Illinois lawmakers return to work at the State Capitol today with no indication there will be a budget agreement anytime soon.
State Senator Scott Bennett says he has been hearing a lot of frustration from citizens who are tired of the deadlock.
‘’I get stopped in church. I get stopped at the grocery store – ‘hey, what are you guys doing?’ And we try to explain here’s what’s happening,’’ says Bennett. ‘’But all people want to know is – when are we going to see a budget?’’ And Senator Bennett is among those who are frustrated. ‘’When you hear about social services in your community closing or not getting by, when you hear about DACC and other higher educational institutions not having a budget for two years, you start to wonder what are my tax dollars for.’’
And the Senator adds not being able to get a new budget is growing more frustrating as time goes on.
Senator Bennett says eventually he expects there will be movement for both cuts and tax hikes. One idea he opposes that has been floated in Springfield is to save money in the Department of Corrections by replacing most guards who man prison towers with cameras.
‘’I’m all in favor of putting more cameras in. I think the more eyes-in-the-sky the better. But the idea that a camera can be any kind of a substitute for an actual guard who can make a decision and call for help – even as one inmate sees two guards, for example, they’re less likely to do something. If they look up and see a camera up there, they might think that they’ve got the time to act inappropriately,’’ added Senator Bennett.
The Senator was commenting during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News.
