SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - State Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, issued the following statement on Tuesday after he voted to overturn Governor Rauner's drastic cuts to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) that eliminated eligibility to the program for thousands of families living at the poverty level:
"The state's child care program provides low-income and working families of Illinois with an affordable way to remain in the workforce while making certain their children have the care they need to learn and grow. It's unimaginable that people in this state are making less than the poverty level and can't get any help with child care. We must continue to prevent burdening families with the impossible choice of supporting themselves or caring for their children.
"The changes that Governor Rauner has implemented rank Illinois last in the level of child care we provide compared to other states. This is the only state denying child care assistance to families living below the poverty line, and I truly can't understand how any state leader can find that acceptable. That's not good enough, and we must ensure working families in Illinois have the help they need to return to work.
"Illinois faces many fiscal challenges, but cutting childcare is not the answer. This is a program that allows parents to move from welfare lines to becoming taxpayers, and I'll continue to fight to ensure this resource remains available in our state."
