Reps Want Quinn To Rethink Cuts In Drug Treatment
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WBBM) -- A bipartisan team is asking Gov. Pat Quinn to rethink radical cuts in funding for Illinois drug treatment programs.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's John Cody reports, state Rep. Jim Watson (R-Jacksonville says cuts are coming, but a threatened $52 million cut in drug treatment funding by March 15 will mean 5,000 layoffs and 55,000 client discharges.
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"We're going to zero it out in the next four weeks, and by the way those of you that are in treatment, good luck," Watson said. "I mean, I think there's got to be smart cuts, and there's got to be equitable cuts."
Watson and state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) have introduced a house resolution which says zeroing out drug and alcohol treatment funding with one months notice is too much too soon.
