Over the past decade, Illinois has gradually shifted more of the cost of caring for the elderly, disabled, and vulnerable onto non-profit agencies. But when the going got tough for these social service providers, there was often room to appeal to local lawmakers for a little extra support. Since the state's finances hit rock-bottom last year, that hasn't been an option. And Valerie Denney -- a spokeswoman representing non-profits across the state -- says the old way of doing things is "no longer working."

Thanks to ongoing payment delays and cuts to human services, the social safety net is quickly unraveling.  Nowhere is that more evident than at Chicagoland-based VITAS Hospice. "Our patients, not only are they dealing with terminal diagnosis, they have other issues going on at home; a lot of unemployment or mental illness," says staffer Annice Hanlon. "We can't access services in their community any longer. It's getting very difficult to make referrals ... Just because they're dying, doesn't mean the family should suffer and end up living on the street or their children not able to find food." Watch:

State Rep. Will Burns (D-Chicago) isn't the only person who thinks that it's going to take some Civil Rights-style activism to solve the budget crisis this year.  Agencies across the state are coalescing around a new coalition, the Illinois Partners for Human Services (IPHS), which is being supported, in part, by the Chicago Community Trust).  With the primary season behind us, the coalition is gearing up to give their local lawmakers an earful as they head toward the general election. "Now we know who our targets are," the IPHS' coordinator Judith Gethner tells us.

Expect to see some crossover at the Springfield rally that the Responsible Budget Coalition has planned for February 17. As the legislature heads back into session, IPHS' members will be on-hand to roll out a legislative agenda for this year. Aside from pushing back against cuts that will likely be included in Gov. Pat Quinn's forthcoming budget, the coalition is urging the state to commit to giving agencies a 60-day warning before amending contracts.  They also want a commitment by the state to pay its bills on time and to help cover the interest they've racked up by borrowing to survive the payment delays. And they're calling on lawmakers to set up a low-interest loan pool that state-contracted agencies can dip into in an emergency.

Petitions are on their way out, Gethner tells us, and an aggressive public relations campaign is about to ramp up. "It's only going to be through the grassroots that this is going to work."

Full Disclosure: The SEIU Illinois State Council, which sponsors this website, is a member of the Responsible Budget Coalition.