Chicago Saves Jobs

Some of you, most likely those of you who live in the local area, will remember our earlier coverage of the possible layoffs in the city of Chicago, and the attempts of the mayor and the city council to avoid having to close facilities and put a fair number of people out of a job. For those of you who do not recall, or just did not catch the initial coverage here is a look at the situation from our earlier coverage:

“The crux of the conflict is between state Gov. Pat Quinn and the lawmakers. If they can come together and agree on a budget then the workers at seven different state-run facilities will be able to stay in their jobs. If not, then they will be out of work. And, in the grand tradition of political workings, they are doing it all on a tight deadline. The decision needs to be made before the 3rd of December or the facilities on the list will begin to shut down.
What kinds of facilities might be closed if no agreement can be reached?

As it turns out the cuts slated will be made to some fairly vital community services. Some of the facilities on the chopping block include the Tinley Park Mental Health Center and the Logan Correctional Center and youth prison. Four other, as yet unnamed agencies will lose staff, or be forced to close their doors entirely. Not all of the closures will happen on the 3rd. The prison is slated to begin closing on December 31st, and the process will take several months, should an agreement not be reached.”

Well, there is some good news on the horizon for a change this week as the governor and the law makers have actually been able to come up with a budget that will keep the facilities run by the city open and keep the workers at those facilities in a job, at least for the time being.

Early on in this week Governor Quinn signed a bill that will move money from several areas in the budget to avoid closing the seven facilities we discussed earlier. This will mean about 1,900 jobs will be spared the axe. The city was also able to move some extra funds into for substance abuse services and community mental health programs, both of which were being looked at for closures or serious cuts in order to balance the city’s failing budget.

Though it is likely not to be an entirely popular decisions and some people will be unhappy about where the funds came from. Originally the now $89 million that the city will be using to keep people on the job was going to be used to help with the transportation of school students by the district. There has been no word at the current moment as to how these cuts may change busing for the students in the City of Chicago schools.

For obvious reasons, the law has no waiting period and will go into effect immediately.