Fw: Peoria Journal Star Editorial ... please steal from it!

[Guest guest]

I am going to send a similar letter to our local paper, The Northbrook

Star...Will you all please join Charlotte, those who collaborated with her, and

I in sending letters to your community newspapers.

Thanks!

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Peoria Journal Star Editorial ... please steal from it!

Family Support Network Members and Friends. . ..

Last Saturday, the Peoria Journal Star featured an editorial signed by over 68

Tri County disability advocates. The letter was authored by a half dozen

advocates who asked their friends and colleagues to “sign onâ€.

http://www.pjstar.com/opinion/spotlight/x1070618279/In-the-Spotlight-Lack-of-bud\

get-solutions-hurting-states-neediest

Because I sent it in from my computer and because my name was the first on the

list, it looks like I wrote it alone. Instead it is a great example of community

collaboration. Many have e-mailed suggesting that we edit it for every newspaper

in Illinois. I don’t think that is a good strategy. But, I do invite you to

edit it to YOUR community. You can usually easily find the appropriate e-mail

address on your paper’s editorial page. Gather signatures and send it in!

Peoria Journal Star

Posted Jul 23, 2010 @ 11:00 PM

Last update Jul 24, 2010 @ 02:20 PM

Peorians and our neighbors are generous people. We rise to the call of crisis.

We support each other in times of need. We " walk for the cure. " We commit our

donations in response to passionate fundraising campaigns. We build whole houses

in front of TV cameras. We feel good about ourselves.

When we see someone " falling through the cracks, " we wonder what is wrong with

our world, our governments, that " a thing like that can happen. " We react in

outrage.

Where is that outrage today?

· The state of Illinois is in the process of imploding essential

services for our most vulnerable citizens, adults and children with significant

disabilities.

· Whole, cost-effective programs with measurable results are being

wiped out at the stroke of a budget pen.

· More than 20,000 people with developmental disabilities wait on a

vetted state list for essential services.

· Adults and children with disabilities are being forced to live far

from family and friends, in unnecessarily expensive settings that segregate them

from their communities.

· Rates for remaining services that were abysmal in the 1980s have not

even begun to keep up with inflation, and now face up to a 10 percent decrease.

· Our providers of service, who often wait months to be paid in the

best of times, are now being told that they will be forced to wait three to four

months longer. Many will simply be forced out of business.

Where will the children and adults they serve go?

It is time for us to harness our outrage. It is time for downstaters to demand

that our legislators stand up for us. It is time for real statesmanship,

leadership and collaboration. No longer can we allow our representatives to hide

behind party lines, pointing fingers at each other. They must act on behalf of

those who, through no fault of their own, need appropriate public support. They

must care for the common good, not just the results of the next election.

We need to support programs that work and slash those that don't.

We need a comprehensive, long-term budget solution that is not balanced on the

backs of our most vulnerable. Yes, we need pension reform. Yes, we need

realignment of funding streams. Yes, we need managed care for Medicaid

insurance. But, yes, we also need increased revenues.

It is time for hard decisions and time for our legislators to remember they were

elected to lead, not hide.

Charlotte Cronin Plus 68 other signatures