1,500 members of the Campaign for Illinois’ Future gathered in front of the State Capitol’s Lincoln Statue in Springfield Wednesday to urge members of the Illinois General Assembly to protect Illinois families from harmful budget cuts by passing a budget that includes a fair income tax increase.

“Our state’s most vulnerable families will hurt now and for years to come if the state tries to balance the budget with deep and devastating budget cuts,” said Denise Dixon, executive director of Action Now. “The only way to protect the vital programs and services we all count on and stop these cuts is with a fair tax increase – and that’s why we’re here today – to make sure our voice for a fair budget that includes substantial new revenue is heard loud and clear.”

Check out a few rally highlights:

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Kari Andren spoke with a child care provider about the threat cuts pose to the state’s working families:

Takia Yates, a day care provider from Belleville, said she brought 17 people with her to the Springfield rally because Quinn’s proposed $50 million cut to the Child Care Assistance Program is “beyond too much.”

“I have parents who can’t afford the (day care) co-pay as it is, and if you cut that much, you’re not only taking from those parents, you’re taking from me,” Yates said.

Yates said one woman who came with her pays $480 per month for child care, an expense that gets harder to cover as work hours get cut and health care costs increase.

“We need the funding,” Yates said. “We need the tax increase. We need all of that to even just live.”

The Campaign for Illinois’ Future is calling on lawmakers to protect vital services by enacting fair tax reform that generates enough new revenue to close the state’s deficit while making tax fairness for low- and moderate-income Illinois residents—who already pay up to 12% of their income in income, sales and property taxes combined—a priority.

“It’s clear that Illinois cannot cut its way out of this budget crisis,” said Ed Geppert, president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. “The state cannot force the deficit onto the backs of school children, college students, the poor and those in ill health.”

This entry was posted on Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 10:42 am and is filed under Budget News, Central Illinois. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.