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ECONOMIC
Fought for the Equal Pay Bill – Gov. Blagojevich signed legislation to help
ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work. Under the law, if a man and a woman
do the same job they must be paid the same. The law expands the federal Equal Pay Act
of l963 by covering more workers, providing better enforcement mechanisms, improving
public awareness and helping employers eliminate pay disparities.
Helped Families get Tax Benefits – In 2003, 18,400 Illinoisans received free income tax
preparation assistance worth $24.7 million in refunds—an increase of 36 percent over the
previous year’s totals. The free tax assistance has saved taxpayers nearly $3.5 million
in tax preparation fees.
Provided New Housing Financing – 7,000 affordable housing units were
financed or preserved through various housing programs, representing more than $667
million in acquisition and construction costs. This included more than 5,000 multifamily
rental units, over 2,000 single-family homes, greater than 1,600 units for seniors and
more than 450 units for people with special needs, including the homeless, battered women,
foster children, mentally ill, developmentally and physically disabled, HIV and other
at-need populations.
Promoted Affordable and Fair Housing – This fall, the Department of
Human Rights created a new fair housing division, helping to ensure that all Illinoisans
are aware of and able to exercise their fair housing rights.
HEALTHCARE
Expanded FamilyCare Coverage – This summer, Governor Blagojevich
signed legislation that will allow 300,000 working parents to enroll in the state’s
Family Care program and receive health care. The expansion will take place over three
years. Illinois was one of only three states last year to expand health care coverage
for children, parents and seniors.
Guaranteed Contraceptive Coverage for Women – This summer, Governor
Blagojevich signed a law requiring health care plans that cover prescription drugs to
offer contraceptive coverage for women.
Expanded the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program – At Governor
Blagojevich’s direction, low-income women between the ages of 35 and 64 who have no health
insurance were offered free mammograms, breast exams, Pap tests and pelvic exams.
In fiscal year 2003, nearly 17,000 women received free screenings for breast and cervical
cancer through the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program; 125 new breast cancers,
20 cervical cancers and 66 pre-cancerous cervical cervical conditions were diagnosed.
A total of 234 women were referred to the Healthcare and Family Services [Formerly known as Public Aid, Dept. of]
for treatment, and
216 were found eligible for enrollment in Medicaid.
Ordered Maternal and Children’s Health Improvement- Governor Blagojevich convened a
Prenatal Health Care Taskforce comprised of experts from across Illinois to improve
birth outcomes.
Launched Illinois Healthy Woman Program – This Healthcare and Family Services [Formerly known as Public Aid, Dept. of] initiative will provide women leaving Medicaid with basic health care and reproductive
health education. Up to 120,000 women each year will now have access to family planning
services under this federally funded, five-year demonstration project. The program will
offer women comprehensive reproductive health care coverage, including annual physicals,
pap smears, mammograms, contraceptives and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
The program’s two goals are to offer women tools to prevent unplanned pregnancies and to
assist women making the transition from welfare to work.
Launched a New Health Effort to Improve Women’s Cardiovascular Health –
The study, known as WISEWOMAN (Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across
the Nation) Program, is designed to measure the effectiveness of education on the health
of lower income women. The study is expected to include 2,500 women in Illinois from 20
counties by 2005 and eventually be offered statewide. DuPage County is the first of four
demonstration sites to be funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health from a
$1 million U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant. The Illinois WISEWOMAN
Program will serve women between the ages of 40 and 64 who live at or below 200 percent of
the federal poverty level and are uninsured, and women who are enrolled in IBCCP.
All Illinois WISEWOMAN participants are to receive screening tests, which consist of
total lipid profile, blood glucose, blood pressure, dietary intake, physical activity
level, height, weight, waist circumference and resting pulse that will be taken at
three months, 12 months and two years.
CHILDCARE
Expanded Childcare Assistance – Governor Blagojevich signed House
Bill 294, which expands eligibility for childcare assistance to thousands of Illinois
families for the first time since 1997. Under the new law, the income eligibility
standard will be adjusted every year to equal 50% of the current state median income.
In 2004, that would mean eligibility for a family of three is increased from those
making $24,243 a year to those making $27,933 a year. As a result, an additional
14,000 children will have access to childcare services.
Launched Delinquent Parents Tracking – The Governor launched the Deadbeat
Parents website in November, displaying the state’s most egregious delinquent child
support cases. The percent of located employers of non-custodial parents increased by
approximately 15% due to improved processing of new information.
Expanded Parental Involvement in Schools – In March, 2003, Governor
Blagojevich issues Administrative Order #04 to expand the amount of leave time employees
can take from eight to 24 hours to attend school activities for their children.
Implemented Serious Changes in Child Support – The Healthcare and Family Services [Formerly known as Public Aid, Dept. of]
Child Support Enforcement Division has made major changes, which prompted
an 8.1 percent increase in the percentage of current collections, and a 5.9 percent
gain in the percentage of support orders enforced. These changes include the
consolidation of Customer Service phone lines, offering answers to the most frequently
asked questions seven days a week, 24 hours a day, via an automated voice response system;
revising the intake process so that new cases are being handled more efficiently; and
shifting the State Disbursement Unit to a private contractor, which processes over 500,000
child support checks each year, while saving the state $9 million per year.
CRIME
Signed the Gender Violence Act – This act attaches a more concrete
definition to the term “gender-related violence” and declares it a form of sex discrimination.
Gender-related violence now encompasses one or more acts of violence or physical aggression
satisfying the elements of battery that are at least partially based on a person’s sex;
a physical intrusion or physical invasion of a sexual nature under coercive conditions
satisfying the elements of battery; and a threat of either of the above acts which causes
“a realistic apprehension that the originator of the threat will commit the act.”
The bill also establishes that any person subjected to gender-related violence may bring
a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, or other appropriate relief against an
individual who was personally involved in the act or in some way encouraged its committal.
Battled against Discrimination and Hate Crimes – The Governor supported
and lobbied for the passage of Senate Bill 101, which amended the Human Rights Act by
adding sexual orientation as a basis of discrimination.
Supported Legislation and Removed the Family Member Sentencing Option –
The Governor signed House Bill 571, which eliminated the provisions making a sentence of
probation available to a defendant convicted of criminal sexual assault when the defendant
was a family member of the victim. Under the old law, perpetrators of criminal sexual
assault would receive mandatory prison time of 4-30 years, unless their victim was a
relative. If the perpetrator victimized a child in his own family, he received
preferential treatment: probation and two years of counseling. With the Signing of
this bill, family members who commit sexual assault against other household members are
held to the same standard as those who are strangers.
Supported Legislation that made Parental Consent to Adoption Unnecessary if the Parent
Sexually Assaulted the Minor – House Bill 3552 allows young women under 17 years of age,
who have been raped and become pregnant to put their child up for adoption without having
to get the consent for the adoption from their rapist (who is the father of the child).
Under this legislation, consent or surrenders (which effectively relinquish claim to
a child) are not required from a person if he raped the mother of the child and the
mother was under the age of 17.
Supported a “No Means No” Consensual Sex Definition – The Governor supported the Senate
bill which allows a person’s consent to a sexual penetration or conduct to be withdraw
during the course of the sexual penetration or conduct. This bill recognizes that consent
can be withdrawn at any point during sex and offers further protections to rape victims.
Established a Nursing Home Sexual Assault and Death Review Team – With the signing of
Senate Bill 1543, the Director of Public Health is required to appoint residential
health care facility Resident Sexual Assault and Death Review Team to review every
sexual assault of a nursing home resident and every death of a nursing home resident
occurring in its region. The bill requires the regional teams to perform functions
that include (i) evaluation of means by which the assault or death might have been
prevented, (ii) promotion of continuing education for professional involved in
investigating, treating and preventing nursing home abuse and neglect, and (iii)
making recommendations to the Director of Public Health concerning prevention and
investigation of nursing home resident assaults and deaths.
Extended the Civil and Criminal Statues of Limitations – The Governor signed legislation
Senate Bill 1035 that extends the period of time that persons abused as children have to
file criminal and civil charges, allowing them 20 years to file.
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