ELM CITY CENTER

1314 West Walnut, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650

Off: 217-245-9504 Fax: 217-245-2350

Email: ecc@elmcity.org Web page: www.elmcity.org

Work and Independence for people with disabilities.

WHAT'S NEW THAT COULD

 EFFECT ELM CITY

HEADLINES

• On Friday,  December 1, 2006 Elm City closed due to a very heavy snow and ice storm. Locally, snow was about 12" with high drifts and 40 mph winds. All local schools and transportation systems also closed. It took 3 days for snow plows to get to ECC parking lots. One actually broke a hydraulic tube while plowing the Walnut Street campus and was parked for 3 days. There were 3 semi-trucks scheduled for Friday delivery that had to turn back. We tracked this storm through National Weather Service and various Internet radar pages. On the Thursday before the storm, the weather was great, but out-of-town people were asked to go home and all residential programs were called to say we would likely be closed. About 3:00pm  flurries started, by 2:00am it really started heavy. In the end, everyone was safe and was able to get home in plenty of time. This was one of the strongest winter storms since 1978. Most local stores sold out of electric generators and snow shovels. All of our emergency systems worked as planned.

• Winter is coming and that means flu season. Here are several articles from DHS on how to protect yourself. Flu Brochure1 and Flu Flyer

• Elm City's 5th annual Clyde York Social Center Golf Tournament is was held September 29, 2006 at 4:00 pm at Northridge Golf course. Get the results here. Great time by all! Thank you to all our players and sponsors

• Recovery from serious mental illnesses is a growing focus for practitioners, researchers and policy makers. Get a great one page fact sheet on the reality of recovery from the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation.

•  One of our customers is awarded 2005 Product Search of the Year on QVC. Congratulations to Thermionics for their ThermiPaq product. Based on NASA research, the thermipaq is a very flexible product that retains heat and cold for long periods of time. Great item for sore knees, shoulders, and backs.

• Letter writing campaign needed. The Governor's budget for FY 2007 does not include any funding increases for community based services like Elm City. It does include an 8.5% increase for state run facilities like Jacksonville Developmental Center and McFarland in Springfield. The state believes they need more money to maintain their programs, but apparently believe community agencies do not have have any similar increased costs. READ MORE HERE.
• Read the summary that IARF has been using with both the House and Senate during meetings with state legislators

2006 KIWANIS PANCAKE AND SAUSAGE CAMPAIGN

On March 6, 2006 Kiwanis served over 5,000 people at McClelland Hall on the MacMurray College campus. That is almost 1/5th of the local population. Amazing! Kiwanis raised about $20,000. 100% of that money will be given away to social service groups in the Morgan County area. Over 200 people volunteered their time. These organizations helped make it happen: 

• Hamilton's Catering	JHS Football team	Branstiter Printing
  MacMurray College	JHS Softball team	AC Humko
  County Market	Jones Meat Locker	Pactiv
  Pathway Service	Boy Scouts	Routt High School
  Elm City Center	K-Kids ISD	Franklin Bank
  Maschhoff Farms	Buster Sanitation	K-Kids ISD
  Jacksonville Journal Courier	Midstate Propane /Prather Oil	Global Technical Systems
  A/C Scott Electric	WJIL	Nestle
  Screen Tek	WLDS	Bogarts
  Farmers State Bank		DAR

• On February 15, 2006, Governor Blagojevich gave his budget presentation. Financing for people with disabilities was never mentioned. There is no additional money in the budget for increased costs of living. A letter writing campaign is being organized. Read IARF's summary of the speech and follow implications for community based services.

• The Parker-Dennison study on the DHS/DMH readiness to convert to a fee-for-service is released.  Adobe Reader required

• DHS/DMH is moving to Consumer Directed services. Read a great article on what this means. Adobe reader required

• Major Medicaid cuts in 2006 Federal Budget. Your Help is needed to change it.

• Governor Signs All Kids Plan to provide health insurance to more children,  then GOP promptly says there are problems with it.

• NAMI released its state report card on mental health 3/1/06. Illinois got an overall grade of F. And we're ranked 34th in the Nation. Click here to read the press release. The financial, political, and service implications for Illinois are huge. We are the largest state included in the "F" category. Read the report and compare how Illinois's mental health services perform versus other states. We have a long way to go. To read the entire report go to: http://www.nami.org/grades

• On February 15, 2006, Governor Blagojevich gave his budget presentation. Financing for people with disabilities was never mentioned. There is no additional money in the budget for increased costs of living. A letter writing campaign is being organized. Read IARF's summary of the speech and follow implications for community based services.

• Our Computers and Technology continue to grow. We have just finished installing a complete small network and have over 40 computers running.

• Play for All Parks is working to develop a playground that is accessible to everyone regardless of their physical, neurological, or ambulatory issues. Based on the concepts of Boundless Playgrounds, the playground will be located in Godfrey Park as the location of this project.

• 4th ANNUAL CLYDE YORK SOCIAL CENTER GOLF SCRAMBLE September 30, 2005, Northridge Hills Golf Course, 1265 Sandusky Road, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650. Great Day, terrific outcome.

• URGENT 8/25/05: New Legislation Proposed by Bush Administration Eliminates Medicaid Case Management and Rehabilitation Funding

• The Final Cost Report of PNP and Navigant have been released. This is the study DHS did to check rate structures, methodologies, and payment levels across the state. There are the main report and the appendices. the reports are in Adobe format.

• The Department of Public Aid has delayed implementation of the discontinuation of coverage of certain over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. The effective date has been moved to August 1, 2005. Some items have been delayed until September 1, 2005. Please read the attached notice.

• Illinois Legislators Pass a last minute 3% CODB addition to the Budget for 2006. Still some confusion.

• Relay for Life held at Illinois College outdoor track on June 24-25, 2004. "Carolyn's Crew" made up of volunteers from Elm City were in charge of the luminaria display

• The U of I rate study is getting a lot of attention. It was funded with $300,000 to look at the costs of community based programs vs. the revenue coming from the state of Illinois. The results are showing that community based programs are far underfunded compared to state operated facilities providing similar services.

• January 18, 2004 the Annual Board of Directors meeting was held at Cummings Hall on the Illinois College campus. Highlights of 2004 and  2005 Board Officers  were reviewed. Darrell Roegge was honored for two 9 year runs (1/1986-1/1995 and 1/1996-1/2005) as a member of the Elm City Board. John Clancy and Shane Pierson joined the Board as new members. Reggie Benton, Mike Madsen and Dr. Peter Russotto were honored for completing  3 years and agreeing for 3 more. Jill Briggs, Jim Chaffee, and Jon Hurst were honored for completing their first year as Board members.

• The Hanback addition is essentially done after about 8 months. This project was over two years in planning. It should add much needed space for production and other needs. A previously planned open house is being delayed for warmer weather.

• Happy New Year - January 3, 2005 has come and everyone is back from Holiday break.

• Pathway Services Unlimited has a new website up. Check it out. Nice design and good information.

• ECC has made a significant donation to the Jacksonville Pilot Club's CareTrak System project. The CareTrak system is part of Project Lifesaver and has been endorsed by The National Sheriff's Association.  CareTrak International makes an electronic system that helps find people with neurological impairments if they wander off. The system has saved many lives by helping family members be located quickly. The systems will be donated to local families who need the assistance.

• ECC Annual Board Meeting is on January 18, 2005 at Cummings Hall on the Illinois College campus. We are welcoming two new Board members John Clancy and Shane Pierson.

• CARF survey results are in. We obtain 3-year accreditation after the hard work of many people

• The October 2004 Newsletter is out. Latest news and fun stuff.

• Letter from John Filan of Governor Blagojevich's office. Office of Management and Budget, regarding the State's Budget in response to our letter to the Governor.

• Third Annual Clyde York Social Center Golf Outing. September 10, 2004 we are going for 5 under par. The Original date of August 20 rained out. Sponsor a hole, shirt, or just come and play.

• Illinois Budget passes General Assembly on July 26, 2004. Budget includes a 3.5% across the board cut. Community services agencies are exempt.

• The 2004 ECC SWOT Survey Results are on line. Read what people had to say about us. Many nice comments and some areas for improvement.

• The June 2004 Newsletter is out. Latest news about funding, EMI, Stats, golf tournament,  and all that fun stuff

• The Gettings/Chmura report on how to capture Federal funds for community services to individuals with developmental disabilities is now available.

An equal opportunity employer.

Revised - 1/15/08