10 of the Saddest Things That Have Happened Because of the Illinois Budget Battle

10 of the Saddest Things That Have Happened Because of the Illinois Budget Battle
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

As the Illinois budget impasse drags on, we wanted to recap some of the saddest repercussions the logjam in Springfield has had on people and organizations across the state.

Here are five of the 10 sad things that have happened as a result of the ongoing budget battle between Democratic leaders in the General Assembly and Gov. Bruce Rauner:

  1. 911 emergency centers across the state are not receiving revenue from a tax on cell phone users, which could result in layoffs and longer wait times for people reporting emergencies.

  • The 138-year-old Illinois State Museum in Springfield and its four satellite locations were closed on Sept. 30, along with the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, leading to more than 100 layoffs.
  • Hundreds of training classes for police department across the state have been canceled, despite the passage of a law on Aug. 14 that requires additional training and re-training for officers, among other things.
  • At first, the Illinois Lottery said it wouldn't be able to pay people who win cash prizes of more than $25,000. Now anyone who wins more than $600 won't be collecting a dime of it until the state budget impasse is resolved. Tickets, however, still are being sold.
  • Secretary of State Jesse White said his office will stop mailing out registration renewal reminders because there's no budget in place.
  • Here are the other five truly sad things that have happened because of the ongoing deadlock.

    Popular in the Community

    Close

    What's Hot