What was touted as landmark, comprehensive legislation to attack Illinois’ heroin problem has survived a governor’s veto, so far.
Gov. Bruce Rauner, while praising the idea of trying to turn addicts into recovering addicts and not prison inmates, used his amendatory veto power to cut $15 million of a Medicaid-funded component out of the bill.
State Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) says if you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money. That argument, he says, “is not an unreasonable thing, given where we are today without a budget.”
The sponsor, State Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), responded that the veto was “penny wise and pound foolish.” Lang compares the $35,000 annual cost to prosecute and incarcerate someone to the $1,000 to treat that person, “and much of that is federally matchable.”
HB 1 has passed the House, via veto override, 105-5, and goes to the Senate.
And in other state news, the latest volley to try to save the Illinois State Museum from closure came from a third-grader from Pekin.
The museum includes satellite locations, one of which is in Lockport, where John Lustig is manager. “Natural history and art collections require constant, specialized care by our highly trained staff,” he said. “Objects must be continually evaluated for necessary repairs and stabilization.”
The Department of Natural Resources says it would save $4.8 million by closing the museum network, which, museum backers say, generates $33 million in tourism revenue. Other locations are at Dickson Mounds, Rend Lake, and Chicago.
SB 317 has passed the House Museums, Arts, and Cultural Enhancement Committee.
