Deep, nationwide cuts are geared to take place March 1. They're the first of a decade-long $1.2 trillon budget cut plan poised to go into effect unless Congress can compromise on a deficit-reduction plan.
Here’s what Illinois stands to lose, according to the White House:
- Teachers and Schools: Illinois will lose approximately $33.4 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 460 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 39,000 fewer students would be served and approximately120 fewer schools would receive funding.
- Education for Children with Disabilities: In addition, Illinois will lose approximately $24.7 million in funds for about 300 teachers, aides, and staff who help children with disabilities.
- Work-Study Jobs: Around 3,280 fewer low income students in Illinois would receive aid to help them finance the costs of college and around 2,650 fewer students will get work-study jobs that help them pay for college.
- Head Start: Head Start and Early Head Start services would be eliminated for approximately 2,700 children in Illinois, reducing access to critical early education.
- Military Readiness: In Illinois, approximately 14,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $83.5 million in total.
- Army: Base operation funding would be cut by about $19 million in Illinois.
- Air Force: Funding for Air Force operations in Illinois would be cut by about $7 million.
- Navy: Four planned Naval Station Great Lakes demolition projects ($2 million) could be canceled and a scheduled Blue Angels show in Rockford could be canceled.
- Law Enforcement and Public Safety Funds for Crime Prevention and Prosecution: Illinois will lose about $587,000 in Justice Assistance Grants that support law enforcement, prosecution and courts, crime prevention and education, corrections and community corrections, drug treatment and enforcement, and crime victim and witness initiatives.
- Vaccines for Children: In Illinois around 5,230 fewer children will receive vaccines for diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, whooping cough, influenza, and Hepatitis B due to reduced funding for vaccinations of about $357,000.
- Public Health: Illinois will lose approximately $968,000 in funds to help upgrade its ability to respond to public health threats including infectious diseases, natural disasters, and biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological events. In addition, Illinois will lose about $3.5 million in grants to help prevent and treat substance abuse, resulting in around 3,900 fewer admissions to substance abuse programs. And the Illinois State Department of Public Health will lose about $186,000 resulting in around 4,600 fewer HIV tests.
- STOP Violence Against Women Program: Illinois could lose up to $273,000 in funds that provide services to victims of domestic violence, resulting in up to 1,000 fewer victims being served.
Cancelling an air show has nothing to do with Military Readiness and vice versa.
We can't go on with an open check book. 97 billion in debt for pension alone
Cut all the perks, expense accounts , cars, staffs , of ALL THE ELECTED AND APPOINTED government employees first,,, Cut all the pensions of all the ELECTED legislators for life politicians,,,,,
All of these teachers jobs/ education aid/ vaccine aid etc come out of our and corporate entity taxes. The government is directly involved in turning our tax dollars (if we want to be technical, also our loans from other countries) into these ESSENTIAL services. Even with this, Educators still are not being paid enough for doing probably the most important job in our society! If we can't afford a government, as threadbare as ours is looking into becoming, how are we going to afford to 'do it ourselves'?
I genuinely cringe to see this posted on the Frankfort patch, supposedly a community of highly educated men and women with access to excellent services a strong school system and an area of economic growth that stands as an anomaly to virtually every township and suburb surrounding it.
Here’s what I see: you send your tax buck to the Feds, you get back 25 cents in services and 50 cents of debt that will never be repaid, and you’re still short 25 cents. It doesn’t take too much edumacation to figure out that doesn’t work, unless you went to [school name withheld]. There are some things that the Federal government can and should do (constitutionally), but personally, I don’t think that equal outcomes for the world is one of them. You’re gonna have to go for a much larger revolution than the one we base our current government on. I refer back to the original question at the beginning of this thread.
It's a recession when your neighbours out of a job, its a depression when you're out of a job.
Think locally. Worry more about the dead bodies that float up on your lakefront once a month rather than oil slicks and being jealous of "suit and coat" people.
Rob Peter to pay pensions.
Admittedly, there is waste in the programs. But there is waste in all levels of government, so why try to make cuts here first? I guess the problem for a lot of folks is the idea of working hard and then supporting someone who is not willing to work hard, but would rather just loaf. I understand that sense of unfairness, but I think it is misguided for two reasons. First, I think the poor are blamed for being poor, and being poor is associated with being lazy. The truth about poverty is not so simple. Second, welfare doesn't support most people entirely. Cash benefits are limited, and food stamps can only be used for food. A phone might be helpful, but you can't live on a phone. The programs are designed to provide assistance, not sustenance. People on "welfare" still pay sales taxes too, and in some cases income taxes. So we are not in actuality supporting people who don't want to work. We are assisting people while they find work or while they are in a tight spot. Let's make cuts in places where it won't hurt the vulnerable adults and children in our society.