#fundeiu

            The word only appeared four times in his speech, mostly in calls for “mutual respect” in the “serious negotiations” ahead. This came as a slap in the face to many of Illinois’ citizens who have been feeling the hunger pangs throughout the Republican Governor’s 8-month standoff with the Democrat-controlled General Assembly over the passage of a state budget. To those living in Illinois, this has been a conflict in the making even before June 25th, 2015, when the Governor Rauner vetoed the budget submitted by the General Assembly.

Pictured above: Governor Rauner at a speaking engagement in January, soon after his inauguration - http://goo.gl/rOGTv8

           Rauner was sworn in January of the same year, quickly establishing his “Turnaround Agenda” to save the state money wherever possible without raising taxes. Among a slew of cuts to social services and public amenities across the state, the governor called on the legislature to draft a budget that cut $387 million from higher education in Illinois in order to lower the $6 billion budget deficit. In total, this lump sum cut would amount to nearly 31% of the annual budget for all of the state universities, according to Brexton Isaacs, President of College Democrats of Illinois. The Democrats have called for a modest 6.5% cut to higher education, with the opportunity to progressively raise the amount cut over the next several years. Governor Rauner would also like to cut $1.5 billion in Medicaid spending, with programs ranging from care for the elderly to those meant for disabled citizen being affected. With a lack of budget, many low-income citizens who rely on these programs in case of emergency have been left in the cold Illinois snow. Since day one, both areas have been persistent talking points for Rauner, who defended his calls for massive cuts as being “not just good practice [but] a constitutional requirement,” citing a state constitutional amendment that mandated the legislature to balance its budget. Immediately, the governor and House Speaker Michael Madigan were at odds, refusing to budge an inch in either direction. Madigan, along with Senate President John Cullerton, has been adamant in opposition to Rauner’s techniques, insisting that “cuts alone” will not solve the deficit problem. The Democrats have instead insisted on “a blend [of]... cuts in spending plus new revenue” in the form of higher income taxes on millionaires like Rauner. As the two sides perpetuate the Cold War in the Land of Lincoln, Illinois residence have begun to see parts of their daily affected by the animosity in Springfield.   

Pictured above: House Speaker Michael Madigan (left) and Senate President John Cullerton (right) speaking with Gov. Rauner  - http://goo.gl/cGX1qG 

           It’s easy to let the myriad problem facing the state get nebulous, so let’s get concrete: health care providers across the state have begun to feel the bind brought on by the lack of state budget. Less than a month after the impasse started, Rockford Memorial Hospital found itself tightening its belt in anticipation of a drawn out political standoff. A great deal of the hospital’s income comes from Medicaid payments made by the state in the name of elderly and impoverished citizens. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the federal government makes the later party’s payments through an allotment in the annual budget. These payments were held up at the state level until a federal judge ruled in late July that the state must pay out for Medicaid, at least in Cook County (mainly Chicago and surrounding suburbs). In total, these payments represented an estimated $8 billion in payments. However, the Governor has held that this ruling does not apply to the rest of the state’s 101 counties, including Winnebago County and the Rockford Health System. Though similar hospitals were not forced to lay off workers at that time, they have undoubtedly had to scale back staff and benefits as the now 8-month standoff carries on.

           Similarly, a lack of budget has led to payment freezes on health care claims made by state employees. According to a State Journal-Register article from September 2015, nearly 149,300 state workers, retirees, and their families have been left to foot the bill while their health care providers refuse the state’s health insurance due to inability to pay. Several unions representing state workers have joined together to sue the state for infringing on their respective contracts with the state, arguing that they are not holding up their end of the deal. Before the case was taken, the coalition called for a preliminary injunction to force the Governor to pay out on all outstanding claims until the case is settled. Many citizens take jobs with the state so that they, as well as their families, may receive quality health care benefits. Without them, many employees have also had to tighten their belts and forgo extra medical expenses. As politicians continue to their ideological melee in Springfield, workers and businesses across the state are being starved of much needed benefits and revenue. Many businesses were able to make due with temporary solutions, but as the standoff carries on into its 8th month, they may have been forced to layoff workers in order to make ends meet and not lessen the quality of care they provide.

Pictured above: Eastern Illinois University president David Glassman speaks at his introduction as university president in March 2015 - https://flic.kr/p/qux2iJ

             However, healthcare discrepancies and late Medicaid payments haven’t really been big newsmakers, even though they undoubtedly impact a large section of Illinois’ citizens. In terms of headlines, the crisis facing Illinois’ universities system has garnered far more attention as it is in many ways a public face for the state. In addition to student tuition, each of the state’s 10 public universities receives a hefty portion of their annual operating budget through the state. Over the 8 months, the state’s universities have been learning to live without these endowments as they have been forced to dip into cash reserves to fund scholastic grants and faculty salaries. Without a budget, the state has been unable to provide money to universities promised to the nearly 128,000 students in their MAP (Monetary Award Program) Grant. Eastern Illinois University has particularly felt the pinch as they were forced to take on further debt to allow MAP grant students to continue attendance. “A lot of kids made the decision to come to Eastern, to any school, based on the amount of aid they got,” noted Paul McCann, interim vice president of academic affairs at EIU, noting also that it would be unfair to pull the rug out from under these students just because political uncertainty. As such, the university recently decided to take the plunge again for the current spring semester, but was quick to note that they cannot continue this downward trend. Randy Dunn, president of the Southern Illinois University system, stated in an interview with WBUR Boston that Illinois could “potentially be looking at thousands of students who will lose that accessibility to higher education this semester” if the state is unable to pass a bill to fund the MAP grants or a full budget. For both schools, the bills continue to pile up as they credit students for money the universities haven’t seen since last summer. Scott Fishel, a parent of an EIU student, firmly believes this standoff is to the detriment of the university’s students – “I don't think it is right that the students should suffer because of political differences.” “All they want,” Fishel added, “is the best possible education, just like the politicians did when they were the same age.”

Pictured above: Chicago State University on Chicago’s South Side continues to be disproportionately as it scrambles to make ends meet for payroll and MAP grants. - http://goo.gl/luiQdh

            In addition to troubles for students, faculty at state institutions are facing dire straights as their universities struggle to fulfill their paychecks month to month. With nearly 30% of their annual budget absent, Chicago State University announced in late January that it would be unable to pay its employees by the time March begins. The university has also announced that it may need to ask professors to work without pay in order to complete the spring semester. It’s dire straights for CSU, who have gone on to declare a “a universitywide state of financial exigency” in early February as neither a budget nor a stopgap measure appeared in 7th month of the crisis, paving the way for further layoffs of tenured professors among other “drastic” measures. Meanwhile, about 3 hours south in Charleston, Eastern Illinois University President David Glassman announced 200 more layoffs for a mix of faculty and service staff starting this week. This comes after a series of layoffs and pay cuts made by the university last summer to forgo such extreme measures for as long as possible. However, the university has reached the rain-slick precipice of downturn and can’t help but look over the edge. Chicago State and Eastern are but two examples of the intense austerity being placed upon Illinois’ universities as the result of infighting in the state government. There is so much more at risk than enrollment declines for these universities; the state risks doing “damage beyond repair,” as one Chicago Tribune reporter described it, to the reputation of Illinois’ world-class universities. It serves to exacerbate the already low enrollment, causing crisis after crisis for years to come. Fishel, also an alumnus of the class of 1982, did not hesitate to say that he “would not be [in his position in life] without the past, present, and future of Eastern.” As many students and alumni would attest to, Fishel called EIU “the gateway I walked through to find the life that I have today.” As state funds continue to be tied up in Springfield, students across the state are finding their gateways closed with the doors to opportunity closed along side them. As the budget crisis ticks on to its 9th month in March, both students and professors will be faced with the tough question of whether or not to stay at these Illinois universities and struggle through this maddening uncertainty.

Pictured above: The sun sets beyond Booth Library at EIU. Students and faculty hope it won’t be one the last they see. -https://goo.gl/KewRHZ

              To put it briefly: Illinois is at the boiling point and the kettle ahs begun to run over. Its citizens have seen the effects a lack of state budget can have on social programs like Medicaid and educational institutions like Eastern Illinois and Chicago State. They have seen the layoffs caused by an unshakable Governor who calls for job creation and growth in every speech he gives. They have seen the lost opportunities for the state’s best and brightest young minds as their honest pursuits of a college education are being squashed by, as Scott Fishel described it, “a state where a totally unrelated agenda is more important than the future of students.” The decision Illinois faces now is whether or not to it will sit quietly as the state government slowly allows state institutions to crumble to dust underneath their unyielding boots. Indeed, they must consider whether or not a governor who only mentions the ever-critical budget four times in his State of the State address is a governor with their best interests at heart. Every day the impasse continues, another institution falls into financial crisis, leading to further uncertainty for those associated with it. Every day the impasse continues, the state takes on damages that will take years to recover from, from the shrinking of budgets to the lose of credibility. The Land of Lincoln needs its citizens now to raise their voices to tell their elected officials that such “irresponsible” actions are entirely “unacceptable.” Now is the time to say, “enough is enough.”

EDIT: 28 March, 2016 - An Update from the Prairie State

           The frigid winds of February have come and gone, the ides of March have slipped by in a gust of idle contemplation and as April approaches, Illinois is still without a budget. In the month and a half since I penned this editorial originally, very little respectable progress has been made in ending the budget impasse in the Land of Lincoln.

Pictured above: The Illinois State Capitol frozen in a wintry deadlock between Governor Bruce Rauner and the Democratic Legislature - http://goo.gl/WLewmX

       Most of the actions since then have been symptoms of the ongoing deadlock in Springfield. On the South Side, Chicago State University sent layoff notices to all 900 employees on February 26 in anticipation of total financial insolvency. Further more, the university was forced to cancel its spring break in order to cut down on the number of paid days for faculty. Meanwhile, downstate, 177 Eastern Illinois University employees were officially laid off on March 11 as students left on spring break. In addition to cutbacks across campus, administrative and professional staff at the school are being forced to take a furlough day each week matched with pay deferrals for those still contracted to the university. Needless to say, students and staff have not been taking this threat sitting down. In mid February, 2,000 students, faculty, and community members in Charleston stood behind the “Fund EIU” cause at a rally on campus. Not long after, nearly 1,000 students and staff from EIU, CSU, and other state schools rallied at the State Capitol to demand not only action, but a proper appropriation to higher education. Though it has been slow going, the continuous outcry has brought a great of attention to the divisions in state government that have led to the impasse.

Pictured above: EIU students, staff, and faculty pose for a photo during their February 17 rally at the State Capitol. While there, students (including the author) descended on the Capitol to fill the dome with their voices of discontent about the state’s budget situation - EIU Flickr

          With each passing day, more and more students at both universities are losing access to the quality education they were promised because petty ideological arguments. Some state institutions, such as the Illinois Institute of Technology, are considering resolutions to make students repay the MAP grants they had previously floated over two semesters. It goes without saying that this is an insufferable position for many low-income families in Illinois. Luckily, Springfield has been receptive on this front, at the very least. While several MAP grant bills have been vetoed by the Governor since February, SB 2059 passed the Illinois Senate on March 17 with a veto-proof margin. It currently sits in the House of Representatives awaiting a vote to see if a veto-proof margin can be accrued in both houses, effectively negating Gov. Rauner’s assured veto. While some House Republicans, such as Charleston Rep. Reggie Phillips, have stepped away from party politics in order to support Illinois’ students, their votes have been inconsistent without ample pressure from their constituency. For my Illinois readers, it is as important as ever to keep pressure on your state representatives. Emails, phone calls, and live appeals are all great ways to make your voice known. Most importantly, make your voice known at the polls in November. With many representatives facing tough reelections, this is the time to apply the pressure and get what it best for this state: a budget and proper funding for our valuable state institutions.

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