Hundreds of Illinois seniors on Tuesday gathered at the Thompson Center to protest what they call are life-threatening budget cuts.
The seniors, members of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, blame state lawmakers for not raising enough revenue to fund programs on which they desperately rely and called for a tax increase.
The services they're opposed to cutting: health care, mental health and education.
"If there are cuts in the Community Care program, it will be devastating for me and other seniors," said 83-year-old Gloria Hunt, who lives on Chicago's North Side. "My homemaker makes my life possible, allowing me to live in the community. Cuts in the Community Care program would result in many seniors ending up in nursing homes at great cost to taxpayers and seniors.
Some of the protestors dressed up as doctors and nurses to symbolize the emergency surgery they say the state budget needs.
