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“The proposal for the 60 cents an hour increase in wages is
included. It gets us on the path towards addressing and dealing
with the Guidehouse recommendations,” Sims said during a hearing
on May 31.
The Guidehouse issues developmental disability services rate
studies for the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Before the General Assembly passed a record-high $55.9 billion
budget on June 1 for fiscal year 2027, Rose said another $24
million would return DSP workers to 150% of minimum wage, where
they were in 2019.
“Not one time in eight years will our most vulnerable population
get back to where he started when he took over as governor.
We’ve been below 150% every year of his two terms,” Rose said.
The Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities said the
budget reflects a recognition that stability and investment in
community-based services remain essential.
“We are particularly grateful that lawmakers included both a
60-cent-per-hour wage increase for Direct Support Professionals
and the zero-hour staffing model that IARF supported in the
governor’s introduced budget,” IARF president and CEO Josh Evans
said in a statement.
Evans said Illinois providers continue to navigate staffing
challenges, rising costs and increasing demand for services.
"While important work remains to fully address the growing needs
of the disability services system, this budget represents
meaningful progress and provides a strong foundation for the
future,” Evans said.
Rose thanked Sims and other Senate Democrats for their work but
said every one of the governor’s budgets failed to get DSP
workers back to where they were before Pritzker took office.
“I just find it abhorrent that the governor would have such a
lack of care. In eight years, he can’t fix that.”
Pritzker has indicated he would sign the budget that would take
effect July 1, 2026.
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