Proposed House cuts may hurt Illinois residents

Proposed House cuts may hurt Illinois residents
To avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers will have to agree on a federal budget by April 8. Getty/Mark Wilson
Proposed House cuts may hurt Illinois residents
To avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers will have to agree on a federal budget by April 8. Getty/Mark Wilson

Proposed House cuts may hurt Illinois residents

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives gave themselves another extension to cobble together a federal budget. Congress now has through April 8 to get its financial house in order. Otherwise the government will shut down.

The latest extension proposes another $6 billion in cuts. Long term though Republicans want $61 billion gone from the federal budget.

Eight Forty Eight spoke with John Bouman about what these cuts could mean. Bouman is president of the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, and recently contributed to a study that looked at how the cuts would affect Illinois residents.