Extension funding questions continue
University of Illinois Extension offices and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts might receive all or part of the funding originally allocated to them.
Last Thursday, (May 1) the Associated Press reported that one of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's staff spokeswoman, Abby Ottenhoff, said the governor has reversed his decision to withhold the funding after state senators complained about the impact on everything from 4-H youth programs to agriculture research.
Ottenhoff would not say exactly how much of the nearly $36 million in operating funds earmarked for several ag related programs including Extension and Soil and Water Conservation Districts would be released.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn joined with farmers, 4-H’ers and Master Gardeners last week to emphasize the importance of conservation and agricultural programs to the quality of life and economy of the state of Illinois and encouraged the immediate release of all promised funds from the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
“We are encouraged to hear that progress is being made to release the funds promised to the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts,” Quinn said. “These programs are too important to be held hostage by political maneuvers, and we look forward to the complete and immediate release of the funds.”
The news that $18 million for the University of Illinois Cooperative Exten-sion Service and $7 million for Soil and Water Conservation Districts will likely be released was welcome news to the employees, volunteers and beneficiaries of statewide conservation and agricultural programs who have been grappling with the possibility of layoffs and closed doors since receiving word that the promised funds would be withheld.
“These are the people in the trenches – the people who spend their time providing lowcost education on topics ranging from healthy living to environmental stewardship to sustainable and profitable food production,” Quinn said. “The funds that support these programs must be released in an immediate and straightforward manner so that Illinois citizens may continue to be good stewards of our natural resources and participate in programs that enhance our daily lives."
On April 1, the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service were notified that the state of Illinois would not release the funds allocated to them in the fiscal year 2008 budget – a decision that would have been devastating to programs statewide, including the 4-H programs that reach 280,000 Illinois youth. Until the promised funds are officially released, the Extension program must continue to struggle with the concept of losing 450 jobs statewide, or half of its staff, which would cripple many programs and significantly reduce the 2.5 million Illinois residents the agency reaches every year.
For Soil and Water Conservation Districts, a denial of funds would mean that 18 of the 98 offices would have to close their doors by June 1, and the entire program would face a potential loss of $275 million in federal funding.
The University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service has a 90-year history of providing education programs for Illinois residents, but the idea of Extension stretches back to President Abraham Lincoln who, in 1862, established the land-grant system of universities in the United States. The mission of land-grant institutions was to extend learning beyond university walls and to expand learning to include agriculture. As the land-grant university in the Land of Lincoln, the University of Illinois provides educational programming through Extension Service in all of Illinois’ 102 counties in response to locally identified needs, improving the quality of life for Illinois residents and entire communities. Programs that will be negatively affected by the cuts include 4-H, the Food Stamp Nutritional Education Program, Illinois Master Gardners, and Consumer and Family Economics.
Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Illinois date back to 1938 when the state followed the advice of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt – who recommended that states adopt legislation that would allow local landowners to form soil conservation districts – and created its first Soil Conservation Service Districts. It was Roosevelt who created the Soil Conservation Service in 1935 (predecessor to the Natural Resources Conservation Service), declaring soil erosion a menace to the national welfare.
The Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Illinois help landowners develop conservation areas that, among other things, reduce sediment in the state’s waterways. Programs threatened by the cuts include the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, the Landowner Incentive Program and Farm Bill programs.
Quinn is chairman of the Rural Affairs Council and the Illinois River Coordinating Council. Since his inauguration in 2003, Quinn has worked with Extension, Soil and Water Conservation Districts and 4-H programs on various projects that protect the environment and improve the quality of life in Illinois.