More thoughts on human service cuts

In a story I wrote in today's Daily News, I talked to several folks who are concerned about cuts to health and human services should the "doomsday" budget go through, that is, if the Illinois General Assembly doesn't pass an income tax hike, and Gov. Quinn institutes $9.2 billion in cuts.

On the $9 million that would be cut from the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program:

"Cutting funds for the IBCCP program would be a step backward for the women of Illinois. The message 'early detection saves lives' has resonated loudly in the past couple of years, due to the statewide Stand Against Cancer program and the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program," says Gloria Dominguez, manager of Women's Health Cancer Community Programs for Access Community Health Network, which serves more than 60,000 uninsured people in Chicagoland.

She continues: "This year alone IBCCP funding has enabled diagnostic testing and treatment for more than 1,800 women with abnormal results. Decreased funding would jeopardize the diagnostic servies necessary to find cancers in underserved women, and this would have detrimental consequences."

Donna Thompson, CEO of Access, says the growing numbers of people losing their jobs mean more people are going without regular checkups, putting a dent in preventative care.

"This is the time that we've got to make sure that we don't cut our preventative services," she says. "To cut a vital program (like IBCCP), where we want to make sure the women of Illinois are healthy...I think shame on all of us."

"We further disintegrate the families of Illinois. (Breast cancer) is such a preventable disease, and when it's caught early, it basically is a lot cheapter to treat than when you're treat it in the late stages. You can either be pennywise, or pound foolish"

Ted Whitmer, development director for a Chicago agency called CARC, which serves those with developmental disabilities, says the political bickering this year is more pronounced than in years past.

"Every year there is jousting and people have their particular special projects, but this year, it's slightly more confrontational because there seems to be a really well-defined line in the sand between the governor and the General Assembly."

He says people are still going to need services if cuts are implemented, but worries those who don't have access will spiral towards homelessness, jail or hospitals, putting a further burden on the state.

"These are folks just living in the community, just wanting the same things you and I want: A place to work, a safe place to live, and they're the ones who are going to pay the price on this."

What do you think about the consequences of doomsday? Is it all political theater? Or are thousands of people in Illinois and Chicago going to pay the price?