From Ounce of Prevention, a group which provides direct services, research and advocacy on behalf of children in poverty in IL.
"On July 1, the General Assembly failed to pass a tax increase needed to avoid disastrous cuts and adequately fund human services and education for young children. Governor Quinn later vetoed the “50% lump sum budget” and another budget bill to fund general state operations, forcing budget negotiations to continue.
The General Assembly will return July 14 to Springfield. We anticipate that they will attempt to override the governor’s veto of the budget bills and hope they will continue to discuss revenue options, including the income tax. One income tax option is HB174 which was endorsed by the governor, passed by the Senate, and approved by a committee of the House. This bill provides a blueprint for a fair, equitable and permanent solution to avert further budget disaster and restore responsibility to government.
Now is the most crucial time for you to take action! We must urge legislators to accept the governor’s veto and craft a new budget that is fair, responsible, and balanced. If they do not do this, the total meltdown of critical services for the most vulnerable children and families will only worsen."
PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK TO HELP YOU CALL AND/OR EMAIL YOUR STATE REP AND SENATOR BEFORE JULY 14!!!
Advocate Now!
The site will give you:
- Talking points (it will tell you exactly what bills and motions to ask them to oppose or support to get the 100% budget)
- Who your state members of Congress are
- Contact info for them and the opportunity to log your call with Ounce of Prevention (so they can say "Listen, we know exactly how many of your constituents called you to support this! Don't pretend they don't care!!")
- An email tool to send it directly to their offices for you
Even though Ounce of Prevention is about kid's issues, feel free to include your concerns about seniors, too. This is a platform for you to say whatever you want. Don't be scared to call. A call carries more weight than an email. They will not challenge you or grill you. Thank you for caring enough to act!
Showing posts with label IL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IL. Show all posts
Friday, July 10, 2009
Monday, October 27, 2008
IL Poverty Summit moved from Peoria to Evanston (12/9&10)
Opportunities for Change: Taking Action to End Extreme Poverty in Illinois
December 9th and 10th in Evanston, IL. Registration opens today, October 27th at 12 PM.
NOTE: The location of the Opportunities for Change Summit has moved from Peoria, IL to Evanston, IL.
This summit, occurring in conjunction with International Human Rights Day, is part of the new Commission on the Elimination of Poverty's work and is a direct result of all of your hard work as part of the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign.
This event will bring people from across Illinois together to hear from national experts and to begin developing the short-term and long-term plans for ending poverty in Illinois. Speakers include Gov Blogojevich and Marian Wright Edelman.
Registration is limited, so register now!
http://www.illinois.gov/povertysummit/
December 9th and 10th in Evanston, IL. Registration opens today, October 27th at 12 PM.
NOTE: The location of the Opportunities for Change Summit has moved from Peoria, IL to Evanston, IL.
This summit, occurring in conjunction with International Human Rights Day, is part of the new Commission on the Elimination of Poverty's work and is a direct result of all of your hard work as part of the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign.
This event will bring people from across Illinois together to hear from national experts and to begin developing the short-term and long-term plans for ending poverty in Illinois. Speakers include Gov Blogojevich and Marian Wright Edelman.
Registration is limited, so register now!
http://www.illinois.gov/povertysummit/
Friday, October 3, 2008
Poverty Summit in IL, Dec 9&10
Opportunities for Change: Taking Action to End Extreme Poverty in Illinois
December 9-10, 2008
Peoria, Illinois
This summit, occurring in conjunction with International Human Rights Day, is part of the new Commission on the Elimination of Poverty's work and is a direct result of all of your hard work as part of the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign.
This event will bring people from across Illinois together to hear from national experts and
to begin developing the short-term and long-term plans for ending poverty in Illinois.
More information to come. Registration will begin in mid-October.
From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign: Realizing Human Rights in Illinois
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights
4411 N. Ravenswood, 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60640
773.336.6084
773.506.6649 (fax)
frompovertytoopportunity@heartlandalliance.org
December 9-10, 2008
Peoria, Illinois
This summit, occurring in conjunction with International Human Rights Day, is part of the new Commission on the Elimination of Poverty's work and is a direct result of all of your hard work as part of the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign.
This event will bring people from across Illinois together to hear from national experts and
to begin developing the short-term and long-term plans for ending poverty in Illinois.
More information to come. Registration will begin in mid-October.
From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign: Realizing Human Rights in Illinois
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights
4411 N. Ravenswood, 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60640
773.336.6084
773.506.6649 (fax)
frompovertytoopportunity@heartlandalliance.org
Friday, July 25, 2008
Visit to Durbin's Office: July 15, 2008
I suppose this is second in a series...a write-up my RESULTS lobby visits to my members of Congress...
After Obama's office we trotted over to Senator Richard Durbin's office to meet with 2 of his aides. His office is much different than Obama's. A little fancier in the furnishings...a flat screen TV showing CSPAN-2 in the lobby which houses two receptionists instead of one. When we walked in, Senator Demint was speaking against the existing Lantos-Hyde global health bill and in support of one of the amendments...I forget which. The three of us gathered around the TV making various grumbling noises. One receptionist politely offered us seats and we all said "NO!.....um, we mean, we're fine...we're good...umm...that's our bill they're talking about...sorry..."
We were admitted in to speak with two foreign policy aides who work together. Very nice and warm people. We gave our thank you's for Durbin: Global Poverty Act support, general support for fighting against TB, and I couldn't resist throwing in a Farm Bill thank you as well since I had written an LTE in the Wash Times about that. We gave him the same requests about Lantos-Hyde and appropriations (see yesterday's post) and asked him to speak to his colleagues in support of the GPA. The conversation with these aides was much more back-and-forth than with Obama's aide. They asked about what requests we would make of the representatives we'd be seeing later, so we told them about a micro-finance letter to the World Bank that would be circulating for the reps to sign. We'd be asking for them to sign onto that and to co-sponsor a Congressional Medal for Mohammed Yunus for his micro-finance work. This was my favorite part of the meeting. One of the aides asked for our help on that Medal ask since it was his job to contact all the IL reps office's on behalf of Durbin to convince them to sign on. It felt really good to be able to do that aide a favor...like a real working relationship. Perhaps a small thing, but I like to think we are working with them in partnership!
Anyway, we hustled out of there right after the meeting ended and got up to the top of the Senate as quickly as we could. I feel so lucky that we got there in time to see Durbin giving his closing remarks on a speech in support of Lantos-Hyde and specifically in support of fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. It was a mere hours before the vote. He was speaking to a largely empty room on the floor unfortunately, but anyone watching CSPAN-2 was getting it! We couldn't say anything of course, but had he looked up into the gallery, he would have seen our silent applause and fist pumping at the end. I feel so lucky to have Durbin as my senator!
After Obama's office we trotted over to Senator Richard Durbin's office to meet with 2 of his aides. His office is much different than Obama's. A little fancier in the furnishings...a flat screen TV showing CSPAN-2 in the lobby which houses two receptionists instead of one. When we walked in, Senator Demint was speaking against the existing Lantos-Hyde global health bill and in support of one of the amendments...I forget which. The three of us gathered around the TV making various grumbling noises. One receptionist politely offered us seats and we all said "NO!.....um, we mean, we're fine...we're good...umm...that's our bill they're talking about...sorry..."
We were admitted in to speak with two foreign policy aides who work together. Very nice and warm people. We gave our thank you's for Durbin: Global Poverty Act support, general support for fighting against TB, and I couldn't resist throwing in a Farm Bill thank you as well since I had written an LTE in the Wash Times about that. We gave him the same requests about Lantos-Hyde and appropriations (see yesterday's post) and asked him to speak to his colleagues in support of the GPA. The conversation with these aides was much more back-and-forth than with Obama's aide. They asked about what requests we would make of the representatives we'd be seeing later, so we told them about a micro-finance letter to the World Bank that would be circulating for the reps to sign. We'd be asking for them to sign onto that and to co-sponsor a Congressional Medal for Mohammed Yunus for his micro-finance work. This was my favorite part of the meeting. One of the aides asked for our help on that Medal ask since it was his job to contact all the IL reps office's on behalf of Durbin to convince them to sign on. It felt really good to be able to do that aide a favor...like a real working relationship. Perhaps a small thing, but I like to think we are working with them in partnership!
Anyway, we hustled out of there right after the meeting ended and got up to the top of the Senate as quickly as we could. I feel so lucky that we got there in time to see Durbin giving his closing remarks on a speech in support of Lantos-Hyde and specifically in support of fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. It was a mere hours before the vote. He was speaking to a largely empty room on the floor unfortunately, but anyone watching CSPAN-2 was getting it! We couldn't say anything of course, but had he looked up into the gallery, he would have seen our silent applause and fist pumping at the end. I feel so lucky to have Durbin as my senator!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Global Health Bill PASSED!!!!
I'll write more about this later, but suffice it to say that I am beyond ecstatic that the Lantos-Hyde bill passed today!!! It was my extreme pleasure to be lobbying for it with about 200 other RESULTS activists on the Hill the morning it went up for votes in the Senate. I was in Obama and Durbin's office voicing last minute concerns about the amendments and a potentially damaging point of order that could have killed the whole $50B bill. Now, I'm all heady with the feeling that one person can really make a positive difference in the world!!!!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Advocacy action for IL
From the Heartland Alliance... (www.heartlandalliance.org) I agree with the advocacy, but wonder about that stat that claims the 700,000 IL residents live in extreme poverty. I'm not sure they are going with the definition of extreme poverty which means living on less than $1 a day. I have to check out what they mean by that, but in the meantime, I still feel it is worth contacting the Gov to fund the commission.
------------------------------------------
"The Illinois legislature has left the Capitol for the summer with some unfinished homework on ending poverty in Illinois.
They took the important step of unanimously passing legislation to create the Commission on the Elimination of Poverty (HB4369). But the legislature provided NO funding to support the critical work of the Commission.
Nearly 700,000 Illinoisans continue to suffer in extreme poverty every day.
The matter is now in Governor Blagojevich’s hands - to both sign the legislation creating the Commission AND to make sure the Commission has funding to do its work.
To make this Commission and its vision of ending poverty in Illinois a reality, the governor needs to hear from you!
Please ask the governor to support this important work and help realize human rights in Illinois! "
-------------------------------------------
Here is a url to help you contact Gov Blagojevich
http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm
------------------------------------------
"The Illinois legislature has left the Capitol for the summer with some unfinished homework on ending poverty in Illinois.
They took the important step of unanimously passing legislation to create the Commission on the Elimination of Poverty (HB4369). But the legislature provided NO funding to support the critical work of the Commission.
Nearly 700,000 Illinoisans continue to suffer in extreme poverty every day.
The matter is now in Governor Blagojevich’s hands - to both sign the legislation creating the Commission AND to make sure the Commission has funding to do its work.
To make this Commission and its vision of ending poverty in Illinois a reality, the governor needs to hear from you!
Please ask the governor to support this important work and help realize human rights in Illinois! "
-------------------------------------------
Here is a url to help you contact Gov Blagojevich
http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm
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