A group of child care providers from the Chicago area descended on the Illinois Child Care Resource and Referral Agency in Bloomington to push for more money. During an Illinois Department of Human Services public hearing, the group pushed for what it calls a "fair" wage of $15 an hour. Sharon Norwood of Chicago, one of the child care providers speaking at the hearing, says the state budget stalemate is cutting into her wages. "I have a college student, as my client, she has two children and because of the cuts, my pay has went to basically half." Norwood says it's up to the state of Illinois to come up with the money to make it possible. She says citizens need to make sure state lawmakers are aware of the situation. Organizers of the hearing did not want to allow cameras, video or audio recordings, but relented after about an hour.
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