House Committee of Whole Hears Those Affected by Gov's Cuts CHICAGO, IL (wqub) - While Governor Rod Blagojevich celebrated the Cubs' playoff presence at a pep rally in Chicago ... lawmakers spent the day in Springfield at a special hearing castigating him. Amanda Vinicky reports:

One by one ... social service, arts and education advocates took to the Illinois House floor and testified about the devastation caused by the half-billion-dollars Governor Blagojevich took out of the budget.

Like Martin Rou who says the three-million dollars removed from the La Salle County Veteran's Home .... will cut deep. The money, he says

(Vets3 : )
"was to be used for needed staff and medical equipment at our home in LaSalle, Illinois. We have over 450 honorably discharged veterans on our waiting list for admission."

Blagojevich has called the projects "pork." He says it's more important the state pay for healthcare, like free mammograms.
Something to which Linda Healy takes offense. Healy's director of a Kane County domestic violence shelter ... which was stripped of 25-thousand-dollars.

(DomVio3 : )
"When you talk about saving the lives of women through breast and cervical cancer screenings, I wish to remind you that domestic violence shelters are saving lives every day. In Kane County, we've had 14 domestic homicides since January.
She implored lawmakers to restore the money. The House is expected to do that. But the Senate President says he'll allow the cuts to remain.
I'm Amanda Vinicky.
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