Welcome to the November 2007 issue of the Real Choice Newsletter

In this Issue

	Liberty Launches Successful
	ADAPT Meets with Governor
	The Campaign needs YOU!

Upcoming Events

Liberty Launch

About REAL CHOICE

The mission of the Campaign for Real Choice in Illinois is to move Illinois from a state that maintains institutions to one that supports the individual needs and preferences of people with disabilities.

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Liberty Launches Successful

By Lester Pritchard

The Campaign for Real Choice in Illinois staged Liberty Launches in Alton, Springfield and Joliet to bring public attention to Illinois' unnecessary and wasteful practice of institutionalizing thousands of people with disabilities. These rallies were the first of a series of rallies across Illinois to promote supports that enable people with disabilities to get the same personal and physical liberties all Americans enjoy.

Each attendee participated in a drama that compared institutional experiences with the freedoms of community life. As people entered, they were assigned to one of two groups: the “free” group or the “institution” group. Members of the free group were able enjoy food, conversation and other activities while those in the institution group were restricted to responding to commands of those in charge. After the drama, participants of both groups came together and discussed their feelings and experiences.

As a result of these events, about 50 new individuals joined the Campaign’s statewide effort to end the unnecessary segregation of people with disabilities. The next two Liberty Launches are set for November 1st in Moline and the first part of December in Glen Ellyn. Go to http://www.realchoiceinillinois.org/liberty_launch.htm for pictures and more details on these Liberty Launches.

ADAPT Meets with Governor

As a result of their actions in Chicago in September, members of ADAPT met with Governor Blgojevich.  The following account of the meeting comes from Amber Smock.

On October 24, Chicago ADAPT mobilized 30 people to attend the
meeting promised by Illinois Governor Blagojevich as a result of the
2007 Fall National Action. Unlike on September 11 when four people
were trapped out by the elevators, all 30 of us were welcomed onto
the 16th floor for the meeting at 3 pm. The meeting was also
attended by Deputy Governor Louanner Peters, staffer Grace Hou,
Director of Rehabilitative Services Rob Kilbury, as well as other
state disability bureaucracy staff...and Governor Blagojevich, 20
minutes late.

Our aims for this meeting were to set up a working process with the
Governor and his key staff. We wanted the Governor to do a public
statement affirming his commitment to community support services in
Illinois. We wanted the Governor to maintain his commitment never to
re-open Lincoln Developmental Center as any kind of residential
facility for people with disabilities. We wanted to ensure that
ADAPT would get not just one but three seats at the table for
developing our state's Money Follows the Person Operational
Protocol.

We also wanted the Governor to commit to amending State budget law to
create a transfer mechanism that will allow funds currently used to
pay for institutions to instead be used for community services.
Finally, we wanted the Governor and his office to commit to a five
year plan to increase by 5% the percentage of community-based
supports as part of the overall spending on long term care.

Initially, ADAPT engaged with state staff on their efforts towards
our demands, including their efforts to look at other states to see
what would work for Illinois. Staffers agreed to meet with us on a
quarterly basis but couldn't speak for the gov.

At this point, the governor arrived and we recapped our discussion
thus far. Larry Lawson then spoke about his experiences trying to
get out of the nursing home where he has lived for the last 3 years,
which is 98% African American. Monica Heffner spoke about her
experiences as a Deinstitutionalization Coordinator trying to free
people from nursing homes. The Governor was attentive and later went
back and asked Larry and Monica more about what it takes to get
someone out of a nursing home.

We did thank the Governor for promising not to reopen Lincoln, but he
needs to be more public about it. He asked what to do with the
Lincoln facility instead, and a staffer suggested using it as
supported living. We emphasized that Lincoln should never be used
for residential purposes again.

Gail Kear added that we need a mechanism to locate and empower people
living in state-funded institutions to get out. She also repeated
the demand about the transfer mechanism. The Governor's response was
to say "let's work on it." He said he wanted to have a meeting about
the funding for that before December 28, which is the next State
budget meeting.

The Governor did agree to work with us to prepare a public statement
of support for community choice. The Governor committed to attending
the next quarterly meeting on MFP/Olmstead with us. The Governor's
staff agreed to three ADAPT seats at the MFP meetings.

Chicago ADAPT did a terrific job mobilizing and preparing for this
meeting! Many thanks to: Gail Kear, Charles Smith, Alva Rodriguez,
Amber Smock, John Christenson, Mark Karner, Sharon Lamp, Martha
Cooper, Gloria Nichols, Gary Arnold, Christine Wilk, Diane Price,
Curtis Harris, Ed Hoffmans, Larry Lawson, Tom Wilson, Barb Bechdol,
Louise Rothenberg, Mike Ervin, Rahnee Patrick, Larry Biondi, Rob
Rotman, Barb Wesolek, Tim Sullivan, Monica Heffner, Mary Delgado, Sam
Knight, Elliott Hoppenfeld, Detonia Dunbar and William Owens.

FREE OUR PEOPLE!

The Campaign needs YOU!

As we continue to organize, we need your help. You can get involved with the Campaign in the following ways:

1. Join the email listserve - If you are receiving this newsletter, that means you are on the listserve. But, we know you have family and friends who haven't signed up yet. Just send them to www.realchoiceinillinois.org and they can sign up online.

2. Participate in events - We would love to be able to contact you when events are coming up so you can join us. If you are willing to be a part of events, respond to this email and let us know!

3. Become a "Resource Activist" - Media are always looking for interesting stories and people they can count on to give them a new perspective. We want to develop a team of people from around the state who are willing to share their stories and be local resources. If you are interested, please respond to this email.

4. Plan the Campaign's next steps - We need some strategic thinkers to help us decide what specific issues to take on next. If you are interested in planning, please let us know by responding to this email.

We appreciate your involvement - no matter what level! Thanks for being part of the Campaign for Real Choice in Illinois!