DSP WAGE INCREASE CAMPAIGN – YOUR HELP NEEDED!

Today is the day! The Arc needs your help today and tomorrow to assist the Care Campaign
in its efforts to increase wages for Direct Support Professionals.

The Care Campaign Steering Committee has determined the next step in our efforts to
obtain the DSP wage increase is to deluge the Governor with emails from families, workers
and persons with disabilities urging him (in their own words) to include the wage increase in
his budget and support the bills for it that have been introduced. Each of the supporting
organizations have agreed to concentrate their membership on this task including:  IARF,
Don Moss & Associates, this week, the Institute on Public Policy and next Monday & Tuesday
The Arc of Illinois the final week before the Governor’s Proposed State Budget comes out.

Since you may belong to more than one of our organizations, you may receive this request
more than once, but we sincerely hope you will generate as many individual emails to the
Governor next Monday, March 24th and Tuesday, March 25th.

All emails should be addressed to: Pat.Quinn@illinois.gov

Although we encourage everyone to write their own message, they may wish to take
information from the following one that we used in the postcard campaign:

Governor Quinn,
The State of Illinois has delegated its responsibility to provide care for more than 23,000
individuals with developmental disabilities to nonprofit agencies.  But state funding to these
service providers has not increased for six years now.  As a result, dedicated employees
earn average wages of just $9.35 per hour – 21% below the poverty level for a family of four.
I urge you to include funding in your FY 15 budget plan for a $1/hour wage increase for
these employees and to support HB3698/SB2604 to set our state on a path to lift them out
of poverty.
Also join us in the Capitol on Wednesday, March 26th at 9:30 for our Day in the Capitol.
.


Tony Paulauski
Executive Director
The Arc of Illinois
20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-464-1832 (OFFICE)
815-464-1832 (CELL)
Tony@www.thearcofil.org