MOLINE- As Bruce Rauner and his Republican allies continue their brick-by-brick teardown of social services in Illinois, 72nd House District candidate Mike Halpin spent a morning “Walking a Day” in the shoes of Moline early childhood educators whose funding for quality care has been decimated by Rauner’s attacks.

“It was great to be able to inform Mike Halpin about how the cuts to child care are affecting our facility and all the parents who need child care,” said Haley Moore, director of the Moline Kids Campus. “It’s getting harder and harder for parents to find affordable child care, which makes it harder for them to work, which makes it even harder for them to afford child care. And now, if you’re a parent in school, you don’t qualify at all. We’ve had to turn parents away.”

Recently, Rauner vetoed Senate Bill 730, which would have expanded affordable child care to tens of thousands of additional families and created thousands of jobs.

SB 730, which passed with large majorities in the General Assembly, would have started to repair the Child Care Assistance Program after Rauner unilaterally cut thousands of working parents out of the program and eliminated child care entirely for parents who are in school or training. Recent figures from the state show that the parents of over 55,000 children lost child care as a result of these draconian cuts, and that thousands of providers lost their jobs.

While visiting the Moline Kids Campus to learn more about the disastrous effects of this veto, Halpin pledged to support child care and early learning providers and to restore and repair the Child Care Assistance Program from Rauner’s attacks.

“The visit to the daycare center really hit home for me as a parent. These families and child care providers are are struggling to make ends meet because politicians in Springfield can’t work together to pass a responsible budget,” said Halpin. “We must do everything we can so parents can work full-time while ensuring their children are in a safe learning environment.”
Halpin, a Rock Island attorney and advocate for veterans, has earned the endorsement of SEIU Healthcare Illinois.
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