Caring for the young and sick

As Swami Ranganathananda said, a society is judged on its ability to take care of the very young and the very old, the people who are most at risk and least capable of helping themselves.

Some parents leave Illinois to get disabled kids better services - chicagotribune.com: "Although no one tracks why people leave one state for another, anecdotal evidence suggests Hickey is one of several who are planning to leave Illinois — or has already left — because of diminishing human services here.

Jennifer Humbert of Crete is exploring job prospects in a handful of states, including Minnesota, to secure more help for her 8-year-old daughter with bipolar disorder. Vicky Rowe has already uprooted her family, moving from Broadview to Niles, Mich., last year to boost treatment for her 9-year-old with cerebral palsy. And one week after Patrice Evans' preschooler was diagnosed with autism, her Grayslake home was on the market and she was headed to Kenosha for Wisconsin's generous funding of intensive therapy.

As Illinois lawmakers go into their final hours before their scheduled Tuesday adjournment, and with the House and Senate offering competing budget proposals, there's a fight to determine how deep officials will cut — or eliminate — programs that aid the state's most vulnerable residents."