PORT BYRON, Ill. - Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget plan would take a steep toll on middle-class families, the elderly, and sick and disabled residents said local families who joined with state Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, to urge a more balanced solution to the state's budget challenges.

"The state budget isn't about numbers on paper, it's about middle-class families, the elderly and people who deserve a hand when facing some of life's most difficult obstacles like illness and disability," Smiddy said. "A budget that denies them the care they need and the services they depend on simply costs too much."

Rauner has proposed cutting the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program by nearly $10 million. An estimated 27,000 women rely on the program every year to access free mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, but the governor's cut would keep an estimated 14,000 women from accessing this life-saving care. The governor's proposal also slashes more than $1 million in funding for CGH Medical Center in Sterling and Morrison Community Hospital, which the Illinois Hospital Association warns will cost the area more than $2.7 million in economic activity and eliminate local 20 jobs.

"As the husband of a breast cancer survivor, it is appalling to me that the governor would use funding for cancer detection and treatment as leverage in his political game," Smiddy said. "My wife and I were very fortunate that she was diagnosed early and received the necessary treatment. Across our state, too many women do not have that same access to care. We need to make sure Illinois stands behind them and do what it takes to provide them with the treatment they need."

Rauner has also called for the suspension of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps over 8,000 area residents cover the costs of home heating every winter, and has proposed severe reductions to agricultural education, and programs that serve families of children with autism. Policy changes backed by the governor would make it harder for seniors to receive in-home care, forcing elderly residents to seek out more costly nursing home care.

Smiddy joined with Rock Island and Whiteside County families in Sterling and Moline to urge a more balanced approach that makes responsible spending cuts while protecting critical services for middle-class families, the elderly and those in great need.

"Balancing the budget on their backs of families that are already struggling to make ends meet won't make Illinois more competitive and it certainly isn't compassionate," Smiddy said. "These men and women work hard to provide for their families. They didn't create the mess in Springfield. They shouldn't be forced to pay for it."

Governor Bruce Rauner today vetoed 19 budget bills that combine to create a deficit of nearly $4 billion.  A copy of the governor's veto message is below.

Bill Numbers: HB 4146, HB 4147, HB 4148, HB 4151, HB 4153, HB 4154, HB 4158, HB 4159, HB 4160, HB 4165, SB 2029, SB 2030, SB 2031, SB 2032, SB 2033, SB 2034, SB 2035, SB 2036, SB 2037

Action: Vetoed

Veto Message

Today I veto House Bill 4146 from the 99th General Assembly in order to protect Illinois taxpayers from an unbalanced and therefore unconstitutional budget.

The Speaker of the House and President of the Senate have admitted that the General Assembly's budget is unbalanced. The Governor's Office of Management and Budget concurs, calculating that this budget is nearly $4 billion out of balance.

For too long, the state of Illinois has made spending promises that exceed available revenues, relied on accounting gimmicks to make budgets appear balanced, used borrowing and cost deferral strategies to push costs into the future, and delayed payments to vendors.

This has generated significant backlogs of unpaid bills and a crushing debt burden of well over $100 billion. Because of past fiscal mismanagement, Illinois is experiencing the worst fiscal crisis in America, highlighted by Illinois being assigned the worst credit rating of any state.

The State of Illinois will be forced to pay more than $6 billion in debt payments in Fiscal Year 2016 due to years of fiscal neglect and overspending.  A balanced budget is the only way to responsibly protect taxpayers and put the State on a path to once again using its resources for important public services rather than interest and debt service.

A balanced budget is not just good practice, it is a constitutional requirement: "Appropriations for a fiscal year shall not exceed funds estimated by the General Assembly to be available during that year." Ill. Const. art. VIII, sec. 2(b). Although the General Assembly has chosen to disregard its constitutional obligation, as Governor I cannot approve a budget that violates this fundamental principle.

We must be partners in enacting a balanced budget that meets critical public needs within the resources available. The surest way to do that is by enacting structural reforms inside government and economic reforms that stimulate our economy and bring new jobs to Illinois.

The Muscatine CROP Hunger Walk committee will be waiting and busing tables at Boonies on the Avenue, 214 Iowa Ave, Muscatine, on Monday, September 21st from 5pm until 8pm.  Boonies is a sports bar and grill and they're giving a portion of their sales that night to the Muscatine walk.  For more information on the Muscatine CROP Hunger Walk, please visit: www.cropwalk.org/MuscatineIA

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Scott County office will continue hosting the sixth annual "Growing Season" webinar series in July.

The July webinar, Water in the Garden, with Denny Schrock, PhD and Jamie Beyer, will be offered on July 15, 2015, at the Scott County Extension Office, 875 Tanglefoot Lane in Bettendorf, IA from 7 to 9 pm. Participants will learn about various water saving techniques to apply to their garden.  They will also find out how to incorporate creative water features into their home gardens.  There is a $5.00 fee that is payable at the door, however, pre-registration for the webinar is requested.

To register please contact the ISU Extension and Outreach Scott County office at 563-359-7577 or aheitz@iastate.edu.  All master gardeners attending will earn two continuing education hours for each webinar.