Legislators pass devastating austerity budget in Illinois
By
Alexander Fangmann
10 July 2017
On Thursday, July 6, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to override Republican Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of its budget bill. The passage of the state budget ends a record two-year period in which Illinois operated with no formal budget or appropriations legislation.
During this time, much of state government had been operating on the basis of a series of stop-gap measures and consent decrees which kept state spending at the level of the last budget, for fiscal year (FY) 2015. State spending on social services and higher education, however, have been sharply reduced. Many social service providers have ceased operation while universities and community colleges have slashed budgets and laid off workers.
As the Illinois Senate had already voted to override the governor’s veto on July 4, the state legislature’s budget will become law, enshrining massive across-the-board cuts of 5 percent to most state government agencies and 10 percent to higher education. This will lead to further layoffs of state workers and cuts in services to vulnerable populations, which have already been hit hard by previous state cuts as well as the lengthy impasse.
The Democratic Party majority in the House was joined by 15 Republicans who voted for the budget bill and 10 who voted for the final override. Many of the Republicans who voted for the budget and override represent districts with community colleges and universities, or large numbers of state workers. Others were worried by the threats issued by the credit rating agencies that Illinois would have its bond rating reduced to junk status.
The new FY 2018 budget sets spending at $36.1 billion, around $3 billion less than the state was…