In answer to Governor Rod Blagojevich’s move to slash half of the budget of the Illinois Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, over a thousand protesters camped at the James R. Thompson Center to urge state senators to overrule the governor’s move.

Among other reasons, the protesters pointed out that such budget cut would greatly hurt state funded treatment shelters’ capacity to provide healthcare and recovery treatment to thousands of drug and alcohol dependents across the state.

Gov. Blagojevich’s veto of the said funds is part of his administration’s efforts to recover a $2billion deficit in the state approved budget. The governor has vetoed around $1.4 billion across different state agencies but the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse was the hurt the most as more $55 million in federal matching funds for addiction treatment would also be lost should the governor’s veto persist. Overall, more than 40 % of the budget of the state for addiction recovery stands to be lost should all the cuts be put in place.

Inevitably, this would affect state-assisted treatment providers and shelters to a great extent. According to Anthony Cole, the vice president of Haymarket Center, the largest rehabilitation facility in West Loop, more than 42,000 people will fail to receive proper treatment services if the said funding will not be restored.

For the funding to be restored, the Senate needs to reconvene and vote on whether to override the veto or not. The House has already convened on the issue and has overridden the government moves.

This veto has received much criticism from treatment providers across the country not only because of its effect to the health care system but on its apparent social injustice. According Jewel Oates of the Near West Side’s Women’s Treatment Center, “They are doing this on the back of poor people in need of support.”

Moreover, in answer to Gov. Blagojevich’s claim that the state stands to benefit from the move in the long run, the protesters point out that the cuts would only lead to higher crime rates, increased level of homelessness, and rising unemployment since recovery centers are also forced to lay-off hundreds of employees. According to Michael Darcy of the Gateway Foundation, “The state doesn’t save a nickel. As a matter of fact, it is going to cost the state more,” referring to the consequences of the budgets cuts to recovery programs.