As Gov. Pat Quinn and the four legislative leaders met over lunch at Chicago's Thompson Center today, hundreds rallied outside in favor of raising the income tax rate to avoid devastating cuts to critical human services. An array of benificiaries (senior citizens, teens, refugees, veterans, the disabled) came together to emphasize the importance of these programs to their day-to-day lives.

"For the people we serve, it's a matter of life and death," says Abel Nunez of the non-profit organization Centro Romero. "What are we going to do when someone fleeing domestic violence comes through our doors. Do we say 'Sorry. We can't help you'?" The only people who can answer that question now are members of the General Assembly, which will head back to Springfield later this month in an attempt to solve the ongoing budget crisis. Shooting down a House bill to temporarily increase the income tax rate last weekend -- and opposing a permanent tax hike measure in the Senate -- many legislators put political fears ahead of the state's interests. The workers and activists present at today's rally aren't going to forget it, either.  Today, they carried enlarged copies of those roll calls with the 'no' votes each circled in red ink:

"They haven't heard the last of us," Albany Park activist Diane Limas told us. "This is just the beginning. They think they're going to cut these funds? Who do they think votes for them? They need to get back to the table."

"This is not a Democratic or a Republican issue," added Maria Elena Sifuentes, a teacher in training with Grow Your Own Illinois, another target of the budget cuts, "it's a humane issue."

In the weeks to come, we'll be highlighting the latest developments in this ongoing battle. But as Diane Doherty of the Illinois Hunger Federation told us, it's not going to be easy. Just today, she got word that the state plans to lay off 40 percent of its staff in Department of Human Services field offices across the state. That comes on top of the questionable closure of 17 local offices as of July 1. 

The best solution now, Doherty points out, is for the public to rally in favor of a fair budget and to demand that elected officials keep the state's safety net intact. "When we go door-knocking and explain what [human service cuts] means and what the consequences are, people are going to be angry. And we want them to be angry," she said. "Because these cuts will hurt them too."