Women’s Voices Illinois Blog

Five Ways to Improve Healthcare for Women

Last year, the Independent Women’s Forum, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, D.C., issued a call to action to elected officials to “help alleviate the unease in the current healthcare system and prevent a further increase in the number of Americans without health insurance.” Though some time has passed since the report was issued, both unease with health care costs and the number of uninsured (over 47 million Americans) have continued to increase. With health care being a top concern for many voters in the upcoming election, these proposed solutions remain relevant and deserve serious consideration.

The Independent Women’s Forum calls for the following 5 reforms:

• Reform the tax treatment of health insurance: Today’s tax code provides unlimited tax breaks for those who obtain coverage from the workplace but does not extend any comparable tax benefit to those who purchase coverage on their own. The way to solve this problem is through a refundable tax credit to individuals who purchase coverage on their own.

• Expand coverage options: Individuals should have the freedom to decide the state and regulatory structure under which they purchase their health coverage.

• Improve consumer-directed models: Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and other affordable alternative health insurance products should be available.

• Allow for greater employee-employer flexibility: Employers would have the option of moving from a defined-benefit system, where the employer sponsors a health plan, to a defined-contribution system, where the employer chooses to contribute to a worker’s own health plan.

• Reform healthcare entitlement programs: There is no doubt that current entitlement programs threaten to bankrupt our country. Policymakers can start by beginning to transform these entitlements, in this case, Medicare and Medicaid, from defined-benefit to defined-contribution programs along the lines found in the employer based pension system.

You can view the entire report here .

My questions for all of you are: Do you agree with these reforms? Will they address the problems of healthcare cost and coverage? What other reforms would you suggest?

Posted by April Green

Add comment June 30th, 2008

Lend a hand to flood preparation and relief

As I’m sure many of you have seen on the news, towns in Illinois and throughout the Midwest have been hit or are preparing to be hit by devastating flood waters. According to the Chicago Tribune , the American Red Cross Domestic Relief Fund has nearly been exhausted due to flooding and tornadoes in surrounding states and the Quincy Herald-Whig reports that volunteers are needed in communities across the Mississippi River to help with filling and distributing sandbags to stop the anticipated 30-foot flood waters that are expected to hit Friday.

How to Volunteer before Friday (June 20th):
If you are able to volunteer with the sandbagging efforts, Quincy, Illinois (located in State Representative Jil Tracy’s district) is looking for volunteers. Quincy and the surrounding areas are preparing to be hit on Friday. Volunteers are still needed today and tomorrow to contribute to the effort. To volunteer with the Quincy sandbagging operation please contact: 217-242-3703 or 217-242-3739.

How to Donate to a Relief Fund:
Help support those in Illinois and across the Midwest who are in need of emergency relief by making a donation to the American Red Cross Domestic Relief Fund online .
- OR -
Make a contribution to a fund created specifically for towns in the Wabash River Valley along the Indiana border. Contributions should be mailed to:
Wabash Valley Flood Relief Fund
c/o Farmers & Merchants Bank of Hutsonville
PO Box 277
Hutsonville, IL 62433

Please consider making a modest donation of your time or resources to one of these important efforts and stay tuned for other opportunities on how to help out!

Posted by April Green

Add comment June 18th, 2008

The Power of the Purse

Over the past several years, the Women’s Campaign Federation has been conducting an ongoing research project examining the financial contributions of women to political candidates and committees (or lack there of). They recently published the latest version of the study called, “Vote with Your Purse: Harnessing the Power of Women’s Political Giving for the 2008 Elections and Beyond.” What they found offers some revealing insights on the political donations of women, including:

• Though women make up over half of registered and active voters, women account for less than 30 percent of political contributions.

• Women are leaders in charitable giving but don’t associate political contributions with the social change of charitable contributions.

• Values that motivate women to give are: impact, inspiration, information, inclusion and interaction.

In the past year, articles in the New York Times and More Magazine have addressed the same issue. It seems that, though women are more likely to register to vote, vote, and volunteer on a campaign than a man – they are less likely to give money to a candidate or political committee.

My question to all of you is: Why is this? Why don’t more women make financial contributions to political candidates and committees and what would get them to change their minds?

Posted by April Green

Add comment June 16th, 2008

Three Bills Illinois Moms Should Know About

Every year, thousands of pieces of legislation come before the Illinois General Assembly. It is no easy task to sift through all the bills and determine which might impact your family. That’s why I have identified three bills from this legislative session that every Illinois mom should know about: SB 2091, SB 1900 and HB 2769.

All three bills await a final vote before they can be sent to the governor for his signature. Hopefully, legislators will have the opportunity to cast their votes for these pieces of legislation when they return to Springfield for the fall veto session.

#1. Protecting Children from Teacher Misconduct
According to an investigation conducted by the Small Newspaper Group last January, Illinois is ranked 49th in suspending and revoking teacher’s certificates for misconduct. DCFS has received 3,871 credible complaints on this issue but not one resulted in a suspension or revocation of a teaching certificate.

Senate Bill 2091 strengthens the state’s procedures for suspending and revoking teaching certificates when an educator has grossly failed to perform their duties or has committed a crime that places students in jeopardy. The State Teacher Certification Board will become the final decision-maker on suspensions and revocations of teaching certificates. The bill also requires the State’s Attorney to notify the State Superintendent of Schools if there is reasonable cause to believe an educator has committed an act of abuse or neglect.

#2. Insurance Coverage for Children with Autism
Senate Bill 1900, would require Illinois health insurance companies to provide coverage for autism spectrum disorder. Currently, insurance providers are not required to provide the important coverage. This legislation requires insurers to provide extended autism coverage for children up to age 21, with a maximum of $36,000 per year. Insurance coverage would include the following care: psychiatric, psychological, therapeutic, pharmacy, and other treatments and programs related to autism.

The bill does not limit the amount of visits to an autism care provider. Insurers would also be required to consider autism the same as any other physical illness, charging the same co-payments or deductibles.

#3. Sex Offender Registration Reform
House Bill 2769 makes changes under the Sex Offender Registration Act to be in compliance with the Federal Adam Walsh Act. It enhances the current registration system by providing a 3-tiered registration system that would require sex offenders (defined as sexually dangerous persons, sexually violent persons, or sexual predators) convicted of certain enumerated crimes to register for life. Other less serious crimes could result in a 15-year or 10-year, registration period.

Post your opinions on these bills or contact your state legislator and let them know what you think. Find your legislator.

1 comment June 9th, 2008

Sexism: Of Presidential Proportions or the Political Graveyard?

Last week the New York Times “Week in Review” ran the feature article She just might be president someday examining what type of woman America’s first woman president will be – assuming that it won’t be Hillary Clinton. Though the article contained some interesting information highlighting potential female candidates and the involvement of women in state legislatures, it painted a rather gloomy picture of what it is to be a woman in American politics:

“…Many feel dispirited by what they see as bias against Mrs. Clinton in the media — the ‘Fatal Attraction’ comparisons and locker-room chortling on television panels. ‘Who would dare to run?’ said Karen O’Connor, the director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University. ‘The media is set up against you, and if you have the money problem to begin with, why would anyone put their families through this, why would anyone put themselves through this?’ For this reason, she said, she doesn’t expect a serious [woman] contender anytime soon…”

Just a few days later the Wall Street Journal published Sex & the Sissy, an op-ed by Peggy Noonan detailing the triumphs and struggles of three women prime ministers of global acclaim: Great Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, Israel’s Golda Mier, and India’s Indira Ghandi. Noonan’s lament was exactly the opposite: “The charge of sexism is…ultimately, undermining of the position of women.”

From Noonan’s perspective, women painting portraits of themselves as victims of political sexism are, in fact, the greater problem. By highlighting Thatcher, Mier, and Ghandi, Noonan points out, “They did not use guilt to win elections — it comes up zero if you Google ‘Thatcher’ and ‘You’re just picking on me because I’m a woman.’ Instead they used the appeals men used: stronger leadership, better ideas, a superior philosophy.”

So my question for all of you is — what do you think? Are women today really, as the New York Times suggests, victims of political sexism? Or has history proven, as Noonan suggests, that not only is their little truth in current claims of political discrimination, but the women who overcame much greater struggles on the path to leading their countries never got anywhere by complaining about them?

Posted by April Green

Add comment June 2nd, 2008

The Political Blog for Women who Aren’t

When Women’s Voices Illinois was started last year, the founders of WVI used this blog to keep readers posted on their statewide efforts to reach out to Illinois women and listen to what political issues were on their minds. They soon discovered that women have a lot to say about politics – if someone would just listen. That’s what Women’s Voices Illinois is doing and continues to do as we work to engage more women in the political process.

As WVI traveled across our state, women also sent a clear message that paying attention to politics can be frustrating. We want to be informed and engaged – but when there are so many other demands on our time, we tend to tune out all the news about “politics as usual.”

Whether you’re a young professional trying to find a way to stretch a starting salary to pay your rent and student loans, fill up your gas tank, and build a credit rating - or a mom trying to stay on top of your kids’ schedules, take care of loved ones, and balance a family budget – you’re not interested in political posturing, you just want to know how the decisions legislators make impact you.

The founders of WVI took this feedback to heart after their listening tour and decided to turn this blog into a tool to communicate with women on politics in a way that is relevant, accessible, and engaging to someone who has more on their mind than the latest floor vote in Illinois General Assembly. They realized that to engage more women in politics, we have to redefine what it means to be “political.” That’s where I come in.

As a woman who has always felt strongly about having a voice in the political process, I got involved in WVI so I could get more women to do the same. Since I’m not a legislator, the founders of WVI have asked me to take charge of the blog and turn it into something unique – a political blog for women who aren’t.

I’ll be posting several times a week on the WVI blog about how political decisions can impact Illinois women, and, more importantly, how Illinois women can impact political decisions. It is WVI’s hope that with each post readers will view politics less as a source of frustration and more as an avenue through which every woman can make a difference.

Communication is a two-way street so for this blog to be a success please voice in with your opinions. Tell me what you like, what you don’t, what you want to read more of, what you never want to read again, when you think I have a point, and when you think I’m totally off base. I hope you’ll take advantage of this unique opportunity to have a candid conversation about the issues that matter most to you and redefine what it means be “political” for Illinois women.

Happy reading!

Posted by April Green

4 comments May 26th, 2008

News About the Women’s Voices Illinois Tour

Here's what the media is saying about the Women’s Voices Illinois Tour: