November 15, 2011

Illinois BUDGET-Veto Session update



CORE-Illinois: Advocating for Recovery
Be the Voice
EXTRA DAY ADDED TO VETO SESSION- NOVEMBER 11, 2011 
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 CORE IS THIS THE ILLINOIS WAY TO SAVE MONEY? FACT SHEET
 
 
 
 
 

Dear Fred,

Extra day added to veto session
Last week the House to the usual step to added one more day to the fall legislative session. Legislators will return on Tuesday November 29th in an attempt to finalize some details. The bad news for the addiction world is the General Assembly did not take up any specific budget issues; rather they worked on a number of issues surrounding the budget. For an review of the session Rich Miller editor of the Captialfax wrote a short article in the Chicago Sun-Times and article entitled a "Two weeks of nothing in our messed up state."   With the limited progress made on so many topics, it appears very unlikely that the Human Services and Addiction treatment budget will be addressed in any way on the 29th. However, your legislator will be home for the next two weeks-and it is a good time to contact them, continue to build relationships, and educate them about the need to fix the budget error. While we may not prevail later in November we need to prepare for the spring session, and begin the fight to reverse the funding cuts for addiction services. When the General Assembly returns in 2012, it will signal the start of the election year and your voice will be an even more powerful tool.
  
 
 
WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO!
 

CORE attends Inaugural training event
Bill Johnson, Executive Director of CORE-Illinois attended the first Executive Directors Leadership Academy in Detroit, Michigan on October 21-23. The Association of Recovery Community Organizations at Faces & Voices of Recovery reached out to CORE through Bill, to ensure Illinois was represented in this new initiative.   The Association of Recovery Community Organizations at Faces & Voices of Recovery (ARCO) is a new initiative that brings established and new and emerging groups together to build the unified voice of the organized recovery community by leveraging the profile and unifying force of Faces & Voices for member organizations. After the summit Bill said:
We covered so much in the two and half days of this summit that all I can do is share some of the highlights, In future CORE-ALERTS I will break it down into more specific details
Some of the sessions I participated in were:
  1. The Effective Organization
  2. Servant Leadership/Transformational Leadership
    1. Attributes of Leaders
    2. Models of Leadership
    3. Self-Assessment
    4. Organizational Planning- Challenges and Opportunities
      1. Strategic Planning - Getting to a Preferred Future
      2. Program Planning - (and Evaluation) for impact
      3. Financial Planning - Making decision for Viability/Sustainability
      4. Marketing and Communications Planning from Best-kept Secret to Talk of the Town
      5. Strategies for Effective Public Policy (in the Era of Health Care Reform)
      6. The Fundraising / Fund Development Puzzle  
Some of the session broke out into small groups that lasted most of the day.   One of the issues we discussed in great depth was about educating our people in recovery around Effective Public Policy in the Era of Health Care Reform. We talked about enrollment and retention and the ramifications for getting involved and for not getting involved. Whether you agree with the Health Care Reform that's on the horizon or not, you need to get educated about it and your roll in this reform, to better be able to explain the process to your friends, clients and/or family members. And to help make sure that Health Care Reform works for the recovering community in Illinois. More shall be forthcoming.  I look forward to your comments and suggestions for how CORE can accomplish this education process in Illinois.
Thanks, Bill
To learn more about the ARCO go to:  Association of Recovery Community Organizations  
 
National Quit & Recovery Registry
CORE has learned about a new research project that may be of interest to some of our members.    
  
Why do some people succeed in overcoming addictions while others relapse, at great cost to their health, their families, and even their lives?  The National Quit & Recovery Registry taps the insights and experiences of people who have been in recovery from an addiction-whether to tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or a harmful behavior-for at least a year. Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, the registry seeks to help scientific understanding of recovery and to inspire those struggling with addiction.  Learn more at: National Quit & Recovery Registry  

CORE SURPASSES MILESTONE!
October was a banner month for CORE-ILLINOIS as our membership crossed the 500 mark!
CONTACT US
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217-544-1251
     Fax  217-698-8234
By Mail
CORE-ILLINOIS  
401 E. Sangamon Ave.
Springfield, IL 62702
Below and to the left is a link that will allow you to forward this CORE-ALERT to your FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CONTACTS.  All information is this ALERT is public and we are asking you to please engage others in your life to our cause.