Chicago – Community members representing seniors, health care workers, child care providers, working parents and more met at the Kankakee Federation of Labor tonight to discuss the impact of the state’s growing state budget crisis and its affect on working families with State Representative Lisa Dugan. The Campaign for Illinois’ Future – the broad coalition of community, advocacy and labor organizations that hosted the event – calls on state lawmakers to protect vital public services in the state by passing a fair tax plan that generates significant new revenue while emphasizing tax fairness.

“Vital public services like home care are already seeing the effects of a tight budget and payment delays,” said Joann Breathett, a home care provider from Kankakee. “Cutting an additional $40 million from home care like the state is proposing would mean thousands of seniors will be without the care they need. Budget cuts are not the answer to this crisis, it’s time for legislators to find the new revenue we need to get us out of this mess.”

The state’s estimated $12.4 billion budget deficit and unprecedented payment delays have already left many families struggling to get the quality health care, education, and vital public services they count on in tough economic times. Budget cuts such as those proposed in the FY10 budget would put services for these families in greater jeopardy while threatening critical workforces throughout the state and doing little to solve the structural deficit.

“We simply cannot cut our way out of a $12.4-billion budget crisis and expect essential programs like child care and education to recover,” said Donna Morrow, a Kankakee child care provider. “Our schools are already having to cut back, and there’s a proposed $50 million cut to the state’s child care program. We need to protect our children, not threaten the care they need to grow up safe and healthy.”

The Campaign for Illinois’ Future launched its statewide effort to educate Illinois voters and lawmakers about what is at stake for working families in the FY10 budget on March 19th in Springfield. The coalition announced its plan to reach out to Illinois communities through town hall meetings, direct mail, phone banks, community forums, door-to-door canvassing and e-organizing. Tonight’s event was one in a series planned throughout the state in coming weeks.