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$9.6 Million Shortfall Causes Multiple Layoffs
Eighteen people who work for the state in medical discipline and licensing will lose their jobs because of a lack of funds. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulations Medical Unit is pointing fingers, blaming the Illinois State Medical Society.
This duel between the two organizations will negatively impact medical professionals.
Currently, there is a $9.6 million in funding, and the lay-offs would leave only eight employees in the medical unit for the entire state of Illinois. That's a job that's normally done by nearly thirty people.
Every physician in the state of Illinois pays a fee every three years to renew their license. The money collected from the fee is used to fund the Medical Discipline and Licensure Department.
The Illinois State Medical Society claims nearly $9 million of that fund has been used in recent years for purposes unrelated to medical discipline.
"They were taking money out of that dedicated fund into the general fund and they never restored it," society president Dr. William Werner said. "So we don't think it's appropriate to put the burden on the physicians when that money should be restored by the state."
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation disagrees, saying the last time this was practiced was back during the Blagojevich era.
We're told the medical society lobbied against funding for the state agency because it wants the state to stop borrowing on the future and restore funding that was raided by previous general assemblies.
As it stands right now, there's not enough funds to cover the expenses of the 18 positions in the medical unit, which the state agency said will leave serious consequences.
The department said it will only have one employee handle all physician licensing in the entire state, and new licenses will take between 12 to 18 months to process. This causes a delay for those looking to renew or get a new license. The layoffs will also effect the department's ability to prosecute physicians who pose a risk to the health and safety of Illinois citizens.
Both the department and the state medical society are urging the general assembly to fix the problem, but state Rep. Rich Brauer said it's a problem for the governor's office.
"They don't need to raise their licensing," Brauer said. "What needs to happen is the governor's office needs to quit sweeping these funds. That's what needs to happen."
The department said the biggest issue right now is the layoffs, and that citizens in the state of Illinois are going to feel the burden of this financial shortfall.
