Teachers Flood Capitol Streets Over Illinois Budget

Illinois lawmakers got an earful Wednesday when as many as fifteen thousand demonstrators converged on the State Capitol during the midday. This time the crowd called for tax hikes not tax cuts. State employee unions, teacher unions and professional organizations as well as parents of disabled children made their voices heard.

Chanting : "Show some guts; stop the cuts," the protesters demanded lawmakers stop the proposed cuts in education and social service funding. Illinois is facing a 13 billion dollar revenue shortfall that is causing delays in payments to schools and agencies providing services to Illinois's seniors, children and mental health patients.

"I hope it sends a clear message to our legislators that we need a revenue source that our schools need protecting, our students need protecting," said New Athens teacher Cara Wiley. Layoffs have already hit a number of Metroeast school districts from Edwardsville to Sparta. Pam Runyon has only had her teaching certificate for two years after spending 13 as a teacher's aide. She won't be back in September unless more funding is found at the state level. "It's just devastating," she said as she stood in the middle of the crowd outside the Capitol. "Now our students are gonna suffer because of these cuts."


A retired teacher from East St. Louis, Lola Key said she was concerned about young teachers being laid off. "They have no means of supporting their families," she said. Her suggestion: everyone on the state payroll ought to take wage cuts.

One of the speakers during the rally urged the crowd to face the statehouse and chant.."raise my taxes, raise my taxes." Thousands did.

Following the half hour rally most of the crowd marched around the Capitol complex before breaking up and heading home on chartered buses.

House Speaker Michael Madigan re-iterated through a spokesman that a bi-partisan coalition of House members would be needed to pass any tax hikes this session.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has proposed a temporary hike in the state income tax from three to four percent. He wants those funds dedicated to education to reduce some of the cuts now on the table.