By Benjamin Yount   Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD  –  No one knows what Gov. Pat Quinn ^[1] will do when he signs the new Illinois budget, and that uncertainty is making a lot of people very nervous.

The governor has said he intends to do as little harm as possible to education, human services, the healthcare safety net, and public safety. 

Quinn had indicated he'll instead focus on state government.  Budget office spokeswoman Kelly Kraft said the governor is "reviewing and analyzing spending" with an eye toward where cuts can be made.

That kind of vague assurance is not calming fears among those who depend on state dollars, including the groups Quinn wants to protect. 

David Jensen, the Chief Operating Officer for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois ^[2], said he doesn't see how the governor can not trim spending for the state's social service system.

Jensen said the need already outstrips the ability to provide services.  And he said the need is getting dangerously close to outstripping the ability to pay for those services as well.

"Services are provided by people.  And while we can delay vendors, most of our costs are for employees.  And we have to make payroll for them."

And Jensen said funding cuts are not the only threat to making payroll.  He fears the state will simply take longer to cut checks to LSSI and other social service providers.

"If we're talking about a payment cycle that's two or three months longer than it is today, I would say many or most social service providers will go bankrupt."

Kraft with the budget office said the Quinn administration wants to "protect Illinois' critical services as best we can."  The governor has said a short-term borrowing plan could help trim the payment cycle.  But he has yet to convince enough senators to approve that plan.

The only hint as to what may be cut in the new budget came earlier this week when the governor said he wants to tighten the belt of state government.

Anders Lindall with AFSCME ^[3], one of the state's largest public-employees union, said that's going to be next to impossible.

Quinn signed a deal with AFSCME to limit layoffs and facility closings in exchange for delayed pay raises. 

Lindall said because of that deal, and just plain common sense, there is little that the governor can cut from the bureaucracy of state government.

"More than 9 out of every 10 dollars [that the state spends] goes to education, healthcare, human services, and public safety.  So if you're making Draconian cuts you're cutting education, healthcare, human services, and public safety." ^[4]

Kraft said any cuts will not be uniform.  She said Quinn is looking at state spending in pieces.

"He's looking case by case, agency by agency, and program by program."

But Kraft declined to give an estimate as to how much may be cut.

That's a number that Ben Schwarm at the Illinois Association of School Boards ^[5] needs.

Schwarm said schools across the state need to finish their budgets, but can't until they know how much state funding they'll be receiving.   And they can't rehire any of those thousands of laid-off teachers.

"The way everything was left hanging, and with the governor having all of this power to reserve funds or transfer funds, or make additional cuts.  I just don't see where school districts are going to have the confidence to call anybody back…I certainly don't think anyone will be calling too many of the teachers back based on his message tomorrow."

Quinn said he wants to spare schools from steep cuts, but Schwarm said there was talk in the spring of a $600 per-pupil cut in classroom dollars.

The per-pupil general state aid is the life blood for many schools across the state.  Any decrease in that would have a serious impact on some of those schools.

The governor's office has scheduled a news conference in Chicago Thursday morning to sign and then discuss the new budget.