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"Access to affordable health care and high-quality education
should not be a privilege for the very wealthy -- these are basic
human rights," Blagojevich said. "In Illinois we are taking steps to
make sure everyone has access to health care; we are taking steps to
make sure our children are receiving the best education; and we are
taking steps to make sure big corporations pay their fair share. And
most importantly, we are doing all of this without passing the buck
to working families. We're showing the rest of the country that in
Illinois, we invest in our families."
Highlights of the governor's plan for fiscal 2008:
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A historic Tax Fairness Plan that closes corporate loopholes and
gives the middle class the relief it deserves.
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A record new investment of $10 billion in schools over the next
four years -- nearly three times bigger than any increase in state
history.
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Illinois Covered, an affordable, reliable health care plan to
cover the 1.4 million uninsured adults in Illinois and provide
assistance to millions of middle-income families and small
businesses struggling to keep up with health insurance costs.
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Addressing the state's longtime pension deficit and ensuring
secure retirements for thousands of workers by leasing the Illinois
Lottery and investing the proceeds toward the pension debt.
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And a
billion-dollar capital budget to make important investments in
schools, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure.
Close to 200 African-Americans ministers support the governor's
plan. Besides the dozens congregated at First Church of Deliverance,
ministers in Peoria, Decatur, East St. Louis and other regions
across the state will issue statements endorsing the governor's
proposals. The ministers and their congregations will send postcards
to members of the Illinois General Assembly urging them to support
the governor's plan.
"Governor Blagojevich has offered up solutions to two of the
state's largest problems -- health care and education funding," said
Bishop Simon Gordon, pastor of Triedstone Full Gospel Baptist Church
in Chicago. "And instead of placing the financial burden on
individuals already struggling to make ends meet, the governor
proposes placing that burden on large corporations that are not
paying their fair share in taxes. I would like to thank the governor
for building this plan around the working people of Illinois, and I
hope the General Assembly keeps those working people in mind when
voting on it."
"Our children deserve to have access to the latest technologies
and learning tools," said the Rev. Johnny Miller of Mount Vernon
Missionary Baptist Church. "The funding proposed by Governor
Blagojevich will make sure students are getting the most out of
their time in the classroom. I would ask that the General Assembly
not hesitate to pass the governor's budget and give our children the
educations they deserve."
"So many families go into bankruptcy and even more drop their
health coverage because they cannot keep up with the rising costs of
health insurance," said the Rev. Walter Turner III, president of the
Baptist Ministers Conference of Chicago. "It is time that everyone
has access to quality health care, and Governor Blagojevich's
Illinois Covered plan does just that. Through his All Kids health
insurance plan, the governor made sure our children are healthy; now
he is doing the same for their parents."
[to top of second column]
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Ministers are not the only ones one stepping forward to endorse
the governor's Invest in Illinois Families plan. Hundreds of
community organizations have voiced their support for the plan since
the governor delivered his budget address on March 7. The St. Louis
Post-Dispatch published an editorial praising the governor's plan
and even went so far as to say that if passed by the General
Assembly, it could provide a model for the rest of the nation. And a
Chicago Sun-Times columnist called the governor's plan fair for
everyone. Since the governor delivered his 2007 budget address, advocacy
groups in Illinois have given their endorsements for his education
plan. Chicago Public Schools Chief Arne Duncan called the governor's
Helping Kids Learn plan, which would give a record $3.8 billion in
new dollars to Illinois schools, "bold" and "ambitious." Following
his lead, both state teachers unions, the Illinois Education
Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers, have endorsed
the governor's plan to give Illinois children a better future.
Another crucial part of the governor's plan for fiscal 2008 is
Illinois Covered. The governor announced Illinois Covered during his
budget address, and since then, advocates have been voicing the
support for the plan. The governor appointed Dick Kay, a retired,
respected television newsman, as special advocate for health care.
Kay has since embarked on the governor's "Drive for Healthcare," a
grass-roots bus tour throughout Illinois to meet with uninsured
families and businesses that are struggling under the rising costs
of health care. He has spent the last week listening to the stories
of uninsured Illinois families, and he will continue to do so in the
coming weeks.
Attendees at the Tuesday event included Pastor Ira Acree, Pastor
James Dukes, Pastor William Jenkins Jr., Pastor William Jenkins Sr.,
Pastor Jonathan Jordan, Pastor Charles Mickens, Pastor Michael
Randle, Pastor William Staten, Pastor Carl White Sr., the Rev.
Samuel Hinckle, the Rev. James Demus, the Rev. Leonard Barr, the
Rev. Walter Johnson, the Rev. Marvin Alexander, the Rev. Otis Allen,
the Rev. Derrick Anderson, the Rev. Henry A. Barlow, the Rev. C.E.
Barnes III, the Rev. Irvin Barrett, the Rev. Eugene Bates, the Rev.
Michael Bonds, the Rev. J.C. Boyd, Bishop Laman Brett, the Rev.
Anthony Briscoe, Elder Darryl Coleman, the Rev. Tyrone Crider, the
Rev. Lenard Deville, Elder Michael Eady, the Rev. Steve Epting,
Bishop Charles Ford, Reverend F.L. Gholar, Bishop Simon Gordon, the
Rev. Dwight Gunn, the Rev. Lucius Hall, the Rev. Marshall Hatch, the
Rev. Henderson Hill, the Rev. Andre Hope, Bishop Otto Houston,
Bishop William Jackson, Pastor Floyd James, the Rev. Charles
Jenkins, Pastor W. James Jenkins, the Rev. William Jenkins, the Rev.
Dr. Joseph Jones, Bishop Steve Jones, the Rev. Larue Kidd, the Rev.
E.F. Ledbetter Jr., Rev Emanuel Little, Pastor John Long, the Rev.
Ivan Phillips, the Rev. Woodard Williams, the Rev. Robert Williams,
Apostle Carl White, the Rev. Ira Wheaton, the Rev. Roosevelt
Watkins, the Rev. Albert Tyson, the Rev. Walter Turner, Bishop Larry
Trotter, the Rev. Stephen Thurston, the Rev. James Thomas, the Rev.
Darnell Taylor, Bishop Robert Sanders, the Rev. Leslie Sanders, the
Rev. Albert Sampson, the Rev. Wyatt Rush, Apostle Ulysses Ruff Sr.,
the Rev. Charles Rogers, Pastor Larry Roberts, the Rev. John H.
Rice, the Rev. Howard Randolph, Bishop Claude Porter, the Rev.
Warner Pitts, Elder Jefferey Mullins, the Rev. O.C. Morgan, the Rev.
Matthew Miller, the Rev. Leon Miller, the Rev. Johnny Miller,
Apostle William McCoy, Pastor Walter Matthews and the Rev. Alvin
Love.
[Text copied from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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