Domestic Violence Group Requests $50 Million In Pritzker's Budget

TINLEY PARK, IL — A south suburban center for survivors of domestic violence is asking for additional funding from the state to continue housing and helping its clients in 2023. According to the Crisis Center for South Suburbia, Gov. J.B. Pritzker's proposed budget will result in victims left in the cold.

The group, along with several other partners in the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, is calling on state legislators to add $50 million for sex-based violence services into the state's newly introduced budget.

Currently, Pritzker has proposed an investment of $400,000 for education, housing and hotline work. After two years of rising domestic violence cases, however, the coalition said that less than half a million dollars is not enough.

"In 2021, the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline received contacts from more than 32,000 individuals seeking assistance," a spokeswoman wrote in an email to Patch. "These contacts amount to over an eight percent increase in contacts from 2020, which was already a record-breaking year."

According to the group, the proposed investment will allow gender-based violence service workers to spend about $12 on each person afflicted by violence. For south suburban networks, it costs an average of $85 for crisis centers to house one person for one night in a shelter.

Pritzker's latest proposal, his fourth proposed budget over his career, includes a goal of raising over $800 million for a "rainy-day fund" which will be used in cases of statewide emergencies. Other highlights include $500 million for the state's pension fund and lower taxes on groceries, gasoline and property.

While the network acknowledged the latest budget suggests increased wages for essential workers, officials said even more funds are needed to maintain social workers and other service providers without losing staff.