I received the following letter from Dreux Lewandowski, Executive Director of Macon Resources, Inc., this afternoon. It was sent to all members of the media to get the word out about the difficult financial plight of the agency in light of state finances and the cuts being made to Macon Resources:
"Illinois has hit rock bottom financially. As a consequence, Macon Resources faces the coming fiscal year with the prospect of cutting essential services. We have received notice from the Division of Developmental Disabilities that they are eliminating our grant funded programs, Kid’s Connection, Adult Outreach, Regular Work Program, and Illinois Voices. The State will cut funding to these programs by $880,000.
"This past year the State had already cut these same programs by $54,000. We will not be able to offer these services any longer effective July 1, 2009. Furthermore, the State also proposes to cut rates by 20-30% for Community Integrated Living Arrangements (CILA), Developmental Training and Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled. This action will force us to reduce services even further.
"I had hoped we would never see the day when we had to stop serving people. I am angry that our State does not value our most vulnerable citizens and considers them expendable or pawns in a political game. All Macon County social service providers are faced with catastrophic cuts. This has a direct effect on our local economy. Program closures will increase unemployment and reduce dollars spent in the community. People who required our supports for stability and independence will become liabilities to the system and in the long run actually increase government costs.
"We can only stop these program closures by restoring the necessary funding and ensuring that disability services are funded at adequate levels in the future. We are tired of patching things together year after year because we are chronically underfunded."
Dreux closed his letter with a quote from Hubert H. Humphrey: "The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped."
