Guest guest Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 The Arc of Illinois January 5, 2009 Leaders in The Arc: 2009 promises to be one of the most challenging years for Arc Chapters in recent history. Our efforts in this New Year must focus on fiscal priorities in the State of Illinois and in Washington D.C. In Illinois we need to end the unbearable delay in state funding for supports to individuals with developmental disabilities. We need to end the wait for people on the waiting list. We need to fund community supports and services at their actual cost, and we need to restore the cuts to grant funded services. The " Blueprint for System Redesign in Illinois " is our best model for our future. Any economic stimulus on the state and federal level must recognize the importance of human service workers and infrastructure in our local economy. Once again it will be our responsibility to remind legislators that we need their leadership to support individuals with developmental disabilities. Legislators cannot let the gridlock in our State Capitol continue at our expense. They need to continue to ensure that critical community services are maintained and funded, regardless of the politics in Springfield. It will be our job to insure that this happens. See related story from the Chicago Tribune at the end of this report. We appreciate your membership in The Arc of Illinois and pledge to champion the importance of supporting individuals and their families in their communities. In this next week I will meet with the Illinois Conference of Executives of The Arc and our Board of Directors to discuss and review our legislative priorities for this next year. Next Monday I will head to Washington D.C. to meet with Berns, the new Executive Director of The Arc of the United States. We will also be monitoring the actions of the Illinois General Assembly as they return to Springfield this Wednesday. Future Arc events you will want to include on your 2009 calendar are: 1. 7th Annual QMRP Conference, Jan 27th, Doubletree Hotel, Alsip 2. ICEARC & Arc Leadership Conference, Feb 5-6, Hilton Hotel, Lisle 3. Arc & TAP Annual Convention, April 21-22, Hilton Hotel, Lisle 4. Disability Day at the Capitol, May 21, State Capitol, Springfield Tony auski The Arc of Illinois 815-464-1832 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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