AURORA — Parents who care for children with disabilities shouldn’t be forced to consider moving them to residential care at devastating expense, State Sen. Linda Holmes argued, alongside families who might be affected by a proposed cut in Gov. Bruce Rauner’s FY 2016 budget.

“They send someone to help when I don’t have anybody,” said Joan Chioles, 83, whose son, 46-year-old James, has developmental disabilities and lives at home through help from the Aurora-based Association for Individual Development (AID). “I wish [Gov. Rauner would] come here and see what’s going on. It would be nice if he could come over here and visit some of these schools and these facilities.”

Lynn O’Shea, president of AID, said about 100 families who receive services from her organization could be similarly affected. For adults with disabilities who have aging parents, the only recourse may be residential placement that can cost families at least $50,000 and the state upwards of $35,000 per person, O’Shea said.

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Aurora Beacon News - Feb. 24, 2015

By Linda Girardi

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner recently said that like a family, everyone must come together to address the reality of the state's financial crisis.

But the mayors and village presidents that represent some 750,000 residents in Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties aren't feeling the love.

"For years Springfield has pick-pocketed municipalities. Now the governor has advocated armed robbery," Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said Tuesday.

Representatives of the Metro West Council of Government municipal alliance Tuesday balked at the governor's proposal to slash in half the local governments' share of state income tax revenue.

Rauner made the announcement during his first budget address to the Illinois General Assembly last week, as part of a budget plan to "restore Illinois to fiscal health," he said.

The suburban leaders met at the annual Metro West Legislative Breakfast at the Gaslite Manor in Aurora to send a unified message back to Springfield that the governor's proposal is not acceptable.

The suburban mayors and village presidents in their response said they have made their fair share of sacrifices as municipalities and now it is time for the state of Illinois to do its fair share.

Nine state senators and representatives from the area attended the nearly three-hour session. Burns said the governor's policy-makers neglected to seek input from local municipalities.

State Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, said while the governor is new in the political process the proposed cuts are "real life issues" and not a "training exercise."

She said regardless of what is proposed in the budget, it will take 60 votes in the House and 30 votes in the Senate to pass measures.

Many of the leaders present said that Rauner needs to understand the concerns raised at the Aurora meeting.

Read the full version of the original article.

Illinois Public Radio - Feb. 4, 2015

Rauner acknowledged up front that voters elected him - a Republican - and supermajority of Democrats in the legislature.

"They don’t want partisan bickering, political infightin', or personal conflict to get in the way of servin' the needs of the families of Illinois," Rauner said.

Rauner spoke of inequities in granting contracts to minority-owned companies, and prison conditions that he called “unacceptable.”

Many Democrats say they support those initiatives. But they are already bristling at Rauner’s insistence that labor unions are to blame for the state’s financial problems.

Last week, health and human service agencies began to run out of grant funding leftover from the previous administration.

Rauner says he wants local governments to create so-called Right to Work laws - similar to those that caused major protests in Wisconsin and Indiana.

Democrats like west suburban State Senator Linda Holmes say unions are the organizations that helped create the middle class - and attacking them won’t fix the state’s financial problems.

Listen to the original story.

AURORA – State Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) released the following statement following a trial court ruling that found Senate Bill 1 unconstitutional:

“I was a staunch and outspoken opponent of Senate Bill 1 feeling it was fundamentally flawed and blatantly unconstitutional. Today, the courts have ruled that Senate Bill 1 is indeed unconstitutional. As we respond to this finding, I will continue to stand up for our hardworking teachers and the public employees who have worked their entire lives serving the people of Illinois.”