State officials to tour Children's Memorial stem cell research facility         

[MARCH 20, 2006]  CHICAGO -- Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Secretary of State Jesse White and Comptroller Dan Hynes will tour the stem cell research facility at Children's Memorial Research Center on Monday afternoon. Dr. Eric Whitaker, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and Mary J.C. Hendrix, Ph.D., president and scientific director of the research center, will also participate.

Last summer, the governor and comptroller made Illinois the first state in the Midwest, and only the fourth state in the nation, to commit public funds to the lifesaving work of stem cell research. The governor earmarked $10 million in grant funding to further stem cell research. As part of his budget plan for next fiscal year, Blagojevich proposed providing $100 million in grants over the next five years to continue the research.

On Friday, Blagojevich, Quinn, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, White and Hynes sent a letter to the four legislative leaders urging them to support the funding proposal for stem cell research. Studying stem cells allows scientists and doctors to better understand what causes serious medical illnesses and conditions, in hopes of discovering new ways to treat or even cure them.

[News release from the governor's office]