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Watch this space for future actions to support people with IDD and the DSP workforce in 2026!

The They Deserve More Coalition released the following statement after Governor Pritzker’s budget address on February 18:

We are grateful that, during an extremely difficult budget year, Governor Pritzker is making additional progress for Illinoisans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their families, and the nonprofit providers and staff who support them.

The Governor's budget proposes a $0.60/hour wage increase for Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who deliver services to people with IDD. This is another step in the right direction, building on nearly a decade of consistent, incremental investments in the IDD community residential workforce.  

We will advocate this spring to include a $1.20/hour wage increase in the final budget. To stabilize the DSP workforce, the state-commissioned Guidehouse Rate Study recommends reimbursing DSP wages at 150% of minimum wage across all of Illinois. The state committed to implementing the full wage increase by FY2027. A $1.20/hour increase would achieve the 150% goal according to the state’s timeline.

We are hopeful that the proposed DSP wage increase will not result in any additional cuts to funding for DSP service hours. The FY2026 budget slashed more than 620,000 DSP hours starting on January 1, 2026 – equivalent to losing 305 DSP positions. Providers have already begun eliminating DSP positions, freezing DSP hiring, reducing capacity in group homes (known as “CILAs”) and merging group homes.

Any further cut to DSP hours would undermine the Governor’s and General Assembly’s hard-fought progress on DSP wages. We look forward to reviewing the proposed budget and discussing with our partners at the Illinois Department of Human Services-Division of Developmental Disabilities to understand the full scope of proposed IDD funding proposals.

The They Deserve More Coalition will work with our state leaders throughout this legislative season to ensure the final budget prioritizes people with IDD and stabilizes the DSP workforce.