Saturday, July 26, 2008

Blagojevich & Jones: Dumbest Budget Cuts Ever

Check out this post at Illinoize talking about the recent budget cuts perpetrated by the governor towards programs designed for drug treatment. It springboards off of this CBS2 article:
One of the governor's cuts was $55 million in funding for drug- and alcohol-treatment programs that the federal government would have matched penny-for-penny. The cut has forced programs across the state to shut down and many of their tens of thousands of clients are likely to end up in jail, costing taxpayers far more.

At an Alsip site called "A Safe Haven," women trying to kick addiction to drugs and alcohol get enough help that their children can live with them, even if they've previously been taken away. Beginning Monday, though, all 120 of the women and kids there will have to leave.

Demetria Woods said, "not knowing where we're gonna go, what happens next, where will we live, the children … how this affects us is overwhelming.

Anthony Cole, vice president of the Haymarket Center, said, "It means you're gonna have increased homelessness, increased people committing crimes, increased neglect and abuse of children, increased burden on Cook County Hospital, increased burden on mental health institutions, because where else can these people go?"

Haymarket got a letter from the state Wednesday; their award-winning addiction-treatment center is losing nearly $4 million.

Come next Monday, they'll be forced to close half the beds in the detox unit. Recovering cocaine user Porcha James said she is thankful she and her son are already in.

"Without Haymarket and places that provide treatment or recovery, I and my son of 12 would be homeless, I would probably be selling drugs or doing lots of other illegal activity," James said.
I can sympathize with Anthony Cole who had to resort to what I would call hysterics because he's not getting government money for his programs and that he might be forced to cut back services. On the other hand because he's not getting government money doesn't mean it's the end, that is if he gets his fundraising chops going. He can still get money surely.

Still it's unfortunate that such a service is so easily cut by a governor still embroiled in his feud with the state House of Representatives and it's speaker. At least that's how the current budget battled is portrayed.

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