As members of the Responsible Budget Coalition, we wanted to share a statement from John Bouman, President of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and Chair of the Responsible Budget Coalition’s Executive Committee, released on the Tuesday, December 27th, regarding the expiration of the stopgap spending plan and the continued lack of a state budget.
On December 31st, that ‘plan’ is set to expire. And with the plan’s expiration will come even more uncertainty for the state’s eroding social service and higher education infrastructure, and even more pain for Illinois communities and the state’s business climate….The only acceptable end to the Illinois budget crisis is a fully funded, year-long, responsible budget. Such a budget must provide sufficient revenue to stop making cuts, repair previous damage, and make smart investments.
The most recent survey of service providers, commissioned last summer, found that over one million Illinoisans have lost services due to the impasse. That number continues to grow. The chaos and uncertainty of the budget impasse continues to depress the business climate. All of us suffer when our state fails to fund the public investments that allow our families, communities and economy to thrive.
You can lookup the contact information for your state elected officials on our advocacy page and let them know you demand a fully funded and responsible state budget.
The Responsible Budget Coalition (RBC) is a large and diverse coalition of more than 300 organizations concerned about state budget and tax issues. It includes organizations that serve children, families, veterans, seniors and people with disabilities; education groups concerned about early learning, K-12 and higher education; labor unions; faith-based and civic organizations; immigrant and refugee families; and many others.
To read the full statement and learn more about the coalition’s efforts, visit their website.