Posts by Legal Council
Case Manager and Paralegal Justin Hayford Named 2016 Liberty Bell Award Winner
April 26, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Kevin Mork, 312-605-1976, kjmork@legalcouncil.org Jill Wohl, 312-605-1980, jill@legalcouncil.org Case Manager and Paralegal Justin Hayford Named 2016 Liberty Bell Award Winner Annual Award Honors…
Read MoreClient Focus: Hatim
Hatim, an HIV-positive man with limited English skills, first came to AIDS Legal Council after he sustained a devastating injury at his job as a butcher, and was unable to…
Read MoreMay Ball 2016 press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2016 For more information, contact Kevin Mork at 312-605-1976 or kjmork@legalcouncil.org. Legal Council for Health Justice Celebrates Spring in Style with Second-Annual May Ball on…
Read MoreGot lead?
While we welcome the ‘John Oliver effect’ that shines a much-needed light on the issue of childhood lead poisoning, what’s repeatedly left unsaid in this and other highly-respected top-tier media outlets is the power and the value of Early Intervention (E.I.) for infants and toddlers exposed to toxic levels of lead. Below is an unpublished letter sent to The New York Times co-authored by the director of our Chicago Medical-Legal Partnership for Children program, Amy Zimmerman, and Anita Weinberg, clinical professor, Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Chair, Lead Safe Illinois which highlights the importance of this federally-mandated program:
Read MoreNo place like home
Yesterday, federal district court Judge Charles P. Kocoras issued a court order requiring HFS [Illinois’ Medicaid agency] to “take immediate and affirmative steps to provide the very in-home shift nursing services that HFS approved.”
More than 1200 children have been approved for in-home nursing services based on their high level of medical need. Many of these children are dependent on complex medical regimens for routine bodily functions, such as eating, drinking, breathing, and oxygen regulation. Yet, the State failed to arrange for in-home nursing, resulting in unnecessary and costly institutionalization, heightened risk of medical complications, and diminished quality of life.
Read MoreOB v Norwood Court Order Press Release
April 6, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contacts: Jill Wohl, 773-562-0159, jill@legalcouncil.org Jane Perkins, 919-968-6308, perkins@healthlaw.org Robert H. Farley, Jr. 630-369-0103, farleylaw@aol.com Federal Judge Orders State of Illinois to Provide Community-based…
Read MoreClient Focus: Shaneea
A young mother with a 4-month-old baby, Shaneea had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and marijuana abuse when her treating psychiatrist at an outreach partner, Fantus Clinic, referred her to the…
Read MoreSilo busters
Last week we were delighted to attend the rollout of Chicago Department of Health’s draft “Healthy Chicago 2.0 Plan”
The event was the culmination of many months of action planning teams meeting and developing goals, objectives, and strategies to improve health equity in Chicago.
One of the highlights was an insightful presentation by Dr. Mindy T. Fullilove, Columbia University professor, psychiatrist and award-winning author of Urban Alchemy: Restoring Joy in America’s Sorted-Out Cities. Attendees gave Dr. Fullilove a well-deserved standing ovation.
Team members at Legal Council for Health Justice were proud to contribute to the new plan, participating in and lending our expertise to action teams working on expanding partnerships and community engagement and strengthening child and adolescent health.
Read MoreOn the Docket
Everyday our advocates provide free and immediate legal assistance, one client at a time. Other times, we defend access to justice to many more people than we could possibly represent in a single year.
Legal Council for Health Justice currently has four high-impact litigation cases. Two of them, Beeks v. Bradley and Memisovski v. Maram, are federal court cases in which we represent 3.1 million Medicaid recipients in Illinois. Working with the Shriver Center, we required the State of Illinois, despite the state budget impasse, to fund billions of dollars in Medicaid services. This work has ensured that doctors, medical clinics and hospitals continue to provide medical treatment to the 3.1 million Illinoisans, including 700,000 children in low-income households.
Read MoreSilver linings
Our ears were burning when Governor Bruce Rauner mentioned court orders in today’s budget address. More on that later.
But a silver lining was the announcement of support of $5M increased funding to Early Intervention (EI), the program that closes the gaps for infants and toddlers living with developmental disability and delay.
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