ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Gov. Bruce Rauner's government shutdown is taking a steep toll on middle-class families, the elderly, and sick and disabled residents said local families who joined with state Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, and Pat Verschoore, D-Milan, to urge a more balanced solution to the state's budget crisis.
"Illinois simply cannot halt basic services for middle-class families and seniors, withhold life-sustaining care for seniors and the disabled, and pretend it's fiscally responsible," Smiddy said. "The governor's decision to shut down basic services isn't making Illinois more competitive, and it certainly isn't compassionate."
Rauner's veto of the state budget eliminated funding for a number of critical services, including the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program, which an estimated 27,000 women rely on the every year to access free mammograms and cervical cancer screenings. Rauner's veto has also stopped funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps over 8,000 Rock Island County residents cover the home heating and cooling during winter and summer months.
Local families and service providers stood with Smiddy and Verschoore at the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging in Rock Island to discuss how Rauner's government shutdown has put meals on wheels for seniors, therapy for children with autism and services for victims of domestic violence at risk. Residents called for a more balanced approach that makes responsible spending cuts while protecting critical services for middle-class families, the elderly and those in great need.
"We can't afford more of the governor's games and we can't afford to balance the budget on the backs of people who are already struggling to make ends meet," Verschoore said. "These men and women work hard to provide for their families. They didn't create the mess in Springfield. It's not fair to make them pay for it."
