Erie Family Health Center

California.  The Golden State.  Hollywood.  Movie Stars.  Disneyland.  The Redwood Forest.  If the United States was a class of fifty high school kids, California would be the Prom Queen, class president and valedictorian.  It’s a place where stars are born, the surf is always high and the sun always shines.

So even when the news coming out of this sparkling gem out West isn’t positive, it certainly still remains center stage.  We’ve read, seen and listened to all the reports that have covered the California budget crisis.  As legislation continues to pass hands between Governor Schwarzenegger and Californian lawmakers, the press continues to write all about it.

Meanwhile, the state of Illinois sits at the back of the class, averting its eyes and twiddling its thumbs.  Us Illinoisans don’t want to brag (really, we don’t) but Illinois has its very own budget crisis – one that rivals the state of California. This comes as shocking to many, but by the time the Times Magazine article, “The Great California Fiscal Earthquake” hit the presses, Illinois was staring down the barrel of its own financial meltdown.

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Beats this week:

1) President Obama is planning a bipartisan summit on health care on February 25. Making the announcement during a pre-Super Bowl interview, Obama pledged that he wanted to work with Republicans to pass health care reform but would not agree to throw out the entire health care reform bill and start over.

2) As reported by Beats Per Minute last week, the First Lady Michelle Obama is leading an initiative to fight childhood obesity. The campaign, called “Let’s Move,” was kicked off this week.

3) Meanwhile, at the state level, the Illinois General Assembly allowed Governor Pat Quinn to delay sharing the details of his budget plan until March 10.  Many social service organizations across the state are bracing for another tough Spring and Summer of budget delays.

4) With health care reform stalled, hospitals nationwide continue to struggle as billions of dollars in medical bills go unpaid.

5) A study recently released by International Communications Research found that up to $9 billion could be raised for states with a $1 per pack tax on cigarettes. This report concluded that most Americans would support this increase over other tax increases or budget cuts.