"Wolf!" "Wolf!" "Wolf!" "No, really, Wolf!"

Like the young shepherd in Aesop's fable, state officials have falsely cried, "wolf" about budget problems so many years that many people have stopped listening.

Now that the "wolf" is at the door, few believe that massive spending cuts and other dire consequences will actually happen - except the social service agencies that have received letters informing them of the cuts.

They can't afford to wait until the last minute to see if lawmakers finally do their jobs.

And many can't afford to stay open and meet basic operational costs if the state doesn't come through.

So they have to begin procedures for shutting down.

Years of underfunding and delayed payment of bills have left little cushion to wait out the political games.

That's why the Occupational Development Center is instituting plans to shut down and why Chestnut Health Systems is closing its alcohol and drug detoxification program.

They are not alone.

Even a temporary shutdown of ODC or similar facilities that serve the developmentally disabled can have a devastating impact on a vulnerable population.

What will happen to those needing the assistance of agencies such as ODC, Marcfirst or Homes of Hope? Will they wind up homeless or wandering the streets? Will they be sent to the few remaining state facilities - facilities that cost far more per resident and provide a lower quality of life than these individuals currently enjoy in a community setting?

If agencies "temporarily" shut down, will they reopen? Will their employees move on to other jobs or other states? In other regions in Illinois, agencies have shut their doors during previous funding disputes and never reopened.

Other agencies targeted in the "doomsday" budget are in similar situations, agencies serving the elderly, abused children and others who, through no fault of their own, need the state's help - our help.

At this point, the best idea would be to approve a 60-day extension of current spending authority - as advocated by most Republicans and by state Comptroller Dan Hynes, a Democrat.

This would buy time to hammer out the rest of the details and put together a combination of structural reforms and meaningful cuts in appropriate areas that must precede enactment of a tax hike.

Do it now. Don't wait for 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. For many Illinoisans, among the most vulnerable, that will be too late.