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Senate Headlines State Senators John O. Jones (R-Mount Vernon), Tim Bivins (R-Dixon), Gary Dahl (R-Granville), Brad Burzynski (R-Clare) and Senate Republican Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) emphasized a need for all sides to come together to restore the state's commitment to agriculture – the state's largest industry – and develop solutions. The first step, they said, was a joint House-Senate hearing held April 16 (click here to see video of Sen. Burzynski speaking at press conference). The Senators encourage everyone to contact the Governor’s office (217-782-6830 or governor@state.il.us) with concerns about these critical issues. "Agriculture is the state's number one industry – an industry that pumps $9 billion into the Illinois economy and provides more than 1 million jobs," Bivins said. "It's crucial for Republicans and Democrats to work together to ensure our state policies help our farm economy grow and expand. This Wednesday's hearing will be an opportunity for us to examine the state's agricultural policies. We feel there are several areas that need improvement, and we look forward to working in a bipartisan manner to change things for the better." The Senators said they are particularly concerned because a pattern has emerged in recent months in which agriculture and conservation-related programs are being forced to bear a heavier burden of cuts than programs affecting urban areas. The Senators pointed out that:
The Senators emphasized that it is the one-sided nature of the administration's cuts that has them particularly concerned. "If every area of state government were being asked to share equally it would be one thing. But it's irresponsible and short-sighted to target the state's core industry and then unilaterally launch major expansions in other areas," Dahl said. One agricultural program facing a financial crisis is the Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs). The districts protect the state's water source from contamination and provide educational assistance to local farmers on soil erosion. The hundreds of projects spearheaded by the SWCDs have been placed on hold, despite already being planned, surveyed and designed. "The districts don't know when or if they'll receive their money," Jones said. "The longer we delay, the more projects go unfunded and we lose potential federal matching funds with the possibility we'll never regain those in the future." The legislature approved $7.4 million for SWCD across the state this year, however, the Governor has released only $1.7 million – less than a quarter of the funding – so far. The Lawrence County district office has already said it will shut its doors at the end of May, and offices in Adams and Scott Counties have cut hours to make ends meet. Additionally, another program threatened by the failure to release appropriated funds is the University of Illinois Extension program. Nearly $18 million appropriated for the Extension has not been released yet, despite the fiscal year ending on June 30 this year. "Almost 450 Extension employees will lose their jobs unless the funding is released by the Governor's office," Burzynski said. "That's half of the employees in the program. The Governor has already vetoed all funding for the 4-H Youth Development Educators program that's part of the Extension. And now, even money for Cook County projects has been held up. People shouldn't have to lose their jobs when the state made a promise to provide them with funding." The Governor previously vetoed $1.7 million, the entire budget item, for the 4-H Youth Development Educators program this fiscal year. The County Board Match fund was appropriated $12.8 million, but hasn't received any funds. Neither has the Cook County Initiative, which was appropriated $5.1 million by the General Assembly. Another program awaiting funding is the Council on Food and Agricultural Research, which provides seed money for research projects that, in turn, attracts further funding from federal government and private industry sources. "Previous studies have shown that for each dollar the state spends in CFAR it returns nearly $10 in benefits for the local economy," Dahl said. "But right now we have $4.4 million in CFAR appropriations that have yet to be released this year. That's money that's not being spent to fund research programs that have the potential to bring in millions more to the state economy and position Illinois as a leader in agriculture." Despite the governor's own budget predictions saying the state would have a $750 million shortfall in revenue this year, a series of legislation has moved forward to sweep up to $530 million from hundreds of state funds to further expand his healthcare proposals. While the Open Space Land Acquisition & Development (OSLAD) fund – which has been raided for $42 million in the previous five years – has been granted an exemption from this round of proposed sweeps, many more agriculture-related funds are left exposed, including the Agricultural Premium, the Agrichemical Incident Response Trust, the Weights and Measures Fund, and the Fertilizer, Feed and Pesticide Control Funds. "If we use the past as a guide, then we can imagine the governor dipping his hands into more agriculture and conservation-related funds," Luechtefeld said. "Funds paid for by fees and appropriated by the legislature shouldn't be used to finance a unilateral expansion of healthcare, which the General Assembly has yet to agree to expand. Frankly, you shouldn't be allowed to break another's piggy bank to put more money in your own." The lawmakers also pointed to several other areas where state policies undermined the Illinois agricultural and related industries, including:
The Republican lawmakers warned that all of these issues, taken together, indicate a pattern on the part of the current Administration to target and punish agriculture at the same time it seeks massive spending in other areas. Sen. Watson said it was important for lawmakers of both political parties to come together to address the State's recent neglect of agriculture. "The simple truth is agriculture is not a priority for this Governor," Watson said. "He is raising agriculture fees and cutting priorities crucial to farm families at the same time seeking massive spending hikes in other areas. It's time for the state to take a new direction, and start giving agriculture a helping hand rather than the back side of its fist. We look forward to working with lawmakers – Republicans and Democrats alike – in formulating policies that are better for Illinois farmers and agricultural producers." |