Explaining Springfield To An 8-Year-Old: ‘Sometimes Money Runs Out Of Things And They Have To Wait To Build Back Up’

By Tony Arnold
Pearl Mullen
Pearl Mullen used to take advantage of a bus that would take her and her grandchildren to visit their mother who’s incarcerated in downstate Illinois. But that bus program was cut without funding from the state government. Now, others are stepping in to bring the bus program back. Tony Arnold / WBEZ
Pearl Mullen
Pearl Mullen used to take advantage of a bus that would take her and her grandchildren to visit their mother who’s incarcerated in downstate Illinois. But that bus program was cut without funding from the state government. Now, others are stepping in to bring the bus program back. Tony Arnold / WBEZ

Explaining Springfield To An 8-Year-Old: ‘Sometimes Money Runs Out Of Things And They Have To Wait To Build Back Up’

By Tony Arnold
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There are everyday people whose lives are changing as a result of the state’s budget problems. We’re collecting stories of people Caught in the Middle.

With no state budget, a program that would bus Chicago kids to visit their incarcerated mothers stalled months ago. To Pearl Mullen, who’s taking care of her grandchildren while her daughter is in prison, it’s meant her grandkids haven’t seen their mother in four months. WBEZ’s Tony Arnold has been keeping in touch with Mullen over the last few months, and found out there’s a new bus program starting up.