Last week it way my pleasure to attend the Speak Up – Speak Out gathering — a sold out crowd of over 460 Self-Advocates in Springfield! What a great couple of days and hats off  to the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities for their leadership on Speak Up.I then flew out to Washington D.C. to the Alliance for Full Participation’s Employment Summit. Over 1,200 advocates attended this Summit! Over the course of three days we discussed the importance of full employment for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities whose unemployment hovers around 90%. The Summit’s goals is to double employment by 2015. I will be preparing a report for you about the importance of the Summit and our effort to make Illinois an Employment First State later next week.

I am going to take a few days off and enjoy my new grandbabies and will return next week.

I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and would like to share with you my Holiday Video on carving the Thanksgiving Turkey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_piyA-k3vY 


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