Among the budget cuts handed down in the Feb. 18 budget from Gov. Bruce Rauner was the elimination of funding for programs that stem school bullying.
"There's so little rhyme or reason to this," said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who was chief House sponsor of SB 5707, passed in 2014, which implemented a number of anti-bullying initiatives. She called the entire budget a "veritable parade of 'horribles.' I was sadly not surprised. The cuts to anti-bullying programs were done without thought at all, which goes for many of the cuts in the budget, across the board."
SB 5707 directed school officials to create and implement specific anti-bullying policies, as many times incidents would just be addressed on an ad hoc basis as they arose. It also directed that events be reported in a database, so state officials could have a wider view of the problem's scope and local officials would not be able to plead ignorance of previous bullying problems. The bill was sponsored in the Senate by state Sen. Heather Steans and signed by Gov. Pat Quinn.
"While I know every penny counts right now, we're talking about half-a-million dollars that saves a lot of money for the state further down the road," said Cassidy. "Besides the human cost, there is a financial cost to bullying as well—it drives up law-enforcement costs, for example. Remember, in Minnesota a school district got sued because of the bullying that took place there."
Anthony Papini of Illinois Safe Schools Alliance said his organization will be "keeping a watchful eye" on developments across the state.
"This impacts not just LGBT students, but students with disabilities, students of color [or] students who identify as female," he added. "We need to ask ourselves, do we want to be a state that promotes unsafe learning environments for our children? This is going to require a community effort, to reverse. I guarantee you that these cuts are going to result in unsafe schools."
Papini said the Alliance would take a hit from the state support being cut, but said it had other financial resources.
"We'll keep going forward, but it is going to be tough," Papini said. "We'll have to rely more on outside resources. The Alliance operates in a lean way, but we're going to call out more [frequently] to the community for support."
The Alliance is also concerned with Rauner's appointment of Rev. James Meeks, who has opposed numerous pro-LGBT initiatives, as chair of the Illinois State Board of Education.
"He's somebody who has preached that LGBT people are not normal," Papini added. "Of course, it's an 'equal-opportunity' hate. He's spoken out against Jews and Hispanics as well. Is that the message the governor wants to send to students?"
Papini encouraged concerned Illinoisans to contact the Alliance about concerns about where schools might be headed under the new administration. "We'd happily connect them with resources. Regardless of what happens, this is an opportunity to engage in dialogue, to make sure that students are not left without a voice."
Cassidy said that she and her colleagues would keep working to make sure the cut was reinstated. "[Gov. Rauner] can try to cut what he wants, but he is still going to have to get the votes to actually do it."
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