Chicago-area clergy, community leaders and disability rights activists gathered outside Simeon Career Academy before a capital budget hearing to call on Illinois lawmakers to couple a capital plan with a fair and balanced budget that protects education, healthcare and vital public services Illinois families count on.

“All across America we see the devastating effects of practicing materialism and selfishness instead of sustaining communities and addressing people’s needs,” said Rev. Booker Vance from Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL). “More than ever, our state government needs to take a fair and humane approach to taxes and our budget.”

The state’s $12.4 billion budget deficit and unprecedented payment delays have already left many families struggling to get the quality health care, education and vital public services they count on in tough economic times. Deep budget cuts would put services for these families in greater jeopardy

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.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 4:03 pm and is filed under Budget News, Northern 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.