Protests At Governor Bruce Rauner's Winnetka Home Over Childcare Cuts

WINNETKA, IL — Several hundred demonstrators marched through Gov. Bruce Rauner's neighborhood in Winnetka on Tuesday to protest what they describe as "back-door cuts" to state child care funding. Most of those who took to the streets of the Hubbard Woods neighborhood were child care workers who are represented by the SEIU Healthcare union, which organized the protest.

Carrying signs with messages like "Babies B4 Bankers" the march headed to the governor's home on Rosewood Avenue, sang several songs and returned to Hubbard Woods Park. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Winnetka — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

The union said the Rauner administration appears to be specifically targeting black and Latino caregivers with new requirements for child care providers, which it said could disrupt care for 38,000 children.

Criticism of Rauner at the protest ranged from the implementation of new training requirements to adjustments of income requirements for parents in 2015 that cut 40,000 kids from the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program.

Winnetka Police Cmdr. Brian O'Connell said the demonstrators were well-behaved and peaceful throughout the day.

While most Winnetka residents in Rauner's neighborhood declined to comment, two of those that did described the demonstration as "fabulous" and "an absolute necessity," Pioneer Press reported.

» Read more from Winnetka Talk

Photos courtesy Abby Agriesti