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Quinn Lays Out Budget Cuts
Details are still sketchy, but Gov. Pat Quinn is cutting the state's costs by more than $1 billion, and four areas are specifically targeted. In a news conference Friday in Chicago, Quinn outlined the following cuts:

* $600 million from Medicaid
* $600 million from group health plans for workers and retirees
* $145 million from pre-kindergarten
* $225 million from college scholarships.

Quinn also says he'll lay off 2,600 workers. He says he hopes there's room for negotiation with the unions, because he says 12 furlough days could keep many of those layoffs from happening. About 1,000 of the layoffs would come from the prison system, and the governor's chief of staff, Jerry Stermer, says the prisons will prepare inmates to be released earlier to help ease the burden of needing so many workers.

Quinn took no time to blame state lawmakers for not approving an income tax hike that he said would have brought in more than $5 billion to spare the drastic cuts. Quinn says the legislative leaders told him that the rank-and-file couldn't be asked to vote for cuts, and that's why they left it up to the governor. Quinn plans to renew his quest for a tax hike during the Veto Session in October.

(Illinois Radio Network)
07 31 09 by Newsroom
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