With state money running dry, hundreds of protestors converged at the capitol in Springfield today to decry a budget shortfall that's hitting a subsidized day care program.
About 70 children, from toddlers through young teens, go to daycare at Steps to the Future in Calumet City. Its owner, Andre Thomas, says a state subsidy helps pay for 99% of them. Thomas says families couldn't afford it on their own.
"I have parents that maybe work and probably have yearly income of $15,000 ... $17,000. And I'm charging $100 to $160, $180 a week. So how honestly could you be able to afford that and still be able to live? And we're talking about one kid. Also, and we're talking about somebody with one kid. What if they have two or three?"
Thomas says the last time he got a check from the state was in December; so far he's using reserves to make payroll. But if that doesn't change...
"We're going to have to shut down."
Given the multitude of cuts Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed, this could be the first of many such rallies at the statehouse.
Besides the immediate budget shortfall, Rauner has proposed limiting age eligibility for next year.
Advocates for the daycare program, wearing shirts that read "Who Will You Choose," used their voices and numbers to bring attention to their cause. They chanted outside Rauner's office, marched to the governor's mansion, and briefly disrupted proceedings of the Illinois House.
