Action Alert – November 30, 2011

We have good news to celebrate. On Nov. 29, the Illinois Legislature voted to restore funding of $58 million for mental health and substance abuse treatment services. There was broad, bipartisan support for this funding restoration. We expect Governor Quinn will sign this into law and will keep you updated as the specifics unfold. Thank you very much for your advocacy on this issue. Be sure to thank your legislators for making this happen! For more information, please see the Nov. 29 Springfield Journal Register story, “Lawmakers reprieve facilities targeted for closure.”

Why LSSI Supports Comprehensive Tax and Budget Reform in Illinois

For the last decade, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) has worked diligently to convince lawmakers and the general public that comprehensive tax and budget reform are essential to the fiscal health of the state and to insure that the state would have the financial resources necessary to carry out its constitutional mandate to

provide for the health, safety and welfare of the people,… eliminate poverty and
inequality…[and] provide opportunity for the fullest development of the
individual…
(from the Preamble to the State Constitution)

In March 2002 and March 2003, the Board of Directors of LSSI, meeting jointly with the Board of Trustees of our cousin agency, Lutheran Child and Family Services (LCFS), reviewed a “white paper” titled “The Environment for Social Services in Illinois.” It is unfortunate that the environment has not improved. In fact, in many ways, it has gotten worse over the years, especially in the wake of the global financial crisis that began in 2008. In response to the situation outlined in the white paper, the Boards of LSSI and LCFS adopted resolutions calling for comprehensive tax and budget reform in Illinois (Links to the 2002 and 2003 resolutions are below).

Although Governors and members of the Illinois General Assembly have come and gone over the past decade, the fundamental flaws in tax and budget policy in Illinois did not change until the recent “lame duck” session of the Illinois General Assembly, at the urging of Governor Quinn, adopted one of the most important parts of the tax and budget reform called for in the LSSI/LCFS resolutions: an increase in the state income tax rate.

While the tax increase is a very important step toward overcoming the chronic under-funding of state services, it is not enough by itself. Lutheran Social Services of Illinois and our advocacy partner, Lutheran Advocacy–Illinois, will continue to work on comprehensive reform, to bring greater fairness, stability and accountability to our state’s finances.

For more information, please read "Funding Our Future: Reforming Illinois Tax Policy", prepared by the well-respected, bipartisan Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

Update from Springfield: A Major Accomplishment, More Work to Be Done

Dear Advocates:

The 96th General Assembly concluded its business early on the morning of Jan. 12. In the last days of the session, the General Assembly accomplished several significant things. From our perspective, the two most important were:

Adoption of a tax reform bill. This is a major step toward putting Illinois on the road to fiscal stability. The bill, SB 2505, temporarily raises the individual income tax rate from 3% to 5% and imposes strict spending limits for the next four years.

This measure did not include all of the tax and budget reforms that we have pushed for many years. But new revenue is desperately needed to prevent devastating cuts to vital state services including education, healthcare, social services and public safety. In addition, the spending caps should ensure that the state doesn't return to the habit of spending more money each year than the state receives in tax revenue.

Abolition of capital punishment. This bill -- SB 3539 --if signed by Governor Quinn, will accomplish one of our major advocacy goals of the past decade!

I want to express deep gratitude to everyone who has been actively engaged in advocacy on these issues, especially in the closing days of the legislative session.

While we are gratified by these two major accomplishments, our advocacy work must continue:

We will need to be very vigilant throughout the upcoming 97th General Assembly, which was sworn in at noon today. It will be important that legislators give priority to funding human services out of the limited discretionary funding that will be available for the next four years.

Governor Quinn needs to hear from all advocates opposed to capital punishment urging him to sign SB 3539.

Call: Springfield – 217/782-0244 or Chicago – 312/814-212

Dan Schwick, Director of Government Relations
Lutheran Social Services of Illinois

A Different Perspective: ‘Some Right, Some Wrong in 60 Minutes Story
on State Budgets’

As you may know, the Rev. Dr. Denver Bitner, president of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), was interviewed for a story that aired on CBS’ 60 Minutes on Dec. 19, commenting on the impact of late payments to human service agencies including LSSI. “State Budgets: The Day of Reckoning," focused on the financial crisis that many states are grappling with, but focused primarily on the response of Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey who is slashing state programs to balance his state’s budget. Gov. Christie says he has to make the cuts and “...let the chips fall where they may.”

It is very important to remember that state-funded health and human services programs don’t deal with “chips.” We deal with flesh and blood human beings — real people with real needs caused by poverty, disability, tragedy or isolation.

I encourage you to watch the 60 Minutes segment. Then, read “Some Right, Some Wrong in ‘60 Minutes’ Story on State Budgets,” — a thoughtful response from the well-respected Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, in Washington D.C., which shares the view of Illinois’ Responsible Budget Coalition that a balanced approach, which includes significant new revenue, is needed to get our state on the road to financial recovery.

Pr. Daniel Schwick, Director of Government Relations

About Government Relations & Advocacy

Government Relations at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI) is focused on holding government entities — mostly state, but sometimes federal, county or local governments — accountable for their responsibilities to people in need. Our government relations priorities are:

• Identifying the needs of people who use LSSI’s services and supporting public policies designed to meet those needs


• Identifying ways in which government can help to strengthen the human care “safety net” that combines the effort of public and private entities in support of disabled or otherwise disadvantaged people in Illinois.

Advocacy is that part of our ministry that goes beyond the specific needs of our clients or the programs that serve them and addresses underlying causes that contribute to the neediness of people and communities. Our advocacy ministry also addresses broader social justice issues, such as civil rights and environmental stewardship. Most of our advocacy ministry is carried out through Lutheran Advocacy—Illinois, a partnership of LSSI, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Advocacy Department and the three ELCA synods in Illinois. For more information on Lutheran Advocacy—Illinois, please go to www.LutheranAdvocacy.org.

Both the Government Relations and Advocacy functions of LSSI are part of the Office of the President and are overseen by Pastor Daniel Schwick, assistant to the President and director of the Office of Church and Government Relations, and by Jennifer De Leon, associate director.

Lutheran Day 2009

On May 6, in front of an enthusiastic crowd in the Statehouse Rotunda, Governor Pat Quinn accepted the Paul Simon Courage in Public Service Award during Lutheran Day 2009. Read more about the event here.

Book Your Date with LSSI

Is your congregation interested in having an LSSI Sunday, a presentation on Lutheran Advocacy, or want to know more about Lutheran Disaster Response or the Just Neighbors program on poverty? The “LSSI Church Relations Menu” lists many learning opportunities for your congregation, and the “LSSI Speaker Sign-Up” helps you let us know what you’re looking for!

For more information, or answers to your questions, please contact Jennifer De Leon, associate director, at Jennifer.Deleon@LSSI.org.

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