Though there’s still no full budget for the current fiscal year, the Secretary of State’s office continues to spend — sparingly.
Before the end of 2015, lawmakers passed a bill containing $10 million for the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. Deputy Press Secretary Henry Haupt says some of that money was used to pay rent and utilities for drivers service facilities and vendors who maintain the office’s cyber security operations. Outside of the highly publicized suspension of mailing out license plate renewal notices, Haupt says the office is taking other belt-tightening steps to save money during the impasse.
Meanwhile Haupt says the security company Garda resumed services last month to pick up and deliver cash from drivers services facilities after having ended a previous agreement earlier this year because of lack of payment.
In other State news, the Illinois Department of Health is looking to abolish its own State Board of Health, saying it costs taxpayers thousands of dollars every month and needlessly holds up important changes.
The seventeen-member board includes a suburban dentist, a nurse from downstate Illinois, a chiropractor and a retired police chief who now works as an environmental health practitioner.
The bill that would abolish the board is sponsored by Alton state Sen. Bill Haine. The health department has to run all rule changes past the board before it can bring the changes to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, something Haine calls a redundancy.
Multiple attempts Friday to reach board members were unsuccessful.
