(Chicago, IL) – During an October 15th rally at the State of Illinois Thompson Center in Chicago, state mental health advocates urged the Governor Rod Blagojevich to restore $79 million to the state’s mental health care and substance abuse treatment budgets.
“It is critical to our state’s health care system that Governor Blagojevich restore the $79 million to alcohol and drug treatment and mental health care that he cut earlier this year,” said Frank Anselmo, CEO, Community Behavioral Healthcare Association of Illinois.
Governor Blagojevich vetoed $63 million for mental health care and addiction treatment on July 9, and in August he administratively cut another $16 million from mental health care. Together the cuts total $79 million.
The Illinois House and Senate recently voted 113-0 and 55-0, respectively, to restore $63 million to state addiction treatment and to mental health care as part of a $219 million supplement budget bill (SB 1103). The legislature did not address the $16 million administratively eliminated.
The Governor has yet to act on the legislation.
“The Governor needs to restore immediately the $63 million approved by the legislature, and he needs to rescind the $16 million administrative cut,” said Anselmo. “There are more than 62,000 people—including thousand of children—around the state losing critical care. He must restore the money.”
