transfer to another facility. “We would hope that the great majority of the individuals would chose to move into the community, and we have to gut feeling that they will.”
Moss said that caring for institutionalized individuals can cost more than $150,000 a year. He said that currently, the state spends about $50,000 annually per person receiving care in a group home. He said, while shifting people to community care will result in savings, the funding level should increase to $75,000 per person.
Moss said that getting more funding for community care could be politically difficult, given the state’s budget woes, next year’s election looming in lawmakers’ minds and the power of the unions that represent the workers facing potential layoffs. “With an election next year and [the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees] being all-powerful, there may be pressure from legislators who want to keep the jobs in their district.” But Moss said “the needs of the individuals should be prioritized over jobs for state employees and over political consideration.”
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees can be expected to fight the closures and lobby lawmakers to do all they can to stop Quinn. “This course of action would be in direct violation of negotiated agreements with our union," Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said in a prepared statement. "Moreover, it would have a dire impact on the maintenance of public safety and the delivery of services of vital importance to the people of Illinois." Bayer said that tough economic times have led to increased demands for state services, and the proposed closures and layoffs would “plunge state government into chaos.”
Moss said Quinn’s plan would also have to be undertaken gradually. “That would mean not dumping people into community programs that aren’t suitable for them or [placing residents in homes] they’re not ready for.” Moss said he thinks the state could meet Quinn’s goal of starting closures at the beginning of next year “if they begin now and plan carefully.” He said if the state rushes and floods the community care infrastructure with new clients, it would create the potential for mistakes that would set the movement back. “If there’s a series of catastrophes in the community [care] it’s going to slow down and potentially halt such movement into the community,” Moss warned. “It has to be done well or not done at all.”
Rep. Patricia Bellock, a Hinsdale Republican, agreed that Quinn’s plan could be an opportunity for those who would like to see the state’s mental health hospitals and developmental centers closed. “That is what people want. That is what the disabled community wants.” Bellock, the top Republican on the House’s Human Services Committee, said patients should be able to choose where they will go, and state funding should follow them in that choice. Bellock said that when the state closed the Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park last year, about two thirds of patients were transferred to other institutions, while one third went elsewhere, including community care facilities. Bellock does not agree with advocates such as Moss who say that all the state’s large facilities should be closed. “I feel that there probably needs to be a couple.”
Moss said members of his community hope that Quinn’s plan is genuine and not just an attempt to twist arms over budget decisions. Social services providers, as well as those needing treatment for mental illness and developmental disabilities, have been on a roller coaster ride during much of Quinn’s administration as he has threatened substantial cuts during difficult budget negotiations, only to later roll back proposed reductions. “We have to grab hold of this situation and hope to maintain the momentum,” He said of Quinn’s latest plan.
Check back tomorrow for perspectives on Quinn's plan from the juvenile justice community.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Quinn: "Something has to give"
By Jamey Dunn
Gov. Pat Quinn said his hands are tied by the budget approved by lawmakers as he announced a plan today to close seven state facilities and projected future cuts he says are needed to keep the state’s “core services” afloat.
“It’s time for a rendezvous with reality,” Quinn said in comments directed at lawmakers today. “If you vote for something in the spring, don’t run away from it in the fall.” The governor said legislators approved a budget that would cause some state agencies to run out of money before the end of the year. He says his plan to close state facilities would result in more than 1,900 layoffs and about $54.8 million in savings. “Something has to give, and what has to give is we have to close down some of those facilities,” Quinn said today at a Chicago news conference.
The facilities Quinn wants to close are:
Quinn’s administration has submitted its intent to close the facilities to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA). The group will weigh the plan and submit recommendations. COGFA member Sen. Dave Syverson, a Rockford Republican, said the commission should hold hearings throughout the state so the public — especially in the areas of the proposed closures — can provide input. He questioned why Quinn did not go through the process of public hearings before making today’s announcement. “If the governor was serous about wanting to do this, he should want public buy-in and make the case to the public ahead of time,” he said.
Singer Mental Health Center was in Syverson's district until the recent legislative remap. He said his community, which consistently has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, would feel the loss of more than 100 jobs. He added that closing Singer would put a burden on local law enforcement and hospitals. Syverson said if Quinn makes a strong case that the closure of any facility is a financially sound decision, he would support it. “I am certainly open to that, and I’m certainly willing to take that tough vote. I think that many people on COGFA are willing to take that vote.”
The layoffs of state workers would come on the heels of Quinn’s refusal to give out pay raises included in union contracts. A federal court today tossed out a challenge to Quinn’s move, which effected about 30,000 workers and would save the state an estimated $76 million. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees plans an appeal. Unions officials say the plan to close facilities is unnecessary. “The governor is apparently concerned that there is not sufficient appropriations authority to maintain services at their current level until the fiscal year ends next June. We agree that a supplemental appropriation is needed. But there is certainly not a funding crisis at this point in time. There is merely a crisis of will,” Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said in a written statement.
Quinn said the skipped raises and layoffs are parts one and two of a three-part plan to make up what he says is a $313.5 million budget shortfall. After both actions, Quinn says about $182.8 million will still be needed to keep basic state services running through the end of the fiscal year. He says the third part of the plan is dependent on what actions the legislature takes during veto session, scheduled in October. Quinn urged lawmakers to approve his budget vetoes to free up funds to spend elsewhere. “So we have a little extra flexibility within the spending plan.”
Quinn may find support from Senate Democrats, who launched a failed attempt to push for more funding in the closing days of the spring session. "The senate president already stated his intent to revisit the shortcomings of the budget that was passed this spring. In days and weeks ahead, we will study the governor's plans to determine what legislative action may be needed,” Rikeesha Phelon, a spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton said in a written statement.
Quinn said while he wants to work with lawmakers to try and find a different outcome, he cannot count on them tweaking the budget in a way that would allow him to avoid closing facilities. He said he has to get the ball rolling on closures to ensure that they can come in time to save money during the current fiscal year. “I can’t be waiting for members of the General Assembly to come to a different conclusion. We’ve got to act now because it’s going to take several months.”
He added, “Nobody’s laid off tomorrow. No facilities are closed tomorrow. … It’s painful, but necessary for the good of the people.”
Gov. Pat Quinn said his hands are tied by the budget approved by lawmakers as he announced a plan today to close seven state facilities and projected future cuts he says are needed to keep the state’s “core services” afloat.
“It’s time for a rendezvous with reality,” Quinn said in comments directed at lawmakers today. “If you vote for something in the spring, don’t run away from it in the fall.” The governor said legislators approved a budget that would cause some state agencies to run out of money before the end of the year. He says his plan to close state facilities would result in more than 1,900 layoffs and about $54.8 million in savings. “Something has to give, and what has to give is we have to close down some of those facilities,” Quinn said today at a Chicago news conference.
The facilities Quinn wants to close are:
- Tinley Park Mental Health Center. The facility has a capacity of 75, a staff of 195 and an annual operating budget of about $20.1 million.
- Singer Mental Health Center in Rockford. The facility has a capacity of 76, a staff of 150 and an annual operating budget of about $13.6 million.
- Chester Mental Health Center. The facility has a capacity of 243, a staff of 464 and an annual operating budget of approximately $34.7 million.
- Jacksonville Developmental Center. The facility has 196 residents, a staff of 420 and an annual operating budget of about $27.9 million
- Jack Mabley Developmental Center in Dixon. The facility has 91 residents, a staff of 163 and an annual operating budget of about $10.7 million.
- Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. The facility has a population of 1,980, a staff of 357 and an annual operating budget of approximately $30.5 million.
- Illinois Youth Center in Murphysboro. The facility has a population of 59, a staff of 101 and an annual operating budget of about $8.6 million.
Quinn’s administration has submitted its intent to close the facilities to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA). The group will weigh the plan and submit recommendations. COGFA member Sen. Dave Syverson, a Rockford Republican, said the commission should hold hearings throughout the state so the public — especially in the areas of the proposed closures — can provide input. He questioned why Quinn did not go through the process of public hearings before making today’s announcement. “If the governor was serous about wanting to do this, he should want public buy-in and make the case to the public ahead of time,” he said.
Singer Mental Health Center was in Syverson's district until the recent legislative remap. He said his community, which consistently has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, would feel the loss of more than 100 jobs. He added that closing Singer would put a burden on local law enforcement and hospitals. Syverson said if Quinn makes a strong case that the closure of any facility is a financially sound decision, he would support it. “I am certainly open to that, and I’m certainly willing to take that tough vote. I think that many people on COGFA are willing to take that vote.”
The layoffs of state workers would come on the heels of Quinn’s refusal to give out pay raises included in union contracts. A federal court today tossed out a challenge to Quinn’s move, which effected about 30,000 workers and would save the state an estimated $76 million. The American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees plans an appeal. Unions officials say the plan to close facilities is unnecessary. “The governor is apparently concerned that there is not sufficient appropriations authority to maintain services at their current level until the fiscal year ends next June. We agree that a supplemental appropriation is needed. But there is certainly not a funding crisis at this point in time. There is merely a crisis of will,” Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME Council 31, said in a written statement.
Quinn said the skipped raises and layoffs are parts one and two of a three-part plan to make up what he says is a $313.5 million budget shortfall. After both actions, Quinn says about $182.8 million will still be needed to keep basic state services running through the end of the fiscal year. He says the third part of the plan is dependent on what actions the legislature takes during veto session, scheduled in October. Quinn urged lawmakers to approve his budget vetoes to free up funds to spend elsewhere. “So we have a little extra flexibility within the spending plan.”
Quinn may find support from Senate Democrats, who launched a failed attempt to push for more funding in the closing days of the spring session. "The senate president already stated his intent to revisit the shortcomings of the budget that was passed this spring. In days and weeks ahead, we will study the governor's plans to determine what legislative action may be needed,” Rikeesha Phelon, a spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton said in a written statement.
Quinn said while he wants to work with lawmakers to try and find a different outcome, he cannot count on them tweaking the budget in a way that would allow him to avoid closing facilities. He said he has to get the ball rolling on closures to ensure that they can come in time to save money during the current fiscal year. “I can’t be waiting for members of the General Assembly to come to a different conclusion. We’ve got to act now because it’s going to take several months.”
He added, “Nobody’s laid off tomorrow. No facilities are closed tomorrow. … It’s painful, but necessary for the good of the people.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
