With no resolution in sight when it comes to finding a balance between bringing down the federal deficit and ensuring that the social safety net stays intact, many of the nation’s
most vulnerable citizens are concerned about the future of Social
Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
At a meeting at Frisbie Senior Center in Des Plaines this morning, U.S. Reps. Tammy Duckworth (D, IL-8), Bill Foster (D, IL-11) and Jan Schakowsky (D, IL-9)
discussed budget cuts with a group of approximately 50 seniors and
collected more than 4,000 petitions calling for benefit protections.
The
petitions urged Congress to “protect the benefits we have worked for,
paid for and earned” and “defeat privatization and other proposals that
threaten my retirement and health security.”
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Improving the public’s understanding of how the Illinois
state budget works will contribute to better policy decisions by elected
officials, according to a new policy brief from the Fiscal Policy
Center at Voices For Illinois Children.
Unemployment rates are not expected to improve for white, Latino and
African American workers through 2013, according to a new 
Former State Rep. 