How The Government Shutdown Affects Illinois
By Lisa White in News on Oct 1, 2013 10:00PM
As most people (hopefully) know by now, America is currently in a state of federal government shutdown, affecting numerous federal organizations, monuments, jobs and funding. You can find a laundry list of how this affects the country on a national level, but how does it affect Illinois on a state level? As we found out, the answer really depends on how long the shutdown lasts, but for now reports are starting to surface on how local and statewide organizations have been directly impacted by the shutdown.
For starters, lets look at some of the organizations that are currently not affected by the shutdown.
- As CBS reported, the National Transportation Safety Board returned this morning to the scene of the Blue Line crash that happened yesterday in Forest Park. As of now, the investigation into the crash is moving forward.
- A call to the local WIC offices this morning confirmed they are open and still operating. Keep in mind though that according to USDA estimates, most states have funds to continue their programs for "a week or so," but they'll "likely be unable to sustain operations for a longer period." We could get no further information regarding a long term plan, just a confirmation from the main Chicago office that it is currently business as usual.
- Representatives of the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service in Chicago said their operations will not be affected as they are considered essential government functions.
- The Chicago Tribune points out that local courts are prepared to operate as usual for at least the first 10 days of government shutdown, however after October 15 furloughs could kick in. It is also worth noting that the shutdown will disrupt civil litigation, but not criminal prosecution.
Now onto the bad news of the programs and people that will be affected by the shutdown.
- The more than 1,200 guardsmen and women in the Illinois National Guard, who will be sent home Tuesday.
- The Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, which already has the standard “because of the federal government shutdown, all national parks are closed and National Park Service webpages are not operating” website in place.
- The Chicago Tribune also reports that Argonne National Laboratory near Lemont and Fermilab in Batavia are expected to be open in the short term, but would largely close if the shutdown continued, according to a Department of Energy news release.
- Meanwhile in central Illinois, the National Center for Agricultural Research Center in Peoria is being maintained by a skeleton crew after an “orderly shutdown” starting today. The crew will water plants and perform other tasks to ensure research projects aren’t disrupted, the Peoria Journal Star reports.
Numerous other agencies are still functioning, but it will be harder for consumers to navigate because many phone helplines are being shut off. This will affect people trying to call in for help with numerous issues regarding federal taxes or veteran support. Although numerous agencies aren’t ceasing operation, the shutdown will slow down getting paperwork filed and approved for a variety of circumstances, which will affect many in the long run. Basically don’t wait until the last minute to obtain a passport, it might take longer than usual.
The real issue at hand is what will happen in the long run. Numerous agencies and political officials have stated that it won’t affect Illinois departments for the time being, but not as many are talking about the long term impact. Some organizations do not seem to have plans in place past the two week mark assuming the shutdown continues. Sarah Hamilton, a spokeswoman for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office stated "I'm not going to speculate on a doomsday scenario, I think we all know what that looks like,” in regards to how the shutdown would affect city government if it lasted longer than “three or four days.”
But honestly most Americans aren’t sure what this scenario looks like on a local or national level. The last federal government shutdown lasted a total of 28 days, 22 if you count consecutive days only. Most organizations have enough money reserved to function two business weeks, so we won’t really notice any direct effect unless the shutdown continues.
At this point it is a situation where most organizations will be waiting (likely with fingers crossed) watching time countdown with the hopes that the government figures everything out sooner rather than later.