Home care and child care workers joined children and working parents at a rally outside the district offices of State Representatives Bradley and Phelps June 15th at two in a series of statewide protests aimed at members of the Illinois House of Representatives who voted against an increase in the state’s income tax.
From the Daily Register:
Worries about a doomsday state budget that could include drastic cuts for social services are causing people to protest.
Monday, child and home care workers and members of the Service Employees International Union walked in the rain in front of state Rep. Brandon Phelps’ Harrisburg district office to protest the possibility of drastic cuts in home care and child care.
If the proposed budget becomes law, “They are going to cut home care by 70 percent,” Linda Bowers of the SEIU said.
The cuts included in the stopgap, 50 percent budget could amount to 40,000 home-care workers being thrown out of their jobs because of reduced state subsidies. The same cuts could cause up to 100,000 people to lose home care, Bowers said.
Home-health aides take care of the elderly and disabled in their homes, handling everything from nursing to running to the store, housework and paying bills.
“Whatever their needs are is what we do,” Nancy Sullens of Harrisburg said.
Home health is often the only thing keeping people in their homes, according to Sullens.
Phelps said if some sort of compromise does not take place by the new fiscal year July 1, “It’s going to be tough to make a decision.”
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