It appears the Macoupin County Soil and Water Conservation District office doors may remain open past June 1.

On Thursday, Gov. Rod Blagoje-vich announced the release of about $28 million in operations funding for both the SWCD and the University of Illinois Extension services.
It was last March that Blagoje-vich notified the University of Illinois Extension, SWCDs, and the Illinois Council of Food across Illinois he would withhold $35.7 million to help make up for a $750 million hole in the budget. According to Blagojevich, although money was allocated, there was not enough incoming tax revenue.

Scott County had already closed its doors and laid off four employees. Eighteen other SWCDs, including Macoupin County, were slated to close June 1.

The cuts would have hit the Extension Service just as hard. As many as 450 jobs were slated for elimination, with Macoupin County considering cutting its staff down to three. Numerous programs, such as 4-H, master gardener, family nutrition and others, would have been severely affected.

Sen. Deanna Demuzio was pleased to announce the money was going to be released. “Senate President Emil Jones told us we could go ahead and start making notifications of our soil and water districts and Extension offices,” she said.

“Funds are being processed and will be released soon,” said Rebecca Rausch, spokeswoman for Blagoje-vich. “Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus have asked us to release a number of grants related to the Department of Natural Resources and Agriculture.”

Rausch added that although the grant money was going to be released, the state still faced a $750 million deficit.

At first it was not known whether all or only part of the $38 million would be released. But Friday, Kelly Quinn, spokeswoman for Blagoje-vich’s budget office, announced the programs will get all the money the governor withheld.

About $18 million will go to the U of I Extension, $7 million to SWCDs, and $5 million to county fairs.

Blagojevich is also releasing an additional $32 million for several educational programs, including community college grants for veterans, college work-study reimbursements, and medical research grants.

Although both the Extension service and SWCDs are pleased to hear the good news, there is still a lot of cautious optimism. They are waiting to actually see the money deposited in their accounts before getting too excited.

“A check in hand is always more valuable than a promise,” said Terry Davis, president of the Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

“We’re hopeful that the agency will get the funding now,” said Gary Beaumont, Extension service spokesman. “We’re moving fairly cautiously here – because we don’t have the money, yet.”

More than one legislator wondered whether the release of funds was tied to legislation. The announcement came just a few hours after the Senate narrowly defeated a bill that would have allowed electoral recall in Illinois. Critics had charged Blagojevich was holding back money in order to pressure lawmakers to pass his legislative agenda.

“I would call the timing politically suspect,” said Rep. Jack Franks of Woodstock, who helped sponsor the recall bill. “I thought we didn’t have the money – well, which is it?”
But Blagojevich has denied there is any connection between the two issues. “The governor reached his decision after state senators complained about the impact on everything from 4-H programs to agriculture research,” said Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff.
“We understand they are important to their communities, and we support them, as well. We’ll release the grants,” she added.

No one knows just when the money will funnel down to individual offices. Katherine Ridgeway of the governor’s office stated vouchers ordering payouts will be sent to the comptroller’s office this month.

The Extension service still has concerns over the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. It is expected the state will only match 85 percent of funds. In most years, the state has matched dollar for dollar.

With the state still facing a $750 million shortfall, Blagojevich is also considering other drastic measures. “The governor is pressing the Illinois House to let him fill the $750 million budget gap by dipping into a variety of special funds at his discretion,” Quinn stated. “If the legislators don’t give him that power, he’ll consider slowing down Medicaid payments to doctors and hospitals, delaying school aid payments, or cutting funds to universities and community colleges. It could be a combination of those things.”