Police Ticket Budget Protesters For Blocking West Loop Intersection
CHICAGO (CBS) -- About 25 activists were ticketed for blocking a West Loop intersection Thursday in the latest protest over a Rauner administration spending cut.
Some walked into the street at Van Buren and Clinton and sat down. Others rolled onto the street in wheelchairs and refused to move.
The issue is a limit, that was imposed beginning Sunday, on the amount of overtime the Illinois Department of Human Services will pay home healthcare workers who assist those with disabilities.
In many cases, the workers are family members of the person with disabilities. Gary Arnold of the group Access Living said the new guidelines tell families to find an outsider to avoid overtime. Not only is such help difficult to find, Arnold said, but many families do not want to bring in an "outsider" for reasons of privacy.
Arnold said he fears many families will simply opt to do the work for free. He and others who protested said that is neither fair nor legal.
The blockage lasted for about 20 minutes. Police rolled those in wheelchairs onto a nearby sidewalk and ticketed them on the spot; others who were detained were taken to the Central District station for processing.