Residents and agencies affected by the budget stalemate in Illinois met today with two members of the General Assembly. State Representatives Mike Smiddy, from Hillsdale, and Pat Verschoore, from Milan, heard their pleas for help at the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging in Rock Island.
The state senate is considering a bill to make federal funds available for social services. Verschoore says this would help, but it's not a cure-all.
Program Coordinator for the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging, Jen Boedeker,says the agency will close September 1st if the bill is not signed by Governor Bruce Rauner.
But even then, most of its services will still be in jeopardy.
One by one, representatives from local non-profit organizations listed the services they will have to eliminate if the budget stalemate continues.
Maureen Hart, from Project Now in Rock Island, says if state funding remains unavailable for their programs, 8,000 low-income people could lose electricity.
State Representative Smiddy says without a compromise, 90 percent of Illinois' state budget will be decided by the courts, which could result in a bigger deficit.