PORT BYRON, Ill. - Gov. Bruce Rauner's budget plan would take a steep toll on middle-class families, the elderly, and sick and disabled residents said local families who joined with state Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, to urge a more balanced solution to the state's budget challenges.
"The state budget isn't about numbers on paper, it's about middle-class families, the elderly and people who deserve a hand when facing some of life's most difficult obstacles like illness and disability," Smiddy said. "A budget that denies them the care they need and the services they depend on simply costs too much."
Rauner has proposed cutting the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program by nearly $10 million. An estimated 27,000 women rely on the program every year to access free mammograms and cervical cancer screenings, but the governor's cut would keep an estimated 14,000 women from accessing this life-saving care. The governor's proposal also slashes more than $1 million in funding for CGH Medical Center in Sterling and Morrison Community Hospital, which the Illinois Hospital Association warns will cost the area more than $2.7 million in economic activity and eliminate local 20 jobs.
"As the husband of a breast cancer survivor, it is appalling to me that the governor would use funding for cancer detection and treatment as leverage in his political game," Smiddy said. "My wife and I were very fortunate that she was diagnosed early and received the necessary treatment. Across our state, too many women do not have that same access to care. We need to make sure Illinois stands behind them and do what it takes to provide them with the treatment they need."
Rauner has also called for the suspension of funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps over 8,000 area residents cover the costs of home heating every winter, and has proposed severe reductions to agricultural education, and programs that serve families of children with autism. Policy changes backed by the governor would make it harder for seniors to receive in-home care, forcing elderly residents to seek out more costly nursing home care.
Smiddy joined with Rock Island and Whiteside County families in Sterling and Moline to urge a more balanced approach that makes responsible spending cuts while protecting critical services for middle-class families, the elderly and those in great need.
"Balancing the budget on their backs of families that are already struggling to make ends meet won't make Illinois more competitive and it certainly isn't compassionate," Smiddy said. "These men and women work hard to provide for their families. They didn't create the mess in Springfield. They shouldn't be forced to pay for it."
