Daily Egyptian DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2015
VOL. 99 ISSUE 34
SINCE 1916
Rauner, Sleepless nights inspire creativity Madigan push budget fix Monique Garcia | Chicago Tribune House lawmakers on Tuesday quickly approved a plan aimed at plugging a $1.6 billion hole in the current budget that threatens subsidized day care programs and paychecks for prison guards. Under a bill that passed the House 69-48, about $1.3 billion would be taken from funds earmarked for special purposes such as road construction. The remaining shortfall would be dealt with by cutting 2.25 percent from most areas of state government -- including an estimated $150 million from schools. Health care and pensions would not be cut. The proposal is the result of weeks of talks with Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders, and it could be voted on by the full House later Tuesday. Rauner inherited the budget shortfall after lawmakers last spring approved a spending plan that did not have enough money to cover a full year’s expenses. In addition, a 2011 state income tax increase started to roll back Jan. 1. The new short-term budget fix is backed by Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. “This is not as perfect bill, it’s not perfect solution,” Madigan said. “Some might say it’s not pretty, but it responds to the governor’s request, responds to the problem.” Earlier, the propsal passed a House panel with little debate. “The crisis is serious, it’s real, it’s earnest,” said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, who carried the bill on Madigan’s behalf. “It’s a painful vote, but I’m glad our members, our colleagues are prepared to step up to the plate. I don’t think we have any other choice.” Currie said that under the legislation, Rauner would be given discretion to use a $97 million pot of money to help school districts that might be harmed by the cuts that come in the middle of the school year. He’ll also have access to another $90 million to help plug other, yet unforeseen budget problems that might arise. “Gov. Rauner didn’t create this fiscal mess, but he is willing to work across party lines to fix it,” said Richard Goldberg, Rauner’s deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs. “This is our opportunity to come together for the good of our state.” A spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton said Democratic leadership was encouraged by the “progress” but said the plan must be discussed with rank-and-file members.
H oliday W aGner | @HolidayWagnerDE Savannah Ganster, a performer from Baton Rouge, La., and Ashley Beard, a doctoral student from Los Angeles, create silhouettes on a projected video of Beard Monday in the Marion Kleinau Theatre while rehearsing their show Lullaby: A Show About Insomnia and Creativity. “It highlights our differences as people and as performers, while simultaneously addressing our friendship,” Ganster said. Together, the two wrote, compiled, co-directed, and performed the show, bonding over both having insomnia. “The space in the night where we’re awake is the space where we do most of our creative work,” Ganster said. After performing their show for the first time at LSU the first week of March, the two said they are prepared and excited for it to premiere Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Marion Kleinau Theatre, and in two weeks in Las Vegas. Beard said many other creative people she knows also have trouble sleeping at night and that people who love the arts would enjoy and relate to the show. Ganster said the show is relatable to anybody who has long distance friends or has experienced any kind of sleeplessness or yearning for a thing in the middle of the night. “Anybody who loves music, art, or poetry would love this show,” Ganster said. “It appeals to such a wide range of people.”
Rehabilitation center faces budget crisis aHMad Hicks | @AhicksSports_DE Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed budget cuts that could wipe out drug and alcohol treatment for more than 7,000 Illinois residents. Rauner’s Feb. 18 proposal would eliminate $27.6 million from the $127 million budget of the Illinois Department of Human Service’s Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, according to the Gateway Foundation. Gateway is a charitable foundation in Carbondale that operates a substance abuse program. The foundation is one of 10 drug and alcohol treatment centers in Illinois. Lori Dammermann, executive director of the foundation, said along with eliminating treatment, the budget cut would jeopardize the chances of patients getting a job when leaving the program. The center has 70 in-house residential beds for men, women, boys and girls. Dammermann said even though the foundation can only house 70 people, it still assists patients who can not get into the center as out patients. Jane Nichols, an assistant professor at SIU’s Rehabilitation Institute, helps coordinate the substance abuse addiction program. The program does not treat patients, but trains individuals to become counselors and work with a broad range of people facing challenges. “First of all, as a taxpayer, I appreciate having someone go to treatment,” Nichols said. “It costs
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The only alternative for some of these people are jail. They don’t have a way out outside of the rehab center. They will end up in a mental hospital, jail or dead. - Jane Nichols assistant professor
substantially less than to go to jail.” Dammermann said when a patient goes to rehab, they learn skills to help them become employable, better parents, more capable of managing emotions and family life, and they also learn where they can go to get support. “Sending people to rehab saves money in the long run,” Dammermann said. “Lock people up and they just learn to be better criminals.” It costs patients $600 to stay one night in the Gateway Foundation. If the proposed budget cuts are approved, the foundation estimated it would lose more than $2 million. As a comparison, the annual cost per inmate at the Menard Correctional Center in Chester is $20,699, which is about $57 per day, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. “The money is important to our foundation because it affects people with Medicaid, and a good portion of our clients are on Medicaid,” Dammermann said. The cut would result a 12 percent overall decrease,
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eliminating 710 patients from receiving healthcare. Dammermann said she did not know the exact number of clients on Medicaid and how much was provided for each client, but stressed the importance of losing them if the budget passes. “If this goes through, certain people may not receive the treatment they need,” she said. Nichols said treatment centers are good for more than just alcohol and drug problems—they can diagnose other issues in people’s lives. The Gateway Foundation also helps treat family problems and psychological troubles. It is one of the only centers in Illinois to help out young adolescent girls, Dammermann said. “This area needs more centers to help people. Substance abuse is higher in areas like Carbondale,” Nichols said. “The people who have serious problems are the ones who need an intervention. Treatment gets them away from those problems.” Since 2009 the state has slashed $39.7 million from treatment, denying care to 8,941 individuals in order to solve annual chronic budget problems, according to the Gateway Foundation. “It’s something that needs to be treated like diabetes or cancer,” Nichols said. “The only alternative for some of these people are jail. They don’t have a way out outside of the rehab center. They will end up in a mental hospital, jail or dead.”
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