Health care reform could be a big plus for the disabled, says one Springfield disability advocate, but only if the state fundamentally changes how it handles those with special needs. Tyler McHaley, president of Springfield Area Disability Activists (www.disabilityactivists.org), shared that message Nov. 16 with the Health Care Reform Implementation Council, a collection of state […]
reform
Posted inNews
Kids in prison
What do you do when you catch a criminal? Conventional wisdom says you lock them up and hope prison scares them straight. But what if that doesn’t work, and what if that criminal is only 13 years old? That’s what Illinois lawmakers thought they were providing four years ago when they established the Illinois Department […]
Posted inNews
Immigration reform coming
Sitting on his living room couch in Beardsville, a young Mexican immigrant named Alejandro smiles wistfully as he recalls marrying his wife Maria in 2006. They met and married in Beardstown, raising two sons, Alex, 5, and Diego, 2. But Alejandro’s smile quickly turns into a pained grimace as he describes how Maria took their […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Health care reform for Christmas?
This could be a critical week in the national health care debate as Democrats aim to deliver reform by Christmas. Senate Democrats in Washington, D.C. have mustered the required 60 votes to stop a Republican filibuster of a health care reform bill, clearing the first of the remaining parliamentary hurdles before the massive bill can […]
