Wednesday, January 21, 2009
News / Clout City Another Bailout: Public Health
Posted by Mick Dumke on Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 2:22 PM
It turns out the city's service cutbacks aren't going to be limited to slowdowns in pothole repair or snow removal. As the Trib reported this morning (and the Chi-Town Daily News reported last week), the health department is getting ready to close 5 of the city's 12 mental health clinics at a time when people are losing their jobs and health insurance at staggering rates. City officials say their hands were forced by a drop in state funding; critics wonder why the city can devote resources to pursuing the 2016 Olympics--or, for that matter, another pro football team--when it can't find a way to support basic community health programming.
Even before this announcement, city officials had cut the annual budget for the health department by about 17 percent, to levels not seen since the early part of the decade. The specific allocation for mental health services has been declining slightly over the last several years even as the demand for services has climbed, according to city budget records. Here's a snapshot:
| YEAR | TOTAL BUDGET | MENTAL HEALTH BUDGET | EX-OFFENDERS SEEKING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES |
| 2005 | $ 201,251,200.00 | N/A | 749 |
| 2006 | $ 204,056,110.00 | $ 13,458,524.00 | 1045 |
| 2007 | $ 210,032,626.00 | $ 14,876,601.00 | 1149 |
| 2008 | $ 230,259,853.00 | $ 14,757,404.00 | 981 (city estimate) |
| 2009 | $ 191,199,122.00 | $ 14,620,486.00 |
|
So what's the answer? President Obama. "I'm hoping we'll get some help out of Washington now that we have a new administration," health commissioner Terry Mason told the Trib.
As we've noted before, this appears to be the Daley administration's strategy for dealing with all kinds of budget shortfalls.
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Like I said when they fired me in 2005....me today, YOU tommorow! The Daley Administration does not care about the poor and working class. They care about image, Daley doesn't understand, you can't eat Gold Metals!
Today the Daley administration announced the City is cutting the alderman's 6% salary increase for 2009. The alderman are drafting a resolution calling on the Obama administration for aid.
Cut the fat out. Fire all the lazy City Workers. Privatize Now!
Why is criticism against maggot Daley always minimized or deleted by the local media. Any of the Departments in city government waste millions of dollars. There is no disclosure regarding service and professional contracts. The health dept cuts could be restored with the elimination of do-nothling top heavy positions. Check the next city bdget an amateur would notice the waste and duplication. Take Daley's office alone he has over a 1 million PR budget.
Another cut in the mental health budget that has not come to the forefront is the cessation of the Patients Financial Assistance Program for Mental Health that saves the city money by providing pharmaceutical assistance to consumers that have no health insurance or assets. Now the city can expect to lose several hundred thousands of dollars by having to pick up the bill for necessary medication for the indigent consumer. There is a danger that many indigent consumers will not even be able to get their medication. We can expect to see them in prison, on the street, or suicided in the near future!
Prince you are right on. The story about the ,ental health clinics was ran once and then the media drops it. They are scared of Daley. And of course this will affect the black sommunity the most. 2 of those clinics are in the corridor that they hope to have the Olympics in 43 cottage and 63 woodlawn so I am sure they dont want anyone around there. And we sit and watch like idiots.
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