The Bush administration is trying to cut Medicaid through a rule change, instead of asking Congress to enact legislation, yet again. The target now: kids in special education. School districts nationwide could be squeezed even harder on their special-education expenses under federal proposals that threaten to wipe out Medicaid funds for disabled low-income students. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) joined superintendents from Chicago, Elgin, Carpentersville and other Downstate districts Tuesday to protest the proposed cuts. They warned that this newest hit will force districts to cut even deeper into regular education programs if they are no longer reimbursed for mandated special-education services. In Illinois, as much as $132 million could be lost to districts this school year--$38 million alone for Chicago Public Schools. Nationwide the cuts are expected to top $650 million this year, legislators said. "It is a despicable deed that needs to be rethought and changed," said Davis, who argued that the federal government already falls far short of its promise to pay for required services, covering only 19 percent of special-education mandates. "If these cuts stand, we are going to leave millions of children behind."