DuPage residents protest budget cuts

Wielding signs and chanting slogans, residents angry about cuts to the state's human resources budget marched Tuesday to the offices of DuPage County state representatives.

The rally, organized by Teen Parent Connection in Glen Ellyn, pushed for legislators to vote against the current state budget, which proposes drastic cuts to the Department of Human Services.

Becky Beilfuss, executive director of the group, said she's heard of cuts as high as 75 percent, which would eliminate many organizations that help families.

"These are huge numbers for us," she said. "We cannot balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable."

The group's first stop was at Rep. Sandy Pihos' office in Glen Ellyn. Pihos said she sees the budget cuts as a form of blackmail by Gov. Patrick Quinn, who is pushing legislators to vote for an income tax increase.

"Can somebody tell me why we have picked out just one department to cut?" she said.

Pihos said she'd be more inclined to support an income tax increase if a full budget accompanied it to outline exactly where the money would be going.

Otherwise, she thinks a 10 percent across-the-board cut, instead of just focusing on the Department of Human Services, would be more effective in balancing the budget.

She also wants to see the state pay off its debt, reform Medicaid and pension laws, and refuse new programs.

Quinn's representatives spoke about the budget Tuesday morning in Springfield, calling for legislators to come back to town to hammer out a compromise.

Julia Wade, the program outreach coordinator for Teen Parent Connection, said her group will be able to serve fewer at-risk families if the cuts go through.

For her organization, the weekly home visit program would be eliminated. That service provides a family support worker in the homes of teenage parents.

"All the research shows the children of teen parents have higher risks of being incarcerated," she said.

Taking away money now will just mean more money will be spent on those children later, Wade said.

"A lot of these families are in crisis," she said.

Selmy Tirado, who has been part of the home visits program for two years, said she wouldn't have had the resources to take care of her baby.

"I wouldn't know as much as I know," she said.

The rallies will continue throughout the day, with stops at the offices of Reps. Dennis Reboletti in Addison, Bob Biggins in Elmhurst, Michael Connelly in Naperville, Darlene Singer in Naperville and Patricia Bellock in Westmont.