I am heading to Chicago today for the last meeting and wrap up on all of the work groups
of the 1115 Medicaid Transformation Implementation. After today’s meeting the
Governor’s Office of Health Innovation & Transformation will take the recommendations
and produce a final report for the Rauner Administration by December 31st.
Excellent letter to the editor in this weekend’s Chicago Tribune from United Cerebral
Palsy.
Tony
Voice of the People
Truly vulnerable people
Dan Proft’s recent column, “How Bruce Rauner can lead Illinois from ruin,” included an
extremely salient point in his principle “Take care of truly vulnerable people” by stating,
“How we take care of the developmentally disabled is a test of our humanity . . . We
should leave fewer spending decisions in the hands of the bureaucracy and place more
of those decisions directly in the hands of families and local social service providers.”
Gov.-elect Rauner can begin this by ending the costly and unnecessary
institutionalization of Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities. In this era when all
modern thinking is leading other states to close their outmoded and large state
institutions, Illinois still incarcerates more than 1,900 individuals at an annual cost of
$250,000 each. Almost every one of those citizens, regardless of the severity of his or
her disability, can be served for half that amount — or less — in smaller, more
normalized community settings.
Rauner should do the right thing and provide these individuals with a decent life,
and save the state a ton of money.
— Don Moss, executive director, United Cerebral Palsy of Illinois, Springfield
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
