[Peace-discuss] Report: Champaign's penurious funding of General Assistance

[E. Wayne Johnson]

You are blessed to have some one like Karen Foster working for you
in Champaign.  I have had the misfortunate experience of working with 
Karen myself.
She is a real gem. 

Karen Foster is interested in things that really help build the community
like spending millions on the Historical Clock Tower. 

Her style for winning an argument is to turn a very deep shade of red 
and stomp off for home complaining
that she was insulted by your questions, and then run and whine to her
friends that someone (me) was mean and disrespectful to her, an "elected 
public official".

It does not surprise me one smidgin bit that Karen has this attitude 
that if they
keep this GA funding low, the "riff-raff" will move out of her community 
on to greener pastures.





Randall Cotton wrote:
> I've put together a short report that describes new information I've
> researched since my article in the current Public I (also see attached
> chart image from the report). The closer I look at this, the more shocking
> it becomes. When I first decided to research this, I figured I'd maybe
> discover that surrounding communities fund General Assistance maybe 50%,
> 75% or perhaps even 100% better than Champaign, at most. But now that I've
> drilled down this far, it turns out that
>
> Urbana funds General Assistance about 730% higher than Champaign
> Peoria is 1285% higher
> Springfield 1745% higher
> Bloomington 1866% higher
>
> For the uninitiated, General Assistance (GA) is a state-mandated financial
> aid program run by Illinois townships (which are subdivisions of
> counties). It provides basic financial assistance to those who are in the
> deepest of poverty (income less than $3000/year) who don't also qualify
> for other state or federal aid. GA is the last-chance safety net for the
> poorest, most vulnerable citizens in Illinois.  It typically offers a
> maximum of $225 a month plus additional payments for basic medical care.
> In Champaign, however, benefits were severely cut and half of all clients
> were completely abandoned last year.
>
> There is a referendum on the November ballot to raise property taxes by a
> small amount - about $10 per year for every $150,000 of a property's
> market value (and $150,000 is the median home value in Champaign). Due to
> the property tax cap law, increases to township funding must be passed by
> referendum. Though this won't even come close to bringing Champaign's GA
> funding near those of surrounding communities, it will make a substantial
> difference and will allow the partial restoration of the GA cuts that were
> made last year.
>
> Unfortunately, due to that same property tax cap law, the wording of the
> referendum on the ballot gives no indication of what the tax increase is
> for. It is only identified as a tax increase for the "City of Champaign
> Township". Most people don't even know what a township is, let alone the
> fact that it administers GA, let alone what GA is in the first place!
> Voters need to be educated about the details and importance of passing
> this referendum.
>
> The Champaign City Council, in their dual oversight role as Township Board
> Members, are in the best position to do this necessary education and
> promotion. However, they have barely lifted a finger in this regard. It's
> as if the City Council, as a whole, wants the referendum to fail.
>
> In fact:
>
> - despite the fact that: Bloomington (the most similar nearby township)
> funds GA 1866% higher
>
> - despite the fact that half of all Champaign GA clients were completely
> cut last year
>
> - despite the fact that the remaining clients had their benefits slashed
> from $212/month to $150/month
>
> - despite the fact that the tax increase is so tiny that most homeowners
> would pay less than $10 per year (out of an annual tax bill of around
> $3300)
>
> - despite the fact that Champaign voters passed a Primary referendum (by
> over 70%) that asked the Township "to restore the level of general
> assistance funding by actively pursuing any and all means available to
> them".
>
> some members refuse to even state *any* support for the referendum! (among
> them Deb Feinen and Karen Foster)
>
> I don't think the referendum has a chance of passing unless all members of
> the Township Board (AKA City Council) actually take steps to promote and
> educate the public about the referendum through the media in the remaining
> time before Election Day.
>
> So I'm calling for Champaign residents (a few Urbana residents would be
> OK, I think, since Urbana is adversely affected by Champaign's niggardly
> treatment of the poor) to speak at next Tuesday's City Council meeting
> during the public comment session (where any topic can be addressed). Next
> Tuesday is the last opportunity to call out the City Council on this
> matter (the next opportunity for public comment would be on Election Day).
> Please read the article I submitted to the Public I (attached and also at
> http://ucimc.org/node/3439 ) and the subsequent two-page comparison report
> (also attached) to inform yourself on the issue and take the time to speak
> at or at least attend the City Council meeting next week, Tuesday, 7PM at
> the Champaign City Council Chambers, 102 N. Neil St. All members of the
> public are generally allowed 5 minutes to speak on any topic.
>
> Speaking at the City Council not only pressures the reluctant members to
> support the referendum, it also serves to urge already-supporting  members
> to do more - for instance to make a statement during the meeting in front
> of the press (which is generally always in attendance). If enough folks
> speak and enough City Council members respond, it will subsequently become
> part of a story the next day in the papers and on the radio.
>
> I'm also calling for folks to write letters to the editor for the Daily
> Illini and the News Gazette to spotlight the issue. I think this is also
> an essential step to inform Champaign voters about the matter.
>
> Feel free to contact me or respond on this list - I'm happy to answer any
> questions regarding this issue.
>
> R
>   
>
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