By Doug Finke GateHouse Media Illinois SPRINGFIELD — An Illinois House committee has given preliminary approval to legislation to spend $700 million to help out financially strapped human services. The House Human Services Appropriations Committee OK’d the measure on a unanimous vote Wednesday. However, Rep. Patti Bellock, R-Hinsdale, cautioned that Republicans were given late notice […]
House panel backs social services funds, but Rauner noncommittal
May 12, 2016 By
Monique Garcia and Celeste Bott House lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday that would pump roughly $700 million into the state’s network of social service providers, a stopgap plan aimed at curbing layoffs and closures as agencies that care for the vulnerable struggle to keep the lights on after going nearly a year without funding. While the […]
Providers back plan to block changes to home care program
April 11, 2016 By
Dan Petrella Lee Springfield Bureau Chief SPRINGFIELD – A big part of Diane Drew’s job is helping make sure hundreds of elderly Macon County residents receive the services they need to be able to stay in their homes. Drew is executive director of the Community Home Environmental Learning Project, a Decatur-based nonprofit organization that serves […]
AARP, Advocates and Legislators Team Up to Protect Thousands of Illinois Seniors
April 8, 2016 By
SPRINGFIELD, Ill, April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Illinois’ ongoing budgetary and partisan differences are threatening the life and well-being of thousands of the state’s most vulnerable citizens who may be left without critical services should Governor Rauner’s proposed cuts to the Community Care Program (CCP) go through. Taking swift action, AARP, SEIU, the Alzheimer’s Association, […]
Home Care Funding Discussion
January 22, 2016 By
New legislation may bring back last year’s battle between Democratic legislators and Gov. Bruce Rauner over requirements to receive state-funded home care assistance. Rauner had proposed raising what’s called the Determination of Need, or DON score, in his first budget address. The score decides how much state aid a person with disabilities or a senior […]
Advocates Push For State Legislation To Protect Home Services Eligibility
January 21, 2016 By
by Ellyn Fortino Progress Illinois U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL,9), state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago) and other advocates for seniors and people with disabilities sought to rally support Wednesday for proposed state legislation aimed at preventing the governor from making eligibility requirements tougher for home services programs. Harris is spearheading the bill, HB 4351, in the […]
House Passes Bill To Preserve Home Services Eligibility Requirements
September 3, 2015 By
From Progress Illinois The Illinois House on Wednesday approved legislation aimed at blocking the Rauner administration’s proposal to make it harder for seniors and people with disabilities to qualify for home services programs. Rauner has proposed raising the minimum eligibility, or “Determination of Need,” score from 29 to 37 for the Home Services Program for people with disabilities […]
Seniors Protest over Cuts
August 25, 2015 By
Protesters angry over cuts to home care assistance for seniors temporarily stopped cars along one of Chicago’s busiest streets. 22 protesters blocked off traffic on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue for a few minutes, with hundreds more cheering them on from the sidewalk. That crowd included legislators entangled in the budget fight, like State Rep. Greg Harris […]
House Dems reject Rauner’s proposed cuts to human services
May 7, 2015 By
SPRINGFIELD — Democrats who control the Illinois House sent a clear message Wednesday to GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner that they oppose his proposed cuts to human services in next year’s budget, foreshadowing what could be weeks of tense negotiations before the Legislature’s scheduled May 31 adjournment. The caucus that controls the chamber with a veto-proof […]
House Democrats reject Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposed human services cuts
May 7, 2015 By
By Doug Finke of GateHouse Media Illinois SPRINGFIELD — Sending a message to Gov. Bruce Rauner, House Democrats engineered defeat of a portion of Rauner’s budget plan, showing they will not accept deep cuts to human services programs. Instead, in a long series of votes, the House Democrats voted to reverse the cuts Rauner called […]