Letter: Budget cuts are bad medicine

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Updated: February 10, 2012 2:17PM

Budget cuts are bad medicine

The lingering pain of this recession affects every citizen in Illinois.

This is why the West Suburban Jobs Council, a coalition of more than 30 member agencies with the mission to increase employment opportunities of low-income DuPage County residents, is concerned about the Illinois’ budget now, as the Legislature is about to reconvene.

DuPage has seen an increase of more than 30 percent low-income residents and reflects similar increases throughout the state. A simple point that is often overlooked is that our state budget is critical to keeping jobs in Illinois.

Illinois lost 118,000 jobs simply due to cuts in education and human services over the past 10 years, and incentives that create jobs are dwindling for employers and our workforce agencies. Illinois ranks fifth in population, but only 43rd in terms of spending as a percentage of gross domestic product, according to the Center on Tax and Budget Accountability.

Budget cuts are bad medicine at this crucial time when we need to figure out how to keep people employed and our economy producing. Let’s put our energy to work behind Illinois. Ask our legislators and governor to promote growth and vital services such as after-school, homeless prevention and mental health programs.

Short-sighted budget cuts will lead to long-term problems for the residents of Illinois.

Dennis P. McCann, advocacy chairman

West Suburban Jobs Council

Barbara Tartaglione, president

West Suburban Jobs Council