Lawmakers Leave Budget in Limbo
07/02/09 06:17 Filed in: Politics
The end of Illinois' fiscal year passed on June 30th, 2009 with no budget resolution completed except for the "Doomsday" budget which dramatically scaled back or completely eliminated a wide array of social service programs in the state.
On the following day Governor Quinn vetoed that Doomsday budget, leaving the state with no budget and no means to operate. He's made a statement requesting that people providing state services continue to work and ensure continuity of services but was quoted in multiple sources, including on WGN Radio's website, as saying: "Until a budget is in place, the state has very limited authority to pay its vendors and grantees... vendors and grantees who currently perform state services do so at the risk of not being paid." [emphasis mine]
We discussed grantees a bit in this space a couple of weeks ago, but did not touch upon vendors. While many of us probably think of a "vendor" as being a person running a stand somewhere that sells items (say, for example, a hot dog vendor with a cart) the term actually takes on a very broad definition under the state's definition. For the state of Illinois, a vendor can essentially be anyone who provides work for the state who is not a state employee.
At a State Operated Developmental Center, which serves adults with developmental disabilities, for example, the word "vendor" can refer to a wide variety of services that range from the companies delivering food to, and taking trash away, to the doctors delivering medical care. In some cases these are large corporations but, often, these are small companies or even individuals who provide services to some of our state's neediest residents.
In the past, as the state has engaged in significant delays in its payment schedules, some of those vendors have found it necessary to stop providing services. In the past year state programs for people with significant disabilities have seen food vendors simply stop coming, for example, and had to scramble to make sure the people they serve could actually eat.
In the midst of this the Illinois lawmakers have apparently decided not to return to work on the budget until July 14. Steven Brown, a spokesperson for Speaker Madigan indicated that this date - two weeks out from the end of the fiscal year - was chosen due to concern for the lawmakers personal schedules. Steve Brown was quoted as saying "We surveyed members and tried to figure out when their schedules would allow them to come back, with the least amount of disruption to their lives," Brown said. "The president and the speaker are trying to treat members as if they're human beings and they have their own lives."
This suggests to this reader that the impact on the Lawmaker's vacation schedules is by far more important to the members of our General Assembly than is the impact of this delay on the lives of children and adults with autism, developmental disabilities, and mental illness.
On the following day Governor Quinn vetoed that Doomsday budget, leaving the state with no budget and no means to operate. He's made a statement requesting that people providing state services continue to work and ensure continuity of services but was quoted in multiple sources, including on WGN Radio's website, as saying: "Until a budget is in place, the state has very limited authority to pay its vendors and grantees... vendors and grantees who currently perform state services do so at the risk of not being paid." [emphasis mine]
We discussed grantees a bit in this space a couple of weeks ago, but did not touch upon vendors. While many of us probably think of a "vendor" as being a person running a stand somewhere that sells items (say, for example, a hot dog vendor with a cart) the term actually takes on a very broad definition under the state's definition. For the state of Illinois, a vendor can essentially be anyone who provides work for the state who is not a state employee.
At a State Operated Developmental Center, which serves adults with developmental disabilities, for example, the word "vendor" can refer to a wide variety of services that range from the companies delivering food to, and taking trash away, to the doctors delivering medical care. In some cases these are large corporations but, often, these are small companies or even individuals who provide services to some of our state's neediest residents.
In the past, as the state has engaged in significant delays in its payment schedules, some of those vendors have found it necessary to stop providing services. In the past year state programs for people with significant disabilities have seen food vendors simply stop coming, for example, and had to scramble to make sure the people they serve could actually eat.
In the midst of this the Illinois lawmakers have apparently decided not to return to work on the budget until July 14. Steven Brown, a spokesperson for Speaker Madigan indicated that this date - two weeks out from the end of the fiscal year - was chosen due to concern for the lawmakers personal schedules. Steve Brown was quoted as saying "We surveyed members and tried to figure out when their schedules would allow them to come back, with the least amount of disruption to their lives," Brown said. "The president and the speaker are trying to treat members as if they're human beings and they have their own lives."
This suggests to this reader that the impact on the Lawmaker's vacation schedules is by far more important to the members of our General Assembly than is the impact of this delay on the lives of children and adults with autism, developmental disabilities, and mental illness.
