We had an excellent meeting with South and Southwest Suburban providers on the Raise the Wage Campaign yesterday. Art Dykstra, CEO, Trinity Services, led the meeting and commented upon the strategies of the Statewide Coalition. I was happy to participate representing The Arc, and Kathy Carmondy from the Institute was also there. Here are links for the materials distributed.
Value the Work – Raise the Wage Policy Document
Value the Work – Raise the Wage Resource Guide
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The next Regional meeting is for Northwest Suburban IL – Monday, May 9th – DesPlaines
No action was taken on our DSP Wage Bills this week, HB 5931 and SB 2952.
The Human Services Legislation that also includes funding community grants, Senate Bill 2047, was not voted upon in the House.
Lastly the Fair Tax Amendment to the Illinois Constitution was not voted upon, therefore, will not be on the November ballot. A very sad day for advocates and a missed opportunity for new revenue.
On a more positive note, we have over 300 individuals registered for our Annual Day at the Capitol with the Going Home Coalition and The Arc! See you there!
From Chicago Tribune’s Morning Spin below.
Tony
Governor Rauner on lawsuit: Gov. Rauner said he hopes a lawsuit social service providers have brought against his administration will motivate legislators to cut a larger budget deal, as those who care for the state’s most vulnerable struggle to make ends meet after 10 months without pay from the state.
“I am supportive of our social services agencies. They’re frustrated, I’m frustrated,” Rauner said at a business event in Decatur on Thursday. “My attitude is, push. Push this General Assembly. Push hard. We should have a budget. We should have balance in the state.”
While the Republican governor recently has been optimistic about budget meetings among rank-and-file members, Rauner remains at odds with Democratic lawmakers who want him to agree to a budget without items from his pro-business, union-weakening agenda.
The coalition of 64 human services providers suing Rauner say they’re owed more than $100 million for their work since July, something Rauner said should nudge politicians in Springfield to agree on a spending plan.
“I’m a huge personal donor to a lot of these human services agencies, and the fact that were not paying them is ridiculous,” the governor said. “The more pressure we can bring to bear, the better.” (Celeste Bott)
Tony Paulauski
Executive Director
The Arc of Illinois
20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-464-1832 (OFFICE)
815-464-1832 (CELL)
Tony@thearcofil.org