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Action Alert and Update on SB 716
Kathy Kregor
Issue : DuPage County faces a deficit of nearly $45 million over the next two years. On Nov. 29, the County Board passed a 2007 budget with severe cuts in several key areas of county services. An additional revenue source is needed. Since DuPage County is not a Home Rule County, it doesn’t have local control over raising taxes. The County is seeking approval from the Illinois General Assembly for authority to raise the tobacco tax (SB716) to generate additional revenues. SB 716 has been passed in the House and now goes to the Senate.
Action needed: Calls/Emails to your senators asking for their support of SB 716, which gives counties the authority to raise tobacco taxes in their county. Calls are also needed to Senate President Emil Jones asking that he bring this legislation up for consideration. The legislative session will be from Jan, 7-9 th, so calls and Emails are needed by or before then.
Background:
DuPage County faces a deficit of nearly $45 million over the next two years. On Nov. 29, the County Board passed a 2007 budget with severe cuts in several key areas of county services. The State’s Attorney’s Office and County Clerk’s Office were cut by 3.5%, but drastic cuts were made in health and human services.
- Access DuPage will be cut by 50%, from $350,000 to $260,000.
- U of I Extension funding will be totally eliminated, leaving DuPage as the only Illinois county without an extension office (by law, they aren’t allowed to seek alternate funding).
- Cuts to Human Services will be cut by 65%. 46 organizations receive grants that will be drastically reduced or eliminated, including Bridge Communities, Peoples’ Resource Center, Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS), NAMI, Catholic Charities, Outreach Community Ministries.
The only way to restore these cuts is to secure additional revenues. SB 716 would allow the county to raise the tobacco tax to increase the revenues.
Catholic Social Teaching asks that we make the need of poor a priority. Many of the programs affected by the budget cuts provide food, shelter, and other services for the poor.
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