CHICAGO, Ill.—The $2.25 billion in tax breaks Chicago and the state of Illinois are offering Amazon as
enticements for its second North American headquarters would be enough to give all Chicago families “universally affordable” child care and pay providers a living wage for providers, SEIU Healthcare and a group of parents and child-care providers contended at a demonstration Nov. 1. “$2 billion would provide affordable child care for every single child, every single working family in the Chicago metro area,” said Brynn Seibert, director of SEIU Healthcare’s child care and early learning division. Many families can’t afford it, she added, and “child-care providers are earning minimum wage or even less.” Karen Allen, who cares for six children in her West Side home, said she often made less than $500 a month. Rauner spokesperson Patty Schuh said the Amazon incentives were necessary to compete for a “major economic development project,” and the $60 million cut in state child-care funding was due to “eligibility re-determination.” Janice Bolling, who cares for 14 children in her South Side home, said that the state lowering the maximum income for subsidized child care to 145% of the poverty level had made many families ineligible.
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