“Last Wednesday Governor Pritzker reminded all Illinoisans of the most unsung story of the pandemic: the amazing work and incredible resiliency of thousands of our friends, family members and neighbors who have put their own lives on the line every day in the health care and human services workforce. He acknowledged our social safety net has faced tremendous difficulties during this health crisis and advanced an FY23 spending framework that clearly prioritizes addressing the behavioral health and intellectual/developmental disabilities service and support critical needs.

Although we thank Governor Pritzker for his commitment to the social safety net, his proposed budget falls short of the expectations established in the Department of Human Services’ Guidehouse rate study, the comprehensive funding roadmap towards sustainable I/DD funding supported by a coalition of stakeholders, as well as the plaintiffs and intervenors involved in the Ligas court ordered consent decree.

Workforce shortages in I/DD services and supports are crushing providers, eliminating service capacity, and remain the most critical issue impacting Illinois’ ability to achieve compliance with the consent decree and meet federal regulatory requirements for home and community-based services and supports. 

We will now work with the General Assembly and stakeholders to support full funding of the second year of the Guidehouse rate study as outlined in House Assistant Majority Leader Robyn Gabel’s HB 4832 and Senator Sara Feigenholtz’s SB 4063. With Illinois’ finances currently in better shape now than in nearly the past 20 years, it makes good fiscal sense to put Illinois on the right path for stronger services and programs and a sustainable workforce to support them.”