Coalition Supports Quinn’s Veto Pledge
Wednesday, July 01, 2009

No vacation for lawmakers until they pass 12-month budget that is morally and fiscally responsible, group says

Springfield, IL—A coalition of 50 organizations representing millions of Illinoisans applauded Governor Quinn today for demanding that lawmakers fulfill their shared responsibility to craft a 12-month budget that fully funds vital community-based programs throughout the state.

The coalition warns that a Democratic “Doomsday Lite” proposal to cut funding by 30% for programs ranging from domestic violence and child abuse prevention to care for seniors and people with disabilities would be devastating. A proposal floated by Republicans to pass a temporary budget based on FY ’08 spending would not only lead to harmful cuts in services, but would do nothing to alleviate the anxieties of caregivers or the families they serve.

The coalition is urging all 177 lawmakers and Governor Quinn to remain in Springfield for as long as it takes to reach a bipartisan agreement on a full, 12-month budget that cuts nonessential services and revenue to close the budget gap.

“The families of the people we serve aren’t making vacation plans, they’re cancelling them, and trying to figure out what they’re going to do about child care, about health care, and who is going to have to quit their job to take care of an aging parent or disabled family member that the state is poised to dump out on the street,” said the Reverend Dr. Denver Bitner, head of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI). “Lawmakers shouldn’t be making any vacation plans either, until they pass a budget that is not only fiscally balanced, but also morally balanced.”

The coalition says they have seen signs of progress. Under mounting pressure in recent weeks, Democrats and Republicans have publicly acknowledged that the state has a moral responsibility to fully fund community-based programs, and they have recognized that the proposed cuts are creating anxiety for families that are directly impacted. Privately, rank-and file lawmakers from both parties have admitted that a tax increase will be needed as part of the budget solution.

But coalition members say that Democratic leaders are pushing a “Doomsday Lite” budget that would still have devastating consequences, including:

• 15,600 seniors will lose community care programs that enable them to remain in their homes and out of nursing homes, and another 35,000 seniors will see those services reduced;
• 88,585 children will lose day care services, threatening their parents’ ability to work;
• 12,900 women will lose life-saving breast cancer screenings, and 45,000 men will lose prostate cancer screening and prevention services;
• 12,000 teens and adults will lose treatment for drug and alcohol addiction;
• 60,000 pre-school children will lose their early childhood education;
• 11,000 cases of elder abuse will go uninvestigated;
• Half of the state’s child abuse investigators will be eliminated, raising caseloads to 20 to 1;
• Nearly 14,000 rape and child sex abuse victims will be denied crisis services.

The coalition also says a plan floated by Republican leaders to delay passage of a 12-month budget for 30 to 60 days would only prolong anxieties for families impacted by the cuts and for the 100,000 caregivers across the state that stand to lose their jobs. The coalition predicts that without an agreement in place between lawmakers from both parties and the governor on both cuts and new revenue, lawmakers aren’t likely to meet a new deadline, and would only insist on another extension. The coalition also points out that even the possibility of cuts has forced many local service providers to lay-off employees and close programs already. Those cutbacks would still continue even with a temporary spending plan, and the uncertainty would create greater instability in the state’s infrastructure of community-based service providers.

“Governor Edgar warned that it would be irresponsible of our state to implement a temporary budget, and he’s absolutely right,” said Nancy Ronquillo, head of Children’s Home + Aid, one of the state’s largest and oldest providers of care for abused and neglected children. “We’ve been forced to issue notices of potential lay-offs to over 700 employees throughout Illinois. We have nearly 800 abused and neglected children that we have to worry about and workers who deserve 30 days notice before they are laid off. No agency can go through that every month without creating total chaos.”

“These cuts aren’t just morally irresponsible, they are fiscally irresponsible, because every dollar we cut from preventative programs ends up costing taxpayers $6 to $8 down the road,” warns budget expert Ralph Martire, head of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. “When we turn our back on abused children, people with mental illness, our seniors and disabled, they don’t just magically disappear. They turn up again in our special education classes, prisons, emergency rooms and nursing homes, but at much greater cost to the taxpayer.”

The coalition says they will continue to press lawmakers from both parties to live up to their shared responsibility to invest in vital programs that promote the common good. More public protests are being planned following a rally two weeks ago that drew 5,000 protesters to the State Capitol and candlelight vigils held this week across Illinois. Opponents of the cuts are also being urged to call toll free at 888-616-3322 to speak to their lawmakers in support of a responsible budget.

The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Housing Action Illinois, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and the Supportive Housing Providers Association are among the coalition's member organizations.

During June, Housing Action Illinois has surveyed state-funded providers of housing-related social services to determine the impact of the "doomsday" budget cuts that will be implemented unless Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and legislative leaders agree on revenue increases.

According to the nearly 60 agencies that responded to the survey, on average they reported receiving 50% of their program funding from State of Illinois.

If the cuts go through, 89% of the human service organizations surveyed reported that they will be forced to reduce the services they provide to consumers and more than half, 56%, will shut down some programs completely. Ten percent will close their agency doors entirely.

Even more alarming is the immediate effect these cuts will have on the people in Illinois who need housing. For example, based on the survey, we estimate that 8,824 fewer people experiencing homelessness will be provided shelter if 27% budget cuts to the Emergency Food and Shelter Program are made. The program funds the City of Chicago Department of Human Services and 88 private agencies around the state. In fiscal year 2008, 45,418 people were served by the program statewide and demand has been growing due to the tough economic times.

The agencies surveyed include those funded by the following budget line items:

* Domestic Violence Shelters that provide safety assistance to victims of domestic violence, including 24-hour crisis hotlines, counseling, safety planning, legal advocacy, children's services, and temporary food and housing. The proposed budget cut to these programs is 75% of their state funding.

* The Emergency Food and Shelter Program that offers immediate and comprehensive shelter services to homeless persons and persons at risk of becoming homeless. Funded programs include overnight shelters and transitional housing. The proposed budget cut to these programs is 27% of their state funding.

* The Homeless Prevention Program that provides rental assistance, utility assistance and supportive services directly related to the prevention of homelessness to eligible individuals and families who are in danger of eviction, foreclosure or homelessness or are currently homeless. The proposed budget cut to these programs is 100% of their state funding.

* Centers for Independent Living that provide a variety of services for people with disabilities, including services for making housing accessible for people with disabilities. The proposed budget cut to these programs is 50% of their state funding.

* Supportive Housing Services coupled with housing to enable formerly homeless individuals and families, or those in danger of becoming homeless, who live in private housing to maintain their residence in the community. The proposed budget cut to these programs is 34% of their state funding.

Statements from Providers

Here are three statements on the impact of the proposed cuts from providers of state-funded housing programs:

"We already operate on a bare bones budget. The elimination would have to come directly out of the services and supplies provided the residents and members of our community. We would have to eliminate clinical case management, our food pantry and all other services offered the community."

Barb Hicks
Executive Director
Madonna House, Quincy

"We are an agency that has served the homeless in Southern Illinois for 25 years. This is the first time state funding cuts have put our efforts to help the homeless in such jeopardy. With the loss of jobs in the area increasing, now is no time to close shelters that provide shelter and food. We don't want to close our doors."

Peggy Russell
Executive Director
Williamson County Family Crisis Center, Herrin

"These cuts are dangerous for Illinois. They target the most vulnerable citizens and demand that they bear the burden of the budget crisis. If these cuts are allowed to go through, they will decimate families and the consequences will ultimately hurt every citizen of the state."

Ryan Dowd
Executive Director
Hesed House, Aurora

What to Do?

Increasing the state income tax to 5% from 3%, combined with tax relief targeted at those with the lowest incomes through expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, will increase the sustainability and fairness of our state's tax system and preserve the programs that vulnerable people depend on every day.

State Budget Update: More Advocacy Needed to Stop Massive Cuts

Much public organizing and education work is going on to stop cuts of 50 percent or more in state spending for human services, including Domestic Violence Shelters, the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, the Homeless Prevention Program, Homeless Youth Services, Independent Living Centers and Supportive Housing Services.

Most importantly, many state-funded service providers have to help elected officials and the general public understand the ramifications of the pending cuts in terms of the number of people who will not be able to escape domestic violence, be denied shelter, forced into homelessness, not able to move from an institution into independent living and not able to receive the services that help them maintain their housing.

We need to thank legislators who voted for a tax increase and encourage legislators who voted against a tax increase to support such an increase.

Click here to see a record of the Senate vote, where a permanent income tax increase and a sales tax expansion passed.

Click here to see a record of the House vote, where a temporary tax increase was rejected.

Capital Budget: More than $130 Million for Affordable Housing

On a positive note, efforts over the past two years to get affordable housing funding included in the state capital budget are near fruition. The second capital budget bill passed this year, House Bill 313, included $100 million for affordable housing generally plus $30 million specifically for veterans and people with disabilities.

The funding will go to the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

The groups that led the campaign were Business and Professional People for the Public Interest, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Housing Action Illinois, Illinois Housing Council and the Supportive Housing Providers Association. Thanks to all the others who supported the work that resulted in this major victory.

However, the fate of the capital budget is linked with what happens with the operating budget. The State's ability to finance the bonds that will pay for the capital budget will be extremely limited if the ongoing fiscal problems are not resolved, making it all the more important that a sustainable agreement be reached by legislative leaders and Governor Quinn.

State Legislation Goes to Governor's Desk

The following housing-related bills developed by Roundtable members passed both chambers of the General Assembly and, if they have not already, will be sent to Governor Quinn for his consideration. More information is available at http://www.ilga.gov.

House Bill 2470: Amends the property tax code to expand the existing Housing Opportunity Tax Abatement Program to include tenant-based Housing Choice Vouchers and tenant-based vouchers that have been converted to project-based vouchers. It also expands the number of geographic areas where landlords are eligible to participate in the program. Advocated for by Interfaith Open Communities.

House Bill 3863: Requires that after a foreclosure is complete, the new owner of a rental property must make a good faith effort to identify residents of the property and inform residents that the property has been the subject of foreclosure, and provide contact information for resident concerns and repair requests. The bill also provides a tenant a minimum of 30 days to move after the eviction hearing if the tenant is evicted under the procedure provided under the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law. Advocated for by the Sargent Shriver National Center for Poverty Law and Housing Action Illinois.

Senate Bill 1629: Amends the Energy Assistance Act to make landlords who participate in the Rental Housing Support Program or Housing Choice Voucher program to be eligible for energy utility assistance. Advocated for by the Chicago Low Income Housing Trust Fund.

Senate Bill 1920: Creates a Mobile and Manufactured Home Relocation Commission to study the process and procedure by which a mobile or manufactured home located in a mobile or manufactured home park that is closing is relocated. Advocated for by the Mobile Home Owners Association of Illinois.

Numerous other positive pieces of housing legislation also passed, including the following bills:

House Bill 688: Provides that a municipality may file a court petition to appoint a receiver to manage a "distressed condominium property"--defined as being a danger, blight, or nuisance to the surrounding community or to the general public--as well as take additional steps to ameliorate the situation.

House Bill 746: Creates a Rapid Reintegration Pilot Program for people with physical disabilities and/or mental illness who need a short-term placement of 6 months or less in a nursing facility so that they can successfully return to the community without experiencing unnecessary institutionalization.

House Bill 2005: Amends the process to challenge a foreclosure judicial sale by eliminating the requirement that owners of a home they live in secure by bond a bid equal to the successful bid at the prior sale.

House Bill 2653: Amends the Homelessness Prevention Act to allow payment of mortgage arrearages to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.

House Bill 3987: Environment Illinois led the campaign to create a statewide energy-efficient building code for residential buildings.

House Bill 4011: Enables the State's participation in the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry.

Federal Update

Much has happened at the federal level, since our last update. Rather than try to summarize everything in this message, here are some links to allow you to get more information about specific issues:

President Obama's Budget Request

Recovery Act Funds for Housing

* Click on these links for Illinois-specific information
Neighborhood Stabilization Program
Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program

McKinney Vento Reauthorization Becomes Law

New Protections for Renters in Foreclosed Buildings

Community Reinvestment Act Modernization Legislation

Draft Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA)

The Housing Wage is $17.17 for Two-Bedroom Apartment

According to a report released today, the Housing Wage for the state of Illinois is $17.17 for a two-bedroom apartment, while the average wage a renter in Illinois earns is $15.33.

The Housing Wage is the hourly wage a family must earn working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year—to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment renting for $893- the average rent in Illinois. The Housing Wage in Illinois has increased 32.5% since 2000.

The report, Out of Reach 2009, was jointly released by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), a Washington, DC-based housing advocacy group, and Housing Action Illinois.

Federal guidelines state that no one should spend more than 30% of their income on housing, including rent or mortgage payments, utilities, property taxes and insurance.

“The increase in the housing wage compared to a year ago suggests that the foreclosure crisis and the economic slowdown have actually driven up rental costs overall as competition for affordable rental units increases as fewer people are buying homes and people who lost their homes to foreclosure have reentered the rental market,” said Mimi Chedid, Policy Coordinator for Housing Action Illinois. The housing wage for Illinois in 2008 was $16.23.

In Illinois, a minimum wage worker earns an hourly wage of $7.75. In order to afford market-rate rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Illinois, a minimum wage earner must work 89 hours per week, 52 weeks per year. Or a household must have 2.2 minimum wage earners working 40 hours per week year-round in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment.

In Illinois, among metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, the lowest Housing Wage for a two-bedroom apartment is $10.50 in the Bond County metropolitan area. The highest housing wage for a two-bedroom apartment is $19.31 in the Chicago metropolitan area.

An estimated 49% of renters in the Illinois area do not earn enough income to afford a two-bedroom unit at the Fair Market Rent.

Housing Action Illinois’ mission is to increase and preserve the supply of decent, affordable, and accessible housing in Illinois for low-and moderate-income households through advocacy, public education, and technical assistance to nonprofits.

Data for every state, metropolitan area and county in the country is available online, at www.nlihc.org/oor/oor2009.

Housing Action Illinois has completed an analysis of how members of the Illinois General Assembly voted on key housing legislation.

Click here to download the report as a PDF file.

For each bill, legislators are evaluated as to whether they voted with the position Housing Action Illinois supported, or against the position Housing Action Illinois supported. Votes supporting the position Housing Action Illinois favored are marked with a “Yes”. Historical voting records are based on 38 votes on housing-related issues between 2003 and 2008.

Top Scoring Legislators

Top scoring legislators, listed in alphabetical order, are those who scored high enough to have had a 100% voting record and nine sponsorship points. This identifies the legislators in the top 15% of their peers on votes supporting affordable housing.
(* Denotes no longer in office.)

Senate
Sen. Jacqueline Y. Collins
Sen. M. Maggie Crotty
Sen. John J. Cullerton
Sen. Miguel del Valle*
Sen. Mattie Hunter
Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford
Sen. Terry Link
Sen. Iris Y. Martinez
Sen. Michael Noland
Sen. Barack Obama*
Sen. Kwame Raoul
Sen. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg
Sen. Donne E. Trotter

House of Representatives
Rep. Daniel J. Burke
Rep. Annazette Collins
Rep. Marlow H. Colvin
Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie
Rep. Monique D. Davis
Rep. William Davis
Rep. Kenneth Dunkin
Rep. Sara Feigenholtz
Rep. Calvin L. Giles*
Rep. Deborah L. Graham
Rep. Julie Hamos
Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez
Rep. Constance A. Howard
Rep. Elga Jefferies*
Rep. Robin Kelly*
Rep. Elaine Nekritz
Rep. Harry Osterman
Rep. Milton Patterson*
Rep. Cynthia Soto
Rep. Arthur L. Turner
Rep. Eddie Washington
Rep. Karen A. Yarbrough
Rep. Wyvetter H. Younge*

It's not just homeowners who are being affected by the mortgage meltdown. Hundreds of Illinois renters have been pushed out of homes or apartments forced into foreclosure, through no fault of their own. Current Illinois law offers no protections for renters in these situations, but a bill in the State Legislature would change that.

Relief can't come quickly enough for Tamara Draper of Chicago. She was paying rent on a deteriorating apartment and did not know the building was in foreclosure until the Sheriff delivered eviction papers. She's had a tough time finding affordable housing since, and she says she's not alone.

"The unit was a 48-unit building and we all were having problems finding adequate housing and basically they only referral was to go to a shelter and even the shelters nowadays are hard to get in."

Enter House Bill 3863, a proposed "Bill of Rights" for renters. It would maintain rental housing during foreclosure, prevent declining neighborhoods due to abandonment, provide tools for renters to maintain their current housing, and ensure adequate notice for renters who may need to secure new housing.

Draper says the eviction filing against her has made it especially hard to find a new place to live, although now, she says she's just happy to not be out on the street.

"The place that I did find takes my whole income. So, I do have my children, I'm able to live - I'll still be hungry, but it's okay. I just have to struggle to do whatever I have to do, in order to have a place to live."

Nationally, one in every five foreclosed dwellings is rental property. In Chicago, 32 percent of residential foreclosure filings are on two- to six-unit properties.

Some lenders are worried about the responsibility of becoming "landlords" to those living in foreclosed buildings. Supporters of the bill are working to address their concerns, while ensuring tenants are informed of critical information regarding the property.

Click here to view this story on the Public News Service website and access an audio version of this and other stories: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/8387-1