Illinois neglects special-needs citizens
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The wait is over. Illinois' torpid swirl to the bottom of the national funding barrel for community-based services for persons with developmental disabilities is complete.
The great state of Illinois is dead last—51st actually, when the District of Columbia is included—in the soon-to-be-released "2008 State of the States in Developmental Disabilities" ranking published annually by the American Association for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.
For years Illinois has floundered in the lower 40s, our state-appropriated cost of living adjustments for community-based service providers minuscule or non-existent. There are several reasons behind this neglect, one of the latest being Gov. Rod Blagojevich's grand plan to fund health care for all children.
It's a wonderful aspiration, if feasible, but one that has further eroded the state's fiscal ability to support essential community services for the developmentally disabled. Click here to read more.