An elderly Murphysboro couple had a special guest in their home Tuesday morning. State Representative Mike Bost spent about an hour serving as a home care worker in the home of Chauncey and Christina Wilson.
Bost worked with the Wilson's professional home care worker to highlight the need for the Department of Aging's Community Care Program, which earlier this month ran out of money. Mrs. Wilson says having a home care worker assist with daily chores is vital for the couple to live independently and out of a nursing home. Bost says unfortunately home care workers and the people who need their assistance are getting caught up in a game played by Governor Pat Quinn regarding the distribution of money within the state budget. Bost says he believes the legislature appropriated enough money to fund the program, but the Governor and agency officials have decided to target front line workers rather than make administrative adjustments. Bost says lawmakers will have to approve a supplemental appropriation to sustain the program for the remaining three months of the fiscal year, or shift money within the Department of Aging.