Yesterday I went to apply for food stamps (Link card)

[DollyM]

Two weeks ago, my part time job of 20 hours a week that I was glad to find, was cut to 10 hours a week. The reason? I work at a nursing home and the state has not made a payment to them for patient care since August. I made about $600.00 a month, now I make about $360.00 a month. Hardly worth it to start the car and drive it every morning for my two hours of work each day. So I went and applied for food stamps. I told the worker at DHS that I would really prefer that the state paid it's bills so I could be working rather than applying for food stamps. The irony is that we qualified for $367.00 in food stamps so I actually come out ahead by applying for food stamps. How does the state of Illinois not understand that it would be much cheaper to just pay their bills so people like me can get back to work and they would save money in the long run.

[ColesCountyDem]

1. So did I...

I actually went to apply for Medicaid, which was denied, but was informed that I qualify for Link. The company I worked for as an assistant manager cut hours severely and, since I was the least 'senior' among the management, I got the axe. One small blessing: none of the regular 'hourly folks' were laid off, and they all need their jobs even worse than I did...

[DollyM]

2. our local school system is laying off teachers and other personnel . . .

We live in a small community (1200) and our public school is a major employer. They announced today they are laying off at least one teacher and letting go two aids, the janitor and several other positions. Scary times, where will it all end?