Good work on the part of Equip for Equality. Unfortunate that they have to go to court to bring about the obvious...taxpayer money designated for the disabled should go to....the disabled!...and they should have a choice how they use that money. Illinois has been one of the last holdouts in this area, favoring institutionalization, for obvious reasons. Government jobs (read, patronage jobs) abound in large institutions. Contracts for those institutions attract "campaign contributions," and our pols are always in need of those. The disabled get what's left, if anything, under our Blago.
Speaking of large institutions, one wonders if the infamous Howe Developmental Center will ever really close. Just because the highly political DHS says they are going to close it, as with any Blago-directed enterprise, doesn't mean it's so.
Cheswick
· 1 year ago
The first letter to the SJR editor today is about why Medicaid patients in Illinois aren't getting dental care.
In part, "The Illinois Medicaid program has one of the lowest dental reimbursement rates in the nation for the most common dental procedures."
And the bottom line (same as all the other bottom lines): "Since these patients are covered by a publicly financed program, it is the responsibility of the General Assembly and the governor to adequately fund the program."
cermak_rd
· 1 year ago
OK, the senior trips (Berwyn drug forfeiture) were clearly not crime prevention (we really don't have a senior drug problem here), but the transfers to the park district (which has a lot of after-school type programs) and the school districts (which do a lot with anti-drugs) may not have been as obviously bone-headed.
Bob O
· 1 year ago
The Equip for Equality lawsuit accomplished what advocates for people with disabilities have been pushing the state to do for the past 20 years.
Cassandra is correct when she says that unfortunately, the state only follows through as a result of lawsuits. Seems to me that given the current budget crisis, someone was smart enough to see the savings in settling now, rather than spending more time and dollars(that Illinois doesn't have) on defending a suit that they were going to lose.
The current administration closed Howe Dev Center not because of this lawsuit, but because they need the $$.
Budgetarily, they will recoup $26M in lost Medicaid funds and then sell the Howe and Tinley Park properties for ??upteen millions.
These funds should be used to support community mental health and developmental disability sytems that have kept their heads barely above water due to the chronic under-funding of the past 20 years.
The end result from this lawsuit requires Illinois to systemically plan for closure. The feds have Choate, Kiley and the other institutions on their de-certification hit list.
Rather than wait for the next lawsuit or budget crisis, lets try and move Illinois' community disability support systems forward with some real planning and foresight.
Wacker Drive
· 1 year ago
At the Illinois Tollway FOIA = Stonewalling Forever
All Comments
Illinois has been one of the last holdouts in this area, favoring institutionalization, for obvious reasons. Government jobs (read, patronage jobs) abound in large institutions. Contracts for those institutions attract "campaign contributions," and our pols are always in need of those. The disabled get what's left, if anything, under our Blago.
Speaking of large institutions, one wonders if the infamous Howe Developmental Center will ever really close. Just because the highly political DHS says they are going to close it, as with any Blago-directed enterprise, doesn't mean it's so.
In part, "The Illinois Medicaid program has one of the lowest dental reimbursement rates in the nation for the most common dental procedures."
And the bottom line (same as all the other bottom lines): "Since these patients are covered by a publicly financed program, it is the responsibility of the General Assembly and the governor to adequately fund the program."
Cassandra is correct when she says that unfortunately, the state only follows through as a result of lawsuits. Seems to me that given the current budget crisis, someone was smart enough to see the savings in settling now, rather than spending more time and dollars(that Illinois doesn't have) on defending a suit that they were going to lose.
The current administration closed Howe Dev Center not because of this lawsuit, but because they need the $$.
Budgetarily, they will recoup $26M in lost Medicaid funds and then sell the Howe and Tinley Park properties for ??upteen millions.
These funds should be used to support community mental health and developmental disability sytems that have kept their heads barely above water due to the chronic under-funding of the past 20 years.
The end result from this lawsuit requires Illinois to systemically plan for closure. The feds have Choate, Kiley and the other institutions on their de-certification hit list.
Rather than wait for the next lawsuit or budget crisis, lets try and move Illinois' community disability support systems forward with some real planning and foresight.
FOIA = Stonewalling Forever