Yingling Fighting to Pass Critical Services Budget

For Immediate Release:

For More Information:

July 2, 2015 State Rep. Sam Yingling

847- 231-6262

repsamyingling@gmail.com

GRAYSLAKE, Ill. – State Rep. Sam Yingling, D-Grayslake, is fighting to protect middle-class families, the elderly and some of Illinois’ most vulnerable residents from the devastating effects of a government shutdown by pushing to continue funding for critical in-home care for seniors, services for the disabled and essential public safety programs as legislators and the governor work to pass a comprehensive state budget.

“There is a great deal of work that remains to be done in Springfield, and I continue to call for a balanced budget that provides for the crucial services middle-class families depend on, while also working to pass a property tax freeze that local owners desperately need. While we work toward these goals, letting the government shut down and halting services that allow seniors to stay in their homes, protect young victims of abuse, and keep our communities safe is unconscionable,” Yingling said. “The lives of Illinois residents and the safety of our communities are not bargaining chips in a political game. The people I represent deserve continuity and security regardless of what’s going on in Springfield.”

As a new fiscal year began without a long-term state budget in place Wednesday, a number of critical services including in-home care for seniors, the salaries of state police officers, therapeutic services for the developmentally disabled and even the incarceration of sexually violent criminals were at risk of being stopped.

Yingling is supporting a critical services budget which provides continued funding for some of Illinois’ most important state services while legislators and the governor work to craft a long-term state budget. Yingling voted to protect critical funding for the Community Care Program, which allows elderly residents to stay in their homes and avoid costlier nursing home care, therapy and work placement assistance for the physically disabled, care for aging veterans, protective shelters for children who are victims of abuse, and public safety services, including operating expenses for prisons and the Illinois State Police, and funding for a program that keeps dangerous sexual predators incarcerated.

“This is a temporary solution to a long term problem, but it is a vital and necessary step to make sure essential services remain intact as a result of the governor and legislative leaders’ government shutdown,” Yingling said. “I am eager to continue working in good faith with all sides as we try to right our state’s course, and I remain committed to supporting common-sense solutions that protect our state’s middle class families, seniors, veterans, public safety personnel and critical programs our most vulnerable depend on.”

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