Illinois monthly diaper allowance: Lawmakers push for legislation to help families

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Two Chicago-area lawmakers are pushing for the creation of a monthly diaper allowance.

It is estimated one in three families nationwide don't have the money to purchase diapers.

"In 2004, nobody was talking about diaper need," said Lee Ann Porter of the Loving Bottoms Diaper Bank. "I did the things people traditionally tell you to do. They tell you to go to your local food pantry, reach out to local organizations, nobody had diapers. It just wasn't something available. My relief — I found temporary ways to do it.  I had a neighbor pawn my wedding ring and we used the money to buy diapers."

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Nineteen years later, Porter now runs a nonprofit called "Loving Bottoms Diaper Bank" in Galesburg, Illinois.

On Wednesday, she joined Chicago-area state Senator Karina Villa and Representative Lakeisha Collins in support of new legislation that would allow families to purchase diapers with their SNAP or WIC benefits.

If passed, Illinois would become the third state in the nation to offer a diaper allowance, joining California and Washington.