Hospitals, human-service providers relieved, say damage will take time to repair

Health-care and human-service providers and supporters said Thursday they finally could exhale after the Illinois General Assembly approved a fiscal 2018 budget and income tax increases to improve state finances over Gov. Bruce Rauner’s vetoes.

“It’s a relief at this point,” said Sara Moscato Howe, chief executive officer of the Springfield-based Illinois Association for Behavioral Health. “There isn’t anybody who wants to see taxes go up, but without a budget, the devastation would have continued or accelerated.”

Thursday’s votes in the House, agreeing with the Senate to override the Republican governor’s vetoes of a full-year state budget, ended a more than two-year budget crisis.

The new budget, which contains cuts for many local human-service organizations, still was hailed by several as providing needed certainty for some on the brink of closure.

Read more: http://www.sj-r.com/news/20170706/hospitals-human-service-providers-relieved-say-damage-will-take-time-to-repair