Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Addiction experts say thousands of Illinois residents could lose drug treatment services if a temporary tax increase expires later next year.
Sara Howe is a spokeswoman for the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association. She tells the Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers (http://bit.ly/1eIs0TI ) that the potential budget cuts come at a time when heroin use is increasing in Illinois.
State Rep. Lou Lang has started a task force to look at legislative ways to help treatment systems. He says decreased investment in prevention and treatment has "come back to haunt us."
Alan Sender is chief operating officer for Chestnut Health Systems in Bloomington. He says some providers won't survive the cuts.
Gov. Pat Quinn wants to make the tax increase permanent before it expires on Jan. 1.
___
Information from: Herald & Review, http://www.herald-review.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
