Access Living friends and allies,
Today, we have two state-level action alerts for disability issues in Illinois. One is about the budget for Centers for Independent Living, and one is about rental housing. Read on to take action!
Funding for Illinois Centers for Independent Living (CILs): This week, the Illinois House and Senate Health and Human Services – Appropriations committees will hear testimony on the issue of Centers for Independent Living Funding. Both committees focus on funding challenges facing Illinois’s human services networks, including CILs. CILs are disability-led nonprofits that support thousands of Illinoisans with disabilities every year. However, they have not seen a meaningful budget increase in years.
How can you help? We are asking for your help in contacting your elected officials to show there is support for increasing Centers for Independent Living funding, and we have two asks:
- Contact your legislators by emailing them using this link to ask for CIL funding. The link has a pre-written message, and after entering your name and address, will automatically send it to your state elected officials.
- Submit witness slips ahead of Wednesday and Thursday’s committee hearings. To file a witness slip, go to this link for the Senate witness slip form for CIL funding, and go to this link for the House witness slip form for CIL funding. When you file the CIL funding witness slips, please follow these instructions:Under “II. Representation,” write “Supporting increased funding for Centers for Independent Living”
- Under “III. Position,” this is different for the House and Senate:
- For the Senate: Select “Illinois Department of Human Services’s FY 26 Budget: SB 2538” and select “No Position on Merits”
- For the House: Select “Original Bill” and select “Proponent.”
- Under “IV. Testimony,” select “Record of Appearance Only.”
- Under “III. Position,” this is different for the House and Senate:
Support Limiting Fees for Renters: As part of our work, Access Living supports efforts that can ease the difficulty of finding and keeping housing for people with disabilities. Illinois HB 3564 (bill text here and bill status here) will be heard TOMORROW, April 30, at 3 pm! This bill would limit move-in fees, application, and background check fees, including excessive late fees– limiting late fees to $10 on the first $1000 in rent + 5% of any amount exceeding $1000. On April 9th, it just barely passed the Illinois House with 61 votes. Now we need to tip the scale in the Senate!
Please support this effort by filling a witness slip as a PROPONENT of HB 3564 by clicking this link for the HB 3564 witness slip form.
- For firm /business/agency: “self”
- For representation: “self”
- Mark yourself as a PROPONENT
- Under testimony, select “Record of Appearance Only.”
- Accept the terms and click “Create(Slip).
If you have any questions about either of the issues above, please email Nick Boyle, our Economic Justice Policy Analyst, at nboyle@accessliving.org. Please share this action alert with fellow Illinois disability advocates. Let’s go Illinois!