CHICAGO –  Bruce Rauner has thrown the state home care program in disarray with plans to cap hours for home healthcare workers in a bid to defy new federal rules that extend overtime protections to this low-wage workforce.

According to the Associated Press, 30,000 clients who need assistance because of physical or developmental disabilities will receive less-efficient and less-effective car. Most need more than 40 hours of weekly assistance and capping hours to 35 will lead to wide-scale disruption in the workforce, and in the program.

Quoted by the AP was James Muhammad, a Vice President for SEIU Healthcare Illinois, which represents  26,000 home care workers in the Home Services Program: “This is a devastating impact on families…Families now have to find other people to come into their homes.”

Rauner officials are claiming the cruel new policy is necessary to save money—but have refused to share data to back this up.

Read the full story here.

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