Biographies of eight caregivers, community activists arrested in State Capitol over budget cuts
The following caregivers and community activists took arrest today to call attention to the seriousness of the state budget crisis and the need for the Illinois General Assembly to stop devastating cuts to human services by passing a fair income tax increase before it’s too late.
Sandra Wiekerson, 57, has been a home care aide for 18 years with Community Care Services, Inc. She has represented other home care workers as a member of SEIU Healthcare Illinois’ bargaining committee and has traveled to other states to talk with home care workers about their rights and how to improve home care standards. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised on the West Side of Chicago, Sandra values education. With three young children, Sandra went back to school at the Midwest Technical Institute and graduated with her high school diploma. She currently takes computer classes and plans to attend college to get a degree in political science.
Gloria Warner is a retired elementary school teacher who lives in Chicago. She has served at several schools during her 23-year-career, spending many years at Laura Ward Elementary School on the city’s Northwest Side. Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Warner moved to Chicago at an early age. She received her G.E.D. and went on to Loop Junior College (now Harold Washington Community College) and Chicago State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. The mother of six is committed to education, having been a volunteer at Dunbar Elementary School and being given the opportunity to teach there after receiving her degree.
At age 71, a vibrant Hilaria Juarez says she’s fortunate to be able to provide quality home care to other seniors. A home care aide for nine years with Help At Home, Hilaria came to the profession after giving years of service as a community representative with the Department of Human Services and work at a neighborhood clinic. Her father died when she was two years old and as a child she migrated from city to city in the South with her mother in search of work. The mother of nine children was born in Mercedes, Texas, and came to Chicago in 1967.
Mary McCasey has been a home child care provider for the past three years. She currently cares for 6 children. Three of those children would lose their child care as a result of budget cuts, forcing their mothers to quit their jobs to stay home and take care of them. "Why would the state stop helping those who are helping themselves?" asks Mary. "These parents have jobs, and they work hard to take care of their families." She worries most about what cuts to child care will mean for the children. "I provide so much more than just child care," she says. "I provide them with structure and education. These children are 4, 7, and 9 years old, and if you disrupt their education now, you may not be able to fix it later."
Angenita Tanner has been a child care provider for 27 years, and a home child care provider for 13. She currently takes care of 11 kids, most from single-parent homes. If the cuts to child care aren’t stopped, 10 of those children would lose their child care and Angenita will be forced to close her doors. One mother in particular stands out in Angenita’s mind when she thinks about the impact of these budget cuts. She is a single mom working full time and going to college where she gets straight A’s as a biochemistry major. If the cuts aren’t stopped, this mother will have to drop out of school and quit her job to take care of her three children.
Elizabeth Dukes, 65, has been a child care provider since 1991. She currently takes care of three children in her home. This is not the first time Dukes has taken a strong stand for something she believes in. The granddaughter of a slave who moved his family from New Orleans to Montgomery, Alabama, Dukes was 12 when the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. She remembers fighting for civil and human rights then, and sees this as a parallel issue. "I don't like being arrested,” said Dukes, “but I stood up for what was right then, and I’m standing up for what’s right now. These children are our future. If this is what we have to do to make sure people understand how important this is, so be it.”
Christine Bett, 74, has fostered and adopted eight children through the state. Of those eight children, one died, two are married with their own families, one lives on her own and three are still at home. These budget cuts will mean that the subsidies for the three kids Christine still has at home will be cut. While she doesn’t receive any public benefits now, she worries about how she’ll get by, keep her house and care for her kids if the cuts aren’t stopped.
Myra Glassman has been a labor and community organizer for more than 25 years. A mother of two living in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood, Myra now serves as Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU Healthcare Illinois. Today she joins seven other community activists, home care workers and child care providers calling on the Illinois General Assembly to stop cuts to the vital human services that families depend on. “There’s too much at stake in this budget for our elected officials to think quick fixes are the way to solve this crisis,” says Myra. “We need a fair income tax increase to get us out of this mess and protect Illinois families, and that’s what we’re here today to make sure our elected officials know.”
For more details or contact information, contact Sadie Kliner at (312) 296-2447 or sadie.kliner@seiuhcil.org.