Illinois' Community Care program, which provides home care assistance to over 50,000 Illinois seniors annually, is facing some turbulent times. The appropriations bill the State Senate passed two weeks ago slashes funding for the Department of Aging, which houses Community Care, by 52 percent. Gov. Pat Quinn will be given some leverage to plug the hole, but even his FY2011 budget proposal included a $140 million gap in funding for the program. If the budget isn't settled by the end of the month, problems could get worse.

How important is Community Care? Just ask State Sen. Dave Koehler (D-Peoria), who spent the day yesterday mopping floors and making beds as part of SEIU Healthcare Illinois' lawmaker challenge. (Disclosure: SEIU's Illinois State Council sponsors this website). "This is important work," Koehler told the Peoria Journal-Star. "I have a great deal of respect and appreciation for what [homecare worker] Amanda [Rowry] and other providers do. Her attitude and enthusiasm are remarkable. She knows what an important part she plays in caring for seniors. If Clara [Betts] was my mother, I'd feel very confident she was in good hands, and that's what a child wants for their parent."

That sounds like a program worth saving.