A recent agreement means that despite the budget impasse, Illinois will fund services for disabled babies. But therapists and children who rallied at the Statehouse Thursday say their worries aren't over.
Illinois stopped funding Early Intervention from July until last week. Maggie Lay says therapists who couldn't afford to work without paychecks stopped seeing her daughter, Tessa.
Tessa is 21 months old and has Down Syndrome. During the rally to preserve those services, Tessa hugged her mom and munched on a Ritz cracker.
Therapy's back on -- funding the services is not part of court-ordered spending; but Maggie says she's worried Tessa could lose support again. For one, the current deal is just temporary. Also, Gov. Bruce Rauner has proposed reducing eligibility; little blond Tessa would just miss the cutoff.
"If we lose our services, we lose our lifeline," Maggie said. "Our therapists are our lifeline. Without them, she wouldn't be where she is: she's signing, she's got three words, she's almost walking. And she would never be here if it weren't for our therapists."
Maggie says she's got good insurance, but it doesn't cover Tessa's occupational therapy
Studies show kids gain the most from help early on, and that it saves money long-run. But Illinois politicians seem more worried about money problems in the short term.
