Statewide Independent LivingCouncil of Illinois
Statewide Independent Living
Excused:
Call to Order: The quarterly meeting of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois was called to order by Chair Heavens at 10:03 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, 2005. Heavens welcomed members present and introductions were made.
Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the February, 2005 minutes were distributed for review.
MOTION: Motion made by Sherwin to approve the minutes of February, 2005. Motion seconded by Gunther. Motion passed.
Grant Writing Training Report: Broeker discussed the grant writing course that SILC provided for CIL staff on March 29 - 30. 21 of 24 CILs were represented at the training. The training seemed to be well received. An evaluation form will be mailed to participants to gather further feedback on their expectations and needs.
Legislative Update: Broeker reported on several bills that are currently of interest to people with disabilities.
Broeker discussed the Source of Income bill which would have made it so that landlords could not discriminate against potential renters and or purchaser based on the source of their income. This bill passed out of committee but is in rules which means it is going nowhere.
SB101 Assistive Technology Warranty Bill has passed out of the Senate and into House Committee. This bill will create a warranty act for all assistive technology except hearing aids which already has a warranty. Currently there are 41 states that already have a similar bill.
SB1663 Elevator Safety and Regulation Act. This bill would exempt personal home lifts from being subject to regular inspection. People who have a stair life or a personal elevator in their home would have had to have it inspected annually at the person with a disability’s expense.
HB3465 the Community First Act has been amended so that it can go forward. Ann Ford discussed the many changes this bill has gone through. It began with a lot of opposition from many state agencies, AARP and AFSCME. Ford has worked closely with the Department of Public Aid, the Department of Human Services and the Department on Aging to collect information and support from these agencies in rewriting this bill. An amendment has been filed to include a provision to develop a pilot program to reintegrate people in the community. The process is to now work on moving it through the Senate and into the House.
SB1478 Formula Funding for CILs has gained many co-sponsors. This bill has gained lots of attention from legislators who are recognizing that the funding for Centers for Independent Living needs to be addressed.
DHS/DOA/DCFS supplemental budget requests are being hotly debated due to the General Assembly’s displeasure with the governor. If the budgets are not passed, these agencies will face multi-million dollar deficits in June.
Accessible Parking Fee Increase would raise the fine for parking illegally in a designated accessible spot from $100 to $250 statewide.
DHS Appropriation for FY06 - SILC is in opposition to the proposed 5% cut to CILs statewide.
INCIL Report: INCIL Representative Roberts reported on Karen Tamley’s new position as commissioner of the Chicago Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. Ms. Tamley vacated her position as INCIL Chairperson and Donna Joerger has been appointed.
Chair Report: Chair Heavens encouraged members to contact their Legislators regarding concerns about the budget and other federal issues such as Medicaid cuts and the closing of regional RSA offices.
Executive Director Report: Broeker distributed a preliminary report on his visits to the Centers for Independent Living. The greatest area of training needs that was identified among the CILs was the need for Independent Living History and Philosophy training for board and staff and managing a work load in the independent living environment. Trainings have tentatively been set for the week of September 19 in Chicago, Peoria, Springfield and Mt. Vernon for presenters from APRIL to discuss these topics.
Broeker gave an update on pending grant proposals. Robin Benson has been very busy and has submitted a variety of grants for the Homeownership Coalition for People with Disabilities. Staff has also been active preparing the HUD, Fair Housing Initiative Program grant that will fund Abbie Spindell’s position for 18 months. This grant is due May 23 to HUD.
Development Director Discussion: Broeker discussed the possibility of SILC and INCIL jointly writing grants to fund a statewide independent living development director. An ad-hoc committee was formed. They will meet in June, 2005 and report at the August SILC meeting.
Youth Summit Update: Dunning reported on the Youth Summit. The deadline for all applications is May 13. She reported on the agenda for the four day event as well as some of the changes to this year’s Summit. Keynote speakers, transportation, PA, interpreters etc. have all been confirmed.
Homeownership Coalition Update: Robin Benson reported on her activities since the last SILC meeting. She will have two closing in May bringing the total of new homeowners to 40. Benson reported that she is currently working on several grant opportunities. Benson reported she is active on several committees and with expanding the Coalition throughout the State.
Abbie Spindell reported on her activities since the last SILC meeting. She has completed 19 presentations on fair housing to 282 people. She has attended several trainings throughout Illinois. Spindell discussed the HUD/FHIP grant that is due May 23rd. This new grant, if funded, expands to a 10 county service area and SILC is submitting it for an 18 month period.
Outreach Committee Report: Committee Chairperson Arellano reported that the Committee met today and discussed the outreach manual that was developed several years ago. The Committee would like to update this manual by March 2006.
Operations Committee Report: Committee Chairperson Gunther discussed the budget reports that are in the packets. Gunther reported that the Committee met briefly this morning and will be collecting bids for the fiscal year 2005 audit.
Programs Committee Report: No report given.
Planning Committee Report: No report given.
State Rehabilitation Council Update: SILC representative on the SRC Arellano reported that SRC spent a day meeting with legislators recently and they support many of the same bills that SILC is also advocating for. They have a new Chair, Edward Bannister and Annette Grove has been appointed to the Council as well.
Other Announcements: Ross Grove discussed the six Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) who received grants to reintegrate seniors into the community. They are Rockford, Rock Island, Quincy, Carterville, Chicago and Oak Park.
The next meeting of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois will be held on Thursday, August 11, 2005 at the SILC office located at 510 East Monroe in Springfield.
Minutes prepared for J. Anel Gonzalez, Secretary by Tara Dunning and Gerard Broeker
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