In the wake of a reduction in funding (to $3.15 million) for GYO in FY 10, and seriously difficult fiscal problems for the state as a whole, GYO IL and its allies in the the state legislature agreed to a request which for FY 11 which restores FY 09 funding ($3.5 million). The House version of the bill (HB 391) actually passed on 4/22/10. However, it is unlikely that the Senate will pass this bill or its own version before the end of the session.
Therefore it is likely that the Governor will be given the authority to make the final decision on this and many other programs. In the most recent versions of budgets from the Governor's office, GYO is shown as receiving $2.5 million - a 25% cut.
On 7/31/09, Governor Quinn, acting on the spending authority granted by the legislature on 7/15, allocated additional funds to many programs in education and human services, including Grow Your Own Teachers, which will be funded for the year at $3.15 million, or 90% of the amount that was appropriated in FY 10. Prior to the Governor's action, the Illinois State Board of Education, working with a budget that slashed 50% from grant programs, had reluctantly set the Grow Your Own budget level at $1.75 million, a cut which would have meant drastic reductions in support for candidates. Because of the Governor's Action, there will have to be economies, but the main efforts of the program will continue.
We owe enormous thanks to Governor Quinn and his staff, and to all the friends of GYO that worked through the Spring and Summer to advocate to preserve the funding level.
The current recession, coupled with structural problems in the state's overall finances, have led to exceptionally high budget deficits, a large number of unpaid bills, and very large projected budget cuts in education and other fields. In summer 2009, a group of more than 150 human services, education, and civic groups around the state formed the Responsible Budget Coalition to mobilize public opinion in favor of a state budget plan that would include enough new revenue to avoid devastating cuts to public services. Grow Your Own Illinois was one of the early member organizations.
Since then, GYO Illinois has participated in rallies, policy discussions, legislative meetings, and forums in Springfield and across the state. In April 2010, we helped organized an event on the campus of Northeastern Illinois Univeristy which drew more than 200 faculty, staff, and students; two of the featured speakers were Maureen Gillette, the Dean of Education at the University, and Mayra Bravo-Gonzales, a GYO candidate from the Chicago Lawn project:
