Access to health
A City Divided: Laquan McDonald and Health Disparities in Chicago
Last week, three Chicago police officers went to trial on charges that they were part of a cover up of the death of Laquan McDonald. The trial comes after Officer Jason Van Dyke was found guilty of McDonald’s death after shooting him multiple times. On October 5th, Chicago held its breath. The jury was set…
Read More#LegalCouncil30 – A note from Legal Council Executive Director Tom Yates
#LegalCouncil30 – A note from Executive Director Tom Yates Legal Council is officially 30! Because of loyal friends like you, we have accomplished so much over the past three decades. Tens of thousands of clients facing illness and disability have had the opportunity to stabilize their lives and pursue their full potential. And Legal Council’s…
Read MoreIllinois Alliance for Welcoming Health Care
Over the last two years, immigrants have faced threats of deportation and family separation, forcing parents to choose between accessing life-saving care and services for their families and keeping their families together. These policy’s have caused significant damage to community well-being. The increase of fear has led to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee…
Read MoreLiving True: Transgender Day of Remembrance
Almost 20 years ago, transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith started the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman killed in her own home in 1998. Her death was widely ignored by the media and many today still don’t know who Rita was. Her death remains unsolved. TDOR is a day…
Read MoreIllinoisans now have access to a life-saving cure to hepatitis C
After receiving a formal threat of litigation, officials at the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) negotiated with Legal Council lawyers to end the department’s policy of rationing coverage of life-saving drugs to cure hepatitis C (HCV) for Medicaid participants. This policy change comes after years of discussions and strategic advocacy to remove…
Read MoreBREAKING: Joint Statement on Medicaid Hepatitis C Treatment Restrictions
AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Legal Council for Health Justice Statement on Medicaid Hepatitis C Treatment Restrictions Legal Council for Health Justice and AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) laud the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) announcement today ending the department’s policy of rationing coverage of life-saving drugs to cure hepatitis C (HCV)…
Read MoreSTATEMENT: Protecting Immigrant Families – Illinois applauds Cook County Board’s Resolution
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Manuel Gonzales, Communications Manager, Latino Policy Forum 303-880-5954, mgonzales@latinopolicyforum.org Protecting Immigrant Families – Illinois applauds Cook County Board’s Resolution Coalition of Advocates Calls on All Elected Officials in Illinois to Fight this Cruel Attack on Immigrant Families Protecting Immigrant Families – Illinois is a diverse coalition of advocates from leading…
Read MoreSenate passes package of bills to fight opioid crisis
On Sept 17th, in a isolated moment of bipartisanship, the Senate passed a package of bills meant to address America’s opioid epidemic. Opioids were responsible for almost 50,000 deaths last year. This package, which consists of 70 bills, will create, expand, and renew programs across multiple agencies. This package “[aims] to prevent the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl from being shipped…
Read MoreProtecting Immigrant Families – Public Charge Developments
This post was updated on October 5, 2018. See below for updates. On Sept. 28, Protecting Immigrant Families Illinois–a statewide coalition of which Legal Council is a leading agency–held a press conference addressing the Department of Homeland Security’s draft rule to expand the specifications used in determining if immigrants and visa applicants are likely to…
Read MoreBREAKING: Legal Council Statement on Proposed Public Charge Rule
This weekend, the Department of Homeland Security published an unofficial “public charge” proposed rule. As of now, the official proposed rule has not yet been filed in the Federal Register and the 60-day comment period has yet to begin. This proposal would penalize immigrant families who seek assistance in meeting their basic nutrition, health care, and housing…
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