For the last 19 months community human-service providers, advocates, employees and clients have been campaigning for increased state funding. These are the people who provide effective, quality, community-based services for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. These valuable professionals have been asking for only a 3 percent increase in funding for fiscal year 1998 and 1999.
This may not sound like a big issue, but the state’s funding for services has not even kept up with inflation over the last eight years.
Every member of the Illinois General Assembly supports this proposal. Gov. Jim Edgar supports it. Many members of the General Assembly have voted for this proposal on more than one occasion.
The support for this proposal is overwhelming, but the community human-service providers are still nervous. When push comes to shove at the end of the spring session, community providers are worried that their funding increase will be sacrificed on the altar of the pork barrel. This would be a devastating blow to a system that provides needed services and is dependent on the state for funding.
In the final week of the General Assembly we are urging legislators to do the right thing and bring home the 3 percent.
