Those stimulus dollars are finally trickling in. Today, Illinois citizens enrolled in the federal food stamp program will see an increase in their benefits thanks to $890 million in funding included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. About 600,000 people will be affected, according to Gov. Quinn, and the jolt could last up to five years.

This temporary expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program comes at a crucial time for Illinois' most vulnerable. Although more families are facing economic insecurity, the state assistance available to them has been steadily deteriorating.  For instance, cash grants available under Illinois' Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program have fallen from 79.0 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) in 1973 to 27.6 percent FPL in 2007. State Rep. Will Burns is trying to alleviate the problem through HB 2382, which would increases TANF benefits by 15 percent across the board. But until the bill passes, the federal government can plug the hole -- and do so without bilking state resources.

Let's not forget that Rep. Dan Lipinski was the only House Democrat to vote present on the stimulus bill (seven voted nay). 

Among his objections was the increased spending on social programs. Ignoring the stimulative effect of food stamps, he told the SouthtownStar that "it’d be better to give someone the opportunity to have a job, to create jobs, than to give them food stamps."  Of course, it's hard to disagree with that statement. But the government can't immediately create jobs for the 8.6 percent of Illinois workers who are unemployed and struggling to make ends meet.  Until they begin whittling down that number, these programs give the best bang for the buck. And we're happy to see taxpayer dollars put to good use.

Now, let's clear the way for that federally-funded unemployment benefit extension as well.