More Rauner Budget Cuts

A press release from Governor Bruce Rauner:

Administration Initiates Additional Management Steps to Prepare for Madigan-Cullerton Budget

Steps to Save Additional $420 Million

Cancel Funding for Legislative Earmarks

Freeze Non-Transportation Capital Projects

House Speaker Mike Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton and their caucuses two weeks ago finished passing a budget with a $4 billion hole.

Bruce Rauner

Bruce Rauner

Since that time, Speaker Madigan and President Cullerton have refused to pass real, compromise reforms that will

  • grow the economy
  • pay down the debt and end the era of wasteful spending and broken budgets

while implementing parliamentary maneuvers to keep the governor from acting on the budget bills.

In preparation for the possibility of having no budget on July 1, or a budget with a $4 billion hole, the Administration is initiating its second round of steps to responsibly manage the state’s finances. However, the options available to the Administration remain limited because the Madigan-Cullerton budget includes no reforms.

“Governor Rauner has compromised repeatedly, but Speaker Madigan and the politicians he controls continue to block any real reform,” Rauner spokesman Lance Trover said. “It’s deeply troubling to see that Speaker Madigan remains committed to sacrificing the middle class in order to protect the political class.”

More steps will be announced as they are finalized.

Statewide

Action Initiated 

  • Notify all State of Illinois vendors to prepare for the potential of a longer delay in receiving payments for goods and services provided to the State.

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend capital projects, including construction at state facilities, schools and colleges.
  • Suspend all capital grants for legislators’ earmarks and non-bonded or “pay as you go” capital projects.
  • This freeze does not include road and other Department of Transportation projects.
  • Significantly reduce use of outside legal counsel by eliminating and/or reducing legal contracts.
The Route 14 widening project between Crystal Lake and Woodstock will not be affected.

The Route 14 widening project between Crystal Lake and Woodstock will not be affected.

Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Action Initiated

  • Reinstate timely re-determinations of Medicaid eligibility.
  • Roll back rates for ambulance services and renal care services to SMART-Act levels.
  • Reduce managed care capitation rates.
  • Discontinue special Medicaid payments to some hospitals.
  • Increase eligibility threshold (Determination of Need Score) to a level more consistent with national eligibility levels.
  • Achieve cost savings using new procurement strategy for purchasing durable medical equipment.

Department of Natural Resources

Effective September 1, 2015

  • Suspend operations at the World Shooting Recreational Complex (WSRC) near Sparta.  The site will become closed to the public and not available for events.

o   All events scheduled through August 2015, including the Grand American, will not be impacted by this action.

Department of Agriculture

You can see rides from Skinner's Amusements behind the sign.  My Skinner family--the newcomers--are not related to Maurice's offspring, who run the carnival.

You can see rides from Skinner’s Amusements behind the sign. My Skinner family–the newcomers–are not related to Maurice’s offspring, who run the carnival.

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend funding to county fairs for premiums and fairground rehabilitation projects.
  • Suspend funding for agricultural extension and 4-H clubs for premiums at agricultural shows.
  • Suspend funding for premiums for Agricultural Education Fairs.
  • Suspend funding for the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.
  • Suspend funding to the Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend funding to Choose Chicago for tourism promotion.

Department of State Police

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend FY16 initiative to purchase new forensic equipment.

Office of State Fire Marshal

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend funding for the Chicago Fire Department training program.
  • Suspend reimbursements for fire department training to other local governments.
  • Suspend funding for small fire-fighting and ambulance equipment grants.

Criminal Justice Information Authority

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend the following legislative earmarks:

o   YouthBuild grants;

o   Bullying Prevention grants;

o   Franklin County Methamphetamine Pilot Program; and

o   South Suburban Major Crimes Taskforce.

  • Suspend statewide funding for Operation CeaseFire.
  • Suspend funding for Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention grants.

Department of Human Services

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend funding for Community Services for juvenile delinquency program serving youth and young adults administered by the Chicago Area Project.
  • Suspend funding for Immigrant Integration Services.  Access to the Department’s programs will continue through local offices.
  • Suspend funding for Welcoming Centers. Access to the Department’s programs will continue through local offices.
  • Suspend funding for the Youth Employment legislative earmark.
The Illinois Public Health Department complex.

Public Health Department.

Department of Public Health

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Suspend funding for Brothers and Sisters United Against HIV.
  • Suspend funding to the Tobacco Quitline.

Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Reduce funding for state-funded job training programs and suspend funding to legislative earmarks for job training.  This does not impact the Department’s federal job training funds.
  • Suspend funding for all coal programs at the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, including discontinuing subsidies to coal companies.
  • Suspend funding for the Renewable Energy Program.  This does not impact the Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards program.
  • Suspend funding for the Energy Efficiency Program.
AMTRAK Train in Springfield

Amtrak train in Springfield.

Pace bus at Route 14 and Dole Avenue.

Pace bus at Route 14 and Dole Avenue.

Department of Transportation

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Reduce funding for Amtrak.
  • Suspend state add-on payment to PACE.
  • Suspend state subsidy for Regional Transportation Authority Reduced Fares grant.

Department of Revenue

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Reduce funding for the following housing programs administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority:

o   Multifamily Finance Program;

o   Reduce Homebuyer Acquisition Rehabilitation Program; and

o   Reduce Homeowner Emergency Repair Program.

Department of Veteran’s Affairs

Effective July 1, 2015

  • Delay opening of Chicago Veterans’ Home.

Comments

More Rauner Budget Cuts — 5 Comments

  1. Sounds like a really long lists of garbage programs that do-gooders previously initiated. What a terrible waste.

  2. This opens up, as they say in the charity industry, “opportunities” to help our fellow man.

    People can find many many ways to participate one-on-one to enhance others’ lives and enhance our own in the process.

  3. Amen to Susan.

    Not only is government the WORST mechanistic distributor of assistance, they are create entitlement and waste.

    Help should come from places of worship and from neighbors.
    Thank goodness a businessman is in charge of the failed policies from Springfield.

    Politicians who love government (and think THEY are the ones responsible for helping people) must be squirming with aggravation.

    They’ll say the “children” are being harmed.

  4. Illinois is a Sanctuary State for Illegal aliens (the government will not cooperate with federal officials to enforce federal immigration laws).

    If you can convince our State legislature to pass a law enforcing employer use of E-Verify and direct all prison officials to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement HOLDS on illegal aliens we could have a reduction in the cost incurred by taxpayers.

    That cost in 2010 was estimated to be $4,592,000,000 which is more than the current projected budget deficit.

    http://www.fairus.org/docs/USCostStudy_2010.pdf

  5. Connectin’ the Dots is right on target.

    But the SS. Illinois will go the way of the Eastland (ie. the bottom of Lake Michigan), before the lovely illegal hordes will ever be dealt with in a logical, self-defensive and/or masculine way.

    ….in 1992, a civil war in Jugoslavia was thought highly implausable …….. the same loony lib-logic’ reigns here in 2015 …..

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