Illinois illegally ignores needs of people for Human Services

Latest

Community demands Illinois provide for their needs.
PHOTO/FRAN TOBIN

 
CHICAGO — The Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) cannot serve its constituents with their new, broken computer system (IES). Documents are lost, people are cut off unjustly from the food stamp program (SNAP), from Medicaid health care, from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and people do not have an assigned case worker to follow through with their cases. There are insufficient, trained workers to serve DHS and DRS, and the IES system crashes daily, which causes backlogs, waiting times, and public health issues at the service offices.
In November 2017, the IES system terminated SNAP benefits for more than 40,000 households. Initially, the state blamed the people for not filing on time, however, the system’s insufficient bandwidth cause the delay to handle all the beneficiaries’ filings.
In March, 2018, Blocks Together and The Alliance for Community Services held a “Community Speak Out! Stop cuts to SNAP and Medicaid” at the YMCA in Humboldt Park, Chicago. Legislators invited were State Senator Patricia Van Pelt, State Representative Melissa Conyears-Ervin, State Senator Omar Aquino, and State Senator Julie Morrison who promised to send representatives to the town hall. Their table remained empty.
We were there, though, and filled the room: persons with disabilities, persons who are hungry, persons who are poor, persons with mental illness symptoms, persons who are on kidney dialysis, persons who are homecare personal assistants, single-payer health care advocates, and equally, were the workers themselves who testified about the nightmare that the IES imposes upon them every day.
All participants agreed that this system illegally removes benefits, services without assigned case workers are unmanageable, waiting times can sometimes last up to eight hours because of system crashes, and some state workers desire to deliver services and cannot because of the broken IES system and an insufficient number of staff.

+ Articles by this author

Kathy Powers is a lifetime Chicagoan. At 50, Kathy speaks out as the voice of the people. She became a revolutionary activist whose lifelong fight raises unheard voices. She is the Health Care Desk on the People’s Tribune Editorial Board.

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

War No More – Veterans Reflect on the Meaning of Memorial Day

Veterans for Peace say wars will not end, – and nuclear war will not be averted – unless there is a sea-change in the thinking of the U.S. people and our political leaders.

Harvard University Stands Up to Illegal Federal Government Actions

Read letter by Harvard President Alan M. Garner, about the University's stance on the Federal government's illegal actions to force Harvard to give up the school's academic independence and academic freedom.

Trump’s Big Cruel, Deadly Policy Bill is a Healthcare Heist

Outrage is rising against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that would give massive tax breaks to the rich while slashing Medicaid, nutrition, and clean energy. Some say 14 million people could lose health coverage.

Is FREE Electricity in our Future?

Electricity should be a right, free to all.  Yet, for-profit energy companies set prices to maximize profits to shareholders, even when users can’t afford the prices and suffer shutoffs.

Let’s Rein in U.S. Military Spending Before it Destroys Us

Excessive military spending has bankrupted the country and eaten up money we need for human needs. What's more, the billionaires' reliance on war as a foreign policy instrument threatens to destroy the world.

More from the People's Tribune