An Open Letter to Illinois Service Providers

I would like to begin by thanking you for your outstanding efforts in providing critical services to the people of Illinois. I remain impressed as always by the important work you do to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens are cared for and protected. Moreover, your ongoing commitment to continue working in good faith as business partners with the State of Illinois is truly commendable given the fact that the State has been anything but a good business partner in return. I know that the current payment situation has caused many of you personal anguish as well as professional difficulties as you struggle to maintain viable service levels.

Your commitment and perseverance stands in stark contrast to the state's actions over the past few years. Providers have been placed in an extremely vulnerable situation as you were subjected to needless anxiety during budgetary stalemates that did not allow you to develop your own budgets and left you wondering what program levels would be funded and whether service terminations and staff reductions would be necessary. Now after too many of you have made painful decisions and sacrifices, the state is months behind in meeting its financial obligations to you, so I don't blame you for being angry. You have every right to be.

The level of unpaid obligations in my office stands at $4.4 billion and will continue to grow as there is simply insufficient revenues to meet all the demands. The state has borrowed $2.25 billion that must be paid back within the next six months. There is a new proposal to borrow $500 million more, a sum that I believe will simply exacerbate the existing problem of paying back the money we already owe, and more seriously, give false hope to all of you awaiting payments from the state. I refuse to agree to a "solution" that addresses only 5% of the problem and even then only for the very short term at the risk of creating a bigger problem No matter what else you may hear about the benefits of more borrowing, that is my honest assessment.

Like you, I am disappointed as well as deeply concerned that you have been placed in this situation. You deserve better, and the people that you work with and care for deserve better as well. Instead of the non-stop cycle of extended payment delays, we need a comprehensive plan that will eliminate the deficit and restore fiscal stability to Illinois for the long term. Most importantly, it is time for our leaders to recognize that the public service community and its hundreds of thousands of employees is not just an essential purveyor of critically needed services to our most at risk population but is a significant element of our state's economy. I not only recognize that fact but will continue to seek meaningful ways to address the problems confronting the service community and to maintain what is in many ways is one of Illinois most important infrastructure components.

In the meantime, going forward, I will work with you to the best of my ability, as I always have, and be honest with you, as I always have, to address the day to day problems that confront us.

Sincerely,

Daniel W. Hynes