* AFSCME press release. Statement by Council 31 Exec Director Henry Bayer…
“Past budget cuts have badly hurt the ability of state employees to provide the vital services Illinois residents depend on each day. With a severe staff shortage in nearly every department of state government, services have deteriorated even as employees are working harder to keep pace.
“These past cuts have diminished the quality of care for aged veterans and those with severe mental illnesses and developmental disabilities. They have made public safety less effective and our prisons less safe. They have caused long waits, huge backlogs and overwhelming caseloads throughout state government. And they have made huge, wasteful spending on overtime a fact of life for agencies that are stretched far too thin to function effectively.
“The budget approved two weeks ago took steps to reverse those past cuts, restoring some 1,200 positions to badly understaffed state agencies.
“The governor’s vetoes would turn back that progress. While he technically did not veto funding for the newly restored positions, he did reduce funding for existing positions throughout state government. As a result, if these vetoes are allowed to stand, some short-staffed agencies that expected to make progress this year would instead stay stuck in place. Others would actually suffer even more cuts.
“The budget also included a 2.5 percent cost-of-living increase for the very-low-wage workers who care for the developmentally disabled at not-for-profit community agencies that receive state funds. This would be their first pay increase in three years.
“But the governor acted to reduce the COLA for these very-low-wage workers to a meager 1.6 percent.
“This is the wrong course for Illinois. The governor’s vetoes should not stand. AFSCME urges senators and representatives, both Democrats and Republicans, to come together and override these cuts to the essential services all Illinois residents rely on.”