LSNA Says "No!" to State Budget Cuts
Published: July 17, 2009
Outraged that the fiscal year has started without a full and fair state budget, over 300 Logan Square parents and youth took to the streets for “The March of the Strollers” on Thursday, July 2. “We are here today to stop the budget cuts,” said Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) leader and Grow Your Own teacher candidate Susana Ortiz. “Nobody wants a tax increase, but if we do not act our children will suffer. Our state will be in crisis. There is no other way.”
The march began at Diversey Day Care and ended at the Logan Square monument. Diversey Day Care worries that that it may lose 100 children, potentially exposing them to abuse and neglect as a result. The March of the Strollers—and accompanying teddy bear pyramid—represented the 147,642 kids whose child care could be cut.
The March of the Strollers was not the only action LSNA has taken to fight state budget cuts. In recent months, busloads of Logan Square residents traveled to Springfield and to mass rallies in downtown Chicago. Parents, youth, teachers and other community leaders made over 1000 calls to state legislators and knocked on over 1000 doors to educate voters about the state budget crisis.
The state budget cuts would have a devastating impact on LSNA. The organization stands to lose:
- Health outreach workers that connect 1500 people per year to health care services
- 60 college scholarships for community leaders studying to become bilingual teachers with the Grow Your Own Teachers program, part of 475 GYO teacher candidates statewide
- 120 parent mentors that volunteer in classrooms, whose work has contributed to the doubling of neighborhood test scores
- Child care for adults in GED and ESL courses
- Citizenship outreach workers that help over 650 Legal Permanent Residents per year apply for citizenship.
- Prevention work with 600 kids on drug, alcohol and gang awareness.
“We have sacrificed and sacrificed to become a bilingual teacher, and now the state wants to back out on its end of the bargain,” said Maria Marquez, Grow Your Own teacher candidate. “Where is CPS going to find bilingual teachers, if not us? Cutting education is short-sighted and unjust.”
In addition, Logan Square residents depending on child care, home care for seniors and people with disabilities, and MAP grant college scholarships are left in the lurch until the state legislature acts to create a responsible state budget.
“If I lose my homecare, my daughter might lose her job, and then my granddaughter may have to drop out of college,” said Ursula Del Valle, an LSNA leader diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy who would struggle to eat, bathe and get around without the help of her homecare worker. “Whoever allows homecare to be taken away is a criminal. People will die.”
The state budget crisis is not only a personal issue, but a moral one. “Our baptismal covenant mandates that we work for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being,” said Reverend Sandra Castillo of Nuestra Senora de las Americas. “Therefore, we have to urge our legislators to make the difficult decisions that will assure the health, safety, welfare and dignity of our brothers and sisters.”
“By cutting programs like Teen Reach and other educational programs, our state legislature is sending a message that they want youth on the streets; they want us to become gangbangers; they want more crime,” said LSNA youth leader Jessica Murphy. “They need to act like adults and stop the cuts.”
According to the Illinois Council of Churches, the following budget cuts could be made if the state legislature overrides Governor Quinn’s veto:
Seniors
11,000 cases of suspected elder abuse and neglect abuse or neglect will go uninvestigated;
238,000 seniors and the disabled will see their property tax relief cut in half; Prescription drug relief for 196,000 seniors will be eliminated;
26,000 seniors will be cut off from community care programs that help them remain at home and out of nursing homes, and 35,000 seniors will see their services reduced;
55,000 frail seniors will lose supportive services;
Children
Half of the state’s child abuse investigators will be eliminated, raising caseloads to 20 to 1;
2/3 of state’s child abuse prevention caseworkers will be cut, raising caseloads to 50 to 1;
All 36 Child Advocacy Centers, which investigate over 11,000 cases of child abuse a year, will see their funding eliminated;
147,642 children will lose child care and day care, threatening their parent’s ability to work;
Support for foster parents and adoptive parents caring for abused and neglected kids will be cut in half, impacting 37,000 children;
Veterans
All four state homes for veterans will be closed;
State payments to combat veterans will cease;
Aid to combat veterans with traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorders will be eliminated;
Education support for children of those killed in action, disabled, MIA and POW will be eliminated;
State payments to erect headstones for those killed in action will end;
Health Care
21,500 women will lose life-saving screenings for breast and cervical cancer;
75,000 men will lose prostate screening and prevention services;
100,000 school children will lose state support for vision and hearing screening;
300,000 youth and adults will lose HIV testing and prevention services;
20,000 youth and adults will be denied treatment for their drug addiction;
Education
Over $1.5 Billion in cuts in K-12 education funding, which will mean either the elimination of local programs or increases in local property taxes;
100,000 pre-school children will lose services;
145,000 college students will have their college financial aid cut;
Statistics Provided by the Illinois Council of Churches
Check out more photos from the actions here.
St. Luke's Pastor Erik Christensen and LSNA parent leaders march for a fair state budget. El Pastor de la Iglesia St. Luke's, Erik Christensen, y padres lideres de LSNA marchan por un presupuesto estatal justo.
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