Rep Patricia Bellock (R-Hinsdale) surmised that a plan unveiled by Republican lawmakers on Wednesday is the compromise that Democrats are seeking in funding the most vital programs of Illinois.
“Today we are looking at a comprehensive balanced budget … and we’re offering a full-year funding for human services,” Bellock said. “I hope this will move us forward from the partisan impasse that we have had to a bipartisan compromise, today. It’s not a lifeline or a stopgap measure.”
Bellock, along with House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), Sens. Dale Righter (R-Mattoon), Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) and Karen McConnaughay (R-St. Charles) and Rep Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), gathered to tout the new package of proposals they said will fund the state and bring reform.
The bills would impose a four-year property tax freeze, enact term limits on legislative leaders and constitutional officers, employ a hard spending cap of $36 billion, implement pension reforms, fund vital human services and establish an evidence-based formula to fund schools.
Bellock praised the package for what she called its capacity to help Illinois’ most disadvantaged.
“It’s a comprehensive balanced budget that will provide funding for our state’s most vulnerable citizens,” Bellock said. “Our budget fulfills the commitment to restore the childcare eligibility to 185 percent of the federal poverty level. It provides $35 million toward the direct support professionals once a balanced budget passes. It funds teen reach, youth employment programs and addiction prevention programs that we all want to see … especially with the heroin problem we’re seeing today.”
The plan would also provide grant and regular funding for developmentally disabled individuals enrolled in the Autism Program of Illinois, Best Buddies and epilepsy programs across the state, according to Bellock.
“With last week’s court ruling … and the $2 billion backlog of unpaid Medicaid bills, it’s critically important that we take immediate action to address this backlog,” Bellock said. “Our plan includes a revenue bond issuance to help pay off those old bills. That's approximately $4.3 billion, not including Medicaid match.”
Like her colleagues standing with her, Bellock urged lawmakers to come together.
“This budget impasse cannot go on any longer,” Bellock said. “Too many of the most vulnerable citizens that we deal with every day have been put in harm’s way. The consequences of not taking any action now would be absolutely devastating to all the human service providers and to the most vulnerable people that we help throughout the year.”
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