NEWS

From the Illinois State Senate

State Senator John Sullivan, 47th Legislative District

Sullivan Extracts $9.2 Million in Savings from Entitlement Program
TANF reform passes with unanimous support in Senate

SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville) successfully spearheaded a bipartisan effort today to extract $9.2 million in savings over the next fiscal year. The legislation will change how the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) entitlement program is administered by limiting retroactive payments. The Senate concurred on the measure, sending it to the Governor.

“The step taken today is one example of how we can achieve cost savings by finding administrative efficiencies without compromising vital services,” Sullivan said. “It’s a good sign that legislators were able to work together to adopt common-sense, cost-saving policies that still allow this program to serve its intended purpose.”

Sullivan’s measure allows the Department of Human Services (DHS) up to 45 days (rather than 30) to process a TANF application and changes the timeframe for which DHS must make retroactive payments. It changes administrative policy to hold DHS responsible for retroactive payments only from the thirtieth day of the application process, rather than from the day the client made an application. Being responsible for fifteen fewer days of payments is projected to save the state $9.2 million next year.

“The state faces a challenging fiscal situation this year, and the General Assembly will have to make some tough decisions in the next two weeks,” Sullivan said. “We must achieve savings wherever we can, and adjusting the TANF program is another step along the road to a sustainable state budget.” 

The measure, Senate Bill 770, will take effect July 1.

###

NEWS

From the Illinois State Senate

State Senator John Sullivan, 47th Legislative District

SULLIVAN: BUDGET MEASURE RESTORES CHILD CARE FUNDING
Bill also pays overdue Medicaid bills

SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville) hailed the passage, with unanimous bipartisan support, of legislation restoring funding to child care providers. Because some Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) funds had to be used for greater-than-anticipated needs in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, the state announced this month it would not be able to pay providers until July 1.

“Child care assistance is vital to every community; it allows parents to work their way out of poverty,” said Sullivan, who co-sponsored the measure. “If we had allowed these payments to lapse, many child care providers would have gone out of business and many parents would have lost their jobs and become dependent on public assistance to support their families’ basic needs.”

Sullivan heard from many child care providers and parents in his district who worried about the effect of the shortfall on their jobs and families. The Child Care Assistance Program allows low-income parents to leave their children in a safe environment only if they are working or attending school. The program covers costs on a sliding scale based on the parent’s income and helps provide a healthy start to over 150,000 children.

Senate Bill 2450 transfers funds from elsewhere in the budget to the Department of Human Services so it can continue making CCAP payments. Given that tax revenues this year have been higher than expected, the bill also authorizes the use of the additional money to pay over $300 million of the state’s backlog of unpaid Medicaid bills.

“The House and Senate used a conservative tax revenue estimate for the current fiscal year with the understanding that if the state brought in more revenue than expected, we would use the additional funds to pay what we owe to health care providers,” Sullivan said. “By today’s action, we are making a sizeable reduction in the Medicaid backlog.”

###

NEWS

From the Illinois State Senate

State Senator John Sullivan, 47th Legislative District

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, May 2, 2012 

SULLIVAN: NOW IS THE TIME TO END LEGISLATIVE TUITION WAIVERS

SPRINGFIELD, IL – State Senator John Sullivan (D-Rushville) welcomed the upcoming vote on ending the General Assembly Tuition Waiver Program and said the time is right to bring the controversial program to a close.

“I’m glad to have been able to use tuition waivers to give a number of students in my district the chance to attend state universities,” said Sen. Sullivan, who used a rigorous and objective system to evaluate prospective recipients. “However, I announced in January that I would no longer give out the waivers because of concerns about the cost to universities as well as allegations that other legislators misused the program. I encourage my colleagues to join me now in ending this practice.”

House Bill 3810 was sent to the full Senate for a vote after passing the Executive Committee. A vote by the Senate will likely take place tomorrow. If approved by the House, the bill will be sent to the governor.

“I hope the House will take prompt action to end this program,” Sen. Sullivan said. “Given the state’s financial problems, the General Assembly needs to take a strong stand and stop corruption, waste and fraud whenever the opportunity arises and this is one of those cases.”

In addition to abolishing legislative tuition waivers, the proposal under consideration would establish a task force to examine the other tuition and fee waivers currently received by students at state public universities.

###