State representatives of Chicago's North Side and the northern suburbs gathered to hear the testimonies of those impacted by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's $470 million budget cut.
On Thurs., Sept. 27, Loyola's Mundelein Center Auditorium in Rogers Park was packed with heads of local organizations, community members and others impacted by the governor's vetoes of what Blagojevich has called 'pork' projects. Reps. Rich Bradley, John D'Amico, Lou Lang, Joe Lyons, Sara Feigenholtz, John Fritchey, Greg Harris and Harry Osterman listened to their communities for hours in order to gather testimony in hopes of convincing the Senate to override the governor's vetoes.
Prior to the testimonies, many representatives mentioned that they feel Blagojevich's vetoes have a political agenda behind them. In a presentation given by a House staff member, it was noted that nearly all House Democratic projects were eliminated, as well as nearly all Senate Republican projects. Meanwhile, no Senate Democratic and House Republican projects were cut. Those saved from cuts, according to the representatives, are all projects of the panel that will approve or reject the Governor's health care plan, Illinois Covered.
The governor's office denies this accusation. 'The governor's vetoes represent less than 1 percent of the cut,' Blagojevich spokesman Justin DeJong told Windy City Times the following day. 'The gross exaggeration of those vetoes made last night only serves to distract the public from the fact that Speaker [ Rep. Mike ] Madigan, in the House, didn't include enough revenues to meet the state's health care and education needs and to pay for hundreds of member initiatives that they inserted into the budget at the last minute without and public discourse or hearings.'
DeJong also said that the House failed to address the state's health care crisis, and the governor 'prioritized' heath care needs and now 'more than 500,000 people will have access to health care,' under the governor's plan.
The presentation also included information on how the vetoes—over $200 million in projects of local significance—have specifically impacted the North Side in the areas of education, health care and social services ( including $700,000 cut from HIV/AIDS education, medicine and prevention ) , public health and safety and others.
Feigenholtz said that, out of the 13 years she has spend listening to the residents she serves, she doesn't expect the governor to understand what is needed within her community. She pointed out all the people in the room who work on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS, the disabled, those struggling with substance abuse and more. 'We all need to get this money back for these services,' she said.
When the event was opened up to the community, topics raised included everything from Alderman Joe Moore ( 49th Ward ) describing how the loss of Cease Fire, a violence prevention project, has deeply impacted his ward to Beau Gratzer of Howard Brown noting that without the money cut by the governor, the organization won't be able to provide 400-500 HIV tests.
Others spoke about cuts made to libraries, the State's Attorney's office, counseling centers, organizations that work on behalf of the disabled and mentally ill and much more.