Starting this weekend home care workers paid by Illinois won’t be allowed to work over 40 hours a week. That’s because Governor Bruce Rauner says the state can’t afford to pay overtime and a new federal law requires it.
Sharon Lamp is a Des Plaines resident who uses a motorized wheelchair. She currently needs about 50 hours of personal assistance a week.
“The care I receive allows me to be independent, because of that I’m able to get around in my own home, participate in things socially and I even work a few hours every week. Without it I literally wouldn’t have a life.”
Beyond making it harder to get care, the change will be hard on workers who will be out that extra pay. Advocates say in the long run the state saves money by having home care workers, because less people end up in nursing homes.