Hunter: Department of Public Health must refocus priorities

State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) criticized the Illinois Department of Public Health on Wednesday for proposing cuts to programs and services that would disproportionately affect minority communities.

The Senate Appropriations I Committee heard testimony Wednesday morning from Nirav Shah, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, on possible budget cuts to reduce the $5 billion gap in Gov. Rauner’s budget.

The IDPH is holding an event celebrating “National Minority Health Month” in the Capitol’s rotunda this week.

“The department needs to refocus its priorities,” Hunter said. “To me, it’s highly hypocritical and counterproductive to celebrate bridging health equity, right after proposing cuts that will largely affect a group of individuals.”

Read more …

Hunter: It’s time to prioritize social service agencies

State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) is fighting for funding for domestic violence shelters following a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing this week. Advocates, including Vickie Smith, testified about the negative effects the budget impasse has had on domestic violence shelters across the state.

“In the late 1980s I served as a director for a domestic violence shelter and know firsthand how critical the services they provide are,” Hunter said. “By not funding these essential services, victims may stay in their homes longer and suffer ongoing abuse because they have nowhere else to go. It is a real shame that in their time of greatest need, the state is not willing or able to step up and support these victims.”

Domestic violence shelter funding was omitted in the FY17 budget. Since then, many domestic violence shelters have been forced to lay off staff, reduce services or even shut their doors due to the lack of state funding.

“Every single agency raises private dollars,” said Smith on “The 21st Podcast” on NPR. “But the money from the state is the core of operating funds. It keeps the lights on; it keeps the phone bill paid; and it pays their rent. If the agencies don’t have the core operating fund it’s really difficult to provide extra services… Considering everything is built around that.”

Read more …

Please come join us!

Sen. Hunter seeks to accelerate human service payments in ongoing budget impasse

To help the human service agencies that continue to suffer in the ongoing budget impasse, State Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) put forth a plan that would handle payments to all human services the same, rather than prioritizing certain contracts over others.

“We should treat the people that care for our most vulnerable citizens fairly,” Hunter said. “Programs like Redeploy Illinois, homeless youth services and others have been bearing the financial burden of the state of Illinois for the almost two years we’ve gone without a budget. This legislation will not only prioritize the payments human service providers need but also compensate organizations for delayed payments.”

Under current law, when state government fails to pay vendors on time, the Prompt Payment Act sets regulations for how to pay vendors in a timely manner for their services. Those guidelines only apply to construction contractors and some human service contractors.

Read more …