Results tagged “illinoisbudgetcrisis”

Some of the city’s most vulnerable residents may be worse off thanks to a plan to close as many as five mental health centers. The Daley administration says the closings will take place on Feb. 1 and are due to a drop in state funding. Dr. Terry Mason, Daley’s health commissioner, told the Tribune that the patients from the closed centers could be relocated to any of the seven remaining ones. He also added that all 12 centers could handle about 6,500 patients.

Remember the budget clusterfuck down in Springfield last year, that sent the legislative session well into overtime and threatened to shut down state government? Well get ready for more of the same this year. With less than two weeks until the budget deadline, there are a large number of unresolved issues that one legislator is saying will take a "miracle" to resolve. The Daily Herald interviewed several suburban state senators and representatives who agreed:

"We'll be here forever," groaned state Rep. Mark Beaubien Jr., a Barrington Hills Republican.

And don't forget, last year's overtime cost us over $1 million. But since Illinois is so flush with cash, that's cool, right? [D-H]