Pubdate: Fri, 22 Feb 2008
Source: Journal Gazette (Mattoon, IL)
Copyright: 2008sJournal Gazette
Contact:  http://www.jg-tc.com/index.php
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4180

OFFICIALS SHOULD RECONSIDER DRASTIC BUDGET  CUTS

The federal government has handed us an alarming series  of 
disappointments in the past few weeks.

Officials have announced cuts in funding for anti-drug  task forces, 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and job  training programs. These 
funding cuts will directly  affect many programs in east central Illinois.

- -The East Central Illinois Task Force, which is mainly  funded 
through Department of Justice grants, will get a  67-percent cut in funding.

The task force, which covers Coles, Douglas and  Moultrie counties, 
received $107,122 in funding last  fiscal year. In the fiscal year 
beginning in October,  it will receive $35,350.

The task force has been instrumental in combatting  illegal drug 
traffic in the area. This success has  especially been evident in 
their battle against  methamphetamine production.

The task force commander, Illinois State Police Sgt.  Mark Peyton, 
said the funding cut could lead to the  loss of two task force 
members and, therefore, a  reduction in enforcement.

- - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers directly oversees  many Illinois 
lakes, including Lake Shelbyville,  Carlyle Lake and Rend Lake.

At Lake Shelbyville, a reduction in federal funding  will cause many 
campgrounds to close for the season  early - some closing as early as 
July 4. Officials also  plan less frequent mowing and trash removal, 
and  cleaning of facilities.

Other cuts include a 50-percent reduction in wildlife  food plots and 
migratory bird management. The invasive  species eradication program 
will be eliminated, and  interpretive programs in the campgrounds and 
visitor  center will be reduced.

- - The Crossroads Workforce Investment Board is among  the 
job-training facilities that has been hit with cuts  in federal 
funding retroactive to last July. The  Crossroads Workforce centers 
in Mattoon, Effingham, Olney and Centralia will lose $200,000.

CWIB officials say 18 staff members have been cut  throughout the 
region at a time when an economic  slowdown is making job training 
even more vital  throughout the country.

In all three of these instances, the residents of east  central 
Illinois lose. They lose the safety of added  law enforcement through 
the task force. They lose  wildlife and nature programs and clean 
facilities for  outdoor recreation at Lake Shelbyville. And they lose 
the extra help in job training and career counseling  that many local 
residents desperately need.

That's not to mention the federal government's decision  not to fund 
the FutureGen plant in Mattoon.

Some believe funding for programs such as these has  been cut in 
order to free up more money to support the  war in Iraq. This may, or 
may not, be true. Regardless,  we believe our federal officials need 
to remember that  the decisions made in Washington directly affect 
the daily lives of all Americans.

We urge federal legislators and officials to reconsider  making such 
drastic cuts to these and other programs.  The stability and future 
of the area and the country  depend on it.

- - JG/T-C Editorial Board
- ---
MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart